Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Regional Conflict (5)
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“Good!”
“Ah. You teleport over and bring back those mercenaries who are running away right now.”
“…….”
She had thought it would be an easy task, but when Suhyun singled her out for the annoying chore, Louiril shot him a dissatisfied glare.
“Teleportation isn’t meant for running errands like this…….”
“Really? Now that you mention it, I guess I have been working you pretty hard.”
Louiril’s eyes widened at Suhyun’s unusually kind response. Had he finally realized how much she’d been suffering and decided to change his ways?
But his follow-up shattered her expectations.
“From now on, I’ll have Private Lee So-hee tag along with you. Before, you were the only teleporter, so there was no choice, but now there’s no need for you to handle everything alone.”
“…You jerk.”
“What?”
“I’ll just do it myself! There!”
Louiril grumbled as she vanished in a teleport. Suhyun shrugged once and turned his gaze to the site where the Chinese had gone down. The ones writhing and trying to rise seemed to have survived.
‘Well, if they could die from that, they wouldn’t have been pulling stunts like this in the first place.’
He could roughly guess what they’d been up to.
* * *
“Ugh, what the hell happened…….”
“Who’s the bastard responsible?”
They were coming to one by one, starting with those who’d regained their senses. Of course, none of them were in good shape. They’d been riding at full speed when their motorcycles flipped—anyone unscathed would’ve been monsters, not humans.
Fortunately, they’d used their superpowers just in time to mitigate the injuries.
“You okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good. Then get up on your own.”
“?!”
Jin Ruogong’s words drew silent curses from the other superpowered individuals. He outranked them in status and ability alike. That was why they followed his orders when traveling together…….
But his personality never changed.
Jin Ruogong calmly pulled out a rapid healer and applied it to his arm. The superpower user watching gaped. Given Jin Ruogong’s abilities, he’d probably only suffered minor scrapes from the crash.
Yet here he was, using a rapid healer. Did he not even see them lying there injured?
‘Damn that son of a bitch.’
Of course, no one said it aloud. Jin Ruogong wasn’t the type to hold back from beating them just because they were hurt. If they couldn’t resist, he’d only get more excited and go wilder.
“Uh, if there’s any rapid healer left over…….”
“Hey, hey!”
“You want some rapid healer?”
“Yes!”
“Why should I give you any?”
Jin Ruogong asked as if he genuinely couldn’t comprehend.
“Well… because we’re hurt?”
“If you’re hurt, treat yourself. Why ask me? Did you hit your head?”
At a loss for words, the man’s comrade whispered from the side.
“See, I told you. That guy only cares about himself.”
Jin Ruogong yawned and glanced around. Their vehicles were completely wrecked, with no hope of repair.
‘Sniper fire? What kind of punk…….’
It looked like bullets had caused it, but he didn’t care.
‘Bring it on if you dare.’
Born with innate body enhancement superpowers, plus artifacts on top. For Jin Ruogong, from a powerful family, these factors only fueled his arrogance.
To him, the world revolved around him.
“Hey, you. You’re the Haste user, right?”
“Yes…….”
“Go request new transport and bring it back. I’m not walking.”
“But this guy’s leg is broken?”
“Tough it out and go.”
“…….”
In the meantime, figures appeared in the distance. The superpowered individuals, who’d forgotten about the sniper amid crash pain, snapped to attention at the sight.
“Someone’s coming!”
“Let ’em come. Perfect timing.”
Jin Ruogong cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing from his neck. He didn’t know who it was, but anyone approaching now had to be behind the crash.
* * *
“They’re awfully calm even after a crash like that. That guy must have some serious composure.”
“No, that’s not calm—that’s a psycho on the verge of exploding. He’s a total nutjob.”
Jin Ruogong looked composed on the surface, while the other superpowered users seemed angrier. But Suhyun knew the truth.
Jin Ruogong was hot-tempered, but it didn’t always show. Sometimes he’d stay quiet, then snap over something trivial and go berserk. “Cantankerous” fit him perfectly.
It was the same now. He seemed fine, but the moment Suhyun’s group got close, he’d likely lose it.
“Psycho?”
“It means he’s a bit short-tempered and dangerous.”
“Don’t teach Erendil weird words.”
Confirming Jin Ruogong with the naked eye from afar, Suhyun frowned.
‘His superpower’s really unstable. Power’s increased, though. Must be the drugs.’
The narcotics Kim Jong-tae had been peddling did boost superpowers. Unstable effects and harsh side effects aside.
Tap.
Suhyun stopped walking once they were at a suitable distance. The injured superpowered users sprawled on the ground, and the two elves alike, all stared at him, wondering why he’d halted.
“Three, two, one…….”
“You bastard. Why’d you stop? Huh?!”
“Just as I thought.”
Irritated by Suhyun’s pause, Jin Ruogong twisted his face and bellowed. Then he slammed the ground.
‘Rock Sphere?’
Not spears, but a massive ball of stone. Not his superpower, so definitely an artifact. A huge boulder formed in an instant.
Jin Ruogong seized it and hurled it viciously.
Aida reached for her gun, but Suhyun stopped her with one hand. Then he snapped his fingers.
Crunch!
The massive boulder shattered apart.
“……!”
Shock filled the eyes of the superpowered users on the ground. He’d never seen telekinesis that strong.
“That all you got? I heard Jin Ruogong was something special, but it’s nothing impressive.”
“!”
Veins bulged on Jin Ruogong’s forehead. Both Liu Xin and Jin Ruogong were balls of pride, but poking it elicited different reactions. Nothing was as convenient for provocation.
“Liu Xin’s way better, I bet?”
“!!”
Second jab.
Jin Ruogong’s body trembled like it might explode. His muscles contracted, then burst forward like a released bowstring. Incredibly fast, as if accelerating time.
But Suhyun had already seen several moves ahead.
Even in a speed contest, time acceleration gave him the edge. And without it, keeping this distance meant he could toy with a physical enhancer like this. No matter how fast, he couldn’t leap space itself.
To Suhyun, Jin Ruogong looked like a fly charging into a trap.
‘Go on, off you go.’
No matter how strong, he couldn’t pierce telekinesis. Suhyun planned to yank him in and crush him.
But before that, Jin Ruogong tumbled, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
“?!”
“What?!”
It wasn’t just Suhyun— the other superpowered users were stunned too. Jin Ruogong might have a dogshit personality, but his skills were real. Otherwise, he couldn’t hold his position.
Suhyun turned to Erendil. Her eyes glowed red. Seeing her staring at Jin Ruogong clued him in on why the man had collapsed.
“Stop. That’s enough!”
The red glow faded from her eyes. Suhyun approached the writhing Jin Ruogong on the ground and checked his condition. His internal blood vessels were ruptured.
‘Impressive…….’
Administering first aid, Suhyun realized Erendil’s superpower was far stronger than expected. It was telekinesis-like, but unlike his physical force, it targeted specific human functions.
‘Ruptured blood vessels—brainwaves? Manipulating brainwaves to control blood pressure…….’
He could guess why she hadn’t used it around others. Like a curse, it inevitably struck its target.
“But why use it now?”
“He looked dangerous…….”
Jin Ruogong charging must have seemed pretty threatening to Erendil.
“This? This is nothing. No need to worry.”
“What did Erendil do?”
“Something like telekinesis, but specialized for assassination. Anyway, this guy’s a superpower user, but why’s he so weak? Get up, you punk.”
Answering Louiril’s question, Suhyun slapped Jin Ruogong’s cheek. Superpowered users generally resisted superpowers better than normals.
Powers like Erendil’s or Kang In-gyu’s, applied directly to people, were heavily affected by resistance. Naturally, it was hard to affect powerhouses like Jin Ruogong much. And Erendil hadn’t even trained properly……
The flustered superpowered users said nothing as Suhyun slapped their leader, then finally spoke up.
“What the hell are you doing!”
“Waking him up.”
Whether slapping a blood-vomiting man counted as “waking” was debatable, but they couldn’t just leave an unknown alone. The superpower user warned coldly.
“Back off right now. Or else…….”
“Or else what? Gonna charge me in that state?”
The one with a broken leg, sitting up, hesitated mid-sentence. Fighting now seemed questionable.
‘Can we… win?’
They could use powers, but the enemy seemed like a formidable superpower user, and they weren’t at full strength.
Plus, Jin Ruogong wasn’t someone worth dying for.
“Or else… nothing we can do? I did my part.”
“Yeah, you did your part.”
“…….”
Aida stared at the Chinese superpowered users in disbelief. What kind of treatment was this for a comrade?
“Those guys seem a bit off…….”
“It’s just ’cause Jin Ruogong’s such a piece of trash.”
One of the superpowered users, overhearing, spoke up.
“Who are you?”
“Hold on. I ask the questions first. What were you doing out here?”
“What do you mean? We crashed…….”
Mid-sentence, realization dawned. Their bikes had been going fine— no reason to flip suddenly. The superpower user eyed Suhyun suspiciously. A crash nearby, and now he shows up.
“Why stare like that?”
“You wouldn’t happen to be…….”
“What, you think I was waiting around sniping your bikes to flip them? Do I look like I have time to waste?”
‘This motherfucker…….’
If they couldn’t spot it from his brazen attitude, they were idiots. The superpowered users realized Suhyun was the culprit.
And him admitting it so openly meant……
The man glanced around. No allies, most comrades injured. The enemy was a strong superpower user, and he wouldn’t be alone— probably had backup hidden.
“Haha! Yeah, right. No way! Must’ve been my mistake.”
“Be more careful driving next time.”
“Hey, what’s with that? That bastard did…….”
“Shut it.”
To avoid falling for the provocation, the man silenced his comrade.
“Now, answer my question. Why were you roaming around here?”
“We were after the guy who picked a fight with us…….”
Poke.
“Just handling a minor issue.”
No need to confess shady dealings to a stranger.
‘Pretty sharp. Better than Jin Ruogong.’
“Minor issue? You were speeding like maniacs over a minor issue?”
“W-We just have a habit of giving our all, no matter what…….”
“Whatever. We’ll see if it’s minor once we talk to them face-to-face.”
“?”
“They’re coming back. Recognize them?”
The mercenaries’ vehicle appeared on the horizon. The superpowered users’ faces darkened.
‘No way… is this guy a Union inspector?’
The Gate 4-Nation Alliance did run a small org to handle mercenary disputes and crimes. Too understaffed for the scope, sure.
But running into one was a hassle for sure.
“It’s fine. Once Jin Ruogong gets up.”
If arrested, the government would pull strings. The inspectors were under the 4-Nation Alliance too— they had to mind each nation.
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