PLAYER – CHAPTER 48

— I knew you were the devil!

When Ronald heard Kang Yu proclaim he was the devil, he frowned, glared, and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

— For the sake of my people in Arnan! For the weeping children! I, Ronald von Arnan, will execute you myself!

Maryok, glowing in a holy gold color, started coming out of his body. His long blonde hair began to develop in the wind, reminiscent of a scene from a movie.

Following his example, both the middle-aged man standing behind him with a shield and the dwarf holding a hammer moved towards Kang Yu.

— Ha-ha! Well done, Ronald! If you could catch the dragon, you can handle the devil too!

— We'll have to drink dark beer later with our newcomers,— Ronald said to the middle-aged man and dwarf.

Hearing Ronald say these words, the cheeks of the girl dressed in a brown dress puffed into a pout.

The elf standing next to her sighed and uttered a sigh:

— Whatever you please. But Ronald, your opponent is the devil. Do you think you can handle it?

— Whether I can do it or not, it doesn't matter! I just have to do it! — Ronald declared resolutely, and raised his sword to the sky.

'Look at him, that's eloquence.' Kang Yu winced when he looked at Ronald's eyes, which seemed ready to burn with real flames.

In this situation, he should have been trembling with fear.

'What's wrong with these guys? They need to see a doctor.'

Ronald and his party were lost in their own atmosphere of passion and excitement.

The sharp sword of the golden-haired man suddenly flew towards Kang Yu.

He reacted quickly and readied his black blade for battle.

To his surprise, the elf's sword split in half and exploded.

Its impact was comparable to a real bomb, shaking the ground around him.

'I should be more careful.' Kang Yu had no idea that the sword could split into two and explode.

'As expected, the equipment is helpful.' If Kang Yu had no equipment, he would have suffered from the unanticipated attack.

But thanks to Moon Yeon Ho's armor and a few epic-level items, the blast in the air caused no damage to Kang Yu/

While Kang Yu was thinking to himself about the benefits of his equipment, Ronald turned to his companions:

— Get ready to defend.

It was time for a retaliatory strike.

[Power of Explosion]

In Kang Yu's hands, the black smoke began to take on a spherical shape.

Once the ball was fully formed, Kang Yu firmly clenched his fists.

[Melting Rain]

A special technique created by Kang Yu using the Power of Explosion.

The sphere that had been the size of a basketball suddenly split into dozens of spheres the size of a billiard ball.

Kang Yu lifted his hand slightly and the spheres flew towards Ronald's party.

— Defense! — The middle-aged man raised his shield. — Ouch! —

He screamed as his shield formed a blue wall in front of them.

Kang Yu looked at it and couldn't hold back a grin.

— Too bad. You failed.

The dozens of spheres flying in their direction changed trajectory sharply and headed straight for the ground beneath them.

The young man standing at the front of the party was sent flying by the force of the blast wave.

— Hans! — Ronald cried out, and whipped his head to look at Kang Yu with hatred: — How dare you?! —

'You started it, idiot.' If someone saw the angry look on Ronald's face now, they'd think Kang Yu was the one who attacked first without warning.

Kang Yu stared at the outraged blond man indifferently.

— I'll never forgive you!

— Neither will I, you jerk.

The man was acting as if he'd already forgotten that he was the one to attack Kang Yu first.

Kang Yu pushed off the ground and flew towards Ronald.

— First rank fencing: Lightning Blade!

'Why does everyone rush into battle loudly calling out the name of their technique?' It's easy to guess an attack from its name, so announcing it would only be a setback to destroying your opponent in one blow. 'It makes it possible to prepare the necessary defense.'

Kang Yu sharpened his gaze and used the Power of Iron Curtain.

As the name implies, the sharp swords flying towards Kang Yu were redirected like a hurricane. Just as they reached him, the blades ran into an invisible wall and rebounded back to the blond man.

— Ronald!!!

— You bastard!

The dwarf and elf helped to block the counterattack while Ronald continued shooting attacks at Kang Yu.

Kang Yu nonchalantly turned to the side and three arrows whizzed past his head. After successfully avoiding the attack, he swiftly raised his hand in the axe-holding dwarf's direction.

[Lightning Strike]

The charge instantly hit the target, and the dwarf was thrown far back, choking in pain.

Kang Yu moved closer to finish what he started.

— Take this! Fireball! — At the same time, someone shot at him.

It turned out to be the girl standing behind him with the staff.

Her attack was so strong that Kang Yu, who felt slight pain even through his armor, thought she posed a higher threat than the dwarf. Deciding to get rid of her first, he turned in her direction.

Ronald, who had been thrown back, rushed at Kang Yu again.

The golden light exuding from his body was proof that he was strong. The earth around him trembled like there was an earthquake.

'I guess he's not that weak.' Kang Yu glanced at the blond and decided to leave the girl alone for now.

Ronald, with his holy power, was a little stronger than Moon Yeon Ho.

In this state, he was most likely strong enough to kill a Boer.

Kang Yu and Ronald faced each other, both in a fighting stance.

Their golden and black forces merged in the air, destroying everything in their path.

The golden sword split into two and exploded again.

Because the explosion happened right in front of his eyes, Kang Yu's body was sent flying.

— Ha! Did you see that, lousy devil?

Kang Yu couldn't believe what was happening right now.

'If I hadn't focused on getting rank 5, I'd be in danger.'

Ronald's skills exceeded all expectations.

Based on strength alone, he might well be stronger than Kang Yu.

'Maybe he was hunting a dragon for a reason, though.' When he thought about saving Echidna, Kang Yu clicked his tongue impatiently.

'However…' Kang Yu's eyes gleamed coldly. 'He's only physically strong.'

As Kang Yu approached Ronald, he screamed out loud:

— Boomerang!

Reacting to Kang Yu's scream, Ronald took out his sword and prepared to defend himself.

Kang Yu, however, did not use a boomerang at all. Bending low, Kang Yu kicked at his opponent's legs hard.

Ronald bent over in pain, wrapping his arms around his bruised legs, and bawled.

— You dirty demon! You said 'Boomerang!' — The man glared at Kang Yu with unforgiving eyes.

'You're just stupid.' Kang Yu wasn't one of those fools who screamed the name of the attack in advance.

Making use of his opponent's foolish habits had given the Player a huge advantage.

— Ro… Ronald!

— Ah… Everyone… everyone, run. He's too strong!

— It can't be! You're telling me to leave you here?!

— Hurry up! — Continuing to clutch onto his wounded legs, Ronald screamed.

Hot tears rolled from his eyes.

— Good job! — Kang Yu, as if watching a drama film, smiled lightheartedly and approached the blond man.

— You… — Ronald scowled at him with a burning look.

Kang Yu understood his anger but didn't hesitate to stand close to him.

'This fight is already over.'

For a soldier, the most important thing is his legs.

If his arm had been cut off or his ribs had been broken, he could have continued to fight, but in a situation where his legs were hurt, everything was different.

A soldier who was unable to move could only be compared to a vegetable given an automatic rifle.

— Ah… h… hurry up, run! — Ronald wasn't stupid enough to not know the severity of the situation, so he tried his best to chase away his teammates.

More than anyone else, he was aware of the hopelessness of his situation.

'It's time to finish this.' Kang Yu, using Klink's power, created a bastard sword to pierce Ronald with.

There was no compassion or hatred in his eyes.

For Kang Yu, a 'fight' was nothing special.

He'd always fought to survive. Emotion was an impermissible luxury.

— Wait a minute!

— Raina…?

At that moment, a dark-haired girl ran up and blocked Ronald with her body.

Sobbing, she pleaded:

— I… I beg you! Don't kill him! If he dies, the Arnan people will lose hope!

Kang Yu didn't respond.

— And more importantly… Ronald is the man I love very much.

— Raina…

The girl named Raina kept crying and gently caressed Ronald's cheek.

— I'm sorry to confess like this. But… but if not now, I may never get another chance.

Looking determined, she turned to Kang Yu.

— Take my life instead. I'll do anything you say. I'm begging you! Please let him live!

Kang Yu listened to her pleas and pressed his lips tightly as he contemplated. Then, he said with a smile:

— You know, that was brazen of you.

Kang Yu walked slowly to Ronald and Raina as he kept talking.

— What? With his death, will the people lose hope? What am I supposed to do about that? What does that have to do with me? You were the ones who attacked me first. I didn't do anything wrong, did I? If our roles were reversed and I was the one who begged for mercy, would you let me live? Would you? — He continued in cold blood: — No, right? It's impossible. You were armed, too. If you're going to use weapons capable of killing, you should also be prepared to die. —

Kang Yu grasped Ronald's hand.

There was an explosion, and powerful Magi flowed from his hands.

Kang Yu looked at the pair in front of him, screaming and shaking in terror, and continued in a low tone:

— We're in reality, not a TV show.