Chapter 124: Why They Can’t Enter the Capital

Episode 124:

“It’s too late.”

Kim Jinsung replied to Karen’s words in a nonchalant tone.

“If that guy Pablo is connected to the Triunfo Clan, he would have already contacted them. Enough time has passed for that.”

“Hmm…”

“If the rumors have already spread within Triunfo, catching Pablo won’t change anything. They might have even set a trap to catch us instead.”

Karen nodded, seeing the logic in Kim Jinsung’s words.

“Let’s just get to Sselepoh City quickly. The worst that could happen is getting ambushed along the way, right?”

“…You’re quite optimistic.”

“Being pessimistic doesn’t do any good.”

Kim Jinsung walked towards the exchange office in front of them.

Karen called out to him.

“Where are you going?”

“To earn some travel expenses.”

Kim Jinsung pointed to the backpack he was carrying.

The backpack contained only the valuable items he had selected from the belongings of Franco’s group and the deceased Rio and his party members.

He planned to sell everything in the backpack at the exchange office.

But Karen seemed to have a different idea.

“You shouldn’t trade at exchange offices near the port.”

Karen continued, addressing Kim Jinsung’s back.

“Most of the exchange offices around here are scammers who prey on naive rookie hunters.”

Kim Jinsung stopped in his tracks.

“If you trade here, you’ll get less than half the price you would get in the city. So it’s much better to take them to the city and sell them there.”

“…Then what about travel expenses?”

Kim Jinsung turned around and asked.

“Public transportation is free on the day of entry. Don’t worry and follow me.”

Karen gestured with his thumb towards the bus stop sign on their right.

Kim Jinsung stared at Karen for a moment, then turned and followed him.

He looked at Karen with a slightly surprised expression.

Karen, looking a bit embarrassed, spoke hesitantly.

“…Is there something on my face?”

“No.”

Kim Jinsung shrugged and replied.

“You’re just being surprisingly kind.”

To be honest, Kim Jinsung hadn’t expected much from Karen, who was practically forced to guide him.

He hadn’t expected Karen to offer unsolicited information and help.

Karen replied with a nonchalant expression.

“I need to prove my usefulness if I don’t want to be killed, right?”

Kim Jinsung chuckled.

He wondered if Karen was trying his best to survive.

‘Well, he’s not wrong.’

If traveling with Karen proved to be beneficial, there was no reason to kill him.

“This is it.”

Kim Jinsung looked ahead at Karen’s words.

Numerous buses were lined up in a spacious parking lot.

“…They’re armored vehicles?”

That was Kim Jinsung’s first impression upon seeing the buses.

Their bodies were entirely covered in steel, which was quite noticeable.

Karen spoke to Kim Jinsung, who was observing them.

“Even these get easily destroyed when attacked by groups of monsters. Let’s get on.”

A while later, the bus, resembling an armored vehicle, carrying the two, departed from the stop and began heading west across the continent.

* * *

**Thud!**

“Ugh…!”

Pablo collapsed forward, clutching his stomach.

He knelt on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

He had suffered severe internal injuries from being beaten too much.

“Cough, cough…!”

“Pablo.”

A low voice called out to Pablo as he coughed violently.

He raised his head with difficulty and saw a man.

A man in his late thirties, sitting on a chair with a cigarette in his mouth.

It was Tiago, an executive of the Triunfo Clan and the branch manager of El Nacon City.

“If my men were killed where you work, it’s only natural to contact us immediately, right?”

“……”

**Whack!**

Tiago kicked Pablo’s jaw.

As Pablo fell forward and writhed, Tiago looked down at him with cold eyes.

“You should answer when someone asks you a question. That’s basic courtesy, Pablo.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Pablo forced himself up, staggering, and answered.

“So why didn’t you tell us?”

Tiago asked, looking at him with bruises all over his face.

“You even lied and said you didn’t know because you were on sick leave?”

“T-that’s…”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you and Franco’s crew were robbing entry applicants? Huh?!”

Tiago’s voice grew louder.

His eyes were filled with anger as he glared at Pablo.

Pablo flinched and immediately prostrated himself.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me just this once! I’ll never do it again! Please, just one more chance…!”

Pablo begged, bowing his head with his hands clasped together.

Tiago, exhaling cigarette smoke, looked at one of his subordinates.

“Did you identify the guys who killed our men?”

“Yes, we have their identities and sketches.”

“Send them to all the subcontracted clans. And add a message saying that we’ll look favorably upon the clan that catches them first.”

There were quite a few subcontracted clans attached to the Triunfo Clan.

Naturally, a competitive relationship had formed among them.

For them, there was no greater benefit than gaining the favor of the Triunfo Clan executives.

It increased their chances of receiving more profitable subcontracts from the Triunfo headquarters.

Tiago was trying to exploit this competitive relationship among the subcontractors.

“Don’t contact the headquarters separately. It’s pathetic to contact them over just two small fries.”

“Understood.”

Tiago tossed his cigarette into a corner and stood up.

As he walked towards the exit, one of his subordinates asked,

“What should we do with this bastard?”

Tiago replied as he opened the door,

“Send him to the ‘Slaughterhouse’.”

Pablo’s face turned white.

“S-spare me! Please, just one more chance…!”

**Thud!**

“Aaaaargh!!”

Screams of agony reached Tiago’s ears as he left the room.

“Damn it… This shirt was expensive…”

Tiago grumbled about the bloodstains on his sleeve as he walked down the hallway.

Pablo’s screams continued to echo from the room even after he was gone.

* * *

The bus carrying Kim Jinsung and Karen continued to head west without stopping.

They stayed on the bus the entire time, except for occasional stops at villages along the way to rest. Naturally, they slept on the bus as well.

As the sun rose, the driver’s voice was heard through the bus speakers.

[Attention passengers. The bus will soon arrive at Sselepoh City, B15 district, the next stop.]

Kim Jinsung looked out the window.

Until now, he had only seen grassy plains, but finally, a large city came into view.

“Ugh~! Finally arrived…”

Kim Jinsung asked Karen, who was stretching and waking up in the seat next to him,

“What does ‘B district’ stand for?”

“Black Area.”

Karen briefly answered, then continued explaining, seeing Kim Jinsung’s questioning gaze.

“It’s the outermost district, farthest from the center of Sselepoh City. It’s the area with the worst security in the city, but also the cheapest.”

“Worst security?”

“Paladins, who are in charge of security, are mostly concentrated in the central area of the city. It’s natural, since the powerful figures of Sselepoh City live there.

In B district, which is the farthest from the city center, it’s hard to even see a Paladin.”

“Paladins?”

“Think of them as special police officers that only exist in the New Continent.”

Karen got up and started gathering his belongings.

“We’re getting off at this stop. You should pack your things too.”

“Here?”

Kim Jinsung’s question implied, ‘Why are we getting off in B district, which has poor security?’

“Have you forgotten about the Triunfo guys?”

Karen asked back, as if it was obvious.

“Triunfo is one of the strongest clans in this city, classified as a ‘Major’. Their headquarters are also located in the ‘Center District’.

Naturally, the closer we get to the center, the higher the chances of encountering them, right?”

Kim Jinsung silently nodded.

‘Come to think of it, I have to be careful of not only Triunfo but also the Daehan Clan.’

The Daehan Clan was the only Korean clan that had established itself as a Major in Sselepoh.

They always emphasized and advertised this fact.

In other words, Kim Jinsung was being hunted by two Major clans.

To escape their surveillance, it was best to settle in the farthest area, as Karen suggested.

Kim Jinsung glanced at Karen and started packing his belongings.

* * *

After getting off the bus, Kim Jinsung looked around.

Tall buildings, flashy neon signs, glimpses of entertainment districts, and crowds of people on the streets.

It was a bustling area, worthy of being called a downtown.

“This is the most bustling area in the western B district.”

Karen, who had gotten off after him, explained to Kim Jinsung, who was looking around.

“This is the safest area around here. This might be the only place in the western B district where Paladins are permanently stationed.”

As if on cue, Paladins were patrolling in the distance.

“…Huh?”

His eyes widened as he casually glanced at them.

The Paladins, spotting Karen, suddenly started approaching them.

‘Why are they coming towards me? …Don’t tell me?’

Karen’s eyes trembled with fear, wondering if they had somehow discovered his identity.

But fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Paladins.”

The Paladins, approaching them, showed their badges and looked at Kim Jinsung, not Karen.

“Show me your ID.”

The Paladin spoke casually, using informal language.

Kim Jinsung silently observed him and then noticed the emblem on his clothes.

On the left chest of his black armor with the word ‘PALADIN’ written on it, was the Taegeuk mark, the symbol of the Daehan Clan.

‘A Daehan Clan hunter working as a special police officer?’

“I said, show me your ID!”

The Paladin shouted at Kim Jinsung, who was bewildered.

Karen spoke to Kim Jinsung.

“Just show them the hunter watch you’re wearing.”

Kim Jinsung immediately extended his left wrist.

The Paladin held a measuring device against the watch and pressed a button.

With a beep, various letters appeared on the screen of the device.

“…Lee Jinhwan? Korean? Where are you from?”

“Argentina.”

The Paladin’s eyebrow twitched at Kim Jinsung’s answer.

“Argentina? Not Korea?”

“Yes. I was sold there by a slave trader and grew up there.”

“You expect me to believe that?!”

The Paladin shouted again, still maintaining his aggressive demeanor.

His colleague stopped him.

“Stop it. It says he’s not a Colosseum participant.”

The Paladin, who had been glaring at Kim Jinsung, looked at the screen of the measuring device again.

[Not a Colosseum Survival participant.]

After confirming the information, he continued to stare at Kim Jinsung with suspicion.

But he couldn’t question him further and eventually turned away.

“Phew….”

Karen sighed with relief only after the Paladins were far away.

“Let’s move.”

Karen grabbed Kim Jinsung’s arm and tried to lead him away from the Paladins.

He seemed to want to avoid them as much as possible.

Kim Jinsung asked as he followed him,

“Where are we going?”

“The exchange office.”

Karen answered immediately.

“There’s an exchange office I used to frequent in the B16 district. We’re going there.”

* * *

Karen led Kim Jinsung south through the district.

They entered a shabby residential area, away from the bustling downtown, and continued talking as they walked along the street.

“You’re saying a clan hunter can also work as a special police officer?”

“A Paladin.”

“Whatever.”

Karen replied to Kim Jinsung.

“To be precise, only hunters belonging to Major clans can become Paladins.”

Karen began to explain patiently to Kim Jinsung, who seemed genuinely clueless.

He was getting used to this by now.

“Clans considered Majors in this city have the authority to appoint some of their hunters as Paladins. The Daehan Clan Paladin we just met is one such case.”

“So you’re saying there are no ordinary Paladins who aren’t affiliated with clans?”

“There used to be, but I heard they were eventually abolished due to constant retaliatory attacks and assassinations. That’s when the Major clan Paladins I just mentioned came into existence.”

In other words, all Paladins were affiliated with Major clans.

As Kim Jinsung was thinking this, Karen continued explaining.

“Since then, retaliatory acts against Paladins have significantly decreased. Because retaliating would mean making an enemy of a Major clan.

In this city where power is everything, there’s nothing more terrifying than making an enemy of a Major clan filled with powerful hunters.”

“That sounds like us.”

“Heh… You’re right.”

Karen chuckled.

It was then that,

“…Hmm?”

Unfamiliar men suddenly emerged from the alley ahead.

They were approaching with sharp swords in their hands.

“…Did my words come back to bite me?”

Kim Jinsung muttered as he looked at them.

“Kill them!”

“Hyaa!”

At the shout of the man who seemed to be the leader, they all charged towards the two.

—