The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 108
Thud!
I collapsed as I tried to push myself upright.
The arrow-pierced thigh had lost all strength, making it impossible to stand on both legs.
“Hah… hah…”
Gritting my teeth, I crawled toward the Tree and leaned my back against it.
“…What a pathetic sight. Heh.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
Utterly battered.
My entire body was covered in wounds, with a blade embedded in my shoulder and an arrow lodged in my thigh.
I could have collapsed at any moment without it being surprising.
An ordinary person would have lost consciousness long ago—the fact that I’d endured this long was nothing short of miraculous.
At least I’d avoided fatal injuries, and such severe wounds were something I’d experienced countless times before, making this possible.
“This is exhilarating. The Arena. Heheheh.”
I smiled with a wild, almost manic edge.
Ether, items, and spirit blades.
All my abilities as a Hunter had been sealed away, yet I was holding my own quite well.
If not now, when would I ever fight as a [pure human]?
“Not bad. This is all training too.”
I was actually savoring my current state.
My philosophy was that I needed to be able to move even when reduced to a tattered rag.
It was also the belief of my father, Cha Geun-woo.
Whether as a special forces operative or a Hunter, one’s body never remained whole, constantly grinding through extreme environments.
Inevitably, severe injuries became routine, leaving no choice but to endure and adapt.
Otherwise, death would be the only outcome.
‘I can’t reach the flags in this condition.’
After assessing my body’s state, I made a cold judgment of the situation.
It was impossible.
I’d need to move at least 100 meters to reach either flag, and I didn’t think I could hold on much longer.
Moreover, to win, I’d need to secure both flags hidden in The Forest.
Conversely, if Kim Chang-won secured just one flag, he’d end up with all four flags in total.
‘Well, the flags don’t really matter anyway.’
My eyes gleamed with a sharp, cold killing intent.
‘I just need to hold on for five more minutes.’
With that thought, I snapped the arrow.
I didn’t pull it out.
If I did, blood might geyser out uncontrollably.
I removed my shirt.
Between the taut muscles.
Blood was flowing from wounds both large and small.
My hands moved with practiced urgency.
I had at most one or two minutes remaining.
I needed to complete the emergency treatment and move before time ran out.
With a sharp tear, I ripped my shirt in half and bound my thigh and left shoulder, then forced myself to my feet.
“Hgh!”
A dizzying pain wrung an involuntary laugh from me.
My vision swam violently as waves of vertigo crashed over me.
I refused to yield.
Only unconsciousness or death could stop me.
* * *
Kim Chang-won sprinted toward The Forest.
Though he’d missed, it hardly mattered.
With an arrow lodged in his thigh, the man wouldn’t even be able to walk properly.
For someone in such a state to claim both flags hidden in The Forest was absurd.
‘Stubborn bastard. What could a wreck like that possibly do?’
Kim Chang-won clicked his tongue again at Eun-sung’s tenacity and venom.
And to think the man was actually considering crawling through the undergrowth…
It was astounding how vicious someone could be when they’d only recently become a Hunter.
‘He’s clever enough, but that’s where it ends.’
Kim Chang-won acknowledged Eun-sung’s cunning while coldly assessing the situation.
From his perspective, Eun-sung had already crossed the point of no return.
Pursuing and subduing him would be easier than eating soft rice.
With that conviction, Kim Chang-won rushed toward The Forest.
Then, at some point, his footsteps halted abruptly.
He’d stopped just before The Forest’s edge.
“Hah.”
Kim Chang-won drew a deep breath.
He wasn’t a fool—he knew how dangerous it was to follow an enemy into The Forest.
The Forest offered countless means of concealment and cover, giving the ambusher an overwhelming advantage.
“Ooooh―!”
As Kim Chang-won hesitated, jeers erupted from the stands.
“You scared?”
“You’re not even a man!”
“Coward!”
Raw, crude mockery and insults.
“Damn it all.”
A curse slipped from Kim Chang-won’s lips.
He was only human—the relentless jeers and profanities shook his resolve.
“Fine, I’ll go. Shut up.”
Kim Chang-won took a step forward, driven by wounded pride.
Right, there was no way I could back out now anyway.
Why would I hesitate over something as simple as dealing with a wounded beast?
“Block out the sound!”
“Yes!”
Aurelius issued the command to the mages as if he’d been waiting for this moment, ensuring that the noise from the spectator stands couldn’t reach into The Forest.
Thanks to that, Kim Chang-won was finally freed from the jeers and condemnation of the crowd.
The silent forest.
‘This way.’
Kim Chang-won’s eyes caught the trail of blood Eun-sung had left behind.
‘I’ll follow it.’
He pursued Eun-sung’s blood trail.
Step by careful step.
Deliberate footfalls.
Kim Chang-won tracked Eun-sung in silence, making sure not to make a sound.
Then, in an instant.
Crunch!
The sound of grass being crushed underfoot.
“…!”
Kim Chang-won’s body twisted instinctively.
Thwack!
Eun-sung’s axe embedded itself between Kim Chang-won’s shoulder and neck.
Had he reacted even a tenth of a second later, his throat would have been severed—a stroke of incredible fortune for Kim Chang-won.
“Ugh!”
Kim Chang-won groaned in pain even as he drew back his bowstring.
But Eun-sung wasn’t about to let that happen.
Crack!
Eun-sung released the axe and seized Kim Chang-won’s bow.
A grapple ensued.
“Let go, damn it…!”
“Grrrgh!”
Eun-sung and Kim Chang-won became entangled.
Kim Chang-won desperately tried to fire the bow while Eun-sung clenched his teeth and refused to let go.
“You insane bastard―!”
Thud!
Kim Chang-won’s knee drove hard into Eun-sung’s abdomen.
It was a fatal mistake.
Snap!
The bow shattered.
Crack!
The broken bowstring whipped across Kim Chang-won’s face.
“Cough!”
Kim Chang-won’s head snapped backward.
“Uaaaaaaah―!”
Eun-sung roared ferociously and rammed into Kim Chang-won.
Thud!
Eun-sung and Kim Chang-won tumbled across the dirt ground.
“Damn it!”
Clang!
Kim Chang-won frantically drew his dagger.
Crack!
Eun-sung pounced on Kim Chang-won like a beast, pinning the arm that held the dagger.
Trembling―!
A battle of strength erupted.
“You insane bastard… in all my years, I’ve never met anyone as relentless as you… gasp!”
Kim Chang-won flinched as our eyes met.
An expressionless face.
Clenched teeth.
Eyes that fixated solely on the objective—relentless and merciless.
Blood streaming down, yet showing no regard for pain whatsoever.
Beyond relentless, I looked like a killing machine functioning purely to achieve my goal.
Whoosh!
I jerked my head back sharply.
The next instant.
Crack!
My headbutt slammed into Kim Chang-won’s face.
“Cough!”
Kim Chang-won vomited blood.
His face, nose, and mouth were crushed, blood pouring freely.
I didn’t stop.
Whoosh!
I pulled my head back again, then rammed his face once more.
That was the beginning.
Crack!
“Gag!”
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Crack!
“I… I c…”
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
“….”
Kim Chang-won fell silent.
But I didn’t stop.
Crack!
With the final headbutt, Kim Chang-won’s face caved in halfway.
“Ugh!”
Only then did I cease the headbutts and collapse flat on my back beside Kim Chang-won.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
I gasped for breath in ragged, violent heaves.
Thump-thump, thump-thump!
My heart hammered like a madman’s fists.
The combat suit wrapped around my wounds turned crimson as blood dripped relentlessly.
My vision blurred.
A high-pitched ringing screamed endlessly in my ears.
Every inch of my body ached as though shattered.
Even moving a single fingertip felt impossible.
“Heh, heheheh.”
My shoulders trembled.
Adrenaline and dopamine flooded through me explosively.
And the exhilaration of accomplishment.
It made me laugh.
But it wasn’t over.
With tremendous effort, I turned my head.
There lay Kim Chang-won, drenched in blood, utterly motionless.
I reached my hand toward Kim Chang-won.
* * *
Murmur, murmur!
The spectators were going mad with curiosity about what was happening in The Forest.
“What’s happening?”
“Come on!”
“The flag’s still intact. Are they still fighting?”
“Ugh! This is maddening!”
Aurelius, the lord of Jamsil Colosseum, was extremely satisfied with the crowd’s reaction.
In truth, he possessed the ability to reveal what was happening in The Forest.
Just as I had blocked external sounds from reaching Eun-sung and Kim Chang-won, he could have made the Competition Ground semi-transparent so the spectators could see into The Forest.
But Aurelius deliberately refrained from showing the forest’s situation for dramatic effect.
The spectators waited desperately for only the result.
What had transpired.
And who the victor was.
Because they couldn’t see, each person was spinning wild imaginings, consumed with anticipation.
Screech!
Aurelius’s lips curled upward in a slow, deliberate smile.
“Excellent. Very excellent indeed.”
In the end, combat matches were performances with predetermined outcomes.
The Arena was a stage, and the fighters were merely actors upon it.
The nail-biting tension that made spectators grip their seats.
The breathless clash of titans.
The unexpected twist that shattered all predictions.
And finally, the triumphant roar of the survivor.
When all these elements wove together in perfect harmony, only then did the crowd erupt in fervor.
As the lord of the Jamsil Colosseum, Aurelius understood combat matches better than anyone else.
So he waited.
For the moment the victor would emerge from The Forest.
“Someone’s coming out!”
“What? The flag is still intact!”
Every eye in the stands snapped toward a single point.
One step.
Then another.
With unsteady strides, the victor stumbled forth from The Forest.
It was Cha Eun-sung.
“Ugh.”
I was dragging Kim Chang-won by the scruff of his neck, hauling him along behind me.
The sight resembled a beast of prey returning with its kill.
Drag, drag, drag…
Kim Chang-won’s limp body swayed helplessly with each pull.
His blood-soaked face was barely recognizable.
“….”
The stands fell silent in an instant.
No one dared speak.
It was a truly breathtaking spectacle.
“Hah.”
I released Kim Chang-won carelessly and rummaged through his belongings.
From within, I withdrew three flags.
“Ahhh!”
Only then did the crowd grasp my strategy in The Forest.
My target had never been the flags hidden in The Forest.
It was Kim Chang-won.
I had intended to crush my opponent and seize what he possessed.
With a flourish, I hoisted the bundle of flags above my head.
“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the stands.
Whoosh!
Dust scattered through the air as the roar of the crowd shook the Arena.
Boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom, boom!
The excited spectators stomped their feet in fervent celebration.
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
Everyone chanted Eun-sung’s name in unison.
It was praise for the first person in the Arena’s history to achieve a Royal Road.
Yet Eun-sung remained motionless even amid that thunderous acclaim.
“That’s our junior! I knew it! I always knew our junior would achieve the Royal Road!”
Wi Tae-woong, arriving before anyone else, offered his congratulations to Eun-sung.
But Eun-sung did not respond.
“Eun-sung!”
“Are you alright?”
Lim Lieutenant Colonel and the Defense Strategy Department hunters who arrived moments later approached, yet Eun-sung still showed no reaction.
He simply stood there motionless, flag held aloft as if frozen in place.
“Kahahahahaha!”
Suddenly, Wi Tae-woong burst into wild laughter.
“That’s it! You absolute madman, Cha Eun-sung! You’re saying you’ll lose consciousness but won’t fall! Kahahaha!”
“…!”
Lim Lieutenant Colonel and the Defense Strategy Department hunters’ eyes widened in shock.
So a human could actually lose consciousness while standing….

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