Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Jailbreak
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‘Why am I so pissed off?’
It was exactly as it sounded.
It was true that his side was at fault for the situation becoming so twisted.
Therefore, the ensuing protest was a right the other party could naturally exercise, and every word they said was correct, but…
‘…Why?’
He felt a strange sense of suffocation.
It felt like he had been playing in the palm of their hand from start to finish.
Even looking back at their recent conversation, the thought that ‘perhaps they had guided things to turn out this way’ kept nagging at him.
‘No, in the first place, the fact that only their party survived is also strange…’
“Why the sudden silence?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Though an inexplicable anxiety welled up on top of his unease, Yu Han-seong shook his head to dismiss the thoughts for now.
Unease was unease, but he had to deal with the urgent matters first.
He could think after everything was over.
‘I have no choice.’
Yu Han-seong nodded.
“Understood. We will give you that equipment as a reward once this is over.”
“A wise decision.”
“Now then, let’s put our heads together.”
“Yes, first of all…”
Lee Shin paused and turned his head.
At the edge of his vision was the prison where the party was being held.
Only a small part was visible on the surface, but given the nature of such facilities, it was highly likely that the interior extended underground.
Lee Shin asked.
“Do you know where they are?”
“If you mean their location, I’m told they’re on the lowest floor.”
‘As expected.’
“That’s the most dangerous spot.”
“!”
Yu Han-seong’s shoulders flinched at Lee Shin’s casual remark.
Because Lee Shin had been pushing him so hard, he had subconsciously tensed up the moment a negative comment was made.
A reaction bordering on neurotic!
Fortunately, Lee Shin let it slide without another word and asked a different question.
“Besides the floor, do you have a precise location?”
“Uh… I’m told they don’t. They were blindfolded from the start.”
“What? Ah…”
‘I suppose.’
For a moment, he thought, ‘They went that far?’ but on second thought, it made sense.
Lee Shin had already completely passed the buck and forgotten about it, but the crime they had committed was the murder of the former lord.
Naturally, they would receive the highest penalty, accompanied by strict surveillance and security.
Lee Shin nodded and said.
“I guess we’ll have to search the whole place.”
“Yes.”
The question of how to find them was settled with a conventional method.
What remained was how to execute the plan and then escape safely.
At Lee Shin’s unspoken question about whether he had a plan, Yu Han-seong opened his mouth.
“The execution can proceed as originally planned.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, we intended to handle the rescue ourselves from the start. In fact, our numbers increased with Si-eun joining us.”
The biggest problem was the escape.
With all the personnel who were supposed to create a diversion now dead, they had lost the power to shake off the pursuit that would follow.
“Is there a way?”
Yu Han-seong shook his head.
Then, he cautiously glanced at Lee Shin and spoke.
“…I’m sorry to say this, but I think we have no choice but to leave it to luck.”
“Luck.”
“Yes, we’ll split into small groups and scatter.”
“……”
“…O-Of course, we will take the more dangerous routes to ensure Lee Si-eun’s party can escape as safely as possible!”
His plan was to proceed with the rescue as intended, and then have everyone scatter in all directions and flee on their own.
That way, the enemy’s forces would also be dispersed, weakening the pursuit and allowing most of them to return alive.
“Hmm…?”
Lee Shin hummed.
It wasn't an illogical plan, but he couldn't understand why they would take the hard way when there was an easier path.
Lee Shin asked.
“Why do it like that?”
“Pardon? Ah, do you perhaps have another way?”
Yu Han-seong’s face lit up as he turned his head.
He was hoping there might be a better method than this.
He, too, disliked relying on luck.
“We can just open all the cells while we’re at it.”
“Pfft!!?”
…But it was an answer he had never imagined!
Yu Han-seong choked spectacularly.
“Cough, cough!”
Having nearly choked, Yu Han-seong coughed for a moment before looking at Lee Shin with an appalled expression and asking.
“That’s a bit… No, wait, why!?”
“Because it’s safer.”
“I mean, why is it safer?”
“Sigh…”
Lee Shin let out a deep sigh.
At this, a vein popped on Yu Han-seong’s forehead.
It wasn’t just the sigh; Lee Shin’s expression seemed to ask, ‘What’s your level that you don’t even know this?’
And in fact, that was exactly it.
“What’s your level that…”
“……”
‘Should I just quit?’
A storm of impulses rose within Yu Han-seong, but he forcefully suppressed them.
Lee Shin continued to question him.
“Thinking logically, what would happen if all the prison cells were opened?”
“…The domain would be in danger.”
“Not an abstract answer like that. What would happen specifically? Why would it be in danger?”
“Well, because the people locked inside would be freed, and if they all escape… Ah!”
Lee Shin nodded.
“Naturally, those prisoners will escape too, which means the soldiers will have more work to do, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll be safer, right?”
“Yes, uh… But if a large number of prisoners escape, won’t the other users in the city be in danger?”
Count Narik’s domain was a popular spot for users within the Eteun Kingdom due to the favorable location of its nearby hunting grounds.
The city and its square, in particular, were always bustling with users thanks to the various convenient facilities.
Thus, Yu Han-seong was worried about the inevitable fallout from releasing the prisoners, but Lee Shin retorted as if to ask what the problem was.
“It’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
Fine?
“How would they know who did it? As long as they don’t find out it was us, nothing will happen.”
“Th-That’s true!”
Yu Han-seong nodded in admiration.
But inwardly, a chill ran down his spine, and he rubbed his arms where goosebumps had formed, his expression stiff.
‘This woman is truly insane.’
It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t get caught?
The very idea was horrifying.
The fact that someone who looked so unlike that type of person could say such a thing so calmly made it doubly chilling.
But regardless, there was no flaw in Lee Shin’s words at the moment, so Yu Han-seong accepted his proposal.
“Then let’s do that.”
“Yes.”
All that was left was to move.
* * *
“One, two… three!”
“Fire!”
At Yu Han-seong’s signal, dozens of magic spells flew through the air.
A moment later, a massive explosion erupted at the prison entrance.
Boom!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!!
“Aaargh!”
The few soldiers outside were caught in the blast and sent flying.
Most of the guards outside were killed by this, but the soldiers inside, hearing the explosion, rushed out.
Glancing at the time, Yu Han-seong looked back and said.
“Let’s go.”
Although the magic was highly effective, firing spells inside risked collapsing the building itself.
The people they were there to rescue could be crushed by debris, so from now on, they had to push their way in directly.
Stab! Stab, stab!
“Who goes there!”
“How dare you, do you know where… Ugh!?”
Yu Han-seong was at the forefront, cutting down the soldiers that poured out one by one.
Unlike knights, the soldiers weren’t very skilled, so the members of the Five Star Guild were more than capable of handling them.
[You have slain a soldier of the domain!]
[Your infamy has greatly increased!]
‘……!!’
Of course, the sight of their infamy stat rising at a frightening rate was bone-chilling…
The Five Star Guild members gritted their teeth and ignored the messages before their eyes.
‘It’s just this once.’
‘We can offset it with our fame stat.’
‘If it comes to it, we can just make a donation to the church… Dammit!’
In a way, it was denial.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin cut down the soldiers swarming toward him.
He refrained from using his vision skills, just in case they could be used as a clue to identify him later, but with his basic skills and natural physical prowess alone, Lee Shin was a whirlwind of motion.
Stab! Stab, stab!
Swish!
“Keoheok!”
“S-Save me… Guk!”
[You have slain a soldier of the domain!]
[Your infamy has greatly increased!]
Naturally, his infamy was skyrocketing, but Lee Shin paid it no mind.
On the contrary, for him, this situation was a great opportunity to gain a large amount of infamy.
[Your infamy…]
‘This is good.’
Lee Shin’s eyes gleamed as he watched his infamy climb.
The damage of Avatar of Malice increased in proportion to his infamy stat, and the resource needed to use Mark of Malice was also the infamy stat.
Unlike the average person, for Lee Shin, the higher his infamy, the better.
“……”
Stab! Stab, stab!
Stab-stab-stab-stab!!
Lee Shin’s hands moved faster and faster.
He had already begun to see the soldiers as nothing more than bundles of infamy.
Eventually, to kill even more soldiers, Lee Shin pushed past the Five Star Guild members who were leading the charge.
“…I’ll take the lead!”
“Wha-!?”
As a result.
[You have slain an enemy.]
[You have slain an enemy.]
[You have slain an enemy.]
[Your infamy increases.]
[Your infamy…]
…….
[Mass Slaughter!]
[Your infamy has increased explosively.]
[A great evil deed. You have acquired the title, <Serial Killer>!]
Serial Killer
Wounds on the skin may heal, but the thick scent of blood engraved upon the soul can never be erased.
• Intelligent opponents can now be overwhelmed by your bloodlust.
• This effect is enhanced as your cumulative PK and NPC kill count increases.
A massive jump in infamy, and a title to boot.
The corners of Lee Shin’s mouth turned up.
‘Oh?’
The title’s name was a bit unsettling… but what mattered was its performance!
Since its effect was better than expected, he could generously overlook a trivial issue like an unsettling name.
‘…Is she smiling?’
Of course, to those unaware of Lee Shin’s special circumstances, it was a rather gruesome sight.
No matter how much they were NPCs, they still had human forms, yet here she was, smiling brightly while cutting them down.
It wouldn’t be strange for a primal sense of revulsion to well up.
‘Crazy…’
‘Is she a psycho?’
Meanwhile, someone had guessed the correct answer.
Of course, apart from these inner thoughts, Lee Shin’s proactive approach was a great help. The number of soldiers, who had been swarming out like bees, began to dwindle.
Judging the time was right, Yu Han-seong shouted.
“Everyone in now! Split up and search!”
“Yes!”
“Uh, Si-eun…”
“I’ll manage on my own.”
Perhaps because he had just witnessed her actions, Yu Han-seong didn’t try to stop Lee Shin, even when she requested to act alone.
On the contrary, he nodded as if he had been waiting for it.
“Go ahead. I’ll contact you via party message if anything important comes up.”
“Okay.”
“Then…”
Yu Han-seong and his guild members swiftly vanished down to the lower floor.
Left with his party, Lee Shin looked around.
In the long corridors stretching out to either side, countless iron bars held an enormous number of prisoners.
“……”
“……”
“…Gulp.”
The numerous prisoners, still unsure of the situation, watched Lee Shin with bated breath.
Lee Shin observed them for a moment before searching the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
[You have acquired one gold coin.]
[You have acquired an old pouch.]
[You have acquired Dean’s wedding ring.]
[You have acquired a blood-soaked family photo…]
……
[You have acquired a ring of keys.]
Amidst the countless trinkets, he quickly found what he was looking for.
After all, Lee Shin was also skilled at thievery.
He handed the key ring to Gillaim and said.
“Open every single one of these.”