Chapter 656: Black snow (9)

My mind went blank when I saw Joo Soohyuk, Maeng Hyodon, and Yoo Sanghoon.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t expect those three to show up, but all thoughts left my head.

It was foolish to do that in this desperate situation, but for a moment, nothing really came to mind.

‘…’

After a short hiatus in my head, I finally saw what those three were doing.

Those three are excellent players who aimed for the gap between me and Hwang Jiho against Uma.

At the same time, they’re excellent enough to judge Uma’s abilities.

Don’t they know that if their surprise attack failed, they would be dealing with a powerful royal lineage head-on and putting their life in jeopardy?

And yet those three came to help me.

The thought of it almost made my mind blank again, so I tried to turn my thinking around.

‘Why are these guys here?’

Joo Soohyuk, Maeng Hyodon, and Yoo Sanghoon shouldn’t be here.

They should be in the Student Association Hall relatively safe.

Students and teachers, including Do Wonwoo, couldn’t have let them act separately.

Before I settled into position, swords collided once again before my eyes.

Kwaaang!

Joo Soohyuk, dressed in a Santa costume, moved like a bullet and blocked Uma’s blow with his swords.

Looking at Joo Soohyuk’s clothes, I could guess what excuse they used to be able to get out.

Cheon Dongha distributed maps with evacuation routes to members of the student council.

Therefore, it was perfect to send Joo Soohyuk, who has excellent combat and insight skills, to check the safety of those who evacuated elsewhere.

It would’ve been impossible to find me with just his insight skill though, so I don’t know how they got here.

‘Joo Soohyuk is a member of the student council so he has an excuse to go outside. But how did he get here? There’s no way that it’s a coincidence that they came up to the mountain.’

The clues were right in front of me.

Maeng Hyodon, the guy who got tied up in a fight club, is here.

Yoo Sanghoon, who almost died in last year’s entrance exam, is also here.

Instead of dead snow, black snow is falling.

Everything was so different from the First Christmas in PMH.

‘Maybe someone in the central area helped them. There’s someone who has the ability to track me down. I don’t think it’s Professor Gong who gave them clues though… Don’t tell me Moon Saeron acquired her derived skill?’

Moon Saeron is someone who would willingly hand over clues to these three.

In PMH, Moon Saeron gets her derived skill Intensive Coverage during her sophomore year.

It’s a skill that predicts and tracks the route of movement based on a set of information on the target, and it’s the result of Moon Saeron’s obsession with news reporting.

Under this world that changed much from PMH, Moon Saeron may have acquired her derived skill earlier.

Intensive Coverage would’ve given a rough idea of my route or location.

The surge of thoughts made my head dizzy, but I couldn’t stay still any longer.

‘Those three could get hurt!’

I tried to think of a way to protect them or let them right away, but I couldn’t…

I wanted to buy time to think, but the Sangbosimgeumpa wasn’t responding to me.

‘I was brought into the spiritual world and given time to think during the youth retreat when I was against the Shapeshifter… Was it damaged by Uma earlier?’

Perhaps it’s because we’re against Uma, who was trying to take the Sangbosimgeumpa away from me, it seems difficult to expect help from it now.

However, even if it can’t buy me time, I can still use it to fight.

When I tried to trigger the prong and step forward…

Kwang!

Yoo Sanghoon stomped his shield on the ground and stood firmly between me and Uma.

He didn’t seem to intend to let me go forward.

“Where are you going?”

“To fight.”

I gave an obvious answer to Yoo Sanghoon’s obvious question.

Kwang!

In the meantime, Uma hit Joo Soohyuk with great strength.

Knowing that it’s impossible to face it, Joo Soohyuk retreated and jumped away.

Uma tried to change the sword’s trajectory to where Joo Soohyuk rolled, but Maeng Hyodon kicked his arm and stopped the attack.

Uma’s eyes were staring fiercely at Joo Soohyuk and Maeng Hyodon.

The two were forced to maintain the balance of the fight by raising their energy waves several times stronger than usual.

There was no way that Uma didn’t see through it.

Sooner or later, he’d get used to their attacks, while the two’s energy waves would gradually hit the bottom.

I couldn’t just watch, but Yoo Sanghoon had no intention of getting out of the way.

“You can’t stand properly, your balance is all off. Is your ear damaged?”

Yoo Sanghoon spoke as he looked at my ear.

I thought I cleaned it roughly on the move, but it seemed that blood stains were still visible.

The pain already disappeared though and the bleeding stopped.

It was a bit chaotic, but it isn’t as big of an injury as Yoo Sanghoon is expressing.

Did it get more damaged while fighting with Uma?

I must’ve been standing more unstable than usual.

“I’m not getting out of the way until you can move properly.”

“Then you’ll need to use your light skill.”

“So be it.”

Yoo Sanghoon replied calmly.

If Yoo Sanghee were here, she would’ve hit the back of his head.

Looking at him, it really does seem like he’s determined to block me that he’d gladly use his light skill.

Before I could answer back, a cold killer gaze turned to us.

Fwoook!

Uma was running this way, kicking Joo Soohyuk and Maeng Hyodon far away.

Between dealing with me and those two, Uma judged that it would be more efficient to get rid of me before I could recover and secure the Sangbosimgeumpa.

Hwik!

Joo Soohyuk threw one of his swords this way, successfully interrupting Uma’s pursuit.

Joo Soohyuk pulled the sword off the ground once again and rushed toward Uma.

“You annoying rat!”

The disturbed Uma held up his sword high to break one of Joo Soohyuk’s weapons.

The intense energy waves on Uma’s sword were to break Joo Soohyuk’s, which he deemed to be the most disturbing.

Hwik!

However, before Uma’s attack reached Joo Soohyuk’s sword, they were sucked into Joo Soohyuk’s hand.

Joo Soohyuk didn’t forcefully do it with his energy waves as the swords seemed to move with his will.

Joo Soohyuk’s derived skill Dual Sword Suit was triggered and the swords returned to his hands.

With that magical power, Uma’s blow hit nothing but the air.

Finding a gap, Maeng Hyodon tried to punch Uma’s head again.

But before he landed an attack, Maeng Hyodon stood tall and braced himself.

“Hey, dodge!”

Uma felt Maeng Hyodon throw his fist and hurriedly withdraw.

Maeng Hyodon’s fighter instinct must’ve detected something.

Indeed, Uma placed down his swords and took out another weapon.

A giant iron club Huntiegun (Mixed Iron Rod).

“I wish I had taken this out earlier since I’m not hiding myself anyway.”

Joo Soohyuk and Yoo Sanghoon’s eyes opened wide when they saw the words written on the iron club.

Huntiegun is Uma’s weapon that shook heaven and earth when he confronted Jecheondaesung and his Ruyi Bang.

The two seemed to realize now that the royal lineage we were against was Uma.

Although Maeng Hyodon didn’t recognize the engraving, he sensed the great power of the Huntiegun.

Uma lifted the Huntiegun high.

Fwijik, fwijiiik…!

Energy waves gathered on the weapon and caused sparks.

He may be thinking of ending it with a wide-range attack.

Joo Soohyuk and Maeng Hyodon braced their bodies and strengthened their defenses, but they were too close.

I tried to run forward with the Sangbosimgeumpa but…

Yoo Sanghoon blocked me and did not move.

The moment I saw him lift the dueling shield…

Kwaaaaa!

Uma hit the Huntiegun on the ground.

The sky and ground vibrated, and a roaring shock was felt.

Thanks to Hwang Jiho’s boundary, the power only affected Mt. Cheonik.

Still, everyone on the mountain had to endure the attack.

If Uma’s blow had reached us full-on, Joo Soohyuk and Maeng Hyodon, who were the closest to the source, would’ve been vaporized.

But everyone, including me, was safe.

Except for one person.

Fwish….

The dueling shield, which was huge enough to cover bodies, was broken with not even half of it left.

The remaining debris was also tattered, making it difficult to recognize its shape.

I didn’t have the courage to look at the shield’s owner, but I couldn’t look away.

Yoo Sanghoon, covered in blood, was still standing, the tattered shield still in his hand.

While looking at Yoo Sanghoon with a face that was either impressed or tired, Uma spoke.

“I can’t believe you survived the power of Huntiegun alone.”

One of the effects of Yoo Sanghoon’s light skill was to absorb all the shocks around him.

That was the result of the disease that Yoo Sanghoon suffered when he was young.

His body was born with the nature of accumulating shocks, attacks, and diseases that infested him.

It began even before Yoo Sanghoon grew old enough to gain his abilities.

In order to prevent indiscriminate absorption and for treatment to work, it was necessary to use energy waves.

With Yoo Sanghee’s healing skills and Yoo Sanghoon’s, the latter recovered quickly and no longer suffered illness on his body.

Yoo Sanghoon and those around him didn’t know any of these causes or processes.

It was the moment that Yoo Sanghoon gained his light skill that he realized it.

His natural light skill was about maximizing his physical constitution.

When Yoo Sanghoon uses his light skill, all shocks that are poured toward him — regardless if they are bullets, arrows, or swords — are absorbed.

So Yoo Sanghoon chose a shield as his weapon.

“I will honor that courage. I will kill you first among your friends.”

Uma walked toward Yoo Sanghoon with the Huntiegun.

Yoo Sanghoon couldn’t even open his eyes properly yet, but his focus was on Uma.

“My light skill is…”

Yoo Sanghoon’s voice broke.

I couldn’t understand why the usually quiet guy was trying to talk in a moment like this.

I wanted to make him shut up.

But I couldn’t step in.

I should’ve stopped him before he invoked his light skill and did that.

If I rush in, the price paid by Yoo Sanghoon will be useless.

When Uma was close enough to Yoo Sanghoon to directly hit him with the Huntiegun…

“…Is a desire for revenge.”

Kwaaaaa!

Wind rose from Yoo Sanghoon’s body the moment he finished speaking.

Yoo Sanghoon’s light skill Gale of Revenge struck Uma.