Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Confrontation (4)
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Even back when Suhyun was in service, stealth suits and superpower nullifiers were items used so secretly that ordinary people had no idea they existed. And at this point in time, they were even more classified. Every country was fiercely developing them while keeping a close eye on one another.
In that situation, some unknown superhuman had pierced right through their identities.
“With gear like that, the only ones who’d blow up a Korean sector are China or Russia… And that fighting style you showed earlier? That’s the Chinese way. Black Eagle Squad, maybe?”
“Capture them alive!”
The team leader shouted in shock at the guy blabbing right in front of them. Better to grab him and interrogate how he knew all this than just kill him.
“Guess that’s a yes.”
Wearing stealth suits and masks, laying down smoke, then pulling them into close quarters—that was the Black Eagle Squad’s favorite tactic. Every member had undergone enhancements, and they were close-combat specialists, so it was only natural.
“!”
The attackers froze in horror as their bodies refused to move. They’d activated the superpower nullifier, hadn’t they?!
“H-How…?”
“Don’t put all your faith in one piece of gear. See what happens?”
The superpower nullifier was infamous among superhumans. Back in the day, Suhyun had fought just fine without powers, so he hadn’t feared it much, but the other powered soldiers hated the damn thing.
He knew how it worked, of course. Superhumans fundamentally emitted a special wavelength. A unique mana wavelength at the root of their powers.
The nullifier absorbed that wavelength and emitted a counter-wavelength to cancel it out. The superhuman’s wave got sealed by the device’s.
But it wasn’t perfect. You could smash it with raw power. Unless a bunch of decent superhumans teamed up, though, that was tough.
An easier way was to switch powers. Alternating between two could disrupt the nullifier’s wavelength.
Of course, that wasn’t practical either. No human had ever wielded two powers.
Except Suhyun.
He activated Farsight to match their wavelength, then switched to telekinesis and crushed the nullifier outright. It was so simple it was almost comical. Suhyun once again felt how shocking the concept of a “mage” must be to people only familiar with conventional superhumans.
Crack!
The sound of necks snapping echoed at once. The attackers grabbed by Suhyun dropped dead. He approached the man who seemed to be the team leader.
“Don’t you wonder why you’re the only one still alive while the rest are corpses?”
“…!”
“If you’re gonna capture someone, might as well make it a big fish. You seem a cut above the others, so…”
Suhyun jabbed a paralyzing toxin into the man’s body. That wrapped things up. He gathered the bodies in one spot and caught his breath. Honestly, he hadn’t expected them to bring a superpower nullifier.
‘Sneaky bastards. Sneaky as hell. They’d already developed it by this point?’
He’d thought Jindo Team 1 would handle them easily, but this changed everything. The team’s superhumans wouldn’t have anticipated gear like this.
‘Without me… they’d all be dead.’
High likelihood. And it was still happening now. Suhyun turned immediately. He had to help the others.
* * *
“What the hell?!”
The mercenaries gathered in the clearing were in total disarray. When Uncle Jo Company troops warned of an attack, they’d been skeptical. Sensors and sentries showed nothing.
But the assault hit right after they formed up. Without the heads-up, the casualties would’ve been unimaginable.
“Cough, cough! Gah!”
“Smoke!”
“Power armor, do something! Blow them away!”
“I-It’s not working!”
“What?!”
The attackers bursting out were barely visible. Lights were on, but all they caught was something transparent moving against the background. In that chaos, their power armor—their biggest asset—suddenly shut down.
“Call Team 1! Team 1! This is bad!”
“Something feels off…”
“Where’s Team Leader Kim Suhyun?! He didn’t get hit, did he?!”
“Shut up. You think he’d go down?”
Kim Chang-sik said it, but he couldn’t hide his panic. He didn’t know who these attackers were, but one thing was clear: they weren’t amateurs.
The smoke, the power armor shutdowns—definitely their doing. Plus that invisible stealth gear.
Rat-tat-tat!
Using the stalled power armor as cover, Uncle Jo Company troops laid down suppressive fire. Unlike Jindo’s troops, who’d started against monsters on Cameron Planet, these Earth-trained mercenaries were pros in this mess.
“Got one!”
The attackers weren’t charging straight in. They circled, picking off exposed troops.
‘What’re they after?’
Lee So-hee sensed something off in their movements. She didn’t know how they’d disabled the power armor, but it couldn’t last forever. Now was the time to strike.
“It’s Team 1!”
“Good. Get it working.”
Hearing a sub-team was under attack, Lee Jung-woo mobilized at once. He and his crew planned to shred these clueless raiders. Upon arrival, Lee Jung-woo conjured a massive ice chunk in the air. It shattered into shards that flew everywhere.
Thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud!
“Urk!”
“Idiots. Take proper cover!”
Stealth suits let them dodge, but not against indiscriminate barrage. They had to activate the nullifier and wait for it to kick in.
“Gah!”
It got worse. Team 1 wasn’t just Lee Jung-woo. A woman with her hair tied back bit her lip and swung her arm, raising an earthen wall. An attacker on it got flung upward.
“Group up!”
At Lee Jung-woo’s commanding voice, Jindo’s troops snapped to. In sudden chaos, trust the strongest. Teams 9 and 10 ditched the stalled power armor and clustered toward Team 1.
“What about over there?”
“Uncle Jo Company team, sir.”
“Ignore them. Power armor’s stopped?”
“Yes!”
Power armor wasn’t just vulnerable externally. You could hack the internal software to shut it down. Sure, it had strong electronic warfare defenses, but not impenetrable.
“EMP? Doesn’t matter. Can’t destroy it outright. Stall them! The armor’ll reboot in time.”
You didn’t get Team 1 Leader for nothing. Lee Jung-woo assessed and issued orders, then unleashed his power again.
But nothing came.
“?!!?!”
Even a prodigy couldn’t predict secret tech like this. Lee Jung-woo hid his shock and glanced at the others. Same story. They exchanged looks and realized.
“No way… our powers…?”
“!”
Right on cue, the attack ramped up. Smoke grenades filled the clearing as attackers charged, firing wildly. The troops’ faces went ashen.
Jindo troops specialized in big monsters, not this. Pros at human hunting had the edge. The attackers methodically neutralized them one by one.
Lee Jung-woo froze, powerless. What could he do without powers?
“You fucking bastards! Who do you think you’re messing with?!”
A rough yell erupted. Uncle Jo Company troops. They blasted smoke grenades away and poured fire on approaching foes.
Boom!
Gorgan shone brightest. Eyes glowing red, he slammed his shield into the ground, leaned in, and hosed everything down. Bullets grazing his ears? Ignored.
“Take those guys out first.”
“Says who?”
“?!”
The attacker captain, watching from the clearing’s entrance and barking orders, whipped around at the voice behind him. The nullifier was smashed, his guards bleeding out.
“You…”
“That arrow bounced off nicely earlier.”
“You prick!”
Suhyun blocked the quick pistol draw and struck vitals. Eyes were on him. Use telekinesis sparingly. He knew their tactics cold. He’d take this guy in seconds.
“!”
The captain’s eyes widened. Just a few exchanges, and he knew: he was outclassed.
Losing a superhuman matchup on raw skill?!
Unbelievable.
Suhyun knocked the pistol flying and clocked his jaw. Seeing Suhyun hold back lethal blows, the man realized: capture.
‘You arrogant shit…!’
Rage surged, but reality didn’t budge. Captain assessed fast. His guards were dead, nullifier gone. Jindo’s powers would return soon.
Mission failed.
He knew too much. He’d prepped for this. He rolled his tongue, extracting the hidden cyanide in his molar.
“?!”
Suhyun rushed as the man collapsed like a cut string.
“You mad bastard!”
Suicide? Unexpected. Nullifier smashed, men wiped—minimize damage. Capture meant intel loss.
But instant suicide? Raiders still in the clearing, Suhyun’s ID unknown.
‘Damn. Should’ve played weaker?’
Sharp judgment. Gave up and suicided at defeat. Suhyun clicked his tongue in regret.
Whirr—
Thanks to Suhyun smashing the nullifier, powers returned. Ice chunks appeared; panicked attackers turned. Suhyun waved mockingly.
“!!!”
“Retreat! Fall back!”
Thud-thud-thud!
Watching company mercs die helplessly? Humiliating. Team 1’s eyes burned with venom.
Nullifier gone, no way these elites could close on superhumans. Armed troops still around.
“No running now.”
Suhyun put rounds in fleeing attackers’ heads. Stealth dodges? Meaningless against him.
Jindo Team raged from unexpected losses. They hadn’t imagined this. No mercy—pure pursuit.
‘They’ll regret it later.’
Power-focused Team 1 did Cameron expeditions and monsters. Hard to grasp priorities here.
Anyway, Suhyun was pleased. All info-leakers dead, one solid capture—not the captain, but good enough. Jindo hadn’t clocked the opportunity.
“Team Leader!”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Dong-wook and Gorgan…”
Post-battle: healers’ time to shine.
“Where were you?”
“Handling the ones coming for me.”
They’d been pushed hard even grouped; solo? Unbelievable. Minor wounds healed, but this was a brush with death?