The Support Ate it All

Looks like I got some help from the Demon Finger.

Among the demonic arts, the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger is known to be one of the most powerful.

The fact that it makes your index finger freeze is also a prominent feature, which makes it easy to identify.

Thanks to that, I was able to convincingly act as a master of the Demonic Cult and swiftly secure the top priority objective in this dungeon.

[Fragment of the Treasure Map B]

Now it was time to turn my attention to the main objectives of the dungeon.

I showed Go Hyeon-woo two fingers.

“We have two main tasks.”

The first is securing the Sealing Demon Chest, which has been repeatedly mentioned from the start.

To be precise, it’s to help the King of Hell Squad secure the Sealing Demon Chest.

“Of course, they won’t just stand there and let it happen.”

“I have a feeling there will be a master present.”

“Absolutely.”

When I was talking with the King of Hell, I used vague terms like “unforeseen variables” or “unexpected masters”.

But in reality, a battle with a master is inevitable.

It seems that the Golden Elephant Merchants felt uneasy about having stolen the Sealing Demon Chest, as they’ve enlisted a fairly skilled master.

They will be a major obstacle in taking down the merchant guild, so how quickly we can neutralize them will be crucial.

“The other task is finding the head of this merchant guild.”

“Since he’s the mastermind behind this whole incident.”

“Yeah. Actually, it’s fine as long as we find the Sealing Demon Chest, but the head of the merchant guild is offering extra rewards.”

“Indeed, extra rewards make it even harder to pass up.”

Go Hyeon-woo, who had been traveling with me, was beginning to adopt the mindset of a stagnant water.

The stealthy movement of the King of Hell Squad slowed down and eventually stopped.

Ahead of us stood a manor. It was neither too big nor too small and was made up of a few pavilions.

The manor was surrounded by fairly high walls for its size, and the signboard at the main gate read:

<Golden Elephant Merchant Guild>

Soon, the King of Hell Squad exchanged signals among themselves and approached the building with a terrifying speed.

There were guards stationed all around, but by the time they noticed the King of Hell Squad charging in, it was already too late.

“Enemy att—”

Slash!

The guards were taken down in an instant.

The King of Hell Squad surrounded the Golden Elephant Merchant Guild and made sure not even a rat could escape.

Swish

The only sound was the faint rustling of clothes.

As I watched the scene unfold with Go Hyeon-woo, the King of Hell commander approached and respectfully reported.

“We’re ready.”

“Begin.”

I nodded slightly as I spoke, and the commander signaled with a hand gesture.

A sharp whistle echoed through the air,

Fweeeeeet—!

The King of Hell Squad surrounded the merchant guild and leaped over the high walls all at once.

From this point, there was no need for stealth.

“Cut them all down!”

“Sweep them away, leave no one alive!”

Go Hyeon-woo and I exchanged glances before we too jumped over the wall.

Standing atop the wall, we looked down to see the startled faces of the Golden Elephant Merchants’ guards.

One of them shouted frantically.

“It’s an enemy atta—!”

That was the last word he ever uttered.

Slash!

The next moment, his head flew off.

The battle erupted, with the sounds of clashing weapons and cries of pain echoing everywhere.

Clang!

“Guh…!”

A Golden Elephant Merchant warrior crossed blades to block the attack from a King of Hell Squad member.

The two locked swords, trying to push each other back, but the merchant warrior gradually gave way, and soon his sword snapped with a dull crack.

The King of Hell Squad member swung his blade again and finished him off.

Slash!

“Aaaargh!”

He tossed the fallen opponent aside like garbage and moved on to the next.

The Golden Elephant Merchants had apparently spent a lot of money hiring and inviting warriors, but their individual skills were far too lacking to face the forces of the Demonic Cult.

Slash!

And so they fell quickly before they could even exchange even a few moves.

In an instant, their numbers dwindled.

Occasionally, some would engage in fierce battles with a few of the squad members, but the King of Hell Squad was thoroughly trained in group combat as well.

When two or three attacked together, even those who fought hard eventually couldn’t hold out and fell.

But what if they were even stronger than that?

What if they were so strong that not even a combined attack from multiple King of Hell Squad members could bring them down?

It felt like the time for those opponents to appear was approaching.

Sure enough,

Swoosh!

The bodies of three or four King of Hell Squad members, who had been advancing with unstoppable force, were severed in an instant.

Another squad member quickly filled the gap and launched another attack, but he too was cut clean in half.

They were twin brothers who looked nearly identical.

They were short and plump and resembled dwarves.

Each wielded a huge axe the size of their own body, and the blue energy that clung to the axe blades was proof of their skill.

Because of that, the King of Hell Squad could not properly withstand their attacks, and their bodies were repeatedly split apart.

The two also had excellent coordination. They seamlessly covered each other’s blind spots.

These were the experts secretly hired by the Golden Elephant Merchants.

The Mountain Splitting Twin Axe Jeong brothers.

I exchanged a glance with the nearby commander of the King of Hell Squad.

His eyes were slightly widened in surprise.

“He even predicted their appearance… I am in awe of Demon Brain’s foresight.”

“The Demon Brain sees all.”

But in truth, there was no Demon Brain; it was me who had figured it all out.

If the Jeong brothers were allowed to continue rampaging, the damage to the King of Hell Squad would only grow worse.

So I stepped forward with Go Hyeon-woo.

“Stand back. We will handle them.”

“Yes.”

As the King of Hell Squad retreated, the twin brothers’ eyes naturally locked onto us.

Sensing something unusual about us at a glance, they each made a bold remark.

“Finally, some worthy opponents have shown up.”

“This should be fun.”

I was one of the Demonic Cult’s top experts in this dungeon.

With many eyes watching, I decided to maintain my arrogant demeanor.

“Big talk from fools who wouldn’t last a second against me. I’m not even slightly amused, so hurry up and come at me.”

“…….!”

The Jeong brothers’ faces twisted into vicious scowls.

It seemed my taunt had hit its mark.

After all, what warrior could calmly ignore being told, “You’re not worth even a single blow?”

Their aura surged sharply, and they kicked off the ground at the same time.

Blue energy gushed out and lingered on the axes they were holding.

Go Hyeon-woo watched them with an interested look on his face.

“It’s my first time facing an axe master.”

He was already holding an iron sword in his hand.

A gentle breeze wrapped around the blade.

[Pure Flow]

A defensive technique focused on diverting enemy attacks.

He had primarily used this technique to deflect the ogres’ attacks during the midterm exams.

However, it seemed that Go Hyeon-woo had realized something while using Pure Flow in actual combat.

Instead of receiving the attack in place as usual, he took a bold step forward and swung his sword.

Thud—!

The trajectories of the two axes, which had been swung with terrifying force, veered wildly.

I wasn’t about to miss the opening that had revealed itself.

In an instant, I closed the distance and stabbed one of the brothers arm with the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger.

Thud,

“This… this is…!”

One of the Jeong brothers staggered back in a daze before looking down at the pierced spot with panicked eyes.

Crackle,

Frost quickly spread through his body. It passed through his pressure points at an alarming rate.

At first, the man who had only been trembling in his arm soon began shaking all over.

The other Jeong brother shouted at the sight.

“You bastard! What did you do to my big brother?”

“So, you’re the younger one. Don’t worry.”

You’ll end up just like him soon enough.

This time, Go Hyeon-woo and I launched our attack.

Go Hyeon-woo focused on the older brother, who was desperately trying to drive out the frost.

I decided to generously deliver the Demon Fingers to both Jeong brothers.

As I approached, an axe swung reflexively.

Whoosh—

I narrowly dodged and closed in even further.

Then I jabbed my index finger into a Jeong brother’s swinging arm.

“Grrrk…!”

The Jeong brothers glared at us while trembling violently.

Their eyes were filled with a mix of rage and fear.

I met their gaze briefly before giving the order.

“Finish them.”

“As you command.”

The King of Hell Squad members closed in around them and tightened the circle.

At this point, there was no need for us to finish them ourselves.

The Jeong brothers, who were struggling against the cold of the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, were no match for the King of Hell Squad.

“Arghhh!”

With the Jeong brothers’ screams echoing behind us, we stepped into the manor.

The King of Hell Squad members, who had entered earlier, were cutting down everything in sight and overturning every room in their search for the Sealing Demon Chest.

We paid them no mind and kept moving forward.

Go Hyeon-woo matched his pace with mine and spoke.

“Now that we’ve dealt with the masters, only one remains.”

“Yes, we need to find him.”

The Golden Merchant Guild Leader.

We continued walking until we reached the end of the hallway.

The building’s wall blocked our path.

Go Hyeon-woo turned his head and quietly asked me what we should do next.

I pointed at the wall.

“Try cutting this.”

Without hesitation, Go Hyeon-woo swiftly swung his iron sword twice.

Two sword strikes crossed each other in an X shape across the wall.

Slash-crack!

The wall bore two long scars, but that was all.

Go Hyeon-woo asked as he retrieved his iron sword.

“I’m sure there’s a reason for Kim-hyung’s command… isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and placed my hand on the wall.

“This, it’s a formation.”

“…….!”

Go Hyeon-woo examined the wall closely again and his eyes were newly alert.

He traced the scars on the wall with his hand and lightly sent out his energy, but soon his eyes deepened.

“I can definitely feel something off. However, I don’t think I can break it on my own.”

“That’s enough for today.”

Breaking a formation begins with recognizing that the formation is there in the first place.

Today, Go Hyeon-woo had taken that first step.

As he continued to encounter various formations and learn to sense the oddities, he would eventually be able to recognize them at a glance, just like I could.

So what do we do about the one in front of us?

We already had a very simple solution.

“Take out the Dharma Statue.”

“Ah, of course…!”

Go Hyeon-woo’s eyes lit up.

He finally realized why I had told him to bring the Dharma Statue for this mission.

After he pulled the statue from his robes, he asked.

“What should I do with it now?”

“Put it here.”

I pointed to a corner of the wall.

And as soon as the Dharma Statue was placed there—

Ssssss—

The wall rippled and parted on its own, revealing a short hallway and a hidden room at the end.

It had been cleverly disguised as a wall using a formation.

We walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the room. Go Hyeon-woo immediately drew his iron sword and swung it.

Swish!

The door shattered to reveal a middle-aged man hiding inside.

From his luxurious attire and greasy sweat-soaked face, it was obvious that this was the Golden Merchant Guild Leader.

His face was filled with shock; he clearly never expected anyone to break through the formation and reach him.

“H-How did you!”

“Peekaboo.”