Chapter 54: Solo Raid (7)
‘They are just as strong as an Orc, not more and not less than that,’?Han-Yeol thought.
There was one point in time when Han-Yeol had hunted so many Orcs that the mere sight of them made him nauseous. He was able to immediately make a comparison of the four Hunters to the Orcs since he had observed so many Orcs with Mana Eyes when he had been hunting them day in and day out. He was able to relax thanks to that.
‘I can easily take care of a hundred Orcs even if they come at me at the same time,’?Han-Yeol confidently thought.
His level was now a whopping Level 52, and one could say that his confidence was not baseless at all. This was especially true if they considered the fact that he had been hunting Orcs since he had been Level 10. On top of that, Han-Yeol had a far larger arsenal of skills at his disposal now.
Shiiing...
Han-Yeol pulled out his sword while thinking, ‘The chain is a luxury to these bastards.’
Actually, he had forgotten his chain in the van and had come without it because he had rushed over here.
“Kill that bastard!” one of the Hunters shouted.
Tak!
At that shout, all four Hunters rushed toward Han-Yeol. They immediately got into formation without even sending any signs or signals to each other. It seemed that these four worked together quite often.
However, Han-Yeol could clearly see their movement pattern thanks to him being able to trace their mana using Mana Eyes, and Sixth Sense kicked in and made everything slow down whenever the assailants tried to attack him.
Their combined attack was so fast and vicious that Sixth Sense was not able to completely slow it down, but that did not really matter since Han-Yeol’s skills were already leagues above the four.
‘Two spears, one sword, and one magician-type dealer...’?Han-Yeol thought while observing the assailants. Three of the Hunters had engaged him in melee while the last one remained standing at the back. The Hunter that stayed behind had both of his hands covered with a blue glow.
The magician was wearing magic gloves, which was a piece of equipment that magician Hunters who awakened with three magic skills often used to unleash ranged magic damage.
Han-Yeol raised his sword and activated a skill, ‘Mana Shield.’
He went into combat stance after summoning his shield made out of mana.
Fwoosh!?
The two spear-wielding Hunters each stabbed their spears while aiming for Han-Yeol’s head and heart respectively. Their movement was so natural and fluid that it was impossible for them to achieve this level of precision if they had not committed murder before.
However, Han-Yeol was not someone who would get done in so easily like that, and the only thing on his mind right now was whether he should respond with the same intent to kill as these guys were doing.
‘These two will keep me at bay with their spears while the sword-wielding one will look for an opening. Then, the magician will step in with his skills if things drag on for too long or if I manage to fend the three melee attackers off,’?Han-Yeol calmly analyzed the situation.
Clang! Clang!?
Han-Yeol went into a defensive stance and used his Mana Shield to block their attacks while he continued to gauge the four Hunters’ abilities. He easily deflected the two spearman's attacks since they had precisely aimed for his heart and head, which made it possible for him to defend both attacks at the same time with Mana Shield.
“Damn it, this guy is quite sturdy.”
“Is he a Tank?”
“What are you doing chatting around? Keep stabbing him. He is just an E Rank even though he is a Tank. He won’t be able to last for too long!”
“Do you think we don’t know that too?!”
The four Hunters chattered among themselves as they gained confidence after seeing Han-Yeol only defending, and it was as if this had turned into a game for them where they were trying to break through Han-Yeol’s defense.
However, little did they know that a viper from hell was lurking in the corner and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
‘Let’s see... I’ve made them lower their guard, so in that case...’?Han-Yeol thought. He had actually blocked their spears just enough so that they would lower their guard and get further drawn toward him, and then he presented them with an irresistible opening.
The swordsman Hunter lurking around waiting for an opening to present itself, while the two spearmen were keeping Han-Yeol busy, immediately pounced at the opportunity when he saw an opening in Han-Yeol’s defense. He shouted and charged right in, “Gotcha!”
Both ends of Han-Yeol’s lips suddenly curled up as he cheekily smiled.
“!!” Upon spotting Han-Yeol’s smile, the swordsman Hunter noticed that something was not right.
‘Shield Bash!’?Han-Yeol activated his only attack skill with his shield.
Bam!
He knocked the two spearmen back with Shield Bash, and he was now facing the swordsman one on one.
“Huh...?” The swordsman Hunter was confused at the sudden turn of events.
The swordsman Hunter possessed three skills specialized in assassination, so he was bound to lose to the same E Rank Hunter if he were to fight them one on one. He was aware of this fact, and that was why he always preferred to lurk behind and wait for an opportune moment to strike.
In fact, the swordsman Hunter could be considered weak compared to an average E Rank Hunter, and the same applied to the rest of the other three Hunters. These four Hunters were so weak that not even a mediocre hunting party would be willing to take them in.
That was the main reason why these four, despite being Hunters, were not out at the hunting grounds to hunt monsters for a living, and they instead chose to roam around the streets robbing civilians or other Hunters weaker than them.
Han-Yeol made the first move and lightly swung his sword. At the same time, the swordsman Hunter used his evasion skill to try and avoid Han-Yeol’s attack.
Sukeok!
But Han-Yeol’s sword was much faster than the swordsman Hunter’s reaction speed, so his shoulder was easily cut open by the sword.
“Gwaaaaaah!”?The swordsman Hunter screamed in agony when the burning sensation engulfed his entire shoulder. He could not bear the pain, which was a pain that he was experiencing for the first time in his life.
“Jack!” one of the Hunters shouted.
‘Jack?’?Han-Yeol wondered.
The four Hunters looked like typical Koreans, but they were using English names. Then, Han-Yeol’s brain had a lightbulb popping up. He asked, “Ah, so you are the Four Mad Musketeers?”
“H-How did you know?” the Hunter asked in response while being surprised. They were indeed the Four Mad Musketeers.
The Hunters’ Association had a wanted list that rated them by rank, and the Four Mad Musketeers were wanted D Rank criminals. They were ranked as D even though their individual ranks were only E because they could hunt down a C Rank Hunter through their cooperation and sheer luck. Nobody really paid attention to them or wasted their time looking for them since their faces were unknown, and the only thing known about them was the fact that they moved in a group of four and called each other with nicknames such as Jack, Howl, Tale, and Kyle.
Han-Yeol was able to come up with this deduction the moment he heard the name ‘Jack’. Armed with new knowledge, he then said, “D Rank wanted... You guys have a bounty of three hundred and forty million won, right?”
There were some Hunters who only chased after wanted criminals with bounties on their heads instead of going after monsters, and these Hunters were called Bounty Hunters.
Of course, Han-Yeol was not interested in Bounty Hunters nor was he planning to become one. It was just that there had been a few times in his Porter days when he had heard of the bounty placed on these criminals from the Hunters, and he remembered being green with envy at the bounty figure placed on their heads.
He was able to recognize the Four Mad Musketeers since they were one of the wanted criminals that he had heard of back in the day.
“That bastard saw our faces! Kill him!”
“Hap!”
The swordsman Hunter might have been incapacitated, but the core of their team, which were the two spearmen and the magician, were still able to fight.
“Tale!”
“Okay, leave it to me!” the magician named Tale responded when one of the spearmen shouted his name. He started to gather mana into his hands—he was casting a spell.
“Sorry to say this but... I’ll stop watching what E Rank Hunters have to offer now,” Han-Yeol said.
“What the hell are you saying you...”
Sukeok!
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