Episode 229: Hunt under anonymity
The young people of the village held a secret meeting.
Sitting together around several tables, they all looked unhappy as if they could not agree on something.
“Certainly it is not good to remain here. I made up my mind that I would leave someday, but I was suppressed by the rules and couldn’t speak.”
“Even now it is not too late. But we must hurry. Tomorrow, someone else…”
The conversation pauses for a moment on a heavy subject.
“But I’m a little curious about when the masked man appeared. If it’s someone else’s plan…”
In response to someone’s disagreement, a tough-looking young man punched the table.
“It doesn’t matter if you are uncertain! As you all know, it’s time to kill each other to get stronger! If you’re going to regret it after time passes, I’ll get out of this fucking island so you can do it alone.”
“Sleep, calm down. It is true that there is no time as you said, but it is also true that timing is subtle.”
“If that masked person, wouldn’t it be the guy who said he came from outside the sea anyway?”
“I’m not sure, but it probably is. But before we can figure out what his intentions are, the move must be a sure handshake.”
“…”
He also agreed.
So the conversation went into a lull again.
Then, a small figure suddenly falls from the air.
“That’s right, that’s me.”
Everyone gathered in the field took out their weapons in an instant due to the mysterious movement that appeared from nowhere.
“…a face I’ve never seen before. You are a foreigner.”
“To be precise, I am not an outsider. I am also the son of this town.”
“dog sound!”
A man of good build comes brandishing a large bastard sword.
The speed of the sword loaded with experience is so fast that it can be reached in just one blink of an eye.
When I lifted my index finger and gently pressed the side of the sword, the sword twisted and cut only the air.
In that one count, the difference in skill was clearly revealed.
‘strong!’
As the young man stepped back, Ray aimed at his neck.
Squeeze the neck with three fingers raised.
“Ugh!”
Raise a lot of mana and use the sword skill.
At first glance, the movement, which is like a sword dance, covers all directions and blocks the fingers.
But that one number made the difference between winning and losing.
It is the mana caused by the determination of Ray of the world.
He tried to pick up the sword and throw it away, but the sword that blocked his finger broke as it was.
Quaang-!
With a loud noise, the young man’s neck belt caught in Ray’s hand.
“Aagh!”
“I’m in a bit of a hurry because I don’t have time. When the mind is impatient, the body is sensitive. So stop rolling your eyes and lay down your weapon.”
As the carotid artery tightened, the young man’s painful groans resounded.
“Queuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…”
I don’t want to see the person I was talking with until just now lying around as a corpse.
They talked to each other with their eyes, then put down all their weapons.
Chang- Chaeeng-
“Is this enough?”
“He listens well to whoever he is.”
Despite the praise, the frown on his face did not improve.
‘You’re strong. I couldn’t even follow the last move with my eyes.’
In addition, he maintains a calm expression even in front of so many people.
Those gathered in the hall threw a tense gaze.
Whether he knew what they were thinking or not, Ray was repeating various thoughts.
He had been overhearing all the conversations so far.
However, as I listened quietly, there was no progress at all in the story.
This is why he showed up without a plan because he thought he would run out of time.
‘As expected, it would be better to solve it with a conversation rather than a fist. Let’s resolve it as peacefully as possible.’
Bo, who first punches when he is wrong, cried out for peace.
She threw the hair she was holding onto the floor and sat down in a chair.
“First of all, as I said before, it’s true that I did the masking work.”
“…wherefore?”
“That’s because I want to send you guys out.”
“You want to get us out? Then why did you do such a stupid thing? There could have been a way to meet and talk to us in person.”
“It’s stupid… isn’t it something to say about having a meeting like this because your heart was shaken by one or two words from a masked person you don’t know? Besides, if we had met and talked to each other in person, we would have only raised suspicion. Like a drug dealer who comes to your house and sells you medicine.”
“You mean everything was planned?”
“It was exactly what I had planned. I ruined it now because of you indecisiveness.”
“It sounds like there is no way.”
After looking around for a while, Ray raised his index finger.
“There is one more way left. All you guys are doing is protesting under the umbrella.”
At his words, they couldn’t erase their calm expression.
Looking back at each other, whispering and exchanging glances nonstop.
Affiliation.
It is the head of all lineages giving orders from above, and the dwelling place of those who cannot be disobeyed.
It must be crazy to protest against such a place.
Ray sighed as he looked at them, who looked frightened.
“This isn’t even a wet asshole.”
“Don’t insult me. You do not know the fear of Sanha.”
“Because you’re scared, are you going to keep quiet and not say anything? I’m going to stay on the island for the rest of my life and enjoy it for a hundred or a thousand years.”
A woman furrows her eyebrows at the grim talk.
“You know what. It is possible for anyone to just talk about a topic that has not been dealt with directly.”
Ray smiled at the words he had been waiting for.
“If you decide to oppose Sanha, I will take care of the rest. Is this enough?”
“What do you believe in?”
Doubt still remains.
If you don’t reveal your original identity, doubt loses its place.
I even wore a mask for that, but it ended up like this.
He decided to pamper himself.
“If you don’t believe me, just like you’ve always done, live on an island. Does Sanha have the right lineage to be a hero?”
The woman shut her mouth.
I felt like I was becoming a coward because I kept listening to it, so I felt ashamed of myself.
Because they were proud of themselves, those who could not overcome their shame began to make decisions one by one.
“…All right. I obey your will.”
“What else can I do but die? If I am going to die anyway, I will go outside and die.”
“I will join too.”
As more than half of them stood up for it, even those who remained eventually came over.
If you decided to ride the same boat, you are now an ally, not an enemy.
You may need to explain the situation.
‘There must be people who haven’t solved their doubts yet.’
As expected, there was one among them who spoke with suspicious eyes.
“…But why are you helping us? What good is it for you that we go out?”
“I intend to make you a hero.”
“…hero?”
People listened intently to those words.
“What do you think a hero is? Is it a hero to tear down a mountain with a single sword and shake off the earth with a spirit? No, saving others is what you call a hero. For example, the goddess Prias created you to save people from the ongoing war. If you dig deep into its essence, you can say that a person who saves people is a hero.”
Everyone nodded their heads at his words.
It’s a fact you already know.
It was something I had thought about thousands of times over the years, so the affirmation was quick.
Ray said, looking around with a serious expression like never before.
“If you go out, work under me. I use the same blade as I do now, but it’s more about saving lives than killing them. I want you guys to take on that role.”
I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but there’s an unbearable weight in the voice he speaks.
Each of them, lost in thought, responded with silence.
* * *
Waiting for the morning to bring the masked man into the mountain, I was drinking tea leisurely, when a messenger approached urgently.
“Come on, Elder!”
“What a fuss. Calm down and tell me.”
“The masked man has reappeared!”
“Mmm.”
“There are two of us this time!”
“huh? Two people!”
One of the elders stood up from his seat and shouted.
“What did you do without arresting me right away!”
“That’s it…”
He hesitates as if it’s difficult to say.
Then Hael sighed and said.
“Okay. I won’t tell you anything, so tell me.”
Encouraged by her gentle words, the messenger speaks.
“The movement is not normal… It is difficult for us to catch.”
“Ohhh…”
I suddenly wondered who the opponent was as it was difficult to catch even those of the instructor level.
“I don’t go out on my own. guide me You should be punished for making a fuss in a sacred place.”
A middle-aged elder chuckled and rose from his seat.
Then the messenger started guiding with a bright smile.
“Follow me.”
* * *
“My youth is too waste to rot in a place like this!”
Soyoung screamed in an embarrassed voice.
Although hidden from view by the mask, his face must have already turned bright red like a ripe tomato.
Several figures were running behind her.
“Stand there!”
“You look like this shameless bastard!”
“Noisy! I’m embarrassed too!”
If it had not been for the order of the attendant, I would not have done it even if I died.
A black spirit’s voice came from the other side of her.
“I want to go out! I heard that the girl outside is so pretty! I like tall girls!”
So-young, who reluctantly learned about the taste of black-young, screamed.
“Don’t go around bragging about that! This shameless bastard! It’s the number on the receiving end. It’s the number! Anyway, I want to go outside!”
Since he had a sincere desire to go outside, his innermost feelings came out even in his shouts.
Sincerity tends to attract people.
Those who were resting at their respective homes or training for tomorrow heard the cry and thought.
‘I wasn’t the only one who wanted to go out.’
I never talked to anyone because I was afraid of sanctions under my control, but not all of them did not long for the world outside the sea.
Not one person, but two people boldly brag about it, and the always quiet evening becomes noisy like a festival for some reason.
It lit a fire in the hearts of young people.
There was nothing to play on the island so far, so it wasn’t too much.
Moreover, since they always had to carry heavy fates and kill each other, their swollen hearts could easily burst.
There are people who want to join the late evening festival.
Several similar masked men in cloths ran everywhere.
“I actually wanted to go out too! And I like tall girls!”
“You too!”
“Everyone come out! This is so much fun! Ha ha ha ha ha!”
He runs around like a madman and screams loudly, and those who are attracted to him jump out wearing different cloths.
Now, the aspect of the masked person has become like a large-scale game of hide and seek.
Even the pursuers felt the joy without knowing it.
“Stand there, you bastard! ha ha ha!”
“What kind of a hero is a hero! I’m going to be a merchant! Ha ha ha ha ha!”
It was the moment when he played with the lineage of a hero who created modern ‘anonymity’ with just one mask.
It seemed that his sly laughter was coming from somewhere.
