To Cheon Sa-yeon, Park Geon-ho, and the guild members, I said, “Everyone stays at the same position—only two people need to come with me.”
“Which two people?”
“Master and Team Leader Park Geon-ho.”
I shifted my gaze to Park Geon-ho.
“Team leader, how many iron balls do you have left?”
“About 400.”
Then there would be no problem to proceed as planned. I nodded and continued.
“I control the wind. I can fly or move objects.”
Cheon Sa-yeon, who made eye contact with me, was smiling, but his black eyes were calm. He was observing me while hiding something.
“I will fly with the team leader to a certain distance and plant an iron ball in a way that surrounds the team. Currently, the monsters are approaching from the west side, so if you set it off on time, we can delay them.”
Some of the guild members who listened to my explanation made the expression like it wasn’t a bad idea.
“After that, I will continue to fly counterclockwise with the team leader and break the flow by detonating bombs near the middle of the group of monsters. It probably won’t be able to stop all monsters, but it will give us a chance to catch our breath. Looking at the number of monsters, I think we have to go around three times.”
I looked at Park Geon-ho for confirmation. Park Geon-ho nodded his head as if he understood. Cheon Sa-yeon, who was listening quietly, said, “It sounds like a lot of fun. I’m jealous of Team Leader Park Geon-ho. After that?”
“After that…”
I paused. I didn’t want to do it this way either. I swallowed a sigh.
“How about the Master comes and attacks the monsters that come close? If you move with me, you won’t have to run around on your feet, so I think it’s possible.”
“Very good.” Cheon Sa-yeon looked back at the guild members and smiled. “I accept the plan. We don’t have much time, so get ready for battle. Team Leader Park Geon-ho starts right away with Han Yi-gyeol.”
When the order was given, everyone moved in order. Even without detailed instructions, everyone skillfully gathered up their weapons and stood in their designated position. I approached Park Geon-ho, who was looking around at the guild members who had finished preparations and said, “Let’s get started.”
I stood close with my arms wrapped around Park Geon-ho’s shoulders and neck. Park Geon-ho smiled at me and hugged my waist halfway.
I carefully lifted my body and Park Geon-ho into the air so I wouldn’t slip up. As we went up higher, the guild members in line could be seen below our feet. There was a circle around the healer team and non-attacking abilities in the centre.
“It’s been really hard on you.”
The wind grew stronger as the distance from the ground widened a bit. Park Geon-ho’s voice was heard through the sound of the wind passing through my ears.
“What’s hard?”
“The Master seems to like you.”
I looked at Park Geon-ho with eyes asking if he was serious.
“You must be mistaken.”
It must be an illusion. I didn’t want to hear such a terrible thing even in my dreams. Park Geon-ho pretended he didn’t hear me speak and just said what he wanted to say.
“It wasn’t a lie that the Master hired you.”
“……”
“Certainly, this is worth hiring for.”
While flying towards the destination, Park Geon-ho did not stop talking. I'd like you to shut up because I was not in a situation to chat freely.
“I’m just an ordinary A-rank user.”
If Kim Woo-jin heard him, he would have been outraged that A-rank was considered normal, but the one he was talking to right now was an S-rank ability user.
Compared to Park Geon-ho, I belonged to the average axis.
“You know how to make funny jokes.”
“The same goes for you.”
I knew I was an outsider anyway, so I put aside my manners and let myself go. Park Geon-ho’s eyes lit up at my rude reply.
“You have a temper.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment.”
I stopped moving and looked around. Even at this moment, a group of monsters approaching in real-time could be seen.
“Is this place fine?”
“It’s fine.”
Park Geon-ho pulled out an iron ball from his pocket. When I dropped the iron balls, I lowered them closer to the ground to make sure they wouldn’t get too buried in the sand when they fell.
Park Geon-ho threw an iron ball onto the sand as if sowing a seed. It didn’t matter if it was a little covered in sand. If Park Geon-ho could see even a part of an iron ball, it was a bomb that could be detonated at any time.
Park Geon-ho and I continued to move and plant iron balls. It was fortunate that he had brought plenty of iron balls. The iron balls we had now scattered would be a very useful first line of defence for us.
Starting from the west, passing through the south, and returning to the west after passing through the east and north, the iron balls were planted in the ground.
“Are you ready?”
I saw a monster approaching right in front of me. The monsters didn’t notice me and Park Geon-ho floating in the sky.
“Sure.”
Kwaaak! Kwaah!
With a ravenous cry, the monster came closer to the iron ball. I counted in my head.
3, 2, 1.
Booom!
The iron balls began to explode. The monster that stepped on the iron ball was shattered to the point that it was difficult to even recognize its shape, and the monsters next to it and behind it were burned with their lower body blown away or engulfed in explosions. The surroundings were filled with monsters’ pained screams.
“I will start moving right away.”
It was a successful start. I crossed the air straight toward the south. Bombs exploded like dominoes with a roaring sound wherever I and Park Geon-ho passed. Each time, the flesh of the monsters exploded back and forth.
Kyeeek! Kyeek!
The monsters approached steadily after stepping on fallen monsters. We returned to the west after exploding the planted iron balls to the south, east, and north.
“If possible, it would be better for two people to do it.”
Park Geon-ho couldn’t use both of his hands because he had to hold onto my waist with one hand and hold the iron balls in his other hand. I nodded and replied, “It’s impossible to change the position of the iron ball while flying.”
“I don’t care. Just throw it.”
I looked down. The monsters were different in each direction. The west had cockroach-like monsters with black shells and thin wings; the south had bumpy, round caterpillar-like monsters; and the east had dragonfly monsters with bat wings.
Finally, the monsters with the largest body and countless hairs and legs were crawling from the north. Was it a special bug? As I watched on, goosebumps appeared on the nape of my neck.
“Throw it.”
At Park Geon-ho’s words, I slowly dropped the iron balls in my hand one by one. The monsters, which were running below us, had their shells broken and burned as bombs fell from the sky. Green sticky blood spurted into the air.
Kweeehk! Kwaah!
A few monsters burned to the ground and scattered their ranks. The horde of monsters, which previously headed forward without any blockage, fell into confusion. After throwing a few more iron balls, we went straight south.
“Uh…”
Looking down at the caterpillars crawling through the sand, I felt terrible. As in the west, we dropped iron balls to detonate bombs, but unlike in the west, the monsters immediately recognized us and raised their heads in unison. A black hole, like there was nothing in it, appeared in the plain body, and the hidden teeth were revealed.
“Get out of here!”
While I was bewildered by how easily we were discovered, I heard Park Geon-ho’s cry out. As we hurriedly turned to the right, a black liquid brushed past us.
“Ack!”
“Just focus on dodging.”
Starting with that, black liquid poured towards us. Having returned the iron balls I had to Park Geon-ho, I focused only on avoiding the attacks.
“Ugh…”
I flew through the sky avoiding the liquid at a high speed. Occasionally, an attack that I did not notice was barely avoided because Park Geon-ho pulled me.
Kwaang! Kugugung!
Kkiiiiiii! Kkiiiiik!
While dodging, the iron balls exploded into the monster’s chubby body. However, it was difficult to hold on as the angry monsters shot more liquid. In the end, we had to stop attacking earlier than we did in the west and moved east.
“Hah, hah...”
I bit hard in my mouth so that I wouldn’t lose my mind as I breathed heavily. In the east, there was a monster that could fly just like us. It wouldn’t be easy.
“Hah, I’ll go higher.”
I hardly caught my breath. It was a bit embarrassing to be in someone else’s arms and gasp for breath, but I couldn’t help it.
Pudeudeuk! Pudeuk!
Park Geon-ho dropped the iron balls as I opened some distance from the bat-winged monsters. Booom, looking at the bombs exploding under my feet, Park Geon-ho told me, “We’d better get through here quickly.”
“But…”
“Don’t we have two more laps to go? It’s dangerous if it’s like this.”
“…there are too many monsters.”
As I and Park Geon-ho failed to handle them, it would put a burden on the team members gathered in the centre. I increased my movement speed by avoiding the monsters that attacked me.
“The more enemies you face, the better it is to calmly deal with it without being hasty. It would be a greater loss for you to fall from exhausting your ability.”
Park Geon-ho’s voice was firm. After contemplating, I finally agreed and left the east. The following monsters exploded in the air after being hit by an iron ball that Park Geon-ho threw.
Fortunately, the north had no means of attacking us in the air like the east did. They were the biggest and most disgusting ones, but they were powerless against the numerous iron balls that fell from the air. Looking down at the monsters exploding here and there, Park Geon-ho and I had the same thought.
“We just need to focus on the west and the north.”
“It would be better to entrust the south and east to our team members.”
Park Geon-ho handed over half of the iron balls left to me. About 100 or so. Including Park Geon-ho’s, there were 200 iron balls. Holding the iron balls in my hand, I said, “Let’s get it over with and go back.”
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