Chapter 158: Chapter 158

“Why should I stop this?!” Antony shouted while casting a spell.

In the past, one couldn’t be a hunter unless they were selfless. In situations like this where magic was flying toward the public, they shouldn’t care about their own life. Antony thought it was crazy. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

Choi Yeonseung was already occupied. If Antony left now… he would feel uncomfortable.

“Kuock!”

A shining, hexagonal magic barrier appeared in front of Antony. Douglas was stronger, however, and Antony knew that. UHC hunters were skilled in single-combat matches, and Douglas was the champion of the UHC’s B-grade League, which was filled with nothing but monsters. Nevertheless, if Antony couldn’t even block one attack, then he didn’t deserve to be a hunter!

-Magic Stacking, Hexagonal Magic Barrier, Hexagonal Magic Barrier!

Antony squeezed out his magic power and stacked his magic spells to create a thick shield, which he positioned at an angle.

‘Magic isn’t all about power!’

Control.

Learning martial arts as Choi Yeonseung beat Antony to a pulp gave him enlightenment. Martial arts weren’t just about throwing punches. When punching, one had to thrust his fist forward in a straight line, make complicated changes, and even add tricks...

Although he hadn’t completely grasped all the complex principles, he could use and apply some of them in magic.

Douglas’ magic scraped over the top of the shield with a tearing sound.

Bang!

Rather than penetrating the shield, the slanted angle directed it upward, causing it to blow off the ceiling.

“Gasp, gasp...”

“T-thank you.”

“Shit! Why do I have to save you guys? Why are you sitting in the stands in the first place?”

Having used his magic power in vain and feeling himself tingling from the shock, Antony grew angry. The verbal abuse surprised the people.

We’re sitting down because we’re here to watch the match…!

“I’m here to watch—”

“Shut up! Hurry up and get out of here!”

The people who fell around him stood up in a panic. They didn’t know if they should thank or curse him.

***

The hunters of the Icarus clan blocked Douglas’ magical rampage, which was so powerful that Smallwood and Elisabeth felt their fingers turn numb.

“This bastard... What’s with his magic power... ”

“This is insane! Gutierrez, what is wrong with him?!”

“How should I know?! Evacuate the people! Where are the people in charge?”

At the very least, Elisabeth didn’t swear at people like Antony did despite the situation. Her spirit of providing fan service as a UHC player remained alive and true.

Looking around, Smallwood felt surprised. “... The people in charge have fled?”

“What?!” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The security officials who were supposed to control the situation and issue orders were all gone. They fled the moment they saw Douglas casting magic. Only the lower-end security guards were in the area, looking around with bewildered expressions.

Bang!

With the sound of a stomp, Choi Yeonseung appeared right next to Smallwood.

“What are you doing?”

“Friend! All the security guys have fled!”

Choi Yeonseung immediately got a grasp of the situation. There were tens of thousands of people in the stadium right now. It didn’t matter how hard they tried to get out due to the limited number of exits. Without anyone controlling the situation, the people would most likely shove each other, trip, and die amid the stampede before Douglas could kill them.

“W-what should we do?” the security officers asked while pulling out their pistols. Douglas was still a champion, making them wonder if they could shoot Douglas.

Choi Yeonseung shook his head. “Just keep yourself safe and guide people to evacuate.”

“But that is our job...”

Choi Yeonseung grabbed them by the shoulders.

“Those with salaries several times higher than yours have already left. You’ve already done well just by not standing out.”

“......”

The security guards nodded in understanding. Soon after, Choi Yeonseung disappeared again.

Bang!

It was only then that Elisabeth and Smallwood realized what Choi Yeonseung was doing. Choi Yeonseung was controlling the situation while fighting Douglas.

“If this madman loses, he should hang himself quietly!”

When Choi Yeonseung reappeared, he was already in front of Douglas. He had just used Origin of the Celestial Step and Origin of the Celestial Fist!

However, Douglas wasn’t fazed. After all, he was protected by the magic power his constellation gave him. On the contrary, Choi Yeonseung’s fist was torn even though he was protected by internal energy and had Impenetrable Skin covering him.

The magic power given by the constellation allowed Douglas to dig into Choi Yeonseung’s defenses and hurt him.

[The magic power of the ‘Noble Crown Collector’ has taken on a will of its own and inflicted a sharp wound!]

-Be careful! That?magic?power is imbued with the collector constellation’s power of existence!

‘How unfortunate.’

Choi Yeonseung didn’t care.

[The ‘Eternal Regeneration’ skill has been activated!]

[Your wound has healed!]

Choi Yeonseung didn’t have to use his power of existence since he had the skill he had obtained in the Abyss.

-You are too weak right now! Raise your stage!

The goddess shouted to raise his internal energy to the peak-class stage. Just being close to it put him in too much of a disadvantage. Choi Yeonseung?had?recently shown immense strength in public. Hence, people wouldn’t be suspicious even if he reached the peak-class now.

-I know. I was already planning to.

-Then what are you waiting for?

-If I attack him right now, people will be affected!

Choi Yeonseung had to drag out the time. He didn’t know how far Douglas had lost his sense of reason, but he was quite calm now compared to when he used magic because Choi Yeonseung kept bothering him. He clearly would rather deal with the annoying Choi Yeonseung first than kill people.

“Try harder, little mosquito!”

Even Choi Yeonseung’s attacks were having difficulties piercing through the magic covering Douglas. Laughing, Douglas just let the barrages slide off of him. He planned to crush Choi Yeonseung once Choi Yeonseung had depleted all of his energy.

‘I’m glad he’s stupid.’

Choi Yeonseung was buying valuable time.

Bam bam bam!

Attacking Douglas again, Choi Yeonseung didn’t just aim for random body parts. He hit Douglas’ pressure points to shock him, preventing him from using magic! Magic was a very delicate power. Hence, even if Choi Yeonseung couldn’t damage Douglas, just making shocks course through him was enough to hinder him.

‘How are they doing?’

Choi Yeonseung turned his head. Right now, the evacuation had been left completely to the other hunters. He had to trust them.

“......”

However, the sight he saw dumbfounded him.

***

“Get in line and leave! Get in line!”

“J-just instruct us! You don’t have to point a blade at us!”

“■■, do?you want to be stabbed? Line up unless you want to be left behind, you bastard!”

The Mount Hua Sect hunters threatened the people. They were only E or D-grade hunters, but ordinary people still stood no chance against them. In addition, the Mount Hua Sect hunters were martial artists and had long been active in the underworld. They were very good at being intimidating in these situations!

“Get out of the way! I’ll go out first!”

If one of the audience members tried to push someone and cut in line...

“Motherfucker!”

“Do you not understand us?!”

The Mount Hua Sect hunters immediately grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him out. They then beat him up and stepped on him.

“Kuack! Kuaaack! Kuck!”

One of the basic skills martial artists learned was how to hit someone without damaging their bones or muscles. The others didn’t know that, however. Watching the hunters trample on the man as if they were going to kill him frightened the people. If they cut in line, they would definitely be left behind! Even with Douglas running wild behind them, the trembling people kept moving in an orderly fashion.

“Anyone who tries to cut in line will die! Don’t even dare take out a gun! Swords are faster than your guns!”

“Threaten anyone, and we’ll lop your head off!”

Thanks to the Mount Hua Sect hunters, the people quickly exited without pushing or falling over each other. Seeing the sight, the Icarus hunters thought such methods were efficient!

“If we don’t want to fall behind...”

.

“Shit! Pick up the fucking pace, why don’t you?”

“Friend. If you don’t shut up right now, I’ll break your jaw!”

***

‘... Did I say too much?’

Choi Yeonseung was momentarily flustered, but at the very least, the hunters had handled the situation. Many people had already left.

“Out of strength already?”

“No,” Choi Yeonseung briefly replied to Douglas’ sarcastic remark before drawing his sword. White flames engulfed it.

Complete sword energy! Such beautiful, pure sword energy could only be conjured by those who had reached the peak-class stage. The Mount Hua Sect hunters’ jaws dropped when they saw it. Before their very eyes was the dream of every martial artist.

“? ”

Douglas seemed like he didn’t have any idea about the full power of the complete sword energy yet. As soon as Choi Yeonseung approached Douglas, the sword energy flashed and drew a gentle line through the space. As soon as it touched Douglas, it cut off the enormous magic power protecting him.

“Kuaack!”

Made of compressed internal energy, the sword energy emitted a sharp destructive power. Douglas jumped back and flew away.

-How great!

Douglas sounded as if he wasn’t the one speaking. Choi Yeonseung instinctively knew who it was: Douglas’ master, the Noble Crown Collector.

-Humans are so interesting! I can’t believe your skills are improving this fast. Is it because you’re an Abyss returnee? Is it because of a contract with a constellation? Although I do know that humans burn fiercely among the races of the Abyss, this is still surprisingly amazing. Did I misjudge your bloodline?

Ignoring him, Choi Yeonseung swung his sword, but Douglas just disappeared and reappeared behind him.

‘This bastard is using the power of existence.’

It was annoying, but Choi Yeonseung didn’t stop attacking.

-How dare you cut me off while I’m talking? That’s rude.

A space opened up in front of Douglas, and a summoning began.

‘Household members!’

The collector constellation was summoning his household here. Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded.

-No... Is the collector constellation crazy? What is so great about Douglas that he’s pouring everything he’s got here?

The constellations of the Abyss normally didn’t interfere with Earth. That was what their household members and minions were for. He would have to use a lot of his power of existence to summon his household members from the Abyss...

This wasn’t about?occupying territory?right now. Wasn’t he just terrorizing the stadium and releasing his anger?

-This looks interesting, Successor.

-... Constellations are really annoying.

-You’re also a constellation...

-Time to get serious.

While Choi Yeonseung used his power of existence sparingly, these famous constellations wasted theirs for their own amusement. Putting aside his anger, his current situation was very tricky.

The collector constellation spoke to him again.

-I wasn’t very interested in you before, but I am now. Martial arts is a unique skill that has risen sharply lately. However, it is wasted with your bloodline. Are you of noble or royal birth? I heard you’re from the Gyeongju Choi clan. Is there anyone famous in that lineage?

“......”

Ignoring the constellation, Choi Yeonseung rushed in. His sword energy exploded, stretching and curving as it split apart one of the summoned household members.