Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62. The Tower – Defense (3)

The defense was proceeding flawlessly.
The guards and climbers were somewhat exhausted, but the climbers could continue fighting by purchasing stamina and mana recovery potions with the overwhelming points they earned.
Since the points earned far exceeded the points consumed, not a single climber chose to retreat to the 10th Floor.
It was a stark contrast to how seriously they had considered fleeing before the battle even began, wondering how they would survive at least six hours.
The climbers’ efforts extended beyond merely slaughtering Goblins.
Since the City Wall was relatively low, when Goblin corpses piled up, they naturally formed a staircase, allowing easy passage over the wall.
Some climbers used abilities to manipulate air or water, clearing away Goblin corpses so they wouldn’t accumulate in front of the wall and form such stairs.
Occasionally, crude Goblin arrows struck, leaving soldiers and climbers severely wounded, but Diana would heal them each time with her holy power.
Unlike the others seeking profit, Diana hoped the citizens of the City would not die from this monster horde.
When I stopped firing arrows and gazed toward that distant place, Diana asked me a question.
“What’s over there?”
At Diana’s question, Lee Su-young also looked at me.
“You don’t feel that?”
At my question, both of them tilted their heads in confusion.
“Feel what?”
It seemed neither of them could sense the turbulent mana I felt from that distant place.
In fact, no one in this Tower appeared to sense it.
Based on the mana I felt, it held a slight advantage over the Chimera?
The Chimera used its mana to support its massive frame and fly through the sky, but I couldn’t gauge how that smaller creature would use its power.
Perhaps when it reached the City Wall, the wall would crumble.
After brief deliberation, I stored my bow in my inventory and drew my sword.
Diana might manage, but Lee Su-young could never cut through that Goblin horde.
Though she had a barrier magic tool, it would be like tissue paper against that army.
Yet taking Diana with me was problematic—she had expended considerable holy power treating the sporadic casualties appearing atop the City Wall.
Of course, drinking a mana recovery potion would restore her holy power as well.
“Diana. What do you think about pushing through the Goblins?”
At my question, Diana pondered briefly, then immediately purchased and drank a mana recovery potion.
“It’s entirely possible. You sense something, don’t you?”
“It might be mere worry, but it could be extremely dangerous. I may not be able to protect you.”
At my warning, Diana laughed softly.
“That’s what I should be saying. I’m the tank, after all. I can certainly protect at least you.”
For some reason, Diana was showing me trust.
I nodded and spoke to Lee Su-young.
“I can’t protect you in there. If it seems I won’t return, run straight to the Crystal Zone and escape to the 10th Floor. I have ways to survive and escape, so don’t worry.”
“That’s—”
Before Lee Su-young could finish speaking, I hoisted Diana onto my back and leaped down from the City Wall.
Beneath the City Wall lay a thick carpet of Goblin corpses that hadn’t yet been cleared, making the ground soft and yielding.
The moment I leaped down from above, the Goblins rushed toward me.
But ordinary Goblins without mana were no longer even a threat to me.
Without exerting much effort, each swing of my blade sent two or three Goblin heads tumbling to the ground.
Diana, clinging to my back, swung her mace and shattered Goblin skulls.
I felt like some kind of war horse.
I charged forward, cutting down Goblins as I went.
“Brother!”
Lee Su-young’s voice called from behind, but I paid it no mind.
Using Lightfoot, I advanced while swinging my blade, and with each strike, Goblins fell.
“Wow! You’re incredibly fast!”
Diana marveled at my speed, enthusiastically swinging her mace to crush Goblin heads.
As I broke through the Passage, I trampled over Goblin heads and leaped toward a creature emanating an ominous aura.
The moment I spotted it, I hurled my hand axe.
But a Hop Goblin protecting it threw itself in front of the creature I’d targeted.
The creature I’d aimed for was only about one head taller than a regular Goblin, but considerably smaller than a Hop Goblin.
At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a slightly larger Goblin with two small protrusions on its forehead, yet I could tell at once.
This was the leader of the Goblin horde.
“Is that the Goblin Monster you sensed, Ji-woo?”
As we drew closer, Diana also seemed to perceive the presence of this Goblin Monster.
Its skin was a darker shade of green, and the savage killing intent naturally emanating from its mana made my skin prickle.
This Goblin was undoubtedly a monster wearing a Goblin’s mask.
I instinctively grasped why this creature had summoned twenty-five climbers here.
More precisely, I suspected about ten had come to defend the Fortress, ten to hold back the surrounding Goblin legions, and five to actually fight.
Otherwise, the defensive battle would have proceeded far too smoothly without a single crisis.
Though I should have felt fear facing it alone, instead I felt anticipation.
Should I call this emotion fighting spirit, or perhaps competitive desire?
If my life were truly in danger against this opponent, I might have lived without ever knowing such emotions existed within me.
“Should we return to the City Wall now?”
At my question, Diana dismounted from my back and spoke.
“Let’s just deal with this monster and go back.”
At Diana’s response, I laughed and charged toward the Goblin Monster.
The Goblin Monster wielded a worn blade larger than its own body—where it had obtained such a weapon was a mystery.
As my sword swung toward the Goblin’s neck, the Goblin Monster raised its blade to block mine.
Two Hop Goblins attacked my back, one swinging an iron club and the other a spear.
I grabbed the incoming spear and pulled it toward myself while simultaneously blocking the iron club, then cut down the Hop Goblin wielding it.
Crunch!
Behind the severed neck of the Hop Goblin, Diana swung her mace like a rakshasa, crushing Hop Goblin skulls.
I could feel her determination to clear the surroundings without hindering me.
Smiling at her efforts, I spun my body and blocked the blade of the attacking Goblin Monster.
I leveraged the Hop Goblin’s spear thrust and drove the blade toward the Goblin Monster’s eyes.
“Krrgh!”
The Goblin Monster twisted its head to evade, and the spearpoint merely grazed below its eye.
The Goblin Monster snarled and swung its blade at me. I twisted the spear shaft to parry its strike while simultaneously driving my boot hard into the Hop Goblin’s abdomen, wrenching the spear from its grasp.
Then I deflected the Goblin Monster’s blade with the spear shaft and drove my sword toward its throat.
Screech!
Unable to recover its blade, the Goblin Monster desperately grabbed a nearby Hop Goblin and used it as a meat shield.
As I carved through the shield, another Hop Goblin behind me swung its blade. I thrust my spear through its heart, driving it back before it could close the distance.
Clang!
While I impaled the Hop Goblin attacking from behind, the Goblin Monster seized the opening and swung its blade at me.
I angled my sword to deflect the strike.
My hands tingled from the impact.
The Goblin Monster’s swordplay was crude, but its strength overwhelmed mine.
I released the spear in my left hand and deflected the Goblin Monster’s blade while unleashing my sword in a sweeping arc.
My blade bit into the Goblin Monster’s chest, but the wound was shallow.
“Kiiieeeek!”
The Goblin Monster shrieked in rage as it touched the wound, and the surrounding Hop Goblins surged toward me in unison.
Diana did her best to intercept them, but the Hop Goblins charged forward regardless, their skulls shattered by her mace.
There were too many Hop Goblins surrounding me.
I caught the spear thrusting at my left flank, blocked the blade targeting my left back with the spear, and cleaved through two Hop Goblins charging from the right in one fluid motion.
Then I lowered my body and spun, slashing across the abdomens of the Hop Goblins in a single arc.
I parried the descending blades and clubs with the spear shaft still held by the Hop Goblin.
Because the foolish Hop Goblin stubbornly clung to the spear, the force of the attacks was distributed between me and the creature holding it, making defense effortless.
As I spun rapidly and cut down the approaching Hop Goblins, I seized the last one’s spear and hurled it with all my strength toward the Goblin Monster.
Sensing the inner force I poured into the spear, the Goblin Monster used the surrounding Goblins as meat shields rather than deflecting it.
While I withstood the concentrated assault of the Hop Goblins, Diana fought tirelessly to reduce their numbers.
Thanks to her efforts, no Hop Goblins remained nearby.
Once the Hop Goblins guarding the perimeter were gone, the staff-wielding Goblins—the Goblin Shamans—began casting curses upon me.
Intense itching, pain, and burning sensation flooded my entire body simultaneously.
My vision blurred as dizziness overwhelmed me, and my mouth filled with bitter and spicy tastes.
What kind of curse is this?
“Heavenly Father! Protect Your child!”
Holy power, antithetical to the curse, cleansed my body, and I regained my mobility.
While I could move, I threw hand axes in succession, eliminating the Goblin Shamans one by one.
With each Goblin Shaman that fell, the torment afflicting my body dissipated.
The Goblin Monster shrieked and lunged at me, refusing to let this continue.
I parried the Goblin Monster’s blade while Diana methodically crushed the remaining Goblin Shamans’ skulls in my stead.
Though the Goblins occasionally hurled stones at me, I trusted my combat suit’s durability and ignored any projectiles not aimed at my head.
Once Diana finished dispatching the Shamans, I committed all my strength to ending the Goblin Monster.
The Goblin Monster thrust its blade, but the trajectory was simple enough to evade or deflect with ease.
As the Goblin Monster’s blade slashed toward my neck, I leaned back to evade the strike and countered by slashing at its throat.
But the moment my sword touched the Goblin Monster’s neck, it twisted its body with reflexive speed and dodged away.
Though its outer skin was cut and blood spilled, the creature remained unharmed.
Before the Goblin Monster could regain its balance, I swung my blade again, and it rolled across the ground to escape my strike.
In a final desperate move, the Goblin Monster thrashed its sword without even properly rising to its feet, but I deflected its blade and delivered a deep, sweeping cut across its body.
In that instant, the Goblin Monster’s mana surged violently and erupted outward in a violent explosion.
“Ugh!”
I drew upon my inner strength to withstand and block the shockwave that assailed my entire body, and I was sent flying backward.
After rolling across the ground several times, I rose to my feet and stared at the Goblin Monster.
The Goblin Monster’s skin rapidly healed, beginning to glow a deep crimson.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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