Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Apostle's Ambush
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Chapter 230.
Kye Soo-ji was sprinting at full speed.
Except for brief stops to check the map, she hadn't rested for even a single second.
'No orcs in sight.'
Honestly, she had expected to run into at least a few groups of ancient orcs.
The path she was taking was marked with over eight such groups.
Yet there wasn't a single one, let alone any packs.
'As expected, they're all gathering up.'
She recalled the dust cloud she had seen before departing.
It made her feel unnecessarily urgent.
'I really need Woo-jin.'
Fighting that many ancient orcs would inevitably produce casualties.
It might be fine for A-rank or higher like herself, but the C-ranks were at risk.
They lacked both mana and stamina.
If they got surrounded by the enemy even slightly, they could die before anyone had a chance to save them.
But if Seo Woo-jin were with them...
Heh.
Lost in thought, Kye Soo-ji let out a laugh.
"Woo-jin must really be something. Makes me keep wanting to rely on him like this."
If Seo Woo-jin fought alongside them.
If Seo Woo-jin watched their backs.
If Seo Woo-jin helped them out.
Somehow, it felt like they wouldn't face any danger in any battle.
Even though it was just one extra person's power, it filled her with baseless confidence.
Seo Woo-jin truly was that dependable of a comrade.
"Hurry and find them. That way we can prepare countermeasures a little faster...!"
Kwaaaaang!
It was the moment Kye Soo-ji tried to pick up speed.
Suddenly, right in front of her, an enormous explosion erupted, sending a shockwave her way.
"Urk!"
Startled by the explosion that came without any warning, Kye Soo-ji hurriedly flung herself aside.
But she was a little too late.
One of her legs got caught up in the blast.
Pabababat!
Gritting her teeth against the pain shooting from her leg, she barely managed to steady herself.
"Who's there!"
There was no way such an explosion could happen without reason.
Kye Soo-ji determined that someone had deliberately blocked her path and shouted.
"Didn't think you'd survive."
Flinch!
Startled by the sudden male voice, Kye Soo-ji whipped around.
There, someone stood right behind her.
Without hesitation, she threw a punch at him.
Hwaaaaak!
It was a snap attack without any skill infused, but it carried more than enough power on its own.
But...
"You've got some skill yourself."
The man blocked her attack far too easily.
With just one hand, no less.
With her fist caught in his grip, Kye Soo-ji's eyes went wide as she drew up her mana.
"Calf Cutter!"
At the same time, she swept her knee toward the man's calf.
It was an all-out attack, packed with unimaginable power.
"Hmm."
Did the man sense it?
This time, rather than block, he opted to dodge.
He released her fist and took a single step back, letting Kye Soo-ji's knee slice through empty air.
Shwaaaaaak!
The sound was like an arrow cutting through the wind.
'He dodged?'
The instant Kye Soo-ji realized her attack had failed, she kicked off the ground to pull away.
'Ugh!'
Pushing off with her injured leg sent a white-hot pain through her that nearly blanked her mind.
Once she judged she'd opened enough distance, Kye Soo-ji looked down.
One leg of her pants was charred black and stuck to her skin.
The burned flesh was grotesquely horrific to look at.
Without proper treatment, amputation might be the only option.
If left as is, the tissue would necrotize and likely lead to sepsis.
Gritting her teeth, Kye Soo-ji glared at the man in front of her.
He didn't look particularly old.
Mid to late thirties at most.
Aside from his long white hair reaching his waist, there were no notable features.
But Kye Soo-ji had no attention to spare for appearances.
An unimaginably vast aura.
Overwhelmed by it, she could barely think straight.
'Demonic energy!'
That was the nature of the aura.
At her level, she could move freely within its range of influence, but even so, she couldn't bring herself to act.
'If I move, I'll die.'
If Kye Soo-ji so much as took a step, it felt like the white-haired man would tear her throat out.
Even channeling her mana yielded the same result.
The man appeared casually relaxed at a glance, but he had not the slightest gap.
"Good senses."
The man nodded and asked her.
"Are all the heroes like you?"
* * *
Seo Woo-jin was on the move with his team members after finishing their rest.
They had been assigned the outermost perimeter, so linking up with the other teams would take quite some time.
"You think they've really gathered?"
"The odds are high."
"No ancient orcs around, so you might be right."
Kang Byung-gyu wore a puzzled expression.
"We specifically planned it to keep them from sharing information."
That had been the core of the strategy.
Disrupt their ability to group up and whittle away at their forces bit by bit.
To ensure the ancient orcs couldn't learn each other's situations, teams had been positioned at intervals to block communication.
And yet, they had gathered...
"I could understand a few nearby packs merging, but gathering in units of ten thousand like you said? That doesn't add up."
How much effort had gone into devising that plan?
Kang Byung-gyu in particular, with his 'Search' skill, had suffered immensely.
Having it all go to waste was grounds for disappointment.
"I don't know either. No idea how."
A few possibilities surfaced in his mind.
An ancient orc with a special ability allowing long-distance communication.
Another team failing to execute properly, leaving gaping holes.
And the absolute worst case...
'Something controlling them.'
If it was one of the first two, there'd be little to worry about, but if someone was actually manipulating the ancient orcs?
'That'd be a problem.'
Any entity with that level of ability would have to be at least Apostle-class.
The Apostles were desperate to thin the heroes' numbers and wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this.
It was more than enough reason for one to step in.
Seo Woo-jin forcibly suppressed the growing unease.
"Well, we'll find out when we get there. Shame, though—we were leveling up so nicely."
Under Seo Woo-jin's support, the team members had been gaining levels at a ridiculous pace.
It wasn't quite bussing, but with no need to worry about their lives, they could focus purely on attacking, making their hunting speed tremendous.
They had even forgotten their brushes with death and were in high spirits, only for this mess to happen.
It was no wonder the team, Kang Byung-gyu included, felt regretful.
"It's fine. There are still plenty of chances to level up."
Seo Woo-jin smiled as if to reassure them.
Then, he suddenly turned his head toward one direction.
"Why? Something there?"
Surprised by Seo Woo-jin's abrupt movement, Kang Byung-gyu activated 'Search' to scan the surroundings.
But his skill detected nothing.
"Nothing's picking up. What's wrong?"
As Kang Byung-gyu cocked his head, Seo Woo-jin furrowed his brow in reply.
"Demonic energy."
"...Demonic energy?"
The team members' eyes widened at his words.
Demonic energy.
Why would it be felt here?
If it were the crude stuff leaking from some demonic beast, Seo Woo-jin wouldn't have reacted like this.
"Could it be the Demon King's followers?"
Park Min-sung asked with an anxious look.
"Yeah. Feels like Apostle-level."
Why were ominous premonitions never wrong?
The sudden scent of demonic energy drifting in was far too thick.
The distance prevented total certainty, but it seemed on par with—even surpassing—Zenonia.
"Byung-gyu, can you get the others back safely?"
Seo Woo-jin asked, and Kang Byung-gyu nodded.
"Don't worry about that. Guiding's my specialty."
With Kang Byung-gyu's skills, they should be able to return without major risk.
"Then I'm leaving it to you."
"You're heading out?"
"Yeah, looks like I need to go right now."
What Seo Woo-jin sensed wasn't demonic energy alone.
There was also a very familiar mana signature.
'Kye Soo-ji.'
He had no idea why she was there, but the situation felt far from good.
Kye Soo-ji was top-tier among the heroes, but Apostles were beings of a whole different caliber.
She couldn't hold one off by herself.
"Then I'm counting on you."
"Y-yeah. Go on, hurry."
Kang Byung-gyu nodded, and Seo Woo-jin kicked off the ground without looking back.
Hwaaaaaak!
The surrounding scenery rushed past in an instant.
It was as if he walked a different flow of time.
He raced forward through a world that had slowed to a crawl.
'Got to hurry.'
Kye Soo-ji was strong, but an Apostle could drive even her to death with ease.
There didn't seem to be any action yet, but there was no telling how long that would last.
He had to arrive as fast as possible.
'Being late once is enough.'
Just moments ago, Kang Byung-gyu had nearly died.
He had no desire to repeat that experience.
Seo Woo-jin channeled every bit of chaos energy he had and kicked off again.
How far had he gone like that?
In the distance, two small dots came into view.
One was Kye Soo-ji.
She seemed injured—her movements weren't natural.
The other was the Apostle, just as he'd suspected.
It was a face he'd never seen before, but the savage aura within was unmistakably demonic energy.
'Same level as Zenonia. Maybe higher.'
An astonishingly powerful foe.
'Can I win?'
He had subdued Zenonia easily because she was in Demon King Transformation.
But now, he'd have to fight with his own power alone.
He wasn't sure if his current self could handle an Apostle this strong.
'Not the time to worry about that.'
First, he had to save Kye Soo-ji.
The two figures rapidly grew larger.
"Stop!"
Drawing 'Karaniel' as he shouted, the white-haired Apostle turned toward him.
"Woo-jin!"
Kye Soo-ji's cry reached his ears too.
Rather than reply, Seo Woo-jin poured his chaos energy into 'Karaniel'.
Wooong!
A searing gray aura flared to life.
"Get back!"
Even with distance still between them, Seo Woo-jin swung 'Karaniel' horizontally without hesitation.
Saaaaak!
A deep gash scarred the earth as the gray aura hurtled toward the Apostle.
At the same time, he saw the Apostle raise a hand.
Kwaaaaaang!
An explosion erupted.