Record of a Thousand Lives-Chapter 82

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

Whiiiing…!Pukeok!

The bolt thathad beenembedded in the back of his head slowly pulled itself out, and Kartheonregained his balance, observingthe surroundings. A fiery bolt grazed past the ancient king’s temple in reverse, andheslowly sat downin placeas the bolt in his hand pulled itself out and slowly flew backward.

Whiiing…!

[You haveturned back timeby 17 seconds.]

[You have used some of yourtemporal power.]

Piiing!

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

Kwachik!

The stone collided with the bolt, shattering it intopieces.Kartheon slowly stood up andcalled out, “Isit not frustrating just hiding and shooting from the dark?”

A bolt flew toward the ancient king’shead, but Kartheon easily grabbeditand stopped it inches away from his face. His withered hands grabbed thebolt, and the flames engulfingit were quicklyextinguished.

“Come here.Letus have a chat,” Kartheon said as hedrewthe sword on Katz’s waist.

Seventeen secondshadpassed.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, “Iwill come to you if you donot 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 assailantswould have shot him from multiple angles at once, but the bolts were only coming one at a time.Kartheonhad no reason to retreat or hesitate if there was only one assassin.As such, he walked slowly inthe direction the bolthad been shotfrom.

Sukeok!Pukeok! Kwachik!

The ancient king easily cut down three fiery bolts thatflewat him.It wasonlylogical for a marksman to be flustered the closertheirtarget came toward them.Kartheon could see a shadow holding a crossbow ashort distanceaway 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 theassassin’s hair.

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

“Kuheok!”Kartheon exclaimed in pain.Hecould tell that the assassin was highly skilled based on the way theirsword moved.

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

The assassin pulled his sword out of Kartheon’s cheek andstabbedthe ancient king in theface once again.

Pukeok!

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

The space around them slowly started to change…

[You haveturned back timeby 24 seconds.]

[You have used some of yourtemporal 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, butthings had still beendangerous. He would have already been dead if hehad beenlate in turningback timeby evena second.

‘Thereis norulethat a marksman can’t be skilled with the sword,’Kartheonthought. He admitted to himselfthat hehad beenoverconfident 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 thatflewtoward him. He thought, ‘I already know which direction he’sgoing to shoot from.’Heeasily avoided the threesuccessivebolts thatflewconsecutively 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.

Themovethe assassinhad just performedwas not an ordinary move, but it was similar to the skills shown by martial arts experts.Theyeasily snapped Kartheon’s right hand.

Clack!

The assassin did not simply twist the ancient king’s hand,butrather twisted it precisely at itsweakest point; it was clear that theyhadagreat understanding ofhuman 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 artsone would learnforself-defensein casethe enemy engagedin a melee. This is theskillof someone who has trained for at least twenty years.’

The assassin threwKartheon down to the ground and mercilessly pummeledhim. The ancient king’s collarbone and four ofhis ribswere shattered by the assassin’smerciless 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 histhumbsintoKartheon’s eye socketsanddiggingthe ancient king’s eyes out.

Kartheon was struck with shock and horrorby the assassin’s mercilessnessas his vision slowly blurred,and then he lost his sight.

[You have turned back time by 37 seconds.]

[You have used some of yourtemporal 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 eyeballshad returnedto normal after he turned back time. However, Kartheon was severely annoyed. He thought,‘To think a lowly assassinwouldmake me turn back time three times. No matter how much I have deteriorated, I can tell that he isnot an ordinary assassin.’

The ancient kingwanted to know the identity of the assassin shrouded in darkness. As such, hetoreoffa piece of cloth and threw itintothe campfire. As he walked into the darkness, he thought,‘I shouldaim 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 clothoutward,causing the darkness to recede fora split second. Itlasted 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 werea 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 centerin theface.It was at the verymoment thatKartheon’s brain was about to cease functioningthat he turned back time.

[You have turned backtime by 32 seconds.]

[You have used some of yourtemporal 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 knowIcan control time! I have turnedback time fourtimes now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”

Kartheondid not expect any reply, butthe expressionlessman suddenlyemerged 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 snappedangrily at the man, “What the hell are you?”

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

[You have turned backtime by 27 seconds.]

[You have used some of yourtemporal 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 beforeshouting, “You know I can control time! I have turnedback time fivetimes now! How many times do you want me to turn back time for you to be satisfied?!”

The expressionless mansuddenlyemerged fromthe darkness. Heput away his crossbow and pulled his sword out, saying, “999 times.”

The man’s sword immediatelythrust outat Kartheon, but Kartheon already knew the trajectory of the sword, andhe got up and avoided the attack. The ancient king moved his left hand simultaneously, countering the blowwith 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 hismoves.

Kartheon’s right hand shot outand…

Grasp!

The ancient king’s right hand successfully grabbed the man bytheneck. The man’s life forcewasgoing to be absorbed and hewouldsoon turn into dust.

However, tough leatherhad beenwrapped around the man’s neck, preventingKartheon 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 barelyintactlips.

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 yourtemporal 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 outto 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 damagedirectly, thinking,‘I have totearapartthe 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 bladebounced away from it.Kartheon grimaced.

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

“…Iam 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 yourtemporal 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’sgoing to beno end to it like this, and mytemporal poweris being wasted as well. I have to use my troops instead of fighting myself.’

The ancient kingwaved his left hand,awakeningthe thousands of mummies thatsleptin the sand.The mummies rose from their slumber and asked, “Ogreat king, what is the matter?”

“Someone nearby is trying to assassinate me. Donot kill him if you catch him, and bring him to me alive,” Kartheon ordered.The mummies spread outacrossthe area athiscommand.

Kartheon had wanted to kill the assassin himself. The fact that he had had to mobilize thousands of troops just to catch onemangreatly 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 muchinhis current state, as his body hadnot fully recovered yet, andhe could turn back time by forty seconds at most.‘It feelsas ifhe is trying to get rid of me in advance.’

It hadbeen a whilesincethe ancient king had struggled so much despite turning back time. Kartheon thought of the man’s face.‘He looked young,buthe had no vulnerabilities.’

Then, the ancient king suddenly remembered the man’s words.‘Did he sayhe hadregressed 999 times?’

Kartheon shook his head. There was no way that was possible. If whatthe man hadsaid was true, it would meanhewas living his 1,000th lifeonthe continent.‘Anyonewho haslived a thousand times would already have gone mad.’

Kartheon decided to take a break forthe time being. The ancient king touched his limping body and thought, ‘Itistiring to keep going backtothe past…’

***

Kang Yoon-Soo quietly withdrew his crossbow in the silent darkness, and he also took off the Frost Demon Leatherwrapped 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 hehadalready 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-Sooremembered having donewas shoot a few bolts from his crossbow. Kartheon was the only one whoknew what exactly Kang Yoon-Soohad doneand in what way. However, if hehadturned back time numerous times because of KangYoon-Soo, Kartheon would have realized by then thatliving through the same experience repeatedly couldbe nothing but horrible.

‘What he suffered tonight is barely an intro.’Kang Yoon-Soo was planning to show him what real hell wasinthe 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,butKang Yoon-Soo moved while avoiding them. Heclimbed a steep cliff,thenmuttered, “Summon White.”

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

“You’re a werewolf,” Kang Yoon-Sooreplied 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 thoughtas he lightly stretched his arms. Herecalled,‘The life I lived as a legend and stole everything valuableon thecontinent…’