Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Unexpected Reinforcements
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Watching Lee Won-jae back away, Ye-ryeong let out a sigh.
"I knew it would turn out like this."
How nice it would have been if they could have passed through easily. But as expected, that didn't happen.
Ye-ryeong knew what Lee Won-jae wanted. She'd figured it out by sticking close to Adolf's side—he was plotting betrayal, using them for his own gain.
It was infuriating, but she saw it as a good sign. If played right, maybe she could use him to slip out of here easily.
But their goal was to rescue Hyo-min and get out. Meanwhile, Lee Won-jae wanted to use Hyo-min to seize control over them.
So, having successfully secured Hyo-min, they had no choice but to become his enemies.
"Tch."
Pak-.
Ye-ryeong leaped upward.
It looked like a light jump, but her body soared high. In an instant, she reached the ceiling and vaulted over the heads of the rankers filling her view.
"Catch her!"
"Don't let her escape!"
With shouts from a few, a barrage rained down on Ye-ryeong.
Tung, teotung-!
In a flash, heavy arrows and spells flew from all directions. Javelins and arrows, magic—all hurtling toward her, curses enveloping her body.
Ting, tingting-.
Pak-.
She deflected attacks with her dagger, twisting her body mid-air to dodge skills.
Kwarung-!
Explosions from skills shattered the guild house's walls and ceiling. In moments, escape routes opened above and to the sides.
And at that instant, Ye-ryeong's body split into several afterimages, dashing out of the building.
"Huk!"
"Suddenly three..."
"No, four!"
"Five! Don't get confused!"
Among the Ye-ryeongs scattering in multiple directions, spotting the real one was impossible.
"No need to find the real one! Just catch them all!"
But this was Blue Zone territory.
Not just inside the building—countless rankers were lying in wait outside. They instantly identified the target.
"That woman's the one!"
"Block her!"
From all sides—no, every ranker in the city was an enemy. Massive pillars blocked Ye-ryeong's path as she fled, and chains flew from somewhere to wrap around her body.
Seokeok-.
Ye-ryeong sliced the chains binding her with her dagger pinched between her fingers. In that time, people swarmed like bees.
"When the hell is Kim Si-woo coming?"
Irritation boiled over.
In any other situation, she could have escaped alone somehow. If she could just go stealth, most of these guys wouldn't even find her position.
But right now, Hyo-min was on her back.
Unless she tossed her hard-won friend to the ground, stealth was impossible in this state.
On top of that, her mobility was way down.
'Killing through would be faster.'
Dodging every which way to break out would just drain stamina pointlessly. More than that, the area Ye-ryeong had to protect—including Hyo-min behind her—was too vast.
'Break through.'
Ye-ryeong had an iron rule when throwing her daggers.
Hesitation dulled accuracy. Even split-second judgments were the same.
A decision that was right in the moment could turn wrong with a moment's delay. Once she decided, action had to be swift.
Tsapat-.
Ye-ryeong's dagger flew.
Puk, puk-.
"Keurk!"
"Guk!"
Throats, hearts, solar plexuses—vital spots were pierced.
The wounds weren't deep. She stabbed shallow to save time, prioritizing speed over killing blows.
Ye-ryeong's goal wasn't kills. Incapacitating enemies to remove them from the battlefield was enough.
Besides...
"S-save..."
"The wounds...!"
"Damn it, you handle hemostasis on this guy!"
Injured survivors who weren't dead naturally forced more troops to peel off.
Puk, puk-.
Jeoeeik-.
Ye-ryeong weaved swiftly through enemy lines, carving a path.
Seeing comrades collapse from vital strikes, the rankers began retreating bit by bit in fear.
Fighting an invisible enemy. Daggers flying from nowhere to stab throats and hearts between blinks—it was terrifying.
The encirclement seemed to crumble.
But if it were that easy, it wouldn't have taken twenty years in the first place.
Shuaak-.
Jeoreong-!
A heavy impact jolted through the dagger's tip.
The concise thrust carried no power. Ye-ryeong's hand trembled finely as she stumbled back.
Her blurring form sharpened again.
'Some real heavyweights mixed in, huh.'
True elites among the rankers. High rankers and top rankers close to them.
They began intervening in earnest.
And moreover...
'The most dangerous is still that guy.'
Glance-.
Ye-ryeong's gaze flicked to Lee Won-jae, standing far off with arms crossed.
Whether he valued his life or had other plans, he hadn't moved a step since the fight started.
'What're you thinking?'
If he stayed put, great. That's why she had this much leeway.
Then, Lee Won-jae spoke.
"Target the woman on her back."
"You son of a..."
A curse slipped from Ye-ryeong's lips.
She'd been grateful he was staying out of it, and now this?
Shuaak-.
The spear that had just blocked Ye-ryeong's dagger flew in from range. Its tip aimed not at her, but at Hyo-min on her back.
Ching-!
A foot-long dagger clashed with the spear, sparks flying. Following Lee Won-jae's order, the rankers shifted to targeting Hyo-min on her back instead.
"Hey, you bastard, that's low!"
It was better when they aimed at her. Now, with Hyo-min as the target, the area she had to defend doubled.
Pak-.
In the end, Ye-ryeong leaped upward.
Staying put might get Hyo-min hurt first.
And at that moment...
"Your weakness is that cheap companion of yours, as expected."
A bit higher above.
Lee Won-jae's voice rang out. She hadn't seen anyone following.
'He got here first?'
He'd read her movements. Knowing she'd evade to protect Hyo-min, he'd predicted her path and moved accordingly.
'Damn it...'
Lee Won-jae's sword tip gleamed.
Aiming to pierce both Hyo-min and Ye-ryeong in one thrust, he drove downward with force.
That was the moment.
Pak-.
Jeoeng-, ungungung-.
A sword flew in from afar, wedging between them. Lee Won-jae's sword trajectory veered off, and Ye-ryeong's foot slammed into his stomach simultaneously.
Pueok-!
"...!"
Struck in the gut, Lee Won-jae floated upward. Grimacing, he suppressed the impact mid-air, spinning to land on the ground.
The sudden intruder brought the battlefield to a brief lull. Having landed, Lee Won-jae glared at the person who'd inserted themselves between him and Ye-ryeong.
'A woman?'
Slim build, long straight hair. Eyes visible through the mask.
She was hiding her identity, but not her gender. The one who'd joined the fight definitely wasn't Kim Si-woo.
Ye-ryeong, now back on the ground, pressed Hyo-min firmly against her back again.
She looked up, confirmed the face of her rescuer, and her eyes widened.
"Huh...?"
The face was masked, but...
"You...?"
"...Ye-jeong unnie?"
The two recognized each other instantly.
"How are you...?"
Ye-ryeong deliberately avoided naming Unhyang.
Unlike herself, who didn't care if her identity was exposed as long as she saved Hyo-min, Unhyang had come here masked.
"Why are you here, unnie?"
"That's what I should be asking you right now."
"Oh... right?"
Unhyang had rushed here at Soo-hyuk's request. Help the side fighting Blue Zone, no details on the opponent—just a blind favor.
But the person she was aiding was someone she knew. Unhyang had met Ye-jeong a few times before.
"I just... got a request."
"A request? From who?"
"Who do you think?"
With so many eyes and ears, she didn't name him.
But Ye-ryeong immediately knew who.
'No way, that streamer?'
He was her favorite streamer. From the first broadcast, Ye-ryeong had followed Lee Soo-hyuk's streams religiously.
But like most streamer-viewer relationships, the viewer knew the streamer, but not vice versa.
Besides, Unhyang had been waiting here on request.
That was impossible without knowing something would happen.
"...How did you know?"
Ye-ryeong couldn't blindly trust Unhyang's sudden intervention.
It was just too unnatural for her to be here right now.
"Well... I don't really know either."
"You don't know?"
"He just asked me out of the blue. Said I'd learn the details after it was all over."
"...Does that even make sense?"
"I'm dying to know too. Why go this far?"
Unhyang sighed in frustration, but to Ye-ryeong, both seemed out of their minds.
"You know what you've gotten yourself into, right?"
"Yeah."
"You really get it?"
"I'm... probably gonna die today?"
"...You do know."
Surprisingly, Unhyang fully grasped her situation.
Ye-ryeong had expected Unhyang to be skilled. Though not fully prepared, she was one of the few who'd recognized Ye-ryeong's reverse usage.
But even so, this battlefield was still too much for Unhyang.
'She knows she'll die and jumped in anyway?'
It was insane.
A manager risking life for a streamer was hard enough to fathom, but this wasn't even for Soo-hyuk himself—just leaping into death for a favor.
This went beyond mere streamer-manager ties.
"Something weird's butted in."
Lee Won-jae scowled at Unhyang, displeased with the situation.
"Calling a lady 'weird'? Isn't that too objectifying?"
"If you wanted respect, you shouldn't have worn that flimsy mask."
"I'm too shy for that."
"...Fair enough. Doesn't matter."
Lee Won-jae shrugged.
"I can check under the mask after you're dead."
"Who said I'm dying easy?"
Instead of replying, Lee Won-jae raised his hand. At his gesture, the rankers who'd paused resumed tightly encircling them.
Assessing the situation, Ye-ryeong whispered in Unhyang's ear.
"When I charge that guy, just run."
She wouldn't be a hindrance. Unhyang was solid.
But Ye-ryeong absolutely hated seeing someone die because of her.
'No one wants that.'
If it weren't for us, Soo-hyuk might have lived. She'd thought that countless times.
"If you're worried about me, no need."
But despite Ye-ryeong's plea, Unhyang had no intention of fleeing.
She'd anticipated a tough fight.
That's why she'd steeled herself for this too.
"Today, I decided to become a demon following someone."
Tsutsutsu-.
A subtle energy flowed from Unhyang's body.
A faintly reddish aura. Up close, it looked like a sheer veil enveloping her, turning not just her nature and temperament, but her entire presence crimson.
A tiny change, imperceptible unless right beside her.
But Ye-ryeong couldn't dismiss it as small.
"That..."
Still immature, but having experienced it multiple times, Ye-ryeong recognized the energy Unhyang wielded.
It was...
'Heavenly Demon Divine Art.'
The supreme and most vile martial art, known only to the absolute sovereign.