Ch.11037. To the Stronghold of Yeongdo (3)

Pyo Seonghun grabbed the ship’s railing and shouted urgently again.

“Do you really think it’s possible?”

Due to the strong wind, waves crashed relentlessly.

The ship rocked like a roller coaster. The vessel swayed so violently that one might fall into the sea without holding onto something tightly, but I maintained my balance.

The wind from Wind Cutter enveloped me.

‘With wind of this magnitude, they must have more than ten mages working together.’

Though the gale was like a typhoon, preventing the ship from advancing properly, the sharpness characteristic of wind spells wasn’t particularly intense.

If that’s the case, rather than a single high-class mage’s spell, it seemed like several average mages had layered wind spells to reinforce their power.

‘The level of magic isn’t that high. They just timed it well.’

With the storm raging now, the magic’s power was enhanced. However, hunters from other alliances who didn’t understand the situation were panicking.

“Damn it! At this rate, the ship will sink before we even reach Yeongdo!”

Even if it sank, this was the coastal area, not the open sea where Awakened ones might die.

But with three ships unable to make any progress, it wasn’t a good situation by any means, though I remained calm.

“Everyone grab onto something so you don’t fall into the water!”

The moment I confirmed it was the mages’ spell, I had already thought of a way to overcome this crisis.

Wind magic doesn’t have obvious counters like flame or water, but there’s a simple solution.

‘In the face of stronger wind, weaker wind gets buried.’

Wind Cutter, that special Ancient Gear, responded to my call.

Though its appearance wasn’t much different from other daggers, the speed at which it absorbed mana and the level at which it accelerated that mana was on a completely different dimension compared to ordinary weapons or magical tools.

Mana acceleration that amplifies the power of magic spells.

That mana acceleration is typically created through intricate formula compositions and circuit configurations based on calculations, but the Gear can handle that complex circuit configuration process on behalf of the caster.

And if the caster’s understanding of the spell is high, the parallel computational effect between the caster and the Gear can inject an even greater synergy effect.

‘So, I just need to push back this storm with the wind spell I create.’

I silently recited the incantation.

– Tempest.

At that moment, the spell was activated from Wind Cutter.

A high-level wind spell. Just as Hellfire represents the 5th tier of fire spells, Tempest is the representative spell of the wind category.

Groooooo-

As if entering the dangerous semicircle of a massive storm, an intense wind began to spread from the center of the three ships.

And that wind directly confronted the wind created by Dead Arms’ mages.

Soon, the wind I created began to push back the mages’ wind.

“The direction of the wind…?”

Pyo Seonghun noticed the change.

The ship, which had been stationary and unable to advance until just moments ago, finally began to move forward again.

“This, this is impossible!”

One of the alliance hunters exclaimed in surprise. Pyo Seonghun asked him.

“Team Leader Seo? Why do you say that?”

“Without a doubt, this wind… It seems the Vice President has created a wind spell. And not just any ordinary wind.”

“Wind? The Vice President is a flame sorcerer… no, come to think of it, I have seen him use wind spells occasionally because of his Gear…”

The mage called Team Leader Seo was silent for a moment at Pyo Seonghun’s words. Then he spoke.

“The wind just now was definitely a spell created simultaneously by multiple mages. As you know, Dead Arms has members who, while their skills are mediocre, know how to stack spells like this to increase their power.”

I briefly looked at the hunter’s face. He was a mage from Red Breakers.

Though he was quite old, he was deeply knowledgeable about magical theory.

He was a mage who also lectured at the magic tower of a university in Busan. I knew him to be a hunter with a doctoral degree in magical studies.

“I know the Vice President’s magical skills are excellent. Nevertheless, to push back such a strong gale that prevents the ship from advancing, and with a spell of the same attribute, is certainly…”

The mage looked at me and said.

“Evidence that his magical level is at least two tiers higher than theirs! Even with wind spells, which aren’t his primary magic.”

His voice was mixed with awe, as a fellow mage. Pyo Seonghun responded in surprise.

“Two tiers? Then the difference in level is overwhelming.”

But there was no time to be pleased with the praise.

The ship was about to land at the site of the old university. The ships finally reached the small dock.

So the old university grounds ahead came into view. Beyond the dock, I could see Dead Arms hunters who had already positioned themselves there.

I shouted through my in-ear device.

“Everyone prepare to disembark!”

And simultaneously, gunfire erupted.

***

Tatatatatata-

Bullets rained down on the alliance hunters disembarking from the ships.

Generally, Awakened ones can create a basic shield through mana. That shield can negate the energy of bullets, making attacks through guns useless against Awakened ones.

‘But magical bullets are a different story.’

The guns being fired now were obviously not using regular bullets. They were magical bullets made through a special post-processing using mana. These magical bullets could penetrate hunters’ shields.

“Form a formation centered around the tanks as you disembark!”

Of course, if a hunter is skilled enough, they wouldn’t even bother with guns. Even with magical bullets that can be used instead of regular ones.

They’re expensive and not particularly powerful. Naturally, guns are weapons used by those with poor skills as Awakened ones.

The three ships successfully landed. All at once, the alliance hunters jumped off the ships.

The sound of machine gun fire continued to be heard, but the hunters who had arrived by ship were the elite of the alliance.

When forming the team in advance, they had appropriately mixed in tanks. The hunters successfully managed to land.

“We need to neutralize all those annoying mages. I’ll move.”

I nodded at Soso’s words.

Though it looked like an island from the outside, once we disembarked, the interior was no different from an ordinary university campus.

And as expected, a considerable number of hunters were waiting. Since they had blown up the bridge, they would have anticipated that we would arrive by ship.

‘That’s why the mages’ wind spells hit us.’

But Yeongdo is not a small uninhabited island. They couldn’t station hunters on all sides of the island.

They probably just dispatched hunters to places where ships could dock.

‘And they’re not elites. Just insignificant ones using guns.’

Anyway, the ones guarding this place had terrible luck. The alliance hunters who landed here were elites.

Soso, Pyo Seonghun, and Jeong Yuha quickly rushed forward. The mages who had been preventing us from landing were quickly neutralized.

They were seen casting attack spells at the three, but those three were the elite of the alliance. Unless they were facing very high-level combat mages, they had no chance.

After dealing with the mages, they returned to my side.

“Let’s quickly move into Yeongdo.”

Once we exit this not-so-large campus, there’s a bridge connecting to the main island of Yeongdo. We had already checked the bridge with drones.

That place hadn’t been blown up.

About 30 hunters. I reorganized the platoon of alliance hunters and hurried to leave the old university grounds with them.

“Die, you bastard!”

At that moment, Dead Arms hunters who had been lying in ambush on the campus attacked me. Three hunters. The eyes of those swinging swords were glazed over.

‘Seems they’ve taken that drug again.’

Pyo Seonghun shouted in surprise.

“Vice President! Danger…”

But before he could finish, I calmly avoided the attack and swung Wind Cutter back at them.

Swoosh-

A wind slash formed instantly, taking care of all three in an instant.

“It seems there are no more ambushes. Let’s move quickly.”

Pyo Seonghun isn’t one to make a fuss, but he seemed surprised for a moment.

“To face three swordsmen… and exploit that opening to deliver a wind slash. It’s hard to believe it’s the movement of a mage.”

“Those were just small fry. Nothing to be surprised about.”

It wasn’t time to be complacent yet. I left the campus with my companions.

“Fortunately, they didn’t blow up the bridge on this side.”

Pyo Seonghun said. As he mentioned, everyone crossed the bridge connecting the old university grounds to the main island of Yeongdo.

Dead Arms’ stronghold was in the northern part of Yeongdo. There, the urban area was formed mainly around apartments and various buildings.

The group headed in that direction.

“Now we’ve completely entered Yeongdo.”

Pyo Seonghun nodded at my words. But then he looked at my expression and asked curiously.

“Vice President? What’s wrong?”

Today was a weekday. And while there were residents living in Yeongdo, the atmosphere in the area was strangely peculiar.

‘It feels excessively gloomy. Quiet.’

Of course, it could be due to the pouring rain, but there weren’t many passing cars either.

‘And the ambient MCI is too high.’

I carefully checked the readings through my in-ear device. As if a gate had opened or there were monsters nearby, the magical contamination level in the area was excessively high.

‘This feels ominous.’

And that ominousness became reality.

***

“What… has happened here?”

The area the group had entered looked as if it had been through a war, completely destroyed.

Pyo Seonghun continued.

“While it’s true that many residents left the Yeongdo district due to frequent gate appearances, it wasn’t this devastated when I was here before. It looks like it’s been bombarded.”

Pyo Seonghun wasn’t the only one surprised. Most of the other hunters were also from Busan, so they seemed to know the original appearance of this area.

“This scene is as tragic as if it had been attacked by a mass of monsters.”

One hunter said. As he mentioned, there were no intact buildings around, and cars were left damaged along the roads.

And the group soon discovered a corpse. It was in a terrible state, as if it had been attacked by a ferocious beast.

“That’s…”

It wasn’t just that one corpse. There were mangled bodies scattered here and there in the vicinity.

Pyo Seonghun’s expression turned serious.

“It seems a gate has opened inside Yeongdo. I wonder if a dungeon collapse occurred…”

I agreed with Pyo Seonghun’s thought. But Dead Arms members were also hunters after all, so they wouldn’t have left a gate in their territory unattended.

“Then could it be that the Dead Arms guys were overwhelmed by monsters?”

“No, that’s unlikely.”

They’re a force that divides Busan in half. They would have already entered the dungeon and cleared out monsters of a moderate level before a dungeon collapse occurred.

If an S-rank dungeon had collapsed and its monsters had escaped into reality, it might have been too much for them.

‘There are clear signs of an attack in the area, but it doesn’t seem like high-ranking monsters.’

If an S-rank monster had appeared, ordinary humans wouldn’t even leave corpses behind.

If that’s the case, the scene visible in this area might be the result of Dead Arms intentionally neglecting it.

‘Wait. There’s definitely a familiar feeling somewhere…’

I stopped in my tracks for a moment. And there was a thought emerging in my mind.

‘Could it be, the Domain of Sacrifice?’

A sorcery that uses humans sacrificed to monsters as offerings to amplify one’s mana. I had directly experienced that unspeakably cruel sorcery.

Through the tragedy of Ains, the villain of the Red Lake, the Shadow of Doubt.

And in Yeongdo, another villain from the Red Lake had already arrived.

Kyaaaaaaak-

And at that very moment, the scream of a monster was heard from ahead.