Chapter 410: Need for Speed (3)

Kwoooga-ga-ga-ga!!!!

The massive subway train approached, casting faint light.

In the dark tunnel, its form was incredibly blurry, yet no one failed to grasp its immense size and speed.

There was hardly even time to wonder how a forgotten train, buried deep within a disused station, could move so rapidly.

Everyone understood that even a slight brush with a train of such weight moving at this speed on its tracks would make survival uncertain.

“Ughaaahhhh!!”

Thump!!

The sound was almost imperceptible.

The moment a participant, driving a 4-wheel drive car at the very back, lightly grazed the front of the train.

The vehicle, lifted into the air like a toy, slammed into the tunnel ceiling and exploded instantly.

Kwaaaang!!

It was natural for the faces of the other competitors watching this scene to turn pale blue.

“Ugh, eek……!!”

“Shit, shit……!!”

This was no time to conserve energy.

Each could only pray to get ahead of the signal of death rushing from behind, using their remaining engine power, magic, or artifacts.

“Completely insane……!!”

The spirit-wielder driving right next to Lennok also started accelerating, a look of horror on their face.

“If you start something like that in a place like this, you won’t be safe either!!”

In this half-built tunnel, there was nowhere to escape.

To avoid the terrifyingly fast subway train rushing from behind, they had no choice but to accelerate forward.

But Lennok merely chuckled, looking at the spirit-wielder, and abruptly slowed down his bike.

The monster bike quickly let the wide-mouthed spirit-wielder go ahead, falling behind.

In the dark tunnel, where it was hard to predict the scenery a mere inch ahead, the sudden departure of the lead bike instantly caused the formation racing through the tunnel to scatter.

Kugugugung!!

“It’s coming from the front!!”

“Don’t push, don’t push!!”

“No, if my balance is broken……!!!”

Woojijijijik!!!

Lennok violently turned the monster bike’s body sideways, blocking the competitors rushing from behind.

Just by twisting the bike’s throttle in the middle of the rails, the entire race formation was thrown into disarray, leading to countless collisions and explosions between the train and the racers.

Kwaaaang!!

Lennok’s act of charging towards the train rushing from behind made even the leading participants ahead click their tongues in disbelief.

“That crazy bastard……!! Is he trying to self-destruct with the train!!”

“He’s out of his mind, put as much distance as possible!!”

Lennok, who had swept away the relatively lagging participants with a single maneuver, then brought his bike very close to the oncoming train.

The train, having already gained significant speed and inertia, was not slowing down, but accelerating more violently.

But Lennok paid no mind to the immense pressure that crushed the air and burst forth, lifting his bike’s rear wheel.

Simultaneously, the bike’s front wheel spun noisily, instantly adjusting the bike’s speed.

[Rail vehicle speed observed. Acceleration pattern and friction coefficient measurement complete. Bike body speed synchronization ready.]

Kagaga-gak!!

[Landed!]

As soon as the lifted rear wheel of the bike touched the front of the train, a violent tearing sound erupted.

Pushuuu!!

But unlike other participants who were simply bounced off, Lennok’s bike landed firmly on the train’s front, maintaining its speed precisely.

An unbelievable feat of ascending and riding on top of the train, perfectly matching its speed.

While others, forgetting to look ahead, blankly stared behind them, astonished by his superhuman speed maintenance and balance, which seemed impossible for human senses.

Lennok, who had instantly climbed onto the train’s front and then onto its top windows, pulled something out from his embrace.

Cheol-keok!!

A sniper rifle with a long barrel that conspicuously protruded from the front of the bike, the Siteglass-992.

This weapon, enhanced with the Apostle’s carapace to adjust recoil and strengthen firepower, now possessed power close to anti-tank sniping.

He quickly loaded a bullet and comfortably positioned the rifle’s barrel over the bike, taking aim.

Only then did the participants realize what Lennok was aiming for by getting on the train and targeting their backs, gritting their teeth and channeling their magic.

[Now that the rear group is dealt with, only the front group remains.]

Lennok, with a finger on the trigger, murmured quietly through his visor.

[Let’s see how well you can dodge.]

“Ughaaahh!!”

A quiet construction site in the early hours of dawn, long past midnight.

The rails laid beneath the half-built tunnel were rusty, looking as if no vehicle had ever passed over them.

The silence was so profound that even a breath would echo.

That’s why the ear-splitting roar that suddenly erupted felt so incredibly loud it was almost unreal.

Puh-buh-buh-buck!!

More than a dozen figures bounced off the broken asbestos walls.

With only one commonality – being mounted on vehicles, beasts, or unknown floating objects – people fled in disarray, unable to properly regain their posture.

Kwaaaang-aaang!!

Like chasing them, a massive subway train burst forth from the collapsing tunnel wall like a stone pillar, galloping ahead.

Even though it had long left the rails, its speed showed no sign of diminishing.

From a bike perched on top of the train’s head, sharp muzzle flashes continuously erupted.

Tang! Tang! Tang!!

Those who couldn’t escape were run over by the train, and those who lost balance and stumbled were shot in the head by the rifle.

Even those who desperately tried to evade Lennok’s sniping fell, spewing blood, unable to regain their composure against the large-caliber bullets that penetrated even thick helmets.

“Surrender, surrender!! I give up!! Save me!!”

“Just quit, just quit!!”

Some begged for their lives to survive immediately, even risking retaliation from the Grimoire Gang.

“It’s not over yet, you bastard!!!”

“What the f*ck kind of race is this……!!”

Tatatataang!!

Amidst all this, some still managed to evade the train’s rampage and counterattack Lennok.

In the cramped, inescapable tunnel, they had no choice but to succumb to Lennok’s sniping and the train’s pursuit, but now that they were out in the open construction site, it was a different story.

Lennok quickly counted their numbers, then abruptly twisted the bike’s handlebar upwards.

Kii-eek!!

The train, having lost its rails and running wild, landed precariously on the ground just before veering off the race path.

The front wheel of the massive monster bike lifted sharply, then slammed down, crushing and bursting the head of the beast that was stubbornly holding the lead.

With an indescribable sound, something sticky smeared onto the bike tire.

Lennok grimaced at the fishy smell wafting through his visor.

[Get lost, all of you.]

He charged forward with the front wheel still raised. He rode onto an armored vehicle blocking the way and used it as an obstacle to jump over.

Simultaneously, he pulled out a few small bombs from his pocket and dropped them into the vehicle’s interior.

Puh-buh-buh-bung!!

Leaving the vehicle and racers exploding in flames behind him, Lennok swiftly cut through the rain of collapsing rebar and instantly recaptured the lead.

Bwaaaang!!

Leaving behind the sound of collapsing rebar and the screams of competitors trapped beneath them, he quickly left the construction site and rode onto a wide road.

‘Once I exit the bypass, loop around the abandoned port, it’s over. Before that, if I take out all the other competitors, the Grimoire Gang’s leadership will come crawling out themselves.’

Just as Lennok thought this and was about to check the engine’s heat to accelerate further.

Tadada-dak!!!

He heard the sound of heavy footsteps crushing the thick asphalt right behind him.

“I knew you’d be the one left.”

The figure of a bronze-skinned warrior mounted on a magnificent leopard.

With an impressive wild appearance, he glanced back at Lennok, a long spear shaft slung over his shoulder.

[You’re……]

Was he the leopard-mounted warrior who first questioned the old man?

Considering he mentioned the previous round, it probably wasn’t his first time participating in this race.

Pu-hwaak!!

At the same time, the third competitor emerged, sweeping the asphalt like sand.

“Just the three of us?”

A man with the lower body of a snake. The snake’s tail, constantly swimming across the ground, was made of solid steel and magic circuits.

A cyborg. And one whose lower body was entirely modified to enhance mobility, it seemed.

The cyborg slid forward, flicking a long tongue between his lips, and grinned.

“Focusing on maintaining pace instead of speeding unnecessarily was the right call. I never imagined you’d eliminate everyone competing with you like that.”

[……]

Lennok, instead of answering, silently put away his rifle and pulled out a rechargeable shotgun.

Mobile bridges, narrow stairs, underground tunnels, train pursuits, and Lennok’s sniping.

If they had broken through all those obstacles and competition to reach this point, they were undoubtedly not ordinary skilled individuals.

And all three of them were certainly not foolish enough to compromise on their ranking at this stage.

In the middle of the wide-open bypass, the three glared at each other and simultaneously swung their hands.

Kwang!!

As the cyborg’s mechanical tail from his lower body collided with the bike’s frame.

The spearman, mounted on the galloping leopard, twisted his shoulder, and a sharp flash illuminated the air.

Kagagaga-gak!!

Dozens of scars were etched into the asphalt where the leopard galloped, severing everything around them.

Streetlights, pavement blocks, fire hydrants, and signs, as well as discarded junk cars, were cleanly cut and scattered around the leopard.

A unique spear technique, rotating the spear shaft like a windmill by gripping its base.

Driven by that powerful centrifugal force, the sharp spear blade ground everything around, charging to destroy Lennok’s bike.

And from the opposite side, the half-human, half-beast, similarly flashing laser blades, rapidly closed the distance.

The cyborg, integrated with a snake’s lower body, narrowed the distance with bizarre movements unimaginable by humans, persistently targeting only the tires.

Lennok let out a hollow laugh, realizing that both had, as if by prior agreement, focused on a single target.

[Useless effort……!!]

He gritted his teeth and slammed the brakes.

Kii-eeek!!

An abrupt stop, making all the speed accumulated until now seem meaningless.

As the heavy body abruptly pitched forward, the rear wheel lifted, barely dodging the fierce attacks from both sides.

Davi, who had been observing the situation from within the bike’s system, also moved immediately.

[Front-wheel drive conversion, 270-degree multi-angle rotation. Maintain body balance.]

The bike, with its rear wheel lifted, rotated to the left in place, and simultaneously, thrusters protruding from its side activated, spewing bluish flames.

The heavy bike tire, accelerated by the rotation, slammed directly into the half-human, half-beast man who was rushing from the side.

Kwaang!!

The bike’s rear wheel, lifted high in the air, scraped against the man’s temple and then pressed down, crushing his writhing tail.

The bike tilted to one side, its tire on the snake’s tail, and skidded across the asphalt at tremendous speed.

At the same time, boosters protruding from various parts of the body activated in reverse, adding even more weight.

Kwaaaah!!

Tires and steel ground simultaneously on the asphalt, spitting countless sparks and generating heat.

Kagagaga-gak!!

The mechanical tail joints were torn off, revealing wires, and the man, having instantly lost his entire lower body, let out a desperate scream.

“Kuaaaahk!!”

As the tail tangled around the bike shattered, the man’s upper body fell limply in the middle of the asphalt, rolling over and crashing into a nearby fire hydrant.

The moment Lennok looked back at the scene, drawing on his magic to somehow maintain the bike’s balance.

“It’s not over yet……!!”

The spearman, gripping the spear shaft on his right, also twisted his shoulder without hesitation.

As the leopard galloped ferociously on all fours, the spearman, clinging precariously to its back, spun the spear shaft upside down like a performer.

With an ominous tearing sound, dozens of slashes poured down around the bike.

Dudududu!!

‘My shield……!!’

The weight of the carapace shield itself was considerable, making it difficult to wield while on the bike.

Meanwhile, the spear accurately pierced Lennok’s vital points, shattering his relatively weaker shield like glass.

The spearman’s hands, wielding the spear amidst the glass-like fragments of the shield, moved so fast that his two forearms holding the shaft were barely visible.

Sheee-iiik!!

He gave up trying to visually track the attacks, instead relying on magic perception to identify the spear’s direction, ducking his head just before falling off the bike.

Even then, the spear blade stubbornly followed, grazing the side of Lennok’s visor.

Deu-deu-deuk!!

[Master!!]

The visor, meant to safely protect the wearer’s head, crumpled like a feather, slightly exposing Lennok’s side hair.

The spearman, noticing this, his eyes gleamed sharply.

“Black hair. Judging by the head shape and physique, he’s a man in his twenties. That alone can narrow down his personal information to some extent.”

[……]

“The very fact that you possess such skill yet wish to hide your identity is proof of something shady. Your tactics are good, but this is it. Give up.”

His voice held not a tremor, even as he continuously swung the spear blade at Lennok.

“If you voluntarily give up the race, the Grimoire Gang will hunt you down. But if you stop here for about 30 seconds and then cross the finish line, there’s no problem by regulation.”

[Instead of talking, why don’t you worry about what’s ahead?]

Lennok replied, his body leaning precariously close to scraping the ground.

Swae-aa-aa-ek!!

Immediately after, the race path where the two were running transformed from the middle of the city into a desolate, ruin-like container district.

Abandoned streets, rusty container piles slumped and broken everywhere.

A common ruin in the outskirts, which might once have been actively involved in cargo transportation.

As the spearman perceived it, Lennok’s magic threads extended from both hands, reaching out among the surrounding containers.

[Let’s both do our best.]

The bike, held by the magic threads, finally lost balance and tipped over, sliding across the ground on its side.

Kii-eeek!!

It spat sparks on the asphalt but did not lose speed.

This method relied on the magic threads for balance and center of gravity instead of the bike’s body, perfectly maintaining acceleration and inertia.

How delicately would one have to handle the weight of a several-hundred-kilogram bike to achieve such magic thread manipulation?

“So he was a manipulation-type wizard……!! In that case, the train’s rampage earlier, too!!”

Kagagaga-gak!!!

It was natural that movement would become much easier at the point where the center of gravity could be shifted externally, relying on magic threads rather than the bike itself.

The spearman’s thrusts, like machine gun fire, erupted with every breath.

Lennok was evading all of the spearman’s offensives by manipulating his magic threads and the auto-drive algorithm to their absolute limit.

Kkiriririk!!

Between the ground and building walls, the bike lay down, rose, spun, and twisted, changing direction incessantly.

Following the continuously flickering flames of the booster, the bike’s body elegantly rotated, avoiding the spear blade’s radius without damage.

And yet, it glided around the containers without losing any speed.

A miraculous feat that couldn’t be accomplished unless one perfectly read and predicted all of the spearman’s attacks.

Only then did the spearman’s face harden, realizing that his opponent was not a normal rider but a formidable sorcerer with transcendent foresight.

Cheol-keok!!

In that brief moment, Lennok, who had taken out the rechargeable shotgun, quickly reloaded and aimed its barrel.

[We’ve arrived.]

He then pulled the trigger and fired.

Taaang!!

A wide burst of magic spread from the muzzle.

Lennok’s sharp magical fragments, imbued within the pellets, targeted the panting leopard’s body.

“You can’t do that……!!”

The spearman, spinning his spear like a windmill with one hand, immediately blocked the successive shots.

Kagagak!!

A monstrous reaction speed, deflecting shotgun fragments traveling at supersonic speeds right in front of him.

The spearman possessed physical abilities, a superb spear-wielding skill, and a comparable riding ability with an intelligent leopard.

It was as if they were born for such intense mobile combat, with perfect aptitude and abilities.

This could not be achieved without thorough combat-related training and education somewhere, even if it wasn’t a race.

It was obvious that it would be difficult to shake off the spearman in a chase like this, which tested the limits of reaction speed while on a bike, rather than a one-on-one battle where Lennok could exert his full power.

“Just give up!!”

The spearman, sensing this and certain of victory, raised his spear shaft once more with a resolute expression.

[Stop the useless talk and look behind you.]

“What?”

Lennok adjusted his visor and grinned.

[The Grimoire Gang is quite vicious too. The last waypoint they chose happened to be……]

Swaaaahhhhh!!!

Before he could finish, countless piles of powder rained down on them both.

Punctured holes in the massive containers throughout the street oozed an unknown white powder.

Lennok’s shotgun blast wasn’t just aimed at the spearman, but at various containers beyond him, shattering them and scattering their contents.

The moment he smelled the powder, even the spearman, who had long surpassed the commander-level attainment, felt a dizzying headache.

Realizing its true nature instantly, the spearman covered his nose with a horrified expression and muttered.

“Synthetic drugs…… a cocktail!! They stored such dangerous stuff in these outskirts containers!!”

[You won’t be the only one who needs to cover their nose.]

“Damn it, Garum!!”

While it might not be difficult for a top-tier superhuman like the spearman to forcibly control his breathing and continue fighting, the leopard he was riding was a completely different story.

Indeed, the leopard’s eyes were starting to roll back, having inhaled a large amount of drug powder while running.

No matter how much of a beast it was, prolonged exposure to drugs that directly stimulated and damaged the brain would be fatal.

If it became addicted, the repercussions would be unbearable.

Only then did the horrified spearman quickly swing his spear in all directions, creating a strong wind to blow away the drug powder.

“Don’t inhale it!! Just hold on a little longer!”

Hwoooong!!

Cocktail. A broad term referring to combination drugs, where various narcotics are mixed to enhance their effects.

The spearman didn’t have extensive knowledge of drugs, but he understood how dangerous and potent their side effects were.

The very act of choosing a place with such a large quantity of hidden drugs as the final waypoint was as good as the Grimoire Gang pulling a dirty trick.

The number of containers stacked in this square alone was in the dozens. If all those containers contained drugs, the quantity would be enough for millions of people to take simultaneously.

Why would the Grimoire Gang hide so many drugs at the final waypoint?

The spearman’s face instantly darkened as he grasped their intention.

“If things go wrong, are they planning to pin the responsibility for drug trafficking on us!! Could it be that all of this was to forcibly create an alibi……!!”

[Think all you want.]

Kii-eeek!!

The magic threads attached to the containers snapped loose, and the grotesquely tilted bike body straightened up again.

Simultaneously, fierce flames burst from the exhaust pipe at the rear of the body.

Lennok, having overtaken the stumbling leopard by a hair’s breadth, looked back and said.

[I’ll go on ahead.]

Cheol-keok!!

At the same time, the shotgun in Lennok’s left hand spun once, automatically reloaded, and fired.

The towering stack of containers high on his left side tilted and collapsed from the impact.

Through the shattered containers, an unprecedented amount of drugs burst forth, covering the entire area.

A flame thrown into the powder created a chain reaction, transforming into a massive dust explosion.

Kwaaaahhhhhh!!!

The explosion, which engulfed the container ruins, swept away not only the lagging leopard but also the latecomers who had just entered.

The heat and light instantly illuminated the dark night sky as bright as day, bringing light to the street.

Immediately after, that explosion transformed into an even hotter inferno, sweeping away everything.

“All 12 pacemakers have lost contact. 88 participants retired.”

“……”

He tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but the tremor in his reporting voice was something he couldn’t control.

The Voice rubbed his temple with one hand and waved it dismissively.

“Continue.”

“Severe damage to five outer districts designated as race routes…… The cooperating companies that leased the area to us are in an uproar.”

“The surviving participants?”

“Eight of the twelve survivors are in severe intoxication. Considering the addictiveness of the cocktail, I suspect the after-effects will be significant…… so it seems.”

“And the remaining one is coming here now, you mean.”

Out of 112 participants, there were 12 pacemakers recruited by the Grimoire Gang and 100 participants.

Among them, nearly twenty had made prior agreements with the Grimoire Gang to share resources and had allied themselves.

With such a chaotic situation during the race, it was natural for other organizations and gangs to take notice.

“The explosion caused by the drug powder has thrown everything into chaos. We won’t be able to avoid a police investigation.”

“Have you forgotten where our backing is? Let’s set that aside for now.”

For the Grimoire Gang, the prize money for the race was not important.

What was most important to them was to thoroughly adhere to and maintain the form and rules of this race.

This was, naturally, because the powerful figure backing the Grimoire Gang strongly demanded and desired it.

The fundamental power that allowed the Grimoire Gang to gain leverage with others through city government public resources and to exert influence by occupying two outer districts stemmed precisely from this.

Therefore, what the biker had just done was something the Grimoire Gang, from their perspective, absolutely could not tolerate.

Boom!!

The Voice, rising from his seat, said.

“Victor. And the wine company behind him. Find their backers immediately and bring them to me.”

His red eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness, turned towards a camera hanging on the wall.

“Before that bastard crawls up to me.”

The race finish line, shown on the camera screen.

In front of the Grimoire Gang’s headquarters.

Before a heavily barbed wire-wrapped iron gate, a heavy bike was slowly appearing.