Chapter 91

Chapter 91

“So your ability didn’t work on him at all?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kim Jae-kyung knelt before Johan as if she had become a sinner.

The gaze Johan directed at her was only cold.

The kind of person Johan hated most was the incompetent.

Kim Jae-kyung knew that anyone who fell out of his favor was quickly weeded out of Dongdaemun, and her body trembled.

“What did it feel like?”

“His mental barrier was firm.”

“Firm?”

“I couldn’t find even the slightest gap to break through. When I tried to brainwash him, the tremendous backlash struck me instead.”

“Hmm!”

“I’m sorry.”

Kim Jae-kyung lowered her head once more.

After looking at her for a moment, Johan turned away and said,

“Leave.”

“Yes!”

Kim Jae-kyung answered and carefully went outside.

Left alone, Johan looked over the view of Dongdaemun with cold eyes.

“He was even more impressive than I expected. It wasn’t that Jae-kyung was lacking. He was simply extraordinary. Well, he did erase the great Goran without a trace......”

The reason Dongdaemun had been unable to enter Shinchon was because Goran had blocked it firmly.

Even when Johan wanted to evangelize, his believers could not enter Shinchon because they were blocked by the wall that was Goran.

That was why he had seen the present moment, now that Goran was gone, as the perfect opportunity to evangelize.

He had been trying to seize Shinchon before the others grew greedy for it, so he had hurriedly sent Kim Jae-kyung, and in the end, he had failed.

Now Zeon would become even more wary of him.

“Perhaps I should have tried harder to conciliate him instead?”

“You were certainly hasty this time, Lord Johan.”

At that instant, someone’s voice came from behind Johan.

Johan’s expression hardened coldly.

That was because he had not sensed anything at all until the voice came from behind him.

When Johan turned his head and looked behind him, he saw a man in a suit.

The man’s hair was combed back neatly, without a single strand out of place.

Johan recognized the man’s identity at once.

“Tajik?”

“It has been a long time, Lord Johan.”

“What brings Xiao Lun’s dog here? Did he send you?”

“Surely not. Lord Xiao Lun is busy enough handling matters within Neo Seoul. He is not so idle that he would take an interest in slums like these.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Johan’s eyes shone sharply.

Others would have been frightened by that gaze, but not Tajik.

Tajik shrugged and said,

“I understand that you do not believe me. But what I said is true.”

“Then why are you here? If Xiao Lun has no interest in the slums, as you claim, then there’s no reason for his close aide to come here.”

“I have personal business.”

“You?”

“Yes!”

“Could that business be Zeon?”

“As expected of Lord Johan. To think you realized it after only one word.”

At Tajik’s answer, Johan’s brow furrowed on its own.

“Why?”

“It’s merely a personal interest.”

“I’m asking why you would have a personal interest in him.”

“Wouldn’t it be for the same reason as you, Lord Johan?”

Tajik bared his white teeth and smiled.

In contrast, Johan’s face hardened even further.

“So?”

“I ask that you postpone your attack on Shinchon for just a little while.”

“Is that also Xiao Lun’s will?”

“For now, it is my will, but you may think of it as Lord Xiao Lun’s will.”

“What if I refuse?”

“You have planted quite a few believers throughout Neo Seoul. Among them, especially in the unit operated by Lord Sedon of the eastern zone......”

“Enough!”

Johan cut Tajik off.

His face was filled with anger.

Sedon Price, the overlord of the eastern zone.

He was a Mage who used the power of the dark attribute.

The dark attribute was extremely rare, and its power was said to be maximized especially on dark nights.

Sedon boasted the greatest strength among them.

Johan had planted one of his believers under Sedon’s command and had been receiving a great deal of inside information from him.

‘How on earth did he find that out?’

The flesh of Johan’s cheeks trembled.

They were both overlords of Seoul, but Sedon had a completely different disposition from Xiao Lun.

If Xiao Lun was an old fox, Sedon was a cold-blooded strategist.

Both were difficult to deal with, but from Johan’s perspective, Sedon felt far more burdensome.

It was likely because of compatibility.

The eastern zone led by Sedon was mainly composed of white and Black people.

That was because they were descendants of the U.S. forces stationed in Korea and international students.

All of them were specialists in combat, and they used Magic and tactical weapons in harmony.

Sedon’s subordinates could all be called soldiers.

Dongdaemun’s forces were strong too, but they could not compare to the eastern zone led by Sedon.

Because of that, even Xiao Lun had planted his close aides in the eastern zone and was monitoring their movements.

Tajik said,

“I am not telling you to take your hands off Zeon entirely.”

“Then?”

“Please give me just a little time.”

“How long?”

“About fifteen days?”

“Fine. If it is that much......”

“Thank you, Lord Johan. I knew we would be able to communicate.”

Tajik smiled brightly as he looked at Johan.

Johan also smiled as he looked at Tajik.

‘Someday, I’ll throw you to the monsters as food.’

***

There was a fairly large vacant lot in the south of the slums.

The wide vacant lot, commonly known as Hunter’s Square, was actually nothing special.

It was just a broad vacant lot, and the shabby shade canopies that blocked the sunlight were the only facilities.

But this vacant lot was one of the most important facilities in the slums.

That was because all the Awakened of the slums who went hunting outside gathered here to check their equipment or exchange information.

In the slums, there were many factions, including Dongdaemun and Shinchon. Those factions fought fiercely both in the open and in the shadows.

They never left a place without an owner alone.

The reason those who would even steal what was in another’s hands to make it their own left the vacant lot alone was because of the other factions.

This place was a kind of neutral zone.

No faction would sit by and watch another faction manage this place.

The moment anyone grew greedy for this place, they would become a public enemy and be attacked together.

Because of that, Hunter’s Square was almost empty except when the Awakened of the slums gathered to go hunting.

From early morning, quite a few people had gathered in Hunter’s Square.

They were Awakened gathered to clear a dungeon today.

There was a raid team called by Tajik, a raid team organized by Yu Se-hee, and Awakened who had joined voluntarily.

The Awakened who had joined voluntarily looked with awe at the raid team Tajik had called.

“It’s Inazuma.”

“My god! Inazuma, of all people.”

The identity of the raid team Tajik had called was Inazuma.

Even among the many raid teams in Neo Seoul, they were quite famous.

The captain of Inazuma was Koji.

As a person of Japanese descent, he had awakened as a martial artist, and among them, as a swordsman.

His grade was unknown, but judging from his achievements so far, the general opinion was that he was at least Grade C or Grade B.

Under Koji were Yuri, Bai Lun, Shu Han, and Comaine, four people in total.

All of them were known as outstanding Awakened who would jump into fire and water without hesitation if Koji ordered it.

Koji stood with the katana that was practically his symbol held in his arms, and the four people positioned around him radiated a powerful presence.

There were people whose fighting spirit burned as they looked at Inazuma.

They were the Awakened dispatched from the Goblin Market.

Their captain was a man named Jack.

Around Jack stood Do Su-yeol and the Explosion Brothers, Declan and Connor.

All of them were veteran Awakened who had grown seasoned in the Goblin Market and had been specially dispatched.

Do Su-yeol frowned and said to Jack,

“They say the Inazuma guys are that good at clearing dungeons?”

“They’re a well-organized raid team. Among them, the core members are Koji and Shu Han.”

“I can understand Koji, but Shu Han? Isn’t that old man? From the outside, he doesn’t look like much.”

The old man named Shu Han, whom Jack had pointed out, was dressed shabbily and even leaned on a cane.

Judging by his appearance alone, he did not look like an Awakened at all. But Jack’s gaze as he looked at him was extremely cautious.

“He’s an exceptional guide. I heard he has an uncanny ability to smell danger.”

“He judges danger by smell? At that point, isn’t he basically a dog or a wolf?”

Do Su-yeol’s gaze changed too.

That was because he knew that if danger could be sensed in advance, clearing a dungeon became much easier.

Do Su-yeol was a martial artist archer type.

Originally, he was supposed to provide support from long range, but because of the raid party’s circumstances, he had often taken the vanguard as well.

That was because among an archer’s Skills, there was one called Tracking.

Using the Skill Tracking to find paths and gather information was one of his duties.

But even he could not sense danger in advance.

At that moment, the dwarf Connor cut into the conversation between the two.

“There’s no need to get scared already. In the end, they’re just flowers in a greenhouse. Without Xiao Lun’s support, they wouldn’t have been able to clear that many dungeons. If things go wrong, my brother and I will sweep them away, so don’t worry.”

“That’s right. We’ll sweep them away.”

His younger brother Declan pounded his chest with his fist and agreed with Connor.

Declan was a giant nearly three meters tall, while his older brother Connor was a dwarf who stood only one hundred twenty centimeters tall.

Normally, Declan carried Connor on his shoulders.

Jack said,

“I know both of your skills well. But you must never let your guard down. In any case, they’re skilled people recognized even in Neo Seoul.”

“Hmph! What’s so scary about bastards who live inside those walls?”

Connor refused to acknowledge Inazuma to the end.

Jack looked at Connor with anxious eyes.

‘I just hope he doesn’t cause trouble.’

Connor was an outstanding Awakened and an indispensable member of the team. But because of his short temper, he occasionally caused problems.

Solving the problems he caused was Jack’s responsibility.

As if something had suddenly occurred to him, Connor asked,

“By the way, what’s with the Awakened the Guildmaster said she’d send as an extra? Did she think we weren’t enough?”

His face was full of dissatisfaction.

It was the same for the others.

Yu Se-hee, the Guildmaster of the Goblin Market, had told them, while sending them as this raid team, that one more person would join them.

Because of that, everyone was in a very bad mood.

Yu Se-hee’s words had sounded as if she did not trust them.

If they had followed their hearts, they would have refused the support, but they could not.

Yu Se-hee’s word was that absolute in the Goblin Market.

Moreover, this mission was extremely important, so not even the slightest mistake could be tolerated.

That was why they could not refuse Yu Se-hee’s order.

Do Su-yeol asked Jack,

“Captain, do you know who the one joining us is?”

“I do.”

“Who is it?”

“If he joins us, you’d better be careful. If you run your mouth carelessly like you are now, you might die too.”

“Come on! Surely not?”

“He’s the one who eliminated Goran.”

At Jack’s words, Do Su-yeol and the Explosion Brothers’ faces hardened.

“Goran? The rumor was true?”

“It was.”

“Mm!”

Do Su-yeol let out a low groan.

Everyone who belonged to Shinchon and the Goblin Market knew.

They knew that Goran had been erased by someone.

Goran, who had the nickname Terrorist, was a terrifying figure even Yu Se-hee and Johan found uncomfortable.

The fact that such a person had been erased without a trace by someone was a huge shock to them too.

That was when it happened.

“He’s here.”

“It’s him.”

Inazuma murmured when they saw someone.

Naturally, Do Su-yeol and the Explosion Brothers also looked toward the place where their gazes were fixed.

A man was walking there.

The man walking with the hood attached to his robe pulled low and both hands in his pockets was Zeon.

At Zeon’s appearance, the gazes of Inazuma and the raid team led by Jack changed.

‘That man is...... Zeon?’