The World Is Mine For The Taking Chapter 611 - 97 - Creating A Portal To Another World (4)

Guns were trained on us from every direction. Shadows of rifles and armored figures lood, pressing in from all sides like a suffocating tide. The air was thick with tension, a silent yet deafening warning—one wrong move, and bullets would rip through us without hesitation.

Then, amidst the rigid formation of soldiers, the ranks suddenly parted. It was as if an invisible force had cleaved them in two, their movents disciplined, unquestioning. From the path they created, she erged—Lieutenant Zes.

She was a tower of sheer presence, her muscular fra exuding an authority so tangible that even the hardened soldiers around her instinctively stiffened. The closer she got, the more their bodies tensed, as if proximity alone was enough to freeze them in place.

Within monts, she stood before us.

"Hah… Do you really think I'm that dumb?" she murmured, amusent lacing her voice. Yet, beneath that amusent, sothing far more nacing stirred. The air itself trembled, her words carrying a weight that sent ripples through the silence. It wasn't just a voice—it was a force. An echoing, unseen tremor that made the very atmosphere feel heavier.

I shifted my gaze to Zoey, who stood beside . Her face betrayed a flicker of shock. Did she seriously think that was going to work? Even I had doubted our ability to deceive soone like this. From the beginning, it had been a reckless gamble. There was no way a woman like this could have been so easily fooled.

"The girl's mistake was in her posture," Zes continued, her sharp, calculating gaze never wavering. "Too stiff. Too unnatural. A trained soldier doesn't move like that."

She stepped forward, and the weight of her presence bore down on us like an impending storm.

"Then there's the scent. Soldiers reek of gunpowder, sweat, and dirt. You two?" Her eyes narrowed. "You sll… nice. Too nice."

Her scrutiny intensified, picking apart every flaw in our disguise.

"And then, of course, there's the matter of protocol. No salute? Not even a trace of discipline in the face of a lieutenant? Sloppy. You might have gathered so knowledge about our military camp, but it's not enough to fool ."

Her gaze flicked toward Zoey, piercing, unrelenting.

"I'm convinced," she said, her voice smooth yet razor-sharp, "that the woman standing beside you is none other than the general's missing daughter. The very sa girl who vanished after being kidnapped… by a human who crossed into this world through a portal."

The corner of her lips curled ever so slightly.

"And you didn't even try to be subtle about it," she added, tone laced with mocking amusent. "A pair of sunglasses? Really? Did you honestly think that would be enough to hide her face from ?"

Zoey remained silent, her fingers curling into fists at her sides.

"And now…" Zes turned her gaze to , eyes gleaming with knowing certainty. "That would make you the otherworlder, wouldn't it?"

Still, Zoey refused to speak.

Zes exhaled lightly, almost as if sighing at our pathetic attempt.

"Silence only confirms it," she murmured, voice smooth but unyielding. "You refuse to answer because you know the truth. And that truth… is yes."

Her stare deepened, the weight of her words pressing into Zoey like an iron grip.

Finally, I stepped forward, my voice calm but unwavering. "I think you're misunderstanding sothing."

Zes let out a small chuckle, the sound low, almost predatory. "Misunderstanding?" she echoed. "What exactly? That the woman beside you isn't the general's daughter? Or that you aren't the otherworlder?"

The air between us was thick with tension, a coiled thread ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

"People call dumb," she continued, her voice slow, deliberate, "because I couldn't care less about numbers and calculations. But my intuition?" Her lips curved into a dangerous smirk. "It has never failed . I know when sothing is wrong. And I know when sothing is right."

I studied her carefully, my mind racing through possible responses. Then, I spoke.

"I see… But don't you think assuming that I have the capability or even the intent to spread information about interdinsional travel—enough to create a full-scale multidinsional war—is a bit of a stretch? You don't even know if I hold any authority or influence over such things, do you?"

Zes's expression remained unreadable. "We have taken every asure to prevent such a war," she stated. "Precautions. Intelligence. Containnt efforts. We will not allow it to happen."

Her voice dropped lower, carrying a cold, unwavering finality.

"A war will co, one way or another. And as of now, with no knowledge of your world, we are at a disadvantage. Letting you leave is not an option."

I t her gaze head-on. "You're jumping to conclusions," I said. "If I truly wanted to go back, I wouldn't be standing here, talking to you. I'd already be in my own world. Don't you think?"

Zes tilted her head slightly, studying as though weighing the truth in my words. Then, her eyes flicked toward Zoey.

"I acknowledge that possibility." Zes tilted her head slightly. "But I also see a device in the general's daughter's hands."

Her lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.

"A device that, more than likely, contains highly classified information."

For soone people called "dumb," she was anything but.

If anything… she was terrifyingly sharp.

"Soldiers—seize the general's daughter. As for the otherworlder... riddle him with bullets until there's nothing left."

The order cut through the air like a blade, sharp and rciless. The soldiers around us didn't hesitate, their fingers tightening on their triggers, their eyes devoid of doubt.

"No! Don't do it, please!" Zoey's voice suddenly rang out, shrill with desperation.

My eyes widened slightly. I hadn't expected her to defend .

"H-He's not the otherworlder! I swear it!" She stamred, panic evident in her voice. "R-Right! He's my boyfriend! My boyfriend! You can't just kill my boyfriend! I an… he's the general's potential son-in-law!"

Her words spilled out in a frantic rush, but the weight behind them was undeniable.

A suffocating silence followed.

Zes regarded her, expression unreadable, before exhaling a slow, amused breath. "Boyfriend, you say?"

Her eyes flicked to , scrutinizing every inch of my face.

"Do you honestly believe I'd fall for that?" she said, her voice laced with condescension.

She took a step closer, her towering fra casting a long shadow over us.

"His face may be sowhat altered from the intelligence we received—longer hair, slight adjustnts to his features—but it's still the sa. I see it. And I trust my instincts."

A cold smile curled on her lips.

"There's no mistake. He is the otherworlder."

Then, she turned to the soldiers.

"Now—kill him."

Zoey barely had ti to react before Zes grabbed her arm and yanked her aside, her strength undeniable. At that mont, all the firearms turned toward , barrels gleaming under the artificial light.

Then—

A deafening burst of gunfire tore through the air.

A hailstorm of bullets ca at from every direction, each one a promise of death.

But before they could reach —

I moved.

With a flick of my wrist, Ayuru materialized in my grasp, its steel humming as it t the oncoming storm.

In a single, fluid motion, I swung.

The air scread as my blade carved through the onslaught. The bullets, once destined for my flesh, split cleanly in half, their montum shattered. A heartbeat later, they clattered uselessly to the ground, the tallic ringing echoing in the stunned silence that followed.

For a mont, no one spoke.

Then—

"What the hell…?"

"How…?"

The soldiers stood frozen, their disbelief almost tangible. They stared at the remnants of their attack, the halves of their bullets scattered at my feet, the realization dawning on them in waves.

Among them, Zes's lips curled into a smirk.

"Hoh…?" Her voice was thick with intrigue.

She stepped forward, her eyes sharp with newfound interest.

"So, you were ard all along. And not just ard—you're skilled." She tilted her head slightly, as if evaluating .

Then, in a voice dripping with excitent, she declared, "I, too, am well-versed in swordsmanship."

The tension thickened.

"Why don't we put that to the test?" she mused, gripping the hilt of her own blade. "A battle between swordsn—to see which of us stands superior."

Her gaze bore into mine.

"If you win, I'll grant you your freedom."

Bold words. Reckless, even. She had just seen cut through gunfire itself, and yet—she didn't waver.

That ant only one thing—she had the skill to back it up.

I exhaled slowly, my grip tightening on Ayuru.

"Fine." My voice was steady. "Let's fight."

Zes grinned.

"Good."

She turned to her soldiers. "Lower your weapons. Let have my turn with him first—before we kill him."

Her confidence was palpable.

But this wasn't re arrogance—this was certainty.

She wasn't just so brute who relied on sheer strength alone.

No… there was sothing more to her. Sothing dangerous.

With that, we stepped outside..