Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1279. Betrayal (2)

The stupid pig was grinning like a maniac.

‘This is definitely going to work.’

Just by looking at him, anyone could tell that he wasn’t the thinking type. He was a greedy pig who looked like eating was the only thing he cared about.

Whether he enjoyed gourmet food or was just a slave to his appetite didn’t really matter. Either way, the offer to let him eat the flesh of a god had to be incredibly tempting.

The fact that just a little taste of blood had triggered such an extreme transformation spoke volumes.

I could still clearly remember the way he smacked his lips after drinking it. Well, I didn’t actually see it up close... but the way he was drooling made it obvious that he’d take the bait.

A moment later, he opened his torn-up mouth and said, "Th-that’s a lie."

I hadn't expected that.

‘Wait, what...’

"It’s... a lie."

‘It’s not a lie, damn it.’

[It’s the truth... (0/1)]

[A Legendary-rank Forced Quest has been delivered to Player Martin Oshman. No quest rewards were declared, so Player Martin Oshman will not receive a reward.]

"Th-there’s no reward. It’s a lie."

‘Damn it.’

"C-Captain’s strong... I-I won’t do it... unless there’s a reward. There are too many liars in the world. I’ll never be fooled again."

“...”

"Captain... is scary... I might die... It’s a lie... I won’t do it."

‘What’s wrong with this pig? Man... I don’t feel good about declaring a reward...’

Just thinking about how even Kim Hyun-Sung could be bound by a quest reward made it clear to me that divine promises carried a weight far beyond that of an ordinary promise. If the pig actually managed to kill Jung Jin-Ho, there was a high chance that I’d have to hand over my body to him.

‘Seriously... out of everyone here, this bastard’s the smartest one.’

The others jumped to accept the quest the moment it appeared. It was like they were rabid dogs, but this guy somehow managed to stay calm.

[Creating a Legendary-rank Quest.]

[Kill Jung Jin-Ho (0/1)]

[A Legendary-rank Quest has been delivered to Player Martin Oshman. A Quest Reward has been declared.]

[Checking the Quest Reward.]

[Holy Body]

‘...’

"No, it’s a lie. Heh..."

Naturally, quests were sent out to some I had hopes for, and whether they accepted the quest or not didn’t really matter to me.

After all, this was a group without loyalty or team spirit. The only reason why they hadn’t fallen apart was Jung Jin-Ho’s tight control over them. If one threw something irresistible their way, they’d accept it without hesitation.

A tense atmosphere hung among those who received the message.

The cunning pig acted as if nothing was wrong. He casually ran away with a person’s leg as if it were a chicken drumstick. However, a masked woman and a seemingly ordinary man were exchanging glances.

They probably caught on.

I hadn’t disclosed the presence of a potential ally, but strange behaviors would always stick out like a sore thumb.

‘They want it. Greedy bastards. They definitely want it.’

They were creatures of desire. Whatever they wanted, every player who had grown as strong as them craved power. Jung Jin-Ho seemed to have set that goal aside, but at least within the brigade, many wanted my cotton candy.

‘The reward... is the young divine body itself... Even Villain Song coveted it... these bastards won’t be any different.’

The ordinary-looking guy gripped his sword just as Jung Jin-Ho lunged toward his next prey.

‘Nice sneak attack.’

The masked woman immediately responded to the ordinary-looking guy's move. Even though they hadn't made any agreement, a perfectly timed ambush was unleashed.

It was unknown whether he hadn't anticipated an ambush by his comrades, or he could not simply focus elsewhere, but a knife pierced Jung Jin-Ho’s side.

"Heh... hehe..."

Jung Jin-Ho’s chuckle clearly showed that he was crazy.

"Yeah, I’ll have to kill you guys too."

There was no sign of shock from the betrayal. I didn’t know how he really felt about the brigade members, but after becoming the Seeker in the Blood Puddle, the others probably just looked like prey in his eyes.

Perhaps he was too hot-headed to think at all. Moreover, the ones who stabbed him in the back reacted in a way that was too natural for them to be sane.

"Whew... You’re... definitely quick-witted. I’m sure I aimed for his heart... but how exactly do we kill him?"

"If we cut his head off, he can’t recover. We can stab his heart, too. But I think cutting off his head is the most effective. His recovery ability has gone beast mode. He recovers quickly even from that."

"So we just have to watch out for our heads as well. This doesn’t seem like such an unfair fight."

"Agreed. Actually, I’ve been curious for a while. I knew the captain was strong... but to find out how strong he is... we just have to test him and see."

"Well, even if you're the captain, getting your head cut off would kill you."

The tall, lanky guy was still hesitating, looking at Jung Jin-Ho and the two traitors.

"Uh..."

"Will you join us?"

"Ugh... mmm..."

"By the way... what was your name again?"

"Uh... umm... um..."

The three of them had already grabbed onto Jung Jin-Ho. When I kept sending a message to the rest, who looked pretty ordinary, they started heading toward the masked woman.

One thing that made me a little uneasy was that the pig from earlier was hiding.

Curled up behind a large tree, exposed and unhidden, he was still tearing at some flesh. It was unclear what he was thinking, but his stance clearly showed that he had no intention of joining the brawl.

‘That bastard has to be the first to die. Damn it... I don’t care about the others, but he really needs to die...’

I had no idea if he knew that the pig was preparing to reach out his fat hand toward him, but Jung Jin-Ho was busy baring his teeth at the enemies right in front of him.

"He... hehehe... hahahaha!"

His low chuckle transformed into a peal of maniacal roar as he sprang into motion.

The brigade members instantly surrounded and charged at the monster.

Jung Jin-Ho swung his sword, and the ordinary-looking man’s finger was cut off, but he quickly picked up the sword with his other hand and struck again. He didn’t even seem to care about the finger he lost.

Since it recovered instantly, worrying about it would be strange.

The others were the same. They didn’t even flinch at their injuries, and even when their limbs were severed, they remained unbothered. Some reattached their arms right away, and others just waited for them to grow back.

‘Damn, what kind of healing rate is that?’

Calling it "rapid regeneration" would be an understatement. Watching a severed arm restore itself like time was rewinding was more than just impressive.

‘That is the power of a Templar.’

"Damn it! That’s the second time I’ve lost an arm already! You bastard!"

"Don’t get worked up. This is a long fight, and in the end, we’re bound to win."

"It looks like the pursuit team is on their way, too... What should we do?"

"We kill them, of course."

"Ugh..."

"Even the captain wants to kill them."

Just as they said, I saw people chanting a spell while charging straight at the enemy. The other brigade members were no different. They moved from place to place, eliminating their targets. Clearly, they were focused on clearing the area first.

‘This is insane...’

Watching them trade attacks with one another made it hard for me to make sense of what was happening. And even worse, their wounds healed completely in just a short period of time.

‘The side effects will come soon. They'll come soon.’

The side effects weren't limited to the brigade members. Jung Jin-Ho was steadily accumulating wounds as well. They weren’t as extreme as severed limbs, but he had many deep cuts and daggers sticking out of his thighs and side.

In a one-vs-many fight, he instinctively understood that losing an arm meant his head was next. And he couldn’t afford to focus solely on them. He had to take down as many of them as possible.

"Ahhhh! This is the fifth time already... Damn it... Why do my limbs keep getting cut off so cleanly? Damn it all!"

"You recover right away anyway! Quit whining and get back in there!"

"O-okay..."

"Not you, Tall Guy!"

"R-right..."

"Everyone, stay alert. As you’ve probably noticed, our recovery is starting to slow down. Well... it’s not strange, considering how much we’ve healed already... but aren’t you curious? Just one sip caused this much of a reaction... What do you think would happen if we drank all the blood inside that body?"

"..."

"Kgh... That was a pretty sharp strike, wasn't it, Captain? Huh?

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Y-you... bast..."

A faint line appeared across the ordinary-looking man’s neck, and just like that, his head slid off his shoulders.

"M-my head... was chopped off... D-damn... Is this... not going to heal? Ahh... I don’t want to die..."

Even with his head severed, the ordinary-looking man’s mouth was still moving. It was such a grotesque sight. Seeing that, the other brigade members rushed at Jung Jin-Ho once again.

Jung Jin-Ho stomped on the severed head, crushing it beneath his foot, and then he threw his sword toward them.

" It’s Juliena! Watch out!"

"I saw it too! I’ll buff you. Block it with your body!"

"Damn it!

One of them had their chest pierced by Juliena. Though still alive, it was clear that the tides of battle had shifted. One was dead and another was severely injured. And now, they could no longer regenerate like before.

Strangely enough, it was like Jung Jin-Ho wasn't feeling exhausted at all. While it was clear that he wasn’t as energetic as he was in the beginning, compared to the others, his stamina was holding up surprisingly well.

‘Is it related to faith?’

Perhaps it was because he drank more of it than the rest.

‘Even so...’

“He’s tired,” I mumbled.

Since he had been fighting the other Templars from his own brigade, it was inevitable for him to reach his limits. Whether he realized it due to his newfound power or not, he was undeniably exhausted.

Just then, the pig rose to his feet.

‘Huh?’

There was a brief silence. Both Jung Jin-Ho and the two brigade members paused to catch their breath. In that fleeting moment, I saw the pig launching himself at Jung Jin-Ho.

“N-no! Damn it.”

Had he been crouching all that time just to build up momentum? The pig came barreling in with far greater speed than I expected. He was so fast that he reminded me of Kim Hyun-Sung. His charge had the weight and intensity of a dump truck careening forward, and the sight made my stomach drop.

‘Holy, why is he so fast?’

Even Jung Jin-Ho couldn’t respond in time. He cast a spell he had memorized, but the pig’s Stamina was beyond imagination, so the pig didn't even slow down.

The pig's mouth stretched open. It opened wide enough to swallow Jung Jin-Ho’s head whole.

The sight ensured that no one would call him human at this point.

Jung Jin-Ho’s eyes widened in shock.

“No! Damn it! No!!”

Just as I thought that he would get eaten by that pig...

Craaaaack!

A loud explosion rang out. Jung Jin-Ho was blasted away, but it wasn’t because someone had rescued him.

"What the hell? What are you guys doing?"

‘Hee-Ra noona?’

"Wait, did I just help Jung Jin-Ho? Were you guys fighting each other? Brigade members betraying the captain? That’s definitely what it looks like..."

“...”

"These bastards... They’re just monsters now."

And...

"It seems they were in the middle of fighting each other, Miss Cha Hee-Ra."

I saw Kim Hyun-Sung.