Ranker's Return

Chapter 228

Translator: rainbowturtle

Editor: LD & Jyazen

Beyond lost strength in his legs and directly fell to the ground. The present reality was too embarrassing. The situation in front of him was too unbelievable. It was an extremely unusual sight. Alley Leader’s pet had hidden himself from the very beginning.

At first, he was held in Alley Leader’s arms. Then after Alley Leader drew his sword, the pet didn’t appear. It was probably a reverse summoning. So why did the battle become so one-sided? It didn’t make any sense to Beyond. The current situation still was an unexplained mystery even though he knew their stats had fallen due to the strange debuffs from Alley Leader. Just how exactly did Alley Leader not get a single scratch while killing so many rankers?

‘This is ridiculous!’

Three of the six leaders had already been logged out. The only ones remaining were Preby and Matsumoto. Out of the 24 players on Team Hell, there were less than 10 remaining. Nearly 30 members of Zenith had long been struck down by Alley Leader’s sword.

Alley Leader was brutal. Their levels were totally different. His items were excellent, his stats were high, and his skills were strong. This much wasn’t the problem. It was simply a difference in dimension.

‘I didn’t see any pure energy.’

Alley Leader’s combat style was really plain. Avoid the opponents’ attacks, attack, and aim at the essentials—the combination of these three was invincible, just like now. Preby’s long sword that was covered with blue pure energy quickly stabbed at Hyeonu’s shoulder.

Hyeonu didn’t move much. He just lightly moved his upper body. Once the attack missed, there was inevitably a gap. Hyeonu passed through this gap like a demon. The Mysterious Sky Sword cut halfway through Preby’s armor-covered shoulder. No sword energy was used; it was just a normal hit.

“Uwah!!!” Preby screamed in pain. This was already the seventh time. It was clear that Alley Leader was deliberately not using pure energy. Preby would’ve been logged out already if pure energy had been used. Then he wouldn’t have to go through this pain...

Fear slowly started to settle in his eyes as he realized the reality of the situation. Sweat flowed down his forehead. Trauma...

Alley Leader had already become Preby’s trauma. The next time he met Hyeonu, Preby wouldn’t be able to hold up his head high like before. He would lower his shoulder and bow his head. This was the attitude he would have toward a predator.

Looking at the flowing blood, the Mysterious Sky Sword bared its sharp teeth toward the immobile Preby. His head was separated from his body and flew through the air. Then Hyeonu lightly shook the blood off the Mysterious Sky Sword. However, the Mysterious Sky Sword was soaked in the blood of dozens of people and didn’t easily show its original appearance.

Nevertheless, Hyeonu didn’t care and just placed the Mysterious Sky Sword on his shoulder. “Why do you keep going back and forth? You don’t mean to run away now, do you? What about your dead colleagues? Bring it on. This battle is very enjoyable.”

Hyeonu stepped forward, and they stepped back. It wasn’t just once. This was repeated several times like he was playing the game ‘Why did you come to my house?’

“I won’t chase you if you want to escape. I told you that I’m a busy person. Make a decision quickly. Fight hard or crawl away with your tail between your legs,” Hyeonu said while stretching out his hand.

The masked man was staring specifically at two people—the leaders. They already had no intention of fighting. To be exact, they had lost their fighting spirit. As they knelt before Alley Leader’s overwhelming power, Matsumoto and Beyond were overwhelmed by Alley Leader’s words. He wouldn’t chase them if they fled. The suggestion was quite tempting, but there were just too many things to consider at once.

“What to do...” Beyond muttered.

While Beyond was struggling, Matsumoto said, “I think we need to send the kids away first and think about it.”

Matsumoto’s plan was simple—hit Alley Leader and then run away. That way, they were able to minimize the damage. However, this couldn’t happen in front of the guild members. It was quite difficult to restore a crumbling dignity. If so, it would be better to die in Alley Leader’s hands.

‘I will only lose a bit of experience anyway.’

It was a decision that Matsumoto could make because he wasn’t a murderer and wouldn’t receive any major damage.

‘We can run away as soon as we get rid of all eyes.’

“Let’s do that.” Beyond wasn’t stupid. He noticed the meaning of Matsumoto’s words and nodded.

“Run away. We’ll take care of the back,” Beyond ordered in a solemn voice.

There was just a problem Beyond and Matsumoto hadn’t thought about. The guild members shook their heads and showed a willingness to remain.

‘They can’t do this...’ Beyond’s face was red under his mask. It was evidence of his dismay.

“What? Aren’t you going to leave quickly? Leave and go improve the moods of the other kids!” He eventually shouted.

However, it had no effect on the Zenith Guild players and Team Hell players. “We can’t leave by ourselves. We will fight with Master as long as Master is present.”

Beyond and Matsumoto were on the verge of breaking down. If the situation carried on like this, it would be wasting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the worst case situation, it didn’t matter if the two of them died. The problem was if the guild members who were murderers and had at least 30 points in wicked deeds died. The damage the guilds had already received meant they would have to take a month or two to focus on restoring their power. The guild leaders’ eyes darkened at thought of the remaining members dying.

“Go quickly!” Beyond screamed loudly and waved his hands.

Hyeonu stood far away and observed them.

‘Loyal subordinates and leaders doing a profit and loss calculation. The combination of the two...’

Hyeonu was having a lot of fun with this situation. He didn’t know who had survived, but the two masters were ordering their guild members to flee. It was because this was the best way—the best option for those who didn’t know their true reality. However, the guild members were moved by the sacrifices of their masters and chose to stay and fight to the end. This was why the masters were screaming like this.

‘Considering the damage they’ve already suffered, it will be hard for them to even dip their toes in this main scenario.’

It didn’t matter if they fled or struggled to the end; Hyeonu had already achieved his purpose. Now it was time for him to enjoy the situation in earnest. Hyeonu organized his thoughts and intervened in the conversation, “I am in tears from witnessing your loyalty. Therefore, I will do my best to match it. Bring it on. Now I will finish it in one blow.”

Beyond’s and Matsumoto’s thoughts became more urgent. For some reason, Alley Leader, who had been watching them, started to move. They would be wiped out if this continued. The two leaders couldn’t understand why the members were being so stubborn.

“Please run away. This is a command, not a request! If you die, our guild is doomed. I don’t know how many months it will take to get back to the same position.” Matsumoto and Beyond shouted the same words to their guild members.

“Master...”

“We need power for revenge. Dying here is just dying like a dog. Revenge can only be done after surviving. We will be on a higher level once the damage has been repaired. It will be impossible to beat us at that time. So... go to Derek Castle and log out,” Beyond said desperately.

Now was really their last chance to persuade the guild members. There were no more opportunities. Now that Alley Leader had started to move, Beyond and Matsumoto could only endure his attack one more time. Alley Leader said he wouldn’t pursue the other members, but Beyond didn’t believe in that promise.

“Understood, Master. We will be waiting for you to contact us.” One of Team Hell’s players gripped Beyond’s hand tightly before turning around and running away without looking back.

Then Hyeonu affirmed, “I won’t chase them as promised. The two of you, challenge me at once. Maybe you can win?”

Beyond and Matsumoto held their weapons and stared at Hyeonu without replying.

‘I will step on you properly. This way, you won’t come back later.’

The one thing Hyeonu noticed from today’s battle was that it was quite enjoyable. It was different from his previous experiences in virtual reality games. He was the best now and would be the best in the future. Thinking of this as an event, Hyeonu laughed confidently.

‘I have nothing to lose. Isn’t it better for them to come at me?’

In addition, the damage was only to those who had messed with him. It was either a loss of items, experience, or intangible damage to their image.

“I’ll take care of the left side. Beyond, you are in charge of the right,”Matsumoto said. He wanted to avoid a frontal confrontation by aiming at Alley Leader’s side.

Beyond replied, “I understand. Let’s do our best. Won’t it be a waste to just die? By all means... let’s get revenge.”

Beyond and Matsumoto flew toward Hyeonu with grim expressions.

‘This time, I won’t die as I did before.’ Matsumoto gritted his teeth and extended his left hand.

A red energy emerged accordingly. This attack wasn’t the end. Seeing Matsumoto draw his sword, Beyond also swung his sword at Hyeonu. Beyond’s sword waved like a whip, and blue sword energy shot at Hyeonu. It was an exquisite combination. They weren’t master rankers in the arena for nothing. The red and blue sword energies naturally constrained Hyeonu’s left and right sides.

Hyeonu’s response to this was extremely simple. He injected magic power into the Mysterious Sky Sword and deflected the two sword energies with a snap of his wrist. Naturally, the direction of the pure energy changed. The sword energies returned to their owners at an even faster speed. Beyond and Matsumoto were frightened. Their attacks were returned in the original state...

It was their first time seeing such a thing. However, they couldn’t just stand by and watch. The two of them poured out their skills to stop it.

‘Crescent Moon Cut!’

At the same time, two blades of pure energy were released from the men’s swords. It was to prevent the crescent-shaped sword energy Hyeonu had just fired. The red sword energy and the blue sword energy were smothered. They returned to nothingness.

It was only Hyeonu’s crescent-shaped sword energy that remained. It was a crescent moon twice as large as the pure energy the two men had fired. The black crescent didn’t target Beyond and Matsumoto. It passed a few meters above their heads.

This alone made their hairs stand up.

“Fight well. Otherwise, isn’t it meaningless to send the other members away? Masters in the arena shouldn’t have just this level of skill...”

Hyeonu was sarcastic. Even so, Matsumoto and Beyond didn’t get angry. It was because the shock they received was too great.

“I hope that today’s meeting will be our last. This is the last time I’ll go easy on you.”

The Mysterious Sky Sword shone eerily.