The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 514

512. Dogfight (3)

Song Tae-won had positioned himself on a slope. The ground was tilted towards the fence, likely due to land reclamation. The rock, chosen for its round shape and smoothed edges, would roll faster as it gained momentum.

Click. A cartridge ejected as Sung Hyun-jae pulled the trigger. Song Tae-won rolled forward, timing it perfectly. As if anticipating this, the shot was aimed low, but again, the bullet only struck the rock and ricocheted.

After rolling once, Song Tae-won smoothly transitioned, springing to his feet behind the rock. The fence was now right in front of him. Song Tae-won’s body spun.

Thump!

He kicked the rock with force. The rock, already gaining speed, collided with the fence in an instant.

Crash!

Splinters of the wooden fence flew up, obscuring vision, as a stone hurtled towards Sung Hyun-jae. This time, Sung Hyun-jae didn’t dodge but fired the gun he had been reloading. With a thud, the stone, struck by the bullet, tumbled to the ground. Even a stone thrown with human strength at such speed and with such a small target was no match for his incredible marksmanship.

Sung Hyun-jae, having shot down the stone, immediately reloaded, but Song Tae-won had already taken cover behind a nearby building.

“Being unawakened is inconvenient.”

If he could use skills, he could simply blow away such a small house in an instant. But this current sensation wasn’t bad either. Sung Hyun-jae, keeping his eyes on the place where Song Tae-won was hiding, leisurely loaded his rifle with bullets.

“Come out of the bushes now, Mr. Rabbit.”

There were no hunting dogs to flush him out. But Song Tae-won didn’t move rashly. Sung Hyun-jae shrugged and took out a couple of bullets. Then, he tied the bullets together with a string, making a heavy bundle, and threw it towards the roof of the house Song Tae-won had entered. Then, he shot at the bullet bundle.

Whoosh!

Sparks flew, and the roof began to catch fire. It was a flimsy house made of straw and wood. The fire quickly spread across the entire roof, and burning pieces of wood fell down. Then, crash! A wooden window shattered. Sung Hyun-jae aimed his gun at what was bursting through the window but didn’t pull the trigger. A chair rolled across the dirt floor.

As soon as he saw it, he immediately turned his gaze. Another chair burst out through another window, and a large wooden barrel smashed through the door. It was an attempt to distract him.

What’s next? But suddenly, everything became quiet.

“Oh.”

Sung Hyun-jae, who had been watching the house, quickly turned his head. The wooden barrel. The barrel that had been rolling towards the house Sung Hyun-jae was standing on burst open with a bang. Amid the shattered pieces of wood, Song Tae-won sprang out and started running.

He hadn’t thrown the wooden barrel. He had completely hidden himself inside the empty barrel while breaking through the door.

The distance was completely closed. A beat late, Sung Hyun-jae pulled the trigger, but Song Tae-won was already leaping towards the house Sung Hyun-jae was in. Bang! The bullet narrowly grazed Song Tae-won’s leg, and he crashed through the closed door, entering the house.

“……”

Song Tae-won, having broken through the door, rolled once on the wooden floor and landed. There was blood on his leg, but it was a minor injury that didn’t hinder his movement. He got up and quickly scanned the dimly lit interior. He checked the condition of the wire wrapped around his entire forearm and headed for the stairs leading to the second floor.

Even though he had closed the distance, Song Tae-won was still at a disadvantage. The moment he poked his head out onto the roof, bullets would surely fly. Therefore…

The second floor was almost like a semi-attic. Two pillars supporting the roof were erected, and the form of the purlins [horizontal structural member] and rafters [series of sloped structural members] was fully exposed. It didn’t look very sturdy. Song Tae-won picked up a chair in the corner of the second floor. Then, he swung it with all his might at the pillar.

Bang!

The chair shattered, and the pillar shook violently. Sung Hyun-jae would quickly realize what Song Tae-won was trying to do. Then, a new chair was swung, and with a crack, the pillar broke. He broke the other pillar with a table and shot all the remaining two stones for throwing at the structures supporting the roof.

Soon, the roof began to collapse. The walls of the second floor remained intact, but only the roof caved in. Song Tae-won’s entire body tensed, ready to pounce at any moment, but…

Sung Hyun-jae was nowhere to be seen until the collapsed roof raised dust. Song Tae-won’s brow furrowed unconsciously. Of course, he wouldn’t have fallen obediently. He quickly moved to the window and cautiously looked outside. As soon as Song Tae-won’s face appeared beyond the window.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet grazed Song Tae-won’s ear as he quickly dodged.

“Even in an unawakened state, a height of two floors is easy enough.”

“With the current body, there is a sufficient possibility of injury.”

“Isn’t it insignificant compared to Song Tae-won’s actions?”

The gun was fired again, hitting the window frame. Song Tae-won moved away from the window and pushed the debris of the roof towards it. Then, holding a broken pillar, he forcefully stabbed and pounded the wall below the window. With a thud, cracks appeared in the flimsy wall. When he pounded and broke the walls on both sides of the window, the interior of the second floor was fully exposed.

Sung Hyun-jae, who had been aiming his gun, pulled the trigger, but Song Tae-won quickly hid behind the piled-up roof debris. Then, he pushed the debris pile with all his might.

Crash, Song Tae-won fell outside the second floor along with the debris. The roof debris, a mixture of straw, dirt, and wood, cushioned the continuous barrage of bullets. Buried in the debris, Song Tae-won protected his head with his wire-wrapped arm and got up. Seeing this, Sung Hyun-jae raised the corner of his lips.

“It seems you have no intention of giving up.”

“I don’t.”

A blunt answer returned. The distance between the two was only a few meters. With the attitude of accepting one hit, Song Tae-won put strength into his two legs buried in the straw.

He would block his head with his arm. It was the least vulnerable area since it would be difficult for the bullet to penetrate the wire. He defended his chest area with a wooden board. Even if he was hit by a bullet that pierced the board, he could avoid a fatal injury since the power would be reduced. His legs were still buried, so they were safe.

He just needed to avoid fatal injuries and ignore his two legs and one arm. He would jump in, taking advantage of the gap while he was reloading immediately after shooting.

A cool silence descended between the two. The gunshot would be the signal flare. Sung Hyun-jae slightly twitched the finger on the trigger. Clear pleasure was etched in his curved eyes.

Song Tae-won and Han Yu-jin were both trying to help him. They were colliding with all their might from different directions. So how could he not be happy? Even if it was a long-dead heart, it would have no choice but to heat up.

“Really.”

After saying it as if admiring, Sung Hyun-jae’s finger moved. Since they were rushing at him so fiercely, he had to accept it.

Bang!

Fire spewed from the muzzle of the gun aimed precisely at Song Tae-won’s head. The wire hit by the bullet dented, and Song Tae-won’s upper body also flinched. But that was only for a moment. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm, Song Tae-won’s body burst out.

Thump, he kicked the ground with all his might, not missing that short gap of reloading. As he watched Song Tae-won charging towards him, Sung Hyun-jae spun the rifle instead of pulling the bolt. The butt of the gun was slammed down towards Song Tae-won. Song Tae-won’s ankle twisted sharply, narrowly avoiding the butt of the gun, and he stretched out his arm, which had been pulled back to the fullest.

Thwack!

Sung Hyun-jae’s forearm and Song Tae-won’s fist collided. Sung Hyun-jae was pushed back, and he threw the rifle towards Song Tae-won’s face. It was more of an action to obscure his vision than to attack. At the same time, he swung his leg wide.

Whoosh, the sharply flying kick grazed the crown of Song Tae-won’s head, who quickly lowered his body, and immediately after, Song Tae-won stretched his foot low, skimming the floor. It was an attack aimed at Sung Hyun-jae’s ankle. If the leg supporting his body was pulled, he would have no choice but to fall.

Just before his ankle was kicked, Sung Hyun-jae’s body fell backward. Before being knocked down, he bent his body as if falling backward, put his hand on the ground, and spun around. He lightly spun around with only one hand and landed straight, and Sung Hyun-jae took a light step back. Behind him, the house that had been more than half burned down collapsed with a rumble.

Song Tae-won also got up and looked at Sung Hyun-jae. His light-colored hair was dyed red by the light of the flickering flames. It was a much clearer and more vivid color than usual.

“Isn’t it enjoyable?”

Song Tae-won didn’t answer. But his heart was definitely beating. Desperately ignoring it, Song Tae-won rushed towards Sung Hyun-jae again. He seemed to be trying to charge straight ahead, but,

Whoosh!

He stopped abruptly and deeply scratched the floor with his toes, kicking it up. The shattered pieces of the wooden barrel and the mixed dirt and sand soared towards Sung Hyun-jae. While obscuring the opponent’s vision, Song Tae-won swung his foot, aiming for his side. It was a kind of gamble, anticipating him to dodge sideways. If he dodged in the direction he was aiming for, he would be hit in the abdomen.

But Sung Hyun-jae spun his body in the opposite direction as if he had anticipated everything and threw a low kick. With an accurate attack as if seeing through Song Tae-won’s position and movements,

Thwack!

Sung Hyun-jae’s toe dug into Song Tae-won’s leg as if being sucked in. Without trying to forcibly endure the staggering body, Song Tae-won rolled once on the ground as it was. Covered in dirt, he widened the distance and looked at Sung Hyun-jae as he jumped up.

“Wasn’t the Combat Prediction skill gone? Or is it just luck?”

“It’s a hunch.”

It was intuition, not a skill. But he could feel it. Sung Hyun-jae lowered the leg he had raised and took a step towards Song Tae-won.

“The hit rate will be lower than usual.”

Again, the sound of the building wall collapsing in flames echoed. Sung Hyun-jae glanced up at the sky.

“The sky is cloudy.”

Wouldn’t it rain soon? Song Tae-won took a short breath. He was not an easy opponent, either before or now. That’s why he was even more pleased. He wanted Sung Hyun-jae to resist with all his might. And if he lost, he wanted to be suppressed firmly. To the point where he couldn’t harbor any regrets.

But even so, he would continue to harbor the same feelings. As long as he couldn’t abandon his doubts and anxieties about Song Tae-won.

In the spreading heat, the two became entangled again. Arms and fists, legs and arms collided and fell several times. Without any plausible effective hits, only the innocent ground was dug up and beaten.

“Try a little harder.”

Sung Hyun-jae smiled as he threw a fist, pulling his back muscles to the fullest. His neck was faintly wet with sweat. The flying ashes stuck to his cheeks and occasionally obscured his vision.

Song Tae-won also let out a slightly rough breath. The sweat that rolled down over his exposed collarbone pooled and scattered with the intense movement. It was extremely difficult to land an attack on Sung Hyun-jae. Even if the hit rate was lower than Combat Prediction, he still easily anticipated, dodged, and countered the attacks.

Then, the only way was to make it so that he couldn’t avoid it even if he anticipated it. Song Tae-won gave up technical movements. Instead, he blindly clung to Sung Hyun-jae.

“Ugh.”

Sung Hyun-jae’s fist dug into Song Tae-won’s side. A groan escaped from the fiercely stabbing attack, but he gritted his teeth, wrapped Sung Hyun-jae’s arm with his own, and pushed with his whole body.

Thump!

The two bodies rolled on the floor, entangled together. Sung Hyun-jae also felt embarrassed by Song Tae-won’s reckless attitude. Sung Hyun-jae was more dominant in height, but it was difficult to say that the overall physique was advantageous.

Song Tae-won threw a fist without even taking a proper stance at Sung Hyun-jae, who was trying to escape. The fist that grazed Sung Hyun-jae’s cheek hit the floor, and Sung Hyun-jae also bent his knee and kicked up. With a thud, Song Tae-won’s brow furrowed. He felt pain to the point where his bones creaked, but he ignored it and continued to punch.

The two people, who had been rolling back and forth on the floor, fell towards the collapsed building. Taking advantage of the gap where the ashes rose, Sung Hyun-jae headbutted Song Tae-won’s face. Thwack! Song Tae-won, who was headbutted in the nose, inevitably stiffened. Not missing it, Sung Hyun-jae kicked Song Tae-won’s solar plexus with all his might.

“Cough!”

Song Tae-won, who had been stubbornly enduring, couldn’t bear it this time. Sung Hyun-jae’s forearm wrapped around Song Tae-won’s neck, who fell backward as it was. Then, he stabbed the already drawn dagger into his shoulder. The blade twisted, and one of Song Tae-won’s arms drooped down.

“Then, Mr. Song Tae-won.”

The drawn dagger dripped with blood, and at that moment when it was raised high.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet was embedded in front of Sung Hyun-jae’s feet, and Han Yu-jin lowered the gun he had been aiming and said.

“He’s mine.”