episode_0051

51. Intruder.

The team members bounded through the forest like roe deer.

It would have been rugged terrain in modern times, but it was easy for them, who had already shed half of their human skin.

“Ugh! Roots!”

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as flat ground. Chang-soo tripped on a tree root hidden by the undergrowth.

Surprisingly, even though he tumbled gracelessly, he only suffered a slight scratch. It was an indication of his durability.

Deok-soo looked at Chang-soo with a pathetic expression.

“I told you to raise your senses as well as your durability.”

“Doesn’t it hurt to get hit······.”

Thwack, Chang-soo’s head drooped.

“Quit whining~ What kind of man are you.”

“That’s reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination.”

Chang-soo complained, touching the top of his head. Deok-soo snorted and looked ahead.

“Forget it, just get up quickly······.”

Immediately after, Deok-soo’s eyes shone blue as he swung his greatsword at Chang-soo.

Chang-soo, with a dazed expression, stared at it and let out a shrill scream.

“······Huh?”

Clang!

The blunt greatsword collided with a black-based blade. A clear sound rang out, and Deok-soo’s fingertips tingled.

Deok-soo instinctively realized.

‘At least my equal! No, maybe······.’

He glanced sideways at the projectile that had collided with the greatsword. It was a jet-black kunai, something you’d only see in ninja movies. Deok-soo felt chills.

‘That little thing caused this much impact? If I had faced the sword directly······.’

The moment his thoughts went that far, Deok-soo’s chest swelled like a balloon.

“Uwoaaaaaaah!!!”

It was such a loud sound that it gave the illusion that the trees in the forest were shaking. But that booming sound quickly stopped.

“······Cough!”

A kunai, flying much faster than before, was lodged in Deok-soo’s left pectoralis major.

The merciless blade tore his muscle fibers to shreds, and Deok-soo let out a suppressed groan.

Can’t win. If the guy who threw the kunai had allies around, it was certain they’d be annihilated. His special ability kept sounding warnings.

“Ugh, Chang-soo. Take the lady and run quickly.”

“······.”

Chang-soo didn’t answer. Deok-soo frowned deeply and rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you bastard. I said run away quickly······.”

The voice, with a touch of irritation, gradually faded. He opened his mouth with an absurd expression.

Thud thud thud thud!

Chang-soo was running as if his feet were on fire.

“······Huh, that’s why you shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts.”

Deok-soo was momentarily dumbfounded, but soon his mind became peaceful. Chang-soo was the one who had a ghost-like intuition from the first floor. He must have quickly assessed the power and chosen the best option.

‘Still, you bastard. You have no loyalty as a man.’

Screech- Clang!

He clutched his chest and swung the greatsword backwards. The felt recoil was greater than before.

Deok-soo’s strength had decreased due to the pectoralis major injury.

“Damn it······. Well, today is the day Kim Deok-soo dies! Come in, you bastard!!!”

Deok-soo glared like a beast, turning his head this way and that.

He estimated that the opponent was a speed-type fighter. It wouldn’t be hard for them to change the position of their attacks like flipping a hand.

The moment his senses peaked, the guy was already behind him.

“······One down for now.”

“······!”

A man wearing a black mask extended a short straight sword. Deok-soo hurriedly crossed both hands towards the back of his head.

Thwack!

The straight sword pierces Deok-soo’s thick palms like pudding. But the speed of the straight sword didn’t diminish much. Deok-soo sensed this and quickly lowered his head.

Swish-

A handful of hair was cut off, leaving a scratch on his scalp. The back of his head was instantly stained red.

“Found you!”

“······!”

Deok-soo’s strong thigh muscles swelled. With his palms pierced, he delivered a heavy back kick.

It didn’t seem easy for the black-clad man, who had a relatively slender build, to block it.

But anymore, physique was meaningless to them. It wasn’t the mass and strength of the muscles, but the letters engraved on the blue spear that mattered.

Thud, the black-clad man opened his palm wide and grabbed his right foot. Then he pulled it straight away.

“Ugh!”

Naturally, Deok-soo’s waist bent towards the ground. This structure was very advantageous for the black-clad man.

The black-clad man’s right arm rotated rapidly in the same direction as he pulled. Soon, a semicircle was drawn in the air.

Just as the end of that semicircle was about to reach the back of Deok-soo’s neck –

Clang!

“Ugh!”

A snake-like sword strike that came from somewhere deflected the black-clad man’s straight sword.

The black-clad man somersaulted backwards as soon as he felt the recoil from the sword.

Step, tap!

Deok-soo’s savior, Sara, persistently followed him, swinging her sword.

Clang clang clang clang!

“What is this! Where did you suddenly come from!”

“······.”

Unlike the black-clad man’s seemingly urgent tone, his skills were quite outstanding.

He dangerously fended off Sara’s sword strikes with a high-speed backflip. He was clearly a player who had made a name for himself from the first floor.

Then, eventually, Sara spotted an opening. A blue sword blade rushed towards his wrist.

Clang!

Whoosh- Bang!

The black-clad man, whose movements had been fluid, was sent flying gracelessly and crashed into a huge old tree.

Just as Sara was about to kick off the ground to cut off his breath······

Thwack thwack thwack!

“······.”

Countless arrows rained down near Sara’s toes. Sara stepped back slightly and regained her posture.

She looked at the black-clad man, who was already getting up, and her eyes sparkled.

‘I was going to cut off his wrist completely, but he blocked it with the sword hilt in the meantime. Is it a special ability?’

For a moment, his speed surpassed Sara’s enough. He must have used some trick.

Perhaps like her special ability, [Indomitable Spirit], it was a type that amplified abilities under certain conditions.

“Ugh······. Thank you. You’re a really monstrous woman. Be careful.”

“I think it’s obvious just looking at your condition. So I told you to wait.”

The former was the black-clad man’s words, and the latter was the words of a knight in iron armor who slithered out. Starting with him, intruders appeared one after another.

Sara quickly assessed their power as she looked at them.

‘Black-clad man, knight, archer, magician, warrior?’

Maybe it’s because they’re always together, but the way they think is somehow similar.

It wasn’t for nothing that Deok-soo misunderstood the relationship between the two.

‘I still can’t see the person who shot the arrow. Let’s be mindful when engaging in combat.’

She constantly simulated the situation and looked at the enemies. The knight reacted to her cat-like gaze.

The cross tattoo embedded in the knight’s forehead wriggled. He was bald.

“Wouldn’t it be better to step back quietly? No matter how strong you are, you’re no different from being alone.”

It was a clear disregard for the woman with glasses and Chang-soo. The man dressed as a magician next to him added in a petty way.

“If you don’t want to, then fight. We will treat you with the utmost respect. Hehe······.”

The magician licked his tongue, looking at Sara. The intention seemed obvious.

“······.”

Sara remained silent at the provocation, which was so obvious. There was no need to fall for it, and in reality, the woman with glasses and Chang-soo were not very useful.

She stared at them for a moment, then slowly turned her feet.

The woman with glasses and Chang-soo were startled to see this.

“What are you doing······!”

“······.”

Sara slowly shook her head at them. What does it mean, is it a signal to retreat for now?

“······!”

“······!”

The enemies watching her were also flustered. Giving up so quickly?

After being momentarily bewildered, they smiled bitterly. It was beneficial for them to occupy the area without suffering any losses.

“Wise choice.”

“Heh, too bad.”

“······.”

Of course, the enemies did not let their guard down just because Sara had turned her back. They had already witnessed her overwhelming power.

It could be the opponent’s bluff, and one of her companions was still nowhere to be seen. Unexpected variables are always dangerous.

The black-clad man just quietly watched her entire body muscles, one by one. The moment even the slightest contraction occurred······

“······! She’s coming! Block!”

Clang!

Immediately after, Sara’s body was in front of the knight’s eyes. The knight felt an intense recoil through the longsword he had raised in a daze.

His stats were focused on strength, but he knew the moment he came into contact with her sword.

‘Higher than······ mine!’

“Hmph!”

The moment the knight’s sword slowly began to be pushed back, a warrior with a sturdy build carried out a wild boar-like charge. It was to knock Sara away for now.

Sara saw this and tried to retract her sword. But she couldn’t.

“······!”

Her eyes widened slightly. The knight smiled at this.

“Hehehe, can’t do that. Can’t do that.”

It was as if the sword the knight had was the N pole, and the sword Sara had was the S pole. A strange attractive force was pulling Sara’s blade.

Sara looked to the side. Should she let go of the sword and run away now?

‘Too late.’