NOVEL NEXT Chapter 299
Chapter 299. Siron Kingdom (2)
—Laigu! You…
“Shut up!”
Ta-at!
The elf named Laigu, whom Sylph remembered, yelled and distanced himself from Yoo Ji-han’s party.
In the suddenly charged atmosphere, Yoo Ji-han, who had drawn his sword, looked at Laigu’s face.
‘Did I just stumble into a reincarnated enemy?’
His gaze alone seemed capable of killing someone.
From Laigu, an overwhelming animosity was radiating towards Sylph.
Naturally, Sylph was taken aback by this attitude.
“You’ve learned to speak after decades… Was it the price you paid for selling yourself to sinister forces? You malevolent spirit!”
—Hey! What makes you think I’m malicious?!
“You thought we were unaware of the truth! Siron knows you abducted the princess by force!”
—Who’s abducting whom here?
“How dare you return to Siron so shamelessly! Where is the princess!”
Laigu shouted, scanning his surroundings.
He felt no presence of Erna Hass, whom he knew to be Sylph’s contractor.
Why, and how, can a spirit act separately from its contractor in reality?
As these questions arose in his mind, Laigu realized.
“That human man beside you is the new contractor.”
—That’s true.
“Ha! So you abandoned Princess Erna for a mere young human? It seems the spirits’ standards for selecting contractors have severely diminished.”
“……”
Yoo Ji-han, who had unexpectedly been verbally attacked, chose not to respond.
He simply thought to hear what this excited man had to say.
“What happened to Princess Erna, whom you abandoned? Where is she now?”
—She’s dead.
“…Dead?”
—She fell ill a few years back.
Laigu’s eyes widened at the news of Erna Hass’s death.
It was difficult for him to believe Sylph’s words.
“D-don’t joke around… She died from mere illness? The one praised for possessing the blessings of Siron?”
—As hard as it is to believe, it’s the truth?
“I, Laigu of the Siron Kingdom, am no fool to fall for such a lie. You must have killed her… You killed the princess and are lying about it!”
—Laigu. Saying it like that won’t change anything.
“Shut up! Just shut up!”
Chak!
Laigu pointed his sword at Sylph.
Then came the sound of rustling noises from high up in the trees.
Elves hiding between the leaves were preparing to attack.
‘Persuasion has gone out the window.’
The chance to convince them with words had already passed.
[Eagle Eye]
Min Yu-ri rolled her eyes as she scanned those looking down from above.
Even if they tried to hide well, they couldn’t fool her eyes.
“Twenty above.”
“Got it! I’ve received all of it!”
Chilla, who received the location of the enemies through telepathy from Min Yu-ri, raised his shield towards the direction with the most enemies.
Then he turned back and spoke.
“Nam Ho-yeol! Don’t fall off my back! Twitch!”
“Got it.”
Nam Ho-yeol, quietly taking his hammer on his back, buried himself into Chilla’s fur.
Even he, unaware of the detailed situation, wasn’t so dull as to miss the atmosphere flowing around them.
At that moment, Lee Mi-a stepped forward and said.
“We shouldn’t kill them, right?”
—For now, just subdue them.
The elves above shot arrows right after.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Arrows fell, splitting the air fearfully as they dropped down.
None of them were mere ordinary arrows.
The sharp arrowheads imbued with magic added remarkable precision and destructiveness to the assault.
The elongated shafts contained magic that enhanced the arrows’ stability and speed.
Arrow fletchings assisted in minor directional adjustments, making it easier for them to hit their targets.
Such a rain of attacks was pouring down like a storm.
Boom!
As the arrow Yoo Ji-han dodged hit the ground, the spot it touched craters deep.
In just a few seconds, the ground transformed into a landscape resembling the surface of the moon.
If that had hit an ordinary human body, flesh and bones would be pulverized.
‘They’re aiming for the head, precisely.’
Every arrow was targeting the head.
The elves aimed their shots unerringly at the top of the head.
“Yu-ri! Can you snipe from below?”
“Yes!”
“Si-hu, don’t move.”
“…Understood.”
Kim Si-hu nodded slowly.
The moment he showed his magic, his identity as royalty would be immediately revealed.
For now, it was more crucial to clear the misunderstanding the elves had about Sylph.
Fwip! Fwip!
As arrows continued to rain down, Yoo Ji-han kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Laigu, who had been glaring at him from the front, raised his sword with a fierce expression.
Pah!
But just before crashing into Laigu, Yoo Ji-han leaped onto a nearby white tree trunk.
Pah! Pah! Pah! Pah!
Bouncing off two trees facing each other, Yoo Ji-han’s body gradually got closer to the branches and leaves.
The elves hiding in the trees turned their gazes towards him.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Arrows poured down solely targeting Yoo Ji-han.
Sticking to the tree trunk to avoid the arrows, he soared to the height filled with leaves.
[Invisibility]
Yoo Ji-han’s body melted into the air as he disappeared among the lush leaves.
As he vanished from view, the startled elves quickly concentrated their eyesight on the space where he had been.
They were attempting to determine his location through Yoo Ji-han’s magic and Sylph, a mass of magical energy herself.
‘Seems like it doesn’t work.’
These elves were quite skilled in combat.
Judging that, Yoo Ji-han dispelled his invisibility and jumped between the trees.
Swoosh! Swish! Shhh!
Every time his body brushed against the leaves, a noise tickled his ears.
The leaves poorly clinging to the branches couldn’t withstand the impact and fell downwards.
Next to him, arrows targeting Yoo Ji-han flew past on either side.
‘No way.’
Boom!
By compressing Sylph’s wind beneath his shoe’s sole, Yoo Ji-han floated upwards slightly as if he were gliding.
Thus, even as he hopped around on the trees, the sound was not from stepping on the branches but just from brushing against the leaves.
“There he is!”
“No! Over here!”
“Damn…!”
Yoo Ji-han was intentionally jumping from tree to tree densifying with leaves trying to keep his body concealed.
How can a human visiting the Siron kingdom for the first time move so skillfully!
The elves atop the trees were all tense, pulling back their bows.
At that moment, Min Yu-ri’s arrows flew upwards.
“Eek!”
“Watch out! Coming from below!”
Elves groaned as they were hit by magic arrows.
Though they tried to quickly hide their bodies, Min Yu-ri wasn’t one to miss a single one among the slowed-down injured.
[Shape Change – Sticky]
“Stop looking from up there and come down!”
“Gahhh!”
The magic arrow lodged into one elf’s leg produced powerful stickiness.
No matter how hard they tried to detach it, the arrow wouldn’t come off easily, and eventually, the elf was dragged down.
Those pulled down could not make eye contact with her.
They experienced firsthand that the gap in power between them was insurmountable.
‘Roughly a Rank 3 Hero level, huh.’
Yoo Ji-han assessed the elves’ competency through the flying arrows.
It was likely similar to the commanders he’d encountered in Kallem.
If these soldiers serving along the kingdom’s borders have such skills…
Then at the very least, their average combat level would be significantly higher than that of Kallem.
“Let’s take out just one.”
“Ah!”
Thud!
Yoo Ji-han, who suddenly revealed himself, struck the hidden female elf’s neck forcefully with his elbow.
Her eyes rolled back, and she lost her balance and swayed.
Yoo Ji-han wrapped around the neck of the fainted elf and lifted her forward, stating, “Everyone, stop.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Elves were aiming their bows at Yoo Ji-han as he emerged from the leaves.
But they couldn’t recklessly attack him, as he was using the fainted elf as a shield.
“Now let’s have a conversation.”
“…Conversation?”
“If there’s a misunderstanding, we can resolve it through words.”
—That’s right! All these young elves are so hasty!
Sylph chimed in, supporting Yoo Ji-han’s request for dialogue.
However, the elves were making faces that were utterly disgusted.
“What kind of misunderstanding!”
“We don’t talk to the enemy!”
“Ugh! I’m really sorry, Lien!”
Fwip!
Arrows flew toward Yoo Ji-han, who had halted in his tracks.
Even though one of their comrade was captured, the arrows imbued with stronger magic,
carried the intent to eliminate the enemy, even if it meant their comrade’s death.
“How inflexible.”
Though their power had increased, arrows are still arrows.
For Yoo Ji-han, who had once found boredom in evasion training, dodging was second nature.
Thud!
He casually weaved his upper body to evade the attack, hurling the fainted elf towards the direction of the elf that first shot an arrow.
“Eh!”
Reflexively catching the flying body was the male elf.
Just as he hurriedly moved to check the consciousness of the female elf—
“Gack!”
He too was hit on the head by Yoo Ji-han and lost consciousness.
‘This is my chance…!’
An elf waiting for the opportunity to snipe Yoo Ji-han held his breath.
The taut bowstring was in a state just waiting to be released.
But at that moment, the tree he was standing on began to shake.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“…?!”
The vibrations at his feet kept disrupting his aim.
Wondering what was happening, the moment he looked down at the base of the tree, his eyes widened in shock.
Boom—!!
Lee Mi-a was pounding on the tree with her fist.
Incredible force coursed through from the roots to the branches!
The base of the tree already hit by her fist was partially destroyed.
Creeeak!
Ultimately, a giant tree fell, not from an axe but from a punch.
“What’s going on?!”
With no help from any tool, purely with raw strength,
Lee Mi-a lifted the severed tree with both hands.
Despite that, she maintained an expressionless face, her next action was more outrageous.
Woooosh—!
Like swinging a baseball bat,
Lee Mi-a swung the tree in a large arc.
Kwa kwa kwa kwaang!
In one swing, more than three white trees that adorned the kingdom’s borders fell in an instant.
With the second swing, the knocked-off half of one tree took down over five.
As soon as the tree in her hands broke, she immediately grabbed another broken tree and swung it.
Trees that had decorated the Siron kingdom for 40, 50 years, or perhaps even longer, were falling one after another.
“Stop! Precious trees!”
“C-cut it out right now!”
The sight of trees, which could be considered a symbol and pride of the kingdom, losing their life left both rangers and even Laigu, who was watching the situation below, in shock.
A moment later, Yoo Ji-han, who descended from the tree holding the fainted elf, said, “Wasn’t that a bit extreme?”
“Not as extreme as climbing up like you.”
Thud!
Lee Mi-a set down a tree that was on the verge of breaking and dusted off her palms.
Yoo Ji-han’s bitter smile turned towards the elves below.
The elves, referred to as rangers, were all tensed up, aiming their bows behind what seemed to be their leader, Laigu.
“Shall we continue?”
“……”
“I won’t go easy next time.”
“…Is this what you call going easy?”
“You’ve been given a lot of leniency. Not a single one of you has died amidst this chaos.”
All the elves were wearing melancholy expressions at the undeniable answer.