The Forest Of Screaming Corpses (3)

Clang!
Cheng!
Claaang-!

In the forest filled with darkness, distinct metallic sounds resonated.

Pyo Dok-ju and the duo of thieves.
The three of them were fighting fiercely amidst a horde of over fifty undead.

“Eek! Damn it! Damn it! Get away!”

The orange-haired one, gripped by fear, swung her fists wildly.
The incompletely spread crimson magic soon created a violent strike.

A derivative skill of [Martial Arts].
Defeating the enemy with [Rapid Strikes] was good, but she was too terrified, and excessively consumed her magic.

Shuk!

“Argh!”

In the end, failing to properly defend against a skeleton’s strike, her side got slashed.

The green-haired one, watching this, with veins bulging in her neck, shouted at Pyo Dok-ju.

“This… What the hell is going on?! You said that the plan was foolproof, didn’t you?! Do something about it then!!”
“Stop shouting and stay calm! It’s just a minor setback!”
“J-just a minor setback?!”

Dodging the incoming undead’s claws, the green-haired one created a wind strike with [Edge Strike] and shouted angrily.

Regardless, the obstinate one continued speaking.

“There are many of them, but they’re just low-level undead. We’ll take them down and then chase after those two and defeat them. It’s a simple matter!”
“Damn it…”

Thus, the three of them continued their relentless battle.

Meanwhile, at the same time.
At the same place.
Two people were looking down at them from a high cliff.

One was a cute and lovable cat girl who showed what it meant to be healed just by looking at her, and the other was a handsome man who healed in a different way.

Of course, it was Ma Hana and Yu Seha.

Ma Hana, bending her body, muttered with a dazed face.

“…Th-this, this really existed… It was dangerous. Really…”

At her words, Yu Seha, with his arms crossed, also nodded slowly.

“Indeed. Encountering that number of undead. Then fighting those three… It surely seemed like we had to prepare for annihilation.”

Yu Seha spoke coldly, but it was all to show off to Meowi. Inside, he felt differently.

‘Damn those things…’

Damn.
I really thought we were screwed this time.

‘Shit, isn’t it too much to herd undead with a demon stone in a place where cute newbies are wandering around?’

‘This is a behavior unlike newbies!’
If this were ‘GAL,’ it would have been immediately criticized on the forums for having bad manners.

“…It’s because of me.”
“Huh?”

I turned my head at the sudden words.
Meowi, trembling slightly, pointed at the duo of thieves.

“…I don’t know what method they used to wait here, but they must have come because they hold a grudge against me. Because of me… Seha almost got in danger.”

Meowi looked apologetic and was about to cry.

‘Meow, meeooow…’ She whimpered, her large eyes tearing up.

For a moment, clutching my aching heart, I stroked her head to reassure her that it was okay.

“Well, that might be the case… but strictly speaking, it’s probably because of me.”

“…Meeeooow?”

“Do you see that silver-haired woman over there? Look at the tattoo on her shoulder. It’s a bat spewing fire. She’s a Class Hunter.”

“Meeeow?! C-could it be that notorious human trafficking ring?!”

“That’s right.”

“Wh-why… Seha… could it be that?”

I nodded towards Meowi, whose face had turned pale.

‘It’s probably one of the staff who ended up selling my information.’

Really.
Even thinking back, it was a stroke of luck.
Even now, I think it was a miracle that we survived.

I realized their plan about 5 minutes after entering the .

When I realized from Meowi’s explanation that the dungeon’s grade had been adjusted, I imagined the worst-case scenario, however unlikely.

‘…What if a high-level undead popped out from an Unexplored Route?’

The probability of it wasn’t high, but due to the adjustment, there were occasional instances of wandering monsters launching surprise attacks.

In another dungeon, I wouldn’t have been too concerned.

However, this place had a significant gap from the regular route.

If we were unlucky enough to encounter a [Dullahan (B)], we would have to be prepared for annihilation, so I released [Unprecedented Sense] to the maximum level despite the gagging feeling.

‘…Thinking about it again, it was fucking terrible.’

The feeling of a fiery aura spreading out like a living creature.

Thanks to that, I was able to expand the range quite a bit.

As I spread the detection, I caught a really unexpected figure.

‘The duo of thieves.’

I realized the presence of the two people who were watching us from the bushes.

They must have been lying in wait in advance.

I had no idea how they got in, though.

‘So I kept paying attention.’

First, I wrote on the soft palm of Meowi to inform that someone was there, and continued to focus my senses.

To prepare for any unforeseen events, I entrusted most of the battles to Meowi.

In Meowi’s case, most of her abilities were revealed to the duo, but none of mine were yet disclosed.

One fact I learned from this persistent endurance.

There was one more unexpected person following us.

Their presence was more obscure than that of the duo of thieves…
It seemed they were of a higher caliber.

On the contrary, it was easier for me to notice them.
Because they stood out when they moved.

After that, everything went smoothly.

The trio began in earnest.
And suddenly, a horde of undead appeared.
From the movements clearly aimed at us, I saw through their plan.

‘They intended to wear us down with the undead mob and then ambush us.’

At first, I planned to flee with Meowi.
But soon, I changed my mind.

‘…Is it really needed though?’

Now that I knew everything, I was no longer afraid of their plans.

Crucially, once we left this place, it would take a full week before we could re-take it again.

‘But I cannot let that happen.’

Which was why I decided to lure the group of undead who were following us to this path and drag them into a trap.

If those people were careful of their actions, they wouldn’t have gotten caught like this.

But hunters don’t often think about them being hunted back.

The loophole was successfully closed, and this was the result.

Now, what could be said to be the variable was the skill of the .

I was convinced by seeing the fight unfold in the bottom of the cliff.

‘We can win.’

It might be impossible if they were in perfect condition, but it was more than enough now that they were exhausted from fighting the undead.

‘They will get out soon.’

Okay, shall we start moving now?

“Meowi, let’s go!”
“Yes!”

It’s the beginning of a counterattack!

Chaang―!

A heavy metallic sound resonated through the sword.

‘…Damn it!’

Pyo Dok-ju.

The hunter who came to hunt the cursed inwardly.

Why? Why did it turn out like this?
What went wrong?
Could it be that this trash duo betrayed me?

‘…No, if that were the case, they wouldn’t be shouting like that.’

Stay calm.
Right now, I needed to break through the encirclement of the undead horde and escape.

“Kwahh!”

Shwook!

She decapitated the approaching undead and quickly analyzed the situation.

‘Fortunately, the level of the ones that had gathered wasn’t high.’

But who knows how long this would last.
The undead were fundamentally sensitive to the activities of the living.
They were also sensitive to the rest of the dead here.

Due to these characteristics, reinforcements would quickly gather.

This meant that if time dragged on, there was a 100% chance an undead Dullahan would appear.

‘…But there are too many to charge in recklessly.’

A situation with no solution, literally.

At that moment, the green-haired one fighting in a sweat shouted.

“Damn it, damn it! You, do something! Try sprinkling that famous powder or whatever!”

Foolish…
She must have already said it wouldn’t work.

She briefly clicked her tongue.
Then, an amazing idea flashed through Pyo Dok-ju’s mind.

Standing subtly behind the green-haired and orange-haired ones, she began to speak as if revealing a plan.

“There is a way.”
“What is it? Use it quickly!”
“I was going to do that anyway.”

She swiftly kicked the back of the green-haired one.
‘Ugh?!’ She fell together with the orange-haired one.

“You guys are the bait for me.”

Before she could even finish her words, the undead rushed at the duo.

“You, you… you bitch!!!”
“Ah! Don’t bite!! I said, don’t bite me!!”

Good, thanks to that, the encirclement had loosened.

Pyo Dok-ju, gathering strength in her legs, ran without looking back at the two.

“…Damn it, damn it!”

Pyo Dok-ju continued to spit out curses at what happened.

Fortunately, she had bought some time, but the situation was still dire.

For now, she decided to focus on getting outside and preserving his life.

While running out like that.

Pyo Dok-ju noticed something flashing in front of her.

She quickly turned her body.
A burning sensation brushed past her cheek.

‘…A dagger?’

The dagger appeared as if waiting.

With eyes burning with fury, Ma Hana grabbed a large shield and took a combat stance.

Then Yu Seha appeared.

Hiding his body behind a shield, he took the stance of [Flowing Slash].

‘Damn it…’

Pyo Dok-ju gritted her teeth.
The situation was really bad.

She wasted her stamina wandering around for 3 hours.
She had used too much strength and mana fighting the undead horde.

She must somehow escape from here…

‘No, no. This is rather an opportunity.’

She changed her mind.

As the saying goes, a crisis is an opportunity in disguise. She could kill that dirty Myoin Tribe brat here, subdue the man, and kidnap him.

‘Then there’s no problem at all!’

Just as Pyo Dok-ju finished her thought and slowly grabbed her blade.

“Kweeek!”
“…What?!”

Suddenly, a ghoul lunged out from the bushes.

It had been persistently tracking her, as its legs were covered in dust.

Shuk!

Pyo Dok-ju cut it down with one swift strike.
But she regretted it internally.

Bang!

Yu Seha, who didn’t miss the brief but crucially exposed gap, lunged forward.

Slash! The half-exposed blade sent chills down Pyo Dok-ju’s spine.

“Damn it…”

Damn it!!!