CH 312

“Did we get them?”

Jeon Hui-Cheon tensely stared at the exploded SUV. Some shrapnel ended up shooting toward their cars, but ducking ensured none of his team members was injured.

When the grenade went off, the cars surrounding Bang Jin-Hun's SUV immediately peeled off to the sides. The G-Class on flames trundled to an eventual stop. Rather than 'stop', though, the better description would be it had collapsed on its suspension, but that would be splitting hairs at this point.

Ordinary humans wouldn't have survived an explosion like that, but Jeong Hui-Cheon and his men were targeting martial artists. Not just any martial artists, either, but some very dangerous people that required them to be extra cautious.

Bang Jin-Hun managed to grow his influence within the Assembly until he was powerful enough to displace the former Assembly Master. And he did that without anyone's help. And riding shotgun with him was Kang Jin-Ho, apparently even more dangerous than Bang Jin-Hun. If it were these two men, they could've survived that explosion.

“Turn the car around!” Jeon Hui-Cheon cried out.

He could not relax. They were trying to deal with people stronger than them, so lowering their guard was absolutely forbidden.

The Yeongnam Group's vehicles crossed the median strips while performing quick U-turns. After rapidly approaching Bang Jin-Hun's burning SUV, Jeon Hui-Cheon took out another grenade, yanked the safety pin out, then tossed it toward the wreck.

Bang!

The grenade rolled underneath the SUV and exploded, causing the burning wreck to bounce briefly up the ground.

“Fire!”

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!!!

The machine guns started firing nonstop as if they wanted to empty their magazines for good this time.

'How much time do we have left?'

Jeon Hui-Cheon snuck a glance at his watch. The road they had closed off by... interfering with the cops would soon be reopened. Before that happened, he and his men had to sort out this place by getting rid of the burning car and two men inside.

Speaking of the two men, they were probably charred corpses by now.

“That's enough!” Jeon Hui-Cheon raised his hand after confirming that the car had completely turned into a beehive full of bullet holes. “Martial arts, my ass.”

Considering the current era, who in their right mind would want to fight using bare fists and swords? Jeon Hui-Cheon often felt this urge to shove his gun right inside the mouths of the fools busy yapping on about martial arts and whatever and pulling the damn trigger, and he finally got the opportunity to make that wish come true today.

Not just any, but against two martial artists deserving to be called the 'absolute best' in the Korean peninsula, too!

Despite remembering that he was also a martial artist, Jeon Hui-Cheon still felt this unexplainable satisfaction from his deeds.

'Yes, we've done it!'

Who cared about the methods? Regardless of what, two martial artists capable of commanding the entirety of South Korea had died at Jeon Hui-Cheon's hands. Even the Yeongnam Group's chairman would have to acknowledge him for his efforts. Jeon Hui-Cheon got excited by merely thinking about it.

“Hey! Go and confirm the inside of that SUV!”

“Huh? But, sir, is there a need to do that? They must be royally roasted by now.”

“I don't care if they turned into charcoals, I still want confirmation!” Jeon Hui-Cheon cried out.

“Yes, sir.”

Several men exited the cars and cautiously approached Bang Jin-Hun's SUV. Never mind a martial artist, not even an immortal could have escaped from that burnt-out black carcass, but their movements remained as cautious as ever. Unsurprising, considering that the iron-clad rule the people living in this world must adhere to was to never let their guard down until the final moments.

“Sir, they... are not inside.”

“Say what?” Jeon Hui-Cheon's expression stiffened. “What are you saying, you little punk? Where could the two in the car disappear to? Check properly, will ya?!”

“T-team leader, sir! I found a hole by the back of the SUV!”

A flustered expression floated up on Jeon Hui-Cheon's face. “A hole?!”

“Yes, sir! There's a hole by the rear! I think they must've escaped through there!”

Instead of flustering, Jeon Hui-Cheon's expression now displayed his stupefaction.

'A... hole?'

Did that mean the two men punctured a hole in the car in that brief window of time between noticing the grenade and it exploding? In an SUV moving at a hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, no less?!

“That's not possible...!”

In that case, where were Kang Jin-Ho and Bang Jin-Hun, then? According to what Lee Hyeon-Su had told Jeon Hui-Cheon, this man named Kang Jin-Ho was not the type to suffer indignities in silence. No, he was more like a rabid hound that would never let go once he had his prey. A rabid dog that hadn't lost its barbaric edge!

That was Lee Hyeon-Su's evaluation of Kang Jin-Ho. That man was definitely not the type to flee unless his limbs had been cut off or he was dead.

So, then... Where was Kang Jin-Ho? There were two possibilities. One, Kang Jin-Ho and Bang Jin-Hun were injured gravely during their escape attempt, preventing them from fighting. Although this theory made the most sense, would they be able to flee and avoid Jeon Hui-Cheon's eyes in that condition? Unlikely.

Which meant...!

'...They are still nearby!'

It felt like every hair on Jeon Hui-Cheon's body was standing up. Just before he could shout, “Keep your eyes on the surroundings!” a quiet little whisper came from somewhere behind him.

No, that wasn't quite right. That whisper sounded like it came from right behind Jeon Hui-Cheon's ear! So close was the source that the bone-chilling yet burning 'air' carrying the whisper brushing past Jeon Hui-Cheon's cheek felt so vivid and real!

“Are you looking for me?”

The subdued voice resembled a devil whispering from Hell! When Jeon Hui-Cheon heard that quiet, subdued voice that sounded a little excited for some reason... He felt all the energy drain out of his body in an instant. A devil... was standing right behind him!

There was no point in thinking up a countermeasure. There was also no point in nervously confronting their enemy, either. Even before Jeon Hui-Cheon could try something, scalding pain akin to his flesh burning shot up from his ankles.

“Aaaaaaahk!”

Jeon Hui-Cheon instinctively realized his Achilles' heels had been severed and screamed loudly. However, he wasn't screaming in pain. No, it was despair. Knowing he could no longer escape from the one standing behind him had dropped him into a deep chasm of despair.

Jeon Hui-Cheon crashed to the ground, then turned his head to look behind him in terror. The dark night sky, with not a single star visible, framed a man's expressionless face partially hidden by the shadows. Those shadows danced eerily whenever the embers flicked off from the burning wreckage.

Funnily enough, Jeon Hui-Cheon couldn't help but find this scene rather fitting for this man. No one would look as good as this man, Kang Jin-Ho, staring down at another person while standing in the darkness.

Kang Jin-Ho's gaze slowly drifted lower to Jeon Hui-Cheon's hand pressed to the ground. Then, he slowly stepped on it.

“Kuh-hurk!” Jeon Hui-Cheon spat out a loud gasp in pain.

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho's lips slowly curled up. “You all have done something quite interesting.”

His voice contained a hint of delight. However, the realization didn't give Jeon Hui-Cheon any solace. Even a three-year-old kid could tell that delight was definitely not a good thing for him.

"You wait for me here." The man in the shadows, Kang Jin-Ho, raised his foot away from Jeon Hui-Cheon's hand, then turned around. His eyes now took in the sight of Jeon Hui-Cheon's flustered underlings. They seemed lost and unsure of what to do while looking at their suppressed team leader. "I'll mop this up quickly and come back to you."

After making that quiet but still-threatening declaration, Kang Jin-Ho began leisurely walking toward the group.

Jeon Hui-Cheon watched this scene in despair, only to see something strange suddenly dominating his view.

'A boot?'

Crunch!

Right there and then, a boot slammed into Jeon Hui-Cheon's mouth at a scarcely-believable velocity. Unable to scream, he held his mouth and tumbled around on the ground in sheer agony. His body reacted instinctively on its own, and as a result, the pain from his hand and ankles worsened in an instant.

“Euh, euh...!”

The owner of the boot swore loudly at the moaning Jeon Hui-Cheon on the ground. “I thought I was gonna die, you son of a b*tch!”

Bang Jin-Hun's rage-filled glare was now glued to Jeon Hui-Cheon. If only Kang Jin-Ho hadn't indicated his decision to keep this bastard alive for the time being, Bang Jin-Hun would've ripped Jeon Hui-Cheon apart already!

For a split second back then, Bang Jin-Hun really thought he was going to die. His heart was still near his mouth from the idea of death that had snuck in on him from a direction he never even dreamed of before. Even now, he hadn't fully comprehended what happened just as the grenade went off.

All he remembered was how he suddenly couldn't breathe, felt some pain around his throat and then... his eyes could only see the night sky. Kang Jin-Ho had grabbed Bang Jin-Hun by the throat and dashed outside into the air by breaking through the rear hatch where the rear glass and the roof met.

If it hadn't been for Kang Jin-Ho... Bang Jin-Hun would have died today. Not even his trained physical body could have withstood a grenade exploding right in front of his nose.

Even if he survived that somehow, he would still be trapped in that burning SUV, gravely wounded and quickly turning into a piece of charcoal, or perhaps Swiss cheese if he somehow managed to crawl out of that wreckage.

'Motherf*cker...! If I haven't come here tonight...!'

What would have happened if he didn't come here to fetch Kang Jin-Ho tonight and decided to go home alone? Bang Jin-Hun didn't even want to imagine it.

“You stinking peace of dogsh*t!”

Unable to hold his anger back, Bang Jin-Hun started mercilessly kicking the moaning Jeon Hui-Cheon on the ground. Losing during a fair fight wouldn't have aggrieved Bang Jin-Hun this badly. However, what these Yeongnam bastards tried to do tonight was throw mud at martial artists!

“A bunch of f*cking lowlife thugs!”

Bang Jin-Hun had no desire to act like a boomer who didn't want to take off his rose-tinted glasses. Even so, there was supposed to be an acceptable limit to everything, wasn't there?!

“Is this what Kim Seok-Il ordered you to do? You piece of sh*t?”

This was the moment that the last remaining speck of respect Bang Jin-Hun had for Kim Seok-Il got thrown outside the window. Respect for a punk who tried to eliminate his enemy through a method like this was a waste of Bang Jin-Hun's breath!

“What a bunch of insane bastards! Seriously now...!”

To think they would resort to using machine guns and grenades in the middle of South Korea! And in the middle of a public road, to boot! One wouldn't come up with an idea like that unless they were mad!

'Bloody hell, we better rethink our preparation.'

All the preparation for the upcoming confrontation against the Yeongnam Group was done under the assumption that the enemies would attack in the... 'conventional' way. Bang Jin-Hun did think the Yeongnam Group bastards would resort to extreme methods, but the 'extreme' they went with turned out to be even beyond his imagination.

Kang Jin-Ho was right. Kim Seok-Il had to be under even greater pressure than Bang Jin-Hun had expected. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to predict what a man in his shoes would resort to. Sticking to the old and lackadaisical way of handling things would only get Bang Jin-Hun sucked into Kim Seok-Il's pace.

'If I were alone, that is...'

Bang Jin-Hun stared at Kang Jin-Ho's back with awe and respect. Without Kang Jin-Ho next to him, Bang Jin-Hun would have died for sure. The returner's presence had saved Bang Jin-Hun's life tonight.

Bang Jin-Hun thought he had experienced all sorts of ups and downs during his life. But Kang Jin-Ho calmly avoided all the dangers as if... As if having a grenade thrown at his face was nothing to fret about. His calmness was amazing enough to make Bang Jin-Hun feel ashamed for panicking and screaming pathetically.

"You dipsh*t, you messed with the wrong guy today. You need to choose your targets wisely first before doing crap like this, you hear me?" Bang Jin-Hun pushed down on the still-moaning Jeon Hui-Cheon on the ground with his boot. "Especially you. You have no idea how screwed you are. Do you know why that dude spared you? If I were you, I would bite my tongue and die right away."

Jeon Hui-Cheon listened and shuddered pitifully.

'Biting his tongue would kill him, though.'

Bang Jin-Hun tutted and shifted his attention back to Kang Jin-Ho. Judging from Kang Jin-Ho's charred clothes, Bang Jin-Hun had a feeling that tonight's event wouldn't end without some bloodshed first. As far as he knew, Kang Jin-Ho, the cultivator, would never show mercy to those daring to bare their fangs in his direction.

As if to prove Bang Jin-Hun right, Kang Jin-Ho scanned the Yeongnam Group assassins and leisurely addressed them. “Alright. Try to run away.”

The assassins surrounding Bang Jin-Hun's SUV panicked as they stared back at Kang Jin-Ho.

'How did he know?!'

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“If the attempt goes wrong, do not try to fight him!”

“We're resorting to this method precisely because he can't be fought using normal means.” 

“If any one of you wishes to live, flee the moment you sense something is wrong. Understand?”

That was what Lee Hyeon-Su told these assassins during the pre-mission briefing. However, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to have seen through their intentions. He had noticed that these assassins had subconsciously shifted their center of balance slightly toward their rear in preparation to flee.

“I also enjoy stuff like that.” Kang Jin-Ho flashed his fangs in a fierce grin. “So, run away. Who knows? One of you might get lucky and survive tonight.”

Within this dark night, as the pale moonlight and the flames danced together...

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely strode toward his attackers as if he were the God of Death.