Chapter 221

Chapter 221

It was an unprecedented shitshowhostile legions making unexpected appearances in the middle of a stage.

Yet, there were two silver linings in this unfortunate situation.

The first was the existence of the Intrusion Penalty.

[Unexpected Event - Werewolf Legion Intrudes!]

[Repel the suddenly appearing Werewolf Legion!]

- Grey Werewolf Lv.35 <Elite><Penalty Applied>: 15 in total

- Brown Werewolf Lv.30 <Penalty Applied>: 25 in total

Intrusion Penalty is applied. A 50% stat debuff is applied to the Werewolf Legion.

Extra rewards will be provided in the stage settlement window if you resolve the Unexpected Event.

A 50% stat debuff.

Monsters already lost some power when they moved onto the surface from the Lake Kingdom. From the moment they invaded the territories, they fought under a stat reverse-correction.

The reverse-correction was stronger in the initial stages and weaker in the latter stages.

I suppose that was the games way of balancing.

Now, on top of that, they had a 50% debuff.

Do they have a conscience? Im not sure, but theyre pretending to have one, it seems.

Better to have extra rewards than none, but honestly, who needs them? Just let me smoothly finish the stage!

Anyways, the second piece of good news.

Ssscht-!

Nameless followed me.

Dressed in ragged clothes with whitened hair, she looked like a beggar, to be honest.

And according to her, she was also under the penalty, unable to unleash her full combat power.

Ssscht! Thud! Splud-!

...Damn, she fought well.

She moved as though she had spent her entire life studying how to kill monsters.

Not a single skill or trace of magic power activated from her hero character. With ease, she swung her sword, beheading the wolves.

It allowed us to easily dispatch the werewolves who tried to penetrate our flanks.

Grrr!

Grrrr!

Realizing they were outmatched, the remaining werewolves ceased fighting and backed away.

Whoosh-!

"Hey! Where are you going, you little shits!"

They flung their bodies back and scurried away, disappearing into the shadows under the snake.

Watching them escape into the shadows, I gritted my teeth.

The night was pitch black, and they were too fast to catch...!

But for now!

I was worried about the party members who had dispersed elsewhere!

Swiftly, I issued orders to my companions here.

"Nameless, can you hold down the fort here?"

"Of course."

Nameless was a formidable swordswoman, but she didnt have a grappling hook and didnt know how to use one either. It was tricky to move quickly together, so I left her here.

"Kellibey, stay with her! Its urgent, so please help Nameless destroy the core!"

"Got it, leave it to me!"

I left Kellibey, who was familiar with Nameless and could handle destroying parts on his own.

I gestured to the remaining two mages.

"Fox, Rabbit, follow me! Were going up to aid the others!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Both mages hurriedly followed me.

Swoosh-! Whoosh!

I quickly attached my grappling hook to Jormungandrs back scales and began climbing up its body.

My mouth felt incredibly dry.

Please, let everyone be safe.

***

Jormungandr, Central Vicinity.

As I arrived, fortunately, Lucas and the Penal Squad had just finished fending off a horde of werewolves.

"Your Highness! Youre safe!"

Lucas waved at me with a bright smile. Why was he so cheerful when he was covered in blood from head to toe?

"I was getting worried about you. I was just about to head towards the tail end."

"You should be more concerned about yourself..."

There were claw marks scraped across Lucass back and shoulders.

When I poured a potion over his wounds, Lucas gritted his teeth to endure the pain.

"Ten of them came. The ones with brown fur werent much of a challenge. The gray-furred ones, however, were quite powerful. We barely managed to drive them away."

"Where did they go?"

"They ran off and vanished by jumping under Jormungandrs body after we killed about half of them."

So they fled just like the ones at the tail. Are they planning to use the serpents body as a stage for guerrilla tactics?

I also checked the condition of the other Penal Squad members. Fortunately, no one had suffered serious injuries.

"Good, everyone seems to be alright."

Just as I let out a sigh of relief,

Thud thud...

A hand suddenly rose from the ground. Looking down, Kuilan was lying flat next to me.

"Ahh~ Thanks, thank you. Worrying about someone like me. As you can see, Im totally fine. No need to worry."

"Quit your whining and get up, Kuilan. You look perfectly fine to me."

"No, Im not! Im actually hurt! I cant even get up right now! Show some concern for me, dammit!"

Kuilan wore a sour face when I treated him so coldly.

Seriously, I made sure you wore two evasion gear sets so you wouldnt get hurt. Quit your Hollywood acting and get up already.

- Kwaaaa-!

Dozens of werewolves lunged at them, their fangs and claws swinging wildly, but narrowly missing, only managing to tear the edges of the two mages robes.

- Thud!

"Safe!"

Catching Reina and Junior in mid-air, Evangeline skillfully retracted her grappling hook and then

- Whoosh!

Landed by setting her shield beneath her feet.

"Ugh...!"

She had cradled both of them in her arms and plummeted to the ground.

Even for someone as durable as Evangeline, the impact was not insignificant.

But gritting her teeth, she endured it. She immediately shot her grappling hook again, snagging it on the side of Jormungandr.

- Whoosh!

Evangelines slender legs glided along the ground, her shield sliding like a sled next to Jormungandr.

Taking a breather, Evangeline flashed a smile.

"Are both of you alright?!"

"Were fine, but... how did you get to us so quickly?"

"Hehe, Ive got quick reflexes, you know!"

Having been knocked off Jormungandr by the werewolves ambush, Evangeline had managed to stick back onto the side of Jormungandr using an extra grappling hook.

In that moment, Evangeline thought to herself, Who is at the most risk right now, given the sudden attack by the enemy?

She quickly arrived at a conclusion.

The most vulnerable were the two mages at the front of the formation.

Lucas was in the middle, and Ash was at the rear; they could handle themselves.

Relying on this judgment, and her trust in Lucas and Ash, Evangeline had flown to the front without looking back.

As a result, she was able to rescue the two mages.

"So, how about it, mages? Its always safer when you have a reliable Vanguard Knight, right"

Evangeline was shrugging when

Squeak.

Creak.

An ominous sound echoed.

"Huh?"

Looking ahead, she saw the grappling rope connecting her shield-sled to Jormungandr was about to snap.

Even the sturdiest metal thread couldnt bear the weight of three people.

"Damn it! This is my last grappling hook!"

Creak!

The rope was about to snap. Evangeline clenched her eyes shut.

If the three of them fell now, the mission to conquer Jormungandr might fail!

Just then, Ashs voice reached her from the body of Jormungandr.

"Ill create a ramp for you, Evangeline! Just slide and jump, got it?!"

"?!"

Surprised, Evangeline looked up to see Ash standing atop Jormungandr, having somehow dashed there.

Ash hurled a magic core in a fast pitch towards her.

As the magic core landed in front of Evangeline, Ash yelled, "Summon!"

Fortunately, they were in a forest.

The surrounding area was filled with trees shattered by Jormungandrs rampage. Using these as materials, Ash summoned an automatic turret into the ground.

It was angled diagonally, offering a perfect ramp.

Clank! Whoosh!

Wood shards gathered, forming the exterior of the auto-turret.

Whooosh!

Evangelines shield-sled smoothly slid up the ramp.

"Wooohoo?! This is fun...!"

Before Evangeline could fully express her excitement, the jump was over. And at that same moment

Snap.

The rope broke.

"Ah, damn it!"

With Evangelines scream, all three were flung into the void.

"Phew!"

Just then, Reina expelled a gust of wind, adjusting the angle so that their bodies would fall toward Jormungandr.

Ash shouted as he saw the three plummeting toward Jormungandrs back.

"Catch them!"

- Thud! Clatter...!

Lucas caught Evangeline, Ash caught Junior, and Kuilan caught Reina.

Lucas held her effortlessly, Ash wobbled but surprisingly held on, and Kuilan spat blood as he crumbled to the ground.

"Wow... what the hell was that? Is everyone okay?"

Ash asked as he wiped away his cold sweat.

Junior had fainted with foam at her mouth, but Reina looked pale yet alright, and Evangeline was full of energy.

"That jump was awesome!"

Evangeline, who had slipped out of Lucas arms, bounced around with twinkling eyes.

"Do it again, please, senior! One more sled jump! Just one more!"

"What do you mean one more? If we do this again, I wont have a heart left. Do you know how scared I was?"

Ash grumbled as he looked around to assess the condition of his party members.

"Anyway... its a relief no one got seriously injured."

Everyone sighed in relief as they verified each others safety.

Just then, Kuilan, who had been under Reina, lifted his trembling hands and mumbled in a fading voice.

"Ah... Im fine... Thank you for worrying... about me..."

But no one was listening.