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chapter 210
A few hours earlier.
Lee Hyun was rapidly crossing the middle of a desert valley.
“These guys… they’re trying to pick us off individually. I need to take out as many as I can before they regroup.”
The fortunate thing was that he had the Astraphe Staff.
He could float the Snow Sapphire in midair, quickly scan the surroundings, process the data with Gingoa, and set coordinates.
For close-range targets, he relied on the trust of the Duokshini; for distant ones, he used the loot to leap across space.
As a result:
“Found them!!”
He located the surveillance tower from which they were being commanded.
It was camouflaged with paint that blended perfectly with the surrounding desert terrain, making it hard to detect at first glance. But once he locked onto it, its outline was unmistakably clear.
[Leaping through space!]
Lee Hyun tore through the space and attempted to infiltrate the surveillance tower.
“What the…!!”
Hashad, witnessing this, looked as if he had seen a ghost. The very face that had appeared on dozens of monitors simultaneously now stood in the middle of the command center!
The problem was that the tower had barriers built to guard against external intrusions and spatial jumps.
[The external barrier has been partially damaged by a strong neural pulse.]
[Defense systems partially destroyed.]
…
[The blocking wall system is activating!]
But none of this mattered against the heatwave Lee Hyun exuded.
“Stop him!!”
“Enemy breach! Protect Hashad!”
The minions rushed toward Hashad in desperation.
But this was the command center. Most of the troops were stationed outside. Inside were mainly staff monitoring operations and directing the mission. Naturally, they couldn’t match his power.
Swish—
Bang!!
They weren’t quick enough to block Lee Hyun’s assault. The first to strike was Duokshini’s front tooth.
“Hashad!!”
By the time the staff turned, the hand axe had already hit Hashad between the eyes. The finality of his blank stare was almost comical.
Then,
Crackle!
Zzzzzzt!!
Blue-white electricity surged over the hand axe, followed by a massive lightning strike that obliterated Hashad’s body and turned the entire command center into chaos.
“Aaah!”
“Gah!”
[The Duokshini’s wrath is going berserk!]
Lee Hyun drew out Duokshini’s molars and pressed the assault on the surveillance tower. Anyone in his path was sliced, any walls destroyed.
Kra-kra-bang!!
Rumble—
The tower eventually collapsed under his attack.
“Damn it…!”
“Jet!! Fire!”
At the commotion, minions from Hashad’s side aimed their firearms at him.
Brrrrrt—
But they still weren’t enough to catch Lee Hyun.
Dudududu!
Ttt-ting—
Hundreds of rounds fired from an armored vehicle couldn’t penetrate the electrically woven collar of his armor.
[“Holy Relic: Gundo Cloud” integrates with Duokshini’s collar to weave a celestial robe!]
[Jeongdan Lion’s armor adds the blade-immune trait to the robe and the indestructible trait to the body!]
With Gundo Cloud and Jeongdan Lion’s armor, Lee Hyun was essentially wearing complete armor 24/7.
Rumble…!!
He wouldn’t allow the enemies to form a line or gather together. He kept pushing forward, destroying tanks with molars and eliminating hunters with thrown front teeth or the Yeoui Chain.
Bang! Rumble—
The command center and main forces were instantly half-destroyed.
“Team Leaaader!!”
Eom Gi-seon intervened mid-battle, looking panicked.
“Why are you so late?”
Lee Hyun replied calmly. The hot air and smoky haze filled the room, yet he remained unnaturally clean.
“Late? Who’s late! I ran as fast as I could! But where did you land to arrive here so quickly!?”
“Well…”
“…Hmph. Still the mysterious type, huh? Never just tells it straight.”
Eom Gi-seon groaned and lowered his half-sword.
Zzshhh!!
Suddenly, a pure white light emerged along the half-sword, restoring its full blade form.
“Aura Blade?”
“I completed it while struggling with Executive Director earlier. Not bad, huh? Look at that shine.”
Lee Hyun nodded. Aura was a difficult technique even for skilled swordsmen.
[Aura]
A crystalline form created by condensing magical energy at high purity and density.
All living beings emit aura from their soul (Psyche). Ancient people believed this subtle spiritual energy could influence the external world.
When fused with an individual’s soul, the aura naturally changes in color, density, and properties according to emotions, beliefs, and memories.
-
Origin: Ancient Greek mystery religion
The Aura Blade was the culmination of this aura technique. Executive Director Ho had really put it through its paces.
“The spells are more stable and the sword sharper.”
Lee Hyun began to respect Eom Gi-seon.
“Anyway, I’ll take the lead this time. Let’s restore the points lost because of me. Help me out! And…”
Eom Gi-seon grinned, showing his fangs.
“If we get the chance, let’s spar. I’ve gotten much stronger. Now even you can’t handle me carelessly.”
“You’re not trying to take revenge for the rumors you spread before?”
“Of course! Do you know how much Minjeong scolded me after that? I must get back at you!”
Lee Hyun chuckled lightly.
“If you stop there, I’ll accept a rematch.”
“What’s that!?”
Just then, a bomber suddenly descended from the sky, tearing through the air.
It was a Su-24 series bomber, large in size, a common sight in desert operations.
Several bombs fell precisely in their direction.
“Insane bastards…!!”
Eom Gi-seon’s face twisted. Many survivors of the Sama Association were still alive, yet they dared to bomb the area without care. True to the nature of the Minions.
Defending against such a bombing was impossible, but just then—
“See? Too hard to handle yet, huh?”
A miracle occurred.
Boom!
Lee Hyun stomped his foot.
[Expanding Duokshini’s collar!]
Golden clouds spread wide, piercing the ground as Yeoui Chains shot up.
“What are you going to do with that!? Shoot down bombs!?”
Eom Gi-seon doubted it, but Lee Hyun replied:
“If it were only bombs, why bother?”
“…!?”
“I’ll wait here. Time to show the greatness of the Team Leader.”
With a sinister grin, he leapt into the air.
Flare!
Brrrrrt—
[Activating Duokshini’s Trust!]
“Woah… how is that possible…!”
Even Eom Gi-seon couldn’t help but marvel. Lee Hyun reached the bombs at incredible speed, stepping on the Yeoui Chains and the condensed Gundo Cloud, striking like a legendary void strike.
[Duokshini’s Roar Explodes!]
Screech!
The air pressure split space itself.
Rumble!!
Lightning shot diagonally, splitting all bombs midair. Even those far from Lee Hyun.
“……!!”
The smoke and debris were pushed away by the golden clouds, leaving Lee Hyun unscathed. He clenched a molar charged with blue-white lightning and prepared for a second leap.
“That… that’s…”
“Impossible!”
Even Eom Gi-seon and Sama survivors stared in awe at his divine technique.
The bomber tried to escape in a U-turn, but—
Bang!
Lee Hyun, after a few leaps, landed on the wing. The pilot inside went pale, feeling the plane become his coffin.
The bomber attempted acrobatics to shake Lee Hyun off, but—
Bzzt! Bzzt!
All systems were fried by the electrical infiltration.
“Mayday! Mayday! Systems failure! Target in sight…!”
Rumble!!
Lee Hyun smashed the molar down, destroying the cockpit and the pilot. The bomber exploded at high altitude.
Brrrrt! Brrrrt!
[Lightning strikes continuously!]
His thrown front teeth summoned lightning, taking down the other bombers, UAVs, and drones.
In the middle of the desert, no one could stop Lee Hyun.
A God of War had descended to earth.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!!”
The Sama survivors stared blankly. Eom Gi-seon lowered his sword with a bitter laugh.
“How do you even fight such a monster…? Damn. At this rate, the Executive Director will be in danger too.”
Even preparing to avenge the rumors seemed reckless in hindsight.
Thud!
Lee Hyun landed on the ground, unscathed despite the fierce battle.
Eom Gi-seon approached, but Lee Hyun stopped him with a firm hand.
Just then—
Sssshhh.
‘Long time no see, Jet. How did you like my gift? I made it expensive, given we met far from home.’
A stranger’s voice came through Lee Hyun’s radio item.
Eom Gi-seon’s eyes sank. English with a distinct Chinese accent. He knew instinctively: it was the enemy.
“Onma…!”
The hands of Peng Jinghao.
“Chairman Peng must be rich… or well-sponsored. Hitting a U.S. transport with missiles, using bombers… not cheap. The penalties must be astronomical.”
Lee Hyun brought the brooch close to his mouth.
Zzzt.
“If you aim to capture Jet, spending an astronomical sum is already expected.”
“So they’ll keep pouring money?”
“Yes. Jet and Cheongroe will wither in this desert, and we won’t stop. You may have been the hunter in Tianjin, but this time…”
Zzzt.
“…we are the hunters. Expect it.”
The radio went silent.
“They’re trying to prevent me from tracing them… so they’ve been watching this fight all along.”
No wonder Onma’s forces were weak—they were just probing the exact combat specs of Lee Hyun and the Cheongroe unit.
Swish—
Bang!
Lee Hyun shot down a UAV with a front tooth, then turned to Eom Gi-seon.
“No transmissions from the Astra garrison?”
“Yes. Only local signals; long-range communication is still blocked. Magic interference is severe. We’d have to meet with Chief Seo, but even a hotline seems difficult.”
“What exactly did they trigger…? Astra must be panicking. We’ll head toward the Palmyra ruins for now.”
“Order confirmed.”
Lee Hyun and Eom Gi-seon moved westward.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Yet, no survivor from the Sama Association could stop them.
