Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Spendthrift Necromancer (58)

Inescapable Net (2)

“This is giving me a headache.”

Martial Alliance Leader Yang Jeonghak.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ground.

Not long after the pursuit began, his subordinates started calling him over.

The reason was simple.

The footprints visible on the ground.

Countless trails spread in dozens of directions. Even their size and the weight pressed into the earth were almost identical.

It was difficult even for him to tell which ones were real.

If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.

Their actions fit that saying perfectly.

Then.

Gu Yangcheon scratched his head irritably.

“……

He matched the weight this precisely? That bastard didn't just run on impulse. He planned this whole thing.”

“……

Correct. And the bigger problem is…….”

“He completely mixed his own footprints with the undead's. This just became a gigantic pain in the ass.”

Yang Jeonghak nodded.

The undead had been split into groups of fifty and scattered in every direction.

They had even continually trampled the tracks of those ahead.

Even experts like them couldn't track anyone through that.

Every direction was filled with ruined footprints.‘Can't distinguish them.’Which meant they'd been trained with incredible thoroughness.

Yang Jeonghak tilted his head.

“……

Is it even possible to train undead with this level of precision?”

“That Unorthodox Alliance Leader over there should know.”

“…….”

Baek Hakseong was also staring at the ground with a hardened expression.

Then he spoke.

“Training them in this manner is possible. However…… the undead would need to be fairly high-grade. At minimum, something on the level of a Jiangshi.”

“Then Baek Socheon's necromancy is that advanced?”

“No. It was a type of undead I'd never seen before, but the aura I felt from them was not particularly great. Normally, low-grade undead of that level cannot be trained.”

“But he did it. How?”

“……

I don't know either.”

“Damn it. Then we have no choice but to split our own forces.”

The other two nodded at Gu Yangcheon's words.

“You intend to search every direction?”

“……

There are directions he almost certainly didn't take, but we do not know where their escape point lies. We cannot ignore even the slightest possibility.”

The two nodded at Baek Hakseong's words.

The bastard was cunning.

He might have deliberately exploited that assumption and gone in a direction nobody expected.

There was even a tiny possibility that he hadn't moved away from this location at all.

The Clue to Ascension was at stake.

They couldn't dismiss even one small risk.

Yang Jeonghak stroked his chin.

“Then split everyone into groups of seven hundred. Search everything. Every group must contain at least two Elder-class experts.”

Nobody objected to the proposal.They had received information about the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering from Cho Wonhwi, who finished third.

The trial required everyone to kill one another until only three remained.

The most outstanding youths in Murim had participated.

There hadn't been a single weakling among them.

Every participant possessed enough status and strength to swagger around anywhere outside.

Yet the people who took first and second place among them were now fleeing.

And the first-place winner was known to command thousands of undead.

If they sent only mediocre warriors, they could easily be devoured instead of delaying the fugitives.

Each group needed at least two Elder-class experts to buy time.

Fortunately, all three organizations that dominated Murim were gathered here.

Deploying that much strength wasn't difficult.

The only problem.

Was whether to mix their personnel together, and which search direction each faction would receive.

“The Demonic Cult will take this direction.”

Gu Yangcheon pointed straight ahead on the map.

The other two immediately scowled.

“Haha, fuck off.”

“You think our Unorthodox Alliance is full of idiots?”

If the two fugitives had chosen an escape direction, straight ahead was the most likely.

From there, they could change direction freely at any time.

The outer directions were different.

If surrounded while fleeing along the perimeter, their movement options would become much more limited.

“Then what the hell do you suggest?”

Gu Yangcheon asked with a scowl.

Yang Jeonghak answered.

“Starting from the outermost direction, alternate them. Unorthodox Alliance, Martial Alliance, Demonic Cult. Unorthodox, Martial, Demonic, Unorthodox, Martial, Demonic. Something like that.”

“You want to scatter the groups like that? We'd be lucky if they didn't screw each other over instead of communicating.”

“If we assign one faction to each direction like you suggested, everyone given a direction other than the center will complain. Am I wrong?”

“Ahem.”

Gu Yangcheon cleared his throat.

It was undeniably reasonable.

“Besides, one group probably won't be enough to capture those two. If someone finds them, they'll need support from the nearby groups. This way, all three organizations get to participate in the pursuit.”

The two nodded.

With an arrangement like this, if one organization discovered the fugitives, the only nearby groups they could ask for support would belong to the other two.

Even if they tried calling their own faction from much farther away.‘They'll notice.’If one faction suddenly started rushing en masse toward a certain area, wouldn't the neighboring factions realize something and follow?

At least in terms of equal opportunity, it was the best arrangement.

Efficiency was another question…….

But efficiency was something you worried about only if capture seemed doubtful.‘There's no way they escape.’All three shared the same thought.

Failure to capture them wasn't even considered an option.

There had to be a decent distance to the escape point.

What if the escape point was nearby?‘Then he wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.’If it were close, he'd just run until his eyebrows caught fire instead of wasting time on this elaborate trick.

Of course, the bastard was cunning enough that he might have done it even if the destination were close…….

But there was nothing they could do about that.

If the escape point was that near, how were they supposed to catch him anyway?

So they ignored that possibility.‘They will be caught.’Nearly thirty thousand pursuers.

And no matter what direction the fugitives traveled, there were walled cities ahead.

Carrier pigeons had already been dispatched to every one of them long ago.

Block traffic for several days.

Let nobody pass.

Both behind and ahead were sealed.

It might take a little time.

But the hunt would succeed.

“We've settled the details. Let's move. Every moment matters.”

“Fine.”

The three nodded.

And so the pursuit force was formed.* * *Human stamina had limits.

That was true even for exceptional Awakened.

After crossing several mountains consecutively in one day, Minwoo's breathing had grown ragged.

He looked at Seo Yerim.

Fatigue showed on her face.

Her stats were higher than his, but that didn't make her immune to exhaustion.‘We need a short rest.’They'd run an entire day.

He'd also scattered the fifty Skeletons following them in every direction, so the pursuit should have been thrown into confusion.

They had probably bought some time.

Minwoo looked around.

Conveniently, there was a suitable cave nearby.

“Huff. Let's rest there for a bit.”

They entered the cave and sat down.

While chewing on an energy bar, Minwoo checked the map floating before him.[Progress: 20%][Remaining Distance: 80%]‘About one-fifth of the way.’In other words, at this speed they'd have to repeat the same thing four more times to reach the destination.

Worse, according to the map, several routes required passing through walled cities.

And the city ahead lay under Martial Alliance influence.

No wonder his thoughts became complicated.

Seo Yerim seemed equally troubled.

“For now, I think we succeeded to some degree in confusing the pursuit…… Are we going straight?”

The route directly upward.

Straight through the city.

Judging by the map, it looked about the size of an ordinary city.

The advantage was obvious.

It was the fastest path.

The disadvantage…….‘By now, wanted posters are probably everywhere.’Carrier pigeons were dozens of times faster than a person running.

They had undoubtedly already been sent in every direction.

Going straight ahead meant quietly passing through was basically impossible.

“I'm thinking about it. But if we detour, they'll catch us faster.”

Straight line versus going around.

Naturally, the direct route was far faster.

And detouring meant crossing mountains.

The stamina consumption would be overwhelmingly higher.

“They still don't seem to know which direction we went. Wouldn't it be better to circle around and stay hidden?”

“There's a problem. Skeletons are unsummoned if they get beyond a certain range.”

That range was actually very large.

The problem was the distance between Minwoo and the Skeletons was rapidly increasing with every step forward.‘……

Half a day at best?’The farthest ones would start disappearing soon.

“……

No matter what we do, the search direction will eventually narrow.”

“I never thought we'd make it all the way without being detected. And the Skeletons are slow. They'll catch them quickly.”

His Skeletons had fairly high stats thanks to Bone Replacement, Death Lord, and equipment effects.

But naturally, they were still slower than martial artists who spent their lives practicing movement arts.

Especially while carrying heavy armor and bags.‘I did give them secondary orders…….’He'd told them to split off and hide individually whenever they passed mountains, caves, or similar terrain.

Anything to make things more annoying.

The problem was.‘It's still nothing but buying time.’Conclusion.

The search area would narrow sooner or later.

They would be pursued.

Seo Yerim's expression darkened.

“An entire day of running for 20%…… Then we need at least four more days…… How long can the Skeletons buy us?”

“The thirty thousand pursuers have probably all split up. At most, I'd say my summons last another day before they're all wiped out.”

“One day. Then even if everything goes well, we'll only reach 40%.”

“That's because we crossed mountains. If we can go straight through the city, we might reach around halfway. And if we get horses? Maybe even farther.”

“At least 50%…….”

That number apparently sounded tempting, because Seo Yerim's eyes became unfocused for a moment.

Minwoo took a drink of water.

“The problem is…… they'll learn our direction, and on flat terrain they'll be able to use transportation too.”

You couldn't ride a horse through mountain trails.

Naturally, the pursuers would have to run on foot as well.

Was Minwoo's side the only one suffering?

No.

The pursuers would be exhausted too.

But on flat terrain?

Nothing stopped them.

They could ride horses or carriages.

They could even swap to fresh horses along the way with ease.

Meanwhile, everything from obtaining horses to riding them along public roads was dangerous for Minwoo's side.

There was probably an absurd bounty on their heads.

The instant anyone thought they looked suspicious, reports would flood in from every direction.

“What about just hiding in some mountain valley…… Ah. No, that won't work. The Gate will burst…….”

“Yes. If it bursts, we both die.”

A Gate burst?

That meant a failed clear.

Every challenger still inside would die.

An A-rank Gate allowed three months for its first clear.

But about a month had already passed.

Only two months remained.

Hole up and wait?

Impossible.

“Even if we somehow didn't die when it burst, hiding wouldn't accomplish much. Do those people look like they'd give up on the Clue after a few years?”

“……

No.”

“Either way, we need to choose now.”

Seo Yerim nodded.

“Let's summarize. If we detour, they'll discover our direction a little later, but eventually they'll still narrow us down. And we'd move slower.”

“Yes.”

“If we pass through the city, we move fast, but pursuit squads will swarm us like dogs. Right?”

“Add one more thing.”

“……?”

“There aren't just cities behind us. There are cities all along our route ahead. Why do you think that is?”

“……

We'll be pursued from the front too, not just behind?”

“Wouldn't be an A+ Gate otherwise.”

“Haah…… This is difficult.”

Kim Minwoo nodded.

Recommended party size: thirty.

There was a reason the recommendation was that high.

“Still, the forces ahead probably aren't that strong. Most of the elites were already called away to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”

“……

What do you want to do?”

“In my experience, situations like this call for running straight forward without looking back.”

“You want to break through the city?”

“Yes. If we take some half-assed detour, those three old monsters will catch us and we'll get the drawn-and-quartered ending.”

Seo Yerim shuddered.

“……

Fine. Straight through.”

Then.―Coo.

Snowy flew into the cave.

The bird began pecking the ground with its beak.

Seven times in total.

Then it added an X beside them.

Finally, it scratched lines into the dirt with its claws.

Eight marks appeared.

“Aww, my baby. You're so clever. Daddy will give you a snack.”―Coo!

Snowy's eyes lit up as it devoured an attribute item.

Then it glanced at him as though asking whether he had any more.

“Once we get out, Daddy will buy you tons of snacks. Hold out for now, okay?”―Coo!

Snowy nodded vigorously.

What a clever Divine Beast.

Minwoo looked at Seo Yerim.

“The pursuit group has around seven hundred people. They're about eight hours away. Fortunately, none of the three old monsters are with them.”

“……

Snowy told you that?”

“Our Divine Beast can do things like this. Come on, let's get up.”

He stood together with Seo Yerim.

Before more tails latched onto them.

This was their only chance to break through the city.