The Regressors are Trying to Kill Me

[Translator - Hestia]

[Proofreader - Kaya]

Chapter 14

I suppressed all my emotions, from love and hate to doubt.

The self-proclaimed Regressor group were all former rankers.

There was nothing I could do by meeting them now.

In my current weakened state, it was time for rational decisions.

I moved to the outskirts of the ridge, lying flat on the ground for cover.

My plan was to slip away amidst the chaos once the battle started.

The Iron Blood Legion hunters came up the path diagonally to the right.

"It's a flood! Estimated at over 10,000!"

"Prepare for battle!"

"Request reinforcements from the Holy Church! The mobs here are all ghost types. They're a terrible matchup for us."

I tried to use the skill I'd just acquired to assess the situation.

"Oh Constellation."

【"If you're thinking of joining the fight, you can step over me. I'm against this whole thing."】

【Your constellation 'Sunny' lies flat on the ground.】

A bitter smile crept onto my face.

"I know my own condition. I just want to check the situation. Will Dullahan's Gaze consume a lot of mana?"

【"That skill isn't combat-oriented, so I can support it 100%. Enjoy the show."】

"Thank you."

I used 'Dullahan's Gaze'.

A fist-sized fireball rose up without draining my mana.

Whoosh!

A vertically slit eyeball was embedded in the center of the fireball.

Considering the possibility of being mistaken for a ghost and attacked, I hid Dullahan's Gaze atop a dense tree and looked down at the battlefield.

Ghost knights on skeletal warhorses were engaged in a fierce battle with the Iron Blood Legion hunters.

The Iron Blood Legion guild actively utilized magic engineering technology and had many Gunner-class Awakened.

Their combat gear, unlike that of ordinary hunters, had a cyberpunk feel.

Plasma energy glowed within tubes inserted between ceramic armor plates, and coil gun rounds and hyper-vibrating knives tore the ghosts to shreds.

Flash!

It was the overwhelming firepower I remembered.

But despite blasting away dozens of ghosts with each strike, the tide of battle was turning against them.

"They're not dying!"

"Hold on! Just hold on until the guys from the Magic Tower arrive!"

"These bastards, physical attacks aren't working!"

This was why hunters hated ghost types.

It was also why the 'Ghost Princess's Castle', despite having an average mob rank of C, was classified as a Grade 2 Gate.

The standard-bearer of the Iron Blood Legion grimaced.

At that moment, a man standing among the large hunters at the rear stepped forward.

I recognized him instantly.

"Lee Eunwoo?"

For a moment, my concentration wavered, and 'Dullahan's Gaze' almost went out.

【"You know him?"】

"Yes. I taught him too..."

【"The swordsman stabbed you in the heart, and this guy shot you in the head."】

"...That's also true."

Lee Eunwoo, ranked 7th in Korea, 'Mr. Pistol'.

A Gunner with a halo of a black diamond and a blue diamond half-overlapping.

A man with a cold impression, sharp jawline, and subtly long dark brown hair.

An Awakened who embodied both intellect, with his black suit and thick-rimmed glasses, and decadence, with his flashy red and blue aquamarine earrings.

He was not only an exceptional hunter but also the rising star who had elevated the Iron Blood Legion to one of Korea's top 5 guilds.

"Focus fire in 12 seconds for 4 seconds. Then, we'll fall back 80 meters."

After giving instructions through his earpiece, he drew a pistol from his waist and aimed it forward.

Ching!

With a clear metallic sound, the illusion of a sleek mechanical giant rose behind him.

Green lights blinked rhythmically between the glossy black armor plates.

Lee Eunwoo pulled the trigger of his pistol and uttered an incantation.

【"Oh, God of Machines!"】

Bang!

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With a single gunshot, the machine behind him opened fire.

Ziiiiing!

A green laser beam knocked a ghost knight off its horse.

Whoosh!

A sleek rocket tore a phantom apart.

Flash!

A railgun round shattered a Dullahan.

Even the God of Machines was a god.

The ghosts hit by Lee Eunwoo's skill, imbued with divinity, could not revive.

The charge of the ghost knights was momentarily halted.

"Now's our chance!"

"Fall back!"

The Iron Blood Legion hunters quickly retreated.

Lee Eunwoo, too, breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew with his subordinates.

But I felt an ominous premonition, one that had always proven true.

Poooooo!

A second charge horn blared.

A ghost knight with a banshee adjutant stretched out its hand.

An Aitel notification popped up, indicating the arrival of a high-ranking opponent.

【Warning! Warning! Warning!】

【Ghost Princess's Champion (B)】

The fog that had shrouded the castle began to creep towards the city.

"Kyahahahaha!"

"Kekeke!"

Within it, banshees, wraiths, ghosts, and phantoms swarmed.

The ghost knights and Dullahans at least had some semblance of physical form, but these didn't.

They were literally the Iron Blood Legion's worst nightmare.

Bang!

A hunter from the Iron Blood Legion looked back with an expression of disbelief.

"You, you!"

His partner hunter was grinning wickedly, about to pull the trigger of their coilgun at his back.

The partner hunter's eyes glowed with a sinister green light.

【Status Effect: Possession】

Similar scenes unfolded across the battlefield.

"Protect the Leader!"

"Hey! Snap out of it!"

"Healing potion, no! Get the holy water!"

"Bring out the Spirit Barrier flag!"

The Iron Blood Legion hunters scrambled, wary of each other.

The possessed hunters stabbed their comrades with hyper-vibrating knives or even put gun barrels in their own mouths and pulled the trigger.

I turned Dullahan's Gaze towards the forest.

The ghost knights— regrouped, were preparing to charge once more.

At their forefront was the Champion of the Ghost Princess.

It had a white handkerchief tied around one wrist, and in that hand, it held a longsword.

The longsword looked sharp enough to cleave through the Iron Blood Legion hunters' heavy armor in a single strike.

Saaaaa.

The moment the white handkerchief on its wrist glowed, the Champion's longsword blurred.

I used 'Observe' once more.

【Champion's Sword (Rare)】

【Ghost Princess's Handkerchief (Heroic). A handkerchief bestowed upon her Champion by the Ghost Princess. It possesses the power of concealment, making what should be seen unseen.】

The sword was 'Rare', but the handkerchief was a 'Hero' grade item.

I imagined the Champion and the ghost knights breaking through the Iron Blood Legion hunters and pouring into the city.

Countless spirits would possess the non-Awakened and drain their life force.

Eunwoo wasn't the type to abandon his subordinates and the citizens, so he would die alongside them.

When he pointed his gun at me, I felt my blood run cold.

But I didn't want to see him and those hunters die.

I had seen the news.

After my death, all the rankers had supposedly holed up in their guild buildings.

But Eunwoo, at least, had answered the crisis alert and rushed here on time.

He was one of the ones I had taught.

My disciple had acted as I taught him, and I couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

If I could take down the Champion, it would be a huge help.

With that as a turning point, he could surely pull off a comeback.

And if my disciple, who even killed me once, couldn't manage that, then he deserved to be expelled, dead or alive.

I quietly got to my feet.

My mana had recovered slightly.

'Law of Light' was out of the question, but with the Constellation's help, I could probably use four or five skills.

"Oh, Star."

The Constellation replied in a pleading tone.

【"Must you really do this in your condition?"】

"I want that handkerchief. With that, I might be able to conceal my halo even while using mana, right?"

【"I'll give you a thousand of those handkerchiefs later. Please, let's just go back now."】

"I beg you."

I pleaded back.

【"..."】

And my Constellation was always weak to my pleas, and the challenges that followed them.

In truth, it seemed like they wanted to see it.

* * *

Lee Eunwoo, amidst the ongoing battle, felt the ground rumble beneath his feet.

Thud thud thud thud—!

The stones on the ground shook and bounced.

'They're coming.'

He couldn't see the ghost knights due to the thick fog, but the thunderous sound of hooves was clear.

"Teams 1, 3, and 5! Continuous fire on the front line! Pour it on!"

With his sharp reasoning, he came to a single conclusion.

'This is our chance.'

The trembling ground meant the ghost knights had materialized, and if they were materialized, bullets would work.

The Iron Blood Legion hunters could easily wipe out mere C-rank monsters.

But the situation wasn't favorable.

"It's impossible!"

"Too many of our teammates are possessed!"

With the banshees leading the evil spirits, their ranks were half-collapsed.

Lee Eunwoo acknowledged that the enemy commander, the Champion of the Ghost Princess, had strategized well.

'We shouldn't have come here alone from the start.'

Ideally, the 'Magic Tower' or the 'Holy Church' would have sent hunters capable of wide-area blessings or anti-ghost enchantments.

If they had coordinated with such hunters beforehand, they could have not only defended but also pushed through this Gate entirely.

However, after Hong Baekya's death, all the rankers in Korea were on edge, refusing to step outside their guild buildings.

Even the production guilds that manufactured consumable artifacts had shut down.

Lee Eunwoo suddenly thought of the saying, 'what goes around comes around'.

'I told him so many times that we needed to keep him alive at least until we reached the 90th floor...'

Regretting not having dissuaded him more strongly was pointless now.

Lee Eunwoo turned to his adjutant and asked.

"When will the reinforcements from the Holy Church arrive?"

She replied with a scream.

"3 minutes and 25 seconds!"

After a brief moment of thought, he gave the order.

"Fall back once more."

"What? There's nowhere left to retreat!"

"I'll hold them off. It's the most efficient way."

Click.

He transformed his pistol into a service rifle using his exclusive weapon's 'Shape Transformation' ability.

"Thanks to my title, I can damage spirits too. We don't have to die here."

Thud thud thud thud—!

The sound of the skeletal warhorses' hooves drew near.

The Iron Blood Legion hunters panicked.

"Fall back!"

"No! The City Hall is right behind us!"

"If we're breached, it's all over!"

At the forefront of the ghost knights was the Champion, its blurred longsword emanating a chilling aura.

"Leader!"

Ignoring his adjutant's scream, Lee Eunwoo charged forward.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a 'Flame Arrow' shot out from the side.

'Huh?'

The arrow flew past him, heading straight for the 'Champion of the Ghost Princess'.

Its trajectory was aimed precisely at its eye.

Thwack!

However, the Champion of the Ghost Princess raised its left hand and caught the arrow in mid-air.

The Flaming Arrow fluttered like a fish within the gauntlet of its left hand.

["How pathetic...!"]

The moment the Champion clenched its hand, trying to crush the flaming arrow...

Boom!

A fierce explosion erupted, and the Champion's entire hand was blown off.

'A hunter?'

A hunter appeared where the flaming arrow had been.

They emerged from the explosion that destroyed the Champion's gauntlet, landing gracefully atop the head of a skeletal warhorse.

Their left hand pressed down on the Champion's right shoulder, preventing it from swinging its sword, their movements smooth and natural.

The thick fog made it difficult to see their halo clearly, but it was red and disc-shaped.

Their high nose bridge, glimpsed in profile, seemed strangely familiar.

'No, it can't be...'

Seeing the technique and the halo, Lee Eun-woo thought of his recently deceased mentor and comrade.

Crack!

The unidentified hunter thrust their hand into the Champion's gauntlet, reaching into the center of its armored torso.

They seemed to have targeted the spirit core within the armor and detonated a flame, as fire briefly erupted from the gaps in the Champion's armor.

Whoosh!

"Kaaaaak!"

The Champion of the Ghost Princess stiffened.

The unidentified hunter embraced the Champion and threw themselves under the horse.

Unable to overcome their momentum, the ghost knights trampled their fallen commander.

Crunch!

The Champion of the Ghost Princess was crushed beneath the hooves of its subordinates.

The unidentified hunter tried to roll away with a breakfall but was struck by a hoof and collapsed, getting trampled along with the Champion.

"Ah."

Lee Eunwoo gritted his teeth in frustration.

Whoever they were, if they used flames, they were likely a physically weak mage or psychic-type.

Being trampled by that many warhorses meant certain death.

As he mourned the promising hunter who could have become a ranker with proper growth...

Boom!

Another explosion erupted.

It was far more intense than the first.

The ghost knights were sent flying into the air— horses and all.

The charge, momentarily halted by the commander's fall, finally came to a near standstill.

"!"

Lee Eunwoo realized this was their chance to turn the tide.

"Now! Fire!"

The Iron Blood Legion hunters, having barely managed to regroup, aimed their guns at the materialized ghost knights.

They were exceptional gunners, capable of piercing through dozens of C-rank monsters at once.

"Keeek!"

The ghost knights desperately tried to turn ethereal, but...

Bang! Tatatat! Tatatatatat!

The coilgun rounds were faster than they anticipated.

Hundreds of ghost knights were torn to shreds in a single volley.

"Nice!"

"Maintain formation and retreat!"

"Someone get the Leader!"

"Don't ever do that again!"

As Lee Eunwoo was dragged away by his furious adjutant, he looked back at the spot where the unidentified hunter had been.

A single hunter.

A single intervention.

Yet, it had turned the tide of the battle in an instant.

Their actions reminded him of the hero they had killed not long ago.

'They couldn't have survived...'

Then, Lee Eunwoo saw it.

Amidst the corpses of the ghost knights.

The unidentified hunter was untying the Ghost Princess's Handkerchief from the Champion's wrist.

[Translator - Hestia

[Proofreader - Kaya]