The Easier and More Certain Method
Born and raised here, and it’s my first overseas trip, but I never imagined it’d turn out like this. Wait, this is for work, not a vacation, so does it even count?
“By the way, it’s a lot hotter here than back home. Even at night.”
The moment I stepped out of the airport, Thailand’s humid, sweltering heat wrapped around me like a wet blanket despite the late hour.
Shall I activate the air-conditioning function, Master?
“Yeah. Right now. Full power.”
Ever-considerate Slim kicked the cooling system into high gear. The sweat that had been pouring down my body vanished in seconds, replaced by a refreshing chill.
Slim lowered its own temperature, automatically drawing in and expelling the surrounding moisture. It had literally turned into a wearable air conditioner.
Now this is livable.
That was when it happened.
“Excuse me, are you Goblin, sir?”
A Thai man in a loud Hawaiian shirt approached me, calling out my temporary codename in fluent Korean.
“Yes. Then you must be…”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Banban, the guide in charge of your trip.”
Codename Banban. He was a local Thai agent for the Management Bureau and had been working as an informant in the country until recently.
“Your Korean is excellent.”
“I may look like this, but I was born in Gongju, South Chungcheong, and lived in Korea for thirty years. Haha!”
“Ah, sorry. I assumed you were Thai.”
“No problem. I get that a lot. Come, get in the car. You must be exhausted after such a long journey.”
Once we were driving, Banban asked, “Where shall I take you, Goblin, sir?”
“Where is Deputy So Hong-min’s family right now?”
“They should be home at this hour. Shall I head straight there?”
According to the prophetic dream, my brother-in-law was scheduled to die tomorrow. If I didn’t settle this tonight, So Hong-min would poison him tomorrow.
“Yes. Take me there.”
The neighborhood where So Hong-min’s real family lived was one of the area’s more upscale districts.
If you obeyed, they covered your family’s living expenses and even enrolled the kids in expensive international kindergartens. If you resisted, they killed the hostages without mercy. No wonder So Hong-min had no choice but to follow the Black Death Clan.
“Stop here.”
“Contact me when you’re finished. Good luck.”
I got out far from the actual house. After Banban drove off, I climbed to the roof of the tallest nearby building, confirmed the area was clear, and summoned my minions.
Cradle of the Dead
With a soft rustle of comforting black mist, my minions appeared. This time I had called forth goblin assassins and goblin poison-dart troopers.
I showed them a satellite photo of the target house and gave my orders.
“If anyone is watching this house, bring every last one of them to me. Try not to kill them.”
Kik!
The assassins and dart troopers nodded, then melted into the darkness.
With every level I gained, my stats rose, and the Minion of the Underworld skill grew stronger along with them. The goblins’ own abilities had skyrocketed as a result.
Once they truly vanished into the night, even I found it nearly impossible to spot them with the naked eye.
The assassins and dart troopers scattered in every direction. The actual scouting fell to the poison-dart troopers.
They sensitively picked up every watchful gaze aimed at the target house and crept toward them in silence.
“Everything quiet?”
“Yeah, same as usual. They stopped trying to run away a while ago.”
The clan member watching the house through a telescope answered his colleague, who was lounging on the sofa watching TV. The man on the sofa gave a derisive snort.
“Stupid bitches. They finally realized running away only keeps them inside our palm. Still, don’t slip up. If those women escape, we’re all dead…”
Pfft.
“…!”
The man on the sofa suddenly went rigid, eyes bulging, lips twitching without sound.
His partner thought he was joking.
“What are you doing? If this is a prank…”
Pfft.
That was when he realized it wasn’t a joke. His own eyes widened, lips flapping uselessly as his body went completely numb. The two men now looked identical in their paralysis.
At that moment, a pair of goblins stepped out of the shadows like ghosts.
G-goblins?!
Why are goblins here…?
They never got the chance to wonder why. The assassin goblins had already slung both men over their shoulders and vanished back into the darkness.
A short while later.
“Is this everyone?”
Kik!
“Good work.”
The goblin assassins and dart troopers had followed my orders perfectly, rounding up every single watcher and dragging them to the rooftop where I waited.
“I’m sure you can guess why I brought you here, so I’ll be direct. Where is the Black Death Clan’s base of operations in Thailand?”
A dart trooper released the paralysis on the man facing me. The moment he could speak, he snarled.
“Fuck you! You think we’d tell you—”
Crack!
I didn’t bother listening further. I grabbed his thumb and snapped it without hesitation.
“Aaaaagh!”
“You’ve got nine fingers left. Add the toes and that’s nineteen. Oh, I forgot about teeth. Well, I’ll count those after I break everything else.”
“…!”
He didn’t even last until the toes. The instant four fingers on his left hand snapped and swelled purple, the information I wanted poured out of him like water.
“By the way, do you know where your clan’s main headquarters is in Korea?”
“I-I really don’t know! I swear! Grunts like us never even get to see it!”
“That so?”
It didn’t seem like a lie. Given their roles, it made sense they wouldn’t know.
“Then I’ll have to go ask in person. But first…”
I broke all their limbs, knocked them unconscious, and contacted Banban.
“Can you hold onto these guys for me? There’s somewhere I need to go right away.”
“Of course. Hop in. I’ll take you straight there.”
The place Banban drove me to was a slum on the outskirts of Bangkok.
The moment we entered the street, the stench was eye-watering and the locals’ gazes felt like knives. It was the kind of place outsiders didn’t dare approach.
I ignored it all and strode deeper into the maze of alleys until I spotted it.
There.
The red-roofed warehouse the captured watchers had described.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Foreigner? Don’t move a single step! Twitch one finger and I’ll fill you with lead.”
The clan members guarding the entrance saw a man who clearly wasn’t local walking straight toward them and immediately raised their automatic rifles.
Smuggled guns were easy to get in Korea these days, but here they were even easier to use.
Even though the appearance of Awakeners had slightly shaken the dominance of firearms, guns were still undeniably lethal. They remained deadly to anyone below level 90 in B-class, below 50 in A-class, or below 20 in S-class. For anyone below C-class, they were overwhelming no matter the level.
But—
“Who exactly are you planning to shoot?”
“…!”
The gatekeepers’ eyes bulged in shock. The voice that had been in front of them a second ago was now coming from their side.
Crack!
I spread both arms and slammed my palms into their heads. The two gatekeepers’ skulls exploded instantly.
Boom!
I literally smashed the solidly locked warehouse door to pieces.
My fist, coated by Slim, carried far more power than normal. The thick iron door crumpled like paper and flew inward.
“What the—?!”
“Who the hell is that guy?”
The clan members and local mercenaries inside, unaware of what had happened outside, could only stare in confusion. They had never imagined anyone would raid them at this hour.
“Looks like he came alone.”
“Crazy bastard. Hey, go drag that lunatic in here. I’ll interrogate him myself and find out where this madman crawled out from.”
Confirming I was alone, the Black Death Clan members and local mercenaries aimed their guns at me. Some grabbed weapons and started forward.
I didn’t care. As I scanned the warehouse interior, my expression twisted with disgust.
Women lay sprawled everywhere, half-naked and unconscious from drugs. In the corner, children huddled together, trembling. Many of their faces bore clear marks of being beaten.
“I made a mistake. I shouldn’t kill you. That would be far too merciful an ending for scum like you.”
“What is this crazy bastard saying? Anyway, you’re from Kor—”
Cradle of the Dead
Black mist surged around me. The local mercenaries flinched and reflexively pulled their triggers.
Ratatatatatatata—!!
Bullets rained down from every direction like a metal storm.
But—
Clang clang clang clang—!
The bullets that struck me only produced sparks. Not a single one could leave so much as a scratch.
And it wasn’t just me. The same bullets did zero damage to the minions who had appeared with the black mist.
“What the hell are those things?!”
“Did that guy summon them?”
“That’s impossible! How can one person summon so many at once?!”
“Why are you asking me?!”
The clan members were terrified. Monsters that bullets couldn’t touch were staring straight at them, radiating killing intent.
My Lord. Your command…
When Goblius and the other minions waited for my order, I spoke.
“Don’t kill them. Other than that, do whatever you want.”
I shall obey.
The moment permission was granted, the minions moved.
“They’re coming!”
“Stop them!”
The clan members and mercenaries fired desperately, hurling every skill they had, but it was useless.
“Aaaaagh!”
“My arm! My arm—!!”
“Stay back!!”
Arms were torn off, legs severed, eyeballs gouged out, ears and lips sliced away. In seconds the warehouse became a hell of blood and screams.
Thankfully the poison-dart troopers had already put the children to sleep with their sleeping darts. Otherwise the scene would have left them with lifelong trauma.
In the end, the clan members and mercenaries turned tail and ran without looking back. The instant they realized the minions completely outclassed them, they chose flight.
But the minions chased even the runners, tearing off limbs and plucking out eyeballs to swallow. I had not permitted their escape.
Eventually—
“Are you the one in charge here?”
“Y-yes… I am…”
Kim Soo-kyung, head of the Black Death Clan’s Thailand branch, was dragged before me, face ashen, and forced to his knees. Both his hands had already been severed—Goblius’s handiwork. The man had made one last desperate attack while fleeing and paid for it with his hands.
“P-please spare me! I’ll do anything you ask! Anything!”
“No need to go through all that trouble. There’s an easier and more surefire method. I just tested it, and it works on dead people too.”
“Huh? D-dead people?”
“Yeah. So—”
Stab!
“…Eh?”
Cough!
“It means your death will be useful to me.”
Kim Soo-kyung stared down at Goblius’s blade buried in his chest, coughed up blood, and breathed his last.