Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 166

Yan, with a gaze lifted high, greeted Loen who looked at him as if he were a monster.

Pushing her aside, Henry, who had fled, had now become a mere dot, escaping far into the distance.

At that sight, Yan couldn’t help but let out a derisive chuckle.

“Is that supposed to be a comrade?”

Loen bit her lip in response to Yan’s question.

‘…If one must die, it’s only right that the weaker me should be the one.’

With determined eyes, Loen looked up at Yan.

“Kill me! You won’t catch Henry anyway. And I won’t utter a single word.”

Henry, being an elf, could move at speeds comparable to a superhuman in such a dense forest.

Even for a monster as strong as this one, catching Henry in the forest would be an impossible task.

“Really?”

Yan smirked, perfectly restraining her from escaping.

He stretched out his left leg in the direction Henry had fled.

Loen’s eyes widened at the sight.

The distance between Henry and them must have already exceeded a kilometer.

‘He thinks he can catch that?’

She looked at Yan with incredulous eyes.

Soon, a rough surge of energy emanated from Yan. And then…

Whoosh!

Yan’s form turned into a straight beam of light, advancing rapidly in the direction Henry had escaped.

Loen, taken aback by the incredible speed, unwittingly gaped in awe.

* * *

Henry ground his teeth in frustration, feeling the overwhelming presence bearing down on him from behind.

“Damn it all!”

He had thrown Loen to the wolves and fled, casting aside even his pride, which he held so dear.

The least he could do was avoid being caught by that brute.

But no matter which direction he turned or how he cloaked himself in invisibility, the brute, Yan, was hot on his heels, sensing every move.

Despite Henry’s relentless flight, Yan’s pursuit only intensified.

“How in the world are you following me?!”

Henry screamed at the top of his lungs as he darted between the trees.

From a distance, Yan heard Henry’s near-scream and smirked.

“Still haven’t figured it out?”

The mana he had secretly placed on Henry was still doing its job, allowing Yan to chase him effortlessly.

After a relentless game of cat and mouse, Yan finally caught up to Henry.

“Have you given up?”

Henry, realizing he could no longer shake off the pursuit, stood defiantly, glaring back at Yan.

“You bastard! I gave you Loen, now do whatever you want with her and leave me be!”

Henry raged, spewing nonsense in his fury.

Yan twisted his mouth at the sight of Henry.

“I need you,” he said simply.

“Need? What are you talking about…!”

Before Henry could finish his sentence, Yan kicked up mana and launched himself forward.

Henry hastily raised his rapier, but before he could aim it at Yan, Yan had already rammed into Henry’s abdomen with his shoulder.

Boom!

Henry was sent flying at an incredible speed, crashing into a giant tree behind him.

“Cough!”

Blood spurted from his mouth, his insides in turmoil.

But Yan wasn’t finished yet.

He crouched beside the incapacitated Henry, gripping his head roughly.

Crack!

“Ugh.”

“Answer well, and I might spare you. Tell me what you know about the former supreme commander.”

Henry glared at Yan, his cheeks twitching.

Yan watched him quietly, but that was short-lived.

“Ptui!”

Henry spat a thick mixture of blood and phlegm onto Yan’s face.

Then he burst into hysterical laughter.

“You think I’d tell you what you want to know? You dog!”

Yan wiped the blood and spit from his face with an expressionless gaze.

He twisted his mouth.

“I never thought you’d know anything in the first place.”

With that, Yan jerked his hand, holding Henry’s hair, to the side.

Crack.

A sound of something breaking came from Henry’s neck, and his body slumped lifelessly.

Yan looked down coldly at Henry’s corpse, then hoisted it over his shoulder and returned to where Loen was.

* * *

Loen surveyed her surroundings, taking stock of the dire situation.

Darkin, who had launched the ambush with her, was now decapitated, his head and body rolling on the ground, while she herself was thoroughly restrained, unable to move.

‘It’s all over.’

Realistically, her chances of survival were nonexistent.

She could roughly guess why Yan had only restrained her and pursued Henry.

‘Probably… he wants to extract some information through torture.’

It was at that moment.

Rustle.

From the bushes nearby, two figures emerged.

As Loen squinted towards them, one face became clear.

A flush of hope colored her face.

“Karam!”

If it was Karam, who was close to Darkin, seeing his corpse would surely enrage him.

As the saying goes, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ If she could just ally with him, they might overcome this predicament.

As Karam approached, Loen shouted.

“Karam, quickly untie me. Your comrade has fallen to that devilish Yan!”

But Karam showed no reaction to her desperate pleas.

Instead, it was Cruel, Yan’s ally, who responded.

“What’s this? Did you talk back to Yan and get yourself in trouble again?”

Loen’s eyes widened as Cruel revealed himself.

She asked Karam, bewildered.

“You, why are you with him…?”

“Why? I followed secretly because I was bored when everyone left.”

Cruel said nonchalantly, picking his nose.

Karam passed by the two and headed somewhere.

His destination was Darkin’s decapitated corpse.

“…Foolish boy.”

Karam quietly observed Darkin’s head and body.

Loen was puzzled as Karam didn’t explode in rage as she expected.

“Aren’t you angry?”

Karam turned to look at Loen, his eyes hollow.

“Angry… of course, it’s natural.”

“What do you mean!”

Thud!

“Shut up for a second. Your whining is really annoying.”

Cruel kicked Loen in the ribs, clearly irritated.

Loen gasped from the sudden blow.

After about ten minutes, Yan was seen approaching from a distance, carrying something on his shoulder.

Cruel waved his hand.

“Hey, looks like you caught him.”

Loen’s eyes widened at his words.

She quickly looked at Yan, who was approaching.

As Cruel had said, the golden hair flowing down like seaweed over his shoulder seemed to confirm it was Henry.

‘He, he actually caught him?’

Before her shock could subside, Yan set down what he had been carrying.

Thump!

Loen’s face hardened as she saw Henry’s condition.

His face was deathly pale, and the stillness of his chest indicated he wasn’t breathing.

The once arrogant Henry was dead.

Cruel asked, puzzled.

“Hey, didn’t you say he was useful? Why kill him so easily after letting him go all this time?”

“The use is for his corpse.”

Yan replied dryly, squatting down.

He then tore his shirt.

Rip!

Yan took the torn piece of cloth and began to whip it across the chest and legs of Henry’s corpse.

Swish! Swish!

With each swing, the cloth left marks on Henry’s chest.

“Is this how it’s done?”

Yan tilted his head, examining the scars he had left on Henry’s body.

Loen’s eyes bulged at the sight.

‘That, that’s…!’

The unique yet familiar scars.

They closely resembled the technique used by the subordinates of the Fourth Legion’s commander, Mel and Don.

After leaving similar scars all over Henry’s body, Yan picked up the rapier that had been thrown aside and walked towards Darkin.

Karam, who had been guarding the area, looked at Yan as he approached.

“…Can we at least take the body intact?”

It was a somber and gloomy request, but Yan shook his head, refusing.

“You saw what he did. I let him off once, and he tried to harm me again.”

Karam sighed.

Indeed, Karam had witnessed everything they had done to Yan while hidden.

In such a situation, his request to take care of the body was futile.

Yan walked past the still-standing Karam and stood in front of Darkin’s torso.

He then began to hack at the body with the rapier.

Loen nearly fainted at the sight.

“Madness, a frenzy?!”

The swordsmanship Yan displayed was a frenzy, a technique only a few of Electus’s disciples could use.

After mutilating Darkin’s body for a while, Yan casually tossed the rapier aside and turned around.

“Now that it’s all over, shall we have a chat among the remaining people?”

Karam and Loen trembled.

Karam regained his composure quickly, but Loen, thinking it was her turn to die, shook uncontrollably.

Yan approached them with a smile on his lips.

Cruel watched them and pulled out a ripe apple from his pocket, taking a bite.

Crunch!

“It strangely reminds me of the old days.”

* * *

Two hours had passed.

The news of the return of all the officer candidates brought together every legion commander.

But soon, the headquarters descended into chaos.

It was because of the two corpses that Yan, Karam, and Loen brought back from their mission.

“Aaaaah! Darkin!”

“…Henry.”

Especially Aisha, the commander of the 3rd Legion, and Electus, the commander of the 7th Legion, unleashed their emotions more violently than the others.

Instead of bringing good news, their lovers and disciples had returned as corpses.

Aisha’s eyes, red with fury, glared at Yan, who had brought Darkin’s body.

“…Who are you? Are you responsible for this?”

Yan clicked his tongue.

Indeed, the aura emanating from the legion commander was electrifying.

Following her, Electus also glared at Yan with blazing eyes.

Around him, the white sword energy sparked wildly, influenced by his turbulent emotions.

Despite the pressure from them, Yan stood his ground and said,

“Darkin was killed by Henry. And Henry was killed by Mel and Don over there.”

At this, the pupils of Don and Mel, standing behind the 4th Legion commander, dilated.

“We… we know nothing about it.”

“Lies… stop!”

The vehement reaction from them caused a heavy silence to fall over the room.

It meant that either Yan or the subordinates of the 4th Legion commander were lying.

Aisha’s face darkened, and she walked towards the coffin containing Darkin’s body.

She scanned Darkin’s body with her eyes.

Her gaze turned icy as she examined it.

“…Hey, Electus.”

Aisha turned to Electus with a trembling voice.

“Why are there traces of your damned frenzy on my lover’s body?”

At her words, Electus’s face hardened.

He quickly approached Darkin’s coffin and inspected the body.

After confirming, Electus sighed.

It was indeed the trace of a perfect frenzy.

Although slightly clumsy, considering Henry’s achievements, it was all too natural.

Aisha glared at the speechless Electus, her words biting.

“If you don’t explain properly, I’ll flay you and your disciples to console my lover’s spirit.”

The energy emanating from her was directed at Electus. The anger was so intense that it caused vibrations in the ground.

Electus, in turn, raised his energy.

“You? Against me?”

Whooooosh.

The tension between the two surged violently.

The other legion commanders watched the outburst of energy silently.

That’s when it happened.

“May I say something?”

In the explosive atmosphere, Yan raised his hand.

Aisha and Electus, who were gathering their energy, turned their gaze to Yan.

‘This is just right.’

The emotions ripening between the two were perfect.

Now, all that was needed was to direct these emotions towards the right target.

“Do you two really need to fight? Wouldn’t the mastermind behind this incident be the only one pleased?”

Aisha’s eyes cooled down.

“The mastermind behind this incident?”

Yan mentioned someone who wasn’t present.

“Yes, someone who deliberately pitted you two against each other.”

The impatient Electus couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Who is it?!”

Yan smiled slyly.

“Who else would be pleased to see you two fight?”

The room was enveloped in silence.

“The only one would be the leader of the current revolutionary army.”