Chapter 71

“I’ll accept the seven of you who survive as my teammates.”

‘!?’

The boys, who had been tensely waiting to see who Mok Gyeong-un would choose as his teammates, were dumbfounded for a moment by the words that came out of his mouth.

He was telling them to kill each other when the sun was about to rise?

‘T-This bastard?’

‘Seriously!’

From their perspective, they couldn’t help but be furious.

In the first place, they had stayed up all night until now to defend the flag.

But he suddenly appeared and was toying with the situation as if pulling out an embedded stone.

No, it was even worse than that.

“Are you seriously…”

Mok Yu-cheon, who had momentarily flared up like the others and tried to express his anger to Mok Gyeong-un.

However, the moment he saw Mok Gyeong-un’s face, he became speechless.

‘Ha……’

That face with the corners of his mouth raised up to his ears was enjoying this situation.

It was far from the feeling of a joke.

It was a face that seemed to genuinely wish for them to kill each other.

-Shudder!

With that realization, goosebumps spread from Mok Yu-cheon’s spine to his entire body.

Rather than questioning whether this guy was really that Mok Gyeong-un, it felt like he was looking at an existence filled with genuine evil.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.

“You have too much leisure. The sun seems like it will rise soon.”

The horizon in the eastern sky that Mok Gyeong-un was pointing at with his hand was dyed in crimson.

Everyone’s expressions turned grave.

It really seemed like the sun would rise soon.

‘shit.’

‘Do we really have to do as that bastard says?’

Right at that moment…

One boy couldn’t contain his anger and finally charged at Mok Gyeong-un, shouting.

“You son of a biiiiitch!”

The stone ax that Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave had thrown was gripped in the boy’s hand.

The boy, whose eyes had gone wild, didn’t care about the sun rising or not.

It was an impulsive action, feeling like he had to smash Mok Gyeong-un’s head with this stone ax to vent his anger.

However…

-Clang!

“Huh?”

The boy’s body froze, restrained by chains just three steps away from Mok Gyeong-un.

“T-This is…”

An alien sensation as if his whole body was bound.

Although nothing was visible, it was incomprehensible.

At that moment, the Green Soul Gyu Soha, who was reaching out her hand towards the boy, spoke in a chilling voice.

-Master. Shall I kill him?

Mok Gyeong-un shook his head at this.

It wouldn’t be bad for Gyu Soha to kill him, but there was no need to reveal that the Spirit Devourer had reached a level capable of killing someone yet.

Therefore…

-Thud thud thud!

“L-Let me go. T-This isn’t right.”

The boy restrained by Gyu Soha’s chains seemed to have regained his senses, trembling with a pale face.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un snatched the stone ax the boy was holding and raised it as if he would strike him down at any moment.

The boy pleaded in terror.

“Eek! I-I was wrong. I’ll do as you say.”

“You heated up like an iron pot and cooled down quickly.”

“Please spare me.”

“Then you should have targeted someone other than me.”

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un brought the stone ax down on the boy’s head.

-Splat!

“Urk!”

A grotesque scream flowed from the mouth of the boy whose head was crushed.

The expressions of the other boys watching this scene were a sight to behold.

They too had killed other boys to survive from the first gate until now, but that was ultimately murder for a purpose.

However, Mok Gyeong-un’s actions had a different nature.

‘C-Crazy bastard.’

It seemed like he was enjoying the act of killing itself.

A prime example was smiling so brightly while looking at the boy dying brutally with his head crushed, which was completely out of the ordinary.

“……..”

Overwhelmed by the pressure, the boys no longer had any thoughts of trying to do something to Mok Gyeong-un.

That was completely out of their league.

With the situation turning out like this, the first one to move was…

-Smack!

-Crack!

“Urk!”

Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave snapped the neck of a boy right next to him.

“You!”

The boys who followed Yeom Ga couldn’t hide their consternation at the betrayal.

Then Yeom Ga spoke in an irritated tone.

“Fuck. Are you going to play friendship games after coming this far? If you bastards want to live too, it’s best to do as that guy says.”

“Urk!”

There was no other way to deny it.

Charging at that bastard Mok Gyeong-un would be of no use, so to survive now, they had to kill each other until only seven remained, as he said.

-Swoosh swoosh!

“Sorry!”

“Gasp! Y-You!”

The other boys also strangled and ambushed the boys next to them.

The boys who were even a little slow became prey.

This wasn’t just limited to Yeom Ga’s side.

“Aaaargh!”

The boys who had been scattered and defending the flag in a semicircular formation also pounced on the boys next to them, throwing caution to the wind.

-Swoosh!

“Die!”

“Y-You too?”

“Shut up! Is this the time to argue about that?”

It was hard to admit, but Yeom Ga was right.

‘We entered this competition killing each other anyway, so what friendship at this point.’

They had to survive.

If they died, cooperation or friendship was of no use.

They had to make it into the seven before the sun rose.

“………”

Mok Yu-cheon, who was supporting Mo Ha-rang’s shoulders, bit his lip at this sight.

In an instant, everything felt futile.

Although they weren’t righteous individuals, the teammates he had shared life and death with for three hours to survive together had suddenly turned on each other to kill.

They were the ones who had said they would stick together until the end just two hours ago.

That’s why Mok Yu-cheon, who had thought that people were people no matter where they were, felt that way.

However…

“Die! Die!”

“Aaaaahhhh!”

“P-Please spare me. I-I helped you too.”

“So what!”

They were killing each other as if nothing had happened.

Everyone’s eyes had changed.

-Grip!

Mok Yu-cheon’s tattered nails from the steel bead competition dug into his palm.

All of this was because of that guy.

Because of that bastard, the place where they had competed by joining forces had suddenly turned into a bloody pandemonium.

He had turned everyone into beasts with only the instincts of the strong preying on the weak, not humans.

He wanted to knock that guy down if he could.

However…

‘……..Energy points.’

His energy points were sealed, and it seemed like Mok Gyeong-un was using some strange technique.

Recalling what happened at Yeon Mok Sword Manor, it was probably some kind of illusion technique.

‘shit.’

He didn’t want to be dragged around by that guy, but there was no other way.

For a moment, Mok Yu-cheon unconsciously glanced at Mo Ha-rang, whose shoulders he was supporting.

Then, as if realizing his mistake, he shook his head.

‘No.’

For a fleeting moment, he had unconsciously thought about killing her.

What had become of him?

As he was thinking this, he saw a boy approaching with murderous eyes.

“Huff…..Huff…..”

“Ma-sang.”

Mok Yu-cheon called his name.

He was one of the three who had survived with him from the beginning.

At some point, Ma-sang’s hand gripped one of the two stone daggers that Mo Ha-rang had.

-Grit!

Mok Yu-cheon clenched his teeth.

Having already stained his hands with a lot of blood on the way here, he knew well that there was no way to persuade Ma-sang in this situation.

That’s why he was so furious at this situation.

At that moment, Ma-sang swept his surroundings while exhaling rough breaths.

Then he opened his mouth.

“……..Yu-cheon. Cut off Ha-rang’s breath.”

“What?”

Mok Yu-cheon’s voice rose.

Thanks to Mo Ha-rang, they had escaped several crises, so he didn’t expect Ma-sang to tell him to kill her without any hesitation.

Moreover, didn’t she get injured while trying to help her teammates?

“No. Let’s leave Ha-rang and fight each other instead.”

“Huff….Huff….Stop talking nonsense and kill her.”

“I said no.”

At Mok Yu-cheon’s words, Ma-sang shouted,

“You son of a bitch! She won’t survive with her injuries anyway. In that case, even if we have to kill her, you and I should survive!”

With a scream close to wailing, Mok Yu-cheon muttered with difficulty.

“I know. shit, I know.”

But he couldn’t do it.

He could understand fighting each other and killing someone, but he couldn’t cut off the breath of this girl who was in a dazed state.

Then…

“Then I’ll kill her.”

With those words, Ma-sang charged forward.

At this, Mok Yu-cheon hurriedly put down Mo Ha-rang and blocked Ma-sang.

The guy had already killed another boy, so he had no hesitation in killing the injured Mo Ha-rang to survive.

-Swoosh swoosh!

Although his energy points were sealed, Mok Yu-cheon was called a genius.

He threw his body towards the charging Ma-sang, grabbed his wrist with the Seizing Hand technique, and twisted it back.

-Crack!

“Let go of that!”

Mok Yu-cheon urged Ma-sang to let go of the dagger gripped in his hand.

“If you don’t let go, your arm will break.”

“Aaaargh.”

“Ma-sang. Calm down. Let’s join forces and deal with the guys from the other team instead…”

Before he could finish his words, Ma-sang said with a sneer,

“Aaaargh. What are you going to do when the sun is rising? And even if it’s not me, it’s already too late.”

At those words, Mok Yu-cheon raised his head.

And there, he saw a boy charging towards Mo Ha-rang, who was lying face down.

It was also a boy who had been on the same team.

The boy charging with an apologetic expression had a rock in his hand, as if he was going to shatter Mo Ha-rang’s head.

“Stop!”

Mok Yu-cheon shouted urgently.

But it was already too late.

‘Nooooooo!’

The boy’s crude stone was just a step away from crushing Mo Ha-rang’s head.

Right at that moment…

-Clang!

‘!?’

The moment the stone was about to touch, the boy’s body froze in that state.

“T-This is……”

The alien sensation of something restraining his body.

It was that same thing as before.

-Thud!

“Ha…..Haa…..”

With the crisis averted at the last second, Mok Yu-cheon sat on the ground and exhaled rough breaths as if hyperventilating.

After being extremely tense, his breathing became uncontrollable as the tension suddenly dissipated.

If he had been just a little late, Mo Ha-rang would have died.

At that moment, the boy whose movements were restrained shouted as if possessed.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you say you’d give us a chance by fighting each other?”

He wasn’t spouting nonsense about sparing the injured or women, right?

As he was thinking this, a sound was heard.

-Clap clap clap!

He could move his head, so when he looked in that direction, he saw Mok Gyeong-un clapping his hands.

Wondering why he was doing that, Mok Gyeong-un said with a bright smile,

“Congratulations.”

“What?”

“The spots are all filled.”

At those words, the boy swallowed and looked around.

Mok Yu-cheon and Ma-sang, Mo Ha-rang and himself who tried to kill her, and Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave and two of his cronies had survived.

‘Ah!’

Forgetting how many of them had survived while trying to kill each other to reduce their numbers, they finally realized that only seven remained.

Human hearts were truly cunning.

“Haa…..”

“We survived.”

All of them who had been trying to kill each other until now had brightened expressions along with sighs of relief.

They were engulfed in the exhilaration that came from surviving the competition.

That exhilaration was so great that they completely forgot the fact that they had engaged in a massacre orchestrated by Mok Gyeong-un.

‘Interesting.’

The corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth twitched upwards.

He felt a small amusement at the sight of them.

At that moment, the sun was rising.

The mountains of Corpse Blood Valley, which had been shaded in darkness, slowly brightened under the crimson sunlight slowly poking its head out.

And with that…

-Swish swish swish swish!

Before long, as if they had been waiting, warriors wearing red belts appeared, displaying their lightfoot skills.

The warriors who appeared looked around, checking the flags and the survivors.

Then, their expressions stiffened as they discovered something.

‘!!!!!’

It was because of the giant monster wolf, no, the monstrous beast demon wolf, lying dead with its snout torn off.

‘……..Who on earth?’

This monstrous beast wasn’t released to be killed.

It was released for them to survive against.