CHAPTER 79
Skirmish (2)
Go Inseok watched as Ha Donggun was sent flying, and thought to himself:
"He's no ordinary human."
He had aimed to crush the man's skull.
But the moment his fist connected, Ha Donggun had twisted his body midair, using the momentum to lessen the impact dramatically.
Not only that — Ha Donggun had reacted perfectly to his punch.
Though he hadn't managed to block it completely and his spear shaft had shattered, his reaction speed was nothing short of extraordinary.
And then—
Fwoosh—
Go Inseok glanced down at the broken spear shaft embedded in his chest, black energy seeping from the wound.
This was proof of a counterattack.
Just before being sent flying, Ha Donggun had thrown his spear.
Despite his unstable posture, the force behind it was unbelievable — powerful enough to pierce Go Inseok's skin.
"That was close!"
If it had driven in even a little deeper, it would've pierced his heart.
He yanked the spear from his chest, but the wound still burned with black flame-like energy.
Scowling, Go Inseok used his blood to extinguish the dark fire.
Sizzle—
"That one dies first."
He was about to charge forward to finish Ha Donggun—
Dudududu—!
A loud burst of gunfire erupted right in front of him.
But—
Ting-ting-ting—!
The bullets didn't even scratch Go Inseok's skin, bouncing harmlessly in every direction.
Annoyed, he swung his fist with full force at the empty space where the gunfire had come from, while still sprinting toward Ha Donggun.
Whooooom!
It was a blind swing — but not without effect.
Crackle!
"Guh!"
Moon Byungho's figure shimmered into view, unable to fully dodge the punch that had swept right past him at close range.
His invisibility had broken.
Go Inseok raised his leg, intending to crush the irritating insect first—
Stab!
Suddenly, searing pain flared in both his eyes.
"AAAAARGH!"
Grabbing his face, Go Inseok screamed in agony.
His vision went black.
But just before he lost his sight — he saw it.
Bullets materializing out of thin air, seemingly summoned from nowhere.
Go Inseok stomped down with all his might at the spot where Moon Byungho had stood.
KA-BOOM!
Of course, Byungho was already gone.
"Tch."
As Go Inseok clenched his eyes shut, blood tears streaming down his face, a glowing arrow streaked toward him.
Sensing danger instinctively, he twisted his body.
Thunk!
The arrow, charged with piercing energy, narrowly grazed past him.
But his left arm was not so lucky — it was skewered clean through.
"You son of a—!"
Cursing in fury, he charged toward the direction the arrow had come from.
"Rise!"
Suddenly, armored knights of steel materialized before him, blocking his path.
CRASH!
His wild punches smashed and crushed their armor without mercy.
But it didn't matter if a few fell.
Kang Deoksoo could summon up to thirty of them.
One by one, they began to cling to Go Inseok's arms and legs, weighing him down.
"You worthless pests!"
Go Inseok was livid.
None of them could stand against him in a one-on-one fight.
The invisible one was only mildly annoying at best, and the summoner of steel golems was merely stalling for time.
The real threats were Kim Gayoung — with her unnaturally powerful arrows — and Ha Donggun — with his black flames.
Frankly, if either of them had come at him alone, he was confident he could crush them in seconds.
"Insignificant vermin!"
Individually, they were nothing.
But together — their relentless assault was overwhelming, leaving him no room to breathe.
Especially now, blinded as he was, it was difficult to respond properly.
"First, I need to regenerate my eyes!"
He was focusing all of his regenerative power on healing them.
And then—
SWOOSH!
He sensed something terrifying flying toward him.
Go Inseok twisted his body — but with the steel knights restraining him, he couldn't dodge properly.
Stab!
A sharp object pierced deep into his shoulder.
Fwoooosh—
He knew this energy.
He could feel black flames writhing across his right shoulder once again.
Clicking his tongue, Go Inseok muttered:
"Just… a little longer…"
If he could hold out just a little longer, he would turn the tide.
Thunk!
Another arrow of light skimmed dangerously close to his heart.
And then—
"Got it."
Slowly, Go Inseok opened his left eye.
He had concentrated all his regeneration ability into one eye, healing it as quickly as possible.
At first, his vision was blurry, but with every blink, the clarity sharpened.
And when the world finally came back into focus—
He saw it.
An arrow of light flying straight for his heart.
Craack!
Go Inseok twisted his body, effortlessly dodging the attack. Then, he finally began to move in earnest.
BOOM!
He shook off the steel knights clinging to him in an instant and yanked out the spear lodged in his shoulder. Without hesitation, he charged straight toward the woman firing the arrows.
It was because he judged that the arrows of light she unleashed were far more dangerous than the spears Ha Donggeon was throwing.
Throb!
Veins bulged grotesquely across Go Inseok's legs.
BOOM!
Shattering the concrete beneath his feet, he shot forward like a bullet, aiming a powerful punch straight at Kim Gayoung's heart.
But at that moment—
Swish!
Moon Byungho appeared out of thin air.
Perhaps because of his recent experience of losing his eyes to an attack, Go Inseok reflexively shut his left eye.
Instead of attacking blindly, he extended his hand toward Moon Byungho and Kim Gayoung.
His plan was simple — grab them and drain their blood.
However—
Swish!
Just before his hand could reach them, their figures dissolved into the air like a mirage.
Feeling nothing in his grasp, Go Inseok clicked his tongue and cracked a bitter smile, opening his left eye just a sliver.
Slowly turning around, he found himself completely surrounded — Ha Donggeon, Kang Deoksu, Moon Byungho, Kim Gayoung, and dozens of steel knights had encircled him.
And that wasn't all.
Growl.
From the direction where the poison gas had cleared, a massive bear came charging forward — with a girl riding on its back.
As Kim Dajeong, riding on Oh Wonju's back, reached her hand out toward Ha Donggeon's party—
Wooooong.
A radiant light enveloped the four of them, and their aura grew noticeably fiercer.
Go Inseok grinned and asked,
"So… it was you guys who killed that idiot Jung Younghoon."
Ha Donggeon's party simply glared at him in silence.
Looking at their expressions, Go Inseok let out a bitter laugh.
"What a shame… I really let my guard down."
The battlefield grew tense — like a taut wire on the verge of snapping.
"If only you'd brought two… no, even one more person… It would've been you lying dead here today."
And then—
Go Inseok moved.
But not toward Ha Donggeon's party — he turned the other way.
Spotting him leaping over the fence that blocked both sides, Ha Donggeon shouted.
"After him!"
But in that moment—
[No need.]
A calm voice echoed — Kim Jaehyun.
And at the same time—
Graaahk!
A death cry of a high-ranking vampire rang out from beyond the fence.
Moments later, the battlefield fell eerily silent.
"…Huh?"
Moon Byungho, who had teleported to the top of the train fence to pursue Go Inseok, stared blankly at the scene below.
There — standing amidst the faint glow of blue light — was a middle-aged man, his hand piercing straight through the heart of a high-ranking vampire.
And as if evaporating, the vampire's corpse disappeared.
Moon Byungho was momentarily struck with panic.
'Even if we'd worn him down…'
That monster's skin had been hardened to the point where bullets couldn't penetrate it.
Only Ha Donggeon's cursed spear or Kim Gayoung's arrows infused with piercing skills had been able to damage it.
But this man had crushed the heart of such a creature — with his bare hand — in a single blow.
Seeing the man who had obliterated a high-ranking vampire in one strike, Moon Byungho trembled faintly.
'Who… is this guy?'
In that instant—
Swish—
The man vanished from sight — and reappeared right next to Moon Byungho.
"Whoa!"
Seeing someone other than himself use teleportation for the first time, Moon Byungho lost his balance atop the fence and fell.
Swish—
But before he could hit the ground, the man's figure blurred again — catching Moon Byungho just before impact.
With a gentle smile, the man turned to Ha Donggeon's party.
"You must be my son's friends, right?"
While the others stood frozen, still in shock, Ha Donggeon — already familiar with the man — stepped forward and greeted him.
"It's been a while, sir."
"Sir?"
As the other party members tilted their heads in confusion, Ha Donggeon introduced the man.
"This is Jaehyun's father."
Right on cue, Kim Donghyuk bowed politely.
"It's an honor to meet you."
Watching my dad finish off the vampire with ease, I let out a long sigh of relief.
"Whew…"
When Ha Donggeon's party began chasing after the high-ranking vampire, I had contacted my dad at the main house for help.
"I knew he was strong because of the Bloodline Buff… but I didn't expect him to be this overwhelming."
Even Ha Dong-gun's party, empowered by their own title buffs, fought well above their level — yet they didn't even come close to the sheer might of his father, clad in his protective energy aura.
[You have slain a High-Rank Vampire (Lv. 50).]
[You have gained an enormous amount of experience points.]
Due to the Bloodline penalty, no monetary rewards came through — but the experience gain was even more heavily boosted in return.
Naturally.
[Your skill level has increased.]
His level rose.
"Haaah."
He braced himself for the pain that always accompanied the expansion of his domain.
***
It felt like his brain was about to melt from the agony — a pain so infamous it needed no introduction.
The only saving grace was that he had only leveled up once this time, and the domain expansion process ended faster than before.
"Huuu…"
[You have discovered individuals within your domain who meet the conditions for citizenship.]
[Would you like to grant them citizenship?]
After confirming the new people who had been drawn into his expanded domain, he granted them citizenship one by one before collapsing onto the sofa like a deflated balloon.
"You okay now, oppa?"
"Yeah. It's done."
Seo Yejin handed him a glass of ice-cold water.
"Good job."
"Thanks."
As he drank the cool water and crunched on the ice, he felt his tension ease just a little.
"So I have to go through this pain four more times to earn skill points…"
That was when it happened.
[Citizen Moon Byungho has used up all available daily quests for today.]
[Evaluating Citizen Moon Byungho's completed quests.]
[Evaluating…]
He had made sure that everyone he had brought under his command, including Ha Dong-gun's party, completed all three daily quests without fail.
The efficiency far outweighed the cost — so missing even a single day wasn't an option.
Naturally, he had been receiving dozens of daily quest rewards every day, though he didn't expect much from them anymore.
"Maybe I'll get a bit of mental strength this time?"
He thought about it seriously.
"Is there a way to develop resistance to pain?"
Would enduring painful quests somehow raise pain resistance?
With the growing population, the number of people doing stupid things was slowly increasing too.
Wouldn't it be possible to punish such people while simultaneously cultivating pain resistance in preparation for future level-ups?
He was lost in these idle thoughts when…
[Evaluation complete.]
Moon Byungho's daily quest evaluation had concluded.
[Jackpot!]
[Congratulations.]
[You have acquired Skill Points.]
It was that reward — the one he had only received once before — now appearing right in front of him.
"Huh?"
He could only stare in stunned silence at the unexpected gift.
***
In a bathtub filled with blood, a man slowly rose to his feet.
Delicately sculpted muscles, like those of a statue, emerged from beneath the crimson water.
The room was over 30 square meters — almost like a small bathhouse.
As the man stood up, a naked woman who had been waiting nearby began diligently wiping the blood from his body with a towel.
The man waited for a moment, then slowly opened the bathroom door.
Kneeling outside, a woman was waiting for him.
He spoke to her.
"Go In-seok is dead."
"…!!"
"You'll need to head to Busan."
"Understood."
The woman bowed her head deeply.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]