Chapter 48: El Maestre (3)

Chapter 48: El Maestre (3)

As the late afternoon arrived, the British military’s pursuit of the Knights Templar neared its conclusion. To the south, a mobile unit, including armored vehicles, blocked their path, while to the north, another special forces unit traveled on foot along the river, effectively cutting them off. The main pursuit force directly chased the prey westward. At this point, it was easy to guess how exceptional their surveillance capabilities were, given that they were using only a few hundred troops to block such a vast area. This conclusion was drawn from various pieces of evidence obtained through Suyeon’s measures.

Truly, my secretary’s simple measures had yielded results beyond my expectations. People who had received proposals from “Korean broadcasting companies” shared the work with those they knew. Thus, residents who were trying to make ends meet by fishing in the river, working as caretakers in the deep valleys, managing orchards, or struggling to survive in a collapsed economy had contributed their information. Even in places where it didn’t make sense for anyone to be, diverse tips poured in.

‘They’re probably farmers growing illegal crops.’

Farmers who entered the mountains at this hour, planting marijuana or coca trees sparsely, monitoring and preventing theft every day to earn a meager few hundred pesos a day. For these people at the lowest rungs of the drug production pyramid, Suyeon’s reward money seemed like a charm.

Furthermore, this was partly because the British had kept their information thoroughly hidden. Otherwise, would the farmers have ventured into the mountains at this time, into the mountains where the Cartel Knights and foreign military superhumans were engaged in gunfire and sword clash?

This development was a compromise between the best and second-best options for me. The mountainous area, roughly 11 km wide by 9 km long, where the Los Caballeros Templarios Cartel was being hunted, was only about 20 km from the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta. If I exerted my full power, I could reach it in less than half an hour.

Hold on just a little longer, you bastards.

I silently sent a heartfelt cheer to the cartel novices who were imitating knights.

It was 6:18 PM. The sea beyond the terrace was bathed in the colors of the sunset, and the edge of the sky was turning purple. The long-awaited hunting time was approaching. I had already taken off the businessman’s clothes and put on the outfit and equipment of a hunter while waiting. I took one more stimulant pill and slung the hunting rifle, which had been discreetly brought in by the security team, over my shoulder. Other items that needed to be moved were already relocated. For example, glass jars containing the queens of crazy ants.

“Kyung-tae.”

“Yes, Hyungnim.”

“We should check out now.”

As I spoke, Kyung-tae nodded to my subordinates. The hunting dogs under my command were the first to exit the room.

“Huh?”

Tatatat!

Dull gunshots echoed within the room. The two city police officers guarding the top floor suite collapsed. They appeared to be protecting Huang, but in reality, Chellino, the mayor, had stationed them here as observers in case Huang changed his mind. They could have strangled them, but my men intentionally used guns. According to the plan, evidence of Huang’s kidnapping needed to remain.

I moved through the lifeless eyes of the police officers’ corpses and proceeded into the corridor. All the CCTV cameras illuminating the corridor had already been turned off. By the time I reached the emergency staircase, a deafening fire alarm rang out, and all the sprinklers in the corridor sprayed torrents of water. The several floors of fire I had conjured were the cause.

The streams of water sprayed from the ceiling slid away from our heads, unseen thanks to our binding forces.

“Just wait a little longer.”

I spoke while monitoring what was happening below.

“We’ll finish off those coming up as well.”

The individuals currently riding the elevator were sicarios (officially armed cartel members) stationed in the hotel lobby by El Juego. They were the mayor and the cartel regional lord doing whatever they were doing.

Ding!

The electronic sound signaling their arrival rang out as the elevator doors split open at a nerve-wracking pace. Within mere seconds, hundreds of rifle shots tore through the corridor. The men inside had all turned into mincemeat before they could even catch a glimpse of our faces. Among them, there were even three young boys who didn’t look like they had reached adulthood yet.

What did age matter when it came to killing people, was the cartel’s mentality. If you were old enough to point a gun at someone, that was good enough for them.

I despised those who use child soldiers, but I despised child soldiers who aimed guns at me even more.

“That should be enough here. Toss it.”

At Kyung-tae’s words, my subordinates threw the firearms they had used at the hotel into the muddy water. Even if someone luckily retrieves them in the near future, the corrosion in the barrel that had already begun would never produce the same firing pin marks as before.

In a country where ten thousand guns were confiscated every year, this was enough. Destroying them with telekinesis or smashing them into bits would only make them more suspicious as evidence.

As we passed through the drainage pipe, the dark and murky river welcomed us. There was no lighting on the impoverished riverbank, and water-loving trees lined up, providing a discreet path in the darkness after sunset.

“From now on, we’ll run until we’re about to die.”

I stated.

“I hope there’s no one here to disappoint me.”

Those who fall behind need to be crushed into a mangled mass.

64 kilometers per hour. The scientifically defined human maximum running speed. Scientists had said that with human muscles, it was impossible to exceed that limit. No matter how strong or agile someone was, there was a physical limit to the speed at which muscles contracted.

Therefore, the speed we were running at now was clearly animalistic. Calculated from the changing numbers on the GPS device strapped to our wrists, our speed was nearly 70 kilometers per hour. This was despite each of us carrying equipment weighing around 50 kilograms and mainly stepping on tree roots and protruding rocks to leave fewer footprints, making it a highly demanding sprint.

But it wasn’t enough. We could still go faster.

I used my telekinesis to pull my subordinates, who were already having a hard time keeping up. Even as I pushed the limits of physical enhancement, I had the capacity to activate multiple techniques in my circuits. However, the intense heat building in my bones, the skyrocketing heart rate, the muscle fatigue that felt like it was about to give out, and the dulled senses were all starting to interfere with my concentration.

After about ten minutes of running, there was finally a loud noise coming from behind. One of my subordinates stumbled and fell, causing my telekinesis technique to momentarily lose its focus due to the disrupted wind. With the speed and momentum we were running at, the subordinate was tossed and tumbled almost like a ragdoll.

“Get up! No...w!”

Damn it. Even my breath was too labored to form a complete sentence. I had no time to admit my mistake. The hunt was urgent, and responsibility could be discussed later. I lifted the groaning subordinate to his feet.

“Can you, run?”

The injured subordinate rolled his foot a few times and then nodded, panting. If he had been an ordinary person, the shock alone would have killed him, but apart from a slightly swollen wrist and a minor abrasion, there were no visible injuries. It was the result of physical enhancement and the resilience it provided.

Gunshots of various calibers, explosions, and various loud noises mixed together and echoed from across the clearer valley downstream. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and compared our current coordinates with the memorized coordinates.

“Just 4 more kilometers ahead, and we’ll be there.”

From that point on, we needed to slow down to neutralize the heat tracking, so the breakneck pace we had been maintaining for a few minutes would be enough. So,

“Move.”

My subordinates immediately responded to my command. The point where the waterway split was approaching. All the water here had flowed down from the battlefield.

Author's Thoughts

Disclaimer:

This novel is a work of fiction! While it may incorporate elements inspired by our "real" historical world, including historical events, settings, and cultures, it is important to note that the story and characters are entirely products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. This work should be enjoyed and interpreted as a work of fiction and not as a representation of historical facts or reality.

Also, if you find some error in translation please do let me know by tagging me (@_dawn24) in our Discord server. Since this series is kinda hard to translate. But I'll try my best to make it at least readable :)

Enjoy reading~!