Chapter 122: Bounty Hunting (5)

I fell into a momentary confusion at the absurd sight.

‘What. Was that person related to the Darkness Council?’

But if that were the case, wouldn’t they have tried to kill us at the Pleasure Den?

My thoughts ended there.

The sound of the air being split by a sword brought back my cool-headed reason, and I immediately cast my gaze forward.

The swords swung from both sides, crossed each other and flew toward my head.

Whoong!

I instinctively tried to block with my sword, but I turned my eyes to the presence I felt behind me.

The other two clerics were slashing at my legs with the same pincer attack.

I immediately gave up the idea of parrying and flipped my body.

Skak, the two swords barely grazed my forehead.

The moment my face was reflected on the pitch-black blade without a single scratch, I spun my body while briefly suspended in the air to avoid another pincer attack coming from below and the ones who had first aimed for my head had now split to either side and were swinging their swords again.

Kagagak!

Damn it, curses naturally rose to my throat.

Relentless attacks and sword winds raging from all directions.

Accordingly, my hands and eyes moved busier than ever.

Front and back.

Up and down.

I tried to escape the encirclement with Ghost Step, but the bastards didn’t let go of the offensive they had seized through the surprise attack and maintained the pressure while keeping me completely surrounded.

……It was a killing net.

The Darkness Council’s synergy formation is used by four High Clerics when facing a stronger individual.

These four were all High Clerics and the killing net they deployed was like a ‘swamp’, containing an unprecedented power that continuously sucked you in like a hellish mire once you were caught.

So, you couldn’t carelessly face their swords.

‘But how could I possibly do that?’

It was virtually impossible to dodge the combined attack of four High clerics raging like a storm from all four directions using only body agility, flexibility, and evasion techniques.

There would inevitably come a moment when I had to use my sword and the moment I clashed with their swords, it was as good as stepping into the mire.

The only ways to escape the killing net were to possess the martial power to instantly kill the four High clerics or for someone to intervene and break the flow of their momentum.

But both were difficult methods in the current situation.

To crush four High clerics in a matter of seconds, it was difficult without being at the ‘Master’ level.

‘It would be possible if I released my thief powers, but…….’

There were too many eyes watching.

Starting with Yuria, the Dark clerics of the Darkness Council.

And even the man in armor.

If even one of the clerics escaped, it would be only a matter of time before my identity was revealed to the cult, and since I didn’t know the man in armor’s identity, I had to shut his mouth too.

Hoping for someone to intervene and provide support was also out of the question.

Yuria’s side didn’t seem to be in an easy situation either.

“Keuk!”

“This bitch, why is she so strong!”

“Just hold on! Once Gerard’s side is taken care of, the High Clerics will help!”

……Of course, her situation seemed better than mine.

Still, Yuria, who had been ambushed by three clerics, was in a similar situation where it was difficult to extricate herself.

I didn’t know how they knew I was here and followed me, but it seemed clear that they had made a firm decision.

‘If only I had [Starlight]…… huh?’

Just then, a plan flashed in my head, and I immediately executed it.

I strike the side of the sword stabbing at me from the front and leap forward.

Three swords come slashing, aiming for my back, side, and chest.

I dodge the attack aimed at my chest with my body and have no choice but to take the ones for my back and side.

Sgeok!

A chilly sensation and a sharp pain are felt on my back and side.

But it doesn’t matter.

Because I have ‘Agnis’.

When I inject mana into the bracelet that flashes alternately red and gold, radiating its presence, the special ability [Warmth of Healing] activates and the wounds heal.

In that state, I put all my strength into my outstretched back foot and explode it.

Kkwaang!

The explosive force creates propulsion, and the momentary acceleration pushes my body forward, breaking through their encirclement.

I completely break the already half-broken door from their intrusion and go tumbling into the corridor.

The High clerics were triumphant when I was wounded by their killing net, but when I suddenly leaped out and left the room, they were startled and shouted.

“Hut! Th-that bastard!”

“What are you doing! Chase him quickly!”

I quickly got up and ran down the corridor.

And in front of me, I saw my target.

The target was the man in armor, who was leaving the room with a leisurely stride after completing his objective.

He stopped and turned around at the commotion behind him and his eyes immediately met mine as I was running down the corridor.

“……!”

I immediately swung my sword at him.

Kkaang!

He immediately took out the longsword he was carrying on his back and blocked my sword.

After tossing Egor, whom he had tucked into his waist, far away.

I smiled at him.

“Are you a thief? Where are you trying to sneak away with just Egor so slyly?”

As soon as my words ended, I ducked my head, and the High Cleric’s black sword, which had been coming to cut off the back of my head, cut the man in armor’s helmet.

Kkaang!

“……What?”

The High Cleric, flustered by the sudden appearance of the man in armor and the tingling sensation in his hand, looked back and forth between his sword and the man in armor for a moment.

And that was his last moment.

The man in armor’s swung gauntlet struck the High Cleric’s head and not stopping there, slammed the High Priest into the wall next to him.

Kwaaaang!

The remaining High Clerics who had surrounded me again froze at the amazing sight.

A heavy silence.

Blood dripped down the thick forearm that had pierced the wall and the High Cleric’s body, whose head was stuck in the wall, twitched and trembled before going limp.

I could imagine what had happened to his face, stuck between the wall and the gauntlet, without having to check.

The man in armor pulled his arm from the wall, shook the blood from his hand, and raised his head to stare at the High Clerics.

Emotionless eyes, as if looking at an inanimate object.

They were merciless eyes, unbelievable for someone who had just crushed a person’s head with a single punch.

As the High Clerics’ faces hardened and they began to emit killing intent, the High Cleric who seemed to be the leader asked.

“……Our target is Gerard here, are you on his side?”

The man in armor shook his head.

“Then go your way. We will let you go.”

The man in armor did not answer.

I didn’t wait for his answer.

I rushed at the one who seemed to be the leader and stabbed my sword into his chest.

The leader dodged my surprise attack and muttered.

“Cowardly bastard.”

“You bastards who used a surprise attack and a one-sided gang-up are talking shit.”

“……Die.”

The killing net began again.

But a killing net deployed by three High Clerics instead of four was not a killing net.

It was manageable and with my wounds and stamina recovered by Agnis, I gradually began to turn the tide.

I didn’t pay attention to the man in armor.

The incident just now proved that there was no connection between the man in armor and the Darkness Council.

The man in armor’s sole purpose was Egor the Butcher.

He was probably picking up Egor again and leaving the inn by now.

‘I’ll quickly finish these guys off and then get Egor back.’

It was 10 seconds later that I realized something was wrong.

I had parried the sword swung from the right and was facing the leader, when suddenly the leader’s sword stopped dead.

A familiar axe was embedded in his shoulder.

“Keuk!”

When I glanced over, the man in armor was lowering the arm that had thrown the axe.

“Th-this bastard!”

One of the High Clerics rushed at him.

Both his arms were cut off first and then his head.

That was his end upon facing the man in armor.

“……”

The leader High Cleric, who had been staring blankly at the somewhat futile scene, quickly shouted.

“Retreat!”

His voice echoed loudly inside.

At the same time, he immediately took something out from his bosom and threw it on the floor.

A flash of light erupted and a pungent smoke screen rose like a cloud, completely covering the corridor.

Numerous presences were felt within the smoke screen.

It might be able to obscure vision, but it couldn’t hide presence and sound.

Relying on vibration, sound and presence, I swung my sword.

The feeling of cutting flesh and bone was transmitted to my palm in succession along with stifled groans and as the smoke screen that had covered the area disappeared, the scene in the corridor was revealed.

There were only three people standing.

Me and the man in armor.

And Yuria, who had come outside at some point.

“Senior! Are you alrigh……”

Yuria, who spotted the man in armor, took a defensive stance again.

The man in armor didn’t even pay attention to Yuria.

His gaze was fixed on one place.

The corner of the corridor where he had thrown Egor.

Egor, who should have been there, was gone.

“……”

“He took him.”

The man in armor’s gaze fell on me.

At the question in his eyes, I looked at the man in armor and shrugged.

“He wants to draw me in. That bastard knows our target is Egor. He thought that if he ran away with Egor, we would track him.”

I looked at Yuria.

“Let’s go after him. He couldn’t have gone far.”

***

In a way, it was complacent.

The cult had placed Gerard at the top of their kill list and was just waiting for a chance to eliminate me, yet here I was, going out of town for a bounty hunt.

Of course, it’s not like I went around announcing that we were going to Paragon for a bounty hunt and that our target was Egor the Butcher.

But if the cult wanted to find out, it would be a piece of cake, so even if I had tried to hide it, the result would have been the same.

‘The fuss we made holding a fan meeting at the Public Security Headquarters backfired.’

I’ll have to wear a mask next time.

Anyway, the leader bastard knew our objective, so he ran away with Egor.

He was a kind of bait.

Bait to lure us into a trap.

‘Did he prepare a trap in case the killing net failed?’

As proof of that, various traps were installed in a nameless mountain about 1 km away from Paragon, but the problem was that not everything in the world goes as planned.

The traps the bastards had set as insurance were all smashed to pieces by someone.

And in the middle of it all.

A corpse, torn and ripped to the point where its shape was unrecognizable, was strewn about.

“……”

Yuria and I were at a loss for words for a moment at the gruesome sight.

The corpse was, of course, the leader bastard.

It’s not like he got caught in his own trap and died, of course.

“……An ambush.”

I scanned the surroundings cautiously and approached the corpse.

The state of the corpse up close was even more horrific.

Pieces of flesh, torn vertically like crab meat, were scattered everywhere, and parts like the head and lower body were nowhere to be seen.

The only reason I knew it was the leader bastard was thanks to the black sword stuck in the ground and the axe thrown by the man in armor.

And the red chunks of flesh scattered around it.

‘He ambushed him, ate him right away, and left.’

Looking at the footprints on the ground and the warm state of the corpse, I could roughly guess the situation.

Egor…… I couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead, but it was safe to assume he was dead.

‘What should I do?’

The culprit had long been identified in my head.

The monstrous strength to tear a human body like a piece of paper, the speed to ambush a skilled person like a High Cleric of Darkness, the size of the large footprints, and so on.

An off-campus activity from ‘Heroes of Frey’ that I had enjoyed, called <Paragon’s Nuisance>, came to mind.

‘This has become a headache.’

Whether this expression of mine showed on my face, Yuria asked.

“What’s wrong, senior?”

“Ah. Well.”

Just as I was about to explain the situation to Yuria, the man in armor arrived at the scene with a clanking sound.

At the same time, a good idea came to mind.

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