Chapter 76

Chapter 76 – Battlefield (3)

9 .

When one went across the castle walls, the first thing one saw was the bones of unknown remains . One could see some human bones, but it was mostly littered with large monster bones . It was basically a wasteland with all kinds of bones decorating the land .

It was basically a field of bones . Across the plains, there was a forest with large trees . The horizon was visible above the large forest, and the forest was more terrifying than the field of bones . The forest shook intermittently, and at times . . .

Kooh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

A roar rang out .

The forest itself was a monster's nest . Those who invaded the body of the forest could feel it with their five senses .

“So this is what a Battlefield is like . ”

“It looks harder than I thought it would be . ”

This was the first time the Tinkerbell Party was running the Battlefield . The stage that opened up beyond the castle was much more than they expected .

Of course, they had a hard time immediately adjusting to the stage . When the castle door opened, they were the last one to reach the forest . Even after reaching the forest, they were filled with nervousness . The nervousness filling them ate away at their composure .

They started walking into the forest, when they were immediately thrown into battle .

“Ah! You guys?”

The people they had faced only a couple dozen minutes ago showed up as enemies .

“W . . . what?”

“What do you mean what? This is a hazing ritual for you rookies . ”

It wasn't just one party . Five parties appeared, and they surrounded the Tinkerbell Party . They didn't even hold a conversation . There wasn't time to exchange curses and excuses . The battle ended before it started .

10 .

‘Look at what these bastards are doing . ’

Hyrkan had his hood on, and he was doing his best to crouch on top of the tree branch . He saw the sight of the Tinkerbell Party perishing from start to finish .

‘When they became surprised when I stormed out of the door, I knew something was amiss . . . The 5 parties are working together?’

It was a common sight to see a party like the Tinkerbell party suffer in the Battlefield . Normally, the parties fought with each other, but the bloodshed were clustered in the beginning or the latter half of the Battlefield . It was very important to eliminate the competition either before the main monster hunt or before one takes on the Event Monster . The middle part is mostly focused on hunting monsters, so there was an implicit understanding to not attack each other . In the end, one of the reasons why users come to the Battlefield was the overabundance monsters . They were here to level up at a much faster rate .

This time it was clear why the Tinkerbell Party was targeted . At a glance, one could tell they were new to the Battlefield . The experienced users didn't pause to see the Battlefield stage in surprise . They immediately moved into the Battlefield, and they looked for a place to hide in the surrounding . Basically, anyone who stayed in the entrance was asking to be targeted in the beginning . The Tinkerbell Party didn't just paint a target on themselves . They were basically begging others to kill them!

However, Hyrkan never expected 5 parties with over 30 members to rush forward .

‘Five…… If my memory is correct, the 5 parties have a total member of 20, 28 . . . Is it 38 people?’

The 5 parties were working together .

He knew why they joined hands with each other .

‘They are really determined to catch me . ’

Their target was himself . It was Hyrkan .

The quality of users participating in the Battlefield was about the same . The level limit made it so . If there weren't any level limit, the high level users would come here to wreak havoc . Many felt an irrational feeling of unfairness when Hyrkan appeared on this stage .

The 5 parties didn't hesitate to make an alliance .

‘Also, didn't those bastards act all friendly when they wanted to take photos with me? Assholes . ’

From Hyrkan's perspective, nothing about this situation made him happy .

‘Still, this is a bit weird . ’

At the same time, he harbored a suspicion .

‘No matter how I see it, they are going all-in on catching me . Wasn't this a little bit excessive even for a Unique Skill?’

He somewhat understood what was going on, but he did feel their actions were a bit excessive .

Hyrkan narrowed his eyes .

‘Did I steal a watch from one of them in the past?’

Of course, there was practical or economical reasons . However, there could also be personal reasons mixed in there .

Revenge!

It was a very emotional and unproductive reason, but it was also a motivation that made people move .

If he was being truthful, Hyrkan's gaming history wasn't squeaky clean . He had ruthlessly killed anyone, who bothered him . The fault was with his opponent, but they weren't the kind of people, who would admit to that in the first place . They wouldn't have fought if that was the case in the first place . If this was about revenge, this outcome wasn't too strange .

‘Is it perhaps those bitches I screwed over before? Was one of their white knights in that group? Probably not . Did those guys somehow find out I'm the Hahoe Mask? Is it the friend of that guy I screwed over when I caught the Golden Skeleton?’

Any ways, there were a lot of people dying to catch Hyrkan . There were too many that Hyrkan couldn't pinpoint the source .

Of course, Hyrkan didn't have to think long on it .

‘Well, whatever . The 5 parties of 38 people is my target . ’

Hyrkan watched as he saw the 5 parties take the Tinkerbell party members' watches . He stopped his trivial thoughts, and he started making his plans in earnest .

‘If I follow my heart, I would want to record footage for the entire 144 hours . I want them to feel as if they were the supporting characters of a live Saw movie . However, that'll waste my hunting time, so I'll finish them within 24 hours . ’

He made his plan in a flash .

This was all routine for Hyrkan .

11 .

“What a really fucked up situation . ”

It hadn't even been two hours since the Terube castle wall's gate had opened . Before they could even properly start their monster hunt, the Mongmart Party was surrounded by other users .

Mongmart Party's Tanker Board was angry when he saw the several dozen users surrounding them . He yelled with an incredulous expression on his face .

“Even if this is the Battlefield, aren't you guys taking this too far? What's the meaning of coming at us with an alliance of 5 parties?”

His shout was filled with anger . As if they agreed with Board’s anger, the two priests, 3 magicians, and swordsman of the Mongmart Party also had expressions filled with anger .

On the other hand, the 30+ people didn't have any expressions on their face . They were calm and it seemed they weren't going to respond to the Mongmart Party .

“You've run the Battlefield numerous times . You should have known you might run into a situation like this . ”

“Let's end this quickly . ”

These were users, who were used to such tactics . This was why they participated in the Battlefield . This didn't happen all the time in the Battlefield, but it was something that could break out at any time . If one felt embarrassment, shame, sorriness, or guilt then they didn't belong on the stage called the Battlefield .

“Even if there is no rules in the Battlefield, isn't this too much?!”

Since they were the ones holding the short end of the stick, they could only curse . They could probably swear for 24hrs straight in this situation .

With a proper battle about to happen, Cho-oohroong looked on in silence as the parties exchanged words . Then he discreetly gripped his sword .

‘There is no need to drag this out . ’

The Mongmart Party wasn't their main target .

‘If Hahoe Mask notices something is amiss, he might go into hiding . That would put me in a tough spot . ’

The main target was the Hahoe mask . He had to take care of this situation before the Hahoe Mask realizes what was going on .

If Hyrkan realizes the groups had allied with each other to catch him, he would act according to the situation .

He wouldn't fight upfront . He'll most definitely be on the run, and he'll try to take advantage of opportunistic moments . It wasn’t easy to chase after a single fleeing user in the Battlefield .

Moreover, there was an additional reason why he had to catch the Hahoe Mask .

‘I have to catch that bastard . . ’

Once he catches the Hahoe Mask, he'll immediately receive a reward of a million Yuan . This was the bonus pot put on the line for the Hahoe Mask hunt by Apollo .

‘Million Yuan…… . ’

For killing one user, he would easily earn more than $100,000 here . Cho-oohroong was already planning out what he would do with that money .

Anyways, if he wanted to quickly settle this situation, he had to do the dirty work .

Even if over 30 users surrounded them, their opponents were veterans of the Battlefield . Their levels and Item Settings were similar all similar .

The result was obvious if one considered the numerical advantage . However, the situation could always change . Basically, there was a high chance that some casualties would occur if the Monmark Party struggled against them in their death . No one wanted to become the casualty .

This was why someone had to take the bullet . Someone had to lead this battle if one wanted a quick resolution .

This was why Cho-oohroong moved . When he moved, the users of the Swordsman Class moved slowly as they took on the role of Tankers and Strikers .

The magicians started to cast magic from behind them . The priests readied themselves in the backline, and they focused on the upcoming battle .

It happened when everyone's attention was focused on a single location .

“Huh!”

The perimeter was tightening when someone breathing their last breath was heard .

‘What is it?’

Cho-oohroong was looking at his targets, when he heard a sound from beyond the Mongmart party .

Cho-oohroong's gaze moved quickly .

‘Huh?’

Cho-oohroong's eyes picked up the Skeleton Warriors . There were 3 of them . The three Skeleton Warriors ran towards a priest, and they stabbed the priest . The Skeleton Warriors withdrew their sword, then they stabbed once again .

“Ooh-ahk . Shit!”

The priest let out a yell, and he alerted the others of his emergency situation . However, by that time, the three Skeleton Warriors had already stabbed the priest's body a dozen times .

The priest's defensive gear wasn't that great . The defensive gear was dependent on one's level, so the priest's body was basically pudding . Moreover, the attack power of the Skeleton Warriors was on a frightening level .

Before the priest could cast his healing spells, he was turned into a mess .

“Shit . What's going on over there?”

One of the priest's companion saw him go down, so he turned to run towards the Skeleton Warriors . He ignored the Mongmart Party . At that moment, everyone was filled with thoughts of saving the priest!

‘We'll be in a dangerous situation if the priest goes down . ’

Cho-oohroong thought along the same line . A priest was of great importance to a party . Priests were more important in the Battlefield than the mages . If one didn't have a priest, it was better to logout and wait for the door to open .

As befitting the status of Heh-bibin's rising star, he started thinking about what would be coming next .

‘Wait a moment . ’

The Skeleton Warriors wouldn't just show up by themselves .

Cho-oohroong turned his head .

‘Ah!’

Four Skeleton Warriors suddenly appeared from a different direction . Everyone watched in surprise as the group of Skeleton Warriors jumped another priest .

Cho-oohroong's thoughts naturally moved onto the next thought .

‘Where's the Hahoe Mask?’

Since the Skeleton Warriors were here, there was no way the Hahoe Mask was not here .

As Cho-oohroong expected, the Hahoe Mask appeared .

“Ooh-ah!”

From behind Cho-oohrong, he stabbed a priest affiliated with Cho-oohroong's party . Hyrkan immediately withdrew his sword, and he struck the priest's neck . Afterwards, he sawed at the priest's neck . In a flash, the priest's neck was half-severed .

Hyrkan had appeared in this fashion, and he made sure the priest was dead .

“Charge!”

When Hyrkan appeared, the Mongmart party moved as if they had been waiting for this .

No, he was sure they had been waiting for Hyrkan . The Mongmart party moved towards the opposite direction from where Hyrkan had appeared .

They were splitting up their troops .

If one wanted to catch two rabbits, they would inevitably have to divide their group into two .

The problem was the group surrounding the Mongmart party . There wasn’t a normal power structure between these parties . One needed to go through the process of suggestion and negotiation when dealing with them .

One had to consider the situation, assess what method one had to use, suggest the method, and the group had to agree with said method . It was a frustrating process, and it wasn't something that could be done in a desperate situation where 1 second could mean the difference between life or death .

‘Fuck!’

Even Cho-oohroong was taken aback as Hyrkan used his blade on his party's priest . The way Hyrkan killed the priest was close to torture, and Cho-oohroong could only look on .

After killing a priest in a flash, Hyrkan's eyes met Cho-oohroong's gaze .

It lasted only for a brief moment .

Hyrkan immediately turned his head around, and he started running towards a different user .

“He…… . ”

He was also a Priest .

Poohk!

The Priest was about to yell out for help, but Hyrkan stabbed his sword between his eyes . Hyrkan didn't stop running as he carried off the Priest on his shoulder .

He was running away .

“Follow him!”

“Uh?”

“It's the Hahoe Mask!”

At that moment, a group of users followed after Hyrkan . How could they do nothing when the target was running away?

At that sight, Cho-oohroong swallowed his saliva . Cho-oohroong was at a loss for words .

‘H . . . he got us . ’

Cho-oohroong was struck dumb, and he couldn't say anything .

12 .

Pook pook!

With the priest on his shoulder, Hyrkan ran as he repeatedly skewered the body of the priest like a shish kabob . Until a moment ago, the priest had shouted all kinds of curses at him, but now his body was slumped over like a corpse . Hyrkan laughed when he saw this .

‘He forcefully logged out . ’

The user had been slung across Hyrkan's shoulder like a luggage, and he stabbed as he retreated . It seemed it wasn't fun to experience it live .

Finally, Hyrkan turned to look for the first time at the 3 people chasing him .

‘They are following me like dogs . ’

The three of them had successfully chased after Hyrkan . This meant these users had Stat that was comparable to Hyrkan .

They were Strikers .

They were users of the Swordsman Class, who mainly focused on their Strength Stat .

Hyrkan had slowed down just enough, so they had an easier time following him . Then he allowed them to incrementally close the distance .

In the end, he had stopped .

‘Is it here?’

After stopping, he discreetly turned his head to look around his surrounding then he dropped the priest from his shoulder .

Chul-puh-duhk!

He wasn't dead yet, but the user had given up on this character . The priest's body was basically a corpse .

Poohk!

Hyrkan planted his sword into the priest's spine . He placed two hands on the sword, and he looked at the three Strikers .

The sight of Hyrkan was intimidating and frightening .

“S . . . stop . ”

“Hoooo!”

Even the veteran users couldn't attack Hyrkan immediately . The imposing feeling comming off of Hyrkan had made them come to a stop .

The three users, who had stopped after feeling the imposing feeling, came to their senses, and they ordered their thoughts .

‘Ah, shit . ’

‘We're the only ones here…… . ’

Their battle capability was most definitely outstanding . They were of the Swordsman Class, and they had focused on raising their Strength Stat . No one would choose to grow this Class if it was weak .

However, the opponent was the Hahoe Mask .

‘Can the three of us take down the Hahoe Mask?’

‘He doesn't have his Skeletons?’

He controlled 10 powerful Skeleton Warriors . He was strong enough to solo Boss Monsters with them . He was someone, who possessed a ridiculous amount of skill . Will three Swordsman be enough to take him down?

It was possible .

However, it wouldn't be easy .

‘Should we just run away?’

‘We don't have priests any more . What should we do?’

Everyone was filled with nervousness as they raised their weapons . Those with shields raised it in front on them .

Hyrkan wordlessly looked back at them .

Pook pook!

He took out the sword stuck in the priest's back, and he kept repeatedly stabbing the body . It seemed he wanted to be sure that the priest was dead .

‘Crazy son of a bitch!’

The sight was so frightening that the three of them couldn't even come up with a way to buy time or try something else .

It was at that moment .

Koo-uhhhhh!

Accompanying a terrifying roar, four monsters ran towards them . They were horned Trolls with gray skin . The three Strikers could only look at the four Trolls with a dumbfounded expression on their face . Hyrkan put a big smile .

‘That Golem is slow, but its timing is pretty killer . ’

Hyrkan had unsummoned his Golem, and the monsters had come to kill the Golem's master . Hyrkan had readied a monster bomb .

13 .

“How many of you are left?”

“Six . ”

“Nine . ”

“We…… . ”

They had started out with 38 users, but the number had been reduced to 30 .

In a flash, 8 users suffered a Game Over .

Of course, it wasn't as if they hadn't gained anything . As the Mongmart Party was running away, they were able to eliminate 3 of their users .

However, their current situation was embarrassingly bad even if one added in their gains .

The biggest problem was . . .

‘We lost 4 Priests…… . ’

Eight users had suffered Game Over, and half that number was priests . Amongst the the 5 party, there had been a total of 8 priests, and now four of them were gone .

‘We've be perfectly undone . ’

It was a frightening situation .

Even though this was only a game, Cho-oohroong felt a chill run down his back .

Currently, the community was formed with 5 parties, yet they had lost 4 priests . If the community dissolves, one party would be without a priest . Basically, it was a death sentence .

‘I never expected the Mongmart to join hands with the Hahoe Mask . ’

They were in a critical situation only because Mongmart Party had joined hands with the Hahoe Mask . That was the only reason .

When they surrounded the Mongmart Party, they pulled the priests to the back to protect them . It was par for the course . The Strikers and Tankers were sent towards the front line to start the engagement . Since they had surrounded their enemies, this was the most logical and suitable tactic .

However, no one expected the Hahoe Mask to appear then and there

To make it worse, the Hahoe Mask divided his Skeleton Troops into two groups, and he killed two priests in a single strike . Afterwards, Hyrkan quickly killed one priest himself, then he ran away with another priest on his shoulder .

‘The Hahoe Mask has never run the Battlefield before, so how is he able to come up with these tactics?’

It was a very smart play . Instead of killing the priest on the spot, he carried the priest, who had no battle ability . He killed the priest as he carried him around . He was crafty . Hyrkan had a craftiness that could only beasts could come up with .

This was how Hyrkan killed four priests by himself . The 5 parties had combined forces, yet he was skilled enough to pick off the 4 priests . His skill gave Cho-oohroong goosebumps . Furthermore, he had intentionally baited the Strikers, and he used the monsters to turn the Strikers into road kills . Even though he was on the losing end of it, he almost let out a sound of admiration .

This clarified something . Hyrkan had perfectly read the intent of Cho-oohroong and the others .

This basically meant… .

‘This isn't the end . ’

It basically meant this was the beginning .

Cho-oohroong and the other parties were the first ones to proceed with no rules governing their actions . If their opponents didn't follow the rules, they didn't have the grounds to complain .

One had to be ready to battle with monster at any time especially in the Battlefield . The Battlefield had so many monsters that the monsters came looking for the users . On such a stage, it was impossible for 4 priests to cover over 20 users .

The worst part was the rest time . It was impossible to game for the whole day . In several hours, everyone was going to logout to rest . Several people were saying they weren't going to log back until the 144 hours was up . Instead of being blindly hit with Game Over, some thought it would be better to take a 144 hours break . They would avoid the Game Over, while they take a week worth of break .

This meant their numbers would shrink once again .

Eventually, they wouldn't have a numerical advantage .

‘I can't let that happen . ’

Cho-oohroong felt the need to organize this situation . He gathered the leaders of the other parties .

“We have to continue to work together . If we go our separate ways, we'll just become targets . ”

“You want us to hunt together in this state?”

“If we stay together, at the very least, the enemies won't attack us directly . We still have a decisive numerical advantage . Don't we need to put our survival as our highest priority?”

There wasn't any pushback .

‘Shit . ’

However, when Cho-oohroong looked at their expression, he could sense they weren't happy with him .

‘They are trying to put the blame on me . ’

In the end, Cho-oohroong was the first one to suggest the attack on the Hahoe Mask . It was human nature to blame someone else when things don't go your way .

“Well, let's do that then . ”

They gave their assent, but they weren't explicit with their answers .

Cho-oohroong realized something was amiss .

Hyrkan appeared in front of them once again about 5 hours after the castle gates had opened . Everyone was getting ready to logout, so they were looking for a safe zone when it happened .

“Who's the mastermind behind all of this?”