Chapter 1070 – #254_Rage, Purity, Greed (2)
#1064
1.
Ruelle and Sharon began to act independently.
There were two reasons.
One was that, when Siwoo’s identity was exposed, the two of them would become unexpected support for the enemies.
The other was that the remaining mercenaries who were formerly part of the Rehar Group were in the inland region.
The reason Ruelle and Sharon were drawn into this dangerous mission was because of Akula, a natural mobile fortress.
If that weren’t the case, I would have tried to handle things alone, even considering the danger to the two of them.
Once you get used to hunting, it becomes easier with each iteration.
I had previously annihilated a large group of mercenaries, and the rest were just small fry.
‘P-Please, spare me…!’
‘I was just doing what I was told…!’
‘I’ll live a good life from now on…!’
It was more uncomfortable to hear these final death rattles than the difficulty of the battle.
None of them could match Siwoo.
The feeling of taking their lives after a one-sided hunt was not only unpleasant but even caused a physiological revulsion.
Every time, I thought of it.
Dorothy, who should have lost her life after being attacked by these trash.
The despair she felt.
My own weakness that caused this situation.
As I ruminated over and over, the taste that had been filled with the smell of blood was filled with stubborn poison.
“Hoo….”
Round and round, back to an old logistics warehouse in Medellin, Colombia.
This is the last of the small fry hunting.
Siwoo roughly wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and took out the lotus flower.
The red energy extracted from the witch’s corpse dyed the lotus flower crimson.
Two weeks since leaving Akula and starting solo operations.
The number of people hunted so far is thirty-five.
The remaining capacity for the lotus flower to bloom is about 30%.
It’s really just a little bit more.
I’m almost there now.
-Woong
“Hmm?”
Then, the lotus flower, which had been absorbing the red energy in streaks, stopped operating with a sound like an engine shutting down.
It was as if it had reached a saturation point.
It was an unexpected situation, but there was no time to delay any further.
I filled the body of the mercenary and headed to the temporary hideout along the closed sewer as I had calculated in advance.
“What is it?”
The lotus flower stopped absorbing.
The ferocious relic that had been gobbling up humans and witches alike had suddenly started to be picky.
Suddenly, anxiety brushed against my back.
The cold corpse of Dorothy covered with a white cloth in the morgue, the acrid smell of metal, and the smell of disinfectant seemed to pierce my nasal cavity.
The terrible thought that it might be Dorothy’s last appearance made my hands and feet go cold.
“Shit.”
I used my magic eye, which can read the flow of magic power, to check what was happening.
Originally, the lotus flower stored the absorbed energy as if it were a living thing.
Siwoo didn’t know whether that energy was a soul or life force.
However, I could tell from the lotus flower’s action of even releasing some of the energy it had already absorbed.
To use a slightly unpleasant analogy, the lotus flower was rejecting a ‘bad meal’.
As far as I’ve observed, the lotus flower had been filling up more gauge according to the hierarchy.
Like the red branches that moved as if they were alive, even though they were not living things, the lotus flower, which was the origin of it, was also an ambiguous, unidentified OOPArt that was difficult to evaluate as just a relic.
“……”
The anxiety subsided and I quickly reached a conclusion.
The current situation is similar to an item enhancement in a game.
As the level of the lotus flower reached a certain level, it became impossible to break through the upper limit with low-level materials.
I guessed that there were two ways to break through this situation.
One is to drastically increase the amount of material.
Like Paola Sochitl and Aea Sadalmelik.
Even if I use low-quality materials like humans, if I just throw in a ridiculous amount, the lotus flower will bloom.
The other is to increase the quality of the material.
A high-quality material that can satisfy this picky guy.
I just need to hunt mainly ‘Great Witches’.
Siwoo breathed a sigh of relief only after his thoughts reached that point and put a cigarette in his mouth.
Nothing much will change.
Anyway, the small fry hunting is over.
Almost all of my future opponents are Great Witches.
The quality of the material will naturally be guaranteed.
However, there is a concern at this point.
The Rehar Group led by Herja had disappeared somewhere, all united.
Even the collaborators inside Hexennacht didn’t seem to know their whereabouts.
That’s something I can think about later, and what I’m most worried about is something else.
Lydia is being too quiet.
Siwoo proposed a ‘Shin Siwoo Exclusive Game’ to Lydia.
If it was the Lydia I had been watching, she would definitely chase after Siwoo alone to monopolize all the profits.
Since she had enemies everywhere, she would probably only have one or two helpers at most?
However, the silence that had lasted too long compared to Lydia’s competence was rather unsettling.
What on earth is she up to that she’s so relaxed?
2.
It is a well-known fact that the more thorough you are, the higher the success rate of the hunt.
With the cooperation of Kiara, who uses long-range surveillance magic, Lydia’s frustrating hide-and-seek was getting closer to victory.
“Good, good. Very good.”
Earlier, Lydia had stolen the manifest of the Gehenna Immigration Office.
Sharon Evergreen, Ruelle Nukelavi.
Only these two of his lovers had records of coming to the present world, but there were no records of them returning to Gehenna.
There was no way to confirm whether these two were really moving to help Shin Siwoo.
It was also not certain whether he had really drawn his lovers into this dangerous work.
But Lydia had some certainty.
That the Shin Siwoo she had seen before and the current Shin Siwoo were very different.
That it would have been impossible for him to attack the Rehar Group and the Solidus smuggling fleet at the same time.
“Mother, here are the search results.”
“Really? Let’s see.”
Kiara, who was capable of tracking down even the slightest traces of magic power, soon brought information to support Lydia’s conjecture.
According to Kiara’s direct investigation, there was a record that a 23rd-level Great Witch had used a huge wave magic in a coastal village in western Peru.
“So, there was a helper. A witch of the deep sea?”
As a result of organizing the events in reverse order.
When Shin Siwoo was busy going back and forth between Lydia and Herja, many accidents occurred simultaneously.
It was fully explained if Shin Siwoo took charge of the land and Ruelle Nukelavi took charge of the sea.
“Now it makes a little more sense.”
Lydia, who had organized her thoughts a little more, gave instructions to Kiara.
“I’ll assign a team under you. You don’t need to tell them who you’re looking for. Start searching from the place where the last trace of magic power was observed.
The two of them are probably still moving separately. The deep-sea witch is wandering the sea, and Shin Siwoo is wandering the land, hunting down the remnants of the Rehar Group.”
However, neither of them would be too far apart from each other.
Also, Ruelle and Shin Siwoo would maintain a distance that would allow them to cover each other if one of them was in danger.
“Where should we focus our search? If we follow your instructions, the range is too wide and it is highly likely that we will not be able to meet the deadline.”
Then, where is the deep-sea witch hiding?
“In the sea.”
Lydia doesn’t know about Akula’s existence.
However, she derived the optimal solution by combining the characteristics of the deep-sea witch and the conditions at the time of the smuggling ship attack.
“Especially in places with deep water.”
Kiara, who went to the location through the ‘Gate’, immediately began a full-scale search as Lydia had ordered.
She used search magic, focusing on the deep-water areas on the marine survey map.
Just 8 hours later.
[Mother, I found a trace]
Lydia was able to receive a report about the traces of a huge submersible that was navigating the deep sea using magic as its power source.
“What is the exact location?”
[I don’t know at the moment, but if I backtrack based on the traces I’ve already found, I’ll be able to find it soon]
If I spend a little more time, I will be able to find his lover who is hiding deep in the sea.
“I’ll have to take action myself from now on.”
23rd level, deep-sea witch.
It will be a bit difficult, but if I take into account a certain amount of cost, it will be like an unexpected additional harvest.
Besides, isn’t she a rookie witch who doesn’t have much practical experience yet?
I will capture the deep-sea witch and use her as a hostage to call Shin Siwoo.
Lydia, who was rejoicing at the smooth flow of her plan.
At this rate, the goddess of victory seemed to be kissing her cheek.
“Lady Lydia! Lady Lydia!”
“Why, why, what’s wrong?”
“Herja, that crazy bitch Herja….”
At that time, the secretary, who had run in frantically with her hair all messed up, was talking incoherently.
“Take a breath and speak slowly. I can’t understand you.”
The secretary barely regained her breath at Lydia’s sharp urging and finished the report.
“Herja, she attacked Gehenna with the elite members of the Rehar Group.”
“What the hell?!”
Lydia suspended all her plans.
3.
Attacking the Solidus merchant’s smuggling ships is meaningless.
Lydia had anticipated Herja’s revenge and had finished all the preparations, and even if the Rehar Group launched an attack, they would soon suffer even greater damage.
On the other hand, if I directly attacked the Solidus merchant, it would give Lydia, who was constantly aiming for the Rehar Group, a justification.
At least, it was the Solidus merchant that gave the Rehar Group citizenship and embraced them into Hexennacht.
Unless I can prove that it was the Solidus merchant that attacked the Rehar Group, I would lose my justification and be properly sucked dry.
Then, how should I screw them over?
How should I take revenge on Lydia, who is extremely thorough?
Accepting the vice-captain’s proposal, Herja made a huge blunder from Lydia’s point of view.
She attacked the ‘Gate’ of Gehenna without any warning.
Since it was only a pretense, neither Gehenna nor the Rehar Group suffered almost any damage.
A few of Gehenna’s smuggling ships sank.
A witch belonging to the Rehar Group briefly showed her face in Border Town and then disappeared.
At first glance, this incident seems to have no problem, but it can also be interpreted as follows.
The Solidus merchant declared war on Gehenna using the Rehar Group under its command.
