Chapter 243

* * * * *
Dungeons.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The cell contained the nine assassins currently in Rafid’s custody. They didn’t say a word. To be precise, they were all too stunned to speak.
That was the moment.
“Ugh.”
The innermost of the nine stunned men let out a pained groan, his brow furrowed.
Sigh
Groaning in pain, he pushed himself to his feet and examined his body. To his relief, his limbs were still intact, and he tried to move them.
“Sigh.”
He moved his body slightly and felt a tremendous pain. He stopped moving and opened his eyes to take in his surroundings.
“Did I get caught…”
When he saw the bars, he knew he was caught.
“What the hell is that kid–”
When he realized he had been captured, he thought of Rafid, the little boy who had turned him into Lee Ji-kyung. Even now, it didn’t make sense. No, he couldn’t believe it.
“Huh.”
Sana thought about Rapid for a moment, then sighed.
“Hmph.”
I realized that I couldn’t stay like this, so I moved again, and the pain was still immense, but maybe I’d gotten used to it, and it wasn’t as bad as the pain I’d just felt.
“Whoosh…whoosh…”
As he continued to move his body through the pain, he got used to it and the pain began to fade. When the pain was gone, she checked her surroundings once again.
“…”
Checking his surroundings, he couldn’t help but frown. He wasn’t the only one imprisoned here.
“D-did we get it?”
The problem was that they were all people he knew. He started by counting the number of people in the jail.
“Eight people…”
After checking the number of people in confinement, the man muttered with a puzzled expression.
“We’ve got everyone but the boss.”
After muttering that, Sana seemed to think about something, then rose from his seat and approached the entrance to his prison.
“Is it confidence… Or is it disregard?”
As he approached the prison’s entrance, he couldn’t help but sneer: there was no guard to monitor their behavior. They didn’t even have shackles on their bodies, let alone guards. They were simply locked in a cell.
Sigh
After confirming that there were no guards, Sascha reached toward the door of the prison, eyeing the entrance that supposedly led outside.
“Hmmm. So this is how it works.”
The man touching the door nodded in understanding. He smiled and began to move his hands quickly.
Click.
The man moved his hand, and shortly afterward, the door opened with the sound of a lock being unlocked.
“…Hmph.”
The door opened and he stepped out with a chuckle.
“First, check the location.
Stepping outside, he glanced at the imprisoned men around him and approached the distant entrance. When he reaches the entrance, he finds a staircase leading upward.
‘…Hmmm. Underground laborers?’
It was obviously underground, as the stairs led upward.
‘It’s going to sound good.’
The structure seemed to allow for good sound. Confident that he would know in advance if someone was coming down, he turned back to look at the stunned men in the cell.
“…Let’s get started.
He walked to the nearest jail, opened the door, stepped inside, and approached a man in his late 20s who was passed out in the middle of the cell.
“Dude, wake up.”
Chin
“…”
I tried to touch him with my foot, but he was still unconscious.
“Huh.”
Eventually, he sighed and leaned down. He raised his arm and began to slap the stunned man across the cheek.
Click! Click! Click!
“Ugh.”
The slap did the trick, and soon the stunned man let out a pained groan.
“No. 9, are you awake?”
He said to Man #9, who let out a pained groan and slowly opened his eyes.
“…Group 10. Ugh. What happened?”
“Well, we got caught. All but the boss.”
“…Even the commander?”
“Yes. He’s lying in front of me.”
“…!”
No. 9 looked surprised at what No. 10 said. Seeing the surprise on No. 9’s face, No. 10 stood up and continued.
“Come on, get up, we don’t know when they’re coming, let’s get everyone up and ready.”
With that, he walked out of the cell and into the next one, where he began to rouse the unconscious.
“Senior, wake up.”
Of course, he didn’t stomp his foot or slap him like he did with No. 9. No. 10 very politely began to wake up his passed-out seniors.
“Ugh.”
“Hmmm…”
Soon, one by one, they began to wake up, and soon all nine of them, including No. 10, were in the same room.
“Where is this location?”
Said the last of the troop leaders to wake up.
“It appears to be underground, as the stairs lead upwards… I’m not sure where they lead to.”
No. 10, the first to wake up, answered the commander’s question.
“Hmmm.”
At No. 10’s words, the commander cleared his throat and looked toward the entrance, then seemed to consider something for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.
“I’m off.”
With that said, the deputy began to walk toward the entrance. Soon reaching the entrance, the deputy placed his foot on the stairs to go upstairs.
That was the moment.
Jabberjabberjabber
“…!”
As soon as I put my foot up, I started to hear footsteps coming from upstairs.
“Four!
Knowing from the sound of footsteps that the four were approaching, the troop leader frowned and quickly raised his hand to signal the men behind him.
Squeak squeak squeak
Taking the signal, the men quickly spread out to either side of the entrance. The troop leader also came out of the entrance and stood against the wall to the right, clutching the small but sharp iron claw he had found here, ready to strike.
Jumbled
The footsteps quickly drew nearer, and soon one of the footsteps’ protagonists appeared. It was a man the commander knew well.
“Count Minghu!
Ming Hu was the first to emerge. The captain quickly plunged the iron claw he was holding into Ming Hu’s throat.
“That’s it!
The lieutenant thought that was it and smiled.
Ting!
“…!
But the sounds that soon followed couldn’t help but perplex the unit commander. Something was wrong. It was not the sound of flesh clashing against steel. He quickly stepped back and looked at Ming Hu, who turned his head toward him.
“What, did you escape?”
“…”
At Ming Hu’s words, the commander could say nothing; he could only stare at Ming Hu, swallowing hard.
Jumbled
Then, one by one, the protagonists of the footsteps began to appear.
“Huh? These guys are up! Hehe.”
Lafydd, appearing behind Ming Hu, grinned broadly at the assassins, including the commander.
Cringe!
The nine assassins, including their leader, flinched at Lafydd’s words. Lafydd looked at Ming Hu with an amused expression as the assassins flinched, then continued.
“Dad, do you want me to knock these guys out again?”
Ming Hu smirked at Rafid’s comment and patted his head. Lapide smiled broadly at Ming Hu’s stroking, obviously pleased. Ming Hu turned his gaze away from Rafid and looked at his troop leader.
“Do you know who that is?”
“…?”
Do you recognize him? The commander could not help but wonder at Ming Hu’s words.
“Yes, you must be Lank the Butcher.”
But the words from behind Ming Hu’s back caused his lieutenant, Ani the Butcher, to frown; he hadn’t expected it to come from someone who knew him.
Jumbled
“It’s been a while, Lank.”
John, who had been standing behind Ming Hu, stepped forward. A wry smile tugged at the corners of John’s mouth.
“…!”
Lank looked at John in surprise as he appeared.
“Is it bad luck?
Their reactions suggested that something had happened between them. Of course, he wasn’t too curious, so Ming Hu opened his mouth again.
“These are the guys you told me about, right?”
“Yes, Count.”
John, who glared at Rank with a wry smile, nodded.
“All you need is the boss, and you’ve got him.”
At John’s answer, Ming Hu smiled and began to walk toward Rank and the assassins.