Chapter 671

Chapter 671

It seemed like a valid point. After all, Kijung had observed on several occasions that he was hunting monsters. But at the same time, it was absurd.

If he wanted to escape, he could just use a Return Scroll. He could’ve used a Mana Sphere or a Teleport Scroll as well.

“But he didn’t. He always ran away.”

Kijung was not one to believe such an unconvincing excuse that seemed more like an attempt to save scrolls. He was naive and simple, but he was not a fool.

If the direction of the escape was always towards Kijung himself, it was only natural to be suspicious. Today, of all days, Kijung refused to back down.

“I’ve been patient enough. Say one more thing, and one of us is going to end up dead.”

Kijung drew his sword towards Lark. The members of the Virtuous Knight Order that were already ahead had also prepared for battle. Lark’s face, which had been sullen, became serious in an instant.

“Hmm, but if I say something, we’ll have to fight. And if I don’t, given the situation, we’ll still have to fight......”

Lark gestured towards his back. The paleos were still in pursuit. It wouldn’t take a minute for them to catch up.

“Wouldn’t it be better to resolve this through dialogue, Master Kay? Even if I block those creatures, it’ll be hard for you to deal with our group in under a minute. Defense might be possible, but attack would surely fall short on time.”

This was why Kijung, despite his disdain, couldn’t help but be wary of Lark.

When fleeing from the paleos, Lark always took the rear.

“On Rubini’s map too. He was always at the back, meaning, he was the closest to the paleos.”

A selfish and despicable person would have made his subordinates take the rear.

Because in the current situation where the full extent of the paleos’ forces was yet to be revealed, anything could happen. However, Lark always positioned himself at the very back.

At least two things were evident: his quality as a leader and his confidence in being able to withstand and then escape from the entire force of the paleos for a considerable time.

“Do not interfere. This is your final warning. If you come near us next time, we’ll consider it a deliberate interference and come to you first.”

Indeed, the chances of him being a nuisance were very high. Yet, how should one deal with someone who possesses a cause, ability, and even the qualities of a leader?

For the kind-hearted Kijung, making such a decision was exceedingly difficult. The sword he aimed remained undrawn, but the mere change in Kijung’s tone made Lark smile again.

“If you intend to exclude us, under orders from the royal palace... Well, we can’t just let that slide, can we? What do you think? Shall we have at it now, or should I bring an official letter from the royal palace next time and have it out then?”

If someone approached, he retreated, and if someone retreated, he approached. His ability to maintain an appropriate distance while provoking and drawing in his target was unmatched by anyone else in Middle Earth.

A reasonable person would have turned back by now. The paleos had already closed the distance to just 20 seconds away, their appearances becoming visible.

The ‘usual’ Kijung would have done the same. He would have preferred to resolve the priority issue first and end it amicably if possible. It was because he shared quite a bit in character with Leeha.

Unfortunately, the current Kijung was not the ‘usual’ Kijung. There were people who were naive and simple and who believed in the good of others.

Their ‘good’ should never be crossed. This was something Kijung and Leeha had in common.

“Come at me, you bastard.”

To these cousins, the user that they absolutely didn’t mesh with was none other than Lark.

“Wha—what did you say?”

“[Shield Enhancement], [Aura of Protection], [Triple Armor]. Let’s see who dies first.”

In an instant, Kijung, having completed his self-buffs, began to charge towards Lark. It was an unexpected moment, even for Lark. He hastily drew his sword but found it difficult to make an appropriate assessment of the situation.

“Kwangbong-ah! Kill them!”

“Red Goat! Wipe out humanity!”

“Black Crane!”

Behind them, the paleos began to transform, and in front, like a wild boar in frenzy, Kijung charged forward!

“Wait, just a moment! Wait— Hurricane—” Whooosh... Boom!

[Neither do I.]

“Then, then! You shouldn’t have shown up here-“

“However, I cannot yield when it comes to defending Juma City for a greater justice. I have no intention of launching a preemptive strike, but my comrades and I will do our best to protect Juma City.”

“You’re saying you’ll fight in the end!”

Alexander did not respond to Shin Nara’s words any further. Although her anger surged towards him, she could no longer press Alexander for answers.

[Female warrior, Shin Nara. Mystical creatures are not foolish.]

“Wh-What??”

[Think about it. Those who have blocked the attacks of the demons, including myself, are here. Have you considered what it means for them to attack this place still?]

“No-Not really.”

[It’s a resolution to fight to the death. They’re expressing their will that strongly. If a few words from Alexander or myself were enough to deter them, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place. Above all... their forces are not to be underestimated.]

Shin Nara clenched her teeth. However, it was as courteously as Bailephus could possibly speak. Had she been any other user with nearly zero closeness, she wouldn’t have dared to receive such advice from an Ancient Gold Dragon.

A regular user would’ve been regretting their arrogance whilst experiencing Bailephus’s claws and breath’s ferocity firsthand. Above all, Bailephus wasn’t wrong, leaving Shin Nara with nothing more to say.

There was another user who understood well the strength of mystical creatures.

“I acknowledge the words of the Golden lizard. It would have been so much better if you had just stayed hidden instead of revealing yourself. Talk about being foolish.”

“Lee Jiwon, I beg you, as a member of the Fibiel, fighting the paleos now would bring us no benefit. If you could just—”

“I can’t refuse a request from Dame Shin. It won’t make a difference if I stay out, but like the Golden lizard said, the other side is no pushover. If one of us, the concept junkie, Pei Wu, and I, were to step back, Juma City is likely to fall.”

Lee Jiwon was lying down with his head on his [Thunder Cloud].

His tone was light, but he too was quite tense about the upcoming battle. If either Alexander, ranking number 1, Lee Jiwon, ranking number 2, or Pei Wu, ranking number 4, were absent from this defense line, what would become of Juma City? It was the reason why, despite their reluctance, Alexander and Lee Jiwon had no choice but to be here.

Contrastingly, at several spots around the outskirts of Juma City, festivities were underway.

“Wow, there are seventeen mystical creatures. I’ve only seen five.”

“Seventeen adult dragon-level forces... This is going to be epic. I’ve started recording.”

“What? So, we’re talking about a 17-dragon raid streak? Insane.”

“If you’re not joining this, might as well quit Middle Earth.”

“Hello, guys! Do or die! Today, it’s ‘Surviving the Spirit Wave as a Level 100 Sorcerer’!”

While the rankers, Marlat, paleos, and their relationships with the users were of no concern, these people were simply enjoying the moment.

“Maybe that’s just how it’s supposed to be?”

“Exactly. It’s us who are being too serious.”

“Ah... This is driving me mad. Rubini, what’s with the paleos?”

“They haven’t made a move yet. But all seventeen mystical creatures have gathered, and there are more paleos now than before. Considering Marlat’s bases, their force would be at least equal to that of four bases combined.”

“How about their strength? All combined, are we talking Toon-level?”

“Hard to say. If they really coordinate well, it might even surpass Toon-level.”

Rubini’s map could measure the ‘strength’ of individual monsters. When Toon appeared from Marlat’s source once, everyone was shocked by the size of that giant point on the map.

Currently, the sizes of the mystical creatures shown on her holographic map were by no means small. Fortunately, the paleos had mostly acted in small tribal-scale actions.

Kijung thought they wouldn’t have experience in this kind of large-scale group combat. But in a crisis, who knows what could happen. There’s no room for complacency.