Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Other Shore Flower
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The ambushing magic beasts and villains burst out from all four directions, overwhelming the heroes.
"Ambush!!"
"Don't scatter! Form up!"
The heroes instinctively huddled together, shrinking back in unison.
It was a remarkably swift response, as if they had anticipated it. After all, with the magic beasts luring them so blatantly, it would have been strange if they hadn't seen it coming.
"Th-Those are... humans!?"
"Why are humans with the magic beasts...!?"
The heroes spotting the villains emerging alongside the magic beasts looked genuinely flustered.
'They probably expected the magic beasts, but not humans popping out with them.'
Unless someone had killed a tremendous number of people, humans instinctively recoiled at the idea of killing their own kind. That was precisely why Han had brought the villains along with Anis.
Even the most seasoned heroes, used to fighting only magic beasts, would hesitate if suddenly forced to kill fellow humans. For rookie heroes just starting out, it went without saying.
Besides, the heroes still didn't realize that those emerging with the magic beasts were villains. It was the perfect setup to create instant chaos and a messy brawl.
The goal was pandemonium. Collapse their formation, turn the battle into a total free-for-all where distinguishing friend from foe became impossible.
Sure enough, the flustered heroes failed to properly counter the villains' charge and ended up tangling with each other.
Just as Han intended, the heroes' lines began unraveling from the outer edges inward.
'Time to break through.'
Han crouched low, then exploded forward with his legs, leaping straight into the heart of the heroes' formation. To sow even more chaos amid the already confused melee.
The first thing he saw upon breaking through was a hero who seemed fairly experienced, around middle-aged. It was the one who had caught Han's eye earlier, the hero directing the others and trying to steady the lines.
Thud!
Han instantly flanked him, sweeping his legs out from under him with a kick while greeting him.
"Nice to meet you."
"You...!"
For a split second, as the man's vision spun from the fall, his eyes widened upon spotting Han.
Slash!
"Guh...?"
In one fluid swing, a clean red line appeared across the man's throat. He didn't even manage a scream before his head tumbled off.
"Kaaaaaaa!!"
"Uwaaaaaak!"
Faint screams and shouts echoed from the distant outer edges.
The battlefield's center had devolved into a slaughterhouse: magic beasts, villains, heroes, humans killing and dying amid clashing weapons, echoing screams, and bursting spells. Yet at its very core, silence reigned.
"........."
"........."
The heroes swallowed hard, surrounding Han. They all looked young, no matter how you sliced it.
Han leisurely scanned them, meeting each pair of eyes. Tension as if facing a formidable foe, mingled with faint terror, washed over him.
But even staring down Han's ferocious glare, the heroes merely flinched—they didn't back away. If anything, they seemed to be gauging the perfect moment to strike.
"For chicks..."
...not bad, Han muttered.
Impressively, these young heroes were handling things like veterans despite being greenhorns. Plenty of potential there.
They hadn't started trembling or loosened their grips on their weapons even after witnessing their commander's head get lopped off in an instant. They felt the right mix of tension and fear without being utterly cowed, biding their time for an opening.
It was a habit forged only through real battlefield experience, not mere training.
"Uwaaaaa!!"
Such thoughts lasted only a moment. Nine charged from the front, six from behind.
Fifteen heroes rushed him all at once.
"Timing's good... coordination's solid."
Not one rushed ahead or lagged behind—they all closed in with perfect synchronicity. If even one hesitated from fear, a gap would form, but these fifteen matched strides precisely, narrowing the distance.
"Trust levels are decent too..."
Not a single one faltered mid-charge, gripped by terror. Proof they believed in each other.
This kind of breathing only came from comrades who had synced up countless times on the battlefield. Had hero training advanced this far in just three years?
Or were these standout chicks among the rookies?
If all heroes were this capable, it made some sense why Asellikka had sent an expedition of nothing but young ones.
"Uwaaap!!"
The heroes closed to striking range and brought their swords down in unison. Fifteen blades wove a net with no escape, blanketing Han densely.
Han, sword already sheathed, gripped the hilt with his right hand and gazed at them leisurely.
"Die!!"
"Swordplay's not bad either. But..."
And then,
Draw—Kane.
Slash!
"...you should properly gauge your opponent's strength before charging."
Thud, thud, roll......
All of them, heads tumbling companionably.
Not a drop of blood on his clothes, Han stepped over the corpses and walked out slowly. Plenty of heroes still encircled him, but terror had etched deeper into their eyes.
"Anyone else wanna try?"
The heroes hesitated. But only briefly—they lunged at Han again.
Han rapidly scanned the area.
And soon, amid the surging waves of heroes charging him, he spotted someone.
Through the gaps between heroes, beyond them.
Yoon Na-rin.
There she was, firing spells at the magic beasts from afar.
As if sensing Han's gaze cutting through to her, Yoon Na-rin turned, locking eyes with him.
Between the heroes and their ranks, a narrow sliver of space.
A bit distant, but the two who had noticed each other met gazes through the crowd for an instant.
Snicker.
The corner of Yoon Na-rin's mouth, wreathed in flames, quirked up.
Then, she flipped Han off.
A taunting gesture saying "Come get me if you can." Han stared blankly at her middle finger.
'...What the.'
Amusement flickered briefly before annoyance heated his blood. Han tensed his legs.
Thud!
He kicked off the ground in a flash, charging the heroes.
All eyes snapped to Han at his sudden surge.
'Break through like this.'
He had planned to methodically thin them out while parrying, but plans changed. He wanted to kill Yoon Na-rin right now.
Slash!
"Gah!"
He beheaded the first hero blocking his path and kept running. Heroes nearby moved to intercept.
Slash!
Another neck severed.
One, two, three—and soon ten.
Yet more heroes blocked his way.
Han switched tactics.
No longer clean beheadings—instead, brutal disembowelments, ripping out guts and stripping bones.
Stab! Crunch, grind!
Blade jammed between ribs, twisted like a lever with his wrist. Normally ruinous to the sword, but Anis's blade held impossibly firm.
"U, guaaaaak!"
Heroes slain by Han until now had died cleanly with brief gasps, but not this one. Chest torn wide, ribs splayed, gushing blood—he writhed in agony, refusing to die quickly. Han's pristine clothes soaked red in tandem.
One, two, three—another ten.
Han sliced bellies to spill entrails, wrenched wrists to pry bones free. Particularly brave heroes got limbs hacked off as examples, left writhing.
"A... demon...!"
"Guaaaaa!!"
"Aaaak! Aaaaak!"
Pained groans. Or screams.
Where Han passed now lay not headless corpses, but bleeding, entrail-spilling wrecks.
Han's form grew equally crimson. His once-vibrant black ponytail sagged, dyed red like his eyes; the blade's clean sheen caked with viscera.
......!
For the first time, heroes witnessing this began stepping back. Faces ashen at comrades turned half-dead, living husks neither alive nor fully corpse.
"Hoo..."
Han vaguely grasped what Anis meant by "instilling discipline."
If they felt no fear, instill greater fear.
If valor didn't break, crush it mercilessly.
No more valor shone in the heroes' eyes. They poured survival instinct into not suffering such cruel deaths.
Han accelerated the slaughter. Straight toward his target, butchering blockers.
"Uwaaaaa!!"
"Kahak! Grrglgl..."
One, two, three, ten. Han's body stayed blood-soaked.
And on the second set of ten, Han took his first hit.
Snip!
A swung sword sliced a lock of his blood-matted hair. A blind panic swing, yet potent in power and speed.
Han tilted his head.
'...These really rookies?'
Even a desperate panic slash needed solid basics to threaten.
Judging from battles so far, few heroes were truly novice-level. Most charging him, young as they were, possessed real skill.
Tschk!
"Tch."
Another of the ten.
This time, a shallow cut on his left shoulder.
'...Am I getting weaker? No, years surviving one-armed—blind swings shouldn't land.'
Something felt off.
He thought it panic-born, but no.
This was fear-driven instinct honed by countless battles and experience.
'Bad feeling.'
Han grew slightly urgent but swung more cautiously.
Overwhelmed by numbers, he was tiring a bit. Intervals between felling heroes lengthened.
A little time passed.
Finally, Yoon Na-rin came into close view.
Fell the hero blocking him now, and the path to her opened.
Han eyed the hero in his way. Another young girl, unremarkable among them.
But up close, her aura was ominous. She looked fresh out of the academy, but her presence rivaled a battle-hardened warrior.
'...What?'
Questioning it, Han swung full-force at her. Faster, more precise than before.
Quick and decisive.
End it fast.
"Hup!"
But,
Clang—!
The girl blocked Han's sword.
"...What."
His sword arm buzzed painfully numb. Proof she'd overpowered him in strength.
'Blocked that speed? With raw power?'
No one Han knew could parry his serious swing except a select few—and none were this girl.
As Han grimaced in confusion, the girl spoke.
"Surprised? It's been a while."
A husky voice belying her youthful face, laced with age.
Familiar, somehow.
Han dredged his memory and uttered the name that surfaced.
"...Asellikka?"
"You haven't forgotten either, huh? Makes sense—I took your arm, after all."
"What is this..."
"Lucky for us you're such an idiot."
The moment she said it, the girl's face shifted to Asellikka's. Simultaneously, the surrounding heroes' faces changed to others.
Faces of the more experienced heroes he thought had stayed central.
'No, not changed...'
Back to normal?
"......Illusion magic?"
"Exactly."
Illusion magic was practically obsolete, useless for much.
At best, disguising as someone or hiding spaces. Even that failed against keen-sensed magic beasts, making it prime for crime but little else.
Yet Asellikka had cast mass illusion on the expedition heroes' faces before departure.
To feed false intel to Betty's scouts, lower Han's guard.
She'd even illusioned a few central stay-behinds as precaution. Faking Asellikka and veterans holding the core to deter a rash demon-side plunge.
Central: Asellikka remains.
Expedition: rookies only.
Illusions flipped the intel delivered to the demons.
Thus, Han figured "just rookies? Manageable" and opted for frontal assault.
"Ha. Real petty trick."
"A compliment? Thanks."
Han chuckled bitterly.
Come to think of it, the surrounding battle noises had stopped.
He'd assumed fierce mutual combat from alternating human and beast screams.
Turned out, just seasoned heroes massacring villains and magic beasts.
Used villains to blur friend-foe, but he'd been the one confused. Hoist by his own petard.
"No teleport escape like last time today."
At Asellikka's words, Han slowly surveyed.
Yoon Na-rin, Reisi, Daniel, Ronel, Fergus—every hero, weapons trained on him in encirclement.
"Ha. Clever ploy. Didn't see it coming."
As she said, no gaps.
He'd thought he was breaking lines and sowing chaos moments ago. Now? He'd crawled right into their net.
As Han scoffed, Ronel sneered.
"Pretty rattled, huh? Dropping the formalities now. They say humans shed masks in crisis—starting to show yours?"
"Shut your mouth."
Slash!
Han abruptly swung at a nearby hero. Caught off-guard, the hero was bisected at the waist.
"You...!"
Slash!
The advancing hero met the same fate, waist cleaved horizontally.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Han didn't stop, stomping the fallen hero's skull to pulp.
His blood-dripping scarlet eyes glared at the encircling heroes, as if declaring: "Attack me, and this is how you'll end."
The heroes flinched. Though just one man, his emanating madness made them step back warily.
Like cautioning against a cornered beast's final frenzy.
Crunch!
By the time the skull was unrecognizably shattered,
Han dragged his blade across the ground, slowly turning to face them.
"Come on."
"I'll take at least one with me."