Chapter 178
Chapter 178
The black-armored man became surprised when confronted with the maelstrom of Mana Stream . He raised his weapon toward the light, and his party members followed suit .
“W . . . what the h.e.l.l is this!”
A scream suddenly rang out . The researcher was still clutching at his two money bags, but now, his face was turning blue .
“Magical energy poisoning?”
“Hadn’t he said that he"d be fine because of the magical energy suppressor?”
Confusion ran rampant within the Connectors" hearts . The researcher was getting worse and worse . His skin was beyond being blue and was starting to turn purplish black .
“Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
The researcher felt as if ants were crawling and chewing through his veins and arteries .
He started to scratch at his body with his fingernails . His hands turned b.l.o.o.d.y from his own blood .
“L . . . look at him…!”
The white-robed woman turned pale as she pointed toward the researcher .
[This device blocks the magical energy of the labyrinth, but I have no idea how it’ll function within a Mana Stream . That"s why we have to be very careful . ]
McGregor’s warning flashed through the researcher’s brain . However, he was in too much pain . His mind turned blank as the pain ate away at his consciousness .
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”
He screamed until it felt as if his throat would rip apart . It was his last moments .
Puh-uhng!
Then his body blew up as if it were a balloon . Blood, bones, flesh, and innards flew into the surroundings .
Chwahhhhhhk!
It covered the nearby Connectors .
“Ooh-ahhhhhhhhht!”
“Kyahhhhhhk!”
They let out screams . They were veterans who had fought monsters for a long time, and they were used to death . Their personality was quite twisted as a consequence . But they weren’t rotten enough to be unperturbed by a human dying in front of them .
This was especially true when the victim had just blown up next to them, and they were coated in his remains . Of course, their panic would deepen .
“Calm down!”
The black-armored man yelled .
“Just focus on the enemy that shows up first! If we don’t, we’ll die a horrible death like that man!”
As expected of a leader, he caught the attention of his party in an instant . He used the fear of seeing the researcher die in front of them to his advantage, and employed it as a motivation for them to act .
His party members broke out of their stupor . They didn’t want to die a miserable death like the researcher .
Boom!
The light dissipated, and something landed on the ground .
“… So that"s a Golem . It has a very apt name . ”
At a glance, one could tell its body was made out of metal, and it was not a living creature .
“Let’s kill that thing first!”
When their leader shouted out an order, the party responded . They got into a familiar formation as they faced off against the Golem .
Puhhhhhhhhhhhng!
One of the Golem’s numerous eyes turned red and shot out a large flame . The largest man in the party stepped forward and blocked the flame with his s.h.i.+eld .
“Koo-oooooohk!”
The man groaned, but he was somehow able to block the flame .
However, the Golem"s attack hadn"t ended yet .
Boom!
The Golem took a big jump, and in a flash, it closed the distance to the party . Then, it swung its arm in a violent manner .
“Attaaaaaaaaack!”
The black-armored man swung his hammer as he confronted the Golem, and the battle started in earnest .
The battle was fierce . The Golem was strong and fast . Moreover, it was capable of using multiple spells .
The party members were pushed to the brink when faced with a variety of attacks .
However, they weren’t pushovers . This party was pretty well-known amongst the parties that raided the Great Labyrinth .
The party somehow found an equilibrium in fighting the Golem . When they got used to the attacks from their opponent, they started to mount a counteroffensive . They started to push the Golem backward .
After a while . . .
Kwah-jee-jeek!
The hammer crushed the Golem’s chest .
Numerous wounds already covered the Golem"s body, and this attack was the critical blow .
Boom!
It fell to the cold floor of the labyrinth . At the same time, the black-armored man and his party members fell to the ground from exhaustion .
“Huh-uhk! Huhk! What kind of monster is that!”
The black-armored man cursed .
In truth, he hadn’t believed the words of the man named Woo Sungyoon . Even if Woo Sungyoon was a high rank Connector who had entered the Great Labyrinth, he was still a novice compared to their party .
That was why the black-armored man came to the conclusion that Woo Sungyoon was weak, and that his fear was unwarranted . If the Golem was truly powerful, Woo Sungyoon would have never made it back out . That was the black-armored man"s reasoning .
However, he had just fought the Golem, and it truly was monstrous .
‘Still, we killed it in the end . If I take back the piece of metal alongside the Golem, my name will be honored by the world . . . ’
However, he couldn"t continue that thought . He saw something that he didn’t want to believe was true .
Sssk! Sssk! Sssk!
Numerous lights appeared around his party .
The magical energy swirled in a crazy manner . It sounded like a cry announcing his impending death .
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As expected, the light spat out Golems .
Eight Golems appeared first . However, not all of the Golems looked like the one that the party had just defeated .
Boooom!
Then, two more Golems appeared . These Golems looked different from the eight normal Golems .
They were about twice as big, and they had six arms . The normal Golems had spider-like eyes, but these two had two human-like eyes .
Sss-ooooooooh!
Eight normal Golems and two super Golems, which looked much stronger than the normal Golems, all of them locked onto the Connector party in front of them .
“… Run . ”
The black-armored man quietly spoke . His party members quickly got up .
The Golems, who had remained still until that moment, started to move .
“Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
The black-armored man started running like the Flash . His party members quickly followed him .
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Golems started to chase them down .
***
Sungyoon’s party was resting within their lodgings . The battles against the Four-Winged Vultures had taken a turn for the better in the plateau . It meant the party was gaining experience against these monsters . It was looking like they would be able to clear the 2nd floor of the Great Labyrinth soon .
All of them went to sleep with renewed hope in their heart for tomorrow . However, their sweet dreams were interrupted by an explosion .
Boooooooooom!
Bul-duhk!
Sungyoon immediately got up from his deep sleep .
‘What the h.e.l.l was that?’
The light outside was still subdued, so it was still night in Armstrong . Sungyoon didn’t have a good idea as to why he had suddenly woken up from his sleep .
However, he became fully awake when he heard the second explosion .
Boooooooooom!
This time he was fully conscious . He jumped out of his bed and ran out the door .
“Mr . Sungyoon!”
The first person he encountered was Emily, who was still in her pajamas .
“What’s that sound?”
“I have no idea . ”
Slam!
Tim slammed the door open as he came out of his room .
“What’s happeni—!”
Boooooooooom!
The third explosion erupted before Tim could ask his question .
Aeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!
The sound of a siren started ringing out .
Armstrong was filled with Confusion . When Sungyoon looked out the window, he could see people running out into the streets in droves .
Pah-aht!
The lights should"ve been dimmed at this time, but they suddenly brightened .
“It seems something bad must have happened . ”
It was a certainty considering what was going on in Sunngyoon"s surroundings .
The problem was the fact that they had no idea if this was a large or a small incident . From what they had seen and heard, it didn’t seem like a small one .
“Let’s get our Devices and Gems for now . ”
They each went into their respective rooms and picked up their Devices and Gems . Then they exited the building .
It happened at that moment .
Puhhhhhhhhhhhng!
A blue light erupted from the place where the Beginner’s Labyrinth was supposed to be . The blue light flew in a straight line and destroyed all the buildings in its path before striking the outer wall of Armstrong .
Kwah-doo-doo-doohk!
It almost didn’t look real . The outer wall, which had been protecting the city, was ripped apart as if it were made out of paper .
An opening was formed, and the s.p.a.ce beyond came into clear view .
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”
Screams of despair echoed everywhere . Normal humans couldn’t live on the rough and lifeless surface of the moon . The wall had been their only protection against the lunar environment, and now it had been breached .
Connectors like Sungyoon and his party members would be fine . However, Armstrong had a great number of regular people working here as well . The destruction of the outer wall was basically a death sentence for them .
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
An emergency broadcast cut through the screams of despair .
- We are enacting Artemis Level 1 alert . All civilians should evacuate to an emergency shelter . This is not a drill . I repeat . We are enacting Artemis Level 1 alert . All civilians should evacuate to an…
Artemis .
It was the name of the Moon G.o.ddess . But the Artemis the broadcast was mentioning was the name of the alert system used in case of an emergency in Armstrong .
Artemis Level 1 alert meant Armstrong was facing an existential threat .
Koo-roor-roo-roo-roo!
Another large sound could be heard in the distance . A barrier was descending from the ceiling, and it was sealing off the breached sector .
- We are quarantining the E-49 section .
The broadcast explained what was going on . It seemed the higher-ups of the Armstrong city were doing their best to minimize the damage .
However, their actions bore no fruit .
Puh-uhng! Puh-uhng! Puh-uhng!
People could see a variety of attacks erupt from the distance . They could tell it was light, fire, earth, water, and similar spells being shot into the surroundings .
In a flash, more buildings fell, and numerous wounds formed on the outer wall of Armstrong . The civilians panicked and ran toward the nearest shelter .
“Mr . Sungyoon!”
Someone grabbed him . It was Grace . It seemed she had come running to his lodging as soon as this incident had erupted .
She asked him a question .
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure . ”
It wasn"t just Sungyoon . Most of the people in Armstrong had no idea what was going on .
It happened at that moment .
Kwahhhng!
A person came flying through the air, and he crashed into a building .
“A . . . are you ok?”
Emily approached the person . She placed a hand over her mouth when she saw this person"s condition .
At a glance, one could tell the man was heavily injured . He was wearing a high rank black armor, but it was damaged all over . Blood poured out from large and small wounds all over his body .
Above all else, his left arm was missing, and blood gushed out from the stump .
“Please stay calm! I’ll heal you right now!”
Emily raised her staff .
However, the man didn’t listen to Emily’s words .
“I . . . I have . . . I have to . . . run . . . run away . . . ”
His arms and legs didn’t work, yet he struggled to move .
What was he running away from?
The answer to the question came knocking before Emily could even ask it .
Boom!
A Golem landed in front of her and her party .
“… Why is this here?”
Sungyoon’s eyes shook .
However, he didn’t have time to ponder .
Sssssssssk!
One of the Golem’s eyes turned white .
“Oohk!”
Sungyoon didn’t have time to dodge . Above all else, Tim, Emily, and the evacuating civilians would be put in harm"s way if he dodged the attack .
Sungyoon immediately activated his Gems, then he overclocked them .
Too-hwahk!
White light shot out from the Golem, and the light squarely struck Sungyoon’s s.h.i.+eld .
Puh-uhng!
The nearby temperature rapidly dropped . Frost started to form around the s.h.i.+eld, and in no time, Sungyoon started to freeze .
“Koo-oo-ook!”
Sungyoon gritted his teeth . The cold air seeped through the gaps in his armor . If his armor didn’t have innate resistance, he would have become an unsightly ice sculpture .
The Golem stopped its attack, and Sungyoon fell to his knee .
Kwah-jeek! Kwah-jeek!
The sound of ice breaking off his body rang out .
‘Cold!’
Sungyoon felt as if even his internal organs were frozen, and he couldn’t properly move his body .
“Mr . Sungyoon! s.h.i.+t!”
Tim swung his ax toward the Golem .
However, the Golem used its agile movements to dodge .