Max Talent Player - Chapter 237

‘Song Junghye started to become famous as the Blood and Iron Queen from the Bali Naval Battle onwards.’

It was then that Song Junghye began to take off.

Just as the ‘Battle of the Maldives’ was the stage where Shin Yeonseo earned her Sword Empress name, the ‘Bali Naval Battle’ was the stage where Song Junghye earned her Blood and Iron Queen moniker.

‘What appeared back then was the Immortal Fleet.’

And after a very long time, even the Turtle Ship made an appearance.

‘An ability that will become the Blood and Iron Queen’s foundation.’

He was starting to get a sense of what was happening.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

The Immortal Fleet.

Naval battle.

And even the Turtle Ship.

This was where she had obtained the ability that would become her launch pad, her cornerstone, and she had gotten it with the help of the Great Explorer Jackson.

“You said you wanted to clear the Yi Sun-sin statue gate?” asked Hyukjin.

“Yes. I have a key that can open it.”

“With Miss Song Junghye coming over there?”

Song Junghye walked up with a scowl on her face. She spat a question at Hyukjin, her face dripping with displeasure.

“What exactly is going on here?”

“Ah.” Hyukjin answered, “I was investigating because I felt a strange current at the statue. With my guild members.”

Shin Yeonseo chipped in. “That’s why Sunghyun and Sung-gu came flying over by helicopter. In advance.”

Meaning, that was just how attached they were to this place. In all truth, Yeonseo couldn’t feel anything from the Yi Sun-sin statue, and she hadn’t met eyes with it like Pietro had. She just jumped in after reading the mood.

Jackson nodded.

“Seeing as all the members of Giantgod are here, it’s certainly true that Guildmaster Kim got to the statue first.”

Song Junghye took a step forward. “That’s hardly of any importance. Guildmaster Kim Hyukjin. Do you have a key to open the gate?”

“No.”

“But Jackson does. They may have gotten here first, but they can’t go in anyway. We’ll be clearing this gate as planned.”

Song Junghye felt a touch of superiority. ‘Who cares if you come here first and wait?’

They could wait all they wanted, but they couldn’t open the gate without Jackson. No matter how high and mighty Kim Hyukjin was, this gate would be cleared by her and the Blood and Iron Lion.

Hyukjin tilted his head.

“I wonder about that.”

It was true that they couldn’t get into the ‘Immortal Fleet Gate’ without Jackson’s help. That made Jackson the key person here, and Hyukjin knew Jackson well. In addition, he was a far more skilled negotiator than Song Junghye.

Hyukjin continued, “A small scenario called the Gwanghwamun Plaza Raid is going on right now.”

“What about it?”

“If something unfortunate were to happen during the chaos, none would be the wiser.”

“Something unfortunate?” Kang Woongmin took a step forward from Song Junghye’s side. “Please watch what you say. What does ‘something unfortunate’ mean, exactly? Am I being overly sensitive when I hear that as a threat?”

“Someone set an assassin on me before. If I had shown any openings, I would have been murdered.”

“And?”

Jung Sangchul’s eyes narrowed. Kim Hyukjin was explicitly talking about him.

“I know who set the assassin on me, and I know who the assassin is.”

“What does that have to do with you right now?”

Kang Woongmin bared his displeasure.

Something unfortunate?

Those words could only be taken to mean that Giantgod Guild would squash the Blood and Iron Lion with force, or worse, eliminate them via murder.

He couldn’t just sit around after hearing fighting words like that. As the de facto Numero Dos of Blood and Iron Lion, Kang Woongmin had to step forward. Song Junghye lifted her hand to restrain him, judging that nothing good would come of saying more.

Kim Hyukjin stared Song Junghye straight in the eye.

“That person knows who they are.”

“Enough with the pointless talk. Let’s return to the matter at hand.”

“No, I’m not done yet.”

Like the trained producer he was, Hyukjin activated ‘Mettle’ at exactly the right time. A formless energy seeped from his body, descending on Song Junghye and the members of her guild, who instantly shrank back psychologically.

“Do you really think I turned a blind eye to people who wanted to assassinate me because I’m simply too kind?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” Song Junghye gritted.

“It wasn’t because I’m kind.”

Song Junghye’s mouth snapped shut. Her eyes dodged Hyukjin’s gaze. She unconsciously looked away without meaning to.

‘I… avoided his gaze?’

It was a huge blow to her pride. Terribly humiliated by the fact that she had looked away, Junghye jerked up her eyes and met Kim Hyukjin’s gaze.

“It’s because I can kill them at any time. That’s why I just let them be. Because I didn’t want to dirty my hands.”

“…What unpleasant nonsense are you going on about?”

Hyukjin smiled. “Of course, I wasn’t talking about you, Miss Song.”

Anyone could see he was talking about her, but in any case, Song Junghye suddenly found it easier to breathe. Hyukjin had stopped using Mettle.

With just a few words, he had taken complete control over the conversation.

Hyukjin didn’t intend on killing Song Junghye anyway. Prodding the bee’s nest with words like ‘something unfortunate’ was just to draw their attention and lead the situation into the direction he wanted. Put simply, it was a provocation.

“Jackson, have you signed a permanent partnership with the Blood and Iron Lion?”

“No. We’re cooperating only for this gate.”

Hyukjin knew he’d answer like that. In the past, Jackson had kept his connection to the Blood and Iron Lion a tightly locked secret. Hyukjin didn’t know why. But he had a suspicion the Blood and Iron Lion may have been Jackson’s proxy guild, and that the same might have applied to the Blood and Iron Witch Song Junghye. Their relationship didn’t seem to be at that level yet, however.

‘So he’ll keep it a secret now, too.’

Jackson would just say they were briefly working together, and Hyukjin was right.

“Isn’t your goal to successfully explore this gate, Jackson?”

“Yes.”

“I think we can be of greater assistance in achieving that goal.”

“But I’ve already agreed to work with Blood and Iron Lion.”

* * *

* * *

Flashing an intentional smile, Hyukjin made a slight gamble.

“Why? Did Miss Song say she wanted the Immortal Fleet?”

“Oh. You know about the Immortal Fleet?”

Jackson’s expression brightened with interest. He hadn’t mentioned the Immortal Fleet yet, but Kim Hyukjin seemed to already know of it.

“I do. That’s why I’m here.”

“As I thought, Guildmaster Kim has special eyes.”

Hyukjin’s shot in the dark hit the bullseye. He threw the line casually, but the fish chomped right at the bait.

‘That confirms it. It’s possible to get the Immortal Fleet in there.’

He really couldn’t afford to back down to Song Junghye then. The Immortal Fleet had displayed incredible might in the Bali Naval Battle. If it was possible to obtain, Hyukjin had to get it. He had no intention of letting the Blood and Iron Witch have it.

“Does the gate have a restriction on the number of participants?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Great, then it’d be great if Giantgod participated too. I think we can also be of help to you, Jackson.”

Hyukjin’s proposal was certainly reasonable.

‘If Jackson wants to exclusively nurture Song Junghye, he’ll refuse.’

If Jackson refused, that could be taken as a confirmation that he wanted to back Song Junghye.

“I’ll need to talk to Guildmaster Song Junghye for a moment,” Jackson said, turning around.

Some time later, Jackson came back bearing a refusal.

“I looked into it a little more, and there’s a slight problem.”

“What is it?”

“It seems entry is restricted to those who have personally heard a special incantation, plus their party.”

Song Junghye openly sneered. “How sad. It was all in vain.”

Hyukjin didn’t rise to Song Junghye’s provocation. “What do you mean by a special incantation?”

Somehow, Hyukjin had a feeling he knew what it was. He had certainly heard a special incantation in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, recited by the German archer, Schultz. A short, but meaningful incantation based on words spoken by Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

“Are you possibly referring to ‘Seek life to die, seek death to live’?”

“…”

Jackson was struck speechless.

“How… did you know that?”

“He who prepares can seize the future.”

To be honest, it was really pure luck this time. Hyukjin himself hadn’t prepared anything; it just landed in his lap. But even as he spoke with Jackson, Hyukjin wondered to himself if it was really luck.

Thinking about it further, he somehow had the feeling it wasn’t. Ultimately, Hyukjin got the Canvas of Longing in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, one of the first clues leading to the Endless Sky. And the Endless Sky was the meeting place arranged by the Demon King.

So what if he thought of it like this? The Demon King planned for him to go into the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate, where he heard Schultz’s incantation, and the Immortal Fleet could be obtained at the continuation of that plan. Then wouldn’t that make this not luck, but pieces lined up by someone’s hand?

‘It’s a reasonable deduction for sure.’

The Demon King.

Just who was he, to make such arrangements? Why did he say he would be waiting for Hyukjin at the Endless Sky?

Jackson nodded.

“It’s certainly true that only those who prepare can take the future in stride. But truly, I’m awed. To think you had already heard that incantation… You’re really something else.”

Song Junghye grimaced like she had just stepped into dog poo.

‘What the hell is happening?’

She thought this was a golden opportunity to snub Kim Hyukjin.

‘Didn’t he say it was almost impossible?’

Jackson said the incantation had never shown up in Korea.

‘That we were the chosen ones?’

She was told only the Blood and Iron Lion was given the honor of being ‘chosen by an explorer’, and only they could go inside. But the way things were going, it seemed that wasn’t at all true. She met eyes with Kim Hyukjin.

‘Dammit.’

Defeat coursed through her. There wasn’t a smile on his face, but in her eyes, Kim Hyukjin seemed to be smiling.

‘This bastard… created some kind of weird term in Italy, didn’t he?’

There was a term trending in Italy: ‘Korean Style’. Just how? How the hell did he know to prepare an incantation that was necessary for a gate in Korea but didn’t yet exist in the country?

“Jackson. We need to talk.”

She and Jackson talked. Kim Hyukjin could not simply be allowed to waltz in. To be honest, she was a little scared of him, and working with him was the last thing she wanted. However, she kept those feelings to herself.

The result of their conversation was shared by Jackson.

“Let’s go inside together. However, you must promise to concede everything that isn’t a direct reward to me. You may not know this, but I can change the entry conditions.”

The explorer class was truly versatile. Jackson could change the entry conditions? Hyukjin found it amusing.

‘If he could, he would have already used it.’

But instead of telling him about this ability, Jackson had brought up the incantation. If Jackson didn’t want to let him in, then he would have used the entry restriction ability well in advance. Hyukjin read Jackson like a book.

‘I guess this means he’s giving Song Junghye the impression he’s actively cooperating with her, while cooperating with me on the sly.’

Notices came in.

[The ‘Whispering Devil’ is enjoying themselves.]

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ is observing.]

The two Guardians appeared to be following the situation closely.

If Hyukjin had to guess, the Immortal Fleet Gate was a place of high importance, important enough to be part of the Demon King’s plans. The Guardians were probably watching very intently.

He didn’t just go in right away.

‘Let’s show them a little more here.’

Two chefs could create a completely different-tasting dish with the same ingredients. Walking in right away was fine too, but how delicious a scene one could produce with the same props was entirely up to the producer’s skill.

‘The Whispering Devil is having fun, too.’

Wanting to add some seasoning before entering the gate, Hyukjin intentionally addressed Song Junghye.

“Any more conditions to add? It feels like we’ll be in the Blood and Iron Lion’s debt. I’d be happy to accept more conditions.”

In Kim Sunhwa’s eyes, her brother’s smile seemed to carry a hint of wickedness.

[The ‘Whispering Devil’ is enjoying themselves even more.]