Chapter 46 – 045 the Jade Lake
Hwan-in, who ran with Ryuhi and Epnis’ luggage, could hear the roar of the apes.
Cooooo…… !!
Wow wow wow…… !!
A roar from the forest. Feeling that they were getting closer faster than expected, Hwanin shouted.
“If the situation gets dangerous, don’t mind me and jump into the lake! The land seals will protect you!”
=Ugh, how are you going to do it?!=
Hwanin did not answer the question with a fixed answer, but continued to look at the forest to his left and behind him as he ran.
Looking up at the sky, the head of the emergency ration is busy turning around. I shouted out loud as if I couldn’t judge whether that was an enemy or not.
“Emergency food! Enemy! Numbers?!”
Pretty, quack? Pretty much! Quack-Quack-Quack-Quack!!
If emergency food cries once, one. If it cries twice, it means that there are two to four or less, if it cries three times, it means more than four, and if it cries continuously, it means that it has many enemies.
The moment I clicked my tongue at the sound of continuous crying.
Coo wow!!
I witnessed an ape leaping out of a leafy tree with amazing leaping power.
Fast. In addition, the landing point is aiming this way. Incredibly accurate.
Immediately, he stretches out his arms and throws Ryuhi and Epnis, who were following closely behind, into the lake and at the same time sends a soul explosion to the apes.
= Kyaaaaa…… !=
=… Ahhh… !=
Bang!
The moment women’s screams and explosions mixed together, the ape, who had been closing the distance in an instant, was pushed to the ground by the pressure of the explosion.
=It’s mom!=
=Hee.=
Hearing the sound of Huini and Ennel falling into the splash water from behind, Hwanin pulled out his spear and rushed at the ape who shook his head violently.
And the moment you stab your heart.
“…… !”
Shyi profit-
I caught something sharp flying quickly with my keen senses.
‘Throwing wooden spear.’
Recognizing the flying object, Hwanin shakes his head and strikes the ape’s neck obliquely, while at the same time flicking off the flying wooden spear.
He succeeded in an acrobatic attack with a single cut, but Hwanin corrected his posture without any inspiration.
Pasasa Sasak-
Wow-!!
Quora-!
Again, the branch swayed violently, and this time four of them jumped out at the same time.
The goal is Hwanin.
As if the purpose was to crush them with a jump attack, the women behind them screamed at the sight of them flying with their hair bristled and their sharp teeth exposed, but Hwanin casually blew a soul orb into each snout.
And explode.
The intangible explosion that occurred around the heads of the apes spins round and round and crashes to the ground.
Blood flows from the eyes, noses, mouths and ears of the apes who groan and groan.
Hwanin, who witnessed another wooden spear fly from behind the four staggering as if suffering a concussion from the blow, hurriedly backed away and swung his spear at them.
Tadadadak!
Seven or eight wooden spears flying from the forest rained down on Hwanin’s spear quality.
What! What! What! What! What!
In the meantime, the apes began pouring out of the forest, shouting a work cry.
Twenty, just a rough estimate.
Hwanin, who witnessed the ape’s attack like humans, summoned the soul of the first dead ape and at the same time spread a message with the old ape’s soul orb.
The lower spirits are sucked out, and the heart starts beating louder and faster.
Hwanin, who felt his body temperature rise without hesitation and confirmed that his strength and agility had greatly increased, generously sprinkled the spirits of three moose, a bear, and a wolf (all lower-class) on the running apes.
Kwagwagwang, kwakwang!!
Nine who were directly caught up in the soul explosion fall apart, and three who are in the indirect influence area stumble.
In the meantime, Hwanin picked up a wooden spear that had fallen on the ground and began to throw it indiscriminately at those who were still running.
Jw-wee-ae-aeek!!
Regardless of whether it was cut or broken, he threw 5 in a row and hit the green ape. Kwuk, Kkeok screamed and tumbled on the ground holding the wooden spear sprouting from his body.
Then, another wooden spear flew in from the forest. This time, it keeps flying without a break.
After stopping the throwing, Hwanin took a step back while striking out the wooden spears one by one.
‘You are smart. Delaying the enemy’s action with a throw while giving allies time to charge. At this level, it should be considered that the concept of tactics against one-on-one has been established.’
The four of them, who had received a concussion from eating the lowest level Soul Explosion on their heads, also came to their senses. Those who had been hit by the soul explosion and rolled over started running again, and those stuck in wooden spears exploded with a roar, breaking wooden spears and running.
About 24 apes and the remaining distance are only about 10 meters.
The moment the women drowned in the lake in an imminent situation tried to scream…….
‘It’s here.’
Puppy pew pew pew pew pew-
With small, short bursts of water, arrows of water began pouring literally toward the apes.
Kwok!?
Whoops!!
Kuwoah-!
Twenty apes splattered with fresh blood at the water arrows pouring down like rain.
Looking sideways towards the lake, I saw more than 10 land seals shooting water arrows at the group of apes.
‘Is it late because I called my friends?’
Hwanin, who had been waiting for this situation, jumped out immediately and evaded the flying wooden spear, approached the four closest ones and swung the spear.
As if the concussion hadn’t fully healed yet, the four apes collapsed with a large cut in the neck and abdomen, unable to block the spear, which was made up of the Hwanin’s intuition, muscle strength, and reflexes.
Although there were also apes who raised their guard with both arms.
Whoops!
Kuweeek-!!
The forearm was cut to the bone in a slash that increased strength by more than 30% due to the effect of the lower-middle class decree.
It was when six flashes of light unfolded and four corpses appeared.
Chur-uh-!!
“Five.”
Hwanin burst into small exclamation at the actions of two of the apes who were being baptized with water arrows. While bleeding from his wounds, he was charging towards himself using the corpses of his fellow countrymen as a shield.
It was a rush that felt the determination to kill only you.
Shish hiss…….
Around that time, the wooden spear flying from the forest was no longer a threat.
Perhaps the wooden spears that had been cut in advance had run out, and instead of the wooden spears, sticks with branches were flying in.
A wooden pole that receives a lot of resistance falls to the ground without flying half way or flies in a completely wrong direction.
However, still wary of the woods, he was kicked by one of the two charging the ape carcass at his feet.
My thighs and calves were full of strength, and dozens of kilograms of meat flew and hit me like a soccer ball.
Bang-!
Guaq?!
The ape, bumped into by the corpse of his own kin, rolls across the ground like a bowling pin.
Kuwah-!
Did he learn from that attack? The remaining one tossed the corpse of a fellow tribesman he was holding onto Hwanin with strength as strong as that of a gorilla.
Then, running as fast as a cheetah, he hides behind him and charges at Hwanin.
A state in which anglers cannot see the ape rushing towards them.
= It’s dangerous…… !=
= Be careful…… !!=
When the corpse reached a close distance, Hwanin twisted his body at an angle and swung his spear with all his might.
“Ahhh!!”
Bauung-!
The spearhead bends terribly, and the approximately 1.1m-long spear blade casts a neat crescent moon light.
Ugh…….
In the light of death, the ape, whose waist was cut along with the corpse, vomited out the entrails from its side, which had been cut in half, and rolled on the sand with the corpses of its kin.
‘Good.’
These iron cold weapons exert absolute power unless they are blocked by the same iron armor.
As it is a crazy world inhabited by monsters, there may be leather that is harder than iron or tough enough to be cut even with iron.
However, skin that can be pierced by water arrows cannot block the sharpness of iron weapons.
Whoops-!
While killing the struggling ape with a slash to its spine, the ape kicked the corpse of its own kind while opening its arms in rage and attacked Hwanin.
The moment the shadows of the apes and phantoms overlap, a silver flash soars at a right angle.
The ape, whose bones were cut from the groin to the top of the head, died instantly without even giving a final word.
“I guess I should learn how to tie this knot from Ryuhi.”
No matter how many times his spine was cut and even his skull split in half, there was no sign that the joint between the spear and the blade would come loose.
The 1.0 version of the black spear, which sloppily tied the blade of the dagger with a string, was not confident in its durability, so it fought only with stabbing.
Even if I stabbed it, the connection gradually loosened, so I tightened it often, but eventually the string broke and the blade was lost.
However, the black spear 2.0 that Ryuhi tied up didn’t feel loose even after cutting through the ape’s skull.
After taking a short break to inspect the spear, Hwan-in picked up a wooden spear scattered in the sand and threw it with all his might at the ape, who was still alive and was barely blocking the water arrow with the corpse of his own kind.
It was not difficult to throw a javelin with sufficient strength and experience in throwing a stone axe.
Wedge-!
Wow!
Shut-!
Turn it off…… !
The apes whose bodies were covered with holes from the water arrows died one by one as they could not avoid the wooden spears that aimed at their heads.
The side or the spot where he was hit wasn’t bad, and even if he was alive, he quickly lost his life in a shower of water arrows.
When 26 ape corpses were found in the sand, no more sticks flew from the forest.
‘I wonder how it would feel to see a male die by a wooden spear they threw.’
Those who only threw wooden spears in the forest were Hwanin who assumed they were females. That’s also true, because all the dead apes had male genitalia attached to their groin.
When the apes are all dead, the women come out of the water and run to Hwanin.
= Eun-in~!=
= Eun, Eunin! Are you okay?!=
“There are no injuries. Rather, you are the problem.”
The women’s lips were bluish, and their skin and complexion were pale.
Seeing him shivering with his body shrunk, it seems that the temperature is already low, but he has lost all his body heat because he was immersed in the lake.
Normally, the correct answer is to light a fire to raise the body temperature, but just in case, by gathering light blue spirits near the sun and spreading the edict to the women, the complexion quickly returns to its original state.
= Haaa…….=
= Ah… I think I will live…….=
‘It must be difficult to write a decree in a place as hot as the desert.’
Pheasant! Pheasant Pheasant!
At that time, Hwanin sighed inwardly when he saw the land seals who came nearby and pheasant happily.
If these guys hadn’t intervened, I’d have gotten through the lake without any problems.
Hwanin, who collected all the corpses of the apes and gave them to the land seals, hired the women.
“I need to get out of here quickly. Let’s move.”
Males charge and females attack with javelins in the forest.
At first, I thought that the old ape was the leader of the group, but seeing that the ape was dead and behaved in perfect order, there must be a separate leader level to rule the group.
There is one less certain hypothesis, which, if true, becomes even more dangerous.
Watching eight of the thirteen or so land seals enter the lake with the body of a dead ape in their mouth, Ryuhi and Epnis pick up the bag they were carrying, and the two women cling to it in amazement.
= Oh! I, we will carry it!=
“You need to increase your movement speed, so I will lift it. Let’s go.”
Hwan-in, who collected 12 of the 26 ape souls wandering around and made them into marbles, summoned five of the remaining 14 and spread the message to all of them.
Maybe it’s because it’s an effect that increases a lot of power and agility, and everyone noticeably increases their movement speed.
As soon as I started moving quickly like a sprint medalist, five land seals followed.
‘It’s fortunate.’
At least on the lakeside, it seems to have the intention of protecting the side.
I doubt how far it will follow, but it will help you get out of here.
Hwanin, who was running out with the women, suddenly saw the color system of land seals swimming freely at the edge of the lake.
‘…… The color system of apes is completely different from that of land seals, so they are prey.’
The color system of land seals is yellow, but the color system of apes is light blue.
Compared to the red, yellow, and purple systems that cause poison, disease, and hallucinations, the blue-green system has no noticeable bad effects.
‘The turquoise color system might be a good prey for the other color system.’
In the first place, the lifespan of wild animals is extremely short, except for some reptiles. Lifespan is shortened because they cannot consistently consume high-quality food in a harsh survival environment.
A typical example is the difference in the average life span of a stray cat and a house cat by 4 to 5 times.
Even if it is moderately bad for the body, it must be inevitable in the wild where you have to eat it while you are there.
Or they eat poisonous prey and produce poison from the venom glands in their bodies.
Poison was flowing through the claws of the land seal, so the hypothesis is highly likely to be correct.
“…….”
A thought that came to his mind suddenly made Hwanin look at the land seals swimming happily.
Could it be that he used himself to secure a large amount of food and poison?
‘I guess not.’
If he had been really cunning, he wouldn’t have given himself a pearl-colored stone.
Based on several facts, Hwanin decided that it was an unfounded hypothesis and gave up his thoughts.
Since the location of the river was roughly known from reconnaissance of emergency food, Hwanin focused on moving as quickly as possible.
Whenever he sees a spirit passing by, leading the women, he summons them and constantly spreads his decrees to them.
Instead of leaving all of the surveillance to emergency food, they periodically look back to see if any apes are pursuing them.
It was about 2 hours after running non-stop along the lake like that.
Thanks to this, the group crossed the edge of the mountain that obscured their view and found that two rivers were forming a Y-shape between the black mountains wearing white hats.
= Heh, heh. The river parted…….=
= Whoops. Sister, do you remember anything more?=
= Yes. Sorry =
= No. We don’t remember anything at all.
“Everyone be quiet. Huini, don’t you hear that unusual sound?”
At her Hwanin’s question, the other women shut her mouth in unison, and after getting on her knees and catching her breath, Ini spreads her hands and puts them on the back of the wolf’s ears on her head and closes her eyes. .
=…….=
After pricking up her ears and slowly turning her head towards the forest like her sonar, Ini said with a frown on her brow.
=I can hear something rustling from the forest. But I don’t know if this is the sound of looters moving.=
“…….”
It’s time to choose.
The river on the left is a river with forests on both sides of the flat land, and a river with a slight uphill that flows into a jade-colored lake.
The river on the right is a river that bends sharply to the right as the ground rises a little higher. Likewise, it is a river that flows from the upper stream.
Both are rivers that flow into the Jade Lake, but at different heights.
Turning his gaze, Hwanin looked at the point where the two rivers meet, the black mountain peak where the accumulated snow is not melting.
The highest peak among the ridges occupying the northern part of the lake.
The elevation is not high. Roughly 200m on snow.
A fog-like cloud covers the upper part of the mountainside, but it is a mountain made of black soil and gray rocks, so if you go up there, you will be able to see the surrounding area at once.
If you’re lucky, you might find Yellow Head Mountain, a signpost back to town.
‘But I don’t think I’ll have time for that.’
I don’t know if it’s because of my mood, but the back of my head is tingling like someone is aiming for it. In this case, it is better to leave quickly.
=Me, Eunin.=
“Tell me.”
= Since Seacoater helps, wouldn’t it be low to deal with the looters in the forest here…… ? I’ve already killed twenty-six of them, and if I go into the forest, the marauders can easily track them…….=
Hwanin shook his head at Epnis, who cautiously expressed his opinion.
“Collects are governed by individuals who stand out from the pack. And as the size of the group grows, strong individuals among outliers tend to emerge. Like the greatsword monster from Hove.”
= Ah…….=
“There must be such an individual among the apes. Also, since apes have high basic specs, mutations and singular objects cannot be compared to greatsword monsters.”
Looking towards the lake, land seals, which have grown to thirteen again as if they had carried all the carcasses of the apes, come into view.
“Looking at the systematic and organized attacks of the apes, it is clear that there is a leader who leads the herd. And even if the land seals helped us, we had better not think they would fight for their lives.”
The eyes of the women who understand are cleared by the logical explanation (because they have been directly affected).
“In this case, you’d better get out of the ape realm quickly. I will go left.”
The women immediately moved to the direction Hwanin pointed at without asking why.
