Ranker’s Return

Chapter 873

Half of the skeletons saw the shower of swords flying from behind and turned around. They immediately swung their weapons and started slashing at the purple swords.

-Won’t there be a counterattack over there first?

-Really? Nothing will work?

-Of course, it will be blocked.

-Of course? Is it natural to block it?

-Of course, it is limited to Alley Leader. Keep up the good work.

The viewers cocked their heads at Hyeonu’s response. Hyeonu’s skill was blocked in vain. In this case, he had no choice but to block it with his body. He had wasted the timing, so it was impossible to stop it with his weapon. Then they quickly nodded and accepted it. They couldn’t understand it, but Hyeonu had to have a good reason for his judgment, and the basis for that had to be his own abilities.

This judgment was good.

Hyeonu showed an unbelievable defense.

‘Do they think I can’t stop it if they attack from all sides?’

Hyeonu didn’t show much of a reaction until the skeleton knights attacked him. He just smiled with confidence. Just then, purple magic power burst from Hyeonu’s body. The magic power that flowed out shot up into the air and quickly formed a shape. Rough skin, horns that protruded in a bizarre shape, long eyes torn from side to side, and sharp teeth—they came together and became something that everyone recognized.

-A dragon?

-It is something that he shows sometimes.

-By the way, what is the effect of that?

-In the community, it seems to be a buff type.

-It is either a buff or debuff. It is because it doesn’t attack directly.

The viewers marveled at the sight of the dragon’s head in the air. At the same time, they wondered what effect the dragon in front of them would bring. However, the man who could answer their questions still didn’t move. The moment the dragon form appeared, the movement of the skeleton knights slowed down a bit.

Although it wasn’t known to the viewers, this was the effect of Dragon Fear. It caused a reduction in stats. Naturally, the movement speed also slowed down.

When Hyeonu saw it, the corners of his lips curled up in a smile.

‘These guys, it is just starting now.’

This was just the beginning. Hyeonu had more gifts for the skeleton knights.

‘Fighting Energy Emission.’

Red energy flowed from Hyeonu’s body. The red energy was fighting energy, and it clung to the bodies of the skeleton knights approaching Hyeonu. It didn’t end there. There were still gifts remaining.

‘There is still one step left. Area Proclamation.’

Magic power was released through Hyeonu’s feet and seeped into the ground. Fighting Energy Emission gnawed at the stats of the skeleton knights just like Dragon Fear. Area Proclamation made the area surrounding Hyeonu his land. It tied up the feet of the skeleton knights, Hyeonu’s enemies. Even so, the skeleton knights approached Hyeonu.

Their speed was so slow that it couldn’t be compared to how it had been in the beginning, but their distance with Hyeonu was still narrowing steadily. Now there was only a small distance between Hyeonu and the skeleton knights. They had come into range.

-Now what will he show us?

-It seems like he will cut them all at once?

-Is he going to drop that big sword?

-Then won’t he get hit as well?

-In Arena, you don’t get hurt by your own skill.

-Yes. The health won’t decrease unless the opponent does something.

The viewers were curious about Hyeonu’s response. How would he get out of this situation? In the eyes of the viewers, Hyeonu was in a state of crisis. Skeleton knights were occupying all the space around him. It was a crisis to anyone who saw it, apart from Hyeonu himself.

Hyeonu was relaxed; he wasn’t in a hurry. He was looking at the skeleton knights calmly because there was something he believed in.

‘If I get hit like this…’

The skeleton knights had been weakened by all sorts of debuffs. In that state, they could never break through. It was due to this.

‘Empty Willpower.’

Hyeonu’s surroundings were dyed purple. A hard membrane was created like that of the eggs of birds or reptiles.

Empty Willpower—just like Dragon Fear, it was a skill that depended on the set effect of ‘Empty Dragon’, the armor item set that Hyeonu was wearing. Empty Willpower was a skill that absorbed the surrounding magic power to create a shield that blocked the opponents’ attacks. Normally, Hyeonu was rarely attacked, so he didn’t show this skill. Now, he was in a situation where he was being surrounded by attacks, so it made its appearance.

The attacks of the skeleton knights struck the membrane around Hyeonu. There was a sharp sound, but the shield was solid. No injuries were created. The skeleton knights continued to strike at Hyeonu, but nothing changed. The shield was strong.

-Wow, what is that? This is my first time seeing it?

-What is that skill? Is it a shield type?

-Is there a skill like this?

-I don’t think it is Alley Leader’s skill? Is it a skill built into an item?

The viewers naturally expressed curiosity about what Hyeonu showed. At first glance, it was close to invincible—an impenetrable iron wall.

‘Now.’

Hyeonu looked around while inside the shield and swung the Mixed Sky Sword. The moment the purple membrane disappeared, the Mixed Sky Sword swept over the skeleton knights. There were only purple pure energies left in the place that the Mixed Sky Sword passed through, and they attacked the skeleton knights.

It sounded the same as before, but the results were different. They were completely reversed. The skeleton knights who attacked Hyeonu had their upper and lower bodies separated. They fell to the ground in two halves.

[A skeleton knight that grew eating demonic energy has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A skeleton knight that grew eating demonic energy has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[A skeleton knight that grew eating demonic energy has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power are restored.]

‘Okay, it is a level up. It is neat.’

Hyeonu didn’t pay attention to the skeleton knights rolling on the ground. He just looked at the message windows in front of him.

‘Is there only one left?’

Hyeonu’s gaze left the message window and naturally shifted to the skeleton knight in the distance. Now there was only one enemy left.

-What did I see?

-Is this right? Really?

-He killed them like they were goblins.

-I’m glad he is retired, really.

Unlike the casual Hyeonu, the viewers couldn’t hide their surprise. Dozens of named monsters were killed in a single blow. It was a sight that couldn’t be easily seen anywhere.

‘The hyung-nims… They are doing well.’

Before heading to the boss monster, Hyeonu turned his head to look behind him for a moment. In that place, the New World Guild was fighting against numerous undead. However, the situation didn’t look dangerous. As expected of the experienced New World. They were dealing with the undead through team play.

‘I’m the one who has to do well.’

Hyeonu slowly started to run toward the skeleton knight.

‘It is a boss monster, so it will be hard for me to finish it as easily as before.’

Named monsters and boss monsters were only one standard apart in classification, but the real difference in strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.

‘By the way, did he say I could kill it…?’

This was a sudden thought that entered Hyeonu’s head as he was running. It was obvious that the skeleton knight in front of him would have a spot in Edward’s undead army. For some reason, Hyeonu felt reluctant to kill someone like this.

‘I think he said something…’

He felt even more uncomfortable because he couldn’t properly remember his conversation with Edward.

‘Well, so what? I just have to kill it and say I didn’t know.’

Hyeonu’s slowed down speed started to accelerate. In an instant, the distance between Hyeonu and the skeleton knight disappeared.

‘Start lightly.’

Hyeonu swung the Mixed Sky Sword. He utilized the shortest distance between himself and the skeleton knight to stab the latter. The skeleton knight’s shoulder exploded. However, the skeleton knight didn’t simply stand there and get hit. It swung the white bone sword in its hand.

The skeleton knight’s sword fell toward Hyeonu’s head, but Hyeonu wasn’t there anymore. The moment he saw the skeleton knight’s sword move, Hyeonu used Mixed Sky Steps and left his spot. As Hyeonu stepped back, the skeleton knight came down from the skeleton horse and picked up the arm that had fallen. Then it attached it back to its shoulder.

‘Is there no damage at all?’

“This is a bit nasty…”

Upon seeing this, Hyeonu cocked his head. At this level, it went beyond just restoring health. This level of recovery even restored the part that had been cut off.

-Wow, it is recovery from the start.

-This guy has a lot of tricks.

-Does it make sense for this pattern to come out from the start?

-No, think backward. You should think of it as Alley Leader creating the pattern from the first attack.

-Someone who thinks like that isn’t a person, right? Pulling out the pattern of the boss monster all at once?

The viewers also showed a reaction that wasn’t much different from Hyeonu’s. The skeleton knight’s recovery pattern was so absurd.

‘Is that so? Is this right?’

Hyeonu thought that one viewer’s words made sense. It wasn’t that the recovery pattern came out from the beginning, but that his attack power was that strong.

‘Yes, this is right.’

It was a brief struggle, but Hyeonu thought he was right. He had a buff that was different from usual.

‘Acknowledged Giant is a bit too much.’

Hyeonu nodded and flew toward the skeleton knight again. He was planning to kill this monster before the buff ended. Hyeonu used Mixed Sky Steps, which had undergone many changes since it evolved from Mysterious Sky Steps to Mixed Sky Steps. It was much more expressive and faster than it used to be. Now it really looked like there were dozens of Hyeonus.

The skeleton knight saw the images of Hyeonu filling the air and swung a white bone sword. Every time the skeleton knight wielded its sword, the swords increased in number by one in the air. In an instant, there were over a dozen swords raised up.

Hyeonu didn’t just watch though, and his dozens of copies took different postures. The over a dozen swords and Hyeonus collided, and the clones and swords started to disappear at the same time. The only ones left after the collision were Hyeonu, who was releasing strong energy from the Mixed Sky Sword, and a skeleton knight, who had been pushed back a few steps.

Hyeonu followed the momentum and pushed the skeleton knight. He constantly used Mixed Sky Steps and disturbed the skeleton knight’s eyes. Then he circled around the skeleton knights, aiming for gaps once in a while with the Mixed Sky Sword. However, the skeleton knight didn’t easily allow an attack.

-Wow, that level is crazy. The AI fights so well.

-Still, it is good to look at. As expected, the boss monster is a humanoid type.

-You wouldn’t say that if you meet it in person.

-Of course, that is if I see it. The boss monsters only like big shots. It is easy to deal with.

The viewers simply enjoyed the showdown between Hyeonu and the skeleton knight. The battle between the two of them was fierce enough to make their hands sweat.

‘It is fun after so long.’

Hyeonu was in a deep state of concentration for the first time in ages. He emptied his head and fought as his heart desired. He moved only according to his senses and extended the Mixed Sky Sword.

‘By the way… it can’t last long.’

Hyeonu pushed a bit more magic power into the Mixed Sky Sword, causing purple pure energy to flare around it. The sudden adjustment of Hyeonu’s power pushed the skeleton knight away. It was so instantaneous that the skeleton knight couldn’t react to it. As that happened, Hyeonu placed the Mixed Sky Sword back in its sheath. Then he leaned forward with his right foot in front.

‘Cutting the Moonlight.’