Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

040 – Engagement

“This is Kim Hak-soo, the captain of the 4th unit under EDA. Your name is Cha Myung-jun, right?”

As the man with the great sword spoke, Myung-jun turned his head to look at him and then meticulously inspected the equipment he was wearing.

“Seems like no ordinary gear. Special issue?”

“Huh? You recognize it? The information about this specialized equipment made from monsters material hasn’t been publicly released yet, has it?”

As if itching to boast, Hak-soo pulled the great sword from his back and showed it to Myung-jun.

“This is quite impressive. It’s like wielding a cleaver, but this great sword has immense power, and it creates a shockwave near the impact point that is almost like an explosion. Even a sturdy monsters would blow up with one hit.”

Utilizing his keen eye honed from over 30 years of experience as a master smith, Myung-jun carefully examined the great sword the man was holding.

He then pointed out a few noteworthy features.

“The base is made by alloying steel with the shell of an armored stalker. The craftsmanship is quite good, and it also includes a gold magic circuit from the blade to the hilt, allowing for easy and quick manipulation of magical energy. The blacksmith who made this weapon must be quite highly ranked. It looks to be at least Rank 3.”

“Huh? What’s this? I thought you were a scout target and talked cautiously. Are you a blacksmith too?”

“I’m just someone who knows a little about weapons. I also know a bit about equipment made from monsters material.”

“Whatever abilities you have, it doesn’t matter. I’ll arrest you anyway.”

The man returned his great sword to his back as he spoke.

“So, you claim to have a keen eye. I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask for your cooperation.”

“Cooperation?”

“Follow me without resistance. You and the pretty lady next to you.”

“Do you have a warrant?”

This time, Soo-jeong replied.

As Soo-jeong looked at him with twinkling eyes, the man shook his head.

“Sorry, but EDA is a government agency that has the authority to detain civilians without a warrant. Besides, you two are currently wanted criminal suspects.”

“For what crime?”

“Suspected of murdering and hiding the bodies of two special agents from the government.”

“We haven’t heard this story before. Do you have evidence?”

“No physical evidence, but circumstantial evidence. The two missing agents were last seen at the place where you were found a month ago. Their last instruction was to capture you, Cha Myung-jun. And when they disappeared, you also went missing for nearly a month. Anyone would want to know what you two were up to during that month, wouldn’t they?”

“It’s a logical deduction.”

“Right? So, follow quietly. There are many prying eyes around here, after all…”

“But I will refuse.”

“What?”

The man’s eyebrows furrowed.

However, Myung-jun continued to speak calmly, lifting his teacup, unfazed by the man’s mood change.

“We are here today because we have someone to meet at this place. And that person is obviously not you. We have a prior appointment, so please postpone your business and leave for now.”

“Hey, don’t you understand the situation? Prior appointment or whatever, you are being arrested right now!”

“That’s your perspective, I have absolutely no reason to be arrested.”

“We will find out when we question you!”

“If you want to interrogate or torture me, come find me later. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Feeling disregarded by someone 10 years younger, Hak-soo screamed, his face red as a beet.

“Being indulgent has no end! Let’s see if you can maintain that expression after I beat you up!”

“Hak-soo, stop! If you harm the target!!”

For a moment, Moon-soo, who had been cautiously watching Hak-soo, shouted, but Hak-soo’s sword was already slashing through the air towards Myung-jun.

Not aiming for a lethal blow to the head, but toward the wrist holding the teacup.

However, it was not just Hak-soo who ran towards Myung-jun at that moment.

“…Camouflage off.”

[Camouflage mode deactivated.]

The moment Hak-soo reached for his back sword, Ho Chang, who had been standing by, sprang forward.

At the same time, the camouflage on Ho Chang’s armor was deactivated, revealing a nearly 2-meter tall steel giant.

The unexpected intervention by Ho Chang, who appeared as if teleporting, shocked everyone focused on Hak-soo.

– Crash! –

The collision of metal produced a loud noise, but the explosion Hak-soo was counting on didn’t happen.

Because Ho Chang, who had been listening to the conversation between Hak-soo and Myung-jun through a high-performance microphone on his suit, had struck Hak-soo’s sword handle, canceling the attack.

Hak-soo’s charged sword spun out of his hand at high speed, and the EDA agents watching fled in the opposite direction.

Boom! –

Finally, the explosion Hak-soo had anticipated sounded, but his expression was not good.

Not only did the sudden appearance of a 2-meter steel robot cancel his attack, but it also easily disarmed his signature weapon.

The robot standing in front of him, looking like a real-life Iron Man, was in a martial arts stance, ready for Hak-soo’s next attack.

“Captain, are you okay?”

“Thanks to you. You didn’t really have to help.”

“I just thought jumping in now would make for the coolest entrance. I know this guy is no match for you, so I was wondering if I jumped in to save you. Where in the world does a puppy run to save a lion?”

What Ho Chang said was true. Compared to Myung-jun’s current abilities, Hak-soo’s were like a firefly before the sun.

However, Hak-soo, who was listening to the conversation between the two, couldn’t accept it at all.

“What the hell are you?!”

“Me?”

Hearing Hak-soo’s angry words, Ho Chang confidently beat his chest and said,

“From people to objects! Whether legal or illegal, I risk my life to protect any target! I’m Ho Chang, the representative of Ho Chang Security!!… Actually, I’m this guy’s bodyguard right now!”

Seeing Ho Chang reflexively spout his old business slogan, Hak-soo gritted his teeth and shouted,

“Moon-soo!”

“Yes!”

Even before Hak-soo gave the command, Moon-soo quickly ran over from where the sword had and handed it back to Hak-soo.

“Hak-soo, even if we get through this, direct combat is…”

“I know. I only adjusted my strength earlier to merely cut off a wrist.”

“No, you can’t even do that! If the director finds out…”

“That’s what happens when someone audaciously messes with me. There’s no one like that here. Besides…”

Hak-soo looked at Ho Chang while swinging the large sword in his hand.

“I never said I would destroy this hunk of metal, did I?”

Hak-soo thought Ho Chang’s counterattack earlier was just a fluke.

He was confident that if he really fought, he could quickly turn the armored person in front of him into a piece of meat. This was a self-confidence born from the absolute belief in his ability to even turn a tough monster that wouldn’t be penetrated by a .50 caliber bullet into minced meat.

‘Even though I was a bit embarrassed earlier, if I really fight, I can shatter even a 56-ton armored vehicle.’

Convinced that the opponent’s armor could not withstand his full-strength attack, Hak-soo raised his sword and aimed at Ho Chang.

“Your name was Ho Chang, right? You’re probably grinning annoyingly inside that armor, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Can you see? Miss Soo-jeong, did the Mk-14 have a device to show the pilot’s expression outside?”

“No.”

“Then is it some sort of special ability? Wow. Impressive. Why don’t you open a tarot cafe with that ability to know what kind of expression I’m making inside my helmet?”

Ho Chang was deliberately provoking the opponent.

It’s easier to deal with an opponent who gets overly excited and relies on brute force rather than one who calmly analyzes the combat situation.

And Hak-soo was falling for Ho Chang’s low-grade provocation.

“You son of a… I’ll make sure your face inside that armor is filled with pain right now!”

“Wow, you’re this excited? Do you have anger management issues?”

“Explosion!!!”

Although Hak-soo swung his large sword with a terrifying force, it only cut through air.

However, Hak-soo didn’t care.

Because if he uses his ability ‘Explosion’, the shock applied to the ground would be enough to damage the opponent. The opponent had introduced himself as a bodyguard, after all.

Hak-soo had calculated that he would shield Myung-jun and Soo-jeong, who were to be protected, from the aftermath of the explosion with his body. However, his large sword missed even the ground and was knocked back into the air. Ho Chang, seemingly aware of Hak-soo’s intentions from the start, countered the attack by forcefully lifting Hak-soo’s wrist with his foot.

With a click, Ho Chang’s arm, covered in a metal suit, grabbed Hak-soo’s protective suit.

“It’d be a nuisance to our boss if we fight here, so you go away.”

After those words, Hak-soo found himself experiencing flying without wings. Ho Chang’s arm, amplified by the suit’s strength, hurled Hak-soo away with incredible force.

Having flown nearly 30 meters, Hak-soo tumbled across the asphalt floor. Even before he could regain his senses, Ho Chang charged at him at a speed nearly equal to how fast Hak-soo had flown and started beating him up. It was like a scene from a martial arts movie.

– Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Tick! Tick! tick! –

“Arrrrrrrrrrgh!!!”

As Hak-soo’s screams echoed in all directions with a noise like hitting a drum with a stick, the dispatched EDA agents were panic-stricken. Hak-soo, the ‘Awakener’ who could turn a 55-ton tank into scrap metal in an instant, was literally getting beaten to a pulp.

Of course, Hak-soo didn’t just take the beating. He flailed his arms and legs to use his abilities on his opponent. Moreover, all his attacks were fierce, boosted by his ability, too fast for ordinary people to follow with their eyes. However, Ho Chang was effortlessly neutralizing all of Hak-soo’s attacks as if an adult were playing with a kindergartener’s attempts.

Caught up in the flashy show, an EDA agent urgently asked Moon-soo,

“What should we do? Should we attack?”

“Attack? With what?”

An Awakener can dodge bullets. Plus, the higher the level of awakening, the higher their resistance to attacks. At Hak-soo’s level, he could block bullets with his bare body. Even a 50mm bullet would not be fatal. Yet, Ho Chang was beating him like a child.

Speed, durability, power, technique, equipment. In every aspect, Ho Chang was overwhelmingly stronger than Hak-soo, making the EDA agents’ equipment seem as useless as BB guns.

‘Even if we have guns, we really can’t do anything. We really have to become awakeners.’

Still, something had to be done. Hak-soo, still an awakener, was holding up under the brutal beating, but there was no telling when he would fall.

Swallowing the bitterness welling up from deep within, Moon-soo picked up a megaphone…

And with a heart desperately hoping that the opponent has some reason, Moon-soo shouted towards Ho Chang, who was beating Hak-soo.

“Stop!”

In an instant, the movements of Ho Chang, who had been beating Hak-soo, froze as if someone had pressed the pause button. At the same time, Hak-soo’s body, which had been enduring the brutal beating, collapsed.

Seeing Hak-soo fall apart like a broken mannequin, Moon-soo realized a horrifying fact. The truth was that Hak-soo hadn’t been enduring Ho Chang’s blows, he had been unconscious for some time.

That brutal person had been keeping the unconscious Hak-soo upright by beating him upwards so that he wouldn’t fall while being battered.

And now that savage person was looking in his direction.

“Ah, what’s this? Are you next?”

Hearing Ho Chang’s voice, which seemed to suggest that he still wasn’t satisfied, the only word that Moon-soo could think of was ‘resignation’.

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