BOPE 74

Chapter 74 …

“Captain!”

Urun shouted at the top of his lungs for Red Bear. But when Red Bear finally looked up, Qullen’s claws had already sunk deep into his shoulder. A few archers, witnessing this, fired arrows at Qullen’s wings.

Pupupuf!
Thunk!

But this Qullen was far larger than the others. Even with holes ripped through its wings and blood dripping out, it didn’t flinch in the slightest.

Flap!

With each massive beat of its wings, Red Bear’s feet lifted higher off the ground. He stabbed his sword into the monster’s foot, hacking at its talons, but it made no difference. At this rate, he would either be torn to shreds in the air or dropped from a deadly height.

Death itself didn’t frighten him. What weighed on his heart were the subordinates who would be left behind to keep fighting, the villagers trembling in fear, and the face of the lord who had always trusted him without hesitation. Red Bear swung his blade again.

Perhaps because he struck the same spot multiple times, the creature’s grip weakened. They hadn’t risen too high yet, so if he managed to fall correctly, perhaps he would escape with just broken limbs.

“You think I’ll let you take me alive?!”

He drove his sword deep into the flesh between the monster’s toes.

“Kiieeeek!”

The blade pierced its tender webbing. Qullen shrieked in agony, lost its balance, and faltered in the air, its altitude dropping.

That was when it happened.

Thud!

Something shot up from the ground and struck Qullen’s head with crushing force.

The monster screamed in pain far greater than from the stab wound and plummeted toward the ground. Its claws slackened, dropping Red Bear.

He crashed to the earth, rolling across the dirt.

“Ugh!”

His leg felt broken. Already, Qullens crawling on the ground spotted him and came charging, ramming their razor-sharp wing bones into the dirt to drag themselves forward. They roared like beasts ready to rip him apart.

Groaning, Red Bear tried to rise, determined to take at least one more down with him. But with a shattered leg, he couldn’t stand. He collapsed again, gripping his sword tightly in both hands.

The corpses of fallen comrades lay all around, mangled and drenched in blood.

“Fine, then! I’ll at least kill one of you bastards!”

He had fallen outside the palisade, even closer to the Black Forest. With his soldiers struggling just to hold the village’s defenses, he knew no one would come to rescue him here. His only hope was that someone—anyone—would survive and return safely.

He steadied his sword as one Qullen lunged at him.

Thud!

A round object suddenly shot out of nowhere and shattered the monster’s head, right before it reached him.

It wasn’t an arrow. Grace Castle’s archers didn’t possess such power or such range.

Startled, Red Bear turned toward the source. On top of the palisade, standing tall and firing at flying Qullens, was none other than his lord.

My lord?

Thinking it a hallucination, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

“Am I already dead?”

But again, another projectile from the lord blasted apart a Qullen’s skull, right in front of him.

“Red Bear! What are you doing?! You’ll die there! Crawl over here this instant!”

The sharp voice rang out. Red Bear scrambled up and staggered toward his lord, limping and tumbling repeatedly from the pain. All the while, the lord continued to crush approaching Qullens, severing one’s neck midair as it tried to lift a knight away.

“Captain!”

Once he was close enough, two battered soldiers rushed out to support him. Their own conditions were dire—one’s face bore a deep slash, the other bled heavily from his scalp. Yet both wept with joy as they carried him.

“My lord has come to aid us!”

Red Bear, now close enough to see Chloe Grace clearly, could only stare. She did not run from the attacking monsters. Instead, she wielded some unheard-of weapon, slaughtering Qullens one after another.

With a weapon far deadlier than any volley of arrows, the lord looked like a goddess of war. Her brown hair, tied back in a single knot, streamed like a banner of victory in the wind.

From her weapon flew orbs of light, piercing heads and bodies, severing wings, and sending the creatures crashing down.

“Woooooaaaah!”

Where despair had just suffocated Morta, the battlefield now shook with victorious cheers.

“It’s not over yet! There are still plenty of those bat bastards left!”

Donghee shouted angrily at the knights, who were already celebrating. Even he hadn’t expected the slingshot to be this powerful. Originally, he’d only brought it along with the power-up gloves to avoid being utterly useless in front of the monsters. But when used together, the weapon’s strength skyrocketed, multiplied many times over.

System Message
–18 Slingshot and Power-Up Gloves Combo! Your creativity in producing the power of ten shots from a single one is commendable. You are awarded 2,000 hidden points. Keep fighting to secure victory and protect Morta Village and its people.

He had only brought the gloves thinking he might smack a monster or two if it came close, but instead, they unlocked devastating strength.

“The feel of this is amazing.”

He didn’t even need stones. Simply pulling back the rubber band automatically loaded a glowing orb. Holding the band longer made the orb grow larger, and releasing it filled him with a rush of exhilaration.

Though the sight of Qullen heads bursting sickened him, remembering the knights they had slaughtered filled Donghee with blind rage.

“Die! You bastards! Die!”

He aimed his slingshot, screaming as he fired, his voice cracking.

“Come on! Step right up! If you want your skull popped, then try me!”

The knights, who had first called their lord a goddess when they saw the glowing orbs, grew quieter as the slaughter continued.

Thud!

Another Qullen fell. But this time, the orb had only grazed it, leaving a shallow wound on its neck. It kept flying—straight toward Donghee.

He fired again, but others swarmed, breaking his aim. The Qullens were clever. They quickly realized his weapon was the real threat.

The humans’ swords and arrows could not kill them in one blow. But the tiny human’s strange weapon tore through them instantly. It was only natural they focused their assault on him.

“My lord! The Qullens’ movements are strange!”

From above, the creatures suddenly clustered into one massive spiral, spinning downward like a whirlwind, a giant cone aiming straight for Donghee.

System Message
–18 Remaining slingshot shots: 25.

But far more than fifty Qullens still remained. Despair gripped Donghee. He couldn’t give up.

Can I charge ten shots and fire them all at once?

System Message
–Not impossible, but it may place extreme strain on your body.

I’ll do it. Gather them all into one blast.

System Message
–Combining 25 remaining shots with 180 charge shots into one. Total: 205. Time required: 7 seconds.

Do it. I don’t have time.

Gritting his teeth, Donghee watched the swarm plummet toward him.

A rising whiiiine filled the air as light gathered at his slingshot. His muscles tightened, his entire body pulled taut like a drawn bow.

Suddenly, blood welled up in his mouth.

“Ptoo!”

He spat the thick, metallic taste onto the ground.

“My lord!”

Voices called to him, but his ears rang unbearably. His hearing dulled, Qullens’ shrieks vanishing into silence.

The world slowed, moving in dreamlike fragments—the knights running to him, the black swarm diving from the sky.

Bruises spread across his skin as the orb swelled, radiating light bright enough to illuminate the entire battlefield. Knights stared in awe, their eyes wide.

In that instant, Grace’s lord shone like a goddess holding the sun.

6, 5…

But the monsters were still faster than the countdown.

Seeing the lord unmoving, Red Bear shouted:

“Protect the lord! Attack the Qullens!”

Snapping out of their daze, the knights rushed to shield Donghee. Archers readied their last few arrows.

2, 1…

“It’s ready.”

Donghee released the band.

Fwoosh!

The massive orb of light shot forth, colliding with the oncoming swarm.

Pashhh!

A blinding explosion engulfed the battlefield. Qullens shrieked hideously as their bodies were ripped apart, raining down like monstrous hail.

Donghee stared at the destruction, his jaw dropping.

“Damn, I look kind of cool.”

The words burned his throat like sandpaper, but his heart soared.

He imagined someone writing legends about him after this. But as he basked in pride, one Qullen that had crashed to the ground suddenly snapped its eyes open.