The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 38

For some reason, the monster recognized them first even though they hadn’t attacked. Once it deemed them enemies, the Belvoid would pursue them no matter what.

Without holy power, the outcome of this fight was already decided. In this situation, the only choice was to run. Julian stepped backward slowly, gripping Woo Yujin’s wrist tightly.

“You must not step outside the shield, so never let go of my hand. On the count of three, run.”

“What? What about attacking? Can’t we just attack?”

“You can’t destroy that thing here. Just listen to me.”

Even if they had holy power, it wasn’t an easy opponent in an environment like this.

Every time the lightning struck, the shadows vanished. And once the darkness settled back down, the Belvoid could exist anywhere.

From that point on, it became less of a battle and more of an act of gambling one’s life on luck.

No matter how sensitively one reacted, you couldn’t attack an opponent you couldn’t see. If a monster you were fighting face-to-face appeared behind your back in the blink of an eye, it wouldn’t be a battle anymore; it would be a one-sided massacre.

However, there was no time to explain all those characteristics in this brief moment. Therefore, Julian chose a somewhat forceful but safe method. High-handed and simple instructions were efficient at any time.

“Run on three. One, two…!”

The moment he counted the final number, three, he sprinted like mad.

Myeong Haejin also seemed to have noticed the situation and urged his group forward. Julian nodded after confirming the direction he was pointing.

Light flashed again. A shadow appeared right in front of them. The two eyes of the Belvoid, its mouth gaping wide, glistened grotesquely. He barely stopped his steps just before touching the shadow.

Flustered, Woo Yujin instinctively used a skill. A chainsaw appeared in an instant and let out a rough roar, vroom, toward the shadow monster. The blade struck the shield, and sparks flew with a flash.

“No!”

The moment the chainsaw touched it, cracks began to form on the shield as if glass were breaking. A sense of ruin clouded Julian’s eyes.

His shield was closer to a one-dimensional defensive barrier. Because it was faithful to the purpose of blocking external attacks, it had the weakness of being vulnerable to internal attacks.

The function to protect from internal attacks didn’t exist from the beginning. With just one contact, the shield began to shatter helplessly.

Woo Yujin was distracted by the monster right in front of him. The chainsaw, spitting out a rough roar, sliced the shadow monster in half.

The shadow, split into two, pressed in on Woo Yujin from both sides. While he dealt with one, Julian also immediately joined the fray.

Standing back-to-back with Woo Yujin, he aimed his sword at the half-sized monster. Should he say it was a relief the shield broke? He wore a bitter smile.

Even if you split and split the shadows, these things do not disappear. He suppressed the curses trying to burst out and caught his breath. He shouted to Woo Yujin, who was hacking the shadows into pieces with the chainsaw.

“The eyes! Attack the eyes!”

His heart grew anxious at the unexpected battle. What if they were hit directly by a lightning bolt in this state?

The worst-case scenario never gives a warning before it visits. If safety couldn’t be guaranteed, avoiding the fight was the best option.

However, contrary to those thoughts, he ended up standing right in the middle of a full-scale battle.

‘Should I restore the shield now?’

Without giving him time to think, a black shadow surged up sharply. He sliced through the jagged thorns with his sword.

The black shadows that fell to the ground like lumps of mud wriggled and merged together. No sensation was felt at his fingertips, as if he were swinging through empty air.

“Ugh, what is this thing, it’s so slimy…!”

Woo Yujin muttered in horror. No matter how much he sliced with the chainsaw, the shadow did not die and wriggled endlessly. The eyeballs Julian mentioned were nowhere to be seen.

Julian stomped his foot irritably.

“I’m at the end of my rope too!”

Every time he took a step with a thump, the ground began to crack open.

As the skill activated, a giant hand appeared from the cracked earth. The giant’s hand, molded from soil, rushed fearsomely toward the shadow monster.

Boom—!

The palm slammed down hard onto the ground. A dust storm surged along with a rumble of the earth shaking. Woo Yujin straightened his shoulders proudly.

“How is it? My skill?”

“Impressive.”

“Right? This is exactly what an A-Class skill is…!”

The moment he spoke, lightning struck down. The palm protected them as if wrapping around the two.

Julian, pulling Woo Yujin’s head into an embrace, looked up.

“It’s not bad.”

With this, the worry of dying from a lightning strike was lessened. Gripping his sword tightly, he rolled his eyes searching for the shadow.

“Duration?”

“About 30 minutes.”

“That’s enough. I’ll clear the path, so follow me. Let’s regroup with the others.”

They had to escape from here within 30 minutes. Myeong Haejin’s group was also stranded, blocked by the Belvoids that had appeared at some point.

Fortunately, that side seemed intent on fighting cautiously rather than rushing in blindly.

He aimed his sword at the shadow resuming its attack. Lightning struck in succession.

Darkness fell, and a giant shadow appeared within reach. Inside the black body, eyeballs rolled around in circles. Julian composed his breathing.

It was a hopeless fight, but for now, he had to buy time. He coated the surface of his sword with mana. A blue shimmering, visible only to Julian, covered the blade.

Inside the giant shadow nearly 2 meters tall, a single eyeball appeared. The eyeball curved like a half-moon and spun in place.

The eyeball, which had moved its position before he knew it, blinked as if daring him to attack. The corners of Julian’s mouth twisted in annoyance.

“Ugly thing.”

He leaped up and attacked the pupil. He aimed accurately at the eyeball, but his fingertips felt only the sensation of slicing through thin air.

Rumble, light flashed along with the sound of thunder.

The mud hand created by Woo Yujin covered the top like an umbrella. They could avoid the lightning, but because of that, the surroundings were stained with darkness.

Julian immediately took a defensive stance. As if waiting, shadows began to bulge and pop up from all directions.

Shadow fragments flying like shurikens splattered randomly. He struck them away diligently with his sword, but it was impossible to block them all.

He felt sharp pain in his cheeks and arms. He tried to cover his face with his arms, but it wasn’t enough.

Because Woo Yujin was right behind him, he couldn’t even dodge. Woo Yujin was also frantic, swinging his saw to avoid the reaching shadows.

This was why they should have stayed inside the barrier if possible… This damn shadow’s attack range was ridiculously wide.

Moreover, it didn’t get tired and appeared anywhere as long as there was light and shadow.

He hadn’t moved much, but his stomach turned over again. The fishy smell of blood hit his nose. When he rubbed his stinging cheek, his thumb was stained red.

Whether it was the smell of blood or a problem with his physical strength, his vision distorted for a moment.

He blinked his eyes rapidly to react somehow. Not missing the defenseless moment, the monster approached. The Belvoid’s shadow revealed itself at a distance reachable by stretching out a hand.

Julian’s pupils dilated instantly. However, the shadow opening its mouth was faster than him raising his sword.

The distance was too close. Even if he attacked recklessly, there was no way to avoid the shadow’s sharp teeth. The judgment flashed through his mind that it would be better to cover his vital spots instead.

Holding his scruff with one hand, he sucked in his breath. He closed his eyes tight, waiting for the impact to follow.

However, in the next moment, a cold chill embraced him instead of pain. He felt a hand grabbing the back of his neck along with a bone-chilling sensation. A familiar voice followed as if scolding him.

“Fuck, seriously… I don’t know what you’re trying to do. Why are you closing your eyes there? It’s not like you’re saying, ‘Here, come eat me,’ right?”

The voice was full of dissatisfaction and annoyance. Perhaps because he had used a skill, the area around Gong Siyoung was uniquely chilly. Gu Jayoung, who had joined them at some point, expanded the shield to include the two of them.

The frozen shadows began to crack with a crackle. The two eyeballs inside the shadow narrowed as if angry. Gazing at the prey they had missed in an instant, the shadows swelled up all at once.

The same attack as before followed. However, unlike earlier, every single piece flying like a shuriken failed to cross the shield.

Julian calmly raised his middle finger. He waved his hand toward the shadow monster.

“What are you looking at.”

As long as he was inside the shield, there was no risk of being hit by the shadows. Gong Siyoung’s gaze landed on him, full of patheticness, as he now raised both middle fingers.

“You acted all high and mighty by yourself, so why didn’t you cast the shield? Instead of attacking together, you should have cast the shield while Hunter Woo Yujin acted as a tank.”

It was understandable that Gong Siyoung couldn’t grasp it. The battle between the two, Woo Yujin and Julian, was a mess, enough to feel entirely that they had never coordinated their movements even once.

It had been that way from the moment the shadow monster began to attack the two of them. In the midst of that, the shield broke and they were busy striking back at immediate attacks, unable to even look back at each other. From a bystander’s perspective, it was frustrating enough to die.

Woo Yujin was not weak enough to die easily. He might be talkative, frivolous, and unreliable, but his actual skill was good.

Meaning that even if he were pushed back and injured by the shadow monster, he could have fought alone sufficiently until Julian restored the shield and reorganized the formation.

However, Julian drew his sword to protect Woo Yujin instead of trusting him and leaving his back to him. From that point already, it was a fight that couldn’t help but be disadvantageous for the two of them.

“If you can’t even trust your back to be left alone, please step out of the raids from now on. We need colleagues, not guardians.”