The Man with the Most Kills (3)
The first to react to Kang Ki-chan's shout were the people surrounding the two.
They widened the distance and kept glancing behind nervously. Watching them, Kang Ki-chan shouted once more.
"Jin Seowoon! Come out already! We know you're hiding!"
This time, he directly named someone.
The moment that name left his mouth, even the woman who had been glaring at the two without moving an inch suddenly stepped back.
The weight of the name Jin Seowoon was immense.
A player who had made the kill list from day one, and just yesterday had killed an enormous number of players.
Tense with fear, the woman stared intensely at Kang Ki-chan.
As if trying to determine whether he was telling the truth, she scrutinized his face—but his expression was dead serious.
Seeing his face twist in annoyance, as if asking why Seowoon wasn't coming out, the woman assumed the worst and decided not to make any careless moves.
Seowoon, for his part, was at a loss.
"He really knows I'm here? I didn't sense any detection magic… Even if he did, how'd he know my name? Don't tell me that bastard…"
At that moment, Kang Ki-chan opened his mouth again.
"Are you really going to act like this? You promised to help in exchange for the Ent's Heart, didn't you?!"
At the mention of the Ent's Heart, a flicker of desire crossed the faces of the three mages.
But none of them could make a move.
And Seowoon wasn't moving either.
"That cheeky brat really knows how to use his head. Selling my name like that?"
It was a brilliant display of quick thinking.
In a 6 vs. 2 crisis, he'd run his mouth and made the six back off—a solid tactic for sure.
The only issue was how irritating it was.
Still, Seowoon had no intention of revealing himself.
Free-for-alls were full of unpredictable variables.
In a previous game, he had been seconds away from certain death, but because some lunatic acted out of line, he'd ended up finishing in second place instead of fourth.
That time, the unexpected turn had benefited him, but there was no guarantee it always would.
Above all, judging from the reactions of those six, he was clearly being treated as a major threat.
If he carelessly showed himself now, they'd gang up on him immediately.
"Fine! If that's how it's going to be, I'll leave the Ent's Heart here, just as promised! Whether those people take it or you do, that's none of my concern!"
With that, the guy pulled a leather pouch from subspace and set it on the ground, then began retreating with his teammate while warily watching the other players.
The remaining players hesitated, unsure whether to chase the pair or go for the leather pouch.
"The Ent's Heart comes first!"
"But touching that might make us a target for Jin Seowoon."
"We can't just let those two escape! Let's go after them first."
"Then what about the Heart…?"
This was the typical flaw of hastily formed teams.
It was easy to unite around a single goal—but once a new variable appeared, they'd just as quickly splinter.
Watching the two openly flee after creating some distance, the woman bit her strawberry-red lips.
"We'll go after them."
Without waiting for her teammates' agreement, she dashed off.
The mage beside her sighed and pulled a rectangular board from subspace.
It looked like a black snowboard covered with magical glyphs. He tossed it to the ground, stepped on, and the board lifted slightly and glided forward at high speed.
Now only four players remained.
They eyed each other warily but inched closer to the leather pouch.
Seowoon, who had been keeping a safe distance and shadowing Kang Ki-chan's group, shook his head as he watched the two being chased in the distance.
"In the end, he got rid of four of them. I have to admit, that sly brain of his is something. If I ever fight him, I'll need to watch that mouth of his."
With that thought, about twenty minutes passed before the Kang Ki-chan duo suddenly turned around and charged at the pursuing woman and her teammate.
"I knew it when they started slowing down."
Once again, Seowoon lay low from a distance, closely watching the fight between the four.
Just in case, he had already slipped into the dense forest to keep hidden.
"The others must be fighting hard too."
Pulling a leather pouch filled with jerky from subspace, he took out a piece and popped it into his mouth, settling in.
—KA-BOOM!
"Hoo, that's surprising?"
Leaping at least 10 meters into the air, the man swung his mace down onto the ground, and with a powerful wave of mana, a massive shockwave spread out over an 8-meter radius.
Seeing a skill different from those of the other knights, Seowoon's eyes gleamed.
The woman's archery equipment, caught in the wave, was torn apart and she was thrown backward.
At the same time, Kang Ki-chan's magic was unleashed.
A lightning bolt shot out from his staff, speeding toward the woman, and upon hitting her, it spread to a nearby wizard.
"Electric magic? What a damn coward."
"Ha!"
With a yell, the woman rolled her foot, cutting off the electric shock mid-air.
Her clothes were torn in several places, and her hair was singed in spots, but her expression showed no sign of distress.
Once again, a chill radiated from her hands, and she charged at the man wielding the mace as if her body was limbering up.
Bang!
"For a woman, she's pretty tough."
It was not an easy feat to casually meet the spiked mace with a fist, but the woman did it without hesitation.
Seowoon, who was watching, thought that this kind of confidence in martial arts was no small thing.
Indeed, when her fist collided with the sharp spikes of the mace, not even a scratch appeared.
The force in her punch was so great that the man was pushed back a step, and the woman's assault continued.
The man, who had been blocking her attacks with the mace, started to show signs of strain.
Meanwhile, Kang Ki-chan and the wizard were relentlessly exchanging magic, keeping each other in check.
Kang Ki-chan blocked a wind-based spell with a stone wall, then countered with a fire spell, and the wizard responded with another wind spell.
"Magic really does have its own counters."
Seowoon, chewing on dried meat, could sense that the battle was nearing its end.
The man had fought well against the woman, but it seemed like he couldn't hold on much longer.
At some point, the mace had been covered in frost, and it was releasing a chilling mist.
The man's perseverance, still wielding the mace despite this, was commendable.
Clang!
With a sound that could only be described as metal striking metal, the man finally lost his grip on the mace.
As the mace flew through the air, his pinky finger followed it, and Kang Ki-chan shot a lightning bolt toward the woman and charged at her.
The man, avoiding the woman, rushed toward the wizard.
"Oh, a switch?"
The woman, having taken the electric magic head-on, still seemed unaffected, grinning as her punch extended.
Her fist, charged with cold energy, shot toward Kang Ki-chan, but he swiftly drew his sword from a spatial pocket and swung it at the incoming attack.
Szzing!
With an unpleasant sound, the woman's cold energy was split in half, scattering, and for the first time, her expression faltered.
"You know martial arts!"
Her shout was met with a smooth response from Kang Ki-chan's swordplay, which looked quite elegant.
From the way his sword swung fluidly, there was an unexpected powerful aura that didn't quite match the fluidity of his movements.
The woman, unable to reach for the weapon with her hands as she had done with the mace, started to retreat.
Looking flustered, she continued to be pushed back.
The alert sound that one of her teammates had been hit reached her ears.
Now, a new mace-wielding man approached from behind, and she could feel a strong gust of wind and an intense cold surrounding her as Kang Ki-chan, unfazed, rushed toward her.
Whoosh.
Kang Ki-chan's sword finally cut into her side, and just as it did, the mace came crashing down toward her head.
With one hand blocking the mace and the other pressing against her wound, the side of her body froze over, stopping the bleeding.
The woman continued to retreat, constantly avoiding both men.
It was the classic "two vs one" situation. She adhered to the principle of never turning her back on the enemy, but as she hastily lowered her head in surprise, an arrow narrowly grazed the back of her head and shot toward the man wielding the mace.
The man barely raised his arm to block the arrow, but the power of the arrow pierced through his arm, causing him to grimace in pain.
Thud!
Another arrow hit the woman, this time piercing through her legs, causing her to kneel.
Thud!
Then, an arrow pierced her neck, and the light of life faded from her eyes.
As Seowoon, dressed in a robe and holding a bow, walked toward them, the man stood frozen, snapping the arrow shaft lodged in his arm with a grim expression.
Kang Ki-chan tightened his grip on his sword and spoke.
"I don't know who you are, but is there really a need for a two-on-one fight?"
While saying this, he kept scanning the surroundings, clearly wary of any potential ambush from the enemy duo.
"Why don't you know? You called me here."
Kang Ki-chan, looking confused at first, opened his mouth but quickly closed it again.
"You figured it out now, huh?"
"Is there any need for Koreans to fight each other so early? We could always settle it later."
The man's mouth never stopped, and he continued with his sharp words.
"You steal the kill and leave. It would be beneficial for both of us if we back off now."
"Give me the Ent's heart."
Kang Gi-chan's expression crumpled up.
"Why? You called me saying you'd give it. If you hand it over… there's no need to fight."
"That item… is already…"
Before his words finished, Seowoon quickly fired a series of arrows.
Clang!
He dodged one arrow, then swung his sword, knocking away two more arrows.
The power behind the arrows was no joke, and tension naturally appeared on his face.
"Do I look like a fool?"
He didn't believe for a second that that snake-like guy would hand over the Ent's heart willingly.
After a brief moment of conflict, he took a leather pouch from his spatial inventory.
"Fine. Fine, then."
He put his sword away, raised his hand to show it, and placed the pouch on the ground before starting to step back.
"Next time, this won't be so easy."
As he spoke, arrows started raining down on the two who were trying to retreat. They quickly turned back, unable to let their guard down.
"Who do you think I am, an easy target?"
As those words left his mouth, Seowoon fired arrows and charged at the two.
The balance of his movements was so precise that the upper body, which was shooting arrows, remained almost perfectly steady, enabling him to perform quick, agile martial arts.
Before long, Kang Gi-chan, now holding both a sword and a staff, gritted his teeth and thrust the staff forward.
Crackle!
The electric shock hit his body, but Seowoon, mimicking the woman's technique, used his internal energy to protect his body and directed the shock down to the ground, dispelling it.
Kang Gi-chan clenched his teeth, glaring at his unscathed opponent.
As the man with the mace charged toward him, Seowoon shot Wind Blade and Ice Lance at him, forcing him to stop and retreat.
During this, Seowoon had already approached Kang Gi-chan and swung a punch.
Kang Gi-chan, in a counter-move, swung his sword at Seowoon, seemingly aiming to cut off his hand.
Clash.
In that instant, the rotating force of Seowoon's arm fully transferred to his elbow, striking Kang Gi-chan's sword.
The sword, against his will, split apart, revealing vulnerabilities in his posture. The sensation was foreign to him.
Especially with the enemy so close, that fear intensified.
Thud.
Three solid punches hit Kang Gi-chan's chest, sending him flying and rolling on the ground.
"Damn."
Though he felt certain he hadn't severed his breath, the impact still stung. He wasn't able to follow up and finish him off.
The man swinging the mace suddenly leapt into the air, aiming to strike Kang Gi-chan's head with the mace.
Seowoon took a quick two steps back and summoned his internal energy.
Boom!
The ground trembled as a massive shockwave surged toward him.
But Seowoon, firmly planting his legs, resisted the wave with a shout of effort.
"Ha!"
As the wave passed, Seowoon's fist slammed into the chest of the man who had been swinging the mace.
Crack!
The entire chest plate cracked as the man was sent flying, but his clenched teeth and unyielding gaze showed no signs of hesitation.
'When it comes to durability, he's the best.'
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920