Chapter 47: The Fourth Study: Joint Cemetery (3)

We stepped inside the fourth Gate.

The first Gate was an ancient ruin in the jungle.

The second Gate was a ruined city.

The third Gate was a damp and unpleasant swamp.

Now, the fourth Gate was…

“Stone Mountain, huh.”

Thankfully, no Monster appeared immediately after entry.

I began walking while keeping an eye on my surroundings, and the Saintess followed behind me without any complaints.

We began our exploration in the silence.

“As expected, there’s not much different.”

Just then, a quiet voice from the Saintess came from behind me.

“I used to wonder why all the Hunters act individually. Now I get it… there really is a reason, a reason they don’t tell the public directly.”

This was why the problem couldn’t be solved by just sending dozens of Hunters to one scene at a time.

“Because you can’t trust people.”

“Right.”

“If someone gets wiped out at once, there’s no way to recover the bodies. It’s also a hassle to deal with experience points or loot.”

Whenever you gather even just five people, there will always be trouble.

A Hunter Team of four is the practical limit.

Any more, and the chances of a successful infiltration go down and casualties just go up—there’s no real benefit.

Even from the perspective of the group, it’s the same.

“Losing multiple Hunters at once is just too risky.”

You could split them into multiple teams and send them in, but running around in a big crowd doesn’t actually solve anything.

The Saintess let out a sigh beside me.

“Ah, and… I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For freezing up during the last fight.”

Honestly, it didn’t matter since she didn’t die.

My expectations were realistic.

“I wasn’t looking for a cold-blooded killer who doesn’t flinch at killing people. Just the fact that you kept your head down and followed is good enough.”

“Yes.”

The Saintess didn’t add anything, but she seemed a bit more at ease.

Of course, I’d hope she’d fight more calmly next time.

But this was the first battle today, so I figured it was understandable.

“By the way, is it always like this?”

“Like what?”

“The inside of the Gate.”

The Saintess looked around.

Is it always like this around a Gate? Monsters are naturally drawn to the Gate.

At least, that’s what we assume.

After a Gate opens, Monsters always cross over.

There hasn’t been a Gate left unattended that didn’t spew out Monsters.

“Wait. Hold up.”

I lifted my Binoculars and peered through the gap between the boulders to look down the slope.

Below, a parade of massive beasts was passing by.

As far as I remember, the fourth Gate was the Gate of the Dead.

It’s a Gate where Undead-type Monsters frequently appear.

But that doesn’t mean only Undead show up.

Behind the Army of the Dead, there are those who command the Dead, hiding in the shadows.

We called those who control the Dead the Night Elf.

Beings with gray skin and several features different from humans.

Most of them are powerful Awakened.

I still don’t know why they invade other worlds.

“Do you really need a reason for everything?”

The one bit of good luck was that there seemed to be plenty of useful items over there.

The Skeleton Soldiers all had decent-looking weapons.

“The Dead Army, huh.”

“Looks like they’re getting ready to cross the Gate.”

“Is that so?”

“Let’s move in.”

I loaded my Magic Engineering Railgun and quickly approached the enemy.

From up close, I could see a considerable number of enemies had formed ranks right in front of the Gate.

I couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking. Were they Gate-worshippers or something? Were they watching the Gate like us?

“Their security’s pretty lax if that’s the case.”

I used the scope on my gun to scan the enemy formation.

It seemed they still didn’t realize we’d come out from the Gate.

Even though we were on high ground, once I started shooting, our position would be revealed.

“Let’s stay cautious.”

The main force of the Army of the Dead was made up of Skeleton Soldiers.

Even with a quick glance, there were hundreds.

But these weren’t your typical Skeleton Soldiers.

Instead of a skull for a head, they had twin skulls—or rather, their heads looked more like sculptures made from piled-up bone fragments than actual skulls.

There were also quite a few higher-ranked units, like Dead Knights.

But I couldn’t spot the master of the army.

“Some of them are downright grotesque.”

Above the human-sized Skeleton Soldiers, several bone towers rose high.

The Monsters we called Behemoths.

They looked like massive heaps of bone, the size of buildings.

They used giant Monster skulls as heads instead, commanding the Skeleton Soldiers—either creating them or tossing them around the battlefield.

At the Incheon Gate, they wiped out half of the Hunter Association’s deployed force.

“They were that tough to deal with…”

The Behemoth used a huge Goat Skull in place of its head.

A high-tier unit controlling the battlefield.

I couldn’t see the Night Elf or their master, so the main target was obvious.

I aimed my Magic Engineering Railgun at the enemy.

Bang—!

The Goat Skull shattered, and the towering Skull Tower above crashed down in ruins.

It was instantly satisfying to watch, but the Behemoth wasn’t the type of Monster to die that easily.

The Skeleton Soldiers scattered quickly.

The Behemoth, after partially restoring its form, began grabbing Skeleton Soldiers and hurling them in my direction.

“What a pain.”

Bang—!

I finished off the Skeleton Soldier that landed right in front of me.

The Saintess skillfully brought down another one with her Staff.

“Ming Ming. Draw their attention.”

“Got it!”

We couldn’t let ourselves get surrounded.

Ming Ming transformed into her full form and charged forward.

The Skeleton Soldiers charged with their swords, but thankfully, they were no match for Ming Ming.

It was a one-sided slaughter. The dry bones seemed to burn as easily as firewood.

Just then, the Saintess, busily taking care of Skeleton Soldiers beside me, asked anxiously,

“So what’s the next plan?”

“We need to cause as much chaos in their ranks as possible. As long as we’re stirring things up here, they can’t think about crossing the Gate.”

Ming Ming bounced around like a bowling ball, knocking down the Dead.

Sometimes, she’d even leap into the air if they got too close.

From a distance, it probably looked like we were playing some kind of game.

The Behemoth must have realized what was happening because it started moving towards us rapidly.

“Shouldn’t such big guys at least be slow, out of fairness?”

We couldn’t just sit still.

The Behemoth kept hurling Skeleton Soldiers at our position.

For a Monster, it was a remarkably efficient way to fight.

Bang—!

There was never a moment to let my guard down.

At some point, the Saintess had hidden behind me, and I silently gunned down the oncoming Skeleton Soldiers.

“Listen up.”

“Yes.”

“Stay calm. We’ve got the situation under control. We’re just using our most powerful asset in the most efficient way.”

“Okay, understood.”

“Just trust me and wait.”

Stone Mountain’s terrain was rough.

We were running as fast as possible, but even with Awakened-level physical ability, the best we could manage was a fast jog due to the terrain.

We kept moving.

“Blessing of Light.”

The Saintess’s magic.

It wasn’t an attack spell, but even that much kept the Undead from getting close easily.

It’s a natural counter.

But even that wasn’t enough to keep the Behemoths from approaching.

We were like rabbits being chased by bears.

The bone towers were slowly closing in on us.

The shattered Goat Skull led the way.

And there weren’t just one or two…

I could see five right now.

Bang!

I tried firing at a Behemoth again.

This time, I aimed at the torso instead of the head.

Bone fragments flew in every direction, but it was as if the shock was mostly absorbed, like punching a pudding.

Then.

———-!

Scarlet mana surged out in front of us.

The Skeleton Soldier just thrown didn’t crash flat to the ground but landed perfectly.

A Greatsword wrapped in a red aura.

[You have encountered a Dead Knight.]

[Exploration score +10.]

[Enlightenment Stage 3 progress: 290/300.]

[Dead Knight]

[Rank: A]

[A masterpiece assembled from the bones of various heroes and artifacts. Comparable even to high-level Awakened.]

Damn it.

***

The Knight’s Greatsword moved with lightning speed.

The sword aura I managed to deflect with the enchanted cloak, and the sword strike itself I blocked once with my own sword, but the difference in skill was undeniable.

“I can’t last long.”

Bang!

It’s hard to dodge a bullet entirely.

But a high-level Awakened, especially at close range, would have no trouble dodging the gun’s barrel.

The Dead Knight easily dodged the Magic Engineering Railgun’s bullets.

Bang!

Still, the impact when I fired seemed effective.

But I was out of bullets now.

I’d have to reload to fire again.

The Dead Knight was fast.

Behind me, the Saintess was binding the Knight’s legs with Strike Skill and hurting him with holy magic, but this wouldn’t hold up for long.

“Ming Ming.”

Ming Ming lunged at the Dead Knight from behind.

The Monster Knight turned at the surprise attack.

Ming Ming’s claws tore slightly into the steel plate armor—

Clang!

I struck the Dead Knight’s helmet with the pommel of my sword.

Finally, Ming Ming managed to tackle the Knight and push him away.

Pink flames engulfed the Dead Knight, and he readied his sword for a big technique.

——-!

Scarlet mana exploded in all directions.

I squinted and got up from the ground.

Ming Ming had been caught in the blast, too, but a quick check showed she wasn’t bleeding.

“Blessing of Divinity.”

The Saintess used Healing Magic on us.

I steadied my breathing and checked my surroundings.

We were surrounded. We’d managed to kill the Dead Knight, but now multiple Behemoths and countless Skeleton Soldiers were closing in from all sides.

“Are we going to die now?”

“Well, we keep dying anyway.”

It’s all according to plan.

Ming Ming transformed back into her hatchling form and climbed onto my back, and I flexed my fingers.

This is exactly what a disposable tank is for.

The Living Armor charged at the enemy again.

The Skull Tower was smashed one more time.

The armored Monster grabbed the giant Goat Skull from earlier, crushed it completely, and then shoved aside the pile of bones.

The Behemoth shaped like a bear charged again, but even the dog-headed one got its skull shattered by the Greatsword.

I raised my Magic Engineering Railgun.

Bang!

Even though it looked satisfying to shatter them, the Behemoths had solid magical defenses, and they didn’t die just because you broke them apart. They were anything but easy opponents.

I helped the armored Monster suppress the enemies.

As long as their attention was focused elsewhere, I could fire freely.

Gunshots rang out.

Some Skeleton Soldiers with ranged weapons tried to fight back, but it didn’t go well. The enemy was simply too strong.

This time, the Behemoths rushed at us for real.

The huge bear-headed Behemoth grabbed the Living Armor.

Meanwhile, other Behemoths swarmed in.

They were carefully holding something that looked like constructed arms.

Looking from a distance, it was an absurd scene.

“Those are Dead Knights, aren’t they?”

I aimed the Railgun and blew off one Dead Knight.

The Behemoths, as if offering a tribute, tossed the Dead Knights they’d brought right at our vanguard.

The Dead Knights attacked the Living Armor from all directions, and my Living Armor staggered.

A weakness, if there was one. Even if the Living Armor was strong in a one-on-one clash of giants, it couldn’t cope with simultaneous attacks from multiple sides.

The Living Armor collapsed after taking down three Behemoths.