Hard Carry Support

Chapter 143 - Citadel Invasion (1)

"There's a reason why there are only a few elites. There's always a way."

The solution was to gain control of the restricting magic circles!

If they reached the magic circle of the core, they should’ve been able to regain control of the castle.

By using all of the energy stored within the castle and activating the defense mechanisms, it would’ve been possible to kick out all of the devils at once.

It was the only way for five people to win against tens of thousands…

'It isn't going to be easy.'

The outer wall, the inner wall, and the core…

They had to go through three stages to get to the restricting magic circle.

Just passing through the outer wall wasn't easy.

After all, there were guards and tens of thousands of undead monsters around the place.

If they were found by even one of them, a battle they had no chance of winning would begin.

What if they were able to reach the inner wall?

That's when the really difficult part would start.

There were lots of guarding magic circles at the inner wall.

Not only that, but there was a chance they'd be found just by the senses of the high-level devils.

Level 300 named devils… Fighting against one should've been hard already, so it was obvious how things would end if hundreds surrounded them.

But…

Maybe…

What if they were able to reach the core?!

( Outer Wall ( Inner Wall (( Core )) Inner Wall > Outer Wall )

A thick wall surrounded the core, so there wasn't a way to sneak in secretly.

If the party had to go over the bridge that connected the inner wall and the core, they'd have to go through hundreds of debuffing magic circles and thousands of high-level devils.

'There's a reason why the Count is sure we're going to lose.'

It probably sounded like a joke that five players who hadn't finished the 2nd job ascension were going to try to get the castle back.

"Please, die as soon as possible. I'd like to take a rest in the afternoon."

It seemed like Mablen thought the same as the Duke.

Not only was he not cheering them up, but he also said something ominous, and then he turned into a bat.

Since users could revive after dying, it seemed he didn't care if they were the Duke's knights or whatever.

To be more precise, Louise wasn't a user… but there was a reason why Hyun had brought her there.

'There's no way she'll die while I'm «Assimilated» to her.'

The Robes of the Praying Priest had a certain skill.

[If the target you're «Assimilating» to loses all of its HP, it becomes immortal for 3 seconds!]

Three seconds was enough time to use a return scroll and make Louise return to the private room.

'Although it would be best if something like that didn't happen.'

Hyun had no intention of challenging the quest many times before making it a success.

Mostly because the developers were probably looking at him with high hopes.

He didn't want to make a fool of himself. Hyun bit his lips.

"Partial Unstealth."

Hyun set things up so that only a few drones would appear to his eyes.

Being conscious of the eyes watching over him was the best way to maintain some tension.

'Just look closely.'

He smiled while looking at the drones and then turned around.

「Remember, just do as we practiced. Then… let's go!」

Pang-!

Hyun led the way while «Assimilated» to Louise.

A dark light shone from the skies.

A shadowy light shone through the old buildings that looked like ruins.

‘Do the Dukes want to show off their power through how majestic their castles are?’

Kaidan castle was so big that the best word to describe it was ‘vast’.

Maybe castles like that existed because, in that world, you could build a castle in a short period of time by using magic.

The most important thing was how close they could get to the core before they were found out.

'If they discover us around the outer wall, we should give up on the quest!'

Hyun had brought information of five different routes that led to the core and tens of different possible ways to get there.

There were some differences between Asra and Asrian online, so he'd made all those preparations just in case.

"…"

Mablen looked at the group.

He was surprised after seeing the one wearing a black and white robe suddenly disappear.

'There aren't many techniques that can move the soul…'

Mablen still hadn't figured out that Hyun had used «Assimilation» on TarrTarr before.

He was surprised by how smoothly they moved.

He even began wondering if they knew about the structure of the huge castle. They moved forward while avoiding the gazes of the guards.

He almost clapped after seeing how they stepped on the «Wind Barrier» and went through the magic circle that guarded the outer wall.

—Although it was impossible because he'd turned into a bat.

'But they can't keep hiding like this… How will they react when they come face-to-face against an enemy?'

Mablen kept following the party.

Not only did the party members move fast, but they were also going through a complex pathway, so he had to fly as if he were doing acrobatics.

They'd gone through a dark and long passageway.

It was a tunnel through which supplies passed through.

They quickly passed under the lamps that worked with magic power.

They met their first enemies after they'd gone through half of the tunnel.

Fu. A smile appeared on Mablen's mouth.

'They're going to be discovered!'

There was always at least one devil guarding the tunnels illuminated with magic power.

The moment it saw the group, it would probably make the alarms sound, and others would discover them as well.

But Mablen's guess was wrong.

「Ain.」

「I know!」

Black and red lights shot forward.

«Shadow Run» and «Steps of the Incarnate»!

Paf-!

While «Assimilating» to Louise, Hyun punched a devil, then «Assimilated» to Ain and used Efreet's Claws.

It took two seconds for a level 200 security lizard to be killed.

They were able to eliminate an enemy with tens of thousands of HP so quickly because, at that moment, the Angel's Sword Art had activated twice.

Mablen frowned because he wasn't aware of those skills.

He had turned into a bat, so an unpleasant and loud voice rang.

"Woah, that was unexpected. Was it a critical hit? You were quite lucky."

Hyun didn't reply to Mablen's remark.

He had no mental space to focus on other things.

If they didn't move fast, other devils would see traces of battle and begin gathering.

While infiltrating a castle, there was nothing more stupid than staying in one place for too long.

That was a conclusion he'd reached thanks to the experience he'd gained while playing Asra Online.

'I can't stop moving.'

Translator - Daniel Shin

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

The group safely passed through the middle of the tunnel.

But the closer they got to the inner wall, the more enemies they would face.

Mablen, who knew that, was expecting the party to be completely destroyed.

They would soon reach the end of the tunnel.

Mablen made an expectant smile while looking at the approaching exit.

The chances of a guard being outside of it were low, but there were probably lots of undead outside of it.

Would they be able to kill all of the enemies without letting even one go?

No, that would be impossible, even for him.

The moment they let one devil go, thousands, tens of thousands more would appear.

「Wait.」

Everyone stopped at Hyun's orders.

While Mablen was confused, TarrTarr walked to the front.

Fwoosh- Suddenly, he was covered by dark energy.

It was Hyun's Demonic Energy flowing out of his body.

「TarrTarr, you remember, right?」

「Yes…!」

The previous day, TarrTarr had to memorize a strategy that was as long as a thesis at Hyun's orders.

It was too long, so he couldn't memorize everything—that's why he had it stuck on one side of the screen.

«Invisibility».

The moment they exited the tunnel…

TarrTarr went through the group of undead.

Hyun quickly analyzed the situation.

There were tens of skeletons at the front, blue ghosts on the sides, and two lizard Magicians at the back that seemed to be controlling the devils.

Based on that, he thought of the most effective way to wipe out all of the enemies.

Where should he use the skills? How much Demonic Energy should he use?

How should he eliminate the commanders?

Before «Invisibility» ran out, Hyun quickly shouted through the party chat.

「Ain! Fifty meters behind, with Louise!」

「Okay!」

There was no need for a detailed explanation.

Based on that short order, she understood Hyun's meaning and passed TarrTarr and the group of undead.

'Demonic Energy, 35 thousand.'

Simultaneously, Hyun used a grand sword and aimed at the center of the group of skeletons.

GOOO- A black hole made using the optimal amount of Demonic Energy appeared at the best possible location.

But Hyun wasn't done yet.

Then he put a buff on Salon.

«Biorhythm Acceleration!>>

Salon, who leaped toward the black hole, began attacking at a speed that couldn't be easily seen.

Salon and TarrTarr had been in charge of the undead in the experience dungeon, and they had the same role there in the castle.

All of the training they'd done in the experience dungeon made it possible for them to move with such synergy.

'I can't let them escape.'

Hyun put a «Spirit Run» into the black hole.

It was the Shadow Linker's debuff skill that made a target move slower.

Although those who were dragged into the black hole took 99% reduced damage, it didn’t affect debuff skills.

When the black hole ended, the skeletons, which had become slower, were quickly melted down by Salon's swords.

Although a few ghosts flew toward the sky.

"Good job, Louise."

Louise wasn't a coward kid anymore.

When Hyun «Assimilated» to Ain, she'd already run up the building's walls and reached the top.

She'd moved there so she could catch the ghosts that tried to run away.

"She's improved quite a lot!"

The moment a greatsword over two meters long appeared in Louise's hands, destruction happened in the sky.

Salon had missed four ghosts.

Hyun stepped on the «Wind Barrier» and quickly turned the four ghosts into light.

Fwoosh-!

And lastly, as he swung the sword of darkness with «Shadow Run» active, the last ghost scattered away into the light.

Tap-!

There were no remaining devils when Louise landed.

Louise and Ain eliminated the elite monsters and trash mobs in just the blink of an eye.

'They didn't let a single one go…?'

Mablen's eyes widened after seeing that they'd annihilated the entire group of devils.

If he’d just been surprised the first time, he was then feeling a cold sweat dripping from his back.

"Ain, please recharge me."

"Ah, okay…!"

Mablen looked in confusion at Ain, who attacked her ally after the battle had ended.

[The amount of Demonic Energy you can have has reached the limit!]

[The attack range of the next «Sword of Darkness» will be greatly increased!]

After they'd finished recharging, they began running again.

The sky was helping the group, too.

Since the sun was in the middle of the sky, it was the time when it was the darkest.

The closer they got to the inner wall, the darker it got.

TarrTarr and Salon kept looking at the top of their screens.

The castle’s structure was so complex that they wouldn't have known where to start if it weren't for the map they'd received from Hyun.

'A few places have changed compared to before…'

Hyun had the map he'd gotten from the interloop at one side of his vision and kept comparing it to the places he passed through.

'The overall structure remained the same!'

Hyun «Assimilated» to Louise and jumped high while the black wind was raging.

Boom-!

The moment Louise's hands hit the wall, a tunnel that connected to the insides of the building appeared.

'Good, it's a wall that can be broken!'

There were a few parts of the wall that weren't protected by magic circles.

If they went through that tunnel, they could run quite a distance without encountering any monsters.

But things don't always go as planned.

The group was passing through one of the connecting zones when they encountered a group of devils.

At that moment, he had no choice but to adapt and try to overcome the situation.

「Don't let a single one escape alive!」Hyun shouted to everyone.