Chapter 130 – LV.Thirteen Centaur Vampire – [Two]

Seo Yun stood behind Arnold and chided him.

“You did well, but if you keep shouting like that, our allies will pass out before the enemies do.”

However, it seemed her words didn’t reach him. Anyway, what a stupid orangutan, Seo Yun grumbled inwardly as she pulled the trigger. Aiming at the two centaurs whose bodies had frozen from the roar just now.

Bang, bang bang! As Seo Yun shot down the two centaurs, other Players joined in.

“Shoot them dead before they get here!”

As the centaurs charged again, all the Players fired their guns in rapid succession. They aimed not at the human upper bodies but at the equine lower bodies.

Centaurs have high Strength Stats and can wear sturdy Armor, yet rifle bullets pierce those horse torsos. This is because the centaur Race has the penalty of being unable to properly equip Armor on their lower bodies (they can only drape inferior magic armor there, worse than real Armor). Both Seo Yun and the Players here in Happy Village had fought centaurs before, so they knew that fact well without anyone having to tell them.

Gunfire rang out dozens of times in a brief moment. Several centaurs fell instantly, but that barrage didn’t properly stop their charge.

The centaurs that didn’t fall split left and right, galloping forward. As they ran in a zigzag pattern, it became difficult to accurately hit their lower bodies, and bullets that struck their upper bodies merely bounced off that sturdy Armor.

Moreover, the centaurs were incredibly, truly unbelievably fast. Even with the Haste Spell cast on Seo Yun magically amplifying her perceived time, they still felt that fast.

The centaurs reached the front. Seeing them up close, one could understand how massive these Half-Human Half-Beast monsters were.

At this moment, the Players’ shouts were indistinguishable from screams.

“Drop your guns, grab spears and shields!”

And finally, their hooves landed right before them. Those colossal Half-Human Half-Beasts collided with the Players’ pitifully frail bodies in comparison.

“Agh—”

Seo Yun had seen centaurs in the Dawn Corps before, but back then, they merely surrounded the area and acted cautiously, trying to capture them. She was seeing them charge like literal cavalry for the first time now. And the consequences of their charge.

It felt like being hit directly by an Artillery Shell.

Considering centaurs are true man-horse hybrids, each one was practically a Lü Bu. A halberd swung with the combined weight of a human body and a horse body, totaling hundreds of kilograms.

The sound of air being split roared like an exploding drum, and the Players who had stepped forward with shields were sent flying far back. Those who fell tumbled on the ground and then went completely limp.

As if to trample the fallen Players, the centaurs charged straight ahead. One creature’s hooves cast a grotesque shadow over a Warrior’s body.

Before he could be trampled, Seo Yun rushed in.

With her physical abilities amplified by various Spells, she closed the distance in an instant. Before the centaur could react, she severed its leg.

It seemed too sudden, as not even a scream erupted.

The centaur merely staggered, and Seo Yun plunged a Flaming Sword into its back, shouting without turning her head.

“Mr. Jaeyun, are you okay?!”

“Uh, uh…”

Thus, she saved one Warrior’s life, but there was no thought of exchanging thanks. Seo Yun hurriedly looked around.

The Players flung by the charge weren’t just one or two; they were…

Fortunately, the most powerful Warrior here wasn’t slacking off either.

“I—told you—to come at me—!”

When Seo Yun turned her head, she saw Arnold ahead, swinging his Greatsword wildly in all directions. With each swing of that Greatsword, centaurs were literally torn apart. It looked less like a person wielding a weapon and more like a forklift with a blade running amok.

Arnold, fitting for a monster with not just immense Strength but also 11 points in agility, was terrifyingly nimble and fast. Moreover, he wasn’t wearing unbelievably heavy Armor, so its weight didn’t restrict his movements.

Clearly, Arnold had been swinging his Greatsword ahead, but when Seo Yun blinked, he was swinging it beside her. The centaurs that had reached this place in an instant fell in droves. The surviving centaurs fled.

The Players seemed more bewildered by that feat than relieved at having barely survived. Everyone’s gaze focused on him.

“What Level are you, anyway?”

Someone asked that, but Arnold merely glared ahead and snorted, not answering. Seo Yun thought he was acting like a gruff Barbarian Warrior even at this moment, but looking closely, it was clear he was too excited to be in any state for conversation.

The person who asked didn’t insist on an answer either. Because the centaurs hadn’t given up the fight just because one charge failed.

“They’re coming again!”

This time, even more centaurs than before charged, even adding different troop types than before.

Centaurs with spears, centaurs with bows…

Among them, one particularly eye-catching centaur, its entire body crimson red.

That centaur’s whole body was crimson red, not because its skin color was red. Its skin had been stripped off all over, revealing the red muscles beneath.

Someone recalled the name of that hideously formed monster.

“Nuckelavee!”

It was such an eye-catching monster that concentrated fire was directed at it, but it was useless.

The terrifying-looking centaur, the Nuckelavee, didn’t even need to make any effort to dodge the bullets.

According to Seo Yun’s memory, the Nuckelavee, whose lore states it was a centaur Warrior who received a vampire’s blessing, had its mind collapse and became a mindless monster, can use the vampire abilities of its kin.

The Nuckelavee’s body transformed into a red mist and flew forward. After several bullets passed through that mist, the Nuckelavee reached the front with absurd ease.

“Uh…!”

Just as the Nuckelavee’s crimson halberd was about to strike down an unfortunate Player, Arnold blocked its path and swung his Greatsword upward.

Seo Yun hoped that Greatsword would cleave that crimson monster in two with a single blow, but that didn’t happen.

This was a Nuckelavee, a creature that, though now fallen to monstrosity, was once a centaur Warrior powerful enough to receive a vampire’s blessing. Its physical performance and weapon skills were no less than those of this Barbarian Warrior.The moment their impossibly massive weapons collided, a shockwave swept through the surroundings, and the ground cratered from the impact alone. Soon after, the two began clashing their weapons, stirring up a whirlwind.

It was a tense battle, but the faces of all the Players watching it were grim.

Wasn’t the enemy’s combat power overwhelming ours? The situation where our strongest combatant was tied up was not good.

Really, not good at all.

“Kiiirararararak—!”

The Centaurs charged again. This time, Arnold was busy fighting his own opponent, so he couldn’t stand in front and block them. Oh Haengun tried to create a massive rock wall with a spell to block their charge, but only a few unlucky ones crashed into it.

“Look at me, you horse bastards!”

Seo Yun tried to block them with her Flaming Sword, but the Centaurs, as if following some order, passed by her on both sides.

Turning around, Seo Yun saw the Centaurs swarming over the Players.

“Fuck…”

Standing atop the fortress wall, Oh Haengbok shot arrow after arrow. Each time he drew the bowstring, arrows thick as iron rods shot out like missiles. The fired arrows pierced through multiple soldiers they hit and kept flying without stopping.

However, this formidable archery could not reach the village Warriors fighting in the distance and the enemies surrounding them.

That fact drove Oh Haengbok mad.

His heart pounded violently with an emotion he couldn’t tell was frustration or rage.

As his blood flow accelerated, his entire body grew hot, and Oh Haengbok felt a fierce red Eye Light erupting from his own eyes. The world began to look entirely red.

“Fuuuuck…”

Each time he cursed, Park Taeyang beside him gasped for breath as if terrified, but Oh Haengbok paid no mind. What did it matter what this useless bastard did?

In his crimson vision, his dying village Warriors came into view.

A Centaur archer drew his bowstring. It seemed he fired a magic arrow.

The burning arrowhead pierced through a Warrior Player’s Helm and exited through the back of his head.

As if to avenge that death, a Flame Spirit rushed in, but the Centaur lightly leaped back, widening the distance as if toying with it. The Centaur glanced alternately at the Flame Spirit and Seo Yun controlling it, then grinned.

Seo Yun’s eyes burned with fury. The fact that she still managed to complete a spell amidst this was indeed worthy of a Spirit score of 9.

A Firebird that flew from Seo Yun’s palm engulfed the grinning bastard.

Seo Yun shouted.

“Everyone, gather!”

Seo Yun waved her finger. She manipulated the flames created by the Flame Spirit’s earlier sprint to erect a wall of fire around them.

After temporarily blocking the Centaurs’ charge like that, she hurriedly recited Healing Spells over the fallen Warriors’ bodies.

But there were more than one or two Warriors already beyond recovery by Healing Spells.

Confirming that another Warrior had stopped breathing, Seo Yun gritted her teeth.

It had been true all along, but the situation was horrific. No matter how hard they tried, no hope of improvement was in sight.

Seo Yun muttered into her Bracelet.

“Help me.”

It was the Bracelet the Troll had given her to call him. She had discarded it when escaping the village before but wore it again just in case, yet there was no response at all. Of course, using it suddenly after not using it for over half a year. It was probably difficult for him to respond too.

Naturally, that fact didn’t calm her anger at this moment.

“Help me, please!”

She yelled angrily, but only realized it was useless again. Seo Yun felt her Spell Usage Count was almost depleted but was in the middle of reciting another Healing Spell.

Around the Players now, rock walls created by Oh Haengun rose sparsely.

They were temporary defensive walls to stop the Centaurs’ charge. Over one rock wall, a massive Centaur leaped up.

The splendid red Armor the Centaur wore stood out. Judging by his attire, he was clearly the leader.

His eyes were redder than the Armor he wore.

With those very red eyes, the Vampire Centaur looked down at Seo Yun. Monster-specific English flowed from his mouth.

“Beautiful girl.”

Seo Yun also looked up at him.

“You…”

“Was it a year ago? I saw you once back then. Not directly, but through a Familiar… Seeing you in person is much better.”

A smile appeared on the Vampire Centaur’s face.

“If I offer you, the Great Khan will be pleased. But…”

“What are you doing? Shoot!”

Players shot guns at him, but the bullets all ricocheted. The now-familiar Non-Magical Weapon Immunity Spell.

The Vampire Centaur asked leisurely, as if it didn’t matter what they did.

“The Orc Warrior? Why isn’t he coming out?”

“That guy’s my Combat Slave, so if I win, you can take him.”

The bastard ignored Seo Yun’s provocation.

Was he only interested in the ‘beautiful girl’ because the Orc Warrior he originally came for wasn’t here? Staring only at Seo Yun, he muttered.

“Now I see you were of noble origin. An Angel… I like it even more. Unlike your appearance, you’re not a fragile glass body that would break easily if touched a little, are you?”

It seemed he was a Mage, despite dressing like a Warrior. He was speaking after seeing her Health score of 11 with a Detection Spell.

He continued muttering.

“Your precious life won’t disappear just from a few beans embedded in your body. In that case…”

The Vampire Centaur began reciting a spell, mumbling from above.

Seo Yun reflexively started reciting a counter-spell while thinking.

What spell is he casting? An Attack Spell? Can my spell complete first…

And as if understanding what spell it was, being a Mage himself, Oh Haengun shouted in a hoarse voice.

“That bastard is trying to Dispel the Magic on us! We have to stop him—”

But the Centaur’s spell completed before Seo Yun’s Attack Spell.

An intangible energy released from the Centaur’s palm swept over Seo Yun’s surroundings.

And Oh Haengun’s warning proved correct.

Seo Yun felt all the spells she had cast on herself disappear. A large-scale Dispel Magic Spell.

Among the stripped spells was the Non-Magical Weapon Immunity Spell.

Even a fool would know what that Centaur was aiming for.Sure enough, the next moment, the gun barrels of the Skeletons, who had been half-spectators until now, all spewed fire at once. As if taking that as the firing command, the surrounding soldiers also joined in, unleashing a hail of bullets upon them.

“We won—”

Blood splattered across Arnold’s entire body as he roared, having just felled the Nuckelavee.

It seemed even the Non-Magical Weapon Immunity Spell Seo Yun had cast on him had been stripped away. Bullets flying in from all directions began to mercilessly pierce his muscular frame. Arnold screamed, desperately trying to shield his upper body with both arms.

Naturally, bullets also surged toward Seo Yun.

‘Ugh…’ One bullet pierced through Seo Yun’s shoulder. A terrible pain and the jolt to her small body caused the nearly completed spell to be canceled. Seo Yun abandoned any thought of trying anything more and curled up.

“We must protect Seo Yun and Mr. Haengun—”

Warriors from Happy Village raised their shields and formed a protective circle around Seo Yun and Oh Haengun. As bullets rained down on the warriors’ shields like a downpour, a dreadful metallic clanging relentlessly assaulted their eardrums.

Amidst that gunfire and noise, no other screams or voices could be heard anymore, but in the midst of it all, only one sound rang out clearly.

From behind, there was a thud.

It sounded as if an artillery shell had fallen.

Reflexively looking toward the sound, something had indeed just fallen to the ground.

But it wasn’t an artillery shell. What had fallen was an Orc.

“Chief?”

Oh Haengbok, who had just jumped from the fortress wall, charged.

“Long— live— Happy— Village—!”

Oh Haengbok came running toward them. With each step, the weight of his armor accompanied a tremor like an earthquake.

Due to the heavy armor he wore, Oh Haengbok’s speed wasn’t exceptionally fast. However, even as hundreds of Skeletons and Centaurs blocked his path, he didn’t stop, sweeping them all away with just a few swings of his hammer, continuing to run at a speed unchanged from when he first started.

The thud, thud earthquake-like sounds grew louder and louder.

Warriors clad in thick armor are often treated like tanks, but this Orc was a true tank. Just as one cannot remain unharmed blocking a tank’s charge with bare flesh, none who stood in his path emerged unscathed.

The enraged Orc Vampire swept through the soldiers who were firing. The collisions produced results as if they had been hit by an actual tank.

“Argh—” “Ugh—” “Dodge!” “Gahk!”

Oh Haengbok simply kept running, but the blood and flesh of the soldiers he crashed into were crushed as if exploding. It was a scene so brutal it bordered on the surreal. The soldiers around him stopped shooting, screamed, and scattered in all directions. Now, no one blocked his path anymore.

Finally, Oh Haengbok stood before them.

Seo Yun looked at that ‘red’ Orc.

His originally pitch-black armor was now soaked in all kinds of blood, gleaming crimson. He was even more blood-soaked than the Nuckelavee, with its exposed blood vessels and muscles, that Arnold had just felled.

The Centaur Vampire gazed at Oh Haengbok with an intrigued look.

“Orc Warrior.”