Chapter 48
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Fortress Assault (2)
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Whoosh!
A silent gunshot sliced through the night's darkness.
In front of the central command center.
Beside Volkov, who had been rallying his men with confidence in victory, a metallic screech suddenly erupted.
"Clang!"
The massive turret spat flames and twisted out of shape.
The magic stone pulsing with blue light beneath the barrel shattered into dust and scattered.
"...What the hell?"
The moment Volkov turned his head, another gust of wind cut through the air.
Whoosh!
A scream rang out from the opposite side, where soldiers were reloading the cannon.
Gunners collapsing one after another.
In mere seconds, the firepower guarding the command center was neutralized.
"Sniper! Damn it, where's the shot coming from?!"
Volkov instinctively ducked.
He was lucky to dodge the bullet, but that was it.
No gunshot, no muzzle flash, no smoke.
The attack left no trace—only the result.
The Federation forces' counterattack ground to a halt in an instant.
Silence crushed the battlefield.
Kellogg and the rebels weren't about to miss that split-second opening.
"Now! Ghost has cleared the path! Full assault!"
Kellogg's shout exploded forth.
Fire ignited in the rebels' eyes.
Leaving their fallen comrades behind, they charged toward the command center with roars.
"Damn it, hold the line! Stop those bastards!"
Volkov bellowed.
He still believed in their numerical superiority.
The turrets were disabled, but they had plenty of troops left.
But that misjudgment didn't last long.
Tat-tat-tat!
A light pattering echoed from beyond the outpost's outer wall.
The wall trembled faintly, and a blue silhouette emerged, catching the battlefield's glow.
Federation soldiers looked up.
A black shadow arced through the sky in a parabola.
It was Falcon.
Falcon had leaped over the fortress wall in one bound, using burning debris and the ramparts as footholds.
"Kieeeek!"
A monstrous cry tore through the night.
Falcon landed smack in the middle of the command center's front courtyard.
Behind the defensive line.
The heavy impact sent nearby soldiers screaming and tumbling away.
And atop his back.
A man in a black cloak and hood stood tall.
Silhouetted against the burning fortress, he looked like a reaper descended from hell.
"Gotta deal with this quick."
A low but clear voice cut across the battlefield.
He swept his gaze over the jubilant rebels and the Federation forces frozen in shock.
"You're all way too weak."
Jinwoo swiftly drew his pistol.
"It's Ghost! Ghost is here!"
Kellogg and the rebels witnessed their hero descending into reality.
The fear of defeat evaporated, replaced by near-fanatical bravery.
They roared amid the gun smoke.
"Charge!"
"This fight is ours!"
They surged toward the Federation's defensive line like flames.
Meanwhile, the Federation ranks fractured in chaos and terror.
The rear they thought safest.
The heart of it now hosted an enigmatic reaper.
The pressure he exuded went beyond mere fear.
Rebels pressing from the front, a ghostly figure holding the back.
"Stop him! Take that guy out first—now!"
At Volkov's order, a few nearby elite soldiers instinctively raised their guns.
But before they could pull the triggers, Jinwoo's Infinite Ammo Pistol fired first.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The pistol unleashed a barrage of bullets.
With each muffled shot, soldiers dropped without flash or smoke.
Every round pierced vital spots, bodies crumpling as if hitting an invisible wall.
"Gah!"
Federation screams followed one after another.
"Surround him! Subdue that bastard first!"
Volkov yelled, but it was already too late.
Jinwoo and Falcon had long since begun tearing through the fortress interior again.
Tat-tat-tat!
As the beast darted this way and that, the battlefield transformed into another dimension entirely.
Falcon bowled into soldiers with his body.
"Aaaagh!"
Jinwoo danced atop him, spraying the Infinite Ammo Pistol.
Soldiers vanished wherever his trajectory passed.
Only trails of bullets lingered like flickers of light.
Volkov's once-impenetrable defensive line began collapsing from within at the hands of a single intruder.
Volkov couldn't believe the scene unfolding before him.
That wasn't human.
It was war itself—or death incarnate.
"E-everyone, fall back inside the command center! Hurry!"
Squeezing out his last shred of reason, he issued the order.
But Jinwoo had already anticipated his retreat.
He yanked Falcon's reins.
The beast charged through flames and smoke.
The last barricade at the command center entrance was his target.
'That one's Volkov, right? Nothing special—can end him quick.'
Jinwoo's vision narrowed.
Firing angle, distance, wind direction.
All the calculations clicked silently in his mind.
With Falcon's wingbeat, the battlefield's center converged on him once more.
"Shut the door! Hurry!"
Volkov shouted desperately.
He dragged his bloodied body through the heavy steel door of the central command center.
The surviving subordinates threw their last strength into slamming it shut.
Clank!
A horrific screech of metal grinding rang out.
The instant the door was nearly closed!
Jinwoo seized the gap perfectly.
He crouched low on Falcon's back and slid through just before the steel jaws met.
Falcon's wingtip grazed the door, sparking flames.
"He's inside!"
"No!"
Soldiers shrieked in alarm.
The door slammed shut fiercely right after Jinwoo passed.
Ratchet!
The steel door began locking automatically.
A mechanism in the wall spun, chains whirring into place at high speed.
Heavy chains tangled into the frame, securing the door.
Whoosh!
One shot was all it took.
The flying bullet pierced the chain linkage dead-on.
Metal screamed and snapped; the door rattled open again.
"The door's open!"
When Volkov looked up, the steel door—his final shield—had become an open gateway.
Federation soldiers raised their guns in unison, but
Jinwoo moved first.
He leaped off Falcon onto the lobby floor and drew his pistol in the same motion.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Wind moved before the gunshots.
Each flash from his fingertips sent bullets through flesh, vanishing into the flames.
Volkov staggered.
"Th-this fucking..."
Blood pooled at his feet, spent casings from fallen soldiers scattered across the floor.
His allies were all but gone.
With his last resolve, he drew the pistol from his belt.
"I won't kneel and beg for my life!"
The moment he tried to pull the trigger, Jinwoo's vision turned red.
Red Eye
Time slows. Precision and speed enhanced.
The world froze in stasis.
Volkov's grim expression, trembling finger,
The elite soldiers' subtle motions aiming their guns—all visible like fish in still water.
Jinwoo remounted Falcon smoothly.
'Better finish this fast. Just an NPC with a name, after all.'
He flicked the pistol's hammer repeatedly with his left palm.
Pipipiping!
An invisible storm swept the entire lobby.
Relentless barrage of rounds!
Wall magic stone lamps shattered, glass shards glinting as they scattered in the air.
Soldiers' bodies lifted into the air before crashing down.
In the whirlwind of red afterimages, only Jinwoo stood serene.
As Red Eye released, the world stirred back to life.
"Gr...grrrgh..."
Thud!
Volkov knelt, staring down at his body.
Innumerable bullets riddling him.
Unaware of what hit him, he collapsed.
"Yep, nothing beats pumping 'em full of lead."
The fortress assault was over.
Jinwoo pushed through the blood-scented corridor toward the command center's depths.
Any hidden enemies numbered only a handful at most.
A quick shot whenever one showed solved the problem.
Gunfire outside the window was already dying down.
'The rebels are doing their part.'
This quest's outcome.
One of the Trade Federation's major military strongholds on the Eldorado Continent vanishes.
'Pros and cons, one each.'
The pro: ideal for rebel and personal operations.
This fortress served as a neural hub, dispatching troops from various locales in emergencies and issuing orders via communication lines.
Thus, weakening Federation control.
The con: declining public order.
'More bandits will pop up.'
The Trade Federation was a vicious force exploiting the Eldorado Continent.
But even in exploitation, they maintained a certain order.
'So I need to stamp out other bandit groups in advance.'
Before long, Jinwoo stood before the commander's office.
Opening the door revealed a room filled with golden chandeliers and pristine furniture.
Jinwoo's eyes locked solely on the steel safe in the room's center.
He lifted a wall-hung painting, revealing a hidden lever behind it.
Click!
Pulling the lever rendered the complex dial meaningless; the lock disengaged.
The thick steel door creaked open slowly, exposing the safe's contents.
No gold bars or jewels.
A single worn, thick leather ledger.
That was the reason for this entire war—and the goal Jinwoo had orchestrated.
He picked it up.
A faint metallic tang rose from his bloodied fingertips.
The cover bore the faded inscription: Blackstone Transaction Ledger.
Jinwoo gazed at it for a moment, then slowly exhaled.
Ding!
Main Quest: Aim for the Heart of the Black Fortress
Stage 2: Secure the secret ledger in Commander Volkov's office! [Complete]
Main Quest completed!
Battlefield flames seeped through the window, staining the ledger's surface red.