Chapter 76

As the undead Yunos lunged with his deadly blade, carried by the wind of magic, Robin Hood's keen eyes, honed to perfection as a master archer, caught the irregular movements of Yunos.

"!"

A knife was thrown from Robin Hood's fingertips.

Since the Dancing Blade requires the creation of a trajectory with wind magic beforehand, the patterns of movement that can be derived from it are limited.

This characteristic was particularly pronounced in the undead, which merely mimicked the movements of Yunos's combat actions from his life.

Robin Hood had once broken Yunos's Dancing Blade head-on.

Because of this, he could completely read the complex movements of the Dancing Blade and throw the knife at the point where the trajectory would lead.

The Dancing Blade, which moves according to the wind created by the user, cannot be stopped suddenly.

Yunos's eyes caught the blade positioned in a place where it could not be defended.

However, a response was impossible.

The knife pierced Yunos's temple.

Yunos's hollow, white eyes, with their prominent veins, widened in shock.

In the instant Yunos's movements stopped, Robin Hood drew his bow and released an arrow.

He aimed for the right knee, left arm, and right eye.

No matter how strong the undead's vitality, if their joints or sensory organs were destroyed, they would become easy targets.

It should have been the perfect timing to hit.

But Yunos immediately turned his body and swung his sword.

"Wind, scatter!"

The wind that arose deflected the arrow's trajectory.

One arrow that couldn't be deflected pierced Yunos's abdomen.

Yunos pulled out the arrow with his bare hands, broke it with one hand, and dropped it to the ground.

Seeing this, Robin Hood spat and kept his distance.

(Compared to other undead, this one is far too resilient...!)

Robin Hood's arrows, even if blocked by armor, had enough power to crack bones depending on the position.

Despite receiving the arrow in his head, Yunos used the momentum to turn his body, adjust his stance, and respond to the follow-up arrows.

"Only because he's undead, can he take such movements. The combination of Yunos's swordsmanship and magic with the toughness of the undead is the worst. The only saving grace is that his nasty personality has disappeared along with his consciousness."

Robin Hood, keeping his right eye on Yunos, moved his left eye to check the room.

The five adventurers of the Dancing Blade were fighting the two other undead brought by the strange old man, Manji.

Fand was giving loud instructions, coordinating the team, and maintaining an advantage over the unintelligent undead.

However, Robin Hood assessed that these two undead, while not as skilled as Yunos, were still swordsmen.

They were able to fight due to their numbers and coordination, but considering the undead's immortality and toughness, the Dancing Blade adventurers would eventually tire and slow down, bleeding and becoming more vulnerable with each sword swing.

One of the Eight Sages, the strange old man Manji, remained motionless.

He watched the battle with a creepy smile.

On either side of him were two more undead, making a total of four.

If those two were to move, the battle could end at any time.

The fact that Manji didn't do this proved that he saw this place as nothing more than a game, pitting the undead against the adventurers.

Robin Hood had noticed this.

If possible, he wanted to prolong the fight with Yunos and strike Manji when he let his guard down.

However, this was almost impossible.

Not only were two undead guarding Manji, but the Dullahan, a spirit of the underworld summoned by the Book of Gailof, was also invisibly protecting him.

The Dullahan's invisible, lightning-fast dual-sword strikes were beyond human capability to handle.

Moreover, as long as Manji had the Book of Gailof, if he entered a proper combat stance, there was a risk that spirits equal to or greater than the Dullahan would appear.

As long as Manji held the Book of Gailof, a fair fight was impossible.

(Our forces are clearly insufficient... The terrifying thing is that despite using large-scale necromancy and summoning spirits with the Book of Gailof, and despite the fatigue from mana depletion, there's no sign of exhaustion from Manji. A normal person would have already lost consciousness or their sanity due to mana depletion. To kill him, he needs to die with his cards still in hand... but I can't imagine him showing such an opening.)

Robin Hood had already decided that a direct attack was impossible.

However, he had no time to devise and execute a plan against Manji.

"Ha, hahaha!"

Yunos, with his sword at the ready, charged straight at Robin Hood.

Robin Hood fired an arrow.

At that moment, Yunos's movements suddenly accelerated, completely evading the three consecutive shots.

"His movements are much faster than in life!? That's ridiculous!"

Yunos's sword destroyed the tips of the arrows Robin Hood continued to fire.

He blocked the feint arrows with his shoulder, took advantage of the undead's immortality to close the distance forcefully.

"Oh, this is getting interesting."

Manji turned his attention to Yunos with interest.

Based on Manji's words, Robin Hood analyzed Yunos's condition.

He followed the movements of Yunos's legs, arms, and facial muscles, and immediately reached a conclusion.

(It's not just speed, but a simple increase in strength. No, it's probably that he wasn't fully utilizing it from the start. The fact that he's now proficient means...)

"Amazing, amazing power! Ha, ha, hahaha! With this power, I will become the top adventurer in the city of Barail! Me, me!"

"His self-awareness is returning slightly!"

It wasn't impossible.

Powerful mages with vast mana or swordsmen with sharp minds could, after becoming undead, have their personalities revived based on the residual mana in their bodies.

However, they wouldn't return to a complete state, and the limit was to mechanically repeat words and thoughts from their life.

Yunos seemed to be in such a state.

"With this power, with this power, anything is possible! Ha, ha, hahaha! I will renounce my birth and become a noble with my sword and cunning...! Before that, you're in my way, Robin Hood!"

"You fool! You're already dead!"

Yunos, with his life's sword and magic skills, the undead's durability, and the return of his intelligence, had gained the ability to fully control his undead body.

The simplification of actions, the greatest weakness of the undead, was no longer a problem.

Yunos avoided the three consecutive arrows from Robin Hood with minimal movement.

Even if the arrows hit his body, as long as there was no significant damage or joint injury, it wasn't a problem for the undead Yunos.

"Wind, carry me."

Yunos's wind magic, used at the perfect timing.

Yunos didn't float in the air but dashed at low altitude, dodging the arrows and landing in front of Robin Hood.

To avoid becoming a target for Robin Hood's keen eyes, he chose a short, high-speed movement, a rational action based on reflection.

"I made a mistake!"

"Die, you!"

Robin Hood dodged Yunos's consecutive attacks by stepping back.

However, Yunos's persistent movements prevented Robin Hood from regaining his distance.

Eventually, Yunos's sword grazed Robin Hood's cheek, leaving a red line.

Robin Hood jumped back and placed his hand on the wall.

(Damn, I'm out of options. This is the worst.)

Yunos immediately closed the distance.

At the moment Robin Hood resigned himself to death, a loud explosion shattered the window.

A large man, armored like a metal block, flew in from outside.

The large man landed next to Robin Hood, and the entire room creaked under the weight of the super-heavy armor.

The atmosphere in the room changed.

Yunos, who had been on the offensive, immediately retreated upon sensing the danger.

The other undead and adventurers also stopped fighting, took their distance from their opponents, and turned their attention to the intruder.

Even Manji's creepy smile vanished, and he looked stern.

"Who dares to interrupt my entertainment?"

"Entertainment, huh? You still think this is a hunt?"

The large man struck the floor with his massive sword.

The room shook again, and a large crack appeared in the floor.

"From now on, you will be the one hunted."

From within the large armor, two eye sockets glared at Manji.