LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Kang Jin-hyuk activated his skill and checked the Karma levels of the men who had followed them inside.
“They’re all over 300…….”
Just by looking at their Karma levels, the assumption that they were in cahoots with the man who approached Lucia gained more credibility.
“Why didn’t I see these guys on the street?”
“Because they were watching you from a place that’s not easily visible, like an alley.”
“How did you notice that?”
“Don’t assume my senses are on the same level as you humans.”
The reason why Elves don’t get lost in the intricate, maze-like forests is because their senses are several times more developed than humans.
Even though Lucia was a Half-Elf, she inherited many of the Elves’ strengths.
It was impossible for anyone to escape her sight unless they were far away, even if they hid themselves.
“Have you been waiting long?”
The brown-haired man returned with a cocktail.
If someone who didn’t know the situation had seen him, they would have only seen a handsome man approaching with a friendly smile.
However, from Kang Jin-hyuk’s perspective, who could see the Karma levels, he couldn’t accept it with a smile.
Kang Jin-hyuk stared at the cocktail the man was handing him and then stood up.
Lucia noticed that his expression was serious, as if he was about to start something.
‘What? Weren’t you going to just watch for a while?’
She hinted that he was already planning to make a move, but Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t stop.
He walked over without hesitation and held out the cocktail he had picked up to the brown-haired man’s face.
“What did you put in this?”
The brown-haired man gasped and backed away at the sudden question asked in a blunt tone.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t miss the cold sweat dripping down the man’s forehead.
Normally, he wouldn’t have been so suspicious, but now he had numbers he could see with his own eyes.
Knowing this, Lucia also stood up, following Kang Jin-hyuk.
“Did you see something?”
Kang Jin-hyuk nodded.
“The numbers increased the moment he handed over the drink.”
“Then it’s as good as over.”
While Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia were talking about something only they knew, the men who had noticed the strange atmosphere started to move from the nearby tables.
“Tell me honestly what you mixed in the drink.”
“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
When the brown-haired man shouted as if he was being wronged, the attention of the surrounding people focused on them.
However, Kang Jin-hyuk wasn’t intimidated because he had something he could definitely trust.
“Then drink it.”
The brown-haired man looked at the cup being held out to him and clicked his tongue.
“Hey, you’re really annoying.”
Erasing his bright smile and turning serious in an instant, the man turned around and kicked out.
The heavy kick landed hard on Kang Jin-hyuk’s side.
Kang Jin-hyuk, who weighed the same as an average man, flew over 2 meters due to the sheer force of the kick.
Seeing him crash into a table and fall, the brown-haired man became arrogant.
“Why did you act up when you’re nothing special? You should’ve just stayed down.”
The brown-haired man smirked at Lucia.
His smile, devoid of any pretense, instinctively felt disgusting.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, drink that and go to sleep.”
“I guess you put sleeping pills in it?”
“Kkkkk, you’re pretending you don’t know when you caused this whole scene.”
The brown-haired man turned his head and scanned the customers who were looking their way.
Taking a deep breath, the man shouted at the five or six customers.
“What are you staring at! Get out of here now if you don’t want to die!!”
Startled by the loud shout, the people hurriedly gathered their belongings and left the bar.
When the people left, the remaining men firmly locked the door to prevent anyone from entering.
“I thought it was weird that you followed us so obediently like fools.”
They thought they were lucky to have a beautiful woman fall into their trap.
The brown-haired man didn’t like the way things were going.
“It seems like you came here on purpose…… Who sent you? Are you cops?”
The brown-haired man mistook Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia for people who had been following them.
“Stop shutting your mouth and answer me. What are you doing here!”
“There’s something I want to investigate.”
Lucia’s answer turned the man’s misunderstanding into conviction.
“I knew it…….”
When the brown-haired man nodded, the other men surrounded Lucia, forming a circle.
“Hit her without damaging her face. It’ll lower her value.”
The men who received the order closed in, ready to pounce at any moment.
Lucia, who was about to pull out the dagger from her pocket, stopped when she felt a stir nearby.
Standing calmly without taking any particular stance, she smiled sweetly.
“I’m not planning to sell her, so go ahead and hit her face.”
Before the brown-haired man could ask what nonsense that was, Kang Jin-hyuk jumped out from the broken table first.
It was too late to react after seeing him.
Kang Jin-hyuk, who approached like lightning, swung his fist before the brown-haired man could even move his hand.
The fist, flying straight along the shortest path, pierced the center of the brown-haired man’s face.
With a thud, blood splattered, and the man flew to where the bartender was.
The brown-haired man, who collapsed after shattering the displayed liquor bottles, showed no signs of getting up again.
“I guess that’s the new skill you got.”
Lucia was focused on the red energy surrounding Kang Jin-hyuk’s fist.
That energy was clearly different from Holy Power or Mana.
Holy Power felt more defensive, and Mana felt more balanced overall.
But the aura that Kang Jin-hyuk was showing seemed to have a strong offensive aspect.
The fiercely flickering aura looked like a living beast.
“I didn’t want to test it out on a human for the first time.”
A Hunter’s job was to hunt monsters, not people.
Furthermore, since Kang Jin-hyuk had killed a person for the first time not too long ago, hitting a person felt even more repulsive than usual.
“Then I can step in. That was the deal from the beginning.”
Taking care of the humans who were attacking instead of her.
That was one of the conditions Lucia had presented to Kang Jin-hyuk in order to go outside.
But Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t readily leave this matter to her.
It wasn’t for childish reasons like wanting to act manly or not wanting to watch from behind a woman.
“No.”
“Why?”
“You’re planning to kill all these guys.”
Instead of denying it, Lucia playfully stuck her tongue out.
Kang Jin-hyuk sighed.
As he had expected, the killing intent she had shown wasn’t a bluff.
“I’ve never left anyone who targeted me alive. If you don’t want to see these guys die, try your best.”
Lucia showed a chilling smile, saying that she would immediately rip their throats out if he showed even the slightest sign of weakness.
It was clear that the men around them would be the ones getting their throats slit, but Kang Jin-hyuk felt a chill as if he was the one being targeted.
“This is crazy.”
It was ridiculously funny that he had to step up himself to prevent these human scum from dying.
‘But it’s still better to keep them alive and get information…….’
Kang Jin-hyuk tried his best to think positively.
Unaware of Kang Jin-hyuk’s feelings, the men rushed in with scowls on their faces.
“What the hell are these bastards saying!”
The men were very displeased with the attitude of the two, talking about killing or not killing right in front of them.
Moreover, since he had knocked out the brown-haired man with a single blow, they had no intention of showing mercy.
“Die!”
Kang Jin-hyuk ducked, and the fist thrown with full force hit the pillar instead.
The sight of the concrete pillar shattering with a loud noise proved that the men weren’t ordinary people.
“As expected, they’re all Hunters.”
He had roughly guessed it since he was hit by the brown-haired man.
Kang Jin-hyuk lamented the fact that these so-called Hunters had gathered in such large numbers to target a single woman.
“If you’re Hunters, you should be hunting monsters…….”
“We would if there were any monsters to hunt!”
“Do you know our situation and still say that!”
It was truly ridiculous to hear the men speak as if they were venting their frustrations.
“And this is what you chose to do, you crazy bastards!”
A normal person wouldn’t think of resorting to crime just because their circumstances were bad.
Their words, as if they were victims, were nothing but absurd nonsense.
Perhaps because he realized that these men were beyond redemption, Kang Jin-hyuk’s limbs naturally gained strength.
“Ugh!”
The man screamed and stumbled backward as the fist he had thrust out with all his might was blocked by an elbow.
Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t miss that opportunity and drove his left foot into the center of the man’s abdomen.
He wanted to kick the solar plexus, but he decided against aiming for vital points as it could be dangerous in many ways.
Thump!
A heavy thud echoed as the man with a bulky physique collapsed, as if an earthquake had occurred.
That sound boosted Kang Jin-hyuk’s confidence and instilled tension in the remaining men.
Anxiety began to fill the minds of the remaining men, wondering if they had chosen the wrong target to fight.
“D-Damn it! What are you doing against just one guy!”
“Everyone, attack him at once!”
Seven men charged at Kang Jin-hyuk simultaneously from all directions.
Lucia hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should help, but stopped when she saw Kang Jin-hyuk’s composed expression.
‘Hmm~ Looks like he’s confident.’
It wasn’t hard to understand when comparing Kang Jin-hyuk with the other men.
The difference between someone who could control their aura and someone who couldn’t was stark. It was natural for him to be confident even when outnumbered.
‘I guess they’re starting to realize that difference firsthand.’
From ancient times, spirit was crucial in battles.
No matter how skilled someone was, they couldn’t demonstrate their full potential if they were intimidated and hesitant.
Considering that, it was a good mindset to recognize that he was stronger than his opponents and move confidently.
‘But it wouldn’t be good if he gets too carried away and becomes careless.’
Lucia’s worries were dispelled as Kang Jin-hyuk carefully countered each of the men’s attacks.
The way he deflected and blocked attacks with the most efficient movements couldn’t be seen as careless at all.
At the same time, Lucia felt that all the hard work she had put Kang Jin-hyuk through in the dungeons had paid off.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
The men whose attacks failed were hit before they could even regain their balance.
Although they were men who could get up easily even if hit by a bull thanks to their stats, the impact they received from Kang Jin-hyuk was beyond what they could endure with sheer willpower.
Those who fell once couldn’t easily stand back up on their two feet.
Some managed to get up, but they were hit with follow-up attacks before they could even make a fist, sending them crashing back down.
The men groaning and writhing on the floor didn’t seem like they would attack again.
However, they could attack from behind at any moment.
Taking advantage of the moment of respite, Kang Jin-hyuk caught his breath and observed the situation.