The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 96: Hunter’s Night (2)

Perhaps humans had the ability to use foresight.

There were days when one had a strong, inexplicable feeling that something bad was going to happen, for example, like when one felt that a part they didn’t study for would be on the test often turned out to be true, or when someone’s body felt heavy, they would end up tripping over something as if by fate.

Today was exactly such a day for Kai.

I should be extra careful today.

At times like this, one had to be wary even of a falling leaf!

As Kai walked through the Silent Forest, he immediately stepped aside when he saw other players approaching from the opposite direction.

I shouldn’t give anyone a reason to pick a fight.

However, to cut to the chase, that decision was naive.

"Ow!"

Kai’s shoulders lightly bumped into someone else’s.

In real life, it would have been a minor incident where both would just apologize and move on. However, the other person screamed and collapsed as if they had stubbed their toe on a door frame.

The companions immediately scowled and started speaking.

"What? What happened?"

"Ahh, my shoulder... That jerk hit me!"

"What? Who are you?"

"How can you hit someone and not even apologize?"

The companions quickly ganged up on Kai. Their behavior was absurd, but the fact was that their shoulders did bump.

It wouldn’t have hurt that much though...

However, if the other person’s Strength stat was low, it could not only hurt but also cause damage to their HP.

Kai bowed his head. "My apologies. I wasn’t looking ahead."

"Do you think apologizing is enough?"

"If a simple apology would solve everything, why would we need police and laws?"

"...Oh."

Kai's brows furrowed. This was clearly a deliberate provocation.

Kai silently scanned them.

Who are these guys?

They pretended to be concerned about their friend, but none of them were actually helping them up. Instead, they spread out naturally, blocking Kai’s escape routes!

Although the reason was unknown, it was clear that the shoulder bump was no accident.

As soon as Kai realized this, his words were no longer polite. "That’s how you guys are gonna be even though I apologized? Okay, so, what, do you want monetary compensation or something?"

"What? Do you think we’re beggars?"

"How dare you talk to us like that!"

"Wait a minute, isn’t this bastard Unknown?"

"Oh, yeah, it is! Wow. So famous people can just go around hitting normal people like this, huh?”

"What’s going on here?"

Another party approached them nonchalantly.

"Melt, you’re just in time. This jerk hit me and then asked how much it would take to settle."

"Does he think he’s a billionaire or something?"

"Should I ask him for compensation of about a billion won?"

"Ahaha. If he pays that much, we might just let him off."

In an instant, the number of Kai’s opponents turned into eight people. Naturally, the encirclement around Kai was now twice as tight as before.

Which group are they from?

First, they weren’t from Black Bee. The Black Bee were a bunch of crazies who only accepted Wizards as guild members, so there was no way they would be going around threatening people with their fists, swords, or spears like these guys were.

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If it’s not them, then there shouldn’t be anyone who would hate me this much... Oh.

Suddenly, one person came to mind.

Wait a minute. Could it be Goliath?

The first thought that came to mind was that it was absurd. The only thing he had done to Goliath was kick him out of the chat room.

Would he really be this petty over that?

Kai found himself chuckling even at the idea of it.

... No way.

However, it was always best to be sure!

Kai, suppressing his nagging doubt, asked, “What business does the Titan guild have with me?”

As if they had all been electrocuted at once, the group flinched simultaneously! They looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

What? How does he know us?

Did you guys blab before we got here?

Nonsense. Can’t you see we even removed our guild emblems?

Then how does that bastard know who we are?

... Who knows?

Many questions were exchanged through their glances!

One man, who quickly collected himself, stuttered out a reply. “What are you talking about... You’re greatly mistaken. We don’t even know who they are.”

Then Kai responded, “Judging by your gear, you’re at least level 120. Are you saying you don’t know about the Titan guild, one of the world’s top ten guilds?”

“Well, of course we know, but... they have nothing to do with us.”

“Hmm... No, I’m pretty sure you were sent by Goliath.”

“No, we weren’t!”

“Then say ‘Goliath is a bastard.’”

“Ha! Goliath is a bas...”

“Hey, hey!”

A comrade’s elbow jabbed him roughly, making him clamp his mouth shut as he came to his senses.

Kai shrugged with a disappointed expression. “That’s too bad. I thought I caught an idiot.”

“Seriously. We’re not Titan guild members! Why don’t you believe us?”

“No, seriously, you guys are Titan guild members. Why don’t you believe me?”

Despite having dealt with many cases, this was the first time the Titan guild members encountered someone so unreasonably stubborn!

Their eyes turned cold as they judged Kai to be a lunatic. They exchanged glances and drew their weapons simultaneously.

“I’ve never met someone so unreasonable.”

“Wow, has there ever been a reasonable person when picking a fight? What, did you pick a fight with Buddha or something?” Kai retorted.

“... Anyway, you hurt my comrade, so you must pay for your sins.”

“Hurt? Your comrade is standing there perfectly fine with a sword, ready to hit me.” Kai scoffed at the absurdity of the situation.

“You sure have a lot to say!”

“He could probably talk someone’s ear off.”

With insults, the Titan guild members charged at him! Annoying as they were, their attacks were fierce.

Titan guild. They’re famous for their coordinated attacks,

Kai had heard rumors about the guild. The moment one joined the guild, they were placed in a team and received special training with their teammates, and that special training involved the coordinated attacks he was now facing.

Clang, clang, clang!

Kai’s sword deflected the two incoming weapons as fast as lightning. Then, Holy Chains shot out from his left hand!

“Huh?”

The Titan guild members, startled by the unfamiliar skill, were taken aback and retreated backward.

This created a slight gap and Holy Chain surged accurately through that opening.

Swoosh.

"Huh? What?"

The chain wrapped around the neck of the guy at the back. The moment Melt, the leader of team twenty-four, couldn’t contain his shock and his eyes widened, his body was yanked forward like a water skier tied to a motorboat.

"Kugh!"

"Melt!"

Bouncing on the ground, Melt was instantly dragged toward Kai.

Kai stomped on Melt's chest as he squirmed at his feet.

Crunch!

"Argh!"

When dealing with a group, take out the leader first.

Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy ensured victory even in a hundred battles.

From the moment the fight began, Kai identified the positions of his enemies.

Two of them aren’t immediately engaging and are observing from the rear.

One was a Spearman, and the other was a Wizard.

They were likely the highest-ranked among the group.

So, Kai decided to capture one of them. The one now pinned under his foot was the Wizard, Melt.

I need to make him lose his senses first.

Kai’s combat experience since learning swordsmanship was now considerable. In fact, since he always solo-played, he was well-versed in fighting against multiple opponents, and taking out the leader was a basic strategy, even against monsters.

Besides, these guys rely heavily on coordinated tactics.

Coordinated tactics involved each attack covering the others’ gaps, giving the enemy no room to breathe, but of course, poorly executed coordination was worse than none at all.

However, their coordination isn’t sloppy at all.

The Titan guild’s raid videos always received consistent applause when uploaded because their coordinated tactics always operated smoothly like well-oiled gears. Their movements in battle resembled a military dance, and the beauty of the entire guild moving as one living entity was visually stunning.

In that case, I need to jam the gears to the point where they screech to a halt.

What Kai was doing now was no different from inserting foreign material between the gears.

Kai pulled the chain backward while slowly retreating. With each pull, Melt was dragged along, and Kai kept stabbing him in the heart while keeping the others at bay.

"Kugh, let... let go...!"

"Damn it! Melt, we’ll avenge you!"

"What are you doing, you idiots? Ignore him and attack!"

At the command of Havir, the leader of team thirty-seven, the Titan guild members came to their senses. They quickly spread out and unleashed a barrage of skills.

However, Kai’s eyes, facing the danger in front of him, shined brighter than ever.

Their coordination has indeed loosened.

As mentioned earlier, the essence of coordinated tactics was timing and smooth execution. This required hundreds or even thousands of practice runs together.

Then, what if a situation unfolds that’s entirely different from the hundreds or thousands of times they’ve practiced?

Kai introduced just a slight sense of unfamiliarity and anxiousness—just enough they would feel that things were slightly different from usual—and that was enough to slow their movements.

Especially those two, their movements have noticeably slowed.

In an instant, Kai categorized the enemies into two groups, the malfunctioning gears and the still-functional gears, and launched his attack.

His targets were the still-functional gears. He needed to completely destroy them to cause the machine to malfunction.

Shh-clink.

“Argh, what kind of skill is this?!”

A Warrior swung his sword to deflect the incoming Holy Chain.

Of course, what Kai responded with wasn’t a kind explanation but a brutal sword strike.

Kai precisely thrust his sword into the small joint on the Warrior’s sturdy armor shoulder. Then, he quickly wrapped Holy Chain around the Warrior's neck and dashed through the dark forest.

“Huh?”

“Damn it! Get him!”

“Chase him!”

“But how is he so fast...?”

The Titan guild members hurriedly chased after Kai!

Kai, running with the Warrior tucked under his left arm, summoned another Holy Chain and wrapped it around his right hand.

“Wh-what are you do—Aaaaah!”

The Warrior’s question turned into a scream as Kai’s fist struck the sword handle!

Bam, bam, bam!

With Holy Chain wrapped around his fist like brass knuckles, Kai felt no pain. His punches drove the sword deeper into the warrior’s shoulder like a hammer driving in a nail.

“Ku... kugh...!”

The Warrior felt a chilling sensation of something burrowing deep into his body. Though it was just a game and he felt no pain, the disgusting feeling made the Warrior shiver.

The Warrior was tough because he wore high-defense armor, but Kai’s attacks ignored the armor and tore through his insides.

That should do it.

With the sword buried to the hilt, Kai gripped it and activated a skill.

“Flood of Blades!”

Whirrr!

The sword rapidly spun and the Warrior’s screams burst out immediately!

“Aaaargh!”

The Warrior violently twisted his body and screamed. His screams echoed through the forest, shaking the leaves, and only came to a stop when he became a heap of polygons.

Gulp.

The forest instantly fell into silence.

The Titan guild members, who had been closely chasing Kai, held their breath before the overwhelming violence.

“Henson’s down...”

“S-still, stick to the plan. Go now!”

Their voices betrayed their broken morale, but there was a reason why the old adage ‘better the devil you know’ held true.

As Kai moved back to create some distance, his brows furrowed.

When did they set this up...?

The solid wall he felt behind him was unmistakably Earth Wall as it definitely wasn’t there a moment ago.

Titan is indeed impressive.

There was no time to admire the Wizard's skills as a barrage of attacks was launched at him.

For the first time since the battle began, Kai felt a sense of danger!

“Tsk...”

Kai lightly clicked his tongue and used a skill in frustration.

“Ethereal Body.”