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Chapter 39 - Heroic Shield, the Wall of Despair (5)

[Guahhhhh!]

The moment the shield was in his arms, the earth began to vibrate violently, and a deep cry erupted from below the ground. Kang Shin-hyuk understood what was happening immediately, remembering the monster Milan had told him.

-Vwoom

The shield in his arms confirmed it, letting out a silent scream. What the Heroic Shield hated was not the humans fighting between themselves. It was initially an armament meant for fighting after all. What it hated was the monster below it, using it as bait to acquire prey. It had felt an intense sorrow and anger for failing to fulfill its duty of protecting people, instead of aiding in their destruction.

“Anvil, run away!” Kang Shin-hyuk was flying through the air before the warning cry reached him. Like a prickly fence, teeth began to rise out from the ground seconds later, right where the wall had been. The buildings built next to the wall started to collapse underneath the beast. It had a black chitinous body, with cockroach-like legs protruding out from all over it. A huge mouth occupied more than half of its face, disgusting Kang Shin-hyuk.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Save me!”

“Help!” Those who were stuck inside the fortress buildings were consumed, chewed up by this monster’s fangs. They told him the Survival Coalition had no interest in protecting those who couldn’t fight, but that appeared false. No doubt, they simply rejected and plundered Orde to protect their group.

‘They’re not the first.’ He recalled what Milan had told him of this monster, how it waited for prey, and mimicked things. That was what had happened here; it used the shield as bait to attract prey. When enough gathered here, it would come up and consume them all just to hide again, waiting for the next group. How many times had that scene repeated here in this valley?

‘This is the disaster that drove this world to ruin…’

-Stay back, dear member. It will be a formidable enemy to defeat. You have already completed the quest, so it would be better to practice metallurgy with your remaining time in a safe place.

The administrator’s advice was certainly ideal. There was no need to fight that huge enemy, now that the quest had been completed. But Kang Shin-hyuk wondered if he could do that. If he could finish the quest while this monster that had been tormenting his shield was still alive and tormenting humans.

-Vwoom.

The Heroic Shield in his arms cried out again, and Kang Shin-hyuk knew its intent. He was tormented by what he should do, but Milan’s voice echoed across the battlefield before he could reach a decision.

“Attack it!” Shin-hyuk raised his head, witnessing dozens of javelins flying toward the head of the monster at once.

“Let no more humans get eaten by that monster!”

“Kill it!”

“It will fool us no longer!”

“We can worry about the rest after we kill it!” It was a strange sight. They could save their lives if they ran away, but Orde’s soldiers were throwing their javelins at the monster with no consideration of retreating. Those with spears threw them, and those without them grabbed swords to charge it. The monster was entirely above ground now, a giant monster with a body longer than ten meters in length, but they didn’t hesitate.

‘Because of the Water Orb? No…’ If that had been the reason, they could just recapture it and flee. It was as if they had forgotten all about it and the Survival Coalition, their only intent to attack the beast.

“Fall back there!”

“Damn it…!”

“Get back!” Perhaps it was because they were human that he could not sit still and see the sight of them being devoured by a monster. Maybe it was the anger of the entire human race and unbridled hostility toward this monster that had hunted them for so long. Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t know why, but he knew what he had to do.

-Vwooom.

“Yes, I’ll see your vengeance through.” Perhaps, in the end, it was the intense anger of the shield in his hands. Kang Shin-hyuk took a step forward towards the monster.

-If I determine your life is at risk, I will immediately return you to My Room.

“Thank you.” The administrator said nothing about his choice but chose to support him anyway.

-As a bonus for today’s login, you’ve received an Instant Spirit Booster!

Kang Shin-hyuk smiled. It was paid according to Earth’s time, but he wondered if his timing was convenient.

“Thank you.” He immediately took out the spiritual booster and drank it. He suddenly felt as if his soul had been pulled out forcibly from a deep cave it resided in, thrust into a large and vast world. His senses were amplified, revealing to him a new world that he had never seen before.

-Your spiritual power is temporarily amplified (10 minutes) to B+.

Kang Shin-hyuk felt as if he were possessed, holding both the steel and Brenite javelins in hand. The symbol of a wriggling dragon engraved itself on both of them as he readied them, his spiritual power reinforcing them. The spears sailed through the air, one after another, at the monster’s head.

-The special ability Split has been triggered.

-The special ability Split has been triggered.

Both of the spears’ split abilities were activated at once, several more versions of the spears breaking off from them and colliding with the monster all at once.

[Kuohhhahh!]

The monster let out an annoying sound at the javelins thrown by the soldiers, but it soon twisted into a terrible scream as it was hit by the artifact spears. Some people who were not yet consumed fell out of its mouth, and the soldiers with swords moved up quickly to save them.

“I can’t do this.” However, Kang Shin-hyuk’s heart wavered. That attack he hit it with was the best he could manage, his with spiritual power amplified to B+ rank backing the strongest javelins he had. Even the split ability had been activated on both of them. Nevertheless, it was not enough to drive back the enemy. Surely, it had been an effective hit. Yet it would require at least ten more people like him using that attack again to finish the monster off. It wouldn’t be possible to end this with a single attack, but less than nine minutes remained on the potion.

[Guahhh!]

-Vwoom.

The monster recognized Kang Shin-hyuk as the clear enemy here, twisting its body to face him. However, it was a monster built to hide underground and wait for its prey, so its movements weren’t fast. Kang Shin-hyuk avoided him, flying up into the air again as he evaluated his options.

‘Even if I cut a hole through it with Godslayer…that wouldn’t be enough.’ Even those javelins wouldn’t have been enough if that had pierced through. It meant nothing for him to risk his life by getting close to poking it with his sword.

‘So should I just keep throwing javelins? No.’ A fundamentally different solution was needed. If only he could feed this beast a large spear. Kang Shin-hyuk wracked his brain for the best way to defeat this monster with his amplified spiritual power.

-Vwoom.

The Heroic Shield let out a strong cry, but Kang Shin-hyuk dismissed it as childish pleading. It just wanted him to defeat that monster quickly,

“Is Godslayer the answer? But can I wield it while holding you?”

-Vwoom.

The shield let out another strong cry. Kang Shin-hyuk was determined to find a way through this, and he considered the shield. An artifact was able to maintain its original size in this world, where everything else became smaller. Just like this shield was a wall, his sword was also incomparable to the size it had become. Could the Godslayer become a giant sword? If that could happen, it would be a simple matter to take care of this monster. The problem was that the sword was weakened; it wasn’t in tip-top shape like the shield was.

‘No, is it worth trying?’ Kang Shin-hyuk thought about it, checking his amplified spiritual power. It would disappear in the next few minutes, but currently, it was immeasurable. If he invested all of that power into it, maybe he could recover a little bit of the Godslayer.

“Okay, fine. Let’s do it.” Kang Shin-hyuk pulled out his sword, and with a thought, pulled out a javelin to go with it. There was a hole in the handle where the decoration had fallen off, so he was able to loop it around the javelin with ease.

-Vwoom.

“No, don’t struggle.” The sword told him not to treat it as junk, and he had no choice but to laugh. Since the level of his metallurgy and spiritual power had risen, they had become more friendly.

[Kuohahah!]

He took a deep breath, the monster holding guard for his attack. It couldn’t approach, given the humans still going all out to attack it, however.

“Get back. It’s about to attack!”

“Pull the injured away from the battlefield!”

“Kill the monster!”

He thought it was fascinating how they moved in unison, despite several of them being enemies just a little while ago. When it came to struggling against monsters, truly, little else bound humans as tightly. It would be easy for Shin-hyuk to dismiss it as stupid or trivial, but he didn’t want to belittle these people who were just struggling to survive.

“Please.”

-Vwoom.

Even if it failed, he could run back to My Room. But it would mean he failed. He was trying to become a superhuman so he wouldn’t have to run away. He rained his abilities to fight and win, so he was sure.

“That damn monster…kill it!” He launched the sword into the air with all his strength, backed by his spiritual power. It soared into the sky, faster than the eye could see. It flew quickly, more than a few kilometers.

-Vwoom.

“Let’s hope it works…” His head became blank as he exhausted all of his spiritual power, unable to move one step as hunger wracked him. He desperately endured it, consuming the recovery potion he acquired to keep himself going. He could feel the soaring Godslayer, according to his will, begin to descend.

‘It’s not over yet…’ The sword’s rank had not yet increased, and thus, had not yet enlarged. If that didn’t happen, it would all be for nothing.

‘Be strong.’ Kang Shin-hyuk muttered to himself, relying on that faint connection of spiritual power between himself and the sword.

‘Get stronger.’ He felt as if he could hear the faint cry of the sword, so far away. He somehow had to give it more power, but he wasn’t sure how. Kang Shin-hyuk clenched his teeth and focused on that connection.

‘Get your original form back!’ If the power of the sword was not enough, he had to add his own power to it. If his spiritual power wasn’t enough, then he had to give it everything. He concentrated with all of his might, pulling out the potential of all of his characteristics and abilities, pouring them through his spiritual power into the Godslayer sword.

[Kuoahhhh!]

The monster wriggled, devouring two more people. Warriors wielding swords and spears ran past Kang Shin-hyuk, running toward the monster. Both the surviving Alliance warriors and Orde soldiers were driving their weapons into its body.

“All…” Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head, his eyes shining golden.

“Get away from it.” He had no energy left, but a scream ripped through his throat with all the might he could summon. The humans around the monster reacted to him instinctively, retreating. A huge shadow was cast upon the ground.

―Talent [Awakened Wyrm (A+)] satisfied all the conditions for evolution and has evolved into [Golden Eye Dragon (S)]. All stats will grow significantly. The characteristic skill [Warrior Dragon Dance (S-)] evolved to [Fantasy Dragon Dance (S+)].

―The Godslayer has regained some of its original characteristics and has grown to B-class.

The sky opened up, a massive blade descending to the ground. It was so large, its entirety couldn’t be captured by sight alone.

[Kuha….]

It smashed through a petty bug that was wriggling on the ground.