EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 1042: Injection (12)

"The rats appeared in the cave, and they withdrew. Does this mean the Western Tribe has moved?"

Although they were referred to as bodyguards, these men were knights in charge of important operations in South Korea.

They acted separately from the main knights, allowing them to avoid the plague, but they were well aware of the plague that had spread due to the oath of the three knights.

The plague, which seemed to reflect Seodo's personality, was extremely troublesome and repulsive.

Necrosis of the skin, the accompanying stench, diminishing eyesight, the pain that came with using their special abilities—these were just a few symptoms.

While the disease could be prevented from worsening through the use of special abilities, it came with excruciating pain, and depending on Seodo’s mood, the disease could suddenly worsen, forcing them to endure even greater pain to use their abilities.

If they stopped suppressing the disease due to fear of the pain, the disease would deepen, and they might die or fall into a state of unconsciousness, leaving the mentally afflicted in a deteriorated state.

If the leader of the Western Tribe had indeed shown up and spread the plague, the decision to withdraw immediately would have been the correct one.

However, the Earthshaking Knight didn’t immediately agree.

"But was it really Seodo? He must have already lost interest in us. If he had wanted to strike again, he would have done so by now. If he had known about the cave, he would have invaded and stolen what was inside."

This thought was right.

Seodo wasn’t angry enough to spread the plague, but he had slowly begun to grow bored with toying with the three knights' oath.

Still, if he knew they were holding Qinghao’s body, he would have rushed into the cave.

Seodo’s keen interest in the Hojo family was something that could be discovered with a little investigation into the Western Tribe.

However, the fact that spiritual energy had been used before the rat sound interrupted his thoughts troubled him.

"It wasn’t just a rat sound; it was a rat-like sound that could affect the cave, and it seems that another tribe, not the Hojo family, is involved...! That crazy hedonist might have planned this timing."

The Earthshaking Knight couldn’t fathom the involvement of another tribe, other than Seodo, in the situation.

The 12 Zodiac Alliance was isolated, and especially the Hojo family was highly exclusive.

Although the Tuo Tribe and Hojo family occasionally exchanged insults, they maintained contact, and recently, it seemed that the Dragon Tribe and the Hojo family had allied under the leadership of Assemblyman Seong Guk-eon, but it didn’t seem like they would call them to such a place.

The Tuo Tribe didn’t have anyone skilled in manipulating spiritual energy, and the Hojo family was unlikely to trust the Dragon Tribe with the location of Qinghao's body.

Most importantly, neither the Tuo Tribe nor the Dragon Tribe had the kind of ancient spirits who would mimic rats, something most of the spirits deeply loathed.

In the end, the Earthshaking Knight concluded that it was indeed Seodo who had appeared.

"Then we must recover Qinghao’s body immediately. If it gets into the hands of that rat, things will become more complicated."

The other knights seemed to share the same thought, confirming with the Earthshaking Knight whether they should recover it.

The coffin containing Qinghao’s body had a spatial movement ability activated for retrieval.

This was a safety mechanism, prepared in case the Hojo family threw themselves into the cave, risking their lives.

They couldn’t rest easy with only traps and weapons designed to react to the Hojo family’s powers or the legendary traps that killed tigers.

Thus, the coffin had two key mechanisms in place.

One was an ability that destroyed its contents, and the other was a spatial movement ability that transferred the contents to another location.

Only after receiving confirmation that the transfer had been successfully completed did the Earthshaking Knight breathe a sigh of relief.

"..."

The Earthshaking Knight silently observed Huang Ho, who was staring at them.

If the Hojo family had allied with the Western Tribe or sent another tribe to act, they would have heard that Qinghao’s body had disappeared.

No, given Huang Ho’s personality, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had placed a clone around the cave.

So, if Huang Ho had shown any disheveled appearance in front of them, they would have noticed immediately.

But Huang Ho seemed unchanged from when he first appeared.

"There’s no change in his expression. Does he not know?"

Of course, Huang Ho had never shown his true feelings in front of the Earthshaking Knight from the very beginning.

What seemed like a lack of composure or anxiousness when they first met was all just acting.

And Huang Ho already knew how this situation would unfold.

— "They know you’re skilled with spiritual energy. So, the Hojo family must have worked to prevent you from using it. Besides, they would never have entrusted the matter of Qinghao’s body to another tribe. So, it’s easy to pretend that Seodo, who is at odds with the three knights' oath, has invaded."

Jo Yi-shin spoke, casually explaining his plan as though defeating the world's top ten pro players was an easy feat.

— "And if they think it’s Seodo, the players who are on guard will all flee, wary of the plague. But even then, recovering Qinghao’s body will be difficult."

— "Isn’t it difficult for another being, not the Hojo, to conquer the cave?"

— "Conquering it isn’t impossible. The problem isn’t the conquest, it’s Qinghao’s body. They prepared the coffin so clearly. It must have special mechanisms in place. Like a transfer or something."

Warp, spatial movement, or so-called transfers require extreme energy consumption and crafting complex incantations, which made it tricky.

But it wasn’t impossible.

If they pre-fixed the coordinates and actively used spiritual energy, sending Qinghao’s body somewhere wouldn’t be difficult.

— "So, if Qinghao’s body gets transferred, don’t show any signs. I’ll make this look like Seodo’s solo action, so you should either not know or pretend to find out later."

— "Don’t worry. I don’t reveal emotions unless necessary."

— "You say that so casually?"

Listening quietly, Dokgo Mi-ro casually replied, and Jo Yi-shin nodded as if in agreement.

Huang Ho, seeing their reaction, almost laughed, but managed to hold it back, even though the situation was serious.

Even now, though he knew that Qinghao’s body had disappeared, Huang Ho showed no reaction.

Instead, Huang Ho, feigning displeasure for another reason, asked with a commanding tone.

"Are you calling me out and daring to make me wait?"

The Earthshaking Knight’s silence lasted only for a few dozen seconds as they received a report, but Huang Ho, who was trying to pretend to be uneasy, delivered the line as if it fit him perfectly.

Judging that Huang Ho didn’t know about the situation regarding Qinghao’s body, the Earthshaking Knight relaxed their suspicion.

However, the fact remained unchanged: the Earthshaking Knight had lost an important bait.

"If there hadn’t been a variable, I could have presented 'the living Qinghao' instead of 'the empty body of Qinghao,' but things have gone wrong."

Managing Qinghao’s body, which had long enjoyed listening, required a special method.

While preservation abilities were used on the clothing, a performance was necessary for the body.

When a beautiful song or performance was played, Qinghao’s body would come to life, creating an ideal state for squeezing out special abilities.

Live music worked better than recorded music, so before making a deal with Huang Ho, the Earthshaking Knight had used students.

Among them was Yao Ruichi, a student skilled in restoration abilities, and one particularly talented in music.

Unexpectedly, a stroke of luck occurred.

Qinghao’s body reacted differently to the unfamiliar melody played by Yao Ruichi than it ever had before.

— "What’s that piece? Did Yao Ruichi compose it?"

— "I asked Yao Ruichi himself, but with a strange expression, he said 'I just felt like playing this.'"

— "The blue violinist too, I can never understand the minds of artists."

Yao Ruichi’s piece, the Song of the Newcomer, remained secret without revealing its mystery.

Even when the chords of the piece were extracted and played on a digital piano, there was no response.

Qinghao’s body didn’t respond to a cheap performance, even if it was the same piece.

"While listening to that performance, the spiritual energy in Qinghao’s body in the coffin surged. It was beautiful, an overwhelming sight. It looked like the soul had returned to Qinghao’s body."

Showing Huang Ho a Qinghao that seemed to be wrapped in spiritual energy and sleeping, rather than just the body, would surely yield a higher price than anticipated.

Naturally, Huang Ho would value the living Qinghao more than the empty shell of a body, and he would lose his composure, making him easier to handle.

But now, Qinghao’s body had been safely transferred.

The plan to use the SR-class item "Eye Beyond the Thousand Miles" to show live reactions of Qinghao’s body from another space had collapsed.

"Recorded videos wouldn’t convince Huang Ho. I planned to show it using an unmodifiable special ability item, but...!"

Though the body of Qinghao had been prepared, it had been moved due to Seodo’s attack.

Even if the Earthshaking Knight wanted to say they had to evacuate, it was something they couldn’t reveal.

If they said that, Huang Ho might change his target from the three knights' oath to Seodo.

Even though they might incur Huang Ho's wrath, the Earthshaking Knight felt it was better to withdraw and hope for another chance.

[It seems like Dixian is in trouble.]

A message came from another knight who had been watching the situation.

It was the Knight of Water Reflection.

[I knew this would happen. I’ve prepared a gift. Ask Huang Ho for understanding and open the closet.]

At the mention of the “gift” prepared by the Knight of Water Reflection, the Earthshaking Knight’s eyes lit up.

They had guessed what the gift might be.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

The Knight of Water Reflection had cherished this object, and they had never expected it to be prepared for such a dangerous situation.

The Earthshaking Knight couldn’t help but feel elated inside, knowing a card had been revealed to reverse the situation.

"I apologize for making you wait. Now, let me show you what we have prepared."

The Earthshaking Knight stood before the rotting closet.

Placing a hand ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) on the handle, a click sounded.

It seemed the handle had recognized Dixian’s fingerprints.

The decaying exterior was just a disguise; it appeared that the Knight of Water Reflection had already played a trick.

The Earthshaking Knight swiftly opened the closet door.

“Ha.”

Huang Ho exhaled upon seeing what was inside.

There was something in there that resembled Qinghao, eyes closed.

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They had expected Huang Ho to either rejoice or become enraged at meeting an old friend, but his reaction was minimal.

His emotions might have been too intense to show a reaction.

“This body, in exchange for the cure for the plague and the removal of its source.”

The Earthshaking Knight boldly stated.

Though there was a possibility that Huang Ho would rush to seize the body, the Knight didn’t care.

The Knight of Water Reflection could transfer it away, or simply pretend they didn’t know and hand over this fake.

Whether Huang Ho would fly into a rage or coldly accept the trade, the Earthshaking Knight couldn’t predict. However, the actual visible response didn’t match either of those reactions.

"Interesting."

"Are you saying that my long-lost friend is here before me?"

"No, what’s surprising is that you’ve followed the plan perfectly."

The Earthshaking Knight, confused, remembered the words Huang Ho had once spoken.

— "If you transfer Qinghao’s body, I’ll give you something else."

— "What?"

— "Do you remember the Jared Lee incident?"

At Jo Yi-shin’s words, Huang Ho recalled Jared Lee.

A player from the three knights' oath.

Currently the sub-team master of Eternal Lake.

After a simple profile came to mind, the incident he had gone through surfaced.

The assassination attempt on Mok Woolam at the amusement park had been a secret he had held for a long time.

— "The only reason the shadowy figure would entrust Qinghao’s body to the three knights' oath is for one reason."

— "Could it be...!"

The three knights' oath had used Manchester’s spiritual energy to create an enemy.

An enemy that resembled Jared Lee.

— "They must have cloned Qinghao’s body, just like they cloned Jared Lee. If they’ve created a well-crafted clone doll, they’ll try to deceive you by showing it to you."

KWA-AAAAA!

A golden beam of light shot from Huang Ho’s hand toward the cloned Qinghao’s body.

Had he not known it was a fake, the resemblance would have been so perfect that he might have been deceived.

The beam pierced through the thin barrier that surrounded the fake body and instantly ripped apart the shoulder of its attire.

There, on the shoulder of the doll that closely resembled Qinghao’s body, was a small marking: "WR."

"Knight of Water Reflection," the signature mark that the Knight of Water Reflection would leave on the dolls.

Huang Ho, unable to hide his fury, spoke coldly, his tone cutting through the air.

“If you do not present the real one, the disease you’re suffering from will never be cured.”