Chapter 174: A Lioness Faithful to Instinct (1)

“Fuck… Sh*t!! Run!”

I didn’t know why, but Cha Hee-ra was definitely following me.

Those bloody eyes gave me goosebumps. I didn’t know what she was imagining, but she was groaning with the sound of a beast, and a smirk was plastered on her face.

‘Sh*t…’

She had become an actual bomb.

Unlike Jung Hayan’s, Cha Hee-ra’s case was completely unexpected.

Usually, when one did something, there were things within the range that could be expected. The same could be said for most things.

The same was true for this expedition alone. Although I was a little late to realize, the wave’s cause could actually be inferred, and the collapse of the First City Wall was already predictable.

In this pre-war defense, we had prepared for a lot of variables, many of which I had thought up on my own. However, I never imagined that there would be a crazy situation where my own allies would be chasing me.

I never expected this type of situation.

‘This was not in my calculations.’

Having her chase after me was definitely terrifying, especially as she climbed up the wall with ease. I felt like I could understand why she had focused on me rather than the enemy.

The answer came quickly if one were to think of her attribute, Lioness Faithful to Instinct.

Cha Hee-ra had lowered her intellect for heightened offense, probably not thinking of this situation happening.

In normal circumstances, she would have wandered the battlefield like a Bloodthirsty Madame. She would have focused on exuding the violence that was inherent in her.

This time, it felt like something else had exploded instead of her violence.

If this had happened before, I knew she would have warned me at least once.

‘This is her first time.’

It definitely was.

[Checking the status window and talent levels of the player Cha Hee-ra.]

[Name: Cha Hee-ra]

[Title: Bloodthirsty Madame, Red Mercenary, Red Madame of Holy Empire]

[Age: 28]

[Disposition: Unpredictable Innovator]

[Class: Mercenary Queen (Legendary)]

[Class Effect-Acquisition of Basic Sword Knowledge]

[Class Effect-Acquisition of Intermediate Weapon Knowledge]

[Class Effect-Acquisition of Advanced Weapon Knowledge]

[Class Effect-Acquisition of Advanced Dual Weapons Knowledge 3333]

[Class Effect-Acquisition of Advanced Magical Power Management Knowledge]

[Stats]

[Strength: 117/Growth potential: mythic or higher]

[Agility: 90/Growth potential: Heroic or lower]

[Health: 90/Growth potential: Heroic or lower]

[Intelligence: 00/Growth potential: Rare or higher]

[Durability: 90/Growth potential: Heroic or higher]

[Luck: 56/Growth potential: Rare or higher]

[Magic Power: 82/Growth potential: Heroic or lower]

[Equipment: None]

[Attribute: Bloodthirsty Madame: Heroic]

[Intelligence stats are temporarily reduced to increase attack power.]

[General Review: Intelligence stats are temporarily reduced. The strength stat has increased by 20 to 117, which is only temporary, yet exceeds the legendary stat. She had lost all reason, so it would be better not to get too close. In particular, player Lee Kiyoung’s endurance, such as a piece of paper, may fly away with player Cha Hee-ra’s one gesture, so be careful. I hope this meeting is not the end. Please survive…]

‘A general review that doesn’t even help! I’ll rip you off and kill you.’

As I expected, she was already and completely swallowed up by instinct. What stood out above all was that the ridiculously high strength stat and growth potential were written as higher than mythic.

‘Is that even possible?’

At this point, Cha Hee-ra’s sneeze would be enough to kill me.

The Red Mercenary member who had been beside me had confusion written on his face.

“W-Why?”

“First, run!”

There should be at least one shield to protect my body. With this, I glanced at the status window and checked out his stats.

‘Not bad.’

“Has she ever been like this?”

“N-No. This is the first time she’s ever been…”

Cha Hee-ra is continuing to climb the wall even as he spoke. I ran as far as I could until she finally got over the wall, but considering agility and stamina stats, I wouldn’t be able to hide.

“Block me!”

“O-Okay!”

As if possessed by my words, he held out his shield and tried to stop Cha Hee-ra, but he could not block her outstretched foot and crashed through the nearby wall.

Crack!

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

His bone had definitely gotten crushed.

Cha Hee-ra would definitely not make the mistake of killing her subordinates, but if he were a normal person, his whole body would have burst, and he would’ve died before he could even fly away.

“Juliana! No! White Paul! White Paul!”

The thing that came to my mind instantly was Griffon White Paul, who had come with me.

I didn’t know if he heard my voice, but for now, there was no other way than to call him eagerly. However, the blasted creature ignored my calls. I didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t hear me or if he found it too dangerous, but if it was the latter, then he was perfectly my griffon.

I thought it would be okay if Cha Hee-ra caught me, but there was the possibility of her crushing my entire body, and I would rather not take that chance. Fortunately - or unfortunately - I saw Juliana rushing my way.

‘That would slow her down for a while.’

She surely would. In the first place, this was a ridiculous, unexpected situation.

One of the walls would not be able to properly play the pre-war defense role thanks to Cha Heera, who had lost all reason. Whether I sink or swim, it would only be right to bring her into the city to lead this pre-war defense to victory.

‘At first, I should head under the wall.’

Even without Cha Hee-ra or me, the pre-war defense would proceed smoothly. Of course, the story may be a little different if the mother of the baby that Little Rock was holding appeared, but the troops who were already struggling to protect Castle Rock knew that the victory of this battle was in our favor.

If the remaining commander were not an idiot, there would be no problem right now.

As I ran, I could hear screaming from behind me. Cha Hee-ra was probably striking everything that stood in her way. Given her power, she might exude damage that other people can’t handle, but now was not the time to worry about others.

“Grrrr…”

‘What is she, a monster?’

I felt like she was getting closer. Tens of thousands of thoughts passed through my mind about what would happen if I got caught, but no one could guarantee that my body would be safe.

That was when I got lifted into the air.

As I screamed without my knowledge, I soon realized that a different situation greeted me.

After opening my eyes, I saw that it was not Cha Hee-ra, but Cho Hyejin, who had me in her arms.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“Whoo!”

“This… What the hell…”

“It’s a long story. For now, it would be better for us to run into the city.”

“Ah… Yes.”

“You must be careful, Hyejin-ssi.”

“Okay.”

“How is the situation at the pre-war defense?”

“It seems to be going well. However, I saw that Cha Hee-ra-nim was chasing the Vice Guild Master…”

“It’s okay. Does the command team know about this situation?”

“I told them that to prevent monsters from infiltrating the underground water, the Vice Guild Master and Cha Hee-ra would be moving with some troops.”

“Who?”

“It’s only just a ruse I made up… Ah! The total command of pre-war defense was entrusted to the Giant’s Guild Master.”

It appeared to me that Cho Hyejin had become a little more flexible now.

I know she did that not to confuse the troops, but I would like to praise her a little for her willingness to lie. I also liked the fact that the Giant’s Guild Master is in command.

He was a guy with a good sense and had asked sensible questions about the formation of troops on the western wall, so he would definitely lead the pre-war defense according to the manual.

“By the way… Why did Cha Hee-ra suddenly…”

I struggled to find the right explanation, fighting through my embarrassment. Even I couldn’t genuinely understand what was happening.

Seeing my reluctant expression, Cho Hyejin decided not to ask further.

In fact, I might’ve looked out of my mind now because of how Cha Hee-ra was chasing me.

As the stats themselves were so different, we settled for drifting past alleys, but she continued to destroy everything in her path in her fear of missing my location.

At this, Cho Hyejin struggled to avoid all the debris falling onto the ground. As we moved at high speeds, my sight began to blur.

“Grrrrr…”

Despite my unsettlement, a laugh bubbled out of me. This situation felt so absurd. I had not expected this completely different

At this point, I felt pretty sure that Song Jungwook had placed a curse on me before he died.

This situation did not feel realistic at this point.

However, since this was only an attribute, I knew Cha Hee-ra’s behavior would soon revert to normal. All attributes had a time limit, after all.

When I looked at Cha Hee-ra with my Mind’s Eye once more, I could see her attribute information. I remembered that there was no such function until then. It looked like it had come with the evolution of my own ability.

[Checkind the details of the attribute, Bloodthirsty Madame, of the player Cha Hee-ra.]

[Intelligence stats are temporarily reduced to increase attack power. Time limit 1 hour: 49 minutes remaining]

‘Time limit, 1 hour?!’

It had only been only 11 minutes!

It personally felt like 30 minutes have passed. Still, it was fortunate that a time limit even existed. If there was a condition written like, until Cha Hee-ra’s stamina was exhausted, I might have to make a little extreme choice.

“You have to last for about an hour.”

“What?”

While Cho Hyejin replied, I could see Cha Hee-ra heading right in our direction.

“Careful!”

Cho Hyejin hurriedly turned around at the cry, but it felt like it was too late.

I saw her biting her lips tightly, throwing me outward before pulling out a spear. She had realized the difference in stats.

However, my predictions were wrong.

I heard a bang, but Cho Hyejin did not bounce outward. After hearing a voice that seemed to cut through the air once, what I could see was Kim Hyunsung, who had gone to block Cha Hee-ra.

‘Hyunsung!’

Our Hyunsung had saved Cho Hyejin and me from danger.

Of course, the difference in stats was still absurd. However, seeing divine power being poured into him, I could see that Kim Hyunsung was not the only one who had arrived here on time.

Looking back, Sun Hee-young was reaching out to Kim Hyunsung, and Jung Hayan was staring at Cha Hee-ra quietly. Even Kim Ye-ri and Hwang Jeong-yeon came. I felt shocked.

“What is this suddenly? Hyung-nim?”

Park Deokgu, holding a shield, had stepped in front of me.

“I don’t know well either. I don’t know why, but she suddenly started to run towards me…”

“Ah. I know about the Mercenary Queen’s attribute, having heard of it.”

“I see.”

“It is a kind of attribute that improves attack power by reducing intelligence, and the estimated time is about an hour… A little bit of time has passed, so we’ll have to hold on a little. I don’t know why this happened, but I think the first thing to do is to stop Cha Hee-ra.”

“What about the walls?”

“The pre-war defense itself has been fine so far. It would be okay to leave it for a while.”

“Ah… Yes.”

“Let’s hold her down instead of killing her.”

“Is that even possible?”

Jung Hayan shook her head at Park Deokgu’s question. I didn’t know if she saw this as an opportunity to kill Hee-ra, but her bright eyes looked creepy to me.

Of course, if Cha Hee-ra died here, things would get more complicated. Honestly speaking, our party was severely lacking in power.

The balance of power could be maintained because of Hwang Jeong-yeon, who can be said to be a high-ranking wizard, and the returner, who was performing way better than imagined.

Cho Hyejin was also one of the talented people who could maintain balance.

Assuming that these three people were not here, the meat shield, Park Deokgu, would only last for about 3 seconds. Kim Ye-ri, meanwhile, would last about 15 seconds.

If the front row collapsed, the back row would be pushed away in an instant.

“I don’t know what kind of situation this is.”

I was not the only one who sounded disconcerted.

All of the people here would not have expected that they would also have to stop Cha Hee-ra when they came to stop this monster wave.

‘This is such an important event…’