Chapter 95

Jun-sang’s Fierce Battle and a Hidden Truth Revealed

A wave of overwhelming fear radiated from Jun-sang’s eyes, striking the charging monsters. Before they could even grasp what was happening, they were utterly dominated. Jun-sang took a slow step forward. A twig under his foot screamed as it cracked. Snap. The sound, ordinarily ignored, echoed like thunder to the monsters. Jun-sang took another step, and the monsters instinctively recoiled. Yet, this was only the first time. As Jun-sang advanced again, none of the monsters meeting his gaze could move as they wished.

Not none entirely. Garland, the pursuit leader, strained against the suffocating terror, desperately moving and shrieking, “Kyaak!” But none of his subordinates could respond. Instead, monsters behind Jun-sang, who had been bewildered by their frozen comrades, reacted to the cry. One monster, spear in hand, charged Jun-sang. Jun-sang, with a casual glance, swung his iron ball as if swatting a fly. The movement was light, almost indifferent, but the result was anything but.

Thwack! The massive iron ball not only crushed the monster’s body but also pulverized it with its Shatter ability. The monsters were stunned as their comrade’s body exploded into blood and gore. Jun-sang swung his iron ball again at the monsters blocking his path. Thwack! Another monster was instantly obliterated by a merciless blow.

Unable to bear the pressure, Garland shrieked and hurled his spear at Jun-sang. “Kyaaak!” The spear, wreathed in ominous black flames, flew towards Jun-sang, who simply raised his iron ball to block it. Kagagak! The spearhead scraped against the iron ball, sparking, then plunged deep into the ground.

“Hmm…” Jun-sang eyed it, wondering if it was a useful item, but no light emanated from the short spear once the black flames vanished. He examined it, only to find it was merely a crudely carved piece of wood with a rough spearhead. As Jun-sang looked at the spear, Garland and his subordinates felt the fear that had bound them disappear.

“Kyaak!” With Garland’s cry, his subordinates gritted their teeth and charged Jun-sang simultaneously. But it was a reckless assault. Jun-sang, as if waiting, unleashed Dual Storm as the monsters rushed him. Two massive iron balls shot out like cannonballs from his outstretched arms, sweeping through the area. The monsters were utterly shattered by the irresistible force.

However, as Dual Storm finished its rotation, another short spear, imbued with black flames, flew towards Jun-sang. A brilliant ambush, exploiting the moment his hands were empty. But with a flick of Jun-sang’s wrist, the chain connected to it twitched like a living snake, springing out and coiling around the spear. Then, an iron ball following close behind shattered the now immobilized spear.

Jun-sang flicked his wrists again to retrieve his iron balls, then advanced on Garland, who was stumbling backward, treading on the blood and gore-stained ground.

“Grah…” Garland groaned as his eyes met Jun-sang’s again, then squeezed them shut. It was a last resort to block the fear burrowing into his body the moment their gazes connected. Of course, this would normally be a foolish act. Facing a powerful opponent like Jun-sang with closed eyes? How was that different from simply surrendering one’s life?

But Garland possessed powerful supersenses that compensated for sight—a keen awareness that allowed him to perceive the enemy’s very presence without seeing or hearing. With eyes closed, Garland’s senses locked onto Jun-sang’s immense presence.

“Kilik.” Freed from the suffocating terror, Garland immediately hurled the spear in his hand at Jun-sang, then grabbed the remaining two spears from his back and charged. Jun-sang again parried the black-flame-spewing spear flying towards him with an iron ball. He then raised his iron ball, ready to crush Garland’s body as the creature charged at him with closed eyes.

However, at that moment, Jun-sang remembered the remaining hidden quest.

(Hidden) Retrieve the enemy’s operational plan from Garland and deliver it to the central army. (Solo)

“Tsk…” It would be simple to swing the iron ball and crush Garland, but that would also pulverize the operational plan the monster might be carrying. Realizing this, Jun-sang put Langdajal’s Rage back into his inventory and quietly said, “Open Bind.”

The Dual Storm card was replaced by Bind in the card slot. Jun-sang brought his hands together in front of his face, elbows tucked into his sides. He dodged Garland’s spear, which was aimed directly at his face, by tilting his head back, then delivered a liver blow to Garland’s torso.

“Gah!” Garland shrieked, bouncing backward, unable to withstand the sudden, intense pressure on his torso. Jun-sang stooped and followed. Garland tumbled backward, then sprang to his feet and threw one of his two spears at Jun-sang, who was rushing him. Jun-sang was greatly surprised by the spear, which flew towards him, spewing black flames, just inches from his face. He quickly twisted his body to dodge, but the spear still grazed his cheek.

“Gah!” Jun-sang’s cheek, which usually wouldn’t even get a scratch from most attacks, was torn open, and blood welled up. It was probably due to the black flames imbued in the spear. As Jun-sang twisted to avoid the spear, the monsters, aiding their leader, simultaneously loosed arrows and threw spears. It was too late to dodge. And there was no shadow for Phase Shift, so Jun-sang immediately took Langdajal’s Rage from his inventory and shouted, “Open Weapon Defense!“

As the Weapon Defense card replaced Bind in the slot, Jun-sang, wielding Langdajal’s Rage, instantly batted away the incoming arrows and spears. The two iron balls danced through the air as if alive, and the incoming projectiles burst with popping sounds like flies caught in an electric fly swatter.

Having parried all the incoming projectiles, Jun-sang put Langdajal’s Rage back into his inventory, equipped the Bind card instead of Weapon Defense, and then rushed towards Garland, who was stumbling backward. Garland swung his remaining spear at Jun-sang, but his hand holding the spear was crushed by Jun-sang’s short, sharp punch.

“Kyaaaak!” Garland shrieked in agonizing pain as all his fingers were crushed, then felt his strength drain away as something strong and hard, like a hook, clamped tightly around his neck. Garland struggled to break free from Jun-sang’s grip, but the next moment, Jun-sang’s fist slammed into his temple, leaving him dazed by the skull-shaking impact.

Thwack!

Thud!

Jun-sang, with an indifferent expression, hit Garland’s limp head a few more times while the creature was still caught in his grip. Then, Garland’s head, unable to withstand the continuous impacts, shattered like a ripe watermelon, revealing its red insides.

“Phew…” He didn’t seem that strong, yet he was surprisingly tricky to deal with. Had he relied too much on his invisibility for ambushes? Jun-sang reflected on this, then first put Garland’s corpse into his inventory and took out Langdajal’s Rage, holding it in both hands. Now that the troublesome Garland was down, all that remained was the slaughter.

Jun-sang simultaneously activated Gaze of Fear and Evil Eye, stripping the remaining minions of their bodily freedom, then slowly crushed their bodies one by one. Finally, after about ten minutes, all the remaining enemies were annihilated. Only then did Jun-sang gasp for breath and put Langdajal’s Rage back into his inventory.

“Exhausting,” Jun-sang muttered, then took out Garland’s corpse from his inventory. Rummaging through its pockets, he found a piece of tattered parchment.

“This is it.” He unfolded the paper, but unfortunately, he couldn’t discern its contents. Jun-sang took out a cabinet, grabbed a ziploc bag from inside, and carefully put away the operational plan. After confirming that the quest information had updated, he slowly turned around, and Mongmong, who had already finished collecting all the items, leapt onto his shoulder.

Jun-sang summoned Morning Dew and washed Mongmong’s mouth. Returning slowly to the front of the bridge on his Ghost Horse, Jun-sang then released the wolves and spirits again. Although Pursuit Captain Garland had been eliminated, he couldn’t leave his post as the quest wasn’t yet complete. The probability was low, but if even one of the scattered remaining pursuit units managed to sneak in and set fire to the bridge, all his efforts would have been in vain.

Jun-sang took out the container house, then summoned Heness. Heness appeared with her hands clasped and eyes closed, then realized she was inside the house and asked Jun-sang, “Is the battle… over?” Jun-sang nodded and sat on a chair, replying, “Probably. The captain’s dealt with, so unless something else happens, we just have to wait until the central army arrives.”

“You worked hard.” Heness went behind Jun-sang and began to gently massage his shoulders with her small, delicate hands. Perhaps because of the sheer amount of Rare Seeds he had, Heness’s strength wasn’t enough to give Jun-sang a truly refreshing feeling, but the sensation of her small, soft hands kneading his shoulders was enough to make him feel comfortable. Jun-sang closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the comfort.

But it was only for a moment. He quickly opened his eyes and quietly said, “That’s enough now, you can stop.”

“Yes…” But instead of removing her hands from his shoulders, Heness quietly wrapped her arms around Jun-sang’s neck from behind. And she gently rubbed her cheek against Jun-sang’s hair.

“…” Jun-sang quietly raised his hand and stroked Heness’s hands that were wrapped around his neck. After spending a long time feeling each other’s warmth, the two suddenly realized they heard a scratching sound from somewhere.

“Surely… you didn’t leave him outside again?” Heness asked, and Jun-sang shook his head.

“He definitely came in with…” As he said that, Jun-sang suddenly had a thought.

“Darn it!” Jun-sang quickly got up from the chair and opened the pantry where the desserts were stored. Then, he heard something quickly scrambling to hide. Jun-sang quickly opened the box where the chocolate bars were kept. Sure enough. The box was empty, with a hole chewed through one corner.

“Huh…” Jun-sang stared at the box with a bewildered expression, then called for Mongmong. Mongmong, feigning complete ignorance, merely tilted its head with an innocent expression. Jun-sang quietly looked at Mongmong and said, “Spill it.” Then Mongmong poured out the Seeds it had obtained from the recent battle onto the table. But Jun-sang shook his head.

“Not that.” Mongmong tilted its head as if it didn’t understand what he meant, but when Jun-sang stared at it silently, it eventually covered its eyes with its front paws, pretending to hide. But Jun-sang was not swayed by Mongmong’s cute act.

“If you don’t spill them, no more food for you.” When Jun-sang said that again, Mongmong finally hesitated and then spilled out the chocolate bars from its pouch with a rush. And it stared wistfully at the spilled chocolate bars, its gaze brimming with regret.

At the sight of its huge eyes looking like they were about to well up with tears, Jun-sang sighed and picked up one of the chocolate bars, holding it out to Mongmong.

“Eating too much isn’t good for you. I’ll give you one whenever you want, just know that.” Mongmong nodded and carefully took the chocolate bar Jun-sang offered, putting it into its pouch. Jun-sang chuckled and put the chocolate bars back into the pantry, then examined the Seeds Mongmong had spilled out. However, nothing that looked like a Rare Seed caught his eye. Jun-sang decided to check later and roughly put the Seeds into his pocket, then went to the utility room, put them in the cabinet where he stored his loot, and returned to the living room.

Then Heness made him a warm cup of cocoa and handed it to him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Heness sat in front of Jun-sang, took a sip of cocoa, and then cautiously asked, “Do we have to keep waiting here until the central army arrives?”

“Probably.” As Jun-sang replied, he suddenly remembered the operational plan and took out the ziploc bag containing it from his pocket, showing it to Heness. “Can you read this?”

“Let me see.” Heness took the ziploc bag, carefully unfolded the document inside, and then tilted her head.

“This is…”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure, but… it seems like one of the ancient scripts I learned a long time ago.”

“Ancient script?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, but may I try to decipher it?”

“No problem. As long as it’s not damaged.” Jun-sang replied, then took out a pen and a notebook and handed them to her.

“Thank you.” Heness took them and immediately began to decipher.

“Is the ancient script still used anywhere these days?” Heness replied without taking her eyes off the document, “No. Some places teach it as an elective, but it’s rarely actually used. Sometimes people who want to show off use it, though.”

“I see.” It would be foolish to judge based solely on this document, but it seemed necessary to remember that an important operational plan was written in ancient script. Heness finally deciphered a few lines after a considerable amount of time.

“I think this is the limit of my ability.”

“What does it say?”

“Hmm… I’ll just tell you the confirmed parts.”

“Okay.” With Jun-sang watching, Heness read out the deciphered content in a clear voice.

“To Garland: Pursue to the Heavenly Bridge… destroy by fire. Wait and lure. Divert to the Silent Wetlands.“

Then, the quest information displayed in Jun-sang’s vision updated.

(Hidden) Retrieve the enemy’s operational plan from Garland and deliver it to the central army. (Solo)

Quest Update: The operational plan found on Garland reveals that the pursuit unit targeting the Heavenly Bridge was a decoy to attract the central army’s attention from the start. Pursue the enemy’s main force, which is secretly moving to the Silent Wetlands by bypassing the Anjermang Grand Canyon, and confirm their location.

The revelation of the hidden quest drastically shifts Jun-sang’s immediate objectives. He now knows the true enemy threat isn’t the bridge itself, but a main force attempting a flanking maneuver. How will Jun-sang adapt to this new information, and what steps will he take to pursue the enemy in the Silent Wetlands?