Ranker’s Return

A thin laser was fired from the soldier ant’s eyes as it scratched the floor and aimed at Hyeonu. The viewers doubted their eyes.

-Wow...

-What is this...

-Is this a true story?

An ant that fired lasers from its eyes—Hyeonu never imagined that this would’ve happened. The even more surprising thing was what happened next. The black pure energy made by Alley Leader broke through the ant’s laser, shooting through the red light like a salmon moving upstream. The soldier ant’s eyes—to be precise, the front part of the ant’s head—exploded.

-Is this real?

-This level of situational judgment isn’t human...

-Still, it is strange to have a laser attack.

-The angle of attack is really great.

The viewers were stunned by the sight of Hyeonu’s improvised attack without knowing it had been thoroughly prepared beforehand.

‘A lot of dirt has risen. In any case...’

Hyeonu’s expression distorted as he watched the soldier ants pop out constantly. Before the stream, he had only run around and collected some rough information. Therefore, he hadn’t known that so many soldier ants had been hiding. In the midst of his complaints, the Mysterious Sky Sword moved diligently. He broke the legs of the soldier ants and split their bodies apart, dividing them according to a person’s distinction of ants—head, chest, and abdomen.

‘What?’

Just then, Hyeonu squinted as he looked through the dust that filled the space. It was an instinctive act. A golden bear occupied a place in the epicenter of the dust. It was Tang-E.

“Tang-E!!”

There was one more thing—a huge black shadow. It was reaching out toward Tang-E.

*** 

It happened a little while ago.

“Ugh. I can’t see in front of me.” Tang-E, who had been using magic for a long time, waved his paws and smashed a dirt model in front of him.

The model was broken, and dust rose. Tang-E swung his paws to calm the dust and showed a happy expression. He liked the open view. “It seems a bit better now.” 

Tang-E shook his paws when he saw that Hyeonu had something to say to him. Just then, Tang-E got a strange feeling and looked back. An ant filled his vision. The ant wasn’t the same color as the existing legion soldier ants. It was a darker color that made one instinctively feel a sense of discomfort.

A blood red...

Yes, it was blood red. Additionally, it was five times larger than an ordinary legion ant. This was a terrifying mass considering an ant’s characteristic of lifting things ten times heavier than its own weight.

“...!!!”

Such a giant blood-colored ant opened its mouth toward the tiny Tang-E. It was like the ant would swallow him up in an instant. Tang-E was startled. He didn’t know what to expect, but his paws were shaking.

-What are you doing?! Why aren’t you quickly saving Tang-E?!

-The two of you should live and die together!

-Go and save Tang-E! Use Blink!

-If Tang-E dies, I won’t give gold coins in the future!

The viewers stomped their feet as they watched. Perhaps Tang-E would just be hurt. After all, a pet’s death didn’t mean extermination. Still, the viewers never wanted to see it. The appearance of a small bear entering the mouth of an ugly ant... 

It was the same for Hyeonu. He didn’t want Tang-E to be forcibly recalled. In fact, he was the one who cared about Tang-E more than anyone else. Hyeonu kicked off against the ground and headed toward Tang-E while activating a skill. As Hyeonu had changed his armor to the ‘Tyrant Caruso Set’, it was impossible for him to use Blink to save Tang-E. Instead, he used a skill to block the bloody ant’s movements for the period of time that it took to reach Tang-E.

Two colored threads, red and black, cut through the air and instantly penetrated the bloody ant’s body.

[The legion soldier ant leader has received the ‘slowed’ abnormal status.]

[The legion soldier ant leader has received the ‘slowed’ abnormal status.]

The skills Hyeonu used were Fighting Energy Emission and Area Proclamation. The two skills had one thing in common—a ‘slowed’ debuff that could limit the movements of the other party. In addition, Hyeonu’s movements had become faster after using Area Proclamation.

“Tang-E, avoid it!”

 Tang-E’s mind returned after he heard Hyeonu’s voice behind him.

“Uhhhhh!! Master dude!!!” Tang-E screamed again and found Hyeonu. The ant captain might be slowed down, but the distance was so close that its terrifying teeth were already in front of Tang-E.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Hearing Tang-E call out for him desperately, Hyeonu pulled out a trump card he had been hiding. It was a technique that he had never shown on streams or public videos. Hyeonu lightly used the Mysterious Sky Sword, moving it from left to right. There was nothing impressive about it. It was just a quick swing once.

The surprising thing was what happened next. The pure energy fired from the end of the Mysterious Sky Sword didn’t fly in a straight line. Instead, it bent in a curve around Tang-E and hit the chin of the soldier ant captain.

“...!!!” The legion soldier ant captain cried out. Hyeonu couldn’t hear it directly, but the movement of the antennae showed how agitated the legion soldier ant captain was. The legion soldier ant captain was furious. It was in unbearable pain. Moreover, it had missed the prey that was to be given to the queen.

It couldn’t stand it. The legion soldier ant captain twisted its body and cried out again. “...!!!”

Simultaneously, it started to move. It had six legs, and the first one that moved was the front leg. It was to kill the human who hindered its hunt.

[You have heard the legion soldier ant captain’s Fear.]

[The influence of fighting energy allows you to ignore the Fear of the legion soldier ant captain.]

Hyeonu didn’t even pay attention to the messages in front of him because they were natural messages. In Hyeonu’s opinion, the purple ogre was stronger than the soldier ant captain. They might both be named monsters, but there was a difference in level. There might be three together, but in the end, it was the purple ogre that traveled freely in the Balder Mountains. This made it different from the soldier ant captain that led the soldier ants.

‘Bread that isn’t chewy isn’t scary.’

“I will get revenge for Tang-E,” Hyeonu shouted loudly at the soldier ant captain.

He didn’t care about the attacks that flew toward him.

-I’m cringing. How can he say that?

-Is it immersion in the situation?

-No, no. He can immerse himself in gold coins and the increased balance.

-I admit it. There is nothing impossible for a monster born of capitalism.

Some people analyzed Hyeonu’s words, and all of them came up with the same result. No one could stop a monster of capitalism. At this moment, viewers encountered the real face of the monster.

*** 

The front legs of the soldier ant captain quickly descended. Hyeonu watched it blankly, with the Mysterious Sky Sword still on his shoulder. The two front legs of the soldier ant captain were stuck in the ground where Hyeonu had been standing.

“......?” The antennae of the soldier ant captain quickly moved from left to right. Then the constantly moving antennae stopped and pointed at the same place. It was the right front leg of the soldier ant captain.

“Let’s remove this useless leg first,” Hyeonu said. On top of ant’s right front leg, Hyeonu stood in the same posture as before.

-Crazy. It isn’t about evading the attacks anymore. Did he climb up there?

-This is Alley Leader...

-A monster born of capitalism...

The Mysterious Sky Sword on Hyeonu’s shoulders struck down. Perhaps it was because the Mysterious Sky Sword was infused with magic, but there were black sparks of magic power around it. The Mysterious Sky Sword sliced the front leg of the soldier ant captain like it was tofu, and green blood that could contain poison flowed out like a fountain.

Hyeonu was worried about the ant blood getting on his precious items and quickly avoided it. He kicked the ant’s front leg, and the soldier ant captain’s body tilted slightly. The ant had six legs—three on the left and three on the right. It was natural for one side to be unbalanced if a leg was cut.

“...!!!” The soldier ant captain cried out again and moved its antennae. This time, it wasn’t with anger but defeat. The soldier ant captain had its front leg cut and lost its balance. It staggered toward Hyeonu with a body that it couldn’t move freely.

-Why is it still so fast when it is missing one leg?

-Ask the ant. What is the use of asking here?

-It’s funny when I’m looking at it from this position, but actually, won’t we still die from one blow?

The soldier ant captain was shaky, but it was still fast and dangerous. At least, it seemed this way to the watching viewers. However, the party involved didn’t think so.

‘It is over once one leg is cut off.’

In Hyeonu’s mind, the legion soldier ant captain had already been dismantled. A corpse with six legs cut off and the entire body torn apart—this was the future Hyeonu drew for the legion soldier ant captain. It soon became a reality.

‘Will it slam down first?’

Hyeonu had grasped the pattern to some extent during the ant hunt. In particular, the wounded ones usually showed a similar pattern. Either slam down or fire a laser—the ants would launch one of the two attacks.

‘Based on the form, it is slamming down.’

This was the expected attack method. If so, Hyeonu’s actions would be simple.

‘A highlight!’

“This one is revenge for Tang-E...”

Hyeonu made his comment while running toward the legion soldier ant captain. One step, two steps...

The distance between the two of them narrowed, and the antennae of the legion soldier ant captain danced. It was trying to grasp Hyeonu’s movements that had become strange after Mysterious Sky Steps was used. Soon, Hyeonu entered the range of the soldier ant captain, and its front leg moved like lightning. The remaining front leg of the soldier ant captain slammed into the ground.

Nevertheless, there was no Hyeonu at that spot. Like before, Hyeonu climbed up the leg of the soldier ant captain. At a certain height, Hyeonu swung the Mysterious Sky Sword and cut off the front leg of the soldier ant captain. Then he concentrated magic power on his feet and jumped into the air using the soldier ant captain as a foothold.

In the end, Hyeonu met the big eyes of the ant captain. Unlike its shell, the ant captain’s eyes were dark, and they seemed to be saying something. Regardless, Hyeonu silently moved the Mysterious Sky Sword, and black pure energy started to cover the area. The black pure energy collided with the soldier ant captain’s body, and there was the sound of a bomb exploding.

[The legion soldier ant captain has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

“Tang-E, your master has gotten revenge for you.”

Hyeonu’s concept was real.

I'll be holding a competition with cash prizes. Please check out this page for all the details.