Episode 98
Cheon Sang-ho tended to trust his intuition.
I chose the left tunnel because I got an unusual feeling from that side.
Even while passing through a deep tunnel where not a single ray of light could enter, Cheon Sang-ho’s steps did not falter at all.
The remaining five senses, strengthened with stats and skills, were replacing sight and allowing Cheon Sang-ho to clearly perceive the structure of the tunnel.
“Over there?”
Cheon Sang-ho sensed a presence far away.
Since there was no way there would be anyone in a place like this, Cheon Sang-ho guessed that the owner of the sound was a giant scorpion.
Cheon Sang-ho ran quickly to prevent the giant scorpion from escaping again.
After running for a while and reaching deeper into the tunnel, Cheon Sang-ho felt a presence behind him.
It was obvious that someone was approaching with murderous intent, so Cheon Sang-ho swung his sword without hesitation.
“This is… … .”
The thing that was cut in two by the sword had an appearance very similar to a giant scorpion.
However, there was a big difference in size.
Unlike the giant scorpion, the one that attacked Cheon Sang-ho from behind was only about 1m long.
Although it was larger than a normal scorpion, it was not as threatening as a giant scorpion.
“Could it be that monster’s offspring?”
Since Cheon Sang-ho couldn’t see, he wanted to touch the scorpion’s corpse to check its appearance in more detail.
Cheon Sang-ho, who was bending down and reaching out his hands toward the floor, stopped moving midway.
“… … I guess the one I chose was a dud.”
While Cheon Sangho was killing one, numerous scorpions took up residence on the tunnel wall.
Even if you just count the rough signs, there are more than a few thousand.
One by one they weren’t that threatening, but when they came at us in such large numbers it was a different story.
In this situation where he could not use his vision, Cheon Sang-ho had to face numerous enemies.
“It wasn’t just an escape route, it was the guy’s nest.”
Thousands of scorpions gathered around Cheon Sang-ho, surrounding him.
It looked more like ants hunting for prey than a scorpion.
“As expected of a monster, his way of thinking is different.”
People and animals usually do not spare their own bodies to protect their children.
In contrast, the giant scorpion sent its young out onto the front lines to protect its own body.
It only looked like a scorpion, but its actions were like those of other monsters.
“Let’s see, it’s probably over 8,000.”
If she could produce this many babies on her own, her reproductive capacity is truly astonishing.
Cheon Sang-ho imagined later on when these babies would grow to be as big as giant scorpions.
“Hmm.”
Cheon Sang-ho groaned in pain as the terrible outcome flashed through his mind.
Even though Cheon Sang-ho was in danger, he was not nervous or scared.
I have already experienced fighting under such adverse conditions countless times.
The only thing that Cheon Sang-ho was worried about was that he didn’t have time to go help Kang Jin-hyeok.
“It seems like it’ll take quite a while to catch them all… … I don’t know if Kang Jin-hyeok will be safe alone.”
Since he couldn’t leave even a single one of these scorpions alive, Cheon Sang-ho planned to focus on cleaning this area.
I didn’t feel like I was going to lose at all, but I felt like it was going to take quite a bit of time.
Will Kang Jin-hyeok be able to fight the giant scorpion during that not-so-short period of time?
Cheon Sang-ho, who briefly ran the simulation in his head, nodded with a relieved expression.
“That person will do well even without me.”
It was also Kang Jin-hyeok who noticed the characteristics of the giant scorpion and destroyed it.
Cheon Sang-ho believed that with his skills and keen eye, he would have no problem fighting the giant scorpion alone.
“But just in case, it would be better to hurry.”
Cheon Sang-ho strained his nerves and checked that there was no one else around him.
After carefully checking that there was no one else besides the scorpions, Cheon Sang-ho took out another sword from his inventory.
One each in the right and left hand.
Using two swords at the same time was Cheon Sang-ho’s original fighting style.
However, this method is only used when it is extremely dangerous or when no one is watching.
As it was a law that a hunter should have one or two secret weapons, Cheon Sang-ho also usually only used one sword.
“Huh.”
As the swarm of scorpions poured down like rain, Cheon Sangho held his breath for a moment and swung his two swords at a terrifying speed.
And when the scorpions hesitated for a moment, Cheon Sang-ho took a deep breath and prepared for the next attack.
* * *
Even though Kang Jin-hyeok’s flashlight was brightly illuminating the tunnel, nothing was visible.
The fact that there was no change in the field of vision despite walking for a long time means that the giant scorpion either ran away at incredible speed, or it never ran in this direction in the first place.
Kang Jin-hyeok moved further forward, hoping that it would be the former case.
After walking for several more dozen minutes, I finally saw something illuminated by the flashlight.
Although it didn’t look like a giant scorpion, it was a sight that was hard to just pass by.
“What is all this?”
What Kang Jin-hyeok saw were countless corpses.
Various types of monsters were lying on the ground, half-eaten.
Although it was a disgusting sight, Kang Jin-hyeok endured it and examined the remaining corpses one by one for his investigation.
“It’s just as I expected.”
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There were no magic stones left on the monster’s corpse that Kang Jin-hyeok examined.
The same goes for corpses that looked like they had been eaten in one bite and then thrown away.
Kang Jin-hyeok could tell that the giant scorpion was not eating monsters because it was hungry, but to replenish its strength from the magic stone.
It was obvious why he did that.
Having expended a lot of energy fending off Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho’s attacks, the giant scorpion would have tried to replenish its strength before fighting again.
“You ate this much. You must have regained a lot of strength.”
Kang Jin-hyeok believed that the presence of the corpses left behind was evidence that a giant scorpion was also in this tunnel.
Unlike when they first fought, now Kang Jin-hyeok was alone.
But Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t think it was a disadvantage at all.
Since the MP charged in the baseball bat was 100% full, if I invested all of it into aura, I could even break through the giant scorpion’s defenses.
“By the way, where on earth did this many monsters come from?”
Kang Jin-hyeok, who was looking at the scene, had a question.
The giant scorpion had apparently been isolated in the city where it appeared for a long time.
I would have been stuck in this area and not been able to move anywhere else.
It was strange that so many monsters were stored in the tunnels.
“It doesn’t seem like they kidnapped her.”
Kang Jin-hyeok focused on the corpse that had been left with only the magic stone removed by the giant scorpion, leaving the limbs intact.
The corpse, presumed to be that of an orc, was covered in traces of resistance.
Judging by the fact that the blood hadn’t dried, it was clear that it had been struggling to survive until just before being fed.
If they were kidnapped as prey, they would have been paralyzed with a poisonous stinger or killed, so there would be no traces like this.
“Could it be that a monster has appeared around here?”
If that’s true, it’s no coincidence that the giant scorpion chose this place as its refuge.
I don’t know if they anticipated the monster’s appearance or if they could sense its presence.
What’s important now is that the giant scorpion has the intelligence to properly resolve its crisis situation.
“Then, even though I ate this many, I still can’t see a single shadow of it… … .”
Waiting for an opportunity somewhere.
Kang Jin-hyeok thought that there was no other reason for the giant scorpion to disappear.
I thought he just ran away, but he was actually preparing to counterattack.
“Okay, let’s have a proper fight.”
The giant scorpion most likely knew that Kang Jin-hyeok would not back down and would come running.
Kang Jin-hyeok walked past the monsters’ graveyard to see with his own eyes what kind of preparations the giant scorpion had made.
Kang Jin-hyeok, who had invested about 15 more minutes to move forward, could now tell that he had reached the end.
The space illuminated by the flashlight is no longer a long passageway.
It was a wide open square like a sports stadium.
“To think that they could prepare a facility of this size underground… … . You’re really talented.”
Kang Jin-hyeok put aside his admiration for the facility and focused his gaze on the opponent in front of him.
“You’re not going to sneak up and attack, you’re going to confront us head on?”
The giant scorpion was waiting for Kang Jin-hyeok to come to its prepared position like a champion.
Kang Jin-hyeok discovered that the pincers that Cheon Sang-ho had cut off were still intact and attached to the body of a giant scorpion.
“I didn’t know it had regenerative abilities.”
It is still unknown whether it originally had regenerative abilities or was regenerated using the monsters’ magic stones.
To determine which one it was, the pincers had to be ripped off the giant scorpion’s body again.
Kang Jin-hyeok put down the flashlight and took out a flare to put that into practice.
The flare made from the monster’s corpse was shot into the sky, emitting a bright light and illuminating the surrounding area.
The giant scorpion didn’t even flinch as a flare exploded right above its head.
Kang Jin-hyeok grabbed the baseball bat with both hands, thinking that he was a gutsy guy.
“Let’s see how long that courage lasts.”
Kang Jin-hyeok immediately raised his aura and ran towards the giant scorpion.
As soon as he came into range, Kang Jin-hyeok swung his baseball bat.
From the beginning, there was no intention to give it their all, and the attack was primarily for exploration purposes.
A light swing of the baseball bat hit the giant scorpion squarely in the head.
Fuzz.
The futile feeling of breaking an empty box was transmitted through the baseball bat to Kang Jin-hyeok’s fingertips.
Kang Jin-hyeok couldn’t help but feel flustered, as he had clearly expected the shield to be used to repel it.
“What the heck is this… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok found an empty space behind his crushed head.
It took me some time to realize what that meant.
“no way?”
Kang Jin-hyeok realized the intentions of the giant scorpion before his eyes only after its pincers had already emerged from the ground.
Kang Jin-hyeok swung his baseball bat hastily and collided head-on with the giant scorpion’s pincers.
bang!
A powerful shock wave spread in all directions, and Kang Jin-hyeok was pushed back by the recoil.
Kang Jin-hyeok barely managed to keep his balance and stopped, laughing in vain.
“You use the remaining shell like that?”
At this point, it felt like he was not just smart, but clever.
When the surprise attack failed, the giant scorpion had no choice but to emerge from the ground and reveal itself.
Thanks to the collapsed building right next to him, Kang Jin-hyeok could see how much larger the giant scorpion had become.
It wasn’t just the size of the body that changed.
The golden shield protecting the giant scorpion’s outer skin was emitting a much more brilliant light than when I first saw it.
Kang Jin-hyeok was sure that it wasn’t just a change in color.
When the baseball bat and the crab claw collided a little while ago, Kang Jin-hyeok felt his stomach recoil more than usual.
It definitely didn’t bounce off because I hit it hard.
Kang Jin-hyeok noticed with this blow that something had changed in the giant scorpion.
