HPDBC Chapter 285
Chapter 285
[translator - peptobismol]
[proofreader - demon god]
chapter 285
"damn it! if we lose ground here, we’re done for. hold the line tighter! if you break, we all die."
“these bastards must be crazy! they’re just charging straight in!”
a group of awakened fighters were locked in fierce combat with a horde of beasts.
they were a pathfinder team dispatched from neo seoul.
their foes were packs of giant horned hyenas, one of the most common, and most troublesome, beasts in the desert.
once they set their sights on prey, giant horned hyenas wouldn’t stop until they died, making them a constant threat.
in the desert, an encounter with these packs meant fighting until only one side was left standing.
team 3’s leader, eun so-young, gritted her teeth as she swung her sword.
she was a c-rank, martial-class awakened.
of korean descent, she had a remarkably solid build for a woman, which let her wield a sword nearly as large as she was with ease.
“why the hell are there giant horned hyenas here?!”
pathfinder teams generally had a solid understanding of the beasts’ habitats and ecosystems around neo seoul.
just days ago, when they had passed through, they hadn’t spotted a single hyena.
this area wasn’t even part of the hyenas’ usual range, so they hadn’t thought much of it.
naturally, they chose the same route for their return trip. but that choice had turned into a critical mistake.
seemingly out of nowhere, a pack of giant horned hyenas had appeared and attacked ferociously.
leading her team, eun so-young stepped up to form a frontline wall with the martial-class members, holding back the hyenas while the magic-class awakeneds launched spells to kill them.
boom!
crash!
slash!
magic blasts struck their targets, and giant horned hyenas began to fall.
yet even as their kin were cut down, the hyenas continued their relentless assault, undeterred.
despite eun so-young and her martial-class teammates’ efforts, their defensive wall was faltering under the pressure.
“damn it! at this rate, we’re all dead.”
“damn it!”
fear began to show on the pathfinders team members' faces.
they’d anticipated this might happen someday, but now that they faced the reality, the dread of death closed in.
several comrades had already disappeared into the bellies of the beasts.
now, it seemed to be their turn.
crack!
“argh!”
just then, one of the frontline fighters was bitten on the shoulder by a giant horned hyena.
the beast’s huge teeth pierced his armor, leaving a deep wound.
“william!”
“damn you, hyena...!”
the fighter’s teammates tried to slash at the hyena to free him, but it was no use. despite the injuries, the hyena stubbornly held on, its jaws locked.
it began to drag the wounded fighter back into its pack. if it made it there, the man would surely be torn apart and devoured.
eun so-young, seeing this, pushed herself to her limit to save him.
thud!
suddenly, a powerful tremor shook the ground.
the members tensed, fearing another beast had arrived.
thud!
with another heavy footfall, a massive figure appeared over the sand dune.
“oh no...”
“we’re dead. it’s over for us.”
as soon as they saw the enormous creature, despair washed over eun so-young and the others.
emerging from behind the dune was a monstrous turtle with spikes protruding from its shell and head.
the sheer size of it made the members sink to the ground, losing even the will to fight.
the turtle’s size was terrifying.
every step it took shook the area like an earthquake.
even the giant horned hyenas, who had been furiously attacking, backed away in fear.
the hyenas, typically unafraid even of stronger beasts, cowered at the sight of this enormous turtle.
“where did that thing come from...?”
eun so-young’s teeth chattered as she trembled.
and then, a voice rang out from atop the giant turtle’s shell.
zeon took a healing potion from his subspace, crafted by brielle, and handed it to the fighter.
“drink half, and pour the rest on the wound.”
“thank you... so much.”
the fighter followed zeon’s instructions with the potion.
as he drank it and applied it to his wound, the pain subsided, and fresh skin began to form over the gaping hole left by the bite.
though he wasn’t completely healed, the immediate danger had passed.
“phew...”
the wounded fighter finally sighed in relief.
he stared at his wound in amazement.
though he would need surgery later for full recovery, even this level of healing was miraculous.
neo seoul had developed its own healing potions, but none could restore wounds so dramatically.
the potion zeon had given him was incredibly effective.
“thank you. you saved my life.”
“no need to thank me.”
“i thought we were done for when the giant horned hyenas appeared out of nowhere. if not for you, we’d all be dead.”
“glad i arrived in time.”
had zeon and archelon been even a little later, the pathfinder team would’ve been wiped out.
thud. thud.
heavy footsteps echoed again.
archelon was moving away.
pavilsia and kailey, waving from atop archelon, gradually faded into the distance.
cautiously, eun so-young asked zeon.
“what... exactly is that? can a human really tame and ride such a massive beast?”
“for others, it’s impossible.”
zeon didn’t elaborate on archelon.
if he provided too much information, neo seoul might start pursuing archelon, which would only lead to trouble.
that was why pavilsia and kailey had left in such a hurry.
zeon then asked eun so-young.
“were you on a mission?”
"yes! we were checking if we could set up a shelter around here."
"a shelter? why here of all places?"
"well..."
eun so-young hesitated for a moment.
she glanced at her companions, then, as if making a decision, spoke cautiously.
"actually, we’ve discover a location nearby where we suspect mana stones might be buried."
"a mana stone deposit?"
zeon was surprised.
he knew just how significant the mana stone mine was to neo seoul.
it was thanks to the mana stone mine, discovered in the early days, that neo seoul could develop into what it was today.
the stable supply of mana stones from the mine was what had sustained their growth.
however, over time, mining the mana stones had become increasingly difficult. the ones near the surface had all been mined out, and what remained were deep within the tunnels.
as the difficulty of mining increased, the amount of mana stones being harvested had noticeably decreased.
to mine the same quantity as before, they needed more miners and equipment.
naturally, this deepened the concerns of neo seoul.
in order for neo seoul to survive, a stable and sufficient supply of high-quality mana stones was essential.
then, the pathfinder team 3 had discovered a mana stone mine in this area.
"are you sure about this?"
"we've confirmed that mana stones are present on the surface. we planned to set up a shelter to find out how much could be mined, but those damned hyenas attacked us..."
eun so-young made a frustrated expression.
luckily, no one had died thanks to zeon, but the fact that they almost got wiped out was a disgrace to her.
zeon asked eun so-young.
"so, what will you do now?"
"if you help us, i would like to return to neo seoul with evidence of the mana stone mine’s existence. but..."
"is there a problem?"
"yes!"
eun so-young bit her lip tightly.
[translator - peptobismol]
[proofreader - demon god]