Last weekend, the day after Jang Namwook visited the Hwangmyeong Mansion.
I visited the stadium to be used in the upcoming sports exchange event and had a preliminary meeting with the Tigers.
Considering what Jang Namwook saw and what Do Sihoo’s light skill is, as well as the situation at the stadium, I could almost completely see what was going to happen on the day of the event.
‘I’m sure the Demon Race is planning to use Do Sihoo to put an end to this sports exchange event. They’ll try a public assassination of the two schools’ student representatives using Do Sihoo. They’re aware that the Tiger Clan could intercept at any time, and so they’d plant seeds all over the stadium.’
Any assassination plan is bound to fail once someone else foresees it.
It’s not going to be difficult to save Do Sihoo and make sure that the sports exchange event would go smoothly.
Thanks to Jang Namwook’s observation skills, we’re able to secure the upper hand.
I devised a plan where I could protect all my pieces as well as capture the enemy’s pieces.
My plan involves the White Tiger going under disguise and coming personally to the Eungwang Stadium.
Thankfully, Hwang Jiho permitted it.
I had to ask Hwang Jiho to put in place most of the things that were required in my plan.
First, we need the minimum number of people to help in the stadium, but everyone needs to be disguised as either a student or a faculty member.
Second, Jegal and Gong Cheonghwon need to remain in Eungwang High during the opening ceremony.
Third, the opening ceremony should include the performance of a ritual.
Lastly, we needed to block the communication signal inside.
I need Hwang Jiho to make every single one of those conditions possible.
“I’ll take care of it. I’ll ensure only the tigers needed in that event would be present. Those of us who will attend need to hide our identities, correct?”
“Yeah. The Demon Race will check through their Eye how many tigers are in the stadium.”
“So asking the newspaper department head to include us in the volunteers for the coverage of the event is part of the plan?”
“Yeah.”
In the living room of the Hwangmyeong mansion.
It was the weekend, but Hwang Jiho was wearing a school uniform.
This brazen old man spoke as he drank a pear slush made of carbonated water and finely chopped fresh pears.
“You’re concerned about the Eye so you want White Tiger to disguise himself as a student or a faculty member?”
“Yep. As much as possible, any identity except for a staff member. The Demon Race could access a full list of the staff members for the event, and then they could check with their Eye if there’s someone disguising themselves as a staff. We’d get found out if that happens.”
“Just like how you memorized all the names and faces of the staff members for the opening ceremony. Impressive, Jo Euishin.”
Hwang Jiho had a cheerful face.
The old man, who had been in a low mood since our first practice, seemed to be feeling better.
“White Tiger, you will disguise yourself as a student. As for me, I won’t have any problem with disguises of course… Red Tiger, you will have to be completely silent. Perhaps we should leave Yong Jegun at the school?”
I feel sorry for Yong Jegun too, but I agree that that would be better.
Of course, Yong Jegun can detect the Demon Race’s Eye which makes him a strong asset, but also a huge threat.
If the Demon Race discovers that Yong Jegun is either in Eungwang Stadium or is nowhere to be found, they’d surely be wary.
“And your second request is related to the first. You want Jegal and Gong Cheonghwon to remain in the school.”
“Yes. The Demon Race’s weakness is the Spiritual Word. If they know that a player with that skill is coming to the event, maybe they’d opt not to come to the stadium personally.”
Among the royal lineage, the Demon Race and the Sky Clan had different rules from the others.
The two had unique strengths that distinguished them from the others of the royal lineage, but they also had special weaknesses.
For the Demon Race, that weakness is the Spiritual Word.
‘There are a few people who have that skill. Those who possess that skill almost all fell into the hands of the Demon Race when they were still young. There are two people in Eungwang High that has that skill – Jegal and Gong Cheonghwon.’
The Demon Race was always involved in the death of players who possessed the Spiritual Word skill.
Just like in the game when Choi Pyeondeuk’s followers took hostage some students and used the seeds given by the Demon Race to kill Jegal.
The Demon Race didn’t openly kill those who possess the skill in order to prevent their weakness from being publicly revealed.
They’ve been using clever tricks to kill the skill users.
“The weakness of the Demon Race is Spiritual Word? It’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”
The Red Tiger, who had been silently listening until now, spoke in a dark voice.
The White Tiger and Hwang Jiho didn’t speak, but I know that they’ve guessed that the Demon Race would someday come for Gong Cheonghwon, the reincarnation of the Son of God.
“I’ll leave some extra work for those two tomorrow. Now on to the third request. You want White Tiger to perform the sword dance of the ritual of Warding off Evil Spirits just before the student representatives give their opening remarks?”
“Yeah. Can’t you adjust the event’s schedule?”
“Hahaha! There’s nothing that this body cannot do.”
Hwang Jiho laughed as he spoke.
“The schedule will be quite tight. Right after the school principals’ congratulatory speech, you and White Tiger need to successfully free Do Sihoo from the Demon controlling him.”
The plan sounded like it was impossible to execute at first, but I was confident that it would work.
Although Do Sihoo is being controlled by the Demon Race, I know his mental strength is strong enough for him to resist killing his own brother figure and a senior cadet.
Above all, Do Sihoo had a very good friend, Jang Namwook.
I don’t have any proof to back it up, but I know Jang Namwook’s sincerity would reach Do Sihoo and he’d regain his senses at least for a split second.
“We can do this.”
“You sound confident.”
“Anyway, I think right after the congratulatory speech is the perfect time to release Do Sihoo and start the ritual.”
It didn’t really matter if Do Sihoo became completely consumed by the Demon Race’s manipulation.
The King’s Word skill would surely wake him up.
“Once that happens, the demon would focus on Do Sihoo and he’d be distracted. We attack him at that moment. You need to finish checking all the audience seats before that happens.”
“I will.”
“How about the fourth request? Can you do it?”
My fourth request is to block all communication signals in the stadium.
Immediately after the youth retreat, I overheard Hwang Jiho and Yong Jegun’s conversation.
— Yong Jegun, did you feel the presence of the Eye after the communication signal was blocked?
— No. I felt the Eye right before the communication was blocked, but not at all after. I’m not sure, but I think it’s possible that they can’t use the Eye when communication signals and satellite alerts are blocked.
A technology that separates and selectively blocks electromagnetic waves used by the Demon Race’s Eye hasn’t been formulated yet.
But if we block both communication signals and satellite alerts, we can disable the Eye.
“It’s difficult to do it for a long time, but it’s not impossible. Let’s keep it blocked until we capture the demon.”
It’s common knowledge that once communication signal is cut off from one area, the association’s satellite management team will immediately look into it and try to restore it right away.
“We would have to block the satellite’s alarm for a certain period of time then. I say it is better to inform the association of our plan in advance so we won’t have to worry about that.”
There wasn’t any problem with that.
There’s a senior member of the association who is indebted to me and specifically told me to contact him whenever I needed anything.
“I’ll call Team Leader Hong Gyubin.”
I contacted Hong Gyubin, but he didn’t answer right away.
I remembered that Hong Gyubin delegated additional privileges to his subordinates recently, so I was tempted to call Deputy Manager Yoon if Hong Gyubin doesn’t answer my calls.
“By the way… Do we really intend to capture the demon? I think it’s going to be very difficult to catch him without causing any casualties.”
“There’s no problem at all. After helping White Tiger with the ritual, Jo Euishin will join me and help capture the demon.”
“What? Still… Wouldn’t the task be too difficult?”
Hwang Jiho answered Red Tiger’s question on my behalf
“Didn’t Jo Euishin say that the Demon Race’s weakness is the Spiritual Word? Once the skill is used against them, the demon won’t be difficult to capture at all.”
“Ah…!”
Red Tiger realized it after Hwang Jiho spoke.
“Jo Euishin can borrow other people’s abilities. I’m sure he can use the Spiritual Word skill.”
“I can’t believe it! I’ve forgotten that Jo Euishin can do that.”
“Exactly. It seems that our benefactor has such a valuable ability. Hahaha!”
Hwang Jiho spoke as if he was showing me off, while Red Tiger spoke in admiration.
I ignored the old man’s laughter as Hong Gyubin finally replied to my message.
[Hong Gyubin] Euishin. It’s about the sports exchange match that you mentioned.
[Hong Gyubin] Is the cadet Do Sihoo going to attend the event?
All I told Hong Gyubin was that we’d block satellite signals in the stadium for a while, but why did he suddenly mention Do Sihoo?
“I’ll talk to Team Leader Hong Gyubin on the phone for a second.”
“You can do it here. Does it have anything to do with the matter we’re discussing?”
“Maybe.”
“Take it.”
When I gained permission from the tigers to speak to Hong Gyubin, I obtained some unexpected information.
* * *
At the Player Military Academy’s Hospital, in the medical staff’s lounge.
A nursing officer was looking into several holograms with an anxious face.
The holograms floated showed news pages.
Even though the nursing officer repeatedly refreshed the pages several times, no noticeable breaking news came up.
It was when the Eungwang High broadcasting department resumed the live broadcasting did the nurse feel that something was strange.
‘How are those two still alive…?!’
The nursing officer stared at the screen and saw the two people who were set to be killed today.
Under the combined sunlight and bright lights inside the stadium, the student representatives of Eungwang High and Player Military Academy skillfully gave their opening remarks.
— And now, we declare the beginning of the first sports exchange exhibition between Eungwang High School and the Player Military Academy!
Loud applause and cheers from the audience were heard by the nurse over the screen.
The nursing officer ran outside, feeling a chill in his spine.
He knows that if the assassination plan fails, the audience and participants are bound to be destroyed.
Although the subject of the assassination was the young nuisance of the TC Group, he was the son of the King of Ships and a promising cadet in the military academy.
It’s obvious what fate awaits him, even if he remains alive.
It’s clear that all the blame for what would happen in today’s event would be put on the young cadet’s shoulders.
The nursing officer knew of the risks that this operation would entail, but he couldn’t resist the sweet and expensive temptation.
The nursing officer was optimistic, recalling the rumor spread by a broker, who was of royal lineage, and was currently staying overseas.
‘I need to get out of here before the Player Military Police begins investigating things. Good thing I got the cash reward in advance!’
The nursing officer hectically ran to the entrance of the Military Academy.
There were no soldiers at the entrance, and the biometric security in this area operates poorly.
He came out of the military academy safely as planned.
However…
On the mountain path that was usually empty, there stood a mysterious person.
“…Cadet Namgung Gyuyeon. What are you doing?”
Tuk! Hwik!
Namgung Gyuyeon was shoveling in the mountain path that led outside of the military academy’s boundary.
She was digging through the solid ground with the field shovel she always carries around.
She kept digging, glancing at the nursing officer with cunning eyes.
“Why? You curious?”
The nursing officer felt a strange sense of danger from Namgung Gyuyeon’s way of talking.
Namgung Gyuyeon had always been a free-spirited person, but she had always respected the military hierarchy and observed good manners.
However, Namgung Gyuyeon dropped all honorifics against him.
The nursing officer tried to ignore what Namgung Gyuyeon said, but he unknowingly stopped in his tracks.
“Sihoo has been experiencing mental disruption, but his energy wave test results always came back normal. Well, although he’s crazy on the outside, I know he’s a good kid.”
Namgung Gyuyeon took a file out of her arms and presented a paper.
The paper contained the result of Do Sihoo’s energy wave test.
“…Is there a problem with the examination results?”
Namgung Gyuyeon shook her head when the nursing officer asked in a nervous voice.
“There’s no problem at all. But looking at this carefully, the numbers are exactly the same with the graduating cadet who’s the same height and weight as Sihoo.”
Do Sihoo’s energy wave has been severely disturbed and controlled by the Demon Race.
The nursing officer had to cover up this fact, and so he swapped out Do Sihoo’s test results with a different cadet’s.
‘But she doesn’t have any evidence…!’
Just as there are energy waves that are similar in color, test results for different energy waves can also be similar.
The nursing officer was convinced that there would be no problem because he’s worked so hard to manipulate the information available in the office.
“I have a strong suspicion, but no matter how much I look into it, I just can’t find any physical evidence. Even if someone manipulated the data, I can’t pinpoint who it is. So I asked my brother to look into it. And guess what…”
Namgung Gyuyeon had a suspicious expression, and she suddenly raised the corner of her mouth and smirked.
“Turns out, one of the guys who did the test on Sihoo was a jerk who got paid by the TC Group bastard!”
Namgung Gyuyeon shouted as she used her energy wave and dug the field shovel deep into the ground.
Shake…!
Hit! Throw!
Immediately after that, the ground moved back and forth, and the nursing officer was thrown upside down in a hole dug by the female cadet.
It all happened so fast that the nursing off didn’t get a chance to scream, let alone try to save himself.
The nursing officer heard a low voice from above the ground.
“I’m an executive of the Player Association’s regulatory department. In accordance with the regulations, I am going to seal your light skill and take away your ability to materialize cards.”
The nursing officer already lost his mind before he could properly understand what the voice said.
Namgung Gyuyeon watched as the nursing officer was face-down on the ground, panting from the impact and the words of the man who wore a black coat and leather gloves.
“Gyubin oppa, let him spit out everything he knows before you hand him over to the military police. Let me in on it too.
