Chapter 279: Proxy Battle (4)
The audience gasped at the anticlimactic end to the battle, which moments before had promised a fight to the death.
The next participant to step forward was Mad Manson, a freelancer with a robot head.
The Yukryeong Family Head glared at him as if to kill him, but what meaning could it have when the deed was already done?
However, contrary to their expectations, the fortress residents’ excitement only grew.
Even if they were generally oblivious to outside news, brief personal information about the representatives tended to spread through word of mouth.
They had already noticed that both Adam Brobeck, the mercenary, and Mad Manson, the freelancer, were highly skilled individuals who made a name for themselves in the megacity’s underworld.
Moreover, since these two were not from the fortress itself, there would be no problem watching and cheering comfortably.
“This time, they’ll really fight, won’t they?”
“Show us how they fight outside the fortress!”
“If they’re fighting for money, they won’t betray us, right?!”
But it didn’t take long for such expectations and cheers to vanish completely.
Manson, who seemed to be half-heartedly swinging his drawn sword, spent about 10 minutes just running away before raising both hands.
[Surrender.]
Through his heavy robot head, a flashing green optical sensor gleamed brightly.
Ooooh-woo-woo-woo-woo!!!
Thousands of boos echoed throughout the estate.
The Ibon Family Head, looking down at the scene, scrunched her face in displeasure.
“…This isn’t good.”
“Yes?”
The boy sitting next to her, the Ilwon Family Head, looked up at Ibon at her mutterings.
“There’s no way he’d act like this unless he had something in mind.”
The Ibon Family Head gnawed anxiously at her fingernails, muttering.
“We need to keep the audience engaged until the ritual ends…”
“…”
“The guards currently deployed might not be enough. In the worst case—”
“That’s quite an interesting thought.”
Oren, who had been quietly sitting with his eyes closed beside her, spoke.
“The Proxy Battle ritual itself shouldn’t have anything to do with the people.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I’m just wondering if you’ve recently found a new reason to care about the presence or absence of the residents.”
Oren slowly opened his eyes and met Ibon’s gaze directly, muttering.
“For example, perhaps you’ve become too deeply immersed in some strange belief…”
“…”
The Ibon Family Head’s face hardened.
Oren had spoken indirectly, but it wasn’t difficult to discern the hidden intention behind his words.
They both simultaneously realized that they held fragments of the truth.
Veins faintly bulged on Ibon’s forearm as she clutched the armrest of her chair.
The other Family Heads watched them, holding their breath.
But the Ibon Family Head endured Oren’s provocation with superhuman patience and smiled.
“It seems the Samyeong Family Head is misunderstanding something. We haven’t had many opportunities to be with the residents, but we’ve always done our best to help people whenever possible.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“That’s right. While the Ilwon and Samyeong have diligently tended to the fortress’s public sentiment, haven’t we, the Ibon Family, silently supported the fortress’s foundation?”
“…”
“That’s why the Ilwon Family is simply yielding to us this time.”
She said this, gently stroking the head of the Ilwon Family Head sitting next to her.
“Isn’t that right, Ilwon Family Head?”
“…That’s right.”
The boy slowly raised his head and met Oren’s gaze.
There was no trace of hesitation in the clear will that shone in his eyes.
“Although I received help from the Ibon Family Head, this matter is entirely my own will. You don’t need to concern yourself with it, Family Head.”
He knew that Tae-oh, the Ilwon Family Head and the deceased Fortress Head’s son, had chosen everything that had happened so far purely of his own free will.
Oren knew this too, which was why he hadn’t dared to reach out to him until now.
For a long time, Oren had merely observed the situation, unsure what price the Ibon Family Head had offered to ensnare the Ilwon Family Head with her dark influence.
But now, with the information about the cult obtained through Lennok, he understood.
“Tae-oh. Growing old and falling into eternal slumber are distinctly different matters.”
Oren said.
“The reverse is also true. It’s only natural that regaining youth and bringing the dead back to life are different things, wouldn’t you agree?”
“…!!!”
In Oren’s gaze towards Tae-oh, the Ilwon Family Head, only faint pity remained.
“Moreover, what meaning could a phantom created by consuming the flesh and blood of others possibly hold?”
“…”
“It’s not too late. You can take the Fortress Head position. But I’ll be satisfied if you just admit that everything you’re doing now is wrong.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Tae-oh clenched his teeth and averted his gaze.
“The Proxy Battle is almost decided, and the Fortress Head position will fall into my hands through legitimate procedures. You have nothing to offer me, Godfather.”
“…Yes. If you say so, then it must be so.”
Oren replied calmly, turning his gaze back to the estate.
“But the Proxy Battle isn’t over yet.”
On the stage, where the Chilhyun Family’s representative, a Platon Office mercenary, awaited.
A sharp-featured young man in a coat slowly ascended the stairs.
“Let’s see who stands at the very end.”
‘Just as I thought.’
Lennok, who had been secretly listening to every word of the conversation between the Ilwon, Ibon, and Samyeong Family Heads, nodded quietly.
If the purpose of cooperating with Ibon was the resurrection of the dead, then the target must undoubtedly be the deceased Fortress Head.
Taking advantage of the Family Heads’ agitation, Oren had skillfully seized a gap in the conversation to reveal fragments of the truth to Lennok.
‘The former Fortress Head’s revival…’
There was no need to explain how much bringing the dead back to life defied the laws of the world, or how impossible a miracle it was.
It wasn’t just bending or rewriting rules; it was a rebellion that directly opposed the existing cycle of life.
But if the Ibon Family Head had lured the Ilwon Family Head with the promise of regained youth, it was perfectly understandable.
As a member of The Triad and a head of one of the Eight Families, Tae-oh, the Ilwon Family Head, would also have understood the value of time that the old men of the city council desired so much.
If such a miracle could be performed, they would be willing to sacrifice others without hesitation.
Even if it meant the lives of the Palgung Fortress residents.
‘I’ve grasped the Family Heads’ objectives. Then what about the cult?’
The Ilwon Family Head desires his father’s resurrection. The Ibon Family Head wants to regain her youth.
It seems clear that both are hoping to benefit from the immortality research the Guido Cult performed on Dylan O’Casey.
But if so, what does Walter Martinez truly desire?
After acquiring the Fortress Head’s authority and lifting the barrier of the ruins…
What does the cult intend to do, using the remnants of the old world and the distorted space-time that is detached from this world?
“…”
Lennok remembered the monster Walter had summoned at Rebatenon University, sacrificing his incarnated body.
If the monstrous entity he showed then wasn’t merely a desperate attempt to escape that place…
What if Walter’s ‘evangelism’ truly meant such acts of incarnation?
What if it was a part of an effort to use the space-time of the old world as a catalyst to summon beings that transcended the world’s timeline—
Ooooh!!!
Lennok’s thoughts were interrupted as he turned his gaze back to reality.
The opponent he had to fight immediately was standing before him.
And hadn’t all the plans Lennok and Oren had envisioned been premised on taking the Fortress Head position for their side?
Even the audience, whose excitement had already waned with the appearance of the 7th-level Archmage, turned their heads, their gazes fixed.
No matter how ignorant the fortress residents were of outside news, enough time had passed for them to have heard who he was.
“Another wizard?”
“You’re not going to just forfeit weakly like that last guy, are you?!”
“Show us something, boss!”
Despite the fortress residents’ enthusiastic cheers, the gazes of the two people on stage did not waver.
The first to speak was Adam Brobeck, a slender pugilist.
He chuckled, looking up at the audience, who were straining their voices.
“It’s an interesting sight, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Being a mercenary, there’s a lot of crappy stuff, but there’s a reason why I can’t easily quit. Where else would I have such unique experiences if not for this job?”
“Positive thinking.”
Hiss
Lennok lit a cigarette and replied.
“Are Nicole and Maoren doing well?”
“Huh?”
Adam mumbled, slightly surprised by Lennok’s words.
“That’s amazing. You still remember them?”
“I’m not one to easily forget people.”
He remembered that Nicole and Maoren were the Platon members involved in the agent’s collaboration and the handling of the black wizard and the terrorist organization Falchion at the time.
It wasn’t a long encounter, but Nicole’s attitude, highly valuing Lennok, who was then an unknown freelancer, remained in his memory.
Considering that Maoren used considerable honorifics toward Nicole, Nicole must hold a high-ranking position in the mercenary group.
It wasn’t difficult to guess that Adam would be acquainted with her.
Adam laughed awkwardly at Lennok’s calm reply.
“Hehe, actually, I’ve heard about you from Sister Nicole too.”
Click!
As Adam lightly flexed his elbows, the gauntlets in his hands swelled significantly.
The gauntlets thickly wrapped around both forearms, transforming into heavy gloves, as if they had become a single piece of armor.
The pugilist, holding two steel pieces, slowly took his stance and continued speaking.
“She said never to meet you as an enemy. But hearing that just makes me want to fight you even more.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. So after the restriction was lifted, I was looking for an opportunity. I never thought I’d meet you so soon…”
Adam licked his dry lips and smiled.
“I guess I’m lucky.”
“You’re an interesting fellow. Guys like you aren’t common.”
Lennok let out a small laugh.
This city, seemingly built on madness and chaos, was in fact maintained by precise and complex calculations and reason.
In a place where everyone had their own schemes, it was rare to find someone like Adam, who purely burned with competitiveness against a strong opponent.
“You don’t seem to have much to do with the current situation, from the looks of it.”
Lennok replied indifferently.
“So I’ll spare your life.”
“Oh, wow, that look of completely underestimating me. I love it.”
Adam also grinned, lightly bouncing on his feet.
“I’ll see if you have the right to say that. Thanks to your stooges forfeiting so lamely, I’ve got plenty of energy left!!!”
Bang!!!
No sooner had Adam finished speaking than he lowered his stance and pushed his body forward.
His deeply bent knees sprang up like coiled springs, and his slender frame shot forward.
Adam instantly landed beside Lennok, deeply lowered his right shoulder, and surged with mana.
Whoosh!!!
An uppercut, fired from close range, shot upwards.
As he swung his arm, a massive current of air exploded from beneath the ground, sweeping over Lennok.
Thwack!!!
The audience roared with fervent cheers at the powerful preemptive strike.
“Ooooh!”
“Are we finally going to see a proper fight?!”
Leaving the resounding cheers filling the estate behind, Adam immediately forced his way through the dust he had kicked up.
He instantly broke through the dense dust, detected the wizard’s presence, and charged.
He swung the mana-infused gauntlets directly.
Clang!
[Stonia Fist Arts]
[4th Consecutive Strike Array]
Boom-boom-boom!!!
The gauntlets, glowing with dense mana, fired like machine guns, heavily striking Lennok’s body.
The force contained in the consecutive punches was so intense that the wind pressure alone completely pushed away the surrounding dust, instantly revealing the two figures.
Crack!!!
The right fist, swinging with a wide elbow rotation, was blocked by Lennok’s shield.
The gauntlet, having shattered several layers of the multi-layered intangible barrier, stopped right in front of the wizard’s nose.
“Hyaaaah!”
Adam let out a powerful shout and twisted the gauntlet with all his might, cleanly shattering the remaining shields and instantly striking the spot where the wizard had been.
[2nd Revolving Crushing Fist]
Crumble!
“…!!”
Lennok’s brow twitched as he recoiled, and simultaneously, the gauntlet struck the ground, overturning the nearby earth.
Rumble!!!
Adam smiled confidently, looking at the waves of pouring earth.
“For your reputation, your response is too passive. How about putting some effort into it, buddy?!”
“…”
As Lennok didn’t reply, Adam once again charged across the broken ground.
Adam, re-gripping the thick gauntlets on both hands, continuously swung both fists without the slightest hesitation.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!!!
As he swung his fists, an engine-like roar, as if a massive truck were passing by, echoed.
Unlike typical pugilists whose attacks are relatively fast and light, Adam’s two fists were slow but heavy, and even exuded a strong sense of pressure.
That was probably due to the thick gauntlets covering both of his forearms.
Beyond simply being heavy and taking up space, the air around the gauntlets rotated, creating a faint gravitational pull.
This was the result of not only choosing a distinct and definite style different from others but also successfully specializing his mana application method.
There was no way to know if his approach, which followed a pugilist’s combat style but focused the balance of its offensive on power rather than speed, was wrong.
Only the time he had lived and the blood that had stained his gauntlets would prove the rightness or wrongness of his method.
“Hahahahahat!!! If you don’t want to be disqualified, you’d better decide quickly!!”
Adam’s offensive, while appearing reckless and extremely violent, had its own calculations.
He vividly remembered the scene from the first Proxy Battle, the duel between the Sagun Family’s executioner and the Samyeong Family’s shadow sorcerer, where the shadow sorcerer, unable to control his own mana, was disqualified.
Considering that the flow of mana the sorcerer displayed was certainly not above Level 7, the mana flow that this ‘chain link’ could accept must be quite narrow.
It was a rule infinitely disadvantageous to Van, the wizard, in many ways, compared to himself, the pugilist.
No matter how excellent a wizard he was, he wouldn’t have been able to estimate the bracelet’s mana limit just by watching a few previous battles.
The opponent was a sorcerer who had reached a dimension entirely different from Adam, but if they bore similar handicaps, there was a chance of victory.
Even a wizard called Adamant Thunder, if forced to suppress his mana flow and fight purely in close quarters, would surely—
“I can win—!!”
CRASSSHHHH!!!
Immediately after, a massive, heavy fist of ice slammed down on Adam’s head, emitting an enormous roar.
“Ugh…ugh…”
Along with the giant’s arm, which struck the estate like lightning, a chilling cold radiated out.
The faint warmth in the audience seats froze at the coolness that made their whole bodies stand on end.
“…”
Lennok exhaled a puff of smoke, looking up at the slack-jawed Family Heads.
He nodded at the announcer, who was staring blankly at the devastation.
“Next.”