The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter : 105

Thud-!

The troll's severed head and the leg that Hanbit had cut off fell to the ground. The misshapen creature collapsed.

"The golden bracelet wasn't useless after all," Jinuk grunted, wiping blood from his sword. It was the tone of someone who had been forced to acknowledge their opponent.

With a light landing, he surveyed the area. "So, what's this all about? Why are the monsters swarming in like this?"

"It's just the monster anomaly surfacing. Weren't there signs?"

"What kind of signs? You could search the entire history of Ifrit and not find anything like this."

Jinuk frowned, annoyed. His words weren't entirely wrong. It would have been difficult to predict the wave through ordinary investigations.

But this guy was the kind of person who would ignore a second wave even after experiencing this. Maybe he was just a bit slow.

"Anyway, I'll handle the rest, so get lost, outsider. I'll pay you what I owe you."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? You're gonna rely on that bracelet again...?"

Bang-!

Suddenly, a loud crash came from behind Jinuk. He spun around to see the corpse of the troll he had just defeated.

"...What the hell?"

Jinuk doubted his own eyes. The headless creature was pounding its fists into the wall. A knocked-out soldier was sprawled on the ground beneath it.

Bang-!

Kwang-!

"What kind of monster is that!"

Jinuk leaped forward and approached the creature.

Swoosh-!

He swung his sword, severing the troll's arms. But the creature continued to pound the wall with its stumps.

Thud-!

Jinuk grabbed the soldier and quickly returned to his position.

Bang-!

Kwang-!

The wall continued to be pounded. Coincidentally, there was a crack where the soldier had hit it.

Moreover,

Thud-!

Thud-!

Other trolls, still in a frenzied state, began to gather.

"Tsk."

Jinuk made a quick decision. The only thing he could do immediately was to eliminate them.

Swish-!

Swoosh-!

He planted his feet and quickly cut off the heads and limbs of the creatures.

But the situation didn't improve.

Sensing the danger, he shouted, "Mages! All of you, over here!"

"What? There are still areas we need to clean up!"

"Shut up and come here! We need to burn them or something!"

He issued orders while swinging his sword.

Hanbit, who had been fighting with his sword, stopped.

At that moment.

Crack-!

A sound that shouldn't have come from the wall echoed.

"Damn it..."

Jinuk, covered in monster blood, sensed something amiss.

Crack-!

Crack-!

The glass wall, constructed with special materials and techniques, was cracking. A crack like that was enough to bring down at least one section.

Crack-!

The next sound was louder.

And when the troll, which had been pounding the wall, struck again.

Clang-!

A section of the wall collapsed.

"It's broken!"

"Get out of there!"

The panicked extermination squad quickly retreated from the wall.

Countless shards of glass rained down.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-!

The completely collapsed wall formed a mound. The scattered glass shards were merely stepping stones.

"Guild Master Jinuk! What are we going to do...?"

The panicked extermination squad turned to their leader.

But the most shocked was the man himself.

"Everyone, out."

Hanbit stepped forward at the perfect moment. In his hands, the sword glowed with a blue-white light. A violent whirlwind of flame raged around it.

Thud-!

Hanbit planted his foot and leaped high. If he attacked from the ground, it would affect the inside of the breached wall.

The best angle was...

'Now.'

Swish-!

In mid-air, Hanbit swung his sword. A massive blade of wind flew along its trajectory. The power he'd gathered over a long time was immense.

Swoosh-!

Kwa-kwa-kwa-!

The monsters struck directly by the sword were split and crushed, meeting their end simultaneously.

With a single attack, he had cleared all the monsters moving towards the gap in the wall.

-Crazy. lol

-Is this right?

-He's at the same level as me;

-The monsters must be so pissed.

[Goblin has donated 1,000 gold.]

[Developer. A balance patch is urgently needed.]

"What, what was that?"

"What did he do?"

"He just swung his sword, and that happened?"

The extermination squad gaped in shock at the massacre. Even Jinuk, who had been stiff, could only watch with wide eyes.

Flare-!

The flames were still hot. Landing, Hanbit kicked off towards a part of the wall where there were no soldiers.

Whoosh-!

A giant flame swept away the monsters on one side.

Wiping his sword, Hanbit looked at the shocked extermination squad and said, "What are you doing? Hurry up and finish the rest."

* * *

The subsequent wave was cleared without much difficulty. Thanks to Jinuk and the other members of the extermination squad, who had regained their composure, and the fact that the effects of the enhancer on the trolls had worn off.

Swoosh-!

Jinuk, who had cut down the last goblin with his sword, remained still. His sword, drooping towards the ground, reflected his mood.

'It fell apart cleanly.'

Immediately after the situation was resolved, everyone's gaze turned to the collapsed wall.

The crisis of Ifrit, which had never come before, had finally arrived. It was a natural reaction, as the defense they had firmly believed in had been breached for the first time.

'Well, it’s a good start.'

Hanbit's goal was to create a sense of crisis. To inflict damage on the city so severe that it would leave an unprecedented impact. The result of targeting the wall was more than satisfactory.

"Hey!"

A furious voice called from a distance.

Turning his head, he saw Jinuk approaching angrily.

"What?"

"You know something, don't you? Tell me!" Jinuk shouted, his sword drawn. His expression was full of anxiety.

It wasn't that he was truly angry. He just wanted someone to blame.

'He has talent, that's for sure.'

Jinuk, who was only 20 years old, had great potential and strength. But because of his talent, he had grown into an arrogant person.

Fortunately, unlike the mayor, Pirnen, her younger brother had the potential to change.

To do that, he needed to experience failure, limitations, and the harsh reality.

"What do I know? I'm being attacked by monsters too."

"Don't be ridiculous! How could you fight so calmly? For a D-rank adventurer?"

Jinuk mentioned his adventurer rank, having apparently investigated him secretly.

But it was an inappropriate measure for Hanbit, who had little activity as an adventurer.

"You shouldn't judge someone based on their rank. The golden bracelet couldn't be ordinary, could it?"

"You must be doing some kind of political maneuvering! I don't know who's backing you, but it won't work!"

"Instead of wasting time arguing, think about what to do about the next wave. It might be worse than this."

"What? Don't say such nonsense..."

"What's going on here?"

Just as the argument was about to escalate, a voice came from the breached wall.

"...Sister."

Jinuk turned and saw Mayor Pirnen. His head drooped listlessly.

Thud-

With a sigh, Pirnen stepped out of the city, looking uncomfortable. The attendants behind her looked around wide-eyed.

"I've heard about it, but it seems you've helped with this attack. As the mayor, I would like to thank you,” Pirnen stopped in front of Hanbit and said, straightening her collar. It was a polite greeting, but only as much as necessary.

"It was a coincidence. I was just talking to the dwarves in the village."

"...The village doesn't seem to be in good shape. Are they all dead?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"They should be fine. But rebuilding the village will be difficult."

"I see."

Her response was devoid of any emotion. It was as if she were dealing with a mere nuisance. In fact, she didn't even glance at the north where the dwarven village was located.

"More than that, I'd like to hear the details. How did the wall collapse?"

"...I'll explain," Jinuk stammered, under his sister's sharp gaze. Although he spoke slowly, he accurately conveyed what had happened.

"Trolls? You mean to tell me that mere trolls broke down the wall?"

"They weren't ordinary trolls! They were tougher and more tenacious than undead monsters!"

"Trolls are trolls. It's disappointing that you, the guild master, were struggling against monsters."

"...I'm sorry."

It was a conversation that was too cold for family. It felt purely hierarchical.

"So, you, Black Dragon, were the first to discover this?"

"That's right. Well, more like they popped up all over the forest at once."

"...I see."

Nodding, she turned her gaze back to the wall.

Watching her, Hanbit spoke up.

"Attacks like this could happen again. Wouldn't it be better to reinforce the wall properly?"

"Thank you for your suggestion, but Ifrit and our experts know this wall best. We won't fall for the same trick."

Pirnen spoke with a faint smile, but her eyes were not smiling. It was a warning for the outsider not to overstep his bounds.

"Jinuk."

She called her brother's name and gave him an instruction.

He knew what it meant without having to hear it.

'She's going to say we're going to search.'

What filled Pirnen's mind was the monster anomaly around Ifrit. To solve it, they would have to cut off the root.

It seemed like a natural course of events, but the wave wasn't caused by pure natural selection.

"Are you finished talking?"

Hanbit, who had waited for the two to finish their conversation, approached and spoke.

Pirnen, with a composed expression, returned to her businesslike manner.

"We've finished what we needed to. Oh, and I need to talk about the reward."

"Can I replace the reward with a suggestion?"

"A suggestion...?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

It was a strange, unpleasant mixture of caution and exploration.

"You're going to repair this wall, right?"

"Of course. It might be difficult right now, but we can reinforce it."

Pirnen nodded, as if it was obvious.

Seeing her, Hanbit continued with his planned words.

"Then how about letting the dwarves repair it?"

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]