Chapter 218: I’m Here to Support (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 218: I’m Here to Support (7)
We sprint down the path.
I’d given her a massive "fuck you" with plenty of bravado, but now what?
I’d acted all high and mighty in front of Victoria, pretending I knew everything, but the truth was I didn't have a clue.
I mean, why the hell would someone who reached A-rank turn into a villain?
Why would someone who gets treated well and makes good money do something so stupid?
The feeling that she belonged to the Alliance started the moment we stepped into the basement.
While the members of Black Unicorn walked cautiously, wary of the unfamiliar underground, the members of Silver Blood moved around with total ease.
You could call it confidence in their skills, but we were actually better at scouting than they were.
The confidence that we could crush an enemy in a head-on fight as long as we weren't ambushed is something that grows as you get stronger.
But the ambush was the only problem.
When dealing with villains, you always have to watch out for surprise attacks, yet Silver Blood’s overly relaxed demeanor felt incredibly out of place.
And the aftermath of Victoria running off alone to take down those villains was just too suspicious.
There were no signs of resistance at all, so I checked the fallen villains.
It wasn't like I was touching their legs because I was horny or something.
When I touched their legs while questioning them, the villains didn't even seem to be in pain.
Even though there were clear marks on the ground where she’d supposedly delivered low kicks and twisted their feet, the villains weren't seriously injured—it was like a choreographed play.
The same went for the unconscious villains; looking at the traces, they had been suppressed while offering zero resistance.
Those strange combat marks made me suspicious, and the clincher was when Victoria specifically used the word "machine."
At that moment, I realized we were fucked and spent the whole time agonizing over how to escape.
And the "fucked" part isn't over yet.
We managed to break away once, but we still have to navigate this long, winding maze to get out.
The villains Victoria "disposed of" are probably roaming around normally now, looking for us.
Going back the way we came is the worst possible move.
"You knew, didn't you, Yeon-woo?"
No, I didn't have a clue.
But I couldn't say that honestly in front of the members who were looking at me with such respect.
If I, the leader, say we're screwed, morale will plummet.
I just have to tell them to follow my lead since I "know everything" and run for our lives.
"A-young, open the bag."
Without a moment's hesitation, Yoon A-young unslung the bag from her back and pulled out the equipment.
"Ye-jin, you carry the gear. From now on, protect it no matter what. That's our lifeline."
"Got it, Master."
Kwon Ye-jin took the equipment from Yoon A-young and strapped it to her back.
"Han So-ye and A-young, you're on defense. A-young, you handle all the high-mass attacks."
I looked at Hornet while listening to their replies.
"Hornet is the main attacker. Everyone else, support her as subs."
"Isn't this space disadvantageous for Hornet? Captain, leave it to me."
"Do you have experience killing people? And I don't mean using a Treasure Orb in a dungeon."
"..."
Satomi, who had spoken so confidently, shut her mouth, her expression darkening.
Since our lives were on the line, we had to deal with the villains without holding back anymore.
Even if we suppressed them, as long as other villains could heal them, it was better to just finish them off.
"That's right. A delinquent like me should be the one to step up here."
Hornet let out a sarcastic laugh and began compressing the surrounding air.
"I'll join in as a main attacker too. Let's kill them together."
"What the fuck? You're talking about killing people like you're asking for a date. You stay out of it too. If it's your first time killing someone, you won't even be able to sleep properly."
I knew that all too well.
The first kill is hard, but after repeating it a few times, you quickly become numb to it.
Hornet, who had been smirking, saw the look in my eyes and scowled, grabbing me by the collar.
"Don't act tough. I know you're hot shit, but leave this dirty work to me."
On paper, my record was clean.
She was rough, but Hornet was looking out for me.
"I'll slaughter them all for you, so don't worry," Hornet said, intentionally putting on a wicked smile as she looked back at the members.
"Sigh..."
I let out a deep breath and pulled out my pad to check the map.
"Changing the plan. We avoid combat as much as possible and get out safely."
"What are you doing? Don't change the plan just because you feel sorry for me. Didn't you think the plan you just laid out was the best? I'm fine."
"The best plan is the one where you don't have to shoulder the burden alone. If it comes to that, it's better for everyone to take turns getting experience killing and just fight it out."
When I spoke while looking coldly at the angry Hornet, she grimaced.
"Yes, he's right. Black Unicorn is strong because we share responsibility according to our roles. You don't need to carry it all by yourself, Hornet."
"Yeah, Hornet Unnie, you don't have to do it alone."
As Lee Yu-na and Kwon Ye-jin backed me up, Hornet’s face crumpled further before she kicked the ground and turned away.
"Fuck, you stupid bitches."
Leaving the grumbling Hornet behind, I looked at the complex maze.
Regardless of the plan, avoiding combat was the right move, but it would be easier to just break through any villains stationed at key junctions.
Now we really have to slip through like mice being chased by a cat.
Before that, I needed to know more about that woman I saw earlier.
"Do you know a woman named Spinner?"
Hornet, who had been taking her frustration out on the ground, frowned.
"She's famous in the industry. Actually, she's more of an assassin than a fixer. She'll kill anyone as long as you pay her."
"How's her skill?"
"She's probably stronger than that Yankee bitch's party."
Hmm... Silver Blood is on the weaker side for an A-rank party, but for her to be able to handle an entire party alone means she's incredibly powerful.
"She's never failed a contract, so her skills aren't even properly known. They call her Spinner because the corpses she leaves behind have their bodies or limbs twisted like a wrung-out rag."
Sounds like a psychokinesis type.
If she had just twisted them with her bare hands, there would have been marks, so she wouldn't have been called Spinner.
It's a skill Han So-ye can't counter, which makes it tricky.
Silver Blood is manageable, at least.
They're called an A-rank party, but they're a rookie group that only just barely earned the title, with only three heroes in the party having reached A-rank.
Though calling an A-rank a "rookie" is a bit of a stretch.
Anyway, even if there's a difference in weight class, as long as Han So-ye is in the party, we can somehow hold our own in a fight. But against Spinner, Han So-ye would be completely neutralized due to the matchup.
I'll have to run like hell the moment I even sense her presence.
"Booby trap installation is finished."
Yoon A-young reported back after returning with Anna.
"Good, let's go. Let's keep this game of tag going."
With our preparations complete, we continued running through the maze-like paths.
"To the right."
With the pad in hand, I kept leading the way, twisting and turning along the path.
"Lee Yu-na, set a flashbang over there."
Having undergone rigorous military training, Lee Yu-na didn't even need to be told how; she checked the terrain and set the trap in the perfect way.
"Yoon A-young, plant the C4. Anna, flashbang over there."
Yoon A-young subtly tucked the C4 into a crack in the rocks, and Anna, in her demonized state, clumsily set up traps where I designated.
As we repeated the cycle of moving and setting traps, we didn't encounter a single enemy.
"Aren't we just going around in circles?"
Hornet asked with a scowl, and Kwon Ye-jin also tilted her head in confusion.
"Do they have no intention of catching us?"
"What are you talking about? Yeon-woo is avoiding all of them."
Lee Yu-na explained properly in response to their comments.
We were moving within a certain radius, planting traps only in that area.
The reason we hadn't been caught was that I was scanning the surroundings with my Mana Detection and Presence Detection, and I had secretly planted trackers on the villains Victoria had "defeated."
Before we met Spinner after coming underground, we had "defeated" every villain detected nearby.
To be precise, we pretended to defeat them, but while checking the villains, I had secretly installed trackers on them.
The equipment Kwon Ye-jin was carrying was collecting the data and transmitting it to my pad.
It wasn't exactly long-range, but it covered a fairly wide area, and not just the villains, but the positions of Silver Blood were also being displayed on my pad.
It was a great move to issue new communicators with built-in trackers for this operation.
I originally intended to use them for command, but thanks to that, Silver Blood’s locations were clearly visible.
Boom—!
A loud explosion echoed from a distance.
The tunnel-like corridors caused the sound to reverberate wildly, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.
And so it begins.
The traps I’d set haphazardly were now disorienting the villains.
You can't kill them with something like C4, and flashbangs only cause a moment of annoyance, not a full stop.
However, once they become aware of the traps, their behavioral patterns become predictable, and we can use that to slip away.
Bang—!
The sound of a flashbang going off echoed from somewhere.
After checking the trackers on my pad, I led the party and began to run.
From here on, stealth was paramount, so I signaled the members with hand gestures and planted traps along our escape route.
The sounds of our traps being triggered echoed one after another through the passages, and I stopped to pull out a flashbang.
‘Close your senses.’
After signaling the members, I detonated the flashbang right in front of us.
With a flash, my ears and eyes felt a bit dizzy, and I kept the party waiting while I checked the pad.
The red dot near us paused for a moment before heading in a different direction.
Hearing the flashbang, the nearby villain assumed we were on the same side and changed course.
Hah—the fact that they have no sense of camaraderie and no intention of helping others is the best.
There are many of them, but this is a villain group, not an army.
The traps we set were merely annoying, not life-threatening.
If another team tripped a trap, they were more likely to snicker and move on than to actively offer help.
‘3 flashbangs left. 1 C4.’
I nodded at Lee Yu-na’s hand signal and moved out.
We’d brought a ton, but we were already almost out.
That’s how many traps we’d set, and the villains continued to loiter around the trapped areas.
The traps were annoying, but the presence of a trap meant we had walked that path, so they were chasing us like breadcrumbs left by Hansel and Gretel.
I didn't have us run in circles in the same area for nothing.
Have fun rotting in there; we’re out of here.
As time passed, the perimeter grew lax, and I leisurely slipped through a gap.
The red dots clustered in one spot grew further away from us, eventually dropping off even my Mana Detection.
This is easier than I thought.
In a combat situation, nothing is more important than information about your surroundings.
Since there was no longer a need for the trackers, I didn't need to look at the pad anymore.
Once we were far enough away, we began to sprint toward the exit at full speed.
However, when dealing with humans, things never go exactly according to plan.
"Stop."
I urgently halted the members and had them form a defensive line.
The enemy who had detected us dashed over at high speed and blocked our path.
"I figured you'd come this way."
Victoria, having found us, gave a twisted smile and walked toward us with heavy steps.
"You did something cute with the communicators."
"You noticed?"
"How could I not? The world isn't that easy, kid."
Victoria wore an arrogant expression as if the game were already over.
...Wait, aren't we the ones with the advantage here?
"Are you alone?"
"Of course I'm alone. Did you think I'd need more than that to handle some B-rank wannabes?"
Thanks for underestimating us.
Actually, it wasn't so much that she underestimated us as it was that her party members had scattered to find us, and Victoria just happened to be the one who stumbled upon us.
They were probably all waiting near the exit.
"Kwon Ye-jin, put the gear down and join Han So-ye on defense."
"Okay, Master. Finally, it's my time to shine!"
"Satomi, Yoon A-young, frontline with the defenders. Hornet and Anna, second line."
Watching us take our positions, Victoria laughed as if it were pathetic.
"I was going to let you off with a single hit if you didn't resist, but I guess that's not happening."
"We're short on time, so let's finish this quickly and go. Don't waste time on a nobody."
"You little shit..."
When I spoke to the members while ignoring her, Victoria furrowed her brows, radiating bloodlust, and charged toward us.