Chapter 250: Everyone Has a Plausible Plan

Episode 250

“…The last informant is dead.”

Hong Hyeonjin turned her head at Park Do-joon’s voice as he opened his eyes.

“Are you saying Hong Yeon-seok is dead?”

“Yes. He was killed by the Allobon. Based on what I heard from Yoo Jun-ho’s report, it seems he fell into a trap Yoo Jun-ho had set.”

“A trap by Yoo Jun-ho… Just as expected.”

In fact, the Eclat Alliance’s leadership had anticipated this outcome. They already knew that Yoo Jun-ho was the one who killed Yong Hangil.

To commit the perfect crime, it made no sense to leave the only other witness alive.

So they all expected that Yoo Jun-ho would deal with Hong Yeon-seok in some way before or after the war.

“I didn’t expect him to act so quickly… But then again, that’s typical of Yoo Jun-ho.”

“He’s known for his ruthlessly cold nature.”

Since the Colosseum survival competition, Yoo Jun-ho had been infamous for his cold and ruthless personality.

It was unlikely that his character had changed in such a short time. If anything, it had probably worsened.

“Anyway, the important thing is that the Allobon have been unsealed. Even with Hong Yeon-seok’s death, it won’t significantly impact the war.”

She nodded at Park Do-joon’s words.

Even though the Korean Clan’s current Vice Master was eliminated, the Allobon more than made up for the gap.

“Now, the key is the battle between Kim Jinsung and the life-sacrificing ability users.

We’ve devised a plan to focus the enemy’s forces on Kim Jinsung, but…”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing special… Oh, here it comes.”

He gestured forward.

She looked in the direction he indicated and saw…

“Jinsung is going alone…?”

Kim Jinsung was walking alone towards the enemy lines.

Watching him move forward without hesitation, she turned to him with wide eyes.

Sensing her gaze, he answered.

“You’ve figured it out. As you can see, we’re sending Kim Jinsung alone to the battlefield.

It’s the perfect situation to focus the enemy’s forces.”

He was right.

Kim Jinsung, who was responsible for more than half of Eclat’s fighting power, was entering the battlefield alone.

For the enemy, it was a situation where they had to attack with all their might, trap or no trap.

“Surely it’s not his real body? It must be a clone, right?”

“No, it’s his real body.”

Her expression turned even more incredulous.

But he continued.

“He said that only by sending his real body would the enemy give it their all. I agreed.”

“But what if…”

“What if Kim Jinsung is really in danger?”

He finished her sentence and shrugged.

“I don’t know. But I can say one thing for sure.”

“What is it?”

“The person behind this plan is none other than Kim Jinsung.”

He kept his eyes on Kim Jinsung’s back as he spoke.

“I trust in the prowess Kim Jinsung has shown us.

The undefeated man who has never lost. The man who has succeeded in all the seemingly impossible missions.

And the incredible man who effortlessly dealt with the ability users yesterday, Kim Jinsung.”

“……”

“Oh, and we’ve secured a minimum escape route. We didn’t go in without any preparation.”

She chuckled at his words and nodded slightly.

‘That’s right. Our alliance wouldn’t exist without faith in Kim Jinsung.’

She was one of his closest confidants and knew him better than anyone.

Kim Jinsung was responsible for more than 99% of Eclat’s success, if not more.

He was the one who had fought against the existing alliance clans.

* * *

“Kim Jinsung!”

“Kim Jinsung is walking towards us!”

The hunters shouted, seeing him approach the defensive line, and tensed up.

He was a monster among monsters who had quickly slain the Kashimar and Boogeymen.

They couldn’t let their guard down just because he was alone.

“Kim Jinsung is coming alone…”

Yoo Jun-ho, who had just joined the leaders in the building, muttered as he looked out the window.

Duke, the acting leader of the alliance and Master of the Alpha Clan, shouted,

“Why are we letting him approach? Concentrate all firepower on him…!”

“Wait!”

Yoo Jun-ho interrupted and looked around, then asked a Korean Clan hunter,

“Did you carry out the reconnaissance I ordered?”

“Yes, Master.”

The hunter answered and began his report.

“We’ve placed surveillance Mana stones within a 10km radius, including near the defensive line. But we’ve detected no movement.”

“…So he hasn’t used Dumont’s ability.”

Kim Jinsung often used Dumont’s ‘Creeping’ ability to hide underground, extend roots, and create clones for his attacks.

After investigating the recent Alpha Clan headquarters attack, Yoo Jun-ho had his subordinates plant detection Mana stones in the ground to prevent any ‘Creeping’.

“Have you found any clones or suspicious objects near the defensive line?”

“We’ve checked, and there’s nothing.”

“Keep monitoring. He might teleport a clone to attack the rear.”

“Understood.”

He addressed the gathered executives.

“So far, there’s no sign of clones or conditions for creating them, so it’s likely that the Kim Jinsung approaching us is the real one.

There are many reasons he might have come alone. He could be drawing attention to himself while the rest of Eclat breaks through the defensive line, or he might teleport to the rear to cause chaos.

Or he might be confident enough in his ability to defeat all the ‘ability users’ that he’s leading the charge.”

“Why so much talk?! What’s the conclusion?!”

Duke shouted, frustrated, but Yoo Jun-ho remained calm.

“Regardless of the conclusion, we must focus all firepower on Kim Jinsung.

He’s more important to their alliance than the rest of Eclat’s forces.

But let’s make sure we deal with him thoroughly.”

“Thoroughly?”

“Last night, I sent some scouts to plant traps on the defensive line we’re responsible for.

Since Kim Jinsung is approaching the Korean Clan’s defensive line, let’s lure him into the traps and attack.”

He looked at the other executives.

“As planned, we’ll surround him with all the remaining ‘ability users’. What do you think?”

“Hmm… Sounds good.”

“I agree.”

“If there are traps, using them increases our chances of winning.”

Seeing their positive reactions, he finally looked at Duke.

“Give the order, Commander.”

He finished with a sly smile, the smile of a victor.

Duke trembled with anger but had no choice. Yoo Jun-ho had already swayed everyone’s opinion.

‘Let’s see how far you can climb!’

He gritted his teeth and gave the order.

“Lure Kim Jinsung to the traps!”

The order quickly reached the frontline hunters, who began retreating towards the traps.

Kim Jinsung followed them, continuing to walk forward.

“…He’s following them in.”

“Doesn’t he suspect there are traps?”

“No, he knows.”

He answered the puzzled executives.

“But he’s confident he can break through with his power.”

*Woooong!*

As he spoke, Mana reacted beneath Kim Jinsung’s feet.

The pre-set magic circles activated.

Mana barriers of various colors surrounded him.

“Now! All ‘ability users’, surround Kim Jinsung!”

At Duke’s shout, Yoo Jun-ho and some executives took out Mana stones and channeled Mana into them.

As they whispered, a small group of individuals charged towards Kim Jinsung at incredible speed.

Allobon, Martyrs, and other secret ability users from each clan surrounded him.

“Don’t attack first. Wait for him to move.”

He added another order, wary of Kim Jinsung’s power.

He spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“While he’s trapped in the magic circle, his HP and MP will gradually decrease.

So he has to move first. We can react based on his actions.”

“Are you sure? Won’t giving him time endanger the ability users?”

“Don’t worry.”

He smiled at the concerned executive.

“The ability users, including Allobon, are far stronger than you can imagine.”

The executives of the clans with ability users nodded in agreement.

They were cautious because their opponent was Kim Jinsung, but they were confident that the outcome was already decided.

‘Try to break through, Kim Jinsung! No matter what you do, you can’t break through the ability users’ encirclement!’

Even if he tried to create clones or teleport, the ability users would detect and stop him.

If he couldn’t defeat them, he had no way to survive.

“…Oh!”

“He’s moving!”

The executives exclaimed.

Kim Jinsung, who had been standing still, slowly moved his right hand to the hilt of his sword.

Seeing this, Yoo Jun-ho raised an eyebrow.

‘Is he trying to break through head-on…?’

Realizing his intent, Yoo Jun-ho was incredulous.

The opponents were monsters who had maximized their abilities.

Even in a one-on-one fight, victory was uncertain, and he was trying to break through with sheer force?

‘Has being called the strongest made you arrogant, Kim Jinsung?’

As he thought this, Kim Jinsung’s sword moved.

In a blur, he swung his sword in a wide 360-degree arc and sheathed it again.

And…

The battle was over.

“…Huh?”

“What?”

The executives muttered dumbly.

“…What…?”

Yoo Jun-ho, too, was stunned, unable to comprehend reality.

Kim Jinsung’s single move had left all the ability users surrounding him collapsed on the ground.

—

(To be continued in the next episode)