Chapter 81: El Cuero (3)

"Wooooohhh!!"

Three Giant Ogres ran toward them while roaring ferociously. Just the bodies of these five-meter-tall giants were weapons in and of themselves.

"They're as noisy as always."

However, not a single one of the people present was scared of Giant Ogres.

Cha Yeon-Joo frowned and raised her hand. Chains with sharp thorns poured out from her wrist.

Crack!

"Gaaaaahhhh!"

The chains engulfed the Giant Ogres.

"You're in the way."

Echidna opened her mouth. She let go of Oh Kang-Woo's clothes and drew out the demonic energy from within her. Black energy gathered and turned into a blazing ball of fire.

Fwoosh!

Three fireballs were shot, each of them flying toward a Giant Ogre.

The chained Giant Ogres struggled.

Then, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, and Kang-Woo hopped on top of the Giant Ogres. Just like characters in a famous series about killing titans, they quickly moved behind the Giant Ogres' necks and sliced them.

Slash! Thud!

Dark red blood spouted, and the corpses of the Giant Ogres fell to the ground.

Hyun-Mo lightly landed on the ground and whistled.

"His name is Kang-Woo, right? I hear he's a rookie from the Red Rose Guild, but he's no joke. Wait, is he even a rookie?"

Kang-Woo was so skilled that it was a bit embarrassing to call him a rookie.

Hyun-Mo scanned Kang-Woo, his eyes shining. He thought that Kang-Woo was participating in the plan simply because of his intelligence, but after seeing how Kang-Woo had hunted the Giant Ogre, he realized he was wrong.

Hwa-Yeon said, "Mm… I'll explain about that Player later. You just need to know that he's as strong as Yeon-Joo."

"Eh? A-As strong as Ms. Cha Yeon-Joo?"

"It's a bit of a long story."

Hyun-Mo looked at Yeon-Joo with a confused expression. Seeing how she didn't deny it, Hyun-Mo surmised that Hwa-Yeon was telling the truth.

"Wha—How…?"

According to the rumors, it hadn't even been three months since he had become a Player. But how could a Player like that be as strong as one of Korea's top Rankers, Cha Yeon-Joo?

Hyun-Mo looked at Kang-Woo, wondering if he'd heard wrong, but he saw no reaction from him; it was as if Hwa-Yeon had said something obvious.

"I can see the lake," said Hwa-Yeon.

"It's quiet," Kang-Woo mentioned.

"The area around the lake is El Cuero's territory."

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

It was so silent that one wouldn't believe one was in the heart of the Gate. However, even though the surroundings were silent, they could hear the low sounds of booming steps.

Kang-Woo turned his head toward the place where he could hear the sound. He had seen the place while investigating the Gate in the past three days.

"This way."

"… Is that really going to work?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Mmm… No."

Yeon-Joo looked at the giant rock next to the lake with an expression that made it seem her head was hurting.

Golems covered in green moss were walking around very slowly near the giant rock. They were Mountain Giants, the third monster that appeared in Suwon's S-rank Gate.

Mountain Giants were rarer than the other monsters in the Gate, and they would never attack unless attacked first. They were closer to spirits than monsters, and their bodies were made of stone rather than flesh and bone.

Perhaps because they were made of stone, El Cuero didn't think of them as food, so they were the only monsters that could wander around the lake.

"Right then, let's begin," Kang-Woo said.

"Got it."

"You know, right? The core of this strategy is you."

Yeon-Joo nodded with a heavy expression on her face. Dozens of chains spewed out from her bracelets as they shone red. While Yeon-Joo was getting ready for her part of the strategy, the others also had things to do.

"Let's also get started."

Kang-Woo lifted a portion of the chains that Yeon-Joo had created. Unlike the thorny ones she usually created, these chains had a smooth surface.

"…"

Yeon-Joo and Hyun-Mo nodded, their expressions nervous.

"Fuu."

They each took a deep breath.

One could feel the anxiety in the air.

Kang-Woo looked at the lake.

It was such a beautiful lake that one wouldn't think such a terrifying predator was hidden within it.

"Okay, then…"

He raised his foot and concentrated demonic energy onto it. Then, he stomped the ground with all his might.

SLAM!!!

He activated the Authority of Sonority.

A sound loud enough to cause one to momentarily lose their sense of hearing spread throughout the surface and into the lake.

Rumble!

"Here it comes!"

El Cuero's reaction was fast. The lake's surface rippled, and something giant came out of the water.

A giant stingray about thirty meters large sped across the lake at a frightening speed.

Swoosh!

"Echidna!"

"Okay!"

As El Cuero twisted its giant body, hundreds of poisonous needles about the size of a palm were shot toward them.

Echidna walked to the front and extended both arms, creating a black barrier made of demonic energy.

Patter!!

The needles rammed the barrier while making sounds similar to a rainstorm hitting a window.

Echidna frowned, and her thin hands trembled a bit.

"Advance!" Kang-Woo stepped forward. After passing through the shield created by Echidna, he used the Authority of the Sky and levitated.

"Haap!"

"Aaaaahhhh! This is crazy!"

Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo grabbed the chains that Kang-Woo was holding. As Kang-Woo flew up, both of them also flew up with him.

All three of them had risen dozens of meters up into the sky in an instant. Hyun-Mo screamed.

"We're going down!" Kang-Woo shouted.

"I'm afraid of heeeeeeeights!"

Even while screaming in fear, Hyun-Mo held on to the chains for dear life.

Kang-Woo got on El Cuero's back.

"We have to drag it out before it goes back into the water!"

"Got it!"

They spoke without honorifics, but no one cared.

El Cuero thrashed around violently, and Hyun-Mo lost his balance and fell.

"Its back is so damn slippery!"

Hyun-Mo took out one of his short swords and stabbed El Cuero's back.

"Uoooooong!"

"Huh? Why does a stingray cry like that?!"

Even while complaining, he properly performed his part of the strategy. He grabbed one of the chains Kang-Woo had brought and stuck it into El Cuero's skin where he'd cut with his short sword.

"Haap!"

Slash!

It was the same for Hwa-Yeon.

While showing an impressive sense of balance, she swung her longsword covered in wind.

El Cuero's skin was cut.

She inserted her hand into where she had cut with the chain in her hand.

Blood spewed out of El Cuero's wounds. Red chains had been embedded into its body.

"Uooooooo!!!"

El Cuero thrashed about.

Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo, who had been working hard to embed chains into El Cuero, slipped and were slightly pushed back.

Kang-Woo levitated and avoided its thrashes altogether.

El Cuero stopped thrashing about and hunched over.

'It's trying to dive back into the water.'

The giant lake was the natural fortress where El Cuero was absolutely safe.

Kang-Woo dived into the water faster than El Cuero. His field of vision was distorted, and powerful water resistance engulfed him. Once inside the water, he moved toward El Cuero's stomach, where its giant mouth and gills were.

KRRGG!

Kang-Woo twisted his body in the water, and powerful demonic energy started to gather around his fist.

'Skybreaker.'

A gurgling sound came out of his mouth as he chanted under the water.

Kang-Woo extended his fist concentrated with demonic energy.

Boom!!

A huge fountain spewed out of the water as if a bomb had exploded. Within the fountain, El Cuero's body rose to the sky.

Considering that it had received a strong attack, it didn't seem to have suffered much damage.

Because the attack had been done under the water, Kang-Woo had not been able to step into the punch. He could not even use ten percent of his full power.

'Now!'

Kang-Woo glared at El Cuero. He kicked under the water and shot up into the air along with a massive shockwave. Enormous water pressure weighed him down.

"Uooooong!"

El Cuero flapped its fins while roaring gruesomely.

An enormous number of sparks flew out of its fins.

"Get off its back!" Kang-Woo exclaimed.

Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo hurriedly jumped into the air.

An electric shock engulfed Kang-Woo.

Crackle!!

"Kuuuuurrrgghhh!!"

The voltage was high enough to make one's vision go white.

Kang-Woo's face contorted heavily.

"Kang-Woo!"

A barrier, which Echidna created from a distance, covered Kang-Woo, and the effect of the electricity weakened.

'Authority of Freezing.'

The surface of the water froze in an instant.

El Cuero landed on the surface of the ice, but the ice couldn't withstand the weight of a monster over thirty meters large and started to crack.

Kang-Woo was waiting for that moment. He grabbed the chains even tighter and ran. Kang-Woo, who was charging toward El Cuero while running on the ice, threw himself toward the gills on its stomach.

Crush!

Dark red blood leaked from the gills that were forcibly spread open. The blood entered Kang-Woo's mouth, but he didn't care. He grabbed the chain and ripped apart the skin covering its body. Thanks to the Authority of Titanic Might, he forcibly tore apart El Cuero's flesh with just raw strength.

He dug deeper…

Kang-Woo tore apart as much of El Cuero's skin as possible and dug even deeper into El Cuero's body.

The monster thrashed about crazily.

His vision was dyed black due to all the blood. He couldn't see a thing, but he ignored it.

Even if he couldn't see, he could still move.

Kang-Woo moved forward by tearing through El Cuero's flesh.

Crack!

Kang-Woo had penetrated its body and come out from its back.

He wrapped the chain that he was holding around his hands and then laid down on El Cuero and grabbed on to it.

"Pull!" Kang-Woo shouted.

"Hold on tight!"

He could hear Yeon-Joo's shout from a distance.

Rumble!

While making a sound similar to that of an earthquake, El Cuero was dragged toward land.

Holding on to El Cuero's back, Kang-Woo looked toward Yeon-Joo.

Dozens of Mountain Giants wrapped in chains were chasing her.

"Good."

Kang-Woo smiled, covered in blood.