Chapter 178 - Defense (2)

"You met the goddess?"

"I did. Why are you surprised?"

"This isn’t your first time. I’m just surprised you were able to meet her for the second time."

Woojin shrugged his shoulder at Melody’s reaction.

"Are you saying you’ve never seen her before?"

"Yes. I’ve only heard her voice...."

Woojin shook his head from side to side, and he summoned Shing Shing.

"Anyways, I have to get back quickly. The oracle or whatever is annoying, but it seems to be legitimate."

"...."

Woojin used his will to contact Do-jaemin, who was his Domain’s vassal.

[What are you doing?]

[Hyunnnnnnng!]

Woojin was greeted so fiercely that he could easily guess that Jaemin need something from him.

[Do your best to hold out. I’ll be there quickly.]

[Yes, we’ll protect this Colony no matter what.]

He had one Dungeon and one Colony.

He only had two gates, but it seemed the nearby Dimensional lords seemed hellbent at attacking him. The Dimensional lords were pooling their strength together, and they were gathering enough forces to finish this deed on its first try.

"I’ll have to return quickly."

"Is the situation really that bad?"

"I’ve been told around 100,000 monsters have gathered at the Nero plateau."

"How can that be..."

"Is it close to the Saurus mountain?"

"It would take the land monsters about a week to travel that distance."

"One week..."

He had to get there before the week ended.

How could the Coalition stop an army of 100,000 monsters by themselves? Moreover, it was obvious that the Dimensional lords would take part in the fight.

"We have to fly back."

Woojin got on Shing Shing.

"What are you doing?"

Woojin extended his hand towards her. He was just standing there blankly. She grabbed his hand in a moment of bewilderment, and she got on behind him.

Poo-roo-roohk.

The icky Holy Power could be felt through her butt, so Shing Shing neighed. However, it was able to be easily ignored.

"Hold on tight. If you fall off, I’m leaving you behind."

"Yes."

He didn’t have to say it like that...

However, she knew his words weren’t an empty threat, so she clung tightly to Woojin’s waist.

Shwahhhk.

The Phantom Steed stepped onto the empty air, and it started galloping through the sky.

****

Tauric had climbed a watchtower, and he worriedly looked out into the setting sun.

Hwah-roo-roohk.

A fireball fell from the sky, and it landed lightly on top of the watchtower. The flame resolved into the shape of a man.

"Oh, Fire Spirit King."

"Ah. I’m not a Spirit."

"But..."

"Ah, whatever. So how’s everything going?"

Somehow, Sunggoo felt as if he was being mocked, so he frowned. He quickly brought up his business.

"Can you see them?"

"Mmm. Their numbers keep increasing, but they haven’t shown any signs of moving yet."

It wasn’t as if the monsters were showing up from some capital on this planet. They were coming from the Dimensional lords’ colonies. They were using their Points to bolster their forces.

"When do you think they’ll move?"

"Since I’m not the god of prophecy, I wouldn’t know such information."

"Hmm. I hope they don’t move towards us until hyung-nim arrives."

Tauric agreed wholeheartedly at Sunggoo’s mumbled words.

How great would it be if thing turned out that way?

Tauric wasn’t confident that they could take on such a massive number of troops.

Currently, if one excluded children and the wounded, their own forces numbered in the 3,000. It was a small number.

"Just let me know when they start to move."

Tauric was curious as to why the Fire Spirit from earth kept bringing up this topic.

"If they start to move, we have about a week before they reach us."

This was also the time frame given by the Immortal regarding his return.

This was why Tauric and the people of the fortress held out hope.

If they could keep out the vanguard, they believed the Immortal would take care of the rest.

"You never know what will happen. If they start to move, I might have to delay their progress."

A massive army, which numbered in the 100,000, was going to march towards them, yet he wanted to delay them by himself?

"...aren’t you afraid?"

"If I screw up here, I won’t be able to return home. I’m more afraid of that possibility."

"..."

If Tauric thought about it, this being was from earth.

Even now he could use the Portal to run away to earth, yet he was still fighting for Alphen.

Tauric face was full of emotion as he bowed his head.

"I want to give my deepest gratitude for the Fire Spirit King’s courage and favor."

"Jeez. You don’t have to thank me."

Sunggoo tried to wave it away with his hands.

Didn’t everyone had their own motivation for fighting here?

These beings were fighting for Alphen’s survival and salvation. Sunggoo was fighting for the chance to return to his home.

Currently, the gate in front of the portal was unusable, since the owner of the Colony wasn’t present.

If Woojin had designated someone to be in charge of the Colony’s defense, this person would have been able to use the Points and Gate freely....

However, there would be nothing to be gained by regretting past decisions. The only thing he could do was to pray for Woojin’s swift return.

"Ah. It seems king Raul is looking for the Fire Spirit King. You should go meet him."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Sunggoo was curious as to why the king of the Dwarves was looking for him.

"Please alert me immediately when you see them move."

"Yes. I’ll do so."

The worshippers of Skia, the god of Adventurers, were scouting the enemy. Therefore, they’ll know the exact moment when the army starts to move.

Hwah-roo-roohk.

A haze emanated from Sunggoo’s body before he ignited.

Accompanying the scorching heat, he flew from the watchtower to one of the walls.

Several short dwarves were gathered to check on the defense weapons mounted on the castle walls. These were magical weapons, which could be activated using Bloodstones. There were also several primitive looking weapons placed on the walls too.

It didn’t matter if it was cold water or dirty water. Every weapon they had was being deployed.

"You were looking for me, Raul?"

"Oh oh. Earth’s Spirit King."

"..."

Did he have to accept the name now?

Sunggoo ignored Raul’s words as he asked a question.

"What business do you have with me?"

"I’ve found an interesting Item. I thought it might be very compatible with the Spirit King."

"What is it?"

"Let’s go together."

He was led away by Raul. From the castle wall, they climbed to a clearing at the mid-slope of the mountain.

"This is where the research facility of the magicians is located at."

When Woojin was constructing the fortress, he had built several types of building including the research facility.

"I had an interesting Item, and since the earth’s Spirit King deals with the source of fire, I remodeled it to fit you."

Raul was proud of his research room, and he pointed towards the round cylinder in front of the room.

"Hmm. What is this?"

"It is a magic amplifier. When I was making it, I made it so that it’ll grow one’s magical energy. If you stand within it and shoot your amplified magic, it’ll become a splendid weapon."

"Ho-oh."

Sunggoo got up on the round platform.

Weeeeng.

The entire platform was engraved with complicated magic circle. It let out a light, and it made Sunggoo feel a profound and mysterious sensation. When he touched the crystal ball in front of him, the round cylinder was pointed frontward like a cannon.

The cylinder had a hole where a single person would be able to fit through, and it was also engraved with various magical circles.

"How much can it amplify my magic?"

As Sunggoo asked his question, he discreetly pushed his magic into it.

Hwa-roo-roohk!

A small amount of energy had gone out of him into the crystal ball, and it traveled through the tube. An unexpected result occurred.

Koo-ooh-ooh-oohng!

Accompanying a large explosions, a flame rose high into the sky as it left behind a trail of fire. Sunggoo, who was surprised, took his hands off the crystal ball, and he looked at Raul with a dumbfounded expression.

"Doo-hahah. No race can hold a candle against the magical engineering of the Dwarves. To be precise, it’ll amplify your power by 9 times."

"How many times did you say?"

"I said 9 times."

Raul proudly unfurled nine fingers. Sunggoo looked at the amplifier with a pale face.

’This is quite the Item.’

The durability of the Item was a problem, but if one considered only the power it could generate, it was an incredible weapon. It felt as if he had gained a much needed item. The only downside was the fact that this was a fixed defensive weapon.

"Could you make this a bit smaller so I can carry it around?"

"You are talking about a portable amplifier? Do you mean a magician’s staff?"

"Ah...."

The magicians carried around a staff, because it acted as an amplifier for their magic?

When Sunggoo nodded his head, Dwarf King Raul shook his head from side to side.

"You can’t get such results with a staff. It merely amplifies one’s magic by three fold."

"...."

Did his ears hear wrong? Three times?

"Did you say three times?"

"That’s right. A staff can’t generate a power of this magnitude."

"I don’t mind it. May you make me one?"

"Mmmm? If we had enough ingredients...."

Raul smirked at Sunggoo’s shining eyes. How could a magician not even know about the existence of a staff?

Was it because he was a Spirit?

"I’ll gather the materials from the other heroes, and I’ll make you one."

At Raul’s words, Sunggoo’s face became flushed from the anticipation.

If he had this Item, it felt as if he would be able to hold out against the enemies until Woojin came back.

***

Shing Shing had been running through the sky, and it came to a stop.

"...."

"...."

Neither Woojin nor Melody was able to speak when they saw the sight in front of them.

Kee-ah-ahh.

The sky was filled with dragonfly-looking monsters, and the ground was filled with ground type monsters.

"When they said an army of 100,000 had gathered, did they mean here?"

Woojin was dumbfounded as he looked at the monster army in front of him. There was so many of them that it was meaningless to count them.

"So they want to block my way back?"

It was either his enemies trying to delay his return to his Colony, or they thought the massive amount of monsters would be able to take him down. Either way it was an unpleasant situation.

This was especially true, since he was in a hurry.

"Open a path, Jaenis."

[Who dares to stand in front of our lord! Who?]

Koo-ah-ahng!

The summoned Jaenis let out his flame. It shot into the front line, and several hundred dragonfly monsters were burnt to crisp. Shing Shing ran through the newly opened path.

However, it didn’t take long for the monsters to get in front of his path again.

Shoo-shoo-shoohk!

The interference occurred not only in the sky.

The monsters on the surface shot poisoned darts or magical spells. They were doing various acts to bother Woojin.

"Ah. They are being annoying."

If he wanted to smash through this, it might be better to do it on the ground. There were too many enemies for Woojin to handle by himself. Moreover, Melody was riding behind him, and it was complicating the use of his power.

The Holy Power of Melody and Woojin’s Necromancy were at odds with each other. They reduced the effectiveness of each other’s power.

If he wanted to cut open a path through slaughter, he would be better off going forward with his Familiars.

When Shing Shing landed, the monsters in the surrounding tried to mob him.

Kwahng!

Woojin detonated the souls hovering around him as he pushed back the monsters. The Immortal summoned his Familiars in the clearing.

"My dudes!"

At their master’s calling, every Death Knight except Kiba, who was protecting the Dimensional domain, appeared.

[Koo-hoo-oohp. It is the smell of the battlefield.]

[What do you want us to do?]

Woojin took out his Warrior’s Weapon, and he pointed forward.

"We are going straight towards the Saurus Colony."

[It is a battle!]

[I’ll bring down the blessing of death!]

The Death Knights charged forward like mad men, and the monsters crowding them were cut down helplessly.

Did they really think such small fries could stop the Immortal’s advance?

It would delay him a little bit, but on the other hand, he would also gain something from this encounter.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"You can do whatever the hell you want, Jaenis."

[I like that command.]

Jaenis didn’t need to worry about friendly fire, so he indiscriminately used his magic against the monsters. As the monsters started to burn, his EXP started to climb steadily .

"L...look over there! It is one of Trahnet’s commander."

Melody yelled out in dismay when she saw the familiar flag. Woojin turned to look up into the sky. The large stingray monster Feris was flying in the sky, and there was a familiar symbol drawn on the belly of the beast.

"Isn’t that Ilrak? The 44th Throne.."

Woojin’s face turned serious.

He had always referred to them in terms of them being Trahnet’s subordinates and commanders. However, it felt different now.

This being was considered to be a god in 44 different Dimension.

Now the Dimensional lord was here on Alphen for a Code that’ll make him qualified to be a god in 45 Dimensions.

"What..."

One could describe this as being amazing. This noble personage was special and holy.

However, it was funny to Woojin.

"...utter nonsense."

These divine beings were allying themselves to each other to bring him down.

Woojin could feel their fear.

"It is up to you to follow me, Melody."

Woojin put Melody on the ground, and he gripped the reins.

Poo-roo-roohk!

Shin Shing blew out air from its mouth as it galloped into the sky. It headed towards Ilrak’s Feris.