I Alone Resurrect Chapter 174
The Price of Lies (1)
It is like an instinct for the monsters in the dungeon to guard the core.
The voice ringing incessantly in their heads demands that they kill humans and protect the core.
If they do not follow the voice’s orders, the monsters are gripped by anxiety and pain.
So most monsters simply follow that voice blindly.
But the moment the main body is destroyed and the dungeon collapses, the voice that had been tormenting them disappears like a lie.
And the monsters awaken to their most primal ‘survival instinct’.
They simply run towards the portal, desperate to survive.
Just like now.
“Kya-a-a-a-!”
The narrow portal was a scene of pandemonium, as thousands of monsters rushed to escape.
The urgency was not just for the monsters.
“Come out, you bastards!”
It was common sense that if the main core was destroyed, they had to get out of the dungeon or else they would die.
The ability users too were pushing and shoving each other, desperately running towards the exit.
Amid the chaos, Kang Hyeon’s group was also forcing their way through the monsters, rushing towards the core.
“What the hell is this all of a sudden!?”
“It seems someone has destroyed the main core, taking advantage of the confusion.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it!”
Kang Hyeon said, hurling a Lizardman that was running in front of him.
“I don’t know who did this, but the important thing now is to stop that guy from getting out of the dungeon.”
Seeing the High Priest Kosik calmly flying towards the portal amidst the chaos, Kang Hyeon said:
“We can’t let that happen. Let’s do what we did before. Yoon Na-rae, cast a buff.”
He was planning to use Filthian’s Hammer to punch through to the portal in one go.
But Yoon Na-rae shook her head.
“That puts a lot of strain on my body, you know. And I’m already not in a normal state. If I use it again, will I be able to fight properly outside?”
“Kang Hyeon. Rather than that, I think it would be better if we all push the Lizardmen with full force after the boss has left.”
“I agree with that.”
As the party members all opposed the idea, Kang Hyeon pondered.
“Alright then…”
For now, they were all trying to move as quietly as possible to avoid drawing the boss’s attention.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
The boss would be out of the dungeon soon enough.
When that happened, if the party moved together, they should be able to escape the dungeon in time.
***
Ippotranslation
***
What greeted the Lizardmen emerging from the dungeon was a hail of gunfire and artillery shells.
-Rattatatata! Boom!
In just a few minutes, the dungeon entrance had turned into a battlefield.
Under the indiscriminate attacks aimed at them, the Lizardmen rolled their eyes and charged at the humans.
“The situation?”
“There are considerable casualties, but we can still hold them back. The numbers seem to be more than expected, so additional infantry support will be needed.”
“Contact the 32nd Infantry Division on the outskirts!”
Colonel Jo Moon-seong wiped the sweat from his brow as he gave the order.
‘The monsters are stronger than expected.’
They had already anticipated that a huge number of monsters would emerge when the dungeon collapsed. The problem was the level of the monsters.
Contrary to the expectation that they would be helpless against guns and tanks, these ‘monsters’ were literally that – monsters.
Even with several bullets hitting them, they would still madly rush in and somehow tear the soldiers apart, unfazed by even serious injuries.
This was a problem stemming from China’s policy of suppressing ability users, and the resulting attitude of underestimating them.
Not considering ability users as remarkable, they naturally did not think the monsters they dealt with would be so strong.
Unaware of this fact, Colonel Jo Moon-seong simply thought there had been an error in the preliminary investigation.
‘But we will still be the victors in the end.’
He was a little taken aback by the stronger-than-expected enemy, but no matter.
The situation was still under his control.
“Where is the leader of those monsters?”
“He has not appeared yet.”
“Get ready. He’ll come out soon. We have to pour all our firepower on him then.”
“Yes, sir.”
Just as Colonel Jo Moon-seong gave the order,
“Colonel! The entity that appears to be the leader of the monsters has emerged!”
Kosik had revealed himself outside the dungeon, as if on cue.
“Fire all weapons at him immediately!”
At the colonel’s command, all the guns unleashed a barrage of shells towards Kosik.
While the precision missiles could not be used due to the magic flowing from the dungeon, the basic field guns could still be utilized.
All the available artillery directly targeted and fired upon Kosik.
-Boom, boom, boom!
Occasionally, even some of their own troops were hit due to the short distance, but there was no choice.
To Colonel Jo Moon-seong, it was just the sacrifice of the few for the many.
“Don’t stop firing!”
They had been told the leader of the monsters possessed unimaginable power.
Of course, Colonel Jo Moon-seong did not think a being that could still survive this level of bombardment even existed.
But he wanted to make absolutely sure, so he did not cease the attack.
And so… Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly.
“Colonel! Massive magical reaction detected!”
One of the officers shouted while looking at the monitor.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s in the direction of the 31st Regiment!”
The 31st Regiment was stationed about 3 km from here.
Looking in the direction the officer pointed, they saw the clouds parting and lightning-like energy gathering.
“What is that…?”
The growing mass soon fell to the ground with a brilliant flash, and
-Boom!
The area where the 31st Regiment had been was obliterated.
“…”
Everyone stared mutely at the scene before them, their mouths agape.
Colonel Jo Moon-seong was the first to regain his composure.
“Contact the 31st Regiment immediately! What’s happening? Any survivors?”
“That’s… We can’t reach them.”
The colonel’s words made Jo Moon-seong jump up from his seat.
“What do you mean you can’t reach them!?”
Jo Moon-seong could not accept the reality.
‘It was just one attack!’
The armored regiment had simply vanished with a single attack.
But that was only the beginning.
“Magical reaction detected at the 17th Regiment!”
“We can’t reach the 17th Regiment either!”
“The reinforcement infantry units have been hit by a large-scale magical attack!”
The reports kept coming one after another.
Jo Moon-seong could not pull himself together.
“What the hell is going on here!?”
Everything had been under his control just moments ago. The plan was perfect, and all that remained was for the great nation to showcase its might to the world.
But now…
“Why…!”
The agitated Jo Moon-seong shoved the table aside.
Just then,
“Colonel… The leader of the monsters has revealed itself.”
An officer said in a trembling voice.
The barrage heading towards the boss had stopped, and the dust where he had been was settling.
The gradually exposed ground had a massive crater, as if a meteorite had fallen.
And there, sitting in the chair as before, was Kosik, floating in the air and looking down arrogantly.
“Can this really be a living being made of flesh and blood…”
At that moment, Jo Moon-seong’s and Kosik’s eyes met.
Kosik’s eyes crescent-shaped, mockingly.
The colonel could sense the creature was sneering at him.
“It’s the end… So futile…”
Before he could even finish, a beam of magical energy smashed into the command center.
***
Ippotranslation
***
As soon as they emerged from the dungeon, the pungent smell of gunpowder assaulted their nostrils, and deafening sounds erupted from all directions.
“What the hell is this!?”
Kang Hyeon had no idea how the situation had deteriorated so much. After barely escaping the chaotic dungeon, the outside was even more of a mess.
‘On top of the sudden dungeon breach, now there’s some kind of military pouring in explosives.’
How was he supposed to make sense of this?
‘Just focus on surviving for now.’
Kang Hyeon quickly grabbed a Lizardman corpse to use as a shield.
“There are people here, you bastards!”
Kang Hyeon was not the only one in trouble. The ability users mixed among the Lizardmen were also being riddled with bullets and shells, dying helplessly.
“Those crazy bastards!”
It seemed they were intent on killing everyone here. While these were world-renowned ability users, they couldn’t deflect bullets like Kang Hyeon could with their bare hands.
The already exhausted ability users were being mercilessly gunned down, their bodies torn with holes and limbs severed.
“Ahn Yu-seong. Take Yoon Na-rae and follow me.”
“Understood.”
Shin Seong-ah was in no condition to move due to her wounds, and Yoon Na-rae was on the verge of collapse from excessive magic use.
Kang Hyeon decided to move Yoon Na-rae and Shin Seong-ah with Ahn Yu-seong.
“I can walk on my own.”
Yoon Na-rae insisted, but Kang Hyeon remained firm.
“Do as I say! Try not to use magic if possible. This is the best option right now.”
Just then, the bombardment towards the boss had stopped.
And in retaliation, Kosik unleashed a dazzling display of magic.
“Now’s the chance. Let’s go!”
Carrying Shin Seong-ah, Kang Hyeon moved quickly.
“I’m sorry, Kang Hyeon…”
“It’s fine, just focus on recovering.”
“Yes…”
Kang Hyeon cut down the Lizardmen blocking their path, slowly making their way further from the dungeon.
Fortunately, the Lizardmen were too preoccupied with attacking the military, so it wasn’t too difficult to break through.
“Phew… We made it.”
Shortly after, having reached about 1 km from the dungeon, Kang Hyeon finally caught his breath.
“Quite an exciting time, aren’t you having?”
Turning his head, he saw Kosik still unleashing a barrage of magic.
“He seems quite exhausted.”
“Really? To me, he looks similar.”
“Based on his expression, actions, and the flow of his magic, he’s definitely duller than before.”
Shin Seong-ah’s words made Kang Hyeon curious.
“You can see the flow of his magic?”
“I’ve been able to faintly perceive it since a while ago.”
“Wow, being able to see magic is amazing.”
Shin Seong-ah had never been particularly talented with magic before. Compared to Kang Hyeon, Yoon Na-rae, and Ahn Yu-seong, who were exceptional, she had always seemed lacking.
“It seems my innate ability has developed a little.”
“So your ability has developed, huh… Is that why that guy got so angry when you shot the arrow?”
“That’s part of it… But I also got lucky with the timing of the attack back then.”
“Well, if your ability has grown stronger, that’s a good thing.”
Kang Hyeon chuckled, thinking about the gloomy Shin Seong-ah who always felt useless to the group.
“Anyway, we shouldn’t stay here. Let’s move a little further, it’ll be safer.”
“Understood.”
The artillery fire was still raining down on the boss.
Fearing they might get caught in the blind bombardment, the group decided to retreat a little further.
“Hm?”
At that moment, Kang Hyeon noticed a group of people in the direction he was heading.
“Hey! Can you help me?”
Since Kang Hyeon had translation abilities, he waved his hand and shouted loudly.
When people heard Kang Hyeon’s voice, they started murmuring among themselves.
“What are they saying?”
Kang Hyeon noticed that something was wrong, and at the same time, the soldiers began to point their guns at the group.
“Activate shields, everyone!”
Kang Hyeon shouted, and Yoon Na-rae and Ahn Yu-seong quickly turned on their magic shields.
-Bam bam bam!
Gunshots pouring down on the shields.
“You bastards!”
Kang Hyeon, who had activated the ‘Wayne’s Secret Technique’, quickly rushed forward.
“Eek!”
Startled, with widened eyes, Kang Hyeon struck the soldier’s head.
-Pow!
With a simple punch, the soldier’s head exploded.
-Bam bam bam!
Although a comrade was cruelly killed, the enemies didn’t seem to stop shooting.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
It seemed like it was going to be a long night.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Grrrr, slurp…”
High Priest Kosik was panting heavily.
“I won…”
Strange weapons he had never seen before attacked him, but he didn’t back down.
Although he didn’t know the reason and had come to this foreign land, he only focused on this one thing and defeated all his enemies.
“Great Krokta…”
From Kosik’s embrace came a map. No, to be precise, it was a food packaging.
“Hehehe… Heh heh!”
Without knowing its true identity, Kosik chuckled gleefully.
“I almost had a big problem.”
For some reason, this place was incomparably less magical than the place he was in.
In that situation, when he scattered large-scale magic in all directions, his magical power was depleted.
‘Perhaps the recovery is not yet perfect…’
Furthermore, the damaged magic circuit that was injured when hit by a human arrow did not heal properly, which pushed Kosik further into a corner.
“But I have won.”
Kosik fought with all his might.
Only for this moment.
“How should I decipher this?”
Kosik looked at the map and fell into thought.
“I can’t feel any magic at all.”
There was nothing special about the map.
But this was a map made by the great Krokta.
It must have been encrypted.Â
It might take quite a long time.
“First, I should try using a simple decryption spell.”
Kosik used a few spells towards the map, just in case.
Unexpectedly, the contents of the paper began to be read easily.
[Hot item strongly recommended by Director Jeong Seo-bin Research Institute!]
-Dungeon Steak Bulgogi Flavor-
Nutrition Information
Sodium 800mg Carbohydrates …
As Kosik read the paper, his eyes twitched.
“What kind of code is this…?”
It didn’t take long for him to realize that he had been deceived.
He could feel something snapping in his head.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Kosik let out a tremendous scream and exploded his magical power.
“How dare you! How dare you deceive me!”
Kang Hyeon’s face clearly came to his mind.
“Where are you? Where are you hiding!”
The guy had some decent skills, so he must still be alive.
He couldn’t have gone too far yet.
He had to find him quickly.
He would not kill him easily.Â
For a year, no, for several years, he would repeatedly torture him until he begged to be killed.
Even in that state, he would continue to torture him until he was completely turned into an idiot.
Due to his anger, Kosik’s eyes gradually turned red.
“I’ll kill him… He dared to mock me, the High Priest!”
Just as Kosik’s eyes were completely taken over by fury, a rapidly approaching magical power was felt from behind.
“Human… You’ve lost your fear.”
It seems the one he was going to kill had come to him on his own.
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