Chapter 44: Chapter 44
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
“Are you talking to me?” the level-223 hunter said in a low voice, equipping his weapon, a black longsword, with an intimidating glare. Imbued with blue aura, the sword gave off a strange, mysterious feeling.
“Who do you think you are ordering me around? Ah, I see. You’re looking for an excuse to fight. In that case, I’ll be glad to give you one,” Min Soo said, spitting on the ground and walking toward Ho Sung, adding, “Diamond Clan, huh? More like thugs who mug people for a living if you ask me!”
“All right. I think you’re crossing the line there…”
“Pick up your weapon,” with disinterested eyes, the mercenary told Ho Sung, who scoffed and thought, ‘Is this guy serious? Does he not see that he’s outnumbered?’
Then, just as he was about to command his clansmen to attack the mercenary, Min Wook Cho came up to him and whispered, “S-sir? I think it would be better to show than to tell in this case.”
At which point, Ho Sung turned to Min Wook with a puzzled expression and said, “… What?”
Eyeing the level-223 mercenary, Min Wook added, “Not only is he an aura user, but I also think that it’s not wise to involve the entire clan just so we could teach that person a lesson. Even if we were to succeed, our clansmen’s trust toward you would drop. I think it’s best that you take care of this personally.”
Hearing that, Ho Sung felt a drop of sweat run down his neck. When he looked around at his clansmen with shaky eyes, he saw that they were all looking at him nervously.
“Again, I think it’s best that you take him on yourself, sir.”
Breaking out into cold sweats, Ho Sung barely managed to swallow the words, ‘But he’s twenty levels above me!’ Backing out was not an option, and as the head of the clan, he couldn’t afford to show cowardice in front of his clansmen. At the same time, the opponent’s level was significantly higher than his, and he most likely had much more combat experience. As Ho Sung’s confidence dwindled and sweat soaked his bangs, the mercenary said again in a low, scratchy voice, “Pick up your weapon,” glaring at Ho Sung fiercely. There was no way out.
Looking around, Ho Sung realized that his entire clan had their eyes fixed on him, looking for confirmation that they really were following someone worthy more so than hoping that their leader would win the fight.
‘… Damn it,’ Ho Sung let out internally, closing his eyes. Then, he made up his mind and took his weapon out of his inventory, the one the champion had given him: the Warlord’s Sword. Upon seeing the impressive sword on their leader’s hand, the clansmen shouted, impressed.
“Ohhhhh!”
Similarly, the mercenary also furrowed his brow at the sight of the legendary weapon in Ho Sung’s hand. However, knowing that he was at a higher level and much more experienced in combat, he remained unintimidated. In fact, his eyes burned with dangerous determination as if he was ready to fight at any given minute.
‘… This might just be my last day on this planet. Damn it! I didn’t even get to give a speech,’ Ho Sung thought as a wave of fear washed over him.
‘Maybe I should just make Min Wook the new leader and walk away. Besides, I lost every bit of my dignity to Min Sung Kang anyway. So, even if I were to walk away from this, nothing would change…’ Ho Sung thought. At that moment, the consequence of that decision played like a film in his head: walking away as a laughingstock and the subject of ridicule after submitting to some mercenary whom he had encountered at random. Going through that, Ho Sung scoffed. Furrowing his brow, the mercenary cracked his neck, and the clansmen stared at their leader in confusion.
‘What was I thinking? It’s not like I’m fighting Min Sung Kang or something. This guy’s only twenty levels higher than I am. I can’t believe I was thinking about slipping my way out of this,’ Ho Sung thought, gritting his teeth and telling himself as he was filled with self-loathing, ‘I’d rather die fighting.’
“You asked for it,” Ho Sung said, determined to fight. At which point, the mercenary, who had been waiting impatiently with his arms crossed and his sword lodged on the ground, pulled his sword out as if saying, ‘Finally!’
Sensing that the two were about to fight, the clansmen backed away from them in order to give them space.
“Let’s see what you got,” the mercenary said tauntingly, curling lips into a sneer and waving at Ho Sung as he would a puppy. Seeing that, Ho Sung gripped the sword in his hand tightly, and what appeared to be white streams of air coiled around his arms as he boosted his movement and attack speed. Then, a blue aura appeared around his legendary sword.
‘I don’t have to be a disgrace to myself, especially without Min Sung Kang around,’ Ho Sung thought, charging toward the mercenary without hesitation. Looking at his opponent with deep black eyes, which were as dark as his sword, the mercenary countered Ho Sung’s blow.
‘Clang!’
Sparks flew out as the two blades collided in front of the entire Diamond Clan. Seeing how the two remained even with each other, the clansmen became impressed by their leader’s ability to fight an opponent who was twenty levels higher than him. Of course, as the person directly involved in the situation, Ho Sung felt his newly enhanced combat ability firsthand.
‘I think I might have a chance against the guy!’ Ho Sung thought as his sword came into contact with the mercenary’s. In fact, Ho Sung started to regain his confidence as he realized that he was stronger and faster. The hope made his heart beat with excitement. At that moment, Ho Sung’s sword grazed past the mercenary’s shoulder. Since the Warlord’s Sword was one of the best weapons for hunters in their 200s, Ho Sung was able to inflict damage to the mercenary, who was twenty levels higher than him, allowing him to pressure his opponent. Assuming that the mercenary was even with Ho Sung in terms of combat abilities, Ho Sung had the upperhand in terms of strength and speed. Although the mercenary’s skill was a wildcard, having a skill wasn’t exclusive to the mercenenary. However, what set the two apart was their combat experience.
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Being much more of a seasoned fighter than Ho Sung, the mercenary put his experience to full use, allowing him to use unforeseeable factors to his advantage, and it wasn’t long before the fight took a turn in the mercenary’s favor.
Taking a handful of a white mysterious powder, the mercenary threw it at Ho Sung’s face, who backed away, startled. At that moment, the mercenary crouched and took the opportunity to draw near to Ho Sung. Then, while Ho Sung was still struggling to see, the black blade came up from underneath him, out of nowhere.
“Ugh!” grunting, Ho Sung jolted his face to the right, and the blade grazed past his chin. Then, before he regained his balance, the mercenary swung his sword diagonally. At which point, Ho Sung, in a hurry, raised his sword vertically and blocked the blow. Although one typically fell backward when they sustained a blow before they regained their balance, that was only true when the hunter was equipped with an ordinary weapon. In the case of Ho Sung, who was armed with the high-grade legendary weapon called ‘Warlord’s Sword,’ the sword absorbed the weight of the mercenary’s blow in its entirety.
Caught by surprise, the mercenary hesitated. At which point, Ho Sung, knowing by instinct that the time to strike was now, kicked the ground and used the momentum to deliver a fatal counterattack. As Ho Sung’s sword penetrated the mercenary’s heart, the mercenary’s eyes started to turn blood red. Then…
“Cough!”
… blood came gushing out of his mouth, and the mercenary looked down at the sword, never to look up again, standing completely still with his eyes open. Breathing laboriously, Ho Sung stared intently at the mercenary and pulled his sword out of the opponent’s chest. The mercenary’s body fell lifelessly to the side, and the clansmen exploded into cheers and applause. Looking at his clansmen cheering for him in a daze, he felt chills run down from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
‘… I did it,’ he thought as a wave of unexplainable emotion, which had nothing to do with the fact that he had survived the deadly duel, washed over him. Being the center of applause and gazes of admiration, Ho Sung raised his sword up above his head, and the clansmen exploded into even louder cheers and applause.
—
“… He’s dead?” Soo Hyun Kim, the miscellaneous type representative of the Northern Branch, said with widened eyes.
“Yes, sir. Min Soo Choi has been killed by the target,” the subordinate replied, breaking out into cold sweats. Leaning back in his chair, Soo Hyun chuckled and said, “I underestimated this Ho Sung Lee. I really thought the mercenary would be enough.”
At that, the subordinate, looking at Soo Hyun nervously and cautiously, said, “Should I find another mercenary…”
“No. That won’t be necessary. Seems like our target is much better equipped than we thought,” Soo Hyun replied, smiling bitterly.
“According to our analysis, the target was armed with the “Warlord’s Sword.’”
After brief contemplation, Soo Hyun signaled to the subordinate with his chin and said, “That’ll be all for now.”
Hearing that, the subordinate sprung up from his seat, bowed politely and left the room. Meanwhile, Soo Hyun tapped the screen on his table, and a video appeared on the projector screen on the wall. After a series of dial tones, the representatives of the three remaining branches started to respond to Soo Hyun’s call.
“Gentlemen. Seems like our mercenary met his demise,” Soo Hyun started off with a bitter smile. After hearing that, three distinct looks appeared on the faces of the three representatives on the screen. While the representative of the Eastern Branch seemed intrigued or entertained, the representative of the Western Branch had an annoyed, dissatisfied look on his face. Meanwhile, the representative of the Southern Branch remained unfazed. Unlike the three representatives, Soo Hyun smiled casually. Seeing that, the representative of the Southern Branch asked in a brusque voice, “You seem confident. Do you have another plan in mind?”
Crossing his arms, Soo Hyun sat on his desk, looked toward the screen and smiled wider, saying, “It’s only a slight setback. Doesn’t mean it’s over.”
“So? What do you have in mind?”
“Our pawn is down, so it’s time to put the rook to work.”
The representative of the Southern Branch nodded to that and said, “So, using Ho Sung Lee as bait to draw Ji Yoo Kim out of her nest. Was this your plan all along?”
“Of course not. I’m just playing the game. That’s all. But now that we’ve come this far, I have a feeling that things will be much easier than I’d thought. After all…” Soo Hyun dragged on, his eyes bending into the shape of black crescent moon. “… Ji Yoo Kim is much too soft.”
At that point, the representative of the Eastern Branch chuckled and said, “You do realize that she’s the strongest one of us, right?”
“The king can’t last when isolated.”
“And if she takes the bait? What happens then?” the representative of the Southern Branch asked. Soo Hyun smiled and replied, “We’ll chip away at the Central Institute little by little until it rots from the inside.”
“Slow and steady.”
“That’s right.”
“Ah! Seems like our plan might come to fruition a lot sooner than we thought!” the representative of the Eastern Branch said, overjoyed.
While the representative of the Southern Branch clicked his tongue irritably, the representative of the Western Branch showed no interest, as if he found it all too boring.
Looking at them, Soo Hyun smiled and said, “That’s all I have for you. I’ll give you all a call in the near future. We’re about to get busy, so I suggest you savor your free time while you can.” With that, Soo Hyun tapped the screen on his desk again and ended the conference call.