Chapter 1039 – How to Be Late

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Tadat! When the sound of urgent footsteps rang out, the fallen leaves beneath my feet got caught up in my feet as I stepped on the ground and rose upward.

And, as the sound of the wind followed behind with a ‘wheeing’ sound, the fallen leaves were moved by the wind from their original positions and ran together, following the back of the person who had run away.

Often, there are times when people compare the running of fast-paced people to ‘running faster than the wind’ –

Yuni, who is a natural runner, uses her physical abilities to the fullest to the point that even those who use such metaphors feel embarrassed.

In fact, you could see the mountain moving with the wind behind it.

However, unlike her energetic and running movements, her mind must have become dark and stuffy, as if a dark cloud had formed over her.

It was only natural, since she had heard that someone was trying to kidnap her group.

Therefore, when she heard Cleon say from behind her, ‘I will follow you on my own,’ she trusted him and sprinted to the side of the group.

The distance from the top to where her group was, even if you ran in a straight line, was quite a distance.

If Cleon didn’t match her steps, she would be in position for less than ten minutes at her moving speed.

“Haa… Haa…!”

However, breathing becomes steeper.

Even though she was a unicorn, it was natural that her body would reach its limits if she sprinted downhill without stopping.

Since I had to go through routes that were impossible for humans to begin with, such as jumping between large cliffs or jumping from a high place, the burden on my body was even greater.

But there was a reason why I had to reach it that way.

In the end, they arrived at the cliff overlooking their nest and finally stopped, calming their hearts that felt like they were about to burst.

‘Deep breath… Deep breath…!’

Uni, who had somehow calmed her pounding heart, put her hand on the tree right next to where she was standing and turned her gaze towards their ‘ground’ that was finally visible.

And there.

“Thank goodness… Hey…”

Yuni could breathe her sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there was no sign of an invader in the territory where her group was located.

Animals gathered next to a huge spring to drink, and others taking a nap a short distance away.

Including the children who were filling their stomachs with the food they had gathered, this place was now a peaceful home for animals.

There was no trace of misfortune to be found in this place, where the druids were sure to be happy to see them interacting with nature.

After Yuni confirmed this, her legs relaxed, and she sat down, as if she was glad.

“Haaa…!”

Significantly, and as if he was feeling a little discouraged.

After letting out a sigh as if all the tension in her body had been released at once, Yuni lightly leaps and falls to the bottom of the cliff.

Since the height wasn’t that high, her light fall relieved the impact on her body and she ran toward her group mates.

“Guys!”

The sight of her running and waving her hand and her voice were no different from the sight of her parents when they found their lost child.

That’s probably proof that she cherishes them as her family.

And her demons, who pricked up their ears and responded to her voice, stopped what they were doing to welcome her and came towards her.

[Unnie Uni! You’re back!]

With its long tail wagging, the giant wolf-Marang ‘Dyer’ was like a pet dog welcoming its owner.

[He didn’t come back, so I thought he might have gotten caught in some bushes and couldn’t come out. She said the others should go look for it, but since it’s not uncommon for uni to get lost in the side streets, I kept a close eye on her. Ah, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t worried, anyway, I’m glad you came back…]

Even Tweety, a small blue bird that is so rare that it is said to be an auspicious sign to even catch one’s eye, but in fact is said to be extremely talkative, foul-tempered, and nervous, was seen climbing onto Uni’s shoulder and approaching her first.

Their voices, which might be just chirping or crying to a human, were clearly heard by Yuni, a fellow demon beast.

Just like that, Yuni is enjoying being back with her family as she sees the magical beasts gathering around her in an instant.

However, even for a moment, she immediately remembered the reason why she returned here in such a hurry.

“Everyone, you need to get ready to leave here right now.”

Uni will skip the detailed explanation of the situation and first tell everyone that.

Then, Nemeia, a lion with a body larger than that of a human being, asked Yuni a question.

[Why? There is no place as safe as here. There were no attacks from those strange monsters for a while.]

The demon beasts will nod their heads at her words, as she has the second-largest say in this group after Uni.

“Actually, I met a guy who could be said to be the leader of those monsters at the top of the mountain and heard his story. A little while ago, you felt the guardian shoot an arrow, right?”

When Yuni asked that, several demon beasts with a good sense of her magical power, including Nemeia, nodded.

[Yeah, it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve been shooting so excitedly.]

[Well, it’s obvious just by looking at it. Also, humans who don’t know how to risk their lives must have come to the cave and started a fight. I’m sure if we wait a bit, the guardian will take care of them and throw the human corpses outside the cave. Then, we can pick it up and eat it. It’s been a while since I’ve had enough to eat, right!]

[Tweety… I don’t really want to eat humans.]

[What kind of picky eater are you when it comes to wolves! Do you know that meat is common in these mountains!? If you don’t want to eat it, don’t eat it! Because there are a lot of guys who want to eat it! Right, Nemeia?]

[Sigh…]

In response to Tweety’s busy chatter, Nemaia just sighed and shook her head.

[The story is going the other way, Tweety. Listen to Uni’s words. So? What story did you hear, and what is the connection between the Guardian shooting the arrow?]

Yuni nodded her head at Nemeia’s words and relayed everything that had happened, and what might happen here from now on.

Then, Tweety, who heard the whole story, went up to the sky with a pout.

[What what!? A human fought a guardian and gave him a blow!? Oh my god! Yuni, I can’t believe you’re better at bluffing than I am! As a test, do you want to tell me that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow!?]

“It’s not a bluff, Tweety! It really happened!? You believe in Nemeia!?”

When Yuni spoke as if it were unfair to Tweety, who dismissed her words as just her delusions, Nemaia thought for a moment and then nodded.

[Okay. Uni isn’t the type of person to lie like that. No, should I say ‘I can’t’?]

[Uh, yes. Because it’s a unicorn…]

Dyer nodded her head in agreement with Nemeia’s defense.

Because the unicorn is a holy beast, he cannot lie.

Animals also use tricks when hunting, but Yuni didn’t harbor the slightest malice, so it was natural that she was trusted the most in this group.

Of course, since there is little suspicion, it is also a disadvantage to be easily deceived.

“Thank you… So, Tweety, you need to get out of this place before the guys I talked about arrive. Without the guardian’s help, it might be difficult to block their attacks.”

[If you put it that way, it seems like the reason I said I was bluffing was because of my personality. That’s right! Okay, well, if you have to run away, you should run away. So where are you going? Is this a hideout you used before?]

[Since that place has already been destroyed by monsters… Should we look for another place?]

When Dyer responded to Tweety’s words, Nemeia shook her head once again.

[No, there is no time to find a safe zone like that. Moving in groups means being noticed. If you don’t find a clear place to hide, you will expose your location and be tracked.]

Nemeia, who knows how to think from a hunter’s perspective, was negative about the search from now on.

[So that means you have to move quickly and secretly to the designated location! Where are you going? Was there another safe place like that on Mt. Chukryong?]

“That’s…”

Uni couldn’t give a clear answer to Tweety’s question and seemed to be worried about a moment.

And then.

When they thought they heard the sound ‘Mee’, everyone’s eyes turned towards that direction.

It is no exaggeration to say that the golden sheep, who is said to be the most fearful of the group, let out a bleating sound.

Uni would gasp when she saw that the normally furry guy’s fur was standing on end.

“It’s a big deal, I guess it’s already here…!”

[Maybe I should have moved while there was a lot of noise… No, it would have been too late.]

Nemeia said and made eye contact with Yuni.

“Children who can’t fight are behind us! Dire, Nemeia! Let’s go! We must protect the ‘pack’ among ourselves!”

[Ugh, yes!]

[Yes!]

As if responding to Uni’s call, the two stepped forward to protect others, while the weak herbivores and small children retreated accordingly.

[Hey! If you only ask for a favor from two people, are you ignoring me? I hope you don’t forget Tweety’s fire support!]

And when Uniga called only the two strongest carnivores, Tweety let out a voice as if he was disappointed.

Yes, they have been attacked several times until now.

Another group of wild beasts who didn’t like the idea of ​​people of different races living together in groups.

Even the monsters that the bat sent earlier.

It would be arrogant to say that they were able to stop everything with their own strength, but even if there is no guardian, it must always be their own strength to protect themselves.

That’s why Yuni herself has been training every single day.

And at that time, Yuni’s ears perked up.

Cheolpudeok, Cheolpudeok, Cheolpudeok.

What you hear is the sound of footsteps with a sticky consistency.

A regular, yet attractive sound that somehow seems to encourage the creature’s instinctive discomfort.

Probably, the four demon beasts, including Yuni, thought at the same time that it was a bipedal humanoid.

[Joe, okay…! No matter who comes out, I will defeat him!]

Dyer gathers his courage and lowers his body in front of him, taking a stance with the intention of jumping in at any moment when he sees the enemy.

In other words, Dier is a striker. Her claws and fangs can easily tear through any thick armor.

[I lead the attack. Meanwhile, Tweety. Please.]

[Just leave it to me! I’ll eat your eyeballs!]

The compatibility of Nemeia, who pretends to be a shield, and Tweety, who protects Nemeia and hinders the enemy, shows an unexpected connection even though there is a big difference in personality.

And Uni also takes a stance, swallows her saliva, and waits for the enemy to appear from the forest.

“… Huh?”

When Yuni finally saw the presence of the enemy appearing from beyond the bushes, he couldn’t help but let out that voice without realizing it.

Because there was a ‘monster’ standing there.

However, it was a monster I had never seen before.

As for monsters, I thought they were used to the chimeras that the bat had sent so far.

The monster before my eyes was a terrible creation with a different direction.

What looked like a melted human had iron plates and machines attached to it.

No, is it correct to say that it is ‘fused’?

The gears were turning as if they were replacing the organs of the body, and what was turning the gears was not the engine or oil, but dark red blood.

Nevertheless, the part that was supposed to cover the body was not properly done, so what appeared to be internal organs was slightly leaking out.

It was an ‘anomaly’ that would send shivers down the spine of even demon beasts who had seen the hideous corpse of a human who lost his life in an accident in the Four Dragon Mountains several times.

There were at least ten such monsters, and where both hands should be, there was a cylindrical machine attached.

[W-what…! That is…!]

[K… Ugh…]

As soon as Dyer saw that, his fighting spirit seemed to have broken, and his fighting stance fell.

Nemeia was also embarrassed to the point of breaking into a cold sweat, but as an experienced warrior next to Yuni, she did not let down her guard.

And Uni.

“… Ugh! Haaa!”

Hit both your cheeks with your hands to dispel your disgust and fear through the pain, then take your stance again.

And, first of all, he takes his lead and runs towards the monsters in front of him-

As it was, he delivered a powerful spinning kick to his head.

Paang!

Her leg explodes on Lee Hyeong’s head with a sound like a whip cracking the wind.

Then, although the iron plate was wrapped around her body, the durability of the flesh underneath it seemed not to be that high, and it was separated from her neck and fell to the ground.

And then, the monster fell to the ground as if it had lost its strength.

“Okay, that’s enough! See? These aren’t that different from the monsters so far!”

Although it was said to be a surprise attack, Yuni raised her voice confidently after taking down the guy with one blow.

[Yu, Uni unnie, you’re amazing!]

Dire also encouraged herself by seeing Yuni like that, and Nemeia let out a sigh of relief, and she herself probably tried to rush towards them.

However, unfortunately for them, the heterogenes who came to their home-

‘They were beings who didn’t care if they were alive or dead.’

Bang!!

The next moment, a sound like thunderstruck my ears.

Yuni felt a shock that shook her entire body from the sound coming from right next to her, and for a moment her hearing went deaf.

“…?”

However, I felt no pain as I was right next to them.

“W-what was it…?”

That’s when she felt suspicious and turned her head to see what had changed.

It was clearly the hand of the monster that had knocked her head off and was lying on the ground –

Black smoke was rising from the hole at the end of the cylindrical shape.

[Yes, Nemeia!]

[Hey, hey…! It’s a lie!]

Dyer and Tweety’s urgent voices coming from behind.

When I looked there, I saw Nemayr lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, with a large hole in her leg.

[Pfft… This… Avoid… Diamond…!]

Nemeia herself doesn’t know what happened to her.

What you feel is intense pain and the affected area barely moves.

And.

Clap, clap.

And a number of ominous sounds will be heard from the monsters around.

They were aiming both hands at the obstacles in front of them at the same time.

“Oh, no!”

As Yuni let out a sound that sounded like a scream, she pushed the body of the nearest guy, trying to disorient her arm’s aim.

However, nothing can be done alone.

Dire and Nemeia’s attacks were so fast they couldn’t even be seen, leaving holes in their bodies and turning them into blood clots.

The moment when such an ominous scene passes through your mind.

Ta ta!

As the continuous sound of thunder rang out, Yuni must have closed her eyes tightly.

That must have been the same for Nemeia and Dire.

The sound of blood splashing will rise, and a stink that will sting your nose will spread.

I thought so, I had no doubts.

─But.

When neither Mei A nor Dyer experienced the pain she expected, she slowly opened her eyes.

Then in front of them-

“Haa…! I finally made it in time…!”

A human with black hair was standing, holding a black and white sword in each hand.

“Cleon!”

And as if she knew the name of the being, Uni raised her voice.

“Sorry, didn’t you wait? The mountain path is a bit rough.”

Uni sighed in relief at the appearance of the owner whose voice was more reassuring than ever.

And Cleon immediately grabs two swords and jumps towards the strange figures in front of him-

He moved through the monsters at the speed of black lightning, targeting their arms first and cutting them off.

Their arms are falling down as if they have cut down reeds.

[What, what is it? Human?]

Tweety raised her voice in embarrassment, while Yuni approached Nemeia and examined her wounds.

[That is… The guy who gave the guardian a blow.]

Nemaia said this in a strained voice, and Yuni nodded her head.

“Yes. It’ll be okay now. Cleon is the strongest human I know!”

[I see…]

Nemeia sounded a little relieved.

[Well, I don’t think Yuni knows anyone in the first place…]

Dyer put the reality into words rather calmly.