The One-Armed Squad Leader

Turang Squad Leader Wu Gyeong.

That was the name of the superhuman—the hunter—who had lost one arm to Isra.

“Urgh.”

His shoulder throbbed with every pulse. Blood poured freely down his side. He could not carelessly cast a healing spell. Use a potion or a heal in this state, and he would live out his days as a cripple with a ruined arm. A high-tier healing spell would regrow the limb, of course—but whether the Party would ever invest that kind of resource in him remained an open question.

And so, with bloodshot eyes, he poured everything into command and suppression.

The intel was wrong. Jin Xiao, Martial Affairs Inspector!

A C-rank level summon? Look at those monsters. They were a force capable of solo-clearing a B-rank gate. The people mobilized for this operation were no ordinary superhumans. Every last one of them was a talent expected to reach A-rank someday. They had all taken the drug the Party had developed in secret.

Every one of them was a peak B-rank superhuman. They had suppressed their stats with the Elixir of Weakening before entering the gate. These were specialists forged through brutal training and blooded in every kind of dirty work—the Turang operatives assigned to this mission.

And yet we’re being toyed with by a single C-rank?

He could not believe it. The way he had lost his arm had been the same story. He had missed with a Fireball; the enemy had exploited the obscured vision for a sudden strike. When he countered, magic had come flying as if it had been waiting for that exact moment.

That magic was wrong too.

It had not been an ordinary Wind Cutter. Their armor was light, chosen for stealth and low defense, yet even so a Wind Cutter should never have severed an arm. But this one had been reinforced with lightning, and that single blow had taken his arm clean off.

A spell that doesn’t even exist in the Superhuman General Bureau’s database.

The beautiful woman who appeared to be Minho’s summon—Ingrid—used magic that defied every common sense. Magic could not be freely reshaped beyond its fixed arrays. Even at perfect comprehension, the best one could manage was a slight change in form or focus. It was a power with far less room for improvisation than a warrior’s.

A force that could suppress even A-rank hunters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is struggling against a mere C-rank…

Only after losing his arm did he understand why the Party was watching Minho so closely. Minho was dangerous. If they failed to capture him here, he had to die.

Five minutes left. It’s going to be tight.

Any longer and the risk would spike. Capturing Minho would not end the operation. Once they left the gate they still had to shake the Rift Agency hunters. The Superhuman General Bureau had made arrangements, but it would not be easy.

Wu Gyeong gripped a dagger.

No openings.

The undead horde turned on two axes: Isra, commanding and swinging her blade at the front, and Ingrid, providing suppression with her twisted magic. One of them had to fall before there was any real chance of subduing Minho.

Paaeng!

The dagger shot out like a bolt of light. Its blackened blade carried an enchantment of Perception Decrease Lv. 15—a weapon specialized for assassination. Even a B-rank hunter staring wide-eyed could easily miss a strike this subtle.

Tang!

【A cowardly act. You are no knight.】

Wu Gyeong nearly lost his mind. How had she even noticed that attack and blocked it?

“Knight or not, I’m going to kill you.”

He fanned out the wire-linked daggers and hurled them all at once. Magically processed for thrust, they flew in elegant arcs under the skill’s influence.

Titing! Tititing!

Isra’s longsword danced through the air. Sparks sprayed in every direction.

Thuk! Thuk!

She could not bat them all aside; daggers sank into her thigh and arm.

【Hmm. I have never seen this method of use before.】

Isra murmured as if intrigued. Blades were buried in her body, yet she seemed utterly unconcerned. Her true nature was undead. No blood flowed from the wounds, and her movement suffered little hindrance.

I can’t use that twice.

With only one arm he could not scatter multiple daggers again, and the ones on the wires had all been spent in that attack. Still, there had been results. While he kept Isra occupied, his squad members had completely destroyed one Armed Zombie Warrior. Another was heavily damaged—wounds that would have been fatal if the thing had still been human.

We’ve finally seized the initiative.

Objectively the Turang squad held the superior force. Isra and Ingrid had only held out this long thanks to the combat sense of two beings who had once been absolute powerhouses in life. The razor-thin balance was beginning to tip. Subduing Minho would not take much longer.

We’ve delayed far more than planned. Plan One is scrapped. We go with Plan Two.

Sever the arms and legs, leave only the torso, and carry him out on someone’s back. That was Plan Two.

This is the price for a mere bangzi daring to defy the will of a great nation. Accept it gratefully.

Eyes sharp with killing intent, Wu Gyeong swept the battlefield—and froze.

Huh?

For an instant he doubted his own eyes. Minho, who had been under the undead’s protection, had vanished.

Fleeing? Impossible. The fallen spirit medium’s death had opened an exit, but the distance was considerable. Reaching it without leaving the slightest presence was out of the question.

Then where in the world was he hiding?

Wipe out these undead first, then search.

Wu Gyeong gripped the dagger he kept in his coat and gave the order.

“Mages! Focus firepower!”

A new directive for the ranged dealers who had been casting mostly suppression magic. The moment the scales tipped, he meant to crush them in one overwhelming push. High-output spells from the mage hunters would obliterate the remaining undead and flush out the hidden Minho as well.

Yet ten seconds after the order, no magic came.

Minho’s servants were still locked in combat with the Chinese hunters. The magical support had simply stopped. He had demanded heavy firepower and received nothing. Furious, Wu Gyeong turned to look behind him.

In that instant—

Seogeogeok—

—the severed head of one of his mage squad members hit the ground, and the image burned itself into his retinas.

These Turang—or whatever they called themselves—were strong.

Three minutes into the fight and I had already burned through most of my life force.

“Hyung! Use our life force!”

“We’re fine—please take it!”

I drew additional life force from the support team, but it bought me barely a minute more. The Chinese hunters had packed the gate entry limit to the brim. Even if we held out longer, reinforcements were unlikely. We had to settle this here. Was there any way?

【Hiiiek!】

Chang!

Zaug let out an undignified scream as he knocked a dagger aside. Whether it was the correction from Heavenly Martial Body or the self-proclaimed treasure hunter’s own skill, he somehow managed to block the daggers the Chinese hunters were hurling at me. He was nowhere near the full combat potential of my two main retainers—his body had not been reinforced with reagents and mana-forged iron, and his battle sense was nothing to rely on heavily.

Ah. Right. This old man did have an ability.

“Zaug.”

【Hik! Your orders, Great Lord!】

“There’s a guy throwing knives from the back.”

【This humble servant is no match for him, sir.】

I never told you to mark him exclusively.

“How many seconds would it take to hide from that guy?”

【You intend to use an item ability, Great Lord?】

“Yeah.”

【With Great Lord’s skill, it would be impossible, sir.】

Anyone listening would think he was a blade, the way he answered so sharply.

【If no eyes are on you it would be fine, of course.】

“In that case, how many seconds?”

【Two seconds should do it, wouldn’t it?】

“Good. You buy the time.”

【Yes. Yes?】

“Block their view with that big body of yours.”

If there was no blind spot, we would make one. The one who looked like their commander was using buildings as cover as he moved. I waited for the single moment his gaze dropped.

【I believe it is possible, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sir.】

“Give the signal.”

【Now, Great Lord!】

Already? That fast?

The moment the one-armed man moved beneath the wall, I slipped behind Zaug’s back and activated Dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Step. A skill that reduced presence. Would it work on hunters I estimated at B-rank?

I held my breath, pressed against Zaug’s back, and crushed every trace of my presence. Two seconds later I confirmed the skill had activated and peeked out. Our eyes met—yet the Chinese hunter’s pupils slid emptily past me.

Success.

Running away from here would be the move of an amateur. No. I had to kill the Chinese hunters—these people—with my own hands. Calm down. This was not the first time. It had been the same when I fought scavengers who preyed on the weak inside gates. If I did not kill them, I would die.

Hooo…

A long, slow breath steadied the tremor in my hands a little. Recalling Zaug’s teachings, I walked between the ruined buildings with as little weight on my feet as possible. Right beside me sparks flew—

Chaeaeng!

—and a blast of scorching wind from an explosion dried the fine hairs on my skin, yet I kept my breath locked and closed in on the hunters in the rear.

Thump—thump—

My heart felt ready to burst. If I was discovered now, everything would be over. Endure it. Swallow the pounding of your heart. Swallow the ragged breath. Steeling myself, I approached a mage in the middle of rearranging his mana. He still had not noticed.

An S-rank skill that amplified the power of my blade. Seogeok— I took the mage’s head with almost no resistance. No—there was no time to dwell on the sensation. The moment I swung the bone sword, the effect of Dark Step vanished. I turned the blade on the second mage whose eyes had gone wide. He had no chance to cast a defensive spell or activate an item. Both mages collapsed in sprays of crimson blood.

That was when my eyes met those of the one-armed Chinese hunter.

“You damn bangzi!!!!”

He kicked off the ground and charged. The distance I had spent nearly a full minute walking closed in less than three seconds.

I instantly recalled Sir Isra and resummoned her.

【None shall so much as touch a hair on my Lord’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head without first passing through me!】

Chaeaeng!

Blades clashed in midair. In their first exchange Sir Isra had been pushed back slightly. This time was different. The sword in the Chinese hunter’s hand rang and flew spinning into the air.

“How?!”

【You failed to notice I was holding back my strength.】

More precisely, she had sharply increased the amount of mana released, elevating the power of her sword strikes as well. The skill born of Heavenly Martial Body. The man flailed, trying to bring his upraised arm down for the next move, but Sir Isra was a step faster.

Seogeok!

The flowing chain of strikes made him offer up his own neck.