Signs Of Fracture (2)

“As expected of the maximum proficiency effect.”

Kang-hoo wore a satisfied expression.

Even thinking about it again, he could not imagine what things would have been like now if he had not formed a contract with the Dimension Plunderer in the beginning.

What was certain was that he would not have grown even half as much as now, no, not even a quarter as much.

The reason he could now unleash power far beyond what suited his level was thanks to the maximum skill proficiency effect.

Without this, even if he had obtained many skills, their power would have been weak because their skill levels would have been low.

Black Cross Flame Lotus was proof enough.

Without the maximum proficiency effect, he would never have gained the devastating debuff effect called Black Lotus.

Calling it paralysis made it sound mild, but if one was paralyzed for 30 seconds, one died. Was that not just a motionless target for 30 seconds? There was absolutely no surviving it.

“Let’s see.”

Kang-hoo chose the hybrid as his target and approached.

In any case, the target had to be within the 5-meter cross-shaped area, so he needed to set the range well.

Because it was not a circle or a square but a special cross shape, the calculation had to be done more precisely.

Grrr…….

The hybrid, looking unmotivated from beginning to end, merely shuffled along on its own path.

The next moment.

He used the skill immediately.

And then.

Skwaaang!

Centered on Kang-hoo, a powerful pressure that slammed down from above instantly took effect across the cross-shaped area.

A sound loud enough to be called a roar rang out, and the black cross-shaped force that fell from the air—

Kwaak!

Crushed the hybrid just like that.

It struck with such force that the hybrid’s face was buried straight into the ground.

Like an insect standing stiffly upright being crushed from above by a hand, the hybrid had been flattened against the ground.

“The mana consumption is no joke.”

Even though it was a skill that used only mana without separately consuming Dark Energy or divine power, the amount consumed far exceeded imagination.

The speed at which mana drained from his body was also faster than with his other skills, so his body was immediately overloaded.

Would it be the right comparison to say that, rather than mana naturally flowing out, it felt like it was being half-forcibly extracted by an external force? It felt as if his body were being overworked.

If he used this against a hunter, then in the case of a weak hunter, they would be unable to resist just like the hybrid and would be crushed to death.

If it was a fairly skilled hunter, the downward pressure would act heavily on the upper body and break the body’s center.

In truth, even that alone was enough to create a variable in battle.

Moreover, the unique point of Black Cross Flame Lotus was that the black cross fell from much higher in the air than one might think.

That meant it could also forcibly make enemies maneuvering in the air crash down.

It could become a counter skill against top-class mage hunters who maneuvered freely through the air.

The reason Jang Si-hwan and Chae Gwanhyeong were called a fantastic duo was because Jang Si-hwan’s magical support allowed Chae Gwanhyeong to keep maneuvering in the air.

If Black Cross Flame Lotus landed on Chae Gwanhyeong, he would be unable to avoid an ugly fall that very instant.

“Used the other way around, it would be just as effective too.”

Spaang!

This time, Kang-hoo launched the hybrid upward into the air.

Then, as though a high-performance spring had been installed in the ground, the hybrid’s body shot upward.

In this form, even in an ordinary fight on the ground, it could break the enemy’s attacks and concentration.

In particular, against skills that required separate casting time, he could cut off the process in the preparation stage with Black Cross Flame Lotus.

Shiiiii! Kuung!

Soon, the hybrid reached its peak in midair and then crashed to the ground, falling over like half a crushed pancake.

At this point, the test had been sufficient.

How cleverly he would make use of this hidden skill was simply a matter of how widely he could think.

It seemed that, during his rest for the time being, he would have a lot to think about. Quite a few interesting possibilities were already coming to mind.

Kang-hoo’s group returned right away.

On the flight back, Ayane made the decision to find a place to stay in Korea altogether.

Part of it was her desire to keep working in sync with Kang-hoo, but it was also because she had grown much closer to Park Dong-jae.

Having lived a long mercenary life, she had experienced countless buffers, but there had never been anyone as skilled as Park Dong-jae.

And that Park Dong-jae followed only Kang-hoo with his eyes fixed on him.

She calculated that, to stay with the two of them, she had to be in Korea, and so she made the decision without hesitation.

However, since she needed time to sort out her residence in Japan, they decided on a brief parting for that purpose.

As soon as they entered the country, Kang-hoo and Park Dong-jae also separated right away.

Park Dong-jae decided to return to the gym first and recheck the condition of the Full Moon Dungeon.

At the same time, he also decided to look into a place where Ayane could stay when she came to Korea in Kang-hoo’s stead.

Knowing full well how busy Kang-hoo was, Park Dong-jae stepped forward first, saying he would shorten that time for him.

Something to be grateful for in many ways.

After sincerely thanking Park Dong-jae, Kang-hoo promised to rejoin him again soon.

He had to meet Lee Ye-rin right away too.

And since he also had to return to Ground Zero and talk about Ju Haemi, K, and Celestial Assassin, he was busy.

He always felt pressed by his schedule…… but he did not dislike that pressure. The more things there were to do, the better.

Daejeon Station, which he had come back to after a long time.

Only a few months ago, Daejeon Station had been a hotbed of crime, with Eclipse flags fluttering everywhere.

But now, in the area around Daejeon Station that Kang-hoo saw, there was not a single trace related to Eclipse.

Even though Eclipse’s influence still partially remained, there was not even the scent of those bastards.

‘They haven’t withdrawn. They’re only pretending to have withdrawn.’

Kang-hoo narrowed his eyes.

At a glance, the area around Daejeon Station looked peaceful, but that was exactly why it felt so alien.

Eclipse had lost Cheongmyeong Detention Center to the alliance of Heuksaja, Cheong-an, and Team Jeon Se-hyuk.

But that did not mean the organization as a whole had suffered damage severe enough to shake its very foundation.

It was true that their biggest source of income had been cut off, but there were plenty of other ways to make money.

And yet it was hard to find any trace of them, to the point that one might wonder whether Eclipse still existed at all?

Kang-hoo was certain that there was a strategic judgment by Eclipse behind the scenes.

If the leader had been Kang Dong-hyun, he might have thought simply, but things were different now that Kang Tae-yang was the leader.

Unlike his younger brother, he was clever, extremely cold, and not easily swept up by emotion.

There were many emotional aspects when it came to his relationship with his younger brother, but only in that one area.

As a leader of an organization, in handling affairs and formulating tactical strategy, Kang Tae-yang was a hundred times better than Kang Dong-hyun.

‘Come to think of it, Kang Dong-hyun’s outside activities have disappeared too. Even the movement to retake Cheongmyeong Detention Center is gone.’

Eclipse’s movements had become closed-off and secretive.

Everyone said the age of Eclipse had passed, but Kang-hoo was certain they were quietly sharpening their blades.

However.

“Honestly, what the hell did you Cheong-an bastards even do in the battle to retake Cheongmyeong Detention Center? Huh? Shin Kang-hoo won it by taking Jo Hwan-seong’s head, didn’t he? Did you even fight properly?”

“Isn’t that what you Heuksaja bastards should be hearing? Weren’t you the sons of bitches who came in late and reaped the benefits after we fought our asses off until we were exhausted, fuck!”

The scenery at Daejeon Station had felt peaceful, but once he actually paid attention and listened to the sounds around him, his thoughts changed.

Hunters from Heuksaja and Cheong-an were competitively recruiting new mercenaries and members in front of the station.

In particular, the hunters of Heuksaja were intentionally continuing to pick fights with the hunters of Cheong-an.

Though the scene was one where harsh words were going back and forth on both sides, nine times out of ten it was Heuksaja that had provided the spark.

As if they were hoping that the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps side would respond emotionally…… that was the scent in the air.

‘Maybe they’ve already made up their minds differently.’

After the framework of the sharply opposed three-way standoff had broken, the power struggle in Daejeon as seen from the outside had become a two-way war.

Unlike the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, which was strict about taking in new members, Heuksaja did not care about the backgrounds of applicants.

From the beginning, they had never checked the identity or prior record of applicants at the admission stage.

For that reason, Heuksaja as an organization was one giant hotbed of criminals.

Even the leader brothers Gwak Hyeong-seok and Gwak Hyeong-su were, at least “nominally,” Class 2 wanted criminals of the Hunter Public Safety Bureau.

If the upper stream was like that, then there was nothing strange about the lower stream following suit.

Moreover, the force backing Heuksaja was Russia’s Kashimar Guild. They too were a den of criminals.

‘In the end, they’re bastards who need to be wiped out.’

Whether viewed from near or far.

For the future, getting rid of Heuksaja was the right move. If possible, the sooner the better.

The reason Lee Ye-rin in the original story could not spread her wings further and collapsed while opposing The Thirteen Stars as well.

Was largely because the struggle with Heuksaja over supremacy dragged on too long, consuming much of the guild’s core strength.

At the same time, it was also fatal that Lee Ye-rin lost her personal growth momentum because so much of her time was taken by that conflict.

‘Lee Ye-rin can’t be absent from my future plans. She’s an important card I absolutely cannot give up.’

He made his thoughts clear.

He was not trying to help and save Lee Ye-rin out of some half-baked sentiment. It was an extremely rational judgment.

She had to be there so that later, even if he turned the entire Jeonghwa Guild into his enemy, he would still have an ally in the south as a base.

One ally, The Abyss alone, was not enough. Jeonghwa Guild had to take a form that embraced it from north and south, so that strategically, the range of choices would widen.

‘At times like this, the easiest way is to blow off the leader’s head.’

As his thoughts became increasingly tangled, Kang-hoo pressed his throbbing forehead with his fingertips.

Even in the original story, Daejeon had always been the front line of constant conflict and confrontation.

Now that it had become reality, that picture did not seem likely to change. Unless perhaps the fire caught even earlier.

A little later.

After meeting Lee Ye-rin, Kang-hoo immediately received three Hematites from her.

They were the reward for the assassination request on Yun Cheol that she had been keeping for him.

The Hematites were gleaming so brightly that it seemed she had polished them over and over before meeting Kang-hoo.

Since Hematite supply had been nearly nonexistent lately, simply looking at them made him feel satisfied.

He was already wondering whether to use them to upgrade an item, or to upgrade a skill.

Meanwhile.

After handing over the Hematites as promised, Lee Ye-rin pointed to her smartphone, apparently having one piece of news that had just come in.

When Kang-hoo tilted his head, unable to guess the meaning, Lee Ye-rin brought up the main point right away.

“Have you heard the news? I mean the client who requested Yun Cheol’s assassination.”

“You mean the master of Cheonghye Guild?”

“Yes. New information came in.”

“Could it be…… he’s dead?”

“How did you know?”

Unlike Lee Ye-rin’s surprised reaction, Kang-hoo merely nodded, as though he had already expected it.

Because it was certain to have been the doing of the very person now using Kimcheon Liberation Area as his personal playground.