Chapter 133

Fwip-fwip-fwip—

The night’s darkness was rent by unknown entities.

As they tore through the dark, these shadows melted into it.

They raced towards the Kyushu region at an astonishing speed.

Hunters who hunted other hunters.

They were on the move.

Comprising three teams of twenty each, they possessed the combat power, according to the Tsukuyomi Alliance’s estimates, to assassinate or hunt down several times their number of Hunters.

But their most terrifying aspect was their mastery of ambushes.

They were assassins who operated from within the darkness, using it to their advantage.

Thus, those who became their targets often died without even knowing what hit them.

Countless such figures were now rushing into the Kyushu region.

Their objective was singular.

The annihilation of the Chosun-jok defiling the Japanese mainland.

Thump-thump!

The Shinobi leading the charge cast an emotionless gaze as they continued their relentless advance.

* * * * *

“From here, we plan to advance directly to Tokyo.”

Meanwhile, Kang Yuseong, strategizing with the support unit’s command staff, quietly laid out his plan.

Tokyo.

The very place where the Tsukuyomi Alliance headquarters was located.

It was also the heart of Japan, a place where the most malevolent and potent forces converged.

“To Tokyo, you say?”

Jang Gwang-ho, the commander of the support unit, asked, his expression slightly stiff.

Kang Yuseong nodded.

“That’s right.”

Jang Gwang-ho fell silent for a moment, looking at the infiltration route marked on the map.

It was a moment that would mark the first time in the history of the Korean Peninsula that a sword would be plunged into the heart of Japan.

To say he felt no burden, taking on such a critical mission, would be a lie.

However, after a brief pause, he gave a resolute nod.

They had already come this far.

From now on, there was nothing to do but press forward without looking back.

There would be no further support from their home country now.

After the imminent arrival of air support and a few infantry divisions, this force alone would have to accomplish the entire southern invasion. In that case, the most efficient method was to strike at the enemy’s heart and crush them.

“We will give it our all.”

Jang Gwang-ho, too, was the type who, once a decision was made, never second-guessed it.

Being an attack unit commander for the Taebaek Guild, one of Korea’s largest guilds, was not a position just anyone could hold.

Kang Yuseong looked at the command staff and continued.

“The operation will commence tomorrow morning at seven. We will move in our pre-arranged formations. All of you.”

His eyes swept across the room.

“I wish you good fortune.”

The infiltration routes were already familiar to each commander.

The members of the command staff nodded with determined expressions.

Now, the true conquest of the Japanese mainland was about to begin.

* * * * *

After the command staff meeting concluded, Kang Yuseong stepped outside for a moment and gazed at the sky.

The ground below was in such chaos and turmoil, yet the stars in the sky appeared utterly serene.

Kang Yuseong looked at the sky and offered a faint smile.

‘The sky, huh…’

There was a time when he believed himself to be that very sky.

His past, when he reigned supreme over all Hunters in South Korea…

But he realized, as he was betrayed and died,

that the power he possessed was as fleeting as grains of sand, slipping through his grasp in an instant.

So now, having been granted a second chance at life, he was putting all his effort into ensuring he wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.

He had acquired the Plunderer’s Legacy and, driven by it, rushed about frantically to correct the past that had gone wrong.

But he still had a long way to go.

First, the sudden appearance of the evil monk Yoshii, and then having to worry about the movements of China’s Black Wind Unit—it made things even more complicated.

The reason South Korea couldn’t commit its full military might to this southern invasion was entirely due to the Chinese Black Wind Unit.

Their movements were ominous, which was why the President could only send a minimal number of personnel as the support unit.

In truth, he already knew this southern invasion wouldn’t be easy.

But it was something that absolutely could not be left alone.

If the evil monk Yoshii were to gather any more power, South Korea would quickly become their sacrifice.

At least they had made the first move decisively.

The problem lay ahead.

“Hoo…”

Feeling a momentary frustration, Kang Yuseong let out a long sigh.

“You’ll make the ground sink.”

Just then, someone approached him and casually tossed out a remark.

Kang Yuseong glanced at him and chuckled.

“Tell me about it.”

It was Kim Do-jin.

“What’s up with you? I doubt you came out just to keep me company.”

“Am I not allowed to keep you company?”

Kang Yuseong looked at him.

“Oh, it sounds like you did come out to keep me company, then?”

But Kim Do-jin pouted his lips and said,

“Not a chance. Why would I do something like that?”

“You rascal, I knew it.”

Kang Yuseong shook his head, smiling at him.

“But listen, Captain.”

As they both gazed at the sky, Kim Do-jin suddenly spoke.

“Hmm?”

As Kang Yuseong looked at Kim Do-jin, the latter continued with a serious expression.

“It just seems strange to me.”

“Strange…?”

“Yes. Yamamoto, the one I fought… his skill wasn’t particularly outstanding, but at the very end, he became incredibly powerful, beyond imagination. It was like he’d taken some kind of enhancer.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Yuseong furrowed his brow.

“In truth, Yamamoto’s power at that moment was beyond what I could easily handle. It was sheer luck that allowed me to kill him; otherwise…”

Kim Do-jin trailed off, but Kang Yuseong understood perfectly.

It meant that if luck hadn’t been on his side, Kim Do-jin would have died.

To that extent, Yamamoto had exhibited bizarre behavior, and Kim Do-jin was pointing out how strange it was.

“He was probably augmented by something. But that raised a question for me: why did they only send that much force?”

Yamamoto had brought a total of about a thousand troops.

While it would be stranger to think that twenty-five people would struggle against that many, Kim Do-jin was arguing the opposite. In truth, the outcome was that twenty-five people massacred a thousand, so his point wasn’t wrong.

“True… they wouldn’t have known our numbers.”

“Even after the Fukuoka branch was instantly wiped out, they didn’t show any heightened vigilance? If it were me, I would have deployed as many troops as possible and pressed the attack. That’s common sense.”

“Hmm…”

“And it’s the same now. Two days have passed since the Kyushu branch was annihilated, yet they aren’t moving. It’s almost as if…”

Kang Yuseong’s eyebrow twitched.

“They’re luring us in?”

Kim Do-jin nodded.

“Exactly. For some reason, it feels like they’re trying to draw us in deeper and then trap us.”

“The reason?”

Kim Do-jin shook his head.

“I don’t know. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand why they would do that.”

Kang Yuseong fell into deep thought.

Kim Do-jin’s words made sense.

If they had truly intended to wipe them out, they would have sent more troops and higher-caliber Hunters.

But Yoshii didn’t do that.

Instead, he was waiting.

‘It’s strange to think they don’t know our forces!’

Kang Yuseong tried to reverse-engineer the bigger picture.

With Yoshii’s power, and that of the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit, they could have launched an overwhelming assault.

At the very least, when the Kyushu branch forces were completely annihilated, they had ample time to do so.

Yet, he didn’t.

Of course, even if they came with their full strength, Kang Yuseong was confident he wouldn’t be easily defeated.

No, he even had plans to crush them in return.

However, the unfolding situation was, as Kim Do-jin said, peculiar.

‘Let’s think this through from the beginning.’

He pondered for a moment.

After destroying the Fukuoka branch, he had subtly provoked Yamamoto of the Kyushu branch, drawing him out.

And they had rushed all the way here, only to be utterly crushed.

Kang Yuseong felt a strange sense of incongruity in that part.

‘Yamamoto arrived here… too quickly?’

Even if Yamamoto had eagerly bitten Kang Yuseong’s bait, his superiors would surely have had time to stop him.

But Yamamoto arrived in Fukuoka with such speed, as if he had sprinted at full power from the very start, and was swiftly defeated.

‘Could it be…’

Kang Yuseong furrowed his brow.

Was there something he didn’t know about, lurking there?

Or had the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit truly fallen into Kang Yuseong’s cunning trap?

The lack of any significant resistance still bothered Kang Yuseong, and he felt a strong suspicion.

‘Hoo…’

But at this point, there was nothing concrete.

Tomorrow, everything would be decided anyway.

They would advance to Tokyo, and a direct confrontation with the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit would begin.

However, he was unaware that at that very moment, hundreds of fishing boats were departing Japan.

Ships of death, silently heading towards Busan, just as he had crossed over to Japan.

And then, the incident occurred.

* * * * *

In the dead of night.

Even in the Kyushu branch building, the support unit’s forces were standing guard in teams.

They stood guard and patrolled in teams of three, and being quite seasoned Hunters, not a single gap was visible.

Furthermore, perhaps due to the sense of responsibility from the Japanese expedition, a resolute determination could be seen on the faces of those patrolling and standing guard.

Under the illumination of torches and makeshift generators, the Kyushu branch building was enveloped in an unprecedentedly severe atmosphere.

Thus, time advanced towards the deep hours of dawn.

In this place, where everything was shrouded in darkness, it was just about time for the shift change, when the tension of the guarding Hunters would slightly ease.

Thwip!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, one Hunter clutched his throat, trembled violently, and then stiffly collapsed on the spot.

“Se-jun! Ugh!”

The two people next to him, startled, turned to look at him, and in that instant, they too stiffened and fell forward.

Suddenly, shouts erupted from all directions.

“Enemy! It’s an enemy ambush!”

The Hunters on guard duty and those on patrol each drew their weapons and took up defensive stances.

But at that very moment, they suddenly encountered an unknown entity.

“…!”

Slish!

“Aargh!”

Entities that flickered like shadows, without any fixed form.

These beings mercilessly slashed the throats of the startled Hunters.

They were renowned, seasoned Hunters, but a single moment of hesitation had cost them their lives.

“Gah!”

“Graaah!”

In an instant, the Hunters guarding the Kyushu branch fell.

However, the South Korean attack unit was no pushover either.

The moment the shouts were heard, they reacted swiftly, grabbing their weapons and rushing outside.

But even they doubted their eyes at the sight of the beings that appeared before them.

Figures without a fixed shape, moving as if emerging from the darkness!

Not monsters.

And certainly not human.

As they stood frozen like stone, someone swiftly dashed past them from behind.

CRASH—

And delivered a terrifying kick to one of the enemies.

BOOM!

The shadow struck by the kick suddenly swelled up, then burst apart with a pop.

Thud.

The man who delivered the kick, Kang Yuseong, approached the shadows with an expressionless face.

The shadows glared at him with displeased expressions.

Kang Yuseong looked at them and spoke softly.

“Creatures that shouldn’t exist in this world have appeared.”

And the corner of his mouth twisted upwards.

“Interesting, Yoshii.”

A deep blue radiance glowed in his eyes.

Thieving Eye.

The eye that steals all and pierces through essence had opened.

To his eyes, there was absolutely nothing to steal from these beings.

They were already dead.

Kang Yuseong let out a cold laugh.

Finally, a proper battle had begun.