Episode 62
Chapter 21: Tesing Underground Auction (5)
‘Then who the hell was that guy? Was he really from the Bimant Special Task Force after all?’
Jet was running hard, cradling his two-year-old son who was sound asleep. Thankfully, the child didn’t wake up until they reached the dock.
‘Damn it… What a mess. I was trying to establish a solid foothold in Akin based on the intel, but now I have to leave everything behind.’
All the grand dreams he had nurtured here, everything he had built up until now—they had to be left behind, abandoned in his wake.
‘To think I’d end up running away like this…’
Even as he boarded the ship, Jet wrestled with doubt—was following that mysterious kid really the right choice?
It didn’t take long to realize there was no other option.
On deck, Jet searched through his pockets with a dazed expression. He pulled out a handful of heavy pure gold items—a necklace, a ring, and tiny gold nuggets.
“Use this for travel expenses while you’re on the run. Feed your son well.”
Those were the last words he’d heard from Jin. After pretending to be a Veradin and using him all along, why would Jin leave him something like this? Jet couldn’t fathom the reasoning.
Sigh ‘For now, I’ll head to Bimant and wait for news.’
Jet was feeling gloomy.
Bang!
The sound of a door being smashed to pieces jolted the auction house’s gang members to their feet. Alu stormed in, breathing heavily.
“Where’s that con artist bastard?!”
“Huh? Boss, who are you talking about?”
“Veradin Jiple! That little runt impersonating Veradin Jiple! Drag him here right now—I’ll skin him alive myself…!”
“Impersonating? Boss, surely not.”
The men exchanged nervous glances. Did you know? No, I had no idea. Everyone’s eyes said the same thing.
“Boss, th-they left already. Just under an hour ago.”
Alu was so furious watching the scene that he was about to lose it. Smack! Smack! His thick palms slapped the cheeks of the men in front of him one by one.
“What the hell are you idiots doing? You just let them go? You actually let them get away?”
But no one had the courage to say, “Boss, you were fooled too.”
When Alu’s eyes went wild, the best thing was to stay quiet.
One of his usual trusted men finally spoke up.
“Boss, they took the entire list and ledger. They didn’t touch the goods.”
Alu’s temples throbbed so hard he felt like his head would explode. He wanted to kill every incompetent subordinate on the spot, but catching the impersonator was the priority.
“Prepare to pursue immediately. Before sunrise, we’ll catch every last one of those bastards.”
Meanwhile, Jin had already sent anonymous tips to three places via magical mail.
The tips were sent to the Bimant royal court, the Jiple family headquarters, and a news outlet in Akin.
If he had just sent a simple tip saying ‘Tesing are bad guys,’ none of the three would have batted an eye.
But with the tip to Bimant, he enclosed the slave registry; to Jiple, the transaction ledger; and to the news outlet, the client list.
‘Bimant can’t ignore this since many of their own citizens are mixed in the slave list. Jiple won’t let Tesing off the hook because the ledger includes valuable ancient spellbooks.’
The news outlet that received the client list would also raise its voice. Most news outlets in Akin were bought by Tesing, but the one Jin sent to was known even in his previous life for bravely exposing their crimes.
Within two days, once the authorities verify the tips, it’s over. Tesing will be disbanded and fade into history.
Still, Jin hadn’t left Akin yet. He was waiting on the outskirts with his comrades for Alu.
They needed to confirm if Alu really had ties to Runkandel.
“Kid, aren’t you worried about what that Jet guy said? Do you really think your brothers would hang out with these lowlife thugs?”
“I think so too, my lord. They should keep their level appropriate.”
“The Tesing organization itself isn’t much, but Alu is at least a 7-star warrior. He might have been someone important somewhere before.”
Jin didn’t know much about Alu’s past, other than that he had been running Tesing and corrupting Akin for some time.
“Hmm, well. Before we leave, we should at least thank him properly. Not only did he give us Chenmi’s spellbook, but he also gifted us a masterpiece. I nearly freaked out when I saw that ring on your finger after leaving the auction.”
According to Murakan, the real name of that artifact ring wasn’t ‘Demon King’s Helmet’ but ‘Multa’s Rune.’
It was an item created thousands of years ago by a demon named Multa to protect his beloved, who fought in endless wars.
The fact that the beloved was the first emperor of Bimant was an unexpected bonus.
“Anyway, it’s an incredible find for a bunch of hillbilly thugs. Once this is all over, let’s start by deciphering Chenmi’s spellbook.”
They had deliberately left traces behind to make it easier for Alu to track them. All three had only to sit tight and wait.
Two hours later.
A group of Tesing members found the three sitting by a campfire.
“There they are! Inform the boss!”
Bang!
The members fired signal flares simultaneously. But the gangsters couldn’t easily attack Jin’s group. Though the kid was just an impersonator, he had just demonstrated a 5-star spell right before their eyes.
A strange standoff ensued.
Jin’s group, with no intention of fleeing, stared blankly at the gangsters, who seemed to be waiting for reinforcements.
“Murakan.”
“What?”
“I want to take Alu one-on-one.”
“You’re asking for all sorts of things now. So you want me to pick off the small fry?”
“Exactly.”
“Ugh, what a pain…”
While Murakan grumbled, Alu arrived, panting and drenched in sweat.
About a hundred of his men followed behind him, equally exhausted.
The Tesing members who had been wary of Jin’s group until now suddenly grew confident with their numbers swelling.
“Damn it! What are you waiting for? Attack!”
“Hold on, cover the strawberry pie for a bit.”
The Tesing gang charged en masse—half mages, half warriors. The mages began casting spells from a distance, while the warriors charged wielding all kinds of weapons.
Murakan, by contrast, was completely unarmed. He wore only a thin shirt, not even a dagger the size of a palm.
Crack!
“Ugh.”
Still, Murakan struck first. He crushed the jaw of the lead attacker with his elbow, then darted through the crowd like lightning.
These weren’t elite knights or exceptional warriors. Every time Murakan threw a punch, someone died or was knocked out.
To Alu and his men, Murakan must have looked like an incredible martial artist.
The mages, having finished their chants, couldn’t cast spells recklessly. They couldn’t track Murakan’s speed or aim properly, and their own men were too close.
“You idiots! Don’t aim at him—go for the kid behind him!”
Alu shouted, and the mages shifted their target belatedly. Jin couldn’t help but snicker.
“Fire!”
The lead mage shouted, and the mages raised their staffs in unison.
Flurries of ice daggers—nearly fifty—converged on Jin.
But unfortunately for them…
‘No need to even block this.’
Thanks to the Pendant of the Beast King Orgal, Jin was practically immune to spells below 5-star level.
Crackling! The ice daggers shattered before reaching him. The unregistered Tesing mages could only blink in disbelief.
“What… what are those things…?”
“Graaah!”
“Ugh!”
Murakan’s side was already cleaning up. Fifty or a hundred, small fry are still small fry, and a black dragon is a black dragon even past its prime.
Five minutes into the battle.
The Tesing members were already losing morale. But it wasn’t just because Jin’s group was strong.
From the moment the chase began after the impersonator was exposed, the more skilled members had fled to save themselves.
They had already accepted that ‘Alu is finished.’ Until now, Jiple had tolerated Tesing’s misdeeds, but now that they’d been fooled by the impersonator, they wouldn’t let Tesing off the hook.
It was obvious that a report would reach Jiple by morning, so fleeing was the smart move.
By now, Alu had to realize it too—that today was the end for him.
“Puhahaha.”
Alu let out a hollow laugh as his sword glowed with a white aura.
“They’re not ordinary con artists.”
Swish!
Suddenly, Alu turned and began slashing the throats of the mages standing beside him. The mages couldn’t escape from their mad boss and most died on the spot.
It was the sword aura. Mages under 5-star level couldn’t dodge the sword strikes of a 7-star warrior coming at them in an instant.
“B-boss, what are you doing—agh!”
“Ughhh!”
Aru slaughtered his subordinates with a blank expression. True to his nickname, ‘Spider Hands,’ not a single one managed to escape alive.
“Who sent you? Who’s behind this, huh?”
Aru’s eyes were half glazed over as he spoke.
“You’re all going to hell soon anyway, so just think whatever you want.”
“That’s true… but—”
Shing!
So fast!
Aru’s sudden slash grazed Jin’s cheek. If he’d reacted a moment slower, it wouldn’t have been his cheek but his neck that got cut.
“What should I do? I’m not going alone. All of you, you’re coming to hell with me.”
He simply opened his aura and started radiating murderous intent. And the distance between Jin and Aru was about fifty meters.
Still, Jin felt every hair on his body stand on end.
So this is the overwhelming presence of a 7-star warrior.
He’d met countless 7-star knights in his life, but never one who tried to kill him outright. Facing the raw, unfiltered energy of a 7-star warrior left his throat parched.
Just as he reached to draw his sword—
“You bastard, you finally found your match. Now it’s my turn to take care of the strawberry pie. Heh heh, let’s see what you’ve got!”
Murakan shouted from a distance, already grabbing Gilly and running off.