Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 100

As Yan descended swiftly back into the tunnel, the battle was nearing its end. Baiken, who had risen time and time again like a resilient doll, had now turned into a cold corpse.

Clash! Boom! Bang!

Jin was under fierce pressure from Owen. “It’s all over now, surrender quietly, human!” Owen, wielding a hand cannon and a greatsword, was relentlessly driving Jin into a corner. Though not unscathed himself, with cuts and piercing wounds all over, and his beard soaked in blood, Owen seemed to have enough strength left to finish Jin off.

In contrast, Jin, having been struck by Owen, had a long gash over one eye and was dodging attacks with the other, struggling with his depth perception.

Scrape.

Owen’s greatsword drew a long cut across Jin’s thigh. “Gah!” Jin gritted his teeth, trying to rise, but Owen’s sword was already swinging towards his head.

“…A monster indeed.”

Jin knew the legends of the ‘War Smith’ vaguely, but he hadn’t expected him to be such a beast. Resignation flickered in Jin’s eyes; he had long since exhausted the strength to dodge the deadly trajectory of the incoming greatsword.

That’s when it happened.

Crash!

The greatsword, meant to bisect Jin, instead shattered the innocent wall. “Damn it all!” Owen cursed, turning his head sharply. A young man, just of age, was carrying Jin over his shoulder, having rescued him from the brink of death in that brief moment.

Yan sighed in relief, feeling the breath on his shoulder. ‘This one still has use.’ Jin, a core member of the special task force, could be instrumental in Yan’s future plans.

Yan tossed Jin carelessly towards the entrance of the tunnel and pulled out Ascalon from his spatial pouch. “And what are you, human?” Owen growled, baring his teeth like a wounded beast.

Yan glanced at the bag on his back and then back at Owen. “It seems pointless to tell you who I am, so let’s skip that. Instead, I have something to ask you.”

“Do you think I’ll answer you!” Owen roared, stomping the ground and charging at Yan with incredible speed.

Whoosh.

As Owen’s massive body moved quickly, the air in the tunnel swirled violently. Yan shook his head at Owen’s ferocious approach. ‘He’s not going to answer easily, it seems.’

In a critical moment, Yan unleashed his most confident and swift movement technique, exclusive to the commander of the special task force.

Boom!

The ground exploded beneath Yan’s feet, and his form vanished from sight. Owen’s greatsword cut through the air once more. “You dog!” Owen, with his monstrous intuition, immediately pinpointed Yan’s location and tensed his arm.

Crack.

Veins bulged on Owen’s biceps, forearm, and back of his hand as he rapidly changed the trajectory of his attack. Yan, appearing right behind him, clicked his tongue. ‘His senses are too sharp.’

Yan raised Ascalon to block Owen’s greatsword. The impact that flowed along the blade of Ascalon shook Yan’s insides. If it had been sword energy or aura, Ascalon would have stopped the mana flow.

‘As strong as ever, in this life or the past.’

The attack was based on pure physical strength, which even Ascalon couldn’t completely neutralize. But this was all part of Yan’s plan. His body couldn’t withstand the shock and was thrown far away, naturally increasing the distance between him and Owen.

Yan quickly pulled out several throwing knives from his bosom and hurled them at Owen, who was charging at him like a bolt of lightning.

Whiz-whiz-whiz.

Owen frowned at the throwing knives aimed at his throat, forehead, and chest. He couldn’t ignore the attack aimed precisely at his solar plexus. Already bleeding profusely and burdened with injuries, he couldn’t afford to overlook it.

Slowing down abruptly, Owen raised his left hand and forcefully deflected the knives.

Bang, bang!

He then raised his head to locate Yan again, but Yan was nowhere to be seen. “Annoying little pest,” Owen grumbled, standing still and expanding his sensory field. His senses caught everything from the corpses strewn on the floor to a bug crawling on the wall.

That’s when he turned his head. There was nothing visible there, but his senses told him something was present.

Owen calmed his eyes and raised sword energy on his greatsword.

Hum.

A massive sword energy befitting the greatsword surged forth. Owen swung it towards the place his senses screamed at, near the entrance of the tunnel.

Crash!

As the stone walls brutally shattered, someone burst out from there. It was Yan, who had been hiding between the twisted stone walls.

“You’re doing all this just to live!” “If I want to live, I have to do it this way.”

Yan responded to Owen’s shout with a smirk and kicked off the ground. His form quickly headed towards the entrance of the tunnel, then he firmly stepped on his own shadow.

“What’s that…?”

Recognizing it, Owen furrowed his brows. Yan’s gaze shifted between Owen and himself, towards the stalactites sprouting above.

“Shadow Sword – Despair”

Yan pressed down on the writhing shadow beneath his feet.

Fwoosh!

The shadows, as if in a desperate struggle, surged forward with incredible speed. They were not aimed at Owen, who was squinting his eyes, but at the stalactites right in front of him.

Scrape. Scrape. Crash!

The shadows sliced through the large stalactites hanging from the ceiling like paper. Realizing Yan’s intent, Owen’s eyes widened in shock. “You resort to such petty tricks too!” Yan’s figure was obscured by the falling pile of stalactites, and in an instant, a large, thick wall had formed between them.

Owen, intending to shatter it, reached for his hand cannon, but…

“Damn it all!”

He had forgotten that he had used up all his ammunition while fighting Jin and Baiken. He quickly stowed the hand cannon and drew his greatsword, but…

Crash! Crash!

Owen, having exhausted his mana and strength, could not easily break through the wall. And that wasn’t the only problem.

Sniff. Sniff.

A familiar yet dangerous scent hit his nose—the smell of oil and gunpowder from his hand cannon.

Owen’s eyes bulged as he scanned his surroundings. However, the exit was hidden behind the wall created by Yan. As Owen desperately tried to draw out even his life force to break the wall…

Boom!

The explosion from inside made Owen flinch. ‘When did he…?’

He was sure he had been fighting Owen, but was there time to set up the explosives? As Owen continued his thoughts, he finally realized why Yan had been fighting from a distance. Not only to avoid a direct confrontation due to the physical difference…

Boom! Rumble.

He had been setting up those bombs while fighting him. Owen let out a hollow laugh. “I’ve been completely outplayed.”

Using the others to drain his strength and creating a situation with no escape. And he had fallen for it completely.

As Owen cleanly accepted his defeat, that guy’s voice echoed in his ear.

“If you want to live, you’d better start talking now.”

Owen snorted. Even though he had lost, he was not so low as to fall for such an offer. It didn’t seem like the guy had a way to get him out of here, and even if he did, Owen had no intention of babbling like a coward.

As he crossed his arms and waited to be buried with the mine, the voice reached him again.

“What are those patterns etched throughout the tunnel?”

At that question, Owen’s eyes rounded in surprise. Then he let out a defeated laugh. Was all this chaos just to ask about that?

But then, strength returned to Owen’s eyes, and his previously hunched back straightened. Even facing death, his posture was one of undeniable dignity.

As the mine began to collapse and stalactites poured down around him with ferocious force, Owen’s gaze never wavered. It was the look of someone filled with conviction.

Through a small hole in the wall, Owen looked at Yan on the other side and spoke. He wouldn’t have answered if it had been about anything else, but he could speak proudly about the patterns.

“It’s the torch that binds us together.”

It was the identity and values that had driven him and his comrades thus far.

From a distance, through the small hole in the wall, Yan asked another question. The nature of the torch, the current leader of the revolutionary army.

But Owen remained silent to the subsequent questions.

Rumble. Boom! Bang!

It seemed he had chosen to be buried with the mine rather than answer.

“Tsk.”

Yan clicked his tongue, picked up Jin, who was sprawled at the entrance of the tunnel, and escaped to a place that wouldn’t collapse. All the while, his mind didn’t stop.

‘A torch that binds the revolutionary army together?’

It was an enigmatic phrase, but Yan committed it to memory.

Rumble.

The trembling sensation of the mine ceased as he reached the exit.

Yan laid Jin down against a wall.

Thud.

Jin, leaning against the wall, struggled to lift his eyelids. Yan cleared his throat a few times before looking down at Jin. Arrogance filled the eyes that looked up at Yan.

“Who… cough!”

Yan, responding to Jin’s question, pulled out a badge from his pocket and spoke.

“I am the executor appointed by His Imperial Majesty of the Cabalan Empire.”

Jin’s eyes widened at Yan’s answer. He had heard about it recently.

Someone had filled the long-vacant position of executor.

Jin examined the badge Yan had taken out.

A golden eagle was embossed on the identity badge.

And the title ‘Executor’ engraved in front of it proved its authenticity.

“…Huh.”

He hadn’t expected to meet the newly appointed executor here of all places.

Jin quickly bowed his head deeply.

Considering the gap between a special task force officer and an executor, it was the natural thing to do.

Yan’s lips curled up at Jin’s action.

‘This is… easier to hook than I thought.’

Now it was time to persuade Jin.

Yan composed his expression and continued.

“Jin, head of the Special Task Force Search Division 1.”

Jin felt his heart pound as Yan mentioned his identity.

Yan continued.

“Will you join me and investigate the threats to the empire?”

At that offer…

Jin, forgetting all propriety, stared blankly up at Yan.