10 Quad. Final Battle (2)
Just as Seowoon returned to the gui ship, the spiritual energy finally subsided. His teammates welcomed him back with bright faces.
"Did it go well?"
At limin's question, Seowoon gave a thumbs-up and gave the order.
"Let's go!"
It was finally time to put an end to this long-standing plan.
"Even if the attacks focus on us, we can hold out for a while. So don't stop—charge in!"
limin smiled confidently.
"Don't worry. Even if the ship sinks, I'll make sure those islands crash into them. Just charge your energy!"
The gui ship began to move toward the place where a fierce battle raged in the distance.
At first, none of the enemies paid attention to the uniquely shaped gui ship slowly approaching from afar.
Everyone knew the outcome of this battle would decide the winner of the game.
In the midst of intense close combat and spell battles, no one had the luxury to care about a single enemy ship crawling toward them in the background.
But things changed when the gui ship reached the very edge of the battlefield where swords and spells clashed fiercely.
"What the hell are those lunatics doing?"
"Ignore them! Barrier! Focus on the enemy spells!"
"No, I mean… those maniacs are barging between us!"
-Thud!
With a loud crash, the gui ship shoved its way between the enemy ships, and they could no longer ignore it.
-Bang!
The enemies began to attack the gui ship as it forced its way through from both sides, launching magical bombardments.
"Seowoon! Are you ready? We're right in front of them!"
Seowoon, eyes closed and focused on gathering spiritual energy, didn't flinch at limin's urgent question.
"Damn it! We better not be late…"
limin fiercely turned the helm left and right, ramming the enemy ships as he pushed the gui ship forward.
At last, the gui ship broke through and charged toward the Guangun fleet.
"What the hell is that now?!"
Only then did the enemies notice the four islands dragging behind the gui ship and panic erupted.
"Shit! Everyone transfer to the ships nearby! We're going to get swept away!"
Two enemy ships were caught up and dragged along by the islands. Then came a thunderous shout from Guangun.
-Focus all attacks on that weird ship!
Once Guangun spotted the islands being pulled into the battlefield, all enemy spells targeted the gui ship.
The enemy ships seized the opening and began concentrating magic attacks on Guangun's fleet.
-Hull damage at 60%. No loss of mobility due to suicide charge.
-Boom!
As the gui ship forcefully rammed into an enemy ship, Seowoon's eyes shot open.
"Evacuate!"
Yelling at limin, Seowoon yanked out his hair and flung it into the air, summoning three clones of himself.
Before leaping off the ship, limin made sure to activate the gui ship's skill: Mist of the Sea.
As the dragon-head figurehead spewed thick fog, Seowoon looked to his clones and spoke.
"Whew. We have to succeed, no matter what."
The three Seowoons nodded grimly.
At that moment, Seowoon and limin threw themselves into the sea.
The gui ship had stopped, but the inertia dragged the four islands into it, slamming into the ship and nearly obliterating it.
-Juriel… Are you alright?
-Don't worry. Just give me the signal without delay!
Seowoon's expression was grim as he led limin deeper into the ocean.
-Everyone! Retreat! Get away from those islands…
Just as Guangun screamed in panic, Seowoon gave the order.
-Open it!
-Wait, this is…
Juriel's flustered voice came through the team channel, and Seowoon's brow twitched.
And then a notification rang out.
-Juriel of the Jin Seowoon Squad has found and claimed the treasure.
Almost immediately after the message, a massive explosion lit up the sea around Seowoon.
-BOOOOOOOM!!
-KWAHHHH!!
-RUMMMMMBLE!
In the roaring blaze, amid the shattering and collapsing sea and ship, limin frantically tapped Seowoon's shoulder.
Turning around, Seowoon saw him signaling urgently and pointing in the water.
There, bleeding and sinking, was Juriel—somehow she had escaped the explosion.
Seowoon left limin and rushed to her. She was unconscious but clutching a golden compass tightly.
He carried her out of the battlefield and surfaced. Juriel slowly opened her eyes.
"Puhah. Cough! Cough!"
As she coughed violently, Seowoon spoke.
"Are you alright?"
He pulled out several healing scrolls from subspace and handed them to her. With trembling hands, she tore one open.
After ripping three scrolls, she finally regained some composure and urgently spoke.
"I-It's an epic monster!"
She explained that the moment she opened the chest and grabbed the golden compass, a strange ship rose from the island and charged across it like the sea.
She barely managed to leap into the ocean before the explosion.
Seowoon tilted his head, puzzled.
"Could the epic monster have been caught in the blast and died?"
"There's no way. They…"
Before she could finish, a message came through from kichan on the team channel.
-Bro! Now's the time!
Seowoon's transformation faded with the last drop of spiritual energy.
At that moment, two Sirens surrounding Seowoon and Juriel lifted them up and began rushing back toward the battlefield.
Riding on the Sirens, they ran across the surface of the water. Among the burning ships, a few ragged enemies came into view.
Seowoon spotted Senlurk—his silver hair stained with blood, half of his cloak burned—and the demonic twins guarding him.
Seeing allies drawing close, Seowoon shouted:
"Sa-gwang! Can you take them on?"
"No problem."
[Ding! The Epic Monster 'Sealed Pirate Ship' has appeared. The game progresses to Act 3.]
[If the player possessing the Absolute Compass escapes from the Mirage Sea, the players left behind must fight the Undying Pirates. Conversely, if the player with the Absolute Compass fails to escape, that player's squad loses eligibility to participate in the Cloyd Survival Game.]
"We have to make sure Juriel escapes!"
The moment the notification ended, Seowoon gave the order.
The situation was now crystal clear.
If his hunch was right, hunting that epic monster was practically impossible.
On top of that, if Juriel didn't make it out, their team would lose qualification. It would be game over.
As Seowoon issued orders and formed a protective formation around Juriel, guiding the Selaines toward the island, Gwanggun was already ahead of him, landing on the island as if he had read Seowoon's intentions.
Standing on the cracked island's shore with gleaming eyes, Gwanggun exuded a murderous aura.
"We had to clash eventually."
Seowoon nodded at Namsagwang's comment.
Although about 30 enemies were still alive, less than 20 remained around Gwanggun.
They rushed toward the island, past burning ships, and magic started flying from Gwanggun's formation.
-Fwoooosh!
-Rrrrraaakkk!
Seowoon's team scattered to avoid the freezing and wind magic freezing the water surface.
Jinryung and Namsagwang dashed across the frozen sea toward the enemy, while Juriel, wearing a half-mask, and Kichan and Lyle returned fire with magic.
-Crack!
In the midst of it, Namsagwang, Jinryung, and Dump collided with the enemy.
Sticking close to Juriel, Seowoon also landed on the shore and clashed with the waiting enemies.
"Push through! No matter what it takes!"
At Seowoon's cry, the teammates fighting with desperate resolve gave it their all.
-Clang! Clang!
Dump, fending off three enemy knights, began to extend the burning aura from his sword, gradually pushing them back.
When almost half his sword was consumed in blazing aura, the knights withdrew, opening a path.
Meanwhile, Namsagwang was alone, facing the demonic twins and Gwanggun.
Even someone as skilled as him struggled to gain the upper hand in the intense battle.
-Screeech!
While Seowoon was holding off two knights and a warrior, a flaming sword slashed toward him.
He barely blocked the blow, but the force behind it was immense—had he slipped, Juriel, who was casting spells behind him, could have been fatally wounded.
As he locked swords and kept alert for an opening, Lilingwi, having poisoned her enemies, came running his way.
Her hair had turned white, her body pitch black—she had transformed into a terrifying being.
She had taken Mukdokdan, a suicide-grade poison.
Once ingested, it filled her qi and blood channels with incurable poison, turning her hair white and body black.
From that moment, she was no longer a human but a Poison Being—even her breath carried deadly toxicity.
But the poison also doomed the user. Depending on one's cultivation, survival beyond ten minutes was impossible—and Lilingwi likely wouldn't last that long.
Still, she swallowed the poison without hesitation.
It wasn't because dying here meant permanent death. It wasn't even because of a strategic need to win the game.
It was impulsive. Upon seeing Seowoon in danger, she couldn't just stand by.
She didn't even understand why. She just had to protect him.
Winning the game by getting Juriel to safety wasn't on her mind at all.
She simply couldn't bear to watch Seowoon struggle like that.
"Kiiiaaaaaah!"
Letting out a beast-like roar, she lunged at the Sword Emperor attacking Seowoon.
Her lips twisted as she instinctively advanced toward the knight thrusting his sword at her.
-Shlkk!
She didn't dodge—she let the burning aura blade pierce her chest and moved forward.
The knight faltered, surprised.
Gripping the sword embedded in her chest, she vomited blood straight onto his face.
-Splatter!
The sprayed black blood darkened the knight's face instantly.
"Gahh!"
Burning pain blinded him. As he staggered back, Seowoon, his jaw clenched, moved.
Taking advantage of the opening, he unleashed a flurry of attacks, tearing through an enemy knight's armor.
With a momentary lapse in enemy pressure, Seowoon and Juriel made a break for it.
Senrurk, seeing them break through the line, shouted:
"Don't let them get away!"
Leaving the twins behind, he chased after Seowoon alone.
Seowoon endured the concentrated magic with barriers and his own body, dragging Juriel to the edge of a shore where the water shimmered in a distinctly blue hue.
-Shhk!
Just then, a sharp sting—an elegant rapier pierced his chest.
Gritting his teeth against the pressure tearing at his chest, Seowoon gripped the blade and looked at Juriel.
"Hurry… go…"
The moment he finished speaking, she, with pained eyes, threw herself into the sea.
"No!"
Senrurk roared from behind, but it was too late—she had already left the Mirage Sea.
[Ding! The Undying Pirates' Hunt Time has begun.]
With the alert, a massive galleon burst out of the sea where she had disappeared.
As if salvaged from the depths, the ship unleashed a horde of undead-looking pirates onto the battlefield.
Still clutching the sword in his chest, Seowoon stepped forward and wrenched himself off the blade.
"Kuhuk!"
Coughing up blood, he turned back and charged at Senrurk.
-Fwoosh!
He narrowly dodged a rapiers thrust that cut through the air like a whip.
Seowoon's qi-infused fist, Bloodborne claw, aimed directly at Senrurk's head.
-Clang!
Barely deflecting with his guard, Senrurk staggered, dropping his rapier.
-Whoosh!
Shaking off the impact and pain, Senrurk glared at Seowoon and spoke.
"You're holding me back again."
"Yeah… and isn't that just the best?"
-Kwa-deuk!
Crushing the half-rotted pirate's head as it lunged toward him, Seowoon spoke. At the same time, Senlurk swung his machete, cleaving off the heads of three oncoming enemies, and replied.
"So now all that's left is to keep fighting these things until we're worn down and trapped."
"Right. So let's make the end a good one, together."
"Let's."
Even though they had just been slain, the pirates rose again from the ground, grinning eerily.
Barnacles clung to their decaying bodies, and their tattered clothes looked ready to crumble. The undead pirates began to surround the two men.
Without hesitation, they charged into the encircling horde.
Seowoon shattered the skull of the final pirate—the lower jaw a rattling skeleton, the rest covered with rotting flesh.
As he twisted his body around, he lunged toward Senlurk.
Having just killed his opponent, Senlurk also rushed toward Seowoon without hesitation.
-Ka-ka-kang!
The clashing was furious—one stabbing with a flickering rapier, the other blocking with hardened, energy-infused fingers. Their battle moved so fast it left afterimages.
Eventually, the twin demons fell, and the rest of the remaining players died one by one.
Even Namsagwang, the maniac who targeted only female players and beat them to death, was finally overwhelmed by the relentless undead pirates.
No matter how many they killed, the pirates would rise again. As the force field tightening around the island closed in, Seowoon gasped for breath.
"Haa… Haa…"
Senlurk was in much the same condition.
"Haa… These bastards just don't quit."
The top rank was already secured by Seowoon's team.
Even so, Senlurk felt an unshakable weariness toward Seowoon, who still refused to give up and kept coming for his life.
"You're one to talk… It'd be nice to have a peaceful end for once."
"Says who? I will take your damn head off."
Now, the two were surrounded by hundreds of undead pirates closing in from all directions.
At that moment, they charged—toward each other.
Even as pirate weapons pierced their bodies, neither looked away from the other.
-Kwa-deuk!
-Ssu-uk!
Seowoon's hand drove through Senlurk's ribcage—at the same moment, the rapier pierced Seowoon's heart with perfect precision.
Around them, pirates plunged their weapons into both of their bodies.
***
[Ding-ding-ding! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Ta-da-da-da-dum-dum! Congratulations on being the Final Two!
You've earned the right to enter the next game.
You will also receive the highest reward for this round.]
As the announcement of "Final Two" echoed in his ears, Seowoon slowly opened his eyes—his lips twisting into a crooked grin.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]