Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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The battle didn't last long.
The Iron Fire Gang's executives were torn apart by Fluffy's bites, their limbs severed by blades of black flame.
Puuk!
"N-No! Graaaah!"
The last surviving executive of the Iron Fire Gang, Thunderclap Blade Kazuma, shook his head as he let out an agonized scream.
It was because Shin Yu-hyun had driven his Cursed Venom Lance into the man's side.
"Guh! Khek!"
As the curse and poison from the Cursed Venom Lance began to spread, Kazuma writhed on the concrete floor.
Shin Yu-hyun looked down at him with cold eyes.
"I hope you feel even a fraction of the pain you inflicted on others."
"D-Damn... you...."
Kazuma glared at Shin Yu-hyun with murderous intent.
But strength was draining from his body, and the excruciating pain racking his entire form kept him from staying conscious.
Moments later, Kazuma—the Iron Fire Gang's final executive—stopped moving.
"It's over."
Shin Yu-hyun gazed coldly at the corpses of the Iron Fire Gang thugs.
The rank-and-file members were either mauled to death, slashed by swords, or impaled by sharp spears.
Traces of the skeleton sabers and lancers swarming them for a group beatdown.
'Got all their weapons too.'
The weapons wielded by the Iron Fire Gang executives ranged from Rare to Exceptional Rare grade—highly valuable items.
They'd come in handy someday.
Once everything was sorted, Shin Yu-hyun sent Fluffy back into his shadow space.
Then he turned to Dia.
He hadn't wanted to expose a child like Dia to this carnage.
But it was a sight she'd have to witness often from now on. After all, he planned to hunt down Getia Worshippers who betrayed humanity and superhuman villains.
"Dia?"
"Yes!"
Dia turned to him at the sound of his voice.
And smiled as she replied.
"I'm okay!"
Dia approached silently and hugged Shin Yu-hyun.
She understood the meaning in his eyes.
As a member of Seven Arcs, Dia shared a deep mental link with Shin Yu-hyun, allowing them to sense each other's feelings.
Besides, despite her appearance, Dia had plenty of experience.
Even before contracting with the First Immortal King, she'd witnessed the horrors of war. Afterward, she'd battled magic beasts countless times.
"Thanks."
Shin Yu-hyun stroked Dia's head.
Kyuu!
At that moment, Ka-mang-i, perched on Dia's shoulder, extended a tentacle to pat Shin Yu-hyun's face.
"Right, our Ka-mang-i too."
Shin Yu-hyun smiled and patted Ka-mang-i's head as well. Like Dia, Ka-mang-i was connected to him heart-to-heart.
"Shall we keep going then?"
"Yes!"
Kyuu!
Dia and Ka-mang-i replied cutely to Shin Yu-hyun's words.
With that, Shin Yu-hyun set off toward the next floor.
The training grounds on Basement Level 4 weren't limited to ruined cityscapes. There were deserts and forests too.
Facilities tailored for training in all sorts of scenarios.
Plus the research labs on Basement Level 2.
'Even with backing from the Ashen Order, building facilities this massive underground on an island must've cost a fortune....'
The scale of the Iron Fire Gang's underground base exceeded expectations.
In terms of size, it even felt larger than Nam Yeon-a's artifact lab.
Could a mere terrorist group really construct something this big?
'They've got sponsors, huh?'
He couldn't help but think so.
No way they'd manage this without corporate-level backing at minimum.
'Capture their boss or raid the server room, and we'll find out.'
With those thoughts, Shin Yu-hyun passed through the Iron Fire Gang's training grounds and descended to Level 5.
"Hm."
Shin Yu-hyun descended to Level 5, walked down a corridor, and entered the control room.
A place from which they could monitor all Iron Fire Gang facilities.
"They bailed, huh?"
Shin Yu-hyun smirked.
The control room was a mess.
Papers scattered everywhere, all the PCs left on.
Monitors displaying file deletions in progress.
Shin Yu-hyun quickly checked the monitors, operated the PC to cancel the deletions, and plugged in his USB drive.
"Wonder how much I can salvage."
By the time he'd arrived, deletions were already underway, so he had no idea how much data remained.
But the Iron Fire Gang thugs seemed panicked too. They could've properly wrecked the control room but just issued delete commands and fled.
'Still in the palm of my hand, though.'
Shin Yu-hyun chuckled inwardly.
'Damn it! Goddamn it!'
Orca spat curses in his mind. With Blood Wolf lost, he realized there was no way to fight back.
He had no choice but to abandon base. He hated admitting it.
'This is bad.'
Building this base had involved siphoning funds from the Ashen Order.
And the superior who'd contacted him from the control room had directly funneled money into the Iron Fire Gang.
That man had even boldly assured him not to worry about a Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan raid.
Yet now he had to abandon it all.
If the Ashen Order found out, they wouldn't let it slide.
His funding superior wouldn't either.
'Gotta escape first and figure it out later.'
With Blood Wolf in Shin Yu-hyun's hands, it was only a matter of time before he pushed down to the control room.
He needed to reach the submarine docked at the end of Basement Level 6 and slip away first.
As long as he survived, he'd find another opportunity.
At least, that's what Orca thought.
Until a woman's voice rang out before him.
"Oh my, another bug crawled in."
"W-What?!"
Orca's face twisted in shock.
The moment he came down the stairs and turned the corner, the voice had spoken.
"You didn't think you could escape from here, did you?"
The owner of the voice, Shuv, licked her lips with a red tongue as she eyed Orca.
"W-Who are you!"
Orca stared tensely at the woman before him.
Black goat-like horns sprouting from her head, pitch-black wings unfurled from her lower back.
And golden pupils gleaming dangerously over black sclera.
A beautiful woman in a jet-black dress embroidered with golden thread gazed at Orca.
She looked just like...
"A d-demon?"
Orca flinched in alarm.
A beautiful yet dangerous golden-eyed demon.
Next to Shuv stood Iron Fire Gang researchers, lined up like zombies, also trying to flee the island.
Some lay sprawled on the floor, with Shuv perched atop one.
"Come over here, you."
Shuv's golden eyes gleamed as she looked at Orca. She'd activated her Charm Demon Eye.
Those caught by the Charm Demon Eye obeyed her commands for a short time.
In fact, the researchers around her were currently under its control.
"N-No...!"
Orca lost consciousness after catching one last glimpse of Shuv's shining eyes.
That evening.
Clan Leader's Conference Room.
The Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan was holding a meeting on how to deal with the Iron Fire Gang that had attacked their home. Thanks to Shuv's interrogation, they'd uncovered the gang's base.
"So, what should we do?"
Shin Sung-hyun, Grand Dharma Protector of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan and acting Clan Leader proxy, addressed the assembled retainers.
Deputy Hall Leaders from each sword hall and captains of the Clan Leader's direct units.
Even Shin family relatives had gathered.
"What do you mean? We wipe them out!"
Vermilion Bird Hall Deputy Leader Lee Joo-hyuk gnashed his teeth in response to Shin Sung-hyun.
He'd served at Shin Cheol-jin's side since the boy's youth.
In his fifties, he was one of the clan's top five 5-Star elites.
Long ago, the late Clan Leader Shin Sung-il's first wife—mother to Shin Cheol-min, Shin Yu-ra, Shin Ji-ah, and Shin Cheol-jin, Lee Seon-hwa—had entrusted Shin Cheol-jin to him.
Having raised the boy, he was practically family.
Yet Shin Cheol-jin had been taken from them so absurdly.
Lee Joo-hyuk couldn't forgive the Iron Fire Gang directly tied to his death.
"If the clan agrees, I'll go wipe them out root and stem right now!"
Lee Joo-hyuk shouted passionately, as if breathing fire.
"Azure Dragon Sword Division agrees."
"White Tiger Hall agrees."
"Heaven-Splitting Sword Division agrees."
"Black Shadow Unit too..."
Each division of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan voiced support for Lee Joo-hyuk.
Finally, Shin Sung-hyun turned to Black Tortoise Hall.
Shin Yu-hyun wasn't present.
Only Deputy Leader Choi Jung-hoon.
Though not directly under Clan Leader Shin Sung-il, he'd managed Black Tortoise Hall for years with recognized achievements.
"What does Black Tortoise Hall think?"
"We agree with Deputy Leader Lee Joo-hyuk."
Choi Jung-hoon bowed his head in reply. With that, full consensus to strike the Iron Fire Gang base.
Then Lee Joo-hyuk eyed Choi Jung-hoon with displeasure.
"Why didn't Black Tortoise Hall's Leader come?"
"He had business and couldn't make it. My apologies."
Choi Jung-hoon bowed deeply.
All here were direct retainers of Clan Leader Shin Sung-il.
Trusted by the Sword King of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
And Shin Yu-hyun should have attended.
But after lunch, he'd vanished somewhere and hadn't returned by evening.
Thus, Choi Jung-hoon represented Black Tortoise Hall with apologies.
'Ugh, my stomach...'
His gut churned painfully.
"What important business keeps him from a clan meeting? No sense of responsibility."
Lee Joo-hyuk clicked his tongue and frowned.
He'd received a full report on Shin Cheol-jin's death.
He knew Shin Yu-hyun bore no fault.
But knowing it in his head didn't make his heart accept it.
And skipping the meeting? It soured his mood further.
Knock knock knock.
A knock echoed from the conference room door.
"Come in."
Shin Sung-hyun responded.
In truth, a minute earlier, a close aide had whispered a report to him.
Click.
As Shin Sung-hyun finished speaking, the door opened, and Shin Yu-hyun entered.
"Shin Yu-hyun! Why are you late to the clan meeting?!"
The moment he appeared, Lee Joo-hyuk scowled and barked.
"My apologies."
Shin Yu-hyun first bowed to Lee Joo-hyuk and the clan elders in the room.
But his eyes held unwavering confidence.
"I was delayed by circumstances."
"Circumstances? What grand circumstances make you late to a meeting?"
Lee Joo-hyuk retorted sourly. In response, Shin Yu-hyun smiled and dropped a bombshell.