Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 360 – Siege of Nagoya (2)

Han-Yeol's mana-reinforced body allowed him to stand in the rain for years without catching a cold, but having rainwater hinder his vision was definitely unpleasant.

"Kekeek!"

Pukeok!

"Keuk!"

A Gargoyle took advantage of the rain and attacked from his blind spot, but the chain controlled by Karvis instantly reacted, smashing the monster's head.

[How arrogant of this monster. Did it really think I wasn’t looking?]

‘Keke! It probably did since these guys are quite dumb after all.’

[Ha! How annoying...]

‘Kekeke!’

Han-Yeol couldn't understand why Karvis was so annoyed and grumbling so much. More importantly, he noticed her personality had changed a lot recently.

‘Is it because the chain was destroyed? Or is it because of the dark mana in this chain?’ he wondered.

He had practiced how to think in a manner that was impossible for others to read after obtaining Telepathy and realizing the dangers of having his mind read by others. He was surrounded by beings that could read his mind, but it was neither Karvis nor the demons that posed the biggest danger to him.

The biggest danger was none other than Mariam. He outranked her and wanted to prevent embarrassing situations if she ever read his mind.

Of course, being able to think without having his mind read by Karvis or the demons was a huge plus too.

Anyway, Karvis' personality seemed to have undergone a drastic change, but Han-Yeol didn't mind as she didn't disobey his orders or anything.

Krwaaaang!

While Han-Yeol and Tayarana were busy dominating the skies, another destructive mess brewed on the streets of Nagoya.

[Bwahahaha!]

[Kill them all!]

[Give me your blood!]

"Sigh... They're really going all out. I guess the Hallasan hunting ground wasn’t enough to satisfy their primal instincts."

[Yes, finally behaving like the ferocious Bastro Warriors of the Bastro Dimension.]

"Yeah."

Han-Yeol watched Kandir, Riru, and Barshell roaming the streets of Nagoya with the Canine Warriors, ruthlessly dispatching any monster in sight.

“Gwuuu Oooh!”

The foes they faced were Japan's mightiest monsters, the Twin Head Ogres.

In fantasy realms, the Twin Head Ogre was renowned as the strongest one-on-one combatant among monsters after excluding dragons. These creatures were the Kings of the Forest. Encountering a Twin Head Ogre in a forest was considered a sure path to death.

These formidable creatures had broken free from their hunting grounds, now freely prowling the streets of Nagoya in groups.

On the contrary, Kandir looked joyous at the sight of the Twin Head Ogres.

[They look like fun toys to play with.]

Shiing! Tak!

He wielded his claws and dove into the midst of the Twin Head Ogres.

Clang! Clang! Whoosh!

Despite being one of the Bastro Dimension's mightiest warriors, Kandir struggled against the Twin Head Ogres.

[Oh?]

Kandir was genuinely surprised. Though not exerting one hundred percent of his strength, the fact that a creature from the first dimension resisted his attacks was astounding.

However, this shouldn't have been unexpected. Each Twin Head Ogre was an elite monster, only a hundred of them existing within the hunting ground. Every single one matched the strength of a boss monster.

Entering their hunting ground without a Master Rank Hunter was unheard of, even with a Master Rank Hunter needing an entire guild to hunt these fierce monsters. Hunting parties rotated to exhaust these boss-level creatures.

Kandir might be strong, but it was normal for him to struggle against these monsters.

“Gwuu Oooh!”

Yet, the Twin Head Ogres didn’t hold the advantage.

“Grrrrr...!”

The Twin Head Ogres growled in frustration. They had always prided themselves as the strongest creatures in this world, yet they were currently unable to defeat this strange being that resembled neither a human nor a beast.

[Ha! Is this all you've got? What a piece of trash... Hey, why don’t you make this more exciting for me?]

Kandir motioned for a Twin Head Ogre to ‘come here’ with his finger.

The monster wouldn't understand Kandir's words in the Bastro Language or the gesture's meaning, but it sensed Kandir's taunt through instinct alone.

Intense anger surged within the Twin Head Ogre, triggering its unique skill ‘Rage’.

Rage was an overpowering buff that increased the monster’s already astounding stats by a staggering thirty-three percent, making the formidable creature even more lethal. This was why even the top Japanese guilds avoided fighting Twin Head Ogres when their Rage was active. They typically fled or hid until the Rage duration ended before resuming the raid.

“Gwaaaak!”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Twin Head Ogre roared deafeningly as it furiously smashed the tree trunk it held like a club, then charged straight at Kandir.

[Ha! Fool!]

Kwachik!

Unfortunately, Kandir was much stronger than humans and possessed a skill similar to the Twin Head Ogre’s Rage called Roar[1].

“Awoooo!”

Kandir's muscles expanded, his already sizable body growing even larger, though still smaller than the gigantic Twin Head Ogre.

The Twin Head Ogre's tree-club clashed with Kandir's ax.

Baaam! Kwachik!

“Kurwaaaa!”

“Awoooo!”

A deadly duel ensued between them, neither yielding an inch to the other.

The clash between the Twin Head Ogre and Kandir was just one of many battles between monsters and the Bastro Warriors happening all over the city.

Of course, the monsters were being mercilessly massacred by the Bastro Warriors.

“Slurp!”

The eastern district of Nagoya had fallen under the control of monsters known as Neo Lizardmen. Unlike typical lizardmen confined to swamplands, these creatures evolved to thrive in various terrains. They exhibited remarkably high combat intelligence and had organized themselves with weapons and armor, using ambush tactics between buildings to strike incoming enemies.

This strategy struck fear into the Japanese Hunters defending Nagoya, causing some to even abandon their posts.

However, their plan didn’t unfold as intended this time. Despite their combat intelligence, they lacked the discernment to identify their adversaries.

“Slurp!”

The Neo Lizardmen waited in ambush, emulating their tactics against the Japanese Hunters.

Tak!

“Slurp?!”

Suddenly, a hand emerged, gripping a Neo Lizardman, rendering it incapable of wielding its scimitar. The sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs Novᴇ(l)ꜰɪre .ɴᴇt

[Hoho~ What a cute lizard~]

“Sluuuurp!”

Crack!

“Kiek!”

Before it could counter, the Neo Lizardman had its neck crushed, foaming at the mouth as its eyes rolled back. The creature that once instilled fear in Japanese Hunters was taken down effortlessly.

[Omo~ Did I use too much strength?]

Taichin smiled, having dispatched the Neo Lizardman with her bare grip. Then, with a commanding glance, she issued orders.

[Time to hunt, my warriors.]

[As the lord commands!]

[Yes, lord!]

Tak!

Finally, Camelot and the other Bastro Warriors reached Nagoya's northern district, engaging in battle with the monsters there.

Thus, the city resonated with the explosive sounds of mana, while the stench of blood lingered in the air, marking the entirety of Nagoya as a battleground.

***

Whoosh!

Han-Yeol swung Jabberwock’s Bastard Sword, cleaning off the purple blood smeared across its surface. Some Gargoyles were entirely made of stone, while others were organic, leaving his sword covered in a mixture of stone dust and blood.

“Hmm... Is that the end of it?”

[I agree. The ground monsters are strong and numerous, but they're facing the Bastro Warriors.]

“Haha! You’re probably right,” Han-Yeol chuckled.

The vast disparity between the first and second dimensions allowed Han-Yeol to wield the Bastro Warriors, a force capable of easily decimating an entire country.

Kwachik!

“Kyaaaak!”

A prime example of this gap was seen in the Twin Head Ogre, a monster that required a Master Rank Hunter and numerous S Rank Hunters to hunt, now having its head split by Kandir’s ax.

The Twin Head Ogre's defeat was impressive, but more so was the duel's duration—merely twelve minutes and forty-seven seconds. Moreover, Kandir hadn’t even exerted his full strength.

[Ha! Too easy!]

Anticipating a challenging fight, Kandir, one of the strongest Bastro warriors, found the Twin Head Ogre disappointingly simple.

‘Hmm... I'll compensate for the lack of quality with quantity.’

Tak!

Kandir propelled himself toward the Twin Head Ogres.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Though the Twin Head Ogres preferred solitary wandering, they weren't foolish. While they might not grasp the concept of first and second dimensions, their primal instincts were keen.

Recognizing Kandir as a formidable foe, they banded together in groups of three to confront him.

Bam! Bam!

Kandir relished the battle at last.

[Bwahaha! Bring it on! I’ll devour every single one of you!]

It had been a while since he felt this thrill, swinging his ax with gusto.

Meanwhile, Barshell led the Canine Warriors, dispatching the ordinary ogres.

Grrrr!

Awoooo!

The growls and howls of the Canine Warriors echoed through the streets.

If the Feline Warriors excelled in one-on-one combat, the Canine Warriors thrived in group battles. They were adept in chaotic brawls, their systematic strategies ingrained from youth, now enhanced by Harkan's developed tactics, making them even more formidable in such encounters.

Sukeok!

“Kwak!”

Kwachik! Kwachik!

“Kwaaak!”

The ogres struggled to maintain their stance against the Canine Warriors, but they proved no match for their prowess.

Kwachik!

“Gwuuu Oooh!”

An ogre, its neck bitten by a Canine Warrior, flailed its arms before dropping to its knees, succumbing to its fatal wound.

Thud!

[Kill them all!]

Awooooo!

The fourth-largest city in the country, once home to two million Japanese, transformed into a living hell for the occupying monsters.

1. IMO this ought to be ‘Howl’ but author-nim wrote ?? which is literally Ro-ar. ?