Chapter 154: CENTER

Episode 154

“Whoa!!”

“W-what?!”

The clan members from both sides, who were anxiously waiting outside the warehouse, looked towards the source of the commotion with wide eyes.

The massive explosion that erupted from the warehouse not only blew away the warehouse, which was reinforced with powerful protective magic, but also engulfed the clan members standing nearby.

“Damn! I almost got burned alive…!”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“Thankfully, everyone is safe!”

Fortunately, no one was injured because they had all instinctively jumped back. They were all hunters operating in the New Continent, after all, so their reflexes were excellent.

“What happened?”

“Are the executives inside alright?”

“An explosion of that magnitude must have been dangerous even for the executives…”

The clan members looked at the warehouse, shrouded in smoke from the explosion, with worried expressions.

As the smoke cleared, the situation inside became visible.

Two men were standing in the center.

Kim Jinsung and Ricardo.

“That crazy bastard…!”

Ricardo muttered to himself, looking down at the mechanical debris that was once Jason’s body with an angry expression.

“He set himself to self-destruct after dying in a duel?”

It was as if Jason had declared that he wouldn’t die alone.

If Ricardo had been a little late in creating a protective barrier around Jason’s body, Jason’s final objective might have succeeded.

“By the way, you’re impressive.”

Ricardo turned to Kim Jinsung and said.

“To think you would prioritize protecting your comrades with your own body… Dangote has acquired a good one.”

Kim Jinsung just smiled silently, standing in a position where he was shielding the Boko Haram executives.

Right before the explosion, he had chosen to protect the Boko Haram executives with his body instead of creating a protective barrier.

‘I probably would have survived without any injuries even without Ricardo’s help, thanks to the Veil of Blessing.’

He had trusted the Veil of Blessing and deliberately acted to gain favor with Ricardo.

The result was slightly different from what he had expected, but he had succeeded in making a good impression on Ricardo.

“Alright! The duel is over! I will now announce the results!”

Ricardo shouted in a loud voice, loud enough for all the clan members outside the warehouse to hear.

“Originally, Pablo, the other observer, should be announcing this with me… But he had to leave due to personal reasons, so I’ll have to do it alone.”

He glanced at the empty chair where Pablo had been sitting.

He knew that Pablo, who had left the warehouse saying he needed to use the restroom, had been secretly watching the final battle from outside and had immediately left without looking back when Jason died.

With the many holes in the warehouse walls caused by Jason’s mana missiles during the final battle, it wouldn’t have been difficult to peek inside.

Ricardo announced,

“With a total score of 4 to 1, I declare the Boko Haram Clan victorious!”

“Waaaaaaa!”

The Boko Haram Clan members cheered, while the Slaughterhouse Clan members clutched their heads in despair.

“Therefore, both clans will maintain their current territories. And from now on, all battles between the two clans are strictly prohibited. Remember that!”

“Yes, sir!”

Dangote’s face was brighter than ever as he responded loudly.

‘I don’t care about the prohibition on fighting! Slaughterhouse without Jason and Isaac is no longer a clan.’

Slaughterhouse had lost all the executives who could hold the clan together in this duel.

The Slaughterhouse Clan members, having lost their leaders, would naturally start to fall apart, and they would likely split into smaller clans with different names.

‘All I have to do is absorb those fragmented clans, and the B17 district will eventually fall into my hands! Hehehe…!’

Ricardo had only ordered them not to fight the “Slaughterhouse” Clan. That meant they were free to fight the smaller clans that had split off and changed their names.

Dangote planned to take full advantage of this loophole.

‘And I need to quickly take over the B16 district, which is still up for grabs. Then we can become the largest and most powerful clan in the eastern B district!’

Dangote’s gaze, as he envisioned a bright future, was fixed on Kim Jinsung, who was standing next to Ricardo.

With such a skilled and loyal subordinate by his side, it wasn’t impossible to conquer not only the eastern B district, but the entire B district.

“Alopsky, was it?”

Ricardo’s voice, calling out to Kim Jinsung, reached Dangote’s ears.

“Yes.”

“I saw your skills. Honestly, I was surprised. I never thought you would defeat Jason so easily, especially since he was once a member of the Triunfo Clan…”

Ricardo, impressed, made an offer to Kim Jinsung.

“Would you be interested in joining the Triunfo Clan with me?”

“……!”

“……!!”

Kim Jinsung and Dangote’s eyes widened simultaneously.

But their thoughts were completely different.

‘I’ve been waiting for those words.’

Kim Jinsung was inwardly rejoicing, while

‘No…!’

Dangote, facing the crisis of losing his best subordinate, was filled with despair.

* * *

Kim Jinsung didn’t hesitate for long and immediately accepted the offer.

He had two goals when he joined Boko Haram. One was to rise to an executive position and instigate a conflict between the two clans, leading to their eventual destruction.

The other was to join the Triunfo Clan by showcasing his exceptional abilities.

He had now achieved his second goal, so there was no reason for him to refuse.

‘I was originally planning to slowly weaken Triunfo’s power by taking over their subcontracted clans in the B district, but I changed my mind after joining Boko Haram.’

Through his active involvement in Boko Haram, Kim Jinsung had realized one thing.

He was much stronger than he had thought. In other words, he was definitely not at the level where he should be staying in the B district.

‘After today’s executive duel, I’m certain. I can stand out even if I operate within Triunfo.’

With his ability to grow stronger by absorbing evildoers, he could eliminate the talented individuals within Triunfo, a Major Clan, and quickly rise to an executive position.

‘A Major Clan like Triunfo must have even better abilities than the ones I acquired today, right? Then I’ll get stronger even faster.’

Today’s battle had taught him that he could grow faster by fighting and defeating strong opponents.

During the Colosseum survival, he had received great rewards for defeating strong opponents like Kang Min-hyuk, Seol Da-woon, and Shin Woong.

Considering that he had acquired the best abilities he had ever obtained in the New Continent today, he was certain that he would become incredibly strong at an unprecedented rate once he joined Triunfo.

‘Let’s become the strongest in this continent. Strong enough to ignore even the entire Daehan Clan.’

He made up his mind and followed Ricardo.

The Boko Haram executives and clan members saw him off as he headed towards Ricardo’s limousine.

Their expressions weren’t very bright. They had lost their “warrior sent from heaven,” the one who had single-handedly defeated Slaughterhouse and revived Boko Haram.

Dangote’s expression, in particular, was worth seeing.

His face was darkened with despair, sadness, and a sense of loss, as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

But there was one person who was smiling brightly.

“Farewell! Go and make a name for Boko Haram with your great achievements! I’m sure you’ll reach even greater heights! Hahaha…!”

Wishan laughed heartily, shaking Kim Jinsung’s hand.

He had achieved the best possible outcome.

His arch-rival, Akuma, was dead, and Kim Jinsung, who had threatened his position, was leaving Boko Haram.

Kim Jinsung chuckled inwardly as he watched Wishan, unable to hide his joy.

‘Such a narrow-minded person as the second-in-command… Boko Haram’s future doesn’t look very bright.’

What was even more unfortunate was that there was no other executive with comparable skills to threaten Wishan’s position now.

The leader of Hunter Team 1, who had been considered to be on a similar level, had been exposed as a spy by Kim Jinsung and killed.

“Get in!”

At Ricardo’s words, Kim Jinsung waved to the others one last time and got into the limousine.

The limousine sped away from the potion factory.

* * *

The Triunfo Clan headquarters was located in the Center district, the heart of Sselepoh City.

In other words, Kim Jinsung had gone from the outermost B district to the very center of the city in one leap.

‘…The scenery is completely different.’

Kim Jinsung thought to himself as he looked out the window after entering the C district.

Everything, from the buildings to the street trees and roads, was state-of-the-art. It was like he had entered a futuristic city.

‘And were there always this many Paladins…?’

Paladins, who were rarely seen in the B district, were everywhere in the C district.

It seemed like crime was almost non-existent here.

‘If we could just bring a tenth of the Paladins here to the B district, the level of security would be completely different…’

“…Huh? What’s this?”

Ricardo, who was sitting next to him, seemed to have spotted someone outside the window.

He stopped the car, rolled down the window, and called out to a passerby.

“Rodrigo! Where are you going alone?”

“Oh, hey!”

The man called Rodrigo grabbed Ricardo’s hand with a delighted expression.

“I’m heading to the headquarters, of course. You too, Team Leader 6?”

“Yes. I had some business outside. Want a ride?”

“Nah, I’m good. It’s just up ahead. But who’s this next to you? I’ve never seen him before.”

He asked, pointing at Kim Jinsung, and Ricardo replied,

“He’s going to be the newest member of our team. Say hello. This is Rodrigo, the leader of Hunter Team 5.”

“Hello, sir!”

Kim Jinsung greeted him politely, and Rodrigo looked at him with surprise.

“The newest member? It’s been a while since Team 6 recruited a new member, hasn’t it?”

“Has it…?”

“It’s been a few months, I think. Your standards for recruiting team members are pretty high, aren’t they?”

“Hahaha…”

Rodrigo continued, observing Kim Jinsung closely,

“Then we’ll have to have a ‘newbie showdown’, won’t we? We haven’t been able to do it because Team 6 didn’t have a newbie.”

“Ah, right. I forgot about that. I’m always up for it.”

Kim Jinsung looked puzzled as he listened to their conversation.

Newbie showdown? What was that?

—