Chapter 140: The Way of the Veterans to Shake the Battlefront (3)
Beyond the hill, a figure had emerged, who was among those being closely monitored by the Mage Association.
Cheon Yu-Seong.
The Sword Saint… or as some called him, the Sword Demon, was that very person.
‘Dammit… Curse it all.’
Hosenbelt’s face twisted fiercely.
If the only reinforcement had been that guy alone, he wouldn’t have been so flustered.
He acknowledged that Cheon Yu-Seong was a tricky opponent, but after all, he was just one person.
The problem was the massive crowd behind him, quickly approaching.
Each one of them possessed formidable inner energy.
Judging by their crest, they were undoubtedly players from the ‘Zhonghua’ guild.
‘There’s no way that Kang Jin-Hyeok or Cheon Yu-Seong have any friendly ties with the Zhonghua guild.’
Especially Jin-Hyeok, had he not played both the Zhonghua and Heukun guilds for fools on the program ‘Ranker Recruitment, Climbing the Tower of Trials’?
No matter how rationally he thought about it, this union did not make sense.
But.
No matter how hard he racked his brain for possibilities and solutions, there was nothing Hosenbelt could do in the current situation.
＊＊＊
The pillar of the Zhonghua guild and the pinnacle of all Chinese players, Namgung Cheon.
He had been irritated by a certain player who had recently visited China.
A brazen fool had barged into one of the Zhonghua guild’s branches, throwing a tantrum and challenging them to a fight—while wearing a mask identical to that of the last person they wanted to see.
It wasn’t like decades ago, when people went around challenging dojos. The branch chiefs of the Zhonghua guild ignored that challenge lightly.
They had become more dismissive due to daily visits from hundreds of people trying to impress the guild to gain entry, enforcing even stricter policies to send them away.
However, the challenger had unsheathed his sword regardless.
Fine. If you want to end up with a broken arm or leg, I’ll grant you your wish.
That was what the branch chiefs had in mind when they sprung into action.
But.
An unexpected outcome occurred.
The players of the Zhonghua guild, who boasted they would crush the intruder, ended up in the hospital—all of them.
Arms and legs—injuries all over without a single scratch spared. It was a one-sided beating.
Even worse, among them was a ranker at the level of a battle team leader, making it impossible to take the situation lightly anymore.
And to add insult to injury, the man had the gall to provoke them further.
“You should see this. Mr. Park, the filial son of the old folks’ home in our town, is scarier than this. Rather than bothering with Zhonghua or whatever, you might as well open a Chinese restaurant and sell sweet and sour pork. Especially that Namgung Cheon or whatever his name is, tell him this: If he feels aggrieved, come to the 7th floor. Not only am I here, but so is the universe’s strongest and most absolute dignitary, Kang Jin-Hyeok himself. If you’re not too scared to come, you’ll see what a real difference in ranks looks like.”
The voice reading it sounded as if he was reciting a Korean language textbook.
As if he was reading something written down for him.
However, for Namgung Cheon, what mattered wasn’t the challenger’s voice.
‘I can kill that trash Kang Jin-Hyeok and that insolent brat.’
With that in mind, Namgung Cheon personally led his battle members towards the 7th floor.
The chase was easy.
No player could flee from the elite of the Zhonghua guild who had laid out their net-like trap.
When they finally caught up to their despicable quarry, Namgung Cheon’s heart pounded with excitement.
He pondered how brutally he would kill them and how sweet the tea he’d drink while watching his enemy wail would taste.
He couldn’t wait for that moment.
Later, when they spotted Kang Jin-Hyeok amidst the plains, they were inwardly elated.
Everything was perfect.
Up until that point, it was all good.
Just one thing.
Until an enormous number of troops led by the Dire Wolves appeared from the woods behind them.
“Lord Namgung Cheon!”
“Enemies. Around 700 in number! All of them are elites of B-rank and above!”
“Dire Wolves… with particularly strong ranked players among them!”
Urgent reports flooded in.
“What on earth is going on! When have those bastards amassed such…!”
Namgung Cheon exclaimed.
He knew Jin-Hyeok was a loner and not affiliated with any group as far as he was aware.
He also knew about Yu Cheong-Yeong and a few other connections, but none of them had sent such a large force.
This had all been confirmed by the Zhonghua guild’s intelligence department.
Then who were those people?
“Kang… Jin-Hyeok!”
Namgung Cheon clenched his teeth fiercely.
＊＊＊
‘Heh. This is truly a sight to behold.’
Caught between two forces, Jin-Hyeok nodded his head.
It was unexpected that the traps prepared with the Dan-gun Guild were discovered, but the real target was exactly this.
He had made Cheon Yu-Seong sneak out of the tower and drag all of Zhonghua guild’s rankers with him.
If everything went according to plan, he was certain they could contend with the combined forces of the Mage Association and the bloodlines.
And his prediction was spot on.
“Thinking about how hard I spent the whole day because of you…”
Cheon Yu-Seong trailed off as if swallowing hot metal.
“How much… how much! Argh!”
He seemed terribly embarrassed.
Failure to finish speaking indicated as much.
“Yeah. Good job, our Sword Saint. There, there.”
If there had been something like dog treats or churu, he would have given him one. Unfortunately, there were no convenience stores nearby.
And it felt too wasteful to buy something from the coin shop.
“But, but still, bro. Is this operation really okay?”
Lee Tae-Min gulped down dry saliva.
At first, he thought the plan was no different than a suicide mission.
But now that the moment was upon them, it felt like his wits were about to desert him.
“It’s okay. Just trust me.”
This would definitely work.
Because…
He had used the same method against the divinities when he was climbing the Tower of Trials.
Hmm—! Ahem!
Jin-Hyeok cleared his throat.
“Why stop there? Are you scared? Well, we do look a little intimidating. I prepared quite a bit to give you guys a beating.”
Jin-Hyeok shouted loudly.
What was important here was confidence.
Namgung Cheon and Hosenbelt had limited information.
‘In other words, I alone can shake this entire situation.’
Jin-Hyeok casually walked ahead, a dagger tucked above his eyes.
Slowly. With a leisurely confidence.
He glanced over the encampments on both sides, gesturing for them to come on in.
Come in, come in.
Just one step away, there’s the prey you’ve been longing for.
‘If you’re so confident, come and see.’
If you dare.
‘Dammit. I can’t get involved. I’ve been caught up in that guy’s pace and outwitted how many times already?’
‘Certainly, the other side is not to be underestimated. Considering the number and quality of their forces… if we move recklessly, we might end up falling into their trap instead.’
As Jin-Hyeok maintained his composure, both forces started contracting as if in a strange phenomenon.
The weakest side had the biggest grip on the game board.
“Tsk. This is boring. What’s the point of gathering forces if you’re going to be this cautious?”
Jin-Hyeok’s face bore an expression of utter boredom.
He then retrieved his dagger and casually patted his companions on the shoulder.
“It looks like we need a bit more of a warm-up before the real fight, but we’ll head off first. The rest I’ll leave up to you guys, okay? You can handle that much on your own, right?”
With a vague gesture of his chin, Jin-Hyeok seemed to address both Namgung Cheon and Hosenbelt.
This was enough.
With a leisurely step, he walked away, followed by Cheon Yu-Seong, Lee Tae-Min, and Yoo Yeon-Hwa.
“Keuk!”
“Th-that guy…”
They must pursue. If they don’t act now, the prey will soon disappear from sight.
But.
If they showed their backs, they would be completely exposed to the enemy.
In a war, not a battle, exposing your back meant certain annihilation.
Namgung Cheon and Hosenbelt’s minds were too cool to commit such a foolish mistake.
In this situation, rather…
“We must quickly take down those guys.”
“After they’re all dead, we’ll take care of Kang Jin-Hyeok.”
The two made their decision.
The troops rapidly took their positions.
With no time to waste, both formations were adjusted to maximize their offensive capabilities.
A ruthless resolve filled the battlefield—no surrender. They simply aimed to obliterate their enemies.
And the moment the formations were perfectly in place…
“Charge!”
“Sweep them away!”
The commanders on both sides drew their favorite weapons.
Namgung Cheon’s ‘Sword Energy’ and Hosenbelt’s ‘Knight’s Oath’ emitted differing glows.
So it began.
The snow-covered plains started to stain blood red.
＊＊＊
After leaving the battlefield, Jin-Hyeok headed straight for the ‘Never-Melting Valley’ on the outskirts of the forest.
The entire valley was frozen, and the huge cave beneath the waterfall had the distinctive feature of vastness.
Therefore, Jin-Hyeok had chosen this place as the temporary dwelling of the Frost Blade tribe.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yeah. Just wait here for a bit.”
Having reached near the waterfall, Jin-Hyeok cautiously opened his mouth.
“Teemo… uh, was that too soft? Teemo!”
It was the secret code.
“Oh, brother…”
“Man, that’s just…”
“Damn it. Why did you have to pick something like that? I remember you saying just last time how much you hated being called that.”
Suddenly, everyone’s faces turned sour around him.
Literally, their faces turned ashen, not as an expression.
Even Cheon Yu-Seong frowned as though he had seen a disgusting insect.
Damn it. How effective a friend-or-foe identification method this was.
They all looked at him that way.
He might have hated ‘Teemo’, but there was no other word as memorable.
In a battlefield, efficiency trumps pride. Yes. Exactly.
At that moment.
A familiar troll figure appeared from behind the ice waterfall.
“Big guy.”
Of course. Karakal received his words like a true man.
“I’m glad you found your way without getting lost. I was worried you’d get lost with the whole tribe.”
“It was a bit complicated, but following what the human said, we somehow managed to find our way.”
“That’s a relief.”
“By the way, how did you come to know this place? Even our tribe didn’t know about it until now, and we’ve been on this floor for a long time.”
That made sense.
This ice waterfall was well hidden.
‘If I hadn’t been crazy about ice fishing, I wouldn’t have discovered it either.’
Swimming in water at minus 60 degrees Celsius in nothing but underwear.
Regardless of youthful vigor, it was a crazy deed.
But thanks to that experience, he found such a useful hiding place.
‘The icefish was quite tasty, too.’
Yeah, well. The hardship became a memory.
“Enough with the nonsense. What’s next? The most important one is still around, right?”
Suddenly quiet, Cheon Yu-Seong brought up the main issue.
A high-ranked vampire from Decasus.
That guy was still in hiding, not showing himself anywhere.
Moreover, there was another problem.
The special battalion composed of Vertion and the mages had reportedly taken care of the Dan-gun Guild, so they could strike at them from behind at any moment.
“The small fries are your problem.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’m off to catch the big fish.”
Sorry to say, but anyone else would just be a hindrance.
Knowing this, Cheon Yu-Seong didn’t insist on following.
“You know where he’s heading, it seems.”
“Yeah. I have a rough idea.”
To this extent, setting the board and sacrificing his subordinates.
There’s only one place that guy would go.
And Jin-Hyeok knew the answer.
