Chapter 143: A Bunch of Enforcers (2)

Dam Ilon’s complexion looked truly terrible, proving the words that he was dying were no exaggeration.

Even if Ion hadn’t heard the story from Saon, he would have recognized immediately that something was wrong with the man’s health.

“Kraaa!”

The giants, discovering the two newcomers who appeared so suddenly, became excited. As if an agreement had already been made, the demon flew straight toward the Executioner without even consulting Ilon.

The black substance erupting from the Executioner’s ring collided with the demon’s whip.

Crackle—Boom!

A violent shockwave erupted, strong enough to be felt even from this distance. Neither the demon nor the giant possessed military force significantly superior to the other.

‘Even if that demon is an elite knight of the Soul Knights, she is still only Middle-grade. She can’t handle a madness-tainted Executioner alone. Someone has to support her.’

Ion’s mind raced through the variables.

First, it had become difficult for Jin Seongha to use now.

Even without the presence of the demon, an Executioner cannot be frozen with . Their ring would simply block the freezing effect. Most area-of-effect skills would be useless against Executioners.

‘Jin Seongha and Sarah can take one Executioner.’

And could I handle one?

The answer was no.

He had finished off an Executioner easily in Idea, but the situation was different now. Here, neither mana chain explosions nor mana aggregate explosions were possible. His mana was also largely depleted after wandering the maze for a week.

However.

‘I’ll take one with Saon.’

With Saon, they could likely take down one Executioner….

‘Should I attach Elliot to assist the demon? But Elliot’s skills are most effective against normal giants.’

Regrettably, Elliot’s did not work on Executioners. Her also wouldn’t be able to block the black substance created by the ring.

Since mental manipulation skills would work on normal giants, she could make them fight each other. It was more efficient to pit Elliot against the common giants rather than the Executioners.

Yet, if he attached Zeke, Semil, and Haidian to the Executioner teams, it meant 19 hunters would have to face over a hundred giants.

Furthermore, since the demon was fighting while shrouded in demonic energy, he couldn’t just attach anyone to her….

While Ion’s head spun with complexities based on every possible scenario.

“That… is a demon?”

Blan spoke in a daze.

“Why does she have horns on her head? And what’s with that outfit? Is she an exhibitionist? She’s practically naked! To think that is a hybrid of demon and human like us, this is a disgrace to our race!”

“…Blan, you take the Executioner with her. You can’t destroy the Executioner’s ring, so don’t waste energy on it; just support her.”

“Support? Ha, ridiculous. I’ll show that exhibitionist a thing or two!”

An indignant Blan charged out.

“On-on, one Executioner is for us, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Going first.”

Saon followed Blan with his snakes.

“Baba, Puru. You stay here. Protect Sanse.”

“Yes! Don’t worry. I bat with ultimate move!”

Pururung….

After setting Sanse down next to Baba, Ion also headed toward the plaza.

And the clash began.

Kwa-wang! Kureooo!

“It’s an Ult, dodge!”

Gueeeee! Thump, bang!

“Aaaagh!”

Explosions erupted everywhere. Giants and humans alike were caught in a scene of utter carnage. Ion dodged a giant’s attack and flew rapidly toward the 12 o’clock position.

“Hunter Jin Seongha! Take the Executioner with Sarah Harundas!”

He actually hadn’t spotted Jin Seongha yet, but he shouted anyway. An answer came back.

“Understood! What about the last one?”

“Saon and I will handle it!”

Thus, the Executioners were divided among the Jin Seongha-Sarah pair, the Demon-Blan pair, and the Ion-Saon pair.

The three teams lured the Executioners away to create as much distance as possible. they had to finish the Executioners quickly to help deal with the other giants.

Because, excluding the non-combatants, only nineteen people were facing over a hundred normal giants—including Elliot, Haidian, Zeke, Semil, and the other hunters.

Bang!

One giant collapsed, its lower body paralyzed by Elliot’s .

Thud thud! Haidian climbed up a giant’s ankle and smashed his flail into it. The giant tottered under the fairy warrior’s monstrous strength.

The arrows Zeke fired high into the air created gusts of wind that hindered the giants’ movements, while Semil created swamp magic at the feet of every giant to restrict them.

Kwa-ang! Bang!

Hunters with skills that didn’t directly help in combat, like Dam Daon, stood watch and bombarded with Earth-brought weaponry whenever a giant collapsed or stumbled.

Boom-boom!

Through the dust from the bombardment, Daon witnessed Shin Minji’s figure vanishing and reappearing elsewhere several times.

It was a skill not reported to the guild; Daon already knew about it.

‘I’ll have to confirm it with her directly soon.’

Even though it was the first time the Special Team 1 and the Canadian hunters worked together, they quickly grasped each other’s combat habits and fell into sync. They were all veterans.

Of course, the most conspicuous among them was Elliot. As much as she moved, the giants swarmed around her, and naturally, wounds multiplied on her body.

The healing-type hunter stationed in the rear with Daon quickly used healing skills whenever Elliot was hurt, but it was no use.

‘The Executioner teams need to finish their jobs quickly and help out.’

Thud!

Just then, the sound of something massive and heavy falling was heard. When Daon looked back, a giant’s arm was lying on the ground. It was the arm of the Executioner that Jin Seongha and Sarah’s team were handling.

Kraaaaa!

From a distance, he could see the Executioner who had lost an arm regenerating one with the black substance from the ring. This was to their advantage, as it meant the ring couldn’t be used for anything else.

“Hunter Ji Yunjeong, please take over for me.”

“Yes!”

Daon handed over the missile handle to the nearby hunter and used his <Sage’s Eye>, which had evolved upon reaching Level 4, to check the status of the other teams.

The demon and Blan were not in sync at all. The demon’s whip showed no consideration for her ally, and Blan, complaining that it was in his way, grabbed the whip to distort its trajectory.

“Stop interfering, you Idean half-breed!”

“F*ck, you stay away, you descendant of cowardly weaklings!”

Neither had any intention of coordinating. However, because both used such aggressive techniques, the Executioner was being torn apart like a shrimp caught in a whale fight.

And…….

Gueeeeee!

The third Executioner roared as it opened the maw of a giant anaconda that matched its own size. The anaconda’s venomous fangs bit the giant’s finger. The Ult boiling inside the giant’s brain neutralized the toxins.

Daon noticed the Executioner’s skin was writhing. Saon’s snakes, grown to their maximum size, were moving beneath the white leather.

He wondered why the black substance wasn’t visible.

Kugugung!

Ion was using vines to block the Executioner’s hand. He had bound the fingers tightly with vines so the black substance couldn’t emerge.

Kraaaaak!

The enraged Executioner tore the anaconda in half, left and right. The Ult that had been consumed dealing with the anaconda began to boil rapidly.

“Ult!”

Since they were far from the central plaza where the battle was taking place, there was no one around, but Ion shouted it loudly for anyone to hear and quickly ducked under the giant’s palm.

However, Saon stood still on top of the anaconda skin. Ion panicked.

“What are you doing? Dodge, Dam Sa…!”

Daon also thought Saon wasn’t dodging because he trusted in his .

But it wasn’t that.

Saon’s skin sparkled like a glass bead. Just like… mermaid scales.

Kwa-ang! The Ult hit Saon directly.

Saon grinned from within the grayish-white beam of light. He had defended against the Ult without Solminium.

‘Everyone has a hidden ability or two.’

Daon felt relieved. In the meantime, the anaconda skin that had been split in half became two separate snakes, and they leapt into the Executioner’s throat. The Executioner writhed in agony.

Ch-ch-ch.

The vines pressed down, blocking the black substance trying to burst from the ring.

‘Ion must be running low on mana soon.’

Perhaps Daon wasn’t the only one thinking that, as Saon slid down the giant’s body. Together, they kicked off to sever the giant’s fingers and finish the Executioner.

“…….”

Daon was filled with emotion. He thought they had split forever when Saon turned into an abuser. Seeing them fight on the same side like this…….

‘Are you really going to go against Teacher’s wishes? Ion won’t leave you alone.’

‘I know. If I make this choice, that kid will never open his heart to me again. But there are things you just can’t give up on. Dam Daon, take good care of our youngest.’

The memory of Saon’s face looking exceptionally lonely as he turned away was still vivid.

‘If it’s like this, is it actually a relief that the Teacher taught us was incorrect?’

Technically everything was in the palm of Teacher’s hand… but he was glad it was. Because in the end, the brothers held hands once again. In the meantime, Ion and Saon, having finished the Executioner, joined the fight against the normal giants. Daon took back the controls to fulfill his own duty.

After the battle ended.

“Gyaa, that was tough.”

“Thought I was gonna f*cking die.”

“Alcohol… give me alcohol. Give me some booze please….”

Awakened people were sprawled out here and there. There were no fatalities, but many had sustained serious injuries. Sarah Harundas, one of the few who was relatively fine, spotted Haidian chugging alcohol and slapped him on the back.

“Haidian! You crazy b*stard, you’re bleeding all over and you’re drinking?”

“Let go! I have to use alcohol to stop the bleeding so it heals faster!”

“Don’t give me that bullsh*t. What am I going to do with this alcoholic. Hey, Zeke. Tie this guy up quickly… were you planning to drink too?”

“Uh, n-no way, haha. Sir Sarah. I just need to tie him up, right? I’ll do it, so you go on ahead. Haha.”

In the end, Sarah confiscated all the alcohol the two had. Elliot, who was sitting alone, waved to her.

“Hey, did you say you’re Sarah Harundas? I’d like to taste some Idean liquor too.” (English)

“Hm? Did she just call me? Wait a second. Team Leader! Come with me for a bit.”

Sarah grabbed Ion, who happened to be passing by, to act as an interpreter. Saon, who was nearby, was also dragged along.

“She says she wants to try Idean liquor.”

“Is she hurt? If not, give it to her.”

“He says he’ll give it if you aren’t hurt.”

“As you can see, this scratch is the end of it.”

“She says as you can see, this scratch is all.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Elliot’s sturdy forearm. The diagonal scar, about 20cm long, looked far too painful to be described as just a scratch.

“I don’t think you should be drinking… I’ll give it to you once you’re treated. At least wrap a bandage or something. How can you leave a wound gaping open like this?”

“Hmm, I get the feeling you’re saying no. Team Leader and Guild Leader Ason, tell this beautiful, strong, and charming Idean that I am an S-rank hunter.”

Ion tilted his head at the strange modifiers. Saon chuckled.

“Elliot Middlerunner. Don’t use our innocent On-on for your flirting.”

“Flirting? I simply want to drink Idean liquor. And this person has quite beautiful red hair… no, she performs beautiful swordsmanship. I’d like to learn a thing or two.”

“Ah, that’s why I told you to learn Idean properly and speak to her yourself.”

Ion just wanted to end this conversation quickly. As he was about to interpret, Baba flew over with a flap.

“Someone hurt? I fix! Leave it to me!”

Just as they were wondering how he was going to fix it, Baba wrapped his wings around Elliot’s wound.</Sage’s>