Chapter 89 - Halo (7)
In the city of Harbin, not far from Korea and Vladivostok.
The martial artists of the Tang Clan, including Tang Tianqi, were waiting there.
Although the operation had failed due to Hyun Suho’s intervention, they hadn’t given up yet.
“Damn it! If it weren’t for that guy, we could’ve gotten Halo!”
Tang Tianqi had a strong desire for power.
Not only was he greedy, but he also continuously hunted and trained, steadily building up the skills to match.
The fact that he mastered excellent dagger techniques without any special skills was due to his effort and perseverance.
Yet, despite his capabilities, he only managed to become the leader of a scouting party, and that was due to his background.
Since the Tang clan was an organization made up of blood relations, the distinction between the main and collateral branches was strict.
All high-ranking positions in the clan were held by direct descendants of the clan head. No matter how skilled a collateral relative was, there were limits.
‘As much as I want to leave this dirty and rotten place…’
The clan wouldn’t just let him go.
They would likely kill him or cripple him under the pretext of reclaiming the secret techniques he had learned.
Even if he managed to escape, not having the support of the clan would ultimately be a loss.
In the end, Tang Tianqi had two options.
Either continue to rack up achievements and gain the clan’s recognition, or obtain power greater than a ranker.
The latter was ideal, but it was a nearly impossible feat, as only about a thousand of the billions of hunters could reach that level.
So, Tang Tianqi aimed to achieve as much as he could in his current position.
Until he discovered Halo.
“If I can just get that, I can break free from these suffocating blood ties.”
Even someone like Tang Tianqi, who knew how terrifying the Tang clan’s rules were, desired Halo enough to take the risk.
Had Tang Tianqi reported accurate information about Halo to the family, their main forces would have already swept through Vladivostok.
The only reason the city remained quiet was that he had kept the information to himself.
But there was a limit to how long he could stall.
It was only a matter of time before the Tang clan fully understood Halo.
Before that, it was crucial to secure and extract General.
Fortunately, General’s forces were far weaker than rumored.
Most of the soldiers had never even experienced the Red Zone.
As long as they were careful of the special bullets that suppressed mana, there wouldn’t be a problem.
They had already mapped out the layout of Vladivostok through spies, and Tang Tianqi had gathered reinforcements through his personal connections.
These were Tang Tianqi’s private troops, not the Tang clan’s.
The biggest variable, of course, was Hyun Suho.
Tang Tianqi hadn’t used his full strength, but he could instinctively tell that Hyun Suho had held back even more.
After reinforcing his troops, he planned to move as soon as he pinpointed Hyun Suho’s exact location.
But then, his plan hit a major snag.
Amazingly, before they could even find him, Hyun Suho came to them of his own accord.
“…What’s his game?”
Inside the Tang clan’s Harbin branch.
Dozens of Tang clan martial artists surrounded Hyun Suho, who stood calmly at the center of the room.
If Tang Tianqi so much as lifted a finger, a rain of daggers would pour down.
There were even mechanical traps set up to defend against intruders.
Despite the situation, Hyun Suho casually spoke to Tang Tianqi.
“So, why don’t we cooperate? You capture General, and I make some money. We both win, right?”
Tang Tianqi, still suspicious, didn’t let his guard down and asked, “Weren’t you with General’s forces?”
“Me? You think a grand mage like me would waste time in some backwater like that?”
“…”
“Come on, now. That’s disappointing. Is this really the extent of the Tang clan’s intelligence? If someone like me had been in that city, word would’ve spread by now, don’t you think?”
Tang Tianqi’s expression relaxed slightly.
He wasn’t wrong.
It was already well-known that General’s right-hand man was Bayets.
Aside from the rarely-seen General himself, Bayets was the most powerful force in Vladivostok.
And even he had been easily captured by Tang Tianqi.
It wasn’t strange at all.
The hunters in Russia’s Far East region were weaker than even the Tang clan’s first division.
Yet Hyun Suho alone had easily held off Tang Tianqi and his subordinates.
Even Tang Tianqi had to admit that Hyun Suho was too powerful to be tied to a place like Vladivostok.
“I’ve been looking into your identity.”
“Then you should know by now, right? I’m not part of that group.”
“Then reveal your true identity.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? If I were going to do that, why would I have been wandering around a backwater like Vladivostok in the first place?”
“So you’re a fugitive?”
“Well, I’ve made a few minor mistakes, so the Hunter Association is after me.”
Being pursued by the Hunter Association meant there was nowhere in the world for him to hide.
That was why he had been moving from one lawless place to another, like Vladivostok.
There were quite a few hunters like that in the world.
“And you expect me to reveal my identity to the Tang clan? I might as well drink poison—it’d give me a better chance of survival.”
“So you want to work together without even confirming your identity?”
“Well, what do you suggest? I ditched my Hunter terminal ages ago. Isn’t that obvious?”
Tang Tianqi wasn’t a fool.
He didn’t expect Hyun Suho to reveal his identity.
“Then how can I trust you?”
“Trust me? Do we need trust between us? As long as our interests align, that’s all that matters.”
Hyun Suho made a gesture as if he was counting money between his thumb and fingers.
“You capture General, and I get properly compensated.”
"…Then why did you stop us in the first place?"
"Obviously, to monopolize the Halo! I thought that if I saved them and got a bit closer, I could eventually learn the manufacturing method. But when I realized the raw materials were supplied by your clan, I knew things had gone wrong."
"Hmm!"
Hearing Hyun Suho's explanation, Tang Tianqi folded his arms and began to think deeply.
Everything seemed to match up, and there were no apparent contradictions. In fact, if Hyun Suho had revealed his true identity, it would have raised even more suspicion.
Tang Tianqi was inherently cautious, always thoroughly investigating before taking action. Normally, working with someone as suspicious as Hyun Suho on a joint operation would have been out of the question.
But this time was different. The rewards they could gain from the Halo were far too tempting, and time was running out.
In the end, Tang Tianqi decided to put aside his lingering doubts and asked, "What can you do for us?"
"Obviously, I can give you the General's location. You still don't even know what the General looks like, do you? But I've actually met him."
With those words, Hyun Suho opened his palm and used magic. As a light began to emanate from his hand, the warriors of the Tang clan tensed, ready to throw their hidden weapons. But Tang Tianqi raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait!"
"Such impatient friends. Does this look like an attack spell to you?"
The magic flowing from Hyun Suho's hand, as he said, was not an offensive spell but one that displayed a specific image. Following the magical energy, a large image appeared in the air—a scene extracted from Hyun Suho's memory.
A clear picture of the General, wearing sunglasses, was projected for all to see.
"Is this… the General?"
"Look at the star insignia on his cap and the medals plastered on his uniform. That's him."
"How did you meet him? Not even our trained spies could uncover a shadow of his identity."
"Well, it could be because I'm more skilled than your clan's warriors."
As Hyun Suho’s words caused the warriors surrounding them to scowl, he shrugged and continued.
"Or maybe it’s because I saved them from you."
"That's still not enough of an explanation. They’ve been paranoid about hiding the General's identity. And you're saying you figured it out so easily?"
As the atmosphere turned tense with Tang Tianqi's suspicion, Hyun Suho dramatically thumped his chest, acting as if he were wrongly accused.
"They’re in a desperate situation too. It's obvious that you guys will come attacking again. Recruiting someone as skilled as me is a logical move. No matter how important secrecy is, it’s better than facing annihilation, right?"
Although everything Hyun Suho had said so far was a lie, this part was actually true.
Indeed, the General, feeling pressed by the circumstances, had taken a gamble and brought Hyun Suho into the fold.
Now, it was up to Tang Tianqi to make his choice.
Would he work with Hyun Suho, or would he initiate a battle to try and capture him?
While Tang Tianqi appeared deep in thought, the truth was that his mind had already been made up some time ago.
"…How do you plan to help us?"
Hearing this, Hyun Suho smiled victoriously.
"So, my plan is…"
* * *
A few days later, Hyun Suho found himself playing the role of a double agent.
Though he had assured Tang Tianqi to trust him and prepare for the operation, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
"I wonder if this plan will actually work."
Everything had been set up by the General's side.
The operation itself was straightforward. They would purposely fall into a trap and engage in battle with the Tang family's forces. During the fight, the General would tragically die.
Of course, it would only seem that way.
They planned to use a special drug to induce a state of apparent death.
The Tang clan's goal was to secure an alchemist who could create the Halo. If they believed the General was dead, there would be no reason to continue targeting Vladivostok.
"The plan sounds reasonable, but… isn’t it full of holes?"
The biggest problem was convincing Tang Tianqi that the General had truly died.
Tang Tianqi wasn’t a fool.
Since the goal was to capture the General, they would likely use paralytic poison like before, not a lethal one. And what if Tang Tianqi, enraged by the General’s supposed death, decided to mutilate the body?
"What… they must have thought this through, right?"
The General’s side hadn't shared all the details with Hyun Suho.
Even though he had agreed to help, they still didn’t fully trust him. After all, he could very well be blinded by greed and sell the General out to the Tang clan.
Though it irked Hyun Suho to be doubted by the ones asking for help, he wasn’t about to stir the pot.
Besides, if everything went well, they had promised to stop selling drugs in Korea forever.
[The General has entered the operation zone.]
The first part of the cover story was that the General was a diligent hunter who regularly patrolled hunting zones.
Hyun Suho had secretly attached a tracking device, provided by the Tang clan, to the General.
This was the second part of the plan.
Once the General started moving, the warriors of the Tang clan, who had been closely monitoring the tracking device, began to act.
Hyun Suho observed them from a distance.
With her far-sight magic activated, Nova clearly saw the General’s situation, even from an impossible angle.
[Can you see everything clearly?]
‘Yeah. Magic really is amazing. No wonder mage hunters are so highly regarded.’
Hyun Suho provided the information and then stepped back.
In a situation where both sides still doubted him, he couldn’t afford to be directly involved in the operation.
So, he had no choice but to stay a little farther away.
[It begins now.]
The General was patrolling the hunting grounds alone.
In this harsh environment, the only way hunters could make money was by hunting monsters. So, the General wasn’t the only one hunting here; there were plenty of other hunters as well.
Since he wasn’t wearing his usual military uniform, there was no way to tell that he was the General. He looked just like any other hunter, dealing with the monsters and finishing the butchering process.
The warriors from the Tang clan didn’t miss their chance.
Swish!
Suddenly, hidden weapons flew towards the General just as he was about to retrieve the mana stone from the monster he had just butchered.
Clang!
Amazingly, the General swung his sword, deflecting the projectiles coming at him from behind.
He moved even faster than Bayets.
“Who’s there?!”
At the General’s shout, Tang Tianqi and his subordinates revealed themselves.
“We’ve finally caught you! Are you the SS-rank alchemist, General?”
“What?! How did you find me?”
The saying goes, “Old ginger is spicier.”
The General put on such a convincing act that even Hyun Suho, who knew the truth, was momentarily fooled.
“You fools! Don’t underestimate the great General!”
Shouting this, the General pulled several vials from his coat and threw them in all directions.
Crash!
As the vials shattered, ominous-looking clouds of colorful smoke billowed up. Startled, the warriors surrounding the General took a few steps back, but one of them seemed to have inhaled some of the smoke.
“Ugh!”
Grabbing his throat in agony, he collapsed with a thud.
Even Hyun Suho, watching the scene, was shocked.
“Did he really just incapacitate a Tang clan hunter with those vials?”
So, the General truly was an SS-rank alchemist.
He wasn’t about to be captured easily, continuing to fight by throwing vials and concoctions. It was all to perfectly deceive the enemy.
However, the General was outnumbered, and Tang Tianqi had prepared thoroughly. From a safe distance, they continued to throw more hidden weapons, unaffected by the chemicals.
Eventually, the General was hit multiple times and fell to the ground, looking like a human pincushion.
“Ugh!”
Soon, the powerful paralytic poison would leave him completely immobilized.
Hyun Suho held his breath as he watched the scene unfold.
‘What trick is he going to pull now?’
Suddenly, the General pulled out a large dagger from his coat and shouted,
“Hahaha! I’d rather die by my own hand than be captured by you scum!”
It was a dagger that looked sharp at a glance.
The General pointed it at his own neck.
Hyun Suho assumed there was some kind of mechanism in the dagger, like a magician’s prop, where the blade would retract inward.
But then, something completely unexpected happened.
A woman’s scream suddenly tore through the air.
“Nooo!!”
The one who appeared with the scream was the medical officer, Tatiana.
Both Hyun Suho and the warriors from the Tang family, as well as the General, who was just about to stab his own neck, were stunned.
And the next words left everyone in shock.
“Stop! Don’t kill him! The General you’re looking for… is me!”
