Chapter 147
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Nagoya, Japan.
A cafe so deserted it looked like no one was there at all.
A man hurried into the desolate cafe that seemed to have no owner or customers.
Holder, with a sharp face and a scar on his forehead.
It was Ji Yoon-jae of the <Villain> clan.
“Branch manager, the targets have discovered the operation location.”
He approached a woman sitting in the corner of the cafe and spoke.
In the quiet cafe where there was no one else.
It was Cha Soo-yeon, drinking wine alone.
“Hmm – has everyone entered?”
“No. Currently only a small team consisting of Do Jae-hyun and Kang Juyeon has discovered the dual dungeon and the first warp gate. They will probably call in team members by the end of today.”
The ‘Sea Monsters Habitat’ located in the Nagoya Port Aquarium.
Somewhere in the middle of it, there existed an ‘unauthorized warp gate’ which was the <Villain> clan’s main smuggling route, and their base of operations, a dual dungeon.
The <Anti-Villain> circle and the <Judgment Of Fire> clan had come to Japan for exploration, cooperating with each other.
And the <Villain> clan was waiting for them in advance.
Ji Yoon-jae was conveying the news that the targets had taken the bait earlier than expected.
Cha Soo-yeon slowly savored her wine and said.
“Hmm – then get ready.”
“…Branch manager. But are you sure this is okay?”
“Meaning?”
At Ji Yoon-jae’s sudden question, Cha Soo-yeon turned her head.
There was no sign of reprimanding him in her face.
Just pure curiosity.
It was only an expression of wondering what his answer would be.
At that, Ji Yoon-jae spoke calmly.
“First of all, we’re using our clan’s actual smuggling site as bait. It has the advantage of being able to lure them in for sure, but if the operation fails, our clan will lose one of its main sources of income.”
This was a pretty big problem.
For the <Villain> clan, which committed all kinds of crimes, the biggest source of revenue was ‘smuggling of illegal items’.
The ‘unauthorized warp gate’ which served as the starting point would be used as bait in this operation.
If the operation were to fail, they would lose all of the clan’s smuggling routes and procurement personnel.
This could be seen as the riskiest operation the <Villain> clan had undertaken so far.
“Haha. We just have to succeed, don’t we?”
“But…”
“Yoon-jae.”
At that moment, Ji Yoon-jae lowered his head at Cha Soo-yeon’s sharp call.
“Yes, branch manager.”
“Since when did you become such a coward?”
“… Sorry.”
Don’t assume failure.
That was what she was saying in other words.
“Keep going. This is fun.”
A discussion that would have normally ended there.
But perhaps because it had been so long since they had a discussion like this, Cha Soo-yeon smiled and entertained the rebuttal.
At that, feeling this was the last time, Ji Yoon-jae brought up his second reason.
“Secondly, provoking the Judgement of Fire seems too dangerous. Anyway, the Anti-Villain circle won’t function properly without Do Jae-hyun as the focal point. It should be enough just to remove the obstacles to our clan, but if we get involved with Kang Juyeon and the rest of the Judgement of Fire members…”
He trailed off with a dreadful imagination and continued.
“After the operation ends, we’ll have to wage an all-out war with the Judgement of Fire.”
This operation was a large-scale collaborative operation.
In Korea, Clan Submaster Hwang Seong-yeon and countless clan members would raid the academy, while in Japan, dispatched members like Cha Soo-yeon and Ji Yoon-jae would ambush the <Anti-Villain> circle and <Judgement of Fire>.
The goal was assassination.
Assassination of all personnel who had come to Japan for investigation.
To accomplish that, they had leaked information about the smuggling site, and to accomplish that, they had lured them into the dual dungeon that they had not yet conquered on a clan level.
‘….’
Ji Yoon-jae thought this was too reckless of an operation.
Of course.
The <Villain> clan had intentionally avoided frontal confrontations with major domestic clans so far.
There was no particular benefit to be gained from frontal confrontations, and the existence of S-grade Holders each clan possessed was also a burden.
That’s why they weren’t one of the top 3 domestic clans.
There wasn’t a single clan among the three that was confident they could win if they engaged in frontal warfare.
‘Why…now…’
If they just wanted to kill Kang Juyeon, they could have killed her anytime.
Ji Yoon-jae was nearing the A-grade level now, and as an assassin-type Holder, assassination of specific individuals was easy if he put his mind to it.
Yet the assassination order had not come down, because the moment such an operation unfolded, an all-out war with the Judgement of Fire would be unavoidable.
Because he understood this well, this operation made even less sense to Ji Yoon-jae.
He didn’t understand why the <Anti-Villain> circle was cooperating with two major clans now, or why <Royal>’s Moon Ga-eun was attacked unintentionally during the last operation.
“And originally, the raid on the academy was…planned for next year.”
This was the decisive final reason.
An operation that had originally been planned for next year or the year after next had been brought forward.
Naturally, as it was an operation carried out hastily, there were bound to be parts that were deficient here and there.
At those sharp points, Cha Soo-yeon tapped the table and answered.
“Hmm – you know the reason it was brought forward, don’t you Yoon-jae?”
“Yes.”
In fact, it was inevitable for the plan to be moved up.
With Kim Do-yoon’s assassination plan for Do Jae-hyun ending in failure, the academy’s vigilance had been extremely heightened, and unexpectedly, two major clans had turned to cooperate with them.
In this strengthened state of vigilance, rather than shrinking back, they had to move forward.
This operation came from that rationale.
“And the Judgement of Fire…”
After taking a sip of wine, Cha Soo-yeon continued.
“We’ll wage an all-out war, after all the plans are over. Just like you said.”
“Really?”
Ji Yoon-jae asked back in surprise, and Cha Soo-yeon quietly nodded her head.
“Yes. So stop whining already. I feel like killing you when a senior clan member keeps objecting to upper directives, you know?”
At those ruthless words.
A single phrase automatically came out of Ji Yoon-jae’s mouth.
“…I apologize.”
Thud – clack.
That was the end of the discussion.
Cha Soo-yeon stood up, tidying up as she did.
The targets had discovered the smuggling site.
That meant the operation was right before them, and it was time to start preparing.
To begin full-scale movements, Ji Yoon-jae also prepared to follow her out.
“Oh right. How’s that forged sword I brought in recently?”
Cha Soo-yeon suddenly remembered something and asked Ji Yoon-jae.
“The forged sword…you mean Koo Myeong-hoon?”
“Yeah. That pitch black guy.”
“He joined us in Japan and is on standby for the operation. It looks like he’ll be matched against Park Jin-woo of the Anti-Villain circle.”
Many clan members including Cha Soo-yeon and Ji Yoon-jae would be deployed in this operation.
The goal was to lure the targets into the dual dungeon and boss room, then assassinate them when they were exhausted.
And participating in this operation was Koo Myeong-hoon, who had received a forged sword from vice master Hwang Seong-yeon’s orders.
Cha Soo-yeon nodded her head.
“Hmm – use him well and dispose of him when we’re done.”
He was a Holder temporarily recruited for this operation.
Because brainwashing had been used on him, they wouldn’t be able to keep him for long anyway.
If the operation was successful, disposal of Koo Myeong-hoon would be top priority.
At that cold yet reasonable order, Ji Yoon-jae lowered his head.
“Understood.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
The team members who had been scattered here and there gathered in one place.
The ‘Sea Monsters Habitat’ dungeon.
A place located deep within it.
We immediately called in team members due to the strange concentration of magical power here.
And 1 hour later, everyone had arrived.
“This is definitely an unauthorized warp gate, and a medium connecting to a dual dungeon.”
And Akiba Miyura, who had examined them thoroughly.
Her declaration concluded the verification.
The illegal item smuggling site of the <Villain> clan we had come to Japan to find.
It was right here.
“The Sea Monsters Habitat is one of the more famous dungeons in Nagoya. Many Holders frequently visit this dungeon to hunt, so the raiding direction is also clearly established. That’s why criminals likely built the smuggling site in this spot, separated from the orthodox raiding direction.”
Akiba supplemented this with an explanation.
The reason other Holders hadn’t discovered the dual dungeon despite its existence.
It was precisely because this dungeon was such a popular hunting ground that they had taken advantage of that opening to build the site.
“So this warp gate was made as a primary location to go to the dual dungeon?”
At my reasonable conjecture, Akiba nodded her head.
“It’s highly likely. Transactions can’t be carried out here.”
“Then we’ll have to enter the dual dungeon for the investigation to continue concretely.”
Saying that, I looked at Kwon Oh-jun.
As always, he made a gesture of leaving it to my judgment with his chin.
The command of the 10 people was with me this time as well.
“Then we’ll enter the dual dungeon. Everyone, please prepare for contingencies.”
I decided without hesitation.
To obtain clear on-site evidence and conduct a detailed investigation, we had to enter this dual dungeon.
There was no reason to hesitate further.
And so, the 10 team members including myself promptly entered the dual dungeon.
And….
[You have entered the dungeon.]
[The stuffy air and swirling magic in the dungeon decreases the durability of the Holders.]
A dual dungeon filled with scorching heat welcomed us.
It was a cave-like dungeon we encountered for the first time since the underground dungeon of the academy.
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