Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Salmak Assassins
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A total of seventeen.
Including the leader among them, that made eighteen assassins.
The moment he laid eyes on them, Shin-hyeok knew exactly who they were.
'Salmak. It's been a while.'
Salmak.
An assassin organization operating out of China, directly nurtured and managed by the Chinese government.
Naturally, their skills were world-class.
And since they specialized in hunting players, they excelled in interpersonal combat and ambushes.
In some ways, they resembled villains, but there was a clear difference.
'Villains kill people as a side effect of their crimes, while assassins kill as their primary goal. Naturally, the latter are stronger in PvP.'
Villains ended up killing incidentally amid their various evil deeds.
Unless they were true psychos, lunatics, or had traits and classes geared that way, even villains avoided murder as much as possible.
It was only natural.
Most villains were already wanted criminals; committing something as serious as murder made them far too easy to track.
Especially since villains mostly operated independently, perfectly disposing of evidence from a kill was no easy task.
Assassins, on the other hand, were a different story.
For groups like the Salmak assassins standing before him, backed by a nation, it was entirely different.
They were trained solely to kill people, and even when they did, the state covered for them, erasing all evidence.
Salmak was home to numerous famous assassin players within China.
Their abilities were exceptional to begin with, leaving little trace behind.
They were specialists in assassination, after all.
'Even two or three Platinum-grade assassins could easily take down a Diamond player. Considering that, with nearly twenty Platinum-grade assassins, plus two or three Diamond-grades... they could kill any Diamond player below King-class.'
Such a force, nearly twenty strong.
Not just Platinums either—the leader and his right-hand assassins were Diamonds, making them all the more dangerous.
No Diamond player below King-class could survive their clutches.
But—
'I can't wipe them all out, so Heaven-Shattering Annihilation Style is off the table. Not that it matters. It's not like the Salmak Lord is here.'
In other words, against a King-class player like him, this force was woefully inadequate.
Especially considering they were under a powerful debuff while he was boosted by an equally potent buff—the outcome was already decided.
"Rise."
The ground rumbled with a deafening DRRRRRRR! as Shin-hyeok unleashed his Necromancy [A], raising an army of the dead.
"What the—!"
"The numbers...!"
"Just a little while ago, it wasn't even close to this!"
The horde was incomparably vast compared to when he'd faced Tarkan before.
It went without saying.
Back then, his Necromancy was B-rank, and his tier Gold.
Now, it was A-rank, his tier Platinum, and his mana pool had surged dramatically.
Even in sheer numbers alone, the difference was nearly tenfold.
And that was just the beginning.
"Dullahan! It's a Dullahan!"
"Impossible! How can a freshly Platinum player summon a Dullahan?!"
Dullahan.
The undead he'd unleashed against the villains before.
Back then, it had required the Plus Ultra Ring's Transcendence skill, but not anymore.
Of course, summoned purely from skill power without a Diamond-grade corpse, it wouldn't match a true Dullahan's might—but it didn't matter.
The Dullahan and its skeletal knight guards took command of the other undead, charging the assassins.
Dozens against hundreds.
Perhaps even over a thousand—an overwhelming force that left the assassins helpless.
After all, swarm tactics were the last thing assassins wanted.
Their strengths lay in PvP, ambushes, stealth kills.
Against one-on-one specialists like them, mass combat was nothing but a nightmare.
But this was a narrow bridge; no room to dodge.
And even if they tried, their foe wouldn't let them escape.
"Tch! Fight like it's Dimension Arena!"
"You think we can't handle group fights? Think again!"
"The real threats are just the Dullahan and its knights. The rest are rabble. Sweep them away!"
In the end, the assassins chose to charge head-on.
They were players too, after all.
They'd played Dimension Arena and tackled defense games with swarm battles.
Moreover, most of the death army was low-tier undead, bolstering their resolve.
But Shin-hyeok wasn't alone.
"Tarkan."
"Hmph, undead warriors that won't stay dead. Perfect for some berserk shamanism. Madness, Rage—Berserk Manifestation. Wrath of the Earth Mother God."
Berserk Manifestation Wrath of the Earth Mother God
Death Army empowered!
SHRRRAAAAA!
Tarkan.
His shamanic powers rivaling a grand shaman enveloped the death army.
Shamanic runes etched onto the pale bones.
Unlike Tarkan's Three Lights Unity, this low-tier Berserk Manifestation was inscribed, overlaid with the Wrath of the Earth Mother God—a curse that stripped ego and reason in exchange for immense power, the polar opposite of her blessing.
-KYAAAHHH!
-KIEEEK!
-KUEEEK!!!
Of course, for the mindless low-tier undead—already dead and devoid of self or will—these were worthless penalties.
Irrelevant drawbacks aside, the power granted was tremendous.
Iron- or Bronze-level undead surged to Silver or Gold strength.
Not yet a threat to Platinum assassins, but the issue was that not just the low-tiers received Tarkan's shamanism.
-KRAAAAA!
-KROWWRRR!
The Dullahan and skeletal knights.
Empowered by his spells, they now wielded clear Diamond and Platinum might.
KABOOOOOM! CRAAAAACK! BOOMCRASH!
Discarding reason and self, heedless even of their own shattering bodies, they swept the battlefield. Assassins suffered grievous wounds—or death in the worst cases.
The twenty assassins dwindled toward ten, yet they didn't give up.
'Still manageable.'
'Our goal isn't killing them all anyway. Just one opening. One chance to land serious damage, even if we can't assassinate him.'
'Wait. My blade will soon reach your throat.'
An assassin's blade needed but a single gap.
So they endured, with the patience to lurk under a toilet for three days and nights if needed.
Even as comrades flew back beside them, wounded, dying, limbs torn by undead—they endured.
"Spirits, manifest."
"If I can be of help to you, so be it." "May the free winds dwell within you." "Those fools? A fine chance to burn evil." "Like rock... sturdy..."
⟨ Spirit Arts [B] ⟩
"...Damn, this is some bullshit game."
Until Shin-hyeok summoned his four high spirits.
High spirits were each rated as Platinum players.
Summoning four meant more than enough to rival a Diamond—that was why it was Spirit Arts [B].
Moreover, each high spirit commanded lesser spirits, creating another substantial army—not quite the death army's scale, but no longer ignorable.
The assassins' faces darkened inevitably.
But the real problem was elsewhere.
"Earth Mother God!"
THUD!
Calling to the Earth Mother God, Tarkan kicked off and rocketed into the assassins' formation like a cannonball.
The sudden charge shattered their lines; panicking, they stabbed wildly at him with their daggers.
PFFFTTT!
The assassin class demanded stealth and speed.
Over ten such players meant Tarkan's body was instantly riddled with holes.
"You think mere needles can fell a great warrior?! Mosquitoes! Die! Earth Rend!"
KABOOOOOM!
Yet Tarkan didn't retreat, countering fiercely.
The shockwave from the formation's center rocked them inside out.
Mana channels twisted, organs churning in agony; assassins bit their tongues, lunging to kill him.
SHHHHK!
Light, silent, stealthy steps—their assassin footwork as they hunted Tarkan.
They hurled taunts to rattle him.
"While you're here, your master's throat will meet our blades!"
"A monster daring to interfere? You'll pay with your life."
"I won't kill you easily. No toe or finger left intact. Can't wait to hear you scream—then I'll toss your severed master's head beside you."
Vile provocations, scraping at his nerves.
But Tarkan just snorted.
"Waiting for your leader, who's lurking in the shadows, watching?"
"...!"
"If even I noticed, do you think my master—who beat me—didn't? Pathetic. Worry about surviving here first before bargaining our lives. We'll talk after."
"This blood—!"
"Timber Splitter!"
KABOOOOOM!
Scoffing, Tarkan slammed his glaive into the ground, glanced at Shin-hyeok, then rampaged through the assassins like a wolf among sheep.
KABOOMCRASH!
Amid explosions and shocks ravaging the colosseum in real time, Shin-hyeok quietly eyed a patch of darkness in one corner.
"Coming out yet? Waiting won't give you an opening."
"...How did you know? My stealth is beyond even Diamond detection."
Staring right at his hiding spot, Shin-hyeok's words drew out the assassin—shrouded in darkness save for his eyes.
Their leader, unseen since issuing the assassination order.
"You're Salmak division leader grade, and those blocking Tarkan up front are brigade leaders. Not a small investment for Salmak."
"..."
"No need to speak; I know it's Salmak."
"...No thoughts of naturalizing to China? I'd hate to kill talent like you here."
Salmak division leader.
A powerhouse who could assassinate any Diamond below King-class.
Impressed by Shin-hyeok's intel and boldness in revealing it, he extended the offer again.
His affiliation? If Shin-hyeok refused naturalization, he'd die anyway—no reason to hide.
Shin-hyeok's reply was simple.
THUNK! SHING!
"...What are you doing?"
"Let's see how amazing a Salmak division leader's assassination skills are."
"You're not just forgoing your main weapons against me—you're pulling twin daggers?"
"Assassins' core skill is Killing Arts, right? Killing Arts... Great skill, but I've never had time to hone it. Perfect chance to learn properly."
"...Arrogant."
He plunged his spear and holy sword into the colosseum floor, drawing twin daggers from his inventory.
Killing Arts.
The assassins' famed signature skill—literally, the art of killing.
Shin-hyeok had dabbled pre-regression, but as a specialist skill, few taught it, and real fights ended too fast to learn.
Without overwhelming skill gap, you couldn't pick it up in combat.
'Impossible pre-regression. Early on, no chance to learn amid attempts; later, I was too strong for attempts period. Perfect timing now.'
A skill he'd never mastered before.
Intent on devouring it directly from a Killing Arts specialist—a Salmak division leader—Shin-hyeok bounced lightly in place, then shot toward him like an arrow from a bow.