Kartheon counted back from the moment the bolt struck his hand. It was exactly seventeen seconds, and so he turned back time by exactly seventeen seconds.

Whiiiing…! Pukeok!

The bolt that had been embedded in the back of his head slowly pulled itself out, and Kartheon regained his balance, observing the surroundings. A fiery bolt grazed past the ancient king’s temple in reverse, and he slowly sat down in place as the bolt in his hand pulled itself out and slowly flew backward.

Whiiing…!

[You have turned back time by 17 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

Piiing!

Kartheon moved his hand and avoided the bolt that flew toward it. He then picked up a stone and threw it at the bolt that was flying toward his temple.

Kwachik!

The stone collided with the bolt, shattering it into pieces. Kartheon slowly stood up and called out, “Is it not frustrating just hiding and shooting from the dark?”

A bolt flew toward the ancient king’s head, but Kartheon easily grabbed it and stopped it inches away from his face. His withered hands grabbed the bolt, and the flames engulfing it were quickly extinguished.

“Come here. Let us have a chat,” Kartheon said as he drew the sword on Katz’s waist.

Seventeen seconds had passed. Kartheon slowly started counting once again.

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Kartheon walked into the darkness. He said playfully, “I will come to you if you do not want to come to me.”

A bolt flew toward the ancient king as soon as he finished speaking, but Kartheon swung the sword in his hand and easily cut down the bolt.

‘There’s only one enemy,’ he thought. Multiple assailants would have shot him from multiple angles at once, but the bolts were only coming one at a time. Kartheon had no reason to retreat or hesitate if there was only one assassin. As such, he walked slowly in the direction the bolt had been shot from.

Sukeok! Pukeok! Kwachik!

The ancient king easily cut down three fiery bolts that flew at him. It was only logical for a marksman to be flustered the closer their target came toward them. Kartheon could see a shadow holding a crossbow a short distance away from him.

Kwachik!

Kartheon quickly swung his sword downward. The ancient king could not see clearly due to the darkness, but he felt that he had only managed to graze the assassin’s hair.

Then, the assassin suddenly attacked with a sword, stabbing it into the ancient king’s cheek.

“Kuheok!” Kartheon exclaimed in pain. He could tell that the assassin was highly skilled based on the way their sword moved.

‘How could he master both marksmanship and swordsmanship?’ Kartheon thought, surprised.

The assassin pulled his sword out of Kartheon’s cheek and stabbed the ancient king in the face once again.

Pukeok!

Kartheon’s teeth were smashed and he collapsed backward. The assassin’s sword was about to stab him dead center between the eyes, but he focused his mind.

The space around them slowly started to change…

[You have turned back time by 24 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

***

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Kartheon breathed heavily. It was just a short span of time, but things had still been dangerous. He would have already been dead if he had been late in turning back time by even a second.

‘There is no rule that a marksman can’t be skilled with the sword,’ Kartheon thought. He admitted to himself that he had been overconfident because of the fact that there was only one assassin and the fact that he could control time. The ancient king threw Katz’s sword aside, thinking, ‘I shouldn’t give this rat time to use his sword. I have to grab him with my right hand and kill him instantly.’

Kartheon walked into the darkness, and he saw a flickering flame in the distance. He ducked and avoided the fiery bolt that flew toward him. He thought, ‘I already know which direction he’s going to shoot from.’ He easily avoided the three successive bolts that flew consecutively at him.

He saw the shadow of the assassin carrying a crossbow. The shadow immediately threw his crossbow aside and tried to draw his sword.

‘Fool!’ Kartheon thought. He had already predicted the assassin’s move, and he extended his right hand toward the assassin’s neck. He had to grab the assassin by the neck to be able to instantly kill him.

However, the assassin suddenly grabbed his right hand and twisted it.

‘Martial arts?’ Kartheon was inwardly surprised.

The move the assassin had just performed was not an ordinary move, but it was similar to the skills shown by martial arts experts. They easily snapped Kartheon’s right hand.

Clack!

The assassin did not simply twist the ancient king’s hand, but rather twisted it precisely at its weakest point; it was clear that they had a great understanding of human skeletal structure.

The ancient king’s dry, withered bones broke and his right hand was crushed. Kartheon could not believe his eyes. He thought, ‘This is not the level of martial arts one would learn for self-defense in case the enemy engaged in a melee. This is the skill of someone who has trained for at least twenty years.’

The assassin threw Kartheon down to the ground and mercilessly pummeled him. The ancient king’s collarbone and four of his ribs were shattered by the assassin’s merciless pounding.

Kartheon was more taken aback than in pain. He said, “I see that you are skilled in marksmanship, swordsmanship, and martial arts.”

The assassin responded to the ancient king’s praises by digging both of his thumbs into Kartheon’s eye sockets and digging the ancient king’s eyes out.

Kartheon was struck with shock and horror by the assassin’s mercilessness as his vision slowly blurred, and then he lost his sight.

[You have turned back time by 37 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

***

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

The ancient king’s crushed right hand and eyeballs had returned to normal after he turned back time. However, Kartheon was severely annoyed. He thought, ‘To think a lowly assassin would make me turn back time three times. No matter how much I have deteriorated, I can tell that he is not an ordinary assassin.’

The ancient king wanted to know the identity of the assassin shrouded in darkness. As such, he tore off a piece of cloth and threw it into the campfire. As he walked into the darkness, he thought, ‘I should aim to expose that guy’s identity instead of aiming to kill him.’

The assassin kicked Kartheon as soon as the ancient king avoided the bolt flying toward him. Kartheon was utterly defeated, lying on the ground as he exclaimed, “Show yourself!”

Suddenly, the ancient king threw the burning cloth outward, causing the darkness to recede for a split second. It lasted only a short time, but it was more than enough for Kartheon to see the identity of his assailant. The assassin was a man in his twenties;  he was a Traveler judging by the device on his wrist. The assassin’s face was void of any emotion, as if he were a doll.

“I will remember your face,” Kartheon said.

The expressionless assassin pointed his crossbow at the ancient king and said, “Go back to the past.”

Ping!

A bolt hit the ancient king dead center in the face. It was at the very moment that Kartheon’s brain was about to cease functioning that he turned back time.

[You have turned back time by 32 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

[You have turned back time four times in a short period of time.]

[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]

***

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Kartheon roared out loud, “You know I can control time! I have turned back time four times now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”

Kartheon did not expect any reply, but the expressionless man suddenly emerged from the darkness. He put away his crossbow and pulled his sword out, saying, “999 times.”

“What did you say?” Kartheon asked in surprise.

“I regressed that many times too,” the expressionless man said.

Kartheon snapped angrily at the man, “What the hell are you?”

“None of your business,” the expressionless man said as he stabbed his sword into Kartheon’s face. Not a single drop of blood was spilled as the sword penetrated through the ancient king’s skull.

[You have turned back time by 27 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

[You have turned back time five times in a short period of time.]

[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]

***

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Kartheon thought for a moment before shouting, “You know I can control time! I have turned back time five times now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”

The expressionless man suddenly emerged from the darkness. He put away his crossbow and pulled his sword out, saying, “999 times.”

The man’s sword immediately thrust out at Kartheon, but Kartheon already knew the trajectory of the sword, and he got up and avoided the attack. The ancient king moved his left hand simultaneously, countering the blow with Katz’s sword.

Clang!

It was supposed to be an attack that was impossible to defend against, but the man easily parried the ancient king’s attack by quickly reading his moves.

Kartheon’s right hand shot out and…

Grasp!

The ancient king’s right hand successfully grabbed the man by the neck. The man’s life force was going to be absorbed and he would soon turn into dust.

However, tough leather had been wrapped around the man’s neck, preventing Kartheon from using his ability as it required direct contact with his target.

“So you have prepared for this as well,” Kartheon grumbled as he bit his barely intact lips.

The man swung his sword, and the ancient king’s neck was sliced apart cleanly.

[You have turned back time by 34 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

[You have turned back time six times in a short period of time.]

[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]

***

“Aigoo… Hehe… Stop tickling my waist, you cute little kitten.” Katz muttered nonsense as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

Kartheon called out to the assassin the same way he had previously.

The expressionless man said, “999 times.”

The ancient king changed the trajectory of his counter this time. He aimed for the leather wrapped around the man’s neck instead of trying to inflict damage directly, thinking, ‘I have to tear apart the leather wrapped around his neck and kill him instantly.’

The tip of Katz’s sword reached the leather wrapped around the man’s neck. The ancient king swung down with all his might. However, the leather actually managed to block the sword, and the blade bounced away from it. Kartheon grimaced.

The expressionless man suddenly said, “This leather can’t be cut.”

“…I am getting sick and tired of this,” Kartheon said.

The expressionless man’s sword swung down and split the ancient king in half.

[You have turned back time by 39 seconds.]

[You have used some of your temporal power.]

[You have turned back time seven times in a short period of time.]

[Your body has received a small amount of damage.]

***

Kartheon finally decided to cast his pride aside, thinking, ‘There’s going to be no end to it like this, and my temporal power is being wasted as well. I have to use my troops instead of fighting myself.’

The ancient king waved his left hand, awakening the thousands of mummies that slept in the sand. The mummies rose from their slumber and asked, “O great king, what is the matter?”

“Someone nearby is trying to assassinate me. Do not kill him if you catch him, and bring him to me alive,” Kartheon ordered. The mummies spread out across the area at his command.

Kartheon had wanted to kill the assassin himself. The fact that he had had to mobilize thousands of troops just to catch one man greatly damaged his pride. However, there was no other way aside from that, as the assassin kept finding ways to deal with the ancient king by displaying all sorts of random talents.

‘Something is strange…’ Kartheon thought. He had almost died seven times in the span of a night, and it was not because he was careless. ‘That guy precisely targeted me at this time and came after me.’

Kartheon could not turn back time much in his current state, as his body had not fully recovered yet, and he could turn back time by forty seconds at most. ‘It feels as if he is trying to get rid of me in advance.’

It had been a while since the ancient king had struggled so much despite turning back time. Kartheon thought of the man’s face. ‘He looked young, but he had no vulnerabilities.’

Then, the ancient king suddenly remembered the man’s words. ‘Did he say he had regressed 999 times?’

Kartheon shook his head. There was no way that was possible. If what the man had said was true, it would mean he was living his 1,000th life on the continent. ‘Anyone who has lived a thousand times would already have gone mad.’

Kartheon decided to take a break for the time being. The ancient king touched his limping body and thought, ‘It is tiring to keep going back to the past…’

***

Kang Yoon-Soo quietly withdrew his crossbow in the silent darkness, and he also took off the Frost Demon Leather wrapped around his neck.

‘He’s called the mummies,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. Kartheon was prideful and enjoyed frontal confrontations, and the fact that he had called his subordinates to deal with the matter meant that he had already set aside his pride.

‘I might not remember it, but Kartheon must have repeatedly turned back time… and he must have suffered a lot because of me.’ All Kang Yoon-Soo remembered having done was shoot a few bolts from his crossbow. Kartheon was the only one who knew what exactly Kang Yoon-Soo had done and in what way. However, if he had turned back time numerous times because of Kang Yoon-Soo, Kartheon would have realized by then that living through the same experience repeatedly could be nothing but horrible.

‘What he suffered tonight is barely an intro.’ Kang Yoon-Soo was planning to show him what real hell was in the war that was going to be waged later on. ‘I’ll definitely lead us to victory in this war.’

The mummies scouted the area with their slow mobility, but Kang Yoon-Soo moved while avoiding them. He climbed a steep cliff, then muttered, “Summon White.”

“Gamakurwa. Romirku. Ornoro,” White said as he stretched. It meant, ‘I’m confused as to whether I’m a werewolf or a horse these days.’

“You’re a werewolf,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he climbed onto the werewolf. White ran along the steep cliff.

‘I have to bring her to our side no matter what if we’re to win this war,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he lightly stretched his arms. He recalled, ‘The life I lived as a legend and stole everything valuable on the continent…’