Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 69

Episode 69 [ Seoul, Devil, Saint – 3 ]

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Lee Hyun-wook in his previous life was a ‘slow starter’. It took a considerable amount of time for him to discover how to grow his abilities and grow into a hero, so there were numerous incidents he had never experienced.

‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t know those events.’

Lee Hyun-wook made a painstaking effort to make up for his somewhat late start.

Capacity growth and combat training were natural, and acquisition of information and knowledge was also not neglected.

‘And he also worked in the Guardian Intelligence Department and collected all kinds of information.’

Thanks to this, he knew very well about the events that occurred before his actions.

He even contacted insiders of the villain faction and exfiltrated their information.

This was why he knew the villain’s movements in great detail.

But now, this was something I had never heard from anyone.

Hyunwook Lee looked at Saint Emilia Müller.

She is currently 27 years old and a striking beauty, but her appearance is now a mess.

A woman named Priest, one of the world’s best, actually appears to be somewhat sickly.

Rubby hair, dark eye shadow, bloodshot cheeks, cracked lips,

but now only the eyes were very clear.

‘…trying to see right through me.’

She seemed to be watching Lee Hyun-wook’s reaction as she mentioned the word ‘villain’.

To be honest, I flinched a little on the inside, but on the outside I looked puzzled.

Of course, it would be foolish to claim that you know this.

“Well, if you’re a villain… is it like a villain from a cartoon?”

In response to Lee Hyun-wook’s sly question, Emilia remained silent for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“Really… you don’t know? “Really?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure what a villain means.”

“Then have you ever heard of ‘Guardian’?”

“…….”

“Oh, if you were really the hero who stopped the 4th wave, you couldn’t have known this, right?”

I even know the correlation between Villain and Guardian.

And even the mechanism by which the ‘quest’ is activated…

As far as Lee Hyun-wook knows, this woman is neither a villain nor a guardian.

If so, it meant that the information was obtained in a different way.

“Yes, that’s right. A hidden quest to become a guardian appeared in front of me, but I declined.”

After killing Yang Joo-seop during the Seoul Station Unlucky event, a ‘hidden quest’ asking to become a guardian appeared, but it stopped. At that time, a warning message followed saying that if you refuse, you may not get another chance, and perhaps that’s why after the wave ended and the demon summoning was prevented. There was no news from Gamgam.

“Why? Doesn’t everyone know that quests are incredible opportunities? Why did you reject it?”

“I see the system as the culprit that ruined the world. I don’t want to play with it.”

“Ah… I’m very surprised that he’s an ‘anti-systemist.’”

As Lee Hyun-wook made a plausible appearance, Emilia nodded.

“Then is the president the guardian?”

I know it’s not true, but I asked like that.

“No, I was just… close to someone who was a guardian. Yes, so I thought you were a guardian and wanted to ask you something… but I ended up saying something in vain. “Fuck, forget what I just said.”

As expected, this woman has ‘special information’. But now I couldn’t ask what it was.

“Anyway, right now, it’s more important to monitor the ‘Wight Tree Guard’ that I asked you to do earlier.”

“…I guess the traitor inside is the ‘villain’ I mentioned earlier.”

She seemed to hesitate, but then slowly nodded,

“Yes, I will.”

“Who are the villains?”

Lee Hyun-wook pretended not to know anything and asked,

“That… I don’t know the details either. “All I know is that it’s a secret group trying to exploit the system to take over the world, and the person I trusted the most… was murdered by them.”

A little bit wrong. Rather than abusing the system, the system provides opportunities.

‘By the way, the person the saint trusted the most…’

Of course, it was Nicholas Steele, the squad leader of the Wight Tree Guard.

‘That man was one of the original members of the Guardian.’

He was also the first ‘Chairman’, but suddenly disappeared during a dungeon raid.

They said they searched the dungeon for several months, but could not find a body.

No matter how much you think about it, it was a very meaningless ending…

A few years later, after Gordon Price’s identity was revealed, it was revealed that it was all a ruse.

‘In other words, Nicholas discovered Gordon’s identity and gave the saint some advice.’

So the villains tried to get rid of Emilia, who knew something…

But as long as the big man named Gordon Price was in control of the Guardian, there would be nothing she could do… The best thing to do was to just hide and protect herself. It would have been.

‘This woman thinks I became a Guardian Candidate shortly after stopping the 4th wave, and was thinking of using me to gather information about Gordon Price? I was trying to do something.’

If you think about it, it must have been a struggle in a situation where a significant number of gambles were cornered.

“So, is that why the president usually behaves in a somewhat strange manner?”

“Well, I’m not really the type of person who fits the nickname ‘saint,’ but…”

She nodded, evading her words. As expected, the crazy behavior was just a disguise.

“Any crazy behavior that stands out should be outside of the Saint Dome .” I was trying not to make it. As long as I’m sane, will people leave me alone? “I’m sure they’ll call me the damned thing from all over the place.”

No one could kill the saint inside Saint Dome. This was because everyone who was allowed to enter Saint Dom had to receive a ‘sacred oath’ spell to prevent them from harming her.

In other words, no matter how villainous he was, he had no choice but to bring her out in order to assassinate her.

“…But I couldn’t ignore this incident.”

Hyunwook Lee nodded.

‘It’s a pity.’

There is this inside story, but the world ended up remembering her as just a crazy woman…

“But to me, who has never seen such an enormous thing…”

Lee Hyun-wook said as if it was a burden, and she said, He smiled and nodded.

“I’m sorry. Honestly, it’s a gamble. If I don’t gamble now, I don’t think I’ll ever have a chance.”

When no numbers were visible, a slight possibility emerged. First of all, it is clear that she is not a villain

, and she is an

unspoiled new face who runs ‘Hugin’, and she was ‘betting’ on Lee Hyun-wook.

“So can you do me a favor? Ha… I’m like this to you when I’m meeting you for the first time…”

She made a bitter expression for the first time. A sense of helplessness was evident.

She is one of only 31 known S-rank players in the world.

However, he cannot fight on his own… he must always be protected by someone.

‘It seems that there were not many people he could trust and rely on.’

Actually, the person she trusted the most died due to betrayal, and after that, she suffered assassination threats several times. She

even knew that there was a traitor within her, so it would have been a luxury to build up power…

Lee Hyun-wook looked into her eyes. He immediately smiled and nodded,

“Okay. Fortunately, it looks like you made the right bet.”

At those words, Emilia’s eyes widened.

“You can trust me, but…”

“Um, yes?”

“…You must continue to believe in me, not just today, but in the future as well. Wouldn’t there be many times in the future where I would receive help from that great saint? “I will definitely make you into debt today and collect it over time.”

Lee Hyun-wook was so confident that he made the request as if he had already succeeded.

Because…

‘I already know who the traitor is.’

From the beginning, I was planning on punishing them even if she didn’t ask for it.

Emilia looked at Lee Hyun-wook blankly and nodded slowly.

“Okay, as much as you want. I actually feel more comfortable in a business relationship—hiccup—”

Emilia hiccuped again and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I said something nice… Hiccup! Ugh… Well, anyway, if we go out, everyone will be really curious about what we talked about, right?”

She picked up the whiskey bottle again.

“A crazy, lustful saint fell in love with the story of the hero who stopped the wave and seduced him, but she never achieved her goal. How about that? People won’t be horrified and ask more questions, right?”

Then, he undid a few buttons on his blouse.

Lee Hyun-wook looked embarrassed for the first time.

“No, is that… a reasonable excuse?”

“Why would I do something crazy? Do you know the psychological term ‘freak score’?”

“What do you usually disguise yourself as?…”

“Are you curious? When I can really trust you, I can tell you more.”

As she said that, she staggered over and helped Hyunwook Lee up.

“It will stick together a little more naturally.”

Then, he leaned close to Lee Hyun-wook’s right arm.

‘It seems like the idiot-like appearance isn’t entirely a lie…’

After the conversation, when the two people came out of the VIP room,

Woo Seong-moon and Peter, who were waiting in the hallway, frowned at the same time.

“…Ah— Peter! I guess I’ve become less attractive these days—!”

She irritated her tongue-tied voice.

“Yes? What is that…”

“I tried to get some hero energy before casting a wide-area spell, and it worked!”

Peter Clark, leader of the Wight Tree Guard, blushed at those words.

“Ha… Emilia please—you are the face of Saint Dom.”

With a sigh, he came over and placed a large hand on the top of Emilia’s head.

Then, golden light powder fell out from his grasp.

Huuu——

That was a magic that recovered from the ‘purification’ state and could even detoxify alcohol.

“Ah. ! “I told you to please stop casting a purification spell on me…”

Emilia, who had completely sobered up for an instant, drooped her shoulders and looked as if she had lost the will to live.

Lee Hyun-wook looked at her and was impressed by her acting once again. I was impressed.

“Now you need to get ready to cast Holy Field. “You need to come to your senses.”

“Ha… okay…”

Emilia muttered and looked at Hyun-wook Lee.

At the same time as the Holy Woman’s operation to purify Seoul, an operation to hunt down villains within the White Tree Guard began.

***

Secret footsteps were gathering towards the officetel construction site on the outskirts of Seoul.

They were counterintelligence agents belonging to the Player 3 Team of the National Intelligence Service and

were special agents specializing in anti-player espionage warfare.

And a little distance away from there, a black van was parked in an alley.

– …Hey, Team Leader Won! If you go in alone, you’ll die!

“Ha……”

– Please, please. The Black Tiger suppression team will arrive soon, so just wait until then!

“Damn it, Director! Then didn’t I tell you I’d miss it! “How many times has it been already?”

Player 3 team leader Won Jin-su got angry like that.

His team was tracking Kaito Okita, the ‘Red Player’ known as the Sword Saint Assassin.

A few days ago, he entered the country illegally through Busan Port.

Since then, as huge incidents have occurred one after another, its existence has been somewhat forgotten, but

their tracking operations have continued without interruption.

However, there were more than one time when I wanted to catch this guy’s tail

, but each time, he just disappeared.

‘I wondered how on earth he could do that…’

After investigating the scene, the ‘Shadow Link’ skill, or ‘Shadow Baron’, was also involved.

‘This is not normal! If we don’t catch it quickly, something really big will happen!’

A combination of the ‘Shadow Baron’ and the ‘Sword Saint Assassin’… they were truly perfect assassins.

‘Inevitably, someone dies. That’s a huge giant…’

We have to stop them at all costs.

Won Jin-soo, who was in charge of this case, had no choice but to be impatient.

“Everyone, listen carefully. There is nothing we can do. We have to catch him.”

He ignored the director’s orders and headed toward the officetel building holding a shield.

He entered the building very stealthily.

“Okay—now we’re launching the drone.”

A magic drone with a silence spell flew around and observed the inside of the building, and

found a man sitting cross-legged inside the building, which was still only a skeleton.

Won Jin-soo confirmed the scene through ‘goggles’ connected to the magic drone.

‘……It’s a bastard!’

The man sitting cross-legged inside the building…

Kaito Okita was hit.

‘What the fuck are you doing in someone else’s country!’

He gulped down his pickaxe and sent out a hand sign commanding ‘entry’. With him as

the leader,

as many as 24 player agents climbed the stairs.

But of course, they would not be able to subdue the infamous Sword Saint Assassin.

‘Still, I can hold out until the suppression team of the Black Tiger unit arrives.’

Won Jin-su was a B-tier 1 tank ranked 194th in the Korean player rankings.

‘No matter how fierce his attack is, it’s not unreasonable to endure it for a few minutes.’

Before I knew it, I had reached the 6th floor and was in front of the door where the guy was.

Won Jin-su kicked the iron door.

bang-!

The entire door was knocked over, and Won Jin-soo put his shield in front and went inside.

In the darkness in front, I could see the guy still sitting cross-legged.

12 out of 24 agents worked in unison and surrounded the guy who entered.

Don’t move!”

Soon Okita Kaito slowly opened his eyes.

“Okita Kaito! You are completely surrounded! If you resist, you will be reduced to powder!”

In addition to the 24 players here, there were 3 sniper players aiming at him.

“…….”

He stood up, raising both hands above his head.

‘…What?’

This was a bit surprising. A clear intention to surrender. Isn’t this a very pure surrender?…

Won Jin-su felt an uneasy feeling for some reason and tightly gripped his shield.

“…He has surrendered. I will restrain him with a magic square.”

But then the guy’s right wrist slowly twisted and took the form of ‘grasping’ something.

“Fuck Kaito! Don’t move! “Move a little more—”

The assistant team leader standing to the right of the guy stopped mid-sentence.

Okita Kaito’s right hand fell to the floor before he knew it.

And in his hand was a sword.

‘When the fuck did you get the idea?’

Even though Won Jin-soo didn’t take his eyes off him, he couldn’t discern its movements at all.

The next moment, the bodies of three people, including the deputy team leader standing to his right, collapsed.

Clap——

Two heads rolled into his line of sight.

One of them was the head of the deputy team leader.

‘…Subspace Baldosul!’

The art of pulling out a sword from subspace and cutting down the enemy at the same time.

That was the sword that cut down the swordsman Guk Pyo-seong that I had only heard about.

“Snipers—what are you doing—!”

But there was no response.

Whoosh—— Whoosh——

At that moment, the bastard’s sword moved twice more and several more people fell to the ground.

Blood spattered on Won Jin-su’s left cheek, but he still looked straight ahead.

‘Head . If you turn, you die.’

Soon, the guy’s gaze landed on Won Jin-su.

Then he took a step forward and swung his sword. It was

an attack with a surprisingly honest trajectory

. ‘—It can be blocked!’

Won Jin-su moved forward and gave his shield the ‘Spearhead’s Will’ skill. A

shield strengthening skill that could withstand even a troll’s blow. The moment the two metal pieces were about to collide,

‘…is it gone?’

The sword disappeared from his grasp.

Yet his hand continued to move as if swinging a sword.

And the moment its trajectory passed the shield, the

sword

reappeared

in his grasp .

It disappeared for a moment, as if blinking, and then came back.

‘ Ah, sub-space…’

Won Jin-su understood the true meaning of the sub-space attack technique.

But that was his last thought.

The blade passed over the shield and touched the nape of his neck.

C——–!

That was the end. Now that

Won Jin-su was dead, the rest were easy prey.

In just a few seconds, all 24 heads ran away.

And right after that…

Shhh——

Something rose up from within his shadow and quickly took the shape of a human being.

Gray It was a man wearing a mask, and he was holding a blood-soaked dagger in both hands.

That’s right, he had taken out the snipers.

He looked around the place once and was amazed.

“Don’t you have a strange obsession with beheading everyone? ”

“……”

“By the way, this time, will you be nicknamed the Saint Assassin after the Sword Saint Assassin? Haha—” As the

gray masked man asked that with a chuckle,

Okita Kaito slowly turned his head and looked at him.

It was a cold expression that showed no emotion.

He put the knife he was holding in his right hand into subspace and walked toward the stairs.

“…The title of Sword Master was passed down solely through sword-to-sword competition, and now it is mine. I am… not a sword saint slayer, but just a sword saint.” ***

While the final preparations were in full swing ahead of the deployment of the Holy Field, Lee Hyun-wook activated ‘Hugin’.

Giiing——

The round sphere instantly turned into an engineering crow.

– ‘Hugin’ is activated and ‘all senses’ are expanded by up to 50 times.

* Mana reduction per second: 24〜120

Hugin took flight and everything in the area came into his senses.

‘Sense expanded by 50 times. This is truly an incredible ability. am.’

He returned his vision to his own body and lightly moved his body.

He could feel every single detail of

his heart shaking, blood flowing, muscles fluttering, and lungs swelling very clearly.

The ridiculous increase in ability was why it was overwhelming. Penalty:

An item that is virtually impossible to use during battle.

‘But I can.’

He slowly took out the Unsa Amsu from behind his back and held it.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s been quite a while since I last swung a sword properly.’

Ever since he woke up from the past, he has engaged in a type of firefight based on his control over metal.

However, Lee Hyun-wook was a talent recognized by Choi Young-jun, a man who would later be called the Sword Master.

In fact, he was most confident in hand-to-hand combat wielding weapons.

‘That guy Kaito Okita even said. Even if it penetrates my firepower…’

Lee Hyun-wook slowly moved the tip of his sword.

‘…I can block it.’