Chapter 413

Fwoooosh! Kraaaash!

A massive greatsword smashed into the ground. Wu Heixing’s body shot upward like lightning, having dodged the attack by exactly half a span.¹

Shnk!

His blade drove up beneath the ogre’s jaw and burst out through the crown of its head.

A precise strike, without a single wasted motion.

Wu Heixing wrenched his sword free, stepped off the falling ogre’s shoulder, and dropped into the horde of monsters.

The sword in his hand traced countless lines through the air.

The Twelve Blood Net Sword.

Some condemned the Cultural Revolution,² which lasted from 1966 to 1976, as an atrocity that outraged heaven and humanity. For others, however, it had been the opportunity of a lifetime.

Wu Heixing’s grandfather, a longtime political associate of Mao Zedong,³ had risen spectacularly and embezzled an astronomical fortune. Using his son—a member of the Red Guards⁴—as a stepping stone, he had smuggled away all manner of cultural artifacts and ancient books.

The Twelve Blood Net Sword Wu Heixing had learned was one of the countless ancient books his grandfather had acquired at the time.

Shreeeeek!

A net of twelve strands spread out, covering more than ten meters⁵ in every direction.

The net of red aura sliced through skin and flesh and cleaved bone. Dozens of high-tier monsters fell apart in pieces.

It was power worthy of an S-rank Hunter.

Thoroughly emboldened, Wu Heixing shouted.

“Red Guard Gang! What are you doing? Sweep them all away, you bastards!”

“Yes, sir!”

His mana-infused roar shook the battlefield.

The roughly three hundred elite Hunters of the Red Guard Gang, founded by Wu Heixing’s family and raised as their private army, charged into every opening without hesitation.

Shreeeek! Splurt!

Whoosh! Slash!

—Krrk, khrrrk!

“Aaaaargh!”

The screams of humans and monsters mingled with sprays of blood on every side.

The Red Guard Gang Hunters whom Wu Heixing had held in reserve until the very end were unquestionably strong. But their enemies were high-tier monsters as well.

The elite monsters positioned in the rear darted through the thick fog as they fought the Hunters. Regardless of the difference in level, the monsters outnumbered them three or four to one.

And yet…

“You filthy, stinking bastards dare!”

Stab-stab-stab!

The presence of an S-rank Hunter like Wu Heixing was enough to turn the unfavorable battle around.

He might have drawn widespread criticism for his debauched behavior and foul temperament, but he was still a genius who had grown up with every possible advantage.

Besides, unlike when he had first been deployed to the front lines, Wu Heixing had become more experienced. After passing through battlefields where death ran rampant, his skills had advanced by another step.

I can do this! I’m Wu Heixing!

Exhilaration surged from deep within his chest as he swung his sword without pause.

His enemy was a monster army numbering in the tens of thousands. He had been afraid at first, but somehow he had made it this far.

Whenever he suffered even a minor injury or began to tire, he gulped down expensive potions like water. When necessary, he had used the Red Guard Gang Hunters as shields to withdraw.

And now, not a single monster could stop his red aura blade.

I’ll make sure no one ever looks down on me again. Lei Fei. That fucking bangzi⁶ bastard. No one!

That was the moment Wu Heixing ground his teeth at the humiliating memory.

Fwoooooosh! Boom!

A spear flew in at blinding speed, skewering three or four Hunters like meat on a skewer before burying itself deep in the ground.

A three-meter-long⁷ lance—something rarely seen on a battlefield like this.

Wu Heixing whipped his head around to find the attacker, and his eyes flew wide.

“Death Knight!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The figure riding a skeletal horse across the battlefield was unmistakably a Death Knight.

And there were two of them, not one.

The second Death Knight raised its lance from horseback.

“Everyone, watch—!”

Fwoooooosh! Boom!

Before Wu Heixing could finish his warning, the second lance tore through the air and pierced six or seven Hunters clustered together.

Even the finest armor could not stop the strike. Arms and legs flew into the air, and bodies missing their upper halves collapsed with heavy thuds.

The sudden appearance of the Death Knights.

Then, as the Red Guard Gang’s Hunters froze at the horrifying sight unfolding before their eyes—

—D-a-r-k. V-i-n-e!

An eerie voice like metal scraping against metal rang out, and the ground began to change.

Crack! Kra-d-d-d-d-k!

The solid ground split apart like a spiderweb, and black vines surged up through the cracks.

Filled with magical power, they moved like living creatures. Some seized human arms and legs, while others wormed through gaps left exposed by armor and pierced their victims.

Shrrrrk! Stab-stab!

“Kyaaaaargh!”

“Black magic! It’s black magic!”

“Don’t panic! Cut the vines! Get out of the area now!”

Screams and shouts rang out everywhere.

Crack.

Wu Heixing tore the black vines coiling around him from the ground like scallion roots and flung them aside, biting down hard on his lip.

It was not the deaths of his Hunters that troubled him.

He understood what this entire series of events meant.

“Lich…!”

Wu Heixing’s guess was correct.

High above their heads, a death mage riding atop the head of a giant Wyvern that prowled through the gray sky raised a staff made of skulls and bones and pointed it at the ground.

—C-o-n-f-u-s-i-n-g!

Whoooooosh!

With that eerie cry, magical power poured down like dark storm clouds and engulfed the entire area.

The Hunters struggling to escape the black vines suddenly writhed as hallucinations and phantom voices seized them. They became easy prey for the monsters lurking around them.

—Sssssss!

—Gwoooooar!

Smash! Kra-d-d-d-d-k!

“Krrk, khk!”

“P-Please, save me!”

“Mother! You can’t die, Mother!”

Some fell with a final scream.

Others continued to howl even as they died, unable to escape the hallucinations and phantom voices.

But there were also those whose powerful wills allowed them to break free of the spell.

“You have to go!”

“Young Master!”

Despite the shouts of the A-rank Hunters surrounding him, Wu Heixing’s face had gone as white as a sheet.

Only one question circled through his mind.

What—what the hell am I supposed to do?

The Lich was in the sky, while two Death Knights were rapidly approaching from the ground.

Could they retreat?

If they did, where would they go? How would they get there?

Wu Heixing might have been able to face the two Death Knights alone, but what about the Lich’s magic and the countless monsters surrounding the area so tightly that not even water could pass through?

No matter how hard he thought, he could find no answer.

This…this fucking situation…

Crack.

Wu Heixing was grinding his teeth hard enough to crack them when—

Fwoooosh! Bang!

With the sharp crack of compressed air exploding, a streak of light shot up from the distant ground and sliced through the sky.

The next moment, the headless body of the Wyvern began to plummet.

“This…”

Wu Heixing muttered the word like a groan.

Everyone forgot the situation around them and looked up at the sky.

Before their eyes, the Wyvern’s body plummeted faster and faster, while a heap of black bones—the being that had once been called a Lich—tumbled down after it.

“…That’s impossible.”

The Lich was dead.

Killed in a single strike.

Someone had pierced through dozens of layers of defensive magic and accurately intercepted a target in midair?

Even an S-rank Hunter could not easily guarantee such a feat.

Wu Heixing had never seen an attack so fast or so powerful.

But for someone else, it was as natural as breathing.

The man who had been quietly watching what he had done from a short distance away suddenly opened his mouth.

“It’s been a long time since I threw a spear. I’m certainly not as good as I used to be.”

The man standing behind him like an iron tower answered in a stiff tone.

“It was an excellent throw.”

“Hmm. No, it wasn’t. I seem to have grown rusty. Proof that I’m getting old, I suppose.”

“That cannot be.”

At the Head of Security’s usual flat response, Lee Jungryong smiled gently.

“I saw Death Knights.”

Go Jun nodded without a word.

“Yes. Two of them.”

“Do you think Wu Heixing can stop them?”

“If you mean the Death Knights, he should be able to defeat them without much difficulty.”

Go Jun added in a low voice.

“If there were no monsters around them.”

“So under the present circumstances, it will be difficult.”

“The black magic has dissipated, but they have already suffered considerable losses, and there are far too many monsters.”

“Then they’ll have to struggle with everything they have.”

“It will be a fierce and difficult battle.”

“My, my. Then I suppose we should help them.”

“Would it not be better to watch a little longer?”

Lee Jungryong widened his eyes in feigned surprise.

“Why?”

Go Jun had been taught by Lee Jungryong since childhood. He knew that each of these moments was a test from his Master.

He also knew what answer was expected of him.

“Would they not be more grateful if we helped them when the situation was more precarious?”

Only then did the Master smile in satisfaction at his Disciple’s answer. Even his manner of speaking changed.

“Yes. That’s exactly it.”

“The Red Guard Gang has been a nuisance for some time.”

“They’re amusing bastards. They shout about the people and communism, then form a private army of Hunters behind everyone’s backs.”

“But the Crown Prince Party supporting the Red Guard Gang is friendly toward us, is it not?”

“That is precisely why the Red Guard Gang must disappear. They have always avoided the sunlight by sitting in the shade of that tree. Once the tree is uprooted, what choice will they have?”

“They’ll have to find another tree or buy themselves a parasol.”

“We will become their new tree. If that happens, even more opportunities will open up.”

Go Jun nodded, then suddenly spoke.

“May I ask one more question?”

“Go ahead.”

“The reason you brought Wu Heixing into this operation… Does it have something to do with Jin Taekyung?”

The question had been troubling Go Jun for some time.

Even if Wu Heixing was an S-rank Hunter, why bring along an idiot like him?

That man is immensely powerful. Even if Master is using Wu Heixing, what use could he possibly be?

Sometimes, this happened.

Just when Go Jun thought he had grown accustomed to his Master’s thoughts and actions, he would find himself unable to understand Lee Jungryong’s true intentions.

And whenever that happened, Lee Jungryong would always wear an inscrutable smile.

Just like now.

“Team Leader Seok.”

Both his tone and the atmosphere changed.

Returning to his role as Ares Guild’s Head of Security, Go Jun bowed deeply.

“Yes, Vice Guild Master.”

“It seems the time has come for you to step in. What do you think?”

Go Jun raised his head and looked past Lee Jungryong’s shoulder at the fierce battle.

The carefully selected elites of the Red Guard Gang were dying to the monsters, while Wu Heixing had just finished taking down one of the two Death Knights.

“I’ll be going, then.”

“Do be careful not to get hurt.”

Go Jun answered with a brief bow, then led the waiting Ares Guild members toward the battlefield.

They did not shout as they charged the monsters, but the force they radiated was more than enough to overwhelm everything before them.

Kra-d-d-d-d-k! Slash!

Lee Jungryong watched in satisfaction as one flank of the monster army collapsed in an instant.

Then he suddenly caught the smell of blood carried on the wind.

The wind was blowing from the west.

It was the signal that the man he had been waiting for had arrived.

“Right on time.”

Lee Jungryong murmured under his breath and looked toward the distant horizon.

As he raised his qi, his senses sharpened like a razor, and a man’s shout reached his ears.

—Fuck, kill them all! And that bastard who’s been going ‘Eeeeeeh’ this whole time—if he does it one more time, I’m counting him as a monster. Got it?

Lee Jungryong let out a low chuckle and extended his hand.

Then he clenched his fist toward Jin Taekyung, who was somewhere out there.