Chapter 565: Three-Headed Basilisk Subjugation Battle (1)

-Chwaaaah!

Along with the sound of splashing water, a golden sphere rose from beneath the lake.

And inside that translucent sphere, with my body intertwined with my companions, I first confirmed the survival of the women who had returned alive from the bottom of the poison lake.

“Agh, ayaya… It seems we managed to escape the lake somehow.”

“A-are we on land? No way, did we really escape the lake?!”

“Is everyone okay~? Is anyone hurt~?”

“Uh, how long are you going to keep touching me… Let go of my hand now….”

…It seems everyone’s okay for now.

It was fortunate that the Cha Yuri Engine I came up with on the spot worked. In addition, the surrounding hunter detection function also worked properly.

If there hadn’t been other hunters near the poison lake, it would have been hard to find a reference point for direction, but when I scouted the lake area earlier, quite a few hunters seemed to have gathered.

Come to think of it, the surroundings seem a bit noisy…

“We’ve escaped the lake, so~. I’ll release the sanctuary now~!”

-Saah.

“Taekyung-aaaaah!!!”

“Waaaaah?!”

As soon as Lulusia’s holy barrier disappeared, a familiar voice suddenly lunged at me, grabbing my neck.

The moment the soft breasts felt through the tight-fitting tights touched my neck, I instantly recognized it as Hye-eun’s voice and body.

“H-Hye-eun? What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I should be asking you?! You said you’d just be a healer in a safe place, so why were you stuck at the bottom of the poison lake?!”

“Uh, well…”

“I told you not to do dangerous things! I told you to stay in the safe zone and just heal the incoming hunters!!”

…She’s making it impossible to argue back logically.

Of course, sinking to the bottom of the lake wasn’t exactly something I wanted, and the task itself wasn’t much different from just casting recovery spells.

Sensing that making excuses would just lead to a long rambling, I offered a short apology.

“Sorry, Hye-eun. I made you worry for nothing.”

“Taekyung, you really!! If you do this again, I swear I won’t let you off the hook!!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“There’s really nothing to be angry about. Sung Taekyung and Cha Yuri both returned safely.”

“That’s right… I’m so relieved that both Sung Taekyung and Yuri Unnie returned without any issues.”

“…It wasn’t without issues.”

With that reply, Cha Yuri glared at me, clutching her chest with a slightly flushed face.

Even though it was an urgent situation, she seemed to hold a strange dissatisfaction about her chest being touched accidentally.

What am I supposed to do about it? It’s her fault for having something like that in a place so easy to grab.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Sihee… Really, that nothing happened…”

“W-what are you talking about, you?! Why are you here?! And why are you clinging to me so disgustingly out of the blue!?”

“Don’t do anything dangerous… I thought I’d never see you again…”

“Ew…! Stop saying disgusting things and get off me already…!”

“Ahaha~! It’s nice to see sisters getting along so well~!”

“Does this look like getting along, Lulusia? And we’re not sisters-!!!”

It seems they’re enjoying their reunion in their own way over there.

Since it was a monster subjugation mission for a B-rank dungeon, I couldn’t be sure if the A+-rank Do Yehee would participate, but seeing her here suggests she was involved in the group event.

Seeing her abandon her usual concept of raising Sihee into a strong hunter to hug Sihee tightly, it seems she was extremely worried.

…Though Sihee herself doesn’t seem to like Do Yehee’s reaction much.

“Let’s get back quickly for now. If we stay here, the ground erosion might worsen like before. We’ve confirmed Sung Taekyung and Cha Yuri are safe, so there’s no reason to delay any longer, right?”

“R-right! If we linger here and a dangerous monster suddenly appears, Taekyung could be in danger again…”

“…Sorry, Hye-eun.”

“Huh?”

“…That dangerous monster… has already appeared.”

“……What?”

-Kwarurururuk!!!

Before my words finished, the lake’s surface rose, and the monster from the lake bottom appeared.

It seems it chased us, who were fleeing while sparkling underwater, and managed to crawl out of the lake.

It was the moment I once again faced the eyes and snout of the giant lizard I encountered from the lake bottom.

“Kyaaaaaah?!”

“…It followed us again…!”

“Everyone be careful! It’s a poison lake, so don’t touch it!”

“P-Protect Aegis!!!”

“Everyone gather behind Hye-eun! Quickly!!”

As soon as she heard ‘poison lake,’ Kang Hye-eun quickly summoned a giant shield, enveloping the surroundings.

True to her title as the warrior of the guardian shield, the shield she created on the spot had considerable range and defense.

For the moment, everyone within the vicinity could withstand the tsunami of toxic liquid inside the hemispherical shield she created.

“Let’s get out of here for now! The poison lake is practically that thing’s home, so the longer we fight here, the more disadvantageous it is for us!”

“W-wait a minute! The toxic liquid seeped onto our escape route because of that tsunami! Without purification abilities, we’ll be poisoned after just a few steps!”

“Fluid Cleansing!”

The surrounding toxic puddles were immediately purified by the Saintess’s area-of-effect purification.

She must have used an immense amount of holy power just today, but true to her nature as a Saintess, she seemed to be expending her inexhaustible holy power without reservation.

“I’ve purified the puddles on our escape route! Let’s head to the Warp Gate in the nearest B-sector first!”

“Yes!”

There was no stupider act than fighting a poison-resistant monster in a poison-filled lake, so we had to escape the scene first.

After all, we couldn’t use defensive magic every time we splashed around in the lake.

It would have been nice if it hadn’t chased us, who were leaving its territory, and just returned to the lake.

Unfortunately, the creature didn’t seem willing to let go of the prey it had encountered after a long time so easily.

“I-it’s chasing us!!”

“Run fast!! Run as fast as you can!!”

Perhaps because it resembled a variant of a basilisk lizard, it was a giant monster tracking us at a considerable speed even on land.

If all the hunters here could run as fast as I can, escaping the creature wouldn’t be impossible, but unfortunately, not all members naturally possessed good strength and stamina.

As expected, the first to start tiring were the two mages, Cha Yuri and Do Yehee.

“Haa, haaa….”

“Heu, heu, heuk….”

“Run faster, Cha Yuri-ssi! Do Yehee-ssi!”

They began to fall behind the group with their gradually slowing pace, gasping for breath.

At this rate, both of them would likely fall within its range soon.

Thinking I needed to buy some time, I recklessly drew my sword and charged at the monster.

“Ugh-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!”

“Taekyung! It’s dangerous!”

“Hey, Sung Taekyung!”

Although I could hear Hye-eun’s and Min-ah’s voices from behind, no matter what, the mages would surely fall behind at this rate.

With a firm decision, my Mithril Greatsword struck the monster’s snout forcefully.

-Kkaaaang!

‘Gyaaaak!’

Shit, it’s damn hard!

What the hell, does it make sense for metal to clang when hitting a monster with Mithril?!

The only fortunate thing was that my sword strike didn’t just bounce off without any effect; it left a slight wound on its body before bouncing off.

Knowing the attack actually worked was hopeful enough in itself.

Moreover, seeing its slightly pained reaction, the damage seemed to have landed effectively.

If necessary, we could even consider changing the escape plan to a subjugation operation; it was at that level.

Of course, fighting a monster of unknown level in our current condition, where not everyone is at their best, wasn’t exactly hopeful, so for now, the priority would be the escape operation.

“Run faster, Cha Yuri-ssi! And you too, Do Yehee!”

“Haa, haa, haaa…!!!”

“Heok, heu-euk…!!!”

While I bought some time, the two mages focused on escaping, moving with ragged breaths.

After confirming their safe retreat, I readjusted my grip on my sword and faced the creature again.

I don’t know its exact rank, but it’s probably an A+ or S-rank monster at best.

I can’t guarantee I could win one-on-one, but I could definitely buy us some time.

With that thought, I intended to fight the creature before me and buy time until the others secured a safe distance, but…

Unfortunately, my plan didn’t seem like it was going to go well.

-Jjueuk, jjueuk….

-Ppeojeok, ppeo-eok….

“……What?”

The back of the giant basilisk lizard’s neck split open, and two reptilian heads emerged outwards from both sides.

The moment I saw it instantly evolve from a giant basilisk into a three-headed basilisk, one thought naturally came to mind.

‘Shit, I’m screwed.’

…A three-headed reptile of this size must be at least SS-rank, starting from there.

It wasn’t a level that a mere B-rank hunter like me could handle one-on-one.

Of course, even if I possessed practical skills beyond A-rank, it would still be impossible for an A-rank hunter anyway.

But precisely because of that, I couldn’t run away.

If I retreated now, the next target would probably be Cha Yuri or Do Yehee, and after them, Lulusia and Sihee would be in danger.

Surviving by sacrificing someone else wasn’t my way.

…Maybe the opposite, though.

‘Shyaaaah!’

The head that emerged from the right side of the three-headed basilisk’s neck lunged towards me, and I, too, channeling my energy into my Mithril Greatsword, attempted an upward thrust to counter it.

No matter how many heads grew, it was still one body.

Naturally, its durability had to be weaker than the original head, so I didn’t back down and thrust my attack into the gap.

-Pushu-wook!

‘Shya-kyah-ah-ah!’

Unlike the hard head in the middle, the sword strike dug firmly into its body.

It was a moment where I could see a glimmer of hope, as the blow landed much more easily than when I struck the original head.

…Of course, the strength of the auxiliary heads of a multi-headed reptile wasn’t just their toughness, but their insane regenerative power.

‘Kyah-ah-ah!’

‘Oops…!’

Focusing only on dealing with the right head that attacked first, I failed to notice the left head approaching.

If this goes wrong, I might be in a bit of danger…

-Ppaaah!

‘Keee-ek!’

However, just as its left head was about to lunge towards me with its jaws open, it was hit by something and sent flying far away.

I quickly realized that ‘something’ was a familiar person’s kick.

“Don’t lose focus.”

“…Thank you, Cheon Jihee-ssi.”

As we’re both in close-combat roles, I seem to get help quite often during critical situations.

Although the number of heads increased from one to two, it was still far from enough to handle a boss monster alone.

At least two A-rank hunter parties would be needed to even have a chance of attempting something.

While thinking that, I briefly glanced around to check how far the others had escaped, but…

There, other hunters had already stopped and were looking at me, remaining in place.

“…Taekyung. Are you planning to fight?”

“Heok, heok, heok….”

“Sungchul-ssi…”

“…Are you going to fight, Sung Taekyung?”

“……”

“Taekyung!!!”

…Alright, if everyone feels the same way.

Making eye contact for just a moment with the hunters who had apparently made up their minds and chosen battle over escape, I made my decision.

All members of the Sky Blue Shield, plus Sihee, Yehee, and Lulusia from the foundation.

With this many people, perhaps we could attempt something.

Subjugating this three-headed basilisk, the boss of the abandoned village, was probably not impossible.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!!”

The abandoned village dungeonization incident that occurred 13 years ago.

It was time to put an end to that long past.