A tense situation had arisen.
Woom.
The party members emerged from the red portal.
Taken aback by the sudden encounter with people, they shortly grasped the uneasy atmosphere and silently tightened their grip on their weapons.
“…”
The Blindfold Man’s party and Jeong Yusin’s party faced each other in silence.
Jeong Yusin frowned.
He knew these guys weren’t ordinary.
That’s why he had ascended the levels as slowly as possible while hunting demons.
They seemed to be of a high rank, so he assumed they would swiftly clear the levels.
He thought that by proceeding slowly, he could avoid a confrontation.
But he was wrong.
What made it worse was that the old woman’s party members were all lying on the ground.
And these guys were roughly holding her by the hair.
It was evident to anyone that the Blindfold Man’s party wasn’t good.
And to make matters worse.
Out of all the vastness of this fourth level, they had just so happened to bump into each other right after emerging from the portal.
It was as if the heavens themselves had pushed him off a cliff.
Jeong Yusin felt intensely aggrieved at this absurd situation.
‘Shit.’
No. He calmed himself down.
Even if the heavens fall, there’s always a way out.
Jeong Yusin spoke calmly.
“Excuse me, could you just pretend you didn’t see us and go on your way?”
The Blindfold Man smirked.
“Never heard anyone call us ‘sir’ before. Young man, sorry, but…”
“Where do you think you’re going?! Who the heck are you people? Why are you oppressing this frail woman? Let the woman go and be off with you!”
Suddenly the elf priest, Fiyaron, shouted. His eyes blazed with anger.
‘A crazy old lady lover!’
Jeong Yusin twitched his mouth.
He was too flabbergasted to speak.
“The priest is correct. Why are you attacking another party and oppressing the weak? We should all be working together, even here in the Great Labyrinth.”
Soline stepped forward to support the elf priest, Fiyaron.
Her gaze briefly lingered on the fallen members of the old woman’s party.
‘Ah, shit. Soline, you too.’
A Holy Knight and a priest combo.
People might be nice and all, but when it comes to knowing when to meddle or not, they seem to get it wrong, and it made Jeong Yusin’s blood boil.
“Galeraheim! Say something too!”
The Holy Knight Soline harassed the big-nosed Nuum, Galeraheim.
“Me…I…”
Galeraheim fidgeted.
“Hurry up!”
Soline growled as she urged him on.
“I think holding the old woman’s hair is wrong.”
‘His nose is getting longer, right in front of me.’
Even just hearing his voice made Jeong Yusin think Galeraheim’s nose had stretched out.
Jeong Yusin bit his lips hard.
At least he’d bought some time. Luckily, they hadn’t been struck with a bolt immediately upon emerging from the portal.
But that was all.
Jeong Yusin glanced at the fallen explorers.
Whether they were dead or alive was unclear, but they were upper-middle rank at the very least.
The foes in front of him were of equal standing.
An evident disparity in forces.
The Blindfold Man’s party looked unnervingly at ease.
Unreasonable comrades who couldn’t tolerate injustice.
He was completely trapped.
His head spun.
“Hey, this is wrong.”
Jeong Yusin muttered.
The abrupt curse made everyone, friend or foe, freeze in confusion.
“…”
The cave fell silent.
It was more than a simple curse; it was the soulful reverberation rising from the depths of his heart.
“Shit!!! Why can’t I ever be happy!!!”
A cry of fury swept through the cave.
Jeong Yusin, who had been fidgeting, switched expressions and spoke.
“Prepare for battle.”
A low, cold voice filled the air.
Everyone in the cave was flustered by the sudden change in emotions, but Jeong Yusin’s party reacted first.
Soline stepped to the front, and Galeraheim and Fiyaron retreated to the back.
Avoidance was impossible.
He realized one of his party members might die in this situation.
With his sword slung over his shoulder, he steadied his stance.
“Aaah. Wait, just a moment.”
Suddenly Oswald interrupted.
“This is boring. Lemme tell you something interesting.”
“Shut up and disappear.”
Jeong Yusin growled.
The most dangerous-looking fellow among them fidgeting made him extremely uneasy.
“Whoa, scary. Scary. That old man.”
Oswald pointed at the old woman caught by the Blindfold Man.
“She’s the wet nurse of Prince 5.”
“…”
A chilling silence spread over the cave.
Both friend and foe were left speechless upon Oswald’s declaration.
“Yo…!”
The Blindfold Man glared at Oswald.
Oswald shrugged.
“Found the wet nurse, mission accomplished. And we took care of the strays. My job’s done.”
“…Do the Labyrinth City people just blab about the mission as they please?”
The Blindfold Man spat.
Oswald smirked.
“Anyway, weren’t you gonna kill everyone who saw you anyway? It’d be better to make it more certain.”
‘What the heck is happening here?’
Are these guys not from the Black Market?
Jeong Yusin’s mind was racing.
Prince 5 had disappeared. Prince 5’s wet nurse came to the Labyrinth City. Naturally, you couldn’t help but believe Prince 5 was somewhere in the Labyrinth City, too.
It was accurate due to the wet nurse’s actions.
Given her age with white hair, it was no easy feat for her to have entered this far into the labyrinth without significant certainty.
If that Blindfold Man hasn’t killed the wet nurse yet.
Perhaps Prince 5 hasn’t been found.
This was uncertain.
There wasn’t sufficient evidence. Predictions beyond this point were restrained.
What was certain was that the Blindfold Man was not from the Black Market and was hostile to Prince 5.
At that moment,
The Blindfold Man let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“Jjara.”
‘Shit.’
Boing! Bong Bong! Boing!
The crossbow strings simultaneously twanged.
The startled Galeraheim and Fiyaron.
Eeeekkk!!!
Eeeekkk!!!
Jeong Yusin quickly stepped forward and raised his shield.
Protecting the backline was the priority.
Bang!! Kwa Bang!! Kwang!!
The bolt pierced through the wooden shield. Although an iron plate was attached to prevent the bolt from piercing his wrist, that didn’t help.
“Shit!”
Jeong Yusin cursed.
The fiery sensation on his thigh.
His brain was reeling from the sudden pain.
[Avenger]
The engraving activated.
Tat Tat Tat!!!
The sound of running footsteps.
‘Come on!’
He gripped the Aming Sword tightly in one hand.
But the enemies didn’t charge.
Looking through the shield, he saw the Blindfold Man and his subordinates bounding into the darkness, dragging the old woman along.
“Hahahaha! Hunting time! Enjoy it!”
Oswald shouted as he followed the Blindfold Man.
‘Damn bastards.’
He had mistaken them for explorers. These people are not explorers; they are hunters.
He wasn’t sure how they managed to capture an upper-middle-ranked explorer, but it wasn’t by normal methods, that much was for sure.
“Shit!”
Jeong Yusin fell to his seat.
It felt like his brain would burn with the bolt deeply embedded in his thigh.
Shooting mostly bolts at the upper body while precisely targeting the iron plate between his thighs wasn’t easy.
To add, now he would have to chase them through the darkness while wounded.
Soline approached to examine Jeong Yusin’s wound.
“The bolt is deeply embedded.”
Jeong Yusin pulled out a dagger.
“Soline, keep watch. Don’t look at me.”
“A…Alright.”
Jeong Yusin panted heavily as he disinfected the dagger with a torch.
To have to endure this godforsaken situation again made him feel like his mind was spinning.
“Huuugh.”
He held his breath and stabbed the dagger into his thigh.
Crack. Shhhrrrip.
The deep dagger grazed his bones and ripped his muscles.
Jeong Yusin’s eyes bloodshot.
The saliva dripped from his gritted teeth.
He carved into his inner thigh with the dagger to find the bolt head.
He had to rip the flesh and muscle to make space.
“Grgrgh!!!”
His teeth were grinding.
With trembling hands, he grabbed the bolt. It got stuck in the tendons halfway and wouldn’t come out, so he had to insert and pull it repeatedly.
Inexpressible, excruciating pain.
Sparks flashed in his brain.
Blood gushed from his thigh.
Tsuuuurk.
Finally, the bolt head came out of his thigh.
“Kh… Huff!!!”
Looking at the bolt he pulled out, Jeong Yusin panted heavily. His body was drenched in sweat.
Gripping his muddled mind, he rummaged through his bag, sprinkled recovery potion and antidote on the wound, applied ointment heavily, and wrapped it with cloth.
Though he wished to use it all, he restrained himself. Who knows what might happen next?
For the same reason, he declined Fiaron’s healing magic.
Galeraheim approached.
“The party of Prince 5’s wet nurse is all dead. I just checked.”
“…How did they die?”
“Poison, I think.”
“Was there any bolt marks?”
“Yes. There were also marks of large spears.”
Spear marks?
Poison?
A familiar combination.
An ominous sense began to rise.
“Hmm, let’s go. We must leave as soon as possible.”
“Ho, but what about that wet nurse?”
Fiaron interrupted hesitantly.
“Fiaron, stop right there if you want me to be polite.”
Jeong Yusin glared at Fiaron.
“Scath is right. Escape should be our priority.”
Soline interjected.
“A…Alright.”
Fiaron agreed reluctantly.
“Galeraheim, please find the shortest way out.”
“Alright, but can you walk?”
Galeraheim’s voice was filled with worry.
“Yes.”
Jeong Yusin winced as he got up. His thigh throbbed painfully. Since the minimal treatment was done, all he had to do was endure.
He looked around the party. Most were fine, but there was one issue with Soline.
A bolt was stuck in her plate armor shoulder.
“Soline, are you alright?”
Jeong Yusin asked.
“I’m fine. This old armor doesn’t perform very well.”
Soline responded bitterly, reflecting the hardships of a low-ranking Holy Knight.
‘I guess I’ll have to take the lead.’
Jeong Yusin raised the torch and walked forward.
The party proceeded into the darkness.
*
They walked for about two hours.
Eeeekkk!!!
The sound of bolts cutting through the air.
Instinctively, he raised his shield.
Kwaang!!!
The bolt pierced through the shield and lodged itself. The tension was so strong it made his wrist tingle.
Each shot targeted him, annoying and persistent for two hours.
They were only targeting him relentlessly.
Jeong Yusin gritted his teeth.
These bastards want him to lose his mind and get angry.
Do they consider the rest easy prey if the leader falls?
He won’t give them that satisfaction.
He tried to endure with all his might.
Tirring. Tiring.
The sound of a lute and laughter occasionally echoed through the caves.
Eeeekkk!!!
Another bolt cut through the darkness toward Galeraheim.
“Kyeeeeeek!!!”
Galeraheim screamed in panic.
Jeong Yusin quickly blocked Galeraheim’s front.
Kwaang!!!
Again, the bolt pierced the shield.
The wooden shield was now filled with more than 10 bolts, resembling a porcupine.
His wrist throbbed from the continuous shocks.
Jeong Yusin desperately racked his brain.
‘Are these guys not even afraid of monsters approaching?’
Could they have some way to avoid monsters?
How could they remain unscathed in the darkness?
Could it be a mark ability?
His thoughts didn’t last long.
“Kkeeeeek!!!”
In the distance, the terrifying roar of a hobgoblin warrior was heard.
Galeraheim’s face turned ghostly pale.
“Standby for battle!”
Jeong Yusin shouted.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
The sound of footsteps thundered.
“Two hobgoblin warriors, one hobgoblin shaman, five hobgoblins!”
Galeraheim shouted.
Total of eight.
“Aim for the hobgoblin shaman first!”
Jeong Yusin yelled.
“Al, alright!”
Galeraheim hastily raised his crossbow with trembling hands.
Slung his sword on his shoulder and adopted a low position.
He had to fight the hobgoblins while also being wary of bolts flying through the darkness.
An absurd difficulty.
But.
‘I must survive.’
Jeong Yusin’s eyes burned with determination.
“Keeeeeek!!!”
“Kreeeeek!!!”
The ferocious roars of the hobgoblins echoed through the cave, shaking the darkness.
