Chapter 97 – Contamination Facility (3)

Human-Faced Spider (Inmyeonjiju). It meant a spider with a human face.

“The Human-Faced Spider’s neidan?”

“Is it real? It’s an item that’s only passed down in legends?”

At Sun-woo’s words, Nan-seol tilted her head.

“Looks like they didn’t try to catch the imugi for no reason during the last mission.”

“Don’t tell me the thing that contaminated the Empire is that neidan?”

To Hayden’s question, Sun-woo shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t certain yet.

“We’ll have to take these back and check.”

At Sun-woo’s words, Michael pointed at the gems with an uneasy face.

“But is it okay to touch this?”

The amplification stones floating around the neidan at the center looked like something they shouldn’t easily touch.

But Sun-woo walked toward where the neidan was without caring at all and simply picked up the contaminated neidan.

Simultaneously, the surrounding amplification stones fell to the floor and screams seemed to echo from far away.

“Hey, hey. Is that okay?”

“Anyway, we have to take it, right? There’s no reason to waste time.”

At Sun-woo’s calm words, the party looked a bit appalled, but having already eaten a neidan, Sun-woo had nothing to fear.

Unfortunately, even recovering the neidan didn’t make the contamination disappear. However, whether it was just a feeling, the murky color around seemed to fade slightly and the suffocating feeling lessened a bit.

“Don’t know what effect it has, but this neidan seems to be the key. If we take it back, won’t the Summoners figure something out?”

“Don’t know about other things, but that seems important. Once you pulled it out, the atmosphere completely changed?”

Looking at Michael’s expression, he was talking about something different from what the party felt.

“Let’s move quickly, suddenly I’m getting anxious and feel like we shouldn’t stay here.”

Michael’s and seemed to be sending warnings. A situation where Sun-woo’s sorcery showed no particular change. Something seemed to have happened in a distant place Sun-woo couldn’t detect.

Sun-woo also collected the remaining contaminated amplification stones. The others seemed reluctant to touch them.

“Then, how do we get out now?”

When there was nothing left to examine around, Michael opened his mouth while looking around at the party.

The method of exiting through the door Daniel was blocking didn’t seem like a good method. Unluckily, the floor and walls were all solid bedrock.

In the end, they had to exit the way they came. But among the party, two people couldn’t exit through the hole in the ceiling on their own strength.

“Then shall I send each person up with my ability?”

Hayden proposed, but unfortunately his opinion couldn’t be adopted.

Thud! Crash!

Armors began falling through the hole the party came down.

Once the entrance was blocked, the enemies started dropping armors into the hole. The armors that fell to the floor scattered into pieces then began gathering together, and between that, other armors fell below.

Sun-woo stood under the hole and struck the gathering armors, sending them flying in all directions, but it only bought time.

That’s when Nan-seol ran toward Sun-woo shouting.

“I’ll clear the top! Are they on the first floor?”

“Three humans on the first floor, and numerous armors!”

Sun-woo could immediately tell what she was thinking by looking at Nan-seol’s sparkling eyes. He knelt on one knee and put his hands together, and Nan-seol who ran up to Sun-woo placed her body on his hands.

“Heave!”

Sun-woo who fully drew up internal energy immediately converted it to mana and strengthened his body with . He shot Nan-seol upward with the power of internal energy, skills, and his robust physical body.

Nan-seol soared between the armors falling downward. She instantly escaped through the hole and shot up above the lobby.

In the lobby, dozens of armors were approaching to jump into the hole.

But Nan-seol could confirm the humans visible among the armors in midair. At a spot slightly away from the hole, three contaminated ability users were controlling the armors.

Having confirmed the ability users, Nan-seol stepped on falling armors and flew her body toward them.

---

Boom!

A tremendous explosive sound came from above the hole where the party stood. Simultaneously, many armors poured downward.

Everyone looked up at the hole in surprise, but Sun-woo looked at Michael and took position again.

“Come on, next!”

“No way? Me too?”

Michael looked at Sun-woo with an absurd expression and glanced back at Hayden just in case, but Hayden was already rising upward with telekinesis.

“Damn it! Let’s just move normally!”

With a face full of injustice, Michael also placed his foot on Sun-woo’s hand.

“Uwah! I’m flying!”

And he was thrown through the hole in the ceiling while screaming, and lastly Daniel gave up blocking the door, ran over, and was shot upward by Sun-woo.

When Daniel gave up blocking the door, it quickly shattered and armors and ability users pushed inside, but what they saw was only the pierced ceiling, corpses, and the disappeared neidan and amplification stones.

After sending Daniel flying, Sun-woo threw his body toward the hole in the ceiling and after that climbed up the wall like a spider-human.

The lobby was already cleared. The armors were all collapsed on the floor, and where the ability users had been, ability users’ corpses and armors were scattered as if a large explosion had occurred.

And in front of that, Nan-seol stood with a very satisfied face contrary to her tired appearance.

Having become absolute level, the Sword Energy Shield technique Opening Ten Thousand Fragrances (Gaehwamanhyang) that she used for the first time properly displayed its power.

Thanks to Sun-woo subduing a giant monster with one Sword Energy Shield strike, she used it out of competitive spirit, and though her internal energy almost completely disappeared, fortunately it showed satisfying results.

“That’s amazing?”

But at Sun-woo’s exclamation, Nan-seol became a bit embarrassed. She had used internal energy excessively out of unnecessary competitive spirit.

“I made a mistake. If master knew, I would have been scolded.”

At Nan-seol’s out-of-nowhere words, Sun-woo was puzzled, but he couldn’t ask her the meaning.

Kuaaaaaa!

An uncomfortable scream was heard from far away.

The party looked at each other then immediately ran outside.

Fortunately, no one interfered with the party going outside. The armors were all collapsed on the floor and those who were underground hadn’t come up yet.

The party that escaped the mansion could confirm the existence that made the scream beyond the village houses.

It was a giant monster towering beyond the houses.

“Gorilla?”

“Looking at the size, isn’t it King Kong?”

Both Sun-woo’s words and Michael’s words weren’t wrong. A giant ape tens of meters in size was approaching this way.

“It’s a Bigfoot. I only heard stories that it lives deep in the Great Forest in the north. How did it get here…”

Hayden explained about the monster with a surprised voice, but the party could only sigh.

“A sea monster living in a river, and now a forest monster crossing the plains. Maybe a giant snake or earthworm will appear next.”

Though they were a party that didn’t know an earthworm had already appeared, they seemed to agree with Michael’s grumbling.

Michael’s grumbling and the party’s feelings shaking their heads weren’t very different.

“But why is it suddenly running here? And it seems to have started moving after we pulled out the neidan…”

Everyone seemed to have no idea, but several hypotheses were circling in Sun-woo’s mind.

Though a monster appeared, the party’s atmosphere seemed better than before.

“Still, it seems doable. Sun-woo-ssi who caught a sea monster alone is here, and this time everyone can participate in the fight?”

At Daniel’s words, Hayden and Michael nodded. Not knowing that Nan-seol’s internal energy was almost completely consumed, they were being quite optimistic about the situation.

Michael was also agreeing with Daniel’s words while ignoring his own premonition.

But the bright atmosphere immediately sank at Sun-woo’s objection.

“Let’s run. We need to move quickly.”

“If it’s because of me, it’s okay. I can still move.”

Nan-seol who thought it was because of her immediately said it was okay, but Sun-woo’s objection wasn’t because of her.

“It’s not just one.”

Now the King Kong, no, the Bigfoot entered the range Sun-woo could detect. And the number of monsters Sun-woo’s sorcery detected wasn’t just one.

Behind the approaching Bigfoot, a similarly-looking monster’s face suddenly appeared. And another one revealed itself.

Three total. A number the party couldn’t handle.

“Let’s run quickly. My premonitions always come true.”

As if completely forgetting the thought he ignored earlier, Michael started running the opposite direction first.

Behind him, Daniel with an apologetic expression chased, and Hayden also quickly started running.

And Sun-woo grasped Nan-seol’s hand.

While Nan-seol looked at Sun-woo with surprised eyes, Sun-woo’s spinning internal energy from his hand gently flowed into Nan-seol.

“I matched it as closely as possible to Nan-seol-ssi’s internal energy. Fighting is too much, but you should be able to use it enough to run.”

Nan-seol ended up being surprised in a different way. According to Sun-woo’s words, it was no different from saying he completely comprehended her internal cultivation method.

Nan-seol immediately guided the internal energy Sun-woo transmitted along her blood pathways. There were parts that caught slightly, but as Sun-woo said, it was sufficient to use lightness kung fu.

“Let’s go.”

Feeling Nan-seol’s body become lighter, Sun-woo immediately grasped Nan-seol’s hand and started running, and Nan-seol also inadvertently ran alongside him chasing the party.

Using lightness kung fu, the two people immediately passed the party and took the lead. Looking at the two people running while holding hands tightly, the party’s eyes became round and Nan-seol suddenly felt her face getting hot and lowered her head completely.

Fortunately, the monsters’ target wasn’t the party. The monsters that entered the village directly ran toward the mansion destroying the entire village.

And seemingly fighting the ability users guarding the mansion briefly, they soon killed them and began smashing the mansion.

Sun-woo’s party that escaped the village stopped briefly to catch their breath when the Bigfoots began smashing the village and mansion.

“What on earth is the reason? Running from a distant place and only destroying the mansion…”

At Hayden’s muttering, Sun-woo placed his hand on the neidan in his pocket.

Neidan, monsters, imugi, territory. Contamination and Holy Maiden. Gears fit together one by one in Sun-woo’s mind.

But since it wasn’t certain yet, it seemed he needed to go to the underground city and get advice from the new Seer.

“Let’s move again.”

After a brief rest, the party hastened their steps again. Looking at the two people still holding hands, Michael slowly started teasing the two, and though Sun-woo explained, he didn’t seem to understand at all.

No, not just Michael, but others also seemed to think there were other bigger reasons.

Thanks to that, Sun-woo became embarrassed and Nan-seol’s face reddened further. Like that, until Nan-seol’s internal energy recovered, the two people ran back the way they came holding hands.