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90
“Should I just cut off the arms and legs?”
“We’re both busy, so I’ll wrap this up quick.”
The two from the Nesto guild twirled their daggers and approached.
And the moment their eyes met each other’s—
Thump—!
They kicked off the ground and fanned out to either side.
Shhk—!
Agile movements that surged forward as if vanishing from sight.
Whether they had always trained together, their coordination was measured to the millimeter.
Shhk—
Hanbit had already extended his hand toward the ground before the two of them even moved.
Having aimed for the precise moment, he spoke the incantation.
“Fire Burst.”
Boom—!
The dust and smoke that rose with the explosion spread out wide.
Silence settled over this space with blocked sightlines.
Whoosh—!
The heat of flames that grew steadily stronger affected the surroundings as well.
A level of power that could not help but be detected by the enemy.
But that was Hanbit’s intention.
Shhk—!
With the faintest sound of wind, he felt a presence rushing at him.
Gauging the distance, Hanbit drew his body back.
Whomp—!
A sharp gust grazed past just beyond the tip of his nose.
At the same moment, Hanbit’s sword swept through the air.
Fwoom—!
The pale blue-white sword tracing its arc through the flames.
At the end of the sensation of cutting through the smoke, something soft and dull caught on the blade.
Hanbit put force into the motion once more and completed the swing.
Slash—!
A sound of something being severed, and fire blazing alongside it.
Perhaps sensing that something was wrong, the sound of the other companion’s footsteps reached him.
Thud, thud—!
Not in a straight line — the sound of leaping high.
Again reading the direction, Hanbit swung his sword once more.
Clang—!
The enemy’s dagger was imbued with a curse.
But it was a power that held no sway over Hanbit.
Whoosh—!
Even if it was not Saelion’s flame in its complete form, an elemental king was an elemental king.
A curse of that level could be burned away without difficulty.
Crackle—
“What——!”
The transferred flame shattered the enemy’s dagger.
Whoosh—!
Hanbit immediately reached out and seized the invisible enemy’s face.
Then he thrust his sword with full force.
Stab—!
The blade aimed for the space between chin and throat stopped with the sensation of piercing through something.
Hanbit drew his sword back and stepped out beyond the mist.
At that moment.
Whomp—!
Arcade came diving in from above his head.
***
“Got it!”
A cave on the snowy mountainside.
Liwei, who had been running all over the map, found the snow-flower deer.
Such fortune favoring him — he was almost surprised at himself.
Shhk—
A distinctively textured white hide fallen to the ground.
The item Black Dragon had been after — and the one that would decide the competition.
“Did I win?”
He had obtained the material faster than expected.
Black Dragon’s knowledge versus his own specs.
A reasonably fair competition where each side made use of their respective advantages.
Brimming with excitement, Liwei pulled up Black Dragon’s streaming screen that he had kept off.
But.
[It’s an amusing misunderstanding, but I hired them all with my own money.]
For some reason, strange figures could be seen on the broadcast screen.
Nicknames floating above their heads and red lines marked beside them.
Scanning the chat alongside them, Liwei grasped the situation.
The Nesto guild, which had previously attacked Black Dragon, had launched another assault.
And it appeared that quite some time had already passed.
“These filthy bastards……!”
The hand gripping the spear filled with fierce force.
A sacred and fair competition in which no interference was permitted.
The kind of exchange of souls where Black Dragon too engaged with complete seriousness, where they could acknowledge one another.
And yet, maggots rotten with a worthless lust for killing had come to ruin it.
Crunch—!
Grinding his back teeth, Liwei immediately kicked off the ground.
He would kill every last one of the intruders.
It was not mere bluster — it was the decision of a vanguard.
Thud, thud—!
As he tore through the forest at tremendous speed,
he kept checking the broadcast and confirmed that Black Dragon was holding his own.
“Of course. He’d never go down so easily.”
The strategy of obscuring sightlines and suppressing enemies, and the movement that realized it.
It was impossible to think of someone in their mid-fifties in terms of level.
He truly was no ordinary being.
[Boom—!]
Just then, something came charging at Black Dragon from above as he emerged from the smoke.
The name Liwei had seen in the chat floated up in the name tag.
“Arcade… level 160, is it.”
Black Dragon was remarkable, but a level gap of over one hundred translated into a physical limitation.
On top of that, he had been fighting continuously from before, so there was likely not much strength left.
Potions could not replenish mental stamina after all.
[…Phew.]
Hanbit, fortunately still alive, was putting distance between himself and Arcade.
But he had taken a hit to his right shoulder.
“That weapon…….”
Arcade carried a distinctive sword with a curved tip.
At a glance it might look like a toy, but the elements composing the blade were anything but light.
[I wonder at what point he’ll break. Thirty times? Forty? No. Maybe around a hundred?]
Trigger, who had been observing from a distance, smiled and approached.
His face was that of someone so delighted they didn’t know what to do with themselves.
[Rich bastards always have one screw loose.]
Arcade shook his head and readjusted his grip on the sword.
And again kicked off the ground.
[Clang—!]
The curved blade surged forward as if to pin the opponent down.
Black Dragon, with only his left arm remaining, was receiving it with the bare minimum of movement.
A tense situation without even a moment to drink a potion.
The clear intent to avoid vital points at all costs was evident.
[Shhk—! Clang—!]
Under Arcade’s continued assault, Black Dragon was gradually being pushed back.
Just receiving the sword blows in that state was something that defied logic.
[Why can’t you do anything?! Even Black Dragon can’t handle Arcade?]
Trigger’s voice shouting from behind was revolting.
Here was someone who had disrupted the competition, now interfering with the fight as well.
A man who truly deserved to die.
[Clang—!]
Black Dragon, continually driven back, realized he had reached the cliff behind him.
A perfect dead end with no space to roll to either side.
One step.
If Arcade swung his sword just once more, he would fall off the back.
It was not without a chance of survival, but in practice it was close to zero.
“Wait! Don’t kill him!”
Just then, Trigger, who had been watching from behind, approached.
He wore a gleeful smile as he stood beside Arcade.
“You’re about to die by my hand now. How does it feel?”
“At least the respawn will be quick. But you can’t kill me. Even with one fewer arm and leg, you could still win.”
Whoosh—!
Saelion’s flames blazing with the last reserves of strength.
The power was far less than before, but it was more than enough to kill someone like Trigger.
“Ha.”
At the blatant provocation thrown in his face, the corner of Trigger’s mouth twisted.
He raised the sword in his hand and spoke.
“Can’t you see the situation? If I just thrust this sword straight out right now, you simply fall to your death.”
“That’s just dying from the fall. You resort to methods like this because you have no real ability.”
“…….”
When the plain truth was stated, this time Trigger’s expression hardened.
After glaring for a moment, he looked at Arcade.
“Can you cut off the limbs without killing him?”
“Possible, for an added fee.”
“I’ll pay double. Do it properly.”
“Generous, being so wealthy.”
Accepting the demand, Arcade gave a nod.
He switched his grip on the sword and took aim at Black Dragon’s leg.
“I’ll cut that off first then. Don’t kill him, so just hold st——”
Boom boom boom boom—!
In an instant, a blue shockwave swallowed Hanbit’s field of vision.
His eyes went wide and he stopped in place.
A situation that unfolded in less than a single second.
The snow that had been piled up before him scattered away somewhere.
And on top of that.
“What is this…….”
Neither Arcade nor Trigger, who had been standing right there just a moment ago, could be seen.
They had vanished — in the most literal sense of the word.
“Made it in time.”
Just then, a voice carried from a distance.
Turning his head, a man wearing a hood emerged from the edge of the forest.
“…Liwei?”
-What the—;
-Liwei helped him?
-So cool;
-That skill’s firepower is insane. Lol.
-The vanguard has descended.
-A bit different from a certain someone;
Liwei’s assistance — something Hanbit had not anticipated in the slightest.
Genuinely stunned, Hanbit stood frozen, and Liwei walked over at a leisurely pace.
“The competition got dirtied by trash. I want to hunt them down to their respawn point and kill them again.”
Liwei’s furrowed expression carried what sounded like sincere anger.
It seemed he did not care in the slightest about making an enemy of the Nesto guild.
Shhk—
Just then, Liwei pulled something from his inventory.
A hide of white so beautiful it was striking.
The special material from the snow-flower deer — the subject of their competition.
‘How quickly did he obtain this?’
Even with Hanbit’s knowledge, finding the deer took time.
The only factor that could bypass all of that was one thing.
Luck overwhelmingly superior to anyone else’s.
-?
-He already got it?
-Insane.
-We lost.
-Because of those Nesto bastards;
As the viewers reacted with surprise, Hanbit thought it over.
It would take quite a long time for the snow-flower deer to appear again.
Meaning he would have to purchase the material Liwei had obtained.
Given that there was nothing on the exchange either, he would probably have to pay quite a price.
He had certainly thought that.
Crunch—
Just then, Liwei took one step closer.
And held out the hide as he spoke.
“Take it. This competition is void.”
