Chapter 130: Hunting Mad Dogs (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Hunting Mad Dogs (2)
“Boris. What are you doing…”
Arseny started to speak, but the words died in his throat the moment he saw the frozen expression on Boris’s face.
As the camera angle shifted downward from that stiff, pale face, he saw a strange hand plunged deep into his brother’s chest. He was speechless, his mind reeling.
—You know where this is, don’t you?
The voice coming from the phone finally snapped Arseny back to his senses.
“Who are you? Who sent you?”
—Do you really think you're in a position to be asking questions?
—Urgh! A-Arseny!
Arseny’s brow furrowed at the sound of Boris’s pained, ragged voice.
“What do you want?”
—Come see for yourself and we’ll talk. Hurry up. I’ll wait exactly thirty minutes.
With that, the call ended.
“...”
He stared at the blackened screen of his phone for a long moment before looking at Andrei, who had been on another call nearby under a Silence spell.
“I’ve already mobilized everyone in the vicinity. I told them to surround the area. He won’t be able to escape.”
In the short time the call lasted, Andrei had already deployed agents to encircle the mansion where Boris was located. He pulled a small tablet from his inner pocket.
Three red dots were displayed on the screen. Two dots were clustered together, while one was far apart.
“Thirty minutes is tight. Let’s move. We’ll postpone the operation in Korea until after this is handled.”
Andrei nodded at Arseny’s words.
The moment the two stepped outside and climbed into their car, one of the dots on the tablet vanished.
“Damn it!”
* * *
Sizzle.
Accompanied by the sound of searing meat, the smell of scorched flesh and acrid smoke rose from Boris’s unconscious body.
“Should this be enough?”
After being subjected to Electric Shock for a full thirty seconds, Boris—who didn't have a single barrier active—had no way to endure the onslaught.
Of course, stripping him of all seven of his accessories had been the natural first step.
“Just to be sure, fry him for another thirty seconds.”
“He might die, though?”
“Doesn't matter. This guy’s usefulness is over.”
At Seo-un’s words, Gi-chan twisted his lips into a smirk, and intense sparks erupted from both his hands once more.
Crackle!
Seo-un looked down at Boris, who was frothing at the mouth and twitching violently, and shook his head.
“He’s got a stubborn grip on life.”
According to what he’d heard from Karina, most intelligence agencies these days implanted chips to monitor life signs and location. The method he’d come up with, though a bit crude, was to use a powerful electrical current to short them out.
Seo-un looked down at the man, who was still breathing even after another round of Electric Shock, and then shifted his gaze.
“Let’s go.”
Even though not even a tenth of the promised thirty minutes had passed, Seo-un rolled the man up in a blanket and hoisted him onto his shoulder. Gi-chan pulled back the blinds and looked out the window.
“Wait a second.”
He concentrated his mana and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Simultaneously, the lights illuminating the city went out one by one, and the surroundings were instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.
Gi-chan, who had recently begun learning Mana Explosion magic, had placed a very rudimentary Mana Explosion spell on the main power lines feeding this part of the city and activated it just now.
The agents gathered around had no way to intercept the two as they leaped out the window and cut through the dark night sky.
After running for a long while, the two arrived in front of a wooden villa in a secluded mountain area.
“I have been waiting for you.”
Looking at the man who spoke in awkward Korean, Seo-un took off his cloak and swept it into his Subspace.
“Thank you for the help. I’m Jin Seo-un.”
“It is an honor to meet you. Our Xiongdi in China… I was told to treat you as a brother. Please, give the burden to me.”
The massive man took the rolled-up blanket from Seo-un’s shoulder and led the way into the villa. He lifted the entrance to a small tent set up inside the dark, lightless villa, and a bright light spilled out from within.
Following the man inside, they found that many preparations had already been made.
“Please excuse the lack of amenities; it was prepared in haste.”
The man sat the unconscious Boris in a chair bolted to the floor, designed for restraint, and secured his limp body. As the man fastened Boris’s waist, limbs, and even his neck with leather straps, Gi-chan asked a question.
“Won’t that kind of leather be easily broken?”
It might be fine for an ordinary person, but using leather to restrain an Ability User seemed precarious.
“This leather is magic-treated Troll Leather. Even a knight with over 150 Strength would find it difficult to break. Furthermore, unless it is severed all at once, the damaged parts will self-regenerate. Crucially, it carries a curse that debuffs the captive’s Strength stat by half.”
“Ah…”
Gi-chan was left speechless and examined the shabby-looking leather.
The man watched Gi-chan for a moment before bringing out an object—a round, fist-sized disc with five awl-like needles protruding from the end. The two simply watched the man’s actions in silence.
Thud!
“Gah!!”
After briefly inspecting the strange object, the man slammed it directly into Boris’s chest, right where the hole from Seo-un’s fingers had been. The shock was enough to jolt the unconscious Boris awake.
“What is that?” Gi-chan asked, his curiosity piqued.
“This is a top-secret item we recently finished developing. When embedded into a mage’s heart, it sends signals that disrupt the Mana Circle, making it impossible to use magic.”
At the man’s explanation, Seo-un spoke up.
“Is it alright to show us such a top-secret item so freely?”
“In China, once we become Xiongdi… that is, brothers, we do not harbor a single shred of doubt in that trust.”
—I’ve heard about this before. Once you become close friends, that friendship is tighter and stronger than in any other country. The Guanxi culture is famous, after all.
Gi-chan glanced over and sent a Voice Transmission, and Seo-un nodded in understanding. Well, if they wanted to think that way and cooperate, there was no reason to complain.
“Anyway, China makes a lot of interesting items.”
“Yes. We have quite a large number of state-affiliated Alchemists. We believe that in today’s world, competitiveness lies in item production capability, so we are putting all our efforts into creating new items.”
Hearing that, Seo-un felt that the pace of change was incredibly fast. The adaptability of modern humans was truly remarkable.
After checking Boris’s condition and determining he was completely neutralized, the two lost interest in him.
“Let’s get started.”
Seo-un turned on Boris’s phone, which had been switched off.
“Is it really okay for this safe house to be exposed? I heard it’s harder than expected to establish safe houses in Russia.”
“It is perfectly fine. We harbor no small amount of resentment toward these three brothers ourselves.”
With those words, Seo-un placed a call on the powered-up phone.
—You son of a bitch!!
Even though Seo-un didn't know Russian, he could tell from the immediate, harsh outburst that it was an insult.
—You know the location, right? I’ll keep Boris alive for exactly thirty more minutes.
With that, Seo-un crushed Boris’s phone, destroying it.
“Thank you for the help. We’ll handle the rest. You should withdraw now.”
The man shook his head.
“I will help until the end.”
“I don’t mean to slight you, but it’s more comfortable for the two of us to handle this.”
The man nodded at Seo-un’s words.
“If that is the case, I shall withdraw first. This is Russia. Please be careful. If a problem arises, I will come running at any time. We have many agents in this area, so just contact us whenever you need.”
The man turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back at Seo-un. Seeing the man looking toward Boris, Seo-un spoke.
“Do as you wish. His value has already been depleted.”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Guh…”
With exactly three punches, the man knocked out all of Boris’s teeth. With a refreshed expression, he bowed his head and disappeared outside.
Gi-chan looked at Boris’s bloodied teeth rolling on the floor and spoke.
“He pulled them out right to the roots.”
“In terms of martial arts alone, he’s about on your level. It looked like he’d learned both martial arts and knight skills. His stats seem good, and he looks tough.”
Having finished their assessment of the departed man, the two stepped out of the tent and donned their Cloaks of Stealth.
Flutter!
With a crisp sound, the two men wearing the cloaks melted into the dark forest.
* * *
Andrei stepped in front of Arseny, who looked ready to bolt at any second with a grim expression.
“It’s a trap. It’s obvious.”
“So you’re saying we should just let Boris die?”
Andrei shook his head at the agitated Arseny.
“I’m saying you need to be cool-headed. If they’ve kept Boris alive this long, there’s a high probability they’ll keep him alive until they catch all of us. For now…”
“They’re pros too! How many times have we used hostages to manipulate our enemies?! You know very well that Boris has no value as a hostage!”
Raising his voice and cutting Andrei off, Arseny pulled a dagger engraved with skull patterns from his Subspace.
“Arseny! Are you crazy?”
Andrei’s eyes widened in shock as he grabbed Arseny’s hand, but Arseny grabbed his hand back and pulled him close. He pressed his forehead against Andrei’s and spoke.
“If I don’t return within three hours… leave Moscow. Hide in the last safe house. Take your time with revenge, wait for the perfect moment. Never let your emotions get the better of you like I am. Remember. If there’s no contact within three hours, Boris and I are dead.”
Andrei’s eyes wavered at Arseny’s words. Pushing him back with all his might, Arseny pierced his own palm with the dagger.
[Ding! The Contract with the Dead begins. For the next 5 hours, all stats are doubled. After 5 hours, all stats will be permanently reduced by half.]
Not stopping there, Arseny pulled a purple potion from his Subspace and downed it. A purple energy traveled from his chest to his stomach and then spread throughout his entire body.
Having even consumed a Potion of Madness, he moved toward the location where the agents had tracked Boris.
* * *
—Do you think he’ll really come?
—When his family is about to die, can he afford not to? It’s a tactic they’ve used until they were sick of it.
At Seo-un’s answer, Gi-chan, who was installing Alarm Magic and Mana Explosion Scrolls obtained from Earth throughout the forest, asked back.
—So wouldn't that be why he doesn't come? I mean, would he fall for a trick he’s used so many times himself?
—He has no choice but to fall for it even if he knows. As long as he’s still wearing a human skin, his own family is precious to him. That’s probably why he used such wicked methods, thinking other people’s families would be precious to them too.
Having finished all preparations, the two were hiding atop trees filling the forest. Less than thirty minutes after they began waiting for their prey, fireballs and wind arrows came flying toward their hiding spot.
BOOM!
Flames engulfed the trees, and wind arrows passed through, fanning the fire even further.
—Looks like Carmen’s Eye.
There was no other way to detect the two in the middle of the night.
—A fairly high-level mage must have come along.
They had sensed countless presences sneaking in from all over, but since they were all small fry, they’d left them alone. It seemed a capable mage had entered with them.
—Let’s start the hunt. He’ll come if we wait.
As Seo-un spoke, his form instantly multiplied into four. Along with the increased forms, Seo-un momentarily touched his forehead with a complicated expression.
I really don’t want to use the Cloning Technique in reality.
Lately, perhaps due to stress, he felt like his forehead was getting wider, so he had never used the Cloning Technique in reality, not even when sparring with Gi-chan.
After a brief moment of contemplation, the four forms vanished in all directions.
“Over there!”
Along with someone’s shout, ripples of mana were felt from all sides. The sound of magic exploding accompanied by bright light echoed through the quiet forest.
Slice.
Amidst the noisy commotion, a Russian agent dressed entirely in black collapsed, clutching his stomach as the sound of skin being cut rang out. The Nature Aura that had accurately pierced his Dantian destroyed it in an instant, scattering the Internal Qi he had accumulated.
Despite the immense sense of loss and pain, he couldn't even let out a groan because his Mute Acupoint had been struck.
Crackle!
Three other agents running toward the source of the commotion were knocked unconscious on the spot by a flash of sparks. As soon as the three caught in the Lightning Chain passed out, Gi-chan melted back into the darkness and disappeared.
In less than thirty minutes, dozens of agents who had entered the forest had fallen, and only one mage, whose eyes glowed green, was desperately fleeing on an Air Board.
Racing between the irregularly spaced trees to escape the forest, the mage shouted urgently.
“All agents are down! Requesting reinfor—”
Thwack!
His shout was cut short as he tumbled violently across the ground and slammed into a giant tree. Even as blood streamed down his forehead, he cast Shield and Barrier, but a flying dagger was already embedded through his ankle.
The flying dagger, imbued with Nature Aura and launched from the darkness, had shattered his barrier and pierced his ankle in an instant.
Squelch!
More flying daggers flew from the darkness, embedding themselves in his shoulders, arms, and shins. Even so, he didn't let out a single groan.
“Target… confirmed.”
With those final words, the agent lost consciousness. And before long, something dropped from the sky in front of him.
CRASH!
A man landed with a thunderous roar. The man, who had jumped from a helicopter that had been noisily circling the forest for some time without a parachute, blocked the flying daggers aimed at the agent.
Having deflected the aura-imbued daggers with a round shield about the size of a pizza—though it was unclear when he’d drawn it—the man charged forward.
THUD!
Instead of the shadow that had dodged his charge, he slammed into a giant tree, causing it to topple over backward.
“I finally get to see you. Voronin Arseny. Right?”
Looking at Seo-un, who was covered by his cloak, Arseny spoke.
“Where is Boris?”
“He’s still breathing. Though he’ll have to spend the rest of his life in a bed.”
At Seo-un’s words, Arseny’s eyes began to turn blood-red. Clad in black armor and holding a blue sword that glowed faintly even in the night, a blue skull-shaped light rose behind his back.
Simultaneously, he lunged toward Seo-un.
As if waiting for him, Seo-un lowered his center of gravity and took a stance. Seo-un blocked the sword falling toward his head with both hands, but the blade seemed to slice through him instantly.
Poof.
With the sound, a single strand of hair, cut in half and fluttering away, appeared in Arseny’s superhuman vision.
“I heard your specialty is shaking people up and hunting them like this.”
The sound of a faint voice whispering from behind sent shivers down Arseny’s entire body. Just as he was about to spin around and swing his sword, he was sent flying, rolling across the ground.
As he rolled to his feet, the voice reached his ears again.
“I don’t exactly hate that kind of playstyle either.”
WHAM!
Another impact felt on his back sent his body flying forward against his will. As he picked himself up once more, a red barrier formed around his body.
CRASH!
However, the barrier was instantly shattered by a boulder that came flying, tearing up the earth. He sliced the boulder in half, but once again, a single punch from his enemy pushed him back savagely.
This time, however, he didn't just take it. The moment the fist slammed into his ribs, his sword reacted and moved.
CLANG!
But the enemy, who barely blocked his sword with the back of his hand, followed him as he flew back. As Arseny hung in the air, the enemy brought a hand toward his face.
The moment his entire field of vision was obscured by the enemy’s hand felt like it was happening in slow motion. Due to his heightened Agility, that moment was etched into his mind with terrifying clarity.
He tried to swing his sword, of course, but a sword swung while suspended in mid-air without any leverage couldn't exert much power.
CRUNCH!
The enemy slammed Arseny’s face into the ground and dragged him along, burying his head into the earth. The horn of the helmet he was wearing snapped off, and his face guard was torn away.
Arseny’s form staggered heavily as he barely managed to confirm the enemy’s appearance and push himself up. Having taken the full brunt of the Heavy Water Technique, his surroundings spun wildly, and his mind grew hazy.
As he shook his head to clear his senses, Seo-un’s form appeared as a double image before him.
“Y-You?!”
Arseny’s pupils shook violently as he recognized Seo-un, who had cast aside his cloak.