Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Slaying the Rear Orcs
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[You have acquired 1 coin.]
Always a pleasant message.
However, what made Jeong-hyeon feel even better right now was the fact that he could personally go around killing orcs.
The first target was the lead orc madly swinging its axe at Ha-jun's shield.
It seemed like a creature born solely to kill humans, which made Jeong-hyeon even less hesitant to throw his dagger at it.
Even after entering Stealth mode, it was the same.
The orcs, not yet fully aware of Jeong-hyeon's presence, couldn't detect his movements.
In this situation, he targeted not the frontliners but the orcs approaching from the flanks.
Fortunately, he sensed presences from only one direction, not both sides.
'Three in total?'
Contrary to their appearance, orcs were monsters with surprisingly good intelligence.
The fact that they moved in groups was one thing, but it seemed they figured three was enough for rear guard defense.
Jeong-hyeon first circled widely around the orcs, taking a position completely out of left field for them—on the outer side.
And he aimed for the lead one among them.
The dagger, empowered by the combination of Stealth and Throwing Skill, easily sank into the orc's back.
'Feels good!'
It was the back of an orc that seemed made purely of muscle, yet it stiffened for a moment before collapsing immediately, suggesting he'd accurately pierced the heart.
As the leader fell, the other orcs visibly panicked and looked around.
Did they have the brains to search for the thrower?
Stealth automatically disengaged after one attack anyway, and it couldn't be reactivated for a set period.
In the end, it was inevitable that Jeong-hyeon, standing right next to them, would be spotted.
"Kweeek!"
The enraged orcs let out roars in all directions.
Thwack—
But another flying dagger slipped into one orc's open mouth, severing its neck bone.
Normally, he should press the advantage without missing a beat and take out the last one too.
[Proficiency level of 「Fairly Sharp Throwing Skill」(D) has increased from 1 → 2.]
But an unexpected notification window popped up, halting him.
'What?'
Compared to other traits whose proficiency he'd leveled up before, this felt a bit faster.
'Well, since acquiring Throwing Skill, I've used it more as my main than the mace, so that makes sense.'
It was well-known that weapon-specific traits like Throwing Skill leveled up a bit faster than general ones like movement or combat sense that boosted overall stats.
Plus, it was the highest D-rank, even if only by one grade.
Anyway, a proficiency level-up was always welcome, whenever it happened.
As he thought that and closed the notification,
"Uwaaak!"
Jeong-hyeon had to urgently dodge an axe suddenly dropping toward his head.
It felt like quite a few thoughts had flashed by, but it was all in an instant.
In that time, the last remaining orc had closed in enough to swing its axe.
Once inside axe range, using the freshly leveled Throwing Skill was out of the question.
'First time facing an orc head-on, though.'
He'd experienced combat via the Association's test system, but it was fundamentally different from the real thing.
Jeong-hyeon gripped the mace firmly with both hands and assumed a stance.
The way it charged recklessly with axe raised reminded him of Ju-cheol from the goblin gate.
No Ji-yoon to stab its ankle this time, but Jeong-hyeon wasn't the same Jeong-hyeon from back then either.
Whoosh—
The orc's axe came precisely for his head.
But Jeong-hyeon dodged it without much difficulty.
In speed and power, it was about even with Ju-cheol.
Back then, all he could manage was flinging his body around to barely evade, but now he could clearly see it and move with precise timing and minimal motion.
Crack—
Jeong-hyeon calmly thrust the mace upward, striking the orc's jaw.
Having dodged, it would be stupid to put full power into a full swing.
For a humanoid, the jaw was inevitably a vital spot, especially the lower part—most effective.
With the height difference between him and the orc, it was even more advantageous for Jeong-hyeon.
The orc's lowered jaw shot up violently from the sudden motion.
The upper and lower jaws crashing together involuntarily couldn't have been pleasant for the orc.
Its mind probably went blank.
"Kweeek!"
As expected, its reflexive swing wasn't much of a threat.
An attack not properly aimed at a target couldn't be accurate.
To Jeong-hyeon, who could see its path, the wild swing was useless.
"Step—"
Jeong-hyeon circled behind the orc entirely.
The orc's massive frame swayed, its brain shaken.
'Wish I had Uncle Cheol-yong's mace for this.'
The previous mace had a spike at the end of the flanged head.
Useful for thrusting, but sadly, this mace lacked one.
Instead of a perfect sphere like before, it had multiple sharp edges almost like a sword.
From above, it looked like a star.
Thrusting was a bit disadvantageous, but—
Splat—
For swinging, its true purpose, it was even better suited.
The merciless swing tore into the orc's back.
Red blood sprayed out, but he didn't care and followed up.
"Kweeeea!"
The orc's pained scream was like sweet music to Jeong-hyeon at that moment.
Each time the sharp edges ripped into the already torn flesh, more blood spurted.
Finally, he felt the sensation of piercing thick muscle and hitting something harder.
Crack—Crunch—
[You have acquired 1 coin.]
Only after the notification appeared did Jeong-hyeon's hand stop.
The orc lay face-down on the ground, twitching.
With its spine fully severed, even an ogre couldn't avoid becoming a corpse.
Jeong-hyeon looked down at the orc, covered in blood and steaming.
Him and the orc sprawled on the ground, felled by his hand.
Jeong-hyeon soon moved on.
The emotions were special, but he had no time to savor them.
***
"Young-hoon, didn't you say Jeong-hyeon was unregistered...?"
"Yeah..."
Sua and Young-hoon's dazed conversation continued.
Of course, their hands kept busy all the while.
The orcs weren't fully cleared yet.
But anyone seeing an unregistered hunter kill an orc with Throwing Skill the moment he appeared,
And steal the attention of all four at once,
Would react the same way.
Orcs.
Often downplayed in stories due to overuse, but facing their massive bulk and ferocious aura in person made it hard to imagine them getting diced by a hero's sword.
Even one-on-one was tough; groups made it worse, naturally.
In fact, Young-hoon or Sua could handle an orc solo.
But in combat, numbers were violence itself.
One versus one was worlds apart from one versus two.
Even three hunters who could solo orcs would struggle to hold against ten.
Aiming for a gap in one meant blocking another's attack first.
When each ally was more precious than the enemy, there was no choice.
But after Jeong-hyeon joined, the situation flipped completely.
Swish—
At first, it was a very faint sound.
In the chaos of shouts and clashing metal, even hunters could barely hear it.
"Huh?"
Han-su, raising his shield as always to block a plunging axe, tilted his head.
The massive impact should have hit by now, but there was a pause.
Peeking cautiously beyond the shield, he saw an orc collapsing smoothly.
A dagger was buried nearly halfway up the hilt in the fully prone orc's back.
A familiar sight, but more intense.
"Kwee?"
So bewildering a death that nearby orcs looked around too.
But that was just the start.
To the hunters, a blessing like manna from heaven; to the orcs, daggers raining like hell's invitation.
Thud—
An orc turning to find the thrower took one straight to the chest.
A mere blade might struggle to pierce the thick chest to the heart, but the force drove the hilt in too.
With no proper defense, it was a disaster for the orcs.
"Kweeek!"
Only after two more dropped uselessly did they spot Jeong-hyeon behind them.
The leader orc at the front bellowed.
But naturally, their foes weren't just Jeong-hyeon.
"Sua, now!"
"Okay!"
Young-hoon didn't miss the moment all their attention turned to Jeong-hyeon behind.
His spear tip cleanly pierced the orc's nape.
Sua didn't land a finisher but left a deep gash on the nearest.
From clear superiority, the orcs plunged into a dilemma.
They split to attack both sides improvisationally, but that choice erased their numerical edge.
First, fewer orcs meant less pressure on Ha-jun.
Thus, healer Dae-yun didn't need to focus solely on him.
So dealers Young-hoon and Sua could attack more aggressively.
Halving enemy attacks had massive chain effects.
The issue was whether Jeong-hyeon could hold against the four orcs, including the leader, charging at him.
How he'd suddenly appeared behind from the rear was unknown.
He'd exerted overwhelming influence upon revealing himself, but it was the synergy of surprise and Throwing Skill.
He had a decent-quality mace on his back, but showing that Throwing Skill as an unregistered was near-miraculous.
His melee with mace was bound to be far inferior.
Turning the tide only to die without an escape would be utterly futile.
The frontliners gripped their weapons tighter.
Finally, when Sua downed another and numbers evened,
"Uryaaap!"
With Ha-jun's shout, the front line advanced.
Naturally toward Jeong-hyeon.
Even with his flashy moves, four orcs had charged there.
They held faint hope from his brief display, but him mangled by axes wouldn't be surprising.
No, that might be more natural.
'We have to hurry and help!'
That unified Young-hoon, Sua, and Ha-jun's thoughts.
Fortunately, orcs favored offense over defense, attack-biased monsters.
Once pushing, the hunters advanced swiftly.
Ha-jun bashed an axe aside with shield as Sua darted in like lightning.
Young-hoon's superb spear marked attacks pouring at her.
They felled all orcs blocking the path to Jeong-hyeon, and finally the front cleared.
"...Huh?"
Those who'd charged with killing intent uttered bewildered voices.
The three orcs Jeong-hyeon faced had all collapsed in various poses.
The common point: one or two daggers in vitals each.
And Jeong-hyeon was numbly smashing the last orc's head.