Chapter 421 – Part 2 – Until Safety is Secured

“Huh!”

Jo Wang-chun let go of the door handle and stepped back.

A blade barely grazed past where he had been standing.

If it weren’t for his high agility, he might have been cut.

But the problem was that he hadn’t completely avoided it.

“Kuk!”

Some blood spurted from his forearm, causing the stealth he had been maintaining to be dispelled.

“Intruder!”

“Drop your weapon immediately!”

Jo Wang-chun, covering his wound with his hand, quickly turned his head left and right.

On both sides, two men who had suddenly appeared were on guard with swords drawn.

“Damn… what are these guys? They saw through my stealth?”

That meant they were above him, an S-rank with 1.1 million combat power.

But more importantly, these guys had appeared with perfect timing.

As if they had anticipated someone coming to kidnap.

‘Damn, I didn’t know two S-rank hunters would be guarding…’

An unexpected situation.

Jo Wang-chun tensely drew his dagger.

Being outnumbered and outskilled, he couldn’t attack rashly.

But Jo Wang-chun didn’t know.

The ones who had ambushed him were more nervous than ever.

‘Just as the Black Mask said. Someone really appeared?’

The man facing off with Jo Wang-chun, Ryu Jong-ik, recalled what the Black Mask had said when he visited a few hours ago.

“I’m sorry to visit suddenly with such a request, but could you do me a favor? It’s urgent.”

“Oh my, just tell me. What’s the matter?”

“The family of an acquaintance I know might be in danger, and there’s no one to protect them. Could you go with some trustworthy members to guard the family?”

“Of course! Black Mask! Didn’t I tell you before that I’d help if you had any requests? That’s not difficult at all.”

“The opponent will probably be an S-rank hunter with tracking abilities. It could be dangerous work, but are you really okay with it?”

“Of course. Compared to what you do for us, Black Mask, this is the least I should help with.”

“Thank you. Please let me designate who will move with you. I want to form the team with the most trustworthy people.”

So the people who agreed to help the Black Mask were Gang Min-chan beside him and Do Eun-jeong who was inside with the family.

‘And there’s one more woman with Eun-jeong… was her name Han Sae-bom?’

Though it was a face he was seeing for the first time, since the Black Mask had mentioned her, she must be someone trustworthy.

‘But this is serious. I knew the opponent was an S-rank hunter, but I can’t see through stealth…’

Cold sweat ran down Ryu Jong-ik’s back from tension.

The opponent he encountered while ambushing at the mansion had higher combat power than himself.

He saw through stealth?

The opponent was misunderstanding that, but there was no way Ryu Jong-ik with 1.02 million combat power could see stealth.

He had just cleverly attacked together with Gang Min-chan when he saw the door they were watching open.

Ryu Jong-ik exchanged glances with Gang Min-chan beside him.

‘Let’s attack together when I signal. So the family can escape safely.’

‘Understood, Leader.’

After exchanging signals, Ryu Jong-ik moved first.

Gang Min-chan also swung his sword following suit.

Clang clang clang clang-

The standoff broke and a 2-on-1 fight began.

Ryu Jong-ik with 1.02 million combat power, Gang Min-chan with 300,000, and Jo Wang-chun with 1.1 million.

The three exchanged skills in fierce close combat.

‘What? Are these guys really S-rank?’

Feeling it was surprisingly manageable, Jo Wang-chun realized he had been mistaken.

‘One seems S-rank but isn’t stronger than me. Similar level.’

Moreover, the other one’s movements were slow, estimated to be A-rank.

‘This is manageable.’

Jo Wang-chun grinned and swung his dagger more aggressively.

Clang clang clang clang-!

Was it because his offensive was fierce?

The guys who had been blocking his dagger a few times started backing away with panicked expressions.

‘Good. I’ll use this momentum to kill both…’

Then, the door burst open and two women rushed out.

‘There were more allies inside?’

Seeing they were armed, they were estimated to be hunters.

“This way!”

“Hurry!”

When the female hunters gestured, a mother and daughter rushed out of the room.

The targets were escaping.

‘That won’t do.’

Just as Jo Wang-chun was about to use Shadow Step.

Clang clang-!

“Where are you looking! I’m your opponent!”

The hunters who had only been retreating until now pressed forward fiercely.

“These, why won’t these guys get out of the way?”

They were blocking his view by standing in front, making Shadow Step unusable.

The distance had also widened too much to be within range.

‘Now I see these bastards deliberately pretended to retreat to create distance?’

In the meantime, all the targets he needed to kidnap had escaped.

“You sons of bitches!”

Jo Wang-chun completely lost his temper.

“Know that you’re all dead today.”

Blades crossed back and forth between the three.

No one could predict the winner of the fierce battle.

* * *

“Huff, huff…”

Jeong Hui-seon, who had been running frantically, stopped walking as if tired.

Then Han Sae-bom, who had been running beside her, supported her.

“Please hang in there a little more. We need to get as far away as possible.”

“But I’m out of breath…”

At the rough breathing, Han Sae-bom unhesitatingly knelt on one knee.

“Get on my back.”

“Oh my, you must be tired too, how could I…”

“Don’t worry. I’m a hunter so it’s not as hard as it looks.”

“Still…”

“The situation is what it is, so please get on quickly.”

“Th-then excuse me.”

When Jeong Hui-seon got on Han Sae-bom’s back, Do Eun-jeong also offered her back to Choi Ah-yeon.

“Get on. We need to match pace.”

“Ah, okay.”

Carrying the two people on their backs, Han Sae-bom and Do Eun-jeong ran through the forest path.

Do Eun-jeong, running side by side, glanced sideways.

‘Han Sae-bom, was it?’

A hunter she met for the first time today, who came to guard the family together through the Black Mask’s introduction.

‘When I searched the ranking, she’s D-rank too.’

The same rank as Do Eun-jeong.

Moreover, both had similar combat power of 25,000.

Though she was acting calm, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t curious.

She wasn’t trying to compare who was stronger.

‘What’s her relationship with the Black Mask?’

Rather, she was curious about her relationship with the Black Mask.

‘…I’m really curious.’

Do Eun-jeong, who couldn’t bring herself to ask and had been running silently, spoke up at some point.

“Um, I think we’re safe enough here? We’ve gotten far enough away.”

Han Sae-bom accepted Do Eun-jeong’s opinion without complaint.

“You’re right. It would be good to stop now. The people on our backs are having a hard time too.”

Han Sae-bom stopped running and let Jeong Hui-seon down.

Do Eun-jeong also let Choi Ah-yeon down.

Perhaps being carried was also tiring, as Choi Ah-yeon breathed heavily.

“Phew, sisters, how far did we come?”

“I don’t know, but at least we can’t see the mansion, so you can feel relieved.”

Though Do Eun-jeong said not to worry.

“No. It’s too early to feel relieved.”

Han Sae-bom gave an opposing opinion.

“The opponent is an S-rank tracker. No matter how much we hide on complicated paths, they can find us accurately. There’s no method other than getting as far away as possible.”

“Th-then do we have to run away again?”

“Yes. Right now we’re just taking a brief rest.”

At those words, Choi Ah-yeon sighed and looked dismayed.

Meanwhile, Jeong Hui-seon had question marks on her face.

“Um, hunters. I have something I’m curious about.”

“Please speak, ma’am.”

“I heard the explanation this morning, but no matter how I think about it, I can’t understand. Why would an S-rank hunter try to kidnap us? We don’t have any money?”

“We don’t know the exact reason either. We just came because we received a request for help.”

“From whom? That person called the Black Mask you mentioned this morning?”

“Yes.”

“That’s strange. We have no connection to that person…”

“He said you were a friend’s family.”

At Do Eun-jeong’s words, as if something occurred to her, Choi Ah-yeon made an “ah” sound.

“Mom, isn’t the friend that Black Mask person mentioned our brother?”

“Who’s your brother?”

“Um… would you know the name? Choi Seong-min.”

At the mention of Choi Seong-min, Do Eun-jeong’s eyes became like a surprised rabbit’s.

“You’re Seong-min’s family?”

“You know our son?”

“Of course I do. Our organization… ah, no, we’re hunting together as a family.”

“Oh my, is that so.”

Hearing they knew her son, Jeong Hui-seon’s eyes strangely lit up.

It was a look as if she was examining whether Do Eun-jeong was suitable as a daughter-in-law.

“Hunter Choi Seong-min… the Choi Seong-min ranked 2nd?”

At Han Sae-bom’s murmur, Do Eun-jeong nodded.

“That’s right. Do you know Hunter Choi Seong-min?”

“No. I just know the name. He’s famous for having 10 million combat power.”

“Is our son that famous?”

Jeong Hui-seon knew her son had become famous, but she had only heard it from the person himself.

She had never heard it from someone else’s mouth, so she was curious.

“Of course he’s famous. Having 10 million combat power isn’t as easy as it sounds. Moreover, Hunter Choi Seong-min is young yet has that level… everyone would be curious, right? How he hunted to be able to grow like that.”

Do Eun-jeong also nodded in agreement with Han Sae-bom’s words.

“But I didn’t know Hunter Choi Seong-min’s family would be right in front of me. And to think the Black Mask’s acquaintance is Hunter Choi Seong-min…”

Normally she would be happy to make connections with a famous hunter’s family.

‘The Black Mask’s network was this extensive… truly an amazing person.’

Han Sae-bom felt greater joy in learning about the Black Mask.

“Um, you said Han Sae-bom, right?”

Then Do Eun-jeong spoke as if now was the timing to ask.

“I’ve been curious since earlier, may I ask you something?”

“What… what would that be?”

“What’s your relationship with the Black Mask?”

When talk of the Black Mask came up, Han Sae-bom’s eyes changed.

“If it’s not rude, could you tell me…”

“Why are you curious about that?”

Han Sae-bom replied stiffly.

Was it because she thought she had to protect the Black Mask?

Her eyes were full of wariness.

“You don’t need to look at me like that. I’m not asking with ulterior motives. I’m just curious about what kind of relationship it is…”

“Then how about you speak first? What’s your relationship with the Black Mask?”

The atmosphere suddenly became cold.

Sparks suddenly flew between the two women’s eyes.

At the untimely battle of wills, the mother and daughter watching could only read the mood.

“Alright. I’ll speak first.”

The first to give in was Do Eun-jeong who had asked the question.

“The Black Mask has a cooperative relationship with us. In reality, we’re the ones receiving help. Personally, he also saved my life.”

Han Sae-bom seemed inwardly surprised at the mention of life-saving.

“Now, what about you? How do you two know each other?”

“There’s nothing special about knowing each other. I also… other than him being someone who saved my life…”

“Ah…”

Was it because they knew it was the same reason?

Only then did the wariness disappear from both women’s eyes.

There would be no one who would betray a benefactor who saved their life.

‘She was someone I could trust.’

‘Of course, the Black Mask wouldn’t lack the ability to judge people either.’

While looking at each other with such thoughts, Han Sae-bom was startled with an “oh no.”

“That aside, we don’t have time for this. We’ve rested enough, so let’s move diligently again.”

“Ah, I thought we could finally catch our breath…”

“It can’t be helped, Ah-yeon. They might chase us, so let’s hang in there a little more.”

Perhaps feeling sorry for the mother and daughter who had to run again, Do Eun-jeong gave an opinion.

“We seem to have come quite far already, so let’s rest a little more?”

“We don’t have time for that? The opponent is a tracker. If we dawdle, we’ll be caught up.”

“My colleagues are blocking at the mansion, so it should be fine.”

“Can you guarantee your colleagues can win?”

At the sudden question, Do Eun-jeong was momentarily speechless.

When she actually thought about it, she wasn’t confident Ryu Jong-ik and Gang Min-chan would win.

“I can’t be certain, but… still, couldn’t they somehow win? Our side has two people plus an S-rank…”

“The other side is also S-rank. Even if they’re outnumbered, the opponent is a professional who’s done this kind of work like eating meals. Do your colleague have much experience killing people?”

When she suddenly asked about murder experience, Do Eun-jeong shook her head vigorously.

“No. There’s no way they would have much…”

“That tracker probably has a lot of experience killing people. If he’s willing to kidnap without hesitation, that says it all.”

“……”

Han Sae-bom’s argument made sense.

She had been trusting in superior numbers, but thinking about it, it could actually be more dangerous.

“N-no… surely the Leader wouldn’t…”

“Have you heard the saying ‘what if kills people’?”

“……”

“Your colleagues might be in danger. So we have to run until safety is secured.”

Do Eun-jeong couldn’t imagine it.

The fact that Ryu Jong-ik and Gang Min-chan might die.

“Let’s go. Nothing good will come from staying still.”

When Han Sae-bom took the lead, the mother and daughter followed.

Do Eun-jeong looked back worriedly at the path they had come.

‘Leader, Captain… please be safe…’

Setting aside her worries, she joined the group.