Chapter 23
TL: Uncle Choi
Editor: Bait
After the battle between the orcs and the players persisted for over half a day.
“Let’s get out!”
“Let’s just end it here for today!”
Players left the front lines one by one and started to rest.
Then the players who took a break started to gather.
“Hey, there. You guys look terrible. Maybe you guys overestimated your abilities.”
“As if you guys are any different.”
“Why don’t you just stay behind and watch our belongings instead?”
“Uh? What? You want me to bury your bodies after you guys get f.u.c.ked?”
“Quiet down over there.”
“Let’s just rest while we have the time for it!”
Even though they were compet.i.tors, there wasn’t any reason to stay alone and leave openings for a gang of orcs to attack.
It was just much smarter to group up when taking a rest.
Naturally, those gathered talked and exchanged information.
“Orcs are beginning to move in an organized manner.”
“At first, only one or two of them moved at a time. But now, three or four of them are moving around as groups.”
“Our party saw more than ten in a group.”
Players exchanged bits of information, which were like puzzle pieces, steadily forming a own pictures of their current situation.
“Did you see anybody from the Lion Guild?”
“I saw them enter the colony but I haven’t seen them since.”
“Me neither.”
“Then, do you think they were wiped out?”
“It’s highly probable.”
Pictures like that weren’t always pleasant, especially the deaths of their collaborators.
On the other hand, no one was fazed by this fact.
‘Does this mean there are fewer compet.i.tors now?’
‘The Lion Guild’s items weren’t ordinary. I guess it will belong to whoever who picks them up now.’
‘This is why I can’t get enough of A rank dungeons.’
Rather, most of them felt joy in their hearts. They saw the deaths of other people as opportunities.
However, those emotions of joy did not last long.
“Did you guys see the Orc Champion?”
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
“It may just be a rumor, but it looks like a party already engaged with the Orc Champion.”
“What?!”
“ I heard some people saw the Orc Champion return to the colony while being full of wounds.”
The mood turned cold when they heard that a party already attacked and injured the Orc Champion.
‘I expected people to attack it, but to think that they would move so quickly…’
‘Should we have moved earlier than we had planned?’
In a situation where the achievements and rewards for hunting the Orc Champion were most likely to be of the legendary grade, everyone had their own plans for how to kill the Orc Champion.
‘Should we form a contact?’
‘But if we form a contact here, there will be people who would try to keep us in check…”
Some of the guilds already agreed to work together to deal with the Orc Champion. Under these circ.u.mstances, no player would simply let others take the Orc Champion away from them.
However, Kim Woo-jin, the source of the rumor, remained quiet.
He did not pay attention to the changing atmosphere.
‘It’s going as expected.’
This was why Kim Woo-jin spread the rumor.
Indeed, Kim Woo-jin started the rumors.
He started rumors that there were groups who already tried to kill the Orc Champion.
‘The battles will be even fiercer tomorrow.’
By spreading such rumors, he intended to make the other players fight more aggressively.
‘Then they will create another opening.’
He wanted to create another chance to hunt the Orc Champion.
“This is the only chance.’
He wasn’t anxious.
There was no reason to doubt or worry.
‘More players died than I thought.’
Rather, what troubled Kim Woo-jin for the moment was that a considerable number of people died on the first day.
He was uncertain but Kim Woo-jin estimated that at least three parties were wiped out today. Even considering the fact that this was an A+ rank Dungeon, such an outcome was unexpected.
‘All of the players came in with plenty of first aid supplies including potions, but the death toll is still usually high… This can’t just be due to the orcs.’
Indeed. In all likelihood, monsters were not main cause of the high death rate. ‘As expected, someone is hunting the players.’
Kim Woo-jin was certain that there were human hunters who were hunting the players here.
‘I guessed correctly.’
While pondering upon these ideas, Kim Woo-jin closed his eyes.
He wasn’t disappointed or disgusted by the fact that players were killing each other for benefits.
He no longer cared because he felt there wasn’t even a shred of hope left for those players in his heart. There was no reason for him to be disappointed.
‘I guess I should take care of it before it becomes more bothersome.’
Kim Woo-jin closed his eyes only because it was little irritating.
Like that, the second day of the dungeon attack began.
Second day of the dungeon attack.
A fiercer battle broke out around the orc colony compared to the day before.
“d.a.m.n it, there are so many!”
“If I knew this would happen, I would have fought in the back…”
The fierce battle was caused by the players’ launch into the inner area of the orc colony, which resulted in a huge battle.
As the players gathered together to attack. The orcs they were dealing with gathered together as well. Naturally, the situation became very chaotic and tense.
Keua!
“Everybody shut up and focus on the battle!”
In many places, there were bloodbaths that could not be avoided.
Due to unrelenting pressure, the Orc Champion, who was resting in the innermost part of the Orc Colony, wasn’t able to remain calm.
Kkrrrr!
The Orc Champion prepared to go to the battlefield once more.
This time, however, he was not accompanied by his men.
To be more accurate, his men weren’t willing to follow him.
It was due to the Orc Champion’s failure to control his anger and slaughtering his subordinates the day before.
Kkrrrr!
The Orc Champion didn’t really care about that.
To him, his subordinates were only a hindrance who would urinate if he pressured them.
It was better if the enraged Orc Champion didn’t see such an occurrence.
It appeared as if there was nothing in this dungeon that could stop the enraged Orc Champion.
Krrr?
Until Kim Woo-jin appeared.
Krrr?
When Kim Woo-jin appeared, the Orc Champion’s reaction was a mix of both embarra.s.sment and befuddlement.
Who could believe that a rabbit who stole a lion’s prey would once again appear in front of the lion?
Kim Woo-jin’s hand axe woke the Orc Champion from his bewilderment.
Whirik!
A hand axe flew toward the Orc Champion and the Orc Champion reflexively raised his arm to block the axe.
Puk!
The hatchet cut through the Orc Champion’s arm and remained stuck.
The depth of the wound was considerable.
[The Orc Champion is Under the Effect of Blood Poisoning.]
Because the wound was deep enough, it allowed the poisonous blood on the axe’s blade to seep into the Orc Champion’s’ body.
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin’s attack proved to be effective enough to make the Orc Champion nervous.
Kkrrrr!
Suddenly, the Orc Champion rushed toward Kim Woo-jin to kill him without any hesitation.
“Huu!”
Kim Woo-jin, rather than avoiding a direct conflict, rushed toward the Orc Champion as well.
Kim Woo-jin held a scimitar in his hand just like the Orc Champion and was about to cross blades with one and another.
However, the moment before the swords crossed, Kim Woo-jin lowered the swing of his sword, avoiding the Orc Champion’s scimitar, and instead created a gash the Orc Champion’s right thigh.
Siig!
This time, though not fatal, the wound was fairly deep.
Keuaaa!
He released his fury with all his might.
That’s was when…
Puk!
Puk!
Unexpectedly, arrows flew and pierced the Orc Champion’s body.
The surprised Orc Champion looked around while perplexed.
In the Orc Champion’s eyes, the skeleton soldiers who launched the arrows were faintly visible.
[The Orc Champion is Under the Effect of Blood Poisoning.]
The Orc Champion turned his head toward the skeleton soldiers after erupting in anger.
Right now, he was planning to pulverize the skeleton soldiers into dust.
Puk!
Then then a stone tapped its body.
The Orc Champion turned his head in the direction of the stone.
Kim Woo-jin was there.
Staring at the Orc Champion like a hunting dog ready to take a bite off his neck.
‘You aren’t supposed to look away.’
The Orc Champion should not have shown his back against such an opponent.
Keuaaa!
Finally, the Orc Champion fixed his eyes only at Kim Woo-jin.
‘I’ll bite you till I’m tired of it.’
This was the beginning of the fun part of the hunting dog’s hunt.
All humans were physically weak.
Despite being weak, humans had an advantageous trait as well.
Endurance was their strength.
For a long time, mankind had been successful hunters due their superior endurance in comparison to other animals.
It wasn’t just physical endurance that allowed them to run for two hours.
A human’s mental endurance was also far superior when comparison to other animals.
Despite how annoying or frustrating the situation became, humans were capable of patiently waiting for the right moment.
This characteristic was a great virtue in a hunt.
Kim Woo-jin demonstrated that patience really was a virtue in his fight against the Orc Champion.
‘Roughly ten minutes have elapsed.’
It was roughly ten minutes since the battle started, and Kim Woo-jin relentlessly attacked the Orc Champion for those ten minutes without a single break.
As a result, the Orc Champion’s body was riddled with wounds.
In accordance to his plan, there was not a single fatal wound.
Keu, ua, keua…
Instead, the Orc Champion seemed to have trouble breathing, looking as if he was close to pa.s.sing out. This situation was what Kim Woo-jin was actually after.
‘The nature of the Orc Champion is obvious.’
In a situation where he couldn’t land a fatal injury, Kim Woo-jin would rather bite and drag around his opponent rather than fight him directly.
Piyunng!
Moreover, Kim Woo-jin had a group of skeletons that accurately launched arrows made using his blood.
[The Orc Champion is Under the Effect of Blood Poisoning.] [The Orc Champion’s Health has Decreased.] [The Champion’s Resistances has Decreased.]
‘It was worth diligently saving up blood.’
The repeated attacks of his skeleton soldiers’ arrows as well as blood poison acc.u.mulating in the Orc Champion’s body were clearly inflicting a considerate amount of damage.
Keua, keua…
Nevertheless, the Orc Champion did not lose any momentum.
Die fighting and never retreating, that was the way of an Orc Champion.
One who would run away in battle wouldn’t hold the t.i.tle of “Champion” in its name.
‘Here it comes.’
That was how Kim Woo-jin was able to predict that the Orc Champion would try to squeeze every ounce of its remaining strength to make a final blow.
Keuaaaa!
As he had predicted, the Orc Champion rose once again and rushed toward his prey, holding in his unstable breathing.
He trampled the ground forcefully, instantly narrowing the distance between his target, then swung his scimitar downward.
Kwaaakk!
The scimitar fell straight into the ground.
Krrr!
At the same time, the Orc Champion’s face convulsed.
Because he had forcefully put most of his strength into that attack despite his awful condition, it had affected his wrist.
Puk!
Then Kim Woo-jin stabbed the Orc Champion’s right wrist with his knife.
Kaaaa!
The Orcs Champion walked backward in agony.
It was the first time that the Orc Champion let go of the weapon in his hand.
Sreung!
Finally, the moment when Kim Woo-jin would get a weapon that could deal a fatal blow to the Orc Champion had arrived.