Chapter 138

Boom!

Wild flames erupted.

A fierce firestorm swept through the surroundings, and horrific screams and death throes echoed loudly.

This was Tokyo.

The heart of Japan, and the final battleground.

With the powerful fire support of the Republic of Korea Army’s core armored division, the Hunters of the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit fell helplessly.

Crackle! Bang!

“Aargh!”

Thick smoke billowed, and in the distance, chunks of what had once been human flesh were scattered.

And into that desperate scene, a group of warriors charged like madmen.

The Republic of Korea’s expeditionary force against Japan.

These were the special forces of the Southern Invasion, handpicked and elite, brandishing their weapons and storming forward as if to witness Japan’s final moments. It was a truly magnificent sight.

“Swing your swords to the very end! Every swing of your blade will save our homeland!”

“Waaah!”

Clang! Clang!

Clashes erupted everywhere, and the slaughter began anew.

Kang Yuseong glanced at the scene, a slight smile on his face.

Now, even by Yoshii’s side, the number of Hunters had dwindled significantly.

It meant the defensive barrier protecting him was disappearing.

“Yoshii.”

Kang Yuseong stared coldly at Yoshii.

“You were never meant to be revived.”

Step.

He glared at Yoshii and took a step closer.

He could see Yoshii’s eyebrows twitching slightly.

Kang Yuseong paid it no mind and spoke softly.

“I will erase you completely. So you can never be resurrected again.”

It was then that he pointed his sword.

Yoshii bared his rotting teeth and let out a chilling laugh.

“Heh! Do you think you can win just because you’ve gained a little power, you fool?”

A bizarre voice, like a crow’s caw.

Kang Yuseong frowned slightly at his words.

‘What is he so confident about…?’

He had thought Yoshii had nothing left to do.

Yet, Yoshii wore an oddly confident expression.

Kang Yuseong activated Thieving Eye.

He wanted to know what the man had left, what he intended to do.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong’s eyes widened.

He could see the man’s abilities, which had been obscured before.

Among them, a grotesque symbol, like one corpse devouring another.

Chains were wrapped around the symbol, secured by a sturdy padlock.

‘Surely, that doesn’t mean it can’t be stolen!’

Kang Yuseong furrowed his brow at this unprecedented phenomenon since acquiring Thieving Eye.

At that moment, he saw Yoshii’s lips move, muttering something.

Then, a dark aura billowed from the symbol, and a tremendous force erupted explosively around Yoshii.

‘Ugh!’

Kang Yuseong involuntarily staggered back from the immense, eerie power.

‘No way!’

Did Yoshii not fully unleash his power until now?!

Kang Yuseong gritted his teeth, an expression of disbelief on his face.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

A strange sound came from somewhere.

And something dark began to gather.

Kang Yuseong’s eyes snapped open at the sight.

It was a multitude of animal corpses.

There were decaying rats, cats with gouged-out eyes, dogs with crushed legs, and even countless insect corpses, all swarming together.

‘What in the world is this?!’

Kang Yuseong trembled at the horrifying spectacle.

This was an overwhelming sight, far beyond his power.

Was this Yoshii’s true strength?

What he had been hiding all this time!

Seeing Kang Yuseong’s alarm, Yoshii’s lips parted, a cold smile playing on them.

“Joseon scum… this is the end.”

Snap, crackle—

And then, something even more astonishing happened.

The corpses began to devour each other.

‘What is this?’

Kang Yuseong focused intently on their bizarre behavior.

This was utterly incomprehensible.

To summon so many corpses only to have them consume each other…

But a moment later, he understood why.

‘…!’

Yoshii.

He was truly an incredible monster.

The corpses weren’t just devouring each other aimlessly.

They were gnawing and tearing at each other, rapidly growing in size.

‘This is the meaning of the symbol!’

The symbol of a corpse devouring a corpse.

Its true meaning was precisely this.

As the corpses consumed each other, they gradually increased in mass.

A colossal, immense corpse, radiating tremendous power.

“Kyahhhh!”

The creature, a single corpse formed from countless others, let out a grotesque cry and stood tall.

It was a horrifying monster, nearly three stories tall, composed of what looked like numerous pieces of skin and flesh stitched together.

But at some point, a cold glint shot from Kang Yuseong’s eyes.

Among the swarming corpses, countless skeletons wearing old Imperial Army uniforms were marching forward. They looked as arrogant and defiant as they had when they exploited Joseon.

‘Those bastards!’

“Te… Tenno… He… ika Ba… Banzai (Long live His Imperial Majesty the Emperor)!”

The skeletons gnashed their teeth, constantly shouting that phrase.

Just as they had in the past, when they bayonetted the people of Joseon, raped women, and beheaded independence fighters.

Shouting that mad, bloodthirsty slogan, the swarming skeletons were continuously crawling out from the direction of Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine.

Grind—

Sparks flew from Kang Yuseong’s eyes.

Yoshii cackled in front of him.

With ominous red light emanating from his eyes, he shook his shoulders and said,

“Heheheh, this is amusing. For the glorious Imperial Army to once again be able to behead the Joseon scum. Do you hear them? The cries they’re making?”

The blood-red glow from his eyes intensified.

“That clamor, eager to cut off your heads?”

Thump! Thump-thump!

Even at that moment, the monster continued to absorb skeletons, steadily growing larger.

The skeletons, even as they became one with the monster, continued to maniacally chant “Tenno Heika Banzai.”

Kang Yuseong looked at the creature and spoke coldly.

“Listen, Yoshii.”

He stared directly at Yoshii and continued,

“You, you touched something you shouldn’t have. You… son of a bitch.”

Click!

Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial.

S-200.

That was the name written on the label of the vial.

An enhancer with even stronger effects than the S-100 distributed to support and expeditionary forces.

Kang Yuseong had intended to avoid taking it due to its severe side effects, but he poured it directly into his mouth.

Gulp—

As soon as he swallowed the medicine, a powerful force surged from deep within Kang Yuseong’s gut.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Thump—

A crimson glow erupted from Kang Yuseong’s eyes, then slowly began to change color.

Flash!

The red glow vanished instantly, and the next moment, a golden radiance began to emanate from his eyes.

“You will die today.”

Yoshii seemed slightly surprised by Kang Yuseong’s powerful appearance, but then he cackled.

“Quite impressive. But that won’t work against a Gaki.”

Kang Yuseong let out a snort.

“I’ll be back soon to cut off your head.”

At that moment, Kang Yuseong soared into the air.

His sword gleamed, letting out a low hum.

“Groooaaah!”

The Gaki, its body massive from absorbing skeletons, saw Kang Yuseong flying towards it and swung its long arm to strike him.

Clang!

But Kang Yuseong seemed to parry the monster’s arm slightly, then deflected it.

He then kicked off the air, rising higher, and swung his sword.

Slice!

Gush!

A section of the Gaki’s body, made of countless corpses, split open, and putrid blood gushed out.

“Painful, painful!”

The severed corpses began to wail.

But Kang Yuseong paid them no mind and thrust his sword again.

Thwack!

The sword penetrated deeply, but the Gaki didn’t even flinch.

Instead, it extended its arm again, grabbed Kang Yuseong, and slammed him to the ground.

Crash!

Kang Yuseong hit the ground with a powerful impact, then quickly sprang back up.

The shock had been considerable, so he briefly turned his head and loosened his neck.

‘Blood.’

It was Kang Yuseong who had called Blood again, Blood who had been pushed back by Yoshii’s aura earlier.

Before, Kang Yuseong’s influence couldn’t fully protect Blood, so control wasn’t complete, but now, after taking S-200, it was different.

“Yes, Master.”

Sure enough, Blood’s clear voice was heard.

‘Coordinated attack.’

Having conveyed his will, Kang Yuseong kicked off the ground.

The corpses forming the Gaki’s body felt pain, but the Gaki itself felt no pain, so only a proper decisive blow could bring it down.

Furthermore, Yoshii was using the remaining corpses to push back the expeditionary force, making the situation difficult.

‘Quick victory!’

Kang Yuseong tightened his grip on his sword.

Flash!

His sword sliced through the air.

Crack!

The sword sharply cut through the monster’s skin, cleaving the corpses.

“Painful, painful!”

The corpses cried out in agony.

Their appearance, weeping tears of blood and writhing in pain, was quite gruesome and repulsive.

Whoosh!

Bang!

But that had nothing to do with the Gaki.

The Gaki raised its massive fist and slammed it down on Kang Yuseong.

Kang Yuseong blocked the attack with his sword, but he was slowly pushed back.

The monster’s strength was simply too immense.

“Cut off the Joseon scum’s head! Cut off his head!”

The skeletons attached to the Gaki’s body gnashed their teeth and screamed wildly.

‘Ugh!’

Given that he was being pushed back even after taking S-200, it was clear how strong the Gaki was.

At that moment, something flashed past Kang Yuseong’s eyes.

Swish!

Clatter!

And the skeletons that had been screaming annoyingly until now fell in droves.

Standing in front of them was a single skeleton wielding a massive sword.

Blood.

It was Blood, with crimson light radiating from his eyes.

Kang Yuseong smiled at his appearance.

“You were making too much noise anyway. Good job.”

Blood bowed slightly, then charged forward.

At this moment, he had accurately grasped what he needed to do and executed it.

Slice!

While Kang Yuseong blocked the Gaki’s arm, Blood swiftly charged, inflicting deep wounds on the Gaki’s arms and legs.

As a result, the Gaki’s pressure on Kang Yuseong naturally eased.

Clang!

Kang Yuseong pushed back the Gaki’s arm with force, glaring coldly at the monster.

“Good, now it begins.”

At that moment, something appeared before his eyes.

[Title ‘Corpse Hunter’ acquired.]

[Corpse Hunter: When fighting the undead, attack power is increased by 150%. Receive 5% less damage from undead attacks. Undead tracking becomes possible. If an undead’s vitality reaches 0, you can control it. Control success rate: 15%.]

‘Corpse Hunter!’

It seemed one of his necromancy-related abilities had evolved.

In any case, it was a very useful ability for the current situation!

‘I’ll kill you.’

A smile appeared on Kang Yuseong’s lips.

Flash!

And he soared into the air.