Chapter 235 – The Marksman 4 (1/2)

Though the premise seemed unsolvable, Woohyuk unexpectedly found a simple solution.

“Then, I’ll just allow myself to get hit,” Woohyuk casually stated.

“… Are you serious? If it hits your heart or brains, you might die instantly, right?” Helena asked with a concerned expression.

“I’m not going to allow it to hit me without protecting myself. For example, there’s a method of covering and protecting one’s body with mana, like the Shaolin Monks,” answered Woohyuk.

Furthermore, he could also try to intercept the incoming magic bullet while it was traveling through the air.

Helena nodded as if his words weren’t as absurd as it initially sounded.

“If he targets me, make sure to protect me. My guardian defensive barrier will probably be pierced by the magic bullet,” Helena commented.

“I’ll consider it,” Woohyuk said offhandedly.

It wasn’t a situation where a joke should come out, but Woohyuk threw it out anyway.

It was because Helena had become unusually serious.

After the Abyssal Island, this was only the second time her serious resolve was outwardly portrayed.

‘No matter if she’s a Saintess, there are times when one’s heart is shaken.’

He didn’t really have any affection for Helena, but he needed her by his side at the moment.

It was also immensely enjoyable for Woohyuk to drag her around and annoy her from time to time.

As Woohyuk was wrapping his body with mana, Logan’s overexcited loud voice came through the loudspeaker,

“Then, shall we start the hunt? Let’s conclude with the prelude and move on to the main stage. The main play starts now!”

Ta-a-a-a-ang!

Logan fired off a crimson magic bullet from the top floor of the prison fortress.

It was impossible to determine who the target was.

Woohyuk expanded his mana defensive barrier a little to protect Helena.

“Even if it’s frustrating, be patient. It’s better than dying,” Woohyuk said as his mana barrier wrapped around Helena and brought her closer to his body.

“Whatever, just protect me well!”

Helena hugged Woohyuk as hard as she could from behind. She was definitely scared.

Woohyuk smirked at the cowering Helena and then followed the trail of the crimson magic bullet with his eyes.

‘Again, it’s using an unpredictable path to approach its target.’

If he were Logan, who would he aim for first?

Logan would already know that Woohyuk would protect his body like this.

‘Since Roan has a regeneration ability, he’s less likely to be a targeted…’

After considering everything, Woohyuk came to the conclusion that Logan would probably aim for Helena first since he’d have a high chance of sniping her.

Even though the magic bullet was powerful, it was unlikely that it could easily penetrate his defensive mana barrier, which he had used to great effect against the Fallen Angel Cruella and the Ancient Devil Harpes.

As Woohyuk was pondering Logan’s approach, a black gap appeared in the air in front of him for an instant, and a female-type silver-haired Homunculus appeared next to Helena.

‘… So, it was this!’

Woohyuk recalled Brynhildr once mentioning that a forbidden Homunculus was sealed in the Aize Kingdom.

This was a variable he hadn’t considered.

Due to her sudden appearance, the situation drastically changed.

“…”

The female Homunculus immediately attacked Woohyuk.

Hwi-Eek!

Its abilities were illusion and distortion.

Its specialty was wide-area crowd control and temporarily disabling the opponent’s abilities.

The female Homunculus was also good at approaching its target using an unpredictable route by refracting and bending space-time.

Bam!

The female Homunculus swung its walking stick and distorted the space around it. Soon, it touched the defensive mana barrier that surrounded Helena.

At the same time, the defensive mana barrier disappeared in an instant as if it was never there.

Woohyuk was unable to re-form the defensive mana barrier for another 10 minutes due to the ability-disabling property of her strike.

‘This is ridiculous.’

He also possessed the skill to block the opponent’s abilities for a finite period of time, but because he was splitting his focus on the magic bullet, the female Homunculus was faster in getting off its disabling skill.

Additionally, Logan was too far away for Woohyuk to use his skill disabling ability in the first place.

Feeling the need to take countermeasures, Woohyuk asked Roan for help,

“You stop that Homunculus! You can use whatever ability you like!”

“…!”

Roan nodded vigorously with an excited expression.

Later, he summoned his Ragnar weapon in the form of a mace and ran towards the female Homunculus, who was similar to him in age.

“… Nuisance,” the female homunculus curtly murmured.

Hearing her words, Roan looked dumbfounded, moving his mouth up and down without saying any words.

‘Don’t fancy yourself, you artificial bitch! If it wasn’t for my Master, I would immediately hold onto you and ravage…’

Sexual insults and cruel expressions were silently conveyed to the female Homunculus.

‘Is there something wrong with this guy?’

Lisa, the female Homunculus, tilted her head throughout the battle as if she couldn’t understand Roan’s frustrations.

Unlike Roan, she was designed to be an emotionless analyst.

Thus, while the two Homunculus were battling it out, Woohyuk focused on observing the magic bullet’s path.

‘As I thought. It seems like it’s aiming for Helena.’

Considering that Lisa was also targeting Helena, the magic bullet’s target was certainly her.

However, as a result of the temporary disabling of his abilities, he had to maintain a holding pattern for the next 10 minutes or intercept the magic bullet.

Considering the various circumstances, Woohyuk felt that the latter was more practical and reasonable.

‘Since Roan is busy, I have no choice but to deal with the magic bullet myself.’

However, it was difficult to intercept the magic bullet in his current limited ability capacity, so he decided to make the most of his abilities as a necromancer. He summoned one of the undead crows that he had captured not too long ago.

“Corpse Explosion,” Woohyuk muttered.

The summoned undead crow burst like a grenade nearby the magic bullet.

Pop!

Of course, Logan’s crimson magic bullet didn’t receive much damage.

However, Woohyuk didn’t give up and continued to use his undead skill.

“Corpse Explosion.”

Pop!

“Corpse Explosion.”