Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 81
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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 81】
Chapter 81: A Dangerous Deal (1)
Within the Training Ground of the Hukcheon Estate.
There, Kwon Han-ul faced off against a single opponent.
“Ha, Han-ul. Then, I’ll, attack.”
Kwon Hu-don spoke in an uncertain voice. Immediately after, black armor materialized across his body.
The armor not only completely enveloped Kwon Han-ul but continued to expand in size.
Kwon Hu-don’s small frame, barely 160 centimeters tall, transformed into a towering figure exceeding two meters.
“….”
Crimson light flashed within the helmet’s visor. Kwon Hu-don began charging forward.
Despite his massive bulk, Kwon Hu-don’s movements were remarkably light and agile—one of the advantages of the Black Scale Armor. Its performance was exceptional relative to its surprisingly minimal weight.
When the distance between them had nearly closed, Kwon Hu-don’s speed suddenly surged. It was a dramatic acceleration, as if shifting up two gears in a car.
Undefeated Armor Undefeated Curve
It was the first skill of the Tyrant Armor that Kwon Hu-don had obtained from the Heukcheon Vault.
Originally it had a more complex name, but for convenience it had been shortened to Undefeated Armor.
At that speed, Kwon Hu-don rammed into Kwon Han-ul. But Kwon Han-ul easily sidestepped, evading the attack.
Then it happened.
Kwon Hu-don’s body suddenly twisted. He pursued Kwon Han-ul and drove his shoulder forward.
But Kwon Han-ul didn’t flinch, receiving the attack with his bare body.
Mystical Dragon Ascending Heaven Art Basic Form
Protective Style Sturdy Wood
His body was pushed back by Kwon Hu-don’s charge. But thanks to the mana spreading throughout his body protecting him, he sustained no injuries whatsoever.
Kwon Hu-don immediately transitioned to his next move.
He clenched both fists simultaneously, generating dragon energy.
The armor on his forearms was engulfed in dragon energy, beginning to swirl.
Undefeated Armor Ten Thousand Breaking Fist
Both fists descended simultaneously.
Kwon Han-ul twisted his body and lunged forward. Threading perilously between the two fists, he drove his knuckles into Kwon Hu-don’s chest.
Mystical Dragon Ascending Heaven Art Basic Form
Resonance Strike Style Spiral Wave
The dragon energy released from Kwon Han-ul’s fist shook Kwon Hu-don’s entire armor. Cracks spread across the metal, and his limbs began to crumble.
“Argh!”
From within came Kwon Hu-don’s cry.
Then it happened.
Mei Hong appeared behind Kwon Han-ul. Without a sound or warning, she swung her blade to sever his neck.
But Kwon Han-ul didn’t even look, simply lowering his head to evade the sword strike.
“Tsk.”
Mei Hong clicked her tongue sharply and unleashed a flurry of sword techniques. Each vicious slash aimed at different points across my body.
I sidestepped the blade strikes while channeling my Dragon Horse Qi.
Mystical Dragon Ascension Art – Basic Form (玄龍昇天功 基本形)
Slash Style – Dual Hand Absolute Mark (流格式 雙手絶痕)
Dragon Horse Qi crystallized on both my hands, sharp as blades. I swept my arms in a counterattack, exchanging strikes with Mei Hong.
At first, we traded blows almost evenly, but gradually Mei Hong began to lose ground.
It wasn’t simply a matter of my two hands against her single sword—the difference ran deeper than that.
I read Mei Hong’s intentions the moment she shifted into a preparatory stance, blocking her attacks with eerie precision. Meanwhile, my strikes found every opening in her defense with surgical accuracy.
The fierce battle ended in an instant.
Mei Hong couldn’t deflect my descending hand strike in time and instead raised her blade vertically to block.
“Ugh.”
The force behind my strike was far greater than she’d anticipated. Mei Hong dropped to one knee.
Our eyes met. In her gaze, she acknowledged my unspoken question about accepting defeat.
“Now!”
I spun reflexively. Kwon Hu-don, his armor shattered, stood with both palms open before me.
“Hnngh, HYAAAAH!”
With a battle cry, Kwon Hu-don clenched his fists.
The fragments of Black Scale Armor scattered across the ground began to gleam, transforming into projectiles that hurtled toward me.
Impressed by their coordinated assault, I lifted my leg and drove it downward with crushing force.
Mystical Dragon Ascension Art – Basic Form (玄龍昇天功 基本形)
Shattering Strike Style – Source Flow (能擊式 源流)
Dragon Horse Qi erupted like a tidal wave, sweeping away every fragment of armor.
“I lost again….”
When his determined attack came to nothing, Kwon Hu-don collapsed onto the floor and spoke.
“Ugh, you won’t even let me have one victory.”
Mei Hong also lowered her sword and complained. Kwon Han-ul addressed them both.
“If I intentionally lose, it won’t be proper training.”
“You could let us win once in consideration of the team’s morale.”
Mei Hong’s grumbling stretched on a bit longer, clearly genuinely disappointed.
“Setting aside the loss, you didn’t even let me land a single blow. Does that make sense?”
“A, a wound? That would be terrible….”
Kwon Hu-don exclaimed in surprise. At his words, Mei Hong’s expression turned mischievous.
“Hu-don oppa, you attacked Kwon Han-ul mercilessly just now, so saying that doesn’t hold much weight.”
“Th, that’s… well, Han-ul doesn’t get hurt anyway… more than that, please stop calling me oppa….”
Kwon Hu-don’s face flushed crimson. Finding his reaction amusing, Mei Hong giggled.
While the two played around, Kwon Han-ul opened the water bottle he’d left in the corner.
That was when it happened.
“So Han-ul. What was the problem?”
“Right. What was lacking?”
Both of them questioned Kwon Han-ul simultaneously. He looked at them with a resentful expression.
“Let me drink some water first.”
“No way! You can drink water later!”
“Y, you’re right. Just tell us what needs fixing first.”
Worn down by their persistent pestering, Kwon Han-ul’s expression turned exasperated. He had no choice but to set the water bottle down with a sigh.
“First, let me talk about Hu-don….”
Originally, this sparring session was meant to improve teamwork. But now its purpose had shifted somewhat.
“Your understanding of your skills is shallow. I think Unbreakable Curve isn’t a technique to use while charging. It has minimal preparatory movements and excels against sudden changes in movement direction. It’s clearly a technique for piercing an opponent’s weakness from close range.”
The cause lay with Kwon Han-ul.
After meeting Abdul Rasad, Kwon Han-ul had tested whether he could calibrate others using his Celestial Bloodline. His subjects were Kwon Hu-don and Mei Hong.
“And Mei Hong. Your surprise attack just now was excellent. However, when you attacked, your presence became very apparent. It’s because of the habit of putting too much force into each step you take when swinging your sword.”
The calibration wasn’t particularly difficult. Just like in combat, he read their movements and identified their weaknesses—that was all.
“Finally, your teamwork was far too reckless. What happens if you both keep using each other as bait and attacking?”
The problem was that Kwon Han-ul’s Celestial Bloodline was a True Bloodline. And he’d also gained the Asura Bloodline on top of it.
After hearing Kwon Han-ul’s advice, both of them were shocked all day.
“Is there anything else? Nothing more?”
“When you drew your sword earlier, wasn’t your contact point a bit off?”
Now Kwon Han-ul was clinging to them with such persistence that it was becoming bothersome.
“No. There’s nothing.”
Kwon Han-ul waved his arm dismissively with an annoyed expression. Only then did the two of them back away.
After that, the two began reviewing the points Kwon Han-ul had raised.
Their intensity was so serious that even Kwon Han-ul found it difficult to approach them carelessly.
Only then did Kwon Han-ul relax and pick up his water bottle again.
“Ah, that’s right.”
At that moment, Kwon Hu-don spoke up again.
“What else do you want to ask?”
“Oh, it’s not that… I was just wondering if you were hurt somewhere…”
“Me? Hurt?”
This was the first I’d heard of such a thing.
“Ah, I was going to ask too. Your movements have been unusually sluggish today.”
Only then did I understand why the two of them were acting this way.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not hurt.”
As I said this, I glanced down at my own hand.
On my wrist was a ring with a peculiar appearance, as if letters had been strung together.
【Ring of Sloth】
-Quality: Legendary (SSS+)
-Description
A ring symbolizing sloth, one of the seven deadly sins. The ring itself is so lazy that it possesses only one ability.
-Ability
Constraint: You impose a constraint upon yourself. The greater the constraint, the greater the result.
It was an item I’d obtained from within an iron block found in the Iron Fang Guild Warehouse.
At first, I didn’t understand the ability’s effect well. But after using it a few times, I grasped it.
It was simple to think of it as an enhanced version of a weighted vest.
By deliberately overloading the body to further improve athletic performance.
Of course, the effect was far superior, the scope of application was broader, and it was incredibly dangerous.
【Constraint: For one month, an additional 3 tons of weight is added to the entire body.】
【Upon enduring the constraint, you acquire 3 times your strength stat.】
Thanks to the constraint, every movement felt like death. At first, even breathing while lying down was difficult.
Fortunately, the suffering was worth it.
【Superhuman Blood rejects crude training methods!】
【Assimilation Rate 8% -】 9%>
【Tyrant Star’s performance improves! Physical abilities will be further amplified from now on!】
【Healthy Blood detects the burden placed on the body!】
【Strength permanently increases by 0.01!】
【Stamina permanently increases by 0.001!】
The stat improvements from Healthy Blood, which had been stalled, were resuming.
For me, it was an incredibly welcome situation.
“Kwon Han-ul, are you here?”
At that moment, Joo Ha-yeon entered the Training Ground. I approached her with curiosity.
Normally, she would wait outside until training was finished, saying it would interfere with my practice.
“Is something the matter?”
“The Chairman has issued a mission.”
I wasn’t particularly surprised by Joo Ha-yeon’s words.
Considerable time had passed since returning from Japan. I’d expected to receive a new mission soon enough.
“What kind of mission is it?”
Since the Chairman hadn’t summoned me directly and was instead relaying the message through Joo Ha-yeon, it didn’t seem like a particularly dangerous task.
Or so I thought.
“Clearing an estimated S-rank Dungeon.”
Shocking words spilled from Joo Ha-yeon’s lips.
* * *
There were five grades that classified monsters and dungeons.
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
But Earth was vast, and the varieties of dungeons and monsters that appeared were incredibly diverse.
Among them existed monsters so powerful and dangerous that they couldn’t be classified as mere Diamond-rank.
Monsters so formidable that their very existence endangered entire continents, and in some cases, threatened the survival of humanity itself.
Hunters had decided to assign the designation “S-rank” to such monsters.
“Strictly speaking, it hasn’t been officially classified as S-rank yet. It’s merely an estimate.”
Joo Ha-yeon continued her explanation.
“The party selling the dungeon conducted their own independent measurement and released those results.”
“Either way, that means it’s dangerous enough that measurement is difficult.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Tales of world-ranked hunters losing their lives challenging S-rank dungeons or monsters were common enough that the danger of S-rank was undeniable.
“However, S-rank dungeons are precisely where one can obtain rewards proportional to that danger.”
There was a reason people challenged S-rank despite such peril.
The rewards were incomparable to what could be obtained from other dungeons.
“By subjugating the boss monster of an S-rank dungeon, you can acquire substantial stat increases as a baseline, and depending on circumstances, you may even obtain special skills. Artifacts go without saying.”
I focused on the word “stats.”
To participate in the Heavenly Arena in five months, I needed to improve my stats.
Subjugating this boss monster would bring me significantly closer to that goal.
“You’re free to refuse.”
“No, I have no intention of doing so.”
My hesitation wasn’t born from fear.
Having only recently formed the team, I was displeased about being assigned an S-rank dungeon so soon.
In any case, that old man had nothing I liked about him.
“Still, I’m fine with it, but I’m worried about the other two.”
I looked toward Mei Hong and Kwon Hu-don and asked. The two responded without hesitation.
“I’m fine.”
“Me too.”
Both of them answered without a moment’s doubt.
“It seems we’ve reached a consensus. Then please each accept one of these.”
Joo Ha-yeon began distributing small booklets the size of a palm.
“Ah, thanks.”
I accepted the booklet with a word of thanks.
There was no need to check what it contained—it had to be a guide to conquering the S-rank Dungeon, or at least precautions to observe.
With that thought, I checked the title.
【Travel Guidebook】
-Mexico-
I rubbed my eyes with both hands and read the title again.
“Ha-yeon?”
“Yes?”
“What is this?”
“It’s a Mexico travel guidebook.”
Joo Ha-yeon answered as if asking why I was questioning something so obvious.
“I can see that… but why did you give me this?”
“Because the party providing the S-rank Dungeon is the Pablo Family, a cartel in Mexico.”
At the word cartel, I blinked repeatedly.
“The Pablo Family?”
Even after Dungeons opened, there were things on Earth whose value hadn’t changed.
One of them was drugs.
That demonic substance that drove people mad still held its position firmly.
And the largest producers and distributors of those drugs were the cartels of South America.
The Pablo Family was particularly one of the most powerful and prestigious cartels among them.
“Our business partners certainly have a brutal edge.”
In the past, cartels in South America supposedly operated armies comparable in scale to entire nations.
The present was no different. If anything, it had gotten worse.
Thanks to Hunters’ supernatural abilities and the various relics that emerged from Dungeons, the cartels of South America had already become a nation unto themselves.
“There shouldn’t be any problems. The negotiations are already complete, and they wouldn’t take the Heukcheon name lightly.”
Joo Ha-yeon’s voice carried strong confidence.
Just as she said, no matter how formidable the cartel’s power was, it fell short of the Heukcheon Group in many respects.
Still, there was no reason to poke a sleeping lion in the nose.
“Really, there won’t be any issues, right?”
Yet I felt an odd sense of unease.
How many times had the missions I’d been assigned actually gone smoothly?
Not even once, had they?
“There won’t be.”
Joo Ha-yeon spoke with firm conviction. If anything, that attitude made me even more anxious.
“Please focus on conquering the Dungeon without worry.”
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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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