Chapter 351: The Old Guard (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 351: The Old Guard (2)
Crash!
The massive body of the antlion collapsed.
Sand sprayed in all directions with a deafening roar.
The named monster, which hadn't budged an inch until now, had been brought down by a mere two arrows.
'Those guys...'
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed.
He had definitely met them on the 50th floor.
Their name was definitely...
They were the residents known as the 'Old Guard'.
Though they couldn't compare to deities, they were rankers on par with most 'heroes'.
Like Theseus of Greece or Cheok Jun-gyeong of Korea. It meant they were on the same level as those whose status had been elevated in recognition of their numerous achievements.
'As expected, the 50th floor is involved.'
The fact that Nyarlathotep's elite guard, who could freely traverse the floors of the Tower, had come here meant they were also extremely wary of all the crowns being gathered.
"Are you the one called Kang Jinhyuk?"
The largest man spoke.
The other three were formidable as well, but this one possessed a level of mana that was on a completely different dimension.
He was the leader.
"That's right. I'm Kang Jinhyuk. And who might you be?"
"We are the Old Guard. Let's just say... we are the guardians who protect the balance of the Tower."
Guardians of balance, my foot.
They were probably just cleaners doing the dirty work of the high and mighty.
"Wow. You guys sound incredibly grand. So, why are the Earth Defense Force lookalikes looking for me?"
"We know you are after the crowns."
Shring!
The greatsword strapped to the man's back was drawn.
Its dark, ink-colored blade was over two meters long.
Just a graze felt like it would tear someone apart rather than merely cut them.
"So, you don't want any competitors?"
"I prefer to keep things clean. Sorry, but you'll have to die here."
A chilling, cold bloodlust began to consume the surroundings.
Four hero-grade residents.
On top of that, they specialized in taking down enemies stronger than themselves.
'I need to shake them up a bit.'
He had to create even a small opening or moment of agitation to increase his chances of winning.
The corner of Jinhyuk's mouth twitched into a subtle smirk.
"A giant of a man wielding a greatsword in the Old Guard... that would make you 'Hound'. That's all well and good, but it's not like the number one ranker came in person. Aren't you acting a bit too tough for someone who's only rank four at best?"
It was a casually tossed-out remark.
However, the weight of the words was by no means light.
"……!"
"……?"
"What..."
Shock rippled through the eyes of the other three.
"How... how do you know my name?"
Hound, who had been called out by name, also let the tip of his sword waver for a split second.
The Old Guard, Nyarlathotep's elite unit, was one of the most secretive organizations within the Tower.
Even the Administrators did not know its members in detail.
Yet, a mere player.
A greenhorn who hadn't even been in the Tower for three years—how on earth...?
He must have overheard about the Old Guard from someone... That was the only plausible explanation.
But.
'But knowing my rank makes no sense.'
The rankings were information known only to Nyarlathotep himself.
Hound's composure shattered even further.
And Jinhyuk did not miss that opening.
Having secured the poison pill, Jinhyuk—
Tap.
He accelerated using 'Sword Demon's Heavenly Spirit Step'.
Jinhyuk's body shot toward the opposite entrance in an instant.
His plan was to slip through the only exit while they were distracted.
"How dare you!"
Hound, snapping out of it a beat too late, roared.
At the same time,
Whoosh... Boom, boom, boom!
Three streaks of light pierced through the air.
The man holding the longbow notched another arrow, as if to say escape was futile.
"As long as I am here, not even an ant will escape."
'Black Rock'.
A member of the Old Guard, and a divine archer ranked among the top ten in the entire Tower.
A monster so formidable that even Artemis of Olympus or Heracles would struggle to gain the upper hand against him.
"I've run into a troublesome hunter."
If that guy was determined to target him, running straight down the path was practically suicide.
Jinhyuk immediately changed direction.
He headed toward a much narrower, cramped cave.
Just like that, Jinhyuk vanished completely into the dark passage.
"We've cornered him perfectly."
"Yes. Now that he's entered that path, it's over for him."
"He'll run for his life, only to realize in the end that it's a dead end."
At first glance, it looked like another exit, but in reality, there was no way out of that passage.
"Capture him alive. We must find out the source of his information."
"Understood."
"Got it."
"A drive hunt after all this time? This will be fun."
With Hound's command, the chase began.
* * *
Entering the passage, Jinhyuk accelerated even further.
'They must be feeling relieved, thinking they've cornered me in a dead end. They probably assume I don't know the geography of this place.'
However, they would soon realize, to their bones, just how wrong that assumption was.
He fully intended to make them pay dearly for trying to play hide-and-seek with a veteran of the Tower of Trials.
Before that...
Jinhyuk quickly activated his personal status window.
[Real-time trading requires a usage fee of 1,000,000 Coins. Would you still like to proceed? Y/N]
"I'll pay."
It was a painful amount of Coins to lose, but he had no choice.
To deal with them, he needed other essential materials besides the poison pill.
Originally, he had planned to take his time and source them locally.
But now that the situation had changed, he had to adapt accordingly.
[Waiting for the other party's acceptance.]
Ring... Ring...
The connection tone rang a few times.
And at that exact moment,
Ding!
"Hmm. This is quite unexpected."
A familiar voice echoed alongside a small video feed.
Rick Hennessy.
The master of a giant merchant group and a middle manager of the Tower appeared.
"Hmm. I was just about to go to bed. What brings you to contact me at this late hour?"
"Sorry to disturb your rest. It's an extremely urgent matter."
"Haha. How may I assist you?"
Rick let out a hearty laugh, his face still wearing his usual good-natured expression.
"I'm currently being chased by some troublesome guys, and I need a few items to deal with them."
"If Player Kang Jinhyuk is the one being chased... they must be no ordinary pursuers."
"They're essentially the elite guard of the deity Nyarlathotep. They call themselves the 'Old Guard'. Do you happen to know them?"
At Jinhyuk's words, there was a brief pause of about 0.1 seconds.
But it was only for a fleeting moment.
"It's my first time hearing of them. Even Administrators have limited information regarding those floors."
"Ah, of course. That makes sense. It's fine. What I really want to ask for are the items anyway."
"Please, tell me."
Rick slowly stood up.
Beyond the status window, an immense quantity of items came into view.
They were rare treasures that would normally be hard to even catch a glimpse of.
"What I need is..."
Jinhyuk began to speak.
* * *
"He went this way. The distance is about 500 meters. He's moving slower than expected."
Black Rock estimated the distance to their target.
"It is strange. I thought he would have reached the end of the passage by now."
Hound also carefully examined the traces left on the ground.
He had definitely passed through here less than a minute ago.
Considering his stats, this was impossible.
"He must be up to something. He might be trying to buy time, so if you leave it to me, I'll go ahead alone and handle him."
The short-haired woman—no, Seli, ranked 27th in the Old Guard—urged for a swift pursuit.
But.
"No."
Hound felt a sense of incongruity in Jinhyuk's behavior.
"I've heard he's a veteran who has been through all sorts of battles. For a slippery eel like him to purposely slow down means there must be a reason he wants us to follow him."
"Are you saying... it's a trap?"
"Yes. From the looks of it, he already knows this passage is a dead end."
Meaning, choosing this single path wasn't simply to escape a tight spot.
"Interesting."
The corners of Hound's mouth curled upward.
He had thought of this as just a mundane hunt.
But it seemed this mission was going to be much more entertaining.
"Don't miss even the smallest detail."
Immediately, four shadows darted through the cave.
How much time had passed?
"Captain."
"Yeah..."
Hound spotted runic characters drawn on the ground.
They were cleverly hidden between the crevices of the rocks using sand.
But they couldn't escape the eyes of Black Rock, the ranger.
"It's a barrier. And a fairly high-level one at that."
5-star...
No, at this level, it might be 6-star or even higher.
'To set up a trap with a barrier of this caliber in such a short time.'
He was indeed a formidable prey.
'Normally, the hunter would have become the hunted.'
But that was only the case under normal circumstances.
In this case, it was utterly futile.
Slash!
Hound swung his greatsword, destroying the core rune of the barrier.
It was a flawless, incredibly clean strike.
As long as they proceeded with such caution, there would be no variables.
"Keep moving."
Hound took the lead.
Several other types of traps appeared after that, but they were not enough to deceive the Old Guard.
Boom!
Bang!
The traps, crafted with painstaking effort, were all neutralized.
Barriers, various spells, and highly rare items vanished in vain.
Thus, they reached the final destination.
There stood Jinhyuk, alone, his plans having utterly failed.
"Impressive. To be honest, if it weren't for us, your plan would have succeeded."
Hound offered a genuine compliment.
"...As expected of the Old Guard. I didn't expect you to arrive without a single scratch. Thanks to that, the expensive things I bought have turned into scrap paper."
"I like that you're quick to give up. Now, why don't you tell us how you know about us?"
"Huh? Why should I tell you that?"
"Since you've exhausted all your cards, wouldn't it be wise to open your mouth if you don't want to die a painful death?"
Hound traced a line in the air toward Jinhyuk's limbs with his greatsword.
As if warning that he would sever his limbs one by one.
Yet, even amidst the chilling threat, Jinhyuk merely shrugged nonchalantly.
"Ah... did you really think this was all I prepared?"
If so, I'm truly sorry.
Because those expectations are about to be shattered to pieces.
"What lay before was merely a warm-up."
Distracting your attention and giving you a plausible reason to follow.
The real deal starts now.
[The 'Boundary-Breaking Mirror' and the 'Eleven Jewels of Rivens' resonate!]
[The 'Cord of Conviction' is activated!]
Eight of the Eleven Jewels of Rivens, which he had purchased at a high price from Rick, were used for this magic.
Whirrr!
Along with a blinding light, their field of vision completely transformed.
The 'Dunes of the Sun'.
The majestic landscape of the place where the crown was presumed to be buried was revealed.
"This place is..."
Hound gripped his greatsword tightly.
And before them...
...stood those who were fully prepared for battle, waiting.
[Unique Ability...]
Each of their abilities bloomed.
[‘Song of the Sword’ is activated!]
[‘Blessing of the Stars’ is activated!]
[‘Doll Play’ is activated!]
[‘Whispers of the Forest’ is activated!]
"Now, let's have a proper fight. Fair and square, with matching numbers."
Jinhyuk grinned.