Chapter 370: Celestial Of The Black Stars (6)

“W-What is this?!” Song Ha-Eun stood on the mudflat as it churned like waves beneath her.

She shook back and forth like an inflatable tube man outside a shop. Even with superhuman strength, keeping balance in mud up to her knees while it heaved like the ocean was nearly impossible.

Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue as he steadied himself. “

Tsk

.”

He should have seen this coming, but hadn’t thought it through.

The reason they never erased their footprints.

They boldly left their tracks, yet remained hidden.

The footprints themselves were bait.

They knew that someone would come to investigate if a Black Star Celestial appeared, and Kwon Oh-Jin’s group had walked right into their trap.

From beneath the rolling mud, horse-headed demonic beasts rose.

“

Neigghhhh!

”

Their wide, webbed feet allowed them to glide across the unstable surface as if surfing. They hadn’t left this place at all. Ever since crawling out of the black rift three days ago, they had been hiding under the mud.

No wonder we couldn’t find them.

The demonic beasts were right under their noses all this time. Kwon Oh-Jin never imagined that they would stay put where they first emerged.

Anyway...

He eyed the demonic beasts, who mimicked horse cries as they emerged. They had the head of a horse, scaly bodies, and webbed claws tipped with talons.

They looked exactly like in the footage.

“So, they look like this because they’re supposed to be seahorses?”

They look like shit. It looks like someone thought a seahorse was literally a horse in the sea and slapped a horse’s head on a mermaid’s body.

“

Neigh

!” the seahorses cried again and encircled the group floundering in the mud.

The one in the lead raised its scaly arm.

Crack!

Its forearm split open, and jagged spikes sprouted out like blades. From the tip, a violet liquid reeking of fish dripped out.

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes at the liquid glistening on the spike.

Is it poison?

He couldn’t tell if it was the same poison that had afflicted Yoko, but one poke from that thing would be a nightmare.

A seahorse slid across the mudflats as if surfing and aimed its sharp spike straight for Kwon Oh-Jin’s throat.

With his legs half-submerged in the muck, dodging was nearly impossible.

“Your attacks are shit just like how you look.”

Using Lightning Steps, Kwon Oh-Jin leaped lightly into the air and slipped past the strike.

“

Tsk

.”

He drew Dantalian from his waist as it transformed into a spear and gripped it in reverse to thrust down. The spear pierced through the seahorse’s brow, driving cleanly through its body and pinning it to the ground. The seahorse didn’t even have time to scream as it instantly died.

Landing back in the mud, Kwon Oh-Jin reached for his spear buried in the seahorse’s head.

Crunch!

The spear that had shattered its skull slid free and returned to Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand like a living creature.

Moving in this mud is annoying...

However, he hadn’t lived so softly that he would be helpless just because it was hard to move. Of course, the same applied to his group, who came here to fight the Black Star Celestial.

“

Rrrraaaaaghhh!

” With a thunderous roar, Sakaki grabbed the seahorse charging at him by the shoulder, preventing it from escaping.

Then, he smashed his forehead down like a hammer.

“

Hup!

”

Crack!

The seahorse’s skull caved in.

Still gripping its ruined head, Sakaki swung the seahorse toward the incoming swarm. Its couple-hundred-pound body shot forth like a cannonball.

“Are you watching, Koshirooo! A real man pushes through this kind of disadvantage with nothing but spirit!”

“Yes,

Oyabun

!” Koshiro answered with vigor, spreading his arms wide.

His Stigma of Scutum flared brightly as dozens of translucent shields appeared around him.

“Defend!”

The shields spread out in midair like a wall and launched forward toward the swarm.

“

Neighhh!

”

It shoved the seahorses back. Battered by the flying shields, the demonic beasts rolled across the soggy mud.

The shields didn’t do much damage, but momentarily pushed the wave back for a counterattack.

“Let me borrow those shields for a bit!” Lee Woo-Hyuk unsheathed his sword and leaped onto the translucent shields scattered through the air.

Moving gracefully like a cat, he landed on top of one and raised his sword high.

“Strike!”

The Stigma of Leo shone brilliantly as a ferocious wind swirled forth, each gust as sharp as a blade. The gusts gathered around Lee Woo-Hyuk’s sword above his head.

“

Hup!

” Lee Woo-Hyuk sprinted straight at the seahorses, leaping from shield to shield like stepping stones.

He savagely swung his sword, wrapped in raging wind.

Whoosh!

The seahorses tore apart as if a lion had ripped them into pieces. Crimson blood sprayed and splattered across the mud.

“

Haaah.

” With a short breath, Lee Woo-Hyuk landed back on the mud after wiping out dozens of seahorses in a single strike.

Just then, someone urgently shouted from behind, “Move, move, move!”

“Hm?

” Lee Woo-Hyuk trusted his instincts and quickly moved aside.

A massive inferno roared across the mudflats and consumed the seahorses crawling forward.

Fwoosh!

The soaked mud instantly dried up and cracked like a desert beneath the heat storm.

“

Agh!

” Lee Woo-Hyuk let out a strained groan.

He had been quite far away, but the heat still scorched his skin. Even as a high-ranking Awakener, it nearly burned him. If he had been an average Awakener, he would’ve been roasted alive.

What the hell...!?

His eyes widened in shock as he turned toward the source of the fire.

Song Ha-Eun stood there, still wearing her eyepatch and scratching her head with an awkward smile. “

Hehehe...

Sorry. I’m still working on controlling my firepower.”

Had she really just unleashed a giant and powerful wave of fire with that carefree and sheepish expression?

Lee Woo-Hyuk shook his head in disbelief.

Song Ha-Eun grimaced as she looked down at her legs sinking deeper into the mud up to her thighs. “

Urgh

. Damn, moving around in this mud is such a pain.” She glanced back at the mudflats, dried and cracked from the flames. “Oh-Jin! Should I just burn this whole place down and dry it out completely?”

“Wait a second.”

With Song Ha-Eun’s power, she could certainly sweep the entire area and dry up the mud. However, she would end up scorching everything, including the people.

And besides...

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes at where she had unleashed her fire. The mud, which had hardened from the intense heat, was already soaking up moisture again and turning back into sticky mud.

Burning won’t work.

This place bordered the sea. Whatever dried out would just be replenished.

Lee Woo-Hyuk, who had been ferociously hacking apart seahorses, grimaced. “

Kugh...!

O-Oh-Jin! The mud is getting deeper!”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s legs, which had only sunk to his knees before, were already buried up to his thighs.

Wait a second... It’s getting deeper?

He slowly scanned the surroundings, but couldn’t find it.

“Where is it?”

“What are you looking for?” Vega asked.

“The Celestial of Seahorse.”

Seahorses swarmed out of the mud like a hive and kept rushing straight at Kwon Oh-Jin’s group. The perfect time to ambush them was now, so where was Enceladus?

“Perhaps the Celestial of Seahorse is standing back and watching? A Celestial would likely ignore you simply because you are human.”

“Then why bother setting a trap like this?”

If Enceladus really intended to ignore them, why go through the trouble of laying such a trap? It hadn’t shown itself because of something else.

“

Ha

...” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and ran his hand down his face as he pieced everything together. “I’ve been thinking about this the wrong way.”

He bit his lip as he stared at the swarm of seahorses crawling out of the mud.

It wasn’t trying to use the mud to ambush us.

Kwon Oh-Jin had it wrong this entire time. He had assumed that this place was a mud flat because they were near water and mud surrounded them.

“This isn’t a mud flat.”

It was a swamp.

“Those seahorses are just bait to keep us trapped here.”

The enemy hadn’t planned to use this environment for a surprise attack. The environment itself was the most dangerous weapon.

Rumble!

In an instant, the mud that had swallowed them up to their thighs pulled them down further to their waists.

Song Ha-Eun panicked. “W-What the hell?!”

She tried to wrench herself free, but it felt as if some massive beast was dragging her down from below. She couldn’t budge in the slightest.

Lee Woo-Hyuk’s face stiffened as he turned toward Kwon Oh-Jin. “Oh-Jin, this is...”

Normally, anyone stuck in mud this deep would never escape. However, that was only true for ordinary people. Everyone here was a high-ranking Awakener above nine stars. They should’ve been able to leap out easily even if buried up to their necks.

“

Kh!

O-Oyabun

, I can’t...!”

“Koshiro! Hold on! Focus!”

The swamp wasn’t just restraining them. It dragged them down with a supernatural grip that even their superhuman physiques couldn’t break free from as though the entire land that stretched for kilometers was alive and hungry.

Only one kind of being could create such a phenomenon. That being was hiding right beneath them and pulling them down.

“Vega.”

“M-My child! We must get out of here at once!”

“I know.” Kwon Oh-Jin pulled out the wire shooter strapped to his wrist and handed it to Vega.

“This is...?”

“Use the wire to bind the others and pass it to Sakaki.”

It would be impossible to escape the swamp’s pull without the raw strength of an Awakener of Taurus.

“A-Alright!” Vega darted through the air and wrapped the others in the wire before tossing the shooter to Sakaki.

Sakaki caught it and turned toward Kwon Oh-Jin. “What do you expect me to do with this?”

“Step onto Koshiro’s shield and pull everyone out of the swamp!”

“Even so...” Sakaki scanned his surroundings with a troubled expression.

The swamp had already swallowed the coastline for several kilometers. Even if they managed to pull everyone out, they would only sink right back in without the ability to fly.

“Ten seconds is all I need,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Alright.” Sakaki nodded and shouted toward Koshiro, “Koshirooooo! Send the shield this way!”

“Yes,

Oyabun

!”

A translucent shield came whirling toward him.

“

Hrrrghhh!

”

The Stigma of Taurus blazed brightly, and Sakaki tore free from the mud. Planting his feet firmly on the shield, he stomped down with brutal force.

“

Rrrrraaaaaghhh!

”

Boom!

Sakaki shot up and soared dozens of meters into the air.

“

Kyaaaah!

We’re flying! We’re actually flying!”

“

Ungh...!

”

Connected by the wires, Song Ha-Eun, Lee Woo-Hyuk, and Koshiro all flew up along with him. They weren’t actually flying and would soon fall back into the swamp, but this would buy enough time.

“Now then.”

Crackle!

Fierce blue lightning roared to life.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s right arm exploded and reformed entirely out of lightning itself. With a sly grin, he thrusted his Lightning Form arm deep into the heart of the swamp.

“Quit hiding and show yourself, you horse-headed bastard.”

Boom!

A torrent of devastating lightning burst out and flooded every corner of the swamp.