Chapter 123: Variables 4

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The rifleman fired, and a light orb flew out of his rifle toward Halo and Artlan. When it it got between the two, it exploded.

Boom!

The explosion covered a finite range, but it also generated shockwaves and inflicted damage. Artlan and Halo were pushed away. When they got up, they heard the sound of a gun.

Bang!

They had expected that Killa would run away, but she had turned around and fired her rifle. Her timing was perfect, and she hit Artlan's head. It was a fatal shot.

Artlan disappeared, and Halo used his lightning flash attack to cover fifty meters in a second and cut down the minion who had been too far away. The rifleman minion had gone through a power activation, and Halo was about to slice him to pieces. He was only wearing the minions' armor, so Halo could kill him with one blow. However, Killa stood in his way, already wielding her pistols, and pulled the triggers.

Boom!

Killa had used her ultimate, and Halo was thrown far away. She distanced herself from him and fired more shots.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Suddenly, he quickly spun his sword, which acted like a shield, and the bullets bounced off of it. Vera cast a fire spear. The target wasn't Killa but the minion who had activated a power and became a novice. The fire spear traveled quickly, so Killa blocked it with her own body.

Boom!

Killa's health was low, but Vera's spear didn't kill her.

"Retreat!" she shouted after taking the hit for the novice.

The novice turned and started running. Junhyuk's eyes beamed. He was standing behind Vera, and that novice could become more dangerous in the next team battle. He had shown his power just now, and it was an offensive one. It dealt a lot of damage. The attack's range was also good. He had to be killed.

Junhyuk grabbed Halo and Vera and teleported. The group was now in front of Killa, and she had already used her ultimate, so she had to wait on the cooldown. At close range, the allies had the advantage.

Halo and Vera attacked Killa while Junhyuk teleported once more. He appeared right behind the novice who was running away and swung the Frozen Rune Sword against the novice's waist. The novice rolled forward and dodged the sword. Junhyuk was astonished, and the novice turned around, still on the ground, and pointed his rifle at Junhyuk. The gun fired again, and the light orb exploded.

Boom!

Junhyuk had already used his teleportations, so he used his swords to cover his body's weak spots instead. However, the shockwaves pushed him back, and he was seriously wounded.

He started getting up. He had been hit once, but he lost half of his health. Meanwhile, the novice got up and ran away. Junhyuk wanted to go after him, but his movement speed had decreased. He could kill that novice with one swing of his sword, but the novice was escaping. Junhyuk gritted his teeth. Because his movement speed was very low, the distance between the two widened.

"OK." he said and cut the palm of his own hand with the Blood Rune Sword. He felt the darkness surround him. His health was very low, and he could be killed at any moment. However, his speed increased, so Junhyuk quickly closed in on the novice. He would catch the novice soon.

Killa was busy with Halo and Vera and couldn't chase after Junhyuk. If Killa attacked him, he wouldn't be able to survive, but she didn't even have time to switch her weapons.

Junhyuk chased the novice down and felt himself regaining his strength, but he didn't want to cut himself with the Blood Rune Sword again. As he approached, the novice started getting pale. Junhyuk was far better equipped than him.

The novice had already seen his powers. His opponent wasn't a minion, and Junhyuk could kill him with one strike. The novice felt his hairs stand. He needed more time to reuse his power, but his opponent was speeding up toward him, so the novice stopped running and turned around, aiming his rifle at Junhyuk.

"Stop!" he shouted.

"Stop barking!" Junhyuk replied.

Junhyuk dashed toward him, and the novice fired.

Bang, bang, bang!

The bullets bounced off Junhyuk's armor. The novice's attack wasn't strong enough to penetrate his armor. Junhyuk just needed to be aware of the novice's power. He could guess the cooldown of that absurd power, and it was probably around twenty seconds.

The novice had attacked Halo and Artlan first and reused his power on Junhyuk after twenty seconds had pa.s.sed. Usually, offensive powers had short cooldowns. He would be able to use his power in a few seconds, so Junhyuk could end up dying first.

However, he didn't want his pride hurt by getting killed by a novice nor by a hero. Junhyuk closed in quickly, and Sarang shouted, "Big brother! Watch out!"

Junhyuk heard her and jumped.

Bang!

Killa had jumped and fired at him with her rifle. At that point, Killa's normal attack could kill him just like that, so Junhyuk jumped as high as he could using his skill. When he started coming down, the novice had a smile on his face. He aimed at Junhyuk and pulled the trigger.

The gun fired a light orb, and Junhyuk was in the air, with no place to hide. Killa was also getting ready to fire at him again.

Junhyuk looked at them both and felt sorry. His cooldown time was up.

Boom!

The light orb exploded, but an ivory-colored light was surrounding Junhyuk. He was launched further up because of the shock of the explosion but started coming down. Killa gave up after seeing the force field.

The novice's eyes were filled with despair, and Junhyuk stepped forward and slashed him with the Blood Rune Sword.

Slash!

The novice tried to speak, but his head was lopped off. Junhyuk saw the head rolling on the ground and turned around.

In the direction he was looking, Killa, who had been trying to kill him, got hit by Halo's Rising Dragon instead. She was slashed across her back and started to disappear.

Junhyuk sighed. He could have been killed. He had interfered prematurely and gotten hit, so Sarang walked over and healed him. He felt his health returning and smiled at her.

"Thanks."

Vera also walked over.

"We have to destroy the tower. Let's go."

"Yes."

The minions had no chance. Junhyuk stepped forward and ma.s.sacred them. Their bullets didn't work against his armor, and it didn't take a long time. They destroyed the tower and decided to take a break, being tired from all the fierce fighting.

Halo stood in front of Junhyuk.

"You did well. That novice would have posed a serious problem."

"I thought so too. I tried my best."

"Don't die on your own. Experts only have one extra life. If you get killed twice, it's over. Without you, we can't win," Vera said.

Junhyuk laughed.

"You are making me stay alive."

"Stay alive," she said and pushed his head down hard.

"Are they coming here?"

Halo nodded.

"What happened to Diane?" Junhyuk asked.

"She got killed."

Vera sighed and said, "They are hard to deal with one on one."

Halo nodded.

"Their individual power surpa.s.ses ours. If we aren't careful, we might lose."

They had gotten new equipment, but victory wasn't guaranteed.

"But we won."

"We should win. We have our cuties with us," Vera said, laughing.

The allies had a lot of firepower, and Junhyuk and Sarang complemented them. Junhyuk got up.

"What is our plan?"

"We gather and go to Bebe's."

"All together? What if we lose our tower? Or lose our dragon?"

"We'll be OK," Halo said calmly.

"We might lose a tower, but we took down two of theirs. We have to upgrade at Bebe's to destroy their castle."

Regina alone had destroyed a tower and the castle's gate last time. If the enemy gathered, they would be even more dangerous. Bebe's store was on the enemy's side, and the allies could move faster.

Junhyuk decided to go with flow of the heroes. He wasn't influential enough to change their plan, so he waited for the other heroes' arrivals. Diane arrived first, then Nudra and, lastly, Artlan. Their enemies didn't show up.

Artlan talked to group, "I used the Dragon's Valley path, but I didn't see any enemies. They must be hunting the buff monsters. Let's go."

"OK."

They had killed and been killed, but the allies were still there. The enemies failed to pick up any items, but the allies did. The group moved quickly. They moved as a group because they were afraid of getting picked off by the enemies if they got separated.

They decided to upgrade their equipment and, after, they would go hunt the dragon before going to the enemies' castle. They couldn't lose the dragon. If they did, they might lose the following team battle. Vera told Junhyuk she would pick out mana stones for him, and he wanted them.

The group finally reached Bebe's place, but they encountered something unexpected in their path. In front of the Dimensional Merchant portal, the entrance to Bebe's store, they saw all of the enemy heroes gathered. They were also visiting Bebe and were blocking the way in.

"Can we get in there?" Junhyuk asked.

Their enemies had the advantage now, but Vera giggled and said, "This place isn't that unfair. You can't fight once you get inside."

Junhyuk inspected the enemies. Jean Clo and Bater were at the front, and Doctor Tula, Regina and Adolphe were behind them. Lastly, Killa had her rifle holstered around her shoulder.

The allies' plan didn't go well this time. They would have to fight their enemies without going into the Dimensional Merchant first. There was no way around it.

Junhyuk gathered his breath, and Artlan shouted, "Let's go!"

The allied heroes dashed, and Junhyuk followed them. Right in front of the portal, the team battle was about to take place.