Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1272. Count Kim Hyun-Sung (2)

“What? Right?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“Yes, right now,” I answered.

“Ah... Okay! I’ll go get everyone,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

I saw Ahn Ki-Mo moving hastily.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyun-Sung left the camp together with the Blue Guild in response to Cha Hee-Ra’s answer. It looked like the event to catch Jung Jin-Ho was about to start. On the surface, nothing seemed wrong. The Red Mercenary Guild simply refused the Blue Guild’s proposal and decided to go their own way.

As I mapped out the rough timeline in my head, I couldn’t help but swallow hard.

There were two things I was worried about.

‘Damn it.’

First of all, I was worried whether this event would end without a hitch.

Of course, there was a high chance that nothing could go wrong, as I was certain that the masked heroes had already passed over the necessary information to the Blue Guild.

The fact that these fools who had been wasting time until now were mobilizing their entire force could only mean they were confident in the information they had obtained.

The main difference from before was the Red Mercenary Guild joining the battle, and it was a massive difference. The other guilds didn't really matter, but the Red Mercenary Guild was a different story. In fact, they made all the difference.

The fact that well-trained vanguards weren’t part of the siege meant that Cha Hee-Ra, who was their leader, was no longer on the field.

There was no chance that the operation would go as smoothly as it did in the first life.

Kim Hyun-Sung and the Blue Guild surely knew that as well, which was likely why they showed up here. They had to have thought that, without the Red Mercenary Guild, the operation’s outcome was uncertain.

Given the situation, there was no guarantee Jung Jin-Ho wouldn’t escape this trap.

‘If that happens, it'll be the worst...’

If Jung Jin-Ho somehow managed to escape and kill First Life Ki-Young, it would be the end of the second life.

I wasn’t sure yet if the first life and the second life were connected, but it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. He wouldn't immediately harm Ki-Young, but I was sure the masked heroes wouldn't find it a good thing to have a psychotic killer as an enemy.

‘And... the second thing is...’

There was a possibility that this event of chasing after the brigade was actually meant to foster cooperation between the Red Mercenary Guild and the Blue Guild. Of course, even if the two guilds somehow came together, it wouldn’t change the bigger picture.

Regardless of whether they united or not, the Outer Gods would still descend, and the continent would still be on the path to destruction.

However, the unity of Lindel was far more important for the upcoming events.

Shortly after this chapter, the Outer Gods would arrive, so from the masked heroes’ perspective, they had to balance the power between the Outer Gods and humanity.

First Life Ki-Young's goal was complete destruction, and... during the tug-of-war between the Outer Goods and humanity, First Life Ji-Hye ended up dying. It was unclear whether the decision to regress was made before or after that, but since nothing could influence him, the large, predetermined events had to proceed no matter what.

If humanity were completely overwhelmed and pushed back by the Outer Gods without being able to do anything, the regression wouldn’t take place.

The war had to continue until the continent was in complete, irreversible ruins.

In some ways, it sounded a little cruel, but because there was a first life, a second life was possible.

Just as I was about to tap my thigh and become engrossed in my thoughts again, I saw Ahn Ki-Mo rounding up the rest of the party.

“Sub Guild Master, we’re ready,” Ahn Ki-Mo said.

No one seemed surprised by the sudden summons. Having personally seen Kim Hyun-Sung from the parallel world and Cha Hee-Ra, their reactions were understandable. Among them, Rafael’s expression was the worst, and it was probably because he instinctively sensed that he had gotten caught up in something bizarre.

“Please tell me how much information you managed to gather,” I ordered.

“...”

“...”

“Actually, I didn’t hear anything about Mr. Lee Joo-Hyuk or Miss Marian,” Lee Chul-Woo said.

‘Just as I expected.’

“At least, I don’t think they’re in the camp,” Lee Chul-Woo added.

Gook Minji immediately added, “I visited the incineration site. Luckily, none of Rafael’s party members were there. Even within the camp that’s in close contact with this one, there’s been no mention of anyone being captured.

"It seems that they moved in a different direction from us.”

“It seemed that even they didn’t know exactly how many camps like this were nearby. All they knew was that there were at least dozens of them...” Gook Minji added.

“I see,” I said.

“It seemed they were tracking a specific group. At first, I thought it might be Miss Marian or Mr. Lee Joo-Hyuk... but they have clearly identified who they were chasing, so I think it’s safe to assume that his party is in another camp.

"At the very least, it’s certain they haven’t crossed the border yet,” Gook Minji continued.

“Yes, the camp looks poorly managed, but... they seemed to be keeping a very close eye on anyone leaving the area. It feels like there's an ongoing, coordinated hunt, as countless camps have surrounded the entire region,” Gook Minji said.

“...”

“I'm sure they did that to ensure that not even a single rat can escape. They might have a separate hideout or are probably hiding in another camp... Escaping this region surrounded by those people seems to be impossible,” Gook Minji said.

“It looks like the region is on total lockdown. In other words, people can't really enter, either,” Lee Chul-Woo chimed in.

“That shows just how important this operation is to them. There’s a possibility that they’re hiding in one of the nearby villages,” I said.

‘Not bad.’

It was obvious, but it looked like the Friendship Guild wasn’t just twiddling their thumbs. They were proving that they weren’t the same clueless party from that Rift Museum expedition. Among them, Guild Master Lee Chul-Woo and Gook Minji stood out the most.

Of course, that was partly because Gook Minji’s job had advantages in the department of intelligence gathering. Thanks to that, I managed to understand how this entire region was functioning.

‘They’ve completely locked it down.’

Dozens of camps had surrounded the large forest near the border between the Democratic Country and Laios. And it wasn’t just the forest. They included the lakes the locals often used, public facilities, and even the villages where the slash-and-burn farmers lived. Once again, I was forced to realize just how irrational these people were.

‘If this were the second life, they’d be getting sued.’

There probably hadn’t even been any prior notice. The villagers living in those small, quiet towns suddenly found themselves locked in a massive cage, together with a pack of psychopathic killers.

‘Ki-Young and Ji-Hye are probably doing their own thing, right?’

Their true identities were still unknown. They probably had a few fake identities, so they had to have either blended into the camps or had been lying low in one of the villages.

Honestly, I doubted their situation was any different from Lee Joo-Hyuk and Marian’s.

It seemed that the ones being hunted down were just a few brigade members, including Jung Jin-Ho.

“Following them seems to be the best option for now,” I said.

“Ah, you mean the master of the Blue Guild?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

“Yes, but it may be wiser to side with a different group instead,” I suggested.

‘It’s dangerous to move together with Hyun-Sung...’

At that time, Kim Hyun-Sung himself couldn’t join the battle.

“The master of the Red Mercenary Guild promised to protect our identities, so we shouldn’t have a problem moving on our own,” I told them.

“Ah, I see. Thank you for your hard work, Saint of Sacrifice and Revival,” they said.

“It’s possible that Mr. Rafael’s party has become part of this siege... While unlikely, Mr. Lee Joo-Hyuk and Miss Marian might also be on the run... so please keep a close watch on the surroundings,” I instructed them.

“Yes, sir.”

“Refrain from any suspicious actions... and if anyone questions your identity, present this seal I’m about to give you,” I told them.

Rafael quietly chimed in, “Hyung... I’m getting a bad feeling.”

‘What do you want me to do about it...’

“I’m nervous,” Rafael added.

‘Get away from me. I’m busy, damn it.’

Right now, finding Jung Jin-Ho was more important than listening to Rafael’s nonsense.

‘I’m sure we can find him.’

If Ki-Young and Ji-Hye had parted ways from Jung Jin-Ho, Jung Jin-Ho had to have lost the means to hide. However, I doubted that he was completely out of options, as he was a magic swordsman, and a pretty skilled one at that.

Sure, he was no Jung Ha-Yan, but considering his infamy, he could definitely trick most mages. The other members in the brigade were probably the same. Most of the ones I saw were melee fighters, but I heard the twins could cast some spells, too.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were one or two more magic specialists among them.

In conclusion, it was highly likely that the current Jung Jin-Ho and the brigade members shouting his name were using magic to break through this trap, and... I had eyes that could see through their deception.

Plus, I had the Telescope, so I was practically an expert in detecting strange phenomena happening over this region. Ordinary methods here would be like finding a needle in a desert, but detecting magical distortions was no trouble at all.

Naturally, even as the party moved among other forces, I continuously scanned the surroundings. The region was huge, and our allied scouts were also using magic, so I got a bit confused at times, but there was no way I wouldn’t find anything.

I saw a particularly strange mana distortion. The concentration of mana was so faint that I could have missed it if I hadn’t looked closely, but without a doubt, some unidentified spell was warping the space.

“Follow me,” I ordered.

“Pardon?”

“S-Sir.”

“Everyone, follow me,” I repeated.

“It’s dangerous to go ahead like that! Sir!” Ahn Ki-Mo shouted.

“Just follow me,” I said.

“Um... hyung!” Rafael yelled out.

‘Damn it.’

“Miss Ah-Young,” I said.

“Ah... right! I’ll carry you, sir,” Yoo Ah-Young said.

While we were dashing at full speed, Yoo Ah-Young lifted me. I could feel her gripping me tightly as we ran along the path I guided them toward.

It seemed like she sensed that this was the moment to act, as she hugged me so tightly that it got a bit hard to breathe, but our pace was unbelievably faster compared to earlier.

“Excuse me... s-sir. Where are we going right now?” Yoo Ah-Young asked.

“...”

“Hyung, did you find something?” Rafael asked.

“Just follow me,” I ordered.

The party members showed signs of suspicion after running for what felt like an indefinite amount of time, but there was no time for me to explain things.

‘Do they know?’

It seemed like Jung Jin-Ho noticed that he was being pursued.

We weren’t the only ones moving around. They were also doing everything they could to break through the trap and shake off our pursuit. I hadn’t expected to play a game of cat and mouse in a place like this, but it was clear that..

‘It's clear that this is no ordinary situation.’

Just then, they stopped moving.

“Prepare for battle,” I ordered.

“What?”

“As quietly as possible without causing any disturbance,” I added.

I saw a familiar sword.

Yoo Ah-Young raised her shield, and Rafael gritted his teeth, reaching out toward the oncoming blade.

Of course, we all knew exactly what that sword was. It was Juliena, the cursed sword that First Life Jung Jin-Ho wielded. In the second life, it was doomed to become nothing more than a forgotten relic protecting a warehouse.