novelDemon Cave Clearing Squad (2)
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"Throw him out!"
"Hang him by the neck!"
"Break his stupid jaw!"
The people who were gathered in a circle cheered loudly. Well it was more goading than cheering. It was as if they were trying to get rid of their fear for the Demon Cave like this.
There was a fight going on in the middle.
It was a simple battle of strength. Should we call it a battle for hierarchy? The prisoners fought every single day, as if determining the hierarchy was the most important thing.
But it was a boring battle each time. It was because there was a person who was easily stronger than the rest.
Hanka, a prisoner from the Batoru Kingdom.
A giant who was over 220 centimeters tall. He had a strong body as well, so he looked more like a troll than a human. It was not a surprise that he was so strong.
But his agility was surprisingly good as well.
He also said he spent about 10 years as a miner when he was younger, followed by 5 years of mercenary work. It was no wonder that his abilities were so good compared to his level.
"Aigoo!"
"Damn, it ended so easily again."
Hanka easily threw his opponent to the side. The fight had ended in less than 10 seconds.
"Is there anybody else? Anyone?"
Over 10 people were already defeated. If you include the people that were defeated before I got here, it would be over 50 people.
If there were no healing potions, about half of them would probably be in the hospital by now.
Nobody else stepped forward. Hanka was already accepted as the strongest.
That as how Hanka had ended up the head of the prisoners.
Thanks to that, the teamwork was complete. The prisoners who looked like they could never get along with each other had become one with Hanka in the center.
But the surprising thing was what came next.
"Did you say your name was Hansen?"
"Yes."
"You have experience with Demon Cave Clearing Squads?"
"Once."
"Then please be the leader and lead the squad. Isn't that the way for us to have a better chance to survive?"
Hanka had handed over the head position he fought so hard to get to Hansen.
It made sense. It is more important for the leader to have intelligence and experience, as well as decision making skills, rather than strength.
I'm sure he learned a lot while being a mercenary for over 5 years.
But why does it seem like they are playing Gostop [1] except having discussed with each other how to cheat beforehand?
Either way, that was how the 100 people on the Demon Cave Clearing Squad became one, and it was now time to enter the Demon Cave.
We had made plenty of preparations. We received plenty of supplies from both the Athena Temple and the Ares Temple, and we also ordered extra things that we would need and put a bunch of them into the magic cabinet.
The magic cabinet is made so that you can carry it on your back, but it is able to store large items like the Grand Shield that cannot fit into a normal magic bag.
The magic cabinet had not only shields, but also bows, arrows, spears, magic marbles, and food. If you took everything out, it would probably weighs over 1 ton, but when you put it over your shoulder, it doesn't feel any heavier than 20 kilograms.
Of course, I carried my magic bag as well. It isn't easy to take stuff out of the magic cabinet in the middle of a battle.
The leader of the group, Hansen, first sought for volunteers for reconnaissance.
"is there any volunteers?"
We definitely needed a scouting squad to do the reconnaissance. We need to know which monsters are up there so that the group can take out the shield and have enough time to set up the defense formation.
If you run amok without anything like that, you will all end up dead without making it even half way through the Demon Cave.
But there were no volunteers. That was the same as saying, 'I volunteer to die first. '
Even the 12 who volunteered to join the Demon Cave Clearing Squad avoided the scout position.
Hansen didn't seem to have much expectations for it either. He continued to speak without waiting a long time.
"Then I will decide a scouting party. First......"
"I will do it."
I volunteered. I was planning on moving in the front anyways.
Everybody looked at me with shock as if it was unexpected.
But there were no questions. Whoever it was, they were just glad someone volunteered to die in their place.
"Thank you for volunteering. We need at least two more people. If nobody else volunteers......"
"I will do it alone."
There wasn't enough for me to eat on my own. I didn't want to share the experience points with anybody.
More importantly, I don't want to move around with a burden. The Demon Cave Clearing Squad can just help me when I need help.
"Will you be okay?"
"I have the Skywolf's Leather Armor. It has the [Stealthy Approach] ability. I will try first and, if it seems impossible, then please increase the scouting party at that point."
Hansen saw my leather armor and nodded his head.
"I understand. Then......"
The scout position was the least desired position of any Demon Cave Clearing Squad.
Since that position was determined, the rest was figured out smoothly. Nobody seemed completely happy, but they still follow along pretty nicely.
"Then let us enter."
Hansen entered first and the rest of the Demon Cave Clearing Squad entered the Demon Cave.
"Ugh, it makes me feel weird."
"Shit, I feel like I'm crawling into my grave."
I didn't feel good either.
But I wasn't that nervous. Even if you put aside the number of times I was in a Demon Cave in the game, this was still not the first time I was in a Demon Cave.
It was not much different than during Akto's test.
It was a cave wide enough for two tanks to move together. There should be multiple large halls inside as well.
It just seems to have less monsters than that time. It's probably because this is the entrance. The further we go in, the more monsters and the higher level monsters there will be.
We already set our strategy outside the Demon Cave. We didn't need extra time to prepare. We just needed to complete our assigned tasks.
The first to move was me, the scout.
I adjusted the magic light on my helmet to come out weakly.
Honestly, I didn't need this light. The inside of the Demon Cave was dark, but I had the Owl's Eye that let me clearly see everything inside.
I was just pretending to hide that fact.
"I will leave a magic mark every 1km. Blue means all clear. Red means danger."
"I understand."
I put the party behind me and quickly moved forward.
Every so often, I saw Giant Spiders or worms that were about 1 meter long. I swung my cutlass each time to easily hunt them.
The monsters in a Demon Cave disintegrate after about a minute once they are dead.
Thanks to that, even if I hunt a ton of monsters, the main party will not know that fact.
As I continued to go in deeper, more monsters started to appear and their level started to go up as well.
I finally felt like I was hunting.
'They need to at least be this strong for me to enjoy using combo. '
I unleashed a round of combo like that and took a break.
Around 10 minutes later, the main party slowly caught up to me.
Everybody was shocked at this unexpected situation in the Demon Cave.
"What's going on? Are Demon Caves always this quiet?"
"Why is it so easy? Did the monsters die on their own?"
"I was afraid for no reason."
It was all of their first times in a Demon Cave. That was why they were thinking it was always like this.
But Hansen was different. Even though it was only once, he had been in a Demon Cave before.
"What is going on? It shouldn't be this quiet."
"There were some weak monsters. I was able to take care of them on my own so I just cleared them on my way in."
"I see."
Hansen nodded his head.
But it didn't look like he accepted my excuse. But since it looked like i wouldn't tell the truth, he just didn't ask any further.
"Do you need support?"
"I am still okay. But can we just rest for a couple hours?"
I have been moving non-stop for 8 hours. Since the floor is not flat, just moving alone should make you tired. But since I was also hunting monsters as well, the fatigue multiplied.
"Sure."
"Then I will close my eyes for a bit."
I found a decently flat area and laid down. While I did that, Hansen ordered the others to stand guard. This is why you need allies. Even if it is a weak monster attacking you, you are completely defenseless when you are sleeping.
But it wasn't like I could just not sleep.
Maybe it was because I was tired, but I instantly fell deep into sleep.
***
Someone shook my body.
"Wake up."
Why is he waking me up when I'm enjoying my sleep?
But I woke up quickly. It was because I felt a rumbling on the floor. A large number of monsters were probably headed this way.
I jolted up in surprise.
"What is it?"
"A group of Cave Trolls. There seems to be tens of them."
Cave Trolls are only around level 70. On the other hand, all of our party members were over level 130. It is not a monster to fear.
But if it is a group of them, the story changes.
There is only one reason the Cave Trolls have such a low level. It's because it moves so slowly. If you disregard their speed, their HP, regeneration rate, toughness, and even their attack strength is very high.
Their weakness, which is their slowness, is not a problem when they come in a group. That was why even a level 150 swordsman would have a tough time with a group of them.
But Hansen was wrong about something.
It was not just tens of them. It was hundreds of them. It was just that they were a decent distance away and they couldn't see well because it was so dark.
But I could clearly see all of them. These polar bear sized Cave Trolls were filling up the Demon Cave as they ran out in herds.
"But why would Cave Trolls suddenly......?"
I had scouted a decently far distance to make sure it was safe.
So where would this many Cave Trolls suddenly show up from? I'm sure they weren't hiding to launch an ambush.
"A temporary scouting team......"
He must have sent a different scouting party while I was sleeping. They must have accidentally ended up running into that herd and started to run.
Tsk tsk. They should have just waited until I woke up.
The rest of the party was already in formation. All of them had set their shields up and clenched their individual weapons.
A decently well-coordinated response.
But it was not the best response. If we fight them head on right now, we will end up with a lot of casualties.
That cannot happen. I need to make sure at least one extra person is alive until we meet the final boss monster.
'I guess I have no choice. '
I didn't plan on showing off my skills in front of them.
But it wasn't like I had a reason to hide it. All of it was revealed in the Chaos Battle anyways. It'll also be revealed when we fight the boss monster.
Plus, Cave Trolls are decent meals. If I hunt all of them, my level should go up a decent amount.
Since we are a team, the experience points will be divided, but if I corral them and hunt them on my own, the majority of the experience should come to me.
"Maintain the formation. It is dangerous to fight them head on."
I shouted as I crossed over the shields and ran toward the Cave Trolls.
Hansen shouted out in surprise.
"It's dangerous!"
"That crazy......!"
All of the party members said something as well. They were all thinking I was reckless.
But they had to change their response in less than 5 seconds. It was because I clashed with a Cave Troll.
Papapat-
The Cave Trolls were not tightly packed together. There was enough room for me to slip by.
Their movement was slow as well. They tried to swung and attack me as I went by them, but their hands only swung the empty space I was standing in a moment before.
They were barely level 70 monsters, and they were sandbags that were slow and just had high HP.
They were no different than the Deathworm.
I leisurely swung my twin blades. My combo went up to 70 multiple times, and I even managed to record 80 hits and heard the, 'new record, ' message.
The party members should not be able to see me very well. I was far enough for the magic light to not reach me, and I was hiding in the herd of Cave Trolls that were the size of polar bears.
But they should be able to understand what is going on. Everytime I went by, the Cave Trolls were falling down like hay.
I started to see fire pillars start to shoot up. The fire magicians were using their magic once the trolls went within their attack range.
Crackle-
But it was not just Cave Trolls.
Guuuaaaaaaaa-
'There's also Dark Trolls?'
Dark Trolls are also trolls, but they are very different than Cave Trolls. Even though they are smaller, their level is much higher, at 130.
Their strength is the fact that they're much faster than the Cave Trolls.
But to me, they were pretty much the same. Once I slashed their neck with a 50 hit plus combo, the Dark Troll's neck was cut off with a single hit.
'Gracias! Dark Troll!'
No matter how good a troll's regenerative abilities were, it could not revive after having its neck sliced off.
Papapat-
Dang! Dang!
There were more Cave Trolls than I thought. Even I could not see all of the Cave Trolls moving out from the back.
There were approximately 800 of them.
But it didn't make much difference. It just ended up making a 5 minute hunt into a 10 minute hunt.
I actually prefer there to be more of them.
Guuuaaaaaa-
The final Dark Troll let out a moan as it fell.
At the same time, I once again heard a welcomed message.
'Put 10 bonus stats to Magic, and the rest to Agility! Check status window!'
[Kang Hwi Ram, Level 146]
Dexterity: Advanced Level 3, 33%
Strength: 153
Agility: 723
Stamina: 90
Intuition: 91
Magic: 50
Vitality: 36
Mana: 442
HP: 549
Endurance: 33
Reinforced Toughness: 100
My magic was exactly 50.
I quickly took the Bladestorm scroll out of my bag and ripped it. It let out a shiny powder before it was absorbed into my body.
[Skill]
......
Combo(Under 40%): Intermediate Level 9, 0%
Drake TBSA: Intermediate Level 7, 88%
Jewel Alchemy: Intermediate Level 3, 18%
Bladestorm: Beginner 0%
......
I finally learned the Bladestorm skill. It was like earning an option that would guarantee my safety in fights against monsters and people.
I really wanted to test it out.
I smiled happily as I looked around me.
The ground was full of Cave Troll corpses. The bodies disappear 1 minute after they die, but I hunted too quickly, so the majority of the corpses were still there.
The party members were staring at those Cave Troll corpses with frozen expressions.
They then looked back at me.
Their expressions were full of confusion, almost as if they could not believe what they were seeing.
Especially Hanka. Since he was so tall, his face was higher than the other party member's heads. His eyes were extremely wide and his jaws were dropped.
"This......how......?"
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Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Borderline Masochist
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