Chapter 51: This place is different

Chapter 51: This place is different

The leader, Jung Duhoon, shook in shock.

"Yoo..."

'Yoo Dohyuk?'

He knew the name. He just couldn't follow that the man with that name had just arrived on this beach from that island. Dohyuk's shifted his sight to behind Duhoon, where people were standing by the border of where the forest met the desert.

"Your friends?"

"..."

Duhoon started thinking. Dohyuk must not find out that most of them were 'slaves' and that there were only about 20 circle members who could fight. They were here in this 'Forest of Ragova' in search of food. They ordered the slaves to gather food while they acted as overseers. When they saw the island docking on the beach, the overseers had a meeting. Gathering food was a very important mission, but if there was something of value on that island...

And that was how they ended up here. There was an argument about who would go, but Duhoon was the strongest, so after he killed the two that opposed him, they finally succumbed. Duhoon then picked out nine members that he liked.

Those were the nine who had burned to death.

'They weren't enough.'

He needed at least the circle leaders. That's why Duhoon spoke.

"You better not get too close," he bluffed. "We are just scouts... if they come, you're as good as dead."

"..."

"So, choose. I don't know how many you have, but..."

"Huh? That's weird," Dohyuk replied. "Isn't it a bad idea to threaten an enemy who has a place to barricade you in?"

"I-I'm just warning you to think wisely! I'm sure you don't wish to see bloodshed..."

"You should've said that before we got into a fight."

Dohyuk then took out a piece of iron from his pocket.

'What is that?' Duhoon thought.

"And even if we didn't fight, I would not have believed your way of offering of peace."

Dohyuk then shouted at the city wall.

"Come down!"

Someone came down with a wire. She was drenched in sweat.

"Good work."

"That was... really amazing."

The 9 rays of light were all thanks to the catapult which Heeyun activated. Once a Godly Item of Aruga, it was now under Dohyuk's ownership as a part of the deal they made. Dohyuk had installed them on the city wall and practiced how to use them with Heeyun. As they reached the beach, Heeyun ran up and quickly aimed the catapults to fire them when Dohyuk gave the sign.

"Keep an eye on him. If he tries anything..."

"I'll kill him."

"Yeah."

Duhoon bit his lip. He didn't have the intention to move as it might jeopardize his life. But-

'Why aren't they doing anything?!'

He was looking at the other overseers and slaves. If they wanted any chance of survival, they needed to run back and report this to the 'circle'.

'Run back with the slaves, you stupid idiots!'

Even if they reported but had no slaves... It was game over for them.

The slaves were a valuable asset. They gathered food, did hard labor, and became precious 'food' during emergencies. Value-wise, the slaves held more value than low-rank fighters. If they lost the slaves, even if they were rescued by the circle, Duhoon would be held accountable for the loss. He would then be impaled, with his limbs cut off as an example for others.

"H-hey... use me as your negotiator. Those men are no joke. You can't just walk in there or you else will get bombarded with..."

Dohyuk ignored him and continued walking. He did not have any fear this time. Was it because he had experience fighting the expedition team? No. He had a reason to believe. He put the iron back into his pocket.

<>

The needle was moving constantly, but it was different from a normal compass. It was moving but pointing toward one place each time it moved. As he walked closer, Dohyuk realized that there were two to three hundred people, but Dohyuk did not sense bloodthirst from them. Instead, all he could see was despair. When he walked close enough, he spoke.

"My name is Yoo Dohyuk."

It was kind of a refreshing response. There weren't many people who were surprised by the name. Most of the people did not even realize who he was.

They were mostly slaves who were now livestock. Due to that reason, most of them died early, even in their previous life. That's why they did not know Dohyuk's name. It was only at a very later stage that Dohyuk's name had spread.

"I'm from Seoul and I have one purpose."

He confidently stated, "I will provide you with safety."

<>

Those were unexpected words, but Dohyuk continued speaking.

"That city."

He pointed at Katla.

"As you saw, nobody can enter without my permission. People who kill others without reason cannot enter either."

Honestly, Dohyuk wasn't sure if the people would react to his offer. But the effect-

"If you have the will to believe in me, follow and stand behind me. I will at least protect you from being killed and having your belongings taken away."

The effect was much more than what he had expected.

Someone ran out from the crowd. Dohyuk flinched, but it wasn't one of those that Dohyuk had marked off. A boy about the age of 15, came out with his younger sister who looked to be about 4 or 5 years younger.

"..."

The boy didn't even dare to speak, but he just looked up at Dohyuk. He probably didn't believe Dohyuk, but he had decided to place a bet. Their current life was that much of a hellhole, and it was enough to risk their lives to get out of it.

"Good," Dohyuk looked at the boy and smiled. "I promise you, I will do my best-"

"..."

"To protect you and your sister from dying."

With those words, more people began running toward Dohyuk.

"Don't even think about going, you f*cks!"

The thick hilt of a spear was swung at a middle-aged woman who was trying to run out with her child. A child's scream soon followed.

"Next is your child's head, you b*tch!"

Seven of them came out of the crowd.

"Who da f*ck are you to lure our slaves?!"

"You said you are Yoo Dohyuk?"

All of them spoke at the same time. It was all those that Dohyuk had marked off. They were the overseers. He wasn't sure if they were dumb or greedy, or if they had just seen their other members burn to death. The reason they did not run was because they thought it was a trap. If the trap was that powerful, they were certain that the city had very valuable treasures. Therefore, they were busy trying to see if there was a way to get around the trap into the city.

"Circle him!"

A man who looked like their leader issued the order and the seven of them circled around Dohyuk.

"I know that you don't have your memory!"

"..."

"This is Busan, you asshole! No one here who would be scared by your name!"

"I see," Dohyuk looked around. He was well aware of the dangers of being attacked from all directions.

But...

He knew he could defeat these seven, and he had his reasons to believe so.

"DIE!"

The seven of them instantly charged. Two came from the front, and as Dohyuk backed off, the leader attacked from behind. And the attack-

-Penetrated Dohyuk's body.

"YOU FOOL! GOTCHA!"

The leader twisted the spear that pierced Dohyuk. Dohyuk frowned in pain and spoke.

"...I see you really don't know much about me."

"What?'

Dohyuk grabbed the spear.

<>

"Digest."

The spear, along with the injury it made, disappeared.

"W-what!" he shouted in alarm as he lost his weapon.

"M-my spear! Where is it, you bastard?! Give it back!"

"I ate it."

"....!! K-kill him!"

The leader shouted and the other six charged. They all had different weapons. Dohyuk did not know how Busan worked, but since when did he know anything? To Dohyuk, everything was unknown. At least at this moment, it wasn't.

"Digest."

He grabbed a sword to eat and sliced off the owner's neck. The other men fought even harder while tightly clenching their weapons.

Dohyuk didn't know these men as much as these men didn't know Dohyuk. The Great Emperor's Nature, which was so famous in the north, was not widely known in the south.

"Digest."

And Dohyuk enjoyed using his Nature to its fullest. It was too powerful if the opponent did not have any previous knowledge about the effect.

"Digest."

After Dohyuk killed off the last one and took a deep breath, he turned around and saw a sight to behold.

"....?!"

All those people who had just watched a miracle happen in front of their eyes...

-Faith: 73341

They were kneeling down.