Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Special Training （3）

Jo Han-byeol’s response was swift.

Even when Kang San launched a surprise attack, without even blinking, he untied something from his waist and threw it.

Pang━!

It was a flashbang.

Simultaneously.

“Eye Strength Enhancement.”

Jo Han-byeol’s gaze accurately followed Kang San.

Even as the world turned white, he grasped Kang San’s location and immediately fired three arrows in succession from right in front of him.

Pakpakpak━!

Kang San raised his shield.

His vision wasn’t perfect due to the flashbang, but his senses, honed in the dark space, captured the direction of the arrows. In truth, if it had been just Jo Han-byeol alone, the bow would have been snapped in half before he could have fired the arrows. In a volatile situation where they were intertwined, there was someone who had interfered with Kang San first.

“Slow, Hold.”

It was Yeon Woo-bin.

Yeon Woo-bin’s magic bound Kang San, and while Jo Han-byeol counterattacked, Jeong Chan-woo instantly blocked the front.

It was perfect teamwork.

Kang San might not know, but they hadn’t just been playing around while waiting for him.

For about three months, they had honed their individual skills to the limit, and for the remaining three months, they had improved their teamwork through dozens of raids. There had been countless crises during that time. Since there had been so many instances where Jeong Chan-woo had been taken to the hospital, they didn’t waver even when Kang San suddenly broke their formation with his attack.

It was familiar.

They knew what to do from now on to bring down a powerful individual.

“Chains of Suppression.”

Clatter, clatter.

Something shot out around Jeong Chan-woo.

A 3-star skill, no less.

Kang San quickly dodged the attack, but the magically created chains wrapped around Kang San’s torso like a snake.

Target designation skill.

It was unavoidable.

And due to the skill’s effect, Kang San was temporarily restricted from moving beyond the length of the chains. Overwhelming stat differences were needed to break the skill. Even though Kang San had gained C-rank stats, the difference between him and Jeong Chan-woo wasn’t overwhelming enough to immediately break the chains.

Jeong Chan-woo’s skill was the signal.

Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin reacted immediately.

“Rain of Blood.”

“Magic Eye, Salamander’s Breath.”

Papapat.

Hwaruk.

Hwarururururuk.

Both of them.

Used the most powerful skill they could.

When Jo Han-byeol fired an arrow into the air, it split into dozens of arrows as if a flare had been launched, and then rained down on Kang San. Yeon Woo-bin’s magic also unleashed a powerful flame. The magic, enhanced by Magic Eye, spewed out fierce flames, trying to wipe out Kang San’s existence in an instant.

It was unavoidable.

They didn’t consider Kang San’s safety.

Knowing that they couldn’t win with a half-hearted attitude, they judged that healing was a problem for later.

This series of events.

‘Amazing.’

Kang San was impressed.

He acknowledged it.

Jo Han-byeol, Yeon Woo-bin, Jeong Chan-woo.

They had grown.

Their interlocking teamwork was at a level where they could immediately pass the C-rank test.

However, that was all.

Kang San’s experience didn’t make him despair in this situation.

Same space.

Different world.

The world looked different to Kang San’s eyes.

In the empty space where others saw nothing, he could see a crimson killing intent pouring down like rain.

Clang.

Clang, clang.

The chains hindered his movement.

It didn’t matter.

In the limited space, Kang San showed the minimal movements necessary to avoid the rain of arrows.

Pak━!

An arrow grazed his face.

That was the beginning.

Dozens of arrows rained down on Kang San in succession, but he deflected them all by a hair’s breadth. It was the same with Yeon Woo-bin’s magic. While dodging the arrows, when a powerful flame struck, Kang San summoned a Dummy to block the flames initially and then blocked the residual heat with his shield.

Crackle.

Crackle, crackle.

His armor caught fire.

Yeon Woo-bin’s magic momentarily showed B-rank firepower, but residual heat like that couldn’t bring down Kang San.

To be precise, he avoided the area where the firepower was concentrated.

Due to his extremely trained killing intent, Kang San could choose the damage he would receive.

And immediately.

Pat.

He kicked the ground.

“Huff. Guardian Shield.”

Jeong Chan-woo reacted urgently.

His mind was in turmoil.

He had used a one-hit kill combo that concentrated firepower momentarily, but Kang San seemed fine.

Pang━!

An arrow was fired.

Grasping the direction of the killing intent, Kang San dodged the arrows fired in succession and pushed Jeong Chan-woo back. Bang, bang, with the exploding attacks, Jeong Chan-woo gritted his teeth. It definitely hadn’t been like this before, but it wasn’t easy to endure with the drastically increased stat difference. And after a few rough movements, the effect of the chains disappeared, and Kang San attacked Jeong Chan-woo and then quickly changed direction.

‘Right.’

Jeong Chan-woo’s gaze followed.

Since the chains were gone.

He judged that Kang San would attack Jo Han-byeol.

So, he tried to move while holding up his shield, but his eyes met Kang San’s in mid-air.

“Blood Demon Sword Technique, First Style: Blade Kill.”

Flash.

Kwang━!

“Kuagh.”

Suddenly, an attack struck.

The right was a feint.

He overwhelmed Jeong Chan-woo with overwhelming destructive power, and Jeong Chan-woo, who wasn’t prepared, couldn’t help but be shaken.

Meanwhile, Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin’s attacks continued.

However.

They just didn’t land.

Super Sense was truly a cheat-like skill.

To the one who was already receiving attacks at the forefront, telling him the direction of the attacks and giving him the option to dodge or respond was nothing short of a disaster for the rear dealers. No attack worked. Even as Jeong Chan-woo was collapsing, he tried to hold onto Kang San, but it was already too late.

Hwarururuk.

Flames engulfed him.

Kang San pierced through the flames.

Hook━

“……!”

Just like that, he pounced on Yeon Woo-bin.

Crack.

Jeong Chan-woo stared blankly at the ceiling.

Pain surged from his bruised and swollen face, but what was important to him now wasn’t that kind of pain.

“……Is this for real?”

He couldn’t understand.

The opponent was only one person.

And he was a Tanker, at that.

Even considering only the surface level ranks, he was on par with himself and Jo Han-byeol, and Yeon Woo-bin was a C-rank, one rank higher than them. Considering the numerical advantage as well, it was a fight they should have won. Of course, he knew that Kang San was a skilled person who couldn’t be categorized by rank, but even so, he hadn’t thought they would be completely destroyed like this.

He was stunned.

Dozens of arrows.

Surging flames.

The sight of Kang San enduring even as he was pressured with the Chains of Suppression was surreal when he thought about it again.

Kang San approached.

“Everyone worked hard. When I momentarily dug into the space, Woo-bin’s debuff, followed by Han-byeol and Chan-woo’s responses, were all good. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to improve.”

“……Things to improve?”

Jeong Chan-woo looked at Kang San.

Yeon Woo-bin and Jo Han-byeol also had blank expressions, just like Jeong Chan-woo.

“Firstly, Chan-woo’s defending was excellent. You didn’t break easily, and you even created space for your teammate’s attacks, which perfectly matched the concept of teamwork. The problem is that you’re weak against feints. When I intentionally induced certain intentions, you were easily swayed. It could be a problem arising from the stat difference between you and me, but even so, it’s not good to dismiss mistakes you repeatedly make as unavoidable problems. Watch your opponent until the very end. And if you can’t respond just with movement, apply your current situation. Even if I give you a complex feint, in the end, it will lead to the conclusion that the situation indicates.”

“……Yes.”

He nodded.

He could only agree blankly.

Kang San’s explanation continued.

He also told Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin what mistakes they had made and what areas they needed to improve.

This series of events.

‘Ah.’

Jeong Chan-woo inwardly admired him.

This was it.

When he raided with the party assigned by Cheonsang, perhaps because they were of the same rank, they hadn’t shown any signs of supplementing his shortcomings. Kang San was different. There was a lot to learn. Even though they had clearly done their best, he told them how to improve further. Since they were taking this kind of person as their role model and moving forward, he wasn’t tempted even when decent parties made recruitment offers.

Kang San said,

“The lecture is in two days. Let’s work on our teamwork until then.”

“Then, does that mean you’ll continue with us?”

It was Jeong Chan-woo’s question.

Hadn’t Kang San said he would judge based on their skills?

Kang San smiled.

“Of course. With the level of teamwork you’ve shown, there’s no reason for me to be dissatisfied.”

The past six months.

The hardships they had endured felt like they were melting away for Jeong Chan-woo.

At that time.

Project B Team was conducting training.

They hadn’t rested for a single day since the internal meeting was decided, but the expression of the team leader, Min Yeong-gi, didn’t improve.

“Let’s take a short break for now.”

“Yes.”

He left the training ground alone, trudging along.

Entering the break room, Min Yeong-gi plopped down and looked up at the ceiling.

“……At this rate, we’ll definitely lose.”

Just a moment ago.

They had invited an external team under the guise of sparring, and even though Project B Team had won, he wasn’t satisfied with the process at all. It had been a more intense match than expected. The opponent had aggressively disrupted B Team’s defensive line, and from that point on, B Team, with its firepower that included three Mages, couldn’t help but be shaken.

They had won in the end.

But thinking about Team A, whom they would soon face, he knew very well that they couldn’t hold out in their current state.

‘Jo Dong-jae. There’s no way to stop that guy.’

Team A’s leader.

A Warrior like Min Yeong-gi, he was individually skilled enough to be on the verge of B-rank promotion. So, he was always compared to Min Yeong-gi. They said that a team follows its leader, and since there was a skill gap between the leaders, no matter how hard B Team trained, they couldn’t catch up to Team A.

Perhaps that’s why.

Whenever they conducted joint training, Jo Dong-jae would always approach Min Yeong-gi and sneer.

Team A and Team B.

He agreed that they had to be rivals.

But Jo Dong-jae always looked down on Team B, and recently, he had even apologized for the current situation.

Because the outcome was obvious.

B Team’s defeat.

Min Yeong-gi gritted his teeth at the fact that they could no longer exist as Project B Team.

“That can’t happen.”

Honestly, he didn’t know anymore.

Even if they weren’t a project team, his Hunter life wouldn’t end, but Min Yeong-gi had a dream he’d harbored since joining Cheonsang, the best management company. He would definitely become the best. But he didn’t want a scenario where he crumbled in a mere internal competition within the project team. There were countless skilled people outside, and if he couldn’t even overcome someone like Jo Dong-jae, it felt like he would never reach the dream he envisioned.

He caught his breath.

He replayed the past training sessions in his mind.

Now was the time to think about the areas that needed improvement and develop, rather than dwelling on negative thoughts.

That’s when it happened.

A familiar voice came from the door.

“You were here?”

A woman leaning against the door.

She was Jeong Hye-mi.

For a moment, Min Yeong-gi couldn’t control his expression.

“What did you just say?”

Kang San.

He truly acknowledged his abilities.

Min Yeong-gi and the members of Project B Team knew how outstanding Kang San was, and that’s why they had felt regret when he was absent for six months. That’s how effective his lectures were. When they felt they were still lacking, they would even discuss among themselves, recalling what Kang San had said at that time.

Even so.

The words Jeong Hye-mi had just uttered were hard to accept.

“Why, don’t you like it?”

Kang San, right after finishing the sparring session.

Had sent a message to Jeong Hye-mi.

The content was this.

“It’s not that. Training with Kang San-nim’s team is fantastic. But a 6 vs. 4 match? There’s even a difference in ranks between us, isn’t this too much of a mismatch?”

6 vs. 4.

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.