Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Gorgeous Staging
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‘Time to replace the battalion commander.’
Kang Hyun-soo dismissed Balhae Guild’s temporary battalion commander from the Western Front, the Fierce Tiger.
He then appointed a summon created from a top-grade doppelganger as the new temporary battalion commander.
‘What should I name it?’
He could have dug up its original name and given it back.
But he had no desire to show that kind of consideration to the one who’d killed Kwak Dong-su.
‘Just call it Doppelganger No. 1.’
If he later made an even stronger doppelganger into a summon, he could call that one No. 1 and demote this to No. 2.
“Doppelganger No. 1, how many doppelgangers have infiltrated the Atlantis dimension right now?”
“The ones under my command numbered around a hundred. There’s also one demon world noble giving me orders. Beyond that, I know nothing about the other doppelgangers.”
Doppelganger No. 1 answered politely.
The reason Kang Hyun-soo had appointed it battalion commander immediately after turning it into a summon?
‘To restore its intelligence.’
Only after being appointed battalion commander and regaining its intelligence could he extract accurate information.
‘Well, its combat prowess is top-notch anyway, so it needed replacing.’
However.
‘The intel it has is way too thin.’
If that was all, it was disappointing.
“How many doppelgangers on your level are there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s the demon world noble giving you orders right now?”
“I don’t know.”
Kang Hyun-soo’s face twisted.
‘What the hell does this thing actually know?’
Wasn’t it supposed to be a top-tier doppelganger?
Yet the information it had was pitifully sparse.
“Spit out everything you know about the doppelgangers that have infiltrated the Atlantis dimension.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s command.
“I received orders from the demon world noble, Baron Taliman, and crossed through a dimensional gate into the Atlantis dimension with a hundred subordinates. After that...”
Doppelganger No. 1 eagerly spilled what it knew.
But.
‘There’s no substance to any of it.’
It didn’t even know where its leader, Baron Taliman, was.
‘And no info on the other doppelgangers.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s head throbbed.
‘It’s structured like a complete cell organization.’
Orders weren’t even relayed in person.
They communicated via a kind of doppelganger-exclusive telepathy.
‘I didn’t know doppelgangers could use telepathy with each other.’
This was new information, even from before his regression.
However, this telepathy wasn’t two-way.
It was one-way only.
Higher entities issuing unilateral commands to lower ones, something like that.
‘Then sending back that one surviving doppelganger to be monitored by a summon was pointless.’
With a scowl, Kang Hyun-soo ordered the summon he’d assigned to surveillance to kill the sole surviving doppelganger he’d spared.
“Can you issue telepathic orders to doppelgangers lower than you right now?”
“No.”
“Is it because you’re a summon now?”
“No. Even from the start, I could only command my own kin. I can’t issue orders to other doppelgangers.”
“So you were Baron Taliman’s kin, then.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
“My connection severed when I died. I am now solely a servant faithful to my master’s commands.”
“Yes. The doppelgangers who were your kin have been resurrected as summons. Can you issue orders to them?”
“The connection is severed, so no. However, if my lord assigns those who were my kin back under my command, then yes.”
‘So, when they die and get resurrected as summons, their prior kin bonds break.’
It made perfect sense, really.
Summons couldn’t be kin to anyone else.
Because all summons belonged to their creator.
The one who’d resurrected them.
Kang Hyun-soo.
“What the hell happened?”
“Why hasn’t everyone returned?”
“Who’s that guy?”
A small commotion broke out.
‘They’ve arrived.’
While grilling Doppelganger No. 1 for info.
They’d reached their destination: Balhae Guild’s guild house.
‘Not much nutritious intel, though.’
Still, better than nothing.
The biggest gain?
“There are some of your former kin in Balhae Guild and Goryeo Guild, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Tell me their disguised identities.”
It meant he could quickly weed out the ones who’d been Doppelganger No. 1’s kin infiltrating Balhae and Goryeo Guilds.
‘They might flee before the test.’
Plus.
In front of Balhae Guild’s guild master, Sword King Jang Seok-won.
‘I can put on quite the show.’
As Kang Hyun-soo mulled this over.
“That’s what happened?”
“We need to inform the guild master ASAP.”
“Got it.”
The surviving Balhae Guild players finished explaining.
“That’s the Dark Knight?”
“He used Korean, right? So he’s Korean?”
“But Dark Knight was from Mulan Kingdom. Doesn’t that make him Japanese?”
“Could be Zainichi.”
“Maybe he’s Korean but operated in Mulan Kingdom.”
The Balhae Guild players showed keen interest in Kang Hyun-soo.
Having heard he’d helped their guildmates, most sent friendly looks his way.
Some even gazed with admiration.
‘Who’d have thought this would happen.’
Kang Hyun-soo found it absurd.
The Balhae Guild players now giving him friendly and admiring looks.
‘They’re all familiar faces.’
He’d spent quite a while as a Balhae Guild member before regressing.
Of course they were familiar.
But.
‘It feels awkward.’
Before regressing, due to Hwang So-uk’s schemes, Balhae Guild players had eyed him with suspicion and wariness despite being guildmates.
After Hwang So-uk became guild master and Kang Hyun-soo left, they’d been half-enemies.
Before regression.
They’d shown wariness, suspicion, hostility.
Now.
They showed goodwill, admiration, friendliness.
‘I changed this.’
He’d achieved much since regressing.
Yet.
He hadn’t truly felt it until now.
But seeing these people he’d known for so long.
Looking at him with completely different eyes.
‘It hits home.’
He finally realized he’d properly twisted the future since regressing.
“The guild master is waiting. Let’s go.”
Four fully armed Balhae Guild ranker players approached Kang Hyun-soo.
“Understood.”
Kang Hyun-soo followed the Balhae Guild rankers’ guidance.
‘Nothing’s changed.’
He already knew the guild’s interior like the back of his hand.
But he pretended not to.
‘What a guard formation.’
The four rankers surrounded him in a protective escort.
Their attitudes were polite.
But this kind of escort formation.
‘Could turn into an encirclement.’
Probably meant they’d eliminate him if he tried anything funny.
‘They’re definitely underestimating me.’
They’d gotten reports.
But likely pegged him as mid-to-high ranker level.
Otherwise.
‘They wouldn’t have sent just four rankers.’
From Kang Hyun-soo’s perspective.
‘Not a bad thing at all.’
The more they underestimated his power.
‘The show I’m about to put on will shine even brighter.’
Knock knock knock!
“We’ve brought Dark Knight and the survivors.”
“Come in.”
Creak!
The door opened.
Balhae Guild’s conference room came into view, shaped like a large inverted T.
At the center sat Balhae Guild’s guild master, Sword King Jang Seok-won.
Flanking him were the guild’s top executives in a row.
“I’ve heard the story. First off, as guild master, I thank you for helping our guild members.”
Sword King Jang Seok-won’s words barely registered.
‘Hwang So-uk.’
Among the executives.
Sat Kang Hyun-soo’s nemesis, Hwang So-uk.
Back when he’d searched the training grounds for Hwang So-uk to replica his skill enhancement.
‘I was too weak to do anything to you.’
But now was different.
If he wanted, he could tear Hwang So-uk apart right here.
‘Can’t do that.’
He had to hold back.
‘Killing you can wait.’
What Kang Hyun-soo needed wasn’t a simple death.
‘I’ll expose every last bit of your true nature before killing you.’
And right now.
“I heard you captured a demon race doppelganger alive. And that our Balhae Guild’s Kwak Dong-su was killed by one and had his identity stolen.”
Balhae Guild’s guild master.
It was time to parley with Sword King Jang Seok-won.
“That’s right. See for yourself.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Sword King Jang Seok-won skeptically wounded the doppelganger’s body.
He dropped a silver coin onto the flowing blood.
Sizzle!
The silver coin melted instantly.
“It’s real.”
“Player Kwak Dong-su was killed by a doppelganger, who stole his identity. And there are cases like that here too.”
“You’re saying one of our Balhae Guild executives is a doppelganger?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“We need to test every executive here right now. Otherwise, clashes with Goryeo Guild will keep happening. And Balhae Guild might even collapse.”
Sword King Jang Seok-won’s face hardened at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“I’ll decide after the executive meeting.”
“I said we need to do it right now.”
Displeasure bloomed on Sword King Jang Seok-won’s face.
‘This insolent bastard!’
Sword King Jang Seok-won ground his teeth.
Actually, Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t wrong.
No, he was absolutely right.
But.
‘This is an internal Balhae Guild matter to handle ourselves.’
Not something to take orders on from an outsider.
Even if there were doppelgangers among the executives here.
‘That fact must be kept strictly secret.’
If word got out?
‘Balhae Guild’s reputation would hit rock bottom.’
They’d be ridiculed as fools played by demons.
“I’ll handle the decision. We’ve heard your testimony. You can go now. The escorts will guide you to the guest lounge.”
Sword King Jang Seok-won issued an eviction notice to Kang Hyun-soo.
“I didn’t come to Balhae Guild just to testify.”
“Then why did you come?”
“To root out the doppelgangers hiding in Balhae Guild myself.”
“I said I’ll handle it.”
“I said the doppelgangers lurking in Balhae Guild need rooting out right now.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
Crack.
Sword King Jang Seok-won’s patience hit zero.
Truth be told, he’d been polite and hospitable so far.
Because Kang Hyun-soo had saved Balhae Guild members’ lives.
And he’d revealed how to detect demon race doppelgangers without asking for anything in return—a form of help.
So Sword King Jang Seok-won planned to treat him as a VIP and give ample rewards.
But.
‘This is too much.’
This was Balhae Guild’s guild house.
He was Balhae Guild’s guild master, Sword King Jang Seok-won.
Dark Knight?
Just some shadowy organization of unknown origins.
Plus.
‘Face hidden, identity undisclosed.’
How could he trust that?
‘Can’t even tell if he’s the real Dark Knight or a pretender.’
From Sword King Jang Seok-won’s view.
He’d tolerated the rudeness so far out of gratitude.
He’d heard many rumors about Dark Knight.
And thought building friendly ties would benefit Balhae Guild, so he’d made concessions.
But acting this arrogant?
‘It means he’s looking down on Balhae Guild.’
Anything else, maybe.
But insulting Balhae Guild? Unforgivable.
“This is Balhae Guild’s affair. No one interferes in our matters. I’ll brief you on the outcome later, so please leave the conference room.”
Having spoken, Sword King Jang Seok-won turned to the four ranker players escorting Kang Hyun-soo.
“What are you waiting for? Escort the guest to the lounge.”
“Yes.”
At Sword King Jang Seok-won’s order, the four rankers approached Kang Hyun-soo.
‘This is the last mercy I’ll show.’
However.
Thwack!
Kang Hyun-soo slapped away the rankers’ hands.
“What do you mean Balhae Guild’s affair. What if a doppelganger slips away?”
He uttered words that shattered Sword King Jang Seok-won’s patience.
Crack!
In that instant, Sword King Jang Seok-won’s patience vanished.
Shing!
Sword King Jang Seok-won drew his sword.
Rumble rumble rumble!
In a flash, streaks of sword-blue aura erupted, enveloping his blade.
Whoosh!
Sword King Jang Seok-won’s sword flew toward Kang Hyun-soo’s neck.
He had no intent to kill.
Nor to injure.
After all, he was Balhae Guild’s benefactor and a guest.
But.
He meant to give a proper warning.
‘Let you realize how insignificant your power is.’
And thus.
Curb that arrogant attitude looking down on Balhae Guild.
However.
Thud!
Sword King Jang Seok-won could only gape at Kang Hyun-soo’s next move.
“H-How...”
Kang Hyun-soo had caught Sword King Jang Seok-won’s sword—wreathed in sword-blue aura—with his bare hand.
Crackle crackle!
The sword-blue aura sparked violently, trying to destroy everything it touched.
But not a single scratch marred Kang Hyun-soo’s hand.