Chapter 160 – Catch it or Be Caught (3)

7.

When Anugas appeared and it opened its eye, Hyrkan equipped the Circlet of Purification. However, it didn't work. Hyrkan, who had been looking at Anugas, shook his head from side to side.

The simulation in Hyrkan's head came to an end.

‘I'm pretty sure I remember the Red Bulls saying that the Circlet of Purification didn't work against Anugas.’

Hyrkan started the simulation again.

Hyrkan once again appeared in front of Anugas. When it opened its eye, it nullified all magic, magical recovery and the effect of magic recovery Items.

Hyrkan faced Anugas equipped with the Dark Spot set and the Deposed Prince's Sword. It was the best setting for a Striker in Warlord.

Hweek hweek.

Anugas' four arms came at Hyrkan like snakes, and he kept dodging them. He was swift in his dodges. He swung the Deposed Prince's Sword, and it scraped Anugas' body. A deep wound was made each time.

‘Its leather has considerable defensive capabilities. It might be better to use the Crying sword instead of the Deposed Prince's Sword.’

Hyrkan's sword suddenly changed from the Deposed Prince's Sword to the Crying Sword inside Hyrkan's simulation,.

Choo-roong choo-roong!

An additional sound was added in. The frozen battle started up once again.

‘Hmmmm.’

At a certain point, Hyrkan frowned. He had been earnestly fighting when Hyrkan's left arm was caught by Anugas' arm. He frowned as he watched Anugas lift him into the air.

‘If I continue to do a close combat, I'll eventually be caught..’

Hyrkan stopped the gruesome simulation. He didn't need to think along this thread anymore. He once again reminded the simulation back to the first scene.

He started the same battle again. However, Hyrkan had changed his Item setting. He also changed his battle style. Instead of a straight close combat, he started a hit & run style battle.

‘Mmmmm.’

They looked like knights on horses with their spears raised. They ran at each other. It was like a jousting match. At the brief moment of contact, they glanced by each other as they gave each other small wounds. The battle continued for a long time without anything bad happening.

‘Ughhh.’

However, at a certain point, uninvited guests dropped in on the battle. A massive magical bombardment started falling towards Anugas and Hyrkan. The AOE magic covered the battle, and in the end, he lost.

At the same time, someone's voice tickled Hyrkan's ears.

Hyrkan. Do you know the watchman style?

‘Shit.’

Hyrkan once again ended the simulation.

Hyrkan didn't attempt the simulation again. Instead, he looked at the ruins of the Heard Fortress. He moved his gaze to the side, and he looked towards the thick forest surrounding the Heard Fortress. The cries of monsters were exploding out from the forest.

The actual sound that had tickled Hyrkan's ears was the sound of a battle between monsters and a group of Users.

Hyrkan frowned.

‘In the end, the problem is the Pasta bastards.’

Pasta.

Of course, Hyrkan wasn't talking about spaghetti.

Hyrkan called them Pasta instead of Five Stars.

Currently, it was a nickname given to the five guilds trying to monopolize the Black Continent.

Of course, the nickname Pasta didn't have a good meaning behind it. Many Users were dissatisfied with the activities of these five guilds, and they were the subject of derision by the Users. When the awesome nickname of Five Stars was given to these five guilds, some wise-ass User decided to call them Pasta.

However, this didn't mean the capability of the Five Stars was a joke.

The Five Stars wanted to make the Black Continent their own stage. To carry out this monopoly, they showed that they were very thorough in their preparations and planning.

One of this plan was to monitor the ruins of the Heard Fortress.

The Five Stars experienced a bitter lesson from Anugas, who was the Boss Monster of the Heard Fortress. Unless the Five Stars were idiots, it would be natural for them to pay careful attention to Anguas.

In other words, the Five Stars would know in short time when Hyrkan attempted the Anugas Raid. At the very least, the Five Stars were prepared to mobilize if such an event did occur.

This was another obvious point, but no one would help Hyrkan in the Anugas Raid.

“Fuck.”

Rough swear words came out of Hyrkan's mouth. In the end, the situation forced Hykan to make a choice.

Basically, Hyrkan had to choose to share.

‘A day like this has finally come.’

Of course, Hyrkan would bear the full responsibility that came with his choice. This was why he was letting out the rough cuss words.

8.

“What do you think?”

“You look pretty.”

“I don't care if I look pretty. That doesn't mean anything. Just tell me what kind of vibe I’m giving off.”

“In truth, a man usually doesn't look too deeply. He'll just think you are pretty, and he won't care what vibe you give off.”

“How about you, Hahui? What do you think?”

At that moment, a loud sound erupted from next to Hatch.

“Queen is the best!”

Hatch furrowed his brows at the sound. Hahui had yelled out without any thought, and Hahui's voice had almost burst Hatch's eardrums. Hahui had yelled with all her might from right next to him. Of course, his expression wasn't good when he heard such a sound.

Hatch continued to frown as he looked at the beautiful woman, who unfurled her hair. He looked at Shir.

‘It isn't as if she is going out to meet a prospective marriage partner... Jeez.’

He reflexively tried to laugh out loud. However, Hatch immediately forced down the laughter. He knew he shouldn't laugh in this situation.

“Queen.”

“Speak.”

“I want to be clear about this. It is ok to show good intentions towards him, but please don't do anything that'll cause a loss to our guild. If you do act in such a way, I really am going to leave this guild.”

This was the feeling he had as a loyal subject. He had spoken his advice towards the tyrant. His emotions was writ large on his face.

“How laughable. Your contract runs until 2050.”

“Shut the hell up, 2051.”

Hahui's verbal tackle changed his serious expression into an annoyed expression. His terms of contract was Hatch's achilles heel.

Shir spoke calmly as she looked at the two.

“I want everyone to be on standby.”

She was calm and forthright. After ending her words, she turned her back on the Users that were looking at her. Thirty Stormhunters guild members were standing not too far away from Hatch and Hahui.

They were nervous as they looked at the back of their leader.

The source of their nervousness....

‘I never expected the Hahoe Mask to approach us first.’

It was the Hahoe Mask.

The contact had come so suddenly. This was the first time the Hahoe Mask had contacted the Stormhunters guild.

From the Hahoe Mask's perspective, it should have been easy to contact them. The Stormhunters guild had sent so many love calls that the Hahoe Mask was probably tired and annoyed at receiving them. There had been many opportunities for him to return the love call.

This was the first time the Hahoe Mask had answered their ardent love call.

Of course, this didn't mean the Hahoe Mask was committed to joining the Stormhunters guild. The purpose of this meeting was to make a deal. Hahoe Mask didn't tell them the content of the deal. The only thing he promised was a meeting where they'll talk.

Of course, he asked Shir to come by herself, and Shir had readily accepted the proposal.

Basically, the Storm Queen would have a one on one talk with the Hahoe Mask.

‘If this goes sideways, our dealing will get endlessly tangled up. If it works out, everything will keep getting untangled.’

At that moment, Hatch was worried about two things.

First, he worried the Hahoe Mask might attack the Storm Queen. He could guarantee it. The Storm Queen couldn't win against the Hahoe Mask in a 1on1 battle.

The other worry was the fact that the Storm Queen had something akin to a crush on the Hahoe Mask. He worried she would agree to a bad proposal, because she was influenced by her emotions.

He was actually worried more about the latter situation.

‘She's weirdly weak in front of the Hahoe Mask.’

The Storm Queen was interested in the Hahoe Mask, and her affections may be considered to be a crush. No, it might be something more. However, the Storm Queen's personality didn't allow her to send a love letter with her ardent feeling in it. She had a twisted personality that she destroyed whatever she couldn't have.

Of course, her twisted affection wouldn't help in a rational deal.

The problem with this situation was the stage . The Black Continent was a very harsh land that even the Stormhunters guild was struggling against.

In such a harsh land, the Hahoe Mask had approached the Stormhunters guild. At the very least, he wouldn't be approaching them with peaceful intentions.

‘Please let it not be about fighting Anugas together. We have to avoid doing a Raid against a monster that had suddenly appeared.’

Hatch prayed once again.

The conversation between the two started as the prayer ended.

9.

Storm Queen and the Hahoe Mask.

They were the most skilled Users representing Warlord. The worth of the Storm Queen's name by itself was less than the Hahoe Mask, but everyone agreed that these two were the top 2 skilled Users in Warlord. Everyone considered it to be fact.

Their sex didn't have to do anything with their rankings. In many ways, these two were unprecedented in their accomplishments. Each of them were making their own unparalleled storyline in Warlord’s history. The two of them were treated almost as equals. They were seen as being of equal rank.

Unless the Storm Queen and the Hahoe Mask fought for supremacy, this perception wouldn't change.

Moreover, there was the Immoral Prince raid footage. They had fought together for the first time, yet they were completely in sync. Of course, it held the distinction of being the most clicked video in regards to Warlord.

The two Users were facing each other.

This was a first for both of them.

“I want to thank you for that time.”

The Storm Queen was the first to speak, and she had thanked someone else. This was a first in many ways.

However, Hyrkan did show any reaction towards her gesture. The only thing that could be seen beneath the Hahoe Mask was his lips. He didn't smile or frown. His mouth just stayed the same.

After looking at Hyrkan, Shir spoke once again.

“If you don't want a long talk, let's get down to business.”

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Shir had the shortest temper in Warlord. However, at that moment, Shir wasn't angry. Instead, she went out of her way to move the situation along.

Hyrkan slowly opened his mouth as he looked at her.

“I'm going to do the Anugas Raid.”

He brought up the main subject of this meeting.

Shir had expected those words, so her answer came out immediately.

“So what? Are you asking for our help?”

“Will you help me if I ask for help?”

“I have to think on it.”

Anugas.

The Stormhunters guild didn't have a lot of information regarding Anugas. The Five Stars held the most information, since they had fought Anugas. They had gained information through the not so insignificant sacrifices of their members.

Still, the rumors had spread. The Stormhunters guild had received the information that this Boss Monster had a ridiculous ability that prevented the Users from using their Skills.

This was why Hatch had spoken to her. If the Hahoe Mask suggested they do a Raid, he told her to turn down the Hahoe Mask no matter what. He told her to ignore all his requests unless the Hahoe Mask joins the Stormhunters guild.

In other words, they would willingly fight with the Hahoe Mask if he joins the Stormhunters guild.

“Solo Play.”

However, Hahoe Mask crushed Shir's expectation with a single word.

“I'll catch Anugas by myself.”

Of course, Shir knew what Solo Play meant, yet the Hahoe Mask had spoken again. Moreover, Shir felt as if Hyrkan's words wasn't directed at her. It was directed toward some other unknown person.

Shir's expression turned to ice.

“Then what do you want from us?”

In truth, Shir had wanted such a picture. She wanted a situation where the Hahoe Mask shared fate with the Stormhunters guild. It was a radical idea, yet she had wished for it. However, Hyrkan had stepped on her wish in a single breath. Of course, her expression would cool.

“I want you to block the Five Stars from interfering with me.”

“Why should we do that?”

“If I fail, the baton will be passed on to you.”

Shir held herself back from complaining.

“So you want us to be the bridesmaid.”

It had been the same in the Argardo raid. They had to create a stage where Hyrkan would be able to focus on the Anugas raid. If he failed at the Anugas Raid, the Stormhunters guild would hold the rights to attempt the Raid next.

Moreover, after fighting a battle with Hyrkan, Anugas would be in tatters.

On the other hand, that was the only merit they'll gain from this. It would be hard to expect anything extra.

Above all, the Stormhunters guild would suffer significant damage if they got in the way of the Five Stars.

Hyrkan used a card he prepared to convince the Stormhunters guild.

“I would like you to do me this favor instead of the thanks you gave me.”

The thanks he had received was in regards to the Immoral Prince Raid.

When she hear those words, all traces of emotion was erased from Shir's lips.

“All right. I can't stand being indebted to anyone.”

What kind of expression would Hatch make if he had heard this conversation?

However, Hatch wasn't present in this meeting. Moreover, their conversation wasn't being transmitted using Voice Talk.

“I'll do it.”

Shir gave a firm answer.

“Then there will be no debt between us.”

“Yes. There will be no debt.”

In a flash, the debt that was between the two was gone.

Shir was able to finally bring up the subject.

“Hahoe Mask. You should join the Stormhunters guild. We'll promise you the best treatment.”

When he heard her words, Hyrkan looked hard at her.

A thick silence had descended.

At the end of the silence, Hyrkan opened his mouth.

“In this game, the Stormhunters guild's symbol...”

Toohk toohk.

Hyrkan tapped the left side of his chest with a finger.

“I will never step onto a battlefield with the symbol placed there.”

His gesture reinforced his strong words. Shir's expression turned much colder at his extremely strong words.

It was as if a snowstorm was about to form around Shir.

“What's the reason?”

Hyrkan turned his back to her instead of telling her his reasons.

While his back was turned to her, he spoke in a low voice. He spoke in such a small voice that the only one that was able to hear his words was Hyrkan.

“There is the accomplishments I've achieved until now. I won't be able to do it, because I would be ashamed of myself.”