Chapter 46: War on Crime (2)

The fifteen gang members gripping their machine guns froze solid.

They were all hardened veterans who’d eaten their fill of knife fights. What’s more, they were the elite of the elite under the Gang Alliance’s boss.

They’d seen it all in their dirty line of work—things worth seeing and things best forgotten. But they could swear on a stack of bibles that this was the first time bullets had ever hung motionless in midair.

Whether it was the sheer absurdity of the scene or the chill from the ice magic cooling the air, their minds went blank as a snow-capped peak.

Even Pin Finder, the last remaining executive of Monterey, was no exception. What the fuck is this? The Matrix?

He might’ve understood dud rounds somehow. Heavy weapons were products of civilization, after all, and mages who wielded fire often rendered them useless.

But this was no commonplace glitch.

‘The bullets were definitely fired.’

Yet they’d all plummeted as if their velocity meant nothing. The sheer unreality of it left Pin more calm than bewildered.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Silence thickened. In that gap, Lee Taebaek slid across the floor. A thin layer of frost made for a refreshingly smooth glide that anyone watching would envy.

‘These are Gang Alliance elites.’

Raincoats, gas masks, and glaring red optic lenses—an unforgettable look. Lee Taebaek had designed their uniforms himself, after all.

Magnostrom. The Gang Alliance boss’s direct strike force. In the lower districts, at least, they had few equals in mobility.

They weren’t like your run-of-the-mill thugs. If the Resistance had Unit 0, the Gang Alliance had Magnostrom.

“Re-form ranks!”

True to their reputation, they snapped back into formation in an instant, lowering their muzzles to target Lee Taebaek.

Lee Taebaek dropped low to the ground and advanced. He could feel the impacts thudding against his umbrella’s core straight to his hand.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The umbrella’s canopy reflected round after round in the circular optic lenses. Lee Taebaek had popped it open. Thud, clank. Hollow metallic echoes rang out.

“Pour it on! Pour it on! Light him up!”

Lee Taebaek thought to himself, Why do all the gun nuts spout the same lines? Do they teach that in concealed carry class?

And one more thing: every single one who yelled that crap had an empty chamber. Blissfully unaware that it was the kiss of death.

“Wh-what the hell?!”

Magnostrom was stunned. What kind of umbrella shrugged off a hail of machine-gun fire? Not a hole, not even a scratch.

And that wasn’t all. The ricocheting bullets off the canopy didn’t lose speed. They traced bizarre arcs, weaving a deadly net around the enemy.

‘If it was just ordinary bulletproof fabric, the Para Blade wouldn’t be called broken.’

It wasn’t merely tough—it had insane tensile strength. In a word, it was made from some vibranium-like exotic material. Blindly spraying bullets would just get the shooter killed instead. Magnostrom was demonstrating that impossible performance firsthand.

There was no beating a dogpile. The key was to worm into their psyches. Crush their morale, seize the advantage.

Even as they pulled their triggers, shock was plain on their faces. It pierced right through their gas masks.

Thunk!

A stray round pierced a carotid artery. One gangster toppled sideways, red optic glare fading.

As eyes flicked to the corpse, Lee Taebaek arrived at their feet.

Whoosh.

He swept the enemies’ low line and flung the umbrella far away. From here on, he needed open space to fight.

Lee Taebaek clenched then opened his fist. Salt-like specks of light drifted from his fingertips before plummeting to the floor and shattering.

Pulverized to particulate fineness, the grains birthed a smoke screen. Magnostrom froze as biting cold clawed their skin. Their faces paled.

The real nightmare wasn’t the chill. It was the thick fog. Guns were worthless now. You had to see to shoot.

Of course, this was all according to Lee Taebaek’s plan. Block sight first, ambush second. He’d had fun pulling that on Haiyen of the Triad Gang.

‘My specialty is the sneak attack.’

Magic might take center stage later, but that was far off. For now, support with spells and push hard with close-quarters combat he excelled at.

Lee Taebaek burst from the haze at a blind angle. A gangster whipped around.

He shoved the guy lightly with his shoulder. The thug choked and tumbled backward.

Slash!

A sword flash gleamed. Trembling fingers rose to the neck. Warm blood gushed from the severed carotid, heating a cooling chest.

High guard.

Lee Taebaek buffed his [Strength] and drove a kick into the thug’s solar plexus. Gack! A shrill last gasp. The body folded and bowled into fellow gangsters.

Rat-tat-tat! Panicked shots peppered ceiling and walls. No room for mercy. Lee Taebaek sank low and sprang from the flank, thrusting his blade.

“We just renovated this place. And you’re gonna trash it?”

Fury laced the slash that took a neck. One, two, three, four, five. The gangsters turned into sprinklers. The blood fountain show began.

“Argh! Fuck! Blood! It’s blood!”

“Snap out of it, idiot! It’s not like this is your first bloodbath?!”

Fresh gore smeared their optic lenses. They looked like they were weeping crimson tears. The stench of death seeped through gas masks.

“Knives! Draw knives!”

Magnostrom drew military knives in unison and tossed their guns. These metal bricks couldn’t turn the tide.

In that instant. Ripple— The fog swirled. One gangster lunged with his dagger.

“……?!”

The thrust never landed. The umbrella handle yanked his wrist down and aside.

The gangster glanced at his snagged hand, then looked up. Sure enough, a fist loomed.

Crack!

His head snapped past its limits. Skull flung back. Python fangs gleamed from stubbled chin.

Bang…….

The casing ejected in a puff of gunsmoke. The head blew clean off.

Lee Taebaek reloaded coolly. Thumbed the mag release, slotted fresh rounds with nimble fingers.

The next instant, he fed bullets to the nearest foes. Python teeth raked enemy guts.

Bang, bang!

Gunshots sowed chaos. The gangsters regretted ditching their guns and bent at the waist to retrieve them.

“Freeze.”

“……!”

Lee Taebaek slapped the floor with his palm. A web radiated from him. From above, it looked like a massive spiderweb unfurling.

Hoarfrost snared their ankles like thorny vines. Then Lee Taebaek slid past their shins in a goal celebration slide, Achilles tendons severed by his blade.

“Gaaahhhhh!”

Screams erupted everywhere. In the smoke, Gang Alliance elites dropped like flies.

These scum who’d preyed on helpless kids died without a fight. Their final desperate flail changed nothing.

The momentum had shifted long ago. Hell, they’d lost before it even started.

‘Not sending any of you off easy.’

Lee Taebaek rampaged through their ranks. It looked like random stabs and swings. But each strike exploited gaps in perception.

“…F-fuck…….”

Pin watched the carnage through gritted teeth. Cold sweat froze on his brow. The knife in his hand was useless.

The Ten Wings flashed in his mind. They crushed foes regardless of matchup. Pure hegemony.

‘But this guy’s different.’

The black-haired bastard rattled human psyches. Spread poison called fear, crushed the will to fight.

How do I even describe this? Like a viper, maybe.

The fog thinned. Silence filled the void as combat heat evaporated on icy winds.

No one needed to say it—they all knew. Magnostrom’s fifteen were annihilated.

Everyone stared in a daze, like they’d just woken from a nightmare. The Hundred-Fold Sect followers were speechless. Even 3rd Battalion Commander Tang Jihye blinked slowly.

She’d meant to jump in at the right moment. But watching Lee Taebaek dominate, her feet wouldn’t move. She didn’t want to get in the way.

“He’s several times stronger than when he killed Haiyen.”

It’d been barely a month. That growth rate was insane.

The Commander-in-Chief had rated his potential highly. Bluntly, she’d played favorites. Poured benefits on him that would’ve sparked envy.

‘Seemed excessive.’

One elixir pill for that? Insane value for the investment. With that potential, he’d rocket to Resistance core asset soon.

“……No doubt.”

Seeing it herself left no room for argument. Lee Taebaek was the real deal. She got why Kang Hyeonseong and Goeun were smitten.

Clang.

The metallic clatter cut the hush. Pin dropped his knife and slumped, gasping.

His chest tightened. Frigid air stabbed his lungs like needles. The ice magic was gone, but his frozen heart wouldn’t thaw.

Lee Taebaek stepped out crunching his own chill. He tossed an object from one hand.

It bounced a few times, then rolled right into Pin’s crotch.

Pin’s eyes vibrated wildly. The object was a severed head. Bender’s, his fellow executive.

The stump was ragged, like it’d been half-sawed and ripped free. Pin finally grasped how the black-haired killer treated gangsters.

“You’ll envy the dogs.”

Lee Taebaek said lowly. His voice was emotionless, hollow, mechanical, dry.

“I’ll make decapitation feel like euthanasia.”

“Y-you bastard! Didn’t you hear me?!”

“What? That the Gang Alliance hired the Sword Master, Mercenary King?”

“Y-yeah. I don’t know who you are……but you’ve heard of the Mercenary King Sword Master, right? Your life—and everyone here—is in danger.”

Pin swallowed thickly and continued.

“L-let me make a deal. Put my life on the table with the Gang Alliance boss. She owes me money, so she can’t just ignore it. War between Resistance and Gang Alliance is inevitable……but I can at least neutralize the Sword Master’s involvement. Less blood spilled! What do you say? Tempting offer, right?”

“…….”

Lee Taebaek glanced back suddenly.

The kids’ eyes burned resolute. They’d follow whatever he decided. Even to death.

“Bring the Sword Master bastard here.”

His breath fogged with the words. A bit—no, a lot—embarrassed, so he buffed [Mental].

“I’m not losing.”