Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 178

178. The Man in Black (5)

“Help? You could handle it alone with your Ultimate, couldn’t you?”

“I’m saying you should use your Ultimate too.”

“Ah… I see, I’m not trusted at all.”

Park Do-ryeong replied with a playful voice.

Lee Ji-tae had already used his Ultimate. Using Ultimates consecutively in one day could lead to severe mana depletion, leaving him vulnerable.

Lee Ji-tae’s words weren’t really about needing help, but rather a way of saying, ‘You should expend some energy too.’

If Lee Ji-tae used his Ultimate, he could subdue the Siege Tank alone, though it would take some time.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Lee Ji-tae didn’t want to carelessly leave someone behind who could potentially kill him in his vulnerable state.

Park Do-ryeong hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“If you promise me just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll be quite exhausted after this fight. Promise me you’ll protect me afterward.”

Lee Ji-tae frowned at Park Do-ryeong’s words.

“If you’re thinking of weaseling your way out of this…”

“Just for a moment. It doesn’t have to be immediately after.”

Lee Ji-tae couldn’t figure out Park Do-ryeong’s intentions. Did he really believe that he would attack him, taking advantage of his vulnerability?

But they couldn’t afford to keep arguing. Kang Hyun-woo was nowhere to be seen, and the unease persisted.

Before Lee Ji-tae could speak, Park Do-ryeong spoke first.

“I said something unnecessary. There’s no way you, so inflexible, would do something out of character.”

Park Do-ryeong prepared to attack the Siege Tank, as if to say no more words were needed.

Lee Ji-tae was bothered by the lingering nuance in Park Do-ryeong’s tone, but he decided to focus on the opponent in front of him.

Lee Ji-tae took a deep breath and activated his Ultimate, ‘Wings of Radiance.’

The valley was brightly illuminated by the dazzling wings of light.

“Be careful, Kang Hyun-woo might be somewhere nearby.”

“I don’t know if we need to worry about that bastard.”

The Siege Tank, burning like a candle about to melt away, began to fire wildly and charge towards Lee Ji-tae. Park Do-ryeong leaped high above it, spreading his arms wide in the air.

And in the valley, two kinds of destruction manifested.

***

The black figure crouching on the hillside was peering through a scope at the opposite side, hundreds of meters away.

Undead wandered back and forth below in the valley, but none of them noticed the black figure’s presence. The silent march continued.

The black figure, steadily concealing its presence, found its target in the scope.

The target ran around frantically for a while. Then, the moment the target stopped, the black figure pulled its arm back and threw a metal shard with all its might.

It hit.

The black figure didn’t see the impact because it was throwing, but it felt it. Through the scope, it could see the target falling.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, you should at least tell me what to grab. Is it this black thing?”

The black figure was horrified by the voice that suddenly came from above.

Judging that the only one who could approach so quickly and silently was Hyun-woo, the black figure quickly threw itself down into the valley and pressed a button.

A violent explosion erupted from the spot where it had been hiding. All traces of the ambush were cleanly erased.

“Making pathetic moves.”

But then the voice came again from somewhere else. And from above the exploded hillside, rocks and dust poured down, obscuring the view.

There were undead, but they posed no problem for the black figure.

The black figure regained its composure and belatedly realized that the voice was a woman’s, not Hyun-woo’s.

Red Butterfly? Or did someone from the Almighty League come in with a hunter? Was there a hunter among them who could survive such an explosion?

In that moment, the cloud of dust parted. The black figure was pushed back with tremendous force.

If it could make a face, it would have been one of shock. There was no sign of the attacker.

Only the killing intent at the moment of impact was conveyed, and even now, it didn’t know where the opponent was.

“You’ve gotten so weak since you went under Hyun-woo, you bastard.”

The black figure calmly tried to find its opponent. If that attack was the opponent’s full power, then the opponent’s stats were only slightly lower than its own.

The black figure’s stats were in the level 60 range. This was because it hadn’t divided itself into clones, but maintained a single, complete form.

But as the second attack began, the black figure began to divide itself.

In an instant, the black figure multiplied into dozens. If it couldn’t find the opponent, it would simply make it so the opponent couldn’t find it either. Hide the tree in the forest.

“Using some boring tricks.”

However, the ones on the right among the clones created by the black figure suddenly disappeared in an instant.

At the same time, a heavy impact struck its right side. It felt like something was being sharply cut into, and then something snapped.

“There you are.”

Another stab came. The black figure staggered from the attack that pierced its side.

It was a sharp attack. It tried to grab the hand for a counterattack, but the hand had already withdrawn.

For a person, it would have been an attack that could have pulled out their intestines, but the black figure didn’t have such things.

The unidentified attacker seemed to regret that.

“You have an annoying constitution. I was going to enjoy this a little more…”

“What the hell are you doing? Are you playing executioner?”

At that moment, a presence was suddenly felt beyond the dust cloud. It was a different, overwhelming presence than anything anyone had felt until now.

Soon, a silhouette emerged from beyond the fog.

Kang Hyun-woo.

He looked tired and exhausted, but his overwhelming presence was undeniable. Naked killing intent and rage were stabbing at the black figure.

“I think this is the first time I’ve found someone this infuriating in the current difficulty.”

The black figure had been given strong autonomy. It wasn’t being controlled in real time, but when an order was given, it used all the methods within the knowledge and judgment of the caster to carry out that order.

Right now, the black figure had such a categorical imperative [an unconditional moral obligation].

To kill Kang Hyun-woo.

The black figure realized that its sniping had failed, and the moment it detected that Hyun-woo was alive, it rushed in. But then, a stinging sensation sharply pressed against its face.

“I was going to give you the chance to kill him with your own hands.”

“If I tell you to kill him, kill him without wasting time. This guy doesn’t even have a mouth worth screaming or torturing with anyway.”

Something incomprehensible within the scope of knowledge given to the black figure was happening.

In an instant, countless purple threads stretched across the entire valley lit up. There was no way for the black figure to escape.

Hyun-woo reached out towards the black figure.

The moment that hand clenched, the spiderwebs in the valley instantly grabbed the black figure.

The black figure was suspended in the air, looking like a purple mummy. It was only a brief moment that it maintained its shape.

At some point, the spiderwebs began to rotate as if sawing.

Immediately after, the black figure was ground into dust in an instant and scattered into the air.

“Hoo…”

Hyun-woo massaged his back and waist with a tired expression.

It would have been troublesome if the metal shard had healed while embedded in his stomach, so he had to dig the wound with his hands to pull it out.

The metal shard was originally a rare-grade weapon called ‘Moon Shadow Shard,’ not even a dagger.

He couldn’t know the detailed specs because it disappeared as if melting as soon as he took it out, but it seemed to be a consumable summoning weapon.

“Annoying ability.”

Being skilled in both clones and sniping meant that it could not be taken lightly.

Fortunately, such skills would inevitably place a burden on the caster.

Park Do-ryeong had already used clones twice, so he must have been quite fatigued.

“I’m going back. Ha-hyun. Follow me and wait up above…”

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, a roar that shook the air echoed from across the valley.

Each time the roar echoed without stopping, the entire valley shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and piles of stones poured down.

Hyun-woo looked across the valley.

“What is that…”

A huge flame rapidly soared and then pounded the ground, repeatedly soaring and pounding again.

Each time it hit the ground, a sound echoed. Hyun-woo realized that it was Lee Ji-tae who had activated his Ultimate.

Hyun-woo couldn’t help but admire.

“It’s cool, I’ll give him that.”

“What is that, an Ultimate?”

Ha-hyun asked, sounding puzzled.

“It looks a little weak for an Ultimate.”

“You can’t compare it to Difficulty: Hell.”

“I guess not. Come to think of it, aren’t you about to get your Ultimate soon too?”

Hyun-woo’s current level was 48.

The amount of levels he gained from killing the Overburdened Queen Spider in the womb while obtaining Crystallization was considerable.

He wanted to reach level 50 and then engage in the Northern Expedition, but he couldn’t spend time in Hell when the Northern Expedition had already begun.

“I have to get it somehow before retaking Pyongyang.”

At that moment, he felt Ha-hyun staring at him without answering.

“Why?”

“No… I mean, the Ultimate at Difficulty: Easy is at that level, and they’re almost the strongest right now.”

“Yeah. So what?”

“Then when you master your Ultimate in Difficulty: Hell, won’t you be treated a little… strangely? I think people will be very surprised.”

Hyun-woo looked puzzled. He was looking forward to his Ultimate, but was it to the point where Ha-hyun would say this?

In fact, even when he obtained skills in Difficulty: Hell, he only felt that they were somewhat stronger compared to ordinary skills, but he never felt that they were amazing.

So he thought that even if he obtained an Ultimate, he would just get one amazing skill.

“What was the Ultimate like in Difficulty: Hell that you saw?”

“Well, no one was alive at that point, only the Kin of the Stars… But compared to what I’ve often seen, that’s just child’s play. Of course, it would hurt if you hit someone with child’s play. But it wouldn’t be enough to kill them, right?”

“…”

Lee Ji-tae’s Ultimate was child’s play. Hyun-woo felt an unnecessary sense of anticipation swelling up.

However, in Hyun-woo’s experience, being overly expectant always led to disappointment. He tried to control himself, saying that the expectations should be low so that he would feel good even if it was a little ambiguous when he actually saw it.

But Ha-hyun poked Hyun-woo in the side and said.

“Oh, don’t get your hopes up too much. The power of an Ultimate used by a regular ability user is different from the power of an Ultimate used as a Kin of the Stars [a being of immense power]. Oh, and it will be affected by level too.”

“Don’t get my hopes up and then say that!”

***

Lee Ji-tae soared into the sky once more, then struck the center of the Siege Tank as if piercing through it.

With the exploding lightning, the Siege Tank shone brightly for a moment. The Siege Tank, completely pierced through, collapsed weakly inward.

Lee Ji-tae walked out, smashing the Siege Tank that had become like melted candle wax. He immediately turned off the Wings of Radiance.

“Hoo…”

His face was pale.

The advantage of the Wings of Radiance was that the mana consumed could be adjusted like firepower.

If used for a short duration, the cooldown time for reuse would be shorter. And if the firepower was increased, it would become stronger, but conversely, it could also be adjusted appropriately.

But as an Ultimate, the mana consumed was not small by default.

“Park Do-ryeong, are you alright?”

Lee Ji-tae could control the power going into his Ultimate, so he could leave some strength behind. But Park Do-ryeong’s Ultimate was not like that.

Park Do-ryeong was barely standing, leaning against a large rock.

“You seem to be more skilled than before, Young Master.”

“Please stop calling me that. We couldn’t have finished this so easily without your Ultimate.”

The Siege Tank had countless holes riddled through it like a honeycomb.

The large ones were traces of Lee Ji-tae piercing through, but the countless holes that seemed to cause trypophobia [fear of closely packed holes] were made by Park Do-ryeong.

Lee Ji-tae looked around the valley with a worried expression. The valley was dyed white with the white crystals embedded everywhere.

Park Do-ryeong used his Ultimate without holding back. If Kang Hyun-woo had been in the valley, he might have been caught up in it. But he could still feel that he was alive.

‘It’s a relief if he’s alive, but… where the hell did he go?’

“Lee Ji-tae.”

Then Park Do-ryeong’s voice came from behind.

“Don’t forget your promise.”

Just as he was about to ask what he was talking about, something suddenly fell from the sky. It instantly crushed Park Do-ryeong’s head, slamming him straight into the ground.

The crystal embedded in the ground shattered as it collided with Park Do-ryeong’s head.

“Ah, so he can’t die from his own weapon, huh?”

Kang Hyun-woo, who had suddenly appeared, muttered as he pressed down on Park Do-ryeong’s neck.