Chapter 211 - Thwarted 1

Chapter 211: Thwarted 1
Translator: Moliere
Editor: SootyOwl
The Valley of Dragons.
Junhyuk and Sarang saw the people gathered around the valley’s entrance and approached them. The heroes were there with a hundred minions, and the two rejoined them.
The heroes saw them and smiled.

Now, can I call you Junhyuk?


Yes. You may call me that.


Whew! I’ve been wanting to say your name. I was having a really hard time.

Diane made a fuss, and Junhyuk smiled at her. However, he was still wearing the helmet, so Diane couldn’t see his face. She raised her hand and said,
Here is the fruit and the seed.


Thank you.

He quickly extended his hand, but Diane slapped it away, protesting,
You know how to repay me!

Junhyuk sighed deeply and stuck his butt out toward her, but she wagged her index finger from side to side.

This was a special favor for you, so you have to take off your armor for the slap.


What?!
he said, really surprised, and Diane smiled.

Are you sure you are an elf?


Don’t be discriminatory toward elves!

She waved the fruit and the seed in front of him, and his eyes gleamed, following the items. So far, she had had permission to slap his butt and she had done so over his armor.
Now, she was waving items that were worth $100 million each in front of him. The trade was a butt slap for $200 million, and Junhyuk was going through an inner turmoil while clutching his armor.

Just one slap,
he said and took it off.
Junhyuk stared at the dragon, who was standing haughtily and standoffshly as always, and Sarang whispered in his ear,
Big brother, are you OK?


No. I have been violated.


But the reward is huge.


Should I flaunt the fact that my butt is $200 million?

Then, Diane walked over to Junhyuk and put him in a headlock.

Two hundred million dollars? Is that a large sum?


It’s a huge sum.

She smiled and added,
Just tell me whenever you need something. To find things like that in the Valley of Death, I have to walk around some, but I’ll do it for you.


Thank you.

She shrugged and looked at Artlan.

What are you going to do?


We can’t wait anymore. Let’s get the dragon and see.

Junhyuk looked at the dragon again and sighed. Won’t the enemies come while we are hunting the dragon?
He looked around. Killing the dragon had been quite complicated up to now, so he was feeling anxious.

Hurry! Attack!
Artlan shouted, and the minions started to run.
They went in first, and Artlan followed behind. Junhyuk and Sarang followed him. Artlan and Vera had died, so they hadn’t gotten new items, the but others had had time to upgrade their equipment.
Junhyuk expected an upgrade in their equipments’ performances.
The dragon swiped hard against the minions and looked at the ones left. Meanwhile, Artlan approached the dragon first. Both Artlan and Halo slashed its legs, making it furious.
Junhyuk, if possible, wanted to stop the dragon’s fire breath, but it would do it sooner or later anyway. Vera prepared Meteor Shower, and Diane readied an arrow. Nudra ran toward the dragon, covered in the Rising Dragon Aura, and attacked. Junhyuk watched it all and stuck his tongue out.
The dragon is extremely formidable, but if things continued, Artlan, Halo, and Nudra would kill it. However, that didn’t mean they would be immune to the dragon’s attacks. With their movements speeds, they couldn’t get away unscathed, but the heroes used their powers one after the other. They jumped and flash attacked. Still, even moving around the dragon, they didn’t dodge every attack and were all wounded.
Sarang looked at their injuries and extended her hands. From them, a light green powder sprinkled over the heroes, and Artlan and Halo were healed at the same time.
Previously, Junhyuk used to be quick at using his force field, but Sarang had used her healing power first this time. Artlan and Halo were healed and attacked the dragon again.
Vera smiled.

The preparations are over,
she said, and meteors fell from the sky, slamming hard against the dragon.
Thinking it could die at any moment, the dragon growled and inhaled deeply. Junhyuk had been watching it, and he gathered the group in one spot.

It’s coming!

The dragon’s breath took a long time to extinguish, so to block it, they had to gather inside the force field. The ivory-colored structure appeared, and it covered the entire group.
Diane looked at Junhyuk and winked.

Watch carefully,
she said and let go of her bowstring.
An arrow covered in moonlight and flew off and penetrated the dragon’s eye, piercing through the back of its skull. So far, the arrow had only been able to damage the eye, but this time it had gone through. She shot two more arrows to hit the same spot.
Junhyuk was shocked.

What happened?

Diane smiled and said,
The bow has new item socketed to it.


What?!

He wanted to know what she had meant, and she explained it to him slowly,
I have purchased a very, very, very expensive item.


What is it?


It makes my arrows spin like a drill.


What about the increased damage?


It goes up by 30 percent, but it only works 50 percent of the time. However, when it works, it works beautifully.


Is that even possible with just one item?

Diane laughed brightly, saying,
I spent all that money earned because of you on it.

He was curious about the price of the item, but it wasn’t a good time to delve into that. At that moment, the dragon was breathing fire, but after getting its eye pierced, it started rushing toward them as well.
It slammed its tail against the force field, which was hit, launching everyone into the air. The dragon’s tail swipe was stronger than Bater’s rocket punches. However, they were still safe from the flames.
Diane shot a series of arrows, and Vera cast her magic.
Every hero concentrated his or her attacks on the dragon. It held out for a while, but in the end, it fell, meaninglessly.
[You’ve killed the dragon Kaloyan. For the next two hours, you get a 30 percent increase to health regeneration rate, a 30 percent increase to movement speed, a 30 percent increase to attack speed, a 30 percent increase to defense, and when you attack, you will inflict an additional one hundred damage on top of your normal damage. If you die within two hours, you will lose yours buff to your opponent.]
Junhyuk was elated that they had killed the dragon before their enemies had gotten there.

Success!


Why aren’t they here?


Well…

Junhyuk shook his head. He didn’t know what was going, but they had killed the dragon before the enemies arrived. They had been buffed and, for two hours, they would be invincible.
Feeling the enemies’ absence, they started moving, heading for the lower path. They had taken the first tower, and the second tower would be easy. On their way there, the five heroes still saw no sign of the enemies.
Junhyuk shook his head.

By the way, can our movements be detected by the enemies?


When a tower is attacked.

He felt a little less anxious.

So, if the enemies attack our tower, do we know it as well?


Correct.


Then, that’s a relief.

Without taking down the towers in a path, the enemies couldn’t attack the castle. That meant that even if the enemies moved faster than the allies, the enemies had to attack the towers first, so the allies would know about it.
They had run for a while, and suddenly all of the heroes stopped. Junhyuk watched them, and Artlan stuck his tongue out.

Look at them?


What is the matter?


The second tower is being attacked.


They are already attacking the second tower!?

While they had been fighting the dragon, their enemies had made their way to the second tower.

Then, what do we do now?


Return.


What about the second tower?


We relinquish it.

Even if they returned at that moment and tried to get to the second tower, it would already be destroyed.

I’ve been thwarted.


Right. Can you return?


Yes.


Then, return.

Junhyuk looked at the surviving minions. Only ten of them had survived the fight with the dragon, but they couldn’t return like the heroes.
He looked at them and asked,
Can you see the reed field over there?

They all nodded, and he added slowly,
Hide in there. If a monster comes, you must fight in order to survive.


Are you leaving us behind?


We can’t move together anymore,
Junhyuk said curtly, and everyone felt depressed.

If you want to stay alive, pull yourselves together,
he told them.
A minion stepped forward.

But you already saved Guardians’ CEO!


I’m sorry, but I have to take the portal back. It’s a matter of time.

The minions murmured, and Junhyuk added,
Pull yourselves together and stay alert. Staying in the reed field will increase your survival rate.

The minion stared at Junhyuk, but didn’t speak, and Junhyuk ignored him. At that point, he didn’t have the time to deal with that minion.
He took the portal back with the heroes and left the white room. The heroes were already outside when Junhyuk and Sarang walked out.

The second tower is already gone. We’ll use the big road in the center to attack.


Will they come through the center?


I’m not sure. With the tower gone, can’t be sure of where they are coming from,
Artlan said, frowning.
So, we need someone to stay inside the castle.


If you do that, won’t it decrease our numerical advantage?

Artlan spoke calmly,
Vera and I haven’t had a chance to upgrade our equipment, but the others have. Even if we have a team battle, we shall win.


You said someone needs to stay here.

Artlan put a hand on Junhyuk’s shoulder and said,
You stay here.


Me?!

Then, Artlan looked at Sarang and added,
With Sarang.


They’ll have Adolphe with them. You know that, right?


I know.

He could guard the castle, but the heroes could find themselves in dire need. In team battles, Junhyuk and Sarang had a massive impact.
He could use the force field to protect them, and Sarang could heal them. Sarang’s stun and Junhyuk’s Spatial Slash were also of big help to the allies.
However, he realized that Artlan had made up his mind and didn’t argue.

I’ll be safe here, so sure.


Right. If the enemies show up, let me know. We will push center.


Be careful.

Artlan waved and took the minions out with them. The heroes left, and Junhyuk kept thinking that campaign was extremely strange.

What’s changed?

The enemies had only attacked center, and they had already lost a team battle and given up on the dragon hunt. Now, they were pushing center again. The allies had lost two hours on the road, and the buff was gone, so the enemies had been smart.
While the allies killed the dragon, the enemies took the second tower. Now, only the castle remained. Even if the allies met them in the center, the enemies wouldn’t run away. If they did, they would be killed one-by-one.
Why are they pushing center?
They were displaying a completely new strategy, which meant that the enemies were treating the allies with respect.
While Junhyuk worried, Eunseo walked over.

What’s going on?


The enemies are using an unexpected strategy, so I have to stay here now,
he told her.

Then, we are in danger here now?

Junhyuk looked far off into the big road and said,
Just hope that isn’t the case.