Chapter 35 Part9 (1/2)
<chapter 35.=”” the=”” call=”” of=”” death=”” -=”” 9=”” [end=”” of=”” volume=”” 8]=””>
”What? Ethan Cruz is?”
[Yes. To be exact, I see the two remaining undead heroes returning to him.]
”Ah... So he's at least going to try to get out with what he has left, huh.”
In a way, it was his expected course of action. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had killed the Beast General, dropped the Vulture General from the sky, and killed six out of the eight undead heroes. What's worse, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had also killed Ethan Cruz's accomplice, Mentes Orun, so in terms of chess, all that was left was the king and a p.a.w.n. It would be strange if he wasn't retreating.
”But... Hmm. There's no way he'd just leave.”
”s.h.i.+n Woo, don't you think you're the reason he's leaving?”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo muttered and Jin retorted. Jin believed that Ethan Cruz had done everything he could. If he were to point out a fault of his, then it would be that Ethan Cruz hadn't properly a.s.sessed Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's ability beforehand. It seemed obvious, but it was indeed his biggest mistake.
”Still, there's no way he'd just leave. There are still a lot of undead left on the battlefield, and the heroes are still fighting, so the fact that Ethan Cruz is running away by himself means that... he believes he might be exposed.”
”Maybe he thinks he's already been exposed. Especially since you went out of your way to pick out and kill the undead heroes.”
”No. Any normal hero that can't use darkness magic wouldn't be able to ascertain the link between the undead heroes and Ethan Cruz. And so long as they aren't cognizant of that link, Ethan Cruz will remain as a trustworthy hero. Aside from me, no one else thinks that Ethan Cruz is evil. What's worse, Mentes Orun didn't really say much to Lloyd.”
”Then why? Why is he purposely trying to expose himself?”
”That's... Wait a sec. I think we'll know soon.”
At that moment, Ethan Cruz had sent him a request for a private chat. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was briefly shocked but soon calmed down. Ethan Cruz had no way of knowing that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was hostile towards him. So, the purpose of this conversation was...
”Senior?”
[Ethan Cruz: s.h.i.+n Woo, I'm glad you're safe! Are you alright?]
”Yes, I'm alright!”
[Ethan Cruz: Ooh, that's a relief. This might sound shameless, but I need your help. Their airborne troops have found me! But I can't intercept them because of the buff I cast on you... Help me out, Super Rookie. If I die here, then the buff I cast on you will disappear as well! Everything will become a mess!]
...Aha, as he thought. At that moment, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo figured out everything. Ethan Cruz was resorting to his last trick.
[Ethan Cruz: The others are busy fighting, so they won't be able to help me... I may sound hopeless, but help me out. Come over here as soon as you can!]
”I understand, Senior! I'll go immediately! Please stay safe for just a little while longer!”
With his level 19 Acting skill, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo replied overly lively and soon ended the private chat. When he looked up at the sky, the airborne troops were circling around the area Ethan was hiding. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, then they would truly believe that Ethan Cruz was in danger.
”Wait, what happened?”
”What do you mean 'what happened'? He can't leave it to anyone else, so he'll step up and do it himself.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo led Jin towards Ethan Cruz and replied calmly. But because it seemed like Jin hadn't yet grasped the situation, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo explained further.
”The airborne troops that are circling around... They're obviously on Ethan Cruz's side. You know that much, right?”
”Yeah, since Ethan Cruz was the one to call the Vulture General. But I'm surprised that he can still control the general's subordinates.”
”Yeah, that's a bit surprising to me as well. Though that's not important right now.”
Either Ethan Cruz and the Vulture General had formed an agreement beforehand, or he had some way of commanding the air troops. The fact that the airborne troops moved threateningly, but didn't attack Ethan Cruz was the proof.
”He's probably going to make up a lie, saying that the undead heroes that are returning to him are aiming for him. So if I were to naively go and help, then I'll have to fight against a disadvantageous battle, and once I'm dead, he would revive me as his subordinate... Well, I bet that's what he's thinking.”
Looking down on the heroes and dispatching two of the 12 generals was a mistake. Therefore, it would be better for him to call each hero individually and take care of them one by one... It was a reasonable conclusion. Ethan Cruz wasn't aiming for only Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.
”Then why are you going? Are you insane?”
”Jin, you remember that buff... No, that debuff that he cast on me, right?”
Ethan Cruz had used his darkness magic to cast a 'buff' on him. It was no simple buff; it was actually a curse that would temporarily increase one's abilities, and then debilitating side effects would follow. The curse's evilest ability was its hypnosis effect, and after a certain amount of time, one wouldn't be able to defy Ethan Cruz's orders.
In other words, Ethan Cruz's private chat request was no request but was undoubtedly a 'command'.
”But that curse didn't work on you!”
”To be exact, I was able to resist it. ...But that guy still believes that his curse has affected me.”
Of course, he could reveal that the curse hadn't affected him and move against Ethan Cruz. But if he did, Ethan Cruz would immediately dispel the darkness magic link between him and Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't want that. To be more specific, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo actually wanted Ethan Cruz to cast another curse on him. Hearing that, Jin was dumbfounded and muttered.
”I knew early on that you were messed up, but I didn't think you were this far gone...”
”This was my plan from the very beginning. You got that?”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was sure that Ethan Cruz specialized in curses. But so long as Lee s.h.i.+n Woo possessed Darkness Resistance: MAX, there was no way one of Ethan Cruz's curses would affect him.
If that's the case, then what would be the best way to make use of this? Force Ethan Cruz to give up on cursing him? Make him give up on his darkness magic, forcing him to use plain magic? No, obviously not.
”The right answer is: act like I'm affected by his curse, put him into a false sense of security, and then counterattack. If my counterattack is successful, then I'll be able to inflict a grievous wound, even if he's a level 8.”
”You fight way too dirty!”
”Just keeping listening.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo clearly remembered Bisher Moon's explanation on the Deadly Force curse.
'Because Deadly Force is such a fatal curse, it has a few downsides. First, it's difficult to use against those with more magic than the caster. Second, the caster cannot move freely until the target's death.'
The first point probably wasn't relevant to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't think he could beat a level 8 magician in terms of magic.
However, he could use the second downside. If he could bait Ethan Cruz into using Deadly Force on him, then he'd be able to restrain a level 8 hero! Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was immune to all curses, so he'd be able to take that opportunity and attack Ethan Cruz.
”I didn't nullify the curse immediately but allowed him to cast it and resisted it. But this was a lot harder to do than I'd expected.”
”You... was the reason you allowed him to curse you because...?”
”Yep. I wanted to become more accustomed to controlling the extent of my resistance.”
Not nullifying the curse itself, but nullifying its effects. If that were possible, then Lee s.h.i.+n Woo would be able to do as he pleased while Ethan Cruz suffered the downsides to Deadly Force. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had been training throughout the battle in preparation for this.
”...I'm speechless.”
”Yeah, stay like that. Since we're going to see him soon.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo explained confidently and patted Jin. Was he alright with that explanation? Jin ran more quickly than before and left the battlefield. He was close enough to Ethan Cruz's hiding place that he could see it. With Jin's speed, they would reach it in 5 seconds.
'Senior Yasunori Akira is still hiding. If he were to attack Ethan Cruz with me once I'm cursed, then it'll be over in a flash. ...But.”
But there was one thing that was bothering him.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo softly sighed. He didn't really want to think about it, but it was still a possibility. If it was true, then it would become a bit complicated...
”Well, whatever. If that happens, I'll just get three more.”
'Three? Why three?'
”Senior!”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't answer Jin and yelled out. He didn't know if it was because he'd gotten closer, but the circling airborne troops took that moment to descend and attack Ethan Cruz. He almost wanted to applaud at their lively acting.