Ranker’s Return

Chapter 865

Hyeonu and the guardian stared at each other for a few seconds before moving. There was no one who moved first. They kicked off from the ground at the same time.

A black afterimage appeared in the place where the guardian passed, while a purple afterimage appeared in the place where Hyeonu passed. The two lights collided in an instant. A strong shockwave swept through the surroundings the moment Hyeonu and the guardian collided.

The shockwave was more powerful than expected. The undead near Hyeonu and the guardian were blown away. The undead who were a bit further away also lost their balance and fell. Naturally, a space around dozens of meters with no one in it was created around Hyeonu and the guardian.

That wasn’t all. The fighting itself stopped. The players and the undead stopped fighting.

“Retreat quickly!”

“Retreat!”

“It has to be now or we won’t be able to rest!”

They were just looking for the timing to leave. They were very tired. For hours, they didn’t rest properly and just continued to fight. Normally, they would’ve retreated using the excuse of not having enough physical strength to recover. However, today there were the NPC priests brought in by the Kowloon Guild. There was plenty of recovery magic.

‘The timing is amazing.’

Hyeonu was amazed. They weren’t rankers for nothing. Their senses were great for them to notice. They knew, like a ghost, the timing to leave.

‘Is it okay if I do it roughly and then back off?’

Hyeonu felt the battlefield quiet down in an instant and imagined what would happen 10 minutes later. However, imagination was just imagination. At that moment, the urgent task was to fight the guardian in front of him.

‘I have to save the buffs.’

Originally, it was something he wouldn’t have been able to do. Not using buffs. It meant he wasn’t doing his best.

‘Of course, I am still much stronger than usual…’

Hyeonu received numerous priest buffs. Naturally, there was an overwhelming increase in power compared to when he normally received one buff from Tang-E. Even so, it was lacking compared to when Hyeonu used his biggest buff, Acknowledged Giant. It was considerably so.

‘I planned this and will strike…’

The reason why Hyeonu could come out so boldly—it was the fact that this battle was just a pre-made script.

Hyeonu quickly approached the guardian and swung the Mixed Sky Sword. The Mixed Sky Sword was accompanied by a sharp sound. The guardian frowned at Hyeonu’s approaching sword that contained a more deadly force than expected.

‘Is it because he is the disciple of those human beings? It is a foul strength.’

The guardian groaned as he blocked Hyeonu’s attack. The reason why the guardian was able to show off a near invincible ability was because he used the magic power of the magic power stones to his heart’s content. The guardian wasn’t as strong as Hyeonu thought if he didn’t use this.

‘Even so, I can win with this much.’

The absence of the infinite magic power was a big penalty, but that wasn’t enough to lose to Hyeonu. The guardian extended his sword toward Hyeonu’s chest. Black pure energy flowed from the sword in an instant.

‘Pure energy?’

Hyeonu saw the pure energy that poured out and raised his left hand without hesitation. Purple pure energy suddenly appeared around Hyeonu’s left hand. Hyeonu’s pure energy-covered first struck the guardian’s sword. The guardian’s sword scattered helplessly.

The guardian showed no other action after the unsuccessful attack. He stepped back and stared at Hyeonu from a distance.

“Why? Was it a finishing blow?” Hyeonu asked with a smile.

“Magic power… you handle it well.” The guardian looked slightly bewildered. He hadn’t expected Hyeonu to stop his attack so naturally.

“Yes, it is natural. This is my specialty.” Hyeonu nodded and extended the Mixed Sky Sword toward the guardian. A purple light was flashing around the Mixed Sky Sword that Hyeonu held out.

‘It isn’t easy, it isn’t easy…’ The guardian clicked his tongue. The battle wasn’t as easy as he expected. He thought he would receive a proper blow if he was careless and acted roughly. Hyeonu’s level was that much.

‘He is a human being who knows how to handle magic power so delicately…’

The reason why Hyeonu was so highly valued and why Hyeonu was tricky—it was due to Hyeonu’s ability to handle magic power.

“In any case… I don’t think it is easy to make a decision.”

The guardian slowly created an atmosphere. He didn’t feel like continuing the battle any longer. In the first place, the request that the human had made of him was to fight for three days. In other words, it meant that today wasn’t the only day.

“My excitement has cooled down.”

There was no reason for Hyeonu to reject the guardian’s offer. It had been a while since he fought the guardian and he had already attracted the attention of many. The value of the show was worth it.

‘It feels like the decoration at the end of the battle.’

“Congratulations on adding one day to your life.” Hyeonu took a step back, but he didn’t forget to provoke the guardian.

“Who knows? It will be either me or you. Isn’t it something that no one knows?” The guardian lightly accepted Hyeonu’s words. Then he immediately disappeared through the crumbling walls.

***

“How about it? Is he stronger than you expected?” Gang Junggu came to Hyeonu as soon as he returned and asked.

“He is very strong. He is probably hard to defeat.”

Hyeonu nodded.

“Is that so? The attack was blocked because it was you. If it wasn’t for you, I think I would’ve just received it with my body…”

“Not necessarily… I don’t really know the pattern just yet. I can’t say anymore.”

Hyeonu was well aware of how good the guardian was, but he didn’t rush to say it. He had to be careful with his words. He was still streaming.

“That is the case. By the way, how many days do you think it will take?”

In fact, this was precisely what Gang Junggu was curious about—the time it will take to take back the city in front of them.

“Won’t it take around a week? This is on the assumption that it will pay off little by little.”

Hyeonu once again said something he didn’t mean. The reason was the same. The conversation wasn’t just known by the two people involved, Hyeonu and Gang Junggu. More than tens of millions of people were watching.

“One week… one week is fine.”

Gang Junggu nodded.

“Viewers, I will end my live stream here today. Thank you so much for watching my live stream today. Please come again next time.”

Hyeonu finished his streaming right in front of Gang Junggu. He didn’t drag it out for long. He hotly ended it right away. The live stream ended and Hyeonu raised his hand in front of Gang Junggu.

“Huh? What is it? That hand?” Gang Junggu cocked his head when he saw Hyeonu’s hand.

“It is four days, four days.”

“Four days? What do you mean by four days?”

“The time it takes to regain the city.”

Gang Junggu’s expression changed after hearing Hyeonu’s answer. The time was shortened by three days the moment the live stream was turned off. There must be some reason for this.

“You can defeat that monster in four days? Is someone else coming?”

“No, no one is coming.”

“Then how can it be done in four days? Will something happen in four days? Where did he go all of a sudden?” Gang Junggu gestured with his chin toward the collapsed city walls.

“Hey, when did I say I was going to take back that city?”

“Then?”

“We are going to take another city.”

“Another city?” Gang Junggu asked with a surprised expression. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. It was inevitable that the story would flow out everywhere if a large number of people started moving. That story would unconditionally enter the ears of the Venom Guild.

“I know what you are worried about. It is something I’ve already done,” Hyeonu continued speaking with an expression that wasn’t worried at all.

“You’ve already done it? Do you have a good plan?”

“Only Hyung-nim needs to know about this. Just tell Seokjung hyung-nim.”

“Only Hyung-nim?”

Gang Junggu had a strange feeling at Hyeonu’s words. Talk about it only to Kim Seokjung.

“Are you thinking of going alone?”

Hyeonu nodded.

“Are you crazy?” Gang Junggu criticized Hyeonu without any hesitation.

“Hyung-nim, don’t you trust me?”

“The issue isn’t trusting you. This isn’t the idea of a normal person. You want to take back a city by yourself? The opponents aren’t players. It is a monster, a monster.”

Gang Junggu clicked his tongue. Hyeonu’s strategy would’ve worked very well if it was a siege between players. It was because there was no one among the current players who could stop Hyeonu, even if it was a guild.

“In any case, all the main power is gathered on this side. There will be no guardians on the other side. The number of undead will be a lot less,” Hyeonu explained his logic to Gang Junggu in his own way.

“Quite a few undead have died today. Yet tomorrow, there will be the same number of undead as if nothing had happened. Where will all the undead come from? They will have to pull the undead from the surrounding cities. There isn’t enough time to bring them from the main base.”

The undead weren’t natural born monsters. They were made by Edward in the north or the high ranking undead under him. However, the biggest proportion was the undead that Edward created.

“I guess so. It is because the field isn’t a place where the undead will appear in the first place. Where can they be recruited?”

Gang Junggu sympathized with Hyeonu’s logic. The undead were soldiers. Soldiers died. Soldiers were needed to continue the war. Naturally, the soldiers had to come from somewhere.

“Additionally, our route is probably known to the Venom Guild. There are so many people streaming that they have to be aware of it. Meanwhile, I turn on my streaming every two or three days. This means the update of information is relatively slow. It is definitely worth a try, Hyung-nim.”

“But… are you sure that other cities don’t have boss monsters like that? That is the problem.”

“That is fine, Hyung-nim. There is no need to worry. There is only one monster out there.”

Hyeonu shook his head. The guardian could never come out in such numbers.

“What do you know?”

Gang Junggu felt a strange nuance from Hyeonu’s words and his eyes shone.

“Edward isn’t in such a relaxed situation. He is also busy guarding his head.”

If the guardians weren’t present, it wouldn’t be easy to survive a conflict with Luke, who might show up at any time. In Hyeonu’s opinion, the one guardian he had just seen was the best one. There was a power that could be turned outward.

“What else is there? Please explain it in detail when we meet today.”

“I understand, Hyung-nim. Additionally, I have a really good reason to aim for another city.”

“A definite reason?”

“It is a play.”

“A play? What do you mean all of a sudden? What play?”

Gang Junggu cocked his head again at Hyeonu’s words that it was a play. He heard so many new things in a short period of time. They were things he didn’t know.

“The scenario made by Gang Hyeonu. Directed by Gang Hyeonu, production support Edward. Starring Alley Leader and the Venom Guild,” Hyeonu smiled brightly at Gang Junggu and opened his mouth, “This is the version of the war that I have made, Hyung-nim.”

The corners of Hyeonu’s mouth soared up.