Chapter 1462. Continental War (42) [Illustration]

When Ryu Han placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon, Jung Jin-Ho's channeled spell manifested arrows of blood that rained down on the former from all directions.

‘My chest is swelling with excitement.’

People often said that there was nothing quite as entertaining as watching a fight unfold.

Since I found myself here, I had seen plenty of clashes, enough to grow numb to most fights, but this one was bound to be interesting. This was a once-in-a-lifetime battle between top-tier villains who didn’t exist in the first life, so how could anyone stay calm at the sight of this?

Honestly, I almost wanted to bring some popcorn to eat.

‘To be fair, it does feel like Jin-Ho hyung will get crushed.’

Looking at raw combat power alone, it was hard not to give the edge to Ryu Han. Even if First Life Hee-Ra noona showed up, it was hard to say whether she could beat him.

Even with a moment of carelessness, ripping off Lee Chang-Ryeol’s arm was no easy feat. Jin Cheong criticized him, calling him useless and saying machines were bound to break, but even Jin Cheong couldn’t deny that the guy was a powerhouse.

‘Still, his opponent is no pushover.’

The legendary psychopathic butcher and demon swordsman, Jung Jin-Ho. With his huge build, he looked like the type who solved everything with brute force, but in reality, he was the exact opposite. He wasn’t a fool who relied only on his size.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The fact that he possessed magic capable of making most mages look like jokes was proof enough that he was far from stupid.

In battle, Jung Jin-Ho was better described as a hunter than a tiger. He knew how to use his magic and weapons in the right situations, and he also enjoyed setting traps as well as exploiting his surroundings.

Above all, he was exceptionally skilled at psychological warfare. If Ryu Han were to fight a stubborn idiot like Kim Hyun-Sung, who insisted on head-on clashes, Ryu Han would win without question, but against the crafty and dirty killer Jung Jin-Ho, perhaps he could put up a decent fight at least.

‘Look at that, he’s sharp.’

He started with long-range attacks. One could tell he was gauging his opponent's strength. He heard plenty about the First Pillar of the Republic, but since so little concrete information was available, he decided to probe the First Pillar first.

Jung Jin-Ho probably knew that this kind of strategy wouldn’t work anyway. The blood arrows burst apart in midair for no apparent reason, yet he showed no signs of panic. The next moment, a variety of spells began raining down on Ryu Han.

"Hm..."

"..."

Of course, the spells failed to reach Ryu Han and burst apart in midair. Despite the fact that they were by no means low-quality spells, they were dispersing far too easily, and it appeared that even Jung Jin-Ho was confused by the sight.

I could say with confidence that Jung Jin-Ho was seeing this kind of opponent for the first time. He had likely seen skilled swordsmen negate magic before, but he couldn't have seen spells being cleanly severed in such a manner.

The attacker wasn't just Jung Jin-Ho. The masked woman who had history with Hee-Ra noona, Hee-Young, and even the twins cast long-range attacks the moment Ryu Han appeared, yet every spell fizzled out and collapsed as if they were erased as soon as they got close enough to Ryu Han.

It was a sight that gasted Jung Jin-Ho's flabber. Not even shockwaves brushed the edge of Ryu Han’s clothes, and at the sight, the vanguard of the Brigade looked ready to charge forward, but...

"Captain?

"I would advise against approaching him."

"..."

"Unless you want to die."

Naturally, they were being held back by Jung Jin-Ho. Even then, that sharp-eyed pig sensed the danger as well and had already put a good distance between himself and Ryu Han.

"Captain, what should we do? At this rate, we might not make it in time."

"Proceed with the operation without me. I’m counting on you, Miss Hee-Young."

"What about you, Captain?"

"I’ll follow shortly, so there’s no need to worry. I have no intention of fighting this man here all day either."

These guys definitely had another objective in mind. Jung Jin-Ho’s sudden declaration of retreat took some of the wind out of the situation, but it seemed he was buying time for the rest of the Brigade to carry out their mission.

The moment the brigade members retreated, Jung Jin-Ho launched himself straight at Ryu Han. Even he had to have found it strange, but for now, he decided to test each other's blades.

He gripped Juliena and swung it.

Naturally, Ryu Han brought his hand to the hilt of his weapon to block Jung Jin-Ho’s strike, but...

‘That's a fake out.’

Instead of following through with the swing, Jung Jin-Ho simply let go of Juliena. The sword curved around Ryu Han rather than moving in the direction it was swung.

Just as Ryu Han’s large eyes widened slightly in rare surprise, Jung Jin-Ho drew a secondary weapon. Of course...

‘That's a fake out, too.’

What appeared in Jung Jin Ho’s left hand was a small magic circle. The next moment, crimson hands shot up from beneath Ryu Han’s feet, reaching out to seize his legs, but even that was another fake out.

The real move was an ultra-close-range assault using his fleshly body. His instincts were absurdly good. It didn't match his massive build, but just because he was cautious and fond of laying traps didn’t mean he couldn't make use of his physique.

Whether it was thanks to the layered fake outs or not, Jung Jin-Ho managed to grab Ryu Han by the head with one hand. Then, I saw him slam Ryu Han straight into the ground.

Crunch. Kabooooom!

The psychopathic killer gripping Ryu Han by his silver hair hurled him away.

Kabooooooom!

‘That was a clean hit.’

The ear-splitting noise, the rain of magic, and Juliena all piled on at once. In an instant, wounds crisscrossed Ryu Han, even though he seemed utterly untouchable just moments ago. He was even slashed across the cheek by Juliena flying in from somewhere unseen.

"

Hah!

"

Jung Jin-Ho tightened his grip on his secondary weapon and charged forward again, clearly intending to give Ryu Han no breathing room, but—

Splat!

"I’m sure... I didn’t feel myself... getting cut..."

Blood spurted from Jung Jin-Ho’s arm and torso, along with sharp hissing sounds. He was probably cut the moment he grabbed Ryu Han by the head. Absurdly enough, the one who had taken more damage was Jung Jin-Ho.

Of course, if one compared their HP with each other's, the damage they had taken was roughly the same, but Jung Jin-Ho seemed to feel that he had secured the upper hand.

He brushed the dust off himself and put on a gentlemanly air, which was only natural.

‘Juliena managed to cut him.’

Even the slightest wound from Juliena was enough to expose someone to a mind-type curse. High resistance increased the chances of resisting it, but at this point in time, there was no one who possessed enough resistance to withstand Juliena’s curse.

Jung Jin-Ho judged that Ryu Han would soon fall into confusion under the effects of that curse. The more wounds he accumulated, the deeper the curse would seep in, and it would continue until he lost control of himself.

In battles between the strong, even such tiny variables inevitably carried enormous weight. To put it bluntly, just keeping his distance and inflicting attacks using Juliena from here on out would likely be enough to claim a decisive advantage.

However, there was one thing Jung Jin-Ho had failed to anticipate.

"Does it... not affect you?"

"..."

The fact that Ryu Han remained unaffected by the curse. Of course, it wasn’t that he had resisted it. From the start, Juliena’s curse was the kind of curse that preyed on a target’s trauma and anxieties.

‘Was he some kind of doll with no trauma?’’

I hadn’t expected it either. When I stared into those dark eyes that seemed incapable of displaying emotions, I could only infer that he was unaffected by the curse. His breathing was steady, and his emotions remained unchanged. He showed no signs of seeing hallucinations or hearing voices.

Jung Jin-Ho realized it almost immediately as well, and his face twisted into displeasure. It was like he had just understood that

the thing

in front of him wasn’t human.

"Well... at least... your blood is still red..."

"..."

"One thing is certain... You’re not of the same kind as us."

"..."

"..."

"What... do you mean by that?"

"It’s exactly what it sounds like. I did consider offering you membership, just for formalities' sake, but... it wouldn’t be a meaningful offer for either you or me."

‘

Hah. Even the Brigade wants nothing to do with him.

’

"So... will you continue? I don’t think either of us wants to waste much more time here...

"..."

"I didn’t expect you to be much of a talker anyway."

‘Did you honestly think negotiation would work?’

Despite blood running down his forehead, Ryu Han drew his sword again and moved in on Jung Jin-Ho. It was a rare sight for someone who usually preferred countering an opponent’s attacks, but this was a clear acknowledgment that his opponent was strong.

Bang!

Clang! Craaack!

"Haha... well..."

Kaboooooom! Fwoosh! Thud!

The sight of two psychopaths swinging their swords at each other unfolded before me. When the fierce battle erupted at the center of the battlefield, the surroundings instantly suffered from the clash.

Thanks to Jung Jin-Ho continuously casting spells, anything that could serve as cover was blasted away. The fight was intense and high level, with startling moments appearing one after another, to the point that I almost wanted to use it as teaching material for our Holy Sword Hero.

‘Honestly, no matter how many times I see it, Jung Jin-Ho really can fight.’

He was different from Ryu Han. Ryu Han was simply monstrous, whereas Jung Jin-Ho’s combat was packed with things worth learning.

The way he laid traps, how he steered a prolonged fight in his favor, and how efficiently he used items and abilities was so good that it didn’t feel excessive to call it near perfect.

‘This is the kind of thing you should really watch and learn from. This is what a truly high-level fight looks like.’

It would have been great if I couldn’t see their faces. Ryu Han swung his sword with the same blank face as always, and even Jung Jin-Ho didn’t look particularly eager to fight him. He probably thought cutting Ryu Han wouldn’t feel like much of anything.

Perhaps he found it boring to find someone as doll-like as Ryu Han. Even as he fought, his mind seemed focused only on disengaging. I wished he would at least leave Ryu Han with a few wounds, but it didn’t look like he intended to risk himself just to inflict serious damage.

On top of that, he could feel himself gradually being pushed back, so he started widening the distance, limiting himself to attacking with spells and Juliena rather than clashing blades head-on.

It was the kind of decision one could make only if one knew one's weaknesses and strengths. It was obvious he thought it would be better to regroup with the Brigade or kill a few more soldiers than to grapple with this doll here.

The outcome felt a little disappointing, but still...

‘Looks like we can move out soon.’

The balance of the battlefield was about to collapse. There was no way the Brigade would just sit back and do nothing.

Sure enough...

"

Ha... hahahahahahahahaha!

"

Along with Jung Jin-Ho’s laughter...

Rumble!

The ground collapsed, and the rumbling noises were so loud it even reached us.

This wasn’t a figure of speech. The earth itself was giving way.

‘So there's something underground...’

“Mr. Ji-Hoon, get ready,” I instructed.

“What?”

“We need to move now,” I told him.