Chapter 82
Kartheon counted back from the moment the bolt struck his hand. It was exactly seventeen seconds, and so he turned back?time by exactly seventeen seconds.
Whiiiing..!?Pukeok!
The bolt that?had been?embedded in the back of his head slowly pulled itself out, and Kartheon?regained his balance, observing?the surroundings. A fiery bolt grazed past the ancient king’s temple in reverse, and?he?slowly sat down?in place?as the bolt in his hand pulled itself out and slowly flew backward.
Whiiing..!
[You have?turned back time?by 17 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
Piiing!
Kartheon moved his hand and avoided the bolt that flew toward it. He then?picked up a stone and threw it at the bolt that was flying toward his temple.
Kwachik!
The stone collided with the bolt, shattering it into?pieces.?Kartheon slowly stood up and?called out, “Is?it not frustrating just hiding and shooting from the dark?”
A bolt flew toward the ancient king’s?head, but Kartheon easily grabbed?it?and stopped it inches away from his face. His withered hands grabbed the?bolt, and the flames engulfing?it were quickly?extinguished.
“Come here.?Let?us have a chat,” Kartheon said as he?drew?the sword on Katz’s waist.
Seventeen seconds?had?passed.?Kartheon slowly started counting once again.
“Aigoo.. Hehe.. Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
Kartheon walked into the darkness. He said playfully, “I?will come to you if you do?not want to come to me.”
A bolt flew toward the ancient king as soon as he finished speaking, but Kartheon swung the sword in his hand and easily cut down the bolt.
‘There’s only one enemy,’?he thought. Multiple assailants?would have shot him from multiple angles at once, but the bolts were only coming one at a time.?Kartheon?had no reason to retreat or hesitate if there was only one assassin.?As such, he walked slowly in?the direction the bolt?had been shot?from.
Sukeok!?Pukeok! Kwachik!
The ancient king easily cut down three fiery bolts that?flew?at him.?It was?only?logical for a marksman to be flustered the closer?their?target came toward them.?Kartheon could see a shadow holding a crossbow a?short distance?away from him.
Kwachik!
Kartheon quickly swung his sword downward. The ancient king could not see clearly due to the darkness, but he felt that he had only managed to graze the?assassin’s hair.
Then, the assassin suddenly attacked with a sword, stabbing it into?the ancient king’s cheek.
“Kuheok!”?Kartheon exclaimed in pain.?He?could tell that the assassin was highly skilled based on the way their?sword moved.
‘How could?he master both marksmanship and swordsmanship?’?Kartheon thought, surprised.
The assassin pulled his sword out of Kartheon’s cheek and?stabbed?the ancient king in the?face once again.
Pukeok!
Kartheon’s teeth were smashed and he collapsed backward. The assassin’s sword was about to stab him dead center between?the?eyes,?but he?focused his mind.
The space around them slowly started to change..
[You have?turned back time?by 24 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
***
.
“Aigoo..?Hehe..?Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
Kartheon breathed heavily. It was just a short span of time, but?things had still been?dangerous. He would have already been dead if he?had been?late in turning?back time?by even?a second.
‘There?is no?rule?that a marksman can’t be skilled with the sword,’?Kartheon?thought. He admitted to himself?that he?had been?overconfident because of the fact that there was only one assassin and the fact that he could control time.?The ancient king threw Katz’s sword aside, thinking, ‘I shouldn’t give this rat time to use his sword. I have to grab him with my right hand and kill him instantly.’
Kartheon walked into the darkness, and he saw a flickering flame in the distance. He ducked and avoided the fiery bolt that?flew?toward him. He thought, ‘I already know which direction he’s?going to shoot from.’?He?easily avoided the three?successive?bolts that?flew?consecutively at him.
He saw the shadow of the assassin carrying a crossbow. The shadow immediately threw his crossbow aside and tried to draw his sword.
‘Fool!’?Kartheon thought.?He had already predicted the assassin’s move, and he extended his right hand toward the assassin’s neck. He had to grab the assassin by the neck to be able to instantly kill him.
However, the assassin suddenly grabbed his right hand and twisted it.
‘Martial arts?’?Kartheon was inwardly surprised.
The?move?the assassin?had just performed?was not an ordinary move, but it was similar to the skills shown by martial arts experts.?They?easily snapped Kartheon’s right hand.
Clack!
The assassin did not simply twist the ancient king’s hand,?but?rather twisted it precisely at its?weakest point; it was clear that they?had?a?great understanding of?human skeletal structure.
The ancient king’s dry, withered bones broke and his right hand was crushed.?Kartheon could not believe his eyes. He thought, ‘This is not the level of martial arts?one would learn?for?self-defense?in case?the enemy engaged?in a melee. This is the?skill?of someone who has trained for at least twenty years.’
The assassin threw?Kartheon down to the ground and mercilessly pummeled?him. The ancient king’s collarbone and four of?his ribs?were shattered by the assassin’s?merciless pounding.
Kartheon was more taken aback than in pain. He said, “I see that you are skilled in marksmanship, swordsmanship, and martial arts.”
The assassin responded to the ancient king’s praises by digging both of his?thumbs?into?Kartheon’s eye sockets?and?digging?the ancient king’s eyes out.
Kartheon was struck with shock and horror?by the assassin’s mercilessness?as his vision slowly blurred,?and then he lost his sight.
[You have turned back time by 37 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
***
“Aigoo..?Hehe..?Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
The ancient king’s crushed right hand and eyeballs?had returned?to normal after he turned back time. However, Kartheon was severely annoyed. He thought,?‘To think a lowly assassin?would?make me turn back time three times. No matter how much I have deteriorated, I can tell that he is?not an ordinary assassin.’
The ancient king?wanted to know the identity of the assassin shrouded in darkness. As such, he?tore?off?a piece of cloth and threw it?into?the campfire. As he walked into the darkness, he thought,?‘I should?aim to expose that guy’s identity instead of aiming to kill him.’
The assassin kicked Kartheon as soon as the ancient king avoided the bolt flying toward him.?Kartheon was utterly defeated, lying on the ground as he exclaimed, “Show yourself!”
Suddenly, the ancient king threw the burning cloth?outward,?causing the darkness to recede for?a split second. It?lasted only a short time,?but it was more than enough for Kartheon to see the identity of his assailant. The assassin was a man in his twenties;??he was a Traveler judging by the device on his wrist. The assassin’s face was void of any emotion, as if he were?a doll.
“I will remember your face,” Kartheon said.
The expressionless assassin pointed his crossbow at the ancient king and said, “Go back to the past.”
Ping!
A bolt hit the ancient king dead center?in the?face.?It was at the very?moment that?Kartheon’s brain was about to cease functioning?that he turned back time.
[You have turned back?time by 32 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
[You have turned back time four times in a short period of time.]
[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]
***
“Aigoo.. Hehe.. Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
Kartheon roared out loud, “You know?I?can control time! I have turned?back time four?times now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”
Kartheon?did not expect any reply, but?the expressionless?man suddenly?emerged from the darkness. He put away his crossbow and pulled his sword out, saying, “999 times.”
“What did you say?” Kartheon asked in surprise.
“I regressed that many times too,” the expressionless man said.
Kartheon snapped?angrily at the man, “What the hell are you?”
“None of your business,” the expressionless man said as he stabbed his sword?into?Kartheon’s face.?Not a single drop of blood was spilled as the sword penetrated through the ancient king’s skull.
[You have turned back?time by 27 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
[You have turned back time five times in a short period of time.]
[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]
***
“Aigoo.. Hehe.. Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
Kartheon thought for a moment before?shouting, “You know I can control time! I have turned?back time five?times now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”
The expressionless man?suddenly?emerged from?the darkness. He?put away his crossbow and pulled his sword out, saying, “999 times.”
The man’s sword immediately?thrust out?at Kartheon, but Kartheon already knew the trajectory of the sword, and?he got up and avoided the attack. The ancient king moved his left hand simultaneously, countering the blow?with Katz’s sword.
Clang!
It was supposed to be an attack that was impossible to defend against, but the man easily parried the ancient king’s attack by quickly reading his?moves.
Kartheon’s right hand shot out?and..
Grasp!
The ancient king’s right hand successfully grabbed the man by?the?neck. The man’s life force?was?going to be absorbed and he?would?soon turn into dust.
However, tough leather?had been?wrapped around the man’s neck, preventing?Kartheon from using his ability as it required direct contact with his target.
“So you have prepared for this as well,” Kartheon grumbled as he bit his barely?intact?lips.
The man swung his sword, and the ancient king’s neck was sliced apart cleanly.
[You have turned back time by 34 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
[You have turned back time six times in a short period of time.]
[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]
***
“Aigoo.. Hehe.. Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
Kartheon called out?to the assassin the same way he had previously.
The expressionless man said,?“999 times.”
The ancient king changed the trajectory of his counter this time. He aimed for the leather wrapped around the man’s neck instead of trying to inflict damage?directly, thinking,?‘I have to?tear?apart?the leather wrapped around his neck and kill him instantly.’
The tip of Katz’s sword reached the leather wrapped around the man’s neck. The ancient king swung down with all his might. However,?the leather actually managed to block the sword, and the blade?bounced away from it.?Kartheon grimaced.
The expressionless man suddenly said, “This leather can’t be cut.”
“..I?am getting sick and tired of this,” Kartheon said.
The expressionless man’s sword swung down and split the ancient king in half.
[You have turned back time by 39 seconds.]
[You have used some of your?temporal power.]
[You have turned back time seven times in a short period of time.] historical
[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]
***
Kartheon finally decided to cast his pride aside, thinking,?‘There’s?going to be?no end to it like this, and my?temporal power?is being wasted as well. I have to use my troops instead of fighting myself.’
The ancient king?waved his left hand,?awakening?the thousands of mummies that?slept?in the sand.?The mummies rose from their slumber and asked, “O?great king, what is the matter?”
“Someone nearby is trying to assassinate me. Do?not kill him if you catch him, and bring him to me alive,” Kartheon ordered.?The mummies spread out?across?the area at?his?command.
Kartheon had wanted to kill the assassin himself. The fact that he had had to mobilize thousands of troops just to catch one?man?greatly damaged his pride. However, there was no other way aside from that,?as the assassin kept finding ways to deal with the ancient king by displaying all sorts of random talents.
‘Something is strange..’?Kartheon thought.?He had almost died seven times in the span of a night, and it was not because he was careless.?‘That guy precisely targeted me at this time and came after me.’
Kartheon could not turn back time much?in?his current state, as his body had?not fully recovered yet, and?he could turn back time by forty seconds at most.?‘It feels?as if?he is trying to get rid of me in advance.’
It had?been a while?since?the ancient king had struggled so much despite turning back time. Kartheon thought of the man’s face.?‘He looked young,?but?he had no vulnerabilities.’
Then, the ancient king suddenly remembered the man’s words.?‘Did he say?he had?regressed 999 times?’
Kartheon shook his head. There was no way that was possible. If what?the man had?said was true, it would mean?he?was living his 1,000th life?on?the continent.?‘Anyone?who has?lived a thousand times would already have gone mad.’
Kartheon decided to take a break for?the time being. The ancient king touched his limping body and thought, ‘It?is?tiring to keep going back?to?the past..’
***
Kang Yoon-Soo quietly withdrew his crossbow in the silent darkness, and he also took off the Frost Demon Leather?wrapped around his neck.
‘He’s called the mummies,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.?Kartheon was prideful and enjoyed frontal confrontations, and the fact that he had called his subordinates to deal with the matter meant that he?had?already set aside his pride.
‘I might not remember it, but Kartheon must have repeatedly turned back time.. and he must have suffered a lot because of me.’?All Kang Yoon-Soo?remembered having done?was shoot a few bolts from his crossbow. Kartheon was the only one who?knew what exactly Kang Yoon-Soo?had done?and in what way. However, if he?had?turned back time numerous times because of Kang?Yoon-Soo, Kartheon would have realized by then that?living through the same experience repeatedly could?be nothing but horrible.
‘What he suffered tonight is barely an intro.’?Kang Yoon-Soo was planning to show him what real hell was?in?the war that was going to be waged later on.?‘I’ll definitely lead us to victory in this war.’
The mummies scouted the area with their slow mobility,?but?Kang Yoon-Soo moved while avoiding them. He?climbed a steep cliff,?then?muttered, “Summon White.”
“Gamakurwa. Romirku. Ornoro,”?White said as he stretched.?It meant,?‘I’m confused?as to whether I’m a werewolf or a horse these days.’
“You’re a werewolf,” Kang Yoon-Soo?replied as he climbed onto the werewolf.?White ran along the steep cliff.
‘I have to bring her to our side no matter what if we’re to win this war,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought?as he lightly stretched his arms. He?recalled,?‘The life I lived as a legend and stole everything valuable?on the?continent..’