Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 429

429

A golem made of Arrun’s roots swung its fist.

The pressure I felt even before the impact landed made me realize the immense power it possessed.

“Lee Haneul, get back!”

“Yes!”

I had anticipated the punch as soon as I saw her shoulders tense slightly, allowing me to evade the attack with ease.

However, that wasn’t the golem’s only attack.

The moment the golem’s fist hit the ground, roots shot out like spears around the impact point, targeting Se-un.

Clang!

Too many thorns erupted at once, leaving no room to dodge, so I blocked them with Durendal.

The force contained in the golem’s fist was fully present in the thorns as well, and the impact transmitted through Durendal made my wrist tingle.

If it weren’t for Durendal, I wondered if any other sword would have shattered from such a powerful blow.

“I can protect myself, so don’t worry about me and fight!”

Did Lee Haneul have defensive skills?

I wasn’t sure, as I had only ever seen her use area-of-effect skills from the rear or heal allies.

However, Se-un could now trust his comrade’s words.

If she was confident enough to say that, then being distracted by worry and not fighting properly wouldn’t be consideration for a comrade, but a sign of distrust.

Crack, crack, crack!

Se-un used the mysteries of the Taegeuk Sword to weave through the thorns, parrying them with his blade.

Then, at the fleeting moment when the sword’s movement paused due to friction, he took a strong step forward with his left foot and thrust the sword forward with force, as if drawing it from a sheath.

– The first form of the Five Dragons Walking Technique, White Dragon’s Assault (白龍出頭) [Baekryong Chulto, a sword technique name], is enhanced through internal energy.

As a white flash swept forward, the golem’s right arm was severed with a thud.

“Naaaaaaahiiiiiiii…….”

“Hmph!”

– The fifth form of the Five Dragons Walking Technique, Red Dragon’s Bite (赤龍齕牙) [Jeokryong Geoya, another sword technique name], is enhanced through internal energy.

Towards the golem’s left fist, which was approaching relentlessly, I swung the axe taken from the Vault of Myriad Medicines [a storage space for items].

A brief standoff ensued, creating a massive shockwave, but…….

– The Stigmata reacts to the legend of the Blood Wolf.

– The second ability of the Stigmata, ‘Rage,’ awakens.

Crack!

The moment Se-un’s Stigmata shone, the golem’s thick fist split in half, and the axe dug into its shoulder.

Just as I thought the attack had worked.

“Sooooo preciousss…….”

Roots grew anew from the severed surface of the golem’s right arm, forming a sharp, spear-like fist.

Immediately following, the left arm, which had been cut to the shoulder, was enveloped in new roots and transformed into two arms, which were swung at Se-un.

Incredible regeneration speed.

Thwack!!

The even more powerful attack slammed into the spot where Se-un had been.

Fast and powerful.

Dodging what he could, deflecting what he could, and blocking attacks as much as possible while biding his time, Se-un stepped onto the golem’s right arm and jumped upwards.

– The fourth form of the Five Dragons Walking Technique, Azure Dragon’s Advance (靑龍進去) [Cheongryong Jingeo, yet another sword technique name], is enhanced through internal energy.

Spinning once in the air, Se-un took out a giant hammer from the Vault of Myriad Medicines and slammed it down.

The golem’s head caved in, compressed down to its shoulders.

“Fruuuuiiiiitssss…….”

Yet the golem’s attacks did not cease.

Even with its head so crushed, it continued to attack as if nothing had happened.

Even the head that had just been crushed was pushing back against the hammer, trying to restore itself.

I doubted if it was even possible to defeat it; it was such a powerful foe.

However, a smile was already on Se-un’s face.

Thanks to the golem’s structure, which he had confirmed by jumping up, and the reaction of the Journey’s Compass [a magical compass], he had clearly grasped the golem’s weakness.

“Taaaaamhadaaaanik-”

Slice.

It wasn’t Se-un who was cut.

Nor was it any part of the golem that was cut off.

Instead, it was the root that hung down from the ceiling and connected to the golem that was severed.

The moment that root was cut, the golem’s humming voice ceased, and its movements stopped abruptly.

Like a puppet being moved by strings in a puppet show.

Whirr-!

Immediately, new roots appeared from the ceiling, reaching down to touch the golem.

However, Se-un, stepping on the shoulders of the golem that had stopped moving, jumped up again and swung his sword in succession, cutting all those roots.

After quickly cutting five more roots, about five seconds passed since the golem’s connection with the roots had been severed.

Fwoosh.

“The golem is disappearing!”

The body of the golem, which had been so strong, became withered and scattered like dust.

The golem’s power came from those roots that continuously supplied it with energy.

If the connection with the roots was severed even for a few seconds, the golem would quickly consume the remaining power within its body and scatter like that.

“Shall we gather some more fruit as we go?”

“Yes!”

His steps became lighter at the thought of collecting plenty of A+ grade materials.

* * *

After that, the same situation continued each time Arrun’s fruit was harvested.

Lee Haneul’s harvesting speed became even faster than before, and the harvesting was finished by the time the small roots covered them about twice.

“Gaaaaaahiiiiiiiiii.”

Slice.

The golem that appeared as promised had its connection immediately severed by Se-un’s attack and scattered like dust.

Perhaps it had some learning ability, as the number of golems gradually increased, and eventually four or five golems appeared at once.

– The fourth form of the Blood Wolf Sword Technique, Blood Wolf’s Roar (血狼咆哮) [Hyeollyeong Pohyo, a powerful sword technique], is enhanced through internal energy.

The result did not change at all.

With a clear weakness discovered, the root golems could no longer be a threat to Se-un.

“We’ve collected quite a lot.”

“It seems there aren’t any more around here.”

“That’s right. Come to think of it, don’t the surrounding roots seem a bit withered?”

“Could collecting the fruit have had an effect?”

“Maybe. This is like the essence of Arrun’s power.”

That made sense.

I even wondered if collecting the fruit was related to clearing this dungeon.

I wanted to collect more fruit if possible, but even using the Journey’s Compass, no more fruit could be sensed.

It seemed that the number of fruits that could be collected in the dungeon was limited to this.

“Let’s go that way.”

“Yes. But why is this place called a prison? I don’t see anything particularly suspicious.”

“We’ll find out if we go further in.”

Excluding the fruit, we moved deeper into the dungeon using the Journey’s Compass.

The further we went, the more the number of roots increased, and now the roots were stacked upon each other, surrounding us like a structure.

It felt like we were moving through a tunnel.

“-elp–”

“Please–”

“Did you hear that?”

“Yeah.”

While moving through the tunnel, we heard someone’s voice from deep inside.

The voice was more pitiful than eerie, so cracked that Se-un and Lee Haneul quickened their pace.

Before long, the moment we passed through the tunnel, we could understand why this dungeon was called ‘Arrun’s Root Prison.’

“Kheuheuheuk. No more…… please stop…….”

“Kill…… me…….”

In the root-filled chamber, there were about ten prisoners bound.

No, could we even call them prisoners?

I thought they were prisoners because the dungeon was called a prison, but I didn’t even know if they had committed any crimes, or even if they were human.

“What are those……?”

“I don’t know.”

To describe their form in an easy-to-understand way…… yes. The term slime seemed the most accurate.

Black, dead green slime-like things wriggled, and a human-like face emerged from somewhere on their bodies, constantly screaming.

Even as they did, the roots stuck in their backs were constantly absorbing them, wriggling and sucking up nutrients.

“Be careful. We don’t know what might happen.”

“Yes.”

Even at a glance, this place was the core of this dungeon.

Suddenly, those things could explode, or a boss monster might drop from the ceiling.

Se-un held Durendal in one hand and prepared magic by rotating the circle, narrowing the distance with the prisoners.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he spoke to the prisoner.

“What are you?”

“Kill…… stop killing…….”

“Hey.”

“Kheuheuheuheuk. Kheuk. Kill me…….”

I spoke a few more times, but there was no answer.

The prisoner in front of me was just screaming to be killed, and its size repeated shrinking and swelling each time the roots wriggled.

After hesitating for a moment, Se-un swung his sword forward with a blank face.

Slice.

The root stuck in the prisoner was cut off.

The root tried to block the sword with its unique hardness and elasticity, but it could not stop Se-un’s sword, which was surrounded by sword energy.

The severed root immediately pushed out new roots through its cross-section to reconnect with the prisoner, but they were immediately cut off by Se-un’s sword.

Following that.

– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Inferno’ is enhanced.

Sizzle.

The roots were burned black by Se-un’s magic.

Even with this, the regenerative power of the roots could not be completely eliminated, but it was possible to buy some time, even if only for a moment.

“The screaming has stopped.”

Did cutting the roots have an effect?

The prisoner’s screams stopped, and the prisoner’s body, which had been irregularly swelling and shrinking, began to take shape.

‘An animal?’

It wasn’t human.

It was too unstable, and the squirming didn’t stop, so I couldn’t tell properly, but the prisoner’s form was gradually becoming closer to a quadrupedal animal.

Soon, the prisoner, raising what was presumed to be its head, looked at Se-un and Lee Haneul.

“……You are.”

“We’ll ask the questions first. What are you?”

There was no time to exchange leisurely introductions.

Immediately, an ominous presence was felt somewhere far away, and that presence was approaching. It was clearly the boss monster of this dungeon.

Before it arrived, we had to decide what to do with the prisoners, who were presumed to be the core of the dungeon.

Fortunately, the prisoner did not delay in answering Se-un’s question.

“We are…… the spiritual beasts (靈獸) [Yeongsu, mythical creatures] and phantom beasts (幻獸) [Hwansu, illusionary beasts] that guarded the Forest of Life.”

Spiritual beasts and phantom beasts.

Both were animals with divine powers close to demigods.

However, unlike the knowledge that one would be captivated by their divine beauty just by looking at them, they were uglier and more unpleasant than slime.

Who could look at them and think of spiritual beasts or phantom beasts?

“Why are spiritual beasts and phantom beasts in this place, looking like this?”

“The sacred flower (聖花) [Seonghwa, holy flower] Arrun……. The flower that blooms to praise the gods began to covet the seat of the gods.”

“So you were consumed without any resistance?”

“We couldn’t fight. We didn’t want to fight. We tried to return Arrun to its original state, but we failed.”

I wanted to ask for more details, but there was no time.

Still, with this short conversation, I could understand why they were trapped here.

“Since there’s no time, let’s get to the point. What do you want us to do?”

“The only way to stop Arrun…… is for us to die.”

“Killing is something…….”

“Physical death is impossible. Our bodies have reached immortality due to Arrun’s curse. So, the way to kill us…….”

Thud!!

“Gaaaaaaaaahiiiiiiiiiiii-!!!”

Before the prisoner could finish speaking, the ominous presence that Se-un had been feeling grew closer, and the wall across the chamber burst open.

Hundreds of roots writhed, creating a shape resembling the head of a reptile, followed by two pairs of thick legs and a long body.

The roots sprouting from its back mimicked wings, and from its wide-open mouth…….

“Only by killing our minds. Only by killing our souls.”

“Myyyyyyy nourishmenttttt……!!!”

A voice that was majestic in a way that was different from the previous golems. The voice of the corrupted sacred flower, Arrun, was heard.