Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 64

*Swish—!*

Dozens of Corrupted Spearmen launched their attack without hesitation.

“Keerik! Strike! We have the numbers!”

“Don’t let those who betrayed the Queen live!”

The first spearmen had underestimated Suho and paid the price. But now the situation was different.

**[Shadow Spearman]**
Common Rank

The black spearmen, reborn as shadow soldiers, were now on Suho’s side.

Though they looked identical to the other spearmen, only their color had changed. Now five of these dark soldiers fought for Suho, leaving no room for complacency among the enemy.

“Struggle all you want.”

Suho’s gaze burned with fierce intensity.

“I’ll make sure you betray your Queen soon enough.”

[Keerik!]

The black spearmen, now loyal to a new master, crossed their two spears and charged forward.

*Slash—Crash!*

*Boom—BOOM!*

At the end of the labyrinth, Suho’s army and the Corrupted Spearmen clashed violently.

The impact was overwhelming, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.

Horrifying shrieks echoed throughout the maze as thorny walls crumbled and regrew, only to be shattered again in the chaos.

New thorny vines rose to encircle Suho’s forces.

The battle was brutal—merciless as beings of similar strength collided.

“Keeriririk…!”

[Keeeerik!]

The spearmen, who lived only to attack, had no concept of defense.

They were born to be spears—no, to wield two spears—and ruthlessly pierced through their enemies.

Their philosophy was simple: If they were faster than their opponents, they would kill them. If they hesitated, they would die.

However, things were different now.

Spearmen, evolved to extremes for the sole purpose of offense, became truly complete under Suho’s command.

More accurately, they became an infinite spear—one that could break and reform endlessly, as long as Suho’s mana fueled them.

*Whoooosh!*

Any holes pierced through their bodies were filled with black shadows. Severed heads reattached as if they were never cut off.

The longer the battle went on, the more the Corrupted Spearmen were forced to confront the impossible.

“H-How is this possible…?”

The wasps that roamed the Times Square field transmitted every word and action of the hunters to the spearmen through their intricate signals.

Because of this, the spearmen believed they had a good understanding of Suho.

They thought they knew what to expect—a promising hunter with unusual summons, but still a mere rookie, only a month into his awakening.

Thrown into unexpected situations, he should have quickly reached his limits and become easy prey.

Or so they thought.

But now…

“Keerik!”

Despite being told repeatedly that Suho was a rookie, what stood before them was someone vastly different.

Suho, who had experienced more battles than anyone, knew exactly how to use his skills with deadly precision.

His strategy was simple: target a single enemy.

‘Take one down at a time.’

The five shadow spearmen would rush a single enemy, stabbing relentlessly.

*Pshk—Pshk—Pshk!*

The attack was purely offensive, leaving them vulnerable. Even Suho’s soldiers couldn’t emerge unscathed.

But the result was worth it.

[You have defeated a Corrupted Spearman.]

“Rise.”

*Whoooosh!*

[Shadow Extraction successful.]

A sixth soldier rose before Suho.

“Six now.”

The growing army of shadow spearmen immediately moved to claim another target.

“Keerik…!”

[You have defeated a Corrupted Spearman.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]

“Seven.”

Another fell.

“Eight.”

[You have defeated a Corrupted Spearman.]
[Shadow Extraction successful.]

[…]

“Keerik! Stop rising, damn it!”

A faint smile crept onto Suho’s face.

One by one, his army grew.

Before long, Suho had amassed…

“Fifteen.”

“Keerik?!”

The remaining spearmen looked around in horror.

There were now as many shadow spearmen as there were of them.

The largest and strongest among the Corrupted Spearmen, their leader, glared at Suho and snarled.

“Keerik! You wield strange powers.”

But the tone of his voice had changed.

“To command insects so easily… Were you after the artifact all along?”

“Artifact?”

“Keerik! Don’t play dumb!”

“…?”

Suho was genuinely confused.

‘An artifact? What artifact? Ah… Could it be…?’

He recalled the name Beru had mentioned.

The Plague Monarch, Querehsha.

“Is it Querehsha’s artifact?”

“Keerik! You even know that name?! You must have come for it! Do you want to become a queen, too?!”

“Why would I want to be a queen…?”

Suho felt a little annoyed. It had just been a guess, and now they were drawing absurd conclusions.

And a queen? He was clearly male, wasn’t he?

Still, if they wanted to assume things, he could use that to his advantage.

“Whether I want to be a queen or not… So, does your queen have Querehsha’s artifact?”

“Keerik! Of course! Who else would carry on Querehsha’s legacy but our queen?”

[Well, aren’t you a romantic one.]

Beru chuckled.

Like most insects, wasps and ants shared similarities.

Both built societies around a queen, with workers tirelessly gathering resources, even in the face of death, to serve her.

But to Beru, a queen was a different matter entirely.

Though born from a queen ant, Beru was born a king—not a mere worker, but one destined to stand above all others.

Even though he now served the great and noble Sung Jinwoo, Beru still remembered that he was once a king of ants.

Naturally, the wasps’ blind loyalty to their queen seemed pitiful to him.

Perhaps that was why?

Despite his tiny size, Beru had floated leisurely through the air from the beginning of the battle, observing with amusement.

None of the Corrupted Spearmen dared to approach him.

Their survival instincts warned them that messing with Beru would bring disaster.

[My lord.]

When Beru approached Suho, all the spearmen flinched and froze on the spot.

Beru’s antennae twitched as he continued gathering information from the nearby wasps.

[It seems the hunters on the other side are in danger.]

Suho’s current limit for shadow soldiers was 20.

Half of them had been guarding the other hunters from the start.

However, as Suho summoned new soldiers here, the number of shadow mummies protecting the hunters dwindled.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

*Sssssss…*

Suho had noticed it too—the green mist seeping from the thorny vines forming the labyrinth walls.

The vines carried a paralyzing toxin, which had now merged with the blue mist permeating the entire Times Square field.

*Sssssip.*

As the green mist entered his lungs, Suho felt its effects spreading through his body.

*Ding!*

A system message appeared before him.

[Harmful substance detected.]
[Detoxifying with the effect of ‘Blessing: High Shaman Kandiaru’s Blessing.’]
[3, 2, 1… Detoxification complete.]

“Not bad.”

Suho made a mental note to thank High Shaman Kandiaru someday.

But unlike him, the toxin would be deadly for the other hunters.

‘Before heading for the queen, I need to check on them.’

Fortunately, the system shop sold gas masks, and they were cheap.

He could sell the bodies of the monsters scattered around to cover the cost.

“Keerik?!”

The Corrupted Spearmen were stunned to see Suho moving freely despite inhaling the toxic mist.

“Who… What are you?!”

The spearmen pointed their weapons at Suho, eyes filled with certainty.

“What is your connection to the Plague Monarch, Querehsha?”

‘I have no connection at all…’

This misunderstanding was getting out of hand.

But Beru, ever cunning, decided to stoke the flames.

[Kehehe! And what if he does? No poison can harm my lord!]

“A sovereign…?! Have you obtained another artifact?!”

The possibility terrified the spearmen. Could there be another artifact besides the one their queen held?

But the human before them had already shattered their expectations.

A mere rookie awakened for only a month? That couldn’t be true!

If it were, how could a C-rank summoner overwhelm them so completely?

There was only one conclusion.

This man had hidden his true power from the beginning.

With that belief, the spearmen glared at Suho, their faces hardening with resolve.

At the same time, they gathered all their strength for one final attack.

“Keerik!”

“If it comes to this…”

“We’ll sacrifice our lives to take you down!”

If this human truly possessed another artifact, he had to be eliminated here, no matter the cost.

If left alive, he would become a major threat to their queen’s ascension to power as a monarch.

“You and the hunters with you—”

“—will all die here!”

*Swishhh—!*

An overwhelming surge of killing intent filled the air, stinging the skin of anyone nearby.

The spearmen, prepared to sacrifice everything, unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks toward Suho.

And then—

*BOOOOM!*

“…!”

The spearmen’s eyes widened in shock.

Their desperate, all-out strikes had been stopped by an invisible barrier.

The toxic mist clouded the air, making it difficult to see, but their spears refused to penetrate through the shield in front of them.

‘What… what is this?’

Those were their final thoughts before their consciousness was cut off.

—

Meanwhile, the hunters who had entered the labyrinth with Suho were in dire straits.

*Cough, cough!*

“My body… I’m losing feeling…”

There was no way to escape the toxic mist.

If they had known about the mist in advance, they could have at least brought gas masks.

It was all a miscalculation.

They had grown overconfident, thinking that three B-rank hunters in a C-rank dungeon was more than enough.

“Hold on just a bit longer! We’ve already contacted the guild!”

At that moment—

The White Tiger Guild’s reinforcements arrived at the Times Square field.

“This is the place…”

Baek Miho scanned the area, her expression dark with concern.

Her brow furrowed as she assessed the grim situation unfolding before her.