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Swordmaster Healer (Web Novel) - Chapter 16 – Secret Strife (1)
Chapter 16 – Secret Strife (1)
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
TL: Boko
Editor: Ren
The appearance of dungeons and Raids was enough to turn a stable modern society into a disordered mess. The country had lost its power, while Hunters had seized power.
With their awakening, Hunters obtained tremendous power and were divided into two different categories. The Hunters who attacked the dungeons and defended against the Raids, acting as rays of light for the world, and there were those who fled into the darkness, seeking riches and glory in the back alleys.
The A-rank Hunter, Jo Dong Chul, was affiliated with the latter.
“I would appreciate it if you would dispose of him with certainty,” the man who privately met Dong Chul late at night confirmed again. He was a secretary that the Namhae County Governor had sent.
“Please just make sure you deposit the money,” responded Dong Chul, who wore black sunglasses, despite the lateness of the night. He examined his surroundings.
He had thought that he had felt a presence somewhere, but when he concentrated, he strangely couldn’t feel the presence anymore.
‘Is it just me…’
He shook his head, thinking that it was a simple misunderstanding. However, he soon realized that his feeling wasn’t wrong.
Woosh.
“Argh!”
An ice spear had flown in from nowhere. Dong Chul threw himself to the side and the ice spear pierced the secretary’s heart, who had been in front of him.
He screamed painfully and collapsed weakly.
Dong Chul quickly examined his surroundings. The black silhouettes continued to appear, one or two at a time.
“Transform!” Dong Chul screamed, raising his hand.
The ring on his right hand turned into light and scattered. The light gathered in his palm and a long spear appeared in his hand.
“Come on!” Dong Chul roared bravely, swinging his spear around.
However, his confidence didn’t last long. Nine Hunters appeared out of the darkness, so he couldn’t help but feel anxious.
‘I have to take on nine of them at once? Did they mobilize a large guild’s Executive Branch…?’
Dong Chul felt intensely anxious. The amount of mana he felt from the nine Hunters wasn’t small. The only ones that could mobilize Hunters of this level were the large guilds’ Executive Branches or a large private military company.
Someone must have a grudge against him, so he tried to think back, but he couldn’t think of anyone.
“Where are you from? Speak honestly!”
“I guess it doesn’t matter, since you’re going to die.”
“We’re from the Hound guild’s Executive Branch.”
The Executive Branch Leader revealed himself. Dong Chul tried to think back, but he couldn’t recall doing anything significant enough for the Hound guild to have a grudge against him.
“You don’t need to struggle. You’ll soon be resting peacefully.”
Shards of sharp ice spilled from the sky.
“Ugh!”
Although he had thrown himself to the side, a dozen ice shards were embedded into his lower body. Dong Chul groaned painfully and stood up, preparing for the next attack.
Three Executive Branch Hunters had raised their swords and were closing in. While Dong Chul was busily moving, he eventually saw what appeared to be a female Mage and caught her.
“Ha!” Dong Chul cried out and stabbed his spear at the Mage.
The end of his spear began to emit aura and he aimed his spear at the Mage’s neck, launching it like a projectile.
“Be careful!”
One of the Hunters shoved her out of the way. Thanks to him, she was able to avoid Dong Chul’s aura-clad thrown projectile.
“Shit!” Dong Chuk cursed, since his attack had failed.
He had thought it would be a fatal blow, but he had missed.
“It’s a relief that they don’t seem to have any heavyweights…”
Amongst the Hunters that had appeared, he had grasped that they didn’t have any strong Hunters that were the same rank as him and he felt relieved.
However, he soon felt something behind him, a presence who had been restraining his sharp killing intent. Thus, he could do nothing but correct himself.
“Are you sure?”
Dong Chul found the mastermind and was met with the tired-looking face of a man as the man thrust a dagger into him. Dong Chul’s leather armor wasn’t nearly enough to block the aura-clad blade.
“AH!”
The single blow had left Dong Chul with a fatal wound and he vomited blood.
“W-Why in the world…”
“There are a lot of reasons for a person to have a grudge against a contract killer, right?”
The man grabbed Dong Chul’s hair and pulled, bending his head back. Since he had penetrated his spine, fatally wounding him, Dong Chul knew it wouldn’t be too long before he was decapitated, but he couldn’t even resist.
“Think hard about it while you’re in your grave… who you messed with.”
His sharp, aura-clad blade slashed deeply into Dong Chul’s throat. Blood spurted and Dong Chul feebly fell to the floor.
“Executive Branch Leader, we’ve seized all the surveillance cameras.”
“How should we deal with the bodies?” the Executive Branch member asked.
The Executive Branch Leader, Kang San Ho, smirked.
“The VIP wants the bodies. Pack them up.”
* * *
In order to undergo the next stage of his treatment, Soo Hyuk was once again hospitalized. Sung Joon thought that just like in the case with the Great Demon guild, people might aim for his father, so he had requested the Seraphim guild’s protection.
“You don’t have to worry about Mr. Kang Soo Hyuk’s safety. There are quite a lot of people that are feeling uneasy after the last attempt by the Great Demon guild, so we were in the process of strengthening our security. We’ll station more guards to protect Mr. Kang Soo Hyuk.”
The Seraphim guild’s head of management gladly accepted Sung Joon’s request. Thanks to him, Sung Joon wouldn’t have to worry too much about Soo Hyuk’s safety and could somewhat relax.
Sung Joon, who had fixed the issue of Soo Hyuk’s safety, decided to discuss the issue of the Namhae County Governor, Son Jin Woong, with Hyun Sung. Thus, he went to the Hunter Bureau.
“I was waiting for you,” Hyun Sung said.
Hyun Sung was waiting at the entrance of the Hunter Bureau. Sung Joon got off the taxi and went with Hyun Sung to the backside of the Hunter Bureau, where there was some shade.
“The Hunter, Jo Dong Chul, who Son Jin Woong had sent, has been assassinated. We couldn’t find any evidence that would identify the suspect,” Hyun Sung said.
Hyun Sung had received the report that morning and passed along the contents to Sung Joon.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon, who did you call that day?”
“I had called the Hound guild.”
“Just as I had expected.”
When the Great Demon guild had collapsed, the Hound guild had ascended to a high-rank guild, fulfilling their long-awaited wish. In order to recompense him, the Hound guild had promised Sung Joon that they would assist him with their Executive Branch.
Hyun Sung didn’t know the inside story but it wasn’t difficult to piece together the situation.
“Are you planning on killing the Namhae County Governor?” Hyun Sung asked.
Sung Joon shook his head.
“If I had wanted to kill him, they would be holding his funeral right about now.”
He had confidence in concealing his killing intent and he had gained a stealth item. Also, Sung Joon wasn’t the type of person to feel guilt.
If someone messed with him, he was ready with a bloody punishment.
“What you’re saying is that…”
“It’s not like I enjoy murder. If he stops, I have no plans of killing him,” Sung Joon responded.
If the Namhae County Governor was an A-rank Hunter, he would’ve killed him. However, he was just a civilian. Based on the information that the Hound guild had passed on to him, the Namhae County Governor employed Hunters as bodyguards, but they were at a pretty low level.
If things got bigger, it would just be a pain in the ass and it wouldn’t really help him improve his synchronization rate.
“However, the Namhae County Governor probably won’t give up so easily. It’s because politicians tend to have a lot of pride.”
Hyun Sung was earnestly concerned for the Namhae County Governor. Although Hyun Sung was on Sung Joon’s side, things might get out of hand if Sung Joon messed with the political circle. He didn’t want that to happen.
He didn’t know much about the Namhae County Governor’s personality, but he at least knew that politicians tended to be prideful people. Also, he knew that what Sung Joon did was the same as messing with the Namhae County Governor, Son Jin Woong’s, pride.
“Team Leader.”
Sung Joon smiled when he saw Hyun Sung’s complicated expression.
“Although a politician’s pride may be high, they have as many things to lose as they have to protect.”
Hyun Sung couldn’t deny Sung Joon’s statement. The more that a politician had, the more they had to lose.
Especially people like Son Jin Woong. If someone messed with someone like Son Jin Woong, he would fiercely retaliate, but if the opponent was too great, he knew that he would give up in order to protect what he had.
“However, if he hired an A-rank Hunter to kill you, he must believe that he can deal with you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Wouldn’t that be the case?” Hyun Sung concluded cool-headedly.
From the start, if Jin Woong had recognized Sung Joon as an opponent he couldn’t handle, Hyun Sung thought that he wouldn’t have hired an A-rank Hunter to kill Sung Joon.
When Sung Joon opened his mouth to explain, he heard his phone ring. Sung Joon took out his phone and brought it to his ear.
“Please proceed as is,” Sung Joon said briefly, and ended the call.
Hyun Sung looked at Sung Joon, as if he was begging for him for an explanation.
“From now on, a lot of things will change,” Sung Joon said with an expression overflowing with confidence.
Hyun Sung, seeing that, thought that things would actually get bigger and felt uneasy.
Since Hyun Sung’s concern was written all over his face, Sung Joon was easily able to read his thoughts.
“The issue won’t get as big as you’re worrying about,” Sung Joon assured him.
“The Hunter Bureau and I trust you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. I won’t tell you to be patient. Just… please deal with it quietly.”
Hyun Sung had tacitly said that there was a possibility that the Hunter Bureau would overlook his killing. It showed just how much the Hunter Bureau desperately wanted to earn points with Sung Joon.
Strong Hunters equaled authority. Before Sung Joon went somewhere else, the Hunter Bureau would show Sung Joon goodwill, so they would someday have a connecting link to him.
It was likely that when the time came, the Hunter Bureau would recruit him. The Hunter Bureau had also wanted glory since the start of its establishment.
“I probably won’t have to intervene this time,” Hyun Sung said.
The conversation was over.
Sung Joon parted with Hyun Sung and took a taxi to his studio apartment. There was someone waiting for him there.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon.”
There was a civilian with someone clearly dressed differently. It was a Hunter.
“Did you come from the Hound guild?”
“We were sent by the Executive Branch Leader.”
Sung Joon nodded his head and examined his surroundings. Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of people around.
The Hunter also checked the surrounding area and stepped forward to Sung Joon.
“We’ve sent the ‘delivery’.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Also, there’s something that the Executive Branch Leader wanted me to relay to you.”
It would have been difficult to say it over the phone, so he had sent someone to relay his message.
“Please, go ahead.”
“He said that if Son Jin Woong acts himself, we won’t be able to help you anymore.”
The Hound guild were the same as the Hunter Bureau. They didn’t want to face the political circle head-on and get involved. Sung Joon smiled furtively.
“Please don’t worry. If the Governor acts directly, I won’t ask for any help; I’ll deal with him myself.”
Sung Joon revealed his strong intent. If a ‘warning’ didn’t work, he would go for a ‘punishment’. He didn’t know how he would do it, but from Jin Woong’s perspective, it definitely wouldn’t be something to be happy about.
After the conversation was over, the Hound guild’s Executive Branch Hunter bowed politely, got inside the parked car and left.
“Rishubalt,” Sung Joon called as he watched the back of the increasingly distant departed car.
The faithful ghost subordinate that had been on standby beside him, stepped towards him.
“Did you call for me?”
“Do you think my warning will work?”
“If you’re curious, I can scout for you.”
“Would you?”
“If you give me the order, my lord, I’ll act immediately.”
Sung Joon smiled.
“Get going.”
