Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 328

Su-ho took Ivan out of the subspace house and was able to locate the detention facility where the North Korean civilians were held almost immediately.

With Mana Perception and Ki Sense activated, he could sense a fair number of Bratva-affiliated Players.

'The one with the highest mana sensitivity must be Dmitri.'

No reason to hesitate.

Su-ho charged straight into the facility.

"Hm?"

"What the?"

"Huh?"

The first-tier Bratva members noticed Su-ho approaching and immediately drew their weapons.

But before they could even react, Su-ho’s sword moved first.

[Cloud Severance activated.]

Slaaaash!

"Aaaaagh!!"

"Uwaaaaagh!!"

Screams burst out.

Su-ho didn’t kill them.

He could have, but he deliberately slashed at their legs to cripple them instead.

The screams drew more Bratva members out, and Su-ho cut all of them down as well.

Even Dmitri, the leader of the unit, wasn’t an exception.

No matter how high his status in the Red Mafia was, at best he was a 1-star Player.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Who sent you?!"

"North Korea? That can’t be—how...?!"

The Bratva members fired off question after question.

Su-ho wanted to cut their tongues out.

But he had more to do, so he simply stopped the bleeding with a skill and gathered them together using his clone soldiers.

Su-ho glanced over them.

Then called Ivan over and asked,

"Twenty-one in total. Is this everyone?"

Ivan took a careful look at Dmitri’s group and nodded.

"Yes, that’s exactly all of them. Twenty-one total."

"Go."

"What?"

"Go. I told you I’d let you live."

"I-I... really?"

"I’m counting to five. Five, four..."

"G-Going!!"

Ivan bolted like a madman.

Su-ho watched him run off, then summoned and threw the Guiyeong Spear.

[Throwing Spear activated.]

Crunch!!

The Guiyeong Spear pierced straight through the back of Ivan’s head.

Su-ho turned his gaze toward Dmitri.

Dmitri, clutching his severed leg, glared at Su-ho with his characteristic vicious eyes.

"...Who sent you?"

"What’s it to you?"

"What?"

"Enthrallment."

[Enthrallment activated.]

As Su-ho spoke, the skill activated.

Heart-shaped icons appeared in the eyes of Dmitri and his entire squad as they met Su-ho’s gaze.

'Their levels must be low—it hit them all at once.'

Su-ho nodded and said,

"Everyone, raise your right hand."

Shoop—

They all raised their hands at his command.

Naturally, he had spoken in Russian.

Once they obediently raised their hands, Su-ho nodded again.

"Everyone except those from the KGB, lower your hands."

Everyone lowered their hands.

Except one.

Seeing that one person, Su-ho couldn’t help but chuckle.

The only one who hadn’t lowered his hand.

Surprisingly, it was Dmitri, the man leading the first-tier Bratva members.

'So I was right. There really was a KGB agent among them.'

The KGB, the Committee for State Security, had existed during the Soviet Union. It had been dissolved with the USSR’s collapse.

Later, it was split into agencies like the FSB and SVR—but after the Cataclysm, the KGB was revived in accordance with the times.

Of course, that didn’t mean Russia had returned to being a communist state like in the Soviet era.

Russia was still a federal republic, with a market economy and a multi-party democracy.

'On the surface, anyway.'

But no one really believed that.

Especially not after they brought back the infamous KGB.

The current Russian president was no different from past dictators.

And behind the scenes, he used the revived KGB to control Bratva.

In other words, Bratva was a puppet front committing all sorts of atrocities on behalf of the KGB.

Even /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Isabella—his former comrade and known as Russia’s Saint—had been raised that way.

Su-ho asked again.

"Dmitri."

"Yes."

"What’s your real name?"

"My real name is Yuri Ivanov."

"Your department within the KGB?"

"I belong to the 13th Directorate."

The 13th Directorate.

Also referred to simply as Directorate 13—an entirely new division created when the KGB was revived post-Cataclysm.

It was considered the most powerful division within the KGB.

Su-ho continued questioning.

"Was the Baikal project commissioned by the KGB?"

"Yes."

At Yuri’s answer, Su-ho closed his eyes for a moment.

Ever since the KGB’s revival, it was said that every major action taken by Russians had some involvement from them.

When Baikal had spread worldwide, the KGB had been suspected as the hidden force behind it, but no one had ever been able to prove it.

'Because if that truth were exposed and they were held accountable, no one knew how far Russia would go in retaliation.'

Russia was dangerous.

Even in the pre-Cataclysm era, when the world spoke of peace, they had started wars.

And now Su-ho had just done what no one else had managed—he’d revealed that truth.

He pressed on.

"Do you have any proof of your KGB affiliation?"

Yuri pulled a uniquely designed phone from his pocket and handed it over.

Su-ho recognized it instantly.

It was a special device—an agent-only phone issued by the KGB.

"This is issued only to agents. If used, it connects directly to the 13th Directorate."

"I see. Is there any surveillance equipment monitoring this location?"

"None."

"What’s the probability that our conversation and my arrival here are being transmitted to the 13th Directorate?"

"Even Bratva doesn’t know I’m KGB. I brought nothing here for the KGB. There are no devices or equipment besides me."

Then security was intact.

After a moment of thought, Su-ho asked,

"What’s the project name for the Baikal production happening at the checkpoint?"

"It’s called the Tumen River Project."

"Simple name. Are you the project lead?"

"Yes."

"Then tell me about the other KGB agents related to the Tumen River Project. The ones actively handling things on-site."

"There are none. All reports are sent through that phone."

"A magic device?"

"Electronic device."

Under Enthrallment, he couldn’t lie.

After thinking it over, Su-ho examined the KGB phone... and realized he had handled this model a few times in the past.

'So it really is just an electronic device. And the signal's active. Then...'

He looked over Yuri and the rest of the first-tier Bratva members.

Russia was still one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

That’s how, even as Bratva and the KGB shook the world with Baikal, no one could stop them.

Su-ho suspected Russia had even convinced the other powers to give up on raiding cataclysmic-grade gates—and instead direct their efforts toward eliminating him.

Of course, he didn’t know the truth.

It was just a statistical assumption based on the story so far.

But Su-ho reached his conclusion quickly.

'They’re a detriment to humanity. Useless, no—harmful. Better to break their legs and get rid of them while I still can.'

He changed his plan.

More aggressive. More efficient.

And he had the confidence to pull it off.

Right now, he was the strongest human alive—no, he could probably handle all the other top-ranked Players combined.

Su-ho stored the KGB phone in his inventory and asked Yuri where the Baikal stash was located.

Then, using pressure point techniques—Yi-hyeol, An-hyeol, Ah-hyeol, and Sleep Point—he sealed Yuri’s senses and put him to sleep.

[Blood Armory activated.]

With preparations complete, Su-ho drew his blood sword and cut down the rest of the Bratva members.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The Bratva men collapsed silently.

Under the effect of Enthrallment, their affection level was at its peak. Even if their killer was standing before them, they felt no fear.

It was like how women enchanted by vampires would willingly bare their necks.

But Su-ho didn’t kill Yuri.

He placed Yuri in the subspace house.

The North Korean civilians inside wouldn’t attack him.

They were all still under Enthrallment and had been told to rest.

Having finished off the Bratva, Su-ho finally entered the detention facility.

It had been carved out from the inside of a mountain and converted into a prison.

Su-ho thought the effort was impressive.

Or maybe it hadn’t taken long at all.

In the era of the Cataclysm, anything was possible with the right items and skills.

It was dark inside.

The North Korean civilians, worn out by long-term imprisonment, didn’t even stir when someone entered.

Visibility was poor. But—

[Original Vampire effect: Immune to darkness-based vision restrictions.]

Thanks to the skill effect, Su-ho could see as clearly as if it were daylight.

He saw many North Korean civilians, locked in separate areas throughout the facility.

They were all emaciated.

Like chickens or pigs kept in cages, each pen had a water trough and a feed bucket.

The sight made Su-ho seethe with rage.

But he held it in.

There was no one left to unleash it on anyway.

Rescuing them came first.

He cut through the bars one by one and used Enthrallment on the detainees.

They were mentally and physically exhausted.

He had to almost hypnotize them with Enthrallment to get them out smoothly.

He healed the wounded, replenished those who were weak, and sent them all into the subspace house.

Only after that did he exit the facility.

No more hostile presences nearby.

With preparations complete, Su-ho contacted Jeong Cheol-min.

"Extraction complete. I’ve also uncovered the force behind it. Secured a prisoner who can testify. I’m ready to move out. How’s the prep on your end?"

—I’ve secured a covert facility to care for the civilians. I’ll send you the address now. How long will it take you to get here?

"I’ll be there soon. See you shortly."

—How soon?

"Twenty minutes."

—What?

Su-ho ended the call and immediately activated a skill.

[Shadow Step activated.]

Shoooom!

Mana drained quickly.

He arrived at his house.

He always kept a Guiyeong Spear there, just in case.

Su-ho immediately used Disguise to change his appearance to a plain-looking man.

Then he pulled out his mana bike and headed to the address sent via text.

It was a plain-looking building on the outskirts of Seoul.

But despite its appearance, the facility was fully equipped with medical and living spaces for covert care.

As Su-ho arrived at the building entrance, the staff moved to block him.

He released his disguise and identified himself. The pre-notified personnel quickly opened the gate.

"Su-ho!"

Jeong Cheol-min came out to greet him.

But he wasn’t alone.

Seeing the person beside him, Su-ho’s brow furrowed.

'The NIS Director?'

The man with Jeong Cheol-min—

None other than Choi Woo-seok, Director of the National Intelligence Service.