HBWnovel Chapter 61
Chapter 61
After the crisis in the rear guard of the party had been resolved, not far away, Kang Cheol-min was angrily berating the vanguard hunters.
“You bastards, can’t you do anything right?!”
“S-sorry, sir....”
“You’re already barely keeping up, and now this?! What the hell are you doing, huh?!”
Kang Cheol-min jabbed his finger at his guild members, the tirade of scolding and profanities showing no signs of stopping.
Nearby, a rogue observing the scene shook his head in dismay.
“Like boss, like right-hand man. That temper’s just as fiery.”
It was clear that leaving this hotheaded leader unchecked would only delay their progress.
The rogue didn’t particularly want to interfere but knew he had no choice.
Putting on a friendly smile, he spoke up.
“Alright, everyone, let’s calm down a bit, shall we?”
He waved his hands lightly, trying to dispel the heavy tension hanging in the air.
“If we waste too much time like this, it could jeopardize the mission. For the sake of the vanguard, let’s get moving quickly.”
“...Hmph!”
Kang Cheol-min took a deep breath, his fiery gaze lingering on the guild members he had been scolding.
Though still visibly upset, he couldn’t deny the rogue’s reasoning.
Right now, the priority was clearing the dungeon safely.
The guild’s tarnished reputation needed to be restored, and this was no time to let emotions get in the way.
“Move out!”
With Kang Cheol-min’s booming command, the rear party resumed their advance through the dungeon.
***
Meanwhile, the vanguard had reached just outside the boss room, where the gate to the double dungeon was likely located.
They took a brief rest, exchanging thoughts on their progress.
“Phew... This is definitely an S-rank dungeon.”
“Agreed. We initially considered entering straight away based on the monsters’ level, but we should stick to the plan.”
“Absolutely. Let’s clear up to the boss room and wait for the rear party to regroup.”
The three S-rank hunters from the vanguard discussed the situation among themselves.
Their pre-arranged approach consisted of two scenarios:
If the Cheongrim Guild’s incident was truly accidental, and the dungeon turned out to be just an A-rank:
The vanguard would proceed with the raid without stopping.
If it was confirmed to be a double dungeon containing an S-rank segment:
The vanguard would advance carefully, avoiding unnecessary risks, and wait for the rear party before finishing the raid.
It was now clear that the second scenario applied.
Standing to the side, Ji-ah listened quietly to their discussion alongside a female support hunter.
The support hunter, voice trembling, eventually spoke up.
“W-what kind of boss do you think we’ll face?”
The men’s gazes shifted toward her, and she visibly shivered under their attention.
After a brief exchange of glances, Yeo Dohyung of the Dawn Guild answered.
“No idea. There are too few cases of S-rank dungeons to draw comparisons.”
“B-but we can at least guess, right?”
“Expect something stronger than a lich.”
Yeo Dohyung frowned as he replied.
He recalled the undead dark sorcerer, a lich, which he had once encountered as the boss of an A-rank dungeon.
Even then, it had been a challenging opponent.
A lich could summon skeletons that resurrected almost instantly, command powerful elite monsters, and wield potent magic to protect itself while directing its undead army.
Today’s boss would undoubtedly be worse.
The master of the Knight Guild, stroking his beard, chuckled and spoke up.
“Haha! Miss, there’s no need to be so frightened. Aren’t you part of the best party in the country?”
“I’m not scared at all!”
The support hunter snapped, her face stiff. He chuckled again.
“I’ll carve the path forward! No need to worry, just fight confidently.”
“Haha! Of course, we trust you, elder.”
“With the Knight Guild’s master on our side, what is there to fear?”
Their spirited exchange helped lighten the atmosphere, maintaining just the right amount of tension as they rested.
Boom!
With a deafening noise, the ground erupted as the elder disappeared from sight.
Slash—!
In an instant, the undead horde was sliced apart.
The cleanly severed bodies of the monsters collapsed to the ground, as if they had always been in that state.
“Hm...”
Now standing in the center of the boss room, the elder faced the lich.
The lich turned its hollow gaze toward him.
Letting out an eerie, displeased sound, the lich began casting more spells.
Fresh undead monsters were summoned, and the previously destroyed corpses began twitching as they reanimated.
The real battle had begun.
“The lich is yours, elder! Everyone else, focus on clearing the rest of the monsters!”
“Understood!”
Yeo Dohyung shouted orders, activating his skills immediately.
A brilliant flash of light accompanied a lightning strike that obliterated a cluster of undead.
Another S-rank hunter from the Dawn Guild stepped forward, solidifying their formation, while the remaining hunters concentrated their attacks on the horde.
The A-rank boss, the lich, was defeated in a surprisingly short time—a testament to the vanguard’s skill and South Korea’s strength.
But the battle was far from over.
“E-everyone! Look at the portal!”
As cheers erupted after the elder shredded the lich with his sword, a voice rang out from the rear guard.
All eyes turned toward the portal in the corner of the room.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
With each step, a monstrous creature emerged, its massive form shaking the ground.
The sudden appearance of a new foe froze the hunters in place, their expressions turning grim.
“Now that’s one ugly thing.”
The Knight Guild’s master muttered softly.
The creature was grotesque, appearing as though it had been pieced together from various living beings.
Even the most seasoned veterans had never seen anything like it.
From the rear guard, Ji-ah squinted at the creature.
She had never encountered anything like it before, but a faint memory surfaced in her mind.
[“They even fuse familiars together. Total freaks.”]
That was all she had heard when Si-yoon had been whining about something, but her curiosity had led her to ask Si-hyun for more details later.
Who would have thought that idle curiosity would prove useful now?
Ji-ah shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“It’s a chimera! Each of its heads serves a different function!”
“What? Different functions?”
“Yes! You need to take out the most dangerous heads first before going for the heart!”
“Aha, got it!”
Ji-ah didn’t know every detail about the chimera, but what she had shared was enough.
Coming from Ji-ah, known for her expertise in tackling obscure dungeons, her words carried weight.
The hunters were all elites. Even with limited information, they could adapt their strategies effectively.
“We’ll analyze its patterns first! Focus on defense and identify the heads’ functions before targeting them one by one!”
Yeo Dohyung decisively shouted instructions for everyone to hear.
The hunters, who had scattered during the lich battle, quickly reformed their formation, ready to face this new challenge.