Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Red-X Annihilation
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Elric was annoyed.
“Is that the kind of report you think I need to hear?”
“I-I'm sorry.”
The subordinate making the report couldn't raise his head under Elric's sharp gaze.
But he couldn't let it go.
“Vice Leader.”
He summoned his courage and spoke again.
Elric, who had been busy organizing documents, shot him a piercing look, but the man knew he had to speak.
The second-in-command of Drepia.
He was one of the few who could meet directly with the Godfather, Demah, whose whereabouts were a closely guarded secret.
As a result, to anyone outside the top leadership, Elric was naturally considered the highest authority.
In reality, he held most of the power.
It was only natural for all members to fear Elric more than the unseen Demah.
“They say Dusk has obtained the power of a demon. There are even eyewitnesses.”
“A demon?”
Elric stopped his frantic review of the documents.
“Are you saying he made a pact with a demon?”
“According to the witness, anyone who saw the demonic crest on his palm died on the spot.”
“Unless a demon has gone mad, there's no way it would grant that kind of authority to a nobody like him.”
“In just ten days, all our members in Ellaim were wiped out, and one of the Gate research facilities we took from them was destroyed. Maxim was among the dead.”
“Maxim?”
It was a name he couldn't possibly forget.
Elric himself had broken him out of prison on Demah's orders.
The 50-man Soul-X, Demah's personal guard, was at full capacity, but he was next in line for any vacancy.
That's why he had been given special consideration to rest in a quiet place. The idea that such a man had been taken down by Dusk was hard to believe.
Still, he didn't consider the matter to be all that serious.
“Handle it quietly. Don't make a scene when we have bigger things to worry about.”
Every executive knew what was at stake right now.
The grandest enterprise Drepia had ever dreamed of was fully prepared and on the verge of launching.
It was a project ten years in the making.
*Tap.*
Elric drew up a document on the spot.
It was a letter, written and sealed—a procedure for granting someone special authority.
“Thank you.”
The subordinate who received the letter bowed his head, his expression suggesting the matter was already resolved.
Wang-sik stared at the man's back with a dumbfounded expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Die!”
Dusk thrust his open palm toward Wang-sik. The demonic crest, with its murderous gaze, came into sharp focus.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still, but Wang-sik didn't collapse.
“S-Sorry.”
“You were just trying that on me, weren't you?”
“No! I was just practicing and made a mistake!”
Dusk had been practicing various palm-thrusting motions in front of a mirror.
“By the way, Master, what's the next plan?”
Dusk quickly changed the subject before he could get a scolding.
“We need to recover the influence we lost. Reclaim all the businesses in the area. That will attract more followers.”
“I believe only in you, Master.”
Dusk called Wang-sik 'Master'.
“How should we prepare?”
“Wait. They'll make the first move. If they aren't idiots.”
“That's true.”
As he replied, Dusk fell into thought.
He was trying to predict Drepia's next move. After all, Dusk knew far more about Drepia than Wang-sik did.
“If it's not time for Demah to step in, the Blue-X usually handle disputes. The worst case would be the Red-X, but they wouldn't go that far...”
“Those guys, the Red-X, will be coming.”
“What? But they can't.”
“Why not?”
“Because we can't beat them. That's why they can't come.”
“They'll send the Red-X precisely because they know that.”
“I'm telling you, they can't!”
*Smack!*
Wang-sik finally slapped Dusk on the back of the head.
“Think before you speak.”
Snapped to his senses, Dusk trembled.
It wasn't because of Wang-sik.
“If the Red-X really are coming...”
Drepia had three armed forces.
The Godfather's personal guard, the Soul-X.
The elite combat unit, the Red-X.
The general combat unit, the Blue-X.
The Blue-X were little more than a gang of thugs, but the Red-X were different.
They were elite warriors composed of former soldiers and mercenaries who had undergone grueling training.
To circumvent the empire's laws restricting private armies, they were usually scattered, but they would gather in one location when an order was issued.
“No. No way...”
*Smack!*
Wang-sik slapped him again.
“Are you going to snap out of it? It doesn't matter who comes, so just practice. We're going to deal with them and then quickly restore our businesses in the area, so get ready.”
“What? Ah, I understand.”
Leaving the still-anxious Dusk behind, Wang-sik was about to leave the office when he added one more thing.
“Prepare one flashy move.”
“What? Understood.”
Seeing Wang-sik's calm reaction, Dusk's anxiety strangely vanished.
“He's acting like this because he knows we can win, right?”
At first, he just wanted to believe. But now, he truly believed.
“Something flashy? I'll give them a real show.”
Dusk began to practice.
Two days later, the quiet town of Ellaim was thrown into turmoil.
Strangers flocked to the wall-less city, a place anyone could enter, their numbers reaching two hundred.
They gathered in Ellaim over the course of a day, and early the next morning, they took up their weapons and marched toward the Dusk Mercenary Corps headquarters.
—Annihilate them.
The order was simple.
About half of the Red-X were deployed for this operation, and Ernand, who was given command, was quite displeased.
'Deploying two hundred men just to take care of the Dusk Mercenary Corps?'
He had heard the intel beforehand, but it was all unbelievable nonsense.
A hardened mercenary, not some wizard, suddenly making a pact with a demon.
'Die if you look at his palm? What a childish joke.'
No demonic pact he had ever heard of involved death by looking at a palm.
'I'll take care of this for good.'
He was a veteran commander.
A man who had once even held the title of knight.
He'd been stripped of his title for taking bribes and was supposed to rot in prison for life before Demah broke him out.
That was seven years ago.
In just three more years, he would receive a hefty sum and be a free man.
Of course, he was quite satisfied with his current life and had no intention of leaving the Red-X.
“Re-form ranks!”
He shouted, halting his steps in an open lot with a view of the Dusk Mercenary Corps headquarters.
His subordinates, who had been approaching casually, immediately corrected their posture at his command.
One must always give their all in battle.
The commander's words awakened that fundamental principle.
“Don't let your guard down!”
Feeling the palpable tension in the air, Ernand was satisfied.
“The objective is total annihilation!”
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
Acknowledging the order, his men stomped their feet in unison. The sound was like a war drum, boosting the morale of allies and striking fear into the enemy.
“First rank, advance!”
Even as he gave the order, Ernand didn't expect the fight to end here.
Unless the enemy was a fool, they wouldn't make a last stand at their headquarters.
'First, we destroy the headquarters, then we hunt down the remnants.'
Thirty of his men were already scattered and hidden at key points to give chase.
“Second rank, forward!”
His men advanced.
The first rank, leading the charge, had just stopped twenty paces from the headquarters.
Just before they were about to storm the building.
*Creeak.*
The old headquarters door opened, and a man appeared.
“Archers! Ready!”
The man who appeared was Dusk.
He wore an outfit of black leather that draped long like a robe, with a demonic crest emblazoned on his chest.
He looked just like a cult leader.
And this cult leader raised his hand.
'What is he doing?'
Ernand was about to order the archers to attack, regardless of the enemy's actions.
“Huh?”
At someone's startled cry, all eyes turned to the sky.
“What is that...?”
*Fwoooosh!*
It was a spear of lava, carrying an immense flame.
Before the shock could even subside, the massive lava spear plummeted to the ground, leaving a tail of fire in its wake.
It was like a catastrophe falling from the sky. A sense of helplessness, of being unable to resist with human strength, seized their bodies.
*BOOOOM!*
It was a single strike.
The exploding flame spear sent out circular rings of fire in all directions.
As dozens of fiery shockwaves spread, everyone in the open lot was turned to ash and collapsed.
The few who survived screamed and writhed on the ground before finally succumbing.
In contrast, one person at the center of the shockwaves was unharmed.
It was Dusk.
A transparent barrier erected in front of him had blocked all the fiery shockwaves.
A dead silence fell over the devastating scene, which looked as if a meteor had struck.
*Waaaah!*
The followers who had been watching from the headquarters poured out, letting loose monstrous cheers.
Then they scattered to hunt down the remnants of the Red-X.
Their targets were the thirty scouts who had been monitoring the escape routes.
“Catch every last one of them. Don't let any escape.”
At Dusk's command, the followers raised their weapons, their faces contorted with fanatical devotion.
“Foolish bastards. To think they tried to catch me with just this.”
Dusk scoffed and went back inside the headquarters.
At the same time.
Inside the headquarters, Wang-sik was checking on Min Ha-na.
“Are you okay?”
“This is nothing.”
Min Ha-na pretended to be fine, but her voice trembled slightly.
“War is a dirty business, isn't it?”
“It is. But I won't hesitate. I don't want to see my people get hurt.”
“I trust you, my friend.”
Min Ha-na had been the one to cast Dusk's spell. But there was one problem.
—You have to kill people. Can you do it?
It was her first time casting a lethal spell on people.
A wave of emotions washed over her, but Min Ha-na accepted it.
—It's something I'll have to do from now on.
She had performed admirably.
“It'll be over soon. You get some rest. I'll go finish things up.”
“Okay. I'll hide well, so don't worry.”
Even Dusk didn't know about Min Ha-na's existence. He had simply been told that something amazing would happen and to do as he was instructed.
As Wang-sik left the room, he saw Dusk standing alone. He was staring at the demonic crest on his palm as if he had truly been the one to cast the spell.
“Master!”
When Wang-sik approached, Dusk came up to him like an eager puppy.
“Master, you had this kind of power, too?”
Honestly, he hadn't been able to control his expression when the lava spear fell. The soldiers in the front rank must have seen his face. Fortunately, since they were all wiped out, the word wouldn't spread.
That wasn't the only time he was surprised.
When the fire waves approached, he thought he was dead for sure. But a transparent barrier rose up and blocked all the flames.
“I believe in you, Master.”
“Cut the crap.”
Dusk now looked like one of Wang-sik's fanatical followers.
“When they bring back the remnants, dispose of them all. About three will escape, just let them go.”
“Understood.”
Dusk wasn't worried about a thing.
As expected, most of the hidden scouts were captured.
Considering the skill gap, it should have been impossible, but it became a reality. That was because Sa Seon-gi had already inflicted fatal wounds on them beforehand.
Fifteen were captured, not including those already dead, and just as Wang-sik had said, no one bothered to stop the three who fled.
They would spread the tale of what happened today to the world.
“Impudent souls. Repent in hell.”
Dusk personally took up a blade and finished off the captured prisoners.
Blood flowed across the cratered floor of the ruins, but no one there felt any fear.
“Repent in hell.”
“Find liberation through despair.”
The followers chanted as if singing a dirge.