Chapter 52 – General of the Underworld (２)

‘What the—out of nowhere?’

Gijun flinched, staring at Amalta.

He had no idea what was happening, but light had flowed from Amalta’s muttering form, and then his level shot up abruptly.

‘He just jumped 50 levels.’

In an instant, Amalta, who had been Level 130, soared to Level 180.

‘What the hell happened?’

Gijun couldn’t understand the reason.

But then Amalta, his face suddenly bright, approached Gijun.

“What are you waiting for? Shouldn’t we be getting rid of this wicked horde!”

Amalta was brimming with excitement.

Gijun didn’t want to kill his momentum.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Hah! Follow me!”

Amalta strode forward again with renewed vigor.

*

They continued slaying the warriors of the Underworld.

They had killed roughly twenty Underworld warriors so far.

Even after all this time, eighty still remained.

‘Can’t see many of them.’

Amalta had grown stronger, and with the Earth’s Jewel equipped, their hunting speed had skyrocketed, but the problem was there simply weren’t many Underworld warriors in sight.

‘I want to get this over with as fast as possible.’

Just then.

“What is this?”

Amalta picked something up.

It was an item from the chest of the Underworld warrior they’d just killed.

Gijun walked over and examined the item too.

The item was—

[Warrior’s Horn]

– Grade: Rare

– Can summon nearby Underworld warriors.

– Cooldown: 3 minutes

“Huh?”

Gijun’s eyes went wide.

“What is it?”

“With this, we can call the warriors together, it seems.”

“Is that true?”

A smile crept across Amalta’s lips.

He had been feeling frustrated too.

“Then why not use it right away?”

“Of course.”

Gijun agreed as well.

And so, in that moment, Amalta blew the horn.

Bwoooooom!

The massive sound of the horn spread across the entire area.

Kyaaahk!

Keeeek!

Underworld warriors, seemingly from nowhere, began pouring out.

“Excellent! My heart is racing!”

Amalta shouted, gripping his spear tight.

He looked more fired up than ever.

Gijun felt the strength surging into him too.

Hack and slash was more his style than hunting one at a time.

But soon, both Gijun and Amalta found themselves caught off guard.

“That’s more than a few.”

“Tell me about it.”

“A-hem…” said Amalta, clearing his throat.

They’d expected maybe ten of them to gather.

But the number of Underworld warriors closing in was nowhere near ten.

“Thirty, at least.”

“No—more keep pouring in from behind.”

The visible count was only thirty.

Even now, even as they stood there, more Underworld warriors were spilling out from the distance.

“This won’t be easy.”

“No choice. From now on, it’s every man for himself.”

Gijun nodded at Amalta’s words.

“Alright.”

Coordinating double-teams was a decent strategy, but in a situation like this, expecting that kind of delicate fighting wasn’t efficient.

“Then I’ll—” started Gijun.

He activated a Skill.

‘Flame Unity.’

Four hours had passed since he’d last used it—the cooldown was over.

The cooldown was painfully long, but Flame Unity was still an excellent Skill.

One that could push its power to the absolute limit, especially in a fight like this.

Boom-boom-boom!

Amalta likewise drew up his own inner flame.

In an instant, his entire body was engulfed in raging fire.

Flame Unity, indeed.

Gijun gave a wry smile at the sight.

Amalta’s going to throw another fit.

There was no way Amalta would stay quiet seeing someone else using his own technique.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

In that moment, Gijun’s body also turned to flame and began to blaze.

Compared to the first time he’d used it, his flames were far more ordered—and at the same time, they blazed with a brilliant, intense light.

And then—

“You… you!” stammered Amalta.

Just as expected.

Amalta’s eyes went wide, utterly flustered at the sight of Gijun using Flame Unity.

“You little—”

“Isn’t now a bad time to be worrying about that?”

Gijun brushed it off and moved.

Whoosh!

His body became one with fire, plunging straight into the ranks of the Underworld warriors in an instant.

“Hmph… Fine. This generous body of mine will graciously let it slide.”

Maybe just a moment ago, he would have raised hell.

But now, even Amalta was feeling magnanimous.

Magnanimous enough to let something like this pass—his heart brimming with ease and abundance.

“Heh heh heh…”

Amalta twisted his lips into a grin, charged with all his might toward the Underworld warriors, and swung his Spear in a wide arc.

“YOU BASTARDS!” he roared.

CRASH!

The moment Amalta’s Spear slammed into the Underworld warriors, the ground heaved violently, splitting their bodies apart.

But at that same instant, from the other side came an explosion so massive it dwarfed the one Amalta had just caused.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

An explosion that shook heaven and earth, and a burst of flame vast enough to blanket the land, swept through every warrior in that area.

‘…Truly.’

Amalta shook his head.

It hadn’t been long since he met this mage named Jun.

Yet the bastard was already stronger than before.

‘Fucking incredible.’

Gijun’s movements defied sense.

Wind and flame.

He wove the two elements with exquisite precision, blocking enemy attacks while pressing his own offense without pause.

‘Those horrible fireballs…’

The number of Fireballs that had tormented him when they first met was now five.

And their power had grown incomparably stronger.

Thanks to that, no matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t a single opening to strike Gijun.

If even Amalta could see that, he couldn’t imagine what the Underworld’s warriors must be feeling.

‘What a terrifying bastard.’

Every time Gijun moved, an Underworld warrior either had their body shattered by a Fireball or their limbs torn apart by the wind.

Amalta shuddered involuntarily and averted his gaze.

‘I envy it. What a talent to envy. But…’

“O Mother. And O Flame Monarch!”

Amalta then decided to forget about Gijun.

Because now he understood clearly that they were beings who should not be compared in the first place.

“Grant me strength!”

Vowing to do his utmost from his own position, Amalta’s Spear once again split the air.

Crack-crack-crack-crash!

Watching Amalta, Libre shook her head.

[What nonsense is that fool spouting now.]

*

‘That horn’s effect is fucking amazing.’

With just one blast of the horn, he had already taken down dozens of warriors.

The number of Underworld warriors he had slain had already surpassed ninety.

‘And this is with us hunting separately.’

Of course, the fight had been just that intense.

More than once, a single lapse in attention had nearly spelled disaster.

Right now, Gijun and Amalta were fighting back-to-back, covering each other’s blind spots against the Underworld’s warriors.

“You. Without me, where would you be?”

“You’re not wrong.”

He meant it.

Without Amalta’s help, this would have been an impossibly difficult fight.

Especially, a stronger Amalta proved to be a truly invaluable ally.

“Anyway, we’ve caught our breath. Let’s get back to it.”

“Fine.”

With that, Amalta and Gijun moved again.

Fireballs resumed their dance, crushing and detonating the bodies of the Underworld’s warriors.

Now only five remained.

Then, four, three, two…

Boom-crack-crack-crash!

The moment the Fireballs swept the area once more.

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[Level Up!]

[Compass of the Underworld Acquired!]

Gijun had finally claimed the reward for the Achievement and laid his hands on the Compass of the Underworld.

‘Nice.’

“What’s that?”

After the fight ended, Amalta approached and asked.

“A compass. This’ll point us to where the General is.”

“A curious device. How do you use it?”

The moment Gijun took the compass in his hand, a message flashed before him.

[Please set a destination.]

“It’s asking me to set a destination.”

“Hmm…”

Amalta tilted his head, uncertain.

I don’t know how to set a target.

Of course, Gijun himself didn’t fully grasp how to use it.

He decided to just try speaking first.

“Do I just say it out loud? Guide me to the nearest Underworld General’s fortress.”

And then—

[Beginning navigation.]

The Compass of the Underworld floated up into the air.

Then it began pointing in one direction.

“I think… it’s saying we go this way?”

“Seems that way. Remarkable, really.”

[Truly astonishing.]

*

“There it is.”

[Yes. That sickening stench is wafting all the way over here.]

After traveling for roughly an hour, they finally reached the General’s fortress.

“Getting in won’t be easy.”

The fortress was encircled by high walls.

Outside, Underworld warriors patrolled, standing guard.

At a glance, it seemed incredibly difficult to break through that perimeter and scale the walls.

“What do we do? A straight charge won’t be simple.”

Just then—

The compass pointed to one spot as a message appeared.

[Shortcut discovered.]

A message that a shortcut had been found.

But another line of text surfaced.

[Taking the shortcut will let you reach the General quickly, but many traps lie in wait.]

…Traps…

A fast arrival meant taking a proportionate risk.

It wasn’t an easy choice.

Go head-on, and you fight enemies you can see.

Take the shortcut, and you fight enemies you can’t.

But…

Time’s a factor, and who knows how many enemies are in that fortress.

The number of Underworld warriors was unknown.

If the General joined the fight while they were busy with those bastards, things could get even messier.

Let’s go.

So Gijun chose the shortcut.

“The compass found a shortcut. But it’s a path with traps.”

At that, Amalta spoke.

“No need to deliberate. If it’s a shortcut, I say we take it.”

“That’s surprising.”

“What is?”

“I thought you’d pick the fighting route.”

“Hmph. To think you’d see me as such a brute. I’m offended.”

“…”

Gijun looked away, as if struck right where it hurt.

“You little—”

“Let’s go. Now.”

“…”

Leaving Amalta, whose face burned red, behind, Gijun started walking.

About ten minutes into their movement—

“I think that’s it.”

Gijun stopped.

Beyond the wall, a narrow passage guarded by three warriors of the Underworld came into view.

It was the entrance leading down beneath the wall.

“The key will be taking them out as quietly as possible.”

“That’s right.”

“You’d better handle it, I think.”

“Figured.”

After all, for fast and silent elimination, Gijun—with his wind-attribute Skill—was the better fit.

“I’ll go first. Follow me the moment they’re dealt with.”

“Got it.”

Leaving Amalta behind, Gijun moved, weaving Strong Wind and Orca’s Footsteps together.

He erased his footprints with Strong Wind, masking even his presence as he darted forward.

Reaching them in a blink, Gijun cast Strong Wind again.

“Krrrk…?!”

By the time the warriors sensed the wind rushing toward them, it was already too late.

Squelch! Fwishhh!

Strong Wind—now honed sharp enough for the task—sliced through the Underworld warriors’ throats in an instant.

Thud—thud-thud!

Libre watched the severed heads tumble to the ground before she spoke.

[You’re getting strong really fast, Master.]

“Thanks to you.”

[Hoh. You recognize this body’s contributions. How gratifying.]