Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 84

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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 84

Jet (4)

 

 

 

Crackle.

『Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any enemies at the entrance. No mobs either… It’s been cleanly swept.』

Kim Min-jeong’s voice came through a separate channel, isolated and reaching Lee Hyeon’s ears.

Lee Hyeon didn’t particularly stop her.

Though she sounded so relaxed, he knew she was more thorough than anyone else in maintaining rear guard vigilance.

『Our Lieutenant Yoon Baekjo… he’s better than expected, don’t you think, senior?』

『Come to think of it, they said Baekjo was the operation leader for the Daylight Unit this time, right?』

『That’s what I’m saying? That greenhorn, Yoon Baekjo. Him being the leader? Do you think that makes sense?』

『Isn’t it proof that we’ve gotten that old?』

『Are you going to keep hitting me with painful facts like that?』

Lee Hyeon let out a quiet laugh.

Truth was, he was just as surprised as Kim Min-jeong.

No, all the Blue Thunder colleagues participating in this operation felt the same.

‘No wonder the face in the video the general showed us looked so familiar. His eyes had gotten quite sharp, so I wasn’t sure.’

Lieutenant Yoon Baekjo was the last recruit to join Blue Thunder.

They had high expectations since he graduated top of his military academy class, but he was so easily rattled.

Even during operations, there were so many things the seniors had to look after for him that he often got scolded.

Still, he had persistence and a gentle personality, so they thought he’d be fine once he gained experience.

After Blue Thunder was disbanded, he apparently stayed in the military and became a senior officer in the newly established Daylight Unit.

And now he was even in a leadership position.

It seemed impossible that this could happen in just 4 years, but apparently he had gone through blood and tears to get there.

They heard he had become a Ranker.

‘Awakener units usually prioritize skill or military achievements. Rank tends to follow that too. That’s how I was able to become a leader at such a young age.’

Time had truly changed many things.

Enough for a greenhorn to become a formidable fighting cock.

 

-Actually… our leader talked about you a lot, senior.

-That’s right. So much that our ears got callused…

-He said he definitely wanted to become a leader like you, senior. That’s why he always told us we could comfortably consult him if we had any concerns.

 

The unit members’ evaluation was also very good.

Most of it was about Lee Hyeon, which was a bit embarrassing.

『Still, you feel good about it, right?』

『Well, that’s…』

『From what I heard from the juniors, he’s almost like a senior fanatic, isn’t he?』

Lee Hyeon scratched his nose bridge with his index finger.

『Where else can you find something as pleasant as someone believing in you so passionately? Ah, I hope I can become that kind of person to someone later t—』

『What about Chief Eom?』

『Senior, you haven’t been hit with a headshot, have you? It’s quite painful when you get hit with a sniper rifle. Would you like to experience it for the first time?』

『Sorry. That’s a bit…』

『Just mention Chief Eom one more time. Then I won’t go easy on you either, seni—』

At that moment,

Stop!

Lee Hyeon’s steps suddenly halted.

『Are you listening to me?』

Crackle.

The frequency switched to full transmission.

『Message to all Blue Thunder units. Everyone halt movement.』

A coldly subdued voice.

『There’s something here.』

『Alpha, movement halted. Confirming perimeter watch.』

『Beta, order confirmed. Beginning area search.』

『Gamma, standing by for orders.』

Lee Hyeon checked the radio transmission while scanning the surroundings with sharpened eyes.

A fishy smell lingered at the tip of his nose.

The fishy smell that only comes from blood.

‘Above!’

Lee Hyeon raised his head upward.

Something was hanging at the end of a withered, skeletal tree.

However, the sky was hazily obscured by volcanic ash, making it difficult to properly distinguish the shape.

 

[Activating Dueoksini’s Swift Thunder!]

 

Flash!

Lee Hyeon kicked off the tree a couple of times and reached the top.

And then,

“Damn it!”

He unconsciously spat out a curse.

Crackle.

『What’s wrong, senior?』

Lee Hyeon landed on the ground with a completely hardened expression, holding what he had found above.

Colleagues who confirmed it from a distance spat out the same curses.

『Fucking bastards.』

『How could they do such a thing…』

What Lee Hyeon had retrieved was a corpse.

The corpse of a Daylight Unit member, heavily stained with agony.

The heart was pierced through with a dagger.

『…From the outside, it appears to be death from a vital point being stabbed by a dagger, but it actually seems to be death from excessive bleeding or internal hemorrhaging from vascular damage. Both arms show binding marks tied behind the back.』

『Wait a minute, senior. You mean,』

『It seems they deliberately didn’t kill immediately, but slowly murdered while making them suffer in terror.』

『…!』

The sound of sharp intake of breath could be heard over the radio.

Crackle.

『It seems something has happened to the Daylight Unit.』

Lee Hyeon’s eyes sank deeply.

 

* * *

 

『…』

“……”

“……”

While moving to the rendezvous point with the White Night Unit,

Lee Hyeon was able to discover the corpses of three more White Night Unit members.

And,

those corpses had two common characteristics.

One was that they all died from excessive bleeding or internal hemorrhaging.

And the other was,

‘There are traces of frostbite or freezing.’

They also carried a very familiar scent of magic power.

 

[ expresses severe displeasure at the dishonorable use of her magic power.]

[ angrily states that her magic power should only be used to protect her subjects and people.]

 

Ring of Extreme Cold.

Though not as much as the Great Curse that had tormented Lee Hyeon, it was still a skill similar to what he had seen countless times in the .

‘Did Seo Chang-woo come? No. It’s too weak for that. What he had was the Snow Queen’s sacred relic. What the hell happened?’

His companions were also silent, perhaps sensing something related to the Snow Queen.

‘Come to think of it… the heat has been rapidly decreasing as we get closer to the forest. I can feel the cold wind.’

The fact that the heat was weakening even as they got closer to the crater meant that some major event related to freezing had occurred.

Moreover,

‘Even with such an urgent situation occurring, they couldn’t even request external rescue. What could have happened? Was there interference preventing the request? Or were there circumstances that made it impossible…?’

 

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Headband’ rotates to enhance thinking speed.]

 

Then, at the rendezvous point Lee Hyeon arrived at,

“Please confirm if this location is correct.”

there was nothing.

No White Night Unit.

No military camp they should have set up.

Crackle.

“This is the right place, senior. It’s the location the operations staff designated.”

“Then… where did everyone go?”

Traces of fierce battle scattered everywhere indicated that an urgent situation had occurred here.

Crackle.

“We’re currently searching the surroundings. Based on the remaining traces, it seems a battle occurred just a few hours ago, and they urgently evacuated to the northwest.”

It was a report from Beta Team, who was in charge of perimeter reconnaissance.

Lee Hyeon brought his mouth to the radio again.

Crackle.

“Alpha Team confirm positions and focus on perimeter security. Beta Team and Gamma Team conduct a search of the surroundings for survivors.”

“Alpha, order confirmed.”

“Beta, order confirmed.”

Lee Hyeon planned to check for stragglers and survivors first.

 

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Eyes of Truth’ activates to search for traces related to .]

 

Whoosh!

In Lee Hyeon’s vision, blue footprints and handprints scattered everywhere became visible.

“Tsk, it seems they had to move urgently. It looks like enemy forces poured in en masse and caused a magic power rampage?”

 

[ explains that it might be someone commanding her vassals.]

 

‘Vassals?’

Lee Hyeon’s eyes sparkled.

The Queen’s loyal knights and guards he had encountered in the .

The damage Cheong-rae had suffered from them was also considerable, so it remained a strong memory.

 

[ says if it’s with her sacred relic……]

 

Lee Hyeon was reading the message from the Snow Queen when he suddenly heard a faint groaning sound near his ear.

“……help ……please.”

“……!”

 

[Combat Sense (S) sharpens all senses!]

 

Flash!

Lee Hyeon urgently moved toward the direction of the sound.

Not far away.

He was able to find a man leaning against a rock, gasping for breath.

A familiar face.

It was Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo.

“Baek-jo!”

“……Hah. Since I’m dying, am I seeing……hallucinations……? How is the Captain here……?”

He was dying from necrosis with his body half-frozen. Frozen blood was pooled on the ground, and his entire body’s skin was pale.

Most importantly, his lower body was completely ‘shattered.’

Torn organs were faintly visible beyond the frozen cross-section. His condition was very critical.

“What the hell happened? Why did you suddenly end up like this?”

Lee Hyeon quickly took out the Flame Magic Tool from his inventory and placed it in Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo’s arms.

Dueoksini’s energy was too intense, closer to breaking the cold rather than melting it.

Right now, slowly helping him escape from frostbite was most important.

 

[Golden Eyes of Truth confirms the target’s physical condition.]

[The degree of injury is serious.]

[Already in mortal danger from excessive bleeding and internal hemorrhaging.]

……

 

[Curse Incantations: Wound Dulling, Evil Energy Absorption]

 

Lee Hyeon used all the large potions he had in his inventory and even used curse incantations to put maximum effort into healing, but,

“What……? You really are the Captain, aren’t you……? Heh. I guess my karma from past lives…… wasn’t too bad…… I get to see someone I wanted to see so much……”

Strangely, all those healing attempts failed.

They all bounced off.

As if rejecting all such trivial healing.

A scene very familiar to Lee Hyeon.

‘……Exactly like four years ago.’

It was exactly like this when infected with the Ring of Extreme Cold.

Lee Hyeon’s expression hardened.

 

[ warns that if vassals were commanded with her sacred relic, the Ring of Extreme Cold could be used in various forms.]

[ bitterly states that the Ring of Extreme Cold was not originally a curse-type skill.]

 

‘Not a curse-type?’

Lee Hyeon wanted to ask what the hell that meant, but,

“Captain…… have you been enduring something this painful all this time……? Really…… you’re amazing. How could you endure something like this for four years……? Seo Chang-woo…… that damn bastard……”

Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo spoke as if squeezing out the words.

“Don’t force yourself to talk since it’s draining your strength. Let’s move locations first. The treatment here is inadequate……”

Lee Hyeon tried to support him, but Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo forcibly placed his hand over Lee Hyeon’s and shook his head.

“No…… It’s fine. I’m already done for……”

“What are you talking about,”

“Captain, you know…… don’t you……? In this state, I…… can’t go anywhere. I’ll die on the way……?”

Lee Hyeon wanted to shout at him not to talk nonsense, but Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo squeezed out his voice first.

“You must…… avoid this place…… This place…… is dangerous. This place is already full of…… full of them…… The Daylight Military Unit also…… fell because of that.”

Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo stared into empty space.

He was clearly speaking to Lee Hyeon, but there was no focus in his pupils. His eyeballs were frozen solid.

A sight all too familiar to Lee Hyeon.

“Your eyes,”

“Ping Xin…… all became ice demons…… became just like the knights and guard soldiers of the Ice Palace from four years ago…… and killed us all. This place…… is already no different from the ……”

“Baek-jo.”

“Captain.”

Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo shouted as if being crushed.

“Seo Chang-woo…… has returned.”

“……!!”

“Still, there are, many surviving, unit members, so if you save them, if it’s you Captain, it’s possible, no, please, escape,”

Haah……

Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo rambled incoherently before breathing his last breath. His breath scattered and disappeared into the air.

And,

Crackle-

His entire body was instantly covered in frost.

“……”

Lee Hyeon looked at his former junior with his lips pressed tight, then forcibly closed the eyes that were still staring into empty space.

Then he slowly stood up.

Lieutenant Yoon Baek-jo had said he should flee since Seo Chang-woo had appeared,

but behind them, there were still many surviving unit members, so he pleaded to please save them.

Probably until the very end, both feelings coexisted within him.

Concern for Lee Hyeon.

Worry for the unit members, both.

In that case,

there was only one thing Lee Hyeon had to do.

He had to eliminate Seo Chang-woo without fail and rescue the Daylight Military Unit in crisis.

Grip.

His hand tightened firmly around the axe.

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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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