The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 102

“As you all know, the mission will take place in Patten, a noble territory. It’s currently at war with a neighboring territory, and we need to protect Horein Patten, the only son and heir of the Patten Family, for 72 hours.”

It was exactly as stated.

The Mars Gate’s theme was defensive warfare, and the person to protect in this defensive battle was Horein Patten.

In other words, if Horein died, the mission would end too.

“Looking at the war situation alone, Patten is being pushed back precariously. So two of us need to join the Patten army for frontal combat, and two need to guard Horein.”

“What about the remaining person?”

“They’ll go on assassination missions. To kill key figures from the opposing territory’s army.”

“Assassination?”

“There’s something people don’t know well – just because a mission theme is defense or survival doesn’t mean you have to just endure mindlessly. In some cases, if you eliminate the mission components first, you can automatically end the mission.”

“That’s possible?”

“My Invader trait was obtained from the Invaders’ Playground, one of the Black Gates. And the Invaders’ Playground is a Green Gate with a survival theme. But I didn’t endure there until time ran out – I ended it early by killing all the Invaders. Defensive warfare is no different. If this gate’s theme is territorial war, we just need to eliminate all key figures from the opposing territory.”

“When the head collapses, everything below automatically crumbles too?”

“Exactly. More precisely, when the lord dies, the people below have no reason to keep fighting.”

“Oh, that definitely makes sense. I didn’t know that. But who’s going on the assassination mission?”

“I’ll go.”

“You, President?”

“Assassination is the core of this operation. It’s also the most dangerous mission. So I should go.”

“Ah, I see.”

An U-ju nodded.

This time Kim Ha-geom asked.

“Then how should we four divide up?”

“Woo-ju and Bu-yong, please go to the field. Given your traits, moving freely on the field will be much better than guarding Horein.”

“True, I’m more comfortable shooting from a distance.”

“I’m also more comfortable just beating enemies to death freely.”

He spoke to Kim Ha-geom and Shasha.

“You two please guard Horein. It might be a boring mission, but looking at the Mars Gate data, assassins come quite frequently. That’s why I’m entrusting the escort to you two. Please take care of it.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“That’s about all you need to know. The goal is gate conquest, so just familiarize yourselves well with your positions. Don’t die. If you get hurt, use the recovery potions I distributed generously. You know their effectiveness from trying them in the training ground, right?”

“Oh, they were great!”

“Good, then let’s do a final status check and start right away.”

The final inspection began.

Choi Hyun examined his status window.

[ Choi Hyun ]

– Lv : 55

– Class : Blacksmith

– Traits : ＜Devil’s Eye＞＜Repair＞＜Curse of Memory＞＜Anonymous Craftsman＞＜Heavenly Martial Body＞＜Material＞＜Noble Spirit＞＜Qualification from Beyond＞＜Invader＞＜Hundred Dark Body＞＜Space＞

– Strength : 62

– Stamina : 62

– Mana : 62

– Sense : 62

– Dexterity : 261

– Unallocated Stat Points : 0

Level 55.

This was the result achieved after conquering all of Hasan’s dungeons and dealing with monsters.

He had also gained quite a few bonus stat points then, further increasing his dexterity stat.

‘Still, level 100 is far away.’

He was strong now, but from level 100 onwards, the dimension of power becomes different.

So he needed to diligently raise his level.

Of course, the methods were limited, but this was an unavoidable aspect.

The fastest method was conquering dungeons and gates, so he had no choice but to work diligently.

After finishing the last check, Choi Hyun asked.

“Shall we start?”

When everyone nodded, he immediately started the mission.

[ You are mercenaries. You are also the core strength of the Hawk Mercenary Corps and will join as forces for the Patten Family in the territorial war between the Patten Family and Preuzan Family. ]

[ The territorial war will end after 72 hours, and if Horein Patten, heir of the Patten Family, survives until the end, the mission will be cleared and the gate will be conquered. ]

[ Starting the mission. ]

System notification.

Simultaneously, their vision changed completely and they found themselves standing before Lord Horeike Patten and his son, Prince Horein, who was the core of this mission.

Of course, it wasn’t just the five of them – other mercenaries were standing there too.

The Patten lord spoke.

“Thank you all for coming. You’re the core strength of the Hawk Mercenary Corps, right?”

Choi Hyun naturally answered as the representative.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Good, I have high expectations for you all. It’s not a small sum I’ve invested. So, do you have a strategy prepared?”

“Yes, first these two friends will guard Prince Horein.”

“Two people for my son? Why?”

“I heard that Preuzan has hired a large number of assassins. So just in case, I’m thinking of assigning these two friends to guard the prince.”

“Hmm, not a bad strategy. This fight started from a dispute between heirs anyway, so if they’re targeting anyone, they’d target my son first. As expected, the core of the Hawk Mercenary Corps is different.”

“Yes, and the remaining three including myself will join the territorial army and stand directly on the battlefield.”

“I understand. Then let me introduce our people. This is Woron, the Knight Commander of the Patten Knight Order. And this one is…”

The arrangements were quickly sorted out.

All mercenaries except the 1st Squad decided to follow Commander Woron’s instructions, while Choi Hyun, Maeng Bu-yong, and An U-ju would act freely and face enemies individually.

They immediately moved to the castle tower.

Blue sky.

Under the clear sky, soldiers of the Preuzan Family could be seen gathering in the distance on the horizon.

An U-ju, who had good eyesight, looked at them and said.

“They really came well-prepared. Look at them dragging siege weapons.”

“You know your role is important in siege defense, right Woo-ju? You should target soldiers operating siege weapons, mages, and officers rather than infantry.”

“That’s common sense. Leave it to me. I’ve been shooting arrows like crazy all this time.”

“You too, Bu-yong. After dealing with soldiers climbing the castle tower, if the main gate gets breached, you need to go there immediately and block it.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely block it.”

War clouds gathered.

He could feel that not only the soldiers but all the territory’s people were tense.

An U-ju and Maeng Bu-yong were the same.

While they were all renowned hunters in Korea, objectively speaking, they were hunters who had failed to conquer the Mars Gate.

Eventually, Preuzan’s soldiers arrived.

The Preuzan Ruler came forward in front of the lord’s army and shouted.

“You damn Patten bastards! Today I’ll bring you all down and put an end to this bitter feud!!”

The Preuzan Ruler shouted angrily.

Like a toad full of poison.

She shouted.

“Kill them all!!”

At the same time, a time limit notification appeared in one corner of the squad members’ vision.

[ 71 : 59 : 59 ]

The time limit was 72 hours.

As time began to flow, soldiers started rushing forward.

“Waaaaah!”

“Bring down Patten!”

“Show them what we’re made of!!”

“Kill the women and rape the men!!”

The war had begun.

As soon as it started, An U-ju shot an arrow toward the Preuzan Ruler.

Crack!

However, a knight assisting the ruler raised his shield and blocked her attack.

“Aw, damn it.”

She was genuinely disappointed.

It was an assassination attempt she had tried before, but it failed again this time.

It seemed like this strategy just wasn’t going to work.

After the assassination failed, An U-ju’s gaze turned toward Choi Hyun.

When is he going to leave?

But no matter how much she looked around, Choi Hyun was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh?”

Why can’t I see him?

It was only natural.

As soon as the fighting began, Choi Hyun had already moved to the farthest corner and started climbing down the castle wall unnoticed.

An U-ju, who belatedly spotted Choi Hyun, was impressed.

“Wow.”

He’s really quick to act.

Does that even make sense?

She finally understood the heroic tales that Kim Ha-geom, the only one among them who had actually worked in the field with him, used to tell.

‘I just need to do my part, just me.’

An U-ju nocked another arrow to her bowstring.

About 6 hours had passed since then.

“The ruler is dead!! All troops retreat!! Return to the estate!!”

Suddenly, the Knight Commander who had been leading the soldiers began issuing retreat orders.

“Huh?”

The soldiers who had been fighting stood there with their mouths agape at the unexpected situation.

The ruler is dead?

Soon after the soldiers retreated.

On the battlefield, a single soldier covered in blood stood alone holding a sword.

It was Choi Hyun.

* * *

6 hours earlier.

[ Swift Steps is activated. ]

[ Ultra Focus is activated. ]

[ Stealth Step is activated. ]

Swoosh!

After climbing down from the castle wall, Choi Hyun immediately circled around to the side and began moving toward the enemy’s rear.

The core of this mission was to defend Horeign for 72 hours.

But this was only the surface objective; Choi Hyun, who came from the end of destruction, thought differently.

‘Why bother waiting out the full time?’

In fact, though the System divided them into Red, Blue, and Green for concept purposes, everyone would eventually realize as time passed.

Gate themes essentially boiled down to one thing.

That was the annihilation of the enemy.

In the end, if you kill them all, there’s nothing to defend and no reason to endure.

Moreover, for Choi Hyun who came from the future, time was gold.

Especially this period before the Second Great Catastrophe began – every single day was precious as gold.

In such circumstances, 72 hours in a place like this?

It was absurd.

Choi Hyun circled around to the enemy’s rear, then began running like mad along the path the Preuzan Ruler’s army had taken.

The route was obvious.

Usually, such large-scale marches had to move along paved roads rather than rough terrain to minimize energy consumption.

After sprinting at full speed for about 3 hours.

‘Found it.’

Choi Hyun had finally arrived at the Preuzan Estate.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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