“It’s best if you judge that as you see fit, Kang-hoo. I need to be cautious with my words.”
Kang-hoo didn’t respond to Lee Ye-rin’s statement.
Even if Cheong-an knew the truth, it wasn’t necessary for them to step in and resolve everything.
They were business partners, not a shared destiny to handle everything together.
There was no need to interpret it in terms of good or bad. Kang-hoo brushed aside unnecessary thoughts.
“For now, I understand. Please proceed with the request as discussed. I’ll be waiting for good news.”
“I’ll do my best to bring back a better request.”
“Thank you.”
With that, the meeting with Lee Ye-rin ended.
Before leaving the Cheong-an building, Kang-hoo moved laterally and naturally entered a stealth state.Waiting.
It’s something entirely different from just doing nothing, as Choi Jin-ho and Choi Jin-soo realized.
Doing nothing was quite familiar to the two brothers. That’s how it was in Eclipse.
But waiting was unfamiliar. It was a rare situation.
Both were gunners and specialized snipers, but strangely enough, they lacked persistence.
The foremost virtue of a sniper is to wait patiently, but they failed to maintain the basics.
“Yawn……”
Perhaps that’s why.
Choi Jin-soo, waiting for the uncertain arrival of Kang-hoo, yawned and stretched.
It was a typical movement to loosen up his stiff body, nothing significant.
But at that moment.
Swish!
“Gah!”
Something passed by Choi Jin-soo, who was stretching, and he urgently clutched his neck.
The situation unfolded in an instant.
Splat!
Choi Jin-soo tried to staunch the sudden flow of blood, but it was a futile struggle.
Without even a moment to comprehend who or how he was killed, Choi Jin-soo lost his life.
“Damn it, what the hell?”
The only slight consolation was that Choi Jin-ho, looking in his brother’s direction, saw what happened.
It was Kang-hoo.
He didn’t know how Kang-hoo found them hiding so far from the Cheong-an building.
They were discovered. That was what mattered.
“Shin Kang-hoo! Kill him!”
“Attack!”
The subordinates stationed with them rushed toward Kang-hoo.
Without time to mourn his brother’s death, Choi Jin-ho tracked Kang-hoo’s movements.
That was the priority now.
He had a trick up his sleeve.
Though it was a one-time use, he could perfectly track an opponent within a 1 km radius.
Whether Kang-hoo went into stealth or hid behind obstacles, he would still be exposed.
“Aargh!”
“Gah!”
In a brief moment, two subordinates lost their lives.
Kang-hoo repeatedly utilized lateral movement and stealth, ravaging the subordinates.
“Damn it.”
Choi Jin-ho, aiming precisely at Kang-hoo, bit his lip.
He wanted to single out and kill Kang-hoo like a pincushion, but it was difficult.
The subordinates were fighting mixed in.
In a way, the subordinates were buying time, slowing Kang-hoo’s movements.
‘Then.’
Choi Jin-ho thought.
Using the subordinates’ ‘noble sacrifice’ as leverage, he vowed to kill Kang-hoo.
He would accept the unavoidable sacrifice heavily.
He justified the possibility of team-killing. It was a decision the subordinates couldn’t even dream of.
‘Got him.’
Choi Jin-ho, having aimed perfectly, held his breath.
He then calmly pulled the trigger after fully capturing Kang-hoo in his sight.
Once the gunshot was heard, blood would splatter from the center of Kang-hoo’s forehead.
Even if a subordinate was in the way, they would fall, bloodied, with Kang-hoo.
Bang!
Finally, the gunshot was heard.
Choi Jin-ho was confident of his success.
Thud!
As expected, the back of the head of a subordinate, overlapping Kang-hoo’s path, burst.
Choi Jin-ho wasn’t surprised at all. It was an anticipated situation. Kang-hoo’s death was the priority.
But for some reason, Kang-hoo, who should have been shot in the forehead, was unscathed.
“What the…?”
Choi Jin-ho saw it.
Though he had returned to his original form, Kang-hoo’s body had momentarily turned to stone.
It was clearly a skill—a defensive skill that hardened and strengthened the body.
This was unexpected.
How did an assassin acquire a body transformation defensive skill, which even tanker swordsmen found difficult to have?
There was no time to ponder. Kang-hoo had already pinpointed Choi Jin-ho’s location and was approaching.
Kang-hoo used a means to quickly strike Choi Jin-ho.
Light Illumination.
It was a precision strike from Kang-hoo, skilled in throwing, to prevent Choi Jin-ho’s escape.
“Hup…!”
Seeing the flying dagger, Choi Jin-ho raised his rifle diagonally, ready to defend.
He was being severely underestimated.
No matter how low he was rated, did they think he’d fall for such an obvious dagger throw?
Choi Jin-ho planned to deflect the dagger and then leave the scene at full speed.
After seeing Kang-hoo’s response, he had abandoned the thought of fighting properly.
The difference in strength was clear!
If he could block the sniper so easily, there was no point in the next fight.
Bang!
Choi Jin-ho blocked the flying dagger with full strength. Though clumsy, his defense was perfect.
But then.
“Urgh!”
At the moment of blocking the dagger, Choi Jin-ho’s body lifted into the air and flew for a while.
He had merely blocked a dagger, yet his body floated as if pushed by something.
“Argh!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Without a moment to prepare, his body crashed to the ground and rolled unceremoniously.
He didn’t even know how he was rolling due to his confusion.
The situation had gone terribly wrong.
Choi Jin-ho’s mind was filled with the word ‘escape.’ To survive, there was no other way.
“Ptooey!”
Spitting out the sand that had entered his mouth, Choi Jin-ho quickly stood up.
There was still time.
He was sure he had time to escape…
Thunk!
At least, Choi Jin-ho thought so, but unfortunately, his fate ended there.
Even with a slight time difference, he ended up following his brother, Choi Jin-soo.
By then, Kang-hoo had already embedded a dagger right in the center of Choi Jin-ho’s forehead.
“I’m just returning what you gave me. It seems you have no way to withstand it. So, you must die.”
Kang-hoo twisted the deeply embedded dagger 90 degrees and looked at the dead Choi Jin-ho, whose eyes had rolled back.
He wasn’t a familiar face, nor a highly skilled sniper.
Rather than an investigator or close associate sent by Kang Dong-hyun from Eclipse…
He felt more like the leader of small fry who wanted to make a name for himself after seeing the assassination list.
That was the level of skill they possessed.
Kang-hoo had known Choi Jin-ho intended to snipe him. He also knew the subordinates would become sacrifices.
However, Choi Jin-ho’s level didn’t appear high through the constellation’s observation, so Kang-hoo deliberately used the petrification skill.
If he didn’t test it in situations like this, there wouldn’t be many opportunities to experience the power of petrification normally.
The test was a great success.
Kang-hoo’s front, which had instantly turned into solid stone, easily blocked Choi Jin-ho’s sniping.
With this level of defense, he could likely withstand the average firepower of a sniper like Ban Se-young.
Of course, if it were a fatal blow with all the power poured into it, the calculations would be different.
“Both of the brothers are dead!”
“Aaah! Let’s run!”
“We’re screwed, damn it!”
The subordinates, having lost both leaders in an instant, started fleeing in a panic.
Having confirmed Choi Jin-ho’s death through the success of constellation plunder, Kang-hoo pursued them.
He had no intention of letting a single one live from the start.
The only mercy he could offer to those who tried to kill him was a quick ticket to hell.
A unilateral massacre began.
In the midst of it, Kang-hoo experienced something new for the first time.
It was a special phenomenon he hadn’t been able to feel before due to the conditions not being met.
It was…
【Great Decapitation】
【Skill Proficiency: Lv. Max】
【...(omitted)...】
【Monsters and hunters with a level less than 33% of the user’s level will die instantly upon being struck.】
This was the content at the end of the tooltip for the Great Decapitation skill.
Until now, Kang-hoo hadn’t encountered monsters or hunters with a level one-third of his own, so he didn’t know.
This time, while dealing with the subordinates of the two small fry brothers, the conditions were met.
The results were astonishing.
Some of them, despite only sustaining minor injuries from a glancing blow from Great Decapitation…
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
They clutched their chests, foaming at the mouth, as if their hearts had suddenly stopped.
It was certain death.
‘It seems right to read the manual thoroughly to the end.’
Kang-hoo looked at the ones who lost their lives absurdly(?) and showed a pitiful expression.
Did they think gathering in a group would change the situation despite their unworthy skills?
Such a weak mindset. That’s why they followed such small fry as their leader.
【Soul Tracker】
【Limited to once per person, it allows perfect tracking within a 1 km radius. Even in a stealth state.】
【Meditator】
【Maintains focus at twice the usual capacity without causing any physical overload.】
Kang-hoo checked the list of two constellations he had plundered from Choi Jin-ho and Choi Jin-soo and was satisfied.
The Meditator constellation applied as a passive skill, so he could forget about it after recognizing its acquisition.
The Soul Tracker constellation seemed likely to come in handy.
Though it was unfortunate that it was a one-time use, it was a sure way to track a hidden target.
Choi Jin-ho must have aimed boldly at Kang-hoo, relying on that constellation.
But despite having good constellations, he lacked the corresponding skill and judgment.
“Good master found.”
Kang-hoo sneered.
The two constellations would probably consider themselves lucky to have found a much better contractor.
In fact, they should see it as good fortune. They legally changed contractors.
Swoosh. Swish.
Kang-hoo wiped the blood-soaked dagger on his clothes.
His whole body was covered in blood, so the clothes would go straight into the trash without even being washed.
It’s a hunter’s dilemma to live with blood as a companion. They can’t wear their favorite clothes for long.
At that moment.
While deeply immersed in battle, Kang-hoo encountered a new piece of information he had momentarily forgotten.
【You have fulfilled the daily murder quota twice.】
【By performing a ritual to pray for the victims’ repose, you can gain stats twice with a random chance.】
【Pray for the repose of the dead with a reverent heart. That is the courtesy towards them.】
“Damn it…”
Talking about a murder quota and then mentioning repose and courtesy.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t feel any affection for this constellation.
Of course… That didn’t mean he would refuse the stats it offered. He had to take what he could.