Ranker's Return

Chapter 197

Translator: rainbowturtle

Editor: LD & Jyazen

At this moment, Hyeonu’s body split into several parts. This wasn’t all. The red energy that flowed from Hyeonu’s body infiltrated the group leader’s body.

‘What is this?’ The group leader was once again surprised by Hyeonu’s bizarre footwork and the power controlling the group leader’s body.

“Sa...” The moment the leader tried to open his mouth, Dark Star pieced the group leader’s body. The group leader couldn’t even speak and just died. It was a meaningless death.

[Yu Jian of the Secret Camp has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

‘I’m right. He was from Milyeong,’ Hyeonu thought and decided that the Seongho Group had no more members of the Secret Camp. The treasury master and group leader had been members of the Secret Camp, and they had occupied the leadership positions. However, Wang San, the current treasury master, was a typical bandit.He was too stupid to be a member of the Secret Camp.

“Wang San, you saw it right? Your leader was panicked rather than angry when he heard about the Secret Camp member,” Hyeonu said.

“I admit it. The leader showed suspicious behavior. Even though he is now dead, the leader always had many secrets. He periodically hid the gold coins that were meant to be handed out to our brothers.” Wang San agreed with Hyeonu’s claim.

Yet this attitude flustered Hyeonu instead.‘What is with this guy?’

It was the same for the viewers. Wang San’s change in attitude was too dramatic.

-Wow, look at the transition.The group leader died, so he knew it immediately.

-He seems to be a typical opportunist.I really want to see the faces of those character programmers.

-This is a real personality ????.It’s really funny.

“Then guide me to the residence of the leader. I will look for evidence that he is the member of the Secret Camp I’m talking about.”

“I will go as well. It is the place I will be staying in the future, so I need to observe it with my own eyes. Ah, don’t worry. I won’t interfere.”

“Cough...” Hyeonu barely held back his laughter at Wang San’s unexpected words.

This bandit called Wang San had one of the top three personalities Hyeonu had faced in his long gaming career.

“Then let’s go,” Wang San said.

After hearing those words, Hyeonu looked around. It was to find Tang-E. However, Tang-E wasn’t visible.

‘Why is he hidden so well?’

Since Hyeonu couldn’t find Tang-E, he didn’t need to worry about Tang-E being found by other mountain bandits. Hyeonu abandoned his worries about Tang-E and headed to the leader’s residence under Wang Nan’s guidance.

***

“It is cleaner than I thought it would be.”This was Hyeonu’s impression after seeing the leader’s residence. It was cleaner than he had expected it to be.There was no mess. It was more like a scholar’s study than the residence of a bandit. Ironically, this made them convinced that the dead leader, Yu Jian, was indeed a member of the Secret Camp.

“It is impossible for a brother of Heuk Mountain to have such an orderly room. It seems that the leader was indeed the Secret Camp member that you mentioned,” Wang San stated.

In Hyeonu’s mind, Wang San wasn’t a mountain bandit any longer but an orc.This simple and ignorant mindset was just like an orc’s. Hyeonu ignored Wang San’s words and started to rummage through the room. It was very easy to get around because it was well organized. Hyeonu managed to find what he was trying to find quite quickly.

[Ledger]

[A book with a very short list of names.]

However, the contents written inside weren’t light at all. The ledger contained the flow of gold coins, including how and to where the gold coins stolen from merchant groups were distributed.

[-Buncheonru.]

All the gold coins were heading for Buncheonru. This might be an intermediate stop, but this was the only information Hyeonu had currently.

[Investigate the Seongho Group 1/1]

This was enough for Hyeonu to clear the quest.

[Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s Steps]

[The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior had very powerful martial arts, but he was highly opposed to bandits.

Investigate the Seongho Group to find out why the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior was in conflict with them.

Rating: S+

Conditions: Investigate the Seongho Group 0/1

Rewards: Experience, information about the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior.]

[Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s Steps has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have obtained information about the movements of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior.]

‘Then how will I be given the information?’

This question was raised naturally. The information didn’t take a precise form. It was common to receive books with information or hear it from someone. This time, there wasn’t a solid reward. As if it understood Hyeonu’s question, the system offered compensation in a way that was too game-like.

A message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Observing the steps of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior.]

Shortly after the message disappeared, Hyeonu’s screen flashed black.

***

-What is it?What is this?

-The streaming is turned off. What’s going on?Why is it suddenly a black screen?

-No, Alley Leader.What’s going on?It is a black screen.

The chat window immediately heated up the moment a black stream was all that displayed on Alley Leader’s stream. It was an important scene in the stream yet the screen turned black. They naturally couldn’t help being angry. Then the viewers heard a voice that made their anger disappear.

“Everyone, the screen will be dark for a moment. Please wait a bit. It is because my vision is currently black,” Hyeonu conveyed the current situation. He didn’t know what was going on exactly. All he knew that his vision had been flashing since the message window appeared. A short time later, Hyeonu’s vision became brighter. However, the perspective was a bit strange.

“Everyone, I seem to be floating in the sky right now...?”

Hyeonu’s field of view was the third person perspective that the viewers often saw. He was looking at the scene from a step back.

-Hah, you’re currently flying.

- ??? Check if you have wings.????

-Then what exactly is going on right now?Give an explanation?

-Alley Leader, please explain.What is happening now?

Fortunately, the chat window was visible in Hyeonu’s field of view. He started to give a general explanation at the request of the viewers. “What’s the book I found? It was a quest clear condition.”

-Yes.

-I know that as well.

-I was watching the stream, so naturally, I know that.

“The reward given was information—information I need to get an item. After that, as you can see, there is the black screen and observation perspective. Do you understand?”

-Yes, Alley Leader, I understand.

-So you just need to watch directly.

-Yes.It isn’t a big deal.

Viewers understood the situation after Hyeonu’s explanation. Then they said it wasn’t a problem. These were the viewers of streamers.

***

After a while, people appeared in Hyeonu’s field of view. They were people chasing a middle-aged man. At first glance, the number of chasers seemed to exceed 100. The middle-aged warrior ran for a long time before stopping.

“Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior! I’ve been waiting for today! Today is the last day for you!”The man who was the leader of the pursuers shouted at the middle-aged warrior, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior.

‘Is this man the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior?’Hyeonu realized the identity of the middle-aged man being chased. However, he couldn’t afford to think about it. It was because the situation in front of him started to become urgent.

“Aren’t you chasing after me because I am a member of the Mysterious Sky Sect? I know that you are from the Gucheon Secret Department,” the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior said.

The leader of the pursuers burst out laughing at the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s words.“You figured it out? Indeed, you are the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior. You’re one of the best martial artists of this age. That’s right. Our Gucheon Secret Department was almost destroyed by your Mysterious Sky Demonic Sage. This time, it is time to get rid of a bud. You were targeted the moment it was known you were the bud of the Mysterious Sky Sect.”

The moment the leader’s words were over, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior and the leader clashed. It was a clash between two people, but the other pursuers soon joined in the battle. Countless black blades of pure energy poured out from the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s sword. They swept through some of the pursuers.

‘Mysterious Sky Range.’ Hyeonu watched the battle between the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior and his pursuers like it was a movie. Was this how the viewers felt when they watched his battles? It was so exciting that he couldn’t look away for a moment.

‘Oh, he realized it isn’t possible?’

The leader raised his hands, and the pursuers who entered the battle quickly escaped. This was the right judgment. If the leader of the pursuers could fully handle the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior, then letting the other pursuers join was just useless damage. Instead, it was better for him to compete against the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior alone and save the power of his men.

‘I almost fell for it.’Hyeonu frowned at the thought. He was reminded of the bad things he had been through in other games in the past.

‘Let’s concentrate. I have to memorize every conversation in this battle.’ Hyeonu soon shook his head vigorously. Then he started to focus on the battle in front of him. He couldn’t even see the chat window in front of him.

“As expected of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior. Excellent. I’ll face you again.” The leader of the pursuers pulled out another sword and threw it to the ground. It was to have as few cumbersome things as possible.

“Would you have brought them if you could’ve killed me?” The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior didn’t stop moving his mouth even in the midst of a crisis.No, the more he was at a disadvantage, the more vulgar words that he uttered.

‘He is lacking. He has no choice but to induce the other person’s carelessness,’ Hyeonu commented inwardly.

This was the strategy of the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior. Nevertheless, the leader of the pursuers was unaffected by the taunts. He didn’t fall for it.

“Let’s compete slowly. I will see how long you can make fun of me with that mouth.”The leader started his footwork and wielded his sword.

The distance between the two people narrowed in an instant. The battle between the two people was fierce. A dragon and tiger fighting each other, one was just as bad as the other, there was almost no difference, it was difficult to tell who was superior due to the similar skills, etc—it was a waste no matter which expression was used to describe it.

Once the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior attacked, the leader naturally blocked and counterattacked. The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior avoided the leader’s counterattack with graceful movements and then attacked again. Even so, it couldn’t be similar forever. In the first place, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior had health and stamina problems due to having been on the run for the last few days.

‘Three times? No, there are around two left.’The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior calmly analyzed the situation. With his remaining strength, he would be able to use two or three more skills. After that, it was over.

‘I have to watch my strength to see how I can win,’ the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior thought. Energy flowed from the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior, and his movements became noticeably cautious.

The leader sensed it.He instinctively knew what the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior was aiming for.‘Three times, three at most. After that, it is my victory.’ The leader took a defensive stance. It was an attitude where he was determined to hold on no matter what.

However, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior was forced to move forward even if he knew this. The more that time was dragged out, the more unfavorable it was for him. ‘There are close to 100 men left on his side. I have to finish it and get out of this place.’

The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior scraped up his remaining internal energy and pushed it into his sword. He used footwork to approach the leader using his limited amount of energy left. The leader’s sword deflected the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s sword.

There was just one problem. The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s attack was slightly—just ever so slightly—stronger than the leader expected. This caused the leader to show a small gap, and the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior accurately broke through that gap. The Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s strength blew away half of the leader’s body. In return, the Mysterious Sky Demonic Senior’s sword failed to withstand the shock and split into two.

Just then, another group of people appeared.

‘They are...?’ Hyeonu’s eyes opened so widely that they could not open any bigger.