Chapter 169: Weakness Exploited

“Puh-ung!!”

Every time the sound of a cannon blast rang out from the rooftop of the Vulcanus Guild.

“They’re firing again!”

“Nice!”

“After hearing nothing but the Monster’s screams, every time I hear that cannon, it snaps me awake!”

The cheers of the Hunters holding back the Monsters pouring out of the tower echoed out.

It was only natural.

“Kwaaang-!!”

“Kiyaaaah!”

“Kuuhng-.”

“Kraak!”

“Kkururururuk-.”

Each time a shell landed, hundreds of Monsters were killed. 

The first shell spewed scorching flames and engulfed the Monsters. 

The second shell unleashed thorny vines that wrapped around the Monsters. 

The third shell exploded with spores, turning the Monsters into zombies.

More shells continued to fly, and each blast toppled countless Monsters.

With the number of Monsters thinning, the defensive line gained some breathing room, and naturally, the Hunters guarding it regained their composure.

And before long.

“I heard that’s Vulcanus firing those!”

“Vulcanus? You mean Vulcanus the blacksmith Hunter?”

“I just got word myself. I thought the sound was coming from the Vulcanus Guild’s direction, and it really is Vulcanus firing those cannons.”

“But, isn’t Vulcanus a blacksmith? How?”

“Because he’s a blacksmith, that’s why. He made the cannons and shells. Who else but Vulcanus could build something like that?”

“True enough.”

News spread that Vulcanus was behind the attack.

Vulcanus.

There wasn’t a single Hunter here who didn’t know that name.

Most people here were wearing Vulcanus Equipment, and so they knew just how amazing it was.

Wasn’t it said that from the Second Gate Burning all the way to the Third Gate Burning, the key reason they were able to hold out so quickly and safely was all thanks to Vulcanus?

And now, Vulcanus was firing cannons.

Naturally—

“They’re firing again!”

“Isn’t this already the work of a top ranker?”

“Yeah, not even Cheongryong’s magic is this much!”

“At this rate, we can hold them back for sure!”

The Hunters began to praise Vulcanus’s name.

At first, when the Monsters surged in like a tidal wave, it was a hopeless situation.

But as Vulcanus’s supporting fire kept coming and the Monsters’ numbers shrank, hope began to spark that maybe this time, too, they could hold back the Monsters.

“Gahhh!”

The hope among the Hunters was setting their spirits ablaze.

Morale made all the difference on the battlefield.

The Monsters pouring out of the tower couldn’t break through the Hunters’ defenses and were slowly being pushed back as the front stabilized bit by bit.

But that moment didn’t last forever.

“KROOOOOH!”

“Another Rank 9 Monster?!”

“How many of them are there…?”

Vulcanus’s shells were specialized in slaughtering monsters of Rank 7 and below.

Every shot felled hundreds of Monsters and was a massive boon on the battlefield.

But Vulcanus’s shells couldn’t deal a blow to the strongest, most threatening foes here—the Rank 9 Monsters.

The vines that had entangled Monsters were sliced clean by a Rank 9 Monster’s swipe.

The zombie mushroom spores were burned away by the flames the Rank 9 Monster spewed.

The only ones able to stop such a Rank 9 Monster were—

“It’s the Sword Saint!”

The top-ranked Hunter in Korea and the symbol of the Hunter Association.

Sword Saint, Han Yu-ra.

Guildmaster of the Changcheon Guild and Korea’s best archer, Cheon Seung-heon of Heaven’s Bow.

Leader of the Mir Guild and Korea’s greatest mage, Cheongryong, Lee Ga-eul.

Along with them were other rankers, like Berserkers and the Spirit Emperor from the Vulcanus Guild.

But even among rankers, there weren’t that many who could face a Rank 9 Monster head-on.

Now, the number of Rank 9 Monsters had exceeded the number of such rankers, so the remaining rankers had to band together just to somehow hold the line against them.

But then—

In that situation, two more Rank 9 Monsters appeared.

The Hunter Association was doing all it could, but now there wasn’t a single Hunter left here who could defeat—or even stop—another Rank 9 Monster.

“We have to stop them somehow!”

“Damn it, how are we supposed to block monsters like that?!”

Reactions split in two.

There were those who insisted on risking their lives to hold this ground and stop the Rank 9 Monsters to prevent greater casualties.

And those who, terrified of death, turned to run.

Naturally, the latter was the overwhelming majority.

If they could actually do something by risking their lives, they might try—but none of them had the ability to stop those monsters.

The most they could do was slow their steps for a moment.

And to risk their lives for that?

There wasn’t a Hunter who wanted to throw away their life for so little.

As the Hunters began to retreat, trembling in fear at the presence of the Rank 9 Monsters—

“Puh-ung!”

Once more, the sound of a cannon echoed from afar.

A shell streaked through the sky.

But unlike before, few expected much from Vulcanus’s shell.

Vulcanus’s cannon fire was powerful, but it had never once targeted the truly dangerous Rank 9 Monsters.

But this time—

“Uh—uh?!”

“Hey, look at the direction!”

“Did he aim wrong?!”

The shell was headed straight for the Rank 9 Monster that was approaching them.

Was Vulcanus really aiming for the Rank 9 Monster? 

Or had he simply misfired?

No one knew the reason, but the Hunters couldn’t help but hope.

They followed the shell’s trajectory with their eyes, hoping it might at least slow down the Rank 9 Monster.

“Aaaaaaaah…….”

Rank 9 Monster, Geuseundae.

A monster whose whole body was made of darkness, like a shadow standing tall.

If anything blocked its path—even Monsters on its own side—it would mercilessly devour them as it crawled across the ground. 

At the sound of the shell, it turned its head.

At that moment—

“Thunk!”

A particularly bright white shell embedded itself in Geuseundae’s body.

Compared to Geuseundae’s massive frame, the shell looked pitifully small.

After all the Monsters and Hunters’ arrows and magic that Geuseundae had swallowed up, it seemed as if this shell would be absorbed just the same.

But no.

The shell stuck in Geuseundae’s body remained, shining with an undeniable presence.

The especially white shell began to glow even brighter.

“Aaaaaaaaah……”

The light grew ever more intense, and began to push back the darkness that made up Geuseundae’s body.

Geuseundae’s voice, which had sounded like a constant leaking of air, grew louder.

Its forlorn scream echoed as its body started to tilt.

Half its body was engulfed by the blinding flash and collapsed.

“Kugoong!”

With nearly half its body eaten away by the brilliant flash, Geuseundae lost its balance and crashed to the ground.

Most of the Hunters nearby were far too weak to face a Rank 9 Monster.

But a Hunter was still a Hunter.

They had faced countless Monsters, and none missed that this was their only ‘chance’ to intervene.

“A—attack!” 

“Finish it off!”

“Vulcanus is the best!!”

“Kwagwagwang!!”

The Hunters, who had been pale with fear at the repeated appearance of Rank 9 Monsters, began to regain their hope.

“Alright!”

***

It worked.

And it worked perfectly.

A special light-attribute shell made using SS-Class Material.

It had seemed a shame to craft a disposable shell from such a top-tier material—SS-Class Material, which could be used to make even L-Rank Items.

But seeing how effective it was, it felt more exhilarating than wasteful.

Besides, most of the SS-Class Material I used to make shells were scraps left over from making L-Rank Items.

Even if I tried to forge them into something else, those scraps wouldn’t be enough for another L-Rank Item.

So using those leftovers to make shells with that kind of power?

I was losing nothing on the deal.

And when that Monster went down, I’d get a new batch of SS-Class Material anyway.

Even right now—

– “Vulcanus-nim.”

– “We just took down the SS-rank Monster, Goldblood Fish, at the Vulcanus Guild and sent you the material, ‘Goldblood Fish Scales.'”

– “Just in case, from now on we’ll immediately send you any materials of S-rank or higher we acquire.”

“Thanks.”

Nam Bora was sending me the materials that the Vulcanus Guild members collected.

Of course, even I would hesitate to waste SS-Class Material.

There was no way I’d use a sparkling, fresh SS-Class Material just to make a single-use shell.

If possible, I’d only use the leftover scraps from crafting L-Rank Equipment.

“So that one was Geuseundae? Looks like the other Hunters can take care of it from here.”

Normally, the Hunters in Geuseundae’s path wouldn’t be able to handle a Rank 9 Monster.

But now it was different.

Geuseundae had taken a critical blow from my attack.

Now, even those Hunters would be able to finish it off.

So I turned my attention away from Geuseundae and locked onto the other Rank 9 Monster approaching behind it.

“Guiseusan? There really are all kinds of Monsters. Seriously.”

Guiseusan.

A Monster resembling a turtle, with a shell that rose up like a mountain.

It was so massive, it looked as if a real mountain was moving, stretching hundreds of meters.

If it had been swimming in the sea, it would have looked like a giant island drifting by.

Especially striking was the bamboo growing atop its shell.

“For a Monster like that……..”

The shells I used were powerful.

But the opponent was a Rank 9 Monster.

No matter how strong the shell fired from an L-Rank cannon, bringing one down in a single shot would be tough.

So how had I landed such a devastating blow on Geuseundae?

Simple.

I’d just figured out its weakness.

Geuseundae was made of darkness.

Naturally, its greatest weakness was ‘light.’

That’s why I fired a shell made from the most light-attribute focused SS-Class Material, which let me deal a critical blow to the Rank 9 Monster Geuseundae.

If I hadn’t, even a shell made of SS-Class Material wouldn’t have dealt a solid blow.

This time was no different.

I focused my gaze and carefully observed Guiseusan from a distance.

Believe it or not, I used to be a hardcore gamer shut-in.

I prided myself on being able to guess the weak spots or attributes of most Monsters just by looking at them.

And to me—

“Guild master 1! Load the brown shell over there!”

“Understood.”

That shell was the key to Guiseusan’s weakness.

“Fire!”

“Puh-ung!!”

The cannon fired, and the shell shot forward.

Combat 2’s aim was dead-on, and the shell hit Guiseusan’s shell squarely.

Though I’d aimed for that spot, the shell on Guiseusan’s back was definitely not its weak point.

In fact, the shell was the Monster’s ‘shield,’ so tough that it couldn’t be damaged at all.

So why aim for the shell?

Because of the characteristics of the shell I just fired.

The material for that shell was the ‘Trial of the Parasite’s Thick Root’ from the 45th Floor, earned by defeating the ‘Parasite of Roots.’

With that, the shell contained the power of the ‘Parasite’ I’d taken down.

So, as long as the terrain was right—

“Kududududududuk~!”

The Monster I saw on the 45th floor.

A draconic Monster made of tangled roots sprouted forth, tearing through Guiseusan’s roots and the earth beneath.