Chapter 191
Episode 62: The Compass Seizure Operation (3)
Flash!
A blinding white light exploded from Jin’s grasp.
“Damn it!”
“Crazy bastard!”
Chucon and Kal’s bodyguards cursed aloud. Just before the flash grenade detonated, four people had tried to strike Jin in that split second.
All were warriors of at least seventh rank. But three of them were stopped before they could even reach Jin—blocked by Siris, who had just turned around.
They’d been so flustered trying to hit Jin that they hadn’t even considered her. Calmly, she slipped behind the three and slit their throats with a dagger.
The remaining attacker tried to strike Jin, but Jin dodged and twisted his neck until it snapped. Crack! The sensation of the broken vertebrae echoed in Jin’s grip, while Chucon, Kal, and their followers screamed in rage.
If only it had been a proper offensive spell, Chucon Tolder wouldn’t have suffered any damage.
After Jin and Siris sat at the adjacent table, Chucon had wrapped himself in a reactive defense spell.
It was a shield that even an eighth-rank mage or warrior’s ultimate technique couldn’t easily pierce. Even if caught off guard, he planned to defend and then tear his attacker apart.
But ancient light magic—especially one that didn’t strike directly but merely emitted a bright glow—was a different story. It wasn’t a defense spell; the only counter was to cover one’s eyes in advance.
“Damn it! Kal Zip! You really…!”
“Chucon! What kind of trickery is this?!”
Just as Jin predicted, Chucon and Kal immediately suspected each other. The mages of Kinzello and Zip clutched their burning eyes and wildly began casting attack spells.
Clang!
Jin grabbed the compass and stabbed Bradamante into Chucon’s neck, triggering his shield.
‘As expected, it wouldn’t be this easy.’
Turning to strike Kal’s neck, Jin found himself ambushed by bodyguards hiding at another table.
“For Kinzello!”
Though it wasn’t part of the original plan, Jin shouted and parried the bodyguards’ blades. At the same time—boom!
Siris unleashed a smoke bomb. As the flash grenade was followed by thick smoke spreading everywhere, the gambling hall descended into utter chaos.
Before the smoke fully spread, Jin threw the compass to Siris. Seeing this, the bodyguards hesitated, and Jin didn’t hesitate to cut down their throats. He could feel his swordsmanship reaching a new level.
Each of these warriors was at least seventh rank. Yet every time Jin moved, they were injured or disarmed. Many lost their lives with a single stroke.
Granted, the bodyguards were caught off guard, but wiping out such skilled warriors like sweeping fallen leaves was no small feat.
Still, there were too many of them. Only about 20% of the second floor’s occupants were regular customers; the rest were Zip and Kinzello’s henchmen.
“Ahhh!”
“Eek!”
The regular patrons screamed and scrambled to escape.
‘Get down.’
Jin gave a subtle nod, and Siris nodded back. Now she had to go downstairs, hand the compass to Enya, and discreetly guard her until she safely exited the gambling hall.
Would Jin be okay on his own?
Siris didn’t question it. The Jin she saw for the first time since the Colon Ruins was a completely different person.
‘How the hell did he train? He’s a monster. At this rate, I don’t know when anyone could ever beat him.’
Siris joined the panicked crowd of regulars screaming and rushing down to the first floor.
Some had seen her kill the first three bodyguards, but with the smoke, screams, mages chanting spells, and the clash of weapons between Jin and the guards, no one had time to pay attention.
All of this happened within seconds.
‘Once the chaos ends and they fully realize the existence of the third faction—me—it’ll be at most ten seconds. And there are roughly thirty bodyguards from both sides on the second floor.’
Jin had to take out as many enemies as possible within that time.
After the confusion settled, Jin wouldn’t just face the thirty bodyguards who hadn’t been blinded by the flash grenade.
Chucon Tolder and Kal Zip would regain some vision within a minute, and the White Wolf tribe and Zip’s henchmen from the first floor would come up hunting for Jin.
“Priority one: secure the goods!”
At Chucon’s shout, Jin activated Multa’s rune, sheathed Bradamante, and drew a new sword.
Its pale blade shimmered faintly through the smoke.
The Sigmund Thunder Sword began to hum with electric energy, blue flames sparking wildly. The gazes of those searching for Jin naturally followed the crackling lightning.
What the hell is that?
Everyone thought that for a moment, watching the glowing lightning tear through the smoke. It didn’t seem like high-level lightning magic, but the sword’s electric aura was unusual.
The figure wielding it was masked by a black helmet.
‘I like that the Sovereign Sword doesn’t need to hide its spiritual energy like a ghost.’
Thud!
Dropping Sigmund downward, sharp lightning suddenly poured from the ceiling.
The Sovereign Sword’s Thunder Strike—no one in the gambling hall would recognize this legendary technique lost half a millennium ago.
Unfamiliarity meant difficulty in countering.
Unfamiliar and powerful meant impossible to counter.
In that sense, as Jin began swinging Sigmund, he briefly became a god on the second floor of the gambling hall.
When he rained down lightning, those struck had no choice but to die.
Rumble! Crackle!
Blue lightning cut through the smoke, tearing apart the people within. Unlike natural or mage lightning, the Sovereign Sword’s thunder had the form of a blade.
With every flash of blue light, someone lost their head or their body.
Those who had been straining to see Jin now struggled desperately to stay out of his sight.
Not just a figure of speech—they truly looked like a god.
In a place where an artifact had turned a god’s contractor into prey, suddenly appeared an unknown, unfathomable warrior.
“Sir Kal! You must retreat!”
“Retreat? What nonsense are you spouting? Once my sight returns, I’ll tear Kinzello’s vermin apart myself!”
“Lightning! Lightning is striking down!”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Sir Chucon! This doesn’t seem like Zip’s doing! An intruder is wielding lightning… agh!”
Kal and Chucon couldn’t understand why their bodyguards were cowering—they still couldn’t see the lightning.
Aaaah!
Agony-filled screams continued. The bodyguards couldn’t even approach Jin, barely able to protect their masters.
“Damn uncivilized humans, never seen them do anything right…”
That was when the White Wolf tribe arrived from the first floor.
Grumbling about human incompetence, they fell silent the moment they saw the thunderous display.
They were simply facing the Sovereign Sword’s majesty.
But like the young Red Tiger tribe in Yukayuka Market, the blood-stamped fear paralyzed the White Wolves.
‘Th-this is the aura of that idiot from before…!?’
Two White Wolves who sensed something strange about Jin were the first to realize.
The human raining down lightning was that very idiot—no, that monster who smelled like him.
Still, unlike the young Red Tigers, these were warriors. They held the rank of assault captains in the White Wolf army.
Bang!
The White Wolves slammed their massive hammers into the floor.
“Focus! You idiots, there’s only one of him! Melto, protect Chucon! Duroka and I will subdue that bastard!”
“Zip’s men, listen up! The alliance is broken, but now’s not the time to argue. Once you’re ready, attack the intruder!”
Their raised voices quickly calmed the chaos.
At that moment, Jin realized one thing.
‘Among the enemies here, none surpass the level of a White Wolf assault captain.’
There might be stronger foes outside, but inside was certain. That meant the allies downstairs could handle the rest.
‘I hope they’re doing well. As long as Miss Enya escapes safely to the safe zone, the others can survive on their own despite the chaos.’
The first floor was in turmoil too. The building trembled from the fierce fighting below.
Crack!
Jin scattered lightning at the approaching White Wolves.
Though their history of being ravaged by the Sovereign tribe had imprinted fear in their blood, fear is an emotion born from understanding an opponent’s strength.
Unlike human warriors, the White Wolves weren’t cut down instantly by the Sovereign Sword. They deflected the lightning with their hammers and closed in on Jin.
“State your name, human!”
“Why should I?”
“Your power is unfamiliar, but instinct tells me to demand an honorable duel. I want to offer your corpse at Xavier’s altar!”
Jin smirked.
‘Doesn’t that instinct tell you to run away?’
“What?”
“I don’t have much time. I’m a bit too busy to play around.”
Even as Jin spoke dismissively, the White Wolves couldn’t get as excited as they would against other humans. They fought despite their fear, but hadn’t fully overcome it.
Only their warrior pride and honor kept them fighting. To the White Wolves, Jin wasn’t human—he was a massive shadow of a predator they’d never seen before.
It wasn’t just an expression—it truly looked that way. The energy from the Radiant Heart made it impossible to see Jin’s form clearly.
Thump, thump!
Beneath the Black Radiant Armor, the aura inside the Radiant Heart began to spin even faster.
The White Wolf Tribe’s assault captain could have easily been handled with a simple lightning strike, but it was better in every way to finish things before Chu-kon and the blade recovered.
To do that, a bit of recklessness was necessary.
“Consider it an honor, wolves. This isn’t a technique I planned to use so early.”
Crackling!
Sigmund absorbed the lightning bolts that spread in all directions. The blue energy enveloping the entire second floor converged into a pale, gleaming blade, and the room dimmed in an instant.
One level deeper.
The fear gripping the White Wolf Tribe thickened. No new lightning had struck, yet their instincts once again began to bind their steps.
‘Toshinki. This is the second time I’m using it since mastering it.’
The Three Swords of the Underworld King’s Sword Technique.
Judgment.
As Jin thrust Sigmund forward, a massive spike forged from lightning shot out from the blade’s core, hurtling straight toward the White Wolf Tribe.