Chapter 52

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Bang—!

Amidst the deafening sound of the explosion, Lee Hyun-wook stood firmly on his feet.

The villains stared at him in a daze.

“……”

There were countless questions: how he managed to untie those thick ropes, where the spear that skewered the two orcs came from, and so on. But there was no time to ponder these things. They could sense that this man was not ordinary.

“Damn it, declare the ring!”

At Choi Min-sung's shout, a bald man in a leather jacket clasped his hands together.

Golden light burst from his body, forming a semi-transparent box around a 10 square meter area.

Rumble—!

- A 'Duel Arena' has been declared in this area.

* For 300 seconds, it will be 'isolated' from the outside.

“The ring has been declared.”

The Duel Arena, also known as the 'ring,' was a skill of the combat type. It enclosed a certain space to trap and beat the opponent.

Meanwhile, the spear of Achilles that Lee Hyun-wook had thrown was currently stuck in the body of an orc outside the arena. When he tried to pull it back,

Clank—

it was blocked by the semi-transparent Duel Arena and couldn't be retrieved.

“Wow... Where the hell did that spear come from?”

“Lee Hyun-wook was so kind as to reveal his abilities, so I cleared away all the metal scraps and prepared. But you still had a hidden ace up your sleeve, huh? Hahaha... As expected, you’re thorough.”

“……”

“But, that spear... You can’t pull it out anymore, right? That’s the end of it, isn’t it?”

Choi Min-sung spoke confidently, but he didn’t approach Lee Hyun-wook again. He didn’t rule out the possibility that Lee Hyun-wook might have something else hidden.

Moreover, he noticed the strange phenomenon occurring around Lee Hyun-wook’s body. His skin had turned armor-like, and some kind of aura was surrounding him. It was clear that this was not an ordinary defensive skill.

“Huh? When you said your body was weak because you control things, did you... were you just fooling us?”

Choi Min-sung clutched his head in disbelief.

“But, even if that’s the case, as a controller, you’re challenging us four in this narrow space?”

With that, the four villains all drew their weapons. It seemed that their weapons had not been collected when they were kidnapped, but there were no metal weapons.

“Hahaha—! The situation is getting more interesting?”

The first to charge was a woman, Park Ji-hyun, who looked like she had lost her mind. She leaped over her two comrades and lunged at Lee Hyun-wook with a bone dagger.

“Die—!”

Her movements were incredibly fast, like a cat or a predator hunting.

But...

Sizzle—!

“Ah—!”

A blue whip flew out of nowhere, wrapping around her body. She crashed to the ground, her head hitting the floor first, and her body trembled violently.

“4 on 2! I’m here, you bastards—!”

It was Park Jun-mo. His arms were still tied behind his back, but the electric current extending from his palms moved like a long tail. His control over electricity was clearly improving.

“Damn it! What are you doing? Kill him now!”

Choi Min-sung shouted and launched a 'Magic Missile.'

Whoosh—

Six projectiles flew towards Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo like guided missiles.

“Ah—!”

Park Jun-mo spread his electric whip like a net, neutralizing two of the Magic Missiles.

In contrast, Lee Hyun-wook just stood there.

Boom—Boom—Boom—

The Magic Missiles hit him, but they evaporated around his body.

“What, what is this!”

His entire body was covered by a thick 'Mana Shield,' which had been upgraded by absorbing 'Orihalcon.'

At that moment, a man with a mullet ran up and raised a wooden club towards Lee Hyun-wook’s head.

“Damn—see if you can block this!”

The tip of the club was surrounded by a dark red energy.

‘Weapon Enhancement skill.’

With this applied, the simple wooden club was as heavy as a mace.

Lee Hyun-wook focused Hardening on his left arm and raised his elbow to meet it.

Crack—!

A brutal impact sound echoed, and the club broke.

“I blocked it.”

“...What?”

The man was momentarily stunned.

It was a foolish mistake.

As always, Lee Hyun-wook didn’t miss his chance.

His left foot kicked the man’s neck.

Snap—

A Brazilian kick, infused with all his metal control, shattered the man’s cervical vertebrae.

“Damn you—!”

Lee Hyun-wook spun around and prepared a 'Counter Back Kick' for the bald man approaching from his blind spot. However, the man seemed to anticipate his move and leaped back.

“Phew... You know how to fight, huh?”

The man seemed to have gauged Lee Hyun-wook’s close combat skills and raised his guard.

“After a long time, I need to get into a proper stance. Huh!”

The man closed the distance in an instant and threw two jabs with his left hand.

Lee Hyun-wook took a step back, and the man threw a straight punch with his right hand.

However, Lee Hyun-wook didn’t dodge. Instead, he grabbed the fist heading towards his face.

Click—

“...Oh, you caught it?”

“No, I’m going to crush it.”

“What?”

Crack—!

“Gah—!”

The man’s fist was crushed like a boiled potato. Inside Lee Hyun-wook’s palm, sharp thorns had emerged. He twisted his wrist, further deforming the man’s hand.

Crackle—!

“Gah...”

Lee Hyun-wook swung his right hand at the man, who was now dazed.

Slash—!

His sharp nails cut across the man’s neck.

That was the end.

It took less than 30 seconds for the two men to fall.

“A, a...”

Choi Jun-sung, who was preparing his next spell while facing off against Park Jun-mo, had a dazed expression. He instinctively knew that there was no chance of winning.

Lee Hyun-wook approached him.

“Where is the object generating the barrier?”

“Go to hell, I won’t tell you...”

Before Choi Jun-sung could finish his defiant answer, Lee Hyun-wook slit his throat.

It was a half-beat, no, a full-beat faster than necessary.

“Gah—?”

The man’s expression of disbelief was clear as he fell forward.

‘Unnecessary talk is not good.’

The reason was that the leader, Choi Jun-sung, might have recited a 'mass suicide spell.' Villains often place various 'safety mechanisms' on their members to maintain secrecy. Like the five butchers before, a 'latent spell' that burns the brain could be activated, and leaders like Choi Jun-sung had the authority to trigger it.

In other words, by eliminating such leaders first, it would be possible to interrogate their subordinates.

“Ugh...”

The woman, Park Ji-hyun, who had been knocked out by Park Jun-mo, groaned and stirred.

Lee Hyun-wook grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.

“—Gah!”

“Snap out of it, you’re the only one left.”

“...P, please, spare me!”

At her plea, Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

“If you cooperate, I’ll naturally spare you.”

“Is... is that true?”

From her wild behavior, it seemed she lacked depth of thought. In other words, she would be easy to interrogate.

“Yes, we are soldiers who protect the country. We have no intention of unnecessary killing.”

“Alright, alright, just move your hand...”

Sometimes, a well-intentioned lie is necessary. If bound by morals, it’s impossible to defeat villains who operate outside of them.

A short while later, Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo freed all the people from the prison cells. There were at least 200 of them.

“Now, everyone, please follow us calmly.”

Park Jun-mo led them to a single location. Most were in a panic, but fortunately, no one acted recklessly.

‘Soon, Kim Se-hee will lead the rescue team here.’

In fact, Lee Hyun-wook had left the rest of the troops nearby and ordered them to storm the mall as soon as the aerial bombing ended. This was a third plan that other players, including the Taesan Guild, were unaware of. Lee Hyun-wook had planned all of this before even contacting the Taesan Guild.

“Park Jun-mo, you stay here and protect the civilians while waiting for the rescue team.”

“Yes, understood!”

“And be careful. There are still a few more terrorists, right?”

Before revealing himself as a member of the Taesan Guild, he had entered with four others, but two remained behind. Through interrogating Park Ji-hyun, he learned that one was pretending to be from another guild.

In other words, there were still three more to eliminate.

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

“I’ll destroy the barrier generator and head to the roof.”

“Yes, be careful!”

According to Park Ji-hyun, a 'sacrificial altar' of the Multiracial Black Magic Council was installed in the rooftop garden. In other words, the 'boss monster' and the 'corruption factor' were there.

Lee Hyun-wook immediately entered the mall.

Thanks to the faint sunlight seeping in, he could see to some extent. The interior was a mess, unrecognizable from its original state. Roots sprouted from various places, and non-Earth insects crawled around.

‘It feels like I’ve entered a cave.’

At that moment, three goblins with torches appeared at the end of the corridor.

Squeak! Squeak!

Upon spotting Lee Hyun-wook, they howled and raised their crude arrows. However, they couldn’t fire them. The arrowheads moved backward, piercing their own throats.

Lee Hyun-wook gathered all their metal weapons and continued forward. After that, there were no more monsters blocking his path. It seemed they had all moved towards the steel platoon’s assault after