The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 187

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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 187
Chapter 187
“Monsters!”
“The sea creatures have appeared!”
“How long has it been since they retreated, and now they’re back again…!”
Just as I had anticipated.
The monsters returned swiftly.
Their numbers were so vast that the sight of them swimming across the sea, churning up spray in their wake, was almost breathtaking.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
“Y-yes, preparing for battle!”
At my command, the members of the Heukryeom Guild and the inhabitants of Kalbera Territory readied themselves for combat.
In truth, our numbers were hardly impressive.
The Heukryeom Guild itself was a small organization—only ten members including myself.
As for the inhabitants of Kalbera Territory, even with their treatment complete, they remained exhausted from the previous battle.
Perhaps because of this?
“Master, can we… truly face that horde ourselves?”
My guild members seemed troubled as well.
Indeed, by the numbers alone, it was impossible for us to confront those monsters.
“W-what do we do?”
“Can we hold them back?”
“The Breakwater has been repaired, but it was destroyed by these very monsters before. I don’t think it will hold…”
“Doesn’t it seem like there are even more monsters than last time?”
“Above all, we simply don’t have enough people to fight!”
The inhabitants.
No—my own territorial subjects were no different.
They had been regaining hope as the territory was restored, but seeing the horde of monsters churning through the sea, fear was inevitable.
Yet, amid all this.
“We have the Lord!”
“With the Lord here, we can do this!”
“In the worst case, the Lord will transform and protect us!”
Strange words, certainly.
Regardless, now was the time to show hope through action, not words.
Rather than respond to their anxious remarks, I calmly observed the approaching horde.
‘Their condition is somewhat different.’
The distance made detailed confirmation difficult.
Overall, they bore a resemblance to a berserk state.
It seemed they had somehow dispelled the fear condition and its effects.
Moreover, in such a state, even using Dragon Fear again would likely prove ineffective.
But that was fine.
I had no intention of wasting time using Dragon Fear again anyway.
Not long after, the moment the monsters crossed the boundary line where I had set my traps.
‘Now.’
I shattered the first mana stone that was synchronized with the traps beneath the sea.
Then the safety pins of the mana stones and magic circles beneath the sea that were synchronized with the first mana stone were pulled out.
Uuuuuuung!
The trap I had installed began to activate.
The true nature of that first trap was.
“A, a whirlpool!”
“A whirlpool is forming!”
“How?”
“In all our years, a whirlpool of that magnitude has never once appeared on our coastline?”
“And there’s not just one or two!”
“The whirlpools are swallowing up every passage along the coast!”
It was a whirlpool.
A fifth-circle water spell, Vortex.
Depending on the formula, when used on land it creates a tornado of wind magic.
But when used underwater, it can create whirlpools like this.
Even for a fifth-circle spell, the whirlpool normally wouldn’t be this massive.
[ Superior Mana Stone ]
I had imbued a fifth-circle spell that would normally be sufficient with an intermediate mana stone into a superior mana stone instead.
Naturally, thanks to that abundant mana capacity, the spell’s power had increased.
Swoooooosh!
The monsters were sucked into the whirlpool.
This was my concept of a ‘restraining technique’.
Of course, even as a restraining technique.
“Craaaaaack!”
“Kyaaaa—.”
It wasn’t without offensive power.
Rather, it was quite formidable.
After all, just counting the monsters sucked into the whirlpool numbered in the dozens.
No, hundreds or more.
With so many monsters colliding with each other inside the whirlpool, it would be strange if there were no casualties.
But the real attack was just beginning.
“Second.”
I shattered the second mana stone.
Then the safety pins of the traps connected to the second mana stone were released, and the magic embedded within manifested.
The nature of that second spell was.
Crackle crackle crack!
Lightning magic.
The place where the monsters currently were was underwater.
Seawater conducts electricity far more efficiently than fresh water.
And Second’s system translates that conductivity into “damage amplification.”
“Gaaaaaagh!”
“Ughhhh—.”
“Grrrrr….”
The monsters convulsed violently as electricity coursed through their bodies.
Since I’d deliberately used premium-grade mana stones to maximize damage in the underwater environment, the devastation was catastrophic.
The third trap that followed was.
Crack!
Ice.
Though seawater doesn’t freeze easily, the output of premium-grade mana stones made it possible.
The seawater froze solid, blocking the creatures’ path, and every monster within the spell’s radius became encased in ice.
In this manner, I activated the spells I’d positioned at strategic intervals, one after another.
And the magic I’d set up wasn’t limited to spells that only activated when I triggered them directly.
For instance, mana stones scattered throughout the seabed and even at the surface.
The moment anything touched those stones.
Booooom!!!
They detonated automatically.
Landmine-type mana stone traps that activated upon detecting enemy contact.
Beyond that, I’d applied smoke magic to cloud the water with ink-like darkness, obscuring vision, or.
Reversed the ocean currents to block the monsters’ advance, among other tactics.
Various magical traps activated in succession, holding back the creatures’ approach and steadily reducing their numbers.
Then.
“The lord is casting magic!”
“Heavens, all those monsters, and he’s handling them alone…!”
“The sea dragon’s blessing is with us!”
“So the lord’s true identity is….”
Behind me, the voices of the territory’s people cheering rose up.
“Everyone, what are you doing! Attack!”
“Defend Caldera Village! No—defend Kalbera Territory!”
“Throw!”
The territory’s people launched their full assault.
Most of their attacks were harpoon throws, and they proved far more effective than I’d anticipated.
Though unfamiliar with close combat, most of these people were fishermen who’d spent their lives at sea, so their harpooning skill was exceptional.
My guild members were no different.
“Attack!”
“The guild master is steadily dealing damage—our job is to prevent those creatures from crawling up onto the breakwater at all costs!”
“Understood!”
Following Kang Ju-hyuk’s orders, which he was growing increasingly accustomed to giving, my guild members moved into position.
Despite the magical traps, monsters that managed to reach the breakwater and began climbing were met with attacks from my guild members and harpoons hurled by the territory’s people.
Despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, the monsters could not even scale the Breakwater, let alone breach Kalbera Territory.
And then.
The most covert and effective trap I had laid began to take effect.
“Gaaaack!”
“Gruuuuh….”
“Kwaaaak!”
“Geeeeek.”
The monsters suddenly began to retch.
“What? Why are they doing that all of a sudden?”
“Something seems wrong with them?”
Retching was merely the beginning.
Depending on the monster, symptoms varied slightly—some convulsed or seized, others coughed blood or lost consciousness.
The critical point was that these symptoms began manifesting simultaneously across all fishmen and monsters.
And not long after, someone realized the cause.
“Poison! It’s poison!”
“Poison?”
“Yes, poison! Poison has been released into the sea! There’s no other explanation!”
That’s right.
In truth, my first trap was not the whirlpool.
The moment the monsters arrived, I released poison into the sea first.
Poison Mist.
A third-circle spell that exhales toxic fog had spread across the entire sea.
The monsters, already bereft of reason, failed to detect the poison’s presence amid the chaotic onslaught of electricity and explosions surrounding them.
Consequently, they became poisoned, resulting in the current situation.
Of course, a mere third-circle Poison Mist could never have such a dramatic effect on monsters of such strength.
Therefore, I used as the medium for Poison Mist.
[ Nereid’s Tears ]
( Non-tradeable )
Form : Material
Grade : Mythic
Restriction : Level 700 or higher, Bow Mastery Lv 15 or higher
Description : An aquatic toxin named after the Nereid, the fairy of the sea. Once dispersed, it stains nearby waters with death—a deadly underwater venom.
I had used a mythic-grade toxin.
The poison’s potency weakened due to level penalties, and given the vast range, it took some time for the poison to fully disperse and intoxicate the monsters.
“Keeeeeeek!”
Regardless, I succeeded in poisoning every last monster.
The poisoned monsters not only immediately suffered pain and lost vitality, but their combat strength was severely diminished.
“Now! Finish them!”
“Fire, fire!”
“Throw them!”
Seizing this opportunity, the guild members of the Heukryeom Guild and the territory’s residents, myself included, unleashed our full strength against the monsters.
The creatures fell with increasing speed.
The poison had softened the monsters’ skin, reducing their defense, so all our attacks landed far more effectively.
How long did the assault continue?
Trapped by the whirlpool, they couldn’t even flee.
Or rather, the monsters—now devoid of reason and fear—continued their reckless charges despite knowing their cause was hopeless.
Thud.
“G-gone! It’s finally over!”
“That was the last one!”
“We defeated all those monsters!”
“Us? The Lord practically did it all by himself!”
“True enough!”
At last.
The final monster, struggling to climb the Breakwater, collapsed.
The beautiful coastline of Calvera Empire was now carpeted with monster corpses.
Leaving them as they were would be neither environmentally nor aesthetically sound.
“Luke, clean this up.”
– Yes, Master.
I entrusted the disposal to Luke.
Luke could only consume monsters I had personally slain, but since most of the creatures floating on the sea had fallen to my magical traps.
[ Luke has consumed ‘Stone Crab’. ]
[ Luke has consumed ‘Sharknia’. ]
[ Luke has consumed ‘Big Fish’. ]
….
Most of the monsters were devoured by Luke.
Of course, he couldn’t consume every single one, but a few monsters sinking to the bottom of this vast sea posed no real concern.
[ Luke’s stats have increased by 200. ]
[ You accept the nutrients left behind by the ‘Black Flame Dragon, Luknir Desperato Ignockton’. ]
The stat increases continued relentlessly.
Luke’s stat gains were tremendous, but my own were equally staggering.
Witnessing this, I felt the effects of recovering the Black Flame Dragon’s fang, and I grew eager to locate the remaining body parts.
Just as the cleanup seemed to be finishing.
– Master.
“Is something wrong?”
– While eating, I detected one suspicious prey.
“Suspicious prey?”
– It was a fish just outside the whirlpool’s edge, but it seemed to be sharing its vision with someone.
An odd report came from Luke.
Curious, I equipped an item that enhanced my vision and looked toward the direction Luke indicated.
“Is that it?”
A single fish came into view.
But as Luke had said, something about its condition seemed off.
For an ordinary fish, that is.
No—even if I considered it a monster, it radiated mana far too potent for its apparent station.
No.
This was a fish connected by mana itself.
And I recognized it immediately.
‘An Apostle.’
That fish was a kind of scout connected to the White Water Deity’s Apostle.
The moment I understood this.
“Luke, lend me your strength for a moment.”
– Yes, Master.
[ Activating Black Flame Transformation. ]
[ Borrowing the power of the Black Flame Dragon, Luknir Desperato Ignockton. ]
“Could you manifest a bow for me?”
I drew the bowstring taut, aiming toward the creature.

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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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