#158
Their car headed increasingly toward a secluded area. Eventually, when there were too few moving vehicles around to continue tailing them, Dan Joo-hyuk and Kim Sin-cheol abandoned their car.
“Oh my goodness.”
Kim Sin-cheol followed Dan Joo-hyuk diligently despite his groans of discomfort. Having left most of the gate equipment behind, it was somewhat challenging for Kim Sin-cheol to keep up with Dan Joo-hyuk, but the situation was growing increasingly serious, leaving him no choice.
With superhuman abilities, the two men tracked the car along the mountain ridge. The car carrying Lee Tae-jung, which had been heading to increasingly desolate areas, finally reached a completely isolated location.
It was on a road that extended halfway up the mountain before abruptly ending.
“……”
No one got out of the car that had stopped at the end of the road. Before them stretched only the dim winter mountain landscape in the growing darkness.
Their movements clearly suggested they were waiting for someone. The two men observing from the mountain ridge naturally stopped in their tracks.
“What should we do?”
Kim Sin-cheol asked in a somber tone as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Dan Joo-hyuk stared silently at the car, which had even turned off its engine.
Despite the considerable distance, he could clearly see the silhouettes of two people sitting in the car. Judging by their seated heights, they appeared to be Heo Sang-yeon and Lee Tae-jung.
“We have to go see what they want to say.”
He had noticed they were trying to lure him in from halfway through. Whatever their scheme was, they weren’t even trying to hide their intentions.
In that case, he had to confront them.
Dan Joo-hyuk slowly got to his feet. He planned to go down alone first, making it easier to escape if necessary.
He turned his head toward Kim Sin-cheol who was behind him.
Just before he could tell him to stay put, his vision strangely began to flow sluggishly.
“……!”
A sudden strong sense of danger struck his superhuman senses. Responding to his instinct’s warning that came without any precursor, Dan Joo-hyuk unconsciously grabbed Kim Sin-cheol’s shoulder and pulled.
In that instant, a familiar unpleasant sensation erupted from behind.
From the empty air, as if a veil had been lifted, something suddenly appeared.
It was none other than Heo Sang-yeon.
“Ugh!”
Kim Sin-cheol, pushed by Dan Joo-hyuk without a chance to resist, tumbled down the slope.
Almost simultaneously, Heo Sang-yeon’s sword, which had suddenly appeared from thin air, shot straight toward Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes like a thin line.
It was a perfect ambush.
“Kuk.”
Dan Joo-hyuk urgently twisted his head and raised his hand. In his hand was already the dagger he usually carried instead of his great sword.
The clear sound of metal clashing echoed through the quiet mountain. The wind created by the violent collision of forces sent all the dry leaves around Dan Joo-hyuk flying into the air.
Even though he had only blocked one attack, the blade of the dagger snapped off. It was unavoidable since Heo Sang-yeon was fully armed as if entering an S-class gate.
“Ha.”
But he had successfully blocked the ambush itself. Dan Joo-hyuk immediately launched a skill to attack Heo Sang-yeon.
“Kuk.”
Heo Sang-yeon’s body floated into the air after taking the flame directly to the chest. At the same time, Kim Sin-cheol, who had rolled down the slope, shouted loudly.
“Dan Joo-hyuk!”
He threw one of the longswords he was carrying. With just a glance to assess the situation, Dan Joo-hyuk leaped and caught it.
As soon as he skillfully drew the sword, Heo Sang-yeon had already recovered and was approaching right in front of him.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk calmly blocked the attack aimed at his face. After a few clashes, it seemed this sword wouldn’t break as easily as the dagger earlier.
Though it was a brief moment, their swords collided more than ten times. Dan Joo-hyuk’s lips curled into a crooked smile at the sword path that clearly showed the intent to kill him.
So this is how he reveals his true colors.
“Are you insane?”
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk deliberately made eye contact and mocked him. Instead of answering, Heo Sang-yeon swung his greatsword. Seeing his expression completely devoid of composure, Dan Joo-hyuk glanced at one part of the ground.
Where Heo Sang-yeon had suddenly appeared, there was something like a piece of cloth fallen on the ground. From the circumstances, it seemed like an item that had perfectly concealed Heo Sang-yeon’s presence.
Who would have thought there was an item that could even mask that distinctive feeling of aversion.
It was truly the perfect item for catching Dan Joo-hyuk off guard. Even he hadn’t sensed his presence until the very last moment.
Moreover, as they exchanged sword blows, he could clearly tell. The reason he had been able to react instinctively, albeit belatedly, at the moment of the attack was entirely thanks to Yoon Pa-ran’s skill.
Unlike in the morning, Dan Joo-hyuk let out a hollow laugh as he watched Heo Sang-yeon attack while emitting the energy of suspicious stone fragments. With the absorbed skill, he could detect the energy of that damn stone fragment more precisely, making a counterattack possible.
If he hadn’t met Yoon Pa-ran, he probably would have been helplessly stabbed today.
Even among S-rank hunters, Dan Joo-hyuk had always been confident in subduing Heo Sang-yeon. However, the story changed when allowing a fully armed opponent to get the first ambush. Still, unlike other trash, Heo Sang-yeon was someone who had crossed a certain threshold.
Anyway, he had failed this time.
“Well, if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”
“……”
“We were never in our right minds to begin with, were we?”
Dan Joo-hyuk smiled crookedly again and suddenly put explosive force into his stepping foot. The balance of power that had been maintained evenly until now collapsed in an instant.
“Kuk…!”
For the first time, a groan erupted from Heo Sang-yeon’s mouth, which had been silent all along. Even though it wasn’t his main weapon, Dan Joo-hyuk leisurely pushed Heo Sang-yeon back.
His massive greatsword was being pushed back precariously. After his attacks were blocked a few more times, Heo Sang-yeon hardened his face and began to activate his skill.
It was Heo Sang-yeon’s berserk skill that amplified his strength several times over.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk frowned slightly at that immediate choice. This fighting style was also unlike Heo Sang-yeon.
Berserk mode exploded his power but significantly clouded rational judgment. It was fine when facing large, powerful monsters, but naturally disadvantageous when fighting another human.
So it would be better to speak up and stall for time.
Well, not my problem.
Although his unstrategic choice seemed strange, he didn’t want to worry about it. After being attacked, the need to kill Heo Sang-yeon today remained unchanged.
“Aaaaargh!”
“……”
With each clash of swords, Heo Sang-yeon’s strength began to double. His long arms, matching his tall stature, were visibly bulging with muscles.
Dan Joo-hyuk grimaced and tried his best to avoid directly confronting that power. Kim Sin-cheol’s sword was weaker than his own and couldn’t fully withstand the force.
I need to end this quickly.
“Graaah!”
Dan Joo-hyuk dodged Heo Sang-yeon, who was roaring like a monster, as if taunting him. While doing so, he gradually moved toward the car that was presumed to be carrying Lee Tae-jung.
If Lee Tae-jung was really in there, he planned to use him as a hostage. Coincidentally, the sharp-witted Kim Sin-cheol was already heading toward the car, casting skills to prevent whoever was inside from escaping.
Heo Sang-yeon was easily lured. Perhaps due to the influence of his berserk mode, he quickly followed Dan Joo-hyuk toward the car.
“Graaah!”
The peaceful winter mountain crumbled with each of Heo Sang-yeon’s sword strikes. Dry leaves and cut branches poured into the soil depressions created by the S-rank hunters’ footsteps.
As Heo Sang-yeon gradually lost his sanity, he began to show increasingly reckless and simple patterns. The whites of his eyes turned red.
“……”
At that moment, Dan Joo-hyuk made a decision. To partially reveal Yoon Pa-ran’s [Sacred Energy] skill.
Heo Sang-yeon, who had suddenly approached, struck the ground with a loud boom that echoed through the forest. When Dan Joo-hyuk pretended to dodge as before, Heo Sang-yeon’s simplified mind tensed his legs to jump after him.
At that precise moment, Dan Joo-hyuk instead dove into Heo Sang-yeon’s range. Caught off-guard by this strategy, completely opposite to what he had been doing, Heo Sang-yeon showed a slight opening.
He stabbed that opening with his sword infused with Yoon Pa-ran’s skill.
“Aaagh!”
The sword pierced through Heo Sang-yeon’s abdomen with disappointing ease. It penetrated through both his high-grade equipment and his maximized stats from the berserk mode.
Even Heo Sang-yeon, who would normally forget pain and charge forward in berserker state, screamed in agony. Dan Joo-hyuk raised his eyebrow crookedly at the skill’s power, which was even stronger than expected.
Anyway, he quickly followed up with his next attack. He pushed the sword lodged in his abdomen more forcefully, bringing Heo Sang-yeon down to the ground.
With the sword deeply embedded in the ground, Heo Sang-yeon was fixed to the floor as if mounted.
“Kuk……”
Subduing the immobilized Heo Sang-yeon wasn’t difficult. Deprived of moisture in his limbs, he temporarily sprawled on the ground.
Dan Joo-hyuk searched Heo Sang-yeon’s person, confiscated his potions and other weapons, and threw them all aside. Whenever he writhed in pain and tried to pull out the sword, he would release a bit of Yoon Pa-ran’s skill, making it easy to subdue him.
“Kuuk, aaagh!”
“……”
Yes. It was so easy that it was somewhat disconcerting.
“Hey! If you’re done! Help me!”
At that moment, Kim Sin-cheol screamed.
Turning his gaze, Dan Joo-hyuk saw that the car was now half-destroyed, and Kim Sin-cheol was desperately creating distance while bombarding Lee Tae-jung with skills.
Leaving the sword embedded, Dan Joo-hyuk kicked off the ground. He instantly arrived in front of Lee Tae-jung, whose legs were caught by Kim Sin-cheol’s vines.
As soon as he realized Dan Joo-hyuk was approaching, Lee Tae-jung surprisingly raised both hands immediately.
Then he shouted:
“I did it on the guild master’s orders! I don’t intend to fight with Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
