Chapter 120: Uninvited Guest (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 120: Uninvited Guest (1)
"Damn it. Speak. What do I have to do?"
"Hmm. Nothing special. Just wear this until I leave the village."
Jinhyuk pulled an incredibly outrageous costume out of his subspace inventory.
It was a costume so shocking that even if you saw it in Hongdae, you'd immediately report it to the nearest police station or military base.
Naturally, for a noble and dignified elf, his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock.
"W-what is that? That hideous outfit?"
"Tsk, tsk. Hideous?"
How dare he speak so carelessly about the sacred veteran look?
A long, wavy blonde wig, a red mustache that practically reeked of testosterone just by looking at it, a pink miniskirt, and a floral magic wand—all in perfect harmony.
This was a look that any veteran would nod in approval of, no matter where it was shown.
Looking at it again, it was a masterpiece. A true masterpiece.
"D-don't be ridiculous! Do you really think I would wear something like this?!"
"Hmm? You said it yourself. If you lost, you'd obey my words without a single complaint."
"That may be true, but..."
"Then put it on quietly. You've already lost in skill; losing your honor as well would just be pathetic."
"..."
Teslon's face flushed red with shame.
However, having lost everything else, he couldn't bear the dishonor of breaking his promise.
In the end...
"I beg of you. Please, leave this village as soon as possible."
Teslon pleaded with Jinhyuk, his eyes filled with utter resignation.
"I was planning on taking my time, but depending on how you behave, I might move my departure up by a day or two."
This humiliation would be talked about among the elves for generations anyway.
But if he was obedient, Jinhyuk could make it as brief as possible.
Naturally, it all depended on Teslon's behavior.
Jinhyuk shrugged.
With this, the arrogant elf had been thoroughly put in his place.
A short while later, Teslon, dressed in that outrageous outfit, was leading the elves.
"...Transport the figs back to the village in an orderly fashion. Fill the central plaza first, and if we run out of space, use the warehouses."
He tried his best to maintain his composure, but his face looked as though his entire world had collapsed.
Pfft! Giggle!
Snickers and giggles continuously leaked from among the elves.
Who could have ever imagined that the captain of the rangers, who was always as cold as ice, would end up looking like that?
"Who dares laugh! How dare you mock Lord Teslon... pfft!"
Even the First-Class Rangers, who made up Teslon's elite guard, couldn't hold back their laughter.
'Excellent.'
Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction.
As expected, there was nothing better than this for taming someone.
Come to think of it, training Alice or Cheon Yu-seong like this in the future might be quite effective.
After pondering for a moment, Jinhyuk shook his head.
Probably impossible.
Those two would rather die than agree to look like that.
"Haha. You have quite a mischievous streak. I never expected Teslon to become so docile."
Penheim, who was standing next to Jinhyuk, spoke up.
"Was it a bit too harsh for a joke?"
Indeed, from an elder's perspective, it had to be a bitter sight to behold.
The top ranger defending the village was dressed like that, after all.
But Penheim's response was completely unexpected.
"Not at all. He needed to hit a wall higher than himself eventually. I actually think it's a blessing that he met you, Lord Jinhyuk, through this opportunity."
Oh?
He thinks of it that way?
It was a relief that an elf with such a mature mindset was serving as the elder.
The 6th floor wasn't a completely hopeless place after all.
"In that case, it's fine if I push him even harder."
"Hahaha. Please, take this opportunity to thoroughly break his bad habits."
Penheim burst into a hearty laugh.
It was right at that moment, as the two continued their conversation.
"E-Elder... We have a... a major problem."
An elf rushed toward the swamp, shouting in a panic.
He was covered in wounds.
Red drops of blood dripped continuously from the tips of his blood-soaked hair.
With one of his arms completely missing, it was a critically severe injury even at a glance.
"What on earth happened?!"
Penheim gasped in shock.
Several elves quickly ran over to support the wounded elf.
"It's Lucion!"
"Oh, no! His arm... it's completely..."
"Who did this?! Who could do something so horrible?!"
"Pant... pant... gasp..."
The elf named Lucion gasped heavily for breath.
Even though he had very little time left, the elf sought to fulfill his final duty.
"Humans... are coming. Cough! Wheeze! Their numbers are countless..."
That was it.
Lucion drew his last breath without being able to finish his sentence.
The surrounding air grew heavy and still.
Whether it was due to the grief over their comrade's death, or the dread of the tragedy that more of their comrades would have to die, no one knew.
But one thing was certain: someone had come here with hostile intent.
And that hostility would never stop until it completely swept this place away.
* * *
Thwack!
"Aaargh!"
As a flashing light swept past, a spray of red blood erupted from the elf's back.
There was no need to check.
It was an instant death from a single blow.
"Tsk. Weaklings, yet they're annoyingly fast. This is going to take more effort than I thought."
A man with a massive two-meter frame clicked his tongue.
This was Tianqiao, a ranker of the Zhonghua Guild and one of only three S-class players assigned to this mission.
"It can't be helped. Our main goal is capture, not slaughter. Kill the rangers who can fight, but capture the rest if possible."
Another ranker, Li Keqiang, chimed in.
Having already hunted several times, his spear, which easily exceeded his own height, was stained crimson.
"I've already spread poison widely around the forest, so not even an ant will escape. Hunting is best enjoyed slowly. Let's take our time and enjoy ourselves from now on."
Finally, a woman with long black hair cascading down to her waist approached the two.
Xuehua.
She was one of the top experts in poison arts within the Zhonghua Guild.
Every single one of them was a formidable expert.
Furthermore, the number of Zhonghua Guild players they had brought with them exceeded five hundred.
It was an excessively large force just to conquer a single elf village.
Even so...
...none of them had any intention of showing even a shred of mercy.
-If we fail, we are the ones who die this time.
-We must follow orders.
-I refuse to die in vain. Especially if the reason is feeling pity for mere elves.
Namgung Cheon's patience had already reached its limit.
And failure directly equated to death.
To live or to die.
If they had to choose between those two options, there was obviously only one choice.
"We march to the elf village before sunset."
Li Keqiang ordered.
"As you command."
"Understood."
The players drew their weapons in unison.
At the same time, they began to slowly tighten the dragnet around the forest where the elves lived.
* * *
"T-this can't be..."
By the time Penheim and the elves reached the outskirts of the village, the situation was already over.
Acrid smoke rising and burning houses.
If hell existed... would it look like this?
The corpses of rangers who had fought to the end lay scattered.
Perhaps executed as an example, the bodies of unarmed young and female elves were also visible among them.
"To commit such a horrific act..."
"The gods and spirits will never forgive them. Never. Never!"
"Ugh!"
The elves gnashed their teeth, their faces contorted with rage.
Some were rendered utterly speechless by the horrific sight.
"Quickly, gather the bodies of our brothers... and sisters. We cannot leave them on the cold ground forever, can we? And Teslon, take the rangers and head to the center of the village immediately. That area is protected by a barrier, so it won't fall easily, but we cannot let our guard down."
Penheim ordered the elves in a choked voice.
"...Yes. We will head out immediately."
Teslon nodded, then disappeared into the forest with the rangers.
Yes.
Mourning could wait.
Right now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
About an hour passed.
It was while they were recovering the remaining bodies of the elves.
Rustle.
Suddenly, the presence of multiple people was felt from the bushes.
Emerging from the foliage were about thirty humans.
"Hmm. What's this? Were there still some left?"
They were players belonging to the Zhonghua Guild.
"Well, look at this. I wondered where they were all hiding, but they were all gathered here."
"Saves us the trouble of searching for them one by one."
"Hey. Make sure to tell the raid leaders clearly later. This is our squad's achievement."
The players snickered.
They must have been thrilled.
They had probably been itching for action after being suppressed and walking on eggshells, and now they could finally spill blood to their heart's content.
Indeed, after a frenzied hunt, they had gathered quite a few decent items, and the number of captives they had taken was substantial.
"..."
"..."
Elves with vacant, unfocused eyes stood lined up in chains.
The trauma was so severe that not a single elf seemed to be in their right mind.
"Hey, you long-eared bastards. Personally, I'd prefer if you risked your lives to resist. Chasing you down isn't bad, but I've done it so much I'm getting sick of it."
"Pwahaha! Too true. It's like there isn't a single decent fighter among these elves. It's been incredibly boring."
"Still, they have some sense of responsibility. Watching them sob and beg us not to touch their families was quite a spectacle. Remember that big elf guy?"
"Ah, of course. He begged us to spare his wife and kids even if he died, or something like that. Naturally, we killed them all as an example."
"Since there are more than enough of them, the higher-ups won't say anything about a little weeding. This is completely our playground."
"We had a blast thanks to that."
Their voices grew louder as they boasted of their exploits.
And...
Grit...!
Silvia, who had no choice but to listen to their words, wept tears of blood internally.
'I want... revenge.'
Right this very instant.
She wanted to shoot an arrow and pierce the heart of that hateful human.
She wanted to draw her sword and exact retribution.
But...
'...It's impossible.'
She could do nothing.
Even the high-ranking rangers specialized in combat were either dead or captured.
No matter how much she struggled, she would only be humiliated and meet the same fate as them.
The fact that she knew this harsh reality better than anyone else...
...made her incredibly resentful.
The helplessness she felt at her own inability to do anything...
...and the weakness of not being able to stand up proudly even in this situation...
...were shameful beyond words.
Therefore...
...because she could do nothing...
"Please... help us. ...Please."
Silvia had no choice but to lean on the only person she knew.
Silvia raised her head with trembling eyes.
If it was this man, who possessed power that even Teslon couldn't match...
Surely...
...she believed he would change this situation.
Before she knew it, Jinhyuk was standing by Silvia's side.
"I was waiting for those words."
Jinhyuk replied to her request in a flat, emotionless tone.
At the same time...
[Unique Ability...]
Above the crimson-stained dagger...
[...'Grave of Swords' is activated.]
...a pitch-black aura erupted.