Chapter 130: Sacrifice 2
Jean Clo heard what Junhyuk had to say, opened his steel jaw and laughed loudly.
"With you gone, do you think we will lose?"
He wasn’t interested in listening to Junhyuk any further and ran toward him. He knew Junhyuk had used all of his powers and wanted to kill him right there.
Junhyuk knew the allies would win that battle even if he died. He retreaded. If he had to die, he wanted to force the enemies to use all of their powers. Artlan and Halo blocked the path towards him. They attacked Jean Clo at the same time, slashing his ribs from left and right. With them torn, Jean Clo got ready to use his ultimate.
If he lost all of his health, his ultimate wouldn’t be effective. He had lost about half of his health at that point, so it was a good time to use his ultimate. Jean Clo pushed Artlan and Halo aside, and ran toward Junhyuk.
Sarang extended her hands toward him and said, "Suppress!"
The blood-colored energy surrounded Jean Clo, but he already knew that would happen. Jean Clo had used his ultimate for one reason: to block Vera’s and Diane’s attacks.
Vera cast her magic, and Diane shot an arrow, but the blue energy from his ultimate that was surrounding him blocked their attacks. Jean Clo ignored them and ran toward Junhyuk.
Junhyuk raised his sword toward Jean Clo. His mind was very calm at that point. He knew what he had to do and he wasn’t scared. Because he would die anyway, he would go all out. Junhyuk ran toward Jean Clo, who raised both arms. Is it because I’m so calm? Junhyuk clearly saw the attack.
Jean Clo was debuffed, and Junhyuk escaped his attack unhurt and slashed his ribs. Jean Clo watched Junhyuk passing him by and horse-kicked him. Junhyuk got hit on the back and rolled on the ground.
It wasn’t Jean Clo’s power, but Junhyuk lost 30 percent of his health. He clenched his jaw and got up, but Bater was already next to him, swinging his fist down.
Bater had a lot of health, and Junhyuk had nothing to gain by getting hit, so he turned his body to the side and tried to dodge the fist. In nick of time, he made it. Then, he slashed Bater’s thigh with the Frozen Rune Sword and spun around to slash Bater’s ankle with the Blood Rune Sword.
Junhyuk regained some health with his second strike, but Bater wouldn’t let him be. Bater took a stance and punched out in a one-two combo. Junhyuk could die. His hairs stood up, feeling nervous as he watched the fists approaching his face. The fists were coming in fast, but the electric blast was faster.
Bater and Doctor Tula were both paralyzed.
Artlan and Halo understood Junhyuk’s mindset, so they focused on killing Doctor Tula rather than saving Junhyuk. Both of them attacked with critical hits, and Doctor Tula disappeared.
Junhyuk jumped to escape Bater. That was only possible because Bater was paralyzed, but Adolphe rushed toward him and attacked.
Junhyuk raised his swords quickly and blocked the attacked, but his body tightened in place, and he lost some health. He had blocked Adolphe’s power, but Adolphe still managed to damage him. If he hadn’t blocked it, he would’ve been killed instantly, Junhyuk couldn’t move, and Adolphe smirked and swung his saw blade. There was nothing Junhyuk could do.
Suddenly, an explosive arrow flew in to help him out.
Boom!
Adolphe staggered from the explosion and raised his saw blade high up. The thirty-food sword energy sprung from the blade, and Junhyuk frowned. He still couldn’t move, so he was ready to be hit by the sword energy, but Vera cast a firewall underneath Adolphe’s feet. The firewall burned Adolphe, but he didn’t move and slammed the energy down.
Junhyuk was watching the attack when he was able to move again, so he quickly moved to the side to escape the sword energy. Adolphe was burning and couldn’t keep his stance. The energy made a big hole on the ground where Junhyuk had been standing. Junhyuk had barely escaped getting sliced in half.
He got up quickly, wanting to buy more time and thinking the allies would win without further casualties. Then, two thick arms wrapped around his waist. Junhyuk didn’t turn around. Instead, he grabbed his swords and stabbed the arms, pointing the blades toward his back. He felt his health filling up, but the world around him was already spinning.
It was a backdrop, a wrestling move.
This was also not a power, but it would still be deadly for Junhyuk, so he quickly stabbed the area behind his neck, where Jean Clo was standing.
Jean Clo was wounded, but Junhyuk failed to do any further damage, and then, he felt the shock of his head against the ground.
Boom!
He finally lost all of his health, and watched the world disappear around him. Jean Clo dropped Junhyuk’s body, and went straight toward Sarang, and Junhyuk looked at her.
He had been willing to die. Victory belonged to the allies. When he died, the allies would the kill rest of the enemies, and the enemies wouldn’t run away.
Junhyuk’s eyes met Sarang’s.
"Stay alive."
She couldn’t hear him, but she understood what he said. The enemies wanted to kill him, and now he was dead, so they would go after her.
Nudra stood in front of her, and the world faded around Junhyuk.
---
Death visited again.
He endured the harsh emptiness and felt his soul hardening. Normally, he could not have endured the emptiness, but once he did, it feel like he had accomplished something important. Junhyuk yawned wide and patted his armor with both hands.
"I won’t die again."
He had only one life left. He couldn’t die.
Inside the white-colored room, Junhyuk looked at the number displayed: 15,240G.
He had been penniless, but now he had some money and inspected his new items. He wanted to know more about the items he had picked up. First, he looked at the anklet Killa dropped. Right of the bat, he was dumbfounded and overjoyed, quickly putting it around his ankle.
---
Pure Golden Knight Elder’s Boot (Set Item) (Changed Shape)
Attack +10
Movement Speed +10%
The Golden Knight Elder used to wear this boot. In the past, he was called a legend and he carried items to increase his attack power. There was no one who could withstand a blow from him.
Having a complete set increases the power of the item.
Two-Item Set Effect: Armor Piercing +35
Three-Item Set Effect: Additional Fixed Damager +50
Four-Item Set Effect: 50% area of effect damage at a 10-meter radius.
---
The shape had changed. Originally, it had been a boot, but now it looked like an anklet. He was more surprised by the fourth effect.
"Area of effect damage?"
Usually, when fighting heroes, fights took place within limited-space arenas. He could now use his power to attack the enemy and increase his regular attack’s range. He would deal 50 percent of his attack damage, but his attack would increase, and eventually, he would be able to kill his enemies by himself.
"Now that’s a set power!"
Junhyuk stuck out his tongue and looked at the next item, it was the small saw wheel that Regina had dropped.
---
Ore Booster (Boost Item)
Movement Speed +5%
Health +100
Simply mount it on your boot, and it will increase your movement speed and heath. It’s expensive, but effective. Movement speed increases by 5 percent, and health increases by a hundred points.
---
Junhyuk placed it next to his anklet, and a soft voice whispered to him.
[Do you want to mount the Ore Booster on you Pure Golden Knight Elder’s Boot?]
"Mount it."
[It’s now mounted.]
Junhyuk was overjoyed. He used to be very slow in comparison to the others, but now he could move faster than even Sarang.
He got up and heard another whisper.
[You’ve died once. You have 0 lives left on this battlefield.]
"I know."
He had nice, new items, but he had to protect himself. He couldn’t die again.
[You may exit using the main entrance.]
Junhyuk walked to the door, and the soft voice whispered.
[Expert 01 deployed.]
He wasn’t a champion yet, but next time, the voice would whisper champion. He walked outside and pulled out a small crystal. Curious about the situation, he wanted instructions on what he should do.
He thought about Artlan and asked, "What happened?"
"We killed them all."
"Any casualties?"
"None, and we protected Sarang."
"That’s good."
Junhyuk was relieved. Sarang was safe.
"Where should I go?"
There was a moment of silence, and he answered, "Defend the castle."
"What?"
"Just like last time, Regina can sneak off and attack the castle. Protect it. The castle has archers, and you’ll be safe."
Junhyuk could protect the castle. He was confident of that. His attack range was longer than Regina’s. However, the allies would be at a disadvantage on the next team battle.
"Don’t you need me?"
"Don’t worry."
"But..."
"I don’t care if we lose the next team battle. You will be a champion on the next battlefield, and we will win the next time," Artlan said seriously. He was saying the truth, but he was also worried. "Don’t think we will lose without you either."
Junhyuk inhaled deeply. If Regina came his way, the allies would have the numerical superiority and would have the advantage during the team battle. Artlan didn’t want Junhyuk dead, so Junhyuk had nothing more to say.
"I understand."
"The castle can’t come down. Protect it at all costs."
"Don’t worry about it and win."
"Of course. Don’t worry."
Junhyuk put the crystal away and looked at the castle. He had only gone there with a purpose before and never really looked at it. The castle looked like a medieval structure, but it also had many differences. Junhyuk went over to where the archers were. The archers were buffed and could inflict heavy damage on heroes.
He stood next to them and looked down. Regina could slay a giant golem on her own, and she was a powerful woman. She would come his way soon.
"She will die by my hands."
Regina had a lot of health, and even when she received critical hits, she didn’t die easily. However, the archers would help, and Regina wouldn’t get in the castle.
Junhyuk leaned on the castle’s parapet and thought of Sarang. He summoned his Kasha and talked to her. If she was thinking of him now, she would summon her own Kasha.
"Sarang."
The Kasha shook its head and looked at Junhyuk and opened its mouth, and he heard her voice.
"Yes, big brother."
Junhyuk chuckled and said, "Take care of yourself and stay alive at all costs."
"Sure! You too, take care of yourself!"
"Right."
He was grateful to Vera because now he could communicate with Sarang through the Kashas. He finished speaking and leaned on the castle’s parapet with the Kasha on his shoulder.
"I will stay alive," he murmured, looking at the purple sky.
He had sacrificed himself for the team and so he reminded himself what was most important to him as he gripped his sword tightly.