Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Vanished Communications
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Late into the night.
After the clan meeting ended, Shin Yu-hyun returned to Black Tortoise Hall alongside Vice Hall Leader Choi Jung-hoon.
The last time, Black Tortoise Hall's key executives—Vice Hall Leader Choi Jung-hoon, HR Manager Lee Yeon-hwa, and Finance Manager Kim Jae-hyun—had come seeking him out.
Since then, Choi Jung-hoon had been assisting Shin Yu-hyun and moving in tandem with him.
The clan meeting this time had been no different.
And upon returning to Black Tortoise Hall with Choi Jung-hoon, Shin Yu-hyun sensed something off.
'What is it?'
The atmosphere in Black Tortoise Hall felt different from usual.
At this hour, there should have been at least a minimal crew left behind on patrol duty.
Yet there, in front of the Black Tortoise Hall lobby, stood HR Manager Lee Yeon-hwa, receiving a report from one of the subordinates.
"Is something wrong?"
Shin Yu-hyun approached Lee Yeon-hwa with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, Hall Leader."
At Shin Yu-hyun's appearance, Lee Yeon-hwa slightly bowed her head in greeting.
"Did the meeting go well?"
"Yes, nothing out of the ordinary."
"That's a relief."
Lee Yeon-hwa, dressed in striking red-based fusion hanbok, fanned herself with a folding fan, covering her mouth as she smiled.
"But what happened?"
This time, Choi Jung-hoon spoke up, glancing around. Lee Yeon-hwa's expression darkened as she began to explain.
"Well... we've lost contact with the Black Tortoise Sword Squad members who went to clear the dungeon."
"Lost contact?"
"Yes. They were supposed to return at least two days ago..."
To Shin Yu-hyun's question, Lee Yeon-hwa trailed off.
At that moment, Choi Jung-hoon interjected from the side.
"You mean the 3-star dungeon, Arachne's Nest, that appeared in our territory recently?"
"Yes, that's right."
Lee Yeon-hwa nodded at Choi Jung-hoon's words. Arachne's Nest had luckily spawned within the land managed by Black Tortoise Hall.
As a result, the dungeon clearance mission had been assigned to them first.
Otherwise, one of the other sword halls would have snatched it away.
"If it's the squad sent to clear Arachne's Nest, aren't they all top-tier or upper 3-star rank? They should have cleared it by now..."
"Yes, exactly. But..."
They hadn't returned.
Not even after two days.
In truth, it wasn't uncommon for dungeon clearance teams to go radio silent for a few days.
Dungeons were inherently dangerous places, after all.
Unexpected situations could arise, or the dungeon might turn out larger than anticipated.
In such cases, delays beyond the planned schedule were inevitable.
It seemed the Black Tortoise Sword Squad dispatched to Arachne's Nest had run into something unforeseen.
That would explain the lack of contact.
'Arachne's Nest...'
Shin Yu-hyun crossed his arms, lost in thought.
In his previous life, he would have already been exiled from the clan by now, living alone.
So he didn't know the details of what had transpired in the clan that day.
'Ah, come to think of it...'
A long-forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced.
Six members of the Black Tortoise Sword Squad had gone missing, and his youngest brother, Shin Cheol-ho, had led a rescue team to find them.
At the time, the survivors his brother had brought back were...
"When do you plan to send the rescue team?"
"Pardon? We haven't fully assessed the situation yet, so we're waiting another day before dispatching them."
Typically, rescue teams were sent after three days of radio silence from a clearance squad.
A day or two without word was fairly common.
But.
"We'll go rescue them right now."
"Pardon?"
Choi Jung-hoon and Lee Yeon-hwa both looked shocked at Shin Yu-hyun's declaration.
By the book, they could afford to wait another day before sending a rescue team.
"I have a bad feeling about this. How long will it take to prepare the rescue team?"
"Hall Leader, it's far too late. We can't mobilize a rescue team right this instant."
"Exactly. Even if we tried sending one now, preparations alone would take several hours at minimum. And it's better to send them in the morning than at night."
Choi Jung-hoon and Lee Yeon-hwa shook their heads. They had a point—it was late, so gathering people would take time.
Most Black Tortoise Sword Squad members would be off-duty, resting or asleep.
But Shin Yu-hyun didn't back down.
"Then I'll go on ahead. You two prepare the rescue team and send them after us."
"Pardon? You're going personally?"
"Why go to such lengths..."
Choi Jung-hoon and Lee Yeon-hwa stared at Shin Yu-hyun in astonishment.
They never imagined he'd volunteer to lead the rescue himself.
And it wasn't even urgent enough to go at this hour; tomorrow would have sufficed.
Why the rush?
'I have no choice but to hurry.'
Shin Yu-hyun knew the truth.
Of the six Black Tortoise Sword Squad members sent to Arachne's Nest...
In his previous life, only two had been rescued by Shin Cheol-ho's team.
And the problem was, they hadn't been killed by magic beasts.
Madmen had slaughtered them brutally to provoke Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
Those culprits were none other than...
'The international superhuman villain organization, Ironclad Syndicate.'
A villain group operating in East Asia, mainly composed of superhumans from China, Japan, and Korea.
Since they operated in Korea too, they frequently clashed with the Four Great Families.
Especially with Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, with whom they had bad blood.
This incident with the missing Black Tortoise Hall squad was orchestrated by an Ironclad Syndicate executive who viewed Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan as a thorn in their side.
"I'm worried about them."
Speaking to Choi Jung-hoon and Lee Yeon-hwa, who still looked at him quizzically, Shin Yu-hyun explained.
"...!"
His unexpected answer startled them.
'To worry about his subordinates like this...'
'So this is who he really is.'
Choi Jung-hoon and Lee Yeon-hwa couldn't help but revise their opinion of Shin Yu-hyun.
They realized they'd misjudged him, blinded by his lack of mana talent.
But.
"Even so, we can't let the Hall Leader go alone."
"Right."
Lee Yeon-hwa nodded in agreement with Choi Jung-hoon.
No matter how concerned he was, they couldn't send the clan's heir candidate—and Black Tortoise Hall's leader—out solo.
"I'll accompany you."
"Pardon?"
Now it was Shin Yu-hyun's turn to look bewildered at Choi Jung-hoon's grinning offer.
He hadn't expected that.
"I'm still active-duty. I won't lose to the young ones."
Choi Jung-hoon flashed a toothy grin.
Black Tortoise Hall's Vice Hall Leader, Choi Jung-hoon.
Even if Black Tortoise Hall had fallen on hard times, his skills held up against any other hall's vice leaders.
He was a low 5-star swordsman.
In his youth, he'd been called the Ironclad Shield, one of the swords guarding Clan Leader Shin Sung-il.
Now, he was even more seasoned.
"And we're worried about our subordinates too."
In the strength-obsessed Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, Black Tortoise Hall was relatively compassionate.
Other sword halls wouldn't bat an eye if their squads vanished.
'Though it's partly because we're short on squad members.'
Currently, Black Tortoise Hall lacked numbers. The other halls had poached all the promising disciples.
"Alright. Let's go together."
Shin Yu-hyun nodded at Choi Jung-hoon's offer.
There was no reason to refuse such skill, especially when the man was volunteering out of loyalty to his men.
In his previous life, he'd survived Getia by helping fellow superhumans.
Besides, Choi Jung-hoon was one of those who'd pledged loyalty alongside Lee Yeon-hwa and Kim Jae-hyun.
'I need to win Choi Jung-hoon over to my side.'
He was capable in every way and someone reliable as an ally.
He'd be invaluable for revenge against Getia—helping hide Shin Yu-hyun's powers or managing Black Tortoise Hall's operations.
'But first, I need their recognition.'
Though Choi Jung-hoon, Lee Yeon-hwa, and Kim Jae-hyun had pledged to him, he hadn't fully won over Black Tortoise Hall yet.
That's why he was going personally to rescue the squad.
Saving them would earn him respect and loyalty from the hall's superhumans.
And solidify Choi Jung-hoon and the others' allegiance.
"A dungeon after so long—my blood's pumping."
Choi Jung-hoon smirked, lips curling up.
Since becoming Vice Hall Leader, he'd been stuck in desk work, far from the front lines.
But thinking of diving into a dungeon again stirred old memories.
Of sweeping through dungeons alongside Clan Leader Shin Sung-il.
"Then, Manager Lee Yeon-hwa, prepare the rescue team as quickly as possible and send them. The Vice Hall Leader and I will head out first."
"Understood."
Lee Yeon-hwa no longer objected, seeing Choi Jung-hoon's excitement.
"See you in about 30 minutes. I need to gear up for the rescue."
"Yes."
With that, Shin Yu-hyun began preparations to save the Black Tortoise Sword Squad.
Thirty minutes later, Shin Yu-hyun was fully prepared.
He'd hidden Ka-mang-i and Dia in the shadows, in case he needed his summons.
Inside Ka-mang-i's body, he'd prepped a total of 41 skeleton soldiers.
Most had been destroyed by Izar, but he'd repaired some with Repair before Nam Yeon-ah recovered, and supplemented others using crawler corpses.
Dia also stored longswords and the magic sword Ignis in her subspace inventory skill.
Right now, Shin Yu-hyun was equipped with a standard longsword.
Unsure of Arachne's Nest's interior or the squad's situation, he'd prepared for anything.
"Let's head out."
Reuniting with Choi Jung-hoon in front of the Black Tortoise Hall lobby, Shin Yu-hyun set off for Arachne's Nest.
Before long, Shin Yu-hyun arrived at the entrance to the 3-star dungeon, Arachne's Nest.
Pzzt!
Under the dark night sky, the signature green sparks of a 3-star dungeon crackled in the air.
"Hall Leader."
Choi Jung-hoon, walking ahead, suddenly tensed and raised his arm.
Something was wrong.
Arachne's Nest had spawned in the mountains, not far from Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's private lands.
Thus, Black Tortoise Hall—under Choi Jung-hoon's orders—had stationed personnel to research and monitor the dungeon.
A base camp had been set up around the rift.
Yet... no signs of life?
Shin Yu-hyun noticed it too.
Exchanging glances with Choi Jung-hoon, they quietly approached the base camp.
Positioning themselves on either side of the entrance, Choi Jung-hoon swiftly entered.
"This is..."
Surveying the base camp interior, Choi Jung-hoon paled in horror.