Chapter 294.

[Africa – Desolate Wilderness]

Northern winds blew across the cold wilderness, where a four-hour-long battle was now coming to an end .

The strength of the enraged Tigris’s [Formless Tiger Fist] subsided over time, but Kim Suho continued to maintain the initial prowess he displayed . The Sword Saint’s movements were clean, and his swordsmanship was splendid . There was nothing Tigris could do to get through Kim Suho’s offense and defense .

“Sword Saint… I’ll admit it’s a fitting title . ” Cheok Jungyeong, who was observing their battle from afar, commented . Seeing Kim Suho’s impeccable swordsmanship, a strong urge to join their ‘artistic fight’ struck Cheok Jungyeong’s heart . But he knew the disgust of being interrupted in the middle of a good fight, so he held himself back .

“Huhu, how is it? He’s stronger than you, right?”

Aileen, who was standing by and watching the battle, commented with her arms crossed . Cheok Jungyeong glared at her strongly .

“It’s not a matter of strength but a matter of circumstance . If it were me, I wouldn’t have forced Tigris into such a cowardly situation . ”

Tigris strength was also remarkable . But when Horseless died, he had revealed his full strength too easily, which he even used to exterminate his comrades . The battle was far from ‘fair’ to begin with .

“Cowardly? Oh please, think about what he did to the people he abducted . Plus, you shouldn’t be the one to talk about being cowardly . I saw what you guys did 20 years ago . ”

“…We didn’t do that, dumbass . ”

“Then who did it?”

“…The old us . ”

“Are you kidding?” Aileen frowned at Cheok Jungyeong’s vague words .

“Kuhum . ” Cheok Jungyeong let out a dry cough and dodged Aileen’s gaze .

“Tsk . ” Aileen clicked her tongue and picked up her transceiver . “Jin Seyeon, Kim Suho, it’s time to end the tiger hunt . We can’t wait much longer . ”

They could wait until Kim Suho cut down Tigris, but a long time had passed since the battle began . Although the Chameleon Troupe had taken over Lupiton and was preventing information from leaking out, there was a limit on how furtive one could be .

—Yes, understood .

Jin Seyeon replied . Immediately afterward, Aileen formed a spear with her magic power . Jin Seyeon, who was about three kilometers away from Aileen, also nocked an arrow .

“This is a tiger-killing spear~”

Using Spirit Speech, Aileen infused a special attribute into the spear . She stroked the shaft of the magic spear and murmured like a mother caring for her child .

“It displays great power against the tiger-race . A single hit paralyzes the target, making it the most feared object of all tigers… . ”

Aileen carefully utilized Spirit Speech as Cheok Jungyeong stared at her in disgust of her tone .

“You—! Damn—! Human—!”

In the next moment, Tigris roared and shot towards Kim Suho .

“A mere human—!”

This was the moment Kim Suho was waiting for, when [Formless Tiger Punch] would weaken to the point that Tigris would have no choice but to close in on him .

Kim Suho remembered a certain piece of information Kim Hajin told him . Though it was a long time ago, Kim Hajin had clearly said that a Mountain Tyrant’s vital point was a blue mark on the heel of its hind leg .

So when Tigris charged towards him, Kim Suho made a small smile . Although Tigris had evolved into a humanoid monster, he had not overcome his weak point . In fact, it was unlikely that Mountain Tyrants knew their vital point was a mere mark on their heel .

“Huup—!”

Kim Suho thrust Misteltein forward . Tigris grabbed Misteltein without being suspicious, and that was when Kim Suho attacked Tigris’ heel with his sword’s scabbard .

“…!”

Immediately, Tigris’s legs went numb . Aileen and Jin Seyeon made their move using this opening . Tigris had no way of dodging them .

Crack—!

A spear and an arrow pierced Tigris’s heart and stomach, dealing a clearly fatal injury . However, Tigris refused to let go of Misteltein .

“You… coward… my Horseless… . ”

Tigris glared at Kim Suho and expressed his fury . But Kim Suho wasn’t fazed in the slightest and faced Tigris with an even sturdier mind .

“…If that horse was that important to you, you should know . That the people you killed thoughtlessly were also important to others . ”

“Shut your mouth . A mere human dares to… kuhuk!”

Kim Suho infused magic power into Misteltein . A brilliant light rose up from the Sword Saint’s sword, and Tigris clenched his fists .

“—!”

“—!”

Next, two roars clashed and resounded .

The Sword Saint’s sword and the Tyrant’s fist collided .

Kwaaaaa…!

A burst of magic power dyed both heaven and earth . The clash of sword and fist shook the world, and the undulation of magic power spread out in all directions .

“… . ”

The battle thus came to an end .

Kim Suho let out a sigh and looked up at Tigris . He was no longer breathing, and Misteltein was piercing through his heart . However, Tigris’s eyes remained open . He was glaring at Kim Suho with eyes full of madness and barely squeezed out his last breaths .

“…Humans… I will curse you… even in death… . ”

At that moment, Misteltein activated its effect . By destroying Tigris’s heart, it absorbed a portion of the Gift Tigris possessed .

[Acquired Tigris’s Wish – Formless Tiger Punch]

Thud—

With that, Tigris’s heavy body fell to the ground .

[When you activate Misteltein’s Formless Tiger Punch, your close-range attacks will also cause long-ranged attacks . ]

Kim Suho sheathed Misteltein . A light breeze blew his hair .

“…Haa . ”

The victory had a bitter aftertaste . Was it because it wasn’t a fair fight? But because the fight was a ‘subjugation’, not a ‘duel’, there was nothing he could have done about it .

At the same time, Kim Suho couldn’t help but wonder, did he really have the right to punish humanoid monsters?

It was strange . Until now, he had killed countless monsters without any sense of guilt, and the only difference between a monster and a humanoid monster was that the latter could think and talk like a human .

With complicated thoughts, Kim Suho gazed into Tigris’s eyes .

**

[Africa, a nameless dungeon]

Jin Sahyuk and I arrived at a nameless dungeon . According to the Book of Truth, it was the [Basilisk Dungeon with Puzzles and Quizzes] .

“…This is a dungeon?”

Jin Sahyuk looked around with a scowl .

“…It is a bit odd . ”

I probably had a similar face . Rather than a dungeon, this place was more like an arcade .

To describe it in greater detail, all sorts of games were being displayed on a black background .

“Looks like it was a stage-type dungeon . We probably have to clear each game . ”

I stared at the different games inside the dungeon while activating [Observation and Reading] .

[Quiz Game 1, 2, 3, 4 – Test your intelligence . The numbers represent the level of difficulty . ]

[Puzzle Game 1, 2, 3, 4 – Test your creativity . The numbers represent the level of difficulty . ]

[Clearing all games lets you enter the final stage – Basilisk and Fight . ]

“…How are we supposed to do this?”

“Wait . ”

I first started the quiz game .

—Ding, ding! The Quiz Game starts!”

“Ah, geez! That surprised me!”

A robotic voice rang out from the ceiling, and Jin Sahyuk jumped slightly .

“Say something before you do anything weird!”

“Shut up and follow me . ”

“What’s happening?”

The quiz game started with a riddle .

What fire becomes when it dies, why the ice-cream died… most of them were laughably easy, but the catch was that the riddle was in ‘ancient runic language’ .

Of course, I had no problem translating it .

“Sapphire, because it’s cold, scarecrow, almond . ”

“…?”

Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows and stared at me .

I gave her a simple explanation .

“I’m smart . ”

“What? That doesn’t make sense . Even in Akatrina, runic language is—”

Jin Sahyuk stopped talking and glared at me with eyes full of suspicion .

It was about time she realized I wasn’t Kim Chundong .

In any case, I focused on solving the quizzes and puzzles, only taking 30 minutes to plow through all of them .

—You cleared all quizzes and puzzles! You will now be moved to the Basilisk Stage!

Dududu…

A secret passageway opened up along with a rumble . A purple world was spread out beyond the passageway .

The sky was purple, the land was crimson, and the Basilisk and its ‘spider underlings’ were black .

“You be the tank . I’ll support you from the back . ”

“…What? Do you know what kind of monster a Basilisk is?”

“Of course . ”

Basilisks were one of the monsters I created in my original setting .

A half-snake, half-dragon monster with sharp fangs, skin that was tougher than any qi reinforcement, and serpentine eyes that shot petrifying waves .

The Basilisk was a high-rank ~ pinnacle-rank monster and the ‘spider underlings’ around him were all high-intermediate-rank monsters, but I knew the Basilisk’s fatal weak point .

“Trust me and protect me . That’s all you have to do . ”

“Listen to me, you bastard, Basilisks were calamity-level monsters even in Akatrina . A single one of them needed hundreds of knights to take down . ”

“I’ll do more than what hundreds of knights can do anyways, so just do as I say . ”

I first transformed the Desert Eagle into a machine gun . I had thousands of bullets on me, and the gun fired at 2000 RPM .

The Basilisk’s flaw was its defense . In truth, it was more of a flaw in the setting .

[Basilisk’s Skin – reduces 90% of physical damage received and 99% of magical damage received . ]

Reducing damage by 90% meant 10% of the damage couldn’t be dodged . As it didn’t reduce a flat value like the defense of other monsters, he was the perfect target for my machine gun . As long as I keep attacking it, it should die eventually .

Of course, just in case that wasn’t enough, I knew about its vital point under its jaw .

“No, if you’re going to do this, do it by yourself . ”

“No, you’re coming with me . ”

For the record, Jin Sahyuk’s attacks were all magical damage, so she was extremely incompatible against the Basilisk . There was a reason she was reluctant to fight .

“You… . ”

Tudududu—!

I started firing . The Basilisk, who had not yet recognized us, quickly began to charge over . Jin Sahyuk cursed .

“You son of a bitch!”

—Kiaaak!

“Dammit!”

The secret passageway closed, leaving us trapped inside . Jin Sahyuk now had no choice but to fight .

“Move fast . Think about all the good equipment we can make from that guy’s corpse . ”

A Basilisk’s skin and fangs were excellent for making equipment, and its flesh, eyes, and heart could be used to make medicine . This dungeon should also give us a good reward for clearing it .

There was a reason I was excited about clearing this dungeon .

“You bastard . ”

Jin Sahyuk released her magic power with Reality Manipulation, and I continued to fire a barrage of bullets .

Tudududududu-!

Hundreds of bullets first eliminated the spider underlings before slowly making their way towards the Basilisk’s body .

—Kiaaak!

The enraged Basilisk breathed out green, venomous flames . Thankfully, Jin Sahyuk was the one in charge of the defense .

“Huup!”

Jin Sahyuk extinguished the breath by isolating the path of the breath from reality .

“I don’t know what you’re up to but finish it quickly!” Jin Sahyuk shouted .

I didn’t reply and continued to fire .

Tududududu… .

I could feel myself being destressed like I was in a real arcade game .

**

[Korea, North Pyeongan Province – Silver Essential Hospital]

3 p . m . , Korea .

Yoo Yeonha rushed over to Silver Essential Hospital after receiving an emergency call .

“Um, Chairman Yoo, about this… . ”

“It’s fine . ”

As soon as Yoo Yeonha got off the Dwarven Supercar she arrived in, employees of the hospital flocked to her with worried faces .

“I’ll see what happened with my own eyes . ”

Yoo Yeonha entered the hospital . Soon, she arrived at the highest floor, where Oh Jaejin was staying in .

“…Haa . ”

For Oh Jaejin and his wife, Essence of the Strait had turned the penthouse into a village from the 1970s . However, the penthouse was now empty . No signs of life remained, and without anyone to turn the floor heating on, the wooden floor was freezing cold .

“How long has it been like this?”

“He was here when we checked last night…”

Yoo Yeonha closed her eyes for a moment and sighed . Something hot began to boil inside her .

“He ran away, without a doubt . ”

The Oh Jaejin couple had run away . They must have wanted to live the rest of their life in peace now that Oh Jaejin’s dementia was cured .

“…W-We’re deeply sorry!”

The hospital employees bowed down to their waists .

But Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything . She was angry at the couple’s betrayal, but she couldn’t bring herself to curse out loud .

In the first place, Oh Jaejin was given the honored title of the ‘Nine Stars’ because he sacrificed himself to save the world . But there was no meaning to saving the world if one wasn’t a part of it . Asking him to sacrifice himself twice was unreasonable as well .

“…It’s fine . If he wanted to run away, there’s nothing any of us could have done . ”

Yoo Yeonha turned around with bitterness . It was then that a new alarm popped up on her smartwatch .

[You gained DP! You obtained 12,328 DP!]

The character she was sponsoring, Lailos, had helped her gain more DP . The news livened up Yoo Yeonha, but she maintained a stiff expression and ordered the employees present .

“First, change the floor back to have VIP-rooms . Don’t try to find Oh Jaejin-nim… hm?”

At that moment, the smell of kimchi jjigae flowed into Yoo Yeonha’s nostrils .

“What’s this smell?”

“Ah… the esteemed Oh Jaejin and his wife made kimchi jjigae before they left… . ”

“…Ha, how kind of them . ”

Yoo Yeonha laughed and walked into the elevator .

‘It does smell great . I guess I’ll have kimchi jjigae for dinner . ’ Yoo Yeonha thought . ‘…The kimchi jjigae Kim Hajin made me was amazing . I wonder if he’ll cook for me again…’

Yoo Yeonha closed the elevator door as she swallowed the saliva collecting in her mouth .

**

Four days passed since the assassination of Tigris .

A bloody wind blew inside Lupiton .

The village lord, Pleron, escaped in fear of being punished, and Lupiton’s residents had their curfews hastened to 9 p . m .

More importantly, the enraged Orden made a formal declaration to the rest of the world .

“Hmmmm… . ”

With a storm of war brewing, the underground fortress was undergoing heavy construction to build a tunnel leading to Orden’s palace .

“Orden’s palace is right above this place?”

The Special Task Force paid DP to the demon merchant to arrive at the foot of the palace .

“Yes, we did it carefully . Not even Orden should have detected anything . ”

The demon merchant replied to Aileen’s question .

“Great, then what about what we asked for?”

“It’s the same . ”

Commander Yi Gongmyung had asked the demon merchant to create 18 different entryways .

The Special Task Force’s 177 members were to split into teams of 10 members and infiltrate the palace to draw attention, while Hyenckes and Chae Joochul would deal with Orden .

“…Aileen-ssi . ”

“Huh? What’s up?”

Yi Yongha, who followed Aileen, muttered as he trembled

“The Immortal and the Lord of Steel are working together in this operation . Isn’t that amazing? I’m already getting goosebumps . ”

“…Shut it, fool . There are only four days left until the D-Day . Ready yourself . ”

The dual-pronged operation was planned to begin in four days . Hundreds of thousands of human soldiers would gather in Africa . Orden would naturally focus most of his forces on the large army, so the Special Task Force would use this opportunity to strike .

“You’re right, we only have four days left . ”

“…Are you nervous?”

Aileen turned around . Chae Nayun, Kim Suho, and Yun Seung-Ah were also standing there .

“No, I’m okay . ”

“…I’m fine too . ”

“I’m a bit angry . ”

Chae Nayun, Kim Suho, and Yun Seung-Ah responded respectively . Yun Seung-Ah was the only one who was sulking .

Aileen sighed and stared at Yun Seung-Ah .

“Why do you have that I-stepped-on-poop face? Are you a kid?”

“Me? You’re the one who didn’t tell me Jain came here . ”

Jain had told Aileen that she disguised herself as Pleron . This was the first time Aileen found out Jain was a part of the Chameleon Troupe .

“…It’s politics . ”

“U-Unni! You know what she did to me in the past—”

“Think of the bigger picture . If you can’t cooperate, leave the team . ”

“… . ”

Yun Seung-Ah bit her lips and glared at Aileen before turning around .

Koong, koong—!

She expressed her anger openly as she stomped away, and Aileen only shook her head .

“She’s sulking . Kim Suho, you deal with it . ”

Kim Suho smiled wryly at Aileen’s order .

“…Oh right!”

At that moment, Chae Nayun’s eyes shot open .

When Aileen and Kim Suho tilted their heads, Chae Nayun took out the [Invitation Letter to the Love Room] from her pocket .

“Hm? What’s that~?”

Aileen gave her a curious look .

“This? You see…”

Chae Nayun wanted to use it before the mission . Since she was at the risk of death, she didn’t want to die without finding out who Extra7 was .

“Well, it’s nothing . ”

But Chae Nayun knew she was on a top-secret mission . She wasn’t so stupid as to bring an outsider into it .

Plus, since Extra7 told her to call him when she was in critical danger, she decided to use when that time came, rather than to just say hi .

“What, so boring . ” Aileen frowned .

Kim Suho, who knew about the item’s effect, placed his hand on Chae Nayun’s head .

“Ah, what are you doing? Don’t get over yourself . ”

Chae Nayun struggled to push Kim Suho’s hand off .

“Why?”

“Do that to Seung-Ah Unni, not me . ”

“…Kuhum, why do you guys keep mentioning Guild Leader Yun Seung-Ah . ”

Kim Suho let out a dry cough with a flushed face .

“Anyways, you guys should leave too . Same for you, Yi Yongha . I have something to do . ”

Aileen shooed the others away . Chae Nayun, Kim Suho, and Yi Yongha were all chased out, and the tunnel turned silent .

“…Huu . ”

Only four days remained until the humanoid monster annihilation mission .

“This tunnel will be concealed perfectly so that no one can discover it… . ”

Aileen added Spirit Speech to the tunnel .

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