Chapter 33 - Ice Sword 1 (2/2)

The Sea God’s curse following him around wasn't something that he had accounted for, and could throw a wrench in his future plans.

As the rays of sun began to creep up on the horizon, Woohyuk went to the Auction house to collect his money from the sales.

A total of 3 gold coins and 2 silver ones. Nothing but pocket change.

As he headed to the Tavern to buy some food to bring back for Leifina, he heard Isaac’s voice from behind him.

“Good morning Chun Woohyuk.”

“....”

Seeing Isaac approach him without his usual posse, he knew something was off.

Woohyuk’s eyes became sharp like daggers.

“What’s up?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve come to see what was up for auction. I heard that there were a bunch of new items put up yesterday.”

Isaac smiled gently as he eyed the coins in Woohyuk’s hand. And ice cold gaze, it seemed that he was already under the influence of the sword Ranghilt.

“All of the items have been sold off.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Still, it’s fine since I just wanted to see some new items on a whim.”

It was a decent excuse since he wasn’t doing any large raids at the moment..

Isaac approached Woohyuk, casually leaning as he put his hand on the nearby shelves.

“Let’s see, a new item seems to have been put up last night by Hong Yuri.”

Between the two of them they had indeed collected quite a lot of loot last night.

As he watched Isaac browse through the Auction house, Woohyuk thought to himself what would be the best way to take care of him.

‘It would be best if I let him think he was the one trapping me.’

To begin with he wasn’t one of those naive people. Even if he had mentally succumbed to the influence of the sword, his inherent qualities wouldn’t simply disappear.

Ever since a young age he had received the very best education due to his royal lineage.

A man that admired King Arthur and had practiced fencing and horseback riding.

Good acting would be needed, in order to fool someone that had been born into a life of politics.

“Have you explored the Mountain Range yet?”

“I’ve been too busy farming for gold coins and haven’t had the time. I was planning on going there today however.”

Once the Guard Towers were properly manned, it would be difficult for enemy troops to invade because due to the Teleport scrolls, it was very easy for the occupying side to quickly reinforce.

Trying to invade the enemy’s territory was simply too unreasonable. It was only a strategy that had been viable in the early stages, when the borders hadn’t been properly secured yet. It might also resurface a little bit later on once the casualties began to pile up and the manpower across the border would be stretched thin.

Isaac was aware of that, so he hadn’t been in any hurry to explore the mountains in search of enemy players.

“How long are you planning on going out?”

“It’ll depend on the situation. Why don’t you join us, Chun Woohyuk. If you do, I can even exempt your team from the daily quota.”

He was no doubt trying to lead him into a trap and gang up on him with his loyal subordinates.

Even if they would then be marked as traitors, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal since it only meant that they would need to lay low for about a day, without returning to the Fortress.

“Sure, but my team members are a bit tired, so I don’t think they will be able to join us. We’ve run into a lot of trouble these past few days.”

“Just you alone is fine then, let’s meet up at the Fortress’ entrance later.”

“Okay, I’ll get something to eat and head right there.”

He didn’t need the help of his team to take care of Isaac.

The two of the parted ways, as Woohyuk thought about their upcoming battle.

* * *

Initiating an attack on players from your own Faction would give you a red marker. One couldn’t enter the Fortress under those conditions since you’d be treated as a criminal and locked up in the underground prison.

So if Isaac was the first to strike, he would be able to return for a whole day. The same was true for any Teleport Scrolls.

Appearing near any of the towers while marked as criminal was likewise suicide since there were plenty of guards on duty.

From Isaac’s point of view, the best time to strike was as they were preparing to return from their trip to the mountains.

Of course the only reason he took such a risk in the first place was all due to the influence of his sword, Ranghilt.

‘He has no choice in the matter.’

However it would also be best for him to tie up this loose end before the end of this stage’s Canyon Battle. If he were to allow such a dangerous variable to make its way to the Eeth continent, it very well might endanger his future prospects.

Woohyuk calmly examined his surroundings as their team explored the rugged mountainous terrain.

He couldn't detect any killing intent as of yet, so he guessed that he was at least planning to wait until they reached the peak before showing his true colors.

However there was a big flaw in their plan

That’s right….

“Kyaaaaah!”

They hadn’t factored in the existence of the Griffons.

“What the hell is that?”

A man decked in plate armor asked nervously as he pointed out the Griffon in the distance.

It was so large that its shadow completely enveloped their team climbing the mountain.

Srrrng

Isaac stepped in front of them as he unsheathed Ranghilt, staring at the Griffon intently, as if he were being controlled by someone.

“That will likely become a headache for us later on, so it’s best to take care of it right now.”

A magical blue aura was emitted from Ranghilt, as Woohyuk watched with rapt attention.

‘He’s going to use the sword’s power.’

Since it was one of the Sea God’s treasures, it must have considerable power. Of course how much of that power could be manifested, relied entirely on its user.

Whuiaaaaa!

A burst of frost shot out from the sword, as Isaac swung Ranghilt towards the incoming Griffin.

Chawaaak!

Griffon’s body suffered from a deep cut, as blood spurted everywhere.

It flapped its wings angrily, as it rushed towards Issac.

“Kyaaaahk!”

It struck out with its sharp beak, attempting to peck Isaac head to death. Just then, the magical blue frost once again enveloped the sword.

Puuk!

Ranghilt managed to pierce into the Griffin’s body, as the frost aura began to freeze it from the inside. Soon after, the Griffin was turned into an ice statue that crashed its way down the mountain.

As the dust from the battle hung in the air, Woohyuk’s senses were heightened.

‘It’s even more dangerous than I had expected.’

He felt that he would struggle to defend the Griffins attack based solely on the barrier provided by his Ghost Queen Star Serpent.

It was because his Intelligence Stat was not yet high enough, so he didn’t have enough Mana to absorb such a blow.

Not to mention that they were quite high up on the mountain. Rolling down head first as a frozen statue wasn’t something he had any plans on experiencing.

‘I need to change the setting.’

And he happened to know just the place that was nearby.

After waiting for the dust to settle, he spoke to Isaac.

“I think there is a nest of these guys near the peak.”

“I was thinking the same thing, this mountain range is much more dangerous than I thought.”

Given the level of danger, it was very unlikely for an enemy force to be hidden within these mountains. There were nothing but rocks and hills as far as the eye could see.

Even if one went out of their way to do some extreme rock climbing, they’d just end up as food for the Griffons.

As Isaac was busy thinking as to how they should proceed, Woohyuk spoke up once more.

“They might have already noticed us since we’ve created quite the commotion.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Last time I came here I happened upon a cave. How about hiding there for a while until things settle down a bit?”

The mountain they climbed was quite steep, so it would take them too long to climb all the way back down. Isaac’s party seemed to agree with Woohyuk’s suggestion, since they didn’t like the idea of facing any Griffons during the climb down.

“That’s a good idea, please lead the way.”

“Then follow me.”

Woohyuk nodded as he began to walk down the path.

He could feel their evil stare fixed onto his back.

‘Looks like they are planning to take action soon.’

A remote and dark cave would be a great spot to betray an ally.