Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Ambush (1)
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‘They got us!’
Wu Shangkai felt like he’d been smacked hard across the head. If he’d thought about it calmly, he would’ve noticed something was off. No matter how reckless Suhyun was, he couldn’t just kill the Chinese delegation in front of this many orcs and keep it a secret.
But the name “mage” and Suhyun’s past deeds had amplified their fear. The precautions they’d taken to save their skins were now tripping them up.
‘But how the hell did that come out of there?!’
He knew Suhyun had screwed them, but it was impossible to comprehend how the Shock Wave Sword had emerged from the very place they stored their artifacts. Hadn’t it been stolen from them before?
‘What? Did the orcs steal it back and play innocent? Or did Herkul plan this in advance? If not...’
Several thoughts flashed through Wu Shangkai’s mind in an instant, but they were shattered right away. The furious shout of an orc snapped him back to reality.
“That bastard has our sacred relic!”
“N-No... That’s not...”
The superhumans couldn’t miss the killing intent. The orcs around them glared with eyes full of hostility.
Suhyun poured fuel on the fire. Pointing at the Shock Wave Sword, he said,
“Look! This is their true nature! They act friendly to your faces but will do anything behind your backs. If anyone still trusts them after seeing this, step forward!”
There was a persuasive power in Suhyun’s voice that swayed the orcs nearby. He pressed on quickly.
“Can you entrust your kin to scum like that?”
“Of course not!”
“You know how desperately Haiken searched for their lost relic. And all this time, these bastards pretended not to know!”
“Shut your mouth! Lies! Don’t believe him!”
“Lies? Then what’s that artifact in your subordinate’s hand?”
Suhyun openly sneered at Wu Shangkai.
“I heard you stole artifacts from Haiken’s orcs. That you had the nerve to carry them around. I pushed just in case, and you show your true colors right away. You despicable scum!”
“Nonsense! If we stole it, why would we carry it around? It’s a misunderstanding!”
Before Suhyun could even respond, another orc’s shout erupted. Once it started, they all roared out without holding back.
“Seize the greatsword!”
“Drop that blade, you sons of bitches!”
“Th-This...”
The Chinese realized the mood had turned dangerous and panicked. It wasn’t unheard of to get attacked for mishandling other races, but they’d never imagined it happening in a city like Haiken.
“Everyone, calm down!”
It was Herkul who stopped the clash just before it erupted. At his shout, the orcs froze mid-motion as they rose.
“This is no place for a commotion!”
Suhyun, who’d just been stirring things up against the Chinese, looked sheepish.
“But, Great Chieftain...”
“We’ll hear what happened first. There’s time to get angry after!”
“......”
The orcs sat back down, openly displeased. Seeing this, Gorix and his gang were thrown off. The other orcs’ mood was off. No amount of agitation would sway them now.
“Mr. Wu Shangkai, I’d like an explanation.”
“Well, you see, it’s a trap!”
“A trap?”
“Think about it rationally. If we stole it, would we really bring it to Haiken?”
“Who knows? It could happen. The Shock Wave Sword is a powerful artifact! Even with the risk of us finding out, you might carry it for emergencies. Life is precious, after all.”
Wu Shangkai was struck dumb by Herkul’s response to the recent chaos. Herkul pressed the attack calmly and coolly.
He knew something was fishy too. For this to come out of the Chinese luggage right after Suhyun’s bold claims. But now was the time to exploit it. Questions could wait.
“Or maybe you never thought we’d check your luggage. We’ve never searched it before.”
“How dare you underestimate us like...!”
“We’ll crush you!”
“Lord Herkul! This is a huge misunderstanding!”
“Misunderstanding? Are you the ones who truly understand the situation? How can you claim it’s a trap? You know how long ago the Shock Wave Sword was stolen, right? If this is a trap, it means these Koreans weren’t even there at the time, yet somehow stole it, held onto it, waited for you to arrive, and snuck it into your luggage.”
‘!’
It was almost spot on. Suhyun hid his inner surprise.
“Explain that. Does it make any sense?”
“......”
Wu Shangkai ground his teeth. Pushing further would only make things worse. It was time to back off. He glared at Suhyun.
‘You son of a bitch, I don’t know what secret deal you made with the orcs, but I won’t let you get away with this!’
‘What’re you glaring at? Loser.’
Wu Shangkai’s imagination couldn’t stretch to a third thief randomly stealing the Shock Wave Sword and ending up under Suhyun. He figured Herkul had orchestrated this to purge pro-Chinese factions in Haiken.
‘You orc bastard. Pretending to be naive while pulling strings behind the scenes? So that’s who stole it...’
Wu Shangkai bowed his head. The decision on who would take Malrok was made.
* * *
“How the hell did you do it?!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb! The Shock Wave Sword. It has to be your doing!”
“Do you think Haiken’s chieftain is accusing someone of a crime without evidence?”
“N-No, that’s not...”
“I went to international court for you, shook up the Chinese to get your relic back, and this is how you repay me? I’m disappointed.”
“We’ll give you the promised reward!”
Herkul gave up prying at Suhyun’s attitude. He was dying to know how, but that demeanor suggested no straight answer was coming.
Either way, he’d achieved his goal. Half-doubting, but Suhyun had turned the Chinese into shameless thieves with just his tongue. No orc who’d witnessed that would support them now.
“What’s Wu Shangkai doing?”
“Holed up in his building. Not like he can do anything with this. The Chinese will just issue a regretful apology and call it a day. Same as before.”
“I can’t handle that part for you.”
“I know. And I didn’t say it expecting that.”
Herkul cautiously opened the stone chamber door and stepped inside. With his ruins experience, Suhyun quickly realized it was riddled with traps.
“Follow exactly where I step. Unless you want to di— Actually, on second thought, you probably wouldn’t die even if you triggered one.”
“What do you take me for?”
Suhyun.
Herkul reached out and retrieved something from an inner shelf. He grimaced and handed it to Suhyun. It was a metal canister painted deep teal. Except...
Thump, thump, thump.
The heartbeat from inside was unusual. He could guess what was sealed in the cylindrical metal container.
“May our ancestors forgive me.”
“The dead can’t do anything. Skip the pointless prayers.”
Suhyun stroked the canister, feeling the pulsing within. This artifact containing a dragon’s roar was one-use but didn’t burden the user. When the Chinese military used it before, Choi Ji-eun had said,
-There’s probably something inside the artifact that handles the cost of superpower use. Since it can’t be replenished, it’s disposable.
‘A heart? That’s creepy.’
Suhyun had no idea what principles or tech made it, nor did he care. What mattered was how to use it. He fiddled with the orb in his pocket.
‘Can I make it with this?’
The dragon’s roar was too valuable for one-time use. Suhyun pondered reuse, and the answer was the orb. The superpower-storing orb.
The issue was the dragon’s roar wasn’t easy. If it went wrong and the orb shattered, wasting the roar, he’d be pissed.
‘But I have to try...’
After storing, the burden would fall on the user. That was a problem, but first, could it even be stored?
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Same here. And... I apologize again for what my men did to your comrade.”
They shook hands firmly. A deal where both got what they wanted.
* * *
“You okay, Gorgan?”
“Hm?”
“Your face says otherwise. Because of that Gorix punk?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“If you need help, just say so.”
“Yes.”
Gorgan nodded in thanks. When things went south, Gorix had come begging.
-Bro, please help me!
-My brother died long ago. Get lost!
-You’re throwing away your brother over one village? It would’ve vanished anyway!
-Say one more word, and I’ll split your head here.
-You took the clan relic yourself, and now you treat me like this!
The talk ended with Gorgan drawing his axe. Gorix fled cursing. Gorgan’s lips twitched as he clenched his fist.
‘A fight would’ve felt better.’
Gorix’s standing in Haiken must’ve shrunk. No telling what he’d do next.
“Hey. Do we really need to keep our distance like this? Why not move together?”
“......”
Wu Shangkai ignored Suhyun’s call and stayed silent. Now, they traveled the Haiken mountains with distance between them. Badly burned by Suhyun, Wu Shangkai kept his separation.
“Narrow-minded prick.”
“Why provoke him? You’ve already made enemies...”
“I was prepared since revealing I’m a mage. I disclosed it because it was worth it.”
Suhyun was surely on China’s blacklist for ruining the Liu Shinui affair. Exposing his mage status made it worse.
But he didn’t care. Unless they brought an army head-on, he was confident against any sneaky tricks, no matter who.
“You won’t climb higher if you fear that much. Steel yourself.”
“Yes.”
Thud!
A dull sound echoed. A bullet hit Suhyun’s telekinesis barrier, then tore through into Malrok’s shoulder.
“!”
It was instinctive without focus, not even aimed at Suhyun, so the telekinesis failed. Suhyun cursed, grabbed Malrok, and shielded the front.
“Sniper! Get down!”
Luckily, Uncle Jo Company’s men were mostly ex-military. They used the transport bots as cover and dropped. He grabbed a few fumbling ones and forced them down too.
Thud! Thud-thud! Thud!
A few more hit, but with Suhyun focused, bullets couldn’t pierce. The sniper seemed to realize. No more shots came.
“You okay?”
“Ugh... Yes...”
Suhyun healed Malrok immediately. Lucky. Without telekinesis deflection, it could’ve taken his head.
‘Which bastard...!’
Suhyun’s eyes blazed with rage. He scanned likely sniper spots with future sight. A well-camouflaged sniper and nearby humans moving.
‘Mercenaries?’
Their movement wasn’t military. Hunters or mercs. And not just one group. More.
‘Ambush everywhere? This is getting...’
Suhyun glanced at Wu Shangkai ahead. The Chinese, spotting the shots, went into defense. Wu Shangkai, flat on the ground, met Suhyun’s burning eyes and flinched.
The message was clear.
‘Did you do this?’
Feeling the threat to his life, he waved instinctively and yelled.
“I-It wasn’t me!”