Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 145: Twelve Zodiac Legion (3)

As soon as the retreat order was given, Mujahid grabbed his left shoulder and started to swing his arm. For some reason, he also flashed a mischievous smile. Then, he gathered a huge amount of mana into his fist, and the concentration of mana was probably so dense that even ordinary people who could not sense mana would be able to sense it.

“Haaap!”?Mujahid shouted before smashing the ground with his fist.

Kwaaaaaang!

‘Wow…’?Han-Yeol thought, feeling quite impressed.

Mujahid replicated the same sound and shockwave Han-Yeol had created after using Enhance simply by smashing his fist into the ground.

The Osiris Rank Hunter’s mana spread through the ground, but the mana did not release ordinary mana shockwaves.

C-Crack… Creak…!

The monster rabbits that came into contact with Mujahid’s mana suddenly twisted like a piece of rag being wrung dry. Then, they began gushing out blood.

‘This guy… What the hell is his ability…? He is a physical type, so how can he use that kind of ability…?’?Han-Yeol wondered as he was no longer certain what kind of a Hunter Mujahid was.

He could not tell for certain what the ability was, but he now knew how powerful an S Rank Hunter could be. He initially thought of observing Mujahid a bit longer, but he knew that would be pointless. No matter how much he observed, the fact that Mujahid was extremely powerful was not going to change.

The morale of the monster rabbits was instantly crushed by Mujahid’s strange compression ability, and they stopped in their tracks and seemed to be now wary of the detachment party.

Han-Yeol did not miss this opportunity to retreat with the detachment party to where the Horus raid party had set up a defensive formation.

[Great work.]

Mariam greeted the three of them when they arrived at the gorge while the rest of the Egyptian Hunters went back to their squadron.

[Hmm… This looks like an excellent place to defend,] Tayarana commented while looking around the gorge.

The gorge was surrounded by thick forests and cliffs, making it very difficult to approach. Its only entrance, as well as exit, was the small opening on the gorge’s northeast.

[We’ve thoroughly checked the gorge and did not find anything dangerous lurking. We think that this will serve as an excellent base camp if we fortify our surroundings and replenish supplies by air.]

[Alright, proceed with that.]

Tayarana fully trusted Mariam so she did not bother asking any further questions after hearing her suggestion.

[Will you be fine with that, Han-Yeol-nim?] Mariam then asked Han-Yeol.

She knew that, although he was not as smart as her, he had a lot of experience that could help him accurately judge the situation.

Han-Yeol had quite a high intelligence thanks to his Infinite Library skill. He always worked hard and read many books to increase his skills, which in turn indirectly improved his intelligence.

Others might think that this was indeed a strange phenomenon as most people would not automatically become a genius simply by awakening. Ironically, even Han-Yeol himself had no idea his intelligence was increasing thanks to the skill.

[That sounds good to me. Besides, this isn’t a normal hunting ground where there are preset safe zones, so this is the most ideal place for us to set up camp. Here, it will be easy for us to attack and defend. Not to mention, we just have to kill all of the rabbits in the vicinity to keep this place safe.]

[Yes, I think so too.]

Both Mariam and Han-Yeol continued to seriously discuss the issue.

Mariam recently noticed that Han-Yeol was quite a logical and decisive person, so she started to discuss various things with him recently. He was indeed a stark contrast to Tayarana, who only knew how to fight and did not bother herself with anything else.

It was not that Tayarana was dumb or that she possessed low intelligence. In fact, she was smart enough to have mastered the Ancient Egyptian language within a year. However, it was just due to her personality that nothing else aside from fighting excited or motivated her.

This was one of the reasons why Mariam would always make up her mind before reporting to Tayarana, but she found it quite a refreshing feeling to have someone to discuss things with.

However…

[I do not remember asking for your opinion, Mujahid-nim,] Mariam said coldly.

There were plenty of times that Mariam’s coldness surprised Han-Yeol, but seeing her blatantly act so cold to someone else was an even greater surprise to him. In fact, she acted so cold toward the prince that the title ‘Frost Queen’ would have suited her very well.

‘She probably would have awakened with abilities related to ice if she didn’t awaken with those telepathic abilities…’?Han-Yeol thought.

[You’re too mean…] Mujahid cried in response to the cold treatment he received.

[I don’t think I am being too mean,] Mariam retorted in her cold tone once again.

‘Haha… I think it’s best that I don't get involved in this…’?Han-Yeol thought as he decided to distance himself as much as possible so as not to get caught up in the crossfire.

***

The Horus raid party fortified the gorge and set up camp.

The gorge was quite safe compared to the safe zones in most hunting grounds, making it possible for helicopters to reach it without much trouble. Thanks to this, the Horus raid party helicopters ceaselessly worked to supply them with not only materials but even engineers to fortify the gorge.

“Kireuk!?Kireuk!”?

The monster rabbits gathered in droves and rushed at the gorge as if trying to prevent the humans from setting up camp in their territory.

Puk! Puk!

“Haaaap!”

The entrance of the gorge was only wide enough for ten grown men to stand with their arms apart, and this protected the raid party from getting mobbed by the monster rabbits even though more than one hundred of them had gathered. Not only that, Tayarana, Mujahid, and Han-Yeol were able to effortlessly and efficiently protect the camp against the monster rabbits too.

Tayarana or Mujahid were not the ones enjoying this situation the most, and it was most certainly not Han-Yeol as well. The one enjoying this situation the most was…

[Bwahahahaha! This reminds me of the old times! I stood at the forefront of Baal-nim’s first battalion and fought bravely against those heavenly beings to the death! Bring it on, you bastards! My shield will not be broken!]

The flame shield-wielding demon, Balrog, had been reduced to a ‘boomer demon’ in Han-Yeol’s head, but this boomer demon was quite efficient when it came to defending the entrance of the gorge against the monster rabbits.

The entrance passageway was already quite narrow, but having a four-meter-tall demon who held a huge shield made it even more cramped.

[Balrog-nim!]

[Alright!]

Balrog’s shield reduced in size and let ten monster rabbits pass the moment Han-Yeol gave the signal before growing in size and blocking off the passage once again.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Chwaaaak!

“Kiek!”

The monster rabbits that did not manage to enter the gorge attacked the flaming shield, but they were helplessly forced back by the flames.

This terrain was certainly the best terrain for the demon that stood as the vanguard of Baal’s First Battalion.

The ten monster rabbits Balrog had purposely let pass charged at Han-Yeol.

“Tsk… Tsk…”?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after seeing the monster rabbits coming for him.

Shwaaa…

A purple haze appeared in front of him, soon materializing into a Void Devil.

[Void Storm!] The Void Devil opened its mouth and shot out its destructive skill.

This skill dealt massive damage to anything it grazes, so it was definitely going to deal anguish to anyone or anything.

Bzzzzaaat!

“Kieeeeeeek!”

As expected, the monster rabbits writhed and shrieked in agony after getting hit by the Void Storm.

Tak!

Then, Han-Yeol stepped on the Void Devil’s shoulder and jumped up. He was armed with his sword in his right hand and his chain hammer in his left hand. Landing right in the midst of the monster rabbits, he swung both of his weapons to decimate his enemies.

‘Head Cutter!’?

Sukeok!

“Kiek!”

A monster rabbit’s head fell to the ground at the swing of his sword. It was quite rare for him to be able to behead a monster rabbit in one hit, but he seemed to have managed to hit a critical spot this time.

Whooosh! Baaam!

Han-Yeol immediately followed up with his hammer, but the monster rabbits simply jumped back and easily avoided the hammer. After all, he did not possess any skills that enhanced his hammer proficiency.

‘Ha! You wish!’?Han-Yeol thought as he infused his mana into the hammer.

His MAG stat now exceeded five hundred thanks to his continuous training, and controlling this huge MAG stat was quite easy since he possessed numerous skills that helped him control mana.

A powerful surge of mana gathered at the hammer, and the hammer unleashed a powerful shockwave on its surroundings.

Boooom!

“Kieeeeek!”

Even the monster rabbits located five meters away from the hammer were affected by the shockwave.

Han-Yeol did not miss this opportunity. He charged at the monster rabbits with Sword Breath and killed them one by one. With only three moves, he managed to defeat the ten monster rabbits.

“Next!” Han-Yeol shouted.

[Bwahaha! As you wish!] Balrog replied with a burst of laughter before letting twenty monster rabbits pass.

The twenty monster rabbits immediately darted for Han-Yeol.

[Ah… As expected of master… He is really amazing…]

[…I want to fight too.]

Tayarana and Mujahid watched in envy from atop a boulder.

The main enemy they had to fight was the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and not the monster rabbits. The monster rabbits were just one of the boss monster’s twelve minions so there was no need for them to waste their energy, and this was the reason that they decided to fight in shifts to defend the gorge against the horde of monster rabbits.

[I am next in line, noonim. You have to wait for your turn.]

[Tsk…]

‘Hehe,?noonim?is the prettiest when she is fighting,’?Mujahid snickered inwardly.

Tayarana was far more powerful and she loved fighting more than Mujahid, who had earned nicknames such as the ‘Tyrant’ and ‘battle-crazed berserker’. That was the reason that he could not help but admire his sister whenever she fought.

‘I can’t help but be curious about who’s the lucky man that’s going to marry my sister later… Oh wait, she might refuse to get married, judging by her personality…’?

Mujahid knew very well how much his sister loved her independence, and he could not help but feel sorry for the man she was going to marry if she ended up marrying later.

Puk! Kwachik!

“Phew…”?Han-Yeol bashed the one-hundredth monster rabbit’s head with his hammer and ended the battle.

[Thank you for your hard work, Han-Yeol-nim.]

The twenty Egyptian Hunters that were supporting him in battle greeted him after his battles were done.

Han-Yeol had already earned the trust and respect of the Horus raid party Hunters.

[Great job, you guys,] Han-Yeol replied when an alert suddenly popped up.

Ding!

[Your level has risen.]

[A new skill has been created: Hammer Master.]

[A new skill has been created: Hammer Shock.]

‘Huh?’?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion at the sudden message.

He was taken aback as he hadn’t gained a new attack skill in a long time. It seemed that he had gained this skill from always being at the frontlines and swinging his hammer instead of his chain.

‘It should be a passive skill and an active skill related to the hammer. I guess I should check them out.’

[Hammer Master (F)]

[Type: Passive]

[Description: The user’s proficiency and attack power when using a hammer will increase, and the user will be able to use any hammer with ease.]

[Hammer Shock (F)]

[Type: Active]

[Description: A powerful mana shockwave will spread across the ground when the user slams their hammer into the ground. The mana shockwave may be enchanted with an attribute, and the shockwave will deal additional damage according to the attribute infused. The current radius of the shockwaves is five meters, and it will increase by two meters every time this skill levels up.]

“Wow…”?Han-Yeol muttered in awe as he thought the new skills were truly awesome.