Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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"I really like your attitude, sis. I wonder if you'll stay so composed after tasting my poison?"
Lee Ji-su raised her poison-coated dagger with a gleeful smile.
She was no pushover herself.
Even after hearing Nam Yeon-ah's taunt, not a flicker of emotion crossed her face.
"You crazy bitch. Who the hell are you people? Why are you after me?"
Nam Yeon-ah glared at Lee Ji-su and the two other hunters.
"You don't need to know that, sis. Just die quietly like a good girl. Though I have no intention of making it quick."
"It's been a while since we got a job like this. We deserve to have some fun, right?"
"We've been laying low for so long. Time to blow off some steam."
They flashed sinister grins as they raised their weapons.
They had been infiltrating the Hunter Association for years.
They usually avoided drawing attention, but today was an exception.
Disposing of one person in an empty dungeon was a piece of cake. Just toss the body to the magic beasts as feed.
"Assassins, huh?"
Nam Yeon-ah frowned as she eyed them.
She had never met them before today.
So there couldn't be any personal grudge.
From their words, though, their identity as assassins was clear.
"Is it because you're a magitech engineer? You're sharp, sis."
"So what if you figured us out?"
"Yeah, you're dying here anyway."
Even after Nam Yeon-ah saw through them, they made no effort to hide it.
"You trash... Do I look like an easy mark to you?"
"Who knows? What can you do all by yourself, lady?"
They snickered as they closed in on Nam Yeon-ah.
Watching them approach, Nam Yeon-ah gritted her teeth.
'I could handle two of them, maybe.'
But they were closing in from three directions, boxing her in.
And that wasn't all.
'This woman's strong.'
Her instincts screamed it.
Of the three before her, Lee Ji-su was by far the strongest.
She'd claimed to be mid-3-star, but she felt closer to high-rank.
Boom!
Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol activated Body Strengthening Technique and charged at Nam Yeon-ah, kicking off the ground.
The moment they did, Nam Yeon-ah thrust her hands toward them.
Pop! Pop!
Something shot out from the cuffs of her coat, accompanied by a feminine mechanical chime.
What emerged from Nam Yeon-ah's wrists were shield core artifacts.
Inject them with mana and throw—the core would automatically generate a mana barrier to block enemy attacks.
Shhh!
A mana shield deployed about ten centimeters in front of her palms, forming a barrier.
"This crap?!"
"You think this'll stop us?!"
Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol swung their longswords at the mana shield.
Clang! Clang!
"Ngh!"
Nam Yeon-ah groaned from the pressure transmitted through her arms.
But fortunately, the mana shield held firm, blocking their strikes.
"Don't forget about me, sis."
Swoosh!
Just then, Lee Ji-su's voice rang out from behind Nam Yeon-ah, followed by the sound of daggers hurtling toward her.
In that instant, another feminine mechanical chime echoed from Nam Yeon-ah's white coat.
A blue barrier instantly enveloped Nam Yeon-ah's body.
The barrier system in her white coat had activated, deflecting Lee Ji-su's poisoned daggers.
"Impressive as always, sis! But how long can you hold out?"
Lee Ji-su laughed gleefully at the sight.
'Tch!'
Nam Yeon-ah gritted her teeth against the onslaught from all sides.
She was barely blocking their attacks, but it was only a matter of time before they broke through.
Counterattacking was out of the question.
Just defending against three opponents was overwhelming.
Clang!
"Ngh!"
Soon after, the mana shield shattered under Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol's blades.
If she took their strikes now, even Aegis wouldn't hold.
It was a do-or-die moment!
Kaboom!
Something crashed down behind Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol.
Asphalt shattered, forming a massive crater as dust billowed several meters high.
"Gah!"
"Argh!"
A tremendous shockwave slammed into Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol. They were hurled back several meters.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged wearing a hanbok modified into a coat-like style—the traditional attire of the Korean people.
It was none other than Shin Yu-hyun.
After entering the building with Lee Sang-hyuk, Shin Yu-hyun made it to the rooftop without encountering any magic beasts.
However, the elevator was out, forcing them to climb over a hundred floors by stairs.
Even for superhumans, that was no small feat.
Once on the rooftop, Shin Yu-hyun and Lee Sang-hyuk took in the vista of the colorless dungeon.
'A metropolis packed with skyscrapers.'
From the rooftop, the colorless dungeon stretched endlessly—a forest of ultra-high-rises.
Even from up high, no end was in sight.
'Not Gangneung?'
The colorless dungeon's entrance was at the gateway to Gangneung.
So this city of towering buildings should be Gangneung City.
But it was far too vast for that.
Then where the hell was this?
Pondering that, Shin Yu-hyun activated Body Strengthening Technique with Lee Sang-hyuk and leaped across rooftops.
They were scouting the unidentified dungeon.
That's when he spotted it.
Nam Yeon-ah under attack by three survey team members.
Shin Yu-hyun left Lee Sang-hyuk behind and leaped from the rooftop.
The shockwave from Shin Yu-hyun's landing sent Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol flying, but Nam Yeon-ah, shielded by Aegis MK2's mana barrier, held her ground.
"How did you...?"
As the dust cleared and Shin Yu-hyun appeared, Nam Yeon-ah murmured in shock.
She never imagined the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's third son would come to her rescue.
"Does saving someone need a reason?"
Shin Yu-hyun smiled at her.
Her eyes wavered at his words.
It was the first time in her life someone had helped her.
With a grateful nod, she replied,
"I'll repay this debt someday."
"No need."
Shin Yu-hyun smiled casually.
But inwardly,
'She's worth saving.'
Unlike his smiling face, his mind was ice-cold.
Nam Yeon-ah was worth the effort.
The eldest daughter of the Namdu Group, a famed genius magitech engineer.
She'd prove useful in the future.
Plus, he needed her help now to scout this dungeon and find the exit.
Her artifacts excelled at detection.
"So, what's the situation?"
Shin Yu-hyun glared past her at Lee Ji-su.
"They tried to assassinate me."
"Assassinate?"
Shin Yu-hyun's eyes widened at Nam Yeon-ah's words.
He knew there was a villain in the survey team.
He'd pegged it as either Kang Yu-chan or Kim Woo-seong.
'All three of them?'
Shin Yu-hyun narrowed his eyes at Lee Ji-su's group. Three villains was unexpected.
Feeling his gaze, Lee Ji-su sighed.
"Never thought the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's third young master would butt in. This complicates things."
Shin Yu-hyun's intervention was unforeseen.
And he was the third son of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, no less.
Even a 3-star superhuman should have taken damage from a fall like that.
Yet Shin Yu-hyun looked unscathed.
He was stronger than expected.
"Lady! It's too late to turn back!"
"We have to erase the evidence!"
Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol, recovered from the shockwave, shouted as they rose. Body Strengthening Technique had kept them from serious injury.
"No choice, then. Can't fail the job."
Lee Ji-su agreed with them.
Especially since Nam Yeon-ah had already told Shin Yu-hyun they were assassins.
"Sorry to the young master of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan. As payback, I'll melt you down nice and slow."
Lee Ji-su licked her lips, eyeing Shin Yu-hyun hungrily.
Meaning she'd kill him painfully with poison.
"If you can."
Shin Yu-hyun sneered.
Enraged, Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol bellowed,
"You Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan trash!"
"You're not even worth our lady's time! We'll kill you!"
They knew all about Shin Yu-hyun.
Even that he was treated like garbage in his clan for lacking talent.
"Then shut up and come at me."
Shin Yu-hyun lowered into stance, gripping Ignis at his waist.
Ready to draw.
Body Strengthening Technique, naturally, activated.
"Arrogant bastard! We heard all about you from the organization!"
"Talentless piece of trash!"
Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol rushed past Nam Yeon-ah, swinging at Shin Yu-hyun.
In that instant.
Heaven-Splitting SwordsmanshipZero Form, Revised. Draw Sword: Ignorance Slash
[Ultra-high-speed iaijutsu strike]
Fwoosh!
Darkness fell around Shin Yu-hyun for a split second.
As Ignis cleared its sheath, black flames erupted.
Clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed belatedly.
"Arrrgh!"
"M-My hand!"
Lee Jae-gang and Choi Seung-cheol staggered back, groaning.
Ignis, drawn at blinding speed, had sent their swords flying. Their grips tore open, blood pouring out.
"N-No way."
"We heard you were Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan trash! How?!"
They glared at Shin Yu-hyun in disbelief, teeth gritted.
To them, he spoke coldly,
"How do you know that?"
The fact that Shin Yu-hyun was ignored in his clan for lacking talent was internal clan business.
The Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan valued strength and honor.
They kept such embarrassments in-house, not letting it leak out.
So why did these guys know?
'They said they heard from the organization, right?'
Shin Yu-hyun realized they belonged to an assassin group.
And in Korea, one assassin organization stood out.
The Myriad Poison Clan, House Choi.
One of Korea's four great noble houses, masters of ten thousand poisons.
The most secretive of the four.
Unlike the others, their main house's location was hidden; only branches were public.
"Members of the Myriad Poison Clan?"
"Myriad Poison Clan? Ha! Don't lump us with that pathetic house!"
"Pathetic?"
Shin Yu-hyun frowned at Lee Jae-gang's retort.
The clan of the Poison King, Choi Dae-hyun, master of ten thousand poisons.
And they called it pathetic?
Just how big was their organization?
"You couldn't even imagine. We serve only the great and holy one."
Lee Jae-gang sneered.
Shin Yu-hyun's blood ran cold.
The great and holy one.
Words he'd heard endlessly from that group's members in his past life.
He knew exactly who they meant.
"Don't tell me... you're Getia worshippers?"
"...!"
Lee Jae-gang's face paled at Shin Yu-hyun's quiet murmur.
He blurted out in shock,
"H-How do you know that?!"
"Lee Jae-gang!"
Lee Ji-su snapped at him, glaring murderously.
He'd indirectly confirmed their true identity.
But she was stunned too. She never thought the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's third son would know of them.
"You'll pay the price."
For betraying humanity.
Now knowing their true nature, Shin Yu-hyun advanced on Lee Jae-gang with chilling killing intent.
"Guh!"
Caught off-guard by Shin Yu-hyun's knowledge of Getia and the suffocating malice, Lee Jae-gang was seized by the hair in an instant.
Shin Yu-hyun gripped the back of his head and slammed his face into the asphalt.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"S-Stop..."
After several impacts, Lee Jae-gang's bloodied face begged.
Shin Yu-hyun whispered coldly in his ear,
"We're just getting started."
Thus began Shin Yu-hyun's brutal vengeance against the Getia worshippers.