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Chapter 14 - Prey

As he stood with his arms crossed, he waited for people to walk by the entrance.

Prey started to flood in sooner than he anticipated.

Even if he was identified as a 'Slayer' and his location was exposed by the red dot, not everyone tried to avoid him.

"I came hoping to see how strong the so-called 'Slayer' is, but aren't you just a weakling?"

Foolish people wanted to prove their strength.

There were quite a few people who came, curious to see the face of the Slayer.

And curiosity killed the cat.

Slice!

He cleanly cut out the wrist of a muscular man who was holding a sword.

In an instant, as blood gushed out, he grabbed hold of his wrist and screamed out loud.

"Gaaaah! This, this bastard!"

And as his eyes met Muyoung's cold eyes, he quickly quieted down.

He couldn't move either of his feet. It was similar to when you face a lion and your feet get all tied up.

"N, no, I said it wrong. Friend, yes? Give me just one… Gukk!"

Anguish, which squeezed into his organs, started to suck out all the blood.

Shortly, the man dried up like a mummy and dropped on the floor.

Like him, there were others who disregarded Muyoung's first impression and fought against him. Usually, these types of people didn't even last a minute or changed their words after one of their body parts was cut off.

In front of Muyoung, corpses were piling up neatly.

As the smell of blood overpowered the surroundings and thick blood was splattered all over the floor, Muyoung cut up the corpses into smaller parts, as best and as cruel he could, and arranged them in front of the entrance.

'Warning and division.'

Even Muyoung, himself, would be no match if dozens of men started to force their way in.

Although he was certain he was the strongest within the tower, it was only in a one-on-one scenario.

Although a strong person being able to overwhelm a 100 people was the reality in the Underworld, he was not at that level.

Muyoung coldly recognized the reality.

Overconfidence was poison and was the main culprit for destroying one's self.

Against monsters, he would transform into a beast to slaughter them. However, against humans, who knew how to think, he would have to use that to his advantage.

The people who see these corpses would think they would not be able to tread further by themselves.

So they would try to gather together, but would it be that simple?

'If I kill five people, I can leave.'

It was one of the conditions to leave the tower.

It was the easiest condition to make people stricken with fear to divide.

Unless someone who possessed an unrivaled charisma dropped down like a comet, it was certain they were going to divide.

It would be the same at the other entrance.

And because the Skeleton of Fire and Ice was not human, they would get a taste the most primitive feelings of fear.

Within these people, there will be some who would try to force their way through.

Although humans were rational, if they lost that rationality, they will act recklessly.

'Then…'

Muyoung closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall of the entrance.

It was to know if someone approached him.

Either way, it was a battle against the time from now.

*

36 hours had passed since they had entered the tower.

<'Slayer' has killed 100 people!>

The same message appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

The Slayer was blocking the two entrances.

It didn't take long for everyone to realize that it meant that all the courageous people have been killed and that they needed to kill that Slayer to pass through the entrance.

"We need to stick together to live."

One deadly strong opponent.

It gave people a reason to group up.

If someone with a special trait appeared, it was obvious they were going to group around him.

And Collin was one of the people who had a special trait.

A Prince.

It was a unique class, but he was also the Prince of England before he was summoned.

At most, he could confer 'knighthood' upon 30 people at most and, depending on their conferred knighthood, their abilities will be strengthened. Loyalty was just an extra benefit.

'If the majority became his enemy, he would die.' This penalty existed, but even with it, it was definitely an attractive class.

Usually, the greater the class, a greater penalty existed.

And Collin entered the tower with ten loyal subordinates.

However, the Slayer was strong.

Even if he didn't face him face-to-face, he knew how strong he was.

It was logically impossible for him to kill 100 people by himself.

Collin who believed that even 10 wasn't enough, decided to increase his numbers a bit more.

"I will not kill you guys. Instead, work with me."

Collin spoke to a group of five collapsed on the floor.

Out of the five, the one who seemed to be their leader spat at Collin's face.

"Puh! What kind of crap are you trying to pull?"

"These bastards! You're all desperate to die, aren't you!"

A man beside Collin, who was wearing a full plate of armor, walked out.

While holding a sword, he tried to cut off their necks, but Collin stopped him.

"Sir Swin, I'm fine."

"However, Prince. These rude bastards."

Punch!

Collin's fist smacked the chest of the man named Swin.

Even though Swin was wearing a full plate of armor, the armor caved in as he flew back.

Cough!

As Swin cough up blood, Collin spoke.

"Sir Swin, I told you I was fine."

"…I, I'm sorry."

Swin's face was filled with fear.

Even besides the unique class, Collin knew how and when to use his power properly to put others under his control.

It could be said that he was born with the ability to rule over others!

Therefore, in reality, the penalty was non-existent for him, as it was unlikely for more than half of his followers to betray him.

The five who witnessed his strength only gulped their saliva.

And then, Collin resumed negotiations, smiling as he pressured them.

"Work with me. If you do, you will be able to enjoy all the glory."

*

First, it was just one person.

Muyoung sliced a man who was wildly running towards him.

Next, two people came at him.

Afterwards, five. By then, Muyoung noticed what they were up to.

'Someone is testing me.'

Who was this person?

Muyoung was very interested.

A man with considerable leadership had appeared.

He had been rallying up people and cornering them into a deadly situation.

Only to measure Muyoung's strength.

He could slowly feel the killing intent of the person who would try to kill him after measuring his strength.

'Their abilities were strengthened; I wonder if they have a priest class.'

And those who attacked Muyoung were all consistently strong.

Of course, even if he said strong, it was all the same to him. However, they were still above average.

He was certain after seeing how they were unfamiliar with their own strength and were just randomly swinging their weapons.

If they were a complete party with a priest class, Muyoung might have fought a bit seriously.

But, Muyoung only made a small smile.

It was like something was tickling him.

It was similar to the feeling he had when he was appointed with a difficult mission.

The habit he gained while living as an assassin for the longest time didn't disappear.

It wasn't the type of habit he could fix if he wanted to.

'Then…'

It was unlikely for the person to appear unless he was certain of Muyoung's strength.

If he had a brain, it was more than likely for him to just watch from afar.

Muyoung couldn't approach him.

Since he became a 'Slayer', a warning will sound on the Status Viewer if he was to approach him.

If he did, the enemy would hide even deeper.

Pushh!

After Muyoung had killed seven people, the last person to survive had stabbed Muyoung through his abdomen.

"Ah, ahhh…!"

Clink!

As if the man who stabbed Muyoung couldn't believe it himself, he cried out a weird sound, dropped his sword as he ran away without looking back.

Just after the man disappeared from his sight, Muyoung pulled out the sword from his abdomen.

'My organs aren't damaged.'

He purposely got stabbed with the sword.

He moved so that the sword would pass by all his organs.

He couldn't do anything about the blood that was spilling out, but there were lots of dead bodies nearby.

Gulp! Gulp!

As Muyoung thrust Anguish in a corpse, it started to absorb the blood.

His wound was healing at a noticeable pace.

'Now, what are you going to do?'

Muyoung looked towards the direction the man ran.

Since he asked the question, a reply will come soon.

It wouldn't be weird if the man decided to make a full frontal attack against Muyoung after learning that Muyoung was injured.

He knew that the battle would be tough if the numbers were great.

However…

Muyoung gathered all the scattered corpses.

'Alone, but not truly.'

Lord Class.

Death Lord!

That was right.

He could just make allies.

Soldiers of Death who would never betray him and were willing to fight with all they had for Muyoung.

Stamina was consumed to create undead.

However, that was only when he made an effort in creating undead.

As the skill rank increased, his expenditure of stamina decreased slightly, however, Muyoung only focused on creating the corpses into undead as they were.

He didn't care by what percent their original abilities decreased.

The unknown was horrifying. In this world, not being knowledgeable enough was really a crime.

Even if the people who entered the tower survived the 25 days, fighting different monsters, they lacked knowledge of the undead.

As they didn't know how to face them, it wouldn't be easy for them to come out alive.

That was why some of the undead were roaming around the tower looking for 'food'.

"What, you? Didn't you die?"

As Collin's comrade, who was sent to the Slayer, returned, people came up to greet him.

People gathered around their comrade who was limping towards them and each spoke.

"Why isn't this bastard replying?"

"Leave him alone, he seems severely injured."

They really didn't have the slightest doubt.

They didn't notice the unique smell of his body or anything strange about his appearance.

It was because… They had never experienced it.

The fear of undead.

The horror of having your once-comrade biting your neck!

Crunch!

"Gaaah!"

"Is, is this kid crazy?"

"Yo, get away, get away from him!"

As the zombie bit the person closest to him, three people tried to help, but it was no use.

The lowest level among the undead, the zombie's only useful weapon was the strong biting strength of his jaws.

Unless someone ripped apart his jaws, he would never let go of his prey.

Only when the zombie decided to let go, did the man dropped down on the ground with blood gushing out from his bitten neck.

Gawr.

As the zombie made a half-gurgling sound, as if he was mocking them, all three of them grabbed hold of their weapons.

Swing!

"It's a monster! It's not human!"

Only then did they grasp the magnitude of the problem.

Afterwards, the fight was dull.

Until they realized that the zombie's weakness was his head, they continuously poked through its body until its body was a beehive.

"Ha… ha…!"

"Fucking monster."

Even when the zombie completely stopped moving, they kept kicking the corpse to vent their anger.

Although they thought it was over, they didn't realize this was, in fact, the most dangerous moment.

Grab!

"Gaaaah!"

The man who was bitten by the zombie to death had come back alive.

*

Muyoung shook his head.

'131 people.'

Muyoung's record increased even when the undead killed humans.

After he had reached 3rd place for killing over 90 people, it seemed he had reached a new record.

If Muyoung could remember correctly, the top score was made by Ben the Slaughterer, but the time period was different.

'Ben the Slaughterer hasn't been summoned yet.'

He needed to wait three more years for Ben, who received the 'Lunatic Sovereign's Ring' by killing more than 200 people, to be summoned.

However, as Muyoung had already reached the top score, he was planning to continue increasing his kill count. Therefore, Ben the Slaughterer will probably not be able to set a new record.

<'Blood-Red Tower' has been added to your history.>

< 3rd place: Lucien - 111 people.>

The reward will be given once he left the tower.

Even if there weren't any extra messages, he didn't mind.

'Wung Chunglin…!"

However, he couldn't help, but frown as that name appeared in the records.

Wung Chunglin.

It was the real name of the chief who led the Forest of Death.

Out of hundreds of assassins, Muyoung was the only one who knew the real name of the chief.

He was truly a shadow as he existed in the boundaries of this world.

If Muyoung didn't break through his brainwashing, he wouldn't have known the chief's real name in his lifetime.

Crunch!

From the current list of people Muyoung had to kill, Wung Chunglin was, of course, his top priority.

Even now, he will be growing the Forest of Death as the people he had killed with his hands were unable to rest in peace and were in infinite pain.

Like Muyoung in the past, there will be a continuous rise of people who are kidnapped and forced to perform these hell-like duties.

'Wait for me.'

For now, it wasn't the right time.

Muyoung was only given one chance.

He wasn't as easygoing as to think he would be given another chance to return to the past.

As his memories were clear, there was no way for Wung Chunglin to avoid death.

Muyoung calmed his rage. In an instant, his breathing returned to normal and his heartbeat became regular.

It wasn't like he could fulfill his revenge right away.

Instead, he needed to focus on getting the Lunatic Sovereign's Ring.

'Zombies have a high chance of infecting their prey.'

He couldn't say that the zombies themselves were strong.

The time they could move was short and they rotted fast if they didn't continue to consume humans.

However, because of their contagiousness, people needed to be alert.

But those who were unaware of the undead were just good prey.

The zombies were continuously increasing in numbers.

"Collin, that b*tch. He used us knowing we were gonna die?"

"To the 3rd floor! It's impossible on the 2nd floor!"

"The Status, Status Viewer is ringing."

"The other entrance is being blocked by a skeleton. And the bastard called Slayer has a serious injury! We have a chance."

Muyoung could sense five people fairly close by.

The challengers approached, knowing that Muyoung the Slayer was at that location.

They seemed to have made a detour after seeing the Skeleton of Fire and Ice in front of the other entrance.

'There are starting to split up.'

He could sense that the group, that was gathering people, had started to break apart.

And also that the person in the middle of all this was a man called 'Collin'.

His comrades who were killed by Muyoung would come back alive as undead only attack them.

It seemed impossible for Collin to gain the trust of the people.

It was like Muyoung had planned.

He just quietly unsheathed Anguish.

*

<'Slayer' has killed 150 people!>

Was it a safety measure?

The alert level about Muyoung would change in intervals of 50 kills.

And as he reached 150 people, he was recognized as the 'Boss'.

As if it didn't want Muyoung to kill anymore.

However, the number of people who came to the entrance to kill Muyoung had decreased over time.

It couldn't be helped.

There was no way that people would come crawling to a place if they knew it meant their deaths.

It was because they all entered the tower to hunt, not to be hunted.

Muyoung waited patiently.

They didn't like the zombies, Muyoung, or the Skeleton of Fire and Ice.

Then he wondered, what kind of decision will people make?

'Escape.'

By killing five people they could leave the tower.

It was an absolute proposition and their only way out.

As people gathered, their selfishness tended to grow stronger.

For now, they will group up because of Collin, but it was only a matter of time.

'I should start moving.'

There was no point in blocking the entrance any further.

Collin would most likely try to leave the place to save himself or to arrange an all-out attack on Muyoung since he was now recognized as the 'Boss'.

It was foolish to just continue blocking an entrance.

Zombies were now scattered all around the 2nd floor and, through them, he was able to figure out the location of the people.

Muyoung just had to move.

Their confusion will only increase if they hear that the Slayer had started to hunt.

The decisions and the fates of those who were cornered were already decided.

*

Beep - Beep - !

An alert sounded from the Status Viewer.

The red dot on the map was moving quickly.

The movements of the Slayer, who used to only guard the entrance, made people nervous.

"Gaaah!"

People who faced the red dot were surely killed.

The people who were still alive could only hear dying screams of the victims.

People were frightened out of their senses.

The combination of zombies and the Slayer were enough for them to lose their souls.

Stab!

In the end, someone had made a drastic decision.

"Cough! You…!"

"I'm, I'm sorry. If I just kill you, I will have 5 kills. I don't want to die."

They gathered because of Collin, but their priority was to survive.

A bright light wrapped around the body of the man who stabbed his own comrade.

And as if it was a lie, the man's body soon disappeared.

The people who watched the scene felt as if the 'line' they were holding on to broke free.

The first time was always hard, but, afterwards, it would progressively get easier.

Beep - Beep - Beep…

Even so, the red dot kept moving.

"Die!"

"Aahhhh!"

The robust group made up of tens of people could only be shaken by the fear of death.

But, there was something he couldn't understand at all.

They clearly said that the Slayer was severely injured.

That he was stabbed with a sword and his blood was gushing out.

However, the Slayer didn't even care about the zombies and kept moving.

By him, a lot of people had died.

There was only one thought that came up on everyone's mind.

'Is he a monster?'

A thought that it might be possible for him to not be human!

A suspicion that he might even be controlling the zombies himself.

"Who the hell is the Slayer!"

Finally, someone screamed out.

It was obvious.

The person who told everyone that the Slayer was injured had ended up having a convulsive death.

The messages that popped in front of the people were the only way for them to learn about the Slayer.

The words that stated how many people he had killed.

In the end, no one knew if he was a human or a monster.

No one…

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