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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 15
Smack!
Cheon Woo-jin slapped his palm down on his arm, killing the mosquito that had landed on it after stepping out of the bathroom.
Clicking his tongue as he looked at the reddening bite, he muttered to himself.
“It’s starting again.”
Poison Mosquito.
A tiny assassin’s tool laced with deadly venom, often used for covert kills.
Difficult to breed, even harder to control—an obscure assassination method known only to a select few.
For someone like Cheon Woo-jin, who had attained “Immunity to All Poisons,” it was nothing more than an annoyance.
But had it been anyone else, the venom would’ve sent them into a fever for days—if they survived at all.
“To use something like this… they’re clearly not your run-of-the-mill noble-clan hunter.”
Just in the past week, there had been over ten attempts on his life—each disguised as an accident.
Poison smeared on doorknobs, laced into his meals, or mysterious objects suddenly dropping from ceilings.
To an outsider, they might have seemed like freak mishaps. But Woo-jin could see the precision behind the setups.
Crackle!
With a snap of lightning, Woo-jin incinerated the remains of the poison mosquito on his palm.
“Are you all right, Master?”
Since swearing his loyalty after their duel, Kim San had become Woo-jin’s right hand—his most trusted subordinate.
Bringing an A-rank Hunter known as the Knight of Ten Thousand Blades into his fold was a massive asset for Woo-jin, who lacked support within the family.
Pointing toward the bathroom, Woo-jin said, “A poison mosquito slipped in. Tell the Yacha Faction agents to factor that into their investigation.”
“Understood, Master.”
Though Cheon Eun-ha had sent some of her faction’s bodyguards to help protect Woo-jin, they hadn’t been particularly effective.
Even after absorbing multiple mid-sized clans and expanding their ranks, the Yacha Faction was severely lacking in skilled personnel capable of dealing with Cheon Oh-hyuk’s meticulous schemes.
Moments later, the Yacha Faction’s Hunters entered the room, their faces pale as ghosts after seeing the aftermath.
“How could something like this happen again…?!”
Unable to stop yet another assassination attempt, the senior Hunter in charge of the mission looked completely hollowed out.
Leaving the cleanup to Kim San and the Yacha Faction, Woo-jin headed into his dressing room to pack his gear.
He was preparing equipment for the Trial Dungeon.
“I can’t believe I’m still dealing with this crap even on the day I’m entering the dungeon… Cheon Oh-hyuk—he’s far more persistent and ruthless than I expected.”
At first, Oh-hyuk had tried subtle assassination tactics. But now, he was resorting to increasingly aggressive methods.
It was clear he had found out that the Clan Clan Head had given Woo-jin the Goblin Sword.
And now, he was determined to eliminate anything—or anyone—that might obstruct his path in the heir competition.
But despite his relentless efforts, none of the attacks succeeded.
Woo-jin packed his specially customized Hunter gear and equipment for inventory storage.
After loading everything into his inventory, he headed downstairs.
Outside, Kim San was already waiting, having prepared the car.
“Your vehicle is ready, Master.”
Woo-jin climbed into the bulletproof vehicle provided by the Yacha Faction. Built for Cheon Eun-ha herself, the car could reportedly survive a direct missile hit.
The premium wyvern leather seats were exquisitely soft.
“Expensive things really do feel different.”
It was a luxury he’d never known in his previous life, which was spent rolling through dangerous missions as a special agent.
Kim San was personally driving them to the Trial Dungeon, which was located in Mount Gyeryong and directly overseen by the Heavenly Sword House.
The area had been sealed off to the public—but Woo-jin was granted access through the Clan Head’s approval.
As Woo-jin’s vehicle rolled out, a convoy of elite Hunters from the Yacha Faction followed closely behind.
After repeatedly failing to protect him, Cheon Eun-ha had lost her patience and assigned a large escort unit.
Over a dozen Yacha Faction SUVs bearing their emblem surrounded Woo-jin’s vehicle, forming a protective phalanx en route to Mount Gyeryong.
The Clan believed their security measures were flawless. But trouble struck the moment they entered the mountain tunnel.
Screeech—!
One of the escort vehicles swerved violently and crashed into another car ahead.
CRASH!
The wreckage blocked the road completely.
Seeing this, Kim San slammed the brakes and quickly checked the rearview mirror.
Screeeeech—!
Another escort vehicle behind them collided with one of its own, cutting off the retreat path as well.
Kim San turned to Woo-jin and said, “It’s an ambush, Master.”
Woo-jin frowned deeply.
“I suspected Cheon Oh-hyuk planted spies in the Yacha Faction… but I didn’t expect them to make a move this brazenly.”
In other words, the people supposedly sent to protect him had already been compromised by Cheon Oh-hyuk.
There was no way this many consecutive attacks could’ve occurred otherwise.
And even knowing that, Woo-jin had let it play out—he wanted to study Oh-hyuk’s patterns.
THUD!
Doors of the escort vehicles burst open, and armed Hunters in full combat gear emerged, their faces masked.
Woo-jin’s eyes sharpened when he saw their equipment and stances.
‘The Anti-Hunter Assault Unit?’
Awakened Hunters typically didn’t favor firearms, since most of their battles involved monsters.
But in human-on-human combat, guns—especially illegally modified magical firearms—could still be deadly.
No matter how powerful an Awakened Hunter might be, they were still human. Bullets, especially enhanced ones, could still kill.
What shocked Woo-jin wasn’t just the ambush—but who had invented this very tactic of using magical firearms in anti-Hunter raids.
‘…Me. Back when I was in the Hyeonwoldan Corps.’
The attackers, moving with precision, opened fire on the Yacha Hunters in the escort vehicles.
RATATATATATATA!
“GAHHHHH!”
“Damn it, these lunatics—urk!”
Still disoriented from the sudden collision, the Yacha Faction Hunters were easy prey. Bullets tore through them before they could react.
Even if they weren’t effective against monsters, firearms remained potent against humans.
And the illegally modified magical firearms, though hard to control due to their recoil, packed terrifying power.
Hunters ranked C-class or lower couldn’t withstand the hail of bullets—they were helpless under gunfire.
Fwoosh!
Just then, several Hunters from the Yacha Faction rolled out from the escort vehicles and took cover.
They were B-class or higher, and they activated their awakened abilities to dodge the bullets and charge forward.
“You traitorous bastards! I’ll kill every last one of you!”
The Yacha Faction Hunters drew their swords, their auras flaring to life.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Brilliant streams of aura wrapped around their blades and surged up the swordspines.
Whoosh!
At speeds the human eye couldn’t follow, the swordsmen charged toward the assailants.
Shlaaak!
Auras-laced blades sliced clean through the attackers.
Aura wasn’t just deadly to monsters—it was equally lethal to humans.
Slash!
The assailants, cut by the aura-imbued blades, collapsed to the ground.
Even as they fell, some kept firing their guns at the charging swordsmen.
RATATATATAT!
The Yacha Faction Knights deflected bullets using mana barriers and rolled to dodge, retaliating with flying slashes of aura.
Against these elite Knights, the attackers were no match.
In no time, nearly all of them had been neutralized.
Kim San, who had been observing, turned to Cheon Woo-jin and said, “The situation should be resolved shortly.”
But at that moment, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly opened the car door and stepped outside.
“Master?”
Startled by Woo-jin’s abrupt move, Kim San quickly followed him out.
The Yacha Hunters, who had just subdued the ambushers, frowned when they saw Woo-jin emerge from the vehicle.
“What are you doing?! Get back in the car—it's still dange—”
But Woo-jin ignored them.
He unsheathed the Goblin Sword and approached the fallen assailants.
Cheon Family Sword Art: Swift Blade Form – Mountain Breeze
Shlaak! Shlak!
With movements so fast they were imperceptible, Woo-jin’s blade cleaved through the napes of the attackers’ necks.
The Yacha Hunters furrowed their brows, disturbed by Woo-jin finishing off already-defeated enemies.
“What the hell is he—”
BOOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted from the rear.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
The entire tunnel shook from the sheer force of it.
The Yacha Hunters paled.
“Wh-What the—?!”
The assailants hadn’t just attacked with firearms.
They had also been rigged for a suicide bombing.
One of the Yacha Hunters quickly bent down and inspected the neck of a fallen attacker.
“Dear god…”
Woo-jin’s blade had precisely severed the detonation wires connected to their explosive devices.
Had even one of them gone off, the tunnel would’ve collapsed—and everyone present would have died instantly.
Realizing this, the Yacha Faction Hunters turned ghost-pale, swallowing dryly in terror.
Woo-jin looked down at the fallen attackers with a hard expression.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen this filthy tactic.’
This kind of suicide bombing was a trademark of none other than the Black Corporation.
Though he didn’t yet know the nature of the relationship between Cheon Oh-hyuk and them, there was undoubtedly a connection.
Woo-jin sheathed the Goblin Sword and addressed the Yacha Hunters.
“We probably won’t get much out of them, but search them anyway. If any of them are still breathing, keep them that way. I’ll interrogate them myself.”
This was the same Cheon Woo-jin once mocked as the weakling of the Heavenly Sword House.
Yet the sheer pressure and commanding presence he now exuded said otherwise.
Unconsciously, the Yacha Faction Hunters bowed their heads.
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“As you command.”
Woo-jin returned to the car and said to Kim San, “We’re behind schedule. Let’s go.”
Having just watched Woo-jin effortlessly neutralize a deadly terror operation that Cheon Oh-hyuk had surely prepared meticulously, Kim San felt a chill run down his spine.
It had been ten years since he last swore loyalty to a master— and now, more than ever, he was certain: he had chosen right.
The vehicle carrying Cheon Woo-jin sped out of the tunnel and headed toward Mount Gyeryong.
* * *
Mount Gyeryong was known for its many high-risk dungeons, and the entire barrier zone was managed by the Heavenly Sword House.
At the entrance checkpoint to the barrier zone, the vehicle came to a stop.
A clan-affiliated Hunter approached.
“May I see your identification, please?”
Despite the Heavenly Sword House’s insignia being clearly displayed on the car, the Hunter still requested ID.
Kim San rolled down the window and handed over his identification.
The Hunter took it and walked into the booth to verify.
While waiting for the process to complete, someone knocked on the rear window where Woo-jin was sitting.
There had been no sound—no presence at all—and the knock came out of nowhere.
Startled, Kim San reached for his weapon.
But Woo-jin shook his head slightly, signaling that it was fine, and rolled the window down himself.
Outside stood a handsome man with platinum-blond hair and ruby earrings, smiling brightly.
“Hey, Woo-jin.”
It was none other than Cheon Oh-hyuk—Master of the Nebula faction and known as the Knight of Constellation.
Recognizing him, Kim San immediately summoned a mana barrier and prepared to guard Woo-jin.
But Oh-hyuk waved a hand casually at Kim San and said,
“Relax, Director Kim. I’m just here to say hi to my little brother. Thought I’d bring a little gift while I was at it.”
He handed a shopping bag through the open window.
It bore the logo of a famous high-end dessert café.
“It’s got a nice sweet kick. Picked it up myself at the department store yesterday. Thought you’d want something tasty before heading into the dungeon. You know, blood sugar crashes can be rough.”
With a warm smile and gentle voice, Cheon Oh-hyuk offered the gift.
Cheon Woo-jin took out the box from the bag and opened it.
Inside, a set of beautifully crafted desserts sat neatly arranged in a luxury package.
Without hesitation, Woo-jin picked one up and popped it into his mouth.
After chewing and swallowing, he nodded.
“It’s good.”
Seeing Woo-jin calmly eat the dessert, Cheon Oh-hyuk gave a faint smile and suddenly reached his hand through the window.
“Woo-jin…What do you say we join hands? I’ll treat you right.”
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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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