Chapter 380:

Chapter 380:

Yu-hyun licked his lips and opened his mouth after sorting out his thoughts.

“I guess I was mistaken about something from the start.”

He wondered why Baek Seo-ryeon had deliberately framed him as a suspect and locked him up in the detention center, and why she had explained the situation of the alliance beyond Old Town in such detail.

He felt like he understood now through her last action.

“...Was it all a play?”

“It was the only way to have a conversation with you like this, where no one’s eyes could reach. Of course, I didn’t expect Yura to barge in so suddenly.”

“You expected me to come alone right away.”

“That’s right.”

The most unexpected situation for Baek Seo-ryeon would have been Kang Yura’s initiative.

“I’m sorry to Yura, but I had to do this, even if it meant lying.”

“Is it because of the Salio Empire?”

“I told you, right? They’ve been increasingly overtly restraining us.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“You wouldn’t care, would you? You wouldn’t think so yourself. But do you think Salio would leave you alone?”

“...”

He couldn’t refute that.

If what Baek Seo-ryeon said about Salio’s nature was true, they would have noticed Yu-hyun’s existence early on and tried to reach out to him somehow.

“So you intervened before they did. I must look like a very attractive prey to them.”

“That’s right.”

“So what do you want from me? I can guess from the circumstances, but I don’t know everything, so I need more explanation.”

“As I explained earlier, there are five major powers, and Salio is the one that doesn’t hide its ambition. That’s all true.”

“What about the terror?”

“It’s been happening before, but today’s incident was my play. It was all to meet you like this.”

“That means, Salio already tried to contact me in some way, and there are also some people in the central administration who are under their eyes.”

“Yes. That’s it.”

Thanks to Yu-hyun’s quick understanding, Baek Seo-ryeon didn’t have to explain much.

She couldn’t completely root out the existence of internal spies, so she had no choice but to use such an extreme method.

“If I call you separately, they’ll surely hear about it.”

“What about now?”

“Actually, this isn’t a very clean method either. But we can buy more time.”

“To go this far just to buy time...”

“It means the situation is more serious than you think.”

Yu-hyun sighed.

He thought he had finally found someone he knew and was about to relax a bit, but he got involved in this incident on his second day in Old Town.

“I know your reputation from the alliance’s information. The Black Thunder Lord... You defeated Hyerim unnie and even the Divine Spirits and transcendents of Sung-gun who tried to recruit you.”

“Not all of them.”

“I know. Great Army Mabinogion, Knight of the Round Table Gareth came with you to the alliance’s territory, right? I know exactly how many died by your hand and how many returned safely.”

He really knew everything.

He had heard that the alliance’s information was great, but he didn’t know it was this much. Yu-hyun was genuinely impressed.

“And then you fought and won against Choi Do-yoon, the executor.”VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels

“I didn’t fight seriously. I didn’t intend to kill him in the first place.”

He said that, but anyone who saw the scene of that fight wouldn’t have believed Yu-hyun’s words.

If that wasn’t serious, then what would happen if they fought with the intention of killing each other?

It would be impossible to imagine.

“You’ve done so much, it would be strange if Salio didn’t eye you. Lindel, a small city, was mostly under Midland’s jurisdiction, so Salio couldn’t interfere. But Old Town is different.”

“It’s practically an enemy territory.”

“Of course, the place that can be called Salio’s base is one of the other big cities, Elder Control. But their claws are also stretched out here in Old Town.”

So Baek Seo-ryeon had tried to meet Yu-hyun first before Salio contacted him, avoiding their eyes.

“From what you asked me for help... You must be part of a secret organization that opposes Salio’s tyranny.”

“Yes, that’s right. Salio is still expanding his power. Two of the few Executors in the Alliance belong to Salio, and the other one is about to join him. If we have a civil war in this state, our defeat is certain.”

“Isn’t the Alliance composed of more than 50 Lords?”

“Would you believe me if I said that almost 30 of them are affiliated with Salio?”

“That’s a big problem.”

Every Lord-level force was precious in this situation.

And Yu-hyun, who had won against an Executor... He was too tempting a target for Salio.

“They don’t care about the means or methods to get what they want. If I hadn’t done this much, they would have tried to recruit you somehow.”

“I don’t respond to threats.”

“I know. But what if they threaten the people around you? Can you endure that?”

“...”

Yu-hyun immediately thought of Kang Hye-rim.

What if they took Kang Hye-rim, or his parents including Kang Yura, as hostages?

“I thought it was an ideal utopia, but it wasn’t.”

“Harmony and equality are nothing but illusions here.”

Equality made by power is not true equality. In the end, it is also another form of suppression.

“The choice is yours, Yu-hyun. I don’t intend to force you. I just want you to know that there is something like this, and that’s enough for me.”

“But don’t you need my help, Seoryeon?”

“I do. But... You’ve been through a lot of hard times coming here, haven’t you? Just look at Hyerim unnie’s case. But I’m not so shameless as to ask you for more help after coming this far. You have your own things to do.”

“...If I refuse, will you do it alone?”

“Not alone. I have other comrades who share my will.”

“People who have nothing to lose.”

Baek Seo-ryeon nodded with a bitter smile.

Sung Yu-chan and Kang Yura kept it a secret because they had families to protect. That means those who joined her will are not like them.

People who have nothing to lose and nothing to protect.

Yu-hyun clicked his tongue and got up from his seat.

“I’ve heard enough to not let it go. Besides, if Salio takes everything away, what will happen to this peaceful alliance... I don’t even want to imagine it.”

He didn’t have much affection or resentment for the alliance itself.

But there were people he cared about in this place.

Sung Yu-chan, Joo Kyungseo, Kang Yura, and his parents.

He wanted them to live in a world that was... at least more peaceful than other places.

That’s what Yu-hyun thought.

“I’ll help you. Seoryeon... You’re also precious to me. How can I stay still when you might die?”

“...Don’t say that to anyone else.”

Baek Seo-ryeon rolled her eyes and glared at Yu-hyun.

Yu-hyun asked innocently.

“What did I say?”

“...Sigh. You’re just as oblivious as you were five years ago or now.”

Knowing that he wouldn’t understand even if she told him, Baek Seo-ryeon decided to accept this reality.

Yu-hyun felt somewhat wronged, but he didn’t ask because he instinctively felt that she wouldn’t give him a proper answer anyway.

“Let’s move. Salio might be up to something too.”

“Let’s go.”

Baek Seo-ryeon used the key she had prepared in advance to get Yu-hyun out of the detention center.

Yu-hyun was speechless at how flimsy the process of releasing a suspect of terrorism was.

“Is it really okay to let him go so easily?”

“There’s no way to prove his guilt anyway, and no one can argue with me if I say he’s innocent. Who would dare to question the chief’s decision?”

“Power does have its perks, huh?”

“More than that, people are afraid of Mr. Yu-hyun. Who would be crazy enough to lock up an executioner-level in the detention center?”

As the two men opened the iron door and stepped outside, they saw Kang Yoo-ra waiting for them.

She had been restless near the entrance, but when she spotted the two men coming out, she hurried over to them.

“Are you okay, oppa? Nothing’s wrong, right?”

“Yeah. It turns out that Mr. Yu-hyun is innocent, so he’s been released.”

“So, oppa is fine now, right? Really?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Yoo-ra was about to sigh in relief when she heard that.

“Th-this is bad!”

A soldier in armor came running from the other end of the corridor.

Seeing him, Baek Seo-ryeon sensed that something had gone wrong and felt anxious, but he asked calmly.

“What’s going on?”

“W-well... A while ago, some people from Salio came regarding the terrorist incident.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“They’re trying to contact the Black Thunder Lord, who we had isolated...”

“What?”

The one who reacted faster than anyone else to that was Yu-hyun, who had been listening to the conversation from the side.

“Where?”

“H-huh?”

The internal security officer of the central administration was flustered when Yu-hyun suddenly pushed his face into the conversation.

Who the hell is this guy, interrupting the chief’s conversation like that? He was about to scold him, but when he met Yu-hyun’s eyes, his throat closed up.

His eyes were fierce and cold.

“Where is it?”

“O-over there...”

The soldier pointed with a trembling hand.

Yu-hyun immediately ran in the direction he indicated.