Chapter 118
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Mechanical Dwarves Assault
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Around 180-something centimeters tall, with a well-balanced build.
Looks like a middleweight at first glance, but actually heavyweight class or heavier.
An augmented human, or perhaps a beastman.
That was Jin's internal assessment.
As the purple electricity coiling around his body lit up the surroundings,
the man cracked his neck left and right and steadied his stance.
"...Jin Evernight. A solo, huh?"
The man muttered to himself into the empty air once more.
Bam!
In an instant, Jin closed the distance and threw a punch.
This time to the body, thrusting deep like a spear.
The man's nose wrinkled slightly as he raised his guard to protect his face, clearly expecting a headhunt.
At first glance, it might seem like wild flailing, but Jin's strikes had reached a certain level of all-weather proficiency.
When he judged an opponent couldn't be shattered in one blow, he mixed high, mid, and low hits without mercy, masterful at it.
This time too, he capitalized on the moment the foe's focus shifted to his body with a low kick that slammed into the calf.
A signature calf kick.
A strike targeting the peroneal nerve, the essence of modern MMA.
"Tch."
The man clicked his tongue and retreated,
and Jin pursued with footwork bordering on teleportation, throwing a big overhand right followed by an uppercut with his lead hand, finishing with another rear hand—a textbook two-up-two combo.
Flash!
A silver streak shot up sharply.
At the same time, Jin felt a chill at his wrist.
Blood sprayed from his retracting right arm.
Covering the sharply sliced flesh with his other hand, he created distance. His eyes caught the man twirling a dagger effortlessly.
A so-called combat knife.
Blood dripped steadily down the sleek blade.
"Why is a solo here..."
The man's mutter didn't continue.
Jin pressed in relentlessly, unleashing a barrage of close-range strikes led by knee kicks and elbows.
Stanch the bleeding?
He gave up on that.
As long as it wasn't an artery, it didn't matter.
Did the opponent realize this?
For a brief moment, his face said he'd seen every kind of lunatic.
Then, with a suddenly serious expression, he charged in to clash bodies.
Papapapapapak!!!
Shockwaves erupted nonstop amid the two exchanging blows at incredible speeds.
Kwang!
A deafening roar, hard to believe came from flesh on flesh, flashed with light, and the shadows on the wall danced long, evoking two massive beasts twisting beyond storm clouds.
At the center, Jin thought.
It felt just like fighting Taha after his beastman transformation.
Taha.
The beast of war who ruled Mute Town, the Rank 2 beastman who had the edge in close quarters against Jin.
If that monster overcame his frenzy and grew even stronger, would it be like this?
Unlike Taha, who crushed foes like a tsunami with brute violent strength, this opponent wielded a body no less—perhaps even more—powerful, yet he didn't rely solely on it. He countered strength with strength, technique with technique.
Even now.
Jin's Thunder Claw, manifested with perfect imagery.
Five streaks of lightning drawn to a peak, shattered from the tip by a blade surging in reverse.
Whoosh!
Jin dodged a vicious carotid counter by a paper's width and wrapped shattered thunder fragments around his right hand.
He thrust his fist straight,
only for an incoming fist from the opposite side to meet it.
Kwaaaang!!
A explosive pressure sent his hair flying back, and his ballooning sleeve burst.
Beyond it, the opponent wore a smile.
As if he were thoroughly enjoying this.
But then his face shifted to oh crap as he leaped back with all his might.
"Gonna be tough to take you down without transforming. You really Rank 2?"
Jin paused mid-floor stomp at the sight of him adjusting his glasses with a fingertip.
"Who the hell have you been talking to this whole time?"
"The guy who made it to the round of 8 in the rotations, uh, a legit contender for the win? Ah, yeah. So you're like the next-gen star. And from Downtown, Anecdote... what? Can't hear. Speak up."
"..."
Jin furrowed his brow and hurled a thunder spear.
Kurung!
The projectile cleaved the air with thunderous roar,
and the man split it right in front of his face.
Then he kept talking, as if he'd expected that response.
Jin regathered his scattering purple electricity, sharpening it like a blade tip.
Rank 2 mid-stage. With deepened ember and greater control over purple electricity, manipulating mana from afar was no longer difficult.
In that split second.
Raging electric light engulfed the man's face.
Pajijijik!!!
Amid the strobing flashes,
in the blinks alternating dozens of times per second, finally—a crack!
Smoke billowed and cleared.
His glasses, ablaze, clattered to the floor from the coughing man's face.
"Oh dear."
The man muttered, gazing at his heroically deceased eyewear.
"...Captain's gonna chew me out."
With a small mutter, he scratched his nape and lifted his head.
Then, as Jin approached steadily, he raised a palm.
"Hey. Let's talk."
"About what?"
"Seems like a misunderstanding. That body? Not my doing. For real."
Jin confirmed the man's finger pointing at the fallen agent.
Naturally, his hands went to his hips.
"Why should I believe that?"
"The fact that I'm even trying to talk to you?"
Ha?
Jin scowled fiercely.
"Wanna go all the way then?"
"Hey, you three-portion two-portion. No hard feelings. I'm not dissing you. Respect? Maybe."
That was when the man replied.
Swish.
Vagmar, who had been hiding behind a stone pillar, crept out to inspect the fallen agent's body.
"...Jin, these wounds. Dwarf work."
At those words, the man gave a see? look,
and Jin eyed Vagmar.
"For real?"
"Yeah, there are guys made as warriors, not craftsmen like me. The steel balls they shoot are exactly this size."
"..."
Jin turned sheepish at Vagmar pointing to the hole in the corpse's forehead.
He'd charged in thinking it could have been Elina.
But it was a mistake.
Dude, warn a guy!
As he silently mouthed at the dwarf looking up at him.
"So, who messed up?"
Jin cleared his throat awkwardly at the man's words.
But he had a counter too.
"The government announced it, right? Some decree banning unauthorized access to Apophis! And you! Unauthorized landing? Or not? I saw it all!"
"..."
Now the man sniffed and looked stumped, out of rebuttals.
This is why you gotta know the law.
Jin was glad for grilling during the op briefing.
Thanks, Q. And past me...!
"Alright. We're both guilty here, so let's call that fight a draw, no fault assigned. Time for productive talk from now on."
Jin jerked his chin at the man.
"Identity first."
It seemed casual, but Jin was certain now: this guy was the massive bird crossing the sky.
Beastman. Rank 3 or higher.
Confirming in his head, he saw the man pondering.
But only briefly.
"Eh, whatever."
He shrugged nonchalantly and spoke.
"Miles, mercenary with Styx. This intel's supposed to cost money. I'm giving it free. Lucky you."
What an unimaginable identity!
Jin's arms formed a broken swastika in shock.
"Styx?!"
Purple electricity flared around him at the name of that fated group.
And for good reason. In Jin's mind, Styx meant:
The heretic of solitary flame legend, enthralled by perfect fire.
The one wielding cursed kin-eating flames.
'Black Flame' Kilgit.
Why me?
'That Lunatic' Crow.
With those two belonging there, his glare at Miles burned fierce.
"You guys stalking me? Popping up whenever I forget, blocking my path and being total assholes."
"...? You've met others besides me? Who?"
"Does it matter? More than one. Happy?"
Irritated reply.
Miles's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"Cassian, who's that... Ah, right."
He noticed his broken glasses late.
Paused, then looked at Jin.
"So who'd you meet? Tell me, and I'll pay up later. Oh, first—how much?"
What nonsense is this?
Jin, mid-flaming hostility, looked like he'd eaten shit.
He scowled deeply and spoke.
"Cut the crap. What's your business at Apophis?"
Not the answer he wanted?
Miles smacked his lips in disappointment, then shrugged.
"Secret."
"What?"
"Hey, I'm a merc. Ever seen a merc spill client details?"
"Jeez."
Jin snorted derisively.
Acting all high and mighty like a fixer.
Real fixer is for solos like me.
What makes you think you can front, criminal punk.
Then.
Rumble rumble rumble─!!
The floor shook violently out of nowhere. Jin and Miles scanned around in unison.
Dust rained from above, mixed with Vagmar's voice.
"Damn it! You two! You surface scum. This ain't the time for chit-chat."
"...Been wondering. What the hell is that? Clockwork dwarf?"
Ignoring Miles's trailing comment about paying if told, Jin turned to Vagmar.
"What? Trouble?"
"Trouble's been here! Intruders in the king's castle—think any king sits still? And there's a traitor too!"
"...King?"
"Apophis!"
As Vagmar shouted urgently at Jin's tilt.
Thud thud thud.
Earth-shaking booms brushed their ears.
Noise closing in circularly from all sides.
Jin scooped Vagmar and stomped the floor hard.
Followed by Blink!
The propelled spell instantly raised their viewpoint.
To mid-air.
Ten-plus meters up, Jin calmly surveyed below.
His double-digit eyesight, humbling even Mongols, spotted the unfamiliar things.
Thud thud thud.
Boot-like stomps, groups emerging from railings, wall gaps, landings—mechanical dwarves like Vagmar.
Differences?
Too high up─!! Vagmar screamed from his right hand, but these showed no expression change.
And round holes in their palms, slowly aiming at him.
Next instant.
After freefall Blink to land, Jin hurled Vagmar toward Cloy.
"Catch!"
"Waaah!!"
Cloy snagged the screaming heavy pass, then pillar-kicked left and right to leap to the second-floor railing.
Meanwhile, Jin sprinted at the nearest mechanical dwarf and booted it mid-stride.
Shockingly, it didn't shatter.
Even tumbling, it aimed precisely and fired from its palm—
Tang!!
Jin, having read the trajectory, dodged the supersonic projectile and scowled.
Magic enchantment?
No other explanation for that durability and tech.
In short, each dwarf was an artifact.
Swarms closed in from all directions without gap, drawing axes and hammers from belts and swinging wildly.
Fwoooosh─!!
Disorientingly ferocious swings.
The air-cutting whoosh was no joke.
At the same time, Jin slammed his right foot down—thud!—and spun wide.
Dragon Ascent.
The fierce updraft nullified the dwarves' attacks and sucked them into the storm's eye.
Kwang!!
He drove his elbow full-force into the first one's face.
Snatching the brass axe from the staggering dwarf's hand, Jin smashed it down on the second caught in the flow.
No technique needed.
Just like his arm had lengthened, a hammerfist drop.
Crack!
Axe buried from crown to chin, the dwarf dropped to its knees.
Jin didn't stop.
Exploded mana once more for a second spin.
Intensified currents swallowed dwarves, shattering them one by one at the center.
Meanwhile, a roar erupted nearby.
"Chaos."
Miles muttered. His hands now bore raptor-like claws, crushing a held mechanical dwarf's head like tofu.
True to beastmen growing exponentially stronger per rank, he tanked incoming bullet barrages barehanded. His eyes turned to Jin.
Precisely, the hemispheric storm whirling fiercely.
"Impressive."
The mana density inside wasn't even Rank 2 on a good day.
Mid-Rank 3 at least.
That packed power was monstrous.
"...Recruit him?"
Jin had no way of knowing the Styx merc's chilling thought about him.
Fwoooo!!
Now, finishing the third rotation, updraft soared skyward over his head.
Shattered dwarves scattered and disintegrated mid-air.
Jin thought.
If not one-and-done, three spins was still the limit.
Dragon Ascent required constant control of stacking mana layers, burden growing with revolutions.
No wonder the imagery tore heaven and earth.
Mess up, and it could kill him.
Stay sharp, he muttered inwardly, then lightning-kicked a turbulently caught dwarf.
Meanwhile, faint exp trickled in his mind.
Usually, Jin ignored exp from kills unless total scum, no matter the amount.
But this was different.
Just machine dwarves, right?
No threat to humanity,
so maybe treat it straightforward?
Thus, Jin grinned savagely.
At the mechanical horde charging fearlessly this instant.
Yeah, come on.
You exp bags.