Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Nineheart
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My breath was coming in ragged gasps.
It meant my stamina was finally reaching its limit.
Pretending to faint and catching my breath for a bit hadn't been enough, after all.
But Luke's situation was serious—Roxy's was even worse.
"Hah, hahk."
Exhaustion was plain on her face.
Well, it was understandable.
The Fist Monk was strictly a dealer class.
She had higher stamina and defense than a thief-type job, but not enough to serve as the main tank.
Yet she was stubbornly holding the shield role, so it was only natural her body would overload soon.
And that wasn't all.
The flowing stance unique to rotational fighters.
She was using it to mitigate the greatsword's power somehow, but that only minimized the damage.
It didn't eliminate the impact entirely.
Her stamina...
And her HP were both hanging by a thread.
"You okay?"
"Hahk... For now... I can hold."
"......"
She didn't show it, but Luke could tell.
Her stamina had already hit its limit.
She was pushing herself anyway, but any more delay here would put her in real danger too.
Ching!
'The reinforcements should be here soon.'
Otherwise, there was no chance of winning.
Luke deflected the blade again while thinking that.
Roxy immediately narrowed her stance as if she'd been waiting.
At the same time, a focused Explosive Fist slammed into Drauder's sword flat.
The bleeding effect from the Blood kukri.
It was stacking up steadily too.
'The problem is...'
Luke's eyes twitched.
Drauder's HP gauge hadn't changed much from before.
At best, it'd dropped about 5% overall.
Despite the constant bleeding damage, there was no sign of it dropping further.
And during all the back-and-forth so far, he'd noticed one thing.
Drauder.
The guy hadn't used a single proper skill the whole time.
A level 154 named NPC should have at least one or two skills, but Luke hadn't seen any.
Was he hiding them on purpose?
Or did he really not have any?
'The former is unlikely.'
If he had skills like that, he'd have killed them already and escaped the stronghold.
Via a top-grade return stone.
But he hadn't.
Instead, he'd tried to heal the bleeding with potions first.
If Luke hadn't interfered, he'd have used the return stone to warp back to base.
'And the latter's almost impossible too.'
Parten's lord, Legul Valkins, had wielded several threatening dark magics.
Would the even stronger revolutionary leader be designed without any skills?
It didn't make sense.
'More likely...'
Luke's eyes darted around.
Drauder's eyes, trembling uneasily for a while now.
His face looked like he was hesitating over something.
He was hiding something.
Luke had realized that much, but he still couldn't figure out what.
'This feels ominous.'
Whatever he was hiding, the guy would die here in this stronghold anyway.
That's what Luke had thought while desperately buying time.
But now, his mind was changing slightly.
A named NPC who hadn't shown even one skill.
That made whatever came next feel suddenly terrifying.
'A single skill several times more threatening than a bunch of others.'
No, it might not even be a skill.
Maybe a vast ability encompassing an entire domain.
But no matter how dangerous the ability, handling over a hundred viscount troops alone would be impossible.
Especially breaking through the encirclement.
'Yeah, numbers trump named or whatever. It'll be fine.'
If they just held out until then, everything would go as planned.
Drauder dies here.
And Luke claims the secret map.
That's why they were buying time.
So for now, focus on fighting the guy.
Luke pushed aside the anxiety and kept up the tightrope walk.
And as a result of those efforts...
The moment he'd been waiting for finally arrived.
"There, over there!"
"Everyone's here—I found them!"
The viscount's troops who'd come down to the lower floors.
They'd finally reached the top-floor room.
"Hey, that's the Iron Mask guy."
"He really stormed the stronghold solo?"
"Whoa, he was throwing daggers non-stop to build momentum for this?"
"So cool."
"Ooh, looks like he and Roxy were holding off that beefcake duo-style till just now?"
The first to arrive were the mercenaries and adventurers who'd followed Roxy.
Then the viscount's soldiers followed behind.
The reinforcements swelled in an instant.
Clang!
Soon, the Hawk Knight Order appeared in the hallway too, instantly reversing the dire situation.
Their tense stances relaxed.
Luke and Roxy could finally sigh in relief and fall back safely.
A bright-faced young man came dashing over at the sight.
"Hold on, I'll heal you right up."
It was the holy knight, Baek Eun.
Holy light seeped into his entire body.
Roxy, beside him, saw her HP filling and gave the guy a quick nod.
A world away from moments ago.
She'd returned to her taciturn self.
An utterly absurd scene.
Luke gave her an incredulous look before checking the message in front of him.
Of course.
As in his criminal days, the heal wasn't taking effect at all.
The cause? His negative Faith stat.
'All the other stats reset, but why's Faith still like this?'
Luke suspected it was tied to his Infamy value.
Why?
Infamy wasn't gone—it was just hidden.
'Sigh, fuck it. Guess I'll wrap some bandages.'
Even as a thief, some things never changed.
Luke wound bandages around his body and turned his head.
There, Hawk Knight Order Captain Alcareto and his men were surrounding Drauder.
"We already heard from the townsfolk. Drauder, leader of the revolutionaries!"
Calmly conveying the viscount's will even with the enemy boss right there.
Not the most reassuring sight, but these were knights drawing level 100+ firepower.
Plus the other soldiers holding formation, so they could relax for a while.
Luke had no doubt.
But for some reason, Drauder looked off.
Head drooped, standing silently in place.
His whole body trembling in that state.
'...That guy?'
Anxiety surged in that instant.
"What if, just in case..."
Near the end of the meeting.
A staffer spoke up abruptly.
All eyes turned to him.
The staffer faltered for a second but calmly continued.
"If the return fails, what happens then?"
"Hm."
"Given the viscount's army level range, that's impossible. Sure, the rookies and Iron Mask are wild cards... but their limits are clear. No skill can bridge that level gap. He'll probably escape via return stone while they're assaulting the top floor."
Jeongmu was right.
The quest's recorded average level from data was 100.
The highest logged was around 108.
Meaning even the mysterious Iron Mask's level topped out below 110.
And those guys break through the stronghold's tight security to reach Drauder's top-floor room?
While blocking a return stone's instant warp?
The premise was flawed from the start.
But.
"Well, you said 'just in case'..."
Maybe because of all the recent incidents.
Jeongmu soon adjusted his glasses and built a contingency.
"If return fails, survival odds drop sharply, but it's not hopeless. Cornered, Drauder will make one final choice."
"Choice?"
The staffer glanced puzzled at the team lead.
Team Lead 1 Park Kwangho, arms crossed, watching silently.
Meaning keep going.
Jeongmu nodded and continued.
"The special ability granted in NPC design phase. He'll use it to break the encirclement himself."
"I-Is that possible?"
"He can't fully control it... but not impossible. It's the core driver for his later Hero-grade growth."
"What kind of ability...?"
Eyes focused.
Jeongmu's eyes gleamed as he said,
"Nineheart."
'Drauder, you are our pride.'
'Mother, what's this?'
'You will surely right this nation.'
'Agh, it hurts, Mother, let go!'
'Don't worry, this too is His power. Accept it...'
'Aaaaaah, please!'
Screeeeech—
A grating noise like scraping metal.
Thought halted. Only feral instinct remained.
Survive. His body moved solely on that drive.
"Revolutionary leader Drauder. Not content with secretly building rebel forces, you've invaded the viscount's territory and committed crimes defying the law. Your sins are unforgivable..."
"I."
"Hm?"
"Will not die."
His whole body creaked.
Black aura seeped up slowly.
From within, Drauder slowly raised his head.
"The ones who die..."
Thump!
"Y-You?!"
Thump!
Survive.
To carry on His will.
And right the nation.
Crunch!
He had to survive somehow.
Thus, he would not die.
Crrrrunch!
The ones who die...
—Are you lot.