episode_0281

“…”

The central plaza fell into silence.

All eyes were focused on Jeong Yu-shin.

The pupils revealed through the dimensional rift narrowed.

“···Now that I see, there was a child of Lux Aeterna. Hahaha. Did that detestable god whisper my name in your ear?”

“Shut up!!!”

Cyan shouted, raising his longsword.

Jeong Yu-shin took a stance and glared at the dimensional rift.

‘It’s disadvantageous to stall for time.’

Even now, the dimensional rift is widening moment by moment.

A fight that must be ended quickly.

Cyan took a step forward.

“Changeling, as Ska said. Return to the other world!”

A tremendous amount of divine power flowed out in streams from Cyan’s body.

“Hehehe. Try it. If you can.”

As soon as the Changeling finished speaking, the blue liquid that flowed from the dimensional rift bubbled and boiled.

The people surrounding the plaza watched the liquid transforming with tension.

“Slime?”

One explorer murmured blankly.

At that moment.

Hundreds of slimes poured out from the liquid that fell like a waterfall.

“Form a battle line!!! Don’t let your guard down!!!”

Kain immediately came forward to the battle line and shouted.

“Yes!!!”

The Labyrinth Knights took their positions and formed a circle centered on the plaza.

The Hellfire, Crystal Rose Corps, and Guardians of Order clans also took their places in coordination with the city knights.

Jeong Yu-shin clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tch. Sneaky bastards.’

The high-ranking clans didn’t seem to have any intention of coming forward.

Perhaps they would fight moderately and, if the front line was pushed back, they would run away without looking back.

Why?

It was obvious without asking.

Because they are special.

They thought they were special because they had obtained cheat-like imprints, unlike ordinary explorers.

‘Still, it’s a relief that I kept them on the 20th floor.’

Actually, this is no time to worry about others.

Currently, the only two people closest to the Changeling are Jeong Yu-shin and Cyan.

It was the most dangerous place, and even now the blue slimes were increasing.

“Hehehe. All become food for my ‘retinue’.”

With the Changeling’s words.

As if a blue wave spread widely from the center of the plaza.

Hundreds of slimes charged toward the formation all at once.

The explorers shouted loudly to their party members.

“Fire magic!!!”

“Shoot arrows!!!”

“Priest!!! Blessing magic!!!”

Arrows and bolts, flames and ice, lightning and rocks flew from the battle line, tearing apart the blue slime swarm.

Kwaaaaaang!!!

Bbeoeoeoeong!!!

Flames burned the slimes, and ice spears were densely embedded on top of them.

A huge rock flew and crushed the slime swarm, and a streak of lightning spread widely among the slimes.

In an instant, hundreds of slimes were annihilated.

The power of the explorers who had reached the 20th floor shone at that moment.

But.

An even greater number of slimes were newly created from the blue liquid.

Once again, the wave of slimes rushed towards the explorers.

“Shit!!!”

“They’re coming again?!”

The explorers each grabbed their weapons and prepared for close combat.

Kkwaaaaaang!!!

Hundreds of explorers and knights collided with the slime wave.

“Kkeuaaaaaak!!!”

“I, it’s acidic slime!!! Priest!!!”

“Aim for the core!!!”

“Don’t collapse the battle line!!!”

Screams and shouts rose over the battlefield.

The explorers did not give in easily.

Among them, the most prominent were the high-ranking clans and the Labyrinth Knights.

They calmly withstood the slime wave.

The most brilliant people among them were just two.

Jeong Yu-shin and Cyan, who were at the very front.

Like islands left alone, far from the battle line, the two of them went against the waves of slime.

Every time Cyan’s aura blade shone, dozens of slimes disappeared.

Jeong Yu-shin had his back to Cyan and swung his axe like crazy.

Formality or whatever, it wasn’t needed. The surroundings were already full of blue slime.

Tseurureureuk!!!

Bbak!!!

The giant axe cut the slime in two and crushed the hard core.

Jeong Yu-shin shouted.

“Where the hell are the hero party members?!!!”

At the same time.

Sebastian, Luther, and Gibson hurriedly left the inn and stood in front of the central plaza.

They were clearly sleeping, but at some point, it had become a battlefield filled with blood and screams.

Luther urgently looked around.

“Where is the hero?!”

It was impossible to find one person in the wave of blue slime.

Gibson raised his hand.

“He’s over there!”

Far from the formation.

The two were fighting in the midst of the pouring slime swarm.

“We have to go!!!”

Sebastian and Luther gritted their teeth and tried to run to the battlefield.

Gibson clicked his tongue as if he was dumbfounded.

“Tch. Priest, how are we supposed to go into the middle of the enemy lines?”

Luther glared at Gibson, rolling his eyes.

“Gibson!!! How can you say such a thing when the hero is isolated?!”

Gibson shook his head.

“Priest, let’s be honest. We are all rearguards, so who will break through?”

“…”

Luther bit his lip tightly. The guide is right.

Both Sebastian and he were merely rearguards.

But.

“Are you saying we should just stand here and do nothing?!”

Gibson pointed to the battle line.

“I’m saying we should join depending on the situation. What if we recklessly go in and become a burden to the hero?”

Luther’s lips trembled.

“A, a burden…”

“Besides, the siege formation is precarious, so it’s right to help that side first.”

Sebastian came to his senses and agreed with Gibson’s words.

“Priest, Gibson is right. Let’s watch the ongoing battle for now and participate when the situation changes.”

Luther turned his head and looked at Cyan.

“Keueueueueuk!!!”

It’s frustrating.

But Gibson’s words are true.

More than anything else, he didn’t want to lose his reason in a desperate situation and become a burden to the hero.

“I understand. Let’s join the battle line for now.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

Luther and his party members immediately joined the battle line in the central plaza.

The situation was more urgent than expected.

The explorers and knights, welcoming the suddenly emerging retinue of the foreign god, endured the slime wave several times, but the front line was gradually pushed back as they became more burdened.

Gibson gritted his teeth and fired arrows.

Ssyaeeeeeeek!!!

Ssyaeeeeeeek!!!

A perfect shot. The arrows fired by Gibson accurately pierced the core of the slime.

When the core was destroyed, the slimes trembled and melted away.

“Damn it.”

Gibson spat out a curse.

A battle that cannot be won.

He had spent a long time reading the battlefield as a ranger.

His instincts were sounding the alarm. Run away quickly. It’s safe to take the transfer stone and go to the labyrinth city, even now.

At that moment.

A blue slime covered an explorer who was fighting right in front.

“Kkeuaaaaak!!!”

It was a vanguard explorer holding a sword, but his flesh and internal organs, as well as his bones and armor, melted away.

“Team!!!”

A companion standing next to him screamed and reached out to the vanguard, but it was already too late.

Dozens of slimes rushed at the vanguard and covered him.

The vanguard covered in the slime swarm soon melted away to the point where even his form could not be found.

“Shit!!!”

The fellow explorer wielded his sword again with tears in his eyes.

However.

It didn’t end there.

A slime wriggled and transformed into the appearance of the explorer. It was the same as the vanguard who had melted like porridge a moment ago.

A bizarre phenomenon.

The explorers fighting around looked at the slime’s ‘transformation’ with surprised eyes.

“Team?”

The fellow explorer stopped even swinging his sword and stared at the sight.

The vanguard explorer smiled and slowly walked over.

“Ah, Genie, it’s me.”

“T, Team? What the hell is this?”

The fellow explorer retreated as if he had lost his will to fight.

A form that copied the appearance, abilities, and even the intelligence of the person it had devoured.

Confusion quickly spread through the battle line.

Gibson’s eyes widened. Goosebumps ran down his spine.

‘Th, this is?’

It’s certain.

The retinue of the foreign god he saw in the Dwarf Kingdom.

The culprit who destroyed the cities and towns of the Empire!

Gibson looked around with trembling eyes.

Hundreds of slimes were sweeping through the city.

They are not just ordinary slimes.

If each of those slimes is a retinue of the foreign god.

‘It’s over!’

It’s not just a problem for the labyrinth city.

The Eastern Allied Territory will be devastated.

Moreover, the explorers and knights were fighting together, but they were slowly being pushed back.

The strength drained from Gibson’s arm.

“Heoeo.”

He thought he would meet the hero and see the light after suffering in the mountains and fields until now, but he was greatly mistaken.

This won’t work.

He has to run away.

At least he has to survive.

Gibson slowly stepped back and surveyed the situation.

He didn’t know when.

Sebastian and Luther were fighting far away with the monster woman party.

Where is the hero?

Cyan was wielding a shining sword at the very front, and Barbaroi was wielding an axe next to him.

Gibson turned his body and ran towards the transfer stone.

He doesn’t know about the others anymore.

He doesn’t care what happens.

Only he must survive this hell.

* * *

“Shit!!!”

Jeong Yu-shin spat out a curse.

He felt like he had been fighting with Cyan back-to-back for a long time, but he still couldn’t see the end.

Chiiiiik!!!

Jeong Yu-shin’s axe was melting in the slime’s acidic fluid and was not in proper shape.

It was a Dwarf-style single-edged axe made by Einhofer.

Jeong Yu-shin swung his axe like crazy and looked at Cyan.

Cyan was cutting down the slimes with the momentum of one against a thousand.

His expression was still calm.

But.

There were small holes here and there in the plate armor.

The front line was being pushed back. Thanks to the knights and high-ranking clans, they were barely holding on.

“Hehehe. It’s pathetic. Where did that momentum from just now go?”

The foreign god’s gloomy voice once again enveloped the city.

Jeong Yu-shin gritted his teeth.

The acting ends here.

What good is it if everyone dies like this?

He grabbed Einhofer’s axe and swung it.

Horizontal slash.

Kwagagagagak!!!

The axe blade, which had melted halfway, tore through the bodies of the slimes gathered in front and crushed their cores.

Chiiiiik!!!

Clatter.

The axe head, unable to withstand the acidic liquid any longer, fell to the floor.

“Hehehehe. Mortal, would something change if you knew my name? Slowly admit it. You can’t block the ‘hole’ that this body created.”

Jeong Yu-shin swept back his dangling hair and reached out to the sky.

“Ska?!”

Cyan turned his head back and looked at Ska.

A figure giving up the fight.

Dozens of slimes were rushing towards Ska.

“No!!!”

The moment Cyan shouted.

Whooooooong.

From the sky.

A giant golden coffin fell down.

The people gathered in the plaza forgot even the battle and looked up at the golden coffin falling from the sky.

Kkwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!

The golden coffin crushed and burst dozens of slimes and stuck into the floor.

[Eternal Ark]

Elven treasure.

A subspace that can hold various items and a totem that sprays various buff magic.

Wooooooooong!!!

The golden coffin began to emit strange waves.

Kkiiiiiiiiik.

Jeong Yu-shin opened the coffin and put his hand inside.

Click.

A repeating crossbow filled with cartridges.

And.

A black iron greatsword split in two.

“Ska?”

Cyan looked at Jeong Yu-shin with wide eyes.

The atmosphere changed.

From a reliable warrior.

To a black wolf.

The black wolf grinned.

“Changeling, I will block your ‘hole’.”

“…”

A quiet battlefield.

Jeong Yu-shin’s declaration echoed loudly.