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Chapter 179

Kim Jin-Woo had known from the beginning that Park Sung-Jin was a labyrinth master. It was all thanks to the power of the Highlord and the fact that he was a much more powerful master of a deeper labyrinth.

He’d had his doubts. But it didn’t matter to him how his opponent had gotten a labyrinth.

“Winner takes all. That’s the law of the Underworld.”

The only thing that was important right now was to destroy the enemy in front of him.

“Portal.” Kim Jin-Woo let out a low murmur, and a portal several times larger and deeper than Park Sung-Jin’s portal appeared in midair.

“What the…” Park Sung-Jin muttered, but his words would soon be drowned out.

Keeeeeeeeek!

Park Sung-Jin’s summon, a giant centipede, had been wreaking havoc across the battlefield. But just a moment later, its screams were silenced as Heimdall crossed through the portal and beheaded it.

The centipede’s dying scream was like a signal that announced the start of Park Sung-Jin’s tragedy. Several other Hero-Grade summons, including Balzark and Quantus, crossed the portal as well, and started engaging in battle with the centipedes.

“Leave the boss alive, and help yourselves to the rest!” Kim Jin-Woo ordered.

“As the King wills!” the Hero-Grade summons that had crossed over from the Grand Labyrinth roared in unison. Park Sung-Jin watched the scene unfold before his eyes with a blank look on his face.

“Kaaargh!” The dungeon babies screamed in pain. They couldn’t avoid the blades that suddenly sliced away at them from the darkness, and their skin was ripped from their bones. From the shadows of their fallen bodies, the Under-Elves appeared.

“You should have heeded my warning. I might have even let you live,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.

The whole area was filled with screams. From the annoying screeches of the giant centipedes to the screams of the dying dungeon babies, the whole world around them was drowned out. All the screaming and dying belonged to the Association’s forces.

The Association’s ambush forces were strong. But the Under-Elves were the natural enemies of dungeon babies. The blades of the Under-Elves led by Rikshasha, were swift and deadly, and they were completely different monsters from any giant creatures the dungeon babies had ever dealt with. Nevertheless, they soon reformed their ranks, beginning to fight on an equal footing.

“They’re just fast, nothing more!”

“Fuck! If only we’d brought the Bunkers!”

“The loss of an arm is nothing! Just ignore it and press on! Just press on and we’ll win!”

As expected of combat specialists that were highly experienced in the Underworld, they were indeed formidable.

“Morrigan,” Kim Jin-Woo began.

“Yes, my King,” Morrigan replied.

“Are you just going to stand around and watch?” Kim Jin-Woo urged her. The Under-Elves were doing well so far, but he couldn’t ignore the potential of the dungeon babies. He didn’t wish to have any casualties on his end.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. Seeing how hesitant she was despite the raging battle going on in front of her eyes, Kim Jin-Woo could only wonder how much she disliked obeying Rikshasha’s orders while he wasn’t around.

However, Morrigan’s loyalty was beyond such pettiness, and she wasn’t shallow enough to reject the King’s orders just for such a reason.

Flap!

A single flap of the ominous black bird’s wings sounded like the call of death resonating across the battlefield,

“Argh!” The ranks of the dungeon babies, who had held up for so long, collapsed in an instant. The tide of battle, which had been stuck in a gridlock for a while, instantly turned with Morrigan’s entry.

Seeing the Under-Elves retreat back into the shadows, Kim Jin-Woo’s attention turned away from the battle.

Shudder.

His eyes made contact with Park Sung-Jin, whose body was shaking as if he were being bullied. He exclaimed, “Tsk.”

If Park Sung-Jin had been fighting with only his dungeon baby abilities and not his labyrinth master abilities, he wouldn’t have looked as pathetic. That was because dungeon babies would never give up, even if they were overwhelmed by their opponents.

But unfortunately, he was both a dungeon baby and a labyrinth master. Kim Jin-Woo, being the ruler of the mighty Grand Labyrinth, was so powerful that Park Sung-Jin didn’t dare make eye contact with him. He was trembling in fear due to the unique aura of the Highlord that emanated from Kim Jin-Woo’s body, and he sat frozen on the spot until every single member of the Association’s forces and the centipedes he had ambitiously summoned were killed.

“Clean up the area. Leave no survivors!” Kim Jin-Woo commanded. He’d had no intention of summoning his labyrinth’s forces, but against an unknown army of a hundred dungeon babies and centipede summons, it would have been risky to suppress his own strength.

Fighting for victory was a given, but it had been more important not to drag out the battle for too long and risk revealing his powers. Unlike the Underworld, there were mobile phones and other technologies on the surface that could potentially expose him through video recordings.

“Krrrrrgh.”

The groan of a survivor could be heard. The Under-Elves, who had been wandering around looking for survivors, quickly tracked down the survivor and confirmed the kill.

The sight of a dungeon baby, who was by all means a Terran, getting killed by an Underworld being was never a pleasant sight, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t look away. He wasn’t soft-hearted enough to give unrequited recognition to an enemy that had been intent on killing him in the first place.

If these were kind-hearted dungeon babies that had been used for ill intentions by the Association, he might have thought twice about it. But Park Sung-Jin had not only admitted to being involved with the disappearance of his father, but had even opened his portal in front of them without hesitation. By association, that meant these dungeon babies weren’t just people on the fringes of the Association, but had actually been deeply involved in its evil deeds.

“How pathetic, to come up with excuses now.” Kim Jin-Woo looked straight into the corpse’s still-open eyes as he shook his head. This wasn’t a battle between good or evil. It was a battle between beasts. To eat or be eaten.

The last hint of unease in his eyes faded, and Kim Jin-Woo returned to his cool, collected demeanor. He thoroughly scouted the area, but there were no traces of any spies. It seemed Song Jong-Chul had firmly believed in Park Sung-Jin’s abilities.

“Erase all traces, and if there are even vague hints left, bury them and leave nothing behind,” Kim Jin-Woo commanded.

Experienced explorers might be able to figure out what happened if they were to visit later on. Thus, Kim Jin-Woo ordered his forces to erase any possible traces in the vicinity.

Most of the summons returned through the portal, and the only ones that were left were the Under-Elves, who didn’t look too different from humans. They meticulously erased all traces of battle, as they were highly skilled in tracking and searching. Even if someone were to find those traces that had been forcibly erased, it would be difficult to believe that there had been a battle between labyrinths.

When they were done with their work, even Kim Jin-Woo, who was sensitive to changes and details, found it hard to notice anything that was off.

But just because the traces had been erased didn’t mean that everything was settled. Portals didn’t disappear for 24 hours once opened, and that was a problem. There was also the risk of a follow-up search party by the Association, who might arrive after losing contact with the main ambush forces.

“You,” Kim Jin-Woo called out toward Park Sung-Jin.

It had been a long time since the battle had ended, but Park Sung-Jin was still lying on the floor, unable to raise his head. When he heard the call, he trembled again.

“What happens if you don’t return?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“I-If there are no reports in between, they’re supposed to send reinforcements.” Completely succumbing to the Highlord’s authority, Park Sung-Jin obeyed his commands like a lowly slave.

“About an hour has passed, right? They might suspect something is off by now,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. With so much manpower dispatched, an hour without contact was a long time. He was certain that reinforcements were on their way by now. “What shall we do about this?”

If reinforcements from the Association were to arrive, the reason he had called forth his summons from the Grand Labyrinth would become totally moot. In that case, it would have been wiser for him to deal with the enemies alone, even if he had to expose his own abilities.

But the portal had already been opened, and enemy reinforcements were on the way. Since there was no law stating that war had to go according to plan, it was time for Kim Jin-Woo to revise his plan.

Kim Jin-Woo calmly ordered Park Sung-Jin, whose spirit was almost completely subdued, “Call them.”

“Sorry?” Park Sung-Jin exclaimed.

“Call them and report that the operation was successful, and that you’re returning with the captured target,” Kim Jin-Woo commanded.

Park Sung-Jin’s eyes wandered around in panic, unable to grasp the meaning of Kim Jin-Woo’s statement.

“If you report that you’re on your way back, those reinforcements will stop, right?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

It might already be too late to make the situation any better, but at the very least, that could buy him some time. And he was confident that with the time he bought, he would be able to make the Association so busy that they would forget about these unknown mountain foothills.

In response, Park Sung-Jin slowly got up and searched his pockets. He asked, “That’s all I have to say, right?”

“What? Do you have more to add on?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

It was a casual remark, but Park Sung-Jin freaked out and quickly grabbed his mobile phone, dialing a number. Although there was a possibility that Park Sung-Jin might play a stupid trick, Kim Jin-Woo didn’t threaten or warn him any further. Just standing in front of him and staring at him was more than enough.

“Boss Jong-Chul, it’s me, Sung-Jin. The operation was successful, and Kim… Jin-Woo… yeah, we captured him and are heading back. The guys? S-some were injured, but fortunately, not too many. Ah, yeah, I’m injured a bit as well. Of course… We were capturing a Level 12 dungeon baby, how could there not be any injuries… Anyway, I’m on the way back, let’s talk then.”

Although his slightly trembling voice was awkward, Park Sung-Jin carried out Kim Jin-Woo’s order quite nicely. Afterward, he said, “H-he ordered me to return immediately.”

“I guess we bought around an hour’s worth of time?” Kim Jin-Woo smirked as he looked at the time. “Then, let’s go.”

“Where to?” Park Sung-Jin paused, thinking that Kim Jin-Woo really wanted to head to the Association.

“Where do you think? Where my father is, of course,” Kim Jin-Woo said. Park Sung-Jin hesitated, but didn’t move.

“Guide me,” Kim Jin-Woo said. But once again, Park Sung-Jin stood still. Already running low on time, Kim Jin-Woo frowned before pausing, as he turned to stare at the portal. “You son of a bitch, don’t tell me…” Blue streaks of light began to flow from the corners of his eyes.

“I-I’m sorry! I had to think of the most secretive spot…” Park Sung-Jin explained frantically.

What he said was correct. But nevertheless, it was something he shouldn’t have said in front of Kim Jin-Woo. If his father had been kept in a hotel room, he would still have been pissed. But they had crossed the line, as they’d locked his father up in an Underworld labyrinth.

And Kim Jin-Woo, who knew better than anyone how harsh an Underworld labyrinth’s environment would be to a human, exploded with rage.

***

“Strange, it’s about time they returned…” Song Jong-Chul muttered.

“Well, they did say they were pretty badly beaten up, so that’s why it’s taking so long,” remarked a subordinate.

“Cut the crap! You think they’re just gonna crawl over here like dogs? What the fuck were the cars all for then?”

Despite having heard from Park Sung-Jin that he and his men would be back immediately, when they didn’t show themselves, Song Jong-Chul started to get more and more anxious.

Park Sung-Jin was a labyrinth master and a member of the Association. With him leading the attack, there was no way things could have gone wrong. And yet, Song Jong-Chul somehow felt there was something ominous about the whole situation.

Perhaps due to his anxiety, even the minor chit-chat by his subordinates started to tick him off. He yelled, “Why the hell are you still here!? Didn’t I order you to go out and prepare to take in the wounded!?”

“I already instructed those kids…” his subordinate began.

“‘Kids’!? You son of a bitch, you think you’re already tough enough to boss others around!?” Song Jong-Chul yelled. At his sudden outburst, his subordinates hurriedly left his presence, but yet another subordinate came into his office at almost the exact same time. He exclaimed, “What now!?”

“Boss Sung-Jin has returned!” the subordinate reported.

Song Jong-Chul’s face finally lit up after all the waiting. He asked, “Is that so? Has he returned with the rest of the men?”

“No, he said he came alone first due to the urgency of the matter,” the subordinate replied.

With a sigh of relief, Song Jong-Chul finally felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He asked, “And of course, he’s brought Kim Jin-Woo along, right?”

“Yes, he made a total mess out of him, it seems. There’s blood all over his body and he seemed more like a walking corpse than a human.”

“Looks like there was a lot of resistance. Is Sung-Jin okay?”

“Boss Sung-Jin must have suffered a lot as well, seeing how his face and body was completely smashed…”

“I can’t be waiting here. I should head down and greet him personally.”

At that moment, even the assailant who had made him lose sleep over countless nights no longer mattered. He would finally be able to put the shackles around the Level 12 dungeon baby’s neck.

But just as he was about to rush excitedly down the stairs, Song Jong-Chul stopped dead in his tracks. He asked, “Wait, did you just say that he was walking? On his own feet?”

“Yes, it looked really painful, but I definitely saw him walking on his…” the subordinate began.

“But Sung-Jin brought him back alone?” Song Jong-Chul asked urgently.

Only then did the man notice Song Jong-Chul’s expression, and his face stiffened at the realization that something was clearly off.

“Dungeon babies will fight tooth and nail to consume their enemies whole just to survive. Sure, they may be all bloodied, but Sung-Jin brought back Kim Jin-Woo while he’s still able to walk on his own two feet!? What the fuck are you talking about!?” Song Jong-Chul exclaimed.

But just before he could finish speaking, screams exploded from the main entrance of the Association building.