Chapter 38

Bullets rained toward him from every direction.

With Baek Euntae breaking through the front, the remaining hail of fire was Siyoon’s to handle.

To that end, Siyoon focused on bending the wind to his will.

Every stray thought was swept aside.

Now, only one thing mattered.

He poured all his mental fortitude into feeling the currents of air flowing around his body.

Kang.

First, a single bullet.

Then two, then three… the number of bullets thrown off course by Siyoon’s wind steadily grew.

They collided with bullets arriving on different trajectories, shattering into fragments.

The two shattered bullets scattered as fragments…

And bullets struck by the scattered fragments were thrown off course, knocking down still more bullets.

The result.

Tititititititing!!

An enormous chain reaction sent the bullets obliterating one another in midair.

The hunters’ movements ground to a halt.

Bewilderment was written across their faces, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

‘That was close.’

This miraculous phenomenon was Siyoon’s doing.

A feat achieved by pushing the Wind of Horus to its absolute limits.

Beads of sweat rolled down his jaw from the sheer intensity of his concentration.

It may have appeared as though every bullet had missed, but that was far from the truth.

A portion had flown straight through unimpeded, zeroing in on them.

Yet neither Siyoon nor Baek Euntae had taken a single scratch.

Siyoon had momentarily enhanced his eyes and arms.

The resulting boost in muscle strength, dynamic vision, and speed allowed him to swat the rest aside.

‘I can’t account for every variable.’

It had worked this time, but there was no guarantee it would work again.

Siyoon’s brain was not a supercomputer, after all.

Mapping the trajectory of every bullet in his mind and twisting their paths to block them was impossible.

If it were, he could have deflected them all without needing a dagger.

This time, he had simply made it work through the heightened senses of his enhanced body and eyes.

But it was not something he could pull off in succession.

Maintaining that level of concentration at all times was no easy feat.

And so, he opted for a trick instead.

Hwiek!

Siyoon lobbed a grenade behind him.

Pitch-black so it would melt into the darkness—the Anti-magic beast Flash Grenade.

[ ‘Anti-Magic Beast Flash Grenade +5’ ]

[ The vision of enemies exposed to the flash is temporarily blocked. ]

[ Enemies exposed to the flash are stunned for a set duration. ]

Enhanced all the way to +5.

It even carried a special effect added through Enhancement.

The moment that light hit them, they would not be moving at all.

He had prepared it in advance while planning the raid on the cutting-edge farm.

In truth, the label said it was for use against magic beasts, but it worked just as effectively on humans.

“Flash grenade! Brace yourselves!”

One of the hunters spotted the grenade Siyoon had thrown and shouted.

The hunters immediately donned their goggles.

Standard equipment designed to counter flash grenades.

Their enemies were not foolish—it was only natural they had come prepared.

But Siyoon had used the flash grenade anyway.

That level of countermeasure could be easily overwhelmed through Enhancement.

Piing―!

The instant the grenade’s fuse detonated.

On Siyoon’s signal, both men covered their eyes.

Simultaneously, a blinding radiance—like a sun detonating at point-blank range—flooded the first-floor hall.

The Anti-magic beast Flash Grenade was not normally this bright.

It was designed for use against magic beasts that dwelled in darkness, after all.

But the flash grenade Siyoon had enhanced was dozens of times more powerful.

“Gyaaah!!”

“My eyes, my eyes!!”

“I can’t see…! Aaagh!”

As a result, the hunters who had trusted their goggles and failed to shield their eyes collapsed, clutching their faces.

The light had pierced straight through the goggles and struck their eyes directly.

Several of them had ruptured blood vessels in their eyes, blood streaming down their faces.

The pain must have felt like their eyes and optic nerves were burning away.

It could even lead to permanent blindness.

“More effective than I expected.”

Baek Euntae gave a low whistle.

The fallen hunters lay trembling, unable to move.

Their vision was blocked and they were stunned on top of it.

“Ugh… to punch through the goggles’ flash defense function…”

“Those who can still move, form up immediately!”

But effective as it was, not everyone had been caught.

Those quick enough to react had avoided the flash grenade’s effects entirely.

That was the inherent limitation of a flash grenade, but it did not matter.

“Not happening.”

“He’s already on us—!”

Chwak!

Exploiting the gap in their encirclement, Baek Euntae began cutting down the rest.

Most of them were still reeling from the flash grenade’s aftermath anyway.

Their only advantage over Siyoon’s side had been overwhelming numbers.

The moment those numbers became meaningless, the tide turned.

“We don’t have much time. We need to end this quickly.”

“I’ll carve a path through as planned, so keep up.”

Spat.

The moment he answered, Baek Euntae’s figure vanished.

He reappeared beside a hunter who had been keeping watch and swung his blade.

Chwachwachwachwachwak!

Then a storm of blood erupted.

Those felled by the flash grenade were cut down one after another.

Siyoon followed close behind Baek Euntae, who had torn through the front line in the blink of an eye.

* * *

The two men pushed deeper into the research facility.

Speed was essential—they still had to blow up the cultivation facility as well.

Past the cleared path, a pristine white corridor stretched before them.

“Location?”

“Third floor. We can’t search every single room, so we head straight for the innermost section.”

The research facility was a six-story building.

To ensure total destruction, Siyoon had decided to blow up the third floor—the middle level.

There was no need to worry about insufficient firepower.

He had brought dozens of explosive potions.

Detonating them all at once would send the entire facility sky-high.

“The first floor’s been breached!”

“They’re heading deeper! Stop them!”

“Pesky small fry.”

Hunters from inside moved to block them, but it was futile.

Baek Euntae, propelled by the bizarre acceleration of his skill, cut straight through them.

Thanks to that, reaching the third floor did not take long.

“How convenient. A perfect spot.”

As luck would have it, the third floor housed a laboratory.

One side even had windows letting in natural light.

“Biometric security, iris recognition, and a passcode—triple-locked?”

“Step aside.”

True to his words, the lab was securely sealed.

But to Siyoon, it might as well have been wide open.

[ Enhancement has failed. ]

Kwakwang!!

He placed his hand on the door and rapidly repeated Enhancement until it exploded outward.

Baek Euntae, watching from beside him, let out an involuntary murmur of admiration.

“Using explosive potions to blow it open that brutally…”

“……”

Having seen Siyoon use potions all this time, he must have mistaken it for an explosive potion.

Siyoon had deliberately angled his actions out of view to invite that very misconception.

There was no need to correct him.

The interior of the lab was quite orderly.

A computer displaying holograms and massive containers filled with various medicinal ingredients.

Specimens of herbs used in experiments were lined up by category.

“So how are you going to set it off?”

Baek Euntae suddenly asked.

Outside was still swarming with enemies.

Planting a bomb here and detonating it after escaping would be too slow.

The enemy would likely notice and take countermeasures in the interim.

Naturally, Siyoon had already anticipated this.

“You seemed quite fast earlier.”

“What?”

“I’m telling you to run.”

Hwik.

Siyoon hurled a bag containing dozens of explosive potions high into the air.

Baek Euntae’s jaw dropped at the sight.

“You madman…!”

It almost sounded like a curse.

Siyoon understood the sentiment, but had no time to indulge it.

Even for Siyoon, there was no guarantee he would survive being caught in this blast.

Which meant fleeing as fast as possible was the only sound strategy.

[ Enhancing ‘Legs’. ]

[ Leg strength and movement speed increase. ]

[ Enhancing ‘Feet’. ]

[ Jumping power increases. ]

[ You can move greater distances in a single bound. ]

He enhanced his legs and feet simultaneously.

The instantly enhanced leg muscles and Achilles tendons responded with razor-sharp agility.

Baek Euntae chased after him as he burst out of the lab.

Siyoon charged toward the window he had scouted earlier.

They could not escape through the corridors.

No matter how fast the two of them were, the bag would hit the ground faster.

The flasks would shatter on impact, triggering a chain reaction—and they would be caught in the blast.

That left the window.

[ Enhancing ‘Arm’. ]

[ Enhancing ‘Hand’. ]

Siyoon additionally enhanced his arms and hands.

His muscles swelled, attack power surged, and raw strength flooded his arms.

This was a research facility located within the Smart Farm.

The windows might look ordinary, but they were surely made of specialized materials.

He could not afford to hesitate or get stuck at a single window.

He intended to punch through in one go, even if it meant overinvesting his strength.

Jeojeojeok.

The entire window pane cracked around the point where Siyoon’s fist had struck.

As expected, it was made of a special material—quite durable.

But it was no match for Siyoon’s enhanced strength.

Chaenggeurang!

With a sharp crash, the glass shattered.

Siyoon and Baek Euntae plunged from the third floor of the research facility, glass fragments raining against them.

At the same instant, the bag struck the ground and the flasks detonated on impact.

Kwaaaaaang!!

Behind the two falling figures, a towering pillar of flame erupted outward through the window.

They had blown up the research facility and escaped by a hair’s breadth.

* * *

The explosion that began in the third-floor lab shook the entire research facility to its core.

Every window in the building blew out. Walls and ceilings alike crumbled without distinction.

The structure may have been built from sturdy materials, but an internal explosion was an entirely different beast.

The Anti-magic beast Explosive Potions Siyoon had enhanced to +5.

In terms of explosive force alone, each one was well over twenty times more powerful than the original.

Dozens of them had detonated simultaneously.

No matter how sturdily the facility had been constructed, there was no way it could withstand that.

As proof, the research facility before their eyes was collapsing.

Rather, the chain reaction of explosions had only accelerated the destruction.

Kwakwang!

Lab equipment caught in the blast detonated one after another.

The flames roared even higher as a result.

The holographic barrier could not stop it either.

That was a defensive measure designed solely to intercept external attacks.

“What a spectacle. Never thought I’d live to see the Smart Farm research facility crumble.”

Baek Euntae muttered, brushing glass shards from his clothes.

“Is that the end of the research facility?”

“Yes.”

Siyoon confirmed.

The facility was beyond recovery now.

But that did not mean the job was finished.

The cultivation facility—the Smart Farm’s critical installation—still remained.

Above all else.

Waeaeaeaeeng―!

The explosion triggered emergency alarms throughout the entire complex.

At the same time, the rumbling approach of security forces could be heard from all directions.

“No end to this.”

At that sound, Baek Euntae raised his sword.

With the research facility blown up, security would be on maximum alert.

To reach the cultivation facility, they needed someone to draw aggro.

“Go blow it up.”

“Will do.”

Seureuk.

With those words, Baek Euntae moved behind Siyoon.

Simultaneously, hunters appearing from all directions spotted him.

“Intruder!!”

“Don’t let him escape! Surround the area immediately!”

“No need to take him alive! Put him down!”

The hunters surged toward Baek Euntae.

Guns, swords, halberds—their weapons were varied.

But before that overwhelming horde, Baek Euntae remained utterly calm.

He simply drew his blade.

Chwaaaaak!

In that instant, a flash of blade light gleamed.

A single slash sent dozens of guards crumpling to the ground.

Baek Euntae plunged into the enemy’s midst without a flicker of expression, doing what he did best.

Siyoon turned away from the battlefield.

Now he had to focus on his own role, exactly as planned.

Only one task remained.

To completely destroy the Smart Farm’s cultivation facility.