Chapter 318: The Annoyingly Powerful Josh

In the foggy corridor, every Climber suddenly halted as they gawked at the scene happening in front of them. 

Josh had just severed the magical link and killed one of the invaders. He had done so with so much ease that they couldn't believe it. At this moment, their brain completely shut down with a few mumbling. 

"Who the fuck is that guy?!" 

Oh? Was it time for a self-introduction? Josh cooperated and did a mock reverence: 

"Hello all, I'm just an everyday climber passing by. I enjoy spicy chips and utterly hate politics. Please take care of me!" 

The enemies were shellshocked for an instant. This buffoon has destroyed the magic they thought invincible…how?! There was only one thing they could do. With one last war cry…they retreated at full speed. 

The old woman instantly reacted, "Quick, don't let them get away!" as the Gemini Climbers went hot on the enemies' tail.

Josh couldn't help but agree with such a statement. It'd be best if they charged ahead and abandoned that one recruiter. Sadly, he went along with them, always ensuring to be in a safe spot. 

Oh well, Josh would simply wait for the next opportunity. At least, they were bound to be less guarded against him. After all, he had contributed a lot to the previous fight. For now, he could only follow from a distance while grumbling. 

As for the enemies? God knows where they had found the strength, but they honestly had shown incredible fleeing capabilities. A minute later, they had already managed to run away. How and where? Who knew in that damn fog!

As Josh's current group came to a halt, their mouth kept opening and closing, a thousand questions threatening to escape their lips. 

"How did you do that back there?" One of them asked, still baffled. 

"Do what? Dodge a sudden axe cleave because someone brought the fight to me?" Josh happily played dumb.

"You know, cutting the link!"

"We'll force him to apologize. Just tell us, please!" 

"Alright, alright." Josh finally agreed. They were all eyes and ears as they awaited his revelations. He cleared his throat, took a respectable pose, and began instructing: 

"So what you want to do is swing the weapon toward the magical chain like you really mean it. You have to feel the desire to destroy it, and let it consume you. Intent is key. You can't half-ass it. Do you all understand?" Josh magnanimously explained. 

"Bullshit! Stop making excuses and explain yourself. Are you mad at me for bringing that guy over? Fucking grow up! You should have helped from the start!" The Josh-hating Climber spat out. 

"Wait, Richard, calm down!" One chastised his ally before turning back. "But seriously, please tell us. We need to know if we want to fight them."

Even their leader, the recruiter guy joined in: "Please share this information with us, young man. Gemini will thank you for sure." 

Josh couldn't help but feel at a loss. What did they expect of him? He had already told them! Intent was literally the manifestation of one's desire. 

The killing intent he kept using meant wishing the other party dead. Sure he was able to control it consciously, but for them to learn to do the same quickly was preposterous. For now, his suggestion was their best bet. 

That's when Lana looked at him inquisitively as if she was trying to peer at his soul: "I that really all?"

"Yep." Josh nodded confidently. 

"Alright, you heard him, people. Try to wish for it truly."

"What?! That guy's obviously talking from his ass! Why should we—"

"Enough!" Lana interrupted before turning to Josh again. "How easily can you reproduce that strike?" 

"About this easily." Josh raised his weapon and swung it down very casually. 

The more they watched and the more the bystanders felt their blood pressure rise. How could he act like that in their situation? An unknown gas permeated the whole place, and there were plenty of enemies.

"So you could do it again if needed?" Lana asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." He shrugged. 

"Alright, good. All of you, let's go. We need to escape this place as soon as possible then regroup with the reinforcements. Hopefully, Eva should have reached them by now already." 

"Can't we just hide in a random room and wait for everything to be over?" Josh remarked.

The glances they sent him were quite disapproving. Hide? Was he truly a Climber? What kind of man feared a little hardship…the cowardly type!

That's when the recruiter sighed: "No, there's a good chance that they're after us, after me to be precise. If we wait, our enemies will probably come back in full force."

"Are you sure?" Josh wasn't convinced yet. 

"Not many know this, but the Assassin's Promise that Gemini received was addressed to me. That's why we have to move quickly. Do you understand now?" 

"No way! An assassin's promise, like from the League of Assassins?! Are you kidding me?! Should I really stay with you then?!" Josh was so damn "surprised" as he nervously took a step back. 

"Friend, please stay with us. We'll take care of the actual fighting. All you need to do is cut the magical chains if we encounter any more. Can I count on you?" 

Josh hesitated for a few seconds before finally nodding. "Alright, I'll do it. But it's because I feel bad for you. If a true LoA assassin appears, I'm running the fuck away!" He reiterated seriously. 

"We've come to an agreement then." The recruiter happily nodded. 

Gain the target's trust? Completed! Acting coy so that they'd let their guard down around him? Done too! Now he just needed an opportunity to use the confusion to " mysteriously disappear" along with the recruiter. 

They kept going, surprisingly encountering few Climbers. Most were probably either knocked out or hiding. Who they did run into, however, were enemies. They would appear in groups of 3-4 with the same glowing chains. 

As they fearlessly ran straight at them, the old lady would shout a low: "Do your thing." Josh would then go all red ribbon cutting on their asses— with a green magical buffing ribbon instead.

Every time he did so, the enemy closer to the cut would cough blood and unfortunately die from a natural cause. After all, it indeed was natural to die when pissing Josh off. The funny part was that these Climbers were probably level 50+. 

This meant that they possibly had thousands of methods to block his strikes or run him down (In a straightforward fight, at least). But, the long magical chain was really too easy to approach with Gemini protecting him. 

With every new magical chain destroyed, the survivors would run at full speed. It seemed like they had received instructions never to confront anyone if their buff was compromised. 

Soon enough, the Josh-Gemini group gained lots of fame…or was it infamy? Either way, the enemies began to run for their lives as soon as they recognized them. This made Josh smile wryly as he began relaxedly walking forward. He was even eating chips again!

"Y-you! Can't you show a little serious? We can still be attacked at any moment!" 

"Yes, and?" 

"Being complacent on the battlefield is the fastest way to die! You need to be ready to face enemies at all times!" 

"Both aren't mutually exclusive. Anyway, what's the point?" 

As if summoned by the man's warning, four enemies appeared from the fog, shouting as they charged forward. Gemini quickly moved to intercept them, but they were already slowing down. 

They had recognized the party. They were the ones that they were supposed to avoid at all cost! Just as they were still hesitating, a man in the back gently waved at them with one hand. It's at that moment that they turned tail and instantly ran away. 

"See? What's the point. They're going to flee anyway." Josh "wisely" nodded. 

"Yes, but what if they come at us all at once?" 

"Oh, that one is easy." Josh naturally replied.

"What's your plan then?" He asked while holding his breath. 

"We run." Josh gave a confident smile while crossing his arms. 

"….."

"…."

"That's your genius plan?!" 

"I know, don't praise it all at once. As they say, a wise man knows to pick his battles, am I right?" 

The surrounding Climbers gave sighs while rolling their eyes. Why the hell were they stuck with that guy? No, they knew why…but still. Rationalizing it didn't help one bit. 

"Keep going. We're about to reach the castle's exit. Afterward, we'll be right next to the compound's walls. Be ready for anything. We need to rush out as fast as possible." Lana brought them back to their senses. 

In front of them was a palace window. Before, they had voluntarily remained inside the castle since it gave them some cover. Now, they would burst out of it with as much momentum as possible. 

They glanced at each other one last time, surrounded the window carefully, then the guy at the front made it explode. As smoke billowed in, out, and freaking everywhere, they charged outside. 

They did it like goddamn professionals, lightning-fast. Hell, they were as quick as pro-FBI agents raiding a lolicon den! 

Cold air welcomed them on the other side, but it wasn't all. There was also a welcoming party for them. 

A few dozen enemies turned their way, all linked by the same green magical buff. They sternly eyed them.  Then their gaze all landed on a man in the back, one that was crawling back inside the castle. 

As Josh felt their gaze, he gave a small wave before uttering: "Don't mind me, I just forgot something inside." 

Regrettably, they didn't seem to buy his excuse….

Creator's Thought

It was normal of them to keep a close eye on the castle's exterior. After all, anyone trying to escape the gas would have gone that way. It honestly surprised me that they only had regular Climbers as soldiers. I was expecting something technological again. Then again, those chains were pretty peculiar.