EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 1015: Stream (16)

Whooosh!

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Amidst the cold wind, shards of ice scattered around.

The external forces, unable to locate the boss enemy amidst the ice storm, were stumbling around aimlessly.

The music carried on the wind spread chaotically, making it difficult to pinpoint the source of the sound.

We were observing from a distance, but it soon seemed like the surrounding area would freeze as well.

"This place is going to freeze over too!"

"If we retreat now, we might miss it again. If things go south, I'll call the Red Dragon. Hold on."

Despite Park Seung-hyun's warning, Yeom Jun-yeol shook his head.

Though Yeom Jun-yeol told us to hold on, his eyes were filled with concern as he looked at my hand.

With one hand holding one ear closed and the other gripping the solidified morning star, Dok Go Mi Ro spoke up.

"Hey, isn't that the same music we heard before? Looks like the boss enemy could even fight using music. But the vice-captain's hand is going to freeze. You’re wearing gloves, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Though my hands would often get cold since sending my family off, I didn't usually feel the cold much.

And after seeing the raid team’s efforts, I didn’t feel my hands being cold anymore.

Even Yeom Jun-yeol, who was sensitive to temperature, relaxed once he realized my hands weren't freezing.

Meanwhile, the external forces were frantically searching for the source of the cold wave, launching wide-area attacks, hoping to strike at the musician.

Then chaos erupted as the external forces began attacking each other.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the musician’s summoned ice storm grew in intensity.

‘The musician is fighting pretty well. But this power won't last long. They're probably trying to hold on until Baek Ho opens the sky.’

If we manage to hold on until the musician exhausts their power, dealing with the boss enemy will be easier.

Still, the cold wave was gradually overwhelming the raid team.

Even though the armor was doing its job and I wasn’t sensitive to the cold, the frozen ground and the tinnitus would make fighting unfavorable.

And the visibility was getting worse.

"The music from the boss enemy has a debuff effect!"

"What kind of effect?"

"Visibility will decrease. I thought the storm was just blocking my sight, but I think it's just covering my eyes."

Not only is the boss enemy skilled at hiding their presence, but now they can call an ice storm with a debuff effect too.

To help Baek Ho, the boss enemy intentionally lured the enemy into a corner, but under normal circumstances, they could likely complete their mission and escape.

Actually, with those abilities, they could be sent to the front lines.

When I came to this realization, I understood something.

The earth's energy that resides in Cheon Ik Mountain was surging out into the surrounding area.

‘The earth's energy from Cheon Ik Mountain is flowing into the musician. The wicked darkness must be weakening the energy, though.’

We weren’t the only ones fighting here.

Cheon Ik Mountain was also lending its strength to the Hojo’s battle.

I recalled the time in Flamago when Cheon Ik Mountain had fallen to the dark forces.

Back then, the Hojo had lost a comrade.

As I thought about what happened here, my mind became more clouded.

‘...Now’s not the time for that. The boss enemy and the weakening energy are blocking our sight.’

I stopped my thoughts and focused on the unclear path ahead.

If visibility is blocked, it’s not just the external forces but we might also miss the boss enemy, and that would be troublesome.

An unexpected figure presented a solution.

"My ears are hurting, but is it okay if I play music? If the ringing is due to the music, I can push it out."

"You can push out the music?"

"Yeah, I've practiced with other musical ability users before."

There were more ability users in China due to the larger player population, and naturally, there were many who played musical abilities.

It seemed like Yao Ruichi had battled against ability musicians before.

If that’s the case, it could be useful.

"We might risk exposing our location, but right now, the boss enemy is hindering the external forces from finding the music’s source using the ice storm. If we use that, it’ll be harder to spot us."

"Even so, once the boss enemy’s power runs out, they’ll find our location."

"Then we’ll rush to break the boss enemy’s head immediately."

When I borrowed Dok Go Mi Ro's words, Park Seung-hyun burst into laughter.

It seemed he found it funny that such a phrase came out of my mouth.

Yeom Jun-yeol paused in thought for a moment.

He wasn’t just considering the exposure of our location, but he also seemed to be contemplating whether it was okay to let a rival team like Yao Ruichi use a powerful attack in our camp.

Eventually, Yeom Jun-yeol nodded and turned to Yao Ruichi.

Yao Ruichi was already holding the materialized musical instrument in his hand.

Piiiii...

As Yao Ruichi started playing, the haunting sound of a wind instrument replaced the ringing in our ears.

The ringing was caused by the power the boss enemy put into their music, but Yao Ruichi had pushed it out with his own performance.

Though I expected the ringing to fade, our raid team was shocked by something else.

Yao Ruichi was playing the Chinese traditional wind instrument, the Dizi (笛子).

"What? Wasn’t he famous for playing the Erhu (二胡)?"

"Yao Ruichi plays both instruments. He’s better with the Erhu, but since it requires sitting down and reduces mobility, he mostly plays the Dizi during combat."

"Back when he almost got caught by the external forces, he was playing the Erhu. He must have trusted the other raid members and played music, but it was too late for him to escape."

Yao Ruichi wasn’t just skilled at the Dizi, but also at the Erhu, a string instrument.

It wasn’t uncommon for musicians to play two or more instruments.

For example, Mok Woo Ram wasn’t at that level, but as a violin master, he could play the violin and could accompany Kwon Lena on the piano.

However, it was rare for someone to be able to wield the power of ability instruments with such skill.

‘Now, the ringing’s gone, and the ground isn't freezing anymore.’

Yao Ruichi had chosen a piece called "Meihua San Nong" (梅花三弄), a traditional piece from the Qin Dynasty, which celebrates the resilience and noble spirit of the plum blossom, perfect for dispelling the ice storm.

As the melody of Yao Ruichi’s Dizi continued, the air around us began to stabilize.

The ringing faded, and with clearer vision, it became easier to think ahead and plan the next move.

With the sight cleared, we could see the external forces' chaotic movements clearly.

"...The Hojo fought against this kind of thing 5,000 years ago?"

Park Seung-hyun spoke in a shocked tone.

The external forces, who had been thrashing around in front of the ice storm, had regained their composure.

They gathered the frozen, fallen external forces, smashing them and absorbing their power.

The surviving external forces seemed to be growing accustomed to the cold.

Even if the external forces had such power, it would normally take time for this process to happen, but it seemed that the wicked darkness was helping them evolve.

They had become more cunning and stronger in the wicked darkness.

‘They’re doing something. Are they trying to find the musician?’

It seemed the external forces realized they couldn't find the musician with conventional methods.

The surviving external forces created a wall with their bodies, placing a horned one inside it.

The horned external force gathered all its strength into its horn to shield itself from the cold wave.

As the power from the horn spread, Yao Ruichi’s eyes widened.

While he couldn’t speak due to playing the wind instrument, his eyes darted wildly.

"Did they find the musician?"

"Probably!"

Yao Ruichi nodded briefly, and Park Seung-hyun, who had been using Insight skills, agreed.

Dok Go Mi Ro also spoke, gazing beyond the weakening ice storm.

"It seems they sensed the disruption in the music over there. It’s a bit confusing because of the wind sounds, but I can hear it too."

Though Dok Go Mi Ro said that, I, Yeom Jun-yeol, and Gwok Kyung Gu couldn’t really feel the difference.

Of course, we didn’t doubt it.

We planned our next move assuming the external forces had located the musician.

"The musician is putting effort into hiding. Now that they don’t need to hide, the storm’s output will increase. But the balance will shift in the external forces’ favor. If they were strong enough to fight directly, they would have just helped Baek Ho instead of going through this hassle."

I agreed with Yeom Jun-yeol’s assessment.

At his words, the raid members drew their weapons and took their positions.

With the Korean team nearly having the upper hand, Yao Ruichi showed a complicated expression but didn’t stop playing.

Soon, from a distance, the external forces and the musician began their battle.

The ice storm around the musician was intensifying, so we couldn’t see them clearly, but it seemed the musician wasn’t very large.

As the external forces launched attacks, the ice storm slowly began to lose power.

"Now, the author’s power won’t reach here."

Yao Ruichi stopped playing the Dizi, feeling there was no need to continue.

We were watching the musician desperately resist from afar when suddenly...

KWA-AAAAH!

A tremendous sound echoed, as though the sky was being torn apart.

Looking up, I saw the wicked darkness-filled sky being split along the crack made by the moonlight.

A white flash sliced through the wicked darkness.

Then, a loud sound of something splitting echoed.

Crack, crack...

Baek Ho had succeeded in cutting through the wicked darkness.

Through the gap Baek Ho created, a bright blue sky appeared, and sunlight poured through.

The external forces’ outer shells burned away in the sunlight.

The enhanced external forces in the wicked darkness were vulnerable to sunlight.

"My god... is that really possible?"

"I didn’t expect to see this firsthand."

The raid team couldn’t take their eyes off the afterimage left by Baek Ho’s sword.

I almost got distracted, but there was no time to lose.

"We need to defeat the boss enemy right away. Let’s move now. Quickly!"

"Huh? But the external forces are still..."

Yao Ruichi hesitated, but following my charge, the Korean team’s raid members rushed toward the boss enemy.

Though Baek Ho had split the wicked darkness, the ground was still scattered with darkness, and there were many external forces.

When the external forces saw us appear out of nowhere, they instinctively blocked us.

Immediately, Yeom Jun-yeol called the Red Dragon, Gwok Kyung Gu drew his twin swords, and Dok Go Mi Ro swung his morning star, but we couldn’t get close to the boss enemy right away.

We had been waiting to avoid unnecessary battles, but if we waited any longer, it would have been too dangerous.

‘If we don’t defeat the boss enemy quickly, that’s going to come!’

My prediction was spot on.

Something was approaching us at an alarming speed from behind.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine.

It felt like the feeling I had when training in Yeonryeonwon, but this time, it felt more violent and hostile.

"Everyone, dodge!"

Swoosh!

As I shouted, a bright white sword energy shot toward us.

I quickly ducked and rolled along the ground, catching a glimpse of the figure who released the sword energy.

A young man wearing a white mask, holding a large sword, was panting heavily.

It was Baek Ho, who had come to save his comrade right after cutting through the sky.