Chapter 234: A Hero For The Little Things (4)

The chill in the air pierced his skin like a sharp blade. White breath left his lips and scattered like cigarette smoke.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Thump. Thump.

In the ice cave, where a cold silence had settled, only the sound of his heartbeat violently pounded in his ears.

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed dryly as he looked down at Namgung Hui, unconscious on the ground.

For Namgung Hui to end up like this...

The monster in this cave had to be at least ten stars.

Of course, Namgung Hui had only recently reached ten stars. Compared to a seasoned ten-star Awakener like Isabella, it felt like a stretch to even call them the same rank.

Still, he’s not someone who would go down this easily.

His personality was one thing, but no one could deny his skills to be considered a Seven Stars candidate. The fact that someone like him had been reduced to such a state proved that the black-ranked monster inside was incredibly powerful.

“So Olivia wasn’t just being dramatic.” Kwon Oh-Jin faintly chuckled as he recalled her calm warning.

A chill crawled down his spine, and he clutched his spear tightly as he cautiously advanced deeper into the cave.

At the end of the icy path, a wide cavern opened up before him. A white beam of light poured in through a hole in the ceiling, lighting the cavern brightly. Beneath that brilliant stream of light stood a monster wearing a black necklace.

Blue armor covered its entire body, and its ominous crimson eyes blazed through the helmet. At its waist, it carried a rusted sword. It wasn’t gigantic like a house or anything. In fact, it looked about the same size as an armored human and could easily be mistaken for a person. Calling it a knight seemed far more fitting than a monster.

Living Armor?

The blue armor instantly reminded him of that.

No.

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly shook his head. It lacked the ghostly, eerie aura characteristic of Living Armor.

Then, what the hell is this thing?

Kwon Oh-Jin squinted and studied the blue-armored knight.

The knight, staring up at the beam of light from the ceiling, slowly lowered its head. Its burning crimson eyes locked directly onto Kwon Oh-Jin, who had been hiding behind an ice pillar.

Then, Kwon Oh-Jin finally understood. Simply making eye contact with the knight told him more than enough.

Holy shit.

His teeth began to chatter.

Clack clack clack.

A biting coldness like a blade carving into his flesh washed over him. It felt so cold that it could freeze him solid.

“What the hell...?” Kwon Oh-Jin clenched his trembling fist and swallowed hard.

The blue knight, still staring directly at him, slowly unsheathed the rusty sword from its waist. It raised its blade and lowered its stance slightly. Then, a loud clang suddenly rang out as the knight deflected an arrow flying from behind.

From behind a different ice pillar, a blonde young man with a bow made of green leaves cried out in disbelief, “

Kugh!

N-No way! It wasn’t even looking this way!”

It was Orlando Vale, the high-ranking Awakener of Sagittarius, also participating in this Seven Stars Assembly.

A bald man stepped out from behind a pillar with a mocking sneer. “

Tsk!

You damn archer, you couldn’t land a hit even though you snuck up on it?”

It was Jason Hardy, the high-ranking Awakener of Taurus, also known as the Iron Fist.

“Shut it! Did you see how it deflected a shot it couldn’t even see coming?”

“

Tsk!

I told you from the start, ambushes are useless!”

With a twisted smirk, Jason charged toward the blue knight. True to his nickname, Iron Fist, his fists transformed into a gleaming silver color and looked as heavy as a steel block.

“Die!”

His punch broke the sound barrier and generated a thunderous shockwave.

Holding the rusty sword and casually watching Jason, the blue knight took one step forward.

Shhh.

No loud crash or powerful explosion could be heard. Instead, they heard a faint hiss like air leaking from a balloon.

“

Huh?

” Jason’s eyes bulged.

Blood gushed from his cleanly severed right wrist.

He stared in disbelief at the stump. “W-What the hell?!”

His iron fists, which had smashed the skulls of countless monsters, now lay discarded on the ground like rotting garbage.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

The pain from losing an arm was nothing compared to the fear rising from this incomprehensible situation. Shaking violently, Jason steadied his trembling legs. He raised his left fist and continued. “Don’t think you’ve defeated the Iron Fist with just that attack, you monster!”

The Stigma of Taurus on his chest shone brightly, and a powerful energy surged like a tidal wave in his remaining fist toward the blue knight.

Rumble! Boom!

Just before the fist struck, the blue knight vanished like a mirage and reappeared directly in front of Jason as if it had melted and reformed from the air.

“

Huh!

” Jason’s eyes widened in panic, and he stumbled back as the blue knight punched his stomach.

Thwack!

It sounded like wet leather being beaten with a club.

Jason flew back like a cannonball and slammed into the ice wall. He rolled across the ground and clutched his stomach in agony. “

Kugh!

”

The blue knight turned away indifferently as though no longer interested in Jason.

Orlando, aiming his bow in the distance, flinched. “

Tsk!

Oh, Chiron, Celestial of Sagittarius! Grant your apostle an arrow to pierce the heavens!”

Light blazed from the leafy arrowhead. Orlando released his arrow like a mythical archer shooting down stars in the sky.

Kwang!

A thunderous roar accompanied the arrow. The sheer force cracked the icy cave and shook it to its core.

The blue knight stopped moving. Perhaps sensing that this attack wouldn’t be so easy to block, its crimson eyes flared even more intensely. It sheathed its rusty sword, lowered its stance, planted its foot firmly, and drew its blade again in one fluid motion.

Swoosh!

A white sword energy extended in a perfect line, slicing Orlando’s arrow cleanly in two. The split arrow tore through the floor in a sharp V-shaped trajectory.

Orlando staggered back, panting heavily. “

Haa, haa, haa!

Shit. What kind of monster did the damn assembly bring in here?”

As Orlando tried to flee, the blue knight lightly stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, it appeared before him and grabbed him by the neck.

“

Kugh!

”

Lifting Orlando effortlessly with one hand, the blue knight slowly turned its head and looked at a certain ice pillar near the entrance where Kwon Oh-Jin hid.

Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly laughed at the blue knight. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The chilling sensation crawling down his spine earlier returned. He couldn’t agree more with Orlando’s desperate cry.

What kind of monster did the damn assembly bring in here?

He had expected the black-ranked monster to be strong, but this went far beyond anything he could imagine.

Let’s run.

Kwon Oh-Jin instantly decided to run away. Unless he used Open Heaven, he definitely couldn’t win against that monster. Just as he turned to flee toward the cave exit, five other candidates entered the cave.

“Is this where the black-ranked monster is supposed to be?”

“I told you. I’m sure of it!”

“The person to finish it gets the credit and points, yeah?”

It seemed they had teamed up, knowing it would be too difficult to face the black-ranked monster alone.

However, seeing the situation inside, all five of them froze.

“

Huh?

”

They saw Jason collapsed on the ground with his wrist severed, and Orlando gripped by the throat, flailing in the air.

“W-What the hell?!”

“Isn’t that Jason and Orlando?!”

“Are you kidding?! Those two got taken down?!”

Worse, the blue knight who defeated both of them didn’t have a single scratch. A cold silence settled inside the cavern.

Glancing at each other, the five candidates turned around at once.

“R-Run!”

“There’s no way we can beat that thing!”

Without a second glance, they turned and bolted. Kwon Oh-Jin also ran with them out of the cave.

Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip as he glanced nervously over his shoulder.

It’s following us.

The blue knight, who had stood still and indifferently until now, began chasing them.

“Damn it.”

Kwon Oh-Jin looked at the five candidates fleeing ahead of him. He could only escape the blue knight one way.

I just need you guys to buy me a little time.

He aimed his wire shooter at the five candidates running ahead when he saw someone gasping for breath at the cave entrance.

Namgung Hui, now awake, trembled in disbelief. “

Haa, haa!

N-No way! Why, why is this happening?

The five candidates who arrived later didn’t know that Namgung Hui had already been beaten and forced to flee by the blue knight.

“Namgung Hui? Wait, isn’t that Namgung Hui?”

“M-Mr. Namgung Hui! There’s a black-ranked monster in there!”

Namgung Hui looked at them with a pale, deathly expression. “D-Don’t tell me... That monster in there...? N-No, then—”

“Mr. Namgung Hui?” The candidates cocked their heads, confused by his murmuring.

In a trembling voice, Namgung Hui asked them, “W-What happened to the monster?”

“It’s chasing us right now!”

“No, not that!” Namgung Hui’s face turned ghostly pale as he shouted desperately, “The necklace! Is the necklace still on the monster?!”

“What?”

“Of course, the necklace is still there.”

“All the monsters in here wear necklaces, don’t they?”

The candidates looked at Namgung Hui like he was speaking nonsense.

Without a word, Namgung Hui bent down and picked something up off the ground. The monster looked like a gorilla, but something was missing around its neck.

The candidates’ expressions hardened.

“Why is the necklace...?”

Heavy footsteps echoed ominously as the blue knight emerged from the cave and stared up at the clear sky with blood-red eyes.

The blue knight inhaled deeply. Then, raising its rusty sword high toward the sky, it let out a bone-chilling wail. “

Hoooooooo!

”

The terrifying cry echoed out. As if responding to it, other monsters in the snowfield also howled. Rather, it wasn’t just the snowfield. All the monsters in the dungeon screamed together.

The blue knight’s blood-red eyes blazed. It slowly raised its hand and grabbed the black necklace around its neck.

Crack!

The necklace shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.