Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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【Bloodline is a Thug Chapter 42】

Chapter 42: Keeping the Promise (3)

Retainer’s Blood
A bloodline ability possessed by the Blaga Family that grants dominion over others.
The power is so formidable that all members of the Blaga Family bloodline are treated as pariahs.
This ability manifested through Kwon Han-ul.
‘Retainer’s Blood draws living creatures to itself.’
Mana infused with the authority of Retainer’s Blood began radiating outward in all directions.
As the saying goes, darkness dwells beneath the lamp—two Mud Trolls erupted from the earth, clawing their way upward.
Kwon Han-ul smiled as he beheld the two Mud Trolls.
“So bloodline truly is a thug.”

* * *

‘What in the world is Catalina Blaga thinking?’
As I sprinted through the forest, I was plagued by a gnawing question.
Catalina Blaga’s reason for coming here was singular: to seduce and dominate Kwon Han-ul.
Her arrival was no accident. Catalina Blaga had orchestrated this entire situation deliberately, manufacturing a point of contact by any means necessary.
Up to this point, nothing seemed particularly strange.
Catalina Blaga earned the nickname “human collector” precisely because she enjoyed seducing those who caught her fancy.
The problem lay in her demeanor.
‘It’s different from before. Something has changed.’
Having served her closely for so long, I could discern it immediately.
Catalina Blaga’s interest and obsession had become excessive.
Ever since returning from the Delos Auction House, Catalina Blaga spoke of nothing but Kwon Han-ul.
Her fixation didn’t end with mere words. She began gathering every scrap of information about him.
‘It’s difficult to articulate precisely, but… she resembled a girl lost in unrequited love.’
The moment I made that comparison, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Unrequited love? A girl?
Catalina Blaga, despite her youthful appearance, had lived through countless ages.
Had she truly spent all those innumerable nights alone?
When numbers were few, she shared them with two; when abundant, with dozens.
‘Why on earth would she… for such a man?’
To resist Catalina Blaga’s seduction?
Such cases were not entirely unprecedented. The human spirit harbors mysterious depths, and those who resisted Catalina Blaga’s seduction occasionally emerged.
‘Yet in the end, even those men submitted to Catalina.’
In Kwon Han-ul’s case, it was rare that he had overcome Catalina Blaga’s seduction at such a young age with still-immature abilities.
But that wasn’t what I couldn’t understand.
Despite the precedent already set, Catalina Blaga was abnormally obsessed with Kwon Han-ul.
‘Damn it.’
Every time Catalina Blaga spoke of Kwon Han-ul, Ruin Aspadam’s mouth went dry and his insides twisted with pain.
There was nothing more agonizing than hearing another man’s name from the lips of the one I loved.
‘And a wager? Without consulting me even once?’
Catalina Blaga had always made extensive use of her subordinates when seducing her collection targets.
However, she had never deployed Ruin Aspadam in any circumstance. He received such special treatment from her precisely because of this.
But today, Catalina Blaga had given Ruin Aspadam an order.
Grind.
My teeth clenched involuntarily. It felt as though I were somehow inferior to Kwon Han-ul.
Given this situation, there was only one thing Ruin Aspadam could do.
‘Win thoroughly, with an overwhelming margin of victory.’
That way, I would prove it to Catalina Blaga.
Just what caliber of man she had fallen for. And how utterly insignificant Kwon Han-ul truly was.
“Found you!”
Ruin Aspadam roared as he plummeted toward the ground, driving his fist down into the earth.
A catastrophic impact shattered the ground. Instead of dirt and gravel, blood and flesh sprayed outward.
-Grraaahhh!
The Mud Troll, its torso completely pulverized, let out a final death cry.
Ruin Aspadam tore off the Mud Troll’s horn and set out to hunt the next prey.
“Easy. Too easy.”
Ruin Aspadam’s speed was S-rank.
Without even using skills, I could survey half the forest in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
At this pace, finding Mud Trolls posed no problem whatsoever.
“Once this is finished, what gift should I ask Catalina for?”
Ruin Aspadam pondered happily as he dashed through the forest once more.
But he soon encountered an obstacle.
“…Why can’t I find any?”
After killing the first Mud Troll, no matter how thoroughly I searched the forest, I couldn’t locate another.
“Could I have passed them without noticing?”
Ruin Aspadam retraced his steps, but this time too, he found nothing.
“…Damn it.”
The wager I had thought would be easy suddenly felt burdensome.
What if Kwon Han-ul caught more Mud Trolls than me?
I might truly lose all her favor.
“If I used my skills, I could comb through this dungeon countless times…!”
But Ruin Aspadam shook his head, dismissing the thought.
My pride—that I could not use skills against an A-rank ability—burned stronger than the fear of losing the wager.
“That bastard doesn’t need to use skills at all!”
Ruin Aspadam began searching for the Mud Troll again.

* * *

Kwon Han-ul wandered through the forest, subjugating Mud Trolls one by one.
‘Just as I investigated, I can easily dominate Gold-grade monsters.’
After obtaining the Vassal Bloodline, Kwon Han-ul had gathered information about it.
Fortunately, the archives of the Hukcheon Estate contained detailed records about the Blaga Family and the Vassal Bloodline.
‘Even the lowest mixed blood can dominate Gold-grade monsters, according to what was written.’
Considering that clearing a Gold-grade Dungeon required three first-rate Hunters, this bloodline was absurdly powerful.
‘If I recall correctly, Hot Blood can dominate up to Platinum-grade monsters, and Pure Blood up to Diamond-grade?’
Besides the grade, the other difference was the number of monsters that could be dominated at once.
‘Mixed blood can dominate up to three Gold-grade monsters. Hot Blood up to five. Pure Blood up to seven.’
And the number of Mud Trolls that Kwon Han-ul had successfully dominated was….
‘Far too many.’
The Mud Trolls clustered together easily exceeded ten in number.
All of them were Mud Trolls that Kwon Han-ul had successfully dominated while wandering through the Dungeon.
‘Do I really have to kill all of them one by one?’
Kwon Han-ul’s expression turned irritated.
‘It would be convenient if they’d just kill themselves.’
Unfortunately, that was impossible.
The strongest instinct among all living creatures is the survival instinct. Therefore, no matter how powerful the Vassal Bloodline is, commanding suicide is impossible….
-Grraaagh!
-Grrgh-grrgh-grrgh!
Suddenly, screams erupted. The Mud Trolls began committing suicide in unison, smashing their heads against trees and strangling themselves with their own hands.
Within minutes, all the Mud Trolls had become corpses.
Kwon Han-ul clicked his tongue at the thick stench of blood rising into the air.
“Ugh.”
Then, a violent dizziness struck Kwon Han-ul’s head.
【You have exhausted all mental power. The activity of ‘Vassal Bloodline’ has stopped.】
Intense dizziness and pain crashed down on Kwon Han-ul’s head.
It was a type of pain he had never experienced once in his entire life.
After staggering several times, Kwon Han-ul finally collapsed to the ground.
“Nngh.”
Kwon Han-ul clutched his head and waited for the pain to subside.
How much time had passed?
Only after the pain had weakened to a bearable level did Kwon Han-ul manage to get back up.
“This Vassal Bloodline… it’s certainly impressive. But I won’t be able to use it frequently.”
While the Black Dragon Bloodline and Asura Bloodline consumed mana, the Vassal Bloodline appeared to consume mental power instead.
The agony that accompanied mental exhaustion was beyond imagination.
The headache had merely weakened, not vanished entirely. Now nausea began creeping in as well.
Kwon Han-ul decided to modify his plan slightly.
“…Let’s rest for a bit.”
With those words, Kwon Han-ul collapsed onto the grass and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

The promised four hours had elapsed.
The sun had begun its descent, painting the blue sky in shades of twilight.
Everyone outside stared at the Dungeon gate, waiting for Kwon Han-ul and Ruin Aspadam to emerge.
“Idiot.”
Kwon Ji-seok suddenly muttered under his breath. Only Joo Ha-yeon beside him could hear it.
“Please don’t speak carelessly about Kwon Han-ul.”
“Since when do I hold back my words? Why did he accept such a ridiculous wager in the first place? His opponent is Ruin Aspadam! There’s no way he can win!”
Joo Ha-yeon glared at Kwon Ji-seok with a frown.
When it came down to it, wasn’t Kwon Ji-seok himself the biggest problem for being completely charmed by Catalina Blaga and failing to stop her?
Perhaps sensing Joo Ha-yeon’s inner thoughts, Kwon Ji-seok cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I don’t know what I was thinking back then… Anyway, getting back to the point—that bastard should never have accepted this wager! If he loses to Ruin Aspadam, what a disgrace that would be! You should have at least tried to talk him out of it, Ha-yeon!”
“I merely serve Kwon Han-ul. I can offer counsel, but I cannot presume to restrict his actions.”
Joo Ha-yeon’s blunt response left Kwon Ji-seok at a loss for words.
But there was something else that bothered him.
“Serve? You’re really planning to remain beneath that bastard?”
“That is not a matter for your concern, Kwon Ji-seok.”
“Think about it one more time. You’re wasted on someone like….”
Suddenly, Kwon Ji-seok faltered.
“…Well, that guy does have considerable skill. But still, you don’t belong under him.”
Joo Ha-yeon glanced at Kwon Ji-seok. She could see his face filled with hesitation.
“When we fought the Mei Family, he showed decent ability, but that’s just the baseline for someone with true bloodline power.”
Kwon Ji-seok continued his grumbling.
Joo Ha-yeon was somewhat surprised. Words of acknowledgment toward Kwon Han-ul had actually come from Kwon Ji-seok’s mouth.
Moreover, his current attitude seemed less like criticism and more like concern for Kwon Han-ul.
“You are truly of the Heukcheon Bloodline after all, Kwon Ji-seok.”
“What an obvious thing to say.”
Joo Ha-yeon deliberately refrained from voicing what she had observed.
Those of the Heukcheon Bloodline possessed fierce pride. They did not acknowledge others carelessly.
Yet ultimately, they could not help but be drawn to the strong.
Just as Kwon Ji-seok, despite his disdain, had come to acknowledge Kwon Han-ul.
“Are you listening to me?”
“No, I was not listening.”
“What?”
Kwon Ji-seok was about to explode again when it happened.
The Dungeon Gate began to ripple. Someone was emerging.
Everyone’s attention snapped to the exit. Ruin Aspadam walked out.
“Ruin came out first!”
Catalina Blaga beamed with childlike delight. As if she’d anticipated his reaction, Ruin Aspadam’s lips curved upward in a smile.
Ruin Aspadam approached with his gaze fixed solely on Catalina Blaga. He dropped to one knee before her, extending both hands.
“One, two, three… I caught seven of them. You must have worked hard.”
“For you, this is nothing at all.”
Ruin Aspadam’s tone dripped with unwavering confidence. He was absolutely certain of victory.
“Ha-yeon. Seven of them… is that a lot or a little?”
“Finding dormant Mud Trolls is genuinely difficult. Even experienced Hunters have very low success rates.”
“So is it a lot or not!”
“…It could be considered a lot.”
At Joo Ha-yeon’s words, Kwon Ji-seok’s expression hardened.
Then the Dungeon Gate began to shimmer again. Moments later, Kwon Han-ul emerged, pushing the gate open.
“Oh, I’m a bit late.”
Kwon Ji-seok and Joo Ha-yeon rushed toward Kwon Han-ul.
“Hey! Horns! How many horns did you bring!”
Everyone’s attention zeroed in on him. Kwon Han-ul blinked and spoke.
“I didn’t bring any.”
Kwon Ji-seok slapped his forehead. Joo Ha-yeon squeezed her eyes shut. The other Heukcheon members exhaled in unison.
“Little Dragon. No matter how embarrassed you are, you should speak clearly.”
Ruin Aspadam opened his mouth. A victor’s smile plastered his face.
“You didn’t fail to bring them—you failed to catch them. You didn’t hunt a single Mud Troll.”
Irritation flashed across Kwon Han-ul’s face. He spoke as though the conversation itself was beneath him.
“My head’s still killing me. What nonsense are you spouting?”
“…What did you say?”
Kwon Han-ul turned to Kwon Ji-seok. He pointed toward the Dungeon.
“Send someone to clean things up. Go east once you’re inside and you’ll find them. Bring the horns separately.”
“What, what did you say?”
“I was going to do it myself, but I’m too exhausted right now.”
With that, Kwon Han-ul collapsed into a sitting position beneath the shade of a tree.
The situation was so absurd that no one dared to question him.
“What do you mean, clean up?”
Grumbling, Kwon Ji-seok entered the Dungeon Gate anyway. The others followed.
They’d barely walked in the direction Kwon Han-ul indicated when an unbelievable sight greeted them.
Mud Troll corpses—creatures they’d searched for endlessly without finding—blanketed the ground.
Kwon Ji-seok and his team stood frozen, staring in disbelief.
Only after a long silence did someone finally speak.
“…How is this even possible?”
The one who spoke was Ruin Aspadam. His face was utterly incredulous.
“This is all of them… How on earth….”
By any measure, there were several times more creatures than the seven Ruin Aspadam had captured.
It was fortunate the alpha was absent—had it been present, Kwon Han-ul’s overwhelming victory would have been assured.
“…This is absurd.”
Ruin Aspadam, who had followed behind, muttered in a daze.
“I barely managed seven… How did he take so many… This makes no sense….”
Ruin Aspadam’s voice trembled violently.
That was when it happened.
“…Sigh.”
A sigh escaped—hot as melted chocolate. Everyone in the space turned toward its source.
Catalina Blaga had entered without anyone noticing.
Catalina Blaga gripped her mouth with her hand. Her gaze twisted as she stared at the mud trolls, murmuring to herself.
“I really do want them.”
Avarice began to bloom in Catalina Blaga’s eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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