CH 6

“Aaack!”

Following Babil’s terrified screams, a [Cloak of Fire] appeared above their heads. Although its range wasn’t big, it was enough to cover all four people.

Cadel took a deep breath and looked up blankly at the cloak he had created. The intense red flames blazed, obscuring the sky, enough to blind someone. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.

‘I did it…!’

Perhaps because of his lack of dexterity, his whole body was ragged like a squeezed mop, but he had done it anyway. For a moment, hope bloomed with a small sense of accomplishment.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of something falling through the cloak rang out over and over again.

Most of them were burned by the flames and couldn’t be identified, but unfortunately, there were some that slipped through and fell to the ground. Cadel confirmed their identity.

“Fuck!”

This time, the cursing came from him. They were the heads. The heads held by the ‘Head Pitchers’ were flying. After flying like balls, they fell to the ground and rolled furiously in search of a target with their toothless mouths wide open.

Cadel found Van, barely overcoming the desire to surrender at any given moment. Van had also come under the cloak to avoid the heads, and approached Cadel.

“Commander, there are too many of them. If we wait until all the heads are thrown, we’ll be surrounded quickly.” His red eyes looked around sharply.

‘Then what should I do now?’ Cadel wanted to ask such a helpless question, but with superhuman will, he held it back.

He was Van’s superior and the commander of the mercenary corps. This was a position that should show its true value now. If there was an opportunity to instill confidence in Van, it was now.

Cadel gave an order, squeezing out the lowest possible voice to mask the trembling in his voice.

“We don’t have to wait for them. Break though like this.”

[Hero of Knights] was a strategy game. However, detailed tactics such as securing an advantageous position on the battlefield, utilizing terrain, and controlling attack speed and formation were not implemented. ‘HeoKni’ was famous because of the knights’ attractive appearances, the use of a multitude of skills, and the tension and fun of battle.

So, in a real battle situation, it was not that advantageous to have memories of playing the game. At least not now.

“I can’t use strong magic while maintaining the veil. You’ll have to go through the retreat route alone… Van, can you do it?”

“It’s embarrassing, but it’s hard to say for sure. There is no guarantee that the speed of breaking through will be faster than the monsters’ speed. I don’t know about other monsters, but the undead don’t release blood even when cut…”

Van’s red eyes narrowed. Something like blood swirled violently in his eyes.

‘Damn, why did the first monster have to be undead.’

Van Herdos was a berserker who dealt with ‘blood’. His greatsword got stronger the more blood it collected, and when it contained more than a certain amount of blood, it would enter a kind of awakening state where powerful techniques could be used.

But as Van said, their oppoenent was the undead. The undead did not have blood even if their limbs were severed. Since the body was already dead, there was no blood circulating.

Cadel bit his lip. The monsters’ heads kept flying towards them, and the encirclement was getting tighter. Ron and Babil fought desperately, but their skills were poor. It was good enough for them to push away a few monsters that were approaching from the rear.

‘What do we do?’

In such an environment, they couldn’t even escape at will. There was no place to hide, and no place to make an escape route.

Cadel looked at the cloak he had formed. He had been holding up well so far, but he couldn’t guarantee how long he’d be able to keep it up. Maintaining the cloak required more magic than expected. He could tell by the unpleasant sensation of magic draining from his body in real time.

He stopped clenching his mouth and called out to Van, who was driving his sword forward.

“I’m going to prepare a wide-range attack. I need a safe zone.”

“A safe zone… Is it possible to find one in a place like this?”

“What are you looking for? We can make one.”

Cadel responded softly, and swung his hand once. The cloak that covered their backs disappeared in an instant.

“The, the cloak!”

“What are you doing, mage! The head pitchers’ attack isn’t over yet!”

Ron and Babil reacted loudly as soon as the cloak was removed. Cadel looked at them coldly.

“Just because we received the same commission doesn’t mean I have an obligation to protect you. If you don’t have the skills to survive on you own, keep your mouth shut and follow my instructions.”

Ron and Babil’s faces crumpled harshly, thinking that Cadel’s reckless and callous attitude was humiliating. But it was true and there was nothing to refute, so in the end, the two quickly shut their mouths without any objections.

Cadel spoke to them as they cut the heads that bounced off like hailstones.

“From now on, you must protect me. I’ll give you a signal when I’m ready, so please stay by my side so you don’t get swept away.”

Anyways, from the start, the contents of the quest had been to ‘eradicate the monsters in the Smog Plains’. Although they had been sieged unexpectedly, if they couldn’t avoid it, it was just a head-to head-match.

After making the decision, Cadel slumped down, entrusting his back to them.

‘The most powerful ranged magic that can be used in the beginning is Fire Arrows. It’s a skill that consumes most of the magic power even in the game…I have to succeed no matter what.’

If he didn’t, he would die. Even if Cadel had to die, he didn’t want to die at the hands of a horrific group of undead with holes all over his body.

He activated his concentration again, quickly cut off all external senses, and began to raise the magic power in his body to the maximum.

⚔️

“Kyaak!”

Babil, unable to cut off the head that flew at him, staggered while screaming. The head’s wide mouth stuck to his shoulder tenaciously like a barnacle. Ron, who was back-to-back with Babil, hurriedly stabbed the head and knocked it down.

“Urgh…! Ahhh!”

Babil’s shoulder, where the head had been attached, had a cavity. A section of his skin and muscles had been removed, and yellow bones were protruding from it. Unable to withstand the pain, Babil knelt down, clutching his bitten shoulder. Helpless, Ron called out to Cadel.

“Mage! Are you not ready yet? They’ll end up eating us all!”

“You’re noisy. Don’t rush the commander.”

Van glared at Ron after his nervous cry, threatening him. There were dozens of heads under him that had been cut by his sword, and he was still guarding the commander who was sitting on the floor, without showing any sign of exhaustion.

On the other hand, Ron had only blocked about ten heads. The extreme contrast in ability could be seen at a glance. In the end, maybe because he realized that he wasn’t Van’s opponent, Ron only glanced at Cadel with a distressed look.

On the other hand, in the midst of this chaos, Cadel had steadily finished preparing the skill.

‘Imagine it… and pull out the magic power.’

It was a ridiculous process, but all that mattered was if it succeeded. Cadel took a deep breath. If he couldn’t do it, he’d die, so he couldn’t consider failure.

There was a terrifying feeling of blood rushing out of his body. His heart swelled and his eyes widened.

Cadel instinctively looked up at the sky. Then he saw hundreds of red strands running across the sky. Each strand was on fire, and the strands that filled a certain area were clustered together like a red cloud.

A hot shadow fell over them. Cadel shouted, with a feeling that the skill had succeeded.

“Everyone stick together!”

At the same time…

Ping! Ping!

Sharp pounding sounds continued like rain, and [Fire Arrows] rushed towards the monsters.

Although the shape was closer to a thread than an arrow, it had great power. The head pitchers were helpless, unable to find a place to escape from the arrow being shot down, and the fire quickly spread through the bodies that were hit by the arrows.

The monsters, who hadn’t flinched no matter how much they had cut them, let out hideous screams and twisted their bodies. The heads that the monsters had lost were scattered all over the place, but other [Fire Arrows] fell on them and sentenced them to death.

The place turned into hell in an instant. The only safe zone was a very small circular range centered in Cadel. Except for that place, the plain was becoming a wasteland.

“You’re also amazing, Commander!”

Watching hundreds of arrows fall from the sky, Van’s eyes lit up in admiration. Instead of answering, Cadel stared blankly at his handiwork.

It was a great skill, even for him. Even in the game, [Fire Arrows] was powerful and flashy, but it was different from actually seeing it with your own eyes.

‘I have a feeling that I used too much magic power, but with this kind of power, the damage we take won’t be too much. Let’s keep this momentum going. If I put Van at the forefront and give a little support with the remaining magic power…’

The Smog Plains could be reclaimed. Cadel’s eyes gleamed with hope.