Chapter 194

I had no choice but to admit it.

The fact that I had underestimated Yoo Ju.

“Gurgle…”

The guy using the sickle was eventually pierced by Yoo Ju’s spear, vomiting blood and dying.

The big guy was barely blocking Yoo Ju’s spear thrusts, but it was only a matter of time before he lost.

‘Damn it…’

If I had known Yoo Ju was this strong, I wouldn’t have set up this matchup.

The military power I had seen from Yoo Ju was during her battle with the White Devourer.

Since I hadn’t seen the latter part of her fight with the Tree of Birth, the shock was beyond words.

‘…Now, even most top-tier or high-tier players wouldn’t stand a chance against Yoo Ju.’

Unless it’s someone like Yoon Yeon or Yanagiya Riki, most wouldn’t pose a significant threat to Yoo Ju in her current state.

‘If those two were here along with Woo Seo-heun, it might have been different…’

But I had no idea where Woo Seo-heun was. If she had properly assessed the situation…

‘She might have run away on her own.’

The guy with the burned face and the sickle user were already dead. The big guy would soon be killed by Yoo Ju too.

With Gwi Chang defeated and the masked assassin presumably having his neck twisted by Yoon Yeon, the Execution Society was essentially beyond recovery.

If Woo Seo-heun had realized this, she might have decided to flee alone.

‘She’s quite concerned about her own safety, after all.’

Unless you’re insanely loyal to the Execution Society, there’s no reason not to cut your losses in this situation.

The puzzling one was the leader of the Execution Society.

‘Was it Jeon Myung-cheon?’

Given that he hadn’t made any moves yet, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. At this point, I was starting to doubt if he even cared about protecting the Execution Society.

‘…That side’s done for.’

He did manage to land a punch on Yoo Ju during the fight, but that was it.

“Gah…!”

In the end, his head and body were separated by Yoo Ju’s spear, rolling on the ground.

‘Ha, but she does look somewhat tired.’

She wasn’t completely unscathed, and she didn’t look entirely fresh either.

The problem was that the result was quite far from what I had intended.

Contrary to my calculations, the Execution Society hadn’t pushed Yoo Ju as much as I had expected.

‘Ha, well… I’ll just have to be satisfied with this. On the bright side, it means Yoo Ju is already close to being a Transcendent Being.’

Now, I needed to give my companions the impression that I had escaped. I didn’t want to worry them too much.

‘And I made sure the Clone Clay wouldn’t revert even if the opponent harmed it.’

In case the Execution Society killed the clone and realized it was fake, I set it so the clay wouldn’t revert for seven days.

‘It was a risky move, and I might lose the Clone Clay, but…’

After seeing Yoo Ju leave the big guy’s corpse behind, I cut off the visual connection. I needed to move quickly now.

Whoosh—

‘Huh?’

As soon as I heard something cutting through the air, a mana-infused arrow was already in front of my eyes.

*Ting!*

“Master…!”

Ruska barely managed to deflect the arrow with her sword, but my body was frozen, unable to move.

‘…I almost died.’

If Ruska hadn’t been by my side, I would have definitely been killed.

‘I placed Ruska here just in case, but who the hell is it?’

The opponent was no ordinary person. Even Ruska hadn’t sensed their presence until the arrow was fired.

Soon, a man and a woman emerged from the bushes.

‘These guys…’

I didn’t need to ask who they were. They were clearly the leader and an executive of the Execution Society. At least, I remembered the man from the Library of Records.

‘Did they find out about the clone?’

There were two possibilities for why they were here: either we ran into each other by chance, or they were actively searching for me.

If it was the latter, it meant they had realized the captured me was a clone.

The man spoke first.

“Impressive. You played me. This is a first for me.”

Ruska tensed up and stepped in front of me.

“Master, stay behind me.”

Ruska had killed him in the first round, but that was one-on-one.

Now, with an archer-like woman by his side, winning would be tough. Especially with me as dead weight.

Regardless of whether the situation was favorable or not, I couldn’t hold back my question.

“…Were you searching for me?”

“Yes, we found out the captured you was a clone. But I didn’t expect you to have an escort other than the Sword Monarch.”

‘So that’s it. But how did they find out?’

He must have had something up his sleeve.

I needed to check their information.

—

**[Name: Yang So-wol]**

**[Age: 27]**

**[Job: Silent Pursuer (Legend Grade)]**

**[Titles: Abandoned Archer, Silent Tracker]**

**[Unique Traits]**

**Capture (Legend Grade)** – Can detect targets from extreme distances. Gains significant tracking bonuses after locking onto a target. Permanently increases agility by 8.

**[Traits]**

**Divine Archery Unity (Legend Grade)** – Greatly enhances understanding of archery.

**Trap Disarm Master (Hero Grade)** – Significantly improves ability to disarm traps.

**Tracking Master (Hero Grade)** – Can meticulously track the traces of people or monsters.

**[Stats]**

Strength – 81 Agility – 94

Stamina – 83 Luck – 21

Magic – 90 Resistance – 59

—

**[Name: Jeon Myung-cheon]**

**[Age: 34]**

**[Job: Void Executioner (Legend Grade)]**

**[Titles: The Unrevealed One]**

**[Unique Traits]**

**Execution (Legend Grade)** – Accumulates Void stacks on enemies during combat. Can execute enemies with a certain number of Void stacks.

**Eyes of Void (Hero Grade)** – Can discern the essence of objects. Does not work on living beings.

**[Traits]**

**Divine Sword Unity (Legend Grade)** – Greatly enhances understanding of swordsmanship.

**[Stats]**

Strength – 93 Agility – 95

Stamina – 90 Luck – 63

Magic – 82 Resistance – 70

—

‘Ha…’

“That’s more interesting. Your…”

“Is the woman next to you the one who annihilated the Predator Clan?”

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter either way. Judging by your reaction, it seems like I’m right.”

‘This bastard…’

“But it’s strange. If that’s the case, why did you stage that act in the dungeon with Woo Seo-heun? Did you know from the start that Woo Seo-heun was a spy sent by our side?”

‘This guy, he’s not an idiot.’

Jeon Myung-cheon seemed to be a guy with a pretty sharp mind.

“…Why are you leaving the Execution Society as it is?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you plan to take care of your organization? If you leave it like this, the Execution Society will be gone by today.”

“……”

I threw out the words to test his reaction, but he didn’t even bat an eye at the mention of the Execution Society being destroyed.

‘Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem like the type to show his emotions easily.’

Still, one thing was clear.

‘This guy has no interest in the Execution Society.’

The so-called leader of the Execution Society didn’t seem to have any intention of salvaging his own organization, even as it was collapsing.

There wasn’t even a hint of regret or attachment in his eyes.

“Well… I don’t think there’s anything I can do in this situation to keep the Execution Society intact. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”

“…….”

He’s right. Considering the full force that came to save me, even if he and that archer stepped in, it wouldn’t change the fact that the Execution Society is doomed.

It’s not that those two are weak. They’re definitely a threat, but with two of the executives already killed by Yoo Ju and Gwi Chang neutralized, the situation is overwhelmingly in our favor.

Even if those two stepped in, it wouldn’t be easy, but in the end, victory would still be ours.

And it seems like he knows that too, which is why he’s trying to escape without any hesitation.

Suddenly, I became curious. Why is this guy even leading the outlaws in the first place?

“What’s the reason you’re leading the Execution Society? You don’t seem to have any attachment to the organization at all. I don’t think I’m mistaken.”

He didn’t answer my question. He just gave a glance to the woman next to him.

The two of them started to back away. It seemed like they were planning to leave.

I didn’t stop them either. After all, in the current situation, I’m at a disadvantage.

‘At best, Chimera and Ruska can only buy time.’

It’s certain that time will be dragged out, and attention will inevitably be drawn to this place.

The others will come running once they sense something, and that would just be advertising the fact that I orchestrated this whole situation.

Anyway, Jeon Myung-cheon’s foundation has crumbled, and now those two alone aren’t much of a threat.

As they disappeared, Ruska spoke up.

“Master, what do you plan to do with those two?”

“……”

Actually, the goal this time was to use that leader guy to help Yoo Ju grow.

‘But he acted contrary to my expectations, so things went sideways.’

Because he abandoned the Execution Society without hesitation, the plan to pit Yoo Ju against them fell through.

‘I never thought he’d abandon the Execution Society so easily.’

It’s like giving up on a large clan he built from scratch.

“…Let them run away for now. The spirit is already attached to Yoo Ju, so I can’t attach it to them anyway.”

“I see…”

“The Execution Society is pretty much destroyed this time, so they’re not much of a threat. Well, if an opportunity arises, I’ll take care of them.”

“…Understood, Master.”

“Anyway, Ruska, there’s one thing I’m curious about after meeting those two.”

The scene I saw in the Library of Records was only of Ruska killing Jeon Myung-cheon.

“That archer next to him, how did you handle her in the first round?”

I don’t remember seeing that woman in the records of the first round.

“Ah… I see. You don’t know, Master.”

It seems Ruska knows something about that woman.

“In the first round, Master deliberately separated the two of them. Even for me, facing both at the same time was impossible, so the only way was to separate and kill them.”

I silently listened to her words.

“After Jeon Myung-cheon died, that woman lost her will to live. When I found her, she was like a living corpse.”

“…She didn’t even try to seek revenge?”

“She said that seeking revenge wouldn’t bring her leader back, so it was meaningless. She had let go of everything.”

“…So?”

“I didn’t kill her. Master didn’t tell me to kill her either. You just told me to return.”

“…..”

“I felt a strange emotion. Was it pity? I saw myself in her.”

“You saw yourself in her?”

“As much as I hate to imagine it, I think I would be just like her if I lost you, Master.”

…I couldn’t say anything in response to Ruska’s words.

“So don’t die, Master.”

“…I won’t die. Not with you around.”

“Well, I’ve seen you die with my own eyes before, so I never want to see it again.”

‘Ah…’

Come to think of it, in the first round, I had ordered Ruska to kill me herself. And she carried out that order flawlessly, or rather, forcibly.

Considering the emotions Ruska holds for me, it was something I shouldn’t have done to her.

‘Damn, I suddenly feel guilty.’

“After you died, no, after I killed you with my own hands… everything was horrifying. I never, ever want to feel that way again. Promise me, Master.”

“…I promise. This isn’t the first round, it’s the second. I have no intention of dying this time either.”

As I told Ruska, I have no intention of failing this time.

That’s why I planned this second round, and that’s why I got this second chance.