novelburst-info
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
1.
Ha Eung Eung, feeling that her spent internal energy had recovered to some extent, faced the last remaining giant, the leader of the giant tribe, herself.
‘The giant's presence isn’t just limited to this mountain. There are plenty more beyond it.’
Especially, there was a huge aura that could be felt even from this far away.
The current opponent was perfect as a warm-up before facing the owner of that massive aura.
Swoosh, swoosh
As the giant leader stretched his arm, the muscle fibers split, leaving various scars that extended from the palm to the wrist, from the palm to the elbow, from the palm to the shoulder.
Gradually, the length and depth of the scars increased, leaving traces of martial arts.
- “Please just kill me gently!!”
- “Now you’re toying with me instead of killing me quietly, wow.”
- “Is this the evil of humans...?”
- “The cruelty of the top predator in the Earth’s ecosystem, wow.”
- “We, the predators, slaughter 1 billion cows annually for beef. Don’t ever underestimate humans again, you foolish giants!”
- “Sorry, my bad...”
- “What if the giants were actually dark heroes trying to exterminate humanity for the Earth’s sake?”
- “Why does it feel like we’re the villains?”
As Ha Eung Eung gauged how efficiently the giant’s arm could inflict damage with his martial arts, she used her other arm to slit his skin, checking the placement of muscles and nerves.
‘To maintain such a massive size, it's clear that a skeleton and muscle layout like that of a human body wouldn’t suffice.’
The differences between humans and giants.
The uniqueness of giants.
Once she imprinted all this in her eyes and mind,
Ha Eung Eung gave up on further resistance.
She drove her sword into the giant’s neck, which had been twitching for who knows how long.
[You have conquered one of the mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains.]
[The mole humans in the caves are showing great interest in you, who has massacred the giants.]
[The giants on the neighboring peaks have smelled the blood of their kin and are entering alert mode.]
The beacon placed atop the mountain peak caught her attention.
The method to light it and the signal system written on the guide caught her eye.
‘Seems convenient.’
If she lights the fire, the nearby demons will gather on their own.
How much easier would it be to clear the area and take down the enemy?
- “Why is this human staring at that suspiciously?”
- “Oh, someone stop her before something happens!”
- “You mean the giants are going to have a problem, right?”
As Ha Eung Eung’s hand slowly reached for the beacon,
the porter hurriedly shouted.
“Wait! Why don’t we first check the cave at the base of the mountain?”
“...?”
“I smell the scent of half-demons inside.”
“!”
“The beacon can be lit anytime, but once the giants move, the half-demons in the caves will all flee. Let’s meet them before they escape to show our gratitude for sparing their lives.”
The porter’s timely suggestion caught Ha Eung Eung’s attention.
The former residents of the Rocky Mountains.
Once rulers of the mountain, a mountain-dwelling tribe.
They were helplessly defeated by the giants’ invasion.
The giants, too large and strong to be fought by human spears and swords,
were an overwhelming force.
Right before fleeing from the giants,
the tribe had to decide what to do with their possessions they couldn’t carry away.
In the end, they came to a conclusion.
They would hide their treasure and wealth deep in the mountain.
As a preparation for a distant future.
“We believed that if we found the treasure, we could use it to defeat the giants!”
“But a strong human defeated the giants instead!”
“In return, the tale of our ancestors’ hidden treasure was shared with us!”
Click, click.
At the end of the raised arms,
steel-like claws grew from both hands.
Following the movement,
Silent Swordsman’s gaze locked firmly on them.
- “Not listening.”
- “Not listening.”
- “Can’t resist the Mecha Mole’s claws.”
- “Why are they so cute?”
- “They’re vicious when fighting enemies, but they look adorable when meeting in neutral relations.”
With a helmet made of steel and claws like those of a raccoon,
Silent Swordsman was speaking to the leader of the mole humans,
while the mole humans and demons, standing across from each other,
were busy curiously observing each other’s appearance.
‘Their intelligence seems a little regressed, but there’s no difficulty in communication.’
These humans, who had endured by digging the earth with the skills learned from eating the blood of mole demons.
Unlike those who abandoned the mountain and left, the ones who stayed had been hoping that the others would return with reinforcements one day.
Their faces were filled with gratitude toward Silent Swordsman.
“The place where the treasure was hidden is marked on a treasure map!”
“But the interpretation of the map is held by the strongest of the giants!”
“To control the giants, we need to steal the map’s interpretation from that giant!”
The mole human leader clicked his claws together proudly.
“Human, do you understand?”
Ha Eung Eung nodded.
As she nodded, a translucent piece of parchment appeared in the air, and writing appeared.
[Event <Legend of the Hidden Treasure> has been activated.]
[The Rocky Mountains contain vast wealth and provisions hidden by ancient human tribes.]
[To interpret the treasure map, you must obtain the interpretation from the Field Boss's lair.]
[Whether through wisdom or brute force, make efforts to obtain the interpretation.]
[If the Legend of the Hidden Treasure is true, a tremendous harvest awaits.]
A quest had been triggered.
- “Wow! A quest!”
- “Was this event always here?”
- “No, this is the first time.”
- “Speedmaster cleared this too.”
- “That guy didn’t fight all the giants, just used his speed to zip through, lol.”
Viewers speculated on the conditions for the event’s activation.
- “They defeated all the giants on the peak, right?”
- “They didn’t fight any mole humans during the process.”
- “We can’t follow that?”
- “Yeah.”
- “Another solo streamer guide, f*ck.”
- “This is a physical game, lol.”
- “But it looks fun.”
- “Agreed.”
But that wasn’t all.
Mole humans were part of the animal kingdom, Phylum Chordata, Mammal Class, Mole Order.
?Blessing?
[Animal Friend]: Greatly increases the chance to befriend all creatures of the animal kingdom.
This triggered the [Animal Friend] ability.
Moreover, with a charm stat of 100, her affinity was further boosted.
She had already become almost like a friend to the mole humans without needing to go through the small processes or countless rescue missions.
“Human, we’ll help too!”
The mole human leader clicked his claws.
While the sentiment was appreciated,
Ha Eung Eung wasn’t so sure if they’d be of much help.
‘Cute animals are usually the weakest in battle.’
Despite their small, harmless, round bodies,
Ha Eung Eung didn’t think these mole humans would be much help against the giants.
Their claws were too bothersome to use as weapons.
“Human, we don’t need to worry!”
“Though weaker than the giants, we are smart!”
“Even the leader’s daughter is a genius!”
The mole human leader proudly clicked his claws, agreeing with his people’s words.
Deciding there was nothing to lose, Ha Eung Eung followed the leader into the mole human lair.
Deep inside the cave,
there was an underground settlement of mole humans made up of the elderly, children, and women.
“Human!”
“Army!”
“You look strong!”
From behind the stone pillars,
the mole humans peeked out, curiously watching.
‘Fools. You’re not the only ones spying on me. I’m watching you too.’
Unlike most demons or half-demons, who communicated only through destruction and violence,
these creatures seemed like harmless herbivores, showing no aggression.
“I’m Dutta, the leader’s daughter. I’ve heard the stories from my father. This is to show our gratitude.”
Dutta, the leader’s daughter, was softer in appearance than the other mole humans.
Her claws seemed unusually smooth, and her feet looked as if they could be squished like a cat’s paws.
“If you accept our tribe into your army, not only will we share the treasure, but we’ll also provide a strategy to defeat the giants easily.”
“However, you must promise to protect the children, the elderly, and the women.”
?Interaction Choices?
[When faced with Dutta’s bold request, you can...]
- Promise (Accept the mole humans into your army)
- Set conditions (Send all mole humans into the frontlines)
- Make her pay for her insolence (Decapitate her)
- “The dot-dot speech is contagious, lol.”
- “Why is this so addictive?”
- “Still, she’s too bold to just let her live.”
- “That doesn’t make her cute, though.”
- “Your face is more terrifying than hers, lol.”
- “F*ck, that was too much!”
- (Chat message blocked. Remaining time 10:00)
- “Lol”
- “Is the demon brainwashed? Demon brainwashed?”
- “Worse than the demon brainwashing, haha.”
While the chat remained lively,
Dutta’s proposal carried immense risks.
The atmosphere in the settlement grew tense.
Other players might have eagerly accepted Dutta’s proposal to gain her favor, but
Silent Swordsman was far too strong.
She didn’t need their help—or Dutta’s.
‘Do I really need to show mercy?’
Though they had been abandoned by their own state,
she didn’t look at them kindly.
“The insolent ones. It’s like they were saved from the water but now demand the bundle as well.”
“If they’ve received help from my lord, then they must fight in the war just like we, the lowly ones.”
Though the Enemy Knight and the lowly soldiers had thrown themselves into battle with a sense of duty, Ha Eung Eung didn’t like that Dutta thought she should earn her favor.
The event character should be trying to win her favor, not the other way around.
Dutta’s bold request only seemed to increase her disdain.
As the mood soured, Dutta quickly started to act cute.
Flick, flick
Looking at her with sharp eyes,
Click, click
Ha Eung Eung wasn’t going to fall for her antics.
[?1. Promise (Accept the mole humans into your army)]
[Accept the mole humans into your army.]
‘How can I resist something so cute?’
Even Silent Swordsman wasn’t immune to the charm of cute creatures.