Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 68

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

Devours Myths

 

Chapter 68

First Hunt (2)

 

 

 

After the call with Im Won-young ended,

Lee Hyeon briefly stopped by the central research lab before leaving the bunker.

Inside the large glass chamber.

An egg was placed there.

The unidentified fossil he had obtained after killing Heo Se-woon.

However,

‘It’s gotten much bigger than before, hasn’t it?’

Its size seemed to have grown by at least 1.5 times.

Much larger than a person’s upper body.

Moreover, the patterns on its surface were much clearer, and somehow it seemed full of vitality.

It appeared to be starting to hatch.

‘I should have asked the General before he left.’

“Could it be that the spiritual fragrance mentioned by the Great Sage and Sha Wujing refers to that thing?”

「That’s right.」

「Kekeke. It’s a curious thing. The inside is clearly empty, yet such a fragrance can be felt.」

Son Wukong and Sha Wujing also had intrigued expressions.

“What do you mean the inside is empty?”

「Kekekeke. It means there’s no soul. Since enough time has passed for it to fossilize, it’s natural if you think about it.」

“Is that possible? When it’s hatching like that?”

「That’s why we find it curious too. Kekeke.」

It meant only the body was growing without a soul.

It was an inexplicable phenomenon, but,

‘You said that thing was originally a great being.’

Sha Wujing’s muttered words suddenly came to mind.

“What exactly is the identity of that egg?”

Lee Hyeon turned to look at Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing grinned mischievously and spoke.

As if asking whether he could handle it.

「A dragon.」

“……!”

 

* * *

 

On a bench in Dosan Park.

Im Won-young’s mobile phone was ringing incessantly.

Bzzzz. Bzz.

 

―UA Steel is requesting a video meeting…….

―Zeus’s Sons are reconfirming their visit intentions…….

―The National Intelligence Service’s First Deputy Director is requesting cross-verification of information…….

 

Her life was always busy, but today was particularly hectic.

It was because of the incident that had occurred in the heart of Seoul just a few hours ago.

“These bastards really think we’re idiots.”

If this weren’t a public place, she would have wanted to light up a cigarette.

That’s how annoyed she was.

The media was mainly covering the incident that occurred in Jeonnong-dong, but in reality, clashes had occurred throughout Seoul.

And it happened to all Z Team members who were returning from long-term assignments.

She was so dumbfounded when she received Kim Min-jeong’s call.

‘The Central Hero Committee is a national institution. Even though we’ve had occasional conflicts overseas, we’ve never directly fought due to being mindful of the old lady. But…… this time is different.’

That was precisely why she was communicating closely with the National Intelligence Service.

Tailing and investigating foreign nationals in another country was a clear violation of sovereignty.

‘But they probably didn’t expect that Kim Min-jeong and all Z Team members would completely subdue them.’

She was surprised, so how much more shocked must the parties involved have been.

Because of this, several countries and forces had already caught wind of it and were attempting to contact White Burn separately.

The special forces that the Committee was secretly training, Ping Xin.

Their reputation was often heard overseas as well.

But if they had secured their personnel?

It would be an excellent opportunity to extract information about Ping Xin.

For Im Won-young, it was like encountering a golden opportunity to greatly expand her position at once.

However,

Im Won-young didn’t care about such things.

What really angered her was,

‘The ones who actually caused the problem are consistently playing dumb.’

The executive group was already making harsh statements about immediate retaliation.

The team leaders of the strategy headquarters felt the same way.

For those who took pride in White Burn’s name, this situation was nothing short of humiliating.

The atmosphere was one of wondering how much they must have looked down on them to do this.

‘They could have made more accurate assessments and then made contact…… but I’m certain. It’s not that. There’s something else.’

Im Won-young narrowed her eyes.

‘What could it be? Executive Director Jeong again?’

Even in the midst of all this, one person who was usually vocal about everything was maintaining silence specifically regarding this incident.

That’s when it happened.

Bzzzz.

 

―You were unavailable, so I’m leaving a text. Executive Director Jeong Gyu-han’s side is asking if they could meet with you separately…….

 

Im Won-young’s eyes flashed as she started thinking, unconsciously reaching for a cigarette to put in her mouth, when,

“The park is a no-smoking zone.”

Suddenly, a hand snatched away her cigarette.

She looked up. Lee Hyeon was smiling while breaking the cigarette.

Im Won-young found herself laughing for the first time today.

“That was…… quite expensive.”

“I’ll buy you another one later. It’ll still be cheaper than the fine, right?”

Lee Hyeon threw the cigarette butt toward the trash can. It was a perfect shot.

“How’s your body? I saw on the news that there was quite an intense battle…… No, more than that,”

Im Won-young looked Lee Hyeon up and down, then her eyes widened.

“Team Leader Jang, don’t tell me?”

Lee Hyeon nodded.

“Thanks to the Guild Leader’s gift, it happened faster than expected.”

“My goodness! That’s really great, really!”

Im Won-young jumped up and down in place, unlike his cynical appearance.

The fact that Lee Hyeon had become a Ranker was enough to blow away all his previous irritation.

That sight was quite cute.

Lee Hyeon burst into laughter without realizing it.

“But when are you really going to take this back? I’m past the age of needing protection now.”

Lee Hyeon shook the Tiger God’s Protection Charm on his finger.

“Well. I’m busy with work right now, so I’ll come get it later.”

Lee Hyeon shook his head as if he couldn’t stop him, then lowered his voice tone with a faint smile.

“More importantly, about that contact earlier, was it Executive Director Jeong Gyu-han?”

“Yes. I don’t know if he contacted me as a messenger from the committee, or just to probe around. But I don’t really need to respond, right?”

Im Won-young only read the messenger preview and didn’t reply. It was being left on read.

Lee Hyeon burst into laughter once again.

“He’s probably burning up inside right now. Since this whole mess happened after he made contact with you.”

“Then what you said about capturing Magic Dragon was true…?”

“He’s currently somewhere safe.”

Im Won-young clenched his fist tightly.

Then he turned around and took the lead.

“Let’s discuss the details while we move. It seems like we’ll both have many interesting stories to share.”

 

* * *

 

Lee Hyeon told Im Won-young only the necessary parts of his conversation with Lee Gun-san.

“…So Executive Director Jeong is essentially the general manager of the Central Hero Committee’s foundation laid in Korea.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Why would someone who was one of grandmother’s right-hand men do such a thing…”

Im Won-young couldn’t understand Executive Director Jeong at all.

He knew that he had a special relationship with the committee.

Everyone has personal connections after all.

But the moment the line between private and public relationships becomes blurred, the story becomes completely different.

Although he was a political rival to Im Won-young, Executive Director Jeong was first and foremost a loyal retainer of Mountain God Mo Jeong-gyeon.

He was one of the founding contributors who established White Burn…

“Greed is like fire. As long as there’s firewood, even small greed eventually grows into bigger greed.”

But Lee Hyeon curtly cut off her concerns.

“If you can somehow provide and supply that firewood yourself, greed becomes aspiration, but the moment you depend on others’ hands for firewood, it transforms into avarice.”

“So avarice is the problem in the end.”

“Because it clouds your vision.”

While Im Won-young sighed, their steps had stopped.

A large mansion thoroughly protected by retaining walls came into view.

“Here it is. However,”

“The atmosphere is quite murderous.”

“Yes. Actually, it’s gone beyond that level.”

Lee Hyeon could see the murderous auras visible beyond the retaining wall.

Whoosh!

 

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Eyes of Truth’ activates to examine the legends hidden within!]

[Warning! Too many threatening legends are lurking inside.]

[Warning! Too many legends boasting ferocious natures or revealing killing intent are positioned there. Please leave this area.]

[Warning!]

……

 

What emanated from the mansion wasn’t just Mo Jeong-gyeon’s Tiger Calamity.

There were far more things,

Things too murderous and ferocious to simply call magic power, crawling everywhere.

 

[Combat Sense (S) sharpens all senses to their peak.]

[Dueoksini’s Deep Breath (S+) naturally prepares to activate at any moment.]

……

 

[ mutters that at this level, it’s no different from an iron fortress.]

[ marvels at what kind of demons are swarming in this den of evil.]

 

Iron fortress. Den of evil.

Perhaps both narratives had seen it accurately.

“After the stalking incident broke out, all the board directors and even the domestic team leaders have been summoned for emergency discussions.”

As expected, it wasn’t just Mo Jeong-gyeon inside.

‘I heard earlier that White Burn’s atmosphere was tense, but… this is beyond what I imagined.’

Just standing in front of the door was this eerie.

「Ha. That Central Hero Committee place.」

Son Wukong, who was examining the mansion with his Golden Eyes of Truth open like Lee Hyeon, scoffed dismissively.

「Are they perhaps some incredibly great organization dreaming of world conquest?」

‘They are indeed one of the major powers worth counting, but I’m not sure if they could achieve world conquest. China only has one top Ranker after all.’

「That’s not Chairman Peng, right?」

‘No. It’s not. Rather, he has a different agenda from the committee.’

「Even if their agendas were the same, it would be the same story. How did they even think of messing with a place like this?」

White Burn’s power was impressive enough for Son Wukong to acknowledge. Mo Jeong-gyeon alone was comparable to himself in his prime.

But Lee Hyeon calmly shook his head.

‘No. It’s the opposite. That’s exactly why they became more greedy for it.’

「Hmm?」

‘Feng Jinghao really hates being confined within the land of China.’

「Ha! Acting up without knowing his place. Well. Whatever it is,」

Son Wukong twisted his lips.

「The fact that it’s a place that needs to be smashed doesn’t change.」

Lee Hyeon agreed with those words while understanding Mo Jeong-gyeon even less.

‘This actually works out well. If the retainers are watching, it’ll be even harder to hide her true intentions.’

As Lee Hyeon’s eyes gleamed,

“Team Leader Jang is also a party to this incident, so there should be much more to discuss. And all the other Z-Team members are here too.”

Lee Hyeon nodded.

He had already received word that the team members had subdued the stalkers and handed them over to the guild.

Mo Jeong-gyeon probably called them to her private residence during that process.

Beep, click-

Im Won-young completed the security authentication and opened the main gate wide.

Beyond an incredibly large garden that was hard to believe was built in the heart of Gangnam’s prime location.

A hanok with impressive tiles and eaves was situated there.

Following the ‘ㄷ’ shape, Mo Jeong-gyeon sat on a cushion in the central wooden floor, holding a long bamboo pipe in his mouth,

While five or six elderly and middle-aged people lined up on both sides were engaged in heated debate.

“No, so let’s go crack those bastards’ heads right now, I’m telling you!”

“Crack heads my ass! Do you want to make the already noisy situation even noisier!”

“Then if I punched you in the face, would you just sit there quietly, hyung?”

“Why would you just stay still! Of course you should get both your eyes knocked out!”

“You’re saying something different! Just a moment ago you said we shouldn’t make noise!”

“Hey! How is that the same as this!”

“What’s different about it!”

……It wasn’t exactly a high-level conversation to call it a heated debate.

Still, since there were so many legends with fierce temperaments swarming about, the team leaders who stood one step below them on the stone steps were quietly rolling their eyes around.

Kim Min-jeong, Chief Seo Ae-ri, and Manager Eom Ki-seon who had been called out were keeping their mouths tightly shut.

‘Executive Director Jeong Gyu-han is… not here.’

In fact, most of the Executive Group members except Executive Director Jeong Gyu-han were absent.

Still, for Lee Hyeon, just this situation alone was enough to read most of the atmosphere – what the Executive Group’s overall opinion was, what Executive Director Jeong was thinking.

Right then,

Thwack!

Mo Jeong-gyeon smiled faintly and struck her Long Bamboo Pipe against the wooden floor.

It was a light sound, but the heated debate stopped abruptly as if by magic.

“I wondered what you’d all say after swarming here from the morning breeze. You’re just spouting nutritionless talk. If that’s the case, how about I lend you a hall so you can continue your chatter over there?”

A rebuke that wasn’t quite a rebuke.

The Executive Group slightly turned their heads to the side and cleared their throats awkwardly.

Mo Jeong-gyeon twisted her lips.

“Still, it seems someone who’ll give us nutritious talk at the end has come…… I’ll listen to that story before deciding whether to kick you all out or not.”

Only then did the Executive Group and raid team leaders notice Lee Hyeon and turn their gazes toward him.

Some of them sparkled with interest.

The presence Lee Hyeon was emanating was not to be taken lightly.

 

[Legend, ‘Goblin Dance Formation’ is Revealing Presence!]

 

Whoooosh!

Lee Hyeon was even wearing [Cheoyong’s War Dance], the Sacred Relic that once symbolized him, on his left ear.

Now that he had reawakened as a Ranker, there was no longer any need to hide his original legend.

 

[Pushing away all the presences that were dominating the surroundings!]

 

“……!”

“……!”

“……!!”

While the Executive Group’s expressions changed strangely and the team leaders’ faces hardened,

Lee Hyeon politely bowed in greeting.

“Thank you for the teachings you gave me before.”

“You devoured the White Tiger’s Great Killing Intent quite deliciously. It was worth giving it to you.”

Mo Jeong-gyeon’s lips twisted into an even bigger smile.

That conversation surprised the five Executive Group members.

However,

Lee Hyeon asked without caring about the surrounding gazes.

“Thanks to that, I was able to achieve many changes. More than that, there’s something I’d like to ask the Guild Leader.”

“What is it?”

Lee Hyeon’s eyes deepened.

“Have you perhaps gone senile?”

“……!?”

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