Chapter 368

Chapter 368. Birth of a Hero (5)

At the place where K was present.

Precisely below the monster’s foot and above its shell, large rock-like objects had continuously fallen down.

Upon closer inspection, those turned out to be the severed heads of the monster.

Even a casual glance revealed there were dozens of them.

The mere thought that K had severed all of them single-handedly left one speechless.

K did not stop there, continually attacking the regenerating heads.

It seemed like he was hindering the monster’s smooth regeneration process.

And then, suddenly, the flesh on the neck behind K swiftly bulged up.

「Hm?」

K turned around instantly to see it.

A snake’s head began forming at a speed that was incomparable to the previous regeneration rate.

Before the monster could fully form its shape, it attacked K.

Of course, K did not easily fall prey to its attack.

He directly extended his foot and kicked away the monster’s head, speaking into the walkie-talkie.

「It seems like it can regenerate certain parts quickly, so keep that in mind.」

Soon, responses confirming the reception of the message came from each of the different teams.

And then battles ensued, one after another.

As mentioned earlier, the monotonously long battles repeated over and over.

The viewers could acutely feel the passage of time.

The sky changed as time went by.

The sun set, and darkness fell before dawn broke, all while no one on the ground stopped to rest.

After an entire day dedicated to the hunt.

「Uh? It’s hiding!」

As Kim Yul shouted, ten monster heads simultaneously retreated into the shell.

Despite the sudden lull, there was no disturbance.

Instead, Kim Yul, Lily, two Wind attribute players known for their agility, initiated reconnaissance.

「Hyung, the hole is completely sealed!」

「This side is the same. It’s starting to feel its limits.」

At that very moment, Rashar used her authority to strike down on the shell.

The results were not promising. It only left a slight scratch on the monster’s shell.

「It’s incredibly hard. K, would you give it a try?」

「How much did you manage?」

「A few scratches were made, but it’s not significant damage.」

「Step aside for a moment.」

No sooner had K’s voice, with a slight click of his tongue, ceased than a sharp golden rain fell on the shell.

Before realizing what the glittering identity was,

Slash, slash!

The golden light that touched the shell bounced off.

「This won’t work either…….」

K replied calmly to Rashar’s inquiry as he silently looked down below.

Observing the immobile creature, entirely concealed in its hard shell for a brief moment.

「To the two of you with Earth attributes.」

After a short silence, K spoke.

「Recharge your mana to trigger a large-scale terrain transformation or rock magic.」

「Got it.」

「May I ask what you have in mind?」

As responses came from Yang Taeho and Ethan in sequence, K’s face came into close-up.

Eventually, he, with an expressionless face, stated,

「Let’s flip it over.」

The monster’s belly was decently protruding; who knows, its hardness might be lesser than that of the shell.

「There’s no harm in trying once.」

The two Earth attribute Platinum ranks raised the earth as one would raise a mountain and overturned the enormous monster with it.

Boom!

In that moment, when the land quaked as though an earthquake struck, a golden rain poured over the exposed belly.

This time, instead of bouncing off, they lodged themselves in.

Black blood spurted out like a fountain from the attacked area.

K’s choice was proven correct.

After that, the viewers could only witness fragmentary scenes.

– Craaa!

The monster’s desperate struggle.

– The head! Heads are reemerging!

– We need to pin it down to stop it from flipping!

– K, purification!

– Pour everything you’ve got!

The relentless and urgent assault of the hunting party.

– Screeech!

Followed shortly by the monster’s death throes echoing.

A span of never-short time passed too quickly.

The approximately five-minute-long video flew by in an instant.

The black mist spread quickly as if devouring the whole world.

The scene captured by the drone flying from afar was filled with nothing but black.

The entire area where the monster had been was surrounded by a black dome-like fog.

And within that mist, a calm voice, markedly the same as at the beginning of the hunt, marked the video’s end.

「Kill confirmed. It’s over, everyone. You can rest now.」

The statement signified the end of the prolonged, wearisome hunt that exceeded a whole day.

Unbeknownst to himself, the viewer lifted his clenched fists into the air and muttered.

“They did it……!”

Humanity had once again thwarted another invasion.

* * *

Hunting Angramoti was not difficult but rather exhausting.

Considering we spent over a day engaging in battle with an irregular, it was expected.

Fortunately, what was gained at the end of that long, arduous hunt was not insignificant.

‘Though most of the corrupted divinity was gone due to repeated regeneration.’

A small amount of additional divinity was obtained and was currently being purified.

Additionally, most of the status that Angramoti possessed was absorbed.

The means of attack they possessed were removed successfully.

The enemy could no longer employ tactics that caused chaos by maddening healthy creatures.

‘This is indeed a remarkable achievement.’

In the early days of Bihar’s invasion.

There was chaos due to creatures from a different dimension as well as monsters created by transforming Bihar’s beasts and Demi-humans.

On Earth, such chances of internal collapse were no longer present.

‘It was surprising when Angramoti suddenly appeared.’

Thinking back now, it was almost a relief that it appeared right before my eyes.

Thanks to that, it turned into a blessing in disguise in some ways.

‘Most of the tasks are progressing smoothly.’

Although there’s ongoing assault from puppets targeting the apostles’ status, they are being well-contained using thermal sensors and players capable of searches.

‘After eliminating the island of the mages, no new puppets should be deployed. We just need to eliminate the existing ones.’

Likewise, the monster legion led by a new legion commander is being handled well by other players.

Now that the Angramoti hunt is over, support from the apostles has also become available and will soon be settled.

Earth will block this invasion successfully, just as before.

As I desire.

Seeing a perfectly realized painting one has envisioned in their mind is certainly satisfying.

However, I didn’t let my guard down recklessly.

I delved into deep thought while taking a rest before moving on to the next battlefield.

‘I’ve subdued the Vanguard as well as the field commander.’

Now only the head remains.

‘Omby.’

After the death of Angramoti, my mind was filled with Omby.

“Hyung.”

And amidst my thoughts, came a voice calling me.

“You seem to be out of it…….”

Looking towards the source of the mumbling, Kim Yul was sitting there.

He looked quite shabby. Still covered in the blood and dust from Angramoti hunt, eating before even cleaning himself.

With his cheeks bulged, stuffed full of food prepared by the association, he continued speaking.

“You’ve been playing with Rashar’s hair for over 20 minutes since getting your food.”

Even at that, I casually replied.

“So what?”

“…… What?”

“Is there a problem with me playing with her hair?”

The blue hair of Rashar, sitting beside me, was entwined in my fingers playing idly.

As if I wouldn’t know what my hands were doing.

“Is there anyone here who doesn’t know I’m interested in her?”

Some of those dining with us showed signs of surprise.

“…… I didn’t know.”

“Me neither.”

Especially Ethan and Lily.

“Now you know.”

Looking at Ethan, I said, then shifted my gaze to Lily and continued speaking.

“You don’t need to worry. It won’t affect combat.”

Meaning I wouldn’t be making unfair moves like avoiding sending Rashar into danger areas.

I’m not foolish enough to not separate public and private matters.

I casually replied to organize the situation.

“Wow, they switch positions rapidly.”

Kim Yul clapped theatrically in admiration.

“Where did the hyung go, who was agonizing over distancing himself from Rashar?”

I know reacting will only make it fun for him, but I couldn’t help it, so I flicked a bottle of mineral water at him.

“Shut up.”

As Kim Yul deftly caught the bottle, I directed my attention to Rashar.

She was, with her ears flushed red, hiding her head.

“Tell me if you don’t like it, I’ll stop.”

I made a remark, worried I might be going overboard.

“…… If I disliked it, I’d have already moved away.”

Rashar mumbled quietly, providing a pleasantly satisfying reply.

Then she took a bite of a prepared hamburger, seemingly trying to cover her face with her hair.

Of course, I had no intention of just watching that scene pass by.

“Really?”

With one corner of my mouth tugged up, I reached out.

I grasped Rashar’s chair and pulled it quickly.

Caught off guard, Rashar tried to regain her balance.

But before she could do that, her chair and mine were firmly pulled together.

She ended up sitting right beside me, closely.

With an astonished, embarrassed look, she looked up at me. I spoke with a smile-lined voice.

“Why look at me like that? You said you didn’t mind.”

The moment Rashar seemed to be opening her mouth to say something,

Yang Taeho’s voice echoed from outside the tent, where he had gone out for a call.

“There’s no need to worry. How many times do I have to say, I’m not gonna die easily.”

His voice sounded softer than usual, implying his call was with Kim Ina.

Evidently, I was not the only one who noticed it.

Kim Yul, who was glancing between the tent and me, picked up his smartphone.

“I have a girlfriend too, you know?”

Perhaps feeling sulky over the couple’s atmosphere on both sides.

So he was likely trying to connect with Yeonwoo.

Judging by how far he was holding the phone from his face, it was probably a video call.

After several rings on the speaker phone, the call got through.

Kim Yul, wearing a beaming expression, spoke,

“Yeonwoo……!”

“I’m watching lectures, so I can’t talk long. I saw the association video, and you were impressive! Hang in there, and take care of my orabang! I’ll contact you later, bye!”

However, Yeonwoo’s firm voice came through before the call abruptly ended.

“…….”

Kim Yul, looking slightly dazed, stared at his smartphone.

Witnessing that, I nodded with satisfaction.

‘Clever kid, considering whose sister she is.’

I personally wished she would keep it on silent during study time and not take external calls.

‘Seems like she can cut off when necessary, no need to nag.’

I nodded in satisfied approval.

Then, with Rashar’s hair encircled in my fingers, I began to idly play again.

Tuning into my activity, Rashar addressed me cautiously.

“May I ask what you’re thinking about? If it’s a question you can’t answer, I won’t pry…….”

“Well, there’s no reason not to.”

Judging there wasn’t a need to hide this matter, I spoke candidly.

“If your status is enough to hear the name…… there’s another irregular called Omby.”

“Ah, Omby…….”

“I’m mulling over how to hunt down the guy.”

For now, I can’t even ascertain his location.

Ultimately, waiting for the other side to make another attack is the only path for another encounter.

‘That kind of passive position is not pleasing at all.’

I wanted to take proactive control of the situation, but that also wasn’t easy.

“Is there any problem? Perhaps in preparation for the hunt, if there’s anything I can help with…….”

I shook my head at Rashar’s words.

“We’re not at that stage. My information is too scarce, to begin with.”

Even the nature of his authority isn’t known in this situation.

Damned System