NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 98
Yoo Chaerin secretly had a wish when she came here.
To appear before him like a princess on a white horse and save him from his troubles.
She had been feeling a bit smug lately, gathering people like it was the most natural thing in the world.
More people had shown up than she expected, and this was the first time in her life she had actively sought to gather them.
It felt like she had become the leader of some protest group.
She felt like storming into a school and spray-painting something…
Of course, she knew her responsibilities; she was planning to use non-lethal paint.
Moreover, the gathered faces were quite impressive.
She was now considered a high-level player, but many who were even higher in level than her were around.
“Wow, Kim Mari’s here too? Thank you!”
“Oh, no problem! I had to come since my views spiked thanks to you. Plus, this place looks way more fun!”
Like the famous ranked player Kim Mari and her party members.
Considering the position of high-level players who had a lot to lose, it was definitely a tough decision for them.
Sure, the stream view count would skyrocket, but she was just purely grateful.
And so, Chaerin headed towards the battlefield with high hopes.
To rescue the exhausted him…
However, upon arriving at the battlefield, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment.
“Oh, you made it!”
Yor looked entirely fine, surprisingly.
There was blood splattered here and there, but he didn’t seem tired at all.
In fact, dozens of knights were already sprawled out around him.
She was somewhat taken aback.
‘Did he take down this many already?’
She had gathered a crowd right at the crack of dawn.
“Ah, yes…”
She dazedly nodded her head.
It was good that he looked fine, of course. A relieved sigh escaped her lips as if on cue.
But still… she couldn’t shake off a slight disappointment.
Nonetheless, she joined Yor.
Yor checked the chatroom that popped up next to her for a moment.
[Did he really just clean up that fast?]
[This is the first time I’ve seen knights down like this;]
[Ugh, the screen is finally clearing up]
[My brother covered in blood… it’s kinda sexy…]
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
It felt like he hadn’t seen the chatroom in ages.
The messages were flying up quickly. They weren’t particularly slow usually, but today they seemed unusually fast.
This meant there were a lot of viewers watching.
In fact, right now, Chaerin’s stream had 12,000 viewers.
From Chaerin’s perspective, that was a first for her; her average views had definitely increased.
When considering the number of streamers gathered here… the audience watching this battle would be beyond imagination.
Eyes alone held significant power. Sometimes, it could be greater than mere brute force, exerting colossal pressure.
Perhaps, just as he said, they could achieve something greater by fending off the eradication squad… Chaerin thought to herself.
While pondering this, Yor spoke to Chaerin.
“You made it. Just focus on holding back the otherworlders. I’ll handle the knights.”
It was a simple command. Hearing it, Chaerin gave him a worried glance.
“Are you sure you can manage? There seem to be way too many knights…”
“It’s fine… Actually, it’d be better if you could raise your voice a bit. It might throw them off.”
“That’s a piece of cake. No worries about that.”
With that, Chaerin nodded confidently.
Then she conveyed this to the others who had followed her request.
And with that, the battle resumed.
Clang! Clash!
The sounds of weaponry clashing echoed all around.
The knights from the eradication squad and the otherworlders from Yor’s side were going at it.
“Let’s drive the knights back!”
“Hey, eradicate the eradication squad!”
“Wait, why the hell are you joining them? Don’t you want your rewards?”
“Heh, I won’t get the rewards anyway. And honestly, this is far more appealing.”
Voices of otherworlders rang out everywhere.
Seeing this, Yor felt a bit emotional.
After all, he had unknowingly shown his face online dozens of times.
This had built up considerable recognition, and players were getting used to him.
Even with a quest on the line, could he have gathered this many people without that recognition?
Watching this, he felt that he had no regrets about revealing himself.
“Ah, you need to stay here.”
Suddenly, as he watched, Yor grabbed someone’s shoulder who was about to join the fight.
“Me?”
It was Im Haneul. She pointed at herself with a dumbfounded look.
Yor nodded.
“Yeah, I could use your help.”
Unlike otherworlders, she could definitely protect the fight.
Her capability had already been proven when she fought the Mountain Lord Tiger. And so, Yor guided her back toward the knights.
“Everyone, apply holy water to your weapons.”
“Yes!”
At that moment, Rayleigh was giving orders to a gathered group of knights.
There were still plenty of soldiers scattered about, but at the very least, those who assembled needed to form ranks and get organized.
Otherwise, they would easily break through.
“Don’t listen to the words of the rioters. The enemy might have increased, but it’s nothing we didn’t expect. Just take them down as you see fit.”
Rayleigh inspired the knights with those words.
However, despite his motivational speech, his expression was anything but bright.
‘We’ve already taken far too many losses.’
Despite the dire conditions, they’d already lost more than a third of their forces.
Considering that every single one of them was a valuable asset, it was an incredibly painful loss.
Even when facing demons, they never suffered such casualties; who would’ve thought that a single manifestor could inflict such havoc?
Even more concerning was that he had no certainty whether they could catch him after such losses.
As morning passed, the mist had cleared, but the damp earth still clung heavily.
For the knights armored heavily, one wrong step could mean a fall.
This made pursuit challenging.
With the otherworlder rebel forces scattered around, if he slipped away again, they could end up missing him like last time.
Just what did that manifestor do to incite such support from otherworlders… he couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
‘The eradication has dragged on far too long.’
He hadn’t expected to be here for a whole month.
He had initially planned to corner him and eliminate him.
Who would’ve thought he would just dive straight into the depths and make it back alive?
The depths were a space that could seamlessly rival a dark magic realm.
The endlessly burning desert to the south or the screaming plains to the west.
He had managed to hold out for a month in those regions known for being inhospitable to humans.
And it wasn’t even a hasty escape; it was a calculated emergence.
Now that he thought about it, that guy’s movements seemed to have become much swifter and sharper.
It was all bad news.
Rayleigh bit his lip.
‘What on earth happened in there?’
But even so, he couldn’t afford to pull back. He had been taught to eliminate manifestors, and he had been carrying that out consistently.
Even with the added difficulty, his resolve would not waver.
‘…I’ll catch him here no matter what.’
But despite that firm determination, no clear method came to his mind.
Unlike other mages, Haneul was a support-type mage who primarily learned auxiliary magic.
Her focus was more on providing support than direct combat.
That’s why I kept her by my side.
Every time she cast magic, small enhancements built up in her body.
Like Haste to lighten steps or Strength to boost power.
Though the enhancements were modest individually, collectively they became noticeably impactful.
“I don’t think this will last long. This uses up more mana than I expected…”
“No, it’s fine. This is plenty.”
Her supportive abilities didn’t stop there. Boosting physical abilities wasn’t the be-all and end-all of support.
Once buoyed with those light buffs, I ventured back into the battlefield.
Not long after I started walking, one of them came charging at me, and it was again the 4th Knight Commander.
Clang!
As our weapons clashed, he commanded his subordinates.
“Surround him. I’ll bind his feet in the meantime.”
Following his command, the assembled soldiers formed a circular encirclement.
It resembled the containment strategy from the last encounter. There were fewer soldiers this time, but it still looked solid.
Clang!
The knight commander’s sword slid ominously along the spearhead. It felt like he was determined to catch me at any cost.
It was incredibly annoying, but I also sensed a slight urgency from him.
I raised an eyebrow and asked,
“What’s the rush? Afraid this fight might drag on and cost you your shot?”
“…Shut it, manifestor.”
“I might have a way to stop the losses. Want me to share?”
His eyes momentarily flashed with interest at my suggestion.
But he didn’t respond. He was clearly unwilling to get dragged into conversation.
Regardless, I continued speaking.
“You might as well give up and head back. Report to the Empire’s higher-ups that they should let this manifestor go. Then I’ll stop as well.”
“Hah, ridiculous!”
“Looks like you’re not ready for a chat yet.”
I nodded nonchalantly; I hadn’t expected a dialog would happen.
But thankfully, I knew a way to make them communicate.
By establishing overwhelming superiority.
If I did that, even the most stubborn of humans would listen up from the fear.
I glanced at Im Haneul a step detached from the encirclement.
It was a signal for her to cast magic. I had already given her the heads up for such scenarios.
“…”
Seeing that, Haneul nodded and began to cast her magic.
As always, it was Illusion. This time, I intended for thorough Darkness. I wanted a battlefield where not even an inch was visible, darker than mist.
In an instant, a broad stretch of darkness enveloped my vicinity.
Confusion erupted among the encircled knights.
“Ah, damn it, not again!”
“I can’t see a thing!”
“Crap, everyone calm down. Don’t swing your weapons carelessly!”
Of course, Illusion wasn’t a curse-based skill, meaning the dark vision applied equally to everyone. That included me.
But who cares about that?
“Having enemies everywhere is actually a huge advantage.”
At least I could sense their presence, and there was no need to dodge anyone in particular.
“Means I can just swing anywhere, right?”
And with that, I began attacking fervently with my spear amid the deep darkness.
Screams from the knights echoed through the thick blackness.