Ch.117EP.29 – King Kong and the Hybrid Clash (5)

…I see them—the terrorists throwing crazy, no, fearful glances at him.

How should I put it?

Clearly they’re the terrorists, yet somehow I feel like I’ve become a terrorist terrorizing terrorists who are terrorists?

The feeling is quite peculiar.

‘…Am I really allowed to do this?’

Ihan was secretly nervous.

Even he felt this wasn’t quite right.

But what could he do?

‘They always said you don’t negotiate with terrorists anyway.’

…Sister said so.

She told him.

If…

– If, when you arrive, the tunnel is already under enemy control to the point where intervention is difficult, feel free to erase the tunnel from Pendragon territory without hesitation.

If the tunnel’s condition was ‘captured’ by the [enemy], then regardless of mission parameters, and without considering anyone’s feelings, he could completely eliminate everything.

She said the only important things were his safety and the ‘annihilation’ of the enemy.

However, he voiced a small objection, thinking that even if it was just a place full of prisoners, wouldn’t this inevitably lead to too many casualties…

– Most criminals there are murderers, rapists, or fraudsters who’ve destroyed entire families. They’re all useless alive, essentially ‘death row inmates’ whose lives don’t matter. In fact, being buried alive and dying instantly would be more merciful than being eaten and becoming nutrients for monsters.

…Listening to this made his head spin.

Despite everything, Ihan didn’t want to become a mass murderer, so he made one final argument in defiance.

He asked ‘What about fertilizer going forward?’ and ‘Wouldn’t this cause massive chaos in the kingdom?’

Despite expressing so many opinions…

– Hmph, who do you think I am? Countermeasures are already prepared. Don’t worry about food shortages. Would I send you without any thought? I’ve already devised solutions! So put aside your concerns and take a hard line. You represent me. Whatever you do, I’ll take full responsibility.

…In his previous life, he thought if he’d had just one superior like this, he would have become an enthusiastic supporter and fan.

And now.

“Instructor, no, what is this…?”

“It’s fine. The person who assigned me this job said I could do this.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah, she even said I could bury all the tunnel prisoners alive if needed.”

“……”

“Not that I’m crazy enough to actually do that. I’m just trying to scare them a bit for now.”

“……”

“Well, if things get really desperate, I might have to go a little crazy.”

“Th-then what about us…?”

“You’ll have to ‘skillfully’ survive ‘somehow,’ what else?”

“……”

“Hey, don’t curse me with your eyes.”

“I’m not cursing, just…”

…thinking you look like a fish in water.

Ihan might not realize it himself, but his face was unmistakably that of a terrorist, displaying an innate talent that made people say he was born for this.

* * *

Though he appeared relaxed in front of Derrick, this was only to reassure him.

Inside, Ihan was swallowing dry saliva as his tension increased.

‘I talked big, but this is still a crisis.’

Ihan had claimed he buried 100 scrolls in each section, but that wasn’t true.

Of course, he wished he could have done so.

‘Ah, I can’t let them find out I only have 100 scrolls total…’

In reality, he hadn’t buried many scrolls at all.

Scrolls were rare items, and individuals couldn’t obtain many.

He was only able to get these because…

– Hey, make me 1,000 flame scrolls in 3 days.

– What!?

– Three days. Make them in three days.

– W-wait!

Thanks to having that slave.

However, Ihan’s magic slave, Odwal Bernard, was incompetent.

Despite being given ‘three whole days,’ he only managed to make a hundred scrolls.

And yet.

– Th-that’s something others couldn’t do at all!!

He wailed, but to Ihan it all sounded like excuses.

Utterly useless fellow.

Anyway, due to these circumstances, the number of scrolls was extremely limited, which was disappointing for Ihan.

Still, since he had them, he quickly moved around the tunnel placing scrolls in various locations, which was proving helpful now.

However, the flip side was that the moment they were discovered, he’d be in crisis.

‘They don’t have enough power to blow up the entire tunnel…’

Testing had shown that the scrolls’ power was slightly weaker than dynamite.

They could collapse several sections, but not enough to bring down the entire tunnel.

So Ihan couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

‘…Can I handle all these guys?’

Ihan grimaced as he felt hundreds of people surrounding him.

All of them appeared to be prisoners trained in martial arts.

Some were capable fighters like Roy Vant, while others were half-baked like the Silver Lion members.

Their skills varied greatly.

But there was one thing that distinguished them from the Silver Lion.

‘They have coordination.’

Despite being half-monsters, they displayed disciplined formations.

They knew tactics, showing they weren’t just a disorganized group but a trained organization functioning like an ‘army.’

Ihan knew.

He knew how terrifying coordinated fighters could be on a battlefield when they worked together.

The intensity he experienced when facing the Red Eagle knights.

Although these individuals couldn’t compare to the Eagles individually, having hundreds of martial arts practitioners was undeniably threatening.

There’s no fighting against numbers.

‘I could probably send more than half to the afterlife, but the rest…’

Especially those dressed in black.

There seemed to be just over thirty of them, but their aura alone revealed their strength.

Each one had power equivalent to a vice-captain.

Fighting them head-on would cost him limbs.

Plus.

‘I might be fine, but Taechang would die?’

The still somewhat clumsy Taechang would struggle to survive, which was truly troublesome.

‘Nothing in life is easy…’

Newly realizing the humbling truth that nothing in life comes easy, Ihan looked at the priest.

Though lacking in physical power, he had the most authority here.

And also.

“Hey, you.”

“W-what is it…?”

“Your speech is quite vulgar?”

“…What do you want?”

“Ha, you’re not even worth being called a golden child #2.”

“……”

“Forget it, why would I talk to someone like you? Let me just ask one thing. What’s your relationship with the [Blood Crusaders]?”

“!!?”

“Hmm, so there is a connection.”

“Y-you, how do you know our name…! Ha-has there been a traitor…!”

“…Hmm.”

A learned sense for distinguishing truth from lies.

Thanks to this, Ihan extracted four pieces of information from their brief exchange.

The Blood Crusaders definitely exist, and they’re confident their existence won’t be discovered.

For some reason, they seem confident they have means to avoid detection.

So what could those means be?

‘Mystery, or a powerful collaborator…’

It’s just speculation, but there might be some mystical means to conceal secrets, or perhaps backing from someone equivalent to a great noble or even royalty.

In other words, there might be a traitor in the kingdom.

And the final piece of information he obtained:

‘These guys aren’t all cooperating with each other.’

The moment the Blood Crusaders were mentioned, that man immediately spoke of traitors without hesitation.

This suggests either divided opinions within the organization or the existence of factions.

“Sigh…”

Perhaps from using his brain more than usual, his head was throbbing with heat.

But the information gained was worth the headache.

Therefore.

‘Timid one.’

‘Y-yes?’

‘Get ready to run.’

‘R-right now?’

‘I’ve learned everything I need to know. We do need evidence, but I guess we can just take that priest with us.’

‘……’

‘Hurry!’

‘Ah, yes!’

At Ihan’s urging, he tried to pull out something like a smoke bomb from his chest.

Historically, there’s nothing better for escaping than—

Whoosh!

Clang!

“What are you trying? Do you have a death wish?”

“I should be asking what you’re trying to do.”

“……”

“Do you think we’re pushovers?”

“Yeah, more than Nolbo.”

“…!”

…It’s difficult to deceive those with sharp instincts, or rather, skill.

The moment Ihan and Derrick prepared to move, a black-robed figure threw a dagger at Derrick, which Ihan blocked head-on.

Zzzzing.

“That hurts…”

Even though he blocked it with Diamond Body, the impact wasn’t fully absorbed.

That one was probably the most skilled among the black-robed figures.

And that black-robed figure:

“The scrolls being buried must be true. But I can’t believe you’ve hidden enough scrolls to bury the entire tunnel… unless you know about the secret passages like we do.”

“Oh, so there are secret passages? Should you be revealing that so easily?”

“It doesn’t matter. You won’t leave here alive anyway.”

“Wow, such confidence.”

“It’s not confidence, just stating facts. You absolutely will not leave this place alive.”

Gooooo.

An ominous aura spread.

Despite no order from the priest, the black-robed figure had already taken an offensive stance, and the prisoners followed suit, emanating killing intent.

Showing why criminals are criminals, the base killing intent of those who had harmed others before lingered in the air.

“Wh-what is this! I haven’t given any orders yet!”

The priest became angry at the sudden situation.

As if furious at the black-robed figure for challenging his authority.

“How dare you challenge the authority bestowed by the gods!!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then why—”

Thunk!

“Urghk!?”

“But you’re not a god. There’s no reason to follow orders from a useless person like you. Tsk, what a fool. Falling for the enemy’s lies…”

A dagger pierced the priest’s back, and he collapsed.

Decisive action without hesitation.

“Internal conflict, huh.”

“I merely disposed of someone useless.”

“Hmm.”

Ihan could tell this was clearly an independent action.

So…

“I see, that’s it. The [Black Moon] only recently joined the Blood Crusaders, right?”

“!!?!”

“Were you absorbed by them? Or were you originally equals before getting crushed and ending up like this?”

“Y-you…!”

As the black-robed figure stammered in shock, Ihan immediately:

“Enough. I’ll ask later.”

BANG!

Ihan precisely kicked the handle of the dagger that had been thrown at him.

Incredibly delicate control and power transfer.

– Gwanilchang.

Without a spear or log, the power was comparatively lacking, but even so.

SPLAT!

It was more than enough to pierce through the stomachs of such opponents.

In an instant, two black-robed figures who had stepped forward to protect their apparent leader fell dead.

Splash.

“……”

As they collapsed, he…

“I’ll kill you!!”

Unable to contain his rage, he charged forward.

* * *

‘I thought he looked familiar—it’s Number 4.’

Ihan had felt a sense of familiarity watching the black-robed figure.

A familiar face from somewhere.

And now, observing the cruelty and clumsiness with which he impulsively killed the priest, along with his movements, he successfully recalled one person.

Number 4.

Just as he had once been Number 8, there were executive candidates of the Black Moon up to Number 12.

Ah, perhaps he’s become an executive now?

‘That guy was strong.’

In the past, Number 4 was underestimated for being simple-minded and hot-tempered, but his potential was remarkable.

From what he’d heard, wasn’t he a barbarian half-breed? An experiment where ogre tendons were implanted into his body to further enhance the barbarian racial characteristics?

Giving ogre tendons to a barbarian half-breed was like giving wings to a tiger.

Therefore, his strength and potential were extraordinary, and as a child, Ihan had been reluctant to face Number 4 in many ways.

…As a child, that is.

BOOM!

“!”

“Your strength is impressively brutal.”

Number 4, who had collided with Ihan, showed a surprised expression.

He wasn’t being pushed back at all.

Like feeling like a fool who had run into a rock.

As if this was his first time losing a contest of strength.

But Ihan wasn’t really stopping him with strength.

It was simply the result of effort and technique gained from uprooting two hundred trees.

So.

WHOOSH!

“If I were to lose to someone like you, wouldn’t all my days of effort be wasted?”

Ihan lifted him up and suspended him in the air.

After uprooting so many trees, how hard could it be to lift one person into the air?

And then.

CRASH!!

Number 4 was thrown to the ground without even being able to resist.

“Urgh!?”

He doesn’t appear seriously injured.

As expected of a modified human.

Normally this would cause a concussion, but this was clearly insufficient.

He wanted to deliver an even greater blow, but unfortunately…

“In-Instructor!”

“Let’s bolt.”

Seeing the enemies rushing toward them, he felt there was no need for a difficult fight.

“You! Don’t you dare run away!”

“Whatever.”

Come to think of it, there was one more difference from the Red Eagles.

They were enemies, but worthy of respect, clearly honorable warriors worth fighting fairly…

“But you’re not.”

Whoosh!

Ihan pulled out the final two scrolls that had been sleeping in his pocket and threw them.

“You probably won’t die, but I think it’s going to get very hot.”

Thunk.

He triggered the medium without hesitation.

BOOOOOM!!

With a roaring explosion, tremendous flames engulfed the surroundings, consuming hundreds of prisoners.

Witnessing this…

“Fire power really is the best.”

“……”

“Don’t you think?”

“…Haha.”

Born nature never changes—even after reincarnation, a descendant of Hwanung who couldn’t escape the charm of firepower reaffirmed the truth that powerful firepower is the world’s ultimate principle.