Chapter 711: Ruins (5)
In truth, these ruins were one of the places most likely to be attacked.
They were outside the city, and far enough away that getting support here was relatively difficult. From a terrain standpoint, all four sides were open, making it the perfect place to be surrounded.
The Future Strategy Office team leader showed up here from time to time, but from the enemy’s perspective, that only made it more tempting.
The stronger the target, the greater the payoff for removing them.
And now the Chairman’s granddaughter had been added on top of that. There could hardly have been a juicier target.
Of course, Hyeseong had realized that long ago as well, and had quietly been rotating out the laborers.
Replacing them with experts and mercenaries affiliated with Hyeseong.
And the result was the situation now unfolding.
A moment later, Beard Guy stepped out from among the Blood Cult martial artists.
At some point, he had changed out of his work clothes and into blood-red martial robes.
“You seem to be under some misunderstanding. Our cult holds Hyeseong’s strength in extremely high regard. We assumed you would, of course, be thoroughly prepared.”
“And you came in anyway?”
“Would it be any different anywhere else? With so many talented people here, thinking we could deceive you so easily would be true recklessness.”
“......”
“We were merely certain.”
That no matter how prepared they were, they could still crush them.
The instant Beard Guy finished speaking, the Blood Cult fighters resumed their assault.
The battlefield, quiet only for a moment, was instantly flooded with noise again.
WHISH WHISH WHISH WHISH!
RATATATAT!
Bloody sword-light flashed from every direction, mana rounds poured through the air, and shouts and screams rang out.
As the fighting intensified, the fog surrounding the area thickened even further.
It became hard to tell whether the person in front of you was friend or foe.
And then the Scrawny Guy who had stepped away earlier appeared again.
At some point, he had changed into a gloomy black robe.
Apparently whether it was the Blood Cult or the evil cult, belonging mattered.
Beside him stood another man in a similarly pitch-black robe, along with a middle-aged man in a blood-red long coat.
A few of the Hyeseong personnel somehow managed to spot them even in this chaos and opened fire.
RATATATAT!
But the mana rounds never reached the middle-aged man.
They were stopped by the crimson force aura rising from his body.
A moment later, that force aura took shape, turning into six arms. Each one either clenched a fist, raised its fingers, or spread an open palm.
One of the Hyeseong personnel shouted.
“...Asura Blood Demon Art!”
And the ability to manifest as many as six arms meant the middle-aged man was at least elder-class, possibly commander-class.
The mercenaries immediately moved to block the path, while the gunners poured in even more concentrated fire.
RATATATAT!
The middle-aged man in the long coat blocked the mana rounds as if it were nothing.
Then he seemed to dip his body for just a moment—
and shot forward at terrifying speed.
At the same time, all six force-aura arms came crashing down on the mercenaries.
BOOOOOM—!
The front line was shattered in an instant.
The gunners had no choice but to stop firing as well.
Black fog converged and wrapped around them.
“Urgh...!”
“It’s a curse. Stay calm and deal with it.”
The ones who had cast it were, of course, the evil cultists led by Scrawny Guy.
The gunners activated debuff-cleansing skills, but it was already too late.
The enemy’s main force had reached the ruins entrance.
FWIIIIISH—!
The next instant, something pale flew toward the middle-aged man in the long coat.
The moment a nearby Blood Cult martial artist realized it was a white-glowing hammer, he threw himself forward.
“Not so fast!”
BOOM—!
He failed to knock it away and got blown back himself.
But he had at least succeeded in protecting the middle-aged man.
A beat later, light flashed above Scrawny Guy’s head, and Oh Sehun dropped straight down along with the hammer.
BOOOOOM—!
But the only thing crushed underfoot was the robe the bastard had been wearing.
When Oh Sehun looked up, Scrawny Guy was already stepping inside the ruins with the Blood Cult group and the evil cultists.
He even waved with a smile.
Kang Daesan charged at them at incredible speed,
THUD—!
but got stopped at the ruins entrance.
The fog had gathered there and formed an invisible wall.
Oh Sehun’s narrowed eyes curved into a soft arc.
“This is awkward.”
*****
After I spent a while fitting puzzle pieces together with Fast-Luckless on auto-hunt, Seo Ye-in, who had been riding on my back, rested her chin on my shoulder.
“...I’m awake.”
“You don’t need more sleep?”
“I’m fine.”
Maybe because she was the only one who’d taken a nap, she looked like she wanted to help, even if only a little.
Sure enough, Seo Ye-in joined the puzzle-solving pretty actively, and before long the main body of the clock rabbit was complete.
Only the very ends of the watch and carrot remained.
Three or four more pieces and we’d be done.
The sloth and Fast-Luckless each offered a satisfied comment.
“Excellent work, double.”
Excellent work, original.“Nothing you can’t do.”
Totally all-purpose.While the two of them praised each other, Ahn Jeongmi, who had been waiting outside the puzzle room, came closer.
“You’ve finished it. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Now rest.”
“Of course. Please go in and rest comfortably today.”
The moment Seo Ye-in fitted in the final piece, the entire puzzle shone with bright light.
FLASH—!
Then it transformed into a smooth clock-rabbit statue, as if it had always been a single piece to begin with.
At the same time, mechanical sounds rang out from all directions.
WHIRRRR—
Then the wall on the far side of the room opened, revealing a passage.
“...!”
Everyone looked more than a little startled, but I had expected this.
After all, I’d already solved the puzzle before and explored the ruins too.
This part was more important than it looked.
To the expedition team, it probably looked like a small bonus.
In reality, though, it was closer to a gateway into another section.
Maybe because of that, Ahn Jeongmi spoke with an awkward expression.
“...It looks like we’ll need to discuss the reward distribution again.”
If the puzzle reward had been handed over on the spot, we could have just taken it and left, but with so much still remaining beyond this point, that obviously complicated things.
I answered as if it were nothing.
“We don’t need to be paid immediately. It’ll be cleaner to divide everything after it’s all over.”
“Yes. I’ll contact the expedition team first.”
But the next moment, Ahn Jeongmi stiffened, holding the radio in hand.
So I asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“...It’s not working.”
It had been fine just moments ago.
Rather than a sudden malfunction, it was much more likely that some outside force had interfered.
Sure enough, commotion broke out in the distance.
RATATATAT!
BOOM BOOM!
Just like I thought, they’re coming.
I’d figured there’d be a raid sometime today or tomorrow, and the prediction had landed exactly right.
And judging by the way the noise was getting closer, we were the target.
Ahn Jeongmi seemed to have reached the same conclusion, because they gathered all the Hyeseong personnel waiting nearby into the puzzle room.
Then, with mana guns raised and ready, they waited as a group emerged through the passage.
At the front were a middle-aged man in a blood-red long coat and two men in black robes.
Even at a glance, they looked above A-rank.
Soon the middle-aged man’s gaze landed on Ahn Jeongmi, shifted briefly to Seo Ye-in, then returned to Ahn Jeongmi.
“A pleasure. To think I’d meet the famed Future Strategy Office team leader in person like this.”
“And what position does the one speaking hold?”
“I lead a small group called the War Demon Division, insignificant though it may be.”
He answered with false humility, but the substance of it was anything but light.
The Ironblood War Demon Division was a fighting force comparable to the Blood Sword Division.
If he was its commander, then his strength would be considerable as well.
Next, Ahn Jeongmi looked at the black-robed men.
It was obvious they were evil cultists, but what exactly was Scrawny Guy?
He answered with a smile.
“Does it truly matter who we are? Wherever we may be, the being we serve remains the same.”
But unlike his endlessly gentle tone, their eyes were gleaming with outright malice.
The War Demon Commander took over the conversation again.
“Now then, enough introductions. Let us get to the point. If you come with us quietly, we will not harm you.”
“And what profit does your cult hope to gain from that?”
At Ahn Jeongmi’s question, he seemed to think for a moment before replying.
“...No need to keep everything hidden. The Supreme One judged that Hyeseong would become an obstacle to what He intends.”
“So you mean to suppress us. By taking us hostage.”
“We merely wish to avoid unnecessary conflict.”
“......”
“Well? We have little time, so I would appreciate a quick decision.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t find that very believable.”
Ahn Jeongmi slowly looked over the enemy group and continued.
“I’ve never heard of the Blood Cult releasing hostages. Even if you keep your word at first, that says nothing about what happens after your business is done.”
“......”
“And did you really join hands with evil cultists for nothing in return?”
The War Demon Commander stood there in silence for a while.
Then he let out a low grunt and opened his mouth.
“...As expected, it was impossible from the start. Talking someone at the team-leader level around with nothing but my tongue.”
“......”
“To tell the truth, trying something I don’t normally do was making me break out in hives. Since you’ve chosen the hard way, this is better for me.”
Taut killing intent spread through the room.
The Blood Cult martial artists drew up their momentum, and the evil cultists began chanting spells.
The Hyeseong personnel, meanwhile, kept their guns trained on them.
Right then, Ahn Jeongmi pulled out a magic scroll.
Its spell formula was complex, but I’d seen it enough times to roughly guess the effect.
Summoning reinforcements.
There were all kinds of variants, but that one called allied forces within a certain range.
Starting with the strongest and nearest.
But Scrawny Guy let out a mocking laugh.
“Please don’t waste the scroll for nothing. It won’t work anyway.”
“......”
“Haven’t you already realized it? That you can expect neither outside contact nor reinforcements.”
The radio was already dead, after all. There was no guarantee spatial-movement magic would work properly either.
Just as Ahn Jeongmi’s face darkened, I looked around and said,
“I think this much is breakable.”
“...How reckless of you, young man.”
“As if this much even counts as reckless.”
When I deliberately scratched at him with that belittling tone, Scrawny Guy’s face twitched for an instant.
But he still hadn’t lost his composure.
“I am curious what exactly you prepared. Go ahead. Show us.”
“But if I just do it, where’s the fun in that?”
“...?”
“Both sides seem pretty confident, so let’s make a wager.”
At that, Scrawny Guy stared at me without a word.
Then after a brief pause, he smiled faintly.
“A wager... Yes, that does sound entertaining enough. And what will you put up?”
“If I can’t break through, I’ll give you this.”
The moment I took an item out of my inventory, the atmosphere in the room changed completely.
Especially the War Demon Commander’s face.
Clink...
“The Soul-Summoning Bell...!”
“Of course you’d recognize it.”
“...Recognize it? How could I not? So it was you.”
The thing had vanished after Ghost Demon went down, and only now had it finally resurfaced.
The War Demon Commander spoke to Scrawny Guy.
“My apologies, but the Blood Cult will be taking over this wager.”
“A treasure among treasures, is it? It certainly looks worth researching. I’d hate to give it up.”
“You know as well as I do that greed would do you no favors here.”
“Of course I do.”
That even if he got the Soul-Summoning Bell, there was no chance he’d be able to keep it safe from the Blood Cult afterward.
So he waved a hand and backed off.
He’s already acting like he won.
I was sure he had confidence in that large-scale spell and thought there was no way I could break it.
But outcomes are unknown right up until the last instant.
Still, for the sake of maximizing profit, I didn’t let any of that show.
Instead, I turned to the War Demon Commander, who had taken over the wager, and asked,
“And what will you stake?”
“Something of equal value, or at least something close to it.”
“That would make it fair. More entertaining too.”
“What about these?”
What the War Demon Commander took out next were two spiritual medicines.
Even by eye, both were clearly A-rank or higher.
So I threw every bit of acting skill I had into pretending to hesitate before speaking in a reluctant tone.
“That seems close enough.”
“Then break through it if you can.”
The War Demon Commander and Scrawny Guy watched me with attitudes overflowing with ease.
I glanced over them, then pulled out the [Deep-Rooted Crow Tree].
After clearing my throat, I shouted the activation phrase in a ringing voice.
“CAW—!”
“?”
“!?”
Everyone’s expressions turned strange at the sudden crow cry.
But that didn’t last long before it turned to shock.
The fog-like thing filling the room visibly thinned.
It felt like holes had suddenly been punched all through a tightly woven net.
Scrawny Guy gaped openly.
“W-what in the world...”
Ahn Jeongmi instantly tore the magic scroll in half.
The spell activated, the air rippled violently—
and Oh Sehun and Kang Daesan dropped in from above.