Chapter 324
Chapter 324: District 7
Outskirts of District 7, a shabby tavern.
"Did you hear? The news about District 8. I heard it's been in an uproar lately."
Someone brought it up while putting down their liquor glass.
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
"I heard. They said it was turned upside down in a single night."
"A single night? They say it didn't even take half a day. Irokes died, and the Demonic Cult dispatch unit was annihilated. In the midst of that, the Blood Witch even came down—."
"Wait."
A man full of scars interjected from across the table.
"Blood Witch? Medea came down all the way to District 8?"
"Yeah. But the crazier part is what happened next."
The one holding the liquor glass lowered his voice.
"There's a guy who conversed with that witch and returned alive."
Silence.
Someone let out a hollow laugh.
"Don't spout bullshit. If you talk to Medea, your blood bursts first."
"I thought so too. But they say it's real. Kim Minwoo. The Necromancer who swallowed District 9 whole."
"District 9?"
"Yeah. That's not the end of it."
The one speaking counted on his fingers.
"Unified the entirety of District 9. Occupied District 8 in a single day. Completely turned the economic zone upside down. Ah, and—."
He paused his words for a moment.
"They say he became a god."
"What?"
"The God of Death or something. I heard he even established a cult. He gives benefits if you believe, and makes you a beggar if you don't. In severe cases, he even kills you."
It was a remark that would normally make one burst into laughter.
However, no one laughed.
If it was a matter of District 9, they would have just snickered and moved on.
But now it is different.
District 8 was occupied too?
Is there a law saying District 7 wouldn't end up like that?
The scarred man downed his liquor.
"What about Red Flag?"
"District 4 Head Irokes deceased. Elites annihilated."
"And the Demonic Cult?"
"Dispatch unit massacred. Lee Seokjun is dead too."
Silence descended.
The night of District 7 was originally noisy.
The shouts of drunken people, sounds of fighting, screams. That was everyday life.
However, this tavern right now was as quiet as a grave.
"So……."
Someone summarized with a trembling voice.
"The crazy bastard who chewed up the Demonic Cult, chewed up Red Flag, and even made a deal with one of the Seven Lords—."
Gulp.
"He's coming this way?"
"……Who knows. But wouldn't he come? He's the guy who killed the District 4 Head in District 8. Would he stay there long……."
"Th-there's no way……."
One of the drunks trembled violently.
"Rookie, what's wrong with you?"
"I, I ran away from District 8! That bastard Kim Minwoo said it back then! The ones who ran away, if he meets them when he comes up, he will definitely kill them! He said the witch remembers!"
"……But why did you run away?"
"He looked ready to brainwash us with religion if we didn't run away, how could I not run?"
The rookie gripped his liquor glass with a trembling hand.
"And as the district goes higher, Marks and Merit Points circulate to an incomparable degree. I haven't been to District 1, but they say it's beyond imagination over there, right?"
The scarred man nodded.
"Naturally, the defense is different too. From District 7 upwards, it's on a different level."
"Right, that's it."
The rookie muttered as if trying hard to comfort himself.
"No matter how much it's Kim Minwoo…… he wouldn't be able to break through here in District 7 all at once. No, maybe he might get blocked……."
The tavern door swung open.
A Ratman who ran in panting shouted.
"It's Kim Minwoo! Kim Minwoo has come to District 7!"
A liquor glass shattered with a crash.
As soon as the door swung open, people poured out.
"Where is he? Where is he coming from!"
The people inside the tavern rushed out into the street. The central road of District 7. Normally, it would be a time loud with the shouts and fighting sounds of drunken people.
Right now, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Far away.
Black dots were slowly approaching.
"That is……."
"The rumors were true?"
Whispers spread.
Four massive silhouettes stood at the front.
A knight in black armor, a pale-skinned handsome man, a woman in a red dress. And a witch holding a staff.
Existences called Legion Commanders, each possessing earth-shattering power.
Behind them.
Cheolkeok. Cheolkeok. Cheolkeok.
A procession of skeleton soldiers continued endlessly. Blue flames flickered in their empty eye sockets. Dozens. No, hundreds. The sight of those flames flickering in the darkness was like a river of death flowing in.
"It's exactly like the rumors from District 8."
Someone swallowed their saliva.
The rumors heard from District 8.
That story of the entire district being turned upside down in a single night.
The monster who killed District 4 Head Irokes, annihilated the Demonic Cult dispatch unit, and even concluded a deal with the Blood Witch.
That was right before their eyes.
The center of the procession.
The hem of a black coat fluttered in the wind.
A small bird was sitting on his shoulder. The sight of it looking around while flapping its wings even looked peaceful.
However, the person beneath it was…….
"Kim Minwoo……."
The scarred man muttered.
The monster who unified District 9, occupied District 8 in a single day, and then declared it his territory.
He had set foot in District 7.
＊ ＊ ＊
'Seeing how rumors are spreading as soon as we arrive…….'
Kim Minwoo chuckled inwardly.
'Shadow's information network, it's running properly.'
Hostile presences could be felt from all over.
Gazes peeking through window cracks, presences hiding in the darkness of alleys, shadows looking down from rooftops.
District 7 was different from District 8. Their wariness was sharp, and their level of armament was noticeably higher.
'I wonder if there's a sniper too?'
Ifrin.
The sniper ranked 3rd in District 2.
That name brushed past his mind.
Hayang's warmth spread from his shoulder.
Diamond Earth attribute.
Physical defense increased by 200%.
On top of that, a state where he had even double-drank highest-tier potions.
At the very least, he wouldn't be sent to the afterlife in a single hit.
'Once I find them, catching them is a piece of cake.'
Kim Minwoo purposefully walked out into the middle of a plaza with an open view. An empty space without a single place to hide. The best hunting ground for a sniper.
At that moment.
Merhen raised her hand.
Jjeojeok—!
"H-hiik!"
A scream erupted from among the crowd.
It was that rookie who had been trembling violently in the tavern earlier.
The one who had run away from District 8.
Just as he hurriedly turned around to run away.
Jjeojeojeojeok—!!!
Ice surged from the tips of his toes.
It wasn't coldness. Sensation itself disappeared.
The chill traveling up his calves past his ankles. His knees stiffened. His thighs stiffened. Even when he tried to move, his legs did not listen.
"A-ah……."
Only when the ice rose up to his waist did the fear wash over him.
The tips of his fingers turned pale blue. His heart beat madly, but he felt even that beating gradually slowing down.
Past his chest and up to his neck.
Even when he tried to breathe, his lungs felt like they were freezing.
“S-save me…….”
His voice cracked.
Tears gathered in his eyes. The tears that flowed down before freezing turned into ice pellets on his cheeks.
“Please, plea-ease—!”
Jjeojeok.
The scream was cut off.
With his terrified expression remaining exactly as it was, the man hardened into an ice statue.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Kung―!
The frozen body collapsed just like that.
The moment it hit the floor, it shattered to pieces.
Flesh and ice fragments mixed together and scattered.
Not a single drop of blood splattered. Because everything was completely frozen.
He died.
In an instant.
“Huh?”
Kim Minwoo tilted his head.
Merhen spoke while tapping her staff.
―It's a face I saw down below.
“Ah, is that so?”
―Yeah. So I killed him. Just as you said, Minwoo.
It was a calm voice.
A tone as if she had stepped on a single bug on the road.
Kim Minwoo nodded.
“You did well. We have to properly show an example.”
―Hehe.
Merhen laughed as if proud.
It was a bright expression that put the alias of Hell Witch to shame.
“…….”
The crowd froze.
What did they just see?
She remembered the guy who ran away, and killed him the moment she saw him. Without a warning, without a conversation, with a single hand gesture.
And that Necromancer?
He praised her, saying ‘You did well’.
As if praising a puppy for bringing a ball.
“This fucking…….”
Someone spat out with a trembling voice.
Kim Minwoo slowly looked around.
The corners of his mouth went up.
“Good.”
While everyone was looking at Kim Minwoo with a tense demeanor.
He declared.
“You must roughly know the details since you've heard the rumors.”
His voice echoed throughout the entire plaza.
“There are two choices.”
His index finger unfolded.
“One, you receive my protection.”
His middle finger unfolded.
“Two.”
Blue flames flickered in the eye sockets of the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
“Refuse, and die.”
Silence.
The sound of someone swallowing their saliva was heard.
Not a single breeze blew. The hundreds in the crowd surrounding the plaza couldn't even breathe properly.
At that moment.
Taang—!!
A blue bullet flew in like a thunderbolt.
The rooftop of a building.
The flash spewed from the sniper's muzzle pierced straight toward the middle of Kim Minwoo's forehead.
Time felt like it had slowed down.
Before the crowd's screams could even erupt.
Seueuk—.
Olivia turned into a blood mist.
Red particles wrapped around the bullet.
Its trajectory wavered. But it did not stop.
If it were an ordinary bullet, that would have been enough. But this was different. A sniper bullet condensed with mana. It still flew in, piercing through the blood mist.
Jjeojeok—!
Merhen's hand moved.
The bullet inside the blood mist froze in an instant.
Blue frost covered the surface of the bullet.
Its speed decreased drastically.
Peok!
Cedric's spear tip accurately thrust at the bullet.
The frozen bullet bounced off.
The moment it was falling while spinning in the empty air.
Hwiiing—!
Vulcan's whip cut through the empty air.
High-heat flames wrapped around the bullet.
He slammed it down onto the floor just like that.
Kung.
A melted lump of metal sent up smoke over the cracked stone floor.
One second.
That was all.
“…….”
The plaza froze.
What did they just see?
It was a snipe.
Someone aimed for Kim Minwoo's life.
And it wasn't an ordinary snipe either. A special bullet imbued with mana. A power that would send most A-rank Hunters to the afterlife in a single shot.
But…….
‘It was blocked?’
The coordination of the four Legion Commanders.
The blood mist wavered its trajectory, the ice killed its speed, the spear bounced it off, and the whip finished it.
It was a coordination with no room to breathe.
It was as natural as if they had practiced it hundreds of times. No, they might actually have done so.
Kim Minwoo's gaze stared intently at the rooftop.
Four Legion Commanders.
A single bullet that required those four to join forces to block.
‘Ifrin. It must be him.’
He would have to be at least a powerhouse of District 2 to show that level of power.
The corners of his mouth went up coldly.
“Find the bastard who shot the gun. And kill him.”
The Legion Commanders began to move.