Chapter 134: Spreading Flames. (feat. Cheonma)
"What are you talking about? So, the lives of the people in our world are now the target?" After hearing the entire story, the old man asked in disbelief.
Seo-woon spoke on behalf of Li Ling-wei. "Exactly. Only a hundred out of ten thousand players will be eliminated. In a four-way game where ten people form a team, elimination is practically impossible. This means that the ultimate goal of this game is to take the lives of the people of this world."
Although he couldn't fully understand what he was saying, the old man could tell that this person was emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.
"What the hell is this?" The old man was so shocked that he couldn't speak. If it weren't for his granddaughter bringing him this story, he wouldn't have believed it. But it was his granddaughter who had gone to another world, so he had no choice but to believe him. After quickly assessing the situation, the old man narrowed his eyes.
"I'm going to Saryeon. I need to see Ryun-joo."
Liling-Wei nodded at his words. "Then I'll leave it to you, Grandpa."
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"I would, but we have to keep spreading the word… We're going to Yugokmun." He looked at the old man for a moment, then cautiously mentioned Yugokmun.
"Yes. This isn't the time to be dealing with trivial matters of state."
"Yes. Beware of strangers who look different."
Hearing his words, the old man glanced at Juriell and Dump Rail for a moment, then nodded. The old man's group and Seo-woon's team left Jin-dok-gok together and continued on their way.
"Remember that you might encounter players on your way to Yugokmun."
Although his teammates were always ready for battle without being told, Seo-woon reminded them once again to increase their tension. If this were a normal map, they might assume everyone they encountered was an enemy, but in this game, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. They couldn't let their guard down without knowing where the enemy's sword would come from.
"I'll scout ahead." Seo-woon nodded to Jin-ryung, who had stepped forward. Given that their target was Yugok, he figured Jin-ryong leading would be the fastest way to get there.
For half a day, they ran in almost a straight line, leaving the road behind and passing through fields and forests. Dump, almost completely stripped of his armor, a knight's lifeblood, followed closely behind. Sometimes, Dump even rode an airboard to conserve his energy.
After half a day of continuous riding, a gloomy mountain emitting a powerful aura appeared. As they plunged into the gloomy mountain in the dusk, sharp gunshots and warriors with piercing gazes appeared from all directions. Most of the team members grimaced at the sharp glint in their eyes and the killing intent that rained down upon them.
"I am Jin-ryong of Yugokmun! I have urgent business today, so if the lord of Heum Mountain clears the way, I will repay this debt in the future."
Some team members prepared for battle, thinking that enemy players might have appeared, but when Jin-ryong stepped forward, they realized the enemy wasn't a player.
"Are you Jin from Yugokmun?" A handsome middle-aged man with a voice brimming with inner strength appeared in front of Jin-ryong. Seo-woon narrowed his eyes at the sight of the men revealing their ambush and drawing their sharp weapons.
"This is so different from martial arts novels." In typical martial arts novels, bandits were there to maintain a delicate relationship with merchant caravans, either lining the protagonist's pockets or relying on their numbers to extort money. However, the bandits he encountered now were well-trained warriors. They didn't feel like ordinary people armed because they couldn't make a living from farming. The killing intent they exuded, in particular, was so intense that it made Seo-woon's skin tingle.
"They look like well-trained soldiers." Seo-woon nodded slightly in response to Ki-chan's whisper.
"Yes, they look like real soldiers who have seen a lot of battles." Even the unpredictable Li Lingwei didn't dare approach them, so Seo-woon also observed the situation.
"Are you the leader of Mount Heo-eum?" Jin-ryong asked, bowing, and the man retorted.
"Exactly. The leader is me. Jin So-hyup. Not an ordinary person, someone you should know, and yet you dare to climb Mount Heo-eum at sunset. This isn't a good idea."
The middle-aged man spoke politely, but his expression wasn't particularly pleasant. The bandits entrenched in the mountains would view anyone who ventured onto their territory at night as an attack and would respond accordingly. If it weren't for Jin-ryong, who had set foot on this mountain at such a dangerous time, they would have attacked him from the start.
"I'm really in a hurry, so if you could let me pass, I'll never forget your kindness."
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and glanced at the people behind Jin-ryong. He was particularly curious about the appearance of these strangers he'd never seen before.
"Wouldn't it be polite to at least tell us what the urgent matter is?" Jin-ryong was about to say that the matter was sect-related, but Nam-sa-gwang couldn't resist and stepped forward.
"You say it's urgent, but you're talking too much. If you have something to say, say it. Unless you want to die, of course."
The middle-aged man frowned at Nam Sa-gwang's words and was about to shout, but he saw Nam Sa-gwang draw his sword. He winced, his mouth hanging open, and raised his hands. At the same time, the sound of gunshots rang out from all directions, and the bandits parted like the Red Sea.
"I'll remember this kindness." Seo-woon, who was passing between the pale-faced middle-aged man and the bandits, opened his mouth.
"Is it really necessary to be so polite to bandits? They're executioners, after all."
Jin-ryong replied, not pausing to rest his legs as he climbed the mountain.
"There are two main types of mountain dwellers in our world: the Jinmu-chae and the Musan-chae. The Jinmu-chae, as you just saw, are true mountain dwellers, warriors, and lords of the mountains. They form alliances with other mountain dwellers, so in a broader sense, they're a warrior group. Messing with them could lead to conflict."
Jin-ryong glanced at Nam-sa-gwang and changed his tone slightly before finishing the last part of his sentence. Nam-sa-gwang didn't care.
Li Lingwei added to Jinryong's words. "The Musanches, on the other hand, are just ordinary people who arm themselves and go into the mountains and act like mountain lords. They wander from mountain to mountain as bandits, so we don't pay much attention to them."
"I see. The ones we just encountered seemed skilled in martial arts."
"The lord of Mount Heo-eum is well-known in this area."
The team members' expressions changed as they left Mount Heo-eum and hurried through the farmland. A strong smell of blood stung their noses. At the same time, Nam-sa-gwang, Jin-ryong, and Seo-woon charged forward explosively.
Illuminated by the moonlight, the corpses of farmers who had worked the fields were scattered everywhere. Without stopping, the three men scanned the corpses and fixed their gaze on the village at the end of the farmland.
"Everyone, follow me carefully!"
Leaving only those words behind, the three of them ran towards the village, the sounds of screams piercing their ears.
"Aaaaah!" "Help!"
Hearing the desperate cries, the three frowned as they jumped over the village fence. The figures killing people everywhere were clearly players. Shining armor, robes pulled tightly over their heads, and waves of mana.
Buzz! Clang! First, Namsa-gwang swung his iron mace at the knight about to strike the crying child in the head, severing the knight's head.
Zooook! Clang! Then, Seo-woon drew ten claw-like blades with both hands, slaughtering a family, then ripped the knight's body, armor and all, to shreds as he hunted for his next victim.
Kwaaad! Jin-ryong crushed a warrior's head without even drawing his sword.
When three team members were attacked almost simultaneously, the players carrying out the massacre stopped and focused their attention on the three.
"Wait a minute! There's no need to fight amongst ourselves. Everyone here will surrender…"
Seo-woon's expression turned even darker when he saw the mage raise his hands and speak.
"You're from Earth."
"Right. You are too, aren't you? There's no need for Earthlings to fight each other…"
Crack! The head of the short, two-block-haired mage exploded. Seo-woon's fist instantly shattered the man's barrier and shattered his skull.
Only then did the remaining four players exchange glances and scatter in all directions to escape.
"Don't let them escape!"
Behind them, the screams of those who had lost their families could be heard in all directions as they pursued the demons who committed such atrocities. Soon, the screams of the players who had caused this massacre also echoed throughout the area.
The team members, who had realized the massacre too late, fell silent for a moment, staring blankly at the ordinary people who couldn't contain their grief. Ki-chan's shock was particularly intense compared to the other players. He had only ever seen such a massacre on television, so the shock was twice as intense as it was for the other team members.
"We have to act quickly. It's the only way to minimize the damage."
Seo-woon, who was looking at the boxes and money that had appeared in place of the players' corpses with Ki-chan, nodded in agreement.
[Ding! You've won a blue coin. You can summon a vending machine.]
Ignoring the notification, Seo-woon grabbed Ki-chan's shoulder and nodded. Reaching out to a little girl crying in front of her parents' corpses, Ki-chan reluctantly withdrew his hand at Seo-woon's encouragement. Seo-woon held his shoulders tightly, which trembled even more as the image of his little sister overlapped with the image of the child after the loss of their parents, and steadied his wavering mind.
"Right now, saving more lives is more important than comforting a single person."
Ki-chan nodded reluctantly.
The team members trudged through a farming village far from the city. Just thinking about how many of those men there might be made his head spin.
"Ki-chan. Stay strong. We have to finish this game as quickly as possible and get back."
These words brought him back to reality. The thought of ending this game quickly filled him with anxiety. As his vague worries became reality, he began to wonder about his sister on Earth. Ki-chan wasn't the only one worried. Seo-woon and Dump Ryil were also wondering the same thing.
At that moment, they felt a powerful surge of mana nearby.
"That's wide-area magic!"
At Juriell's scream, Seo-woon gritted his teeth and turned towards the source of the mana surge.
-Kvakvakva!
"Stop him! Stop him at all costs!" A knight, whose helmet had either fallen off or been blown away, cried out helplessly as blood streamed down his face, blocking the new spell with his body.
-Kvaaaang! The knight's barrier shattered as he blocked a giant rock fist that flew out of the ground, and he was sent rolling wildly backward, rolling on the ground.
Behind the knight, another player who had been evacuating people from a nearby farming village was rushing towards the knight. The quartet of nine warriors and mages was having a hard time maintaining a one-sided fight against the quartet of only six.
Quickly assessing the situation, Seo-woon and Nam-sa-gwang rushed onto the battlefield.
"Hahmit!"
When he called out, a small, spinning disk appeared before Seo-woon's eyes.
-Tururu
He tried again, wishing for luck, but was disappointed when the skill he wanted didn't appear.
The skill he wanted was an area-of-effect skill, perfect for defeating mages. Deadly Strike was a skill that carried significant risk, but if the attack was successful, the damage wasn't dealt to the opponent, but instead accumulated. The damage from the attack accumulated and then detonated at a random moment within 10 attacks. It was quite a risky and difficult skill to use.
Seo-woon gritted his teeth and blasted his ki at the mages without using the skill.
-Kvakvakva!
Flying energy surrounded the mages, but they were already wary of Seo-woon's team members rushing in, so they dodged all his energy and gathered together.
-Teleport!
The timing of the four mages and two knights' use of Teleport was perfect. Seo-woon and Nam-sa-gwang, seeing them moving together to the same spot as if they had been practicing for a long time, rushed towards them.
-Kakakang!
The moment the two knights blocked the energy with their aura swords, the mages unleashed a barrage of status-altering spells. Gritting their teeth, Nam-sa-gwang and Seo-woon retreated.
After retreating for a moment, Seo-woon, as if without another thought, brushed back his hair with one hand. At the same time, his fluid hair instantly transformed into his own image, increasing its number. Six clones instantly appeared. Thanks to his newly acquired magic, the Senmaiki had reached 300, doubling the number of clones he could create.
Now multiplied, Seo-woon, along with Nam Sa-gwang, charged at the enemies, while various spells flew at them, intertwining.
-Kvakvakva!
Earth Snakes flew up, turning the ground upside down, and Ice Snakes flew with them, freezing the ground. Then, from above, the Blade Cutters flew.
-Kva kang! Kva kang!
Nam-sa-gwang was the first to break the spell. Namsa-gwang's clothes froze as he mercilessly destroyed the two snakes, and a chill swept through the area.
Above, seven Seo-woon jumped over him, their blades clashing with each other with spells.
-Kvah!
With a loud noise, a powerful wind swept across the area, neutralizing the spell. At the same time, a barrier surrounded the knights, protecting them.
Then, stone chains sprang from the ground, trying to stop Namsa-gwang and Seo-woon.
Juriell and Ki-chan Raile, who had arrived a little too late, couldn't just stand by and watch. Their spells instantly fell to the ground, destroying the chains that had sprung up from the ground.
At the same time, Seo-woon saw the sorcerer pull out a scroll and open a space-time rift.
"Shu-hak!"
"Sanggwang!"
Pressing Moo-ryeong-hwanbo with his doppelganger, Seo-woon tensed his body and created an energy screen to cover the whip.
"Understood!"
Nam Sa-gwang, who had experienced this tactic before, fired his ki to break the enemy's barrier and replied.
The two clone knights' swords disappeared into their aura, and countless ghostly apparitions enveloped the enemies. The whip, concealed by the clones' bodies, deftly moved, grabbing the mage who couldn't tear the scroll and dragging him towards Seo-woon.
The others, seeing their comrades instantly dragged into the enemy camp, were too stunned to react. All the mage could do was create a new barrier.
Namsa-gwang's sword pierced the barrier and sliced the mage in half from the crown of his head to his groin.
-Cha-cha!
Leaving the dying mage behind, vomiting blood and guts, Seo-woon and his teammates surrounded the enemies. Two Sword Emperors and four high-ranking mages were torn to pieces without offering any resistance.
The blood-soaked team watched with tense gazes as Seo-woon's team instantly destroyed their powerful foe.
"..."
"It seems we're playing the same game. There's no need to be so cautious."
Hearing Seo-woon's words, the blood-soaked knight nodded and sheathed his sword.
"It's you. Jin Seo-woon. You're a crown-ranked player, right? The one who shouted before the game started."
The other players nodded in agreement and sighed as they raised their weapons and sat down on the ground.
"I'm busy right now, so I don't have time to introduce myself. We've finished listing the items over there; you can take them. Please stay tuned. Just because we're playing this game doesn't mean we have to give up on being human."
The knight didn't deny Seo-woon's words and nodded.
"I won't."
There was so much to say, but putting that brief encounter behind them, Seo-woon's group rushed towards Yugok once more.
***
-Ding! You've killed Cloyd's invader. You've earned the right to participate in the Cloyd Survival Game.
"What? What's this…" The man tilted his head in surprise as he saw the seven corpses he'd just killed instantly disappear. He'd rushed in without hesitation and killed them, but now that he thought about it, he had no idea how they'd gotten past the multi-layered defenses and gotten here.
"Ah, I remember the priest talking about a mysterious game." The man, wearing only worn gray trousers, threw the longsword slung over his shoulder into the air, and surprisingly, the sword flew back into its scabbard on its own.
"Master! So you didn't get lost…"
The Left Guardian, who had followed the Heavenly Demon that had eluded its guards during its undercover mission in the Central Plains, was unable to continue speaking. Standing in the village, which had been savagely slaughtered in a sea of blood, the killing intent radiating from his master's back left him speechless.
As he knelt, the senior guards of the Guard who had arrived on the scene hurriedly knelt behind him.
"Left Guardian."
Hearing Cheonma's voice filled with killing intent, the Left Guardian sensed his imminent death. He opened his mouth with a firm resolve.
"Yes! Find these players. Find them all and kill them. Every senior member of the Law Enforcement Hall must kill at least one of them. Move!"
Looking at the head Cheonma had thrown behind him, the Left Law Enforcement Officer bowed his head when he saw the unusual appearance of a stranger with blue eyes, white skin, and blonde hair. "Yes, sir!" -Yes, sir! With a chorus of voices, the thirteen senior members of the Law Enforcement Hall disappeared into the ground.
***
"What kind of joke is this?" As soon as Cheonma finished muttering, he stomped on the head of the player whose limbs had been severed and who was barely breathing.
-Knock!
A fierce battle between the martial arts masters and the players erupted across the entire battlefield.