Chapter 72: Hill of Blowing Wind (2)


    <b>Chapter 72: Hill of Blowing Wind (2)</b>


    Hyukjin was the first to move.


    Im going.


    His gaze was pointed towards Sung-gu, or more precisely, a ck haze to the right of Sung-gu.


    Yeonseo saw him move.


    Huh?


    The wind was abating, but it was still dangerous to move quickly.


    <i>If something unexpected happens, stick to me.</i>


    She remembered those words. Just moments ago, three yers had been pulled into the air and killed.


    If Hyukjin is moving like that


    It meant there was definitely an important reason for him to do so.


    I have to go, too.


    Matching the timing, Yeonseo followed him.


    [Using the movement skill Heavenly Demonic Flying Step.]


    With the help of her movement skill, she quickly reached Hyukjin. Because he was moving with physical ability alone, she was faster than him.


    During the three months while Hyukjin was in the Forest of Unknowns, Yeonseo had grown a lot. Her burning desire to catch up to him, no, to be stronger than him, made her strong.


    Hyukjin pointed at the ck haze, and Yeonseo understood what he meant.


    Okidoki, she said, using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to rapidly move to the haze.


    [Using the skill Single Hit Finisher.]


    Less than two seconds afterwards, Hyukjin also got within range and thrust his sword into the haze.


    [Using the special skill Excellent Strike.]


    Yeonseo heard a notice.


    [Devil Wraith has been killed.]


    [EXP acquired.]


    [55 Coins acquired.]


    It varied between monsters, but when killing level 30 monsters, you could get approximately 40 Coins.


    55 Coins?


    She didnt even get a proper look at the monster, yet she obtained a whopping 55 Coins. That was even more Coins than when they killed the Great Orc Warrior.


    What did we just kill?


    Yeonseo was sure of it. If she hadnt worked with Hyukjin to kill this monster just now, an incredibly dangerous creature would have emerged.


    Looks like theyre at their weakest when theyre in their haze form, Yeonseo said.


    ...


    And our boss realized that in advance.


    Hyukjin nodded.


    <i>Devil Wraith. With our skills at the time, we couldnt kill it. As you all know, the Devil Wraith is a monster that concealed itself on its own after killing ten people.</i>


    The Devil Wraith was the product of the specter monster Wraith taking actual form into a new monster. Its entire body was ck, and it looked like a seagull the size of an eagle.


    <i>As everyone here knows, the only way to kill it is to strike before it haspletely taken form.</i>


    Once it emerged, the Devil Wraith would continue to move until it killed ten people.


    A monster we cant kill with our current skills.


    That meant ten random people would be sacrificed. We had to kill it before it tookplete form.


    The EXP has been reduced.


    I attacked it directly, abandoning the observer position. Still, I knew it was a much better choice than seeing ten people die.


    [The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain admires the clean strike.]


    [The Lady of the Scales is surprised by your discernment.]


    [The Whispering Devil finds it regretful.]


    [The Nameless Observer continues to observe.]


    Hyukjin directly hunted the Devil Wraith, and as such, he didnt get EXP or Coins. Only Yeonseo got rewards. However, Hyukjin was a little shocked.


    How should I interpret this?


    For a kill to count as him directly killing it, he had to do at least 50% of the damage to the monster.


    So I did over 50% of the damage?


    Did he get a lucky crit? Did he really deal more damage than Yeonseo, even though she was sure to have used Single Hit Finisher? It was hard for him to understand. He was forced to interpret the situation as him having done more damage than the Sword Empress whose level was higher than his.


    In any case, the atmosphere had turned on a dime.


    Because of what just happened theyre finally thinking straight.


    Three people died. The yers seemed to have gotten a bit more serious. Most of them were focused on destroying the rest of the pirs rather than getting distracted by what was happening over here.


    Good, thats a bit better.


    There were definitely yers who were interested in what was happening on this side, but for now, they appeared to be focusing on their task.


    Currently, there are four groups.


    The yers were currently raiding this gate in four groups: yers who were destroying the pirs, yers fighting the Wraiths, and Hyukjin and Yeonseo, who just killed the Devil Wraith. Thest group was nonbat yers who were unable to do any of those things.


    The 7th pir is falling.


    The 7th pir copsed, and at the same time, a change urred in the field.


    [The Central Pir is appearing.]


    All of the yers got a quest notice.


    [Quest: Find the Offering Box.]


    [The Offering Box is located on the top of the Central Pir.]


    The faces of the yers brightened. They got a clue to the clearthe Offering Box, and the top of the Central Pir.


    Kim Taechun yelled out in excitement, I was the one who found the clue!


    His contribution in destroying the pirs was obviously unrivaled. As he swung his massive blunt weapon, an axe with great destructive force, he looked like a warrior born to fight.


    [The Courageous Lion King is satisfied.]


    The situation was very favorable for Taechun. Blunt weapons had a great deal of attack power, but they were slow and it was hard tond a hit. Thats why they could only be used with footwork techniques or skills that increased attack speed. However, such assist skills werent necessary against pirs that didnt move.


    Oryaaa!


    The work on the 8th pir began. The situation cast yers of the same type as Taechun in a good light.


    Cmon, lets do this!


    The yers went at the pirs with greater intensity. There were a total of eighteen pirs here. Since a clue appeared after destroying seven pirs, they wanted to keep going in the same manner.


    Standing a little distance away from the pirs, Hyukjin spoke, his gaze pointed towards Sung-gu, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa.


    Im seeing a change in the mana around the Wraiths.


    Shit, are they gonna be even scarier?


    I dont know for sure. But the flow of mana surrounding the Wraiths has changed. Its probably one of two things. Either the Wraiths themselves will change to a different form, or different monsters will appear.


    Got it. Ill be mentally prepared.


    <i>When the 7th pir was broken, the Central Pir appeared. We thought of that as a clue to the clear. It gave us hope. But then, we were forced to fight a terrible battle of life or death. Because the Wraiths disappeared and were reced by Ghosts.</i>


    Wraiths were specter monsters that came in the form of seagulls. Ghosts were human-shaped monsters made of ck smoke.


    In regards to the Ghosts, Jo Sunghyun said this:


    <i>They were skilled in both close and ranged attacks and had a paralyzation ability, making them extremely tricky to face. Their appearance marked the beginning of hell.</i>


    They could fire ck, concentrated marbles of mana from their fingertips, and not only did this cause damage, but it also had a special paralyzation effect that rendered you unable to move.


    <i>The wind in thetter half was so strong you couldnt endure it without getting down. The paralyzed yers were unable to get down, so</i>


    The paralyzation itself wasnt all that scary. What was scary was that you wouldnt be able to get down if you were affected. If you couldnt get t on the ground, the wind would send you flying into the air, and if that happened, you would meet a gruesome end, just like the three yers moments ago. The wind would tear you to pieces in midair.


    Theyll start showing up here and there.


    * * *


    Just then, one of the yers shouted, Watch out! A monster that can paralyze has shown up! If you get hit by that, its over for you!


    Hyukjin looked in the direction of the pirs. The speaker was mixed into the crowd, so he couldnt figure out who it was. However, he now knew that someone among the yers had the ability to immediately determine monster abilities.


    Its probably Han Seokmin.


    If his guess was right, that yer was Han Seokmin, one of the important figures of Taeguk Shield, the big guild propelled by Sungshin. So Han Seokmin was here, too.


    Doesnt look like he can see weak points yet.


    He was a yer with the special ability to determine the traits and weak points of monsters, but it didnt look like he could see the weak points yet.


    Human-shaped monsters made of ck smoke began to appear. They werent affected by the wind here. Their red eyes glowed brightly.


    Theyll attack soon.


    Hyukjin turned back to his teammates. You must absolutely avoid getting hit by the paralyzing poison.


    Everyone had to be on their guard. The Ghosts extended their hands. Condensed mana the size of marbles would nowe shooting from those fingertips. The spheres werent all that fast. With a little determination, you could dodge them.


    However


    []


    You had to check the wind arrows. The trajectory of the marbles changed ording to the intensity and direction of the wind. The other people aside, Hyukjin had to quickly share what he knew and had figured out to his party members first.


    Be sure to check the intensity and direction of the wind. Theyll influence the ranged attack.


    []


    The wind intensity and direction changed constantly. The fields overall difficulty was quickly rising.


    [Eye of Perception detects murderous intent.]


    That probably means Ive drawn the aggro.


    Eye of Perception didnt betray Hyukjin.


    That one.


    One of the Ghosts was aiming at Hyukjin. It was the fastest Ghost, apparently the strongest of the six that had appeared in various ces around the field. Hyukjin focused on his senses.


    I can dodge.


    He saw it. ck, marble-sized spheres came flying towards him. They appeared to be flying in a straight line, and there were a staggering ten of them, aiming straight at him and him alone.


    He checked the wind once more.


    []


    He had to dodge with that direction in mind.


    I cant make too big of a movement.


    His mind honed to peak concentration. He saw nothing else in his surroundingsjust him, the Ghost, and those ck spheres.


    If I make toorge a movement, the others will target me.


    He had to avoid the Ghosts attack with the smallest movement possible, the most efficient way.


    [Observers Eye seeks the flow of nature.]


    I can see the trajectory.


    The path Hyukjin drew out in his head and the trajectory Observers Eye showed him were exactly the same.


    Half a step to the right.


    He didnt move much, just half a step. He had to show his party members. He wanted to show them with his body how they should move.


    The ck spheres shot towards him like an arrow, as if to pierce his body. At that moment, Sunhwa flinched.


    Op-Oppa! she nearly shouted. In her eyes, Hyukjin was in great danger. It looked as if he would be struck right this instant by those spheres. He only took half a step to the side, and for the slightest moment, it seemed as if time stopped.


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    The Ghosts attack didnt hit him, the ck spheres barely whizzing past his body.


    The smallest movement, the greatest efficiency. The way he dodged was seen by all of his party members. They were all geniuses.


    Sung-gu nodded, thinking, So thats how you do it.


    Yeonseo, Yoohyun, Sunhwa, and Sunghyun read Hyukjins intent as well. He had just taught them with his body. He showed them that this is what they should do, that there was no better method than this. It was literally a living lecture.


    In the meantime, screams came from the area where the pirs were.


    I-I-I-I cant move!


    W-Wait! Stop! Dont destroy the pir!


    People screamed, but it was toote. The 8th pir was destroyed. It wasnt done on purpose. It was simply terrible timing.


    []


    The four paralyzed yers nched in horror.


    N-N-No!


    Yoohyun instantly tackled one of them, bringing the paralyzed man forcefully to the ground. One of them was fortunate, fortunate that Yoohyun happened to be standing next to him.


    A-AAAAAAH!


    The other three faced the same terrible fate as the earlier yers. They were lifted into the air and brutally killed. Body parts fell to the ground, a fountain of blood bursting in the air, scattered everywhere by the strong wind.


    The yers were instantly rendered speechless.


    ...


    Because of a timing mistake, another three people died.


    Kim Taechun growled, Which son of a bitch destroyed the pir with that timing? It was almost as if hed be the true leader here. He roared in rage, acting like he was the arbitrator of this ce. Who the hell was it?!


    For him, this was a good opportunity to show his strength.


    Using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step, Yeonseo quickly swept past him. This isnt the time for it, in my opinion. Not gonna kill the Ghosts?


    After using its ranged attack, a little of the ck smoke that made up the Ghost dissipated. It obviously looked weakened. Yeonseo focused on the red eyes. She didnt know if the eyes were a weak point, but they looked like it.


    The red eyes.


    She decided to thrust her sword at that point. Her intuition told her that she couldnt kill it in one hit. The wind would continue to blow, and she couldnt kill the Ghost with one hit. She had to whittle it down slowly. Yoohyun also grasped what he had to do and moved towards another Ghost.


    Yeonseo, Yoohyun, and Sung-gu. The three of them started hunting the Ghosts, and other yers began to hunt the Ghosts around them as well. If they didnt kill the Ghosts, they would be the ones to die.


    Most of the yers saw this:


    Ghost LVL ?


    However, they had no other choice, because it was kill or be killed. While they were fighting, Hyukjin stood next to Sunhwa and activated Observers Eye.


    The 8th pir was destroyed.


    That meant from here on out, the key item could appear.


    I have to find it.


    His party members were doing the best they could in their individual roles. Regardless of how other people saw it, the true leader was Hyukjin. And as the leader, as the person responsible for these people, he already knew exactly what he had to do.


    Find it!


    The description of Observers Eye was eyes that can read the flow of nature. From the locations where the Ghosts appeared to the ces where the Wraiths first showed up, he pieced together all of the information and examined the field anew with Observers Eye.


    I <i>must</i> find it.


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