Chapter 316

Chapter 316

“Ugh!”

Akashi trembled with a terrified expression.

A hell he had never once imagined had unfolded before his eyes.

The Scavengers becoming charred corpses was not frightening at all.

It was a sight he had seen so often that he was sick of it.

After plundering survivor villages, the last thing they did was always set fire to everything like this.

The problem was his comrades.

The jovial dwarf Etli had all four limbs crushed and was vomiting blood in gushes, while Bucksher, after repeatedly regenerating and burning, now lay helplessly as if he no longer even had the strength to scream.

He could neither die nor truly live.

He was simply being burned alive.

Unless Zeon permitted his death, he would have to feel this same pain forever.

What gave him even greater fear was Hassim’s condition.

To Akashi, Hassim was the eternal boss.

He had been that reliable, that dependable a man.

Hassim, who had always shown him only a strong figure, was now withered like a mummy, begging Zeon for water.

“Wa, water......”

“You want to drink?”

“Yeah! I want to drink.”

Hassim nodded fiercely.

His skin was cracked like tree bark and held not a trace of moisture.

That was because the Ghost Horsehair Worm that had entered his body had absorbed all of his fluids.

Hassim was suffering from extreme thirst.

If he could drink even a single drop of water, he felt he would gladly sell his soul.

His thoughts themselves were paralyzed, and he could not even feel anger toward Zeon, who had given him this pain.

His gaze was fixed on the kettle Zeon held.

When Zeon moved the kettle this way and that, his eyes followed along.

“Wa, water! Please, water......”

“If you want to drink, tell me about the Five Poisons Clan.”

THUD—!

Zeon set the kettle down right in front of Hassim’s nose.

Hassim stuck out his tongue, but it stopped just before reaching the kettle. That was because the Sand Soldiers were still pressing down on his back.

In the end, Hassim spilled everything he knew.

He told Zeon everything without hiding a single thing, from the first time he met the descendant of the Five Poisons Clan, to connecting him with Eli, to the descendant’s features.

“Kuh! I told you everything I know. Now water......”

Hassim’s voice came out cracked and splitting.

That was because even the moisture in his mouth had dried up completely.

Instead of answering, Zeon turned the Sand Soldiers back into sand and stored them in his subspace.

The moment the Sand Soldiers that had been crushing his entire body disappeared, Hassim hurriedly grabbed the kettle and gulped it down.

He drank all the water in the kettle, but it was nowhere near enough to resolve his thirst.

“Water! I need more water!”

In the end, Hassim went mad and began searching for water.

But there was no way there would be any more water in an enclosed space.

“Water! Waaater......”

The sight of Hassim clawing at the wall like a lunatic as he searched for water was horrifying beyond words.

Even after drinking an entire kettle of water, his thirst had not eased at all, driving him insane.

In the end, unable to resolve his thirst, Hassim sank his teeth into the neck of a nearby corpse and sucked its blood.

Like a vampire.

It was terrifying to see how a perfectly normal human could fall so low in an instant.

Akashi squeezed his eyes shut against the pain he could not bear.

‘Fuck! Fuck! We should never have gotten involved with him in the first place.’

The Helbrin Mercenary Corps was finished now.

The only one still somewhat intact was him, but with his abilities, he could neither create a new mercenary corps nor lead one.

“Haa!”

The strength left Akashi’s legs, and he collapsed where he stood.

Zeon approached him.

Without any preamble, he asked,

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re the one who detects monsters, right?”

“Yes!”

Akashi answered with a face that had given up on everything.

His opponent already knew everything.

He did not have the courage or the strength to lie.

“You have value worth keeping alive.”

Being able to detect monsters in advance was a tremendous and rare ability.

He might not be equal to a Navigator or Zeon, but he could still sense danger in advance and avoid it.

If a dungeon raid team or Pathfinder team had even one person who could detect monsters, their survival rate would rise dramatically.

Zeon did not need him much, but if he introduced him to the guild Jang Yong-beom had newly created, the Dokkaebi Market, or even City Hall, they would definitely be pleased.

Akashi’s eyes widened.

“Pardon? You, you’re really going to spare me?”

“If you cooperate properly.”

“I-I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.”

“I hope that heart never changes.”

“It will never change.”

“It had better not. I still have one more of these, you see.”

Clink!

Zeon shook the bottle containing the Ghost Horsehair Worm in front of Akashi’s eyes.

Akashi’s face filled with fear.

That was because he had seen clearly with his own eyes what Hassim had become after suffering from the Ghost Horsehair Worm.

Even now, Hassim had his head buried in a corpse and was madly sucking blood.

Whether he lived or died could not be helped, but at the very least, Akashi did not want to live in that state.

“Good. You follow me.”

“Yes, sir!”

Akashi answered in a posture bright with discipline.

Zeon took Akashi with him and headed toward the elevator.

The elevator was littered with shattered crystal fragments.

Among them, one crystal stood out in particular.

It was a faded yellow crystal.

When Zeon picked up the yellow crystal, Akashi quickly said,

“That is the ‘Sun-Eating Dog.’ We got it from a dungeon, but since it’s disposable, it probably can’t be used again.”

“That doesn’t matter. I know a child who’s good at fixing things like this.”

If he took it to Briel, she would break it down to the atomic level and uncover its principles. With luck, she might even be able to repair it. Even if she could not, it would still be a great help to Briel’s growth.

That was enough.

Before going outside, Akashi carefully asked,

“By the way, are you leaving Captain Hassim like that?”

“Why? Does it seem too cruel?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“He killed countless people and threw them into misery. He deserves at least that much punishment.”

“Yes!”

“Ah, right! There’s a spatial movement item, isn’t there?”

“Yes! It’s the belt the Captain is wearing. It’s called Mushura’s Mirror, and it can move randomly within a one-kilometer radius.”

“I’ll take that too. Do you have any complaints?”

“Of course not.”

Akashi hurriedly shook his head.

Complaints? Being allowed to live was already more than enough. What did it matter if Zeon took that belt?

After stepping outside, Zeon sealed off the elevator passage.

He melted the broken elevator and completely blocked the entrance.

Now Hassim would suffer from thirst inside and slowly die.

When Akashi imagined that horrific end, his body trembled.

Even though he had come outside, he could not even dare think of running away.

That was because he knew that behind Zeon’s smiling face lurked a cruelty far beyond imagination.

He had no confidence he could escape from Zeon’s hand, and since he knew all too well what would happen if he were caught, there was no reason to run.

He followed Zeon with his head bowed like an ox being dragged to a slaughterhouse.

‘Haa! Fuck my life......’

---

Eli looked at the elf standing before her with a stiff face.

It was her trusted aide, Romina.

Romina stood with her head lowered deeply, like someone who had committed a sin worthy of death.

“So contact with the Scavengers was cut off, is that right?”

“Yes! It was completely cut off thirty minutes ago.”

“And the slaves?”

“They did not fill the count to one hundred.”

“That is far too few.”

“I’m sorry.”

Romina answered weakly.

Eli’s gaze as she looked at her was far from gentle.

Her already cold eyes even held killing intent.

At the feeling that her body might be torn to pieces, Romina trembled like aspen leaves.

Eli rose from her chair and said,

“It seems the matter has gone wrong.”

“Pardon? But......”

“I have a bad feeling. Let’s go underground.”

“Understood.”

Just as Romina answered—

CRASH—!

Suddenly, an explosive roar came from outside.

A moment later, one of her subordinates hurried inside.

“We have a serious problem.”

“What is it?”

“The Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit has stormed in.”

“What?”

The corners of Eli’s eyes shot upward.

The Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit might be Serian’s direct unit, but they did not possess enough power or standing to dare storm Eli’s residence.

“Hah! Those nobodies dare invade my house? And you simply let them?”

“That is......”

“What is it?”

“Two people we have never seen before have joined the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.”

“And?”

“Because of them, our side is being pushed back.”

“Does that make sense? You’re saying our forces are being pushed back because of a mere two people?”

Eli burst into anger.

Although she had been exiled and was staying in a shabby house on the outskirts of the North District, this place was no different from a fortress.

A considerable number of those who followed her were staying here, so its combat power was solid.

It did not reach Serian’s main force, but it was not weak enough to fall easily.

The subordinate lowered his head apologetically and said,

“I’m sorry. They’re people I’ve never seen in my life, but their combat power is tremendous. Because of them, our side can’t use its strength at all.”

“I’ll see with my own eyes.”

In the end, Eli could not suppress her curiosity and went out to the balcony.

A barrier had been placed around her house.

It was an elven barrier reinforced by Eli’s authority, boasting iron-wall-like hardness.

There were two ways to remove this barrier.

Eli could permit it, or someone could forcibly destroy it with power.

The Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit chose the second.

The first method was never something they could use.

There was no way Eli would permit it.

That was why they chose the second method.

An arrow flew through the air like light and struck the barrier.

CRASH—!

With an explosive roar, the barrier surrounding Eli’s house surged violently.

The entire barrier was struck and shaken by a single arrow.

The one who had fired the arrow was a silver-haired male elf.

The elf, who resembled a model, wore a silver mask. In his hand was a large bow.

As he drew the bowstring, he murmured,

“As expected of Nailia’s Bow. Its power is tremendous.”

TWANG—!

When he drew the string once again, the arrow flew toward the barrier at terrifying speed.

CRAAACK—!

With an explosive roar, cracks spread across the entire barrier.

Seeing that, Eli’s face stiffened.

“Don’t tell me that’s Nailia’s Bow?”

She could not fail to recognize it.

Nailia’s Bow was an item they had purchased at auction from the White Bear Caravan.

The bow used by Nailia, the elven hero.

To elves, it was an item no different from a treasure.

However, even after its purchase, its owner had not been decided easily.

That was because only one who possessed the qualifications could use Nailia’s Bow.

Both Serian and Eli wanted their own close aides to use Nailia’s Bow.

Because of that, its owner had not been chosen, and it had been left alone.

But an elf she was seeing for the first time was using Nailia’s Bow as if it were nothing.

Eli’s subordinates were charging in to stop him, but they were blocked by the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit and could not advance.

The Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit led by Borin looked at least twice as strong as usual.

Their bodies were wrapped in clusters of blue light.

Eli recognized the identity of the light immediately.

“A buff?”

Her gaze turned toward the robed figure standing behind the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit.

Because the hood was pulled low, she could not identify him, but she could immediately tell that the clusters of blue light had begun from him.

He had increased the combat power of the Blue Fallen Leaf Special Operations Unit by more than double with a buff.

Eli bit her lip.

That was because she seemed to know who they were.

“They’re Punishers.”

As if answering her words, another arrow flew.

CRASH—!

With an explosive roar, the barrier surrounding Eli’s house shattered into pieces.