The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 492



Only Noblemtl

Episode 492

#492. Is it possible?

Naga had legs, not the lower body of a snake.

‘It looks like Unknown. Of course, it looks more human.’

Kang Moo-hyuk looked around at the Nagas that had appeared from behind the stalactites, on the rocks, and behind his back. The Nagas were looking this way and quietly approaching.

Mr. Joe, who saw them cautiously approaching with their tongues flickering, noticed what the Nagas’ gazes meant.

“These kids, are you looking at us as prey?”

Mr. Joe took out a dagger and threatened the approaching Nagas. Hyun Jeong-geon stepped forward.

“You protect the captain.”

With those words, his body was scattered into the darkness. A Naga that had come close was torn to pieces. Then, the Naga that was trying to pounce on Kang Mu-hyeok had its head blown off.

Starting with Hyun Jeong-geon’s preemptive strike, Nagas rushed in from all directions. Unlike the ordinary Nagas that moved as if they were crawling on the ground like snakes, they attacked by climbing walls and jumping over rocks.

“Raven! There’s no time to waste! Clear the way! I’ll take the rear!”

Raven ran forward as soon as Alex gave the order. The moment he passed Kang Mu-hyeok, he lost his human form and transformed into a monster that resembled a bear.

The armor, which stretched like rubber to match its increased size, looked ridiculous, like a teddy bear from an amusement park, but its power could not be ignored.

The Nagas that Hyun Jeong-geon had knocked down were crushed by the bear’s kicks, and the Nagas that had attacked from a detour were also sent flying back the way they had come as if they had been hit by a dump truck.

As the path opened, Mr. Joe grabbed Kang Mu-hyeok’s shoulder.

“Run!”

Kang Moo-hyuk held onto the leader tightly and ran. The Nagas who were hit by Raven but still alive were killed by Mr. Joe’s sword.

Hyun Jeong-geon picked out the goblins hiding in the blind spot of the path that Kang Mu-hyeok was taking and knocked them down.

‘The rest will be taken care of by Gomtaeng. Mr. Cho will catch the ones he missed.’

The rear was taken care of by a gentleman named Alex. As a high-ranking hunter of the Federation, he guarded the rear firmly.

The party, consisting of four hunters and one civilian, advanced without hesitation despite the onslaught of the Nagas.

Kang Moo-hyuk noticed something strange as he watched the legged Nagas being dealt with before he even got near them.

‘It’s too easy.’

Even though they were high-ranking hunters, they were defeated so easily.

Kang Mu-hyeok looked at the dead Nagas with his tongue out even as he ran.

It had webbed feet and toes, and its leg structure resembled a frog’s. Unlike the smooth skin of the Naga, its skin was covered in armor-like scales.

‘It’s almost like an amphibian. Judging from its appearance, it can move both in and out of the water.’

Although the existing Nagato could come up onto land, its range of activity was limited to near the water. Its movement speed on land was not very fast, and three-dimensional maneuvers such as climbing walls or jumping were difficult.

These mutants, on the other hand, had two legs and had human-like locomotion mechanisms.

‘This means that it can enter deep into the ground and invade human territory.’

If all the Nagas currently attacking Northeast Asia were mutants with legs, more people would have died and even several inland cities would have been destroyed.

Kang Moo-hyuk felt goosebumps just thinking about it.

‘This is not a simple mutation. This is evolution.’

Naga was expanding its territory, which had been limited to the sea and coast, deep into the inland.

Here, Kang Moo-hyuk had one question.

‘Although there have been reports of the existence of a Naga King or a small number of powerful individuals, the evolution of the entire species has never been reported. Furthermore, the evolution of monsters is directed towards becoming stronger. However, these Nagas are weaker than the original Naga species. They are like children… … .’

After much questioning, he arrived at a hypothesis.

‘These guys aren’t adults!’

In terms of size alone, it was already the size of an adult Naga.

However, the way they fought was far less advanced. The Naga’s fighting skills were innate, but it was also important to learn from the Nagas who had become warriors before them, just as a mother beast teaches her young how to hunt.

As if confirming the truth that Kang Mu-hyeok had discovered, the leader projected another scene into his mind.

‘This is… … .’

In the middle of a huge, dark void stood the Unknown.

Unknown was spreading the abyss he held in his heart in all directions. The abyss seeped into the rocks that filled the void.

Kang Moo-hyuk realized that it was not rocks that were absorbing the abyss. They were Naga’s eggs.

The egg sucked in the abyss and breathed. With each breath, it grew a span. The legged nagas reflected on the opaque surface were grown to the size of a full-grown adult.

In other words, the Nagas who are now rushing towards Kang Mu-hyeok are Nagas who were just born.

‘When these guys grow up… When their numbers increase… … .’

A disaster worse than the chaos unfolding in Northeast Asia was about to occur somewhere in the oceans of the Earth.

‘We must end it all here.’

Kang Mu-hyeok gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

* * *

The fight between Thomas and Muhammad was like a marathon, but it was also a tug-of-war.

‘You have to persevere and persevere until the finish line. And you can’t break this balance.’

It wasn’t pushed, but it wasn’t overwhelming either.

The problem was the power of the Abyss. It was difficult to keep any magic other than Phoenix in check. The problem was that Phoenix was a fairly high-level magic.

If Thomas hadn’t had the ability to manipulate mana, he would have fainted from exhaustion long ago.

Fortunately, this tedious battle of wits was soon coming to an end. Thomas’s persistence won the day.

Muhammad was forcibly dragged out of the abyss without even being able to climb over the wall, so he was unable to exert much force.

The darkness that had been swarming around as if it were enclosing the entire cave had gradually lost its momentum and was now only hovering over his shoulders.

Thomas, noticing Muhammad’s condition, breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I couldn’t hold out any longer either. I’m glad I can see the end here.’

I had plenty of mana, but my body was in shambles to cast magic.

He forced another blast of the Phoenix, burning the last remaining abyss on Muhammad’s shoulder.

The darkness that had been rising like a mist soon lost its strength and subsided.

Muhammad sat down, gasping for air. Thomas flew through the air and approached Muhammad to finish him off once and for all.

“Don’t act like this. You’re still fine, right?”

“Huh? Who would call you a wizard’s cub? You’re quick-witted.”

“It’s a prejudice that wizards are quick-witted. That’s a matter of individual differences.”

“In the meantime, you’re nitpicking about useless things.”

“You can’t judge something by its usefulness. That’s just nitpicking.”

“Are you teasing people by nitpicking?”

“You were human? I thought you were some kind of weirdo?”

Muhammad was outraged by Thomas’s comparison of himself to Nagas and the like.

“You insignificant human being who would have been nothing if not a hunter. Let me tell you who I am. I am Muhammad, the heir of the Moroccan King Sharif Al Rashid. I am of noble bloodline who will become the future King of Morocco and succeed the name of the great Muhammad V, and ascend to the throne as Muhammad VI. And you treat me like a naga?! Just like my hair is white, your head is also blank… … .”

Boom!

“Khaak!”

Muhammad writhe in pain from being hit by the fireball.

With the abyss gone and all energy drained, there was no way to resist except with a strong body. Since it was a body that resembled a Naga, it was also vulnerable to flame attacks.

At his screams, the Nagas tried to run to help, but the joint attack force of the Eagles mercenary force and the Federation Greek team stood guard behind Thomas and did not open the way.

Thomas stared down at Muhammad’s face, which was red and soot-stained.

“What you just said was useless. Just die.”

Thomas fired the last phoenix. Muhammad raised the abyss, but nothing came out. He screamed as he became empty.

“There’s no way I’m going to die like this… … .”

The phoenix cut off his last words.

In one breath, it melted the tongue and vocal cords. The skin melted, the muscles became mushy, and the internal organs were roasted.

In the end, only black bones resembling a human skeleton remained, and the body lay on the floor. The bones also turned to dust and scattered.

Thomas, who had confirmed that the enemy had been completely destroyed, finally coughed out a handful of blood. After coughing several times, blood began to flow from his nose. He wiped the blood away with the sleeve of his armor coat.

“This is good enough. It’s over now, so there’s no need to push yourself any further… … .”

It was when he turned his back that he felt a presence behind him. It was as if something was crawling.

“Emeldi Drachchu Ehotek.”

A creepy voice. A completely unknown language.

Thomas understood what was being said.

‘Finally finished? What?’

He spat out the blood that had collected in his mouth and looked back. There was nothing.

“Wound maf.”

It was completed with death.

Thomas could tell where the voice was coming from.

“abyss…….”

Only then did he realize.

‘It’s not over until you close that.’

A wound in the air.

Eyeballs emerged from the darkness that seemed ready to burst out of space at any moment.

Red, blue, and dark.

It was a pair of eyes that could not be expressed in any other way.

As Abyss opened its eyes, the Hunters fell down vomiting. The Nagas also screamed and fell to the ground, bowing their heads.

Only Thomas stood still and stared into the abyss’ eyes.

The abyss’ eyes had become mouths, and it was blowing air, making a ‘whoosh’ sound. The air scattered bone dust.

The black powder fluttered in the wind and slowly began to take shape.

Thomas gritted his teeth and launched Phoenix. Abyssal energy surged from the skeleton that was just beginning to form, blocking the magic.

It was a darker concentration than the abyss that Muhammad had demonstrated.

“I thought it would end easily… … .”

Thomas smiled bitterly.

‘I guess I’ll have to give up my life.’

Can death stop it?

To be honest, I wasn’t confident.

‘Even if I were to reconnect with the Ruler of the Golden Eye, I’m not sure if my body would be able to withstand his will. And I’m not sure if my mere fragment of consciousness would be enough to stop it.’

The ruler of the Golden Eye’s descent into this world was ultimately a kind of summoning.

It was a being that could not appear here unless the medium called Thomas endured.

‘Come to think of it, it seems like that guy was summoned to sacrifice Muhammad. Would it be possible for me to become a sacrifice too?’

Thomas gathered his mana, intending to offer himself up if necessary.

“You’re so boring. The last, the last, the last? I’ve heard people say that even a twist like this is boring.”

A golden phoenix rose from Thomas’ hand.

“Eat this and shake… … .”

Phew!

Blood gushed out from the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Thomas shouted, gnashing his reddened teeth.

“away!”