Chapter 217: Not Yet Ready to Lead the Charge

Episode 217

“Before that, let me ask you something,” Kim Jinsung said, maintaining eye contact with Hong Hyeonjin.

“What is your ultimate goal in entering the New Continent?”

“The Alpha Clan,” she replied without hesitation.

“To take the Alpha Clan’s place in the New Continent. That’s my ultimate goal.”

Kim Jinsung stared at her for a moment, observing her eyes.

They were filled with determination and a burning ambition.

‘…But this is the New Continent.’

It wasn’t a place where you could achieve your goals with just passion.

It was a place where ‘strength’ reigned supreme, and Kim Jinsung knew this better than anyone.

“…Alright. Please have a seat. I’ll give you your first order.”

As she sat down, he started giving her ‘instructions’.

“First, we need to form an ‘Anti-Government Clan Alliance’ to counter the Major Clans in the Center Zone.”

“…You mean we need to gather the clans that are trying to enter the New Continent.”

“That’s right.”

He nodded, impressed by her quick understanding.

As expected of the leader of a major clan, she was sharp.

“I want you to create this ‘Anti-Government Clan Alliance’.”

“Hmm… I understand what you mean, but I doubt they’ll accept me as their leader. As far as I know, the Baekdu Clan isn’t the strongest among the new clans.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

He replied firmly.

“They need a leader, someone to command them from the front lines, especially in this situation where no clan has properly established themselves yet.”

“A leader… Not a general who commands from the rear, but a leader who fights on the front lines?”

“That’s right. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes.”

She nodded.

In ancient warfare, the leader of the vanguard was the first to be targeted by the enemy, the first to face their attacks, and therefore, the most likely to die.

It was a completely different level of difficulty compared to a general who commanded safely from the rear.

“If you become the leader, you and the Baekdu Clan will become the primary target of the existing clans. You’ll face the greatest hardships.

The clans allied with you will expect the Baekdu Clan to shield them from all dangers. But…”

He emphasized the word ‘but’.

“…The rewards will be immense if you succeed as the leader of the alliance. It’ll be incomparable to the rewards of a general who only commands from the rear.”

“Like Alexander the Great?”

She asked with a smile.

A leader who constantly fought on the front lines, defeating enemies and conquering cities, earned the absolute loyalty of their troops. It was something a general who only commanded from the rear couldn’t achieve.

Alexander the Great had been treated as an immortal god, thanks to his constant victories and the unwavering support of his troops.

“If you keep performing well as the leader, the allied clans will find it difficult to demand your position, especially if you have the absolute support of the troops.”

“Then there might be allies who want the leader to die.”

He didn’t deny her words.

If she continued to excel as the leader, there was a chance that both the enemy and the allied clans would plot to eliminate her and the Baekdu Clan.

They only wanted a shield, not a true leader who achieved victories.

The clans that desired the leadership of the alliance would be the most likely to scheme against her.

“Well, it’s one of the hardships you have to endure to reach the top.”

She shrugged it off and concluded,

“You want me to be the leader of the alliance, right? Alright. I’ll do my best to gather all the new clans.

And to be honest, the position of leader is exactly what I wanted.”

“Good.”

He moved on to the next topic.

“Next, we need to increase your power level.”

“Power level? You mean my strength?”

“Yes. Your current power level is insufficient to lead the new alliance.”

She stopped, her movements frozen.

“…Is it that bad?”

Her voice was low, but there was no hint of offense or wounded pride.

She acknowledged that Kim Jinsung was far stronger than her.

“It’s higher than I initially expected, but it’s still not enough to face the Masters of the Major Clans in the Center Zone.”

Her expression grew more serious as he continued.

“If your power level is low, you need to at least have plenty of combat experience…”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been consistently raiding dungeons and gaining combat experience.”

“That’s for me to judge.”

He slowly stood up and said,

“This is a good opportunity for a test. Let me see for myself. Of course, I won’t interfere.”

“…I don’t quite understand what you…”

She stopped mid-sentence, her gaze suddenly sharpening as she looked towards the door.

**Bang!**

The door burst open, and a group of men with menacing expressions barged in.

“There you are, you bitch!”

The leader, a man with a bruised and swollen right eye, glared at her with murderous intent.

“You dared to humiliate the Cedric Gang in public? You’re not getting out of here alive!”

“We’ll make you beg for death!”

“Damn, you’re hot too? You’re dead meat, bitch. Hehehe…!”

Some of them glared at her with murderous intent, while others leered at her with lustful eyes.

“You were right,” she said, her voice cold as ice as she looked at them.

“There’s no need to spare these scumbags.”

She took a fighting stance.

Kim Jinsung, standing in the back, observed the scene, his mind elsewhere.

‘They didn’t used to barge into hotels like this.’

When he first stayed in the B Zone, even high-class hotels like this weren’t completely safe.

But now, they were breaking down doors and barging in.

‘This place has really gone to hell.’

“Get her! Capture her alive!”

“Charge!”

The Cedric Gang members charged at her.

They were surprisingly fast. They were a gang that had established themselves in the New Continent for a reason.

But their opponent was one of the Masters of the four major clans in Korea.

**Thud! Thwack! Crack!**

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

She effortlessly took them down, one by one, her movements precise and efficient.

More than half of the Cedric Gang members were down in an instant. But Kim Jinsung’s gaze never left her.

‘…Her combat skills aren’t bad.’

Her fighting style was flawless.

She was efficiently managing her Mana and delivering precise strikes to vital points.

And she was calmly responding to their attacks, even when they ganged up on her or used unconventional tactics.

“Die, bitch!!”

One of the Cedric Gang members threw poison powder at her, resorting to chemical warfare.

But she calmly covered her face with Mana, blocking the poison, and

**Crack!**

Shattered his skull with a roundhouse kick, killing him instantly.

“Scumbags.”

She spat coldly at the dead gang member and looked around.

All the Cedric Gang members were down. She drew a dagger from her pocket.

She adjusted her grip on the dagger, which was engraved with the Baekdu Clan’s mark, and said,

“I heard it’s okay to kill people in the B Zone.”

She started walking towards the fallen gang members.

“Gasp…!”

“Ugh…!”

The gang members crawled backwards in terror, their will to fight completely gone. They had already experienced the vast difference in their power levels.

At that moment,

“Stop!!”

One of the gang members shouted, and she stopped.

“Drop your weapon and put your hands up!! Or this guy’s dead!!”

“……”

She looked at the gang member who was holding Kim Jinsung hostage, a look of disbelief on her face.

But he mistook her expression for fear and smirked, pressing the knife closer to Kim Jinsung’s throat.

“Five seconds! Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head! 5, 4, 3…!”

**Crack!**

“Aaaargh!!”

The gang member screamed in agony.

His right arm was bent at an unnatural angle, wrapped in a black Mana tendril.

“H-how… Huh?!”

He looked up at Kim Jinsung with a pained expression, his eyes widening in shock as he finally recognized him.

“…K-Kim Jinsung?!”

All the gang members turned to look at him.

And they all reacted the same way.

“I-it’s Kim Jinsung!”

“The leader of Ukobachi!”

“Run!”

“Aaaargh!!”

They scrambled to escape, but

“……!!”

Hong Hyeonjin’s eyes widened in horror.

Their bodies were suddenly sliced into bite-sized pieces, blood splattering everywhere.

The doorway was instantly covered in a pile of flesh and bone, leaving no space to step.

‘This is impossible…!’

She stared at the gruesome scene in shock.

But it wasn’t the brutality of the scene that shocked her.

‘I didn’t even sense how he did it…!’

She hadn’t even noticed Kim Jinsung’s movements when he had sliced them all into pieces.

It meant that if he had attacked her, she would have suffered the same fate.

“Your combat skills are decent.”

Kim Jinsung said, his words completely different from what she was thinking.

“But your power level is too low. Honestly, you’re not even qualified to lead the new clans, let alone be the leader of the alliance.”

He continued, looking at her,

“You need special training. Clear your schedule.”

“……!”

Her eyes widened once again.

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