The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 75: Stay Back & Watch

The moment they got within range, the gunfire started.

No words. No warnings.

Just bullets tearing through the air.

Jin moved instantly. Too fast for hesitation.

"Cover!" he snapped.

The team reacted without question—but Echo was already ahead of them.

He slammed his foot down, a low-frequency hum rippling through the ground.

The pavement shuddered—then lifted.

Not perfectly, not smoothly—just jagged slabs of concrete shooting up between them and the incoming gunfire, forming a half-broken barrier.

Bullets slammed into the stone, sending shards flying.

The barrier wasn’t perfect.

But it was enough.

Jin crouched low, gripping his rifle tight as he tracked the enemy positions through the gaps in the makeshift wall.

Six of them. All armed, moving fast.

They weren’t just firing blindly.

They were advancing.

Even with cover, staying still would be a mistake.

"Move," Jin ordered.

Haneul and Areum didn’t hesitate—they split off, darting behind separate portions of the rubble.

Doyun pressed a hand to his chest, steadying his breathing. Jin saw the shift in his stance, the way his fingers twitched—he was timing his shot.

Joon rolled his shoulders. "Man," he muttered, lightning crackling faintly along his forearm. "I really hate people with guns."

Echo exhaled, shaking out his hands. "Yeah?" he said. "Then let’s take ’em off the board."

The bullets stopped.

The silence that followed the last shot was heavy.

Then, the battlefield exploded.

The cracked pavement lurched violently beneath them, tearing apart in massive jagged chunks. The half-formed barrier that Echo had thrown up was no longer just broken—it was used against them.

A massive slab of asphalt shot forward, ripping through the air like a battering ram. Jin barely managed to move, twisting out of the way as it smashed into a nearby car, crushing the metal like paper.

"Yeah," Echo exhaled. "That’s gonna be a problem."

A flicker of movement.

Jin’s rifle snapped up, tracking the threat, but he was already too late—the ground beneath him caved inward, his footing stolen in an instant.

He pushed off hard, launching himself into a roll, just as a twisting column of rock shot up where he had been standing.

"Watch the ground!" Jin barked.

The recruits scattered, but not fast enough.

Areum had barely moved when the ground beneath her exploded outward, sending her off balance. She hit the dirt hard, coughing.

"Get up!" Haneul shouted, but before he could reach her, a dark shape flickered behind him.

Jin saw it.

Too fast—something moving, twisting, blending into the rising shadows of the ruined pavement.

Haneul reacted just in time, spinning his staff up to block, but his opponent slipped past the strike with unnatural ease, melting into the ground like a living shadow—then reappearing behind him.

Haneul swung again. The figure twisted away, untouched.

Then, a chain shot forward.

Haneul barely dodged as the steel links coiled like a snake, snapping tight around his wrist.

Jin moved.

The rifle came up, but the chain wielder saw it too.

With a sharp yank, Haneul was ripped off his feet, dragged across the shattered pavement before being thrown straight into Doyun. Both recruits went down hard.

Echo let out a sharp breath. "Oh, screw this."

He slammed both hands together—the soundwave detonated outward, a deep pulse that made the very air shudder.

But the enemy was already moving.

A black mist flickered, scattering into the wind—then reforming a few feet away, untouched by the blast.

"Seriously?" Echo narrowed his eyes.

Joon didn’t wait. His spheres pulsed to life, crackling with stored energy, then shot forward at high speed.

This time, they hit.

The first enemy was thrown back violently, convulsing as the electricity surged through his body.

The second wasn’t as easy.

The chain-wielder dodged the incoming sphere with an unnatural pivot, planting one foot against a broken pillar and flipping off of it mid-air.

Joon grinned. "Oh, you’re flexible."

The second sphere curved, locking onto the movement.

Too fast.

It caught the enemy mid-spin, the impact slamming them straight into the shattered pavement.

Jin didn’t stop moving.

His rifle snapped up—this time aiming lower.

Two quick shots.

The first struck the ground, ricocheting debris upward.

The second caught an enemy’s knee just as they tried to dodge.

They stumbled—and that was all the opening Jin needed.

He closed the distance instantly, flipping the rifle around and driving the butt of the weapon into their ribs.

They collapsed, wheezing.

A pulse of heat.

Jin barely had time to react before a roaring flame ignited the air, streaking toward him.

Areum moved before he could.

Her hands flashed, and a glass barrier formed mid-air, reflecting the incoming fire in a sharp arc.

The redirected blast erupted back toward the caster, forcing them to dive out of the way.

Jin exhaled sharply.

"Are you good?" he asked.

Areum wiped her forehead. "Ask me again when this is over."

Before Jin could respond, a massive shockwave tore through the battlefield.

Joon.

He had slammed his fists into the ground, releasing an explosive pulse of electricity that surged outward in a wide radius.

The enemy fighters staggered back, disoriented.

Joon exhaled, shaking out his arms. "Much better."

Jin didn’t waste the chance.

He moved fast—closing the distance between him and the dazed enemies. ƒreewebɳovel.com

His rifle swung—not to shoot, but to strike.

The butt of the weapon crashed into one enemy’s jaw, sending them sprawling.

The strap lashed outward, catching another by the arm—Jin yanked them off balance before slamming a knee into their stomach.

They crumpled.

The fight was turning.

The enemies were skilled. Dangerous. But Jin, Joon, and Echo were overwhelming them.

And the recruits?

They were holding their ground.

Barely.

Doyun struggled back to his feet, wiping blood from his lip.

Haneul, panting, adjusted his grip on his staff.

Areum tightened her fingers around the glass blade in her palm, stance shifting as she prepared to push forward again.

The fight wasn’t over.

But it was about to be.

The battlefield was shifting.

The recruits were holding their own, but even with their new strength, even with everything they had learned—this fight wasn’t for them.

Jin had seen enough.

His stance shifted slightly, his grip tightening around the rifle. He exhaled, sharp and steady. "Step back."

Areum blinked. "What?"

Haneul braced himself, gripping his staff with both hands. "Jin, we can—"

Jin didn’t repeat himself. He moved.

The rifle snapped up—and he fired.

The shot cracked through the battlefield.

A direct hit.

The first bullet struck a fighter clean in the shoulder, forcing them to spin from the impact.

Jin pivoted, firing again.

Another shot, this time into an enemy’s leg. They staggered, falling to one knee.

The third enemy reacted fast—ducking, dodging— but Jin was already tracking their movement.

He fired again.

The shot hit center mass—not lethal, but enough to knock the wind out of them. They collapsed, gasping.

A moment of stillness.

Joon whistled, impressed. "Damn. You really were holding back on using that thing."

Jin didn’t answer.

Because the fight wasn’t over.

The ones he shot—they were still moving.

Groaning, pushing themselves back up, determined to keep going.

Echo sighed. "Alright. I got it."

His foot tapped the ground once.

The sound that followed wasn’t just noise—it was weight.

A heavy, suffocating frequency rolled through the battlefield. The air vibrated violently, sending shockwaves through the ground, rattling bones.

The enemies staggered—one dropping to their knees, the other clutching their head as if the world had tilted.

Joon didn’t waste the opportunity.

His Magnetron Spheres pulsed once— then shot forward.

Lightning crackled, arcing between them like a closing circuit. The first enemy barely had time to lift their arms before the full voltage struck.

Their body seized violently—then collapsed.

The second enemy, still dazed from Echo’s attack, had no chance.

Joon’s second sphere slammed into their ribs, discharging a concentrated burst of electricity.

They hit the ground, unconscious before they even realized what happened.

The last one still standing wobbled, struggling to keep their balance.

Jin closed the distance instantly.

Before they could react, he hooked the rifle’s strap around their wrist—then yanked.

They stumbled forward, completely off balance.

Jin twisted, flipping the rifle in his grip—then drove the butt of the weapon into their ribs.

A sharp gasp—then silence.

The enemy crumpled.

The street fell still.

Jin exhaled, his eyes scanning the battlefield. The six enemies were down.

Areum stared at them, her blade flickering in her grip. "...That was—"

"Fast," Haneul muttered, breathless.

Doyun let out a slow exhale, wiping sweat from his brow. "Too fast."

Joon rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles. "I mean, yeah. We’re kinda built different."

Echo gave a small shrug, stretching his arms behind his head. "Honestly, I thought they’d last longer."

Jin didn’t respond.

Instead, he checked the rifle, reloading it with practiced efficiency. The click of the chamber locking back into place felt final.

Then, without looking back, he started walking. "We keep moving."

The others hesitated, then followed.

No one argued.

They stepped over the fallen enemies, pushing deeper into the territory.

Because this fight wasn’t over.

It had only just begun.