Chapter 67

‘Hmm, basically, two guards act together.’

Did it mean that he pulled out the guys patrolling around the barrier? It would have been easier to hunt one by one.

Leeha scratched his head, but he didn’t think it was a big threat. Besides, he did the same test twice and he got the same result, so he did not have regrets anyway.

‘I’m sure they’re humanoid monsters, so the thigh is also an area that does a lot of damage, isn’t it? Anyway, I also confirmed that if I hit their leg, their speed slows down.’

He was skeptical at first, and he had no way to confirm the relationship between damage to the leg and movement speed.

Seeing Highlander Tale’s slow movement in the video of the Tiwi Canyon, he somewhat expected it, but he still needed solid data.

‘Well then.’

Looking at the two kobold guards that were dragging one of their legs and bleeding, Leeha quickly turned back and ran.

“Two guards, each shot in the thigh. Be prepared for aggro.”

After Leeha returned, he called out to Matsushige and reloaded at the same time. In fact, Leeha’s two party members were making silly faces.

“Yes. By the way… That was really great. Did you see, Hana-chan?”

“Yes, yes! I guess even they couldn’t walk properly when you hit their legs…. This is the first time I saw it.”

Even the level 40 and 42 users won’t be able to close their mouth if they see something for the first time.

They had been through a lot after hearing that Middle Earth was realistic, but they couldn’t help but be surprised every time they saw something like this.

It was unavoidable.

Dealers who rely on the combat assistance system do not aim and fire at a specific area, and even if they do, the projectile does not fly there.

“Matsushige-nim!”

“Ha, hat! Yes, we are preparing.”

When Leeha made a low and thick voice, Matsushige came to his senses. Even if their movements had slowed down, the two kobolds were running towards Leeha. Full of anger.

If Matsushige missed it, Leeha’s life would be in danger.

“Ka- Kaat-!”

The kobold guards barely managed to climb the hill and into the bushes.

“Double slash!”

Matsushige jumped and swung his sword twice.

When a series of diagonal slashes hit the kobold guards once, their target changed in an instant.

“H-human! Ka-”

“Kill! Village, protect!”

Although they were small in height, they have muscle mass that exceeded that of an adult male.

Even though it may look sloppy at first glance, kobolds are also monsters. When they swung their spear it was pretty scary.

“Protection!”

As soon as Mame Hana’s green magic enveloped Matsushige, the kobold guard stabbed its spear out.

“Hmm!”

Kaang-!

However, Matsushige got only lightly brushed.

It was a 130cm tall kobold, and had more strength and skills than an adult male, but at least right now, it couldn’t compete with Matsushige.

It was already slowed down by Leeha, and a lot of its stamina has been consumed.

“Slash!”

“Kat-!”

Matsushige’s sword cut the kobold guard’s forearm in half. Green blood oozed out of the forearm, which was rattling like a broken branch.

Leeha frowned and moved from his position.

There was a second point to test.

The moment Matsushige faced the two kobold guards in front of him, Leeha moved to the spot where the two kobolds lined up.

In other words, he aimed at the kobolds from the right that was further from Matsushige, and not behind him.

“Human?”

“Ka, Hu-!”

“Ha Leeha-nim, you can’t go too far! There might be aggro-!”

Taa–

Pik, pik.

—aang!

“What did you say? Mame Hana-nim?”

Leeha, unable to hear Mame Hana’s shout, asked with a calm expression only after firing the musket.

“Ah…”

“W-What?”

However, neither Matsushige nor Mame Hana could answer Leeha’s words.

“What? What happened, Ha Leeha-nim?”

“What?”

Matsushige and Mame Hana could not hide their surprise even while blowing away the white smoke.

“How did both of them die at the same time?”

The two kobold guards fell down at the same time.

Mame Hana couldn’t see from behind, but Matsushige, who was blocking their attack, did.

Something popped out of the right kobold and entered the temple of the one on the left.

“Penetration.”

“Heol..”

Was that even possible?

Matsushige himself used his thrust skill to make a powerful stab, and there was a time when his sword pierced even the monster on the back.

But was it possible to kill other monsters in that way?

It was definitely different from general users.

Leeha looked at Matsushige and smiled.

“Hey, don’t be surprised. The two of them were together and the fact that I was close, it worked for me. Normally, it’s not possible.”

Leeha laughed and picked up the item dropped by the kobold guards, but he was surprised as well.

He tried it just in case.

‘I was wondering if I could do to these guys the same thing I did with the spiders… if shot at this distance, it could penetrate their temple. First of all, the toughest monster was the bear, then kobolds, then spiders or bats.’

At least, it was known that the skin of a humanoid monster was not tougher than an animal.

What about the bear with a thick skin? Of course he was lower leveled at that time, but when he shot the bear in the head, it wasn’t able to pierce its bone.

‘Does piercing have anything to do with the bullets? Musket? Skill? Hmm… I need to do more research.’

Leeha put the cobblestone necklace dropped by the kobold guard into his bag and inspected the Hijuit Village again.

What’s left now?

‘Right, it’s time to hunt. Here, I need to have a plan while hunting the patrols and guards as well as raising my level.’

They had to face various types of kobolds and had to go into the Hijuit village and check the shape of the village.

It was such a complicated situation.

On one hand, he wanted to dissolve the party, but on the other hand, there were a lot of variables, so he couldn’t.

Most of all, he felt sorry for the two people who came together with him.

Leeha decided to get more information and think about something else for the time being.

‘About the Hijuit Chieftain.’

He had to get to level 29 and look for the Chieftain at the same time.

Live information that could never be known through an internet search.

The most efficient way to hunt two rabbits: levelling up and collecting information.

‘Operation Name – Picking up a good tanker that listens well…. Limit.’

Leeha looked at Matsushige and Mame Hana alternately.

“Now, shall we move to the next one?”

“Oh dear. Thanks to Ha Leeha-nim, we will level up soon.”

“Hehehe, that’s true. Amazing!”

Mame Hana put on a cute expression and smiled, but Leeha simply laughed without answering.

Their next target was a kobold patrol.

Later, he had to hunt the guards near the entrance, deal with the kobolds in the guard tower and enter the village.

That was his first goal.

“Let’s go.”

Taaang–!

A bullet with 71% accuracy at 69m dug into the kobold patrol’s thigh.

“Ka-kat! Humans, humans!”

“Ah, come to think of it, does this make sense?”

“Yes? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Matsushige suddenly remembered to ask, but Leeha did not answer.

It was good… to enter the village. That was a good path. However, it was dangerous. But what if they could communicate with these guys?

‘Even if we don’t go in… can I catch and ask them?’

It might be a little quicker to dig up information about the Chieftain.

“Matsushige-nim, you need to tank this guy a little longer. Hehe.”

Matsushige and Mame Hana felt goosebumps as soon as they heard the sound of Leeha’s laughter.

“Kaa- Die, Human!”

The kobold patrol struggled hard, but his body didn’t move properly.

“Hmm, if you resist like that, you won’t be able to do anything.”

“Kaat! Kaaa! Kakakat!”

When Leeha approached and teased his fingers, he drooled and spat out laughter. Next to them, Matsushige and Mame Hana looked at him with puzzled eyes.

“Now, let me ask you one more time. How does the chief get out? Weakness?”

“Kaa- I am from the proud Hijuit Tribe-!”

“Phew, this bastard…. Matsushige-nim? Please hold it tighter.”

Leeha looked at Matsushige with an annoyed expression on his face.

Leeha’s neck became stiff when he looked at Matsushige who was sitting down.

“That, that, no matter how… it is a monster…”

“Don’t worry. There were a lot of people who thought they were going to die due to tickling, but I haven’t seen one who really died.”

“Okay…”

Matsushige tightened his grip on the kobold patrol’s wrist.

Immobilizing the legs and fixing its arms with a rope… tickle torture?

How could such absurd things work with monsters?

It was no wonder that Matsushige and Mame Hana felt absurd.

“Kaat-! Kaa, don’t do it, human! Stop!”

A kobold patrol screamed. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t get out.

“You know, it’s okay to talk, right? This is different from other tortures. You won’t be able to die, or faint.”

“Kaa-! I can not say! I am a proud kobold patrol of the Hijuit Tribe-!”

“Right, right. Let’s see how proud you are.”

Leeha scratched the kobold’s side and armpit again.

“Kakakat, kakakat! Kakat!”

The kobold patrol spat out and shivered lightly.

‘I didn’t know if this kind of torture method would work, so I tried it first…’

I never thought it would work on the first try.

Even Leeha who tickled the kobold felt it absurd. Cutting its thighs with a mana bayonet, covering its nose and mouth, cutting off its fingers…. Leeha thought of rough ways, however, tickling worked.

“Hey, patrol. Talk. How do you call the Chieftain! You should know it. The Chieftain should be in there anyway.”

“Kaa, kaa……. I am proud-!”

“This bastard.”

“Kaaaak! Kaaat!”

Should he change the torture to something that causes physical pain? Or would that kind of torture not work in the first place?

Every time he heard the kobold patrol repeat his words, Leeha tickled the kobold, but there was still no result.

Still, he persistently tickled the kobold.

His obsession with information was truly remarkable.

‘No, there’s no way a patrol kobold didn’t know. Matsushige and Mame Hana knew that there was a Chieftain’s residence inside the iron mine. But one can’t go inside it. It must be brought out.’

Matsushige and Mame Hana said that they never personally witnessed, but knew about the Chieftain.

Inside the iron mine.

It was said that the Chieftain and his bodyguards were located in the burrows used by the Hijuit Kobold Tribe for the storage and nursing area.

However, in order to enter the iron mine, it was said that at least one raid team should attempt it, so Leeha ultimately had to find a way to bring out the Chieftain.

‘Should I just kill it and move on to the next one?’

Leeha glanced at the kobold patrol, breathing heavily.

‘Okay, Let’s do it one more time.’

Leeha eventually placed the loaded musket on the kobold patrol’s forehead.

“Bye. I’m just going to kill you.”

“Ka, ka- Chieftain doesn’t come out! Kaa- If nothing special, kaa-!”

“What? Something special?”

As soon as the musket was placed on its forehead, it blurted out information. If Leeha had known this would be the case, he would have done it earlier without torture.

“What is that special thing?”

“Kaa- the c-crisis of the tribe at stake! Kaa- humans who never leave! Kaa!”

“Dignity? Humans that don’t leave? What is that? Please tell me in detail.”

Leeha pressed the musket on the kobold patrol’s forehead. The expression on the kobold patrol’s face, which had been trembling before, changed.

Leeha immediately recognized it. That all the hints that could be given on Middle Earth had already come out.

“I am a proud-”

“It must be the limit. Damn it.”

Leeha pulled the trigger.

(To be continued…)