Chapter 166

‘Such immense Magical Power… Has the engagement already begun?’

He thought the standoff might be maintained for a while, but a violent clash of Magical Power was already erupting at the site where the pillar of light had soared.

Giving up on relying on the voices of the Najin Guild Hunters, which had gone silent, Taewoon activated Thousand-League Perception and quickly began to read the surrounding Presences.

‘The Hunters who had spread out in all directions are gathering here one after another… Is Sharliaete confident she can handle this many?’

As far as Taewoon knew, excluding himself, there were two other Level 7-rank Hunters present.

Considering the Level 6-rank and Level 5-rank Hunters under their command, it was certain that this would be a more burdensome fight for Sharliaete than for the South Korean Hunters.

“The atmosphere is quite ominous…”

“Even so, I don’t think there will be much for us to do.”

As Choi Heosu said, it was hard to imagine that this many Hunters would easily be defeated by a single woman.

However, the moment he arrived at the scene, Taewoon was forced to change his thinking based on the sight unfolding before his eyes.

“What is this?”

“A giant… Shrine?”

Contrary to Taewoon’s prediction that the battle might have already taken place, the Hunters who had arrived first were gathered together, relentlessly launching attacks at the door of a Shrine composed of light.

As he approached, one of the Taegun Guild Hunters, noticing Taewoon’s party, quickly explained the situation.

“Immediately after being discovered, that thing used a strange power to summon a giant Shrine of light and hid inside. It’s not certain, but it seems that unless you are an ‘invited guest,’ it’s not easy to enter.”

At the same time, the man said that several Hunters who had received an ‘invitation’ from Sharliaete had been forcibly dragged into the Shrine.

In other words, unlike the situation outside, a fierce battle might already be raging inside.

“Were you unable to break the door of the Shrine?”

“Yeah. At least for us, it was impossible. Lee Do-gyeom of Najin, one of the Level 7s, managed to enter using his own ability, but we have no idea what’s happening inside since then.”

It seemed that the other Level 7, Taerim of the Black Lion, was currently on her way here, and as a result, the current situation was a brief lull.

Having heard the explanation, Taewoon flared his Aura of Magical Power even further and began to examine the entrance of the Shrine closely.

‘This is a more peculiar structure than any Holy Ground I’ve seen so far… Is this the true power Sharliaete possesses?’

Even at a glance, the Shrine before him looked incredibly sturdy, and it seemed that several special rules were in effect, such as rejecting those who were not invited.

“The entrance is definitely the door in front of us… but it looks like it will be difficult to break through with ordinary strength.”

In this state, the power of the numbers they had managed to secure was meaningless.

It wasn’t for nothing that Sharliaete had acted boldly without backing down against this many Hunters.

From the beginning, she held a card that could completely flip the current situation.

“Then what do we do?”

“I’m worried about the people sucked inside… but judging rationally, it would be better to wait for the Black Lion Guild and break the door together to make a surprise entry.”

No matter how sturdy the door of the Shrine was, if Taewoon and Taerim of the Black Lion, both Level 7-ranks, joined forces, they could almost certainly break through it.

Furthermore, since Lee Do-gyeom, a Hunter of the same rank, had already entered, stalling for a bit of time shouldn’t be an issue.

“Black Lion! It’s the Black Lion!”

After waiting for about ten minutes, the Black Lion Guild Hunters who had been forming the encirclement finally arrived. Upon receiving the briefing, Taerim nodded immediately, drew her signature banner-spear, and began to stare at the door of the Shrine.

Swish!

“I will break through. Those with strength to spare, provide support.”

She was known to be quite old, but her outward appearance looked to be in her mid-thirties at most.

This seemed to reflect the immense realm she had achieved, instilling deep trust in the Hunters waiting nearby.

“…Then, I shall begin.”

Taerim’s banner-spear fluttered in the wind, and countless forms of light appeared, transforming into five armored Soldiers.

‘Is that the famous Black Divine Army?’

Soldiers who served as Taerim’s symbol, each capable of exerting combat power equal to her own.

Of course, that power wasn’t exactly on the same level as another Level 7-rank Hunter, but even so, it was enough to be called the truth.

The five Soldiers raised their weapons, flaring intense Magical Power, and on Taerim’s signal, they began to attack the door of the Shrine simultaneously in their own ways.

Arrows containing thunder were fired, and strikes capable of crushing mountains hammered the door.

At the same time, the watching Hunters synchronized their breathing to help them, creating a scene that was nothing short of a mythical War.

‘Incredible power! But… perhaps because it’s an attack from an uninvited guest, the impact is being continuously halved.’

At a glance, the balance of this tug-of-war was equal; therefore, a third party could easily break that balance by siding with one side.

Exchanging glances, Taewoon and Hongyeon summoned their Divine Beasts and Keshatus into the air, respectively, and began to deliver the final blow to the door of the Shrine.

Finally, the door of the Shrine collapsed, revealing the interior and creating a gap wide enough for a person to pass through.

Since it seemed to be repairing itself at a rapid pace, there was no time to hesitate.

Taerim dashed toward the door and shouted loudly to the Hunters behind her.

“Hunters Level 6 and above, follow me! Everyone else, maintain the encirclement!”

Following those swift instructions, several Hunters began to enter the Shrine behind Taerim, and Taewoon’s party and Choi Heosu joined the procession.

Inside the Shrine they entered, a vast chapel unfolded as if ignoring the laws of space.

It was similar yet different from the Gwangseong Church branch they had seen before.

Perhaps because Taewoon had grown stronger, or perhaps due to a qualitative difference in the opponent’s power, he could clearly feel on his skin that this place was someone else’s domain.

‘A violent clash of Magical Power… Are Sharliaete and the Hunters up ahead?’

However, for some reason, the wavelength of the Magical Power he felt was quite ominous.

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Taewoon followed Taerim deeper into the chapel, where he soon found Lee Do-gyeom and other Hunters lying collapsed and covered in blood.

“Cough, hack…”

“It seems another uninvited guest has arrived.”

Sharliaete, her body and face covered by a veil so long it could be called cumbersome, revealed only a benevolent smile. Unlike the mangled Hunters, there wasn’t a single speck of a wound on her body.

This meant that the battle that had taken place inside was far more one-sided than Taewoon’s party had expected.

‘Lee Do-gyeom of Najin is a capable Hunter who reached Level 7 over ten years ago… and she pushed him back this unilaterally?’

Taewoon was confident in his own skills, but he didn’t think he overwhelmingly surpassed other Hunters of the same rank.

Yet, Sharliaete had shown her ability to crush Lee Do-gyeom, a fellow Level 7, without taking a single scratch.

It meant she might possess a power far greater than Taewoon had imagined.

“Oh my, now that I look, there’s a familiar face here. I believe I mentioned that uninvited guests are not welcome?”

“Don’t make me laugh! Do you think you have the right to say that while acting out as you please on this South Korean soil? Since you priests show such brazen behavior, it’s easy to see your true nature.”

Taerim’s voice, laced with anger, rebuked Sharliaete, but she merely showed a meaningful smile and continued speaking without being shaken.

At the same time, Taewoon felt the powerful force of a rule pressing down on his body once again.

“Unfortunately, that’s not what I meant. This is the Holy Ground of the Order, where only those invited may enter. If you step foot here while ignoring that… a corresponding price must inevitably follow.”

“This is…”

Taerim staggered in great confusion, and the other Hunters were no different.

Each of them was overwhelmed by a pressing sensation and a surging sense of lethargy, feeling the effect of the price on their skin.

‘…I see, so that’s how it was.’

Unlike the Hunters who were dragged into the Shrine by Sharliaete’s invitation, Lee Do-gyeom had entered the Shrine using his own ability to rescue them.

In other words, it was clear that he, too, had been caught in the rules of this Holy Ground and was suppressed by Sharliaete without being able to lift a finger.

“Those who are not permitted are crushed by His gaze, and conversely, the more His gaze is directed toward me, the greater the grace I obtain. For example… like this.”

As Sharliaete flicked her finger, a nearby Hunter was instantly enveloped in a cluster of golden light and began to scream in agony.

“Aaaagh!”

On the surface, nothing seemed wrong, but he turned pale as if being crushed by something unknown, constantly gasping for air like a person submerged in water.

Taerim swung her banner-spear to repeatedly cut through the Magical Power suppressing him, and only after Choi Heosu fired an arrow to distract Sharliaete could the cluster of light surrounding him be completely dispersed.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

Though he barely escaped the restraint, having lost most of his Magical Power and being severely exhausted mentally, he looked as if he could no longer participate in the battle.

A Level 6-rank Hunter neutralized with a single gesture.

At that shocking sight, the complexions of the gathered Hunters began to turn dark.