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Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Causing Havoc
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"Whoa, insane. There's a fuckton of them."
The half-open door swung fully ajar, followed by the high-pitched whine of a chainsaw—whiiirrr—and countless magitech golems began pouring out in a rush.
"Hang on, why are they all clustered there? Is it some kind of spawn point or what?"
"Bingo."
"Huh?"
The golems guarding these ancient ruins respawn in droves at specific spots like that, then scatter to their assigned patrol zones.
The dynasty that didn't want that happening had blocked it off all these years, illegally occupying and using the site for themselves.
But now that they'd been unleashed, all hell was about to break loose. Sure enough, the soldiers who'd been standing watch, killing time as the hours dragged on, started screaming.
"Gaaahhh!"
"S-Save me!"
And then the alarm bell rang out.
Ding-ding-ding!
It echoed urgently through the palace grounds, tolling rapidly to signal the crisis.
"Th-The golems have been released!"
"What?! The golems got loose? Isn't that just some old palace legend?!"
"Stop them! Hold them back!"
"Guhk."
"Eek! Call the knights! Summon the Royal Knight Captain!"
The soldiers were no match for the golems. They were shredded by the massive grinder blades and left sprawled in pieces.
'Damn, they really are strong.'
The soldiers couldn't withstand the golems' brute force, getting diced up by those enormous circular blades without any real resistance—chop chop chop. It was a stark reminder of just how tough 'dungeon mobs' could be.
'One of these could take twenty field soldiers without breaking a sweat.'
Maybe that's why. Faced with such overwhelming power, the soldiers panicked, and most bolted screaming. The knights arrived late to the chaos, but even they struggled to hold the line.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Wh-Why are these things so damn strong?!"
"Everyone, watch out! These aren't like the ones from the sewers—keep an eye on the weird-looking ones!"
And for good reason—these weren't like the cleaners from the ancient sewers. At the heart of the ruins lurked the real 'guardians.'
They weren't just strong; they were incredibly agile. Built purely to protect the ruins, they had four extra arms for combat on top of the cleaners' setups.
"Aaaah! S-Save meee!"
Even Haran's elite knights were dropping, and morale plummeted fast.
Shin Seo-yeon, watching from hiding, spoke up.
"Hey, why don't we just hop on this chaos train and wipe out the enemies? We could pull it off with their help."
"No dice."
"What're you talking about? It's totally—"
Bam!
In that instant, one of the golems rampaging across the battlefield had its head caved in and shattered.
The one who'd swung the mighty iron flail to pulverize it was an old warhorse who looked just a touch younger than Barkus.
He dove straight into the fray, smashing golems left and right, reducing them to scrap like leaves in a gale.
'That's the Royal Knight Captain?'
His stats were ridiculous. Stronger than Guard Captain Telamon. No sign of the sorcerers yet, but this guy was mowing down golems solo like it was nothing.
Krunch!
Krunch! Krunch! Krunch! Krunch!
One shot, one golem down.
"You think we can take a guy like that?"
"...Fuck, he's insanely strong. You left them there to catch freaks like him?"
Shin Seo-yeon looked queasy. She'd only seen Brontez, so she'd underestimated them. That's why she'd kept pushing to farm them.
But Brontez was definitely the weakest. The situation looked good, but these ancient ruin golems alone couldn't bag the raid bosses.
"You lot! Don't run—hold your ground! Lord Astreon is here!"
Roooar!
The crumbling front line stabilized only after the Royal Knight Captain joined. But turning the tide? That'd take time, no matter how strong he was—the golems were just too numerous.
'And that'll give us our window.'
Sure enough, glancing toward the banquet hall, nobles and royals were scrambling to evacuate now that the ruins' original guardians were loose.
The Earthlings had been abandoned in the process. Perfect opening.
I bolted with Shin Seo-yeon toward our group.
"Min-jun, what's going on? It's total chaos all of a sudden."
"What the hell happened? You cause another mess, auntie?"
"Hey! Do I look like some disaster magnet to you?"
"Fess up. What'd you do?"
"Wasn't me this time! Dickhead did it?!"
No one bought it. Everyone just stared at Shin Seo-yeon. Actions speak louder, huh. I clamped her mouth shut as she hopped mad and explained.
"Anyway, follow me. Let's rescue everyone and bail while we can."
With every palace soldier tied up fighting killer machines, this was our golden chance to slip out. We led the group charging into the main banquet hall.
"Sis!"
"Ji-hee! We're here to save you!"
As expected, the locals had fled the banquet hall, leaving only Earthlings—huddled in shock, holes gaping, trembling. Tears and snot streamed fresh or crusted dry.
Up close, their conditions were brutal. Many holes had been roughly used; some sphincters totally wrecked. Toyed with like actual toys.
But the Saintess's transcendent recovery could fix it all.
Body...
or mind.
"Sniff... Thank you."
"I thought I'd die suffering here forever. But you came..."
"Truly grateful. I'll repay this kindness. For life."
They poured out thanks, then spotted loved ones—tears turning to joyful reunions amid laughter and sobs. I listened to the racket outside and cut in.
"...Save the reunions for later. Let's get out first."
"Y-Yes!"
I'd worried they might dawdle, but no issue. They stood right up, nodding they were ready. Third trial hardened them—quick to prioritize and adapt.
"This way, then."
We headed to the banquet hall exit, scouting outside. Three hundred meters off, a fierce battle raged in a key passage.
"Hold them! We have to guard the paths to the banquet hall!"
Golems trying to break through, soldiers blocking desperately.
With royals and nobles hunkered in the building's basement, every approach was sealed tight.
They faced away, yelling, clashing weapons, dashing wildly—no time to glance our way.
"Now."
We slipped out, dashed to the adjacent garden, pried open the grass-camouflaged manhole, and jumped in.
"Oppa! Everyone's down! Just us left!"
"Got it."
Party down, people down—me last. Before descending the ladder, I scanned around.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Just buy time! Lord Astreon will handle it!"
Thousands of presences buzzing everywhere.
Raid bosses tearing through the midst.
'Haran's palace—unbreachable except as prisoners. And we robbed it blind, caused havoc, and dipped...'
Even with 10,000 players? Doubt it.
But five of us pulled it off. Hard to believe even doing it. Yet the scene before me was undeniable reality.
'They've probably noticed the treasury's cleaned out by now.'
They'd guess the golem uprising tied to us.
But infiltrating and escaping via ancient sewers? Nah.
Experiencing firsthand how tough those golems are.
'Anyway, slip out in the chaos.'
I shut the grass-covered manhole and quietly left, tossing one last line.
"Thanks for the feast!"
The escape went smoothly.
How could it not? With the palace in uproar, no one had spare manpower to chase us.
We retraced our steps through the ancient sewers at a leisurely pace.
"Thank you again. You saved our lives."
"Grateful. You rescued my sister."
The people bowed deeply, sincere.
"Mostly women, huh?"
"Ah, well, actually..."
A bit of a shocker.
Men got fed straight to the minotaurs; women kept at the palace for fun.
"If they broke, tossed 'em in the labyrinth like trash."
The woman whose ass was totally ruined shivered, terrified. Thrown in that state? No survival odds.
Even pristine, the labyrinth's a meat grinder anyway.
'Anyway, the toughest of the third trial, [Island of Sacrifices], is wrapping up.'
Bought Barkus's favor as planned, got his help, raided Haran's crown jewel.
Snagging [magitech gear] was a bonus, but the main goal? Nailed.
Just head home now.
The group looked pumped.
"Dickhead! We raked it in—time to flex! Stuff our faces, shop 'til we drop!"
"Yeah! Wanna expand my weapon collection!"
The two brats buzzed with post-return plans.
"Alright, alright. So-hee, what about you? Anything?"
"Me? Hmm."
"Build you a library or something?"
"For real?"
Han So-hee lit up.
"You mentioned wanting books last time. Saw it in the dorm upgrades—why not?"
"You remembered... Thank you. You're so thoughtful, considerate. Better than any man I've known. Fit to be my master."
[Han So-hee's affection toward you has greatly increased.]
"Seo-yeon said you've been kind and caring since childhood. Great men show talent young."
...Seo-yeon said that? Hard to buy.
Misunderstanding, though.
I'm not naturally thoughtful. Just max-level social skills from a decade of spectacular party drama.
'Overlook a party member's state even slightly, and bam—backstabbed dead.'
Flatter early, buy favor, bang 'em, stab first if they turn. Survival-honed attentiveness.
'TL;DR: Learned at knifepoint.'
So So-hee's admiring gaze felt awkward. Less 'caring', more 'cling-for-life' instinct.
'Gotta change that. Same results, different mindset—gets exposed eventually.'
Anyway, grateful all around.
Round 1: Incompetent loner. Now: Skilled, good company, everything clicking.
Regression was the right call.
No regression? Mistrust maxed, lonely even in another world—died alone.
This life? Different. That felt good.
"So, Min-jun, what's the plan from here?"
Looking up, ancient sewer exit in sight.
"Return the goods to Barkus, farm a bit more, then bounce."
"Not straight home?"
"Nah, plenty of noble houses left. Go big or go home."
The brats grinned wide.
"Nice, our Dickhead knows what's up!"
"Yup! Strike while the iron's hot!"
"But is it safe? Palace in frenzy—they might hunt us down."
True, but they'd be buried in cleanup for a while.
By resolution time, Barkus would tip us off to scram.
Hearing that, pumped-up Shin Seo-yeon clenched a fist.
"Then screw waiting—move fast now? Palace distracted, perfect window. Raid by daylight!"
"Yup!"
"Not bad."
We'd avoided daytime before 'cause of the guard captain's patrols.
But post-palace meltdown, golem respawns unknown—royals parking all raid bosses there? Obvious.
No more hiding days away.
'Grind hard, then home.'
That thought in mind, stepping out of the ancient sewer—
I froze.
Scanned around.
Haran's streets lay silent in pre-dawn gloom.
"Huh? What's up, Min-jun?"
Sweeping gaze end to end, I waved them back.
"Everyone, fall back."
"Pardon?"
Arknon definitely said he'd watch here. But no Arknon group.
'They don't flake on deals.'
Eye for people over ten years: Showed through actions, not words. Absent without trace? Something went wrong.
"Come out. No hiding."
Presences stirred all around.
"Wh-What."
"Ambush?"
Lots. Near three hundred. But more pressing: thud! Two heavy figures approached.
"Hmph, sharp. How'd you know?"
"Told you he wasn't ordinary."
Haran Guard Captain Telamon.
Hitler-mustache Brontez.
The two raid bosses strode our way, weapons gripped tight, ready.
But they weren't my focus.
'Palace in chaos, and they're ambushing here?'
Doesn't add up.
Bloodsucking absolute monarchy, right? Royals prize their necks first—yet detach two elites outward?
Wasn't just that.
City too quiet for palace pandemonium.
News hadn't spread. Otherwise, they'd rouse sleeping troops for muster.
'Not palace dispatch either—timing's off.'
We'd cleared [Ancient Sewers] mobs ahead, straight shot down—30+ minutes faster than them, no way behind.
Yet they beat us here? One reason only.
"Betrayal."
Black Anchor Merchant Association sold us out.
No other way they'd predict our moves.
And I nailed it.
"Correct."
Main culprit? Shockingly unexpected.
"Heh, beast senses sharp as ever."
Inope emerged from shadows, smirking obnoxiously.
Hah. So she's the mastermind behind it all.
But thinking it over—not that surprising.
'Fits her to a T.'
Yeah. Only her at Black Anchor who'd pull a backstab.
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