Chapter 144

"Tsk. Some fool has let them break the barrier." the old man, who was leisurely resting on the sofa, clicked his tongue and turned his gaze towards the window.

"What?!" At his words, Hwang Dongsuk, sitting in front of him completely wasted, sobered up instantly.

"Shit! Are they already after us?!" He jumped up and frantically looked out the window.

The blood-red sky. The streets covered in blood and corpses. The undead walking on them all moving in the same direction. It was all evidence that outsiders had entered the village. Hwang Dongsuk gritted his teeth and glared at the old man.

"This wasn't part of the deal! You said you erased all traces, what is this?!"

"Calm down. There are only two of them who entered the village. It's just that they happened to find the Demonic Spirit that was the medium for the illusion, so the illusion was broken."

Hearing the old man's explanation, Hwang Dongsuk's face relaxed again.

"What? Only two?"

"Yes, two. They're probably just hunters passing by."

"Heh heh. Is that so?" He licked his lips with a wicked smile.

"Good. If they're hunters, they'll probably have some weapons on them, right?"

They had managed to escape from the prison, but it was still too early to relax. Although they had looted as many weapons as possible from the guards, most of his subordinates were still unarmed. It was imperative to secure as many weapons as possible before the pursuers found them.

"What's their level?"

"Well. They found the Demonic Spirit I planted in your subordinates, so at least one of them must be a magic-type hunter above B-rank."

"A magic-type above B-rank?"

Hwang Dongsuk rolled his eyes and started calculating in his head.

'Hmm. Of course, they can't be S-rank.'

S-rank hunters were like walking precious gems. They weren't the type to leisurely pass through a remote village like this. The probability of those high-value individuals appearing here just to catch some villains was close to zero. And for the same reason, even A-ranks were too valuable to become bounty hunters.

"Heh heh. Then it's just two B-ranks at most. Magic-types are a bit tricky, but they can't win against overwhelming numbers."

Hwang Dongsuk called one of his subordinates waiting outside and gave him an order.

"Hunters have infiltrated. Gather everyone who's resting in the houses. There's a chance they're two B-ranks, so overwhelm them with numbers."

"Yes, sir! I'll relay the message!"

Hwang Dongsuk smirked at the sight of his subordinate stiffening at his command and hurriedly running outside.

"That bastard. Finally got some discipline. Guess you need to see someone die to learn your lesson."

Even outside the prison, Hwang Dongsuk, a mere C-rank Awakened, still reigned as their king. But this hierarchy was a precarious balancing act that could collapse at any moment. The only reason the villains still followed Hwang Dongsuk was that he was the older brother of the S-rank villain, Hwang Dongsoo.

"Hey, aren't you going to help?" Hwang Dongsuk, who was about to leave after sending his subordinate off with new orders, suddenly turned around and asked.

The old man, still leisurely sitting on the sofa, gazing out the window with an unreadable expression, replied nonchalantly without even looking at him.

"As you can see, I'm not fond of physical exertion. Call me when you've dealt with the bounty hunters and I'll recast the illusion on the village."

"...Alright." Hwang Dongsuk looked slightly displeased but decided to not argue. He could already hear his subordinates gathering outside at his call.

"Everyone, grab your weapons! There are only two of them!"

After Hwang Dongsuk left.

Bzzzz! 

A bee flew in and landed on the window sill in front of the old man, who was still gazing into the distance with an enigmatic look.

"...You've arrived." Finally, a faint smile appeared on the old man's lips.

* * *

[Screeeech!]

"Hmm?"

Suho couldn't help but be surprised. Suddenly, a blue aura erupted from the Demonic Spirits', or rather, the villain's body, accompanied by a scream.

Thud!

The villain fainted on the spot . Beru, with a grave expression, muttered,

[The Demonic Spirit inhabiting this human's body has been annihilated.]

"Why so suddenly, is there any reason?"

[It seems there was some kind of restriction placed on it by a demonic shaman. The beings of the Spirit Realm are skilled in such sorcery.]

"That means there's a high-ranking Demonic Spirit nearby." Suho nodded gravely at Beru's words.

'Come to think of it, the one who created my leveling system was also a sorcerer from the Spirit Realm.'

The Great Spellcaster Candiaru.

The leveling system he designed could also be considered a form of sorcery. Even if not to that extent, a high-ranking Demonic Spirit could easily place a restriction spell that would kill someone if they performed a certain action.

'This... I came to catch a few villains, but it seems I've stumbled upon something much bigger.'

"Sung Suho!" Just then, Kang Taeshik's urgent cry came from the front.

"Come quickly and help! More and more undead are swarming in!"

With the Demonic Spirit's illusion dispelled, Yamri Village started resembling a town taken straight out of an apocalyptic movie. If they were ordinary undead, a B-rank hunter like Kang Taeshik wouldn't break a sweat, but these were strange creatures that could reattach their severed limbs. And what was even worse:

"It seems these undead were originally the residents of this village! The villains must have slaughtered them all while taking over the village!" Kang Taeshik's expression was one of disbelief and shock as he spoke.

They had assumed that the villains wouldn't harm the citizens, keeping them as hostages in case their location was discovered. But that was a very civilian-like perspective.

"Damn it. These guys are crazier than I expected. This is what makes them true villains. And villains, regardless of their rank, should all be killed." Muttering this with a chilling smile, Kang Taeshik glared ahead. 

Then, slashing at the undead's limbs, he shouted towards Suho. "Sung Suho! Usually, in cases like this, the one controlling these things is hiding nearby! Use your Summoned beast to find him!"

But there was no need for that. The one controlling them had already revealed himself. Suddenly, villains appeared from all directions and began attacking Suho and Kang Taeshik.

"Hahaha! So you were all hiding around here!" Despite facing an even greater crisis, Kang Taeshik's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Then, he turned to Suho with a cold smile. "Sung Suho, you did well. Your role ends here. From now on, it's every man for himself."

"...?" Before Suho could react.

Swoosh!

Kang Taeshik vanished from sight as if he were never there. Suho's eyes widened at the bizarre sight and Beru gritted his teeth.

'So that's why he was so relaxed even in this situation. He was hiding an ability like that.'

But Kang Taeshik didn't use his stealth skill to run away.

"Ack?!"

"What, what the?! Cough...!" Screams erupted from the villains who were attacking Kang Taeshik alongside the undead.

And then, fountains of blood spurted out.

"An assassin!"

"This is crazy! We weren't told about this!"

"They said, he's a magic-type!"

The villains, who had been emboldened by their numerical advantage were now thrown into disarray. But then…

"Tsk. An assassin? You're nothing." The magic-type villain standing behind them unleashed a fireball at the villains who were bleeding out.

Fwoosh! Boom! 

"Aaaaaa!"

"Why me...!"

There was no loyalty among villains; they had merely escaped together out of convenience. The villains caught in the explosion were engulfed in flames and rolled in agony on the ground.

But it was effective.

"...Ugh!" A brief cry of pain escaped Kang Taeshik. And along with it, a translucent silhouette engulfed in flames appeared in the empty air.

"There he is! Kill him!"

The villain who had cast the fireball pointed triumphantly, and the other villains, grinning wickedly, launched a full-on attack. But amidst the chaos caused by the stealth ability, they had forgotten about one person.

"...Sillard." At Suho's quiet voice amidst the undead, the being slumbering in the Sea of Death opened its eyes.

[The King of Snow Folk, the Frost Monarch, is watching you.], Suho felt the gaze of that ancient being but still commanded confidently.

"Blessing of the Frost." 

[Blessing: Blessing of the Frost]

[The King of Snow Folk, the Frost Monarch Sillard, has chosen you as his Shaman. The Shaman can summon a blizzard of frost by offering their mana as a sacrifice.]

Fwoosh!

At that moment, a chilling white wind began to swirl around Suho.

[Skill: 'Blizzard of Frost' activated.]

[Mana required: 100 per second.]

The Blizzard of Frost, which had once turned the Facade Island into a glacier, now enveloped Yamri Village.

"What the…!"

"What is this?!"

"A blizzard?!"

As the villains cried out, an intense cold engulfed them. The unbelievably cold ice gripped the legs of those standing on the ground.

"D-damn it! My legs...!" Undead and villains alike, everyone's legs began to freeze.

"...What is this?" Kang Taeshik, his stealth deactivated, looked back at Suho with a bewildered expression. Thanks to the icy wind, the flames that had started to consume his body were now extinguished.

"Using nature-type magic too... You are a Druid after all." Kang Taeshik nodded, convinced that his earlier guess was correct.

And as he turned back to face the villains, his eyes gleamed with a cruel light. Most of them here were low to mid-rank Awakened, so only a few managed to break free from the ice by themselves.

"Now you're all mine."

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!

Kang Taeshik lunged forward, relishing the moment. He mercilessly targeted their vital points.

Necks.

Arteries.

With every swing of his daggers, blood spurted out.

"Uwaaaah!"

"Aaaagh! Run!" The villains, finally freeing their legs from the ice, started to flee in terror. But…

[Debuff: 'Curse of Frost' applied.]

[Attack Speed reduced by 30%.]

[Movement Speed reduced by 30%.]

They were still struggling within the Blizzard of Frost. Kang Taeshik however, recognized as Suho's ally by the Frost Monarch, was unaffected by the debuff. He slaughtered the fleeing villains one by one, laughing cruelly.

"This is why I love fighting humans." Unlike the monsters in dungeons, humans were so easy to kill. He shouted towards Suho with an expression of pure joy.

"Sung Suho! Let me teach you an important lesson as your senior! Remember this. Everyone can die! Even the strongest hunter, that truth remains unchanged..."

Kaboom!

At that moment.

Kang Taeshik's head exploded.

"...You arrogant bastard, acting all high and mighty."

Thud!

The villain who had blown Kang Taeshik's head off with all his magic power gritted his teeth and stomped on his corpse. He continued to trample Kang Taeshik's body repeatedly, shouting,

"That's right, you bastard! Everyone dies! Did you think you were an exception?! Huh?! Muahahaha!" Then, with a ferocious expression, he glared at Suho, the one who had summoned the blizzard, and growled.

"Now there's only one left! Kill..."

But at that moment.

"Arise."

An ominous ripple spread through Kang Taeshik's shadow behind the villain.