The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 59

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – 59

Iron Mountain (4)

“A spider nest, brings back memories.”

“…Memories?”

“Indeed. About twenty adventurers died there.”

“That’s a memory?”

“They were all picking fights with me. Plus, the spider venom was a unique zombie poison; if you got bitten, you turned into a zombie.”

“…Oh, sh*t.”

Hong Seo-hwa, letting out a small exclamation, pierced and killed a Steel Spider, then changed the filter on her gas mask.

Even though she hadn’t used it much, the filter was full of iron dust and completely black.

Baek Woo-hyun also changed his filter and said,

“…I feel like there’s sweat sloshing around inside my gas mask.”

“I’m already on the verge of suffocating.”

“I told you to take off the gas mask and practice defending with your energy.”

They wanted to retort that only he could do that.

Yoo Seong-woo lightly kicked a small stone lying on the ground, shattering the head of a Steel Spider crawling on the ceiling.

“…Looks like the main force is coming soon. Until now, it’s been scouts. Work hard.”

“…Haa.”

“GoinghomemustshowerGoinghomemustshowerGoinghomemustshower…….”

Baek Woo-hyun breathed out shortly, and Hong Seo-hwa muttered her wish as she raised her sword.

The number of scout spiders that had attacked them so far was dozens.

Their size came up to about the knee.

In terms of size and shape, they weren’t as tough as Steel Goblins, but they weren’t the kind you could cut down in one go.

Dealing with the scouts had already consumed quite a bit of stamina.

If so, how much stamina would they consume while catching the main force from now on and reaching the nest?

They both instinctively realized that they had to be careful with their stamina distribution.

“And let me tell you, the goal is to rescue the survivors, not to exterminate the Steel Spiders. Don’t forget.”

“Understood.”

“Yes! Master!”

‘They sure answer well,’ Yoo Seong-woo thought.

From the other side of the cave, spiders began to crawl out.

The ones that came up to their knees were now about waist-high.

The passage was quite wide, so there was enough space to swing a sword.

But that meant there were also many of them coming.

Moreover, since they were spiders, they filled the floor, walls, and even the ceiling as they crawled… it was truly a disgusting sight.

“I’ll help with the ceiling.”

No matter how strong the two were, they would be torn to pieces if they faced this many at once.

Yoo Seong-woo picked up a few stones lying on the ground and threw them at the ceiling.

The stones, flying with a whooshing sound each time he threw one, perfectly pierced the heads of the Steel Spiders and dropped them to the floor.

He was skilled enough to be called a stone-throwing master.

“Dieeeeeee-!!”

Hong Seo-hwa constantly raised flames and danced.

Yoo Seong-woo recalled the lesson that you shouldn’t start fires in caves, but he figured it might be okay since it wasn’t a typical cave.

Anyway, Hong Seo-hwa and Baek Woo-hyun swept away the Steel Spiders while displaying their abilities.

When they finished one wave, they caught their breath and recovered a little of their consumed stamina.

However, the wave was not over yet.

Steel Spiders rushed in a couple more times, and it stopped when the passage was filled with their corpses.

The two had been quite careful with their stamina distribution, but they were already exhausted.

“Already tired?”

Yoo Seong-woo sneered as he looked at the two who were sitting on the floor, panting.

But it was understandable.

Continuing to fight while wearing a gas mask was very difficult.

Their vision was limited, and their breathing was restricted.

However, Yoo Seong-woo thought it was a very good training method for them.

The extreme battle continued in an extreme situation would make these two dramatically stronger than before they came.

‘…It would have been nice if Ji-woo had come too.’

It was an opportunity to train three S-class [the highest rank for hunters], but unfortunately, Yoo Ji-woo did not participate because she had other raid schedules.

No, maybe she didn’t come in the first place assuming this situation.

He decided to push Yoo Ji-woo even harder during the next class.

After enduring the waves of Steel Spiders a couple of times, the two were finally able to move forward, stepping over the corpses.

And finally reached the nest of Steel Spiders.

The nest, created by digging a large cavity inside Iron Mountain, was full of spiderwebs.

“Steel Spider webs are also sold at a high price. Their elasticity and strength are great, making them suitable as materials for armor.”

“But it doesn’t look like we have time to collect them now.”

“…Ha, I feel like I’m going to die, can’t I just die?”

“If you run away, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Yes….”

When they shined their flashlights inside the dark nest, it was full of spiders.

Hundreds of spiders that came up to their waists, and many spiders that were the size of humans.

And what was most overwhelming was the largest spider in the center of them.

The head of the giant spider, bigger than the passage they had passed through, had a human torso attached to it.

“What do you call that? Iron Human Spider?”

“Usually, it’s called a Human Spider, but I think Iron Human Spider is correct. It’s a new species.”

“I see. The people are trapped over there. I’ll block that giant one, so you guys go and save the people. Only bring back the living. Leave the dead. The corpses can be recovered later.”

It seemed impossible to entrust that giant thing to the two of them.

Yoo Seong-woo took out his sword for the first time since entering the cave.

In the dark cave, Ilseong [his sword’s name] flashed, revealing its red blade.

“…Let’s go.”

At the same time as Yoo Seong-woo kicked off the ground, Baek Woo-hyun and Hong Seo-hwa also moved.

Their goal was to remove the spiderwebs that tightly wrapped the people and rescue them.

Kiyaaaaaaaaak-!!

The Iron Human Spider, seemingly the queen of the Steel Spiders, which was located in the center, screamed throughout the cavity.

The spiders, reacting to the ear-splitting metallic sound, began to move.

Some ran towards Hong Seo-hwa and Baek Woo-hyun, and the rest headed towards Yoo Seong-woo.

They were promoted to the top priority target of the spiders, who felt him as the greatest threat.

Yoo Seong-woo confirmed the scene, took a long breath, and released the hidden momentum at once.

Then, even the Steel Spiders heading towards Hong Seo-hwa and Baek Woo-hyun all began to flock to Yoo Seong-woo.

Yoo Seong-woo lightly cut down the Steel Spiders rushing in from all directions and began to face the queen spider rushing in from the front.

The eight legs, like huge blades, moved wildly, aiming at Yoo Seong-woo.

“Hmph.”

He briefly stopped his breath and instantly increased his speed to cover the short distance.

A tremendous speed that even the spider’s legs could not keep up with.

He changed his position as if he had teleported, kicked off the ground, and soared into the air.

The dark cavity.

The only light was a few flashlights they brought, so the entire cavity was not visible.

However, everything was visible in Yoo Seong-woo’s red eyes.

The movements and numbers of the spiders, and even the queen’s face raised high.

Usually, cave spiders have degenerated eyesight and do not chase enemies with their vision.

‘But that guy has eyesight.’

Well, that doesn’t make much of a difference.

He rotated once in the air and fell, extending his sword downwards.

He, falling while thrusting his sword, became a streak of red meteor.

The swirling red sword energy mercilessly sliced the spiders flying towards him.

At the same time as he landed on the floor, the spiders’ corpses fell like rain.

Yoo Seong-woo then swung his sword again, knocking down the queen’s legs pouring down from the sky.

Metallic sounds are heard in succession.

The intense metallic sound constantly strikes the ears.

Every time Ilseong and the queen’s legs collided, sparks flew, briefly illuminating the dark cavity.

Meanwhile, Baek Woo-hyun and Hong Seo-hwa were diligently cutting the spiderwebs.

“Are there any more living people over there?! We’re done checking here!”

“There are three more! Still alive! You sh*t, just cut! Spiderweb!”

Fortunately, the people who had been dragged away were not immediately fed to the Steel Spiders.

They were just stored as food, tightly wrapped in spiderwebs.

However, in the process, those whose gas masks were torn or whose oxygen tanks were broken were exposed to the dense gas and iron dust inside Iron Mountain and died.

In the end, out of nearly thirty people who had been captured, only about twelve could be saved.

The two, each carrying six people on their backs, shouted at Yoo Seong-woo.

“Survivor rescue complete!”

“Can we run away?! Now!”

“If you’re done, you should go.”

Yoo Seong-woo, who had clearly been fighting the spider queen until just now, was somehow standing next to the two.

He sent the two ahead first, then swung his sword and broke the entrance of the cave to block it.

“…This should prevent them from chasing us quickly. Let’s go.”

* * *

Yoo Seong-woo, Baek Woo-hyun, and Hong Seo-hwa returned safely.

Bringing twelve survivors.

Eight were divers, and four were miners.

“It’s amazing to bring twelve people back alive from a special-grade Abyss [a dangerous, monster-filled area].”

The people were able to get out safely.

Waiting for them outside was a large number of rescue personnel.

The rescued people were taken away in ambulances, and a newly formed internal reconnaissance team re-entered the Abyss.

Yoo Ji-woo was also among those who came to the Abyss in a hurry.

“…Still, it’s a pity that people died. The Rose and Lily Guild also… must have invested quite a bit in this.”

“Has this kind of thing never happened before?”

“…It’s the first time. For this to happen during the stabilization period of a special-grade Abyss. Mining will no longer be possible. How are the two?”

“They’ll recover with a little rest.”

Saying that, Yoo Seong-woo turned his head.

The place where the two were was inside the hotel.

And on the hotel bed were Hong Seo-hwa and Baek Woo-hyun, lying exhausted.

There were no major injuries, and the abrasions were minor, so they would heal if they applied medicine and rested well.

“It seems they used too much power. Still too weak.”

“It’s a relief they didn’t die after rolling around that much in a special-grade Abyss.”

“…How weak are the divers in this world?”

Yoo Ji-woo did not answer.

She felt like she would get caught in the crossfire.

Instead, she changed the subject.

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to catch the spiders? I’d like you to catch them. To avenge the people, and if you take them and sell them, they’ll sell for a high price.”

“…You’re completely in a business mindset. How did my sister, who used to cry when stray cats died, change like this?”

“The world made me this way.”

She answered that way and looked at Yoo Seong-woo with a face that asked what he was really going to do.

She wanted him to deal with the spiders.

It would reduce one of the dangers of the special-grade Abyss and allow mining to resume.

It would lead to increased profits for Meteor Industries.

However, the words that came out of Yoo Seong-woo’s mouth were unexpected.

Words that were completely the opposite of what Yoo Ji-woo wanted.

“Why would I catch them? Why catch something that’s perfect for training? I’ll have to use them again and again.”

He was a man obsessed with training.