Chapter 133

Although there was a fair distance between the creature and where Taewoon stood, he could sufficiently perceive the danger it posed even from afar.

With its chilling Magical Power and presence, the creature certainly possessed the strength to reign as a predator a level above the other organisms on this island.

‘Just how many of those monsters has the Empire secured…’

Taewoon had encountered two so far, and that likely wasn’t all of them.

The team members who had come into contact with the fluttering powder were already halfway to losing their minds, so Taewoon quickly swung his spear, creating a powerful gust of wind to blow it all away.

“Be careful. Do not approach that thing.”

“Urgh… I-I understand.”

As the creature, having spotted its prey, began to descend toward somewhere, Taewoon left a warning for his companions and quickly chased after it, cutting through the forest.

Those with immense Magical Power or their own means of defense seemed to somehow escape the influence, but the fact that mere powder emanating from its wings possessed such potency was alarming.

The team members who became direct targets of the creature would undoubtedly face grave danger.

‘Damn it, what kind of power is this?’

Even though he had only closed the distance slightly, the influence of the scale powder grew stronger. Furthermore, the moment he looked at the patterns engraved on the creature’s wings, his head began to throb instinctively.

At this level, its mental confusion ability was far more powerful than the man-eating plants that emitted spores in the lake region he had encountered previously.

“Ugh, uuu…”

“Ke-heck, cough.”

Sure enough, the team members first targeted by the creature stopped in their tracks, their pupils losing light like dolls with loosened strings, letting out only eerie groans.

However, it seemed a party composed of quite skilled individuals was nearby, and they were fighting desperately to barely fend off the creature’s assault.

“Ugh, I’ll expand the protection range! Aim for its wings!”

“Easier said than done! Normal attacks aren’t working!”

A bald man, the most conspicuous among the group, threw something like a hook, but Telemos, which vanished as if melting into the air, easily escaped the range and began to make the patterns on its wings glow once more.

“Kugh… what is this now?”

As the patterns glowed, the surrounding forest distorted, trees twisted hideously, and the rotting carcasses of beasts began to emerge one by one from beneath the ground.

No, Taewoon’s senses clearly told him it was a lie, but as far as the sight before his eyes was concerned, it was undeniably real.

‘Did it implement a hallucination not on an individual, but on the space itself?’

It was so realistic that even after realizing the truth, it wasn’t easy to simply define it as an illusion.

The bald man’s party also focused on blocking those things first, and in the meantime, Telemos, which had increased its distance further into the air, showed signs of preparing something while gathering Magical Power.

‘…It’s coming!’

An intense light flashed, and the dark night forest vanished from sight.

Before they knew it, the exploration team members and Taewoon were in a meadow scented with flowers, feeling the warm sunlight and a gentle breeze enveloping them.

“W-what on earth is this…”

“Teleportation? What happened?”

“Damn it, where did that moth thing go?”

The bald man’s party seemed to lower their guard, as if they had escaped the immediate crisis, but Taewoon, who had gone through all sorts of hardships in the Theater, instinctively realized that this was the moment of greatest danger.

‘Aquila!’

• Yes, User. As you suspected, you and your companions have not yet left the Empire’s island. There is no change in the location coordinates.

Nothing had changed. It was simply that every single sense of the human body was deceiving them and Taewoon.

‘At this rate, we’ll be hunted!’

Taewoon instructed Aquila to begin overwriting his own body with all the sensory data of the surroundings being collected in real-time.

Humans can be played by the deception of the senses, but machines are not fooled.

Soon, the night forest, appearing as if the graphics had degraded slightly, began to reflect in Taewoon’s vision, and through it, he could see himself standing still and Telemos descending toward the ground.

‘…Come. I’ll end this in one breath.’

Taewoon quietly composed his mental image, awakening a sharp streak of Magical Power and concentrating all his senses on the tip of his spear.

Then, the moment Telemos landed on the ground to claim the prey it had captured with its own hands, Taewoon, having summoned the Red Wax Mask, approached behind it with terrifying speed and unleashed a refined strike.

【Condition 1: Must be facing a Formidable Foe】

【Condition 2: Must possess and be using a weapon of a certain length or longer】

【Condition 3: Must have mastered all Techniques of the Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear】

【Condition Fulfilled】

【Cinema Skill: Soul Chasing Path Destruction】

Eight streaks of Spear Shadow extending from the tip of the spear ruthlessly pierced Telemos’s wings.

Not stopping there, Taewoon’s spear stepped forward one more pace, drawing a mysterious trajectory and flying toward the creature’s heart.

‘Soul-Chasing Eight Ghost Spear First Form, Songroe!’

A lightning-fast strike, like a single beam of light, pierced Telemos’s chest, leaving a massive hole.

Feeling the creature’s life end, Taewoon immediately cast Stealth Art, hiding himself within the shadows of the forest, and stepped back to watch the situation unfold.

“W-what is this? The scenery I was seeing just now…”

“Perhaps… that itself was a hallucination. The creatures of this island are truly terrifying.”

The secret gazes felt from afar were disappearing from the forest one by one.

They were likely reporting Telemos’s death and hurrying to discuss the subsequent response.

‘They can control these things, but it seems it’s not entirely perfect.’

Perhaps fearing they would fall victim to its confusion ability, the controlling forces seemed unable to approach the area where the creature was located.

It was certain that they had only confirmed the overall result of the battle just now and had not grasped the detailed parts.

‘For now… I should go back.’

Since the situation seemed to have settled for the moment, Taewoon hurried through the forest toward the lake region beyond the depths.

In the process, he encountered Biryeong, who had been lying in ambush nearby.

“That was impressive. It seemed like a formidable foe…”

“I was lucky. If the compatibility hadn’t been in my favor, I would have struggled quite a bit.”

In truth, if it weren’t for Aquila, Taewoon would have fallen for the creature’s illusion and suffered greatly.

There surely would have been some way, but he suspected he might have met his end at the creature’s hands while trying to find it.

‘If the Empire is hiding that many monsters… they will certainly be a major obstacle in opposing them.’

Even for Taewoon, if there were several Magical Beasts of that level, he didn’t have the confidence to deal with all of them.

In particular, the monster of the lake felt even more dangerous than this one, and it was possible they possessed Magical Beasts even stronger than that lake monster.

Simply dealing with one did not mean the situation was one where he could feel the slightest bit of relief.

“What will you do now?”

“Since things have gone awry, they will likely start making more earnest moves. The Empire’s follow-up force will probably arrive on the island soon.”

There was no need to be greedy.

First, accurately grasping their objective and clearly establishing a method to Clear this Theater was the top priority.

‘The average level of this exploration team is quite high. If I minimize the casualties and increase the number of people to work with, a chance to move properly will surely come at least once.’

He didn’t know when that would be, but regardless, if there was an opportunity, that would be the time.

Without returning to the Sanctuary, Taewoon continued to monitor the situation and communicate with the collaborators at the camp, feeling a strange tension lingering over the entire island.

And finally, the starships of the Imperial forces arrived at the island.

‘My god…’

There were three ships in total. The number of troops was considerably larger than he had expected.

Perhaps they had exercised such caution because the survival rate of this exploration team was high.

‘…Dangerous fellows.’

Indeed, as Rembrando had said, the Empire’s elites were exceptionally skilled and showed extremely controlled movements.

In particular, a few who stood out had an Aura that was unusual from the start. It was a level where it wasn’t even easy to guess how much skill they possessed.

‘There are quite a few skilled people in this exploration team, but…’

Their average level fell behind the Empire’s elites, and there were only a few people outstanding enough to face those who appeared to be high-ranking officers.

Since the difference in numbers was also great, it would not be an exaggeration to say they were no match in a direct confrontation between forces.

‘But… on the other hand, I have a slightly strange feeling.’

Creatures of the island and the superior predators among them? Certainly factors to be cautious of.

The Empire’s conspiracy and elite troops to silence the exploration team? Undoubtedly formidable enemies.

Based on the factors confirmed so far, the difficulty of overcoming the obstacles was by no means low.

But was that really all?

“……”

‘Trillaore New Continent Travel Journal’ was a Theater with a difficulty of no less than six stars.

It was a Theater with a difficulty one and a half stars higher than the Heavenly Secret Manual Theater, and one that Taewoon had thought might be his current Limit Value.

Considering all that… honestly, there was a subtle feeling.

‘…I don’t know.’

Taewoon had an intuition that perhaps he hadn’t even faced the true ordeal of this Theater yet.

An intuition that some very terrifying and massive obstacle was waiting for him.

But even so, there was no change in the choice Taewoon would make.

‘Let them come if they want.’

Recalling all the hardships he had overcome so far, Taewoon shook off the worries consuming his mind and took a step forward.

Because knocking down the giant wall placed before his eyes was the thing Taewoon was most confident in.