Chapter 254

“Gasp… gasp…!”

I can’t even remember the last time I pushed myself to the limit like this.

Of course, I’ve been through countless crises before, but today, I can’t help but feel that the probability of dying is really high.

As soon as I turned onto a curved path, a beastman jumped out and swung an axe at me.

“Die—!”

Clang—

“Ugh…!”

Luckily, I blocked it with my spear, but my muscles, already at their limit, screamed in pain.

‘I can’t collapse here…!’

I’ve already bought some time, but I have no idea if the clan’s rescue team has arrived.

At least until the safety of the others is secured, I can’t afford to fall.

“Huff…!”

“Huh?”

Thud—!

“Y-you bastard?!”

The beastman in front of me seemed surprised that I still had this much energy left.

In a life-or-death situation, even a moment of panic or mistake can lead directly to death.

Thud!

“Ugh… gurgle…”

I immediately pierced the guy’s throat with my spear and kicked him away.

Even though I took down one, there were still many more behind me.

‘…This is tough.’

“Cough…”

I couldn’t hold back a cough, and a thin stream of blood came out of my mouth, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘Am I going to follow them too?’

Suddenly, memories of the former Clan Master and my comrades who had already passed away began to surface in my mind.

I could feel death slowly approaching me, but I didn’t feel any fear.

The only emotion I felt was a sense of responsibility.

The responsibility to protect those who had revived Eternity, the clan I once abandoned.

‘And to protect the new recruit who just joined.’

Honestly, if it weren’t for the new recruit, Shin Han-sol, the four of us would already be dead.

‘She’s amazing.’

At first, I wondered why we only recruited one person from the training facility, but she turned out to be a recruit with talents far beyond common sense.

Not only did she have a job I’d never heard of—a spatial mage—but her skill in using magic was also far from that of a novice.

‘As expected, his eye for talent is incredible.’

The person who brought Shin Han-sol into the clan was none other than Lee Yun-seong.

He was a man whose abilities I couldn’t help but acknowledge.

Suddenly, I remembered the past—when the current members of Eternity had just joined.

At first, I didn’t have high expectations for Lee Yun-seong.

Because his combat power was insignificant. In this continent, individual military power was extremely important.

‘Looking back now, I had no eye for talent. I was such an idiot.’

I only acknowledged his abilities later and treated him accordingly, but it’s true that I was biased against him at first.

He had no military power, but he was an incredibly capable person.

I don’t know how he did it, but seeing him build friendships with the Clan Masters of other large clans was truly fascinating.

Since he was the one who brought in the new recruit, I thought she must have some talent…

‘But this is beyond imagination.’

Literally beyond imagination.

‘Thanks to her, dying alone is enough.’

When I heard that only three people could be saved, I was actually satisfied.

It was a good thing. At least three out of four could survive.

The new recruit, Shin Han-sol, had a face full of guilt, but no one could blame her.

Her abilities were unbelievable for someone who had only been out of the training facility for a month.

Kim Ho-won, who was seriously injured, couldn’t act as bait, and the man from the Mardan Clan and Shin Han-sol were mages.

In the end, the roles were set.

‘Thankfully.’

No one forced me, but I volunteered to be the bait.

If there was ever a time to decide the moment of my death, it would be now.

‘I guess it’s time to leave everything to my admirable juniors.’

I’m the only one left from the old Eternity.

No one else knows how proud I am of the current members of the Eternity Clan.

It’s a clan I once gave up on, even letting go of my own hands.

‘Pathetically drowning in alcohol, holed up in my room, I don’t even know what I was doing.’

If I go to the afterlife, the comrades who went before me will surely mock me.

Even if I had pulled myself together and led them, it wouldn’t have been enough, and they’d definitely tease me for abandoning the new recruits.

“Sigh…”

Even in this near-death situation, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

There were many enemies, and one of them was quite formidable.

Meanwhile, I was alone, with only a spear in hand.

‘What, a spear is all I need.’

I’ve been through countless crises before.

Of course, there were times when I overcame them with my former clan members, but there were also many times I overcame them alone.

In those moments, all I had was a spear, and that was enough.

‘…This time, though, I don’t think I’ll make it back alive.’

But at least I don’t plan to die easily.

Dragging out the fight is one of my specialties.

My job was ordinary, and while I had some talent, I was no genius.

For someone like me to survive, it was only natural that I had to work relentlessly.

When others trained, I trained.

When others rested, I trained.

Those days of blood, sweat, and tears gave me a strong mental fortitude.

‘Now, I’ll take control of the flow.’

Even a cornered beast has teeth. Now it’s my turn to bite.

Lee Jae-hyo subtly adjusted his running speed so the enemy wouldn’t notice.

As if he was too tired to maintain his pace.

‘Come on.’

If survival was the goal, slowing down would be a suicidal choice.

But there’s one thing they’re overlooking—I have no intention of coming back alive.

“Hahaha! Looks like your stamina’s finally running out!”

One of the chasing beastmen bared his teeth and grinned as he closed in.

“Gasp… gasp… puff…”

I deliberately panted heavily, and the guy still didn’t seem to notice that I had intentionally slowed down.

“I’ll cut your throat! Now, offer your neck!”

The moment he got close enough, a glint appeared in Lee Jae-hyo’s eyes.

Whoosh—

“Ugh…!”

In an instant, the spear swung backward, and the blade sliced through the beastman’s throat.

‘One down.’

As the first one fell, the remaining ones charged in anger.

“You bastard!”

‘Stay calm.’

My body screamed to stop moving, but my mind was oddly at peace.

‘Don’t let them form a formation.’

The situation was extremely disadvantageous in numbers. At the very least, I had to prevent them from surrounding me.





“What the hell!”

Lee Jae-hyo thrust his spear towards one guy trying to get into position.

*Clang!*

“Ugh… this bastard…”

The spear strike disrupted the path. It wasn’t an attack aimed at taking a life from the start.

Despite blocking the path, three of them immediately closed in, surrounding him.

‘They’re quick.’

Even if each individual’s military power was lower than his, they weren’t to be underestimated.

All three rushed at him, swinging their weapons, but he didn’t panic.

“Huff…!”

*Clang!*

He blocked one guy’s sword with his spear.

“Huh?”

He spun his spear and body, swapping positions with his opponent.

“Damn it…!”

The second guy had to change the direction of his swing because his comrade was in the way.

‘First, deal with the other one. These guys…’

*Whoosh!*

*Crash!*

“Ugh…! Damn it…!”

In an instant, he swung the spear shaft low, tripping two of them and throwing them off balance.

The time it took was a split second. With two of them incapacitated in that brief moment, what needed to be done was clear.

*Crunch!*

“Gurgle…”

“Phew…”

With that, one of the three was dealt with.

As Lee Jae-hyo glared at them with cold eyes, the two beastmen flinched.

“What…? You still have this much energy left?”

Even before this, they had struggled greatly because of this one spearman.

The man with the shield and the mage were also quite troublesome, but the guy wielding the spear in front of them was on a whole different level.

However, numbers have their advantage, and the man with the shield eventually fell under the continuous assault.

But no matter how much they pressed, the spearman wouldn’t break.

“… Unbelievable. You shouldn’t be in normal condition because of your injury, right?”

At the words of one beastman, Lee Jae-hyo’s gaze briefly shifted to his side.

‘Indeed…’

The pain in his side was unbearable even for him.

It was clear that the wound was deep, and he was bleeding heavily.

‘… That guy.’

The massive one with the only silver wolf tail.

He was probably the leader of this group. The wound was from the attack of the guy wielding a large double-edged axe.

Even though he blocked it with his spear, the result was absurd.

If he hadn’t managed to block it, even slowly, his body would have been split in two.

‘And here he comes.’

The beastman with the large double-edged axe appeared, pushing aside the other beastmen with his hands.

The guy glanced at the corpses and spoke.

“… Impressive. Two more of my kin are dead.”

“……”

Lee Jae-hyo didn’t respond.

His focus was entirely on the guy’s lower body.

He had to react as quickly as possible the moment the guy’s foot moved.

“Huh, you’re a human worth hunting. I didn’t expect much since your name wasn’t on the list I heard.”

‘… A list?’

Before he could even react to the word “list,” the guy drew his double-edged axe and stomped his foot.

*Crash!*

“Ugh…!”

He blocked it with his spear, but the pressure was so intense that he let out a groan.

The ground beneath his feet even caved in from the force.

“Looks like you’re struggling. Well, your body can’t be in normal condition.”

Lee Jae-hyo immediately stepped back, creating distance.

“Phew… Phew…”

If he were in normal condition, it might be different, but in his current state, there was no way he could win.

‘But…’

*Grit.*

‘I have to buy time no matter what.’

“Huh?”

*Thud!*

The spear he swung was blocked by the axe, but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t the end of the attack.

‘Focus.’

He had to focus on every breath the guy took. When attacking, one naturally holds their breath, and it would be released at the moment of impact.

*Clang!*

The spear strike aimed low was a feint. The real attack was a kick, using the spear shaft as a pivot to spin his body.

*Thwack!*

“Ugh!”

The guy’s eyes momentarily glowed blue, and blue flames erupted from his body.

“Struggling, huh? I’ll take you seriously now.”

The spear and axe clashed repeatedly, creating a deafening noise.

“Cough…!”

Lee Jae-hyo’s body had long since reached its limit.

The internal pain from the opponent’s energy felt like his insides were being torn apart.

“Ugh…”

“Huh, your left side is slow to react, isn’t it?”

*Clang!*

He barely managed to block the axe, but he was pushed back.

Especially since the opponent kept cleverly targeting his left side, it was overwhelming.

‘… Persistent.’

It felt like being hunted. The relentless targeting of his weak points made it feel like he was being hunted by a giant wolf.

“Huff…!”

Of course, he had no intention of just taking hits. He immediately swung his spear to fend off the attack and counterattacked.

Lee Jae-hyo’s spear strikes seemed straightforward, but they were by no means attacks to be taken lightly.

Basic yet solid spear strikes. At first glance, they might seem simple, but those who had reached a certain level would instantly realize.

That these were not light attacks.

*Swoosh!*

“Hmm…!”

The guy touched the wound on his chest.

“Haha, impressive.”

It wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t shallow either.

The leader bared his teeth and continued.

“You know what? Our tribe’s specialty is group hunting.”

“Phew… Phew…”

… He had definitely heard of it before.

The tribe with wolf tails revered strength and dominance.

Their specialty was hunting and prey. Whether the prey was strong or weak, they would subdue or kill it by any means necessary.

And not being picky about methods implied one thing.

“Group hunting.”

At the leader’s words, the surrounding beastmen cheered.

“It’s time for a group hunt.”

As soon as the leader’s words echoed twice, the surrounding beastmen all rushed in at once.