Chapter 158
Chapter 158. Herding Cows (2)
Dududududududu—!
Dust clouds billowed up at every corner where the herd of cattle charged forward.
At the spot where the building was smashed by a headbutt, powdered stone was swirling around.
The ground, unable to withstand the heavy bodies of the animals, was constantly splitting open with cracks.
Amidst this chaos, Yoo Ji-han, dangling from a sparrow’s feet, intentionally flew ahead of them.
“Moooor!”
“Moooor—!”
From the lead cow to the goats trailing behind, the animals, full of vigor, had their eyes pulled toward the red cloth that Yoo Ji-han was shaking.
“Over there!”
“Cheep!”
The sparrow flew in a wide arc towards the open field.
At the same time, the charging cows turned their direction and chased after them.
Bang!!
At that moment, one cow crashed into a parked car on the roadside.
With its horn lodged in the car door, it pushed the vehicle forward until it was bothered enough to lift its head strongly from below.
The shock propelled the car high into the air, sending it flying toward Yoo Ji-han.
[Wind Bomb]
Whoooooosh!
A bomb of wind exploded between the car and Yoo Ji-han.
The ferocious wind, which had concentrated in one spot, burst free around them.
Yoo Ji-han and the sparrow were blown away in a different direction from the car.
“Cheep cheep?!”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Due to the wind’s impact, the sparrow’s left foot lost strength, throwing it off balance.
However, Yoo Ji-han calmly gripped the sparrow’s foot again with his left shoulder.
“Moooor!”
“Wah! Wah!”
Yoo Ji-han kept a watchful eye on the procession of cows coming over the wide field.
Not only the cows but also the goats were entering the field.
‘Even the goats will follow.’
It was fortunate that the excited goats were behaving similarly to the cows.
However, as expected, there were many that did not stray from the road.
Only a little over half of them made it into the field.
The remaining half would be stopped by other heroes.
“Next, over there!”
“Cheep!”
Yoo Ji-han directed the sparrow to fly in a big circle over the field.
“Moooor!”
“Moooor!”
The cows and goats, running on the muddy ground, kept moving without resting.
They continued to follow the red cloth, turning the green field into a mess.
[Sticky Swamp]
Meanwhile, Kim Si-hu created a sticky swamp just ahead of a goat that had not followed Yoo Ji-han.
As the goat stepped into it, the ground caved in, sucking one of its legs inside.
“Meee?!”
Papapapak!
While the goat floundered in the swamp, Min Yu-ri showered it with arrows.
The arrows, infused with magic, tore through the thick skin of the goat and penetrated, leaving wounds.
“Moooor!”
The cows charging from behind trampled the goat stuck in the swamp as they moved forward.
The front runners fell first, but they didn’t seem to care.
Eventually, after closing the distance between the heroes and the cows, the tankers stood in their way.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The horns of the cows collided with shields.
Fortunately, among the rank 2 tankers leading the charge, none were pushed back significantly.
After fending off the charge, the warriors jumped in.
“Hraaap!”
“Meee!”
Spinning spears flew across the herd of cows, inflicting wounds, while a giant warrior brought an axe down on a goat’s head.
With support from long-range dealers added, the cows let out a raucous cry.
“Unbelievable endurance!”
“Wow, that’s gruesome…”
The bruised cow, exhaling in defiance, still stood firm on its feet despite being injured all over.
For some mysterious reason, a goat with its neck severed remained on its feet.
While the rank 3 heroes didn’t have trouble fighting the creatures, the high resilience and stamina of the cows made progress in the hunt extremely slow.
‘If it weren’t for Ji-han, we’d be in a lot of trouble.’
Park Jae-kyung, who had taken down a cow, looked at Yoo Ji-han, who was flying around the field.
If they had just recklessly attempted to fight, the burden would have been multiplied many times over.
They probably would have had to let a significant number slip through.
‘I guess I should help my brother soon.’
Kim Si-hu, focused on the battle before him, glanced in the direction where Yoo Ji-han was.
Over the field, the lead cow was chasing the last goat while the herd followed along, creating a large circle around Yoo Ji-han.
The situation seemed to be unfolding as Yoo Ji-han intended, but how long he could endure was unknown.
“Yoo Ji-han’s party and the 3rd and 4th divisions, move to the fields and assist Yoo Ji-han!”
“Okay!”
Park Jae-kyung, having the same thought, split off the personnel blocking the road and moved them to the field.
Heroes who received the command, including Yoo Ji-han’s party, rushed towards the spinning herd.
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han, waving the red cloth as he flew by, shouted.
“We need to save the people first!”
On the horns of the cows following Yoo Ji-han in the field, about three civilians were still clinging on.
If they started fighting recklessly, their lives wouldn’t be guaranteed.
The heroes approached cautiously beside the charging cows, following Yoo Ji-han’s intent.
“How are we supposed to get in?”
“Well…”
But extracting just the survivors from the massive, energetic herd wasn’t an easy task.
If they carelessly touched anything, it would disrupt the balance of the herding Yoo Ji-han was managing.
“Chirp chirp!”
At that moment, Chilla, carrying Min Yu-ri on its back, sprang forward.
Tatadat!
Chilla charged, kicking up dirt, moving in a larger circle in the same direction as the cows.
From atop Chilla, Min Yu-ri pulled out her bow and used her skill.
[Multi Shot]
Piyoong!
Thanks to the artifact’s effect, one arrow connected to a web launched into the air.
Then, three strands of the spider silk spread out from the center of the circle being drawn by the herd toward the survivors.
“Chirp chirp!”
As the sticky web hit the bodies of the survivors.
Chilla turned its body and spun in the opposite direction of the cows.
As a result, the three strands of the web began to twist like a braid.
The bodies of the survivors stuck on the cow horns began to be pulled out by the web.
“Hah!”
Kruuuck!
Min Yu-ri momentarily shortened the length of the web, swinging the bow connected to the web with all her might.
Through that strength, the survivors could escape from the area where the herding was taking place.
“Hand them here!”
All the healers of the expedition force were currently supporting other heroes on the road.
Kim Si-hu, who was waiting, quickly used magic to stem the wounds of the people Min Yu-ri had rescued.
With no need for additional instructions, the party members were responding appropriately, making Yoo Ji-han smile.
And as a few more minutes passed and the sparrow flying in the sky began to breathe heavily.
“Attack!”
Papapapapak!
The people who had gathered in the field began to attack the cows that had flocked in.
Soon, the herding ceased, and all the cows and goats glared at the other heroes.
“Great job.”
“Cheep cheep…”
The sparrow, which had worked so hard for several minutes, returned to its master.
After throwing down the red cloth he was holding, Yoo Ji-han drew his sword.
Kim Si-hu, who joined him, said, “Take a break at the back for a moment.”
“Don’t worry. I used to do this all the time.”
“Wow… What exactly have you been doing in Kim Hyun-tae’s party?”
“Various things.”
Watching Yoo Ji-han jump back into the fray, Kim Si-hu clicked his tongue.
*
The leaders of the large guild Snowball and Warriors, Kim Min-jung and Kang Jun-il.
Like Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon, they had gone missing, and their last known location was Haenam, Jeollanam-do.
Therefore, an expedition force was formed centered around Snowball and Warriors.
Moreover, each party joining as outsiders was said to have impressive skills.
However, among them, the most notable were those from Kim Hyun-tae’s party, Keroes.
“Ah, damn it. This is fucking annoying.”
Kim Hyun-tae, the leader of Kim Hyun-tae’s Party, was spilling curses in real-time.
The reason was simple.
It was because he realized they had been lost in a space distortion over nine hours after departing from Seoul.
“Lim Si-yeon! What the hell have you been doing this whole time?”
“Like I had a choice.”
The magician Lim Si-yeon, who hadn’t noticed the illusion, shook her head.
Had the heroes from Warriors, who had been playing rough on the train, not broken a window, the heroes at this location would still be stuck in an illusion aboard the train.
The situation wasn’t any different for other heroes.
Everyone had been relaxing leisurely.
“Hyun-tae, could you tone down the swearing a little…”
“Come on, it’s fine! We can edit it later! There’s no one else around, do I really need to watch what I say?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“If you’re sorry, do a better job shooting.”
Behind Kim Hyun-tae’s party, someone with a large camera was filming them.
He was a former rank 3 hero who was now engaged in the broadcasting industry.
Having heard about the filming with Kim Hyun-tae’s party, he volunteered to be the cameraman.
“Phew…”
Back during their first meeting, Kim Hyun-tae had been very kind.
His suggestion to create a new history together had made her heart flutter.
Thus, she was more than willing to accept this filming proposal.
‘His personality really stinks!’
But once she entered the site carrying a camera, she discovered Kim Hyun-tae’s true nature was completely a mess.
It didn’t take long to realize that all the wholesome and exemplary images roaming in the media were entirely fabricated.
“I’m so bored, bored.”
The endless stretch of desolation.
All the parties, including Kim Hyun-tae’s, had scattered in different directions to find an entrance.
However, absolutely nothing resembling an exit was in sight.
Bang!
Lee Mi-a, keeping a little distance from the group, slammed her fist into the ground.
A crater far larger than her fist formed where her fist hit the earth.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lee Mi-a repeatedly struck the ground.
She thought that there might be something beneath the earth.
Watching this, Kim Hyun-tae frowned.
From afar, the tanker Hwang Jun-ho looked up at the horizon and said, “If only he were here…”
“Who’s he?”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Sorry? About what?”
“……”
Hwang Jun-ho remained silent as if he had made some kind of mistake.
At that, Kim Hyun-tae furrowed his brow and said, “Jun-ho! Who is he?”
“…It’s Yoo Ji-han.”
The moment Hwang Jun-ho uttered that name, Kim Hyun-tae’s expression darkened.
“Why the hell is that bastard’s name coming up here all of a sudden?”
“He’s always suggested his opinions every time things got stuck. It just suddenly popped into my mind.”
“What a worthless thought to have…”
At that moment, Kim Kang-woo, who had been watching Kim Hyun-tae’s expression, spoke up.
“Hyun-tae! You mean the spirit master from Yoo Ji-han’s party, right?”
“Yeah. If it weren’t for his spirit, he would’ve been buried ages ago.”
“Hmmm… To be honest, I’m really grateful to that person.”
“Why?”
“Thanks to him being lacking, I managed to join Kim Hyun-tae’s party!”
“Pfft! That’s one way to look at it!”
At Kim Kang-woo’s words looking down on Yoo Ji-han, Kim Hyun-tae took a moment to chuckle.
But then, from a distance, Lee Mi-a muttered quietly.
“It’s you who’s lacking.”
“Hmm?”
Bang!
Kim Kang-woo turned his head sharply toward Lee Mi-a, who was hammering the ground again.
But then he turned back to flatter Kim Hyun-tae.
Having gained no results from her efforts, Lee Mi-a pivoted and approached Lim Si-yeon.
She shot a judgmental glance at Kim Hyun-tae and Kim Kang-woo.
‘Why do they love backbiting so much?’
She couldn’t understand them.
Especially Kim Hyun-tae, the party leader.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked, “Kim Hyun-tae.”
“What?”
“Why do you dislike Yoo Ji-han so much?”
“……”
Why do I dislike that Yoo Ji-han person?
Kim Hyun-tae paused, expressionless, for a few seconds in response to Lee Mi-a’s question.
Then, a smug smile broke out on his face as he replied, “Do I need a reason to dislike someone?”
