Chapter 158

Chapter 158 – Catch or Be Caught (1)

1 .

The forest didn’t even have a road . It was filled with beautiful trees and house-sized stone pillars randomly located within the forest . It was incredible to see Hyrkan run through such obstacles . At times, he dodged the tree trunks like a snake, and he used unexpected boulders as launching pads . He was like a squirrel .

‘Shit!’

He was awesome at running away . However, no one in this world like or wanted to run away .

In such an uncertain situation, he held the Deposed Prince’s Sword with his right hand as he stayed ready for a battle that might occur at any time . He had tucked the box with the scrolls containing the Ancient Power on his left side . He basically looked like a thief running away . Of course, he didn’t have any time to relax .

Hyrkan was running full tilt as his expression expressed his restlessness, strain and urgency .

Something appeared suddenly in front of him .

Hwah-roo-roo-roo!

An enormous wall of fire suddenly appeared in front of him . Hyrkan reflexively stopped in front of the fire .

‘I’m in a hurry . Which bastard did this?’

Of course, Hyrkan knew that the wall of fire had been created by a magician . This was why he had stopped running .

It was around 10 meter high, and it was 1 meter in width . It was too big to jump over it, but Hyrkan’s superior Item Setting meant that the Fire Wall couldn’t do much harm to him .

If he wanted to, he could just charge through it . However, this meant the magician, who had used the magical spell, knew this fact too . Basically, this fire wasn’t meant to damage Hyrkan .

‘Fuck… . ’

It was a diversion .

If he recklessly hurtled through the Fire Wall like an acrobat, a critical blow would come from the other side .

Hyrkan had suffered this scenario before, so he was well aware of this tactic . Moreover, even if there was nothing across the Fire Wall, he had no choice, but to stop .

Hyrkan turned to look behind him . Unlike the chaotic situation in front of him, it was very calm and quiet behind him . The only thing he could see was his own tracks .

However, Hyrkan could guarantee it .

‘If Anugas follows the attack pattern from before, it unerringly follows its opponent, and its pursuit can’t be shaken unless it locks onto another opponent . It is classified as an illusion type monster, so it wouldn’t be strange if it appeared suddenly . ’

He had a pursuer except one couldn’t see this pursuer with one’s eyes .

This was why Hyrkan considered the current development to be somewhat favorable for him .

Currently, a Wall of Fire had been placed in front of him, and this meant that there was at least one other User nearby .

He had no reason to waste his energy by striking up a conversation . Hyrkan tossed the box he had been carrying nearby . It held the Ancient Power . At this point in the game, it was worth a lot, but he couldn’t fight, while carrying it by his side . He wouldn’t risk his life for the sake of protecting the Ancient Power .

When Hyrkan’s left hand was freed, he stole a handful of flame from the barrier in front of him .

The spark of fire took hold on Hyrkan’s glove, and the spark didn’t fizzle out . Instead, it started burning larger, and the flames surged forward . In the end, a giant made out of fire took shape .

The Fire Golem appeared!

When the Fire Golem appeared, it immediately absorbed the flame blocking its master’s path . Hyrkan looked at the road in front of him . As expected, there was a trap that was meant to catch Hyrkan .

Ggoo-uh-uh!

There were two enormous bears made out of fire like the Fire Golem on the road, and they started running toward Hyrkan .

However, Hyrkan didn’t step forward . The Fire Golem had located its enemies first, and it moved to protect its master .

The three Fire Creatures, which had been formed beforehand, started to fight each other . It was a messy fight between large monsters, and while the battle was commencing, Hyrkan scattered two Skeleton Warriors .

The Mini Ogre Skeleton Warriors took shape!

Hyrkan had already confirmed that these Skeletons were genius trackers, so he gave the order .

Ddahk, ddahk!

After he flicked his fingers, Hyrkan turned to look towards his back again .

‘It feels as if I’m fighting with a bomb strapped to my neck . ’

It was a desperately dangerous situation .

He had fallen into a danger that he hadn’t been able to predict .

‘Yes . It’s always like this for me . When things start to go my way, a bloody awful day is around the corner . ’

On the other hand, he now felt as if he was playing Warlord .

2 .

When facing the Hahoe Mask, one had to avoid close combat at all cost . Even though Hyrkan was a Necromancer, he had higher Strength Stat than most Strikers . He had put all his Level Up bonus into Strength, and he had managed to equip himself with the best Item setting in Warlord . On top of all of that, he had numerous titles that boosted his Stats further .

Hyrkan’s Items were too advantageous in a close combat .

Crying Sword .

Currently, there was no weapon in existence that could destroy weapons and defensive gears as well as the Crying Sword . In terms of destroying Items, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Crying Sword was better than the Deposed Prince’s Sword .

Depose Prince’s Sword .

It was unequivocally the strongest Item in existence in Warlord right now .

The Dark Spot set was similarly a defensive gear that boasted the highest defense .

This resulted in Hyrkan being a monster in terms of close combat ability .

So what was Hyrkan’s weakness?

It was the powerful AOE magic . Of course, Hyrkan had incredible defense against magic, and he had high resistance to elemental magic . It wasn’t easy to give critical damage by using a powerful AOE magic .

However, magic was still considered to be Hyrkan’s weakness even with a lot of things going against it . The reason being it was the surest way to keep his Skeletons underlings, which was Hyrkan’s greatest power, in check . Hyrkan’s Skeleton underlings were also equipped with incredible Items, but they couldn’t be compared to Hyrkan .

Another deciding factor was the fact that Hyrkan’s magical energy consumption increased as the number of Skeleton Warriors were increased .

It was true .

Magic was Hyrkan’s achilles heel, and if one wanted to kill Hyrkan, one had to aim for this weakness .

“Keep using your magic! You have to put him on his heel! Use your magic, so he can’t take out his Skeletons!”

Apollo was using that strategy .

Of course, he wasn’t carrying out the plan . From the beginning, Apollo stood far away from the battlefield . He did as he wanted, and he continuously bombarded his subordinates with orders . His subordinates resented him . Apollo never contributed in a battle, yet he had the potential to be a detriment .

‘That son of a bitch . He should do it himself!’

‘Does he think using magic is easy? Everyone thinks Tankers are the only ones that suffer . ’

Of course, the recipients of Apollo’s words didn’t feel good hearing after hearing such words .

They were navigating through the battlefield as they chased after the Hahoe Mask . It was hard to use magic in such conditions, yet Apollo kept giving orders that sounded like threats . It was unspeakably humiliating .

However, their humiliation came to an end .

– We’ve been had!

Something terrible occurred not long after the battle had started . Hahoe Mask used the trajectory of the magical spells to track down and kill the magicians . A Striker and a Tanker was placed nearby a magician as protection . In truth, the only thing they could do was for the Strikers to runaway with the Magicians, while the Tankers stalled the Hahoe Mask . This was the only way .

If they failed to do that, they would let out the sad message like ‘We’ve been had!’ again .

In the end, two magicians from the group of 5 was cut down .

Apollo smiled when he received the report .

‘He finally bit the bait!’

3 .

With a single strike, he cut through the robe and body of the third magician . The Striker, who had been guarding the magician, executed a sword strike . It was a top to bottom swing . The Striker’s sword fell vertically like lightning, and it was as if the Striker wanted to destroy Hyrkan’s sword .

Kah-ahng!

Of course, the sound of harsh steel exploded forth .

Ggee-reek, ggee-reek!

The two swords pushed against each other as a goosebump inducing screech was emitted .

‘This bastard······ . ’

Of course, Hyrkan immediately realized the User in front of him wasn’t normal .

It wasn’t something he had to realize, since it was obvious . How many Users could fight on even ground with a sword with Hyrkan without using any Skills? Hyrkan immediately eyed his opponent’s Item Setting .

‘He has the Great Battle Hero’s sword . Is that the Golden Centipede set?’

The Great Battle Hero’s sword wasn’t as good as the Deposed Prince’s Sword, but it was good enough to be call a top tier weapon .

Moreover, the Golden Centipede set was famous . One could get this Unique set Item when one caught a level 180 Boss Monster called the Golden Centipede . It had low defense, but amongst the level 180 Items, it was best for maximizing attack . This was why it was categorized as an Extreme Attack Set .

Of course, it was expensive . Even if one had money, it was hard to acquire . The Golden Centipede was only found recently, and Users, who weren’t interested in Items, didn’t even know the existence of the Item .

It was at that moment… .

[Blood Ogre’s Dignity has come over your body . ]

The System Announcement gave Hyrkan a warning .

Blood Ogre’s Dignity .

It was an expression one would hear when one was exposed to the Option of the Blood Ogre set . Basically, it meant that someone wearing the Blood Ogre set was approaching Hyrkan!

Moreover, Hyrkan knew better than anyone as to the price of the Blood Ogre set .

“Shall we introduce our names?”

Ggee-rick, ggee-rick!

The blade of the two swords were interlocked as if they were kissing each other . The User asked a question over the sound .

Hyrkan ignored his opponent’s question, and he gave an answer instead .

“Rootbeer . ”

RootBeer .

It was a drink that was popular in North America . It was similar to the likes of cola and cider . Of course, one never forgot it once one heard it .

“Are you part of the Clover unit?”

Even if RootBeer’s name wasn’t easy to remember, he would have remember this User .

“The Hahoe Mask remembered my name . It doesn’t feel too bad . ”

Clover unit .

Of course, Hyrkan didn’t remember all of them, but he remembered the skilled Users . RootBeer was skilled enough to be able to pull off being the centerpiece of the Clover unit .

‘This guy is no joke . ’

His core role was similar to Hyrkan .

He was the Assault Captain . RootBeer stuck to a monster’s body to deal damage and Armor Break . He was a Striker!

In Hyrkan’s estimation, it was a wonder that such a skilled User had managed to remain anonymous . A User of this skill would itch to be able to make a name for himself . He wonder how RootBeer had kept that desire in check for so long .

‘He’s the bait . ’

There was a reason why RootBeer was conversing with him . Of course, it was part of their plan .

Hyrkan looked out of the corner of his eyes, and he could see other Users encircling him . They were slowly tightening the net . Moreover, the User wearing the Blood Ogre set jumped out in his sight .

As if RootBeer didn’t appreciate Hyrkan looking away from him, he continued to speak .

“Of course, my mood would get better if I’m able to kill the Hahoe Mask . ”

Hyrkan’s lips twitched .

‘If only Anugas showed up here······ . ’

In the end, he wasn’t in a good situation . Even Hyrkan couldn’t take on the Clover unit here . Even if he chose to face them, he would only have a chance at victory if he was the one that seized the initiative .

‘Please come out, Anugas-nim······ . ’

It made Hyrkan wish for the main culprit, who had been the cause of his worry, to show up .

At that moment… .

– Uh? My magic?

– What’s going? Uh? What happened to my magical energy?

– Huh? You too? My magical energy also suddenly disappeared . What is this? Is it a bug?

– Did the Hahoe Mask use a Skill?

Suddenly, disorder started to spread in the Voice Talk .

The big fish named the Hahoe Mask was in front of RootBeer . Until a moment ago, he had a confident smile on his face, but the smile disappeared from RootBeer’s mouth .

He planned on ignoring the chaos, but the disturbance was too large to ignore it . Their voices were so loud that it distracted him .

Most fishermen, who was trying to reel in a big fish, became irritated when a strange sound was emitted from the surrounding .

RootBeer yelled with Hyrkan in front of him .

“We are still in a battle! Focus on the battle!”

He had yelled towards the Voice Talk, but the sound had reached Hyrkan too . Hyrkan smiled at his shout .

‘Our magical energy was erased . It seems Anugas has opened his eyes . This will probably be the only time I’ll be glad to see it . ’

“Yes . You should focus hard on the battle . Be diligent . ”

At that moment, a marvel appeared from behind Hyrkan’s back .

Zzuh-juhk!

The ground suddenly split open .

Koohng!

A massive four-armed Giant appeared from between the split ground .

The split ground had turned into a chasm, and the giant four-armed cyclops crawled out . Its eye were opening slowly . It large blue eye shone brighter than a gem, and it was glaring at them .

[Anugas opened its eyes . It has eaten every being’s magical energy . ]

Anugas .

The giant that ate souls had appeared .

4 .

Anugas .

When Anugas opened its eyes, the Users within 500 meters lost all their magical energy . It was a special ability that was akin to being struck by lightning for the magicians and priests . However, the fact that the Strikers and Tankers had to fight Anugas was more chilling .

Magical energy was also important to Tankers and Strikers . Their Skills couldn’t be used for free .

Moreover, the number and variety of Skills used in battle was unexpectedly large .

All these Skills were forcefully sealed . The aspect of the game they took for granted was stolen away . It was akin to fighting in a location without any air to breathe .

Did this mean Anugas’ Battle Specs were weak to balance out this special ability? Of course not . Anugas’ health and attack capability wasn’t overwhelming, but it had enough Stats that was befitting its status as a mid-sized Boss Monster .

Moreover, it had four arms, so the battle method was very difficult for the Users .

In simplified terms, if Anugas’ two arms could grab both arms of the Users, the other two arms could do anything to the body of the User . The User that was caught couldn’t do anything about it .

If the User could use a Skill, one could probably escape its grasp . However, it wasn’t possible to use one’s Skill .

This was why if one didn’t have any plans or preparations for meeting Anugas, and if Anugas suddenly grabbed the arms of the User… .

“Shit! Where did such a monster come from!”

It would be the end for the User .

The Clover Unit had been closing in on the Hahoe Mask, and now they were being killed by Anugas . The Users couldn’t even resist, and they dimly realized the danger they were in .

RootBeer watch the sight as he was still interlocked with Hyrkan . The inside of his head became complicated .

‘Was the Hahoe Mask running away from this monster?’

They could now understand why Hahoe Mask was running away so quickly . This monster didn’t make an sound, and it didn’t leave any trace .

RootBeer would have also run away from such a monster .

At that moment, the Hahoe Mask also didn’t make any sudden moves as he assessed the situation .

‘Did the Blood Ogre set’s Option draw Anugas’ aggro? Thank you for wearing that set . It was quite fortunate . ’

In truth, Hyrkan wasn’t being magnanimous by not moving . Hyrkan didn’t want to move unnecessarily, since he didn’t want to become Anugas’ target again .

RootBeer couldn’t read Hyrkan’s mind, so he asked a question .

“Do you know anything about that monster?”

“I do now about it . ”

Hyrkan gave a careful answer . Currently, a chill was running up Hyrkan’s spine . Anugas had appeared behind him, so of course, he wasn’t feeling comfortable .

In truth, it took massive effort to have this conversation . He was acting casual, but it felt as if he couldn’t breathe . .

“You led the monster to us . ”

“I led it to you guys? I was running away . You guys are the ones that got in my path . It isn’t as if I attacked you guys first . So who is at more fault here?”

“······do you want to catch it with us?”

At that moment, RootBeer suddenly suggested an alliance to Hyrkan .

RootBeer was capable of judging the situation . It was really important to catch the Hahoe Mask, but an unknown monster capable of eating all magic had appeared . This was outside the scope of his mission .

Of course, he didn’t plan on really fighting the monster that had appeared in front of them . He had an ulterior motive .

‘At the very least, we have to avoid fighting the Hahoe Mask in this situation . ’

RootBeer wanted to avoid facing the Hahoe Mask and Anugas at the same time .

That would be the worst case scenario .

“I don’t want to?”

Of course, Hyrkan knew the reason behind RootBeer’s proposal . Hyrkan poured oil on the fire within RootBeer’s heart .

“I don’t know if you saw the first video I uploaded . It was called the Golden Skeleton episode . When this concludes, you should watch it . You’ll have a new appreciation for what just happened . Leave me a reply in the comment section . ”

For reference, RootBeer had seen Hahoe Mask’s Golden Skeleton episode . He had used the Golden Skeleton to fuck over the Users that had antagonized him . RootBeer had realized how smart and cheap the Hahoe Mask was through that video .

In a flash, RootBeer came to a decision .

‘I’ll take out the Hahoe Mask with me . ’

Since he couldn’t choose the best case scenario, he chose the lesser evil instead of the worst case scenario!

In a flash, RootBeer decided to take down the Hahoe Mask with him . He’ll damage the Hahoe Mask, and they’ll both die by the hands of Anugas .

Kah-ahng!

After coming to a resolution, RootBeer broke the stalemate . He pushed Hyrkan’s sword away from its interlocked position . When he was given a brief moment to swing his sword freely, RootBeer immediately raised his sword high .

It was a large movement, so naturally, there was a big hole in his defense .

In exchanged for opening up his defense, RootBeer planned on striking Hyrkan with a powerful blow . He was aiming to damage Hyrkan .

He planned on giving his bone to take the other’s bone!

He planned on dragging this down into a dogfight . He planned on wounding Hyrkan .

‘Huh?’

When he was about to bring down his sword, Hyrkan wasn’t in RootBeer’s field of vision .

When RootBeer raised his sword, Hyrkan hadn’t show any signs of defending or counter-attacking the attack . When RootBeer pushed off with his sword, Hyrkan had fallen over backwards . It looked as if he was injuring himself by purpose .

Chul-puh-duhk!

He fell backwards like a log .

This was something one never saw in a battle . RootBeer had conducted countless battles in Warlord, yet he had never experienced this before .

‘Shit!’

Even if RootBeer was a skilled User, he wasn’t able to react to something he had never experienced before .

In the end, the sword that contained RootBeer’s full strength sliced through empty air before it struck the ground .

During all of this, Hyrkan had kept rolling away on his side .

He looked so skilled at the maneuver that it didn’t seem like he was wearing a bulky armor .

It wasn’t something he had done only once or twice .

After Hyrkan moved his body out of harm’s way, he quickly got up . He immediately yelled out towards the battlefield .

“Thank you!”

“Catch that bastard!”

RootBeer yelled out as he looked at Hyrkan .

“Kuhk!”

At that moment, one of Anugas’ arm grabbed RootBeer’s arm . RootBeer turned to look at Anugas . Hyrkan shook his head as he watched the sight, and he got the hell out of there .