Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 61

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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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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 061

Let you down(9)

Kang Hyeon woke up early in the dawn. After washing his face lightly, he came outside and sat in the driver’s seat of a jeep. Around him were dozens of similar jeeps.

Their destination was all the same: Seer Mining Site.

“Oh~ You know how to drive too?”

Kim Dong-ha climbed into the passenger seat and chuckled. Kang Hyeon silently gripped the steering wheel. Some kind of heat seemed to rise from beneath his throat. Something between tension and excitement…

Tap.

Suddenly Kim Dong-ha placed his hand on his shoulder. Kang Hyeon looked back at him.

“Hyeon. I know you. There’s no need to be nervous.”

“…Yeah.”

No. You don’t know me. Just as much as I don’t know you, just as much as I don’t want to know you.

─Each unit, depart on your routes.

Syndra announced the start of the operation. Kang Hyeon immediately stepped on the accelerator.

Dozens of jeeps were departing from this location. Probably similar numbers would be deployed from other camps as well, and they would all spread out to surround the excavation site.

Kang Hyeon thought quietly.

How many of these would actually be able to reach that place?

Vroooom.

The jeep advanced along the mountain road. Before long, the frame and windows were covered with magic barriers. This was NaN World’s technology that could easily defend against most bombardments.

“It’ll take about 3 hours. Hyeon, I’m gonna rest a bit? I didn’t sleep well yesterday.”

Kim Dong-ha looked at the GPS and leaned his chair back.

He didn’t know. Probably everyone here wouldn’t know.

That the battle had ‘already’ begun.

Swoosh!

Kang Hyeon roughly turned the steering wheel. He broke away from the formation of cars ahead.

“What, what? Why aren’t you following them?”

Kim Dong-ha startled and sat up straight. Kang Hyeon replied briefly.

“If we follow them, we’ll die.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Hey, at this rate we won’t clear the Quest. Hurr-.”

“Quiet.”

Kang Hyeon looked back at Kim Dong-ha. His pupils were stained with a strange gray color. Kim Dong-ha unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

“Trust me. If you don’t want to die.”

* * *

I looked down at the ground from Stone Mountain, which was at an appropriate distance from the base. I had roughly predicted the enemy’s positions and the routes they would likely take to attack.

They would try to surround this place.

Of course, there was also the strategy of first devastating the area with long-range air strikes before advancing, but the enemy’s objective was to seize the excavation site. Excessive bombardment could collapse the underground excavation site, so it was worth excluding.

The best countermeasure from our standpoint was to reduce the enemy’s forces without fighting.

Simply put, to inflict one-sided damage.

Therefore, I had planted traps in all directions.

Before long, when they reached the points, there would be fireworks like gifts.

“…Sip.”

I drank a cup of black tea. I had consumed quite a bit of magic power on the drone, so I had a severe headache.

“You seem to like black tea.”

A smooth voice flowed from behind.

It was Kate. She approached with dignity and glanced at the black tea I was drinking.

“Shall I brew you a cup?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Kate didn’t decline. I gladly brewed another cup of black tea.

She received the teacup and took a sip. All her simple movements were elegant.

This is how nobles are. Even in extremely mundane actions, nobility seeps out like gold dust. Their home education, manners and formalities are completely different from someone like me, an orphan.

Kate nodded while savoring the black tea.

“…The tea tastes good.”

“Does it?”

“Yes. You brewed it well. The temperature is just right too.”

Probably thanks to the leather gloves I’m wearing right now.

■ Mysterious Leather: Receives subtle enhancement for actions related to hands.

‘Actions related to hands’ includes the tea ceremony of brewing black tea.

“To think I’d receive praise for black tea from a Hailford.”

Hailford is an immigrant family from Britain. They’re so serious about it that they directly operate tea plantations.

Kate asked back as if surprised.

“You seem to know about Hailford.”

“Wouldn’t I be a spy if I didn’t know? There were dozens of pages just from searching on Wiki.”

“…Those images are merely superficial.”

Kate took another sip of black tea. The more she drank, the more her expression relaxed.

She really does seem to like tea.

“To the public, only the good aspects of Hailford are highlighted. The reality is that it’s not such a gentle family.”

In conversations like this, you need to read between the lines. Kate isn’t someone who badmouths her own family with empty words. Rather, she’s subtly revealing the hierarchy.

In that case, let me probe her a bit too.

“Everyone’s exterior and interior are different.”

Hailford is on my list of suspects. Opportunities for this kind of question and answer don’t come easily.

Kate twisted her lips.

“The exterior and interior might not just be different.”

I nodded.

“Yes. Hailford is especially like that.”

“….”

As if she hadn’t expected agreement, Kate closed her mouth for a moment, and I looked at her.

“I worked together with Colonel Percival.”

Kate’s expression hardened.

Percival Alastair Hailford. I had worked on operations with him several times. He was once my superior, and he quite liked me. He wanted to keep me by his side.

Though the ending wasn’t good.

“The Colonel often talked about his niece. That was probably you, Miss Kate.”

It means I know much more about Hailford than you think, Kate.

“…I see.”

Kate, pretending to be unaffected, put down her teacup. Clink. The sound was particularly sharp. Her fingertips trembled faintly.

“The enemy will come soon.”

“I suppose so.”

Tap tap. Kate stood up, brushing the dust off her pants.

“Seol Ha-woon. You’re always far removed from the center of the battlefield.”

There were thorns in her tone.

I smiled. Was Percival her reverse scale?

“I was at the center of the battlefield for too long. It’s about time I retired.”

“…Enemy scouts have arrived nearby.”

“I know.”

I had identified the small advance party last evening, but didn’t touch them. I didn’t trigger the landmines either.

Naturally, it was to lure in more enemies.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

I answered Kate’s words calmly.

“Please do.”

Kate descended the stone mountain.

* * *

Kate returned to the main unit. The base’s security was tight. Everyone was in a state of vigilance bordering on hypersensitivity.

“Kate. What did Seol Ha-woon say?”

Kim Du-gyeom quickly ran over and asked. Kate answered briefly.

“…Let’s just focus on our own work.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kate found herself deep in thought for a moment.

Seol Ha-woon knows Percival. Percival, Kate’s uncle, is a direct descendant who manages Hailford’s labyrinths.

Originally, it’s illegal for a single blood family to own labyrinths.

However, the story changes in regions where the entity called a ‘nation’ doesn’t exist.

In deserts, seas, and underwater areas where national functions have been lost or escaped control, laws aren’t upheld.

Hailford controls quite a few labyrinths in such lawless territories.

Therefore, having worked together with Percival means….

──Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed from somewhere. Kate startled and looked in that direction.

In the distance, flames like blue gas lamps bloomed upward. A few seconds later, wind mixed with gunpowder belatedly rushed in.

It was only the beginning.

Bang── Bang── Crash──

Landmines detonated in succession. Multiple flashes lit up the night sky like lightning. Explosions mixed with magic power rose thickly.

“…Kate. This is.”

Kim Du-gyeom blinked his eyes while looking at that place. Kate quietly nodded.

“It must be Seol Ha-woon’s work.”

Whooooooo──!

The explosions that had been forming as points suddenly connected into lines and dominated the surface. Like an orchestra’s finale ensemble, destructive cries seized and shook the horizon.

───!

Ruptures surging from all sides, endless impacts annihilate the enemies approaching the base.

This is probably the landscape drawn by Seol Ha-woon’s magic power.

Or perhaps, the imagery held in his heart.

Gazing at the intensely spreading blue lights, Kate murmured softly.

“For too long….”

He had been at the center of the battlefield.

She understood what Seol Ha-woon had meant by those words.

* * *

30 minutes earlier.

‘Jayden’ is a warrior who claims to be Syndra’s first sword. He prides himself on having quite decent skills.

Therefore, he’s not pleased that Syndra hired random guys instead of relying on him for this operation, but this is a chance to imprint his true worth on her.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes sir.”

The subordinate in the driver’s seat stepped on the accelerator. Vroom. Inside the jeep racing across the road surface, Jayden fidgeted with his sword.

He was excited.

“Boss. Can we trust those swordsmen? They just had pretty faces.”

Dozens of jeeps advanced off-road before scattering. It was a formation approaching the destination in dispersed groups.

“Just think of them as a few extra hands. We can slaughter Seer even without those guys. What about the scouts?”

“They’ve already arrived.”

The scouts had been sent ahead. Having departed first to prepare for any possible traps, they had safely established an outpost.

“Tch. Why pay money for something that would end easily….”

Jayden grumbled while looking at the rear camera. His brow furrowed.

“…What? Where did those bastards go?”

“Huh?”

The subordinate also looked at the screen. That vehicle was gone. The jeep with the pretty-faced mercenary.

The subordinate contorted his face in disgust.

“Ah shit. They must have run off after just taking the advance payment!”

“…Ha. What kind of fucking stupid situation is this?”

Jayden let out a hollow laugh. Meanwhile, the vehicle entered the mountain road.

Rattle.

The jeep vigorously climbed the mountain road. It was a route that detoured by going over the mountain.

“Should we report it?”

“No. Just leave it. Don’t want the operation disrupted because of guys we didn’t need anyway.”

Rattle.

It’s a mountain range at quite a high altitude. Particularly treacherous even among rough terrain, but this jeep wouldn’t be fazed even if it rolled off a cliff.

“Boss. How many are you expecting to count today?”

“How many? Well. I’ll have to cut off heads as I see them. First, I’ll need to fill at least 20 if I want to display heads.”

“Ooh~ 20~ You’re amazing as always, boss.”

Rattle.

At the moment when the jeep was trampling the mountain’s dirt road.

“20 is the minimum, you bastard. I’m someone who’s been waiting just for today. To look good to the boss….”

──Bang!

Rough pressure surged from the road surface. A tremendous explosion struck the vehicle body hard.

Military jeeps can easily withstand some degree of impact. Most of the humans inside are also cyborgs equipped with prosthetic bodies. This means they have bodies that won’t die from mere gunpowder or explosions.

However.

Crrrrrrrack──!

It was an explosion enhanced with formula magic power. Power on a completely different dimension from ordinary explosives crushed both the jeep and its passengers entirely.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

Firework-like chain explosions followed. Traps activated from between trees, on bridges, under rocks, and in the gaps between gravel. The bomb range was wide, installed on almost every route.

Kwaaaaaaaak──-!

They exploded simultaneously and surged forward. Waves of formulas swept away all the scattered jeeps.

Countless vehicle bodies scattered into the air. The resonance of metal clashing against metal rose like screams. Torn prosthetic bodies rolled around, scattering blood and oil.

Thud.

Suddenly, Jayden’s sword sank to the ground. Jayden didn’t let go of his sword. His grip tightly clutched the blade.

At least, his ‘hand’ did so.

* * *

─…I’ll identify survivors. Radio in.

A blood-soaked voice flowed through the jeep’s radio communication.

Kang Hyeon answered.

“This is Kang and Kim. We survived.”

“Just now, what was that explosion just now?”

Kim Dong-ha seemed like he still couldn’t grasp the situation.

“Moving forward.”

Kang Hyeon belatedly joined the normal route. The scenery was quite gruesome. Craters were carved here and there on the mountain, with vehicle debris, flesh, blood, and prosthetic body fragments scattered around.

Vroooom….

Kang Hyeon advanced to some extent then stopped.

“Hyeon-ah. Let’s just keep going straight.”

Kim Dong-ha said. Kang Hyeon looked back at him.

“The places where bombs already exploded should be safe, right.”

Kim Dong-ha’s argument wasn’t without persuasion. Most people might think that way.

However.

“Dong-ha, you thought that way.”

“…Huh?”

“Then it won’t be.”

If Kim Dong-ha could think of it, the enemy could think of it too. More unfair than rock-paper-scissors. When psychologically cornered, there’s a high probability of moving according to the enemy’s will.

The best option is not to play rock-paper-scissors.

In other words, waiting.

The advance team caught in the explosion was only 1/3 of the total force. The rest would come as the follow-up team, so they could send them first.

Kang Hyeon moved his vehicle to the roadside.

Before long, another jeep arrived. They chose the path already scorched by explosions, just as Kim Dong-ha had thought….

───Bang!

A second explosion occurred.

─What kind of, grrk!

─What fucking bastard laid anti-tank mines!

─Damn it, the mana shield brokeeeeee!

Various curses echoed from the radio, and there were cries specifically pointing to Kang Hyeon’s side asking to be saved, but Kang Hyeon remained calm.

He simply stared indifferently at the exploding jeeps while waiting for his turn.

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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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