Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 106

A few days later, in the heart of the Empire, the usually silent headquarters of the Special Task force was bustling with noise. An unexpected figure had paid a visit.

“What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be at the training center right now?”

“Why, I’m part of the Task force too. Have I come to a place I shouldn’t?”

The person who stirred up the Task force was none other than the Chief Instructor. Though they were all part of the same family, the Task force and the training center were almost adversaries due to political issues.

“It’s not that, but…”

“Then stop your blabbering and make way.”

At these words, the gatekeeper of the Task force headquarters turned around with a troubled look, only to see a man with a frosty face approaching.

“I believe there’s still quite some time left before the Dragon Soldier Project concludes.”

“Long time no see, isn’t it?”

The Chief Instructor smirked at the man who was silently observing him.

“Yes, it has been a long time, Chief Instructor.”

The man’s name was Hugo, a confidant of the Task force Commander and a key officer responsible for intelligence within the Task force.

The Chief Instructor asked Hugo, “Why are you standing before me when you should be busy with your duties? Don’t you have work to do?”

“How can I work in peace when a superior has visited? Allow me to guide you.”

“Guide me? I’ve been here before. Have you turned the place upside down since then?”

“That’s not the case, but it’s been years since you’ve set foot here, hasn’t it? If I guide you, it will lessen the confusion among those who don’t know the Chief Instructor.”

“Is that so?”

The Chief Instructor grinned broadly.

“But why do I get the feeling that you’re trying to keep an eye on me?”

“Surely you jest.”

Hugo, hit right on the mark by the Chief Instructor, trembled slightly.

As he said, he needed to know what the Chief Instructor was up to in the headquarters so he could report back when the Task force Commander returned.

His gaze shifted to someone standing behind the Chief Instructor.

A young man was staring blankly at him.

“Who is that young man?”

“Who else? He’s my disciple.”

Hugo’s eyes sparkled at the Chief Instructor’s words.

But only for a moment.

“Will you step aside now?”

At the Chief Instructor’s icy tone, Hugo clamped his mouth shut, though he showed no sign of moving away from the door.

With a snicker, the Chief Instructor found Hugo’s stance petty and appeared before him in an instant, gripping his throat with a strong hand.

“Ugh…”

In a flash, Hugo’s face contorted as the Chief Instructor’s grip tightened, making it difficult for him to breathe.

“Have I been indulging your nonsense because we’re ‘family’? Still not enough for you?”

“…If… if you do this… the Task force Commander won’t stand idly by.”

The Chief Instructor’s lips curled up at Hugo’s defiance. His refusal to move even in the face of death meant he was certainly hiding something.

The Chief Instructor’s mind raced.

‘Does this guy know about the Destroyer Project too?’

He didn’t fully trust what Yan had told him. Blood ties to the Supreme Commander didn’t guarantee sudden affection.

But the situation suggested Yan hadn’t been entirely off the mark.

Suddenly, shadows began to writhe at the Chief Instructor’s feet, and Hugo cried out in haste.

“If you kill me now, it won’t do you any good either…”

“You know about the project too?”

Hugo’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Did he know she wasn’t the Task force Commander’s daughter but a prototype of the project?!’

He realized how the information had leaked—a recently deceased secretary who had been in charge of the Destroyer Project.

Hugo bit his lip in frustration.

‘I insisted on imposing restrictions on that guy for this very reason!’

His family’s influence had caused the issue to be overlooked, and now it had come back to haunt him like a boomerang.

“Are you distracted, even with me in front of you?”

The Chief Instructor chuckled, holding Hugo by the scruff of his neck, ready to enter.

At that moment…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Four figures descended from the sky at a terrifying speed, surrounding the Chief Instructor. The marble beneath their feet shattered.

“Elite agents!”

Hugo called out to them with a bright expression. They were rare elite agents of the Task force, not just strategic but also formidable in combat, equivalent to the captains of noble families’ knight orders.

“If you don’t release the Chief of Intelligence, we’ll treat you as an enemy,” said the eldest-looking agent, stepping forward.

The Chief Instructor laughed heartily at the elite agents’ threatening stance, seemingly resigned but with a sly smile on his face.

Hugo, realizing something, opened his mouth to warn…

But the Chief Instructor’s blade was faster.

In an instant, red lines appeared on the bodies of the elite agents surrounding the Chief Instructor, who held the ‘Shadow Blade.’

“Did you think I got to the second-highest rank in the Task force by parachute?”

He mocked the elite agents as he walked past them. They couldn’t muster the will to stop him.

With a thud!

Their upper and lower bodies separated.

The gatekeeper, witnessing the scene, was startled and tried to block the Chief Instructor, but…

Slash!

A shadowy tendril shot out from under the Chief Instructor’s feet, piercing the gatekeeper’s brow.

The Chief Instructor stepped over the gatekeeper, who fell forward, losing focus, and continued on his way.

Yan, watching from the side, clicked his tongue at the Chief Instructor’s violent actions.

‘People don’t change that easily.’

He had thought the Chief Instructor’s expression might change when he revealed his origins, but it was only a fleeting shift.

Yan quietly followed the Chief Instructor, recalling their earlier conversation.

“Am I to be the bait?”

“The Task force Commander’s attention will be all on you. If you pretend to search for the project, he won’t have the leisure to focus elsewhere.”

“And in the meantime, you’ll find where that little girl Lia is being held?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I’ve already persuaded someone suitable. There are several ways to find Lia, so just buy as much time as you can.”

“I’ll trust you for now. You know our necks are on the line with this one, right?”

The Chief Instructor accepted Yan’s plan without objection. It seemed like a good strategy to him.

Yan followed the Chief Instructor for a while before turning his steps in another direction.

* * *

“Aaaargh!”

“Sir, the Chief of Intelligence!”

The sight of Hugo being dragged away by someone gripping his throat caused the special task force members at work to gasp in horror.

They each grabbed their weapons, but upon realizing the identity of the person holding Hugo’s throat, confusion ensued.

“The, the Chief Instructor?”

“Why would the Chief Instructor do this to the Chief of Intelligence…”

The lower ranks were unaware of the conflict between the task force commander and the Chief Instructor.

They simply knew them as family.

And those who were aware of their secret blood feud dared not act rashly.

Those who sided with the task force commander were no different.

After all, the Chief Instructor was not only a royal relative of His Imperial Majesty but also an incredibly formidable opponent.

“…What exactly are you plotting?”

Hugo managed to speak, though with difficulty.

If the Chief Instructor had come to learn about the Destroyer Project, a simple interrogation would suffice.

There was no need to create such a commotion and draw everyone’s attention.

“Well?”

A smile curved on the Chief Instructor’s lips.

Suddenly, Hugo’s mind flashed with something the Chief Instructor might desire.

The place within the task force headquarters where all the confidential documents and information were stored.

A particular document, kept in the deepest recesses, came to mind.

Hugo’s eyes widened in alarm.

Then, he shouted to the bewildered task force members.

“Strike the Chief Instructor now! This man is planning a coup!”

At Hugo’s cry, the task force members’ eyes hardened with resolve.

As they each pulled out jackknives, military wires, and daggers from their drawers, the atmosphere within the headquarters turned icy.

The smile on the Chief Instructor’s face deepened.

“Kill him!”

With a cry that seemed to tear his throat, the task force members charged at the Chief Instructor.

Several daggers flew towards the Chief Instructor’s vital points, and wires quickly set up blocked his path.

However, the task force members’ attacks couldn’t even graze the Chief Instructor’s skin.

Swoosh!

A shadow shot from beneath the Chief Instructor’s feet, deflecting the daggers and cutting through the secretly installed wires with ease.

Gulp, gulp.

The shadow then grew in size and swept through the office with great force.

It was as if a giant whip was being swung around.

As the shadow swept through the office, no more attacks came.

Hugo was at a loss for words at the sight of the task force members instantly turned into corpses.

“What in the world…”

He knew the Chief Instructor was strong, but he hadn’t anticipated he’d be so powerful that they couldn’t even grab his ankle.

“Heh heh.”

With a light step, as if out on a picnic, the Chief Instructor delved deeper into the headquarters.

Despite surprise attacks from some task force members, their blades couldn’t halt the Chief Instructor’s advance.

Swoosh!

Having dispatched over fifty task force members, the Chief Instructor finally reached his destination.

He smirked at the sight of the large door before him.

Intelligence Room

“It’s a place I’ve always wanted to enter.”

It was where all the confidential documents and important information collected since the establishment of the special mission force were stored.

Only the task force leader and…

“Only you.”

The person holding the position of Chief of Intelligence, like Hugo, whom he was gripping by the throat.

“How can I enter?”

“Heh, heh, do you think I’d tell you?”

Hugo twisted his mouth into a forced smile at the Chief Instructor’s question.

The place boasted incredible security, filled with information that could shake the empire.

Brutal magical traps were set up to prevent unauthorized entry, and it was nearly impossible to break through by force.

Only the task force leader and himself knew how to enter.

Which meant…

“You’ll never be able to enter here.”

“Is that so?”

The Chief Instructor looked at Hugo, who firmly believed he couldn’t enter, and laughed.

“I think I know how.”

“Nonsense!”

Hugo frowned at the Chief Instructor’s words.

There was no way the Chief Instructor could know how to enter.

Hugo’s belief crumbled in an instant.

The Chief Instructor’s shadow swiftly sliced off Hugo’s little finger.

“Aaaargh!”

“This is how it’s opened.”

Despite trembling in pain, Hugo was shocked by the words that came from the Chief Instructor’s mouth.

“How, how did you know?”

The method to enter the intelligence room involved the fingerprint engraved on the little finger of an authorized person.

Moreover, the fingerprint on a corpse’s little finger would shrivel up quickly, so the Chief Instructor had kept Hugo alive and brought him here to avoid the hassle.

“Someone taught me.”

The one who had revealed how to enter was Yan.

Despite being asked several times how he knew, Yan only smiled and never gave an answer.

‘If he wasn’t of His bloodline, I would have dismissed it as a ludicrous claim with no foundation.’

The Chief Instructor placed Hugo’s little finger in the center of the door.

Whirrr.

Mana reacted, and the securely locked security room door began to open.

The Chief Instructor burst into laughter at the sight of the vast number of books and documents inside.

Yet, he didn’t forget to kill Hugo, who looked up at him in despair.

Thud. Thud.

The Chief Instructor entered the intelligence room, searching for the information he desired.

Before long…

“I found it.”

He picked up a document stiffer than the others.

Reading the contents, he let out a hollow laugh.

“So, that guy was telling the truth?”

-Destroyer Project

The contents of the project mentioned by Yan were starkly laid out.

And below it, the Emperor’s seal was clearly stamped.

“With this, overturning the empire is no trouble at all, is it?”

The Chief Instructor pocketed the document and turned around.

Just then, his eyes darkened.

A new figure had appeared before him.

A man with long, unkempt black hair, looking like a beggar.

“Chief Instructor, what is this madness?”

It was the arrival of the task force leader.

The Chief Instructor smiled at him.

His appearance before him meant…

‘My work here is done.’

Yan’s plan had fit perfectly into place.