Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Seven Fingers
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"Completely played for fools."
The armed wolf Undram spat on the ground.
"While Ju Gonghyeok and the Necromancer King were fighting and wearing themselves out, that 'X' bastard swooped in and took everything."
"Judging by how he summoned that massive army in an instant, it must've been planned out in advance."
The frost dragon Wolfram, who had barely escaped with his life, replied.
Undram looked around the ruined street.
"How many died?"
"Victims number around three to four thousand."
"On Earth, they'd call this a massive massacre."
"We waged war right in the middle of the city. This is actually pretty mild, all things considered."
The street devastated by the apostles and demonic beasts wasn't all that extensive overall.
Even that had been contained thanks to the quick actions of Soma Sangai, Ha Yeonsi, and the other fixers.
"Regardless, it's true we gained a huge haul. The Necropolis is nearly half-destroyed, and we've rooted out over ten thousand cultists hiding in the city."
"What a huge haul, huh? We let them get surrounded right in front of us and got our asses handed to us."
Wolfram showed his displeasure at Undram's sarcasm.
"The job's done. Let's wrap it up."
"Our job's done, sure. But the higher-ups seem to have a lot to say about it."
Hunters bustled about amid the ruins.
"Hey! We've detected someone buried inside! Move them carefully so nothing collapses."
"It's just aftereffects, but it'll heal in a few days."
"What? Thieves at a time like this?"
"Grab 'em and smash their skulls!"
Support forces from each city were sorting through the chaos in Company.
There had been some friction with the Escort Business Division, but most accepted it in good faith.
The commanders' thoughts, however, were a bit different.
"The dispatch force will be staying indefinitely?"
"That's right."
"That's absurd!"
Director of Foreign Affairs Alfred Hickston slammed his desk.
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King, covered head to toe in casts, didn't even blink.
"Nirvana cannot stand by while demon contractors rampage in Company.
We won't leave until we've wiped them all out."
"Wolf Fortress feels the same."
Biro the Leaf Wolf nodded.
"When you requested our aid, the terms were that Company would cover all costs. Didn't you expect it might turn into a prolonged engagement?"
"The agreement stands, and we're grateful for your assistance. However..."
The Director of Foreign Affairs pressed his temple, holding back his anger.
"We've already purged plenty of cultists and criminals from Company. Over the past few months, a whopping twenty thousand of them..."
"If you've caught twenty thousand, who's to say you can't catch thirty thousand?"
"Twenty thousand or thirty thousand, Company has its own forces! We'll handle anything beyond this ourselves!"
"Company's forces? You mean the Escort Business Division?"
Biro the Leaf Wolf sneered.
"We can't trust them. Their leader was a traitor from the start."
The Director of Foreign Affairs' face stiffened.
Martunis, deputy head of the Escort Business Division.
Even as Company's overall commander, he had plotted to trap the entire division and thousands of private fixers.
Biro filed his nails as he spoke.
"One of the only twelve executives in Company was a criminal. Don't we need to keep watching for more?"
"Borderless Hunter Society cannot trust the Escort Business Division. But Company is a key stronghold more vital than any unique city."
Sharpness edged the tone of Rondelstadt, head of the Hunter Society branch.
"We'd like to contract exclusive protection from the Hunter Society to safeguard Company, if possible."
"Wolf Fortress is considering an exclusive contract as well."
"Deus has been Company's long-time partner. You can trust us more than any other city."
"Nirvana..."
The representatives bickered over Company's security contracts.
The Director of Foreign Affairs' mustache twitched.
"It sounds like Company's own wishes don't matter."
"Of course they do. We're simply saying that 'Company'—the city producing the most coins, gear, and food—needs close joint oversight from all cities."
The wealthiest city. Company.
Power generation, production, food—nearly everything sustaining unique cities was tied closely to Company.
Until now, Company had dictated market terms from the dominant position.
But with Company visibly weakened and justification in hand...
The era of their high-handedness was over, and this was a chance to seize the ultimate supply hub if they played their cards right.
"If it's truly unacceptable, we could go with a joint contract from multiple cities. Say, forces from four cities stationed simultaneously."
Amit, Deus's interim representative, proposed a compromise.
If one couldn't hog it all, share it among all.
Alfred ground his teeth in humiliation.
"Your words seriously threaten Company's autonomy."
"To stand on your own, you need self-defense first, don't you? We're offering to help."
The Leaf Wolf licked his lips.
"The deputy head betrayed us. Half the section chiefs are dead, and your forces are depleted. Company's in a security vacuum right now.
If another city attacks, you can't defend yourselves, and you're vulnerable to demon contractors too..."
Bang.
The conference room door flew open.
"Who says we're vulnerable?"
The man who opened it was Ju Gonghyeok.
"S-sorry. This is the representative of Company's private fixers..."
"No need to explain. I saw his performance earlier."
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King waved off the director's flustered secretary.
"Hmm?"
Ju Gonghyeok furrowed his brow.
He scanned the faces, but the one he sought wasn't there.
"Where's Liang Xian?"
"I am here in his stead."
Deus representative Amit stood.
"Interim branch head Amit. Mr. Liang Xian returned via long-range portal due to injuries and headquarters duties..."
"I see. He ran away."
Creak.
Gonghyeok pulled out a conference chair and sat.
"Tell that bitch that next time we meet, I'll fuck her so hard her spine snaps."
"Pfft!"
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King spat out his tea.
Everyone in the room stared at Ju Gonghyeok in stunned disbelief.
'I heard there was some friction, but that kind of vulgarity...'
'Was it a lovers' quarrel?'
Rondelstadt and the Leaf Wolf exchanged contrasting glances.
Amit, whose subordinate had been insulted, frowned.
"I'll relay that exactly. But I'd like to ask about what you just said."
"Right. You don't accept that Company is vulnerable?"
The Leaf Wolf chimed in with Amit.
Gonghyeok nodded.
"Of course. Company excels against demon contractors more than any city. And it can manage its own national defense too."
"Ridiculous. Company's Escort Business Division..."
"The Escort Business Division was about to be disbanded anyway."
"What?"
The Leaf Wolf stared at him in disbelief.
"Why disband it? Wasn't it Company's flagship outfit?"
"Hmm."
Gonghyeok pulled documents from his inventory and tossed them.
Splat.
The edges of the flung papers embedded right in front of each person's desk.
"For the past two months, private fixers have handled four times the workload of the Escort Business Division."
"Four times?"
"Under the Director of Foreign Affairs' command, we were building a new official agency, while the Escort Business Division was just a hollow shell.
Pretty much all civilian complaints and official duties were handled by the 'Ju&San Office.'"
Amit tapped the table crisply.
"So you're saying that you're the real deal, the one the Director of Foreign Affairs was strategically nurturing."
"Exactly."
"Ha! Don't spout that hasty excuse!"
The Leaf Wolf shook his head.
"A ragtag group of private outfits thrown together lacks any real authority..."
"Didn't you come at the request of our 'Ju&San Office'?"
"...What? Wasn't it the Director of Foreign Affairs' request?"
"Guess you didn't know. The Director called you through our office."
"Mm."
Rondelstadt and Amit, who had been at that meeting, let out groans.
"And Leaf Wolf Biro."
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think your speech has been rude from the start?"
Biro scoffed loudly.
"I only follow my captain's orders. The only ones worthy of my respect are stronger than me."
"Is that so."
"Wanna settle it if it bothers you?"
Biro's hand went to his sword hilt.
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King shot up from his seat.
"Wait, we didn't come here to fight..."
"Shut it, old man. Look at him strutting around."
Biro was among the top five in Wolf Fortress.
In this cramped space, his quick-draw swordsmanship would give him the first-strike advantage.
'Speed-wise, not even below the captain. I'll crush this punk first and...'
Ju Gonghyeok quietly raised his thumb.
Crunch.
"Huh?"
For a split second, Biro's mind blanked.
When he came to, all he saw were shattered marble fragments.
His body was embedded in the floor.
"Now you'll respect me too."
The thumb empowered by gigantification pinned Biro down.
Assassination arts and body techniques.
Piercing the gap in his consciousness with Heart-Piercing Shadow Movement and Mystic Body Art Sky Compression, he subdued him in one go.
"He wasn't on the battlefield. It was an honest mistake—go easy on him."
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King placed a hand on the gigantified arm.
Gonghyeok nodded and lifted the embedded Biro, setting him in a seat.
'That was faster than the captain, maybe.'
Thoroughly cowed, Biro sneaked a glance at Ju Gonghyeok.
Gonghyeok pulled a pipe from his pocket.
"What I want to hear isn't that Company is vulnerable to demon contractors, or lacks the power to defend itself. None of those pre-planned excuses."
"..."
"Let's stick to the facts. It's true we've caught a ton of demon contractors in our city. Twenty thousand in the last half-year alone."
Smoke wafted from the pipe.
"But what about your cities? Have you caught even a thousand contractors total?"
"That's how precarious Company's security is..."
"Twenty thousand in the last half-year. Before that, it was on par with other cities."
Gonghyeok's inventory opened.
Thousands of items tumbled out.
Skulls reeking of decay, obviously cursed objects at a glance.
Wings and contracts—the gear of demon contractors.
They piled into a mountain in the corner of the conference room.
"I've caught more contractors alone than all your cities combined. I know them better than anyone and catch them better than anyone."
He exhaled a sigh into the pipe.
"Give me just ten days, and I'll nab a thousand each from your cities. Want to hand it over?"
"That's an exaggeration."
No one could believe it.
"Then shall I give you clear facts?"
A blatant sneer crossed Gonghyeok's face.
"You claim to be so much more capable than us. So how capable were you really in this incident?"
"What do you mean."
The Iron Pagoda Heavenly King asked with a rigidly hardened face.
Gonghyeok spread his fingers.
"Director of Foreign Affairs assassination, demonic beast cleanup in the city—which of those did you capable folks handle?
We at the office blocked them all and cleaned up the city.
Even the Necromancer King, the most crucial one, was caught by me, a private fixer. So who's capable and who's incompetent?"
"Offensive. Without us, this city would be..."
Gonghyeok closed his eyes and nodded.
"I acknowledge your help. But amateurs who can't catch a thousand contractors lecturing the guy who caught ten thousand about vulnerability?
You who couldn't play a single key role prattling on about security and ability—doesn't that seem a bit laughable?"
"..."
It was exactly as he said.
Company's hidden strength had exceeded expectations.
The raid by nine apostles and the Necromancer King.
Ending a city-versus-city war with this level of damage said it all.
And most importantly...
"How exactly are you going to protect us?"
Ju Gonghyeok tapped his pipe ash.
"Is there anyone stronger than me in your cities?"
The Necromancer King was one of humanity's top powerhouses.
Few could face him.
But, the ferocious demon "Omer Ashk"
The holy warrior "Ju Gonghyeok" who repelled the Necromancer King
Overnight, two more fingers had been added.
[Chapter 106 - Seven Fingers] End