Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Blanc Clan's Ambush
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Five.
Outnumbered for sure, but Woojin stepped right up in front of them without a second thought.
"You there."
No reply came from inside the bushes, but he could sense their bewilderment from the faint trembling of the leaves.
"Come out."
Shing—
Woojin drew his sword.
"You've heard about me by now, right? There's no way you came from the Central Continent in this short time... Do you really think the guys here can take me on?"
"...Cocky bastard."
Someone emerged from the bushes.
Judging by the leather armor and the short weapons dangling all over his body, he looked like a ranger.
"You from Genesis Unit?"
"I'm Peron from Blanc Clan. Surely you've heard of us? We're the biggest alliance in the Dark Forest."
"Nope. Haven't even been out of Moretti for a few days. Why would I know you?"
"...What?"
Peron, who had been strutting with overconfidence, scowled at Woojin's response.
"Anyway, why are hotshots like you from the Dark Forest pulling this stunt?"
"You should know the reason better than anyone."
Swish— swish swish—.
The leaves rustled all at once.
'These guys. They're doing it on purpose.'
It was a move to show they had him surrounded.
"It's a request from [Genesis Unit]. Their leader wants to meet you. Consider yourself lucky. We don't take anything less than an assassination job, normally."
He curled his finger in a circle and grinned wickedly.
"The price was right, so we made an exception. Don't try anything stupid. Unless you want to die."
"I see. So you have no intention of killing me."
Woojin nodded as if he understood.
"But I do."
Whoosh—!!!
In that instant, an arrow shot out from between the bushes.
Clang—!!!!
Incredible speed, but amazingly, Peron twisted his body and drew the sword at his waist to swat the arrow away.
"You bastard... shooting an arrow right off the bat?"
"What else am I supposed to do to someone who came to kill me?"
Woojin sneered at him, but inwardly, he was surprised.
'He blocked Luen's arrow?'
Woojin glared at him with narrowed eyes.
'Rangers have high agility anyway, but at normal levels, reacting to Luen's attack with Ulldin's traits should be tough.'
That meant at least level 40.
Practically the strongest level in beginner territory.
The stage where you'd graduate from the Dark Forest and prepare to head to the Central Continent.
'So that's why he's so confident.'
"Think you're clever? We've been tailing you since you left Parta. You really think that'd work?"
"That's why I had to try."
Flash—!!!
Woojin charged at him, shouting,
"Luen!! Don't hold back—blow his head off!!"
At his yell, Peron's body flinched involuntarily.
Seemed he lacked confidence blocking an incoming arrow while facing Woojin.
"What are you idiots doing?! Find her, now!!!!"
At his shout, the bushes shook busily.
"...Huh?"
The moment Peron tried to back away to dodge Woojin closing in, he felt his body grow heavy.
"W-Wait...!!"
He hurriedly raised his sword to block, but Woojin twisted his blade, altering its path.
The thrust aimed at his chest merely grazed his side.
"This time it's real."
Forgetting the pain in his side at Woojin's warning, Peron frantically raised his arm to protect his head.
"Not the arrow—my sword."
"Damn it!!"
Woojin, now behind Peron, drove his sword into the man's thigh.
"Gaaahhh!!!"
Peron toppled forward, sword still lodged in his leg.
"Not even worth a skill."
Woojin looked down at him with a flat tone.
"Hey, quit playing dead. Pain settings make it barely hurt anyway."
Woojin stepped on Peron's back as he lay on the ground and bent down.
"You know better than me—level 40 and up drops EXP on death. Call your goons now. Unless you wanna die."
"Son of a... "
Peron's face twisted in frustration.
This was a disaster.
He'd boasted to Genesis Unit about a 100% success rate.
'This can't be real. Me, taken down by some low-level scrub in the Dark Forest?'
He was fully geared with top-tier equipment for the Central Continent.
It made no sense.
"One."
Woojin casually yanked the sword in Peron's thigh downward with full force.
Crunch...!
Bones snapped, and Peron's leg separated from his body.
Only then did he realize.
His opponent was beyond reason.
"W-What the hell!!!"
"What? Can't you see?"
Woojin turned toward the remaining leg.
"Two."
"W-Wait!! I'm calling them! Coming out, you bastards!!! Right now!!!"
Face pale, Peron waved his hands frantically and yelled.
'One, two, three...'
Finally, four men emerged from the bushes—just as Luen had said, excluding Peron.
"Why are these guys walking out with both legs intact?"
Woojin called out to Luen, hidden somewhere in the forest.
Invisible, but his words seemed to carry a hint of anxiety from afar.
"...Sorry."
Thud—.
Luen dropped from a tree, hood covering her face, and bowed toward him.
"I told you to be ready."
"Heh... What a joke. Ready for what... Making NPCs do everything."
Peron smirked at Woojin.
"Kill us."
"...Pardon?"
"They came to kill us. And you're the only one who can take this guy down."
"W-Wait...!!"
"What? You attacked first—shouldn't you be prepared for this?"
"No! We just got a request to capture you. We had no intention of killing!!"
Woojin chuckled at Peron's words.
"Really?"
He pulled the sword from Peron's leg and grabbed the man by the scruff, dragging him deeper into the forest path.
"Trap disarming starts at level 50. So those traps you set are Central Continent gear, huh."
"Wa-Wai...!!"
"Lucky, you just lose a leg. Otherwise, instant death. And you say no killing intent?"
"Eek...!!"
Woojin shoved Peron's face toward a trap on the ground.
"Quit the bullshit. You probably have goons at the shrine too. Planning to grab me on respawn."
He yanked Peron back by the neck.
"Makes me curious. Traps are for feet, but what if you trigger it with your head?"
"You crazy bastard...!!"
Woojin unhesitatingly shoved Peron into the set trap.
Snap—!!
Crunchhhh———!!
Sharp spikes erupted from the ground, piercing straight through his head.
The headless body slumped, and the chained traps exploded in a cacophony of noise.
"Gasp...!"
"Ngh... "
His men groaned involuntarily at the sight of him reduced to ash in seconds.
"Pride won't save your life. Right?"
Woojin picked up the loot from Peron's corpse.
As he slipped the ring onto his finger, he eyed the remaining lackeys.
"Peron got taken out... How the hell did this happen? This isn't what we were told."
"He said the church NPC made this guy no big deal... But he's a total monster... "
"What do we do...?"
They muttered with troubled looks.
'It's over for them.'
They'd already lost the will to fight—no threat left.
"What exactly did Genesis Unit request from you? Tell me straight, and I might just let you go."
At his offer, they exchanged glances.
"...The job was simple. Capture you and hand you over in two days."
"Two days? Not tomorrow?"
"Place is far. We need time to move too."
"Where?"
"...Blood Cave."
Woojin nodded, as if it figured.
The last of the three field dungeons in the Dark Forest, entry level 40+ high-end one.
But level wasn't the issue.
Unlike other Dark Forest dungeons, Blood Cave was the only spot in beginner lands where player killing was allowed.
'Made for PK practice before Central Continent...'
But now, level 49 players hunkered down inside, hunting lowbies—abandoned wasteland.
A lawless zone where they even fought each other, let alone Central Continent.
"Must've been real pissed about the Citadel. Tried dragging me to a PK-enabled dungeon to kill me."
Woojin laughed coldly.
"Fine. You there. Tell Genesis Unit you've got me."
"Wh-What...?"
"Say meet in two days at Blood Cave. Don't worry about me running. I was heading there anyway."
The last of the three time attacks in the Dark Forest.
Blood Cave.
"But..."
They looked at Woojin with hesitation.
"If you can't, just tell the truth. I don't care... but think they'll let you off after taking their money and failing?"
No reply from them.
"No upside getting marked by them. Unless you wanna rot in the Dark Forest forever. You wanna go Central too, right?"
"...Damn it. Fine. We'll do it your way. But... you have to show up, no matter what."
"Don't sweat it. I wanna meet them too. Be grateful I'm letting you go quietly and scram."
Crunch—
Unhappy faces, but none dared argue.
"...You sure about letting them go?"
Once they left, Luen alone with him asked worriedly.
"Probably. They didn't take the council just for cash."
"Then why?"
"Need solid backing for hunting in Central Continent."
Central Continent allowed free PK—solo survival for the rare few.
Reason: Most dungeons owned by clans.
Clans held exclusive hunting grounds, tacit non-aggression on territories.
'That's why they pull stunts to impress big clans.'
His proposal was the right call.
If he showed, no need to admit failure.
"We don't need their useless lives."
Time.
"If Genesis learns of their fail, they might come straight here. False report buys us a day."
Two dungeons left for time attacks.
The two days bought...
"Enough to clear the rest."