Chapter 107: Raid (3)

Chapter 107: Raid (3)

“Have two of you wait in the living room on the first floor, and one stay close to Heo Sang-hyeon-ssi. The rest of you, come out and intercept them.”

Screech!!

A sensation of dizziness accompanied by the huge drain of magical power.

Ugh, the transmission efficiency of my magical power decreases with distance.

I’ll consider improvements later.

“If you’ve absorbed my magical power, come out quickly!”

Creak creak creak creak!!! Crack crack crack!! Crack!

The windows of the mansion burst open at the same time as shadows of bizarre shapes poured out.

Monsters with bodies created by a tangle of random items such as toys, decorations, furniture, tools, and dishes scattered into the darkness.

I remembered the figures of these “workers” proudly wielding brooms, mops, and dustpans, while they busily cleared dust inside the building. But now they were unrecognizable.

Saws, hammers, kitchen knives, broken vases, scythes, hand axes, and even huge chunks of metal from unknown origins.

They’ve transformed into functional and dangerous shapes prepared for a unified purpose.

The dreadful noise of the necromancy golems moving was accompanied by screams.

“Aaaaaah!!”

“What, what is that!”

“It’s a monster! It’s a monster!”

“Don’t back down! They’re just puppets!”

“The Living Flame blesses and protects us!”

These weren’t the same necromancy golems that were previously managed in an unreasonable manner by the Hollow Lord.

They moved with surprising agility and intelligence while pushing back the cultists who outnumbered them more than three to one.

Among the necromancy golems, there were specially modified ones, for example—

Creak, crack, crackle. Crackle, crackle.

One necromancy golem with a huge maw fashioned like a bear trap gnashed its teeth and made a grinding noise.

Its mouth was filled with three layers of ghastly teeth made from bone fragments that had been rolling around the mansion.

A surprised cultist swung a large axe at it, but the creature simply chewed up and tore apart the axe blade.

Grrrrrrr!!

Whirrrrr!!

At the same time, a hook and a menacing chainsaw attached to its right arm began to spin violently.

“Aaaargh!”

A huge necromancy golem then hurled its entire body into the ranks of the cultists.

This one was different from the other necromancy golems in both size and weight.

It was a monstrous figure that stood nearly 3.5 meters tall. What might be called its shoulders, if one could call them that, were about 3 meters wide.

Boom!!!

As expected from a haunted house that has existed for 150 years, there were all kinds of random items in the storeroom of the hungry mansion.

I found several large stone mortars in the storeroom behind the mansion and attached them all to that guy’s arms.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

Each time it swung its arms, someone was sent flying.

“Fire! Don’t get close, just shoot!”

From the rear ranks, the cultists could be seen aiming their shotguns at the necromancy golems, but gunmen were on our side as well.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Ratatatata! Ratatatatatatata!!

“Aaagh!! Get down!”

Creak, creak, creak...

A necromancy golem with four spider-like legs.

It had already taken up a position in the dark forest and was perched atop a tree.

I had loaded it with all the guns I had collected during my requests.

Three submachine guns, two assault rifles, one sniper rifle, and seven pistols.

In general, these were guns that the mutants of Gamaksan Mountain possessed.

I had even attached grenades and claymores to its chest.

“Stop messing around, you bastards!”

Of course, there were some exceptional figures among the enemies, as these cultists were not mere street thugs, but were people backed by beings from the abyss.

A large figure who seemed to be a head taller than the other cult members stepped forward and stretched his arms toward the sky.

“Grant me your protection!”

“Well, I’ll ask them later and find out.”

It was a one-sided battle from the start.

I ordered the necromancy golems to scatter those who were running away and then turned my head.

“Guuuugh...”

Between the dense trees spread the [Mist and Dew Spider Web]

And between this huge net formed of mist and dew, a man hung upside down.

“Earlier, a big guy was called the vice captain; are you perhaps this vice captain then?”

“Monster...”

While the necromancy golems were in action, I captured the leader of this torch-bearing group. He was the one summoning the burning ones earlier.

He seemed strong but he wasn’t particularly memorable.

The magical flames that had clung to the end of his staff had vanished, and blood was spurting from his abdomen and legs. Moreover, his limbs were bound, making movement difficult. Yet the madness and resolve in the expression of this leader (perhaps?) hadn’t diminished at all.

Yes, that’s the demeanor of a cultist.

“Are you the leader? If not, just say so.”

“Does that matter...?”

“True, it doesn’t matter either way. But your friends have all fallen or fled; do you still intend to fight?”

While I was speaking, he bit his lip and drew blood. Perhaps in response to that action, magical flames erupted from the extinguished end of his staff.

Whoooosh!!

Eventually, a new fireball came flying toward me.

“Ah, seriously.”

[Elution]

From the barren ground, a tremendous amount of water suddenly surged forth.

Swooooooosh!

The water that was expelled with such high pressure and velocity that a direct hit could easily tear off an arm intercepted the fireball.

“This monster... how can you continuously cast such powerful magic?”

“I ate a lot of herbal medicine when I was young. But in your case, it seems like your body deteriorates every time you use your power, doesn’t it?”

He noticeably weakened every time he cast a spell from a certain point.

He looked as if he was on a rapid diet. Perhaps that staff was wringing out his life force in place of the insufficient magical power.

“Ugh, what exactly is your reason for interfering with us like this?”

“What are you talking about? Who threw the first punch?”

Wait, did I throw the first punch? But they were the ones who tried to start the raid on my house, so I’m not in the wrong.

Oh, but wasn’t I the one who stole the ring from their sanctuary first?

Thinking back, I indeed had thrown the first punch.

But that doesn’t mean I can give up this ring.

“Sorry, but I can’t give you this ring. Try looking for something else.”

There’s no artifact anywhere else in Paju that boosts your strength by three points without any questions or complications.

“A ring? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? It’s not about the ring?”

“Eeeek...!! You cunning heretic! You try to bewitch me with your wicked nonsense! I do not know why you choose to help the owner of the hungry mansion, but millions of our believers will target you!”

“What are you talking about...?”

Ah, ah! Now I understand.

I thought Park Kwang-lim had betrayed me and sent them to attack me, but that wasn’t the case. I misunderstood. Sorry, Park Kwang-lim-ssi.

“Did you come because of the hungry mansion? You cultists should just stick together.”

“Stick together? Stop your nonsense! That skinny, worthless skeleton attacked us first! And then it committed the vile act of stealing our relic!”

“Ah. The Hollow Lord did that? Bad skeleton.”

That aggressive lunatic skeleton. It must have been causing trouble with other cults before I dealt with it.

“Yes! That’s why our Red Beacon Order came here for revenge! We will destroy the hungry mansion and take T’s clock!”

“T’s clock? What’s that?”

What’s T? A clock?

It’s an artifact I don’t know about. Ah, why does this keep happening? Stop adding new information, you fools.

The uneasy leader(perhaps?) rolled his eyes anxiously and then suddenly shouted in a bizarre direction.

“O living flame! O lord of Fomalhaut! Grant me the power to strike down this cunning heretic! Take my life if need—.”

Ah, damn! These crazy cultists, I tried to resolve this through conversation!

“Hey, don’t die on me!”