Chapter 373: Shin Sangyong
Chapter 373: Shin Sangyong
“Simon. What’s wrong all of a sudden? Did something happen?”
Yurina’s voice was calm as she called out to Simon. But as she looked at the young man standing with his back to her, her gaze held a faint, yet unconcealable, trace of anxiety.
She wasn’t the only one. When Simon had abruptly stopped in the middle of the field, the other Users had halted as well. All of their eyes were fixed on one person: Simon.
“Si…”
“Kushan Thor is dead, isn’t he?”
Just as Yurina, unable to wait any longer, opened her mouth to speak again, Simon’s low voice finally broke the silence.
“And the spirits have vanished.”
Simon slowly turned, revealing his face. Yurina instinctively shut her mouth. Peeking through his slightly open, slitted eyes were pupils as red as a demon’s. The corners of his lips were pulled up into a smirk. It was his usual smiling face, but something about it felt dangerously tense.
Having served as his closest aide for a relatively long time, Yurina could sense it instinctively. Simon Grimes was in an extremely foul mood.
“Fuck, this is annoying.”
The profanity he tossed out so casually was extremely unusual for Simon, given his usual way of speaking.
“Why the hell should we get our asses kicked by one single guy?”
“S-Simon…”
“Why is the stage I set being controlled by that one guy?”
“……”
Yurina swallowed the words she had been about to say and decided to remain silent. The moment Simon abandoned his reason, his demeanor would flip 180 degrees. She had seen it happen once or twice before and knew it was best not to provoke him any further.
A short time passed.
It was only a few minutes, but for some, it was a precious lifeline. For others, it was a golden opportunity too valuable to waste.
During that time, Simon took a series of sharp, ragged breaths before finally starting to walk, a chilling, ice-thin smile on his face.
He headed toward the Vagabonds—specifically, toward the area where their leaders had gathered.
*
I sprinted across the open field. I trampled over charred corpses, crossing the area where spirits and demonic beasts had fought in a single breath. A refreshing feeling washed over my chest, as if to match my pace. The struggle of taking even a single step forward just moments ago now felt like a distant lie.
Riding the momentum, I ran even more relentlessly and soon reached the entrance to the battlefield. The moment I arrived, I began to survey the area.
A quick scan revealed the situation was better than I’d expected. Perhaps because the ones who should have filled this area were all lying dead, there weren’t many enemies in sight. Of course, that was only true for the area within my line of sight… but still, it was better than I thought.
However, I couldn’t let myself relax. Not only was this just the entrance, but the scarcity of enemies here meant they had likely swarmed to other locations.
I let out a short sigh, lifted my head, and scanned the distance.
There.
Eventually, I spotted the defensive line Vivian had established. Though it was just a dot in the distance, the sight of a giant satyr rampaging confirmed that she had followed my orders correctly.
For a moment, I felt the urge to go to the defensive line, but my body was already moving in a different direction.
I can’t waste a single step.
It was true then, and it was true now. I had no time to rest. The slightest delay on my part could mean failing to save someone who could have been saved.
That was the nature of a battlefield.
I ran for what felt like ten minutes, passing the occasional person.
As I moved from the entrance deeper into the battlefield, I began to process the information flowing in from the ‘Blessing of the Battlefield.’ In that instant, location data for thousands of individuals flooded my mind, and I felt a wave of dizziness.
Don’t tell me… it registered everyone here as an ally?
I cursed under my breath as I ran. But as I focused on the Users I wanted to find, the flood of information instantly subsided. It was a shame that none of them were nearby, but it was a relief nonetheless.
Now, I had to memorize their locations one by one and calculate the most efficient route. Rather than running around aimlessly, I needed to achieve the maximum effect with the minimum amount of travel. But there was no guarantee they would stay in one place, which made it difficult to decide where to even begin.
Boom! Boom!
A moment later.
I heard faint explosions and felt a slight tremor in the ground. I immediately looked up. The number of Users in my sight was gradually increasing. I was finally entering the area where the enemies were concentrated. As proof, the faint screams I’d heard before were now much clearer.
—Die! You sons of bitches!
“Ugh, aghhh!”
Just then, a loud scream from one side made me turn my head. I saw a group of at least several dozen enemies, their faces filled with bloodlust, wreaking havoc.
And with that, the true spectacle of the battlefield finally came into full view.
……
It wasn’t happening in just one spot.
Compared to this, the area around the defensive line I’d seen at the entrance felt like child’s play.
Those groaning in pain from sword wounds.
Those rolling on the ground from incoming magic.
Those whose bodies collapsed from arrows.
Those weeping as they cried out for a priest.
The situation here was a genuine mess, completely different from the entrance. Melees were erupting everywhere in a chaotic free-for-all. One side pushed forward like madmen, while the other fought back with equal desperation.
It was a festival of blood hosted by lunatics. It was so chaotic that it was difficult to even distinguish friend from foe.
Amidst it all, I infused my eyes with magic power and quickly scanned my surroundings. Anyone I knew…
No one.
Neither by sight nor through the ‘Blessing of the Battlefield’ could I find anyone I knew nearby.
In that case, I’d just pass through. I completely ignored the Users being swept away by the enemy and ran straight past them.
Ping! P-ping!
As I passed, a Vagabond arrow flew toward my back. I dodged it with a slight turn of my head. I dealt with an enemy blocking my path in a single blow and continued running, only to see a horde of nearly a hundred enemies ahead. Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground with all my might.
Thump!
With a lurching sensation in my gut, my body soared through the air in an arc. I easily leaped over the clustered enemies and descended back to the ground. Just as my feet were about to touch down, I tilted my body slightly instead of landing directly. Then, as if performing a sliding tackle, I threw myself forward, skidding across the ground.
Srrrrrrrrk!
Thwak! Thwack-thwack!
As I slid across the earth, propelled by inertia, I heard something striking the ground violently behind me. But I was faster; the arrows that had been fired didn’t even graze me.
The battlefield was vast, and the enemies were spread out just as widely. Moreover, I wasn’t their only target; the countless Eastern Users were also in their sights.
I had already broken through thousands of enemies and withstood their concentrated fire. Breaking through a battlefield where their attention was this divided was, at the very least, far easier than that.
Once I felt I had created enough distance, I sprang to my feet like a coil and started running again.
Or rather, I was about to.
『Updating location information for User Lim Hanna.』
Huh?
In that moment, the information from the ‘Blessing of the Battlefield’ was updated.
Direction: 45 degrees northeast. Distance: just over 90 meters.
For a second, I questioned the Blessing of the Battlefield’s own judgment, but I had finally determined my first rescue point. First, I would rescue Lim Hanna, who was closest, and from there, I would choose a route that overlapped with the locations of the others as much as possible.
With my thoughts organized, I immediately changed direction and started running.
Because I was running with all my strength, the 90-meter distance began to shrink in an instant. I could feel Lim Hanna’s presence growing closer in the direction I was headed. Soon, my enhanced vision caught sight of her and a group of others.
Oh.
A sizable group of over twenty Users had gathered there. It seemed they had made good use of the time I’d bought them. They were slowly moving and gathering other Users while fiercely resisting the enemies charging at them.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
Among them, Lim Hanna was undoubtedly the most impressive. Every time she moved her hand, a flash of light erupted, and an enemy would invariably collapse.
That wasn’t all. The large beams of light she occasionally fired were steadily sniping the ranged classes providing support from the rear. Although she was borrowing the power of ‘Brilliant Flash: Laura Phyllis,’ Lim Hanna was displaying a presence that allowed her to hold a balance against an enemy force nearly three times their number.
Seeing that I could rescue them without any trouble if this kept up, I quickened my pace.
But then.
Boom! Ba-boom!
Swoosh! Swoosh-swoosh!
Magic and arrows suddenly flew in from the opposite direction, sweeping over Lim Hanna and the other Users. It seemed support from enemies in another area had arrived.
Crash! CRASH!
“Kyaaah!”
“Aghhh!”
The group, which had been barely holding on, was scattered in an instant. Only fallen Users, groaning in pain, remained where the magic had swept through. They had already been struggling to deal with the enemies in front of them, and the surprise attack had created a fatal opening.
The battle line they had painstakingly maintained collapsed in an instant, and the charging enemies let out roars as they began to overwhelm them. Lim Hanna was no exception. Whether they were captivated by her beauty or held a grudge against her, I could see enemies swarming around her in particular.
Then, one of them let out a vile smirk and, with a whistle, raised his foot and stomped hard on Lim Hanna’s chest. She bit her lip, her face contorted in humiliation. Just as a single tear streamed from her closed eye, I finally got her within range.
“Lim Hanna!”
I shouted loudly to prevent any chance of her taking her own life. Then I crouched down and shot forward with Bowstring Shadow Step. Hearing my shout, the enemies turned their heads with looks of confusion. The moment their eyes met mine, I swung down with the ‘Victoria’s Glory.’ My first target was the bastard who had stomped on Lim Hanna.
Splurch!
The sword split his crown and plunged cleanly through to his gaping mouth. As his body crumbled, I unleashed my magic power with all my might, striking the empty air.
BOOM!
Ripple!
The air wavered violently. Immediately after, the rippling space transformed into a wave of magic power that indiscriminately crashed into the surrounding Vagabonds.
CRACKLE!
Since my attack was also a surprise, the wave tore through the bodies of several enemies without resistance. Even after circling the enemies once, its momentum wasn't spent, and it continued to flow past my target range. A moment later, blood erupted from all directions, followed by belated screams.
I quickly finished off two who were lucky enough to survive, then helped up Lim Hanna, who was staring blankly up at me.
“User Lim Hanna. Are you alright?”
“S-Soohyun!”
Lim Hanna winced slightly, as if the spot where she’d been stomped on was hurting. But thankfully, she didn’t seem to have any serious injuries. She soon placed a hand on her chest and looked at me with an affectionate gaze.
“H-How… Soohyun… N-No. Mercenary Lord!”
Lim Hanna looked both incredibly grateful and happy to see me. I was happy to see her too, but the situation was urgent. With no time for a reunion, I pointed in one direction.
“Explanations later. You understand the current situation, right?”
Sensing my urgency, she immediately composed herself and nodded.
“User Lim Hanna, the enemy is concentrated directly ahead. So, break away diagonally to the left from here. Once you can’t see many enemies, run to the right again. There’s a defensive line there. Go and join them.”
“What? A defensive line?”
“It’s a defensive line set up by Vivian and my brother. By now, they’ve probably gathered a good number of nearby Users. That’s the safest place right now.”
“Yes. I understand. So I just need to go there?”
I was pleased with how quickly she understood the situation and made her decision. If the woman before me had been Ahn Sol instead of Lim Hanna, she would have been a crying mess.
Ahn Sol.
“Yes. Please head there first.”
“W-What? Wait! Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I’m sorry. But I have to find the other clan members.”
“!”
If it had been Jung Hayeon, Shin Sangyong, Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, or Lee Yoojung, I would have escorted them myself. But as an archer, Lim Hanna could reach the location on her own if I just gave her the direction. She was a User with that level of capability.
“Well then.”
“Mercenary Lord!”
I heard Lim Hanna call out to stop me. But worried about the others, I gave her a nod and immediately turned away. Then I started running again.
The next target is…
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
However. I was forced to stop running. I could feel Lim Hanna’s presence following me from behind.
Feeling incredulous, I turned around.
“User Lim Hanna. What are you doing?”
“I’m going too. Let’s go together.”
“…What?”
“I said I’m going with you, Mercenary Lord… with you, Soohyun!”
At Lim Hanna’s unexpected words, I frowned deeply.
“Don’t be ridiculous…!”
“No! Are you telling me to just wait quietly again?”
“……?”
“Rather than lose someone again, rather than just watch again… I’m going to follow you. This time, I’m definitely going to follow you!”
A poignant sorrow flickered across Lim Hanna’s face as she shouted. Yet, her eyes showed an unyielding will that would not be swayed.
Her aura was completely different from the gentleness she usually showed, and I found myself at a loss for words.
Suddenly, something Lim Hanna had said in the past flashed through my mind.
‘Please speak comfortably with me. Ah. Is it alright if I use formal speech?’
‘I want to try and forge my own destiny.’
“……”
“……”
For a brief moment, I stared intently at Lim Hanna.
Her pupils, visible above her tightly bitten lip, were trembling so clearly it was impossible to miss.