I Raided the Demon’s Treasury

Chapter 34

“Ah, the wind feels great! Except for my butt being a bit uncomfortable, things couldn’t be better!”

Right after receiving Se-woon’s scouting order, Park Jung-pil didn’t forget to show off ‘Baekrang’ to the others and quickly moved forward.

As expected from a wolf, it moved at a speed entirely different from anything he’d experienced before.

Moreover, the skeleton named Baekrang, likely due to its undead nature, showed no signs of fatigue and ran at a steady pace.

“Come on, faster! Woohoo!”

How long had it been since he felt such speed?

Before arriving here, he used to drive his imported car—bought with every penny he had—around the streets, proudly showing it off. The feeling now was just like back then.

‘I knew following Hyung was the right choice!’

Park Jung-pil thought.

Being chosen by the Constellation, securing the position of second-in-command in the camp, and obtaining this skeleton named Baekrang, which was as good as an imported car.

It was all thanks to following Se-woon.

– The Constellation, ‘Thief with the Donkey Head,’ is cackling as it tries hard to suppress laughter at the events to come.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

The Constellation, Balefor, ‘Thief with the Donkey Head, the 6th ranked Demon Lord.

Though he had bestowed power upon Park Jeong-pil, he always sent these sudden messages, mocking his actions.

This time was no different.

Even though anyone could see that riding a white skeleton wolf, galloping across the plains, looked like a scene straight out of a movie, what on earth was so funny about it?

Just as he thought that,

Pshh, pshh!!

Sharp objects came flying from all directions.

“Whoaaah!”

– Player Park Jung-pil has used ‘Panic Scramble.’

‘Panic Scramble.’

This was the ability Park Jung-pil received from the Constellation, ‘Balefor, Thief with the Donkey Head’.

Once the ability was activated, Park Jung-pil, true to its name, scrambled clumsily, lifting the saddle to block the incoming attacks.

Thump! Thump!

Fortunately, the attacks weren’t that powerful, as most of them either struck the skeleton body and fell off or got lodged into the leather saddle without piercing through.

“Damn it, what the hell!”

As he regained his senses, he realized the ground and the saddle were littered with sharp thorns.

Even if they weren’t likely to cause fatal injuries upon impact, the thick, viscous substance coating the tips made it clear they were poisonous darts.

Given his background of reading novels and watching movies, Park Jung-pil quickly inferred what these were.

“Who sent these things!”

“Kieeek!”

“Kek! Kik! Kikek!”

Just as Park Jung-pil was about to vent his anger, the monsters that had launched the spikes stood up.

Covered in grass, they blended in with the plains, making it appear as if a part of the plains itself was standing up.

Green skin, small stature, and skinny limbs in contrast to their protruding bellies. Their mouths were filled with crude, jagged teeth.

“G-Goblins?”

Park Jung-pil was certain.

These were the monsters he had seen in games and movies—goblins.

Moreover, there were a lot of them.

At a rough estimate, there were dozens, no, hundreds of them.

The thought that flashed through Park Jung-pil’s mind was clear.

– Player Park Jung-pil has used ‘Frantic Rush.’

“Aaaahhhh!”

– The Constellation, ‘Balefor, Thief with the Donkey Head,’ bursts into hearty laughter, clutching its sides and rolling on the floor.

Fleeing hastily.

Without a shred of hesitation or second thought, Park Jung-pil ordered Baekrang to retreat.

Thanks to the ability granted by Balefor, he was able to momentarily accelerate and quickly escape the goblins’ encirclement, even though it looked undignified.

“Kieeek!”

“Kik, kiki! Keeeek!”

The goblins began to chase after him.

Normally, after a failed ambush, they would regroup and reassess, but to the goblins, Park Jeong-pil looked like an amusing prey—or rather, a fun toy.

Like cats chasing a dangling feather, the goblins cast aside their intelligence and moved their legs.

Whether it was Park Jung-pil’s own ability or the power of the Constellation, it was, in a way, a remarkable talent.

Of course, to him, it was the worst possible talent.

“Help meeee!”

“Kekeke!”

“Krik, kiki, kekeke!”

The scene evoked the image of the Pied Piper.

Park Jung-pil urged Baekrang on, desperately racing across the plains.

Even amid his frantic escape, he maintained a clear direction. In his mind, there was only one person who could resolve this situation.

Se-woon.

If he could reach Se-woon, everything would be fine.

As he ran desperately, the wagons and people came into view in the distance.

“Hyung!”

Park Jung-pil called out earnestly for Se-woon.

And was it his imagination? Although they were still some distance away, Park Jung-pil thought he saw Se-woon’s face.

“What?”

Se-woon’s lips moved, as if saying something to him.

The meaning was clear…

‘Duck.’

“N-No way, Hyung!”

Whoosh!

A huge ball of fire formed in front of Se-woon’s hand.

How could he not know?

Having witnessed Se-woon’s magic countless times while working as his decoy, Park Jung-pil’s face turned pale.

“How is ducking going to help in this situation?!”

Rumble!

– The Constellation, ‘Balefor, Thief with the Donkey Head,’ can’t contain its laughter and collapses from lack of breath.

The fireball, as large as a house, rapidly approached Park Jung-pil.

* * *

Boom!

– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ cheers for the arrival of snacks, thinking it was about to starve.

In a single strike, dozens of goblins were cruelly engulfed in flames. As expected, nothing beats magic when dealing with large numbers of enemies.

“Kieeek!”

The goblins, shaken from their pursuit of Park Jung-pil, turned their gaze toward Se-woon.

Dozens of goblins had been slain, but there was still a significant gap in strength.

Seeing their numerical advantage, the monsters let out shrill cries and launched their poisonous darts.

“Everyone get behind the wagons!”

Despite facing such long-range attacks for the first time, Yoo Seo-ah remained composed and directed people to take cover.

However, Se-woon didn’t heed her instructions. Far from hiding, he stepped forward and charged toward the goblins.

“Se-woon!”

“Yoo Seo-ah, Kang Han-cheol. Follow me.”

“Got it.”

Without a moment of hesitation, Kang Han-cheol followed Se-woon’s command, and after a brief pause, Yoo Seo-ah quickly followed suit.

Meanwhile, hundreds of poisonous darts rained down from the sky.

“Kekekek!”

The goblins anticipated victory.

There seemed to be no cover or shield to protect the three charging figures from the darts.

However, just before the darts could hit Se-woon, it inexplicably lost its momentum and bounced away.

– Opened the (True) Treasury of Greed.

[Wide Shield]

– A magic shield developed in the Colorless Tower to block wide-range attacks like arrows.

Wide Shield.

While it wasn’t strong enough to block powerful attacks in close combat, it was exceptionally efficient for stopping poison darts like these.

Its coverage was much broader than typical shield spells, protecting not only Se-woon but also Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Han-cheol following behind him from the poison darts.

“Kieeek!”

The goblins drew their weapons. As the distance closed, they opted for melee weapons over poison darts.

Though the blades were dull and rusty, they were still iron weapons. This alone clearly distinguished this battle from the first chapter of the tutorial.

As Se-woon approached the goblin formation, he raised his hand once more instead of drawing a sword

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

Crackle!

Dark lightning surged through the goblin horde.

Pouring all the remaining mana into it, and with the mysteries of the Black Tower applied, the force of the spell was nearly equivalent to that of a 3rd Circle magic.

The goblins struck by the lightning ended their lives with brief convulsions.

Immediately after, Kang Han-cheol and Yoo Seo-ah, following Se-woon, also charged forward.

– Player Kang Han-cheol has used ‘Commence Battle.’

Roar!

As Kang Han-cheol slammed the ground, the plains cracked open as if in agony.

Goblins were impaled by the rising stones and crushed between the splits in the earth.

The range and power of the attack were comparable to Se-woon’s magic, and astonishingly, it was an attack that used no mana at all.

Pure strength.

And to that, Agares, the 2nd ranked Demon Lord, had granted large wings.

– Player Yoo Seo-ah has used ‘First Leg of the Tarantula.’

Sssrrrk—

Yoo Seo-ah’s contribution was equally impressive.

Utilizing the dual swordsmanship and footwork she recently learned from Se-woon, Yoo Seo-ah swiftly weaved through the goblins.

Thanks to the abilities granted by Baal, the 1st ranked Demon Lord, her attacks left afterimages, making it appear as though she wielded four swords.

She looked like a lone wolf thrown into a flock of sheep.

“We should help too!”

“We can’t leave everything to just the three of them!”

Those who had been hiding behind the wagons to avoid the poison darts joined the battle.

The goblin’s strengths lie in their cunning intelligence, use of poison and tools, and their communal living. One-on-one, even ordinary players without a Constellation contract could handle them.

“K-Kiek!”

The goblins began to panic.

They had picked up their weapons, confident in their overwhelming numbers, but the tide quickly turned against them.

Though the goblins still outnumbered the players, victory was no longer in their minds.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Se-woon observed a unique presence on the battlefield that had joined as an ally.

A skeleton.

The skeleton, which had been pulling the wagon, was now running through the goblins.

Since it wasn’t Se-woon’s doing, there was only one person who could have animated it for this fight.

‘Baek Hyun.’

His skeleton fought remarkably.

It exhibited none of the typical weaknesses of low defense or low attack associated with skeletons. Moving with the natural grace and ferocity of a real boar, it dominated the battlefield.

If he succeeded in animating the Manticore’s corpse, it was exciting to imagine just how powerful Baek Hyun could become.

– Successfully repelled the ambush of the goblin horde

– All participants who repelled the ambush are awarded 1,000 points

“K-Kieeek!”

“Kiiiek!”

The goblins began to flee.

Excited by their victory, some people shouted and started to chase after the goblins.

At that moment, Se-woon stepped forward to stop them.

Understanding his intention, Yoo Seo-ah approached and calmed the crowd.

“Everyone, you did great! If we chase after them, we might fall into traps or another ambush. Let’s regroup first!”

“Yes, Unnie!”

“True. Getting ambushed by those guys could be really dangerous.”

Se-woon gave a small smile, appreciating Yoo Seo-ah’s excellent leadership. However, his reason for stopping them was different.

‘If they’re fleeing, it means they have a base somewhere.’

In his previous life, he hadn’t considered this amid the series of dire circumstances. It wasn’t part of the plan, but now Se-woon saw this as a new hidden piece.

“Yoo Seo-ah, once you’re done regrouping, don’t worry about me and move on.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to follow the goblins.”

“Well, um… I’m sure you have your reasons, but how will you track them?”

“Don’t worry. I can’t possibly lose them just by following the tracks.”

“…Alright. Please come back safely.”

“Of course.”

Se-woon was reminded of their first encounter right after his regression. At that time, Yoo Seo-ah had tried to stop him from heading into the Wolf Forest to find a weapon.

Compared to then, it was clear how much Yoo Seo-ah’s trust in Se-woon had grown.

“Jung-pil, good job.”

“H-Hyung…!”

Se-woon opened the treasury and took out a low-rank potion, tossing it to Park Jung-pil.

He looked to be in bad shape, and although the events hadn’t gone exactly as planned, it was Se-woon who had sent him on the scouting mission.

Leaving a teary-eyed and grateful Park Jung-pil behind, Se-woon moved on.

He followed the limping, desperately fleeing goblins.