World's Strongest Survivor-Chapter 93

8th Squad. The Twelve Zodiac Signs?!

It had been over two hours since they escaped from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and entered the island.

Since the guild that boldly challenged him was wiped out, no other players had fallen prey to him.

"Everyone must be avoiding him, right?"

"Anyone who’s dealt with epic monsters before would be. Especially the ones that appear under specific conditions—they’re not made to be hunted."

Just as Seowoon finished speaking, a system alert rang out.

Ding! A buff monster, Guardian of Seondongseok, has been summoned on the Island of Self-Will.

They quickly opened the map and saw that the buff monster had appeared on the first island.

"Looks like a squad moved in while the monkey was circling the map."

"In that case, maybe we should just capture one of the Seondongseoks and focus on defending it..."

Dump’s suggestion was cut off sharply by Seowoon, who shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Don’t doubt the judgment we’ve made based on everything we’ve seen so far. We already concluded that a lot of players are concentrated on the central island—and that some are even ignoring Seondongun and playing right there. The central island will be anything but easy to conquer. We need to stay focused and stick to our strategy."

Jinryung nodded, reinforcing Seowoon’s leadership and calming the others’ shaken resolve.

"I’ll fully defer to your decisions, disciple."

"But if the Great Sage starts invading the islands to speed up the game... when would that happen?"

Seowoon, too, was pondering the map with that same question in mind.

After staring at it for a while, a thought seemed to occur to him, and his expression changed. The team’s attention immediately shifted to him.

"No way..."

"What is it?"

Seowoon cautiously began to explain.

"This might be too simple a pattern—or just a coincidence—but if we look at him as an epic monster, all he’s really doing is circling the outer edge of the central island along the Yunro (heavenly path for clouds)."

"R-right."

Kichan answered uneasily, and everyone except Dump immediately understood what Seowoon was getting at.

"Something happens every time he completes a lap?"

Impatient, Dump asked directly.

"This is just speculation, but... each time he completes a lap, his range of activity might expand."

"..."

No one could respond.

It wasn’t even taking him half a day to complete a circuit of the map.

And since players using Seondongun would do everything they could to avoid him, it was obvious that his patrol speed would increase.

At that moment, the purple dot representing the Great Sage was passing the 11th island—nearing the end of another loop.

Naturally, every guild member opened their maps and stared, locked in on his path.

Then, the moment the purple dot crossed the spot where it had first appeared and completed the full loop—

Ding! The Island of Self-Will has lost its resistance to the epic monster, Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The game has entered Chapter 3.

Even without anyone saying it, everyone knew that a major change had just begun.

"We have to move now."

Without another word, Seowoon bolted forward like every second mattered.

"W-wait up!"

Everyone, including Kichan, clenched their jaws and rushed after him.

–What are you planning?

Limin asked as she kept pace, not taking her eyes off the map. Seowoon replied without looking at her:

–First, we head to the 9th island. But we need to track his movement carefully—we cannot cross paths with him.

–Is there something on the 9th island?

Jinryung asked, and Seowoon hesitated before answering.

–...I’m not sure.

–Ah! Is it the Twelve Zodiac Signs?!

Kichan connected the name of the island and its order in the sequence. Seowoon nodded.

–If we hurry, we might be able to reach the 9th island after one quick rest.

As Seowoon mentioned the Sibijiji (Twelve Earthly Branches, or Chinese zodiac signs), the non-Earthborn teammates wore confused expressions. Seowoon began explaining.

–That monkey—Jecheon Daeseong—is a creature known only in our world. And the names of these islands... they probably come from the animals of the twelve zodiac signs. The 9th island’s name should be Shin Island. ’Shin’ means monkey.

As they listened, the team felt there might be a meaningful pattern—but at the same time, an unsatisfying sense of something still missing.

Knowing this, Seowoon added:

–Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s definitely something there. It’s just an intuitive guess.

He leapt onto a floating cloud platform and summoned Seondongun. Riding the cloud forward, seven other team members followed his lead and soared up after him.

They cut through the cloudy night sky, and Seowoon never took his eyes off the map.

The Great Sage’s somersault cloud was in a different league from Seondongun. One wrong move or miscalculation would mean instant game over.

As the night deepened and the moon began to set, Kichan gave a quick briefing:

–Hyung! He’s started moving again.

Before Kichan even finished, Seowoon’s eyes locked onto the active map again.

For some reason, the Sage had paused after completing the last loop. But now, he was finally on the move again.

He was right between two islands. The team now had to decide: either land safely on the next island—or risk pushing forward to cross one more before he got too close.

"We can make it to one more island."

"Even factoring in our speed and how fast he’s catching up, we’ve got enough margin to safely cross one more."

Kichan and Lilingwi’s remarks made Seowoon’s decision easier.

"Alright. We’ll land on the island after the next one."

As they passed one island, Seowoon glanced back to check the distance from the pursuing Great Sage Equal to Heaven (Jecheon Daeseong). Judging it to be within a safe range, he let out a small breath of relief.

About 20 minutes later, just as they were flying along peacefully, a surge of mana suddenly struck—and Hamit gave a warning.

–Whoosh-BOOM!

If not for the sudden explosion of flames slamming into their barrier, Seowoon might not have felt his heart skip a beat.

Even as their barrier shattered from the blast, Seowoon, still at the front, immediately pulled up the map.

"Damn it!"

Of all places—they’d run into enemies right in the middle of the space between two islands.

"Push through! Avoid fighting as much as possible!"

Seowoon gave the order and burst through the flames—only to spot eight players ahead, tossing aside their cloaks.

These enemies had been cloaked using Stealth Mantles, hiding their cloud mounts among the thick, dark clouds. Now they were casting spells and attacking.

But Seowoon’s squad didn’t engage them head-on. Instead, they focused on defense, trying to pass through with minimal conflict.

"You thought we’d just let you through?"

A knight in heavy armor charged forward, raising a long conical lance and small shield.

Seowoon dodged him with ease, but his face twisted in irritation. freewebnøvel_com

–Crack!

Just after dodging, an Ice Snake spell roared through the sky, slamming into him.

The enormous ice serpent, made of frozen bones, was torn apart by Seowoon’s counterstrike, but shards of ice clung to his body, freezing parts of him solid.

–Crackle.

Frozen pieces of his clothing shattered and fell off with every movement.

Though Seowoon led the charge and pushed through their attacks, the enemy squad kept relentlessly pursuing.

"You maniacs! If we fight here, we’ll all die!" Kichan shouted, deflecting spells with magic—but the enemies just sneered.

"An epic monster? Just stay out of its aggro range, and it’s fine."

If the monster could simply be sidestepped by staying out of its marked range, they wouldn’t be going through all this effort just to avoid him.

But wherever these guys had come from, they clearly didn’t take the epic monster seriously.

Now unintentionally being chased by them, Seowoon fell back to the rear and focused on shielding the squad from the onslaught of attacks.

–Master! Don’t come back, just keep going!

There were too many incoming spells, sword auras, and even thrown spears. Seowoon couldn’t block them all on his own.

Naturally, the squad’s speed began to drop as they dodged and defended.

Seowoon’s face hardened as he checked the map.

"It’s going to be close."

There had been enough distance to spare, but now, thanks to the delay, the Great Sage was closing in fast.

The situation was bad. They could win a fight against the enemy squad—but not without losing precious time.

Just as the Great Sage on the map nearly caught up to them, Kichan launched a spell at the enemies.

It was his signature Chain Lightning, crackling with fury.

Startled by the sudden attack, Seowoon looked toward Kichan—only to see he had already landed on the next island.

One by one, the rest of the team jumped down too, weapons ready.

By the time Seowoon landed, his clothes were in tatters like a ragged cloak.

In the distance, they could see the crazed eyes of the Great Sage, furiously chasing the enemy squad.

Realizing they were being targeted from outside the aggro range, the enemies scrambled in panic and barely managed to land on the island as well.

Despite eyeing Seowoon’s squad with caution, their faces were still pale from the shock of barely escaping the Great Sage.

"Phew... That was close."

The knight who had been taunting them nonstop as he threw spears tried to brush it off casually.

Seowoon stepped forward.

"You think the danger’s passed?"

The knight, thinking Seowoon was bluffing, responded smugly without reading the room.

"You think you can win on the ground when you couldn’t in the air? You should’ve stopped us from landing. That was your only real chance."

It was unclear where his confidence came from, but Seowoon just pulled back the scorched hood over his head—his killing intent now plain.

–Attack!

The moment Seowoon’s face was revealed, a few of the enemies visibly paled in recognition. But the knight just sneered and charged straight at him.

–Fwoosh!

With a dramatic whoosh, the tip of his lance flared with a faint red flame.

So faint, it looked more like a spark from a lighter than a weapon. Like a child playing with fire.

"You seriously thought that would work...?"

Seowoon was beyond done.

The stress, the panic, the fear from nearly being caught—these enemies had pushed him over the edge.

The knight dashed in, using footwork techniques and feints with his lance to create illusions.

But it was nothing compared to Seowoon—whose every movement left afterimages as if he were multiplying.

In the blink of an eye, Seowoon multiplied into three and attacked from three different directions, causing the knight’s pupils to widen in confusion.

–Crack! Tank!

The sound of thick plate armor shattering as magic collided and exploded all around was deafening to the knight.

It was only by activating his strongest defensive skill a moment too late that the knight managed to save his life.

Seowoon, watching as the yellow energy flowed over his body and the blood-bone structure repelled the knight, twisted his lips in recognition of the skill. It was a skill he himself had learned—one that Dump frequently used in dangerous situations.

And Seowoon remembered breaking that very skill the last time he fought Dump.

"Let me guess. You’re thinking of running away?"

As if reading the knight’s mind, Seowoon’s twelve copies surrounded the knight, and at the same time, they all spoke.

The chilling harmony of their voices made the knight stiffen, trying to retreat.

It was hard to discern the main body of the attack amidst the confusion.

Then, all twelve of Seowoon’s copies descended upon the knight simultaneously.

–Crack! Sssss!

The thick plate armor protecting the knight’s back shattered, and Seowoon’s blood-bone structure pierced through the knight’s side, causing him to bleed.

"Cough!"

Starting from his side, Seowoon began tearing through the knight’s thick armor.

When Seowoon’s hands finally stopped, the knight, now covered in blood, knelt with a dazed expression, having lost focus.

–Crunch!

With one final strike, Seowoon crushed the knight’s skull, causing the once proud warrior to collapse forward.

Meanwhile, the enemies who had been relentlessly pushed back by Seowoon’s furious squad, now leaderless after the knight’s death, tried to retreat, pulling out their Seondongun (weapon).

But Seowoon wasn’t one to just watch.

By the time the mages in the rear had drawn their Seondongun, Seowoon was already on their tails.

–Crunch!

The head of the mage, who had just mounted their Seondongun, shattered with a single strike.

The rest of the mages, who had been caught from behind, were easily wiped out by Seowoon’s squad.

–Crack!

As Seowoon stepped on the chest of the last enemy, Dump used his massive shield to slice through their neck, still growling in anger.

"Pathetic!" Dump grumbled.

limin, patting Dump on the shoulder, tried to calm him down.

"Calm down. Anyway, we’ve passed the danger. It felt like my heart was in my throat, but in the end, it wasn’t too bad."

"Everyone, quickly start farming!" Seowoon shouted, already some distance ahead, keeping an eye out for danger.

"Eight Stealth Mantles—that’s a pretty good haul," Rimin remarked.

As Rimin had said, the batch of Stealth Mantles that had dropped was a stroke of luck. As they had just experienced, there was no better item for ambush attacks.

The team, who had often envied Seowoon for using the Stealth Mantle to move undetected, now had their faces brighten as they realized the usefulness of the item.

After farming and cataloging the useful items, Dump spoke up.

"Do you think there are more enemies on this island?"

"It’s best to assume so. Even though it’s on the outskirts, we just made a big commotion, so we’ve probably attracted attention. Don’t get too comfortable."

Saying this, Seowoon led the team toward the Seondongseok (activation stone), hoping it had already been activated.

’It better drop the item here,’ Seowoon thought, his hopes hinging on that one faint chance as he quickened his pace.

[T/L: Read extra Chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦