Chapter 239: The Strongest Man in the World

Episode 239

Hemingston.

He had always been hailed as America’s top prospect, a genius, since he was a child.

He was exceptionally talented.

Not only did he possess the basic qualities of a hunter, such as Mana capacity, combat instincts, and situational awareness, but he also excelled in leadership, political skills, and language proficiency, all essential qualities for a leader.

Among his many talents, his acquaintances all agreed on one that stood out the most:

His composure.

His ability to remain calm and rational in any crisis, quickly assess the situation, and find a solution.

This was the ability that had made him the strongest man in the world and led the Alpha Clan to become the undisputed top clan.

It was no different now.

His face was stiff, but it wasn’t because he was panicking.

He was thinking faster than ever. He had already regained his composure.

‘If he can use the same time manipulation abilities as me, I have no advantage.’

He had already calculated the outcome of a one-on-one fight against Kim Jinsung.

‘I’ll lose 100 out of 100 times.’

His opponent was a cheat, capable of absorbing all abilities.

Unlike him, who only had time manipulation abilities, Kim Jinsung possessed countless abilities.

The Alpha Clan’s analysis team had identified over 100 abilities that Kim Jinsung possessed,

including Graham’s ‘Dimensionalization’ ability and Finlay’s advanced ability to control metal.

‘But I have one advantage. I’m the only one who can travel to the past.’

Kim Jinsung, perhaps out of overconfidence, had admitted that he couldn’t travel to the past.

It meant that Hemingston still had a chance.

Not a chance to win, but a chance to escape and survive.

‘I have enough Mana potions. I need to use them to my advantage.’

The only drawback of time manipulation abilities was that they consumed 50% of his maximum Mana per use.

That was why he always carried Mana potions on his belt. He would rather lose his weapons than his Mana potions.

To him, Mana potions were his most valuable weapon.

‘I should have about four left…’

He reached for his belt,

and then froze.

‘…What?’

They were gone.

The Mana potions that should have been on his belt were nowhere to be found.

“Looking for these?”

Kim Jinsung asked, gesturing to the side.

He saw a black Mana tendril, shaped like a hand, clutching something.

‘My belt!’

His face paled as he recognized the object.

It was the belt he always wore, with the Mana potion bottles attached to it.

And the bottles were all broken, their contents spilled.

“I took them while you were busy gathering Mana for the Time Fast Forward ability. You weren’t paying attention to your waist at all.”

“……!!”

“Judging by the fact that the bottles were filled with MP recovery liquid, time manipulation abilities must consume a lot of Mana, huh?

I remember you drinking Mana potions quite often.”

He couldn’t even hear Kim Jinsung’s words anymore.

Even he, known for his composure, couldn’t help but panic.

‘This is hopeless…!’

A cold sweat ran down his back. It was the first time he had ever sweated since becoming the Master of the Alpha Clan.

“No time to waste. Let’s see how many time manipulation abilities you have!”

Kim Jinsung drew his sword and charged towards him.

Perhaps because they were in a subspace, he was even faster than usual.

* * *

“Hmm…”

Park Do-joon groaned, observing the situation from the rooftop.

“…It looks like they’re wrapping things up.”

His expression was grim.

The reinforcements were regrouping and heading towards the subspace magic circle surrounding the Alpha Clan headquarters.

“It seems they’ve used up all their bombs.”

He nodded at Hong Hyeonjin’s question.

“It looks like they even used up all their suicide bombs.”

Not all the anti-government agents who had carried out the terrorist attacks had escaped.

Those who were caught had chosen to die a glorious death, using their last resort, suicide bombs.

They knew that a fate worse than death awaited them if they were captured alive.

“The clans are all keeping their distance from each other. It seems we’ve successfully planted seeds of doubt between them…”

They had achieved the most important objective of the operation.

The alliance army, which had been charging towards the headquarters as one, was now divided, each clan wary of the others.

“But if this continues, the subspace magic circle will be dismantled before Kim Jinsung can escape.”

The problem was that once the reinforcements dismantled the subspace magic circle and entered the Alpha Clan headquarters,

Kim Jinsung might have to face the entire Major Clan Alliance alone.

“But I’m sure Jinsung will find a way to escape.”

“I agree, but there’s always a chance that something could go wrong.”

Kim Jinsung was a crucial member of the rebel alliance. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the alliance would lose its meaning without him.

“I want to contact him and tell him to escape, but the subspace magic circle…”

It was common knowledge that communication was impossible between different dimensions.

That was why the broadcasting team had to bring a wired communication device inside the dungeon when they broadcasted live from inside.

The youngest members’ competition had also been conducted in a similar way.

“…We have no choice. We need to send someone inside the magic circle and contact him.”

He was about to pick up his walkie-talkie when

“No need for that.”

“Whoa!”

He jumped in surprise, hearing a voice behind him.

It was Kim Jinsung.

Hong Hyeonjin and Son Dong-gun also turned around in shock.

‘When did he get here?’

‘I didn’t even sense his approach…’

They were both stunned.

“The operation was a success. You can deactivate the subspace magic circle now.”

Park Do-joon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“A success? You mean you killed Hemingston…?”

“Yes. You’ll see when you deactivate the magic circle.”

“Oh, okay. Deactivating the subspace magic circle! I repeat…”

He quickly turned on his microphone and gave the order.

Hong Hyeonjin was still staring at Kim Jinsung in shock.

“Did you just say you killed Hemingston?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my!”

She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Even Son Dong-gun, who was usually stoic, had a shocked expression on his face.

Hemingston.

The name carried a lot of weight.

* * *

Meanwhile,

inside the subspace magic circle, chaos still reigned.

**Boom! Boom!**

“Aaaargh!”

“Argh…!”

Alpha Clan members were falling helplessly against the firepower of the numerous Omurgas.

They had managed to kill one of the monsters, thanks to the executives and elite members who were still fighting despite the heavy casualties,

but the rest were still alive.

**Boom!**

“Ugh…!”

Quinton, the Team 1 Leader of the Alpha Clan, barely dodged an energy blast from Omurga and asked his subordinate,

“How many are left in Team 1?”

“Over half of them are down!”

“Shit!”

He gritted his teeth.

Team 1, the invincible team that had never suffered more than 10 casualties in its history, was being humiliated.

But they were still better off than some of the other teams, whose leaders had already been killed.

“What are the Vice Masters doing?!”

He shouted in frustration, looking at the Vice Masters, who were huddled together, their weapons drawn, but not participating in the fight.

Duke, the Vice Master, was shouting at them.

“What are you all doing?! Attack Omurga! As members of the alliance, you should be helping your allies in their time of need!”

“……”

“You bastards! Do you think you can cross the Alpha Clan and get away with it?!”

He was even threatening them now, but they remained motionless.

‘Are you crazy? You want us to die for you?’

‘The reinforcements will arrive soon. It’s best to just hold out until then.’

‘And the Alpha Clan is finished anyway, with all these casualties.’

They could see it too.

The Alpha Clan had lost at least half of their forces because of those monsters.

It meant that they were no longer qualified to lead the alliance.

‘This is actually good for me. I can eliminate my strongest rival from the leadership race.’

Yoo Jun-ho even had a faint smile on his face.

“Y-you bastard…!”

Duke’s eyes bulged, and he started trembling with rage, seeing Yoo Jun-ho’s smile.

At that moment,

“W-what?!”

“Could it be Master…?!”

“M-Master is dead?! No way! How…!”

His subordinates’ shocked cries came from behind them.

They all turned to look.

They could see what their subordinates were looking at, even from afar, thanks to their high power levels.

“…It’s Hemingston!”

“Hemingston’s head is on a pike!”

“That spear has the Ukobachi mark on it!”

“S-so Kim Jinsung killed Hemingston?!”

“Oh my god… Oh my god…”

A long spear with a burning skull mark. And Hemingston’s head was impaled on its tip.

“M-Master…?”

Duke stammered, his face pale.

“The subspace magic circle is deactivated!”

“Enter the headquarters!”

“Save the Vice Master!”

Shouts came from all directions, and a large number of alliance troops started pouring into the building.

The reinforcements had finally arrived, after dismantling the subspace magic circle.

—