STGAAB Novel MTL - Chapter 762
Chapter 762: Secret Garden (3)
Baekho’s eyes sparkled as he watched the duel. He concentrated with his mouth tightly shut and his head leaning slightly forward. Lek Aures found this behavior very unusual.
“Baekho, who do you think will win?”
However, Baekho, who was in a state of intense concentration, didn’t seem to hear the question and didn’t answer. Assuming he hadn’t heard him, Lek Aures repeated the question.
And……
Swish.
Finally, as if hearing his words, Baekho broke his concentration and turned to look at him. However, there was something strange about his gaze. Should I say it was a look that said, ‘What’s with this guy……?’
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering if you were really asking because you didn’t know.”
“No, I’m not a god, how would I know?”
“You don’t need to be a god to figure this out. How could he kill someone we couldn’t even kill when we all attacked together?”
“Hah, but isn’t he ‘Demon Eyes’?”
“I’m Baekho Lee, aren’t I? And that old man is the Fallen Scholar.”
“Still, enduring and winning are different things… You never know what might happen.”
Baekho stuck out his tongue in disgust at those words that seemed to express sincere belief.
“Wow, you should never get into betting.”
“Betting……?”
“Just forget it, don’t talk to me.”
He quickly brushed off the conversation, signaling not to bother him, and turned his attention back to the duel. Time passed. Lek Aures, looking uneasy, tried to strike up a conversation again. He would have rather not bothered him, but his curiosity was too strong to resist.
“Um… Baekho?”
As he started to speak, Baekho answered mechanically, not even taking his eyes off the scene.
“What. Make it quick.”
“Why are you watching this so intently? You said you believed Baron Yandel would win anyway.”
Lek Aures thought that perhaps Baekho would feel the contradiction in this question and be unable to answer properly.
But……
“Then I should watch closely, shouldn’t I? Who knows if our Baron has a card up his sleeve that I’m unaware of.”
“Oh… I, I see……?”
Baekho’s tone was as if the answer should have been obvious, leaving Aures at a loss for words. And in fact, as Baekho suggested, an unexpected card did come into play.
“A flower crown……?! Did he have such an item? Judging by how he escaped as soon as he used it, it seems to grant some sort of mental resistance……”
Baekho’s eyes gleamed as he hastily jotted down notes in a notebook he had pulled out at some point. His pen moved with the speed of lightning, and his excitement was evident as he breathed heavily through his nose. He occasionally licked his lips as if he were looking at something delicious. And to Lek Aures, witnessing this……
‘No… It’s not right to speak ill of a comrade.’
…He just couldn’t help but feel sorry for Baron Yandel.
***
Watching the change in someone’s expression is a joy. Even more so when that person is my enemy, and their expression is crumbling.
Smirk.
I observed my opponent’s face as if savoring it. The moment I broke free from the hallucination by equipping the ‘Crown of Agony’ and finally met his pale, white eyes, his expression was one of denial. It was clear he was thinking something like, ‘…He escaped? No, I must be mistaken.’ Well, he soon realized the harsh reality.
“…What the……!”
Demon Eyes had enough intelligence to recognize the connection between the crown and my escape from the hallucination. That’s why he was furious. To specialize in [White Demon Eyes], he had consumed countless essences and sacrificed so much, and yet it was nullified? Just with one item? It must have felt incredibly unfair.
But……
[You have used Dragon Plate of Aegis. Reflecting accumulated damage.]
When the effect of my armor activated, and a gigantic spirit warrior raised his greatsword, its head almost touching the barrier set by the wizards, instead of exploding in anger, he regained his composure. After all, he had to do something to survive.
[Roland Banozant has cast Green Demon Eyes.]
He hastily activated a barrier.
Crackle-!
He was startled as the barrier shattered like a sheet of paper, his widened eyes turned blue and he quickly used an evasion skill.
Come on, do I look like a pushover barbarian?
[Roland Banozant has cast Blue Demon Eyes.]
[Blue Demon Eyes] is a ‘Blink-type’ skill that allows for instantaneous movement over short distances, with a casting time of less than a second. However, it has a fatal flaw.
It doesn’t activate when the caster is under any movement restriction.
Ah, of course, I don’t have any true Crowd Control skills. However, as someone who has played this game for a very long time, I know the scope of ‘restriction’ as judged by [Blue Demon Eyes] isn’t limited to just binds or paralysis.
[You have cast Transcendence.]
[You have cast Eye of the Storm.]
Even when using this combo for a grab, it’s momentarily considered a ‘restriction.’ So, to put it simply……
[Roland Banozant is in an immobile state. Casting of Blue Demon Eyes has been canceled.]
His escape skill was canceled.
“……?”
Fear settled in his eyes as he found no way to escape from the greatsword swung by the giant spirit warrior. It was somewhat amusing.
‘…‘Demon Eyes’, they say.’
Well, now that I see them, they look just like ordinary human eyes.
Whooosh-!
As the greatsword slices through the air towards him, the final expression he made was a smile. No, to be precise……
“Heh.”
A scoff, as if in disbelief.
That was the end.
Boom-!
With a deafening sound, dust clouds rose, and the surrounding barriers shattered like windows in building that was struck by an earthquake. Just by the shock transmitted through the ground, more than half of the defenses had been disabled……
Shwaaaaaa-
As the barriers crumbled, wind blew through the gaps, and the dust gradually settled.
And……
The moment when everyone saw the crushed remains of what was once ‘Vice-Leader’, completely silent and motionless.
“Whoaahhh!!”
Ainar broke the silence with a shout.
“Bjorn Yandel has killed Demon Eyes!! Bjorn Yandel is the strongest warrior in the land……!!!”
That was the turning point.
“Go, attack……!”
The one who seemed to have the next highest rank after the Vice-Leader shouted those words, and soon the Noark bastards who had been swarming all around, charged in, and a brawl broke out. This was a predictable turn of events. After all, in war, the purpose of a ‘duel’ is to take out a capable enemy leader and boost your own side’s morale.
‘That eyeball bastard probably had similar thoughts.’
The plan was to defeat me one-on-one on the stage set by Baekho and then gain the upper hand in the ensuing full-scale battle. That must have been Demon Eyes’ original plan. But the moment he lost in the one-on-one fight, all of that became meaningless.
“Come on, let’s go!!”
As the elites of Orcules and the Noark troops rushed in from all directions, Baekho, who had been watching from the roof, also jumped down.
And……
“Long time no see?”
Baekho landed next to me and casually greeted me.
“…What the hell are you plotting?”
“Plotting? That hurts, I just came to help.”
Heh, he should have said something more believable.
“But more importantly, I don’t think he’s dead yet.”
“……What?”
“Ah… You don’t know about his essence?”
I don’t know. While I was locked up in the underground prison, the old royal knight told me that the reason he survived even after his head was completely crushed was thanks to an essence, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. I just assumed it was some survival-related essence, and since such essences have very long cooldowns, I expected it wouldn’t be usable yet.
But……
“He consumed the Hellase essence.”
With those words, I understood.
‘Ah… So that’s what it was.’
The Hellase’s passive is a very unique survival skill. It doesn’t boost defense or increase healing capabilities.
[Roland Banozant’s health is at 0%. Grace Period has been activated. A 900-second countdown has been initiated. All self-healing effects are sealed during the countdown.]
This passive skill simply prevents you from being considered ‘dead’ for 15 minutes. However, it doesn’t make you invincible. It just prevents immediate death, you could say? And even that assumes there’s a healer or allies nearby to feed you potions.
‘…But this asshole who’s not even a tank consumed that essence?’
Somehow, I feel like I’m finally starting to understand the personality of this Demon Eyes guy.
‘No wonder he was all style and no substance, turns out he’s just trying to act tough……’
If it were me, I would have gathered other essences to avoid situations where I’d need to use such a survival skill in the first place—.
“Oh, they’re carrying him away.”
At Baekho’s words, I quickly turned my head to see the members of Orcules swiftly retrieving the remains of what was once the ‘Vice-Leader’ and leaving the scene. The transport team(?) moved quickly, like high-agility characters, making it impossible for me to even think about pursuing them. So, I looked at Baekho……
“Huh? Me? Why?”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“But you were going to, right?”
“……”
Ugh, if he’s going to help, he should be more thorough about it. As I vented my frustration by smashing the head of an approaching Noark bastard with my hammer, Amelia appeared in front of me, holding Eltora with one hand. Oh, by the way, Ainar next to me was carrying Auyen……
“Yandel.”
Alright, now that we’ve gathered everyone we need……
“Oh, long time no see?”
Baekho greeted Amelia as well, but she ignored him completely without even sparing him a glance.
“Let’s go quickly. Let’s leave this place to them.”
“…Huh? You’re leaving us behind? Huh? Excuse me?”
Baekho grumbled, but Amelia ignored him again. And I did the same.
“Yeah, let’s do that. Get on.”
As soon as I finished activating [Giantization] and got my comrades loaded on board, Baekho clicked his tongue.
“Ugh, look at these selfish people…… How did I end up like this……”
As I stared at him, Baekho smirked.
“Hah, no need to thank me, just go. We’ll clean things up here and then leave—.”
“I wasn’t planning on thanking you though?”
“…Yes?”
I left the battlefield with a warning to Baekho, who looked at me incredulously, telling him that I’d be keeping an eye on him and not do anything strange.
And……
Thud-! Thud-!
Using Eltora’s navigation function, I finally arrived at my destination and stood there in bewilderment. Hah, no wonder there weren’t any troops around the building where the Marquess was supposed to be recuperating.
‘Shit.’
The Marquess had already fled to another location. Well, after wasting so much time in a one-on-one with Demon Eyes, it would be odd for him to still be here. However, it wasn’t like all hope was lost.
“…Hey.”
I asked Eltora.
“Where did your father go?”
“…Th-that’s right? Um, where could he have gone?”
“Don’t think you can just laugh this off.”
“Um… Maybe he slipped away to another place while we were delayed over there……?”
As if I didn’t know that already.
“Think carefully about where your father might have gone. This might be your last chance.”
I subtly implied that if he didn’t prove useful, he’d be discarded, and Eltora quickly came up with an answer.
“Ah! I-I have an idea of one place…!”
Upon hearing the location, it wasn’t far, so I immediately changed course and headed there. And finally, at ‘that place’.
“……Huh?”
I encountered someone completely unexpected.
“It’s been a long time, Baron Yandel.”
Harin Savy. My ex-girlfriend.
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