Chapter 298: Outland (4)

Guladin calmly started to make his move like a chess player who had considered all possible situations.

'Number 185 go to where 207 was killed.'

'219, keep a small distance and follow him.'

'320 and 44, make a wide berth around them and hit Seo Jun-Ho from behind.'

He was the commander of the battlefield. Guladin tormented Seo Jun-Ho nonstop.

And that wasn't all...

'I found you.'

Using the locations of the dead fiends, he located Gilberto Green.

'You rat. It took up a good amount of manpower to find you.'

Guladin had been mistaken when he thought that Gilberto couldn't snipe, as they were in a forest. After all, Gilberto wasn't some rookie who would be hindered by such obstacles.

'Did I underestimate the 5 Heroes too much? I suppose I should apologize to his corpse later.'

Guladin smiled wickedly and watched over the battle.

Seo Jun-Ho hadn't been able to move a single step away for a while. Gilberto started to turn his attention to the fiends who had surrounded him like clouds after he was found.

"It's over."

Guladin slowly opened his eyes. Sweat dripped from his body like rain. Processing the information and emotions of hundreds of people at once was no easy task.

"Bring it here," he ordered. As soon as the words left his mouth, his subordinates brought him ice, along with a cold drink.

After taking a small break, Guladin returned to the battlefield once more.

'Let's wrap things up.'

As Mind Knot (A) activated again, all the thoughts and information flooded into his head.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue as they did. He had started out with 342 soldiers, but they had somehow decreased to 228.

'They killed 114 of them in such a short amount of time?'

They were his enemies, but he couldn't help but commend them for doing so much damage within his newly perfected Heaven's Net.

'What shall I do? The Chef will be pleased if I bring them alive...' He thought for a second, then shook his head. 'It's too dangerous. They're too powerful. The moment I let my guard down, they'll kill me first.'

Unfortunately, he had to kill them when the opportunity arrived. Guladin made up his mind and started to pull his net tighter.

'Checkmate. Even if the god of war comes in and helps them, they won't be able to escape this.' He had all the information on the battlefield in the palm of his hand, and his opponents were mice caught in a trap. It was reasonable to be sure of his victory.

"I suppose the 5 Heroes and the Rising Star are only at this level," he remarked.

The battle wasn't very satisfying. It was dull, as it ended before his interest was even piqued.

'Though, it might be a little fun if I hunt a Heaven.'

Perhaps one of the beasts like Kim Woo-Joong or Shin Sung-Hyun...

Guladin was imagining what it would be like if he were fighting one of them instead.

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, a fiend's signal disappeared. If that were all that happened, it wouldn't be so strange, but Guladin frowned. 'Wait, this area... Neither Jun-Ho nor Gilberto should be able to reach it.'

Unless the fiend suffered a heart attack, there was no reason why they were dead. Guladin felt a sense of foreboding.

"...!" The strands in that area were severed one after another.

'Do they have another ally?!'

No, that was impossible. The coachman had definitely only brought two people with him. Moreover, Guladin himself had checked several times to see if someone else was following them.

'...Dammit. Nothing will change, though.'

If there was another one, he only had to kill them, too. Feeling good about himself, Guladin spread his net again to try and catch his trapped opponents.

'98, go to where 101 was killed.'

'222 and 300, go to the same place and team up with him.'

'147, use magic to create a wall so that the bastard can't help Jun-Ho or Gilberto.'

He made his decisions at a moment's notice and sent his orders without hesitation. After all, he had never made a wrong decision before.

"Huh?"

But just then, someone else was killed in a completely different location.

'...Do they have more than one person for backup?'

Just when? Just how had they followed them?

Frustrated, Guladin sent fiends in that direction.

'No one's there?' However, the only things in either location were corpses still spilling warm blood. He couldn't see a single trace of the culprit. '...Impossible. You're telling me that they knew I would surround them like this?'

Guladin was completely dumbfounded. He felt like he was dealing with a ghost. But as the fiends kept dying, he was reminded of the harsh reality.

"Those crazy bastards..." Guladin cursed. He felt completely powerless as if both his hands and feet were severed.

This meant he was losing in this game of wits.

'They're winning so easily? Against me, Guladin?'

He had always liked to shake things up on the battlefield as the commander, but now, his pride withered.

"Who..." He opened his crimson eyes and stared into the dark forest. "Who the hell are you?"

***

The dawn's white mist blanketed the dark forest, and there were two fiends were dashing through it. They were number 98 and 222.

"We can meet up with 300 over there."

"Okay. Say, had the forest always been this foggy?"

For a moment, neither of them could speak. Even though they were in a forest in the middle of the night, it was strange for there to be mist cold enough to send a shiver down their spines.

"Hey." Sensing that something was off, 98 was about to warn the other to be careful.

Crackle!

A strange sound came from the side. 98 reflexively turned toward the noise, and their eyes widened.

222 had frozen over, but they were still in a running posture.

'If I break it... Can I save them?'

No, they couldn't be saved. The light had already faded from 222's eyes. They died as soon as they froze over.

"Ugh..." 98 unconsciously took a step back.

All of a sudden, something from behind them snatched them up by the neck.

"Guh?!" The fiend saw a golem lifting them up into the air. It was a giant golem made of azure, white ice. The fiend could feel themselves freezing over from where the golem had grabbed them.

"...!"

Their vocal cords froze, and the only sound that came out of their mouth was their breathing. 98 had noiselessly followed after their partner into the netherworld.

"How annoying..." the Frost Queen muttered. She was sitting on a nearby branch, controlling the ice golem. "I am tired and hungry."

She was having a heavy craving for sweets, perhaps because it had been a while since she fought. Frankly, there hadn't been many times when she had to join in on the battle like this after establishing a contract with Seo Jun-Ho.

'That is why I enjoyed it...'

But now, it seemed that her Contractor was starting to employ her in battles for real. And it meant that her happy days were over; all that awaited her was suffering.

She let out a long sigh and moved her finger slightly. The golem fell apart with a crumbling noise and disappeared into the mist.

A moment later, 300 appeared. They were supposed to meet up with 98 and 222.

"...They're dead."

The fiend thoroughly searched the area for a good amount of time; however, they couldn't find any trace of the ice golem.

"Hup." The Frost Queen jumped off of the branch and casually walked past the fiend. As she did, she tapped her hand once on the fiend's thigh, and the latter started to freeze.

"I will ask Contractor for cake as soon as the battle is over," she decided.

If she was being honest, she was often asking for cake. But today, she more than deserved it.

"I will ask for three of them..." she muttered, her face resolute. She was being as elusive as Hong Gildong. After all, she deserved at least that much.

***

The fiends were apprehensive.

'It's one guy. It's just one guy.'

'If we all charge him at once...'

They had surrounded just one enemy, but they couldn't move recklessly.

"You're not gonna attack?" Seo Jun-Ho asked flatly. He spun the spear in his left hand. "If not, then I'll attack first."

The spear spun as it flew through the air.

"Gah!" A fiend twisted their waist, barely dodging the weapon.

Slice!

A jet-black sword aura followed, cutting off his head.

'Behind me.'

Seo Jun-Ho knew that a spell was coming from behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around.

Crackle!

A large and thick wall made of ice blocked the attack.

The fiends' eyes glinted.

'That idiot, he blocked off his only escape route himself!'

'This is our chance.'

Every fiend quickly charged at Seo Jun-Ho, and their attacks flew toward him at the speed of light. However, as the attacks flew, an azure light filled Seo Jun-Ho's eyes.

'Freeze.'

Every fiend and every attack coming toward him slowed down.

"...?!"

"I...can't..."

"...How?"

Seo Jun-Ho's sword then severed the heads of the dumbstruck fiends. Whenever he used this power, no one could block even a single strike of his. The power's only flaw was that it consumed a lot of magic power, but right now, magic power wasn't a huge issue for him. After all, the energy circulating within him was as boundless as the ocean.

Slice! Slice!

Seo Jun-Ho severed the heads of the fiends as if they were scarecrows made of straws.

"Hm." In an instant, he killed four fiends and quietly pulled back his sword and spear.

'Their leader is very good.'

Guladin knew from the beginning that the Squadron members couldn't keep up with his level of skill. That was why he kept jabbing at Seo Jun-Ho like this, sending only four to five fiends at a time.

'He's trying to drain my stamina.'

The trap was set, and he would be captured as soon as he used up his energy. It was like using hunting dogs to rip the enemy's throat apart, rather than using one's own power to deal with the enemy.

'And there are a lot more enemies than I had expected. If I fought carelessly, things would have gotten troublesome.'

Sending Frost out into the battlefield had been a complete game changer. If it weren't for her, he would have had no idea how many more hours he would have to fight.

'The tide of the battle has changed.'

Seo Jun-Ho inhaled. He could feel it on his skin.

'So, it's beginning to fall apart...'

The rope wrapped tightly around his neck was starting to loosen. At this point, he was confident that he could easily tear it all apart.

"Now, then..."

The area around him was littered with corpses. He walked up to the smartest-looking one. Seo Jun-Ho's eyes glinted as he read his memories.

"Guladin...You're over there, aren't you?"

The net was starting to loosen, and he had even discovered their leader's location. There was no more reason to waste energy going in circles with the enemy. He withdrew the saw-toothed sword from his Inventory and kicked off of the ground into a sprint, trying to force his way out of the net. As he did, dozens of hidden fiends came pouring out like a swarm of bees.

"Hup...!"

Seo Jun-Ho kept moving while swinging his sword. Full of magic, the sword gave a deep hum as Seo Jun-Ho twisted his body.

Swords, spears, shields, armor, trees, flesh, and bones...The saw-toothed sword cut through everything it met without a single exception.

And Guladin was the most astounded by Seo Jun-Ho's impossible speed as the latter approached him.

"H-how is this possible?!"

The ghost on the battlefield had distracted him for a brief moment, but during that time, Seo Jun-Ho had escaped his trap.

'No...He didn't just escape.'

Astonished, thick beads of sweat dripped from Guladin's forehead. He was filled with an indescribable emotion as he instinctively opened his eyes wide.

He stared into the dark forest while trembling.