Chapter 246: The War Begins

Episode 246

A new power emerged in the abandoned B Zone.

The Anti-Government Clan Alliance, also known as Eclat.

After steadily building their forces for over a month, Eclat launched an all-out assault and completely occupied the northwestern region of the B Zone yesterday.

News of Hong Hyeonjin’s decisive victory against Antuna, the Master of the Aztec Clan, in a one-on-one duel during the operation spread like wildfire throughout the capital, Sselepoh City.

Eclat’s forces brought back ‘security’ to the B Zone, something that had been scarce recently.

Hunters from the alliance were deployed throughout the occupied territory, maintaining a tight security perimeter.

Some of the B Zone clans resisted, but it was like throwing eggs at a rock against the Eclat forces, who had grown strong enough to rival the existing alliance in the Center Zone.

Within days, Eclat had successfully suppressed all terrorist attacks and coup attempts in the occupied territory.

And for the first time in a long time, ‘peace’, a word that seemed out of place in the B Zone, returned.

True peace, where no one had to worry about being murdered, robbed, scammed, kidnapped, or any other crime.

But everyone knew

that this peace wouldn’t last.

Eclat would soon march on the Center Zone, the heart of the existing Major Clan Alliance, with all their forces.

* * *

If you asked ten people to name the most prosperous area in the B Zone, all ten would say B1.

It was the most prosperous area in the north, and naturally, many clans had established their headquarters there. There was even a saying among information brokers: “If you want to know the most successful clan in the B Zone, just look at B1.”

But now, all the clans in B1 had been absorbed by Eclat,

willingly or unwillingly.

For example, the Midas Clan, once the most successful clan in the B Zone.

Their headquarters, which occupied the largest area in B1, was now being used as Eclat’s temporary headquarters.

And in their secret underground training room,

*Woooong!*

The sound of Mana resonating echoed endlessly.

Two men were alone in the training room, which was heavily guarded, not even an ant could enter.

One was Wi Cheon, a core member of Eclat and the Master of the ‘Hong Kong Clan’, one of the top three Major Clans in China.

The other was Kim Jinsung.

▶ ‘Soul Transmigration’ is 99% complete.

▶ ‘Soul Transmigration’ skill will be completed in 1 minute.

He ignored the notification window and continued focusing with his eyes closed.

He and Wi Cheon had been meditating in a lotus position, levitating in the air, for over an hour, completing the ‘Soul Transmigration’ process.

They wouldn’t have been able to endure it for so long without their high power levels and incredible concentration.

One minute later,

▶ ‘Soul Transmigration’ is complete.

A new notification window appeared, and the Mana barrier that had been enveloping them shattered with a *pop*.

They slowly descended to the ground,

signaling the completion of ‘Soul Transmigration’.

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

Kim Jinsung opened his eyes and spoke.

Wi Cheon also opened his eyes, but

“Haa…”

He only sighed deeply, unable to respond immediately.

He muttered to himself, his eyes trembling,

“So this is the power of the strongest…”

He channeled his Mana, checking his current power level.

His face was filled with joy. He was clearly satisfied.

Kim Jinsung thought to himself, watching him,

‘He shouldn’t be satisfied with just that.’

The abilities he had shared with Wi Cheon through ‘Soul Transmigration’ were just a small fraction of his true power.

He had intentionally limited the amount of abilities shared.

‘It’s a good thing for me. I didn’t know I could control the amount of abilities shared.’

He had realized it when he first used ‘Soul Transmigration’ on Hong Hyeonjin.

As soon as he activated the skill, a notification window had appeared.

▶ ‘Soul Transmigration’ skill activated.

▶ Please select the abilities you want to share with the target.

He had seen a list of his physical stats, traits, and skills and realized that

he didn’t need to share all of his abilities.

‘But I still shared enough to satisfy him.’

He could have chosen to share nothing at all.

Hong Hyeonjin and the other Eclat executives wouldn’t have been happy, but he had enough influence within Eclat to ignore their feelings.

‘But they need to be strong enough to at least compete with the Masters in the Center Zone.’

He knew that Eclat would be defeated if they fought the existing alliance in the Center Zone in their current state.

It wasn’t that the Eclat executives were weak, but the Major Clan executives were simply too strong.

He had realized that and started meeting with the Eclat executives, including Hong Hyeonjin, every day, sharing his abilities with them one by one through ‘Soul Transmigration’.

Just enough to make them competitive.

‘This should be enough for him to at least hold his own against Esteban, the Master of Triunfo.’

He looked at Wi Cheon and made his judgment.

The Eclat executives, including Wi Cheon, needed to be at least on par with the enemy executives.

Only then could he focus on dealing with the ‘Allobon’ ability users.

“Let’s get up.”

He stood up and said to Wi Cheon, who was still basking in the afterglow of the power boost,

“We need to prepare for tomorrow’s march. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to admire our newfound strength.”

“…Ah, right.”

Wi Cheon snapped out of his daze and stood up.

He then bowed to Kim Jinsung with his hands clasped together.

“Thank you for sharing your abilities with us, for the sake of the Eclat Alliance. I will repay this debt.”

Kim Jinsung simply nodded and turned to leave.

A notification window appeared before his eyes.

▶ You have acquired ‘Broken Clock’ from the target through the ‘Soul Transmigration’ skill.

▷ Broken Clock: When activated, time in the dimension within a 1-meter radius of the user, including the user, is stopped for up to 5 seconds. During ‘Broken Clock’, all living beings in the affected dimension are immune to all damage and status effects. Consumes 2,000 Mana.

‘I didn’t share my abilities for free.’

He had acquired a very useful ability from Wi Cheon: ‘Time Stop’.

‘This could be a great material for creating a new ability through enhancement or skill fusion.’

He thought to himself, his mind racing.

He started thinking about which skill to fuse it with to maximize its effectiveness.

* * *

He then went to the conference room.

“We’ll be marching on the G1 Zone tomorrow morning.”

Park Do-joon was leading the meeting, which was attended by only a few key executives.

He pointed at a map of Sselepoh City on the screen and continued,

“The ‘Kyivrus’ alliance, led by the Moscow Clan, is currently stationed at the edge of the G1 Zone. They’re the closest to us, so they’re most likely prepared for our attack.”

He circled the area labeled ‘Kyivrus’ on the screen.

“We’ve compared our forces, assuming that the other existing alliance forces won’t come to Kyivrus’ aid.

And we believe that Eclat has the upper hand.

But there’s one variable.”

“Kashimar?”

“That’s right, Hyeonjin.”

He looked at Hong Hyeonjin and continued,

“‘Kashimar’, the secret agents who the Moscow Clan openly announced as having similar abilities to the Alpha Clan’s ‘Martyrs’, are the biggest variable.

Considering how easily the ‘Martyrs’ dealt with those monsters, the outcome of this battle will depend on the performance of the ‘Kashimar’ agents.”

He turned to Kim Jinsung.

“You’re the only one who can deal with them, Jinsung. No one else can. Can you do it?”

He nodded at Park Do-joon’s worried question.

“Don’t worry, just create an environment where those ‘Kashimar’ bastards can only focus on attacking me. That’s all I need.”

“That’s easy, but…”

He trailed off, still looking at him with concern.

But seeing his confident expression, he nodded.

“…Alright. I have to trust you, if you’re that confident.”

It was Kim Jinsung, after all.

He was practically half of Eclat’s fighting force.

If he couldn’t defeat the Kashimar agents, they wouldn’t win anyway. So he had to trust Kim Jinsung’s ‘unbeaten record’.

“But are you sure the other Center Zone alliance forces won’t come to Kyivrus’ aid?”

Park Do-joon answered confidently,

“I’m sure. They don’t trust each other anymore. They’ll most likely just watch our battle from afar.”

“Alright.”

He trusted Park Do-joon’s judgment.

Just as they trusted his strength, he trusted Park Do-joon’s information gathering abilities.

* * *

Park Do-joon’s prediction was correct.

“The Eclat Alliance has clashed with the Kyivrus defense forces in the G1 Zone.”

“I know.”

Yoo Jun-ho was at the Korean Clan headquarters.

“Are there any signs of the other Center Zone clans sending reinforcements?”

“No, sir. None at all.”

“Tsk… They’re all thinking the same thing.”

He chuckled.

They were all waiting to see how strong Eclat was.

The Korean Clan was no exception.

“I wonder how long Kyivrus can hold out.”

“They might be able to defend successfully, if Kim Jinsung can’t defeat the ‘Kashimar’ agents.”

“No, that won’t happen.”

He shook his head firmly.

“Kim Jinsung also absorbed the ‘Allobon’ ability. He can use it too, if necessary.

It might take a while, but he’ll definitely defeat all the ‘Kashimars’.”

He continued, seeing Team Leader Hong’s silence,

“But I hope Eclat suffers heavy casualties. Kyivrus is strong enough to put up a good fight… Hmm?”

They both looked at the Korean Clan’s communication device on the desk, hearing a beep.

He checked the message.

Breaking News.

Kyivrus defense forces annihilated. Eclat Alliance occupies G1 Zone.

Kashimar agents confirmed to be wiped out by Kim Jinsung.

“……!”

His eyes widened in shock.

—

(To be continued in the next episode)