Chapter 116
Chapter 116: The Creepy Frog (5)
Yoo Ji-han looked in the direction from which the attack came and said, “From now on, we’re chasing the bastard who sniped us. The opponent is probably human.”
The party members all had stiff expressions at his low voice.
Humans attacking humans in a Monster Area?
It was something that couldn’t be understood with common sense.
“Si-hoo, don’t hold back on the magic from now on, and keep your shield up at all times.”
“Yes.”
“Move while hiding behind cover as much as possible. Chilla, if you can’t hide your body, grab your shield and move chaotically and quickly.”
“Got it!”
“Everyone, brace yourselves. We might have to kill someone today.”
Of all the party members, only Yoo Ji-han had experience in killing people.
Attacking with the intention to kill another human could be an enormous burden for someone.
“Follow me.”
Yoo Ji-han dashed forward, emerging from the trees.
He kept his upper body as low as possible to hide himself from sight.
The other party members quickly followed his lead.
Bang! Bang!
Something similar to the previous attack flew towards their running direction.
It seemed to be shot hurriedly, with slightly less power than the first attack, enough to be blocked by thick wood.
Yoo Ji-han briefly paused in his tracks and pointed to the small dent in the ground caused by the attack.
“Si-hoo, can you track the remaining magic?”
“I’m already trying, but I need about 2 more minutes.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Ji-han continued to move while mentally counting down the 2 minutes.
Bang!
The fourth attack came next and hit the ground in a random spot.
The enemies weren’t able to keep up with Yoo Ji-han’s party’s movements.
Even the most proficient long-range attacker would fail if they couldn’t properly locate their target.
Moreover, the bullet-like attacks from the enemy had a very narrow range.
That meant a lower hit rate.
[Eagle Eye]
Min Yu-ri, observing the surroundings with hawk-like eyes, spoke up, “Should we counterattack?”
“Do you see the enemy from here?”
“I’m just guessing. It seems they are moving backward to avoid us.”
“Stay put for now.”
Rustle!
Yoo Ji-han’s party continued to advance without halting.
Around 2 minutes after that, Kim Si-hoo finished his preparations and extended his staff forward.
Fwoosh—!
The magic burst forth from the tip of the staff, quickly spreading out in a widening fan shape.
It was a tracking net that detected the magic pattern from the prior attacks.
A few seconds later, Kim Si-hoo slightly moved the staff to point in a specific direction.
“Over there!”
[Haste]
As soon as Yoo Ji-han heard the response, he charged forward with the buff.
Now that he detected the enemy’s magic, there was no need to hesitate.
‘The attack has stopped.’
The enemies, feeling the pressure of being pursued, no longer fired their sniper shots.
Perhaps they were considering abandoning their position entirely.
However, they were now close enough.
“I found them.”
Finally, two humans came into view for Min Yu-ri.
They were glancing back repeatedly while running forward, very obviously in a panic to escape.
Soon, Yoo Ji-han also spotted their fleeing backs.
‘I won’t let them get away.’
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes burned with determination as he chased after them.
*
The sniper who failed to kill Yoo Ji-han was running away in a hurry alongside his companion, the warrior.
“You said you’d get a headshot?”
“It should have been perfect…!”
His companion kept teasing him about his failure while running.
The sniper’s face flushed in embarrassment.
“You saw it too! That bastard’s body suddenly sprouted something weird and blocked the attack!”
The expression of the warrior, glancing back, turned serious.
The hero Yoo Ji-han had unexpected power they didn’t foresee.
Whatever it was that had suddenly shot out from his body a moment ago, it meant that they had to reassess their evaluation of this target they had been aiming for.
They had never failed to take down someone below Rank 4 before.
“They seem to be coming after us. What do we do now?”
“Of course, we kill him here and now.”
They were running away only to secure a more advantageous position.
Even though the sniper failed, their plan to kill Yoo Ji-han here hadn’t changed.
Failing this mission would mean severe punishment from their organization.
‘These bastards are faster than I expected…’
Yoo Ji-han’s party was pursuing them at a speed quicker than they had anticipated.
Especially Yoo Ji-han, who had evaded the sniper shots, was exceptionally fast.
At this rate, they would catch up soon.
“If we delay any longer, the interlopers will arrive.”
“I know that. Let’s head for that building!”
The two entered the park information center within the ecological park.
They quickly ran up to the 2nd floor, where the sniper broke a large window and aimed his crossbow outside.
Clatter!
Magic gathered in the artifact’s compressor.
He planned to fire another attack as powerful as the first sniper shot.
‘Come on!’
And the moment Yoo Ji-han’s figure appeared from the 2nd floor of the building—
Bang—!
A single magic bullet flew straight toward the intended target.
The bullet, infused with fully compressed magic, carried a conviction that it would not miss this time.
‘It’s over. Farewell.’
The sniper silently bid farewell to the rather tenacious opponent.
He kept his own sort of politeness, knowing that more than five heroes had died with attacks just like this.
Yet…
Fwoosh!
This time, Yoo Ji-han seemed to be waiting and deflected the bullet with his sword.
“…!”
The sniper opened his eyes wide at the sight.
That was definitely a well-aimed and powerful attack.
Considering the contained magic and speed, it shouldn’t be something a mere Rank 4 hero could block!
‘Things are going wrong.’
His companion finally drew his sword in response.
*
“Huff…!”
Yoo Ji-han glared up at the 2nd floor of the information center.
Two unidentified humans were watching him.
Bang!
Yet another magic bullet flew at him.
Yoo Ji-han, prepared for the attack, once again used his sword to deflect it.
The first sniper shot had been hard to react to due to being caught off guard, but he was ready this time.
His heightened senses allowed him to catch even the slightest of movements from the opponents.
Swish! Swish!
Min Yu-ri, crouched low, fired consecutive magic arrows toward the enemies.
Despite attacking the same person, she hesitated not at all.
But the two on the 2nd floor dove out through different windows to dodge the arrows.
[Sticky Swamp]
At that moment, the ground where they landed transformed into a sticky swamp due to Kim Si-hoo’s magic.
It was a trap spell that made escape exceedingly difficult once one fell in.
“Ugh!”
The sniper, armed with the crossbow, discarded his shoes as soon as his feet touched the ground and escaped the swamp.
Meanwhile, his companion kicked off the stone wall of the information center to avoid falling into it.
Yoo Ji-han glared at the man who landed beside him on the side.
The way he moved with a small dagger wasn’t ordinary.
“A conversation is…”
“…”
“Not really necessary.”
What they needed to share were only the words of their blades.
Yoo Ji-han lunged at the warrior wielding the dagger.
Clang!
Yoo Ji-han’s sword clashed with the dagger.
The warrior’s eyes flickered a bit as he was pushed back in sheer strength.
‘Is this what a Rank 4 hero is like?’
Yoo Ji-han’s power exceeded his expectations!
At this level, it wasn’t surprising for the sniper’s attack to have failed.
The masked warrior swung his dagger with a completely expressionless face.
Clang! Cling! Clang!
Sparks flew as the blades clashed together repeatedly.
The warrior wielding the dagger applied pressure against Yoo Ji-han using speed rather than strength.
Despite his dagger’s short length, he relentlessly pressed onwards, showcasing his mastery of the weapon.
But because of that, Yoo Ji-han couldn’t understand.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
He gripped his dagger with a reverse hold.
The blade, raised high above his head, aimed directly at Yoo Ji-han’s face before coming down.
And just as Yoo Ji-han attempted to deflect it.
[Snake Thrust]
The dagger’s stiff blade twisted awkwardly like a snake’s body.
‘Die!’
The warrior aimed the twisting dagger at Yoo Ji-han’s right eye.
After the right, his target was the left eye.
Once he blocked all vision, he intended to slice his throat.
Fear of death arriving from the darkness was unlike any other.
“…!”
But he gasped in horror.
As the dagger aimed straight for him, Yoo Ji-han spun his body and avoided the curve of the blade.
“Ugh!”
The warrior’s intended attack missed, and he ended up cutting his own palm.
A large wound exposed the bones from his index to ring finger.
With a trembling hand, he managed to hold onto the dagger and uttered, “How…!”
“I’ve seen someone use a similar skill before.”
In the past, while Yoo Ji-han hadn’t been able to use skills himself,
he often sought out others’ skills.
He thought that if he could imitate them, he might learn one or the other.
‘In the end, I couldn’t learn any.’
Unfortunately, he didn’t find the results he desired, but
he became accustomed to a wide array of skills through that process.
The skill that allowed the blade to twist was one of them.
“Damn it!”
The warrior resisted without letting go of his dagger.
But it was impossible to keep up the fight with a hand that didn’t even have any strength left.
Scrape!
“Ugh…!”
Yoo Ji-han deeply slashed the warrior’s knee with his sword.
He didn’t forget to step down hard on the wounds of the man groaning on the ground.
With injuries like this, there was no risk of him escaping anytime soon.
“Ahhh!”
Kim Si-hoo, Min Yu-ri, and Chilla had already subdued the sniper together.
Yoo Ji-han took all their weapons and pushed them back.
Then, he pointed his sword at the sniper and said, “You were the first one to attack me.”
“Ugh…”
“From now on, only answer the questions I ask. Why did you attack us?”
Neither the sniper nor the warrior opened their mouths.
Yeah. He hadn’t expected them to open up easily.
Scrape!
Yoo Ji-han sliced the sniper’s right leg with his sword.
“Gah!”
“If you don’t answer, I’ll slice you again. I’ll ask again. Why did you attack us?”
“You… you blocked our deal…!”
“Shut up, you bastard! Just be quiet!”
Unable to stand the pain, the sniper finally spilled the beans, prompting the warrior to yell in anger.
The sniper appeared to be more cooperative.
Yoo Ji-han pointed at the warrior. “Si-hoo, make him shut up.”
“Yes.”
“So, what deal are you talking about?”
“…”
Scrape!
With the delay in his response, this time, the sniper’s left leg was cut.
Blood from both legs began to pool on the ground.
“Cough!”
“Speak!”
“Monsters! Selling monsters, you bastard!”
“…!”
At his words, Kim Si-hoo’s eyes twitched.
There was only one recent incident related to monsters.
It was when they had rescued the beastman, Lixis Oria, belonging to the Sky Shelter from being kidnapped.
‘Was it because of that incident?’
These two had come to retaliate against them for interfering with that event.
“Make him talk.”
Kim Si-hoo forced the warrior’s mouth open using magic.
“Anything else to say?”
“…”
The warrior remained uncooperative until the end.
Yoo Ji-han fell into thought regarding his attitude toward the two he had subdued.
How should he deal with them?
‘Two is more than I need.’
Handing them over to the Hero Department would only require one.
Making that judgment, Yoo Ji-han drove his sword toward the warrior’s heart.
Thud!
“Geh!”
The sharp tip of the sword broke through the strong rib cage and stabbed deep inside.
As the heart split in two, bright red blood spurted from the warrior’s chest like a fountain.
“Save me…”
The warrior muttered alone as his movements ceased.
With his eyes opened wide and staring at the sky, he went still.
He breathed his last like that.
Splash!
Yoo Ji-han pulled the sword from the warrior’s drenched chest.
Though he usually avoided killing, he wasn’t a saint who would show mercy to someone who had attempted to assassinate him.
With his blood-dripping sword, he pointed it at the sniper.
“Please be a little more cooperative.”
“W-What do you want to ask?”
The sniper’s tone turned submissive upon witnessing his companion’s death.
