Chapter 957

Seong Guk-eon grinned with his eyes wide open.

He had confronted a vicious criminal just before his grandfather's funeral, and nearby, the powerful Jin family was embroiled in a conflict.

However, Seong Guk-eon’s face showed no sign of distress at all.

One of the essential qualities of a politician is the ability to reassure the public, and Seong Guk-eon was brimming with that ability.

Seeing Seong Si-wan waving his hand with a calm expression, I realized it wasn’t just me who felt this way.

‘Seong Guk-eon wouldn’t be quietly guarding Seong Woo’s body.’

Just before the association’s request for support came through, Seong Guk-eon was indeed guarding Seong Woo’s body.

Seeing you here now, it seems someone else must have taken over that role.

To be honest, I wouldn't have minded seeing Seong Guk-eon take down the criminal himself, but it became easier to act since things moved as I expected.

Bam!

Jeon Moo-young opened the barrier with a disposable card. It was a soundproof barrier used for private conversations.

Only then did Seong Guk-eon lower his finger to his lips and bring up the main topic.

"Did you confirm the suspect’s information?"

There was a man who had been too busy checking other articles to confirm it.

Seong Si-wan silently stared at Gye Dam, and Gye Dam lowered his head.

Seong Guk-eon, quick on the uptake, seemed to realize that there was someone insincere and that Seong Si-wan had given him a warning.

Kindly, Seong Guk-eon briefly explained the notorious criminal.

"I've been avoiding the association and the police for a long time in a remote area of Gangwon Province.

When it comes to the geography of the area, you probably know it better than anyone here, even better than me or Si-wan.

Especially when it comes to the shape of the mountain and its conditions.

The content of Sa-wol-se-eum was the same as Seong Guk-eon’s information.

Numerically and in terms of power, the top hunters were overwhelmingly superior, but the vicious criminal had a lot of experience escaping from pursuers and was well-versed in the local geography.

Also, in a majority vote, the fugitive’s abilities gave them an advantage, and the crime was related to the criminal’s supernatural abilities."

"The suspect is an arsonist. He is a skilled pyromancer."

Of course, I knew that too. The vicious criminal was a middle-aged arsonist whose output was unknown, but in terms of manipulating fire, he was far superior to Yeom Jun-yeol.

Rather than setting fire to buildings or mountains, he was adept at burning people alive, and his ability to inflict maximum damage with minimal firepower was remarkable.

Had the hunting party not quickly assessed the criminal’s supernatural powers, it could have been disastrous.

Once the hunting team discovered that the criminal was a rare arsonist, they immediately selected individuals with effective abilities to combat him.

Sa-wol-se-eum was also one of those chosen for her effective abilities.

Her flying technique ensured a wide field of vision, her messenger skills allowed for quick communication, and her wind abilities prevented the flames from spreading in the direction the arsonist wanted.

‘Sa-wol-se-eum’s power alone couldn’t subdue the enemy, but as support, she fit perfectly into the situation.’

With April Se-eum’s perfect assistance and the strength of third-year martial artists dedicated to capturing Choi Pyeon-deuk, even the arsonist could not use his other abilities.

In this way, Choi’s hunting team succeeded in capturing the fugitive, and after confirming his arrest, they let go.

This was the limit of involvement for a student athlete in this incident.

And, regardless of what happened during transport, the fugitive managed to escape while being escorted.

Since the media hadn’t reported it yet, there was almost no way to gather information, but Seong Guk-eon, a member of the National Assembly, would likely be able to grasp the situation through other means.

As expected, Seong Guk-eon explained what he knew concisely.

"The defendant violated not only the criminal law but also many association regulations. In this case, according to the Athlete Special Law, the association’s regulatory enforcement and the police can cooperate to escort the criminal, but it’s been reported that a breakout occurred while the police were escorting him alone."

The clause ‘can’ in the law means the enforcement body can act at their discretion.

There is no compulsion, meaning the regulatory body and the police don’t need to cooperate.

If that’s the case, the escort process had no issues, but there were still many concerns.

Perhaps he didn’t want to share his contributions with the association?

Since the government and the association were sporadically in conflict, this was entirely possible.

Seong Si-wan asked.

"Seong Guk-eon, did you escort the suspect without sealing his abilities? You said it would be difficult even with several people."

"It seems so. Right after the arrest, the suspect went on a violent rampage, and the fact that he was sedated was confirmed by the records. It seems they tried to escort him with sedatives without sealing his powers."

Jeon Moo-young showed a hologram record of the sedative administration.

Sedatives are drugs that can be used on player criminals under certain conditions, and their dosage is fixed.

The sedative was administered once every hour, and from the amount, it was clear they only put in enough to avoid killing him.

I grew suspicious when I saw the non-lethal dose.

If he had lived a long life of escaping, his nutrition would have been poor, and despite his remarkable abilities, it would be hard to maintain consciousness without special protection or detoxification abilities.

Was the sedative possibly replaced with saline or nutrients during the process? If so, it must have been an accomplice.’

It seemed the others here had similar thoughts, but they didn’t speak up because it hadn’t been confirmed.

Seong Guk-eon continued his explanation.

"Since you know this area well, the suspect would not have stepped into the demon territory. At least, not now..."

Seong Guk-eon stopped speaking and turned his gaze.

He was looking in the direction of the demon’s territory, which he had just mentioned.

Soon, an explosion was heard.

Boom!

Boom!

Following the explosion, the ground seemed to shake.

In fact, the ground I was standing on seemed to tremble slightly.

Although I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, it was impressive to see the Dark Horse fighting at the front.

Soon, the aftershocks of the clash between supernatural forces reached us from the other side.

A major fight was definitely happening.

I had to hurry.

It seemed that the race had collided with each other.

If the fight escalates, it will be hard to proceed with the search.

No, the search isn’t the problem. The residents need to be evacuated.

Seong Guk-eon said seriously.

Considering Seong Guk-eon’s bold personality, it seemed he was more focused on catching the vicious criminal than on the fighting between the Jin family, but as a member of the National Assembly, he had a sense of responsibility for the people.

Worried about those already involved in this incident, Seong Guk-eon’s face darkened a little.

It was a shame that his eyes were partly covered, but it seemed even more regrettable that he wore that expression.

To ease Seong Guk-eon’s anxiety, I decided to step forward.

"I think I have an idea of where the criminal is heading. Let’s proceed quickly with the plan for today."

Seong Guk-eon’s gaze shifted toward me.

Upon hearing my words, the shadow that had covered Seong Guk-eon’s face lifted, and he brightened up.

Seong Guk-eon smiled with satisfaction.

"Haha! The ideas of the junior team seem quite good."

I wasn’t sure if it was really a good idea, but I did make a suggestion.

I projected a small hologram with a map of the mountain.

"First, we’ll split into two groups."

"Are you sure Gaseong-nangchong will not act alone?"

At Seong Guk-eon’s remark, both Jeon Moo-young and Seong Si-wan’s gazes also sharpened a little.

Did I seem like I was going alone?

The moment demons clashed.

One of the four great evils, using the sense of chaos, looked around.

He was Do-ol, a member of the Evil Dead.

I’m not foolish enough to step into the demon territory. You could see that the sensitive Dark Horse was playing tricks.’

The two of them fluttered their long hair, and it was hard not to feel pity for them.

Recently, Do-cheol had been thrown into the furnace, and the remaining evil spirits’ missions had relatively increased.

At this point, it would have been less difficult if he could face excellent human players who might interfere with him, but unfortunately, they weren’t foolish enough to intervene in the chaos.

Do-ol looked around at the 70s-level players once again, but they seemed more focused on finding the fugitive than ignoring the fight between the Jin family.

Do-ol swallowed his regrets and decided to focus on his mission.

‘This mission is strange.’ It’s not dangerous, and it doesn’t require much effort.’

Do-ol remembered the moment he gave the order.

If they could bring Seong Woo’s body, they could, but there was no need to.

Recovering the corpse was secondary, and the real objective was different.

His order was clear.

‘Target someone wearing a mask among Seong Guk-eon or Hwang Ho’s people.’

On Teacher’s Day, it was confirmed that Seong Guk-eon lost his eye due to Do-cheol’s attack.

Even after the incident was resolved, Seong Guk-eon wore an eye patch for a long time.

It seemed like he was okay now, but considering the power Do-cheol had used, the recovery time appeared too short.

However, if the Dragon King and the female shaman intervened, the situation would be different.

‘The Dragon King must have healed that eye.’ If the greedy shamans hadn’t failed, Seong Guk-eon’s recovery would have been slower.’

Do-ol checked Seong Guk-eon’s visits to the Dragon Palace several times.

It wasn’t just Seong Guk-eon; the royal Hwang Ho was also seen going in and out.

Both of them used vehicles with armored barriers when entering the Dragon Palace, so the number of companions wasn’t clear, but it was certain they visited the Dragon Palace often.

With Seong Guk-eon’s injury, their alliance seemed to have solidified even more.

"Now we need to find out where Seong Guk-eon and Hwang Ho are. Is there anyone wearing a mask?"

Do-ol placed his hand on the Chaos faction and looked around.

Various powers moved in complicated ways, making it hard to find a target, but Chaos managed to identify the approximate location of the two within seconds.

Seong Guk-eon was near the fugitive, and Hwang Ho was near Seong Woo’s body.

‘The person he’s looking for must be near Seong Woo.’

Since the person he’s guarding is quite clever, one of the targets must be Seong Woo’s body.

Knowing the bounty was a lure, he must have spread his forces to focus more on protecting Seong Woo.

Additionally, Seong Woo had lived a righteous life as a child and was related to Seong Guk-eon.

Do-ol knew that good people would be eager to protect the body of someone like that.

"Look closely at Hwang Ho."

The chaos inside the faction wriggled. Thanks to the hand placed on it, the scenery around him vividly emerged.

Do-ol’s eyes saw Hwang Ho in his school uniform.

And Hwang Ho wasn’t alone.

‘A Crow Mask!’

Next to Hwang Ho was someone wearing a crow mask and a cloak-like armor.