Chapter 176 : Hostage

Just before the battle occurred.

‘How long has it been since he got hurt that he’s pushing himself like this again.’

Lauel was grumbling while looking at Muno’s back.

She felt sorry for him, as he seemed incapable of just resting quietly.

Seeing him shout for joy while cutting through the air, she simply accepted that this must be how he relieved his stress.

Of course, catching up to him was an incredibly difficult mission.

He was a person faster than a steed even when running on flat land, but in the forest, he extended chains and moved as if he were half-flying.

“Geez! Only himself! Comfortably……!!!”

If he has four iron chains, couldn’t he take me along?

She shouted with that thought in mind, but he didn’t even seem to hear.

It felt hurtful.

‘Why does it feel like he’s avoiding me?’

Suddenly going monster hunting was one thing.

But saying their compatibility was bad and that she wouldn’t be of help, he didn’t even spar with her.

‘I think it started from back then…….’

Suddenly, she remembered him staring blankly in the direction of Ironheart when they were passing near the capital after leaving Aslan.

– If it’s the Knight of the Gale, Sir Karina, I know her news…….

– ……His Majesty has appointed her as the new Red Iron.

A situation where she couldn’t help but recall the words of the Blood Knight they met in Aslan.

– Do you want to stop by the capital?

– ……No, it will only get annoying for no reason.

Clearly, there was a slight pause before he answered.

‘Knight of the Gale, Karina. It’s a woman…… right?’

Thinking about it made her mind complicated for no reason.

‘No. I am merely one who serves Lord Muno as my Lord.’

Right. She decided so.

However, she couldn’t help but feel a bit petty.

‘I’ll snatch the first prey for you.’

She only intended to play a small prank.

Lauel ran through the forest and raised the Ghost’s Bow.

She nocked a real arrow, not a mana arrow, and heightened her concentration.

Although the Ghost’s Bow was called a half-piece artifact, its performance as a bow itself was of the highest quality.

Naturally, her concentration increased, and everything within hundreds of meters began to be captured by her senses.

The flowing air, the smell of bushes and trees, the weak demonic beasts holding their breath to avoid the two predators rushing violently through the forest.

And, rushing in terrifyingly…….

An arrow!?

The moment she sensed it, she screamed without realizing it.

“Lord Muno!!!!”

Kaa-boooom!

Lauel’s heart sank seeing Muno fall after being hit by the black arrow, but she was relieved to see him regain his balance soon after.

Then, seeing the arrow that grazed his face explode and devastate the ground, anger boiled up within her.

“Lord Muno! I’ll cover you!”

Paa-ang!

Her arrow, flying faster than sound, stretched out towards the direction where the sniper aiming for Muno was located.

In the midst of this, she felt five presences approaching him from all directions.

Monsters approaching at a speed distinctly faster than herself.

Just that alone made her sense of crisis skyrocket, and the calculation came out easily.

‘I can’t handle those guys.’

They were already too close.

If she fired arrows trying to keep them in check, she would likely become a target herself and end up holding Lord Muno back.

On the other hand.

– Tang!

It seemed she could do something about that sniper in the distance, who struck away the arrow she fired as if it were annoying and pulled the bowstring again.

Watching Muno clash with the other masked figures, she became certain.

‘That person, is not an assassin.’

Unlike the other masked figures, that one was wearing clearly equipped metal armor.

With a bow as big as a person, which was surely an artifact or a magical tool, and that attire, it was absolutely not that of an assassin.

Furthermore, looking at the long black hair flowing behind the mask, it seemed like someone who had no intention of hiding their identity, only covering their face.

That appearance was rather.

‘A general…….’

Yes. It would be close to that.

Someone who breaks the enemy’s vanguard with a massive bow from the rear of the battle line and arrogantly issues orders.

Seeing the person bother to strike away her arrow by hand, when they could have just dodged it, made it clear.

And if so.

‘It’s possible!’

From then on, Lauel began to hide her body in the darkness of the forest.

Kaa-ang!

Boom!

She tried not to care about the explosive sounds coming from Muno’s side.

“Kkeuaack!”

……No.

‘That’s not Lord Muno’s scream.’

Struggling to concentrate like that, she took a position on a wide branch.

A place where she wouldn’t be exposed to the enemy, but could clearly observe them.

A space where large leaves could cover the light that would come from her body.

And she waited for only one moment.

‘Lord Muno, please hang in there.’

The moment that general shoots the arrow again, or the moment a scream is heard once more.

Woooooong.

As she pulled the Ghost’s Bow, the mana around her turned into an arrow of light and began to form on the string.

And soon.

The awaited moment arrived.

“Aaaaaack!”

“Kkeuk!”

The moment a thunderous scream and a familiar voice suppressing pain crossed each other.

The Ghost’s Bow, which had almost wavered, was firmly fixed for an instant as she felt the ‘General’ pull the bowstring again.

Just before the General’s fingertips released the arrow.

With a very short moment’s difference, her arrow was fired first.

– Twang.

The string was released lightly, but the reverberation was huge.

– Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

The arrow of light fired with a sound like a ghostly wail.

It shortened the distance of hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye and struck the target just about to release the bowstring.

Lauel’s eyes clearly saw the target’s eyes widen and the giant bow shake.

‘Got him.’

– Kwaaaaaaaang!

Immediately confirming it, Lauel jumped down from the tree.

Ziiiing.

‘Ugh!’

It’s okay. I have to be okay.

That was why she had deliberately saved some strength.

She had never been more grateful for being able to handle mana, even a little, after the fifth evolution.

And just as she was about to head towards another sniping point.

She saw a strange sight in the distance.

Muno, whose chest part of that uniquely vicious-looking armor was caved in and who had fallen, was blowing a strange ‘horn’ that made no sound with a pale complexion.

In front of him, a masked figure with one arm cut off was stumbling and rushing towards him.

And the other masked figures around him were also trying to attack him all at once.

‘No!!’

Those fast movements looked strangely slow only in that moment.

“Ah. That guy, he had a party.”

“I was going to leave you alone because you were insignificant, but Haoran got hit…….”

Chilling voices were heard right next to her.

And.

Whack.

‘N, No……!’

In an instant, her consciousness flew away.

* *

Thud.

Along with a dull sound, the horn flew out of my hand.

At the same time.

Boom!

My mind went dizzy again from the pain striking the back of my head, and I had no choice but to sink down on the spot.

‘No, f*ck.’

That horn, does it even work?

Surely that old man didn’t pull a prank, right?

‘Or, is it because we are outside the kingdom’s borders?’

While I was looking resentfully at the horn that flew away.

“Damn it. This armor is mine. Got it?”

The guy whom I had lured by exposing my heart only to try and split him vertically was spouting nonsense with only one arm left.

“Ha. It is covetable indeed. To think four top-tier Magic Knights tried to kill him together but it ended with only heavy injuries because of the armor. It’s absurd. What is this guy?”

“It’s mine. I already called dibs.”

‘Bullshit…….’

The caved-in armor. The iron chains completely torn off from the wrists or ankles.

Those guys had no way of knowing that all of those were practically the same as broken bones and severed limbs for me, as they were part of my body.

‘My real bones are broken badly too. Keuk keuk…….’

It was a situation where the fixed shape of the armor was barely acting as a cast, holding my body together.

Truly a mess of a state. I wanted to curse them out properly, but.

“Blargh.”

Cough. Cough.

Only blood came out.

‘Lauel, did Lauel escape? Damn it. Survive, please.’

Briefly, other thoughts crossed my mind, but the body-wringing pain soon occupied my head again.

“Blargh.”

While I was frantically vomiting blood, I heard the conversation between the two guys.

“We might be able to capture this one?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. What about my arm?! What about my arm!!”

“Hmm. Didn’t you receive the same orders as me? To bring him back alive if possible?”

“It was ‘if possible’! If possible! Who knows what this guy might do! Just killing him and taking him……!”

“You tore off all the iron chains capable of doing something.”

……What?

That single remark pierced into Muno’s ears.

“Still……!”

“Is your arm more important than your master’s command? The Master of the Red Tower is of a gentler character than I thought.”

Red Tower, Master…….

Aside from the useless information accumulating in my head, one realization made me snap back to reality.

‘These guys, they misunderstand me.’

How do I use this?

The moment a small hope bloomed again.

“If you really insist, just cut off a few limbs. They said we just need to bring him back alive.”

“That much implies…….”

Grind.

I saw the one-armed guy grinding his teeth and approaching closely.

“Here. Let’s start with the left arm, same as me…….”

Clang.

The moment black demonic energy rose from that translucent sword of unknown material.

“Kkeuuh…….”

Muno reflexively crawled quickly and grabbed the guy’s ankle.

The broken bones in his arm presented a thrilling pain, but.

Fortunately, the guy was just laughing.

“Right, beg. If you beg, I’ll cut it a bit less painfully……!”

At the moment the mocking voice was heard.

Swoooosh.

The guy’s demonic energy began to pour into my palm.

“……Wh, uh? Aaaaaack!?”

Using that scream as background music, Muno converted the inflowing demonic energy into Origin Mana and used it all for healing.

Starting from the most urgent internal injuries.

Thump.

“This bastard!”

Following that, I felt the other guy move with a roar of anger.

There was no time to think deeply.

When I felt the thick demonic energy burning from the sword trying to cut my arm.

Rattle.

The iron chain, which they thought they had completely cut off, stretched out again and tried to coil around the guy’s ankle.

“Hup!”

Crack.

‘Kuk!’

The guy’s hastily twisted sword cut off the iron chain, sending a dizzying pain through my mind, but that bought me time.

Even if he was a 6-Star Magic Knight, his amount of demonic energy would barely match a 5-Circle magician’s.

But that amount was enough to instantly heal the severe injuries of a 4-Star level Demon Devourer.

Crunch.

After the internal injuries were healed.

‘Chains first.’

Snap.

Crack.

The iron chains scattered at the other guy’s feet accepted the metal mana and instantly reconnected.

At the same time.

“Crazy……!”

Muno deflected the sword of the guy swinging like a lightning bolt with his shoulder at an angle.

Kaa-boooom!

‘Kuh!?’

The translucent longsword imbued with mana, no, a mana blade, struck the shoulder, causing the shoulder armor to cave in.

But with that, the time for recovery was complete.

“Kuh…….”

Drip. Drip.

The severed chains reconnected, and the caved-in armor spread out again into its perfect shape.

Pop.

The internal organs that had been completely twisted and shaken out of place found their positions again.

Crunch.

The bones of the limbs that were maintaining their shape barely inside the armor while broken or cracked also mended quickly.

“Kueuu…….”

A miracle where severe injuries that wouldn’t be strange if a normal person died immediately were healed in an instant.

Of course, in exchange for that miracle, one 6-Star Magic Knight had his life force drained, turning his hair pure white and his face full of wrinkles as he collapsed in vain.

“You bastard!!!”

At that moment, the other masked figure attacked again.

‘If it’s just one guy……!’

Kaa-boooom!

Crack.

Rumble.

Muno’s body, bounced off again by the powerful impact, flew back crashing through several trees behind him.

‘Damn it.’

Not a single one was easy.

But it was bearable.

‘Come.’

Pew.

Snap. Cruuunch.

As the fallen Muno reached out his hand again.

The fragments of the shattered ‘Blade’ gathered and formed a complete whole again.

While Muno stood up in that state preparing for the enemy’s attack.

The enemy who should have been chasing him was looking elsewhere.

It was an opportunity, but Muno, who naturally looked in that direction, couldn’t help but widen his eyes as well.

“You guys, where did you go……. What is that?”

“Ha…… Crazy, Rud was taken out in that short time? What the hell is this? Even if we haven’t coordinated together before, isn’t everyone being too careless?”

“That guy, his chains are much longer than we thought. And he absorbs demonic energy with his hands too!”

“What? Then the information…….”

“Uh-uh? Hey there, don’t move right now. If you don’t want to see your ugly lover’s head get smashed.”

The two masked figures who had disappeared somewhere earlier appeared in front of his eyes, carrying Lauel on their shoulder.

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