Emperor of Solo Play Chapter 158:
Chapter 158 – Catch or Be Caught (1)
1 .
The forest didn’t even have a road . It was filled with beautiful trees and house-sized stone pillars randomly located within the forest . It was incredible to see Hyrkan run through such obstacles . At times, he dodged the tree trunks like a snake, and he used unexpected boulders as launching pads . He was like a squirrel .
‘Shit!’
He was awesome at running away . However, no one in this world like or wanted to run away .
In such an uncertain situation, he held the Deposed Prince’s Sword with his right hand as he stayed ready for a battle that might occur at any time . He had tucked the box with the scrolls containing the Ancient Power on his left side . He basically looked like a thief running away . Of course, he didn’t have any time to relax .
Hyrkan was running full tilt as his expression expressed his restlessness, strain and urgency .
Something appeared suddenly in front of him .
Hwah-roo-roo-roo!
An enormous wall of fire suddenly appeared in front of him . Hyrkan reflexively stopped in front of the fire .
‘I’m in a hurry . Which **** did this?’
Of course, Hyrkan knew that the wall of fire had been created by a magician . This was why he had stopped running .
It was around 10 meter high, and it was 1 meter in width . It was too big to jump over it, but Hyrkan’s superior Item Setting meant that the Fire Wall couldn’t do much harm to him .
If he wanted to, he could just charge through it . However, this meant the magician, who had used the magical spell, knew this fact too . Basically, this fire wasn’t meant to damage Hyrkan .
‘Fuck… . ’
It was a diversion .
If he recklessly hurtled through the Fire Wall like an acrobat, a critical blow would come from the other side .
Hyrkan had suffered this scenario before, so he was well aware of this tactic . Moreover, even if there was nothing across the Fire Wall, he had no choice, but to stop .
Hyrkan turned to look behind him . Unlike the chaotic situation in front of him, it was very calm and quiet behind him . The only thing he could see was his own tracks .
However, Hyrkan could guarantee it .
‘If Anugas follows the attack pattern from before, it unerringly follows its opponent, and its pursuit can’t be shaken unless it locks onto another opponent . It is classified as an illusion type monster, so it wouldn’t be strange if it appeared suddenly . ’
He had a pursuer except one couldn’t see this pursuer with one’s eyes .
This was why Hyrkan considered the current development to be somewhat favorable for him .
Currently, a Wall of Fire had been placed in front of him, and this meant that there was at least one other User nearby .
He had no reason to waste his energy by striking up a conversation . Hyrkan tossed the box he had been carrying nearby . It held the Ancient Power . At this point in the game, it was worth a lot, but he couldn’t fight, while carrying it by his side . He wouldn’t risk his life for the sake of protecting the Ancient Power .
When Hyrkan’s left hand was freed, he stole a handful of flame from the barrier in front of him .
The spark of fire took hold on Hyrkan’s glove, and the spark didn’t fizzle out . Instead, it started burning larger, and the flames surged forward . In the end, a giant made out of fire took shape .
The Fire Golem appeared!
When the Fire Golem appeared, it immediately absorbed the flame blocking its master’s path . Hyrkan looked at the road in front of him . As expected, there was a trap that was meant to catch Hyrkan .
Ggoo-uh-uh!
There were two enormous bears made out of fire like the Fire Golem on the road, and they started running toward Hyrkan .
However, Hyrkan didn’t step forward . The Fire Golem had located its enemies first, and it moved to protect its master .
The three Fire Creatures, which had been formed beforehand, started to fight each other . It was a messy fight between large monsters, and while the battle was commencing, Hyrkan scattered two Skeleton Warriors .
The Mini Ogre Skeleton Warriors took shape!
Hyrkan had already confirmed that these Skeletons were genius trackers, so he gave the order .
Ddahk, ddahk!
After he flicked his fingers, Hyrkan turned to look towards his back again .
‘It feels as if I’m fighting with a bomb strapped to my neck . ’
It was a desperately dangerous situation .
He had fallen into a danger that he hadn’t been able to predict .
‘Yes . It’s always like this for me . When things start to go my way, a **** awful day is around the corner . ’
On the other hand, he now felt as if he was playing Warlord .
2 .
When facing the Hahoe Mask, one had to avoid close combat at all cost . Even though Hyrkan was a Necromancer, he had higher Strength Stat than most Strikers . He had put all his Level Up bonus into Strength, and he had managed to equip himself with the best Item setting in Warlord . On top of all of that, he had numerous titles that boosted his Stats further .
Hyrkan’s Items were too advantageous in a close combat .
Crying Sword .
Currently, there was no weapon in existence that could destroy weapons and defensive gears as well as the Crying Sword . In terms of destroying Items, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Crying Sword was better than the Deposed Prince’s Sword .
Depose Prince’s Sword .
It was unequivocally the strongest Item in existence in Warlord right now .
The Dark Spot set was similarly a defensive gear that boasted the highest defense .
This resulted in Hyrkan being a monster in terms of close combat ability .
So what was Hyrkan’s weakness?
It was the powerful AOE magic . Of course, Hyrkan had incredible defense against magic, and he had high resistance to elemental magic . It wasn’t easy to give critical damage by using a powerful AOE magic .
However, magic was still considered to be Hyrkan’s weakness even with a lot of things going against it . The reason being it was the surest way to keep his Skeletons underlings, which was Hyrkan’s greatest power, in check . Hyrkan’s Skeleton underlings were also equipped with incredible Items, but they couldn’t be compared to Hyrkan .
Another deciding factor was the fact that Hyrkan’s magical energy consumption increased as the number of Skeleton Warriors were increased .
It was true .
Magic was Hyrkan’s achilles heel, and if one wanted to kill Hyrkan, one had to aim for this weakness .
“Keep using your magic! You have to put him on his heel! Use your magic, so he can’t take out his Skeletons!”
Apollo was using that strategy .
Of course, he wasn’t carrying out the plan . From the beginning, Apollo stood far away from the battlefield . He did as he wanted, and he continuously bombarded his subordinates with orders . His subordinates resented him . Apollo never contributed in a battle, yet he had the potential to be a detriment .
‘That son of a **** . He should do it himself!’
‘Does he think using magic is easy? Everyone thinks Tankers are the only ones that suffer . ’
Of course, the recipients of Apollo’s words didn’t feel good hearing after hearing such words .
They were navigating through the battlefield as they chased after the Hahoe Mask . It was hard to use magic in such conditions, yet Apollo kept giving orders that sounded like threats . It was unspeakably humiliating .
However, their humiliation came to an end .
– We’ve been had!
Something terrible occurred not long after the battle had started . Hahoe Mask used the trajectory of the magical spells to track down and kill the magicians . A Striker and a Tanker was placed nearby a magician as protection . In truth, the only thing they could do was for the Strikers to runaway with the Magicians, while the Tankers stalled the Hahoe Mask . This was the only way .
If they failed to do that, they would let out the sad message like ‘We’ve been had!’ again .
In the end, two magicians from the group of 5 was cut down .
Apollo smiled when he received the report .
‘He finally bit the bait!’
3 .
With a single strike, he cut through the robe and body of the third magician . The Striker, who had been guarding the magician, executed a sword strike . It was a top to bottom swing . The Striker’s sword fell vertically like lightning, and it was as if the Striker wanted to destroy Hyrkan’s sword .
Kah-ahng!
Of course, the sound of harsh steel exploded forth .
Ggee-reek, ggee-reek!
The two swords pushed against each other as a goosebump inducing screech was emitted .
‘This bastard······ . ’
Of course, Hyrkan immediately realized the User in front of him wasn’t normal .
It wasn’t something he had to realize, since it was obvious . How many Users could fight on even ground with a sword with Hyrkan without using any Skills? Hyrkan immediately eyed his opponent’s Item Setting .
‘He has the Great Battle Hero’s sword . Is that the Golden Centipede set?’
The Great Battle Hero’s sword wasn’t as good as the Deposed Prince’s Sword, but it was good enough to be call a top tier weapon .
Moreover, the Golden Centipede set was famous . One could get this Unique set Item when one caught a level 180 Boss Monster called the Golden Centipede . It had low defense, but amongst the level 180 Items, it was best for maximizing attack . This was why it was categorized as an Extreme Attack Set .
Of course, it was expensive . Even if one had money, it was hard to acquire . The Golden Centipede was only found recently, and Users, who weren’t interested in Items, didn’t even know the existence of the Item .
It was at that moment… .
[Blood Ogre’s Dignity has come over your body . ]
The System Announcement gave Hyrkan a warning .
Blood Ogre’s Dignity .
It was an expression one would hear when one was exposed to the Option of the Blood Ogre set . Basically, it meant that someone wearing the Blood Ogre set was approaching Hyrkan!
Moreover, Hyrkan knew better than anyone as to the price of the Blood Ogre set .
“Shall we introduce our names?”
Ggee-rick, ggee-rick!
The blade of the two swords were interlocked as if they were kissing each other . The User asked a question over the sound .
Hyrkan ignored his opponent’s question, and he gave an answer instead .
“Rootbeer . ”
RootBeer .
It was a drink that was popular in North America . It was similar to the likes of cola and cider . Of course, one never forgot it once one heard it .
“Are you part of the Clover unit?”
Even if RootBeer’s name wasn’t easy to remember, he would have remember this User .
“The Hahoe Mask remembered my name . It doesn’t feel too bad . ”
Clover unit .
Of course, Hyrkan didn’t remember all of them, but he remembered the skilled Users . RootBeer was skilled enough to be able to pull off being the centerpiece of the Clover unit .
‘This guy is no joke . ’
His core role was similar to Hyrkan .
He was the Assault Captain . RootBeer stuck to a monster’s body to deal damage and Armor Break . He was a Striker!
In Hyrkan’s estimation, it was a wonder that such a skilled User had managed to remain anonymous . A User of this skill would itch to be able to make a name for himself . He wonder how RootBeer had kept that desire in check for so long .
‘He’s the bait . ’
There was a reason why RootBeer was conversing with him . Of course, it was part of their plan .
Hyrkan looked out of the corner of his eyes, and he could see other Users encircling him . They were slowly tightening the net . Moreover, the User wearing the Blood Ogre set jumped out in his sight .
As if RootBeer didn’t appreciate Hyrkan looking away from him, he continued to speak .
“Of course, my mood would get better if I’m able to kill the Hahoe Mask . ”
Hyrkan’s lips twitched .
‘If only Anugas showed up here······ . ’
In the end, he wasn’t in a good situation . Even Hyrkan couldn’t take on the Clover unit here . Even if he chose to face them, he would only have a chance at victory if he was the one that seized the initiative .
‘Please come out, Anugas-nim······ . ’
It made Hyrkan wish for the main culprit, who had been the cause of his worry, to show up .
At that moment… .
– Uh? My magic?
– What’s going? Uh? What happened to my magical energy?
– Huh? You too? My magical energy also suddenly disappeared . What is this? Is it a bug?
– Did the Hahoe Mask use a Skill?
Suddenly, disorder started to spread in the Voice Talk .
The big fish named the Hahoe Mask was in front of RootBeer . Until a moment ago, he had a confident smile on his face, but the smile disappeared from RootBeer’s mouth .
He planned on ignoring the chaos, but the disturbance was too large to ignore it . Their voices were so loud that it distracted him .
Most fishermen, who was trying to reel in a big fish, became irritated when a strange sound was emitted from the surrounding .
RootBeer yelled with Hyrkan in front of him .
“We are still in a battle! Focus on the battle!”
He had yelled towards the Voice Talk, but the sound had reached Hyrkan too . Hyrkan smiled at his shout .
‘Our magical energy was erased . It seems Anugas has opened his eyes . This will probably be the only time I’ll be glad to see it . ’
“Yes . You should focus **** the battle . Be diligent . ”
At that moment, a marvel appeared from behind Hyrkan’s back .
Zzuh-juhk!
The ground suddenly split open .
Koohng!
A massive four-armed Giant appeared from between the split ground .
The split ground had turned into a chasm, and the giant four-armed cyclops crawled out . Its eye were opening slowly . It large blue eye shone brighter than a gem, and it was glaring at them .
[Anugas opened its eyes . It has eaten every being’s magical energy . ]
Anugas .
The giant that ate souls had appeared .
4 .
Anugas .
When Anugas opened its eyes, the Users within 500 meters lost all their magical energy . It was a special ability that was akin to being struck by lightning for the magicians and priests . However, the fact that the Strikers and Tankers had to fight Anugas was more chilling .
Magical energy was also important to Tankers and Strikers . Their Skills couldn’t be used for free .
Moreover, the number and variety of Skills used in battle was unexpectedly large .
All these Skills were forcefully sealed . The aspect of the game they took for granted was stolen away . It was akin to fighting in a location without any air to breathe .
Did this mean Anugas’ Battle Specs were weak to balance out this special ability? Of course not . Anugas’ health and attack capability wasn’t overwhelming, but it had enough Stats that was befitting its status as a mid-sized Boss Monster .
Moreover, it had four arms, so the battle method was very difficult for the Users .
In simplified terms, if Anugas’ two arms could grab both arms of the Users, the other two arms could do anything to the body of the User . The User that was caught couldn’t do anything about it .
If the User could use a Skill, one could probably escape its grasp . However, it wasn’t possible to use one’s Skill .
This was why if one didn’t have any plans or preparations for meeting Anugas, and if Anugas suddenly grabbed the arms of the User… .
“Shit! Where did such a monster come from!”
It would be the end for the User .
The Clover Unit had been closing in on the Hahoe Mask, and now they were being killed by Anugas . The Users couldn’t even resist, and they dimly realized the danger they were in .
RootBeer watch the sight as he was still interlocked with Hyrkan . The inside of his head became complicated .
‘Was the Hahoe Mask running away from this monster?’
They could now understand why Hahoe Mask was running away so quickly . This monster didn’t make an sound, and it didn’t leave any trace .
RootBeer would have also run away from such a monster .
At that moment, the Hahoe Mask also didn’t make any sudden moves as he assessed the situation .
‘Did the Blood Ogre set’s Option draw Anugas’ aggro? Thank you for wearing that set . It was quite fortunate . ’
In truth, Hyrkan wasn’t being magnanimous by not moving . Hyrkan didn’t want to move unnecessarily, since he didn’t want to become Anugas’ target again .
RootBeer couldn’t read Hyrkan’s mind, so he asked a question .
“Do you know anything about that monster?”
“I do now about it . ”
Hyrkan gave a careful answer . Currently, a chill was running up Hyrkan’s spine . Anugas had appeared behind him, so of course, he wasn’t feeling comfortable .
In truth, it took massive effort to have this conversation . He was acting casual, but it felt as if he couldn’t breathe . .
“You led the monster to us . ”
“I led it to you guys? I was running away . You guys are the ones that got in my path . It isn’t as if I attacked you guys first . So who is at more fault here?”
“······do you want to catch it with us?”
At that moment, RootBeer suddenly suggested an alliance to Hyrkan .
RootBeer was capable of judging the situation . It was really important to catch the Hahoe Mask, but an unknown monster capable of eating all magic had appeared . This was outside the scope of his mission .
Of course, he didn’t plan on really fighting the monster that had appeared in front of them . He had an ulterior motive .
‘At the very least, we have to avoid fighting the Hahoe Mask in this situation . ’
RootBeer wanted to avoid facing the Hahoe Mask and Anugas at the same time .
That would be the worst case scenario .
“I don’t want to?”
Of course, Hyrkan knew the reason behind RootBeer’s proposal . Hyrkan poured oil on the fire within RootBeer’s heart .
“I don’t know if you saw the first video I uploaded . It was called the Golden Skeleton episode . When this concludes, you should watch it . You’ll have a new appreciation for what just happened . Leave me a reply in the comment section . ”
For reference, RootBeer had seen Hahoe Mask’s Golden Skeleton episode . He had used the Golden Skeleton to **** over the Users that had antagonized him . RootBeer had realized how smart and cheap the Hahoe Mask was through that video .
In a flash, RootBeer came to a decision .
‘I’ll take out the Hahoe Mask with me . ’
Since he couldn’t choose the best case scenario, he chose the lesser evil instead of the worst case scenario!
In a flash, RootBeer decided to take down the Hahoe Mask with him . He’ll damage the Hahoe Mask, and they’ll both die by the hands of Anugas .
Kah-ahng!
After coming to a resolution, RootBeer broke the stalemate . He pushed Hyrkan’s sword away from its interlocked position . When he was given a brief moment to swing his sword freely, RootBeer immediately raised his sword high .
It was a large movement, so naturally, there was a big hole in his defense .
In exchanged for opening up his defense, RootBeer planned on striking Hyrkan with a powerful blow . He was aiming to damage Hyrkan .
He planned on giving his bone to take the other’s bone!
He planned on dragging this down into a dogfight . He planned on wounding Hyrkan .
‘Huh?’
When he was about to bring down his sword, Hyrkan wasn’t in RootBeer’s field of vision .
When RootBeer raised his sword, Hyrkan hadn’t show any signs of defending or counter-attacking the attack . When RootBeer pushed off with his sword, Hyrkan had fallen over backwards . It looked as if he was injuring himself by purpose .
Chul-puh-duhk!
He fell backwards like a log .
This was something one never saw in a battle . RootBeer had conducted countless battles in Warlord, yet he had never experienced this before .
‘Shit!’
Even if RootBeer was a skilled User, he wasn’t able to react to something he had never experienced before .
In the end, the sword that contained RootBeer’s full strength sliced through empty air before it struck the ground .
During all of this, Hyrkan had kept rolling away on his side .
He looked so skilled at the maneuver that it didn’t seem like he was wearing a bulky armor .
It wasn’t something he had done only once or twice .
After Hyrkan moved his body out of harm’s way, he quickly got up . He immediately yelled out towards the battlefield .
“Thank you!”
“Catch that bastard!”
RootBeer yelled out as he looked at Hyrkan .
“Kuhk!”
At that moment, one of Anugas’ arm grabbed RootBeer’s arm . RootBeer turned to look at Anugas . Hyrkan shook his head as he watched the sight, and he got the **** out of there .