The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Commander Nykos

"You—you’re alive." The taller of the two straightened first; his expression showed how shocked he was at seeing his commander. "We’ve been waiting for your return. Where have you been?"

They planned to attack one of the empire’s military bases in Sector 08, make it incapable of using the newly developed weapon, and steal the base’s data. Once they were done, they’d pull out and make a strategic retreat before being discovered.

They were successful with their mission. But who would have known that a shifting contaminated zone would appear in one of their escape routes? Coincidentally, their fleet commander was the only one who chose that path.

Having lost contact with him, the entire fleet was filled with tension. They had no idea what had happened to Commander Nykos. The only thing they knew about his whereabouts was his last call, which had been too ominous for them to listen to.

[I’m being pulled into a contaminated zone. You all go on ahead.]

[If I don’t return, Vice Commander Arma will step up.]

Who wouldn’t go insane after getting a message like that from their commander? The instant they knew he was pulled into a contaminated zone, they immediately tried to go to the path Commander Nykos used. But the empire’s army had already been alerted, and a contaminated zone was not one they could ignore.

Thus, the only thing they could do then was to wait for good news from their fleet commander.

It has been three days since he went missing. If there is still no news from him, there’s no guarantee how the Dark Knight Organization will continue forward.

Nykos glanced at the man in front of him, Amar, the vice commander of the Dark Knight Organization.

Wiping away the trace of blood on his face, he said, "After I was pulled into a shifting contaminated zone, it took a long time for me to find its core. Fortunately, I destroyed it before it could expand and escape into another dimension."

The danger of a shifting contaminated zone was greater than that of a normal one. The chances of a living being escaping once swallowed up inside were almost nonexistent.

Thus, the entire galaxy was always on high alert against any signs of a shifting contaminated zone.

"Whew! Fortunately, you survived and got out." Amar patted him on the shoulder.

Nykos looked at him quietly before adding, "The contamination pulled me into a dungeon. A miasma-filled dungeon. But as you said, I was fortunate to come out before it corrupted me. I went berserk the second I did."

Both men went rigid.

"Berserk?" Amar repeated carefully. He poked into his ear as if to clean up whatever was causing him to mishear.

"Are—are you still in that state, Commander?"

Nykos did not respond, staring at them in silence.

The two men reeled backward, putting a considerable distance between themselves and their commander. It wasn’t that they wanted to offend them. They dared not think about it. It was their fear instinctively acting against their will.

Nykos let out a dark chuckle at their reaction and peeled off the ruined tunic from his body, tearing it off in the process, revealing a broad chest and defined torso. Every line of his muscles was carved with explosive strength. The red glow cast across his skin made the deep grooves of his abdomen even bolder.

"What do you think?" he asked, tossing the question back at them.

Amar and the other man exchanged a glance before fixing their eyes on their commander’s bare skin. Miasma corruption wasn’t something anyone in their organization could fight off easily. Once a person was infected, the corruption would spread slowly and erode the person’s body, mind, and soul.

It wasn’t the first time they’d come across it. Too many of their men perished from it, and the people who survived still bore the trace of it—a dark-vein mark like old scars that would never fade.

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