The Foe that Gives Generously (2)
5.
“Are you stupid? How can you lose him?”
“I have nothing to say regarding that part.”
The two Users sped along the Puree Forest. This wasn't an unusual sight. In Warlord, there were numerous Users that were able to run faster than a cheetah. It was something anyone could do if one invested in the Strength Stat.
However, there was one person here where the swift movement was incongruous with his physique. A User with an egregiously obese body was moving at lightning speed... It was analogous to seeing a pig that should be too fat to move running faster than a cheetah. It was something one didn’t see everyday.
“This is my first mission! If you guys ruin this for me, all of you will suffer the consequences!”
When Apollo had become an officer of the Big Smiles guild, the guild had attached skilled Users to him. It was to help Apollo out. Apollo was berating one of these skilled Users named Chiroro.
Of course, this was possible since this was a game. It was almost impossible to shout at someone when one was running at full speed. If this wasn't a game, Apollo wouldn't be able to run this fast. He would probably pant and sweat profusely just from act of walking out of his house. He probably wouldn't even be able to speak.
This was why Chiroro was nodding his head outwardly, and he was ridiculing Apollo on the inside.
‘This pig is too greedy. He'll make me suffer the consequence? How laughable. If you had just been a little bit more competent at blocking the Pitbull, we wouldn't be in this situation.’
Whistling Pitbull.
They had messed with a member of the Fighters guild. However, this wasn't a decision made solely by Apollo. It was a decision made by the Big Smiles Guild.
So why were they messing with Pitbull? The underlying cause in most fights were similar. It was an action taken to settle a wrong.
The Big Smiles guild had taken heavy damage with the war against the Triple Wings, but their situation had stabilized now. Even though they found stability within, the situation around them were a different story. Before they knew it, the Big Smiles guild had come out at the bottom of the 30 great guilds ranking.
When they fell to the floor, there was a host of guilds beneath their feet. The Underfoot guilds now looked at the Big Smiles guild in a different light. They weren't viewed as a wall they had to climb over. The Big Smiles guild was now perceived to be a prey they had to eat.
They needed to punish someone as a warning to others. They had to show others that this was a dog eat dog world out there, and they were the dog that ate the other dog.
They were very confident that they could accomplish this. The Big Smiles guild was on the lowest seat, but the resources of a 30 great guild was vastly different from the Underfoot guilds.
The problem had been clearly defined.
They had come up with several plans to solve this problem, and one of them was to capture the Whistling Pitbull.
Whistling was a member of the Fighters guild, and his level was very high. He was also very skilled, but on the face of it, he was a regular guild member. Even if some problem arises, the backlash would be mild.
Moreover, he usually played by himself. His personality was aggressive, so he didn't back down from fights that came this way. This was true even if it was a fight against numerous opponents. He would never back down.
If one put a positive spin to it, he had a very fiery and cool personality. On the other hand, these characteristics made him easy to catch.
In truth, Whistling had easily fallen for their provocation. When they had surrounded him, he didn't avoid the fight. Whistling actually went on the offensive.
However, the problem started from there. The target of Whistling's sudden attack was Apollo, and Apollo was defeated before he could do anything.
‘Well, maybe it was because Pitbull is amazing.’
Chiroro clicked his tongue when he thought about what had happened.
It had been a terrifying sight.
Whistling used the Charge skill to close the distance with Apollo in an instant, and he used Body Slam on his opponent.
Apollo's corpulent flew away like a balloon, and Whistling followed after him. Before Apollo could hit the ground, Whistling's skill-infused sword strikes struck Apollo's body.
Kah-ahng, kahn-ahng!
The consecutive sword strikes dented Apollo's armor. In the end, Whistling was able to sever Apollo's left arm and right knee.
The sudden attack and the Body Slam had made the contest into a one on one battle. He used that brief moment after connecting his skill and sword strikes to use the Body Maiming method.
‘Also, I never expected him to run away at that point.’
After showing his almost godlike techniques, Whistling ran away the moment he saw an opportunity. This was the most unexpected part of all of this.
Whistling.
Whistling's personality didn't allow him run away. He usually just accepted his death as he fought on in a hopeless situation. He was called Pitbull not just because of his appearance.
Anyways, if Apollo had been able to hold out, they wouldn't have lost Whistling.
‘I can't believe he was sent flying from a single blow.’
Chiroro couldn't hold back his mocking laugh when he once again thought about what had happened to Apollo.
‘The Items are wasted on that bastard.’
Apollo's Items were the best one could get at level 140. He had a Unique set. It was an Item setting that even Chiroro wouldn’t be able to acquire. He was wearing such Items yet he was defeated with a single blow.
‘Money is everything. Yes, money is everything.’
The halo of his father was over Apollo. He had bought off the other officers, and he had been lucky in being able to hold a weakness over a particular officer. Apollo would have never become an officer of the Big Smiles guild if he didn't have all these factors going for him.
Moreover, the officers of the Big Smiles guild and the guild members that had similar rank as him welcomed Apollo's appearance. They wanted to receive the crumbs that would fall off Apollo's table.
This was true for Chiroro too.
‘Well, I'll wipe his butt, and I'll receive ample amount of money for my troubles.’
This was why Chiroro was sticking so close to Apollo's side. He wanted to get the crumbs by being the closest to Apollo.
Apollo was letting out steam as he kept expressing his anger. Chiroro was ridiculing him inside as he tried to hold back his sneer. At that moment, a message from the Voice Talk program arrived .
- We found Pitbull!
6.
‘Shit.’
Whistling gritted his teeth as he saw the five Users surround him. Whistling's vision was very blurry when he looked at the 5 Users. His vision was akin to one's vision when walking in a downpour without an umbrella. It was as if the wind was blowing against one's eyes.
Moreover, his arms and legs felt as if it was being weighed down by very heavy sandbags. He was moving very slow compared to his usual self.
It was the result of the Debuff magic. He had been hit with Haze and Slow.
‘I was unlucky.’
Whistling had been quite successful in his escape. In truth, the Puree forest was so large that it was more advantageous for the fugitive than the pursuit group.
Moreover, Whistling had travelled inside the Puree forest as if it was his home prior to this, so there was zero chance that he would get lost here. If he wanted to, he could hide inside the Tehkee tribe's village where only allowed Users could enter.
Unfortunately, he had come across the Big Smiles' guild member conducting a regular hunt instead of the the pursuit group.
In truth, Whistling didn't realize they were members of the Big Smiles guild. He had been about to pass them by.
His luck worsened when the members of the Big Smiles guild party was infused with several skilled Users.
“Don't attack him! Contain! Just contain him!”
“We just need to buy some time. Just stop him from moving.”
“Don't hoard your consumable Items. Put three candies into your mouth!”
“The effect of the Skill won't last long now. I've started Casting, so you guys have to buy me some time before I can use my magic.”
“Shit. If I reroll a character, I'll never choose Tanker again.”
These Users were well aware of the situation, and they had arrived at the most optimal course of action. Whistling felt that it wouldn't be easy for him to get out of this situation.
The critical blow had been the Debuff magic. In a PK, being stabbed was preferable to being hit by Debuff magic spells.
‘I should have used the Circlet of Purification.’
If he boiled everything down into simple terms, this was all happening because of Hyrkan.
Whistling had put away the Circlet of Purification inside the pouch. He considered the Item as being owned by the Hahoe Mask.
He was also running away, because of the Hahoe Mask. He wasn't afraid of dying, but he had to send the Circlet of Purification to the Hahoe Mask. He would feel troubled if that was delayed.
He had connected to the game early, and he had moved as he was being chased by time. This was all being done, so he could quickly give the Circlet of Purification to the Hahoe Mask.
Of course, Whistling didn't blame the Hahoe Mask.
‘I have to survive somehow.’
He tried to conceive a plan where he'll come out alive. However, five additional Users appeared, and Whistling couldn't help but feel hopeless at his prospects.
7.
Chiroro and Apollo arrived. Whistling was in a bad spot.
There wouldn’t be any close contest here.
Whistling was by himself, and he had 10 opponents. Moreover, there were two magicians included in the group of 10 Users.
The difference in fighting power was so big that it wouldn't be a close fight. The ten Users had a numerical advantage, and they were aggressively using the support of the Magicians. The Strikers surrounded Whistling, and the Magicians threw their magic.
“Good job!”
Whistling was becoming a mess as the one-sided magical bombardment was sent towards him. The happiest person from seeing Whistling like this was Apollo.
Moreover, Apollo had ordered for this ugly spectacle to happen. As he was coming here, Apollo made sure no one would kill Pitbull until he got there.
On the other hand, Chiroro's face hardened when he saw what was transpiring.
‘Shit. It would be best if he would just end this.’
This business wasn't about punishing or taking revenge on Whistling. This was supposed to be an opening act to a war. The opening act had to be clean.
However, the current situation was lame. No matter who saw it their actions was lame and cheap. There was no way this incident would help Big Smiles in any way.
Chiroro took a peek at Apollo.
‘He was in charge of running a guild with his namesake, yet why is he so dumb?’
Chiroro couldn't alter the order already given by Apollo. The two of them weren't on equal standings. At this moment, they were in a relationship akin to a subordinate and a superior.
Moreover, Chiroro was well aware of Apollo's personality. He was crude and selfish.... He was shamefully dirty. If a loyal subject spoke out in a negative manner, Apollo was the type to eliminate that subordinate as a first order of business.
Apollo had no idea what Chiroro was thinking, so he had a triumphant expression on his face.
“How dare you mess with me.”
He wanted to show his expression to Whistling, so he had taken off his helmet. He spoke in such a manner, yet he stayed far away from Whistling. Whistling was surrounded by a ring of Users, and Apollo was about 4 to 5 meters away from the encirclement.
This was why his words hadn’t been heard by Whistling. Whistling didn't even glance at Apollo. He didn't even realize Apollo had appeared.
If seen from a different perspective, it looked as if Whistling was ignoring Apollo.
Apollo's expression hardened as he yelled again.
“How dare you mess with me!”
Apollo yelled out in anger, and the Big Smiles guild members had an expression of derision for a brief moment when Apollo had to repeat his words.
The angry shout reached Whistling this time. Whistling turned to at Apollo. Whistling was able to quickly find the source of the voice, since Apollo had a corpulent body.
At that moment, Whistling's expression hardened, and he narrowed his eyes. Whistling's expression was deadly. Both the Users close to him and afar became alarmed at his expression.
Apollo unconsciously avoided looking into Whistling's eyes.
‘Huh?’
Something flew towards Apollo's eyes.
Poohk!
At the same time, Apollo's world had turned pitch black.
“Uh?”
A nonsensical sound escaped Apollo's mouth.
“Ooh-uh-uh!”
At the same time, Apollo's corpulent body was being dragged away by someone.
“What? What the hell!”
Apollo couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Chiroro was the first one to notice what had happened.
‘What's going on?’
Apollo, who had been next to him, let out a weird sound. When Chiroro turned his head, Apollo had already been dragged away.
Moreover, the User dragging away Apollo was none other than the...
“Hahoe Mask?”
It was the User with the most recognizable symbol in Warlord. It was the Hahoe Mask.
‘W...what the hell is going on?’
Chiroro was still unable to comprehend what was going on.
Why did the Hahoe Mask suddenly show up here? The Hahoe Mask had stabbed Apollo's eyes, and he had dragged away Apollo. Then he started to tirelessly hack and stab Apollo's face and neck. Why was he doing this?
“H...help me…….”
Chiroro's introspection ended when Apollo suffered a Game Over from the Hahoe Mask's continuous attack. No, it was more apt to say a chill had run up his spine, and Chiroro had come to his senses.
“Hahoe Mask!”
Chiroro let out a shout. In a flash, the Hahoe Mask had killed Apollo. Hyrkan took off Apollo’s glove, and he was getting ready to sever Apollo's wrist to get at his watch.
He was clearly ignoring Chiroro.
At that moment, Chiroro's sound assaulted his ears.
- Isn't that the Hahoe Mask? Why did the Hahoe Mask show up here?
- What should we do? Should we catch the Hahoe Mask too?
- What should we do with Pitbull?
- Was Apollo-nim killed?
The Voice Talk program vomited out a host of voices, and it cluttered Chiroro's mind.
Chiroro yelled out in annoyance.
“Shut the hell up!”
His words had come out overly harsh. This was a direct reflection of Chiroro's unsettled mind. On top of that, his shout had been heard by Hyrkan. Only after taking the watch, Hyrkan looked at Chiroro.
“Hoo-ooh!”
A lot of emotions were mixed in with that sigh. Chiroro organized his thoughts before he spoke.
“Are you really the Hahoe Mask?”
“Can't you tell by seeing this?”
Tap tap.
Hyrkan rapped against the Hahoe Mask with his finger.
“What did you attack us? Are you perhap in league with the Fighters guild?”
“Fighters?”
The Hahoe Mask tilted his head in confusion. His gesture indicated that he had no idea what Chiroro was talking about. It was quite believable.
However, no matter how one looked at it this looked like the Hahoe Mask jumping in to save the Pitbull.
However, the Hahoe Mask's response complicated the thoughts inside Chiroro's head.
There was only one way to defuse this situation.
“Did you attack the Big Smiles guild to rescue the Whistling Pitbull?”
Chiroro had to do it through dialogue.
“Whistling Pitbull? Do you mean that guy over there?”
At Chiroro's words, Hyrkan pointed at Pitbull, who was surrounded by Users. At the same time, Hyrkan yelled out his words.
“Hey, the dog-looking dude over there. Do you know me?”
Whistling sniffed instead of answering him. It basically mean Whistling didn't know Hyrkan.
“Then why are you attacking us?”
“I didn't attack you. I just carried out a personal revenge against the Apollo guild.”
Chiroro's head was about to explode at those words. This hadn’t been some normal accident.
“Apollo is now an officer of the Big Smiles guild! Shall I consider this as a hostile act against the Big Smiles?”
In the end, Chiroro made a reckless gambit for the win.
Instead of replying, Hyrkan pointed to his surrounding with his chin. Chiroro looked out of the corner of his eyes to see where Hyrkan's chin was pointing towards to.
‘Tsk.’
There were a host of Skeleton Warriors waiting in Defense mode. When Hyrkan flicked his finger, they would unhesitatingly run towards Chiroro and the Big Smiles guild members.
Chiroro swallowed his saliva.
‘That's the Hahoe Mask's famous Skeletons.’
The Hahoe Mask's battle capability was as advertised. Of course, Chiroro side had enough number on their side, so there was a chance that they could win.
However, the damage they would take was unavoidable. Moreover, the Hahoe Mask was great at escaping. If he wanted to, he could use the Skeletons as bait, then he could run away.
That would make this situation more troublesome.
As if he could see through Chiroro's thoughts, Hyrkan spoke.
“I'll consider your words as a threat towards me. I'll consider those words as a declaration of war towards me by the Big Smiles guild. From this point in time, I'll fight against the Big Smiles guild.”
Chiroro unconsciously swallowed his saliva at the declaration.
‘Ah.’
His rash gambit had caused a self-mate.
‘I can't let this happen!’
The worth of the Hahoe Mask was at an all time high right now. If he showed interest in joining a guild, any 30 great guilds would treat him like an officer.
If the Big Smiles guild made an enemy out of him, the Hahoe Mask could join any guild if he was at a disadvantage. This meant they would have an adversarial relationship with the guild he joined. Those in the 30 great guilds wouldn't relish fighting against Big Smiles, but they would do it if it allowed them a chance at gaining Hyrkan.
In the end, there would be a full-scale war. If such a situation came to be, there was high probability that the Big Smiles guild will apologize to the Hahoe Mask. The Big Smiles guild had already gotten in big trouble from fighting with the Triple Wings, so another war with a 30 great guild was a suicidal move.
Moreover, if this situation came to pass, someone would have to take the blame. He couldn't predict the future, but it was clear as to who will be charged for precipitating this situation.
“W...wait a moment!”
Chiroro was the most likely person to be blamed in the future, so he desperately yelled out.
“I'm sorry. I apologize. I made a mistake. I had no intention of threatening you. I'm sorry if your feelings was hurt.”
He looked like he was begging. He had displayed such a bold front a moment ago. It almost made one feel sorry for Chiroro.
Hahoe Mask spoke earnestly as he looked at Chiroro.
“In our country, if a Warlord User wrongs another, the User in the wrong has to cut off his own wrist as an apology. Then the User has to give his wrist watch to the wronged party. It is called the Watchman style. If you want to apologize, you have to show that level of sincerity.”
Chiroro had been listening in earnest to the story, and his expression crumpled.
‘Watchman? What the hell is that?’
Of course, Chiroro didn't know about the Watchman style.
However, it wasn't too hard to decipher Hyrkan's explanation. The problem was the fact that he couldn't give away his watch. Most of the Big Smiles guild members gathered here didn't own most of their Items. These were Items loaned out by the guild.
Yet they would have to give away their watches? On top of that, they had to cut off their own wrists to give their watches? This wasn't a case where their watches would be stolen through PK.
“……is there no other way?”
“You are the one apologizing yet you are being picky on how to do it?”
“I'm unwilling to part with the Items. I'll compensate you in some other way.”
When he heard Chiroro's words, Hyrkan turned his head slightly to the side, and he snorted. Chiroro kept his mouth shut, and everyone gathered at the location unconsciously listened and looked closely at Hyrkan.
Everyone was waiting for Hyrkan to open his mouth. As if he wanted to make them sweat, Hyrkan let more time pass. When silence blanketed the surrounding, Hyrkan very slowly opened his mouth.
“One level…… One gold.”
It happened when everyone was was focused on the conversation between Hyrkan and Chiroro.
“Ooh-ahk!”
Whistling moved.
After his abnormal status magic effect disappeared, Whistling used Body Slam on one of the Strikers surrounding him. The Striker flew away, and he quickly ran away through the hole that had been formed.
“What the hell?”
“He bounced?”
Everyone had been focused on Hyrkan that they weren't able to properly deal with the situation. The more quick thinking individuals amongst the group started to chase after Whistling.
However, they weren't able to move in the end.
“If you try to deceive me about your levels, your wrist will be severed!”
Hyrkan's shout was like a shackle on everyone's ankles.