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Chapter 249

There were definitely fewer people than before the battle occurred. Despite feeling bitter and sad, Yuk Eun-Hyung did not show any emotion. Now was not the time to wallow in sorrow but to focus on rebuilding the mercenary corps as the director.

"Feel free to speak up if you have any opinions regarding the recovery."

As soon as Yuk Eun-Hyung finished speaking, one member opened their mouth as if they had been waiting for this moment.

"I have a suggestion regarding recruiting new members."

Yuk Eun-Hyung gestured for them to continue speaking.

"We could gather volunteers from the nearby residents—"

"No." Yuk Eun-Hyung firmly interrupted the member before they could finish sharing their thoughts.

The member was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words, and they stared at Yuk Eun-Hyung in confusion.

Yuk Eun-Hyung gazed at the distant mountains with a blank expression.

The mercenary frowned. "Why not? There are many residents nearby who are supportive of our mercenary corps. Just bringing a few of them could..."

"Have you forgotten why the Crusader Order attacked us this time?"

“...” The member fell silent upon hearing Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s words.

Yuk Eun-Hyung had previously attempted to recruit residents into the mercenary corps to expand the size of their corps. The Holy See did not approve of this and summoned the Crusader Order under the pretext of \'illegal proselytizing.’ Recruiting from the nearby residencies again could lead to another attack by the Crusader Order.

"And the residents won\'t join the mercenary corps. They’ve seen how we helplessly fell victim to the Crusader Order."

"..."

"Before, our mercenary corps played the role of protecting the residents. Now, we have become a threat to them instead. The tides have changed," Yuk Eun-Hyung said.

The members remained silent. It was all true. Until now, Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s mercenary corps had gained the trust of those who lived nearby because they had taken on the role of protecting them. However, following the orders of the Holy See, Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s mercenary corps had turned into a criminal organization like that of a terrorist group. It would be impossible to recruit residents now.

At that moment, one member said, "It\'s not a bad idea to maintain ourselves as a small elite force."

Yuk Eun-Hyung shook his head. "We are not elite. We are just a small squad."

"Then maybe we can become elite through training."

"Through training... yes, training..." Yuk Eun-Hyung muttered, rubbing his head.

Bringing the existing members to an elite level through training was the ideal method for solving the current manpower shortage. But realistically, it was not feasible.

Underprepared training was no different from labor. Finding a location for the training session would also be a problem, and before that, they would have to secure a place where the members could stay safely.

"There are... no suitable places to train.”

"What if we ask the Cult Leader? Could he provide a place for us to stay or to train?"

Yuk Eun-Hyung forced a bitter smile. "I have no right to ask for help, nor do I have any justification to do so."

When the Crusader Order attacked them last time, the Cult Leader stepped in, drove the crusaders away, and treated the wounds of the injured. They already owed a great debt to the Cult Leader for that, so they couldn\'t ask for more. Not only that, but there was no justification for their request.

"The Cult Leader left without even acknowledging our greetings last time. It must mean that I have lost his trust."

Furthermore, Yuk Eun-Hyung had disappointed him when he failed to inform the Cult Leader that the mercenary corps had been under attack. It was likely tied to why the Cult Leader had left the mercenary corps without a word.

Asking for a favor in a state of lost trust would surely result in a cold rejection. At that moment, a vibration sounded from Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s pocket.

Bzzzz─! Bzzz–!

He took out his phone. Even though it was an area with poor signal, the call came through fine. It was because it was the phone he received from Jin-Sung, one of the executives at the Seoul Branch.

Yuk Eun-Hyung checked the caller ID and answered the call with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, Cult Leader."

Upon hearing those words, all the members tensed up. No one could guess why the Cult Leader had called. Yuk Eun-Hyung swallowed nervously, waiting for the Cult Leader\'s response.

After a long silence, a voice came through the phone.

—Executive Yuk Eun-Hyung. I\'ll make this brief because I don’t have much time.

"..."

—You must be thinking a lot about the base and recovery from the damage. I can take care of all of that for you.

It was as if the Cult Leader could read Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s mind. Yuk Eun-Hyung nervously glanced around, wondering if the Cult Leader was nearby. But there was no sign of him anywhere.

The Cult Leader spoke with a slightly urgent tone.

—Instead, please do me a favor. Just send one of your fastest members over here. I’d prefer you don’t ask why.

"...Understood."

Click.

The call ended abruptly before Yuk Eun-Hyung could even respond properly. The members stared blankly at Yuk Eun-Hyung, unaware of what was happening.

Yuk Eun-Hyung was still in shock, holding onto his phone even after the call had ended.

In the silence, one member gathered the courage to speak up. "What did the Cult Leader say...?"

"Uh, well..." Yuk Eun-Hyung pocketed his phone and continued, "...We have been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Who is the fastest runner among us?"

***

Hee-Jin greeted me with a handshake. "Nice to meet you. My name is Oh Hee-Jin, and I’ll be in the role of something like your mentor during your practical training period."

"Right. I’m Do Sun-Woo." Sun-Woo took the handshake.

Although Sun-Woo’s stature didn\'t seem that big, Hee-Jin could feel a strong force from the handshake, rivaling that of Director Han Dae-Ho’s. Sun-Woo had a relaxed demeanor, but he didn\'t seem arrogant. At first sight, he had a likable attitude.

The two got into the car and headed to the northern Gyeonggi area for the long-term missing person search, with Hee-Jin driving.

Sun-Woo sat in the passenger seat. He asked, "But what do you mean by something like your mentor? Why not just mentor?"

"There’s no distinction between mentor and mentee during your practical dispatch training period. You’re not an official paladin yet," Hee-Jin replied.

They drove in silence until they got on the highway heading north to Gyeonggi. "I didn\'t mention it earlier, but don\'t get involved with the Northern Paladin Order. They\'re a bunch of ill-hearted bastards. Our Eastern Paladin Order doesn\'t get along with them either."

"Ah, I\'ll be careful. But..."

Sun-Woo glanced at the notebook tucked in the passenger-side door pocket and hesitantly said, "It seems like you\'re very interested in religions besides Romanicanism."

"Huh? How did you know that? Oh, you saw the notebook." Hee-Jin nodded in understanding. "It\'s nothing grand. Studying is just a hobby of mine. It has its benefits, and I get to know more about the enemy. Are you interested? I have a bit of interest in the Voodoo Cult, and I\'ve studied it on my own."

"The Voodoo Cult has been gaining attention lately, especially after the incident with the mercenary corps suppression. Do you know what happened then?" Sun-Woo asked.

"Yes, I heard that the Cult Leader appeared. And boy, did he make an appearance. Snakes, plants, and fire... They used all sorts of power. I heard that they also used Bossou\'s power."

"Bossou... Is that the name of a Loa?"

"Oh... right. This is a secret, but I have a few forbidden books, so... haha. I know some things that others don\'t." Hee-Jin blatantly regretted blurting unnecessary words after he boasted his knowledge.

He hastily tried to cover up his mistake. "In the future, I want to create equipment that can deflect even the power of the Loa. Like, you know, the anti-Voodoo mask made by Sung Yu-Da, the former cardinal?"

"..." Sun-Woo just nodded without responding.

It took a while for Hee-Jin to realize that he had been talking too much. People said if one spoke without being asked, they were considered a bore. With that worry in mind, Hee-Jin closed his mouth. An awkward silence ensued.

Fortunately, the silence didn\'t last long. Just then, the navigation announced that they had arrived at their destination. Both of them got out of the car.

Although it was midday, the sky was cloudy, making it slightly dark. The wind was chilly. Hee-Jin took out two walkie-talkies from the back seat of the car, strapped one to his waist, and handed the other to Sun-Woo.

"Here, a walkie-talkie. If anything happens, you can contact me with this."

"Understood."

"If by any chance... you find a missing person, secure the missing person first before reporting."

Sun-Woo nodded and took the walkie-talkie.

They then went their separate ways to conduct their search. Hee-Jin watched Sun-Woo\'s back as he walked away.

\'Say less than you know.\' That had been Hee-Jin\'s rule, but he ended up saying too much. Somehow, he found himself talking a lot in front of Sun-Woo.

"I get why he likes him so much."

He could see why Han Dae-Ho favored Sun-Woo. Hee-Jin nodded and began his search.

***

After parting ways with Hee-Jin, I entered a secluded alley I had previously investigated. There was no need to search diligently because I already knew where Yoon-Ah was. She was in an abandoned building that Uncle had bought for speculative purposes under his fake identity as \'Lee Sung-Jin,\' so there was no risk of being traced.

However, I could attract unwanted attention if I found the missing person right after parting ways with Hee-Jin. So, I planned to go pick her up in the evening. I took out a book to pass the time. That was when Legba spoke up.

[They seemed to know quite a lot.]

I didn\'t respond. Legba was talking about Hee-Jin. He certainly knew a lot, and he seemed to know quite a bit about the Voodoo Cult as well.

He wanted to create equipment to rival the power of the Loa, making him dangerous in many ways. From a strategic standpoint, he would most likely become a very annoying enemy.

I decided for now to keep an eye on him and turned the pages of the book. Before long, I had read through the last page. I closed the book. This was the twentieth book I had read in my spare time. By the time I looked outside, it was already evening.

I left the cafe and went to the abandoned building where Yoon-Ah and a member of Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s mercenary corps would be. There was nothing around the abandoned building but broken streetlights and an unfinished building with exposed framing. There weren’t even any CCTVs.

This actually worked in my favor. I checked the time. There were about two hours left until Yoon-Ah would fully regain consciousness. I had plenty of time.

And just when I was leisurely walking around—

Cawk-! Cawk-! Cawk-!

Flutter, flutter.

Caawk–! Cawk-!

Dozens of ravens flew around me. They perched on the broken streetlights and building frame, crying out like crazy. Their cries were loud. All the ravens looked at me. Their pupils were eerily white.

"...Jun-Hyuk."

Flutter!

The biggest raven in the flock landed in front of me after I said Jun-Hyuk. Its bright white pupils stared at me unpleasantly, and I could tell Jun-Hyuk was behind those eyes. The raven tidied their wings with their beaks and looked towards me.

"Nice to see you! It\'s been so long."

“You\'re speaking quite clearly. It looks like you’ve regained some strength."

"Something like that. Not enough to take you on yet, though!"

"You say that as if that day will come. You’ll never beat me in this lifetime."

Laughter flowed from the raven’s beak. "We\'ll see about that in due time! Hehe!"

I could hear the laughter, but the raven wasn\'t actually laughing, which gave me chills.

The raven stared at me with blank eyes, void of expression. It tilted its head and opened its beak.

“This feels a bit unfriendly to be a greeting between old friends. Can\'t you at least pretend that you’re happy to see me?"

"What are you talking about? We’re not on good terms.”

The raven nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess you’re right. Then, let me break the ice with a reunion gift!"

The raven turned its head and looked toward the abandoned building I was going to enter. Then, it gestured toward the building with its wings.

One of the ravens perched on a broken streetlight flew into the building. It was so fast that I didn\'t even have time to react. My heart sank, my hands trembled, and my heart raced.

"...Don\'t do it," I urgently said, sensing what Jun-Hyuk was about to do.

The raven slightly opened their beak as if mocking me. "I insist!"

"Don\'t do it, you fucke–!"

Boom─!

The abandoned building where Yoon-Ah was exploded.

The raven mocked me as it flapped its wings. "What an artsy gift, wouldn’t you say? Hehe!"

Dozens of ravens suddenly flew into the sky. I could have used Sobo\'s power to summon lightning and burn them all, but there was no time for that now. The building was burning from the explosion.

"Bossou!" I used Bossou\'s power and rushed into the burning building.