Chapter 202: Return of the Smith

“Thump —”

[You have successfully defended against the fourth Monster Wave of the Tower.]

[A large amount of XP will be provided to the Awakened Ones who defended against the wave.]

The final Boss Monster of the fourth Monster Wave collapsed.

Approximately twenty Rank 10 Monsters had appeared this time.

Even with the Rankers taking them on one by one, there were more Rank 10 Boss Monsters left over to attack the people.

About half of the fortress walls were destroyed, and most of the stored cannon shells had been consumed.

This was especially true for the final Rank 10 Boss Monster that appeared, the Haechu.

The Monster, which took the form of an incredibly massive whale, was powerful enough to remind one of Surtr, whom they had faced during the Trial of the 95th Floor.

Fortunately, it had a weakness to the lightning attribute, allowing the Cheongryong and the Lightning Caster to perform cooperative magic. 

Since it was susceptible to bleeding, it had good compatibility with the Berserker, allowing them to barely take it down.

Of course, they had to suffer immense damage as a price.

Until the fourth Monster Wave was completely defended against.

In the end, there was no news of Vulcanus.

Doubts could not help but arise in people’s minds.

‘Where did Vulcanus go?’

The Vulcanus Guild had provided supporting fire from the summit, but everyone knew it didn’t possess its usual overwhelming power.

Because of that.

“Sword Saint.”

“Yes.”

“Where did Master Vulcanus go?”

“…… I am not sure either.”

“Could he have… given up?”

“No, that could not be the case.”

The number of people asking the Sword Saint about Vulcanus increased.

Fortunately, the rumors had not spread properly yet, so the Sword Saint avoided the crowd and returned to her spot to rest.

Everyone repaired the walls and cannons to prepare for the next wave and organized the Monster materials.

Meanwhile, the members of Vulcanus’s climbing party all waited only for contact from him.

Thinking they might be suddenly invited without notice, they stayed in their equipment, ready to be called out at any moment.

However.

“Is it still nothing?”

– “…… Yes.”

One day passed.

Two days passed.

Even after three days, no word arrived from Vulcanus.

As the situation reached this point, even the Sword Saint could not help but feel anxious.

It was because the fifth wave was about to begin.

Recalling the scale of the fourth wave, it was objectively impossible to defend against the fifth wave.

Knowing this, the original plan had been to finish climbing the Tower before the fifth Monster Wave began.

Yet, far from finishing the climb, they were in a situation where they couldn’t even enter the Tower.

Frustration was unavoidable.

“Should we try entering by ourselves instead?”

“As you know, only the party leader can enter the Tower. We cannot enter separately.”

“Then, with a new party — “

“Everyone knows the progress of the 95th Floor is tied to Master Vulcanus, right? Even if we form a new party, we would start from the lower floors. Is there even time to climb the Tower from the bottom?”

“No, even if we did start from the 95th Floor… could we even clear it without Master Vulcanus’s help?”

Everyone was forced to shake their heads.

Even with Vulcanus’s help, the Trial of the 95th Floor was difficult.

There was no one among them who thought they could break through the 95th Floor without his assistance.

Every time the Tower climb had been blocked until now, it was always the equipment Vulcanus made that broke through the obstacle.

This time, too, it would be impossible to clear the 95th Floor without the equipment Vulcanus provided.

“But…”

There was no way.

They had to do something, but there was nothing they could do.

They had established formations to deal with Monsters and researched strategies and tactics.

But as long as they could not enter the Tower, it was all useless.

As more time passed.

“Could it be that… Master Vulcanus gave up?”

Such words came from the climbing party.

This time, it wasn’t a new party member speaking.

It came from the mouth of Korea’s greatest mage, Cheongryong, who had been traumatized on the 95th Floor.

No one could answer those words.

Only the Sword Saint clenched her fists, denying the thought in her heart.

After that, the climbing party dispersed.

It wasn’t to deal with the Monster Wave.

Everyone went to find their families, take a rest, or do the things they wanted to do one last time.

They were preparing for the end.

Only one person from the party remained.

Only the Sword Saint waited for Vulcanus and beside her, Nam Bora continued to try and contact Vulcanus, waiting for a reply.

“Could it really be… just in case…”

– “No. That could not be the case.”

When the Sword Saint wavered, Nam Bora held her steady.

When Nam Bora wavered, the Sword Saint held her steady.

They waited for Vulcanus’s contact like that, but unfortunately.

“Rumble — .”

By the time the fifth Monster Wave began, Vulcanus’s answer still had not been heard.

Strength drained from the Sword Saint’s fists.

Nam Bora’s voice could no longer be heard either.

Hope had vanished.

The fifth Monster Wave could not be stopped.

Since Vulcanus had disappeared, this world was finished.

Just as Excalibur was about to slip from the hand of the despairing Sword Saint.

– “Sword Saint.”

– “!……!!”

A voice reached her.

A voice that was so familiar.

A voice she had waited for so long.

Its identity was none other than.

– “Master Vulcanus!”

It was Vulcanus.

‘Why had he only answered now? What had he been doing all this time?
Did he bring a way to stop the fifth Monster Wave, or a way to climb the Tower?’

All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind, but the Sword Saint first focused on the voice of Vulcanus.

– “Thank you for waiting.”

– “I will try to climb the Tower alone, so please defend against the Monster Wave with the others outside, Sword Saint.”

– “Alone? How can you climb the Tower alone — “

– “It’s hard to explain… can’t you just trust me?”

To trust him without any explanation.

It was an absurd thing to say.

– “I will.”

The Sword Saint nodded.

She had no choice but to trust him.

It was a request from Vulcanus, of all people.

However, to defend against the fifth Monster Wave until he finished climbing.

It was an incredibly difficult proposition.

The fifth Monster Wave swarming before her eyes looked unbelievably large and powerful.

As if reading her thoughts, Vulcanus’s voice continued.

– “I sent the support supplies to Nam Bora. They should be transmitting right now, so please hold out as best as you can.”

– “Support supplies?”

‘What support supplies was he talking about all of a sudden?’

Her confusion lasted only a moment.

A single sword appeared before her.

[Claiomh Solais]

“This is…!”

The sword she was currently using, Excalibur, was no ordinary sword.

It was a sword so powerful she thought there might not be a better blade on Earth but this was different.

Claiomh Solais.

The sword was held by Nuada, the King of the Gods, and one of the four treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

In other words, it was a Divine Sword.

“Click.”

The moment she gripped the handle of Claiomh Solais, an immense power began to fill her body.

And the Sword Saint wasn’t the only one who received such weapons.

The Rankers, who had been calmly preparing for the end in the face of approaching destruction.

Cheon Seung-heon, Cheongryong, the Berserker, the Shadow King, and others.

New equipment was granted to all of them.

As they gripped the items, hope returned to the eyes of the Hunters facing extinction.

– “So, we just have to hold out?”

– “I will try to climb the Tower as quickly as possible. So, please minimize the damage as much as you can.”

Vulcanus’s request was just to hold out.

However, the Sword Saint’s thoughts were different.

Now that it had come to this, she had no intention of just holding out.

– “I will finish off the Monster Wave as quickly as possible and go to support you, Master Vulcanus!”

She would finish off all these Monsters quickly.

Then, she would help Vulcanus climb the Tower.

Together with Vulcanus, she would defeat this tedious trial of destruction.

Thinking so, she raised the Divine Sword, Claiomh Solais.

– “…I will be waiting.”

Vulcanus also nodded at her declaration.

“Krooooooo!”

***

The fifth Monster Wave was powerful.

The number of Monsters swarming in so thick that the ground and sky could not be seen easily exceeded tens of millions.

Every Monster that appeared was at least Rank 10.

On average, they were at the level of a Rank 9.

Since the number of Rank 10 Boss Monsters exceeded fifty.

To the Hunters, who hadn’t even finished repairing the walls and cannons, this looked like nothing less than an unstoppable catastrophe.

“How are we supposed to stop this…!”

“This is too much!”

Morale broke.

Hope vanished.

Amidst those who fruitlessly dropped their hands atop the half-destroyed walls.

-Flash!

Someone lunged toward the Monster Wave.

Her identity was none other than.

“Sword Saint!”

Korea’s strongest.

No, the world’s strongest Hunter.

It was the Sword Saint.

As if she were a Berserker, she dove straight into the front lines of the enemy camp.

-Gleam!

She drew her sword.

An overwhelming quick-draw technique.

As a flash erupted from the Divine Sword, Claiomh Solais.

-Slice — !!

All the Monsters in the vicinity were cut in two and collapsed.

Immediately after, a Rank 10 Boss Monster revealed itself in a rage and threw a punch at the Sword Saint.

“Thwack!”

The sword she swung ruthlessly cut down the Rank 10 Boss Monster.

She was already powerful, but her strength while wielding the Divine Sword was beyond imagination.

It was enough to make one wonder if a human could truly become this strong.

And following behind her.

-Dash!

The Rankers, who had regained hope, began to show themselves in earnest.

“Thwip-thwip-thwip!”

Cheon Seung-heon pulled the Bow of the Heavens.

It was a Divine Bow that the God of Blacksmiths in Ugarit mythology was said to have made for the goddess Anat.

As the arrows poured down, Rank 9 Monsters and Rank 10 Boss Monsters alike fell helplessly.

-Whoosh!

Cheongryong, who had been traumatized on the 95th Floor, raised the Divine Staff received from Vulcanus high, summoning a tidal wave made of water that was larger and higher than any natural wave.

“Crash!”

The Lightning Caster dropped thunderbolts using a weapon made of Divine Lightning.

– Shine.

The Saintess held up a holy relic containing the power of a god, going beyond mere holy power, to protect everyone on the battlefield.

The fifth Monster Wave, which had seemed absolutely impossible to stop.

They were blocking the malice meant to destroy the world with even more powerful Divine Will.

At that sight.

“The Rankers are protecting us!”

“New cannon shells have arrived too!”

“Wh-what is this? Cannon shells made of SSS-grade materials?”

“Anyway, fire! Fire everything! Let’s take them all down!”

“Boom, bang!!”

The Hunters, having regained their morale, pulled themselves together and began to push back the Monster Wave.

Thus, the final battle on Earth began.