CH 248

“Odin? I don’t see anyone behind you.” Joo Pan-Seok smirked.

Seong-Il narrowed his eyes. “I’m telling you because of the old friendship that I have with people that you brought here. I’m not doing this for you or the people above you. Take my advice. Go back to the village now before Odin figures it out.”

Seong-Il quickly spotted Ja-Seong among the people in the Shield Squad. He was the young boy who had saved his life and was around the same age as Ki-Cheol. It was obvious that the teen had joined the crowd without knowing what was going on.

“It’s not too late now,” Seong-Il said.

“We have no intention of fighting Odin.”

Seong-Il snapped, “Oh, then are you trying to fight me? It won’t be fun if you touch me.”

Joo Pan-Seok shrugged. “I told you things will be fine if we sort things out well with Odin. So you just stay calm, and we will let you go after.”

Seong-Il snarled, “Did you go senile already? Fuck you. I’m going to take out your eyeballs and soak them in ink. Stop looking at my breastplate with your disgusting eyes.”

“I think we are done talking here, Seong-Il. Why don’t you take that off since that’s your only item? I don’t want to see you getting hurt either. We used to be friends, right?”

Seong-Il rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me kill innocent people. Do you not know how Odin is? Do you think he will feel guilty for killing all of you? You really think so?”

Pan-Seok smiled. “Haha.”

“You are the most stupid person I’ve ever met. I thought you were able to think properly, but… I guess you are such a dickhead.”

Pan-Seok continued, “Just stay quiet here until we finish talking to Odin. I will let you play with our girls. There will be people watching you, but we will put up a tent for privacy.”

Seong-Il snorted. “Ha! You are asking me to take off my item and fuck girls? You are making me feel terribly ashamed.”

“Odin is not here, Seong-Il. Do as you are told.”

Joo Pan-Seok tried his best to remove the arm that was around his neck, but the arm didn’t even budge an inch. He soon gave up and sent a signal to the back. The attack squads had already blocked Seong-Il’s retreat.

Dududu.

A total of 199 Awakened from Joo Pan-Seok’s Gold Squad and Satellite Squad formed the first layer of the siege. The attack squads, including the Shield, Miracle, and Commando Squads, created several more layers. They had gone through many battles against the Kciphos, so creating a military line was easy.

After the encirclement was quickly created, the captains of the squads other than Joo Pan-Seok and their vice-captains came deep into the layers. They were the most powerful Awakened in Sky Guild and the actual first layer of this ambush. Seong-Il looked around them, and he already knew he couldn’t escape. When some squads bypassed the outskirts of the village and headed to the border across the street, he thought they were just reconnaissance teams, but they were actually going there to block any remaining retreat routes. No matter how fast Seong-Il ran, he couldn’t beat the riders.

“There are some assholes I have never seen! Look at the oil on your face. You must have eaten lots of ramen!”

Seong-Il shouted at the people watching him.

“Make sure you guys keep this formation in front of Odin, okay? Don’t even try to run away if you have a guilty conscience!”

Then, Joo Pan-Seok clicked his tongue and commented, “You're the only one who will end up severely injured if you keep doing this. You are worsening the situation.”

Seong-Il snorted. “You are going to talk to Odin? About what?”

Pan-Seok sternly responded, “Nothing much. I’m just going to ask him to get out of our territory. You should tag along with him. I’ll keep what happened here a secret until I die. Stay quiet and leave.”

Seong-Il burst out laughing. “Ha! Hahahaha!”

“You don’t think I’m being kind because of you, do you?”

Seong-Il shook his head before growling menacingly, “This is bullshit. How can a person become this evil? Odin risked his life for you guys.”

“...You’re not listening to me either. You really want to fight us?” Pan-Seok asked.

“Yea, I can’t just let you go. You’ll have to step on my body to get to Odin.”

That was the start.

Seong-Il then screamed, “You motherfuckers! I’m going to kill you all!”

***

Seong-Il came to his senses in an instant and was fighting like a demon. After Kang Joo-Hyuk had escaped from Seong-Il’s initial grasp, they both had a chance to look at each other’s status window.

[You have partially seen through the subject. (Skill, Night Eye)]

[Name: Kwon Seong-Il

Level: 3?1 (Diamond)

Health: ?10 (+10), Strength: ?09 (+10), Agility: ?00, Sense: 456

XP: 4???? / 59971

Attack Power: 2???

Physical Defense: 10000 / 10000

Magic Defense: ?000 / ?000

Trait(1), Skill(3), Insignia(0), Item(1) ]

That’s incredible!

Kang Joo-Hyuk was shocked because he thought Odin would be in the three-hundreds and at diamond level, not Kwon Seong-Il.

Then, what level is Odin on…? And what would his Attack Power be when his henchman’s is already over two thousand???

Seong-Il had activated an insignia earlier and was currently rushing at Joo Pan-Seok. He was like a wild animal and a frantic storm. Thoughts raced through Kang Joo-Hyuk’s mind before he focused on one: this wasn’t necessarily a horrible situation. In fact, it could be used as an opportunity for the best forces in the Sky Guild to work together. The worst-case scenario would be if they had to battle Odin.

Anyway, Kang Joo-Hyuk needed to knock down Odin’s henchman and keep everything that had happened a secret until he got a chance to talk to Odin. If Odin found out about this, he would try to kill them all.

Wait, or can we use his henchman’s life as a bargaining chip?

Whoosh-!

Joo-Hyuk threw himself behind Seong-Il’s back. Odin’s henchman had already brutally collided into the area where Joo Pan-Seok was standing, so he had to hold onto Seong-Il to prevent the siege from breaking. Joo-Hyuk was the best tanker in the guild, and he quickly made a plan even though their opponent’s abilities were unbelievable.

Seong-Il’s Attack Power was in the two thousands, and Joo-Hyuk’s Physical Defense was around fifteen thousand. He could tell that Seong-Il’s other two skills were used for tanking, and the last one had to be Night Eye. Basically, Odin’s henchman had a weak set of skills. Joo-Hyuk couldn’t check what Seong-Il’s trait was, but the bullish man only had one. Furthermore, Seong-Il only had one item: the breastplate.

But how can his Attack Power be two thousand something when he doesn’t have any weapons equipped? How?

So far, Joo-Hyuk thought the Attack Power was measured based on a person’s Strength, weapons, and level. After they knocked Seong-Il down, he vowed to find out how the other man could reach two thousand Attack Power without any weapons.

Thud!

[You have used the skill Colliding Wheels.]

Joo-Hyuk crashed into Seong-Il’s back while covering his front with his shield. The heavy weight spread from the point of collision, and, to Seong-Il, it felt like a gigantic elephant had hit him. Seong-Il turned his head toward Joo-Hyuk. Colliding Wheels only knocked down monsters, so Joo-Hyuk knew that he was only trying to buy time by using it.

Joo-Hyuk’s next remark made Seong-Il rage even more. “I’ll slice your neck first before Odin’s!”

Seong-Il responded immediately since he was Odin’s loyal henchman. He had previously been aiming for Joo Pan-Seok, but his fist’s target had switched to the shield instead.

I can withstand at least six punches. That’s all I need!

Kang Joo-Hyuk believed that buying some time would help their dealers to fire enough attacks at Seong-Il’s back.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Baaaang-

[You have suffered from 2170 Physical Damage.]

[You have suffered from 2170 Physical Damage.]

…

[You have suffered from 2170 Physical Damage.]

[You have suffered from 2170 Physical Damage.]

[Physical Defense: 0 / 15020]

[Warning: The Founder’s Shield has been severely damaged.]

At that moment, Joo-Hyuk suddenly recalled a conversation he had with one of his squad members about the changed system.

“Sir, our attack speed is not displayed on the screen, but it is heavily related to the Agility stat. We ran a test with one Silver Awakened and one Gold Awakened, who was eighty levels higher than the person at Silver. In the end, we noticed that the Gold Awakened’s attack speed was two times faster than the Silver’s. When the Silver Awakened attacked once at fifty Attack Power, the Gold was able to attack twice at a hundred Attack Power. Therefore, the ratio of total Attack Power is fifty to two hundred, not fifty to a hundred.”

Bang!

[Warning: The Founder’s Shield is about to be destroyed.]

Bang! Bang!

[The Founder’s Shield has been destroyed.]

The moment the shield shattered into pieces like a pane of glass, a fist squeezed in and crushed Joo-Hyuk’s face, then the other hand snatched his ankle. Within seconds, Joo-Hyuk’s entire world became reversed other than that one taunting notification message window.

“Ah! AH!”

Collision after collision pummeled him relentlessly, and he could no longer think straight. The wind pressure kept pushing callously at his face, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Sporadic images flashed through his eyes, and he saw blood splashing everywhere. A previous conversation he had before surfaced into his mind.

“It was hard to find out anything about Odin. But Kwon Seong-Il… People from the mainland said that he is the human caliber and very powerful.”

“Human caliber? Is that a skill?”

“No, he is called that because he uses his opponents as weapons, kinda as if he was wielding a weapon like Excalibur.”

“When did he start doing that?”

“From the beginning of Stage Two.”

“That could have been the case then, but times have changed. Weapons are very important now.”

“I agree. The human caliber will never be seen again.”

Never be seen again. Never be seen again! Never be seen again???

***

“Ugh…”

Joo-Hyuk didn’t know when or how he was released from Seong-Il’s grip. There was no more wind pressure, and his vision was blurry. Blood flowed down his face, and he wasn’t sure if it was his own or other people’s. Probably both. Joo-Hyuk was only able to see clearly again after multiple healers treated him at the same time.

The first thing he saw was that the ankles of Joo Pan-Seok, the Gold Squad’s captain, and Kang Ki-Nam, the Miracle Squad’s captain, were being held in Seong-Il’s hands. From their drooping, rag doll-like bodies, Joo-Hyuk could imagine that he had probably looked the same earlier. His two comrades looked miserable, and he realized he had been used as a weapon for a long time.

Joo-Hyuk couldn’t stop gnashing his teeth. Kwon Seong-Il was standing there like a training scarecrow. The other man was staring at his surroundings with a murderous look in his eyes, but didn’t move his feet.

He is just one henchman…

Despite having overwhelming numbers in their favor, they weren’t able to subdue one man even with all the captains and vice-captains of the top ten squads working together. Furthermore, they even had support from the back. Fortunately, several layers of the siege still existed, and Odin’s henchman had been tied up with restraint skills that resembled strands of light.

The situation was over. Joo-Hyuk found his weapon and picked it up. Then, he approached Seong-Il. When he looked more closely, he realized that Joo Pan-Seok and Kang Ki-Nam were actually dead. In fact, there was a huge hole in Kang Ki-Nam’s chest.

“You… hehehehe. I think Odin should slice your neck. You’re the one who brought everyone here.”

Seong-Il opened his eyes wide, and copious amounts of blood poured out from his mouth.

“...”

Odin’s henchman huffed. “Keuk. I think it’s over. What are you doing? Let’s… let’s see it to the end. End it, you bastard.”

Joo-Hyuk took a deep breath instead of responding. Looking around, the area was so messy that it reminded him of the war they had against the northern kingdom. He didn’t know if this was because Seong-Il was a Diamond-rated Awakened, or if the other man was simply unusually good at fighting. Blood was everywhere, and a number of bodies were lying on the ground with their backs bent and faces dented. Those unfortunate victims were the combatants in the Gold Squad who had formed the front-line circle. Fortunately, the attackers based in the rear were safe and intact. However, it was shameful that the top ten squads of the Sky Guild couldn’t even knock down one Awakened.

I should kill him.

He had no choice as he needed to regain even a smidgen of honor and not lose prestige as a representative of the Sky Guild. Of course, there would be no way they could negotiate with Odin if he killed Seong-Il. Even if he could deceive Odin and try to kick him to the North, he knew the other man wouldn’t leave without his henchman. Eventually, Odin would realize what had happened, and Joo-Hyuk would have to fight him.

If that was the case, then it was better to attack Odin first with his people. Kang Joo-Hyuk was also concerned about how to deal with the North in the future, but he decided to resolve any issues with them through diplomacy as much as possible. His eyes flashed with murderous intention after he finished calculating everything.

Seong-Il was breathing heavily. “...When you run into Odin… make sure you take the lead.”

“Nah. I should give other guild members a chance to make an accomplishment next time,” Joo-Hyuk whispered.

Odin’s henchman snarled, “Fuck you.”

Joo-Hyuk grinned menacingly. “Don’t be sad. You have people who will walk into hell with you. That’s amazing, and you can be proud of that. Then, now… it’s time for you to die.”

Then, blood suddenly splattered down Seong-Il’s face.

Screech-

Only then did Joo-Hyuk notice that a solid line had appeared on his neck. His head then clunked to the ground. Every time Seong-Il blinked, more and more people’s heads tilted over and fell from their bodies. Then, their bodies spewed out blood like a gruesome fountain all at once.

“I told you… Odin would kill you…” Seong-Il muttered laborously as he looked down at Joo-Hyuk’s head rolling around the ground.