Chapter 158

Cho-i Hyeon scratched her head at Taeyang Kang’s state and chose to say nothing. After all, he wasn’t the type to go easy just because she told him to, and she herself didn’t particularly feel like going easy on those things. Cho-i Hyeon lightly patted Taeyang Kang’s back as he walked out into the clearing.

“…?”

Taeyang Kang turned around at Cho-i Hyeon’s touch. Taeyang Kang looked at Cho-i Hyeon as if asking if she had anything to say to him. He was even willing to show some mercy if it was her request. But.

“Go and smash them. Oh, we have to go to the dungeon later, so just rough them up enough to heal.”

“Alright.”

Taeyang Kang immediately drew his spear. And stood before Silen Tail.

“Look, look at that. Glaring at someone much younger than him.”

“I can only see his back here.”

“I have my ways of knowing.”

Cho-i Hyeon replied indifferently to Zhixuan’s interjection.

“Alright, then let’s see what kind of ability that SS-Rank uses?”

Taeyang Kang raised his spear first. And then immediately spun it in his hand, causing a blizzard. The same blizzard with those blade-like snowflakes swirling. The SS-Rank seemed to notice the Entity’s danger and quickly retreated, but even the Entity couldn’t escape the blizzard’s radius. Clang, clank! A loud sound was heard. Ah, that.

“Was it a tank?”

A faint light shimmered in Silen’s hand. Aha, so he also has a hidden item? Cho-i Hyeon watched the situation with a look on her face that indicated things were getting interesting. Clang, clang-clang- The barrier surrounding him allowed Silen to remain safe within the blizzard. Taeyang Kang saw this, frowned, and instantly closed the distance to him. He then swung his spear, cutting across his chest. Clang! The spear was immediately blocked. Silen, who had somehow drawn a sword the length of his forearm, was blocking his spear. There wasn’t just one sword. While Taeyang Kang blocked one sword with his spear, he drew another identical sword with his other hand and aimed for his side. Taeyang Kang pushed his opponent hard and took a few steps back.

“It seems like the item on that person’s finger is generating the barrier?”

Cho-i said, pointing at Silen. Yeonhan Kim and Dongju Kim, who had been observing the situation, nodded.

“Thanks to that, he’s a tank who can attack with both hands, so it will definitely be tricky.”

However, Taeyang Kang showed no signs of being flustered. He still stood there, a few steps back, creating a blizzard. To others, it looked like he was just standing there doing nothing, but to Cho-i, it was different.

‘What are those on the ground?’

Ice-like tendrils were forming on the ground. What bloomed as they climbed up the tendrils was a flower made of ice. Cho-i Hyeon whistled.

“When did he become able to use something like that?”

“He certainly wasn’t just playing around.”

“Is that so? Too bad. I wish he’d say ‘Let’s have a fight with me too.'”

“Taeyang Kang would hardly fight with you.”

Dongju Kim, who quickly caught on to their relationship, sneered. Cho-i pondered his words for a moment. If he asked her to fight, she had a feeling he’d say he’d already lost. Tsk, how boring. And while Taeyang Kang stood still to make the flower bloom, Silen rushed in first. Two swords quickly passed by Taeyang Kang’s head. Taeyang Kang, who dodged the subsequent charge by leaping backward, gripped his spear tightly and acted as if he was waiting for something.

“Is running away all you can do?”

As he acted passively after the first attack, Silen delved deeper into him, swinging his sword. Whoosh, swish—slice! The sword blade glowed with a fierce red light. That must be some kind of ability, too.

“Ah!”

Zhixuan, who was watching the situation, let out a short gasp. It was because the sword grazed Taeyang Kang’s chest, drawing blood. Cho-i Hyeon looked up at Zhixuan for a moment and said,

“Are we all on the same side now?”

“Still, if it’s the King, I’d rather be on the winning side.”

“If he falls, you’re next.”

“If I can get a taste of blood, I’ll consider it.”

When Cho-i Hyeon turned to Zhixuan, he was smacking his lips. Cho-i sighed and looked at Taeyang Kang again. Taeyang Kang observed Silen’s stance as he approached him and swung his sword, then kicked his front leg, which was bearing his weight. Crack! A chilling sound echoed. As Silen’s body swayed, Taeyang Kang immediately raised his knee and slammed it into Silen’s forehead. Bang! It was a loud sound. But surprisingly, Silen, who had taken this flurry of blows, did not fall down but leaped back a great distance, moving out of Taeyang Kang’s reach. Taeyang Kang snorted. And he looked down at the ground.

“W-what is this?”

The Ice Flowers that Taeyang Kang had been cultivating were now fully bloomed and spread across the ground. Each petal of these entities was extremely sharp, and. Grrr- They bared their teeth at Silen, their master’s enemy. They weren’t as large as the flowers he had seen when he entered the hidden dungeon, but they were certainly threatening enough. Taeyang Kang swung his spear once with great force. Immediately, the Ice Flowers with teeth rushed at Silen. Silen retreated little by little, blocking the flowers’ attacks with a barrier. He didn’t even need to swing his sword. The delicate Ice Flowers, upon hitting the barrier, merely froze the spot and crumbled, showing no significant impact on him. However, there were many of them.

“Stop with these petty tricks!”

Silen, realizing that the Ice Flowers couldn’t penetrate his barrier, ignored them and attacked Taeyang Kang again. Taeyang Kang felt him approach close and swung his long spear. Clash! A loud noise erupted as the spear blade grazed the barrier. This meant it was that sturdy. And the blizzard created by Taeyang Kang and the flowers hitting the barrier were slowly freezing Silen’s barrier. But Silen, unaware of this fact, believed he had the upper hand.

“Just because you’re both SS-Rank doesn’t mean you’re the same.”

“I agree with that.”

Clang! With a tremendous sound, the sword and spear clashed. The barrier still maintained its form, but there were frozen spots here and there. Taeyang Kang chuckled.

“That barrier, it seems like it’s about time to replace it.”

“What?”

Taeyang Kang pushed him back forcefully and aimed his spear forward. Then, he instantly plunged into the most solidly frozen side and stabbed that part with his spear. Crack-Thud! The seemingly sturdy barrier was instantly pierced. And the spear blade went inside, cutting Silen’s side.

“Ugh!”

“Not yet.”

The attacks of the Ice Flower and blizzard were still continuing. It was like a monster living in a snowfield. Taeyang Kang’s dark eyes glowed menacingly with the white light. Silen held two swords, ready. It felt like something big was coming.

“Do what you can. I intend to smash your head in.”

“What did you say?”

Taeyang Kang raised his hand high. Then, dozens of icicles began to form in the air. Silen gasped briefly at the sight of them. His currently weakened barrier wouldn’t be able to block all of them. So the method he chose was. Dash! To cut down Taeyang Kang before those icicles reached him. He instantly leaped forward and plunged into Taeyang Kang’s embrace. And he thrust his sword, glowing with a fierce red light, towards Taeyang Kang’s chest. But.

“Ugh! When on earth…!”

Before the sword blade even touched his chest, an icicle that had approached from behind him pierced his waist. He felt warm blood beneath the cold pain. Silen collapsed to the ground. Taeyang Kang raised his spear. And he squatted beside the fallen Silen to meet his gaze.

“Well, he’s not an SS-Rank for nothing. The Guild Master told me I was the best…”

“An SS-Rank is nothing. You were lucky to be my opponent.”

“Do you really think an S-Rank, Cho-i Hyeon, is stronger than me?”

Silen growled. Taeyang Kang, who had been watching him for a while, scratched his cheek, then picked up a spear and jabbed it into Silen’s head. A scream erupted! But he didn’t stop. He continued to jab at Silen’s head until the people watching intervened. Blood flowed steadily onto the cold, frozen floor.

“Stop! Stop it!”

This was the second time. The Violent Team pleaded as they watched their guild member’s head being smashed. However, Taeyang Kang’s outburst didn’t seem to be over yet. On closer inspection, it was the same spot where Cho-i Hyeon had bled. Knowing he would do that, Cho-i Hyeon nonchalantly picked his ear and called Taeyang Kang.

“Hey, that’s enough. Come in.”

“Okay.”

Taeyang Kang, who wouldn’t listen no matter how much the Violent Guild members shouted, easily complied. This obedience, as if he would follow anything Cho-i said. Cho-i Hyeon found this situation amusing.

“Did you smash his head to your heart’s content?”

“I couldn’t smash it to my heart’s content.”

“Stop it. If he dies, it’s our loss.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, still, you’re a good boy. You went and smashed his head because mine was smashed too.”

Cho-i Hyeon placed his hands on Taeyang Kang’s cheeks and rubbed them, as if praising a puppy. Taeyang Kang smiled faintly. He was being treated like a dog, but he liked it. Dongju Kim, with blurry eyes, watched the two of them, then stretched, thinking that this time he really had to go out.

“This time, I’m really go—”

“I’m going out.”

“Ah! Why do you keep cutting in line?!”

“Because I’m older! If you’re so upset, then be born before me!”

“Ugh!”

Yeonhan Kim interjected. When Dongju Kim got annoyed, Yeonhan Kim shrugged as if to ask what the problem was.

“Then both of you can go out.”