Chapter 34

Siyoon had struck while Haind’s attention was diverted once again by Onwol’s new doping agent release.

He had blown up another one of their Smart Farm transport trucks.

The transport personnel and escort detail had increased, but it wasn’t difficult.

He simply needed to snipe from a greater distance than before.

As a result, the incident dealt a decisive blow to Haind’s stock price.

But as the saying goes, a tail too long is bound to be stepped on.

It seemed Haind had finally identified Siyoon.

Or they had decided to kill everyone connected to him.

Tiring, tiring!

His phone rang frantically at that moment.

A quick glance revealed a message from the information broker.

【Haind has placed a bounty on your head in the black market.】

【A raid could come at any moment, so stay alert.】

The gist was that Haind had posted a bounty for him in the black market.

Had the message arrived sooner, he might have prepared.

But the enemy came first.

The situation was dire.

That was an unchangeable fact.

But Siyoon did not waver.

If anything, this was also an opportunity for him.

‘I never intended to hide or run away until the end, anyway.’

Had that been his plan, he wouldn’t have needled Haind so persistently.

Haind coming at him like this meant they intended to see this through to the end.

‘First, I need to force them to move.’

The relentless barrage of fire from ten Gunners combined.

This was not something he could withstand even with Enhancement.

He could hold out briefly, but the exchange ratio would be unfavorable.

[ Enhancing ‘Eyes’. ]

[ Enhancing ‘Legs’. ]

[ Vision has improved, allowing for more detailed observation. ]

[ Leg strength and movement speed increase. ]

Siyoon quickly enhanced his eyes and legs.

Then he dodged a spear thrown by one of the men and rounded the corner.

Hunters wielding long swords and short swords swiftly closed in behind him.

Since his identity had already been exposed, there was no need to hold back.

If he didn’t kill them here, he would be the one to die.

‘They definitely outnumber me, but I can win.’

The enemy was a group of hunters sent by Haind.

They wore special helmets designed to protect their heads.

And not just guns and swords—hammers, maces, and more.

A chaotic mix of various weapons.

Over thirty such men in total.

They were bold enough to pursue him in broad daylight.

[ Enhancing ‘Arm’. ]

Siyoon instantly stacked Enhancement on his arms.

His arm muscles swelled in an instant, with strength and elasticity surging dramatically.

Using his temporarily amplified strength, he hurled a nearby car backward.

“Scatter!”

The Gunners dodged the car hurtling toward them.

Even if they shot it mid-air, the debris would still hit them.

But there was something they had overlooked.

The fact that Siyoon could also handle firearms.

Cheolkeok.

Siyoon raised his sniper rifle.

One of the Gunners shouted a warning upon seeing this, but it was already too late.

Tutututung!

Siyoon rapidly fired the sniper rifle in succession.

Four spent casings ejected from the chamber, tracing arcs as they fell.

The hunters were appalled by the extraordinary speed.

No matter how many firearm-related skills one possessed, rapid-firing a sniper rifle was almost unheard of.

The aiming and recoil made it impractical.

But Siyoon was different.

He had no need to worry about aiming or recoil.

The ‘RTB-201,’ enhanced to +5, compensated for all of it.

As a result, the firing timing after the initial aim was remarkably fast.

And that was not all.

Using the Wind of Horus, Siyoon channeled wind into the bullets as they exited the muzzle.

This granted additional acceleration, increasing both destructive power and penetration.

Enough to punch through a car as if it were tissue paper.

Piiiiing!

Bullets fired at invisible speeds pierced through the car’s critical components.

In that instant, the oil ignited and flames spread in a flash.

Kwaaaaaaang―!

Ting, titing, ting.

The car erupted in a massive explosion just as the casings hit the ground.

The concrete road and nearby streetlamps shattered, sending debris flying upward.

It was a powerful enough blast to shatter every window in the surrounding buildings.

Siyoon confirmed that several Gunners had been caught in the explosion.

‘That buys me a brief window against the Gunners.’

Now he just had to deal with the rest.

At that moment, a man emerged through the flames, grinding his teeth.

“You clever little…!”

It was the man who had been issuing orders from the front.

He was a swordsman named Kim Daejin, hired by Haind for this commission.

A back-alley fighter by origin, he had staked his life on this commission, which carried a substantial payout.

His eyes, visible through the cracked goggles of his helmet, gleamed in the firelight.

“Kill that rat!!”

The moment the order was given, a halberd came crashing down from above.

Siyoon dodged it, only for a sword to slash crosswise at his neck from the side.

With lightning-fast movement, Siyoon deflected the blade using the rifle barrel.

“Don’t let your guard down just because he’s holding a sniper rifle! He’s a top-rank hunter! Coordinate your attacks and choke off his movement space!”

As the man issued commands, the hunters’ movements grew more precise.

Even mid-combat, Siyoon kept his eyes on the man.

‘So he’s the one leading them.’

Each command was calm and seasoned.

He responded as though he had anticipated this exact situation from the start.

But that was the extent of it.

Just then, a spearman attacked from the rear diagonal.

Siyoon dodged and spun his body backward.

Udeuk.

Siyoon snapped the spearman’s neck with the rifle stock.

He sidestepped a hammer crashing down from above and drove a dagger into the attacker’s heart in return.

“Die!!”

At that moment, a heavily muscled man swung a halberd.

He intended to overwhelm Siyoon using the advantage of raw strength and weapon matchup.

Since Siyoon was wielding only a dagger and a sniper rifle, it was a sound judgment.

Parrying a weapon as solid and heavy as a halberd would be unreasonable.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been crushed outright.

Jjeong―

“Huh?”

But Siyoon met the halberd head-on with the edge of his dagger.

The halberd was forced upward as he lost the contest of strength.

Impossibly, the muzzle of the sniper rifle, raised one-handed, was aimed squarely between the man’s eyes.

“This is impossible―.”

Peogeok.

Before he could finish, the bullet pierced through his skull.

In the blink of an eye, more than fifteen hunters had been killed by Siyoon’s hand.

Amid the scattered corpses, Siyoon remained perfectly calm.

‘Half down. Fifteen to go.’

Siyoon calculated.

As expected, this was manageable.

The minor wounds and stamina depleted during combat were being healed by the Patience of Nature.

Furthermore, Siyoon could fluidly switch between ranged and close-quarters combat.

The combat instincts he had honed relentlessly were shining through.

“Damn it, attack all at once!”

The man acting as captain shouted and lunged forward.

Simultaneously, the other hunters’ attacks converged.

Siyoon calmly read the flow of attacks with his enhanced eyes.

The first to reach him would be the sword.

Starting with a high strike, the intent was to follow up with a low attack and an exposed torso if the first was blocked.

Standing still would get him skewered.

‘Then I’ll break through the first attack and carve a path forward.’

He made his decision swiftly and calmly.

Siyoon executed it immediately.

Kaaaang!

“Kuh, ugh…!”

He once again stacked Enhancement on his arms temporarily.

Using the augmented strength, he forcibly twisted the sword aside and slashed through the man’s throat.

The moment he stepped forward, attacks from all directions grazed his back.

Before the attacks could close in, Siyoon pushed straight forward.

The assault didn’t stop there.

As if predicting his movement, five men flanked him from both sides.

One of them swung a mace in sync with Siyoon’s movement.

Huuung!

The heavy iron mass scattered rainwater as it cleaved through the air.

A single hit would shatter his balance completely.

That was when it happened.

Udeudeuk.

“…?!”

As if he had been waiting for it, an upward strike from Siyoon’s hand broke the trajectory of the man’s wrist.

Siyoon didn’t stop there—he yanked the arm and flipped the man to the opposite side.

Puk, puk, puk!

“Keuheok!”

The man impaled by blades meant for Siyoon vomited blood.

It was no different from stabbing their own comrade, yet they didn’t waver.

They simply drew their swords with practiced ease and attacked again.

‘Cold-blooded.’

So they were willing to sacrifice comrades for the sake of the objective.

Siyoon thought this as he wrapped wind around his hand.

Pyak.

“What the…!”

The moment he gestured, the head of the man running at the front was pierced through.

Seeing their perfectly fine comrade collapse without warning, the man behind him changed direction.

But by then, a faint red line had already appeared across his throat.

Chwaak.

The moment the man felt a stinging sensation and groped his neck, blood poured out.

All of this was Siyoon’s doing.

The thinner wind was compressed, the stronger its penetration became.

It was difficult to control, but for use as a hidden blade like this, it was ideal.

[ Enhancing ‘Legs’. ]

Siyoon applied a temporary stacked Enhancement to his legs.

His already enhanced leg strength was enhanced once more, with muscle elasticity and speed surging dramatically.

Using this, he pushed off the ground with his toes and swung the sniper rifle from behind his back.

“Damn it, the strength…!”

He blocked the attack with his dagger swiftly, but that was as far as he got.

Siyoon deliberately relaxed his force, causing the man’s balance to collapse.

The dagger slicing through the back of his neck was but a fleeting instant.

“Open fire!”

At that moment, the man who had been attacking Siyoon shouted.

From beside the still-burning car, four Gunners pulled their triggers.

Siyoon immediately used wind to scoop up water from a puddle and scatter it.

Chwaak!

Tudududu!

Through the scattered spray of rainwater, the muzzle flashes scattered brightly.

After obscuring their vision, Siyoon rolled his body to the side and thought.

If their attacks were organized, he simply needed to force an opening.

And Siyoon’s abilities were perfectly suited for exactly this kind of situation.

Siyoon looked at the approaching men.

He picked up a nearby stone and rapidly repeated Enhancement.

The moment the sword was within arm’s reach.

[ Enhancement failed. ]

Kwaaaaaang!!

The recoil from the failed Enhancement triggered a powerful explosion.

“Kuaaaaagh!”

“Damn it, is he self-destructing?”

Those caught in the blast suffered burns or lost parts of their bodies.

Taking advantage of the moment several were incapacitated, Siyoon raised his sniper rifle through the smoke.

It hurt, but he had the Patience of Nature.

It reduced his pain, and his body was recovering in real time.

He could easily withstand this much.

Tung.

Peogeok!

Through the smoke, a flying bullet pierced the head of the man holding a gun.

Penetration powerful enough to punch straight through a helmet.

Siyoon moved the sniper rifle and fired in succession.

Peopeopeopeok!

One shot, one kill.

In an instant, four Gunners’ lives were extinguished.

Another man lunged belatedly, but it was already too late.

Every time Siyoon’s muzzle or fist flew, another hunter’s breath stopped.

As their numbers dwindled, the gap between them narrowed further and further.

“You bastard…!”

Siyoon shattered the incoming spear shaft with his fist.

It was absurd strength.

The spearman, disarmed in an instant, had his heart ruptured by a follow-up punch.

One by one, they fell.

After meeting similar fates, the only one remaining was the man acting as captain.

Kim Daejin alone.

“Ha, haha…”

His sword was already broken.

Unable to withstand Siyoon’s attack, the blade had snapped in two.

“You monster.”

Peogeok.

Those were his last words.

His corpse, head blown off by the sniper rifle, collapsed into the puddle.

Siyoon gazed at the puddle, reddened with rainwater and blood, then turned away.

‘I can’t stay here any longer.’

He currently had a bounty on his head in the black market.

And as time passed, the amount would likely increase.

That was why he had rushed to eliminate the thirty hunters Haind had sent.

If things dragged on too long, the disadvantage would be his.

Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to see it through to the end.

He needed to end this situation as quickly as possible.

To do that, he had to kill Haind with absolute certainty.

The groundwork for that was already in place.

The only thing that mattered was executing it.

‘Let’s move.’

Siyoon launched himself forward immediately for that very purpose.

And behind him, pursuers followed.