Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 327

"You motherf—!"

"That bastard’s not one of us!"

"Kill him!!"

Only after Su-ho started cutting them down did the Bratva members realize he wasn’t one of theirs and open fire.

Even in the era of the Cataclysm, firearms hadn’t disappeared.

After all, current monsters weren’t completely immune to bullets.

Ratatatatatatat!!

A barrage of bullets.

Some went wild, but a few struck Su-ho directly. However—

Ting ting ting ting!!

None of the bullets managed to harm Su-ho.

That was thanks to the Blood Suit he wore beneath his disguised appearance.

This was exactly why he targeted the regulars first.

In large enough groups, criminal organizations typically started with gunfire.

Maybe that’s why—

"Huh?"

"What the...?"

"W-What is this...!"

When Su-ho deflected the bullets, the Bratva members’ eyes widened.

It was only natural.

To them, he looked like an ordinary guy, yet he was casually shrugging off bullets.

Rather than responding to their confusion, Su-ho simply swung his sword.

Slash!

Blood sprayed. Heads flew.

He didn’t kill everyone.

He left one alive on purpose.

Su-ho approached the survivor and asked a question.

In Russian, of course.

Foreign languages were no issue.

Not just because of Isabella, who had once been his comrade—he had picked them up naturally while working in international affairs.

"Who are you affiliated with?"

"Wh-Who the hell are you?"

"That’s not an answer."

Schlak!

"Aaaaagh!!"

Unhappy with the reply, Su-ho slashed the man’s arm.

He didn’t sever it—just cut deeply.

The nameless Bratva member screamed in pain.

Su-ho pressed his blade to the man again and asked,

"Affiliation."

"B-Bratva...!"

"Good. Keep answering like that and I just might let you live."

"R-Really?"

"If I have to ask twice, the deal’s off. Next question. What were you doing here?"

"T-That’s..."

The Bratva member looked away.

Even after being promised his life, he hesitated.

Su-ho sighed and raised his sword, prompting a quick reply.

"W-We were making drugs!"

"Drugs?"

Su-ho’s brow furrowed.

"Don’t tell me... Baikal?"

"H-How do you know about that?"

"You sick—"

When the word "Baikal" left Su-ho’s mouth, the Bratva member’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Understandable.

Baikal was a new type of drug still in secret development, even within Bratva. It hadn’t yet been released to the world.

‘So this is when they were developing Baikal...’

Baikal was one of the worst drugs to ever shake the world.

And for good reason—it was designed specifically to affect Players, whose bodies resisted most ordinary stimulants.

That’s what made it dangerous.

If it was harmful to Players, just how much more dangerous would it be to normal people?

It was worse than fentanyl—one of the most infamous plagues of the old world.

Su-ho asked,

"What stage of development is Baikal in?"

"We’re near the final phase."

"Be specific."

"W-We just finished the final testing. The Baikal we’ve made now can easily get Players up to level 100 addicted."

The power to addict a level-100 Player.

And this was before the mid-Cataclysm had even begun.

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, next question. What’s the exact role of this Tumen River area for your group?"

"It was originally meant to be one of our main factories, but after hearing Korea was planning to invade North Korea, we’re preparing to withdraw."

"What level of infrastructure do you have here?"

"It’s about 70% of our main factory scale."

"Yeah?"

It wasn’t a lie.

There was no sign of negative energy.

Su-ho kept questioning.

"Who’s in charge here?"

"A 1-star Player named Dmitri Ivanov. He’s not far from here."

"You guys are regulars, so second-tier members, right? The Player, Dmitri, would be a first-tier. How big is his team?"

"About twenty people."

"Bigger than I expected. Is their base across the river in Khasan?"

"That’s right. B-But... can I ask something too? Who the hell are you, and how do you know so much about—"

Before he could finish, Su-ho sliced his other arm.

"Aaaaagh!!"

"I ask the questions."

"S-Sorry...!"

"Next question. The ones producing Baikal in this building—who are they?"

"T-That’s..."

After a brief hesitation, the Bratva man confessed.

"I’ll be honest. They’re all North Koreans. The moment we heard about the collapse of North Korea, we occupied the Tumen River Station area. During that, we captured a bunch of North Koreans and have been managing them since."

"What?"

"It’s true. If you go a bit down from the border checkpoint, there’s a mountain. In there is a detention facility... The first-tier members are—"

Su-ho scowled, listening to something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

And once the man finished speaking, Su-ho looked up and let out a long sigh.

"Haa..."

This was completely unexpected.

Su-ho had long known that Bratva kidnapped people and forced them to work in drug production.

But that the laborers in the Tumen River factory were North Korean citizens?

That, he hadn’t known.

After a moment of thought, Su-ho asked,

"Name."

"W-Why...? I mean, my name’s Ivan."

"Alright, Ivan. Like I said, I’ll spare you."

"Really?"

Su-ho cast Heal on the man, then pressed on his pressure point to knock him out.

"For now."

After saying that, Su-ho placed Ivan into his subspace house and drew his sword.

‘If I didn’t know, that’d be one thing. But now that I do, I can’t ignore it.’

Rescuing the North Korean citizens captured by Bratva.

It hadn’t been part of the plan, but after learning the truth, Su-ho couldn’t just look the other way.

He moved immediately.

After hearing Ivan’s story, it was clear—there wasn’t a single person in this wretched checkpoint building worth sparing.

[Movement Energy Technique activated.]

Su-ho began to move.

Using his active ki sense, he tracked down every remaining Bratva member and eliminated them all.

Finally, he headed to the basement.

At the entrance stood a second-tier member guarding it—Su-ho threw the Guiyeong Spear and killed him in an instant.

He opened the door the man had been guarding.

With a creak of rusted metal, the door swung open—and what lay beyond was a sight Su-ho had hoped not to see.

Fssshhh—

Steam hissed.

Bright lights illuminated the room.

Underneath them, amid complex machinery, North Korean citizens in aprons, masks, and rubber gloves were producing Baikal.

Like beasts in a cage, they worked in a tiered basement—something straight out of a nightmare.

Su-ho was speechless.

After a long pause, he pulled out his phone and called Jeong Cheol-min.

"Su-ho?"

He picked up immediately.

The Northern Reunification Operation was underway—it was practically wartime.

And since it was Su-ho calling, Jeong Cheol-min had been keeping his phone close.

Su-ho spoke.

"Sir, are you alone right now?"

"One moment."

Noting Su-ho’s tone, Cheol-min immediately moved to a private spot.

Once he relocated, he replied,

"Okay, I’m alone. Go ahead."

"I’m at the Tumen River Station."

"Tumen River Station?"

"Yes. I came here on business and..."

Su-ho explained about Bratva, Baikal, and the North Korean citizens who had been kidnapped and forced into labor.

"Please stay on the line. I’m sending pictures now."

He sent the evidence.

After checking the photos, Cheol-min let out a deep sigh.

"Haa... This is insane. So, aside from the people in the photo, there are probably dozens more being held elsewhere?"

"That’s right."

"This is serious... but what are we supposed to do? Most of our forces are deployed, and it’ll take ages to reach the Tumen River. And how are you supposed to handle all the Bratva alone?"

Cheol-min wasn’t wrong.

It was a bad situation.

Actually, from a logistical standpoint, it was the worst.

The Reunification Operation had just started, and most troops were out.

Tumen River Station was near the northernmost edge of the peninsula.

There were at least a truckload of people to transport—and Bratva likely guarded them.

But Su-ho answered lightly.

"It’s fine. I can handle it."

"You can handle it? How?"

"I’ll explain the details later. I wouldn’t have called you for help if I didn’t have a plan."

"Then why did you call?"

"I needed an alibi. I’m about to wipe out every Bratva member in the Tumen River area and send the North Koreans back to Seoul. But suddenly bringing in a large group like that would create all kinds of bureaucratic headaches. So please coordinate with the NIS to keep it quiet."

"The NIS? If it’s North Korean citizens, it should be doable... But are you really sure you can do this on your own?"

"It won’t be smooth sailing, but if I go for maximum efficiency, it’s possible."

"You’re sure?"

"Have I ever failed to keep a promise?"

"...No, you haven’t. Okay. I’ll trust you. I’ll back you from here, so go wild."

"Thank you. Once I wrap things up, I’ll call again. Please send me the secure location for the evacuees via text."

"Got it. Oh, and Su-ho—"

"Yes?"

"Be careful. Those Bratva bastards are dangerous. Even Russia can’t touch them."

Su-ho chuckled.

"Understood. Thanks for the concern."

"Alright. Talk soon."

The call ended.

After a moment of [N O V E L I G H T] thought, Su-ho shouted downward.

"Everyone, attention!"

His voice echoed powerfully.

Infused with mana, the cry froze everyone in place as they turned toward him.

At that moment, Su-ho activated a skill.

[Enthrallment activated.]

The evolved version of Charm—Enthrallment.

As it activated, a heart symbol appeared in the eyes of everyone who met Su-ho’s gaze, marking them under the effect.

Seeing the Enthrallment icons above the North Koreans' heads, Su-ho nodded and descended.

"From now on, form a single file line in front of me. Move."

"Yes, sir!"

The skill had worked perfectly.

All the North Korean citizens answered energetically, like soldiers, and Su-ho opened his subspace house in front of them, letting them walk in on their own.

Once the last person had entered, Su-ho gave an order.

"Until I say otherwise, stay inside and rest comfortably. If you understand, respond."

"Yes, sir!"

They answered loudly, like trained troops.

This was the best he could do for now.

He could use Shadow Step for movement, but to transport them safely, the subspace house was the only answer.

It was fine to reveal it to them.

Enthrallment could erase memories from the affected period at the caster’s discretion.

With the residents secured, Su-ho immediately headed for the nearby detention facility.