LRAB Chapter 216: North Korea (2)
Chapter 216: North Korea (2)
‘The imagination of humans....’
Kang-hoo wore a bitter expression.
He realized that the bloodsucking flies were a reflection of the unconscious.
Bloodsucking flies—a monster concept he had once considered using in the original work but decided to scrap.
He thought he would never see them again, yet they had manifested in reality as an expression of the unconscious.
First.
Kang-hoo sprinted at full speed towards Ham Ung-ho.
The bloodsucking flies had just started to take off from the trees, but there was still a bit of time left.
【Shadow Step】
He scattered shadows in multiple directions, just in case.
Then, he plunged his dagger straight into the throat of Ham Ung-ho, who was glaring at him with wide eyes.
Ham Ung-ho, who appeared to be a black mage, was too exhausted from the process of summoning the bloodsucking flies to resist.
Following that, Blood Flower.
Kang-hoo snatched away the bouquet of Mad Solarkium from Ham Ung-ho, who was twitching like a deflated balloon.
Bzzzzz!
The bloodsucking flies closed in, flapping their wings even more intensely as they approached Kang-hoo.
‘If they bite me, there’s no way I’ll make it out alive.’
Even a drop of blood sucked by each of those flies, and his body would be drained dry.
Kang-hoo considered using ‘teleportation’ to a pre-designated point near Yuri Land but quickly dismissed the idea.
It felt too easy.
【Protective Barrier】
So, he created a powerful shield around his body using a protective barrier.
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!
Ksssk! Sssk! Kssssk!
The bloodsucking flies crashed into the barrier, their wings flapping furiously, trying to gnaw at it.
Some of them were so crazed by the thirst for blood that they pressed their bodies against the barrier, even as they burned.
Kang-hoo managed to respond thanks to his defensive skill; without it, he would have already been a corpse.
‘Ham Ung-ho might have been used as bait.’
The thought crossed his mind that another hunter might be after the Mad Solarkium Ham Ung-ho was carrying.
He turned his gaze and noticed a spot that had been in his blind spot earlier.
There lay a heap of bones, as if deliberately placed for all to see. It wasn’t just a few bodies.
‘How many fell victim?’
Judging by the visible skulls, there were at least 20. That meant at least 20 people had died.
He sensed that this place was being controlled by someone’s intellect.
It could be the queen of the swarm who created the hybrid Ham Ung-ho, or perhaps there was a third entity.
He checked the positions of the shadows.
One of the five shadows he had sent out had reached the farthest distance.
There was also a wide escape route ahead, with fewer trees where bloodsucking flies could be hiding.
The next moment.
【Protective Barrier】
【Forced Destruction by Will】
Kang-hoo deliberately shattered the protective barrier, causing a devastating effect.
A desolation that evaporated all mana within a 10-meter radius.
Although temporary, it could disrupt insect-type monsters that tracked hunters via mana flow.
Immediately afterward, he swapped positions with one of the shadows.
Whoosh!
The view changed.
When he looked back, the bloodsucking flies were still swarming where he had just been.
Some of them were biting into the fragments of the shattered protective barrier scattered everywhere.
Others collided with each other in their rush to attack him, ending up biting one another.
“.......”
His heart sank.
Because of their small size, people often underestimated their threat.
But insect-type monsters could be even more dangerous than larger ones. They were harder to see.
Bloodsucking flies, sleep-inducing flies, venomous flies, paralyzing flies, and so on.
The stone he had stepped on suddenly sank downward.
It was a pathway that plunged straight down, like the interior below a manhole cover.
This was why casualties increased the further north one went in Ground Zero.
Anyone entering here intending to live might as well be walking on a minefield.
Yet, Kang-hoo had his own methods of handling the situation, allowing him to move without facing any major crises.
Though his body was tense, he was always prepared for such stress, so it wasn’t anything new.
Arrival at the Mad Solarkium Point.
Kang-hoo had reached a location 30 km north of where Yuri Land was.
What used to be a city was now no different from the wild, with everything frozen in time.
Abandoned cars, old cans discarded on the road, and construction materials that never made it to their intended sites.
In the northern part of Ground Zero, the world that touched North Korea was trapped in the past like this.
“Three Mad Solarkiums, huh?”
Ahead of him, he could see a Punisher.
And behind it, three beautifully blooming Mad Solarkium flowers.
If he managed to acquire those, he would have a total of 15. Enough to last for a while.
Though he wanted to harvest more, this was the only nearby point.
The next one was 30 km further north, and even Kang-hoo couldn’t guarantee his safety there.
Punishers, as he’d seen before, were created in forms that mimicked various professions.
Furthermore, their levels adjusted according to the intruder’s level, meaning the difficulty always felt the same.
If a Level 1 came, it would match that level; if a Level 500 came, the Punisher’s level would adjust accordingly.
“A Qi Master, huh.”
The last Punisher he faced was an assassin; this time, it took on the form of a Qi Master.
Someone inexperienced in fighting Qi Masters might struggle, but Kang-hoo had experience ingrained in his bones.
Specifically, from his battle with Jung Seon-rak.
No matter how skillful the Punisher was, it was merely a weaker version of Jung Seon-rak.
Of course, he couldn’t let his guard down.
Kang-hoo recalled the first rule of his anti-Qi Master strategy: never hesitate. That was the key.
Alternating between acceleration and leaps, he charged toward the Punisher.
The Qi Master’s Qi Ball attacks were tricky and threatening, no doubt.
But hesitating or flinching would only allow the Qi Master to chain attacks, leading to injury or death.
That’s why Kang-hoo trusted his instincts and boldly rushed forward.
Swish.
The Punisher’s fingers subtly lowered. It was a movement signaling the imminent release of a Qi Ball.
He could predict the trajectory.
Unless there were special circumstances, Qi Balls had no homing ability.
Thus, they rarely curved or turned at sharp angles. It wasn’t something the Punisher could achieve.
So—
Bang!
As the Punisher launched the Qi Ball—
Kang-hoo bent his knees, lowering his body and gliding over the ground.
Watching the approaching Qi Ball, he didn’t forget to arch his back, dodging it smoothly.
This way, he maintained his momentum while skillfully evading the Qi Ball.
Simultaneously, Kang-hoo used Flash Blade to throw a dagger at the Punisher.
It was a two-pronged strategy, combining evasive maneuvers with an attack.
“......!”
The Punisher, momentarily flustered, raised a Qi Barrier half a beat too late, blocking the dagger attack.
Since a knockback effect was applied, the Punisher’s Qi Barrier shattered, causing him to be pushed back.
The Punisher immediately erected another Qi Barrier.
Unlike the transparent form of a typical Qi Master’s Qi Barrier, the Punisher’s was opaque.
In other words, both Kang-hoo and the Punisher were now hidden from each other’s view, unable to pinpoint each other’s positions.
It seemed like the Punisher’s plan was to obscure visibility and launch another round of threatening Qi Balls.
But—
【White Sun Slash】
Kang-hoo recognized the Punisher’s feeble strategy and was already preparing a big move.
The tip of his dagger was already brimming with condensed energy, growing into a potential calamity.