“We’ll fight her like we’re fighting a legendary-ranked named monster. Miss Hee-Young, buff the melee members. Mr. Deok-Gu and Miss Hye-Jin will be the main force to prevent the rearguard from falling apart. Ye-Ri and I will block from the front as much as possible, so Miss Ha-Yan, Mr. Ki-Young, and Miss Jung-Yeon can cast spells that’ll stop her,” Kim Hyun-Sung ordered.

“Understood…” Sun Hee-Young responded.

“Got it,” Park Deok-Gu replied.

Usually, the buff would be applied to the rearguard as well, but to prevent the vanguards’ defeat, he wanted the buff to be focused on them, and I agreed with his decision. What was more interesting was that Kim Hyun-Sung looked used to all this, so I assumed Cha Hee-Ra would go berserk a few times in the future, too.

‘I’m sure it won’t be in a situation like this, though…’

“Grrrrr…”

Her messy hair was crimson, and her body was covered in blood. When she quietly glared at us from afar, my body trembled in response.

‘Whoo…’

Fortunately, she was able to distinguish her allies and enemies. Seeing how she didn’t kill her subordinate earlier made me think she wouldn’t perform any dangerous attacks. Of course, we could lose our heads even if she simply threw a rock at us.

“It’s coming!”

“Grr!!”

A large piece of debris started flying toward us.

‘You’re not going to kill us, right?’

The large piece of debris hovered over us, but when Hwang Jung-Yeon activated a spell, it remained in the air. It seemed like she was using psychokinesis, but no one exclaimed. We lost Cha Hee-Ra because the building blocked our line of sight, but when she appeared next to us and extended her hand out, Park Deok-Gu surprisingly managed to block her.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on… kgh!”

As soon as Park Deok-Gu blocked her attack, he was thrown to the other side and slammed into a building. I didn’t think he would die from that, but Cha Hee-Ra must have destroyed his arm, at the very least.

‘It only took one second…’

Park Deok-Gu proudly used his shield, but blocking one attack from her was his limit. During all of this, I saw Jo Hye-Jin, Kim Hyun-Sung, and Kim Ye-Ri charging toward her. Cha Hee-Ra tried to hit Kim Hyun-Sung with her arm like she was annoyed with him, but our lovely regressor dodged her attack. Then, I heard Jo Hye-Jin’s spear cutting through the air as it flew toward Cha Hee-Ra.

‘I can see it.’

The interesting part was that I couldn’t see their attacks before, but now I could see them. This was probably the influence of Mind’s Eye after evolving into legendary-rank.

When Cha Hee-Ra blocked the spear flying toward her with her hand, Jo Hye-Jin lost her balance, and when Cha Hee-Ra was getting ready to punch her, Kim Ye-Ri appeared behind her with her daggers. My mouth dropped at their coordination. Assuming that they fought together in his past life, it wouldn’t be difficult for Kim Hyun-Sung to work with them.

“Ha!”

Kim Hyun-Sung attacked Cha Hee-Ra with his sword, but when she jumped, the magic of the three members nearby collided, causing them to be blown away. When that happened, Jung Ha-Yan’s magic immediately filled their spots.

“Eek! Disappear!”

‘You’re not supposed to kill her.’

It seemed like she had unknowingly said her thoughts out loud, but it was hard to imagine Cha Hee-Ra getting hit by Jung Ha-Yan’s magic. The Elemental Bomb Jung Ha-Yan showed during the social gathering was the only time she attacked Cha Hee-Ra. Various magic mixed in together, and as it turned the ground into dust, it tried to swallow Cha Hee-Ra.

“Grr!”

But Cha Hee-Ra simply pushed away the spell Jung Ha-Yan had poured her mana into, causing a loud explosion, as the spell landed on a building on the other side.

Boooooooom!

Craaaaaack!

‘Shit..’

I recalled telling everyone that Castle Rock would be safe as I watched the buildings fall like dominos, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. Taking care of this situation was the priority, and Kim Hyun-Sung must’ve thought the same thing, as he immediately charged toward Cha Hee-Ra with his sword. Jo Hye-Jin and Kim Ye-Ri quickly followed to support him. A sword, spear, and daggers flew toward her at once, but they were useless. To make things worse, she was trying to kick Kim Ye-Ri away as the latter extended her dagger out.

‘Isn’t that dangerous?’

Kim Ye-Ri’s endurance wasn’t that high, and as I quickly tried to cast a spell, Park Deok-Gu jumped out from nowhere and blocked Cha Hee-Ra’s attack once again.

“Nice one, Park Deok-Gu!” I yelled.

“Aaaahhhhhh!”

Naturally, I saw her flying to the building on the other side again. Even though he quickly left as soon as he came back, he prevented Kim Ye-Ri from retiring thanks to his tenacity and endurance. It seemed like this battle would never end, but no, we have the advantage since all we had to do was endure.

‘The problem is…’

I didn’t know how much longer Cha Hee-Ra was going to go easy on us, as she was starting to look really frustrated. The vestiges of her consciousness were probably telling her not to kill us, but if this continued for an hour, she may not be able to control her strength. If we received a direct hit from her with her legendary-ranked stats, we wouldn’t just end up crashing into a building—our bodies would explode on the spot.

‘This isn’t good…’

Hwang Jung-Yeon, Jung Ha-Yan, and I were still using our magic, but it wasn’t that effective. Seeing the frown on Kim Hyun-Sung’s face made me think that he was feeling kind of anxious. Both sides weren’t exhausted yet, but it annoyed me that I had to use my precious stamina and magic on her instead of using them on the monsters to farm experience points. However…

‘We can’t keep going like this.’

The experience points weren’t the problem. If the baby’s mother appeared while Kim Hyun-Sung and Cha Hee-Ra were missing, the citizens of Castle Rock would be annihilated. When I thought about how we had to figure out a way, I heard the loud tolling of a bell.

“Rooooooooooar…”

It was a low cry, but it made me feel a shiver down my spine.

‘We’re doomed.’

We couldn’t see the monster from inside the city, but I knew exactly what was going on. The monster may not be able to fly, but it was only a matter of time before the castle walls fell, and the city would surely be thrown into chaos by then. I wasn’t the only one who heard the cry, and just by the voice alone, it was obviously different from an epic-ranked monster. Cha Hee-Ra was still a problem, and the castle walls needed support.

‘We need to stop it.’

“Mr. Hyun-Sung, the walls! We should head to the walls first,” I suggested.

“B-But…”

“No, to the west!” I cried out once more.

“What?”

“I don’t have time to explain. After taking me to the western area, please take care of the monsters at the castle wall,” I told them.

“I-It’s dangerous, Oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“The party will head to the castle walls. Miss Hye-Jin will be in charge and we’ll focus on stopping the monsters approaching the wall. After dropping Mr. Ki-Young off at the western area, we’ll immediately head to the castle walls,” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“But—”

“There’s no room for discussion. This is the top priority,” Kim Hyun-Sung interrupted.

“It’ll be fine, Ha-Yan,” I said, consoling Jung Ha-Yan.

Jung Ha-Yan was surprised, but Kim Hyun-Sung probably thought I had an idea since he spoke after nodding toward me quietly.

When Kim Hyun-Sung approached me, he grabbed my hand and ran toward the western area, and thanks to his agility stats, the scenery quickly changed. It was a bit strange to be in the cozy and warm arms of our regressor, but compared to when Jo Hye-Jin was holding me, his speed was on a whole new level. Cha Hee-Ra screamed as if a villain had taken her lover away, but for her to catch up to Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t going to be easy.

“Do you have something in mind?”

Kim Hyun-Sung must be tired, as he was panting while asking, and it was natural for him to be curious since I suddenly asked him to drop me off at the western area. It could be considered gambling, but there was still another group that could fight within Castle Rock.

“I’m not sure, but… I think we can get help,” I replied.

“What?”

“It’s someone I met a few days ago…”

“Huh?”

I probably sounded like a crazy person because I wasn’t sure what I was talking about either, but there was a chance. If that person immediately left after attending the underground auction house, I could be wrong, but the city was immediately thrown into martial law after my return.

‘I’m sure they’re here.’

The security hadn’t only been tight, but Red Mercenary Guild members were scouring every inch of the castle to make sure no one was leaving Castle Rock. It would be different if there were an underground entrance I wasn’t aware of, but after investigating the underground auction house, I couldn’t find any entrance that led outside. In addition, if that person was still interested in me, they shouldn’t leave the city that quickly. It was highly likely that they stayed in the auction house, hoping that we would meet again.

‘They’re probably here.’

They must have tried to find a way to escape. When I looked through my pocket, I found the note they gave me and even though I didn’t think we would meet again, they must have never imagined I would visit them first.

“Are we almost there?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

They were likely nearby. After taking a deep breath, I yelled out the name I didn’t want to call out.

“Xiao… lin!”

“What—”

“Xiaolin! Come out!”

The regressor revealed a look of surprise. He seemed like he wanted to ask how I knew that name, but he simply bit his lips and remained quiet.

‘Shit… They know each other.’

It wasn’t the same expression as when he saw Jung Jin-Ho, but it seemed like he had a bad relationship with Xiaolin. After thinking about Xiaolin’s unique habit, she didn’t seem like a righteous person, either…

‘Maybe it’s natural since she’s from the Republic…’

I could convince him later if I came up with a decent excuse.

“Xiaolin!! Come out!!” I yelled once again.

“Is she really here?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“I’m not sure, but maybe… No, I’m certain she’s here,” I hesitated, but I soon came to a conclusion.

Helpers had appeared in dramatic situations several times today, and if she was listening, I wanted to beg her to come out. There were still thirty-four minutes left until Cha Hee-Ra regained consciousness, and because she was still chasing me, I had no other choice but to do this. I couldn’t run away for thirty-four minutes while in Kim Hyun-Sung’s arms. I had managed to run away up until now, but there had been some close calls. In addition, seeing her chase after me like a madwoman scared me.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion.

“Ah.”

“I didn’t think we’d meet so soon… and during a situation like this… So what should I call you? Masked Man? Does that work?”

The same woman I met last time was standing on top of a building, and the fact that she was still wearing the Chinese dress was impressive. She called herself beautiful and seeing her without a mask proved that she really was beautiful. I smiled when I saw her.

‘This is it!’

A crazy woman going up against a crazy beast was the best-case scenario, and a famous saying I had heard before started playing in my head.

‘The balance of power must be maintained!’

“It’s an honor to see you again, beautiful Miss Xiaolin,” I started.

My warm greeting seemed to have sent her into a fluster.