Bad Born Blood Chapter 188

Chapter 188

There are many intriguing strong individuals outside of Akbaran.

In the Accretia Empire, especially in Akbaran, most people enhance themselves with cybernetic prosthetics. To outsiders and other species, it might seem extre.

However, beyond the Empire, prosthetics are rely one of many ans of augntation. So fight using only advanced equipnt, others enhance their flesh and blood through biotechnology, and a rare few wield supernatural abilities called Force.

Just as I have an enhanced nervous system and cybernetic implants, most powerful individuals elevate their abilities through at least two different thods.

So might wonder—why don’t rulers and those in power enhance themselves? The answer is simple. Any kind of combat augntation inevitably cos with risks and side effects.

Nervous system enhancents drastically increase the likelihood of various neuroses and ntal illnesses. Regeneration or biological enhancents are akin to implanting a ti bomb in the body, with unpredictable side effects that could manifest at any ti.

The risks are borne by the lower ranks. Those in power—rulers and leaders—can move armies of enhanced soldiers like with nothing more than a word or a gesture.

At our core, ’that guy’ and I are the sa. Expendable tools that take on all the risks in place of those above us.

’That guy’ refers to the ’noan Guard Commander.’

Kiing, kiiing.

The Guard Commander’s body emitted a deafening chanical whine. More precisely, the sound ca from his enhanced exoskeletal combat suit.

’He’s covered himself head to toe in advanced gear.’

His helt had six lenses—two positioned where his eyes should be, one on each side, and one each on the crown and the back of his head—allowing for 360-degree vision. The six lenses whirred as they constantly adjusted, gathering environntal data.

’He’s the leader of a well-trained unit. He won’t be an easy opponent.’

The noan Guard had willingly thrown themselves in harm’s way to protect their powerful commander amidst the explosions.

The unit moved like a single living organism, completely synchronized toward their objective. This was the mark of an elite military force.

Chiiiik, chik, chik.

Particles struck my Firelight Saber, sending off continuous sparks as its glow intensified.

The interior was still scorching hot from the explosion. The floor, now stripped down to bare tal, was hot enough to cook at. My shoes’ soles had long since gone from sticky to outright lting.

The Firelight Saber was a blade made of ignium, a material with heat amplification properties. It reacted sensitively even to residual heat in the air, steadily increasing in temperature. Once it reached a certain threshold, a chemical reaction occurred between the ignium and the interwoven coolant steel, initiating heat dissipation.

The shimring heat waves from the venting process were more pronounced than usual.

’A failed creation, but an artistic design nonetheless.’

The Firelight Saber was a weapon forged entirely from tal, with no electromagnetic components. It didn’t even require manual replacent or recharging of coolant cartridges. Like all weapons that needed heat managent, it could have been designed with a chanical system to automatically release coolant at certain temperatures for convenience.

’Yet, instead of opting for an easier thod, they ticulously calculated the material properties to control the plasma phenonon through a purely analog circulation system. Those master smiths were stubborn beyond belief.’

Though ultimately a failure, the Galactic Blacksmiths’ spirit of challenge was worthy of recognition.

"Firelight..."

The Guard Commander glanced at and muttered. He was thodically arranging the bodies of his fallen subordinates who had died protecting him.

I was impatient, but I didn’t interrupt his mont of mourning.

In reality, the one truly pressed for ti was the Guard Commander himself. His unit had been nearly wiped out, and soon, Jafa’s rcenaries would arrive. If he wanted to survive, he had no ti to waste like this.

’He’s already accepted his death. His mission failed, and escaping here alive is impossible.’

After finishing his task, the Guard Commander slowly raised his head and locked eyes with . The cold blue glow from his helt’s lenses trailed like a lingering chill.

Clack.

He picked up a fallen subordinate’s rifle, now holding a gun in each hand.

"...Kerggetta."

He spoke in Tajirunese. I wasn’t sure of the exact aning, but I could tell it signaled the beginning. At the sa mont, he pulled the trigger.

Ki—ing!

I imdiately dropped low and moved sideways.

He had two guns. One was aid directly at , while the other fired predictive shots, blocking my movent.

Whirr!

I flipped my grip on the Firelight Saber, grabbing a corpse by the nape and dragging it toward . The heat from my blade scorched my coat with a sizzling sound.

Lifting the body, I used it as an effortless shield against the incoming bullets. The reinforced combat suit, combined with the flesh beneath, made for an excellent barrier.

’He doesn’t seem fazed, even when I use his subordinate’s corpse as a shield. Well, if he were the type to lose his cool over sothing like this, he’d have already been screaming and panicking.’

Through the gap under the corpse’s raised arm, I slid the muzzle of my auto-tracking pistol forward.

Srrk.

As I pulled the trigger, the homing round shot toward the Guard Commander’s helt lens.

Ting!

He swiftly spun the gun in his left arm, deflecting the round with the barrel as if swatting it away. His combat suit’s ballistic protection should have been sufficient, but he had likely anticipated the possibility of a special round with additional properties, choosing to block it with his weapon instead.

’As expected, that didn’t work.’

Homing rounds were slower than standard bullets. Against an opponent of this caliber, they were more suited for ambushes than direct engagents.

Creak.

Keeping my body low, I advanced behind the cover of a corpse.

Thunk!

The Guard Commander leaped back and pulled out a pistol-sized disposable grenade launcher, firing imdiately.

’That’s not an ordinary grenade.’

My eyes widened as I tracked the projectile. Following a curved trajectory, the grenade suddenly split midair, dividing into eight smaller spheres.

The subdivided grenade fragnts accelerated along curved paths in multiple directions, covering my entire projected movent area. A wide-area attack.

’Well, that’s an annoying weapon.’

Dodging the grenades themselves was possible. I could rapidly boost my output for a burst of speed—Lapis’s cybernetic implants were capable of it.

’But once my movent path is set, he’ll follow up with additional firepower—sothing even harder for to evade.’

This was a tactical mind ga.

The Guard Commander was keeping his distance, wary of the Firelight Saber. He had also figured out that my ranged combat options were limited.

’Understanding the opponent’s intentions and strengths, countering them, and forcing the fight into an advantageous position for oneself.’

He was a high-level adversary. It felt like we were taking turns throwing each other complex problems to solve—whoever failed to find a solution would be the one to die.

I had to act unpredictably. Only then would it be my turn to strike.

Whoosh!

Releasing the corpse, I leaped upward. My fingers latched onto the overheated ceiling panels, and I braced my feet against the surface, suspending myself upside down.

Boom!

The split grenades exploded just below my dangling head.

Tap!

I kicked off the ceiling hard, launching myself toward the floor.

Just as my toes touched the ground, I bent my knees and rebounded straight back to the ceiling. I continued to alternate between the ceiling and floor, rapidly increasing my speed. The montum from each rebound built up so fast that even I was starting to feel dizzy.

’Now—ti to change direction.’

Before the Guard Commander could fully adapt to my vertical movents, I veered sharply, kicking off at an angle to latch onto a pillar. From there, I propelled myself with an explosive burst of strength from my enhanced hands and feet, closing in on the Guard Commander’s flank.

Perfect. I had caught him off guard.

What I had just perford was high-speed maneuvering utilizing all four surfaces of the interior. It was a technique that required a high-performance, high-output cybernetic implant, exceptional user reflexes, and impeccable balance—all aligning perfectly.

Even the seasoned Guard Commander couldn’t keep his barrel trained on my trajectory. My movent had deviated too far from his predictions, leaving his thought process unable to keep up.

When faced with an unexpected situation, there’s always a montary gap before one can recognize and respond to it. I had created that opening.

I closed in on the Guard Commander’s flank as if soaring through the air, gripping the Firelight Saber firmly. A vision flashed through my mind—his waist being cleanly severed.

"If that’s the extent of your skill, then you’re dead."

And then, I would be disappointed. Fortunately, it seed the Guard Commander had more tricks up his sleeve.

He barely bent his knees before kicking off the ground. Reaching the ceiling, he mimicked my maneuver, using montum to accelerate vertically and closing in behind .

Losing my rear made a chill run down my spine.

Screeeeech!

I scraped my right foot against the floor to brake, spinning sharply. The Firelight Saber followed the centrifugal motion of my body, carving an arc through the air.

Whoosh!

The Firelight Saber slashed through empty space. The Guard Commander had already moved out of its range and was reloading his magazine.

“Haha, did you just copy my maneuver after watching it?”

I adjusted my grip on the Firelight Saber as I spoke.

Just seeing it wasn’t enough—this wasn’t a technique just anyone could replicate. No matter how advanced an exoskeleton was, it couldn’t achieve the sa level of responsiveness as a cybernetic implant.

And yet, the Guard Commander had just moved as effortlessly as if he had high-performance cybernetics.

“Hm, judging by your reaction speed, you’ve directly linked your nervous system to your exoskeleton.”

I muttered to myself, answering my own question. Still, one mystery remained.

’Even if the exoskeleton supplents output and the nervous system link enhances reflexes, if he moves like , his organic legs inside should be completely destroyed.’

The acceleration thod of repeatedly kicking off the ceiling and floor at high output generated imnse shock force. A cybernetic implant could endure it, but the impact-dampening capabilities of a combat suit’s exoskeleton weren’t particularly impressive.

Drip.

My question was soon answered. Blood was trickling down from the Guard Commander’s legs and feet.

’So, even if his legs are shattered, he’s fine as long as the exoskeleton keeps moving? I like that.’

His legs—from his toes up to his thighs—must have been completely shattered. If the exoskeleton lost power, he wouldn’t even be able to stand.

That was the price he paid for mimicking cybernetic movents with flesh and blood.

"As long as I’m holding the Firelight Saber, you’ll keep retreating while fighting. This won’t end quickly, and soon, unwanted interference will arrive."

I spun the Firelight Saber once before sheathing it. Then, I unfastened the scabbard from my waist and tossed it onto the floor.

Creak.

The Guard Commander tilted his head to the side, puzzled. But he quickly understood my intent and discarded his firearms as well.

’...I want to see your close combat skills. And if you want to raise your slim chance of survival, you’ll have to answer in kind.’

I drew a dagger and took a reverse grip stance.

Hiss.

The Guard Commander grasped his helt. Hydraulic chanisms engaged, releasing the locks.

He discarded the helt, heightening his senses to the extre. A human male’s face was revealed—he looked about fourteen or fifteen years older than .

Chak!

Like , the Guard Commander pulled out a single dagger and gripped it tightly.

"Hoo."

I took a short breath. This wouldn’t take long. It would be a short and brutal fight.

My combat instincts unraveled, awakening thread by thread. Even my hair felt like it was standing on end, reaching toward my opponent.

Srrk.

I moved forward on the balls of my feet, closing the distance. It was almost ti.

I had willingly discarded my advantage and was choosing to take an unnecessary risk. I knew how reckless this looked—even to myself.

But this was necessary for .

I needed to purge my inner aggression outward. If I survived this fight, I wouldn’t need to do anything insane for a while. I’d be able to think more rationally, avoiding unnecessary gambles and dangers. Probably.

Kit!

The close-quarters battle began. I bent forward, folding from my toes to my knees and waist.

My arms and shoulders moved with precision. It wasn’t just —the Guard Commander mirrored my actions. A textbook-perfect exchange.

Our daggers, barely longer than our palms, slashed rcilessly at each other’s vital points.

Tak!

We struck each other’s arms, blocking the angle of our elbows. Each ti, we switched hands, alternating between attacking and defending in rapid succession.

Kwajik!

I attempted to stomp on the Guard Commander’s foot. He withdrew, then countered by trying to pin my foot down instead. The fight beca a chaotic blend of close combat techniques and dagger strikes.

I had to engage every single sense.

Combat awareness and tactical thinking flashed through my mind. My reflexes and intuition detected threats even beyond conscious thought. A lifeti of training had ingrained combat into my instincts, making every move sharp and precise, reaching out toward my opponent like an extension of my will.

My breath ca in short gasps. My organic muscles tensed and contracted repeatedly, while my cybernetic implants humd smoothly. I only had a single dagger, which ant I had to scrape out every ounce of skill from the depths of my being.

Screeech!

Our daggers clashed and locked together, refusing to separate as if magnetized. In that brief instant, I felt him steadying his breath. He tried to purse his lips slightly.

...It’s over.

I clenched my fist. He had planned to take a mont to breathe while our daggers were locked, preparing to channel his strength into the next move.

Kwa-jik!

My fist struck the Guard Commander squarely in the solar plexus. I felt his shattered combat suit give way, my knuckles sinking into his chest and abdon.

“Guh!”

For the first ti, I heard him groan. His lungs had been crushed, forcing the air out through his throat—there was no way he could suppress it.

Yeah, I won.

A shiver ran from the base of my spine, shooting up through my skull. It felt as though even my accumulated fatigue had vanished.

Crack!

I seized his arm and shattered his elbow with a punch. At the sa ti, I stomped alternately on both of his knees, breaking through the exoskeletal supports keeping his legs upright.

Thud!

The Guard Commander collapsed, his right arm and both legs rendered useless. Only his left arm remained intact, but there was no need to break it—I had already subdued him completely.

Now, all that was left was his neck. I had no intention of inflicting unnecessary pain.

“Luka! W-wait! Stop!”

A familiar voice rang out. Jafa had just arrived, shouting urgently.

I had a rebellious streak—an instinct to screw with others for no reason. Anyone who knew from Border City would assu I was about to kill the Guard Commander right here.

...But this ti was different.

I was satisfied. I had fought Ragnata and even crossed blades with the noan Guard Commander. That was enough for today.

Srrk.

I stepped back, rolling my sore shoulder.

“Be careful. He’s still got his fangs.”

I retreated without resistance, and Jafa seed more flustered than relieved.

“H-huh? Did you actually listen to just now? H-hoyot!”