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Chapter 113: Junior Balrog (4)
8.
The story of Prince Kashan spread faster than any rumor.
In an instant, it went beyond the Nihal Desert to Victoria Island and even the El Nath Mountains!
“There’s a saying adventurers should keep in mind.”
And most of those who heard the rumor came to the same conclusion.
“Excessive greed leads to death.”
That Prince Kashan would die.
That the possibility of him returning alive wouldn’t even be a speck of dust.
Of course, not everyone thought that way. There were definitely exceptions.
Phantom Thief was one of them.
When he heard that Prince Kashan had embarked on a Mystic Gate expedition, he saw a high chance of success.
‘El Pam.’
It wasn’t because of Prince Kashan’s abilities.
‘He can definitely do it.’
What Phantom Thief highly valued was the presence of El Pam, who accompanied Prince Kashan.
He didn’t know El Pam well.
To be honest, Phantom Thief had never seen El Pam fight or hunt.
But that didn’t matter to Phantom Thief.
‘His survival skills are overwhelming.’
It wasn’t necessary to have excellent hunting or combat skills to return alive from a Mystic Gate.
In any case, with El Pam’s survival skills, returning alive from a Yellow-rank Mystic Gate didn’t seem like a big problem.
It was clear.
‘If it weren’t for the Junior Balrog.’
But the moment he saw that the boss monster beyond the Mystic Gate was a Junior Balrog, Phantom Thief’s thoughts had to change.
‘It’s on a different level.’
It wasn’t simply strong, it was beyond that level.
After all, there were no weak monsters among the Yellow-rank boss monsters.
‘It’s a very clever hunter.’
The troublesome thing was that Junior Balrogs were more skilled hunters than most monsters and even adventurers.
That was the headache.
If it were just a boss monster, there would be no need to hunt it.
Understanding the monster’s habits and behavior patterns, and avoiding combat as much as possible, was the mark of a good adventurer.
But Junior Balrogs were different.
As mentioned, they were intelligent hunters. This meant that understanding and dealing with their habits and behavior patterns was very difficult.
‘It’s not something that can be caught at the Yellow rank.’
This was, in a sense, an error.
The Mystic Gate had monsters that matched the level of the entering adventurers, and that was the reason adventurers willingly ventured into them.
But a Junior Balrog appearing in a place where only 4th circle adventurers could enter?
Of course, Phantom Thief didn’t question that fact.
‘The Black Mage’s followers must have been up to something.’
He knew from the beginning that the existence of the Mystic Gate itself wasn’t for adventurers.
Phantom Thief’s worries ended there.
There was no need to worry anymore.
The facts were clear.
‘All the adventurers below the 4th circle inside will be hunted down.’
9.
A forest thick with towering trees.
“Kyaaa!”
Screams echoed through the place, just like Sleepywood Forest.
“He-Help me!”
Screams filled with terror.
It was a very eerie sight.
The ones screaming now weren’t just ordinary adventurers.
4th circle or 3rd circle!
They were survivors who had experienced all sorts of adventures and monsters.
Moreover, they were followers of the Black Mage, ready to give their lives for him at any moment!
“Ahhhhh!”
But even they couldn’t do anything now.
They were being hunted, not fighting.
Junior Balrog!
A one-sided hunt against that terrifying monster, a hunt where resistance was impossible.
“Damn it.”
Even Alsar and Mohad could only give one order against such a Junior Balrog.
“Run! Everyone, run!”
Scatter in all directions.
Of course, it wasn’t a good choice.
First of all, if they ran away, it was practically the same as giving up on hunting the Junior Balrog.
And there wasn’t just the Junior Balrog here.
Kappa Drakes, those terrifying monsters, were waiting in every corner of the forest for a chance to fill their hungry bellies.
Despite this, the reason for this choice was simple.
“First, we run.”
Alsar and Mohad could save their own lives for the moment by using their subordinates as bait.
Of course, it was literally just saving their lives.
It was absolutely impossible to hunt the Junior Balrog.
But Alsar and Mohad didn’t worry much about that.
“We find and kill Prince Kashan here.”
“For Him.”
The one they wanted to catch wasn’t the Junior Balrog, but Prince Kashan.
“Definitely.”
To make sure, even though the Junior Balrog might have already killed Prince Kashan and El Pam.
“Kyaaa!”
To do so, the two of them ran with all their might, using the screams of their subordinates as bait.
Kyaaa!
Without rest.
Aaaaack!
Without a moment to catch their breath.
Aaack…
Only when the voices of their subordinates were no longer clearly audible did the two finally stop.
“Phew.”
And for the first time, they caught their breath.
“For now, we’ve succeeded in escaping…”
Swish!
At the faint sound, Alsar stopped talking and immediately covered his head with both arms with all his might.
Clang!
A powerful arrow struck his arms covering his head, and the armor protecting his arms made a clanging sound.
A very intense sound.
Thud!
On the other hand, from his companion Mohad who was next to him, there was a sound like a watermelon being smashed and its contents bursting out.
Thump!
Soon, the sound of Mohad’s body collapsing to the ground was heard.
It was the sound of a colleague who had been together for decades meeting a futile death.
But even at that sound, Alsar didn’t indulge in sentimentality.
He couldn’t.
‘Could it be?’
This attack was clearly an adventurer’s attack.
‘The El Pam party?’
And at this moment, there was only one party that could attack him here.
That’s why…
‘Oh my god.’
Alsar’s mind went blank.
‘They’re alive!’
He had resolved to eliminate the El Pam party and Prince Kashan for sure, but it was just a resolve.
Honestly, he hadn’t thought for a moment that they would be alive.
But they’re alive?
‘If Prince Kashan is also alive…’
In many ways, it was the worst situation for Alsar.
‘I have to take care of this for sure.’
That’s why…
“El Pam! Let’s negotiate!”
Alsar made a proposal to El Pam.
“The boss monster here is a Junior Balrog! We have to join forces to catch it.”
He suggested cooperation.
Of course, he wasn’t sincere.
‘The moment he shows himself…’
It was just a ploy to buy time, to create an opportunity to kill the El Pam party and Prince Kashan for sure.
But surprisingly, the ploy had a high chance of working right now.
“Prince Kashan!”
He couldn’t know the feelings of the El Pam party, but he could understand Prince Kashan’s feelings.
“If you want to get out alive, we have to join forces!”
It was then.
Swish!
El Pam appeared in front of Alsar, who had been shouting.
Alsar smiled inwardly at that fact.
“How can I trust your words?”
With the following words, Alsar was convinced.
‘As expected, he needs help.’
That his trick had worked.
“How can I trust you?”
Therefore, Alsar prepared.
‘The moment he gets close, I’ll kill him right away.’
He prepared to kill El Pam.
“Let’s see each other’s faces first and talk.”
“Alright.”
So Alsar willingly revealed himself in front of El Pam.
And he could see it.
“Thunder Spear.”
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning flying towards him.
“Krrrl!”
Alsar, electrocuted by the Thunder Spear attack, trembled.
He didn’t die.
All the items Alsar was wearing had strong magic resistance.
But it wasn’t comforting.
His body was paralyzed, and the implications of that were obvious.
Therefore, at this moment, there was only one thing Alsar could do.
“I-If you k-kill me, y-you w-won’t b-be a-able t-to c-catch the J-Junior B-Balrog.”
To try to negotiate once again.
To Alsar’s attempt, El Pam replied.
“Fire Arrow.”
10.
Thud!
The moment Alsar’s body fell to the ground, El Pam’s companions who were nearby revealed themselves.
And Divo immediately approached Alsar and stabbed him with his polearm.
Stab!
Only after confirming the kill could Divo finally let go of his vigilance and look at El Pam.
“Boss.”
Divo’s expression as he looked at El Pam was bright.
It was unusual.
Alsar was an enemy, but what he said was true. They had to join forces to survive here.
The reason he was smiling despite eliminating that possibility was simple.
“Let’s go catch the Junior Balrog now. It’s time for your 5th circle debut!”
El Pam had become 5th circle.
It was a big deal.
First of all, the 5th circle was on a different level from the 4th circle. One 5th circle adventurer could handle dozens or even hundreds of 4th circle adventurers!
Not to mention, it was El Pam, of all people.
“With the boss at the 5th circle, hunting the Junior Balrog will be a piece of cake.”
At this moment, there was no fear of the Junior Balrog.
“So, boss, what do we do?”
Far from being afraid, Divo was excited at the fact that they could hunt the Junior Balrog!
To such a Divo, El Pam gladly told him.
“First, we’ll attack its wings and bring it down.”
“Wings?”
That statement was absurd.
The Junior Balrog’s flight speed was extremely fast, and its wings were so tough and strong that they couldn’t be damaged by ordinary magic attacks.
Of course, El Pam was different.
“It would be easy for the boss.”
Considering the abilities he had shown, it was rather laughable.
Indeed, hunting Balrogs wasn’t that difficult for El Pam.
In the era of despair when monsters emerged from the Mystic Gates, El Pam earned the title “Balrog Butcher” by hunting dozens of Balrogs.
There was no way he would have any difficulty hunting a Junior Balrog, much weaker than a Balrog.
He also had a perfect strategy.
“What do we do after it’s down?”
And El Pam gladly shared the strategy with his companions.
“Once it’s down, we need to block it.”
“Huh? Block it? Who?”
El Pam approached the fallen Alsar, cut off his wrist, and took out the bracelet, handing it to Divo.
“Huh?”
Divo, holding the Heracles’ Bracelet, had a blank expression.
Soon, his expression changed.
“M-Me?”
He understood what El Pam meant.
“B-Boss, wouldn’t this be a bit dangerous?”
Naturally, words of concern came out of Divo’s mouth.
Block the Junior Balrog head-on?
It was rightfully dangerous.
“Don’t worry. There’s a way.”
“R-Right? Haha, I underestimated you, boss. Of course, you would have prepared a way! I had faith in you!”
For such a Divo, El Pam revealed the prepared method.
“Huh?”
El Pam took the staff that the deceased Mohad was holding and threw it to Ralph.
“Huh?”
Divo was surprised, and a moment later, understanding the meaning, his face turned pale.
Ralph smiled and said to him,
“Haha, don’t worry. As long as your head and heart are intact, I can heal you as much as you need!”
Words that weren’t comforting at all.
On the other hand, the expressions of the others were different.
The method El Pam had prepared had a good chance of success.
If Divo, powered up by the Heracles’ Bracelet, could attract the Junior Balrog’s aggro, and Ralph, with the Staff of Asclepius, could heal him with his healing skills, they could hold out for quite a while.
Moreover, it wasn’t just the two of them.
Kiri and Minerv were also there.
So, everyone was curious about one thing.
‘How long will it take?’
How long would they have to endure?
Of course, everyone here thought.
‘At least a day.’
It would be an operation that would take several days.
Even for El Pam, it would take a considerable amount of time to catch the Junior Balrog.
“So, boss, how long do we have to hold out?”
To his companions’ question, El Pam held up one finger.
“We only need to hold out for a day?”
And to the question that followed, El Pam replied.
[Translator – Pr?ks]
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