Translator: rainbowturtle
Editor: LD & Jyazen
âLiu Shei? It has been a long time. Have you been well?â Tian Hu spoke with ease like they werenât standing in the center of the battlefield.
âLiu Shei? Arenât your words too impolite? You still arenât a proper person,â Liu Shei retorted after hearing Tian Huâs greeting. If he were Liu Shei of the past, he would just endure it angrily, but that wasnât necessary anymore now. He was no longer pushed by Tian Hu, be it in wealth, social status, or anything else in Arena. There was no competition between them.
âIt would be even stranger if a person changes. In that respect, you are a very strange person, Liu Shei.â Tian Hu revealed slight anger toward Liu Shei, who didnât bow like he would have done in the past. In his memories, Liu Shei always bowed his head first. Never once did he ever look straight at Tian Hu.
âTian Hu, do you mean that doesnât apply to you? You sure are consistent... You are still trash. You canât grasp your own identity and once again ignore others. Do you think I am still the Liu Shei who acts like a dog under you?â Liu Shei was so loud that his words rang through the battlefield.Simultaneously, he drew the sword hanging at his waist.âI will show you the point of being the leader of Kowloon. In any case, you are trash in reality.â
ââTrashâ? That is a name that suits you. I have already become a different person. Kowloonâs leader isnât a big deal. You might have many things right now, but after a month, two months...? I will be above you at that time!â Tian Hu countered.
Hearing those words, Liu Shei felt the anger that soared to his head quickly subside.
âIâve been too attached to the useless past.â
He had been mistaken because he was one of those people moving forward. TIan Hu was absolutely not one of them; he was a person who was still struggling to hold onto the present. It wouldnât be strange if he regressed at any time.
âThis is a waste of time.âLiu Shei slowly approached Tian Hu. He couldnât spend any more time on Tian Hu. It was merely a waste of time.
âI will end it quickly,â Liu Shei decided. No matter how rich Tian Hu was, there was a limit to his innate abilities and play time. It would be natural for him to be defeated by Liu Shei who was a top ranker.
Liu Sheiâs sword started dancing. With each movement, Liu Sheiâs strong pure energy was accompanied by an eerie momentum. Tian Hu didn't just stand still. He swung his sword at the waves of pure energy that were about to cover him. White pure energy emerged from Tian Huâs sword, but it was very insignificant compared to Liu Sheiâs pure energy.
The two men collided, and there was a deafening sound. It was a loud sound even on the battlefield where there were both small and large conflicts. However, such a sound wasnât heard again. It was because Tian Hu suffered a one-sided loss from the conflict and retreated.
âWhat will he do now?â Liu Shei thought about the actions that Tian Hu would take. He predicted that Tian Hu would use something to raise his stats, either an item or a skill.
âOnly idiots would just suffer.â
Liu Shei wasnât someone who would just let himself suffer, so he poured out more things than Tian Hu. He used all the buffs he had. He didnât want to give Tian Hu any room to gain an advantage.
âHe wonât know what itâs like until he is stepped on. Where does his self-confidence come from?â Liu Shei wondered.
Tian Hu, who stepped back the moment a smile appeared on Liu Sheiâs face, moved forward again. He looked like an arrow that had been suddenly fired from a bow. However, in the eyes of Liu Shei who had predicted it, this was an obvious move.
Liu Sheiâs response was simple. He waited for Tian Huâs attack. Tian Hu first wielded his sword and poured out pure energy. Of course, even Liu Shei would be hit hard when hit by pure energy. So he also took a risk. It was only in this way that Tian Hu could be pulled down to the bottom even more. The man Tian Hu ignored would cause him to suffer, even with a light blow.
Tian Huâs sword flew toward Liu Sheiâs head, but Liu Shei just calmly swung his sword to hit Tian Huâs sword. Just then, the trajectory of Tian Huâs sword changed, suddenly curving toward Liu Sheiâs chest instead. Liu Shei looked flustered. Tian Hu laughed when he saw that. It was an action that instinctively came from sensing victory.
Right at this moment, Liu Sheiâs sword moved strangely and intercepted Tian Huâs sword. Sparks of magic power flew out from the powerful collision. Tian Huâs eyes widened at the unexpected sight in front of him. Without the slightest doubt, he had fully believed that his blow would pierce Liu Sheiâs heart and bring him victory.
âWhy? Are you a bit flustered? This is your limit.â Liu Shei laughed at Tian Hu.âDid you think that trick would work? If so, I want to say that you are taking rankers too lightly. You arenât Alley Leader. Do you think that you can slash at rankers like they are scarecrows?!â
It was a cutting remark that hit home.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHe still hasnât grasped his abilities properly,â Liu Shei thought.
Tian Huâs abilities were the same before. He hadnât developed them at all. Rather, he hadnât experienced high-level PvP for a while, so his combat senses had fallen to the bottom.
âIt will be a bit hard for you to play Arena after today. I will take your money. Do you know the âchase to deathâ order that you used to release? You used it a lot in the past. I will let you experience it yourself,â Liu Shei said, slowly moving his sword.
Tian Hu wielded his sword to stop the attack. It was just like what Liu Shei did a while ago. In fact, it was exactly the same. Then Liu Sheiâs sword made a rapid change in the trajectory, just like how Tian Huâs sword did earlier. The sword aiming at Tian Huâs neck moved toward his lower abdomen.
Tian Hu, like Liu Shei earlier, moved his sword to block Liu Sheiâs attack. No, he couldnât block it. Liu Sheiâs sword leisurely bypassed Tian Huâs sword, and a line appeared on Tian Huâs abdomen. Blood dripped from the wound, yet Tian Hu didnât look like he was in pain. Instead, intense questions filled his eyes.
âWhy...?â Why didnât he block the attack? Liu Shei managed to block it, so why couldnât Tian Hu?
âWhy? Naturally... itâs because of the difference in strength. It is a difference that you probably wonât understand in your entire lifetimeâ Liu Shei said. When he finished speaking, he wielded his sword again. There were many enemies apart from Tian Hu. Tian Hu was a very emotionally important opponent for Liu Shei, but he actually wasnât a great threat.
âWhere can I help?âLiu Shei turned and quickly looked around.
âThis is really...â Liu Shei sighed at the situation.
The battle was already reaching the end. The eight dragons, apart from Liu Shei, had started to clean up their opponents one by one. It was the same with New World. Liu Shei finished clearing up his situation and headed to the center of the battlefield before the other dragons noticed his absence.
***
Yeongchan grabbed his aching head and went to the living room. There was already someone in there. Hyeonu looked relatively fine and was eating burgers in a relaxed manner.
âYou woke up? Do you want to eat one?â Hyeonu picked up a hamburger on the table and handed it to Yeongchan.
âWhy are you eating hamburgers in the morning?â Yeongchan asked, shaking his head. He even waved his hands, showing how much he didnât want to eat.
âMorning? Itâs 2 p.m. now, you jerk.â
â2 oâclock? Already?â
âYes, you jerk. Lunchtime has been over for a while.â
Yeongchan looked at the clock on the wall with a disbelieving expression. The short clock hand was slightly past the 2, and the long hand was pointed exactly to 4. It was 2:20 p.m. Hyeonuâs words werenât wrong.
Yeongchan secretly picked up a hamburger and spoke to Hyeonu to distract him: âHey, what did you talk about yesterday?â
âYesterday? We didnât talk about anything? You heard it.â
âNo... I woke up yesterday for a moment and saw that you looked a bit surprised.â
Hyeonu understood what Yeongchan was talking about and shook his head.âAh! That? It wasnât a big deal. Hyung-nim just guessed incorrectly.â
âThat person? What did he say?â
âNo, he asked me if I like Reina. He will help solve it if I have any problems. What is he? A matchmaker? He wants to do matchmaking.â
The unexpected mention of Reinaâs name was the reason why Hyeonu was surprised at last nightâs drinking party. Hyeonu didnât like Reina in that way. There was no communication between them that produced that feeling. They had only met each other a few times in reality. They also hadnât met that much in Arena. On the contrary, he had met Kim Seokjung more often.
âItâs surprising. I wouldâve been surprised as well.âYeongchan nodded.
He was well aware of Hyeonuâs love history, style of love, and ideal type. There was nothing Yeongchan didnât know. Hyeonuâs relationships had always been similar, starting out as friends to becoming lovers. Heâd never gone on a blind date. People who went on blind dates would meet, become close, and then turn into lovers. They fell in love easily. Hyeonu was the exact opposite of that.
âBy the way, what do you think Hyung-nim saw that made him say that?â It was a question that popped up after Hyeonu became sober.
Precisely what on earth had Kim Seokjung seen?
âWho knows? Based on what Iâve seen, you donât seem to like Reina.âYeongchan wondered about it too. The Hyeonu that he saw didnât consider Reina at all. She was not even in his thoughts.
âWell... Forget it. Iâm going to Arena. You ate a hamburger, so put it all away, okay?â Hyeonu patted Yeongchan on the shoulder several times before entering his room.
***
During the time when Hyeonu was away, his quest came to an end. New World had cleaned it up, and Kowloon ended it.
[Attackers killed 300/300]
âIsnât this a profit?â
Hyeonuâs smile was so wide that it couldnât become any wider. Catching the attackers had been all about waiting and waiting. He hadnât known when they would target the merchant groups and emerge, so he kept waiting. Now he no longer had to do that.
âI just have to go report, then I can return to the demon world.â
He didnât mind meeting the emperor now. Why? It was because there was a definite reward. He was on his way to get an item that would clear a quest, which would help with the exploration of the demon world. It didnât matter if there was no other compensation.
Hyeonu tore the scroll to return to the capital, Yusma, with a joyful expression. âLetâs go to the demon world.â