Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 194

194. Hell Comes (4)

A bolt of lightning split the sky above downtown Pyongyang.

The Heaven Severing Sword blazed with white-hot lightning, emitting an eerie glow. An overwhelming torrent of electricity surged from it, making it difficult to approach.

Park Do-ryeong’s weak clones were instantly obliterated by the mere touch of the spreading lightning.

He had no choice but to retreat.

The compatibility was terrible.

Lee Ji-tae’s lightning was effectively countering Park Do-ryeong’s strategy of concealing a truly dangerous clone among the weaker ones. More importantly, Park Do-ryeong needed to protect Lee Ji-tae.

“If you keep attacking like this, I’ll have to use force!”

Park Do-ryeong drew fragments and launched them simultaneously with his clones.

He was certain they would be difficult to evade at close range, if not from a distance.

However, Lee Ji-tae charged toward the clones without hesitation, narrowly dodging the fragments by a hair’s breadth.

Park Do-ryeong recoiled and unleashed dozens more fragments, but to no avail.

Lee Ji-tae deflected the fragments as if they were mere gusts of wind, instantly plunging his sword into a clone. The erupting lightning turned the clone white before exploding outward.

Lee Ji-tae also subtly twisted his neck to avoid fragments flying from behind, without even looking.

Watching this, Hyun-woo thought, ‘As expected.’

‘Is that the power of a star that sees the future?’

He didn’t know the full extent, but Lee Ji-tae could clearly glimpse even a short moment into what was to come.

Park Do-ryeong wasn’t holding back against Lee Ji-tae.

He couldn’t afford to fight an opponent like Lee Ji-tae while ‘holding back.’ He needed to fight with lethal intent to even aim for a stalemate.

But Lee Ji-tae was overwhelming him.

“It’s no use, Park Do-ryeong.”

Lee Ji-tae turned his gaze, which had been fixed on the distance, toward Park Do-ryeong.

“I am seeing thousands of futures simultaneously right now. You and I are simply not compatible.”

Hyun-woo couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity at Lee Ji-tae’s words.

It would have been wiser to cripple Park Do-ryeong before making such pronouncements.

But Hyun-woo knew he could easily defeat Park Do-ryeong if he joined forces with Lee Ji-tae right now. However, the current situation was too entertaining to interrupt.

Of course, he also wanted to further assess the abilities of Lee Ji-tae, who had heard the whisper of the stars.

Lee Ji-tae began to calmly walk toward Park Do-ryeong.

Park Do-ryeong produced fragments from between his fingers.

The fragments, fired with intense speed, shattered just in front of Lee Ji-tae’s face, creating a shotgun-like spray of countless projectiles. This time, there seemed to be no room to avoid them.

However, Lee Ji-tae was reading the minute gaps he needed to exploit, even within that barrage.

He might have been struck by one or two pieces, but he left no opening, deftly deflecting them with the Heaven Severing Sword.

Hyun-woo felt as if Lee Ji-tae was dissolving into the fragments like mist.

Park Do-ryeong threw his last fragment and tried to create distance once again, but at that moment, the tip of Lee Ji-tae’s sword flashed.

The last fragment burst with a clang in front of Park Do-ryeong’s nose.

The tip of Lee Ji-tae’s sword touched Park Do-ryeong’s Adam’s apple.

It was a one-sided victory.

***

Park Do-ryeong glared at Lee Ji-tae, blood dripping from his hand. Hyun-woo realized the source of the discomfort he had been feeling while watching Lee Ji-tae.

‘It was too perfect.’

Hyun-woo felt that Lee Ji-tae’s movements and swordsmanship were flawless.

There were moments he missed due to the sheer speed, but Hyun-woo recalled Lee Ji-tae’s performance after upgrading the Battle Helper [a system that provides combat assistance].

Lee Ji-tae’s movements were already perfect then. It defied logic that he had become so proficient with the Heaven Severing Sword in less than half a year.

Moreover, Lee Ji-tae didn’t have any assistive abilities like the Battle Helper.

‘No, he hasn’t just become skilled.’

It wasn’t simply improved skill, but a forced perfection.

The golden eyes guided Lee Ji-tae to the optimal outcome. It was a different kind of assistance than the Battle Helper’s optimal movement compensation.

Ultimately, Lee Ji-tae could never make a mistake when using those eyes, forcing him to overwhelm the enemy in the most efficient way possible.

The result was the current situation, decided without Hyun-woo having any chance to intervene.

But Lee Ji-tae didn’t seem satisfied.

“Why aren’t you using your Authority, Park Do-ryeong?”

Electricity crackled between the tip of Lee Ji-tae’s sword and Park Do-ryeong’s neck.

“Use your ultimate skill. Use your Authority, too. Didn’t you also hear the whisper of the stars?”

The moment Park Do-ryeong’s lips twitched and he was about to speak, Lee Ji-tae suddenly swung his sword toward Park Do-ryeong’s back. The invisible spider web snapped.

“Kang Hyun-woo, give us some time.”

Kang Hyun-woo, who had been planning to seize Park Do-ryeong and stab him with his sword, gave an awkward smile. But he also had something to say.

“You shouldn’t miss an opportunity to kill your opponent, Lee Ji-tae.”

“That’s right, Lee Ji-tae.”

Park Do-ryeong said, looking at Lee Ji-tae.

“You need to know who is on your side. The reason I’m not using Authority or ultimate skills? It’s because I know who the real enemy is. I can’t waste my strength fighting you right now. I’m on your side. We should join forces to subdue Kang Hyun-woo right now.”

Lee Ji-tae pressed the sword closer, and blood trickled from the end of Park Do-ryeong’s chin.

“Even if you die right now?”

“…Then it will be one of the biggest mistakes of your life.”

Park Do-ryeong closed his eyes as if he had truly given up.

Lee Ji-tae hesitated. But Hyun-woo had no intention of remaining a spectator.

From the beginning, Hyun-woo had intended to finish them both off.

Hyun-woo was already moving.

“Lee Ji-tae, trust yourself.”

Park Do-ryeong whispered with a weary expression.

“Believe in your judgment and intelligence, not in stupid stars or fate. Does that guy really look like he’ll make you shine? That guy is fire. He’s not going to make you shine; he’s going to burn you down.”

Hyun-woo also whispered from behind.

“Lee Ji-tae, don’t you think one mistake is enough? You’ve already abandoned that guy and chosen me. Who is shining closest to you in your future? Is it that masked weirdo, or is it me, who you saw in the future?”

“Is the future you want a pile of burnt ashes? Or is it a world that is old but prosperous? I am standing here to give you the world you dream of, Lee Ji-tae! We don’t need anyone else!”

“Stop it!”

The moment Lee Ji-tae exploded in anger, the three people gathered there simultaneously sensed an anomaly. A massive number of undead were closing in.

Among them were particularly powerful entities.

It was strange that they hadn’t attracted attention, even after such a commotion.

As the undead began to stir, Lee Ji-tae bit his lip.

“Now is not the time for us to fight…”

“You’re trying to weasel your way out again.”

“Okay. There’s no need to delay any longer.”

At that moment, Park Do-ryeong and Kang Hyun-woo, positioned on either side of Lee Ji-tae, moved simultaneously.

Kang Hyun-woo stabbed Lee Ji-tae in the back with the Tam [a short sword or dagger] he had prepared, and at the same time, Park Do-ryeong threw fragments at Lee Ji-tae.

Of course, Lee Ji-tae had already foreseen this.

However, instead of retaliating against Park Do-ryeong, Lee Ji-tae simply chose to evade.

As a result, when Lee Ji-tae, caught in the middle, dodged, the attacks he avoided headed directly toward Park Do-ryeong and Kang Hyun-woo.

Lee Ji-tae shouted, his voice strained.

“Park Do-ryeong, you…!”

“You’re going to dodge everything anyway, so there’s no need to hold back.”

Park Do-ryeong said with a grim expression. It seemed like he had to make a difficult decision, but now there was no hesitation in his movements.

Park Do-ryeong threw fragments without regard for whether Lee Ji-tae was hit, and Kang Hyun-woo did the same.

Lee Ji-tae had no choice but to frantically dodge the attacks coming from both front and behind.

In a situation where he could be torn to pieces with a single mistake, the killing intent of Park Do-ryeong and Hyun-woo was fiercely directed only at each other.

“Are you crazy! The monsters are…”

Without any concern for the Xiaojie team’s fate, the two were solely focused on their fight.

Lee Ji-tae had no choice but to conclude that he had to subdue Park Do-ryeong as he had initially planned. His blade flew toward Park Do-ryeong’s arm with the intent to sever it.

At that moment, a sharp clang rang out. As the Heaven Severing Sword struck, Park Do-ryeong’s arm was covered with thick metal fragments.

The fragments that Park Do-ryeong had been throwing were now starting from his fingertips and gradually engulfing his body more and more thickly.

Park Do-ryeong even grabbed the Tam flying toward him. Hyun-woo tried to pull the Tam back, but the grabbed pieces were consumed by the fragments and wouldn’t budge.

“It’s an ultimate skill. Kang Hyun-woo, get back…!”

“Kuaaaa!”

The skeleton knight, who had already approached, charged, pulling the ghost horse.

The surroundings were instantly swarming with a vast army of undead. It was a number that seemed capable of crushing them to death. It felt like all the undead in Pyongyang had gathered.

The three were instantly buried in the countless undead.

Then, with a sudden bang, the undead in the area shattered and scattered.

In the center was Park Do-ryeong, who had activated his ultimate skill.

Metal fragments surrounded Park Do-ryeong’s body like a hedgehog in a perfect sphere, rotating rapidly.

As the undead closed in again, Park Do-ryeong flicked his sleeves.

The fragments circling his body sequentially intercepted the approaching monsters.

Among them, the skeleton cavalry bravely charged, but they were struck by more fragments than their bodies could withstand and burst apart.

“Kang Hyun-woo!”

Even in the midst of that chaos, Park Do-ryeong was not interested in the monsters or Lee Ji-tae.

“Come out, Kang Hyun-woo! Is pretending to be dead your specialty?”

Weak monsters were shredded by the sharply rotating metal fragments simply by getting too close. It was a perfect ultimate skill that combined attack and defense.

However, since he would fall into a state of exhaustion after using his ultimate skill, he needed to see results immediately.

“Come out, Kang…”

Then a sharp roar erupted. Countless undead were obliterated in a fan-shaped lightning strike.

“Are you still looking for Kang Hyun-woo in this situation?!”

The undead monster, ‘Lich’ [a powerful undead sorcerer], that Lee Ji-tae had swept away with lightning, was floating in the air right in front of him.

The Lich was wearing tattered clothes and raised his ominous hand, exuding a malevolent aura.

The moment the Lich’s fingertips swept through the air, all the undead that had been shattered or smashed were reassembled and stood up.

What stood up with a thud was an undead cluster that Lee Ji-tae had encountered several times in the dungeon.

Lee Ji-tae sighed and activated his ultimate skill. In this situation, it was best to win as quickly as possible.

As the wings of radiance stretched out, he felt the surrounding fog and frost melting away. Lee Ji-tae leaped forward and pierced through the undead cluster.

“Kuaaaa!”

Seeing this, the Lich screamed and raised his hand again. As black energy formed in both hands, the surrounding wind fluctuated.

Something was happening.

Lee Ji-tae tried to attack the Lich before it was too late. Then something flashed past him like a bolt of light.

With a thud, the Lich’s hands shattered and scattered in the air.

“Kang Hyun-woo!!”

Park Do-ryeong was shouting, holding a metal spear that had been transformed into a long shape. It was a spear with dozens of fragments attached to form a single shape.

Park Do-ryeong raised the spear again and threw it at the Lich.

The Lich, who had lost his hands and was staggering, had his upper body shattered and scattered the moment he was hit by the spear head-on.

“Kang Hyun-woo!!”

“I wouldn’t look for my lost unrequited love so desperately, Park Do-ryeong.”

Lee Ji-tae muttered, speechless, looking at the Lich who had died so anticlimactically.

It was a victory that felt too easy. No, it was too weak. Something was wrong.

Wasn’t it at a level that Park Do-ryeong could handle? If the Lich was only this strong, there was no reason for the Xiaojie team to be defeated.

Park Do-ryeong felt a sense of unease.

“Where are you hiding, you goddamn bastard!”

Park Do-ryeong was frantically firing his ultimate skill in all directions, hoping to hit him no matter where he was hiding.

Lee Ji-tae felt that there was no sign of Kang Hyun-woo around him at all.

He couldn’t have died when the undead appeared, so it seemed like he had avoided it right away.

“Kang Hyun-woo!!”

Time passed fruitlessly.

Park Do-ryeong destroyed three or four buildings and turned the surroundings into a valley of metal fragments.

It seemed like Park Do-ryeong had killed 80% of the undead alone.

In the end, Park Do-ryeong’s ultimate skill duration ended without finding Kang Hyun-woo.

Park Do-ryeong collapsed on the spot with a hollow expression. Now, Park Do-ryeong wouldn’t be able to use his strength properly for at least half a day.

“You lost in the battle of wits, Park Do-ryeong.”

“……”

“Forgiveness to Kang Hyun-woo…”

At that moment, Park Do-ryeong’s neck was pierced with a thud. Lee Ji-tae froze.

Park Do-ryeong staggered and knelt down. He tried to block the wound with his hand, but it was difficult.

Blood flowed over his throat and between his fingers. Lee Ji-tae rushed to pour potions on the wound.

But all he could do was barely keep him alive.

Lee Ji-tae tried to find Kang Hyun-woo. Then he found a round bullet mark next to Park Do-ryeong.

It was a gunshot wound.

And Kang Hyun-woo doesn’t typically use guns.

There was another person.

“I enjoyed the show. Lee Ji-tae of Korea. Thanks to you, I came all the way here.”