Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 154

In the shadowed forest, Henry struggled fiercely, trying to break free from Yan’s iron grip on his hair. But no matter his efforts, Yan’s hand clung like a vise, unyielding.

“Cursed be the human filth…” Henry spat venomously.

“Human filth?” Yan chuckled darkly, his grip tightening, eliciting a scream from Henry.

“Aaaaagh!” The pressure was immense, as if his skull might shatter.

Loen, who had been watching dumbfounded, snapped to attention. But it was too late.

With a swift motion, a threat was whispered, “Move a muscle, and your neck will part ways with your body.” The saw-toothed blade at her throat left her powerless.

Loen bit her lip in frustration. ‘When did they outflank me?’ Even with her focus on Henry, she never expected to be caught so off guard. It was a testament to Cruel’s superior strength.

“Tch. Might as well end it here,” Cruel muttered, clearly displeased with merely threatening rather than acting.

He recalled the message he received while charging into the fray:

“Don’t kill them. Just subdue. We have uses for these fools.”
Yan wouldn’t take kindly to Cruel’s recklessness. Shivering at the thought, Cruel wondered, ‘Is he a sadist?’

Loen’s face hardened as Cruel, the blade at her neck, suddenly trembled. The thought of suicide flashed through her mind. Better a dignified death than a disgraceful defeat here.

That’s when it happened.

Crack!

A bone-chilling crunch echoed from Henry’s jaw, courtesy of Yan’s brutal adjustment.

“Ughhh.”

“Since when do we bite our tongues?” Yan mocked, releasing Henry’s dislocated jaw.

“It’s too cold to consider suicide over a mere greeting,” Yan quipped, leaving Henry and Loen wide-eyed.

“What did you say?”

“Do you really think we’d believe that?”

An assassination attempt passed off as a greeting? Such a notion defied all logic.

The elves’ faces were a mix of shock and disbelief.

Yan shrugged nonchalantly. “What? Should I have crushed your limbs instead?”

Henry and Loen’s expressions hardened.

“Why… why are you letting us go?”

Yan smirked, scanning the surroundings before whispering, “Killing you isn’t necessary here. I can do it anytime, anywhere.”

“That means…”

“It’s not that I ‘won’t’ kill you. There’s simply no benefit for me. Only potential loss.”

Loen realized then that Yan’s mercy wasn’t kindness but constraint.

Their eyes met briefly, sharing the same realization.

Henry, regaining composure, addressed Yan, “We apologize for targeting you.”

“Apology accepted,” Yan replied, causing Henry’s cheek to twitch.

‘Forgiveness…’ It was a role reversal for Henry, who was used to granting mercy, not begging for it.

As Henry’s temper flared again, Loen quickly sent a mental message:

“We need to get out of here first.”
Upon receiving her message, Henry took a deep breath and nodded.

Yan laughed heartily, patting Henry’s back. “Take care of that injury. We’ll be on our way.”

“Indeed.”

With those final words, Yan turned and left without a backward glance. Cruel, who had been holding Loen at sword-point, cocked his head and then followed Yan.

Once they were gone, Henry cursed under his breath, “Damn it all! What kind of monster is he!”

“What just happened?” Loen asked, her brow furrowed.

She hadn’t seen how Henry was subdued due to a sudden flash of light.

Henry turned away sharply. “What difference does it make to you, weakling?”

“Hah!”

“Anyway, I’ll be the one to kill that bastard. Don’t interfere. If you want to help, deal with the one with the saw-toothed sword.”

Loen let out a hollow laugh, then agreed. Henry’s pride wouldn’t allow him to let go of a grudge.

She knew better than to intervene; Henry’s temper could easily turn on her.

“Do as you wish.”

“That damned brat… He may have won this time, but he’ll regret this moment.”

Loen shook her head at Henry’s grinding teeth and followed him as he staggered forward.

And so, the hunter’s instinct to return to the hunt remains ever strong, as the forest whispers tales of survival and dominance.

* * *

In the sight of Yan and Cruel, a dock came into view.

Now, only a few hundred meters remained.

Cruel, who had been silent for a long time following Yan, finally couldn’t hold back and asked.

“Have you forgotten what you said before boarding the train?”

“Huh?”

“You said if they draw their sword, you’d half-kill them, but you let them go too easily.”

Cruel frowned and continued.

“No matter the plan, you should have at least cut off an arm. You know that. Those types don’t give up easily.”

“You think I left it at that without knowing?”

“…What?”

Cruel’s argument was valid.

Yan too would have cut off an arm, not just an arm but the head if he had no business with them.

But.

“If I did that, they might completely lose their will to fight.”

“Their will?”

Cruel tilted his head in confusion.

Yan laughed and cleared up the question.

“What I need are guys who are brimming with hostility towards me.”

“…What exactly is your plan?”

“Have you ever heard of the term ‘borrowing a knife to kill’?”

“Using another’s sword to commit murder?”

“Yeah, that. For that, they need to be very lively.”

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

As Cruel’s face contorted, Yan laughed out loud.

“You’ll see the answer soon enough, just watch. And don’t worry, I’ve taken some safety measures.”

“Safety measures?”

“When I patted his back earlier, I implanted mana to set a restraint. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to notice.”

At Yan’s words, Cruel’s face dropped open in astonishment.

“Wow… Did you do all that in that instant?”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re going to this extent, you must know what you’re doing. I’ll just wait for my reward later. Right?”

“Right.”

“Alright, let me know if you need anything.”

It was Yan’s clever plan; what could he possibly have to touch?

He just had to help with a bit of swordplay and later enjoy his reward.

With that thought, Cruel shook his head and walked forward.

By the time they reached the dock, four people had already arrived.

Cruel blinked.

“How did they get here so fast?”

Yan and he had rushed here by train as soon as they received their mission.

There was a brief scuffle with some odd characters, but it was over in no time.

Yet, those who started later than them had already arrived.

‘Come to think of it, those guys were already waiting when we arrived.’

Cruel turned his head to look at Yan.

He seemed to already know about the situation, his face not showing any surprise.

“Is there another way to get here faster than us?”

“…You mean using a gate?”

Cruel looked at the candidates with surprised eyes.

Yan explained that this ‘Revolutionary Army’ was an organization conspiring to overthrow the empire.

At first, he thought it was just a small-scale rebellion formed by social misfits.

Like the other forces that had been subjugated by the special task force until now.

But seeing the leaders of the Revolutionary Army, he felt something different.

‘The legion commanders I saw back then were all monstrous.’

The presence of the 7th Legion Commander alone was enough to send shivers down his spine and make it hard to breathe.

It was the first time he felt this way since reaching level 5.

Even then, he knew they weren’t ordinary…

‘Never thought they’d get their hands on a top-tier artifact like a gate directly managed by the empire.’

Cruel swallowed hard and sent a telepathic message to Yan.

-Isn’t this something the special task force commander or the Royal Knights should handle?

But there was no reply from Yan.

Probably because he didn’t feel the need to answer.

Cruel looked around at the candidates sitting on logs or rocks.

He wasn’t sure about the legion commanders, but these guys were definitely beatable no matter what.

As Cruel was deep in thought, turning his head furiously.

Yan looked at the blue sea beyond the dock with sunken eyes.

It was a very beautiful sea now.

‘But the moment the sunset fades and night falls, the sea turns into a terrifying lawless zone.’

Unlike the ‘North Sea,’ which is overrun with giant monsters and set as a forbidden zone, this ‘Black Sea’ is infested with fierce pirates.

The only ones who can stand against them are the navy of the southern ducal family, the Sun Duke.

About an hour after, Yan recalled the information about the pirates while looking at the sea.

Something entered his field of vision.

A huge ship with a menacing black flag adorned with a skull.

Boooooom!

As a powerful horn sounded, the candidates waiting at the dock turned their heads.

Karam sneered at the sight of the ship.

“Pirates have no concept of time, and it seems that’s true. They’re an hour later than promised.”

Along with him, Darkin chuckled and looked around.

“To think the 7th Legion, whom we considered the strongest, hasn’t arrived yet. This is as easy as eating cold porridge.”

At their conversation, Cruel suppressed a laugh that burst out unknowingly.

‘Those guys are strong opponents? They’re nothing special.’

Cruel turned his head towards the motionless freaks sitting in a corner.

Their presence was weak, but they were the successors of General Castro, whom Yan had warned to be wary of.

‘Yan wouldn’t talk nonsense, so I just need to watch those guys.’

Not long after the candidates began their reconnaissance.

Boom!

A giant pirate ship docked at the pier.

The dock seemed small, making the ship’s grandeur feel even greater.

“Wow…”

“Is this the pirate queen’s ship?”

Just then, a man jumped from the pirate ship.

Bang!

The man landed on the dock with a tough thud, his face full of scars.

He looked around at the candidates and grinned.

His exposed yellow teeth made his hideous appearance even more grotesque.

He asked with a rough laugh.

“Kehehe, are you the messengers from the Revolutionary Army or the Revolution Squad?”

At the man’s question, Karam scowled and stepped forward.

“I have nothing to say to you. We’re here for the pirate queen…”

That was the moment.

The man who had been giggling suddenly hardened his face.

Boom!

The sound of a cannon firing echoed.

The candidates’ eyes turned towards Karam.

There, the man was stomping on Karam’s head and pointing a curved sword at his neck.

“You think you, a maggot, can meet the captain? You’ve forgotten your place just because she agreed to meet you once?”

The man’s sharp threat silenced the dock.

Karam was completely overpowered and couldn’t say a word.

Someone spoke up.

“Captain, I apologize for the rudeness committed by this man. I’m sorry.”

At the rather smooth apology, the man turned his head.

Yan and the man looked at each other for a brief moment.

The man suddenly burst into a hearty laugh and removed his foot from Karam.

“Kahaha! At least there’s someone who knows right from wrong!”

The man laughed heartily and looked at the pirate ship, shouting.

“Boys! Lower the ladder!”

As soon as his shout ended, a ladder made of ropes was lowered from the pirate ship.

Karam struggled to his feet, glared at Yan and the man, and began to climb the ladder.

The other candidates started to follow, and Yan and the man also boarded the pirate ship.

The man confirmed that all the candidates were on board and then shouted towards the deck.

“Now, let’s slowly…!”

That was when.

“Wait a minute!”

From afar, two people were staggering and running towards them.

They were none other than Henry and Loen.

And shortly after, they too completed boarding.

The man shouted towards the deck with a booming voice.

“We’ve taken all the guests, now let’s return to our island!”