Chapter 94 : Fugitive
Chapter 94: Fugitive
Whoooosh...
The sound of something slicing through the wind reached their ears first.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
An instant later, the ground became covered in arrows like the back of a hedgehog.
“Get down!”
Yohan shouted urgently.
There were several ways to respond to an ambush under normal circumstances.
But when surrounded by numerous powerful enemies deep within hostile territory like this...
There was only one answer.
Run.
[Sambok activates the Unique Ability ‘Celestial Black Cloud’!]
“Hmph. You'll need another hundred years before you're worthy of entering my domain, insignificant creatures.”
BOOOOOOM!
A cloud of black flames spread across the sky.
The arrows were blocked by the cloud.
Oh.
The little guy was finally earning his keep.
At long last, some of the money spent on dog treats had paid off.
That stopped the archers for the moment.
But it was only the beginning.
“They repaid Baron Helion's kindness with betrayal!”
“Don't let them escape! Throw everything you have at them and kill them!”
[Linesper activates the Intermediate Skill ‘Chain Lightning’!]
[Intermediate Scroll ‘Frozen Earth’ is activated!]
A noble's territory was filled with countless barriers and magical formations prepared for emergencies.
“Close the encirclement!”
As soldiers armed with spears and shields charged in, the situation rapidly spiraled out of control.
Yohan glanced toward Riley.
“…….”
Between her split jaws, a crimson tongue flicked in and out.
Had she already been infected back on the cruise ship?
Or had she been devoured after arriving in the Empire?
Either way...
They'd been completely outplayed.
After all, no one had expected two Episodes to overlap.
Once the countless factions realized what was happening...
The entire situation would descend into utter chaos.
“Hoee! The Sea Otter Squad shall establish the ‘Maginot Fortress’!”
“So we're finally using it, Squad Leader!”
The pitiful little stronghold they had built by piling up seashells collected over time.
BOOM!
Naturally...
A single spell shattered it to pieces.
“Hoeeee!?”
After tossing the sobbing sea otters back into Subspace, Yohan sprinted toward the exit.
[Bloodline Spell ‘Blood Fog’ is activated!]
A crimson mist of blood obscured everyone's vision.
[Lowest-tier Skill ‘Sleet’ is activated!]
Snow covered the ground, turning it into a slippery sheet of ice.
“Just a little farther!”
Lagerseh encouraged everyone while casting buffs.
“Kuhahaha! Is there no stronger warrior? It seems today is not the day this body journeys to Valhalla!”
Rodbrock swung both of his axes, carving open a path.
Having fought together countless times, everyone instinctively played their role even in a situation like this.
Among them, Scarlet's Blood Threads were overwhelming.
She single-handedly incapacitated over fifty soldiers.
And even hunted down three mages.
“There's a High Blood Sorcerer!”
“T-The territory's mages were defeated so effortlessly...!”
“The knights can't even advance!”
After absorbing Infinite Greed and reaching the 8-Star Rank of the Second Moon, Scarlet had become impossible for ordinary experts to stop.
“Remember this well. This is the dignity of a daughter of the Juliard Family and the Second President of the Vampire Girl Scouts.”
Opening her parasol, Scarlet walked forward gracefully.
It looked far too leisurely to be called an escape.
Yet not a single person dared pursue her.
“Urgh!”
“What kind of ability is this...?!”
The knights trapped within Arachne's Nest were too busy struggling to tear through the spiderwebs.
Thanks to that...
A glimmer of hope appeared.
They were almost there.
The moment they broke through the gate, a broad avenue stretched before them.
If they could cover another kilometer...
They would disappear into the maze-like city.
But—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of cavalry charging from behind echoed through the streets.
The synergy between knights possessing the Magic Resistance trait and warhorses enhanced by layers of magical buffs far exceeded imagination.
“This is the end, rats!”
The knight leading the charge leveled his enormous lance.
A heavily armored knight charging at full speed.
Being caught by that wouldn't simply hurt.
It would be fatal.
Just then—
“My only rival... is the person I'll become tomorrow.”
A familiar voice rang out.
Crackle.
Materialized light shimmered through the darkness.
The pure white mist that drove away the night created the illusion that dawn itself had arrived.
“What nonsense are you spouting, you lunatic?! Move, or I'll trample you flat!”
The knight shouted a warning.
But the man remained completely immersed in his own dramatic speech.
“Dream boldly. Even if those dreams shatter, their fragments will remain magnificent!”
The authority of Spirituality obtained through Equivalent Exchange with the World.
['Aether Blade' is activated!]
A white arc tore through the air.
BOOOOOOM!
The instant sword and lance collided...
The charging knight was thrown from his horse.
There was only one person capable of delivering cringe-inducing speeches in the middle of a life-and-death situation.
“Seo Changhee!”
The protagonist of this world had arrived.
＊
A troll who possessed ninety-five percent self-sabotage and five percent decisive brilliance.
Oddly enough...
During this run, that ratio had changed.
Granted, it was only around eighty-twenty.
But still.
That was a huge improvement.
Especially in a situation as critical as this.
Landing a decisive blow here was nothing short of a game-saving relief pitcher.
“No need to thank me. Saving talented extras is simply a protagonist's duty.”
Seo Changhee brushed his hair back.
As an added bonus, he quietly muttered,
'I guess this world really can't function without me.'
Never mind.
Yohan took back every bit of gratitude he had just felt.
Hopefully the guy would eat spoiled food tonight, suffer from food poisoning, and live a long, miserable life.
“You know what? Evelyn took care of everyone chasing us! They probably all taste red by now!”
Well, well.
Would you look at that.
He even brought a companion.
A young woman wearing a shark-shaped hoodie with rows of sharp teeth approached them.
A blonde in her early twenties.
The kind of fashion only someone completely out of their mind would wear.
Curiously, her eyes were different colors.
One crimson.
One sapphire blue.
Her mismatched eyes briefly swept over Yohan.
“You know what? Is this big brother Kang Yohan? The one you've talked about until your mouth practically wore out?”
“Anyone hearing that would misunderstand. I only mentioned him once or twice in passing.”
“That's strange. Evelyn remembers you talking about him every moment you were awake! I even heard you mention him in your sleep a few times.”
The girl called Evelyn tilted her head.
“And who exactly is this shark girl?”
“She deeply resonated with my ideals and begged to travel alongside me. Her abilities weren't bad, so I graciously accepted her as my companion.”
Hmm.
The only 'ideals' that idiotic troll had were his narcissistic delusions about being the light and salt of the world.
And she deeply resonated with that?
Honestly...
It would've been far more comforting if she'd simply been an obsessive fangirl captivated by his Spirituality-enhanced appearance.
Yohan activated the Eye of the Prophet.
[Evelyn Teddybear]
Class: Shark Shaman
Star Rank: 2nd Moon (月), 7th Star (星)
Unique Ability: Path of Water
Strength: 35 Agility: 25 Mana: 25
Physical Defense: 85
Magic Defense: 80
Traits: [Whisper of the Waves] [Rare Communion]
Description: Ever since childhood, Evelyn has shared an extraordinary bond with sharks. Her ability to communicate with and command them is unmatched.
[Unable to access special information.]
Wow.
Yohan couldn't help swallowing his admiration.
A 7-Star Rank of the Second Moon.
Her stats were excellently balanced.
More importantly, she possessed two Rare Traits.
'Whisper of the Waves is the ultimate trait for manipulating water. And Rare Communion specializes in taming and commanding high-level summons... if I remember correctly.'
Meanwhile, he was working himself to death raising each of his companions one by one.
Yet this damn protagonist...
Good fortune practically dripped from the heavens even while he stood still.
It infuriated Yohan that someone this talented had simply fallen into Seo Changhee's lap.
That aside...
'He's gotten much stronger too.'
Seo Changhee had already reached the 10-Star Rank of the Second Moon.
The protagonist's blessing was obvious.
Normally, no one could possibly possess stats like those at this stage.
“For now, let's leave. The spiderwebs blocking the city gate won't hold much longer.”
At Scarlet's words, everyone hurried deeper into the city.
The Hestia Empire was famous for its exceptional public security.
Even at night, ordinary citizens wandered the streets without fear.
Many shops remained open until dawn.
The group settled into the city's finest inn, located in the heart of the capital.
If pursuit teams searched for them...
They would naturally start with the shabby inns on the outskirts.
So Yohan deliberately did the opposite.
A lavish meal soon filled the table.
Warm soup.
Roasted meat.
Fresh white bread generously spread with butter.
Various cheeses and fruits.
“Kuhahaha! After starving for so long, I was beginning to feel hungry! This should at least take the edge off!”
The Viking warrior, whose fuel consumption was worse than a K-9 self-propelled howitzer, immediately grabbed the largest piece of meat.
Perhaps the Hunger debuff he'd received back in Daejeon was still lingering.
“Hehe! Jungbok likes meat! Meat!”
“Hoee! The Sea Otter Army only served seafood bibim sauce, braised pollock, and stir-fried anchovies with shishito peppers! The Division Commander's combat rations are truly magnificent!”
Sambok and the sea otters happily stuffed bread and cheese into their mouths.
While everyone filled their stomachs...
Yohan and Seo Changhee exchanged information about everything that had happened so far.
“Parasites...”
After hearing the explanation, Seo Changhee frowned.
“The Administration Bureau still hasn't announced it publicly. Whether they're panicking... or deliberately hiding it for entertainment... Tch.”
“If members of the Empire's upper nobility are already infected, then the difficulty has increased dramatically.”
“We'll just have to identify them one by one. The problem is that, under these circumstances, making contact with the useful factions won't be easy.”
As wanted criminals...
They couldn't leisurely visit nobles anymore.
Nor could Yohan use the Eye of the Prophet on everyone he met.
That eye consumed an enormous amount of mental stamina.
“More importantly... what are you doing here? You weren't seriously waiting outside Baron Helion's territory just to rescue me, were you?”
“Actually... I came because I wanted to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Yeah. Apparently a rather troublesome Gate has appeared in the Agamemnon Mountain Range. The Empire has already dispatched several subjugation forces, but they've failed every time. This time they're even planning to send in the Knights.”
The Gate in the Agamemnon Mountain Range...
Yohan remembered it.
It was one of the large-scale Gates that had appeared within the Empire around the beginning of the Second Episode.
If someone had chosen a sword or bow class...
This was practically a mandatory destination.
Since Seo Changhee mainly wielded a sword...
He was probably after that item.
“The fact that you're asking me to come means Hunters have been granted permission to participate?”
“The Empire absolutely has to prevent an Outbreak. And right now, they can't afford to turn away even a single capable fighter.”
Even the formerly isolationist Empire had significantly relaxed its restrictions now that the Third Episode had become the primary battlefield.
With the Administrators openly applying pressure...
Even the Emperor couldn't resist.
The fact that outsiders were already being accepted through hunting permits at the harbor was proof enough.
“If I help you... what do I get in return? Honestly, I don't really need the items that drop there.”
“No.”
“You'll need this.”
At Yohan's response, Seo Changhee pulled an extraordinary-looking item from Subspace.
A platinum scale engraved with ancient Eastern mystical inscriptions.
Could that be...?
[Scale of the Great Merchant]
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Description: Once only, allows you to exchange an item from another class into an item belonging to your own class. (Thanks to the Great Merchant's special effect, the exchanged item's rank increases by +1.)
Whoosh!
Yohan instantly reached out like a swallow skimming the surface of water.
Unfortunately...
Seo Changhee withdrew the scale half a beat faster.
“Tch.”
“So? What's your answer?”
What answer?
This wasn't merely an attractive proposal.
It was irresistible.
'There's almost no chance the pursuit force will chase us all the way into the mountain range.'
More importantly...
Because the Gate's difficulty was so high, earning merit there would provide an opportunity to establish connections with the Empire's various factions.
And perhaps...
Even clear their names.
“I've heard the scenery in the mountains is especially beautiful this time of year.”
A chance to obtain mage-exclusive equipment.
There was no way he could refuse.