Yonghoon crouched deep within the bushes. He also hid his Dimensional Power deep inside his body.
It was highly likely that the opponent he had wounded had extremely enhanced detection abilities.
He had seen such an Awakened in the other world before.
That Awakened was a Special Ability User who had awakened detection abilities. They could track Dimensional Power from afar and perceive not only Dimensional Power but almost all objects nearby.
In any case, he had blocked the Special Ability User’s movement.
Fortunately, the opponent’s ability was ranked D-Rank. In the brief clash with Yonghoon, he had switched from Special Ability User to Strike-type Awakened to defend against Yonghoon’s attack, but since he couldn’t pinpoint Yonghoon’s exact target, he had no choice but to suffer an injury to his leg.
Yonghoon had been startled when he first clashed spears with the tall white man. He had deliberately held back his strength, but the impact was tremendous. It was clearly C-Rank ability.
Because of that Awakened, Yonghoon had been worried about the original target’s rank, but fortunately, he turned out to be a D-Rank Awakened.
Yonghoon’s expression was serious now. The enemy’s abilities were higher than expected.
One C-Rank Awakened, one D-Rank Awakened, and the other was clearly at least D-Rank too. Yonghoon decided to act assuming the enemy consisted of two C-Ranks and one D-Rank.
Fortunately, the enemy still didn’t know he was a Linker, but from a moment ago, it had become harder to detect the enemies’ Dimensional Power. Their personalities must have changed.
Hiding Dimensional Power was a basic combat tactic in the other world.
Now, he could no longer pinpoint their locations. Yonghoon’s lips curled up with excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was just beginning.
Yonghoon lay low in the bushes and began to slowly change locations.
“Now, what do we do?”
Devil Dog muttered as he stared at the unmoving bushes. Snake was already too injured to move.
Their team’s eyes were now effectively blinded. The enemy was a true professional. If they stayed in place just to keep watch, they would be easy prey.
If they got dragged along like this, they would suffer even greater losses. They needed to take the initiative.
He turned his head to look at Snake, who was bandaging his leg.
“If we leave you here alone, how long can you hold out?”
At Devil Dog’s words, Snake fell into thought.
“It didn’t seem like he had a gun, but in this condition, lasting more than 30 seconds would be hard. But if Bruce Hwang helps, I could last about five minutes, maybe break even. If not, I’ll at least make it a mutual kill. Anyway, if Bruce Hwang uses his ability, there will be no escape.”
Snake grinned at the Chinese man. At his words, the Chinese man bared his teeth in a grin.
Devil Dog nodded.
If Snake thought so, that was the right answer. He could even accurately assess the strength of the opponent he fought using his Dimensional Power.
Devil Dog looked toward the spot where the Dimensional Power he had been chasing had disappeared. Now, the girl’s Dimensional Power had moved beyond his detection range.
Devil Dog asked his team members.
“If we leave Snake here and chase the girl, how will he react?”
“If he’s naive, he’ll chase us to save her. If he’s smart, he’ll attack Snake. But since we already used her as bait, would he really go after her?”
The Asian man said while tapping his shield against the ground.
“Good. We’ll chase the girl. If he shows up, we’ll turn back while Snake holds him off. We have to move far enough to force him to act, so we need to chase properly.”
Devil Dog trusted Snake’s words and Bruce Hwang’s ability and made his decision.
“Heh, if we’re late, Snake, your head’s going to roll. We’ll hang his head on your grave.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. At least I have the ability to drag him into the grave with me.”
Snake brushed off the Chinese man’s words and stood up leaning on his spear.
“Alright. Then get ready and move out. He’ll be watching from somewhere, so no need to signal separately.”
They helped Snake move to a slightly wider clearing.
Devil Dog and Bruce Hwang left their backpacks and belongings piled to one side and set off carrying only light gear. They ran straight in the direction where the Dimensional Power had disappeared.
Snake, left behind, hardened his expression and drew up his Dimensional Power. He had to lure the enemy in.
Yonghoon frowned as he watched the two Awakened run ahead. When they had moved to the clearing, Yonghoon had relocated to a distant tree with a clear view of the clearing.
Seeing the Awakened abandon their injured comrade and run toward the direction the girl had disappeared, he could guess a few of their plans.
“Did they abandon the injured Awakened to catch the girl, or is the place with the injured Awakened a trap?”
As expected, the enemy was experienced in real combat. Their quick decision-making narrowed Yonghoon’s options.
Yonghoon didn’t have many ways to respond to such an enemy’s movements. He could either attack the Awakened chasing the girl or the one left alone.
But even if it was a trap, it was much better to face a single D-Rank than two C-Ranks.
The problem was if they had truly abandoned the injured Awakened to catch the girl, but since he had decided to treat it as bait, he had to be prepared for the risk. He would just do his best.
Yonghoon gazed at the two Awakened disappearing into the distance. After watching for a long while, once they were out of sight, he drew his sword from his waist.
There might be a trap, but he trusted his experience and his abilities. Yonghoon silently descended from the tree and began moving toward the clearing where Snake was.
Snake was half-sitting on a low rock in the center of the clearing. He quietly closed his eyes and began spreading his Dimensional Power far and wide. A considerable area entered his surveillance range.
He had already confirmed that the enemy didn’t have a gun.
But even if the enemy had a gun, with his Dimensional Power fully raised like this, he could dodge bullets aimed at him. That was what a true Awakened could do.
Snake had finished all preparations. In this state, no one could ambush him.
Time passed, and a breeze swept through the quiet clearing.
And then–
Puh-puhf!
A slicing sound came from the air in front of Snake, and blood burst from his torso. Without even time to be surprised, he rolled backward off the rock.
“Damn it, a spatial sword! You’re a Linker!”
Blood poured from the holes in his shoulder and side as he glared ahead.
Just moments ago, the opponent had clearly been a Strike-type Awakened. Yet now, this kind of attack–they had never expected him to be a Linker.
No matter how much Dimensional Power he spread around, he couldn’t sense attacks that crossed space. He had felt the air vibrate at the last moment and dodged, but it was impossible to avoid completely.
Snake could feel the blood draining from his body.
It was completely different from their expectations. At this rate, he would die a meaningless death. Snake gritted his teeth behind the rock.
If the enemy attacked again from outside or simply left him be, his life would end.
But the enemy was a professional too. They wouldn’t move without confirming the kill. And being a Linker with spatial abilities, they would definitely check for safety.
That would be the final chance. He had to use it.
Snake shouted loudly enough to make the clearing echo. He had to show he was still alive.
“Spatial-type, huh? How could there be a Linker we don’t know about?”
His voice drifted across the clearing. Still, there was no reaction nearby. Snake was about to shout again when Yonghoon appeared from one side of the bushes.
Snake, hiding behind the rock, saw Yonghoon walking toward him. A tall Asian man. He looked very agile, but the moment Snake saw his face, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
That face–he was one of their kind. A battle machine whose humanity had been worn down crossing countless death lines. Seeing Yonghoon’s stiff, hardened face, Snake spoke to him.
“Where are you from? Judging by your look, you’ve been through hell.”
But Yonghoon didn’t answer and approached Snake. A blue light surged from the sword in Yonghoon’s hand.
Seeing that, Snake stood up from behind the rock. Blood gushed from the wounds he had been pressing with his hand.
“You didn’t even need to come. I was as good as dead anyway.”
Snake felt a twinge of regret.
He had prepared various tricks to deal with an Awakened like this, but now they were all useless. Still, the opponent was a Linker. This ending was inevitable.
The entire clearing was filled with Dimensional Bombs scattered by Bruce. It was Bruce Hwang’s innate ability. He had succeeded in enhancing his ability to create remote bombs.
Even a spatial ability user needed time to move their body. This fight was his victory. Though it was a mutual kill–
“Anyway, it was nice meeting you.”
He waved his hand at Yonghoon and shouted loudly. Perhaps startled, Yonghoon rushed toward Snake.
“Bruce! Detonate everything!”
Snake saw Yonghoon arrive in front of him and thrust his sword, and the explosions erupting from the edges of the clearing.
Snake felt the sword pierce through his chest and his vision turn blindingly bright.
Boom!
With a tremendous roar, the clearing was completely blown away.
The explosion was clearly visible even to the two Awakened about 500 meters away.
Only static came from the radio Devil Dog was holding. They had been eavesdropping on Snake’s situation using a hidden radio placed at the clearing.
“A spatial-type Linker?”
Devil Dog tilted his head. He too was puzzled at the idea of a Linker they didn’t know about, just like Snake had said.
“Does it really matter? The explosion must have blown everything away. It takes a lot of time for spatial-types to expand their passages, right?”
Bruce Hwang spoke to Devil Dog while watching the explosion.
He looked satisfied as he watched the explosion rise into the distance. It was an ability he had worked hard to develop. Now the maximum detonation range was almost 1km. It was quite a useful skill for traps like this.
At Bruce’s words, Devil Dog fell into thought.
Bruce was right. The larger the spatial passage, the longer it took to move. With this timing, the enemy must have been caught in the blast.
But certainty had no place on the battlefield. He could assume they were dead, but he still needed to stay cautious.
“Alright, just in case, let’s capture the girl. If she’s already dead, her corpse isn’t going anywhere anyway.”
“If she’s wounded but alive, wouldn’t it be better to finish her off?”
“If she’s wounded, she’ll be hiding. It’ll be hard to find her. It’s better to interrogate the girl and figure out who we’re dealing with.”
With Devil Dog’s words, they turned around.
“Bye, Snake. I’ll make you a grave in a bit.”
With Bruce Hwang’s words, they started chasing after the girl again.
The explosion stopped immediately, but smoke continued to rise from the clearing for a long time.
However, no corpses were visible in the clearing where the smoke rose. Only shattered rocks could be seen there.
About 50 meters away from there was a thicket.
A charred corpse lay sprawled on the ground. The body had not only been blackened by the massive explosion but was also torn apart in several places.
After a moment, the corpse began to twitch. Then it rolled to the side, revealing Yonghoon underneath. Fortunately, Yonghoon’s body looked intact. Only his clothes showed slight scorch marks.
It seemed the fight with the Linkers hadn’t gone as planned.
He had thought he could kill them instantly by using his Spatial Ability, but their abilities were better than expected.
Yonghoon realized from their pointless shouting that they were communicating with other Awakened far away.
At this rate, even if he killed the enemy here, it would become obvious that he was a spatial-type Linker. That would completely erase his advantage. In the end, Yonghoon had no choice but to dive into the trap.
At least jumping into the trap had been a success.
Yonghoon had anticipated several possible types of traps. But the moment he realized they were communicating, he immediately figured out the trap’s nature.
Over nearly ten years, he had seen countless Awakened. Among them were a few with Dimensional Bomb abilities. The moment the enemy shouted, he could tell it was a remote bomb setup.
The moment the enemy shouted in English to detonate, Yonghoon charged at him. He took the enemy’s life, used the corpse as a shield to block the explosion, and created a dimensional passage.
By then, Yonghoon’s innate ability within his Dimensional Power had almost fully activated. Now he could create dimensional passages instantaneously.
Yonghoon looked toward the direction where the remaining Awakened had fled.
By now, they surely thought he was dead-or at least were half-convinced. It was now a race against time. He had to reach the girl as quickly as possible.
Yonghoon tilted his head as he sensed the Dimensional Power remaining within him. There was far more left than he had expected. At this rate, it wouldn’t hinder him in battle at all.
Moreover, the sword he had used for the first time had satisfied him. Now it was time for round two. Yonghoon kicked off the ground and dashed forward.