Chapter 24. The Deal (5)

"The battle hasn't been over for long."

Yeonwoo bent down and smoothed the blood-stained soil with his hand.

At the same time, he checked the traces left on the trees and rocks.

Anyone could see his professional approach.

"Five hours? No, about six hours. It seems to have been about half a day."

"Half a day, huh."

Kahn muttered softly.

Doil asked Yeonwoo with a slightly worried look.

"Did these people succeed?"

Hidden Pieces, as the name suggests, are Hidden; they only have value when hidden.

They were scattered throughout the tutorial to boost players' morale and keep them focused, preventing them from falling behind.

Therefore, Hidden Pieces discovered within the tutorial would never activate again in the same session.

If other players had found the Harugan's Nest Hidden Piece?

For Kahn and Doil, who needed Harugan's Crown, they would be in a dire situation.

Especially, Kahn and Doil hadn't told Yeonwoo yet, but they needed more than just the crown.

They had something else to gain using the crown.

It was an essential item for the two, who were planning a major operation.

Thus, the intrusion of others was bad news.

However, Yeonwoo stood up, examined the traces further, and gave them a reassuring answer.

"No. There are signs of entry, but no signs of exit. And it seems that the ones who came here didn't come specifically to find this place."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Look here."

Yeonwoo pointed to a deep indentation in the ground.

"This is a sign that someone was dragged away forcefully. It seems the lizardmen lured players here with some kind of bait."

"What does that mean?"

"Whatever happened after that, no one knows."

"Hmm."

Kahn and Doil only frowned, saying nothing.

Even without Yeonwoo mentioning it, they could picture what had happened.

Monsters are not just simple prey for players. Sometimes, they become predators and hunt players.

This was the monsters' territory, and they knew the terrain much better.

Naturally, there would be various traps. This incident was likely an extension of such events.

"Damn it."

Fortunately, Kahn only cursed.

He didn't seem to have any intention of getting involved in this matter.

'Simple as he seems, he can be quite level-headed when he needs to be.'

Yeonwoo, who had previously thought of Kahn as simple, nodded silently.

If Kahn had let his emotions cloud his judgment here, Yeonwoo would have returned the token he received as a down payment and left.

As a brother, Kahn was probably composing himself for Doil's sake.

Then, Yeonwoo noticed that Doil, who was usually deep in thought and emotionally reserved, had a slightly stiff expression.

Doil, noticing Yeonwoo's gaze, relaxed his expression.

He asked with a glance.

A look that asked if there was a problem.

Yeonwoo narrowed his eyes but eventually shook his head, saying nothing.

At that moment.

"Annoying, but we can't rush it. Cain."

Yeonwoo turned his head at the call sign.

"Why?"

"We haven't told you about this place yet, right?"

Yeonwoo nodded silently.

Since he had been pretending not to know, he had to continue doing so.

He also needed to know the information and plans they had.

Kahn said with a deeply serious look.

"This is Harugan's Nest."

"Nest?"

"Yes. The place where the chief of the lizardman tribes we've been dealing with so far, the chief of chiefs, the king—whatever you want to call it—resides."

"Sounds tough."

"Tough. Extremely. Even if Doil and I go in, we can't handle it."

A lair with a boss monster that even the third and eleventh-ranked players in the tutorial can't clear.

Yeonwoo asked casually.

"What if I join?"

"Even then... the situation would change a bit, but it would still be tough. There's a female inside, in addition to the male. She's the real deal."

Fortunately, Kahn and Doil seemed to have a good grasp of the information about Harugan's Nest, as expected.

"I can guarantee this. No matter how crazy we go, we can't defeat them with just the three of us. We'd only end up dying a dog's death."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Steal the item."

"Steal?"

"Yeah."

Kahn nodded heavily.

"The male guards the outside, and the female guards the inside. While I keep the male occupied, you need to distract the female, even for a moment. Then, Doil will steal the crown on her head."

"What happens after that?"

"Obviously, we have to run as fast as we can."

Kahn chuckled, as if asking what was so obvious.

"The female is incredibly strong. You can't handle her alone. So, just provoke her, don't engage directly."

"Got it."

Yeonwoo nodded silently.

Kahn's eyes widened slightly.

"What, you're taking it so easily?"

"Since we already agreed to do this, what's the problem?"

Kahn scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Well, I thought I was giving you the hardest job. I thought you'd take the male."

"If the situation turns bad, I can pull out immediately. Don't worry. I keep my promises. But in exchange, I won't be able to get the other rewards we agreed on, so I expect some compensation."

Yeonwoo's words made Kahn chuckle.

"That's only natural. Anyway, I have a good eye for people. I knew you'd understand the task and help accurately."

Yeonwoo crossed his arms, as if annoyed, and snorted.

After all, he had carried out countless missions on the African battlefield.

This was just an extension of that.

If there was a difference, it was that he was a soldier following orders from a superior back then, but now he was more like a mercenary working for pay.

"Let's start then."

Kahn drew his sword from his waist.

Swish!

The blade glinted ominously red in the sunlight.

* * *

Yeonwoo and the others advanced in a pin formation with Kahn leading the way.

At that moment.

[You have entered the field.]

[Hidden Piece, 'Harugan's Nest' discovered. You have earned 500 public points.]

Rustle!

The grass rustled, and a lizardman patrolling the nest's perimeter shouted.

"Chirik! Humans! Humans!"

From that moment, Yeonwoo and the others began to dash in a straight line, pushing off the ground forcefully.

Harugan was the king of the lizardmen.

Naturally, the royal palace would have many guards to protect the king.

Each of them was a top warrior among the lizardmen.

The skills of the ones blocking their path were far beyond those they had faced before.

Clang!

While attempting to break through, the male, Harugan, appeared and roared.

"Kaaah! Humans! How dare humans invade my territory! I will never forgive you!"

Harugan was about twice the size of a regular 2-meter-tall lizardman.

His scales shimmered blue.

A scimitar dripped with blood.

His roars exuded a formidable presence.

[A hidden boss monster, Harugan (Lizard King), has appeared.]

[Hidden Quest / King of the Lizardmen]

Content: In Sector E, there are five kings who rule the forest. Harugan is the king of the lizardmen who rule the northern swamp. Defeat Harugan and break through the guards.

Reward: Harugan's Crown, Blue Scaled Sword, Lair Ownership.

Clang!

'Monster. Really.'

Yeonwoo frowned deeply as he watched Harugan, whose mere presence could fill a sensitive sensory area.

The quest window appeared, but he didn't even notice it.

Boom!

'Too big.'

This overwhelming pressure was something he had never experienced before.

Not even when he first entered the tutorial.

It felt like the first time he was deployed to the African battlefield.

His right hand, gripping the greatsword, was drenched in cold sweat from the tension.

Even though Harugan was at a considerable distance, it felt as if he were right in front of him.

When they first encountered Harugan, they were all on edge. Some of his companions were intimidated.

The pressure Harugan exerted was that intense.

It made them feel insignificant, filled with fear and dread. Even clenching their teeth and trying to push away the fear, it was hard to calm their trembling legs.

Yeonwoo understood what his brother had felt.

Even though they had broken through to Sector E, this was the first time they had encountered such a 'different' strong opponent.

The killing intent that stimulated one's instincts was that terrifying.

But.

'I'm tired of this.'

Yeonwoo didn't cower; instead, he gave his eyes a fierce look.

Suddenly, the aura around him pushed back some of Harugan's presence.

Whoosh!

"…!"

Harugan, who had been roaring, suddenly stiffened. His gaze instinctively focused on Yeonwoo.

Harugan's instincts told him that this masked figure was a true warrior, one who had roamed countless battlefields and carried a killing intent.

"I will kill you, human!"

Harugan gripped his scimitar tightly and charged.

With a body over 2 meters tall, he charged like a raging bull, his killing intent even more terrifying as it swept through like a storm.

He moved so fast that some of the lizardmen in front of him were kicked by his feet.

But Yeonwoo, who had been tempered by countless battles, didn't back down.

At that moment, Kahn lunged forward.

Swish!

Clang!

The scimitar and Kahn's sword clashed.

Sparks flew, and a hot magical wind blew.

Harugan's expression twisted.

"Ingaan, get out of the way! You're not my match!"

"Sorry, but I'm not the same as before!"

Kahn laughed coldly and pushed the scimitar back forcefully.

He had already clashed with Harugan once and retreated when it became dangerous, so he was familiar with Harugan's combat pattern.

Harugan's large body staggered slightly and retreated.

His expression twisted even more as he swung his scimitar horizontally with all his might to catch Kahn.

But Kahn's stats had increased significantly since the first clash.

He didn't back down easily.

They clashed again head-on.

Boom!

Kahn was pushed back. White steam rose from his tensed muscles, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He exhaled a rough, pungent breath through his clenched teeth.

But Kahn couldn't help but laugh.

He felt that Harugan was indeed strong, but it wasn't as hopeless as before.

A dark desire to clash with him, no matter how difficult, rose within him.

However, Kahn suppressed the desire.

Now was not the time to indulge his competitive spirit.

He needed to create an opening for Yeonwoo and Doil to break through the entrance.

Kahn pretended to clash with Harugan again but slipped to the side, and Harugan, with his eyes rolling in rage, turned his body sharply to catch him.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Indeed, even if monsters had high intelligence, they were still monsters.

Kahn narrowly avoided Harugan and led him towards the group of lizardmen.

Harugan's wild swings with his scimitar caused three lizardmen to be torn apart.

The guards pleaded with their king to calm down, but Kahn kept attacking and retreating, effectively tying up Harugan and the guards.

The entrance to the nest became chaotic.

Meanwhile.

Yeonwoo and Doil took advantage of the confusion to pass through to the inner part of the nest.

* * *

There were other guards in the corridors of the nest.

But as they appeared, they were felled by Yeonwoo's greatsword, their brows pierced and bodies falling backward.

The two didn't exchange a single word as they broke through.

Doil, who followed Kahn like an older brother, was worried about him but remained silent, focusing on his task.

He knew that the faster he stole the crown, the higher the chances of Kahn's survival.

Thus, the two reached the deepest part of the nest, the queen's lair.

What they saw there was.

"H-Human!"

"Please, save me! P-Please!"

"H-Help... Help me! Human!"

Limbs torn and scattered, heads with expressions of agony, bloodstains and flesh everywhere—a scene of cannibalism as gruesome as it gets.

And.

Humans chained like livestock, trapped in pens.

It was a human farm.