Chapter 104

Stardust.

The Phoenix Guild’s 26th Attack Unit proudly received its own name with Master Song Sang-woo’s approval.

It was a special attack unit, standing shoulder to shoulder with Phoenix, the Phoenix Guild’s 1st Attack Unit.

Kang Yuseong, the leader of the Stardust Attack Unit, could carry out solo operations without the Master’s permission, and would receive the same support as the Phoenix Attack Unit, the 1st Attack Unit.

The Stardust Attack Unit comprised a total of fifteen members.

Yet, before the blood flowing along the blood groove of the sword in Kang Yuseong’s hand had even dried, he spoke to Master Song Sang-woo.

“Master, I’ll take the attack unit out for a bit and return.”

As soon as the approval for the formation of the Stardust Attack Unit was granted, he immediately requested to deploy.

No, it was closer to a notification than a request.

The Stardust Attack Unit leader had full authority to move at any time without the Master’s permission. Master Song Sang-woo frowned at Kang Yuseong, but Kang Yuseong was not someone who would hesitate just because the Master frowned.

“Attack Unit.”

His calm voice echoed through the hall, and the Hunters, now officially part of the Phoenix, Stardust Attack Unit, lined up with crisp discipline.

“Move out!”

As they were now a formal attack unit, all commands were simplified, and as the unit leader, he no longer used formalities.

However, the attack unit felt no discomfort whatsoever with Kang Yuseong’s command.

Watching the Stardust Attack Unit disappear, Song Sang-woo shook his head.

Then, he looked at Moon Baek-woo, who was standing beside him, and chuckled.

“Looks like we’ve got a real handful, doesn’t it?”

Moon Baek-woo also offered a faint smile.

He now completely acknowledged Kang Yuseong.

In fact, watching Kang Yuseong fight had sent shivers down his spine.

If that madman were an enemy…

The mere thought was enough to make him shudder; Kang Yuseong’s display had been incredibly intense.

“Well, I’d say it’s fortunate. If that man had turned the Phoenix against us…”

Moon Baek-woo trailed off, but Song Sang-woo fully understood his unspoken meaning.

He felt the same way.

Though they were only fifteen in number, they were so strong that one wondered if any organization in South Korea could currently face that fifteen-member attack unit.

No, they weren’t just strong; they were relentlessly persistent and chillingly ruthless.

It was strikingly clear how they had survived all this time; their demeanor in battle was that of vengeful demons themselves.

They possessed that desperate ferocity of tearing enemies apart, drinking their blood, gnawing on their flesh, and fighting their way out of death’s grasp.

Not just Kang Yuseong, but even the so-called “third-rate” Hunters who followed him were the same.

In fact, at this moment, it was doubtful if they could even be called “third-rate.”

“Perhaps…”

Song Sang-woo started to say something, then closed his mouth.

Moon Baek-woo looked at him, but he kept his lips tightly sealed.

It was a statement that, as a guild Master, he couldn’t easily utter.

But one thing was certain.

The Phoenix Guild had just taken in a formidable monster.

* * * * *

Shwoosh!

Boom!

“Aaaargh!”

“Graaah!”

It was as expected.

Outside was chaos.

No, a gruesome and desperate living hell of pandemonium and utter despair unfolded.

People caught by the monsters’ sharp claws were easily torn to pieces, spilling their guts as they were ripped apart.

Even then, they scrambled on the ground, struggling to survive, but the monsters didn’t even allow them that desperate movement, crushing human skulls, chewing and swallowing brains, and sucking out brain matter.

Scenes of monsters fighting each other, indulging in burst hearts, were frequently seen, and some were seen tearing off arms and others legs, gnawing on them.

Tremble—

The facial muscles of the Hunters who witnessed the sight twitched.

Kang Yuseong also looked at them and quietly muttered.

“Are you watching?”

The attack unit responded to his question with a heavy, yet rage-filled silence.

With the intense bloodlust rising from behind him, Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed coldly as he continued.

“Attack Unit, from this moment on, do not leave a single monster alive in your sight. All enemies…”

His eyes flashed brightly.

“I order their complete annihilation!”

“Grrr—”

The Hunters gripped their weapons tightly.

They couldn’t endure this burning sensation rising from the depths of their stomachs.

It was pity for the humans dying so desperately, and fury toward the monsters committing the slaughter.

Clang—

“Attack Unit, charge!”

Boom—

Gil Hyeok-jun, the leader of the vanguard, gripped his massive greatsword with both hands, kicked the ground hard, and charged forward.

“Graaaaaah!”

Behind him, the Hunters unleashed their suppressed rage and dashed wildly.

Boom—

Crunch!

“Kreeeaah!”

“Kieek!”

The Hunters literally lunged at every monster in sight, smashing their heads,

and piercing and tearing their hearts with swords.

“Graaah!”

Whoosh!

Thwack!

Greatswords cut through the air, severing the monsters’ necks, then falling from above to split their bodies in two.

“P-Please, save us!”

At this moment, people being eaten alive and torn apart by monsters cried out desperately to them.

Powerless, as they died at the hands of monsters, there was no one to help them.

The nation, and each guild, were too overwhelmed by the massive monster attacks to spare attention for civilians.

Perhaps countless other guilds were not only unable to rescue civilians but were also engaged in desperate battles where their own survival was uncertain.

Even if they managed to drive back the monsters, no guild would have the leisure to look after civilians. Even the Immortal Guild wouldn’t be free from these powerful monster attacks.

By the time they collected themselves and came out, countless civilians would have already been sacrificed to the monsters.

Watching countless people die before their eyes, pounding their chests, trembling with rage, and slaughtering monsters—once dead, those people could never return.

Kang Yuseong remembered that indignation, that rage, all too clearly.

That’s why, after saving the Phoenix Guild from crisis, he immediately went outside.

To save even one more person.

“Graaah! Save me!”

In the distance, a balding middle-aged man was seen being dragged away by a monster.

The monster’s mantis-like forelegs were already deeply embedded in the man’s thigh, making his chances of escape almost nonexistent.

Just as death seemed to be his only release, a massive gust of wind suddenly swept over them.

“Urgh!”

As the man tightly shut his eyes against the dust kicked up by the incoming gust, something hot splattered onto his back.

Startled, the man looked behind him and was utterly horrified.

The head of the mantis-like monster had fallen behind his back.

The hot liquid flowing down his back was the blood spewing from the monster’s head.

And a man…

“Go that way. Don’t look back.”

“U-Ugh!”

“Hurry!”

Bang—

The middle-aged man, momentarily panicked, flinched, stood up, and ran forward.

“Attack Unit!”

Kang Yuseong’s shout rang out loudly.

“Protect the citizens!”

Suddenly, a massive flame erupted from where Kang Yuseong stood.

And that flame, for a moment, seemed to surge high into the sky, then transformed into dozens of hot meteorites that mercilessly rained down upon the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Wooooooah!”

The meteorites instantly incinerated countless monsters holding people, and the attack unit, led by Gil Hyeok-jun, followed, smashing the monsters to pieces.

“Come this way!”

Baek Myeong-han helped fallen citizens to their feet and sent them to the rear.

“Graaah!”

As their coveted prey escaped, the monsters let out savage roars and charged after the fleeing people.

That’s when it happened.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Crack!

One monster’s neck was severed by a sharp sword, and another monster’s head was smashed to pieces by a battle hammer imbued with immense power, sending it flying.

Whoosh!

Thwack!

Countless monsters that had been pursuing the humans instantly collapsed on the spot.

Startled by the sudden turn of events, Kang Yuseong looked back.

And smirked.

Someone was standing there.

“Leave the citizens to us, Stardust.”

It was Moon Baek-woo, the leader of the Phoenix Attack Unit.

He looked at Kang Yuseong with a faint smile on his face.

Behind him, the Phoenix Hunters were lined up, cutting down monsters, one after another.

Kang Yuseong nodded.

Having the Phoenix Attack Unit cover their rear was the greatest reassurance.

– Attack Unit. Don’t look back. We…

Flash—

His form sliced through the air.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

“Kreeeaah!”

And in an instant, dozens of monsters were slaughtered and fell.

– We charge forward!

And they charged.

The destructive power unleashed by them, now unburdened by the need to look back, was beyond imagination, and the monsters that had covered the entire road began to dwindle rapidly.

Stardust, with its supreme destructive power and breakthrough capability.

And Phoenix, known as the strongest shield.

When their two powers combined, a formidable synergy erupted.

Truly, the strongest spear and the strongest shield.

Their combination was taking place at this very moment.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions continuously echoed from all directions.

* * * * *

Whoosh!

The surroundings were a blazing inferno.

Within that inferno lay countless charred monster corpses, and tragically, the bodies of civilians, torn apart, were also abundant.

They had attempted a swift counterattack, but the Second Shock was terrifyingly powerful.

“Hoo…”

Kang Yuseong surveyed the surroundings, where black smoke billowed, his face grim.

Even as he cut them down, another life vanished in that instant.

Though not the same sense of powerlessness as in the past, Kang Yuseong still felt guilt for those who had died nameless.

‘Damn it…’

The Second Shock had arrived much faster than anticipated.

If things had gone according to Kang Yuseong’s plan, these people wouldn’t have had to die.

His establishment of Star Pharmaceuticals and his plans involving the Phoenix Guild were all for this reason.

But…

Things hadn’t gone according to his expectations.

“Leader.”

Then, someone called him from behind.

It was Baek Myeong-han, his face blackened with soot and completely drenched in blood.

“Citizens… we rescued more citizens than we thought.”

Regardless of his own appearance, his face was alight with emotion.

‘Citizens…’

Kang Yuseong unconsciously looked at the citizens gathered in one place in the distance.

People trembling, still unable to escape the terror of death…

People who had stubbornly survived, even after witnessing the horrific sight of their parents being torn apart and their siblings devoured before their eyes…

‘Hmm…’

Nearly a hundred people were sending gazes mixed with countless emotions towards him.

Relief at having survived, deep sorrow for a loved one’s brutal death, fear, despair…

Step.

Kang Yuseong walked towards them.

Everyone’s gaze turned to him.

At that moment when they thought no one could save them, when they had simply waited for death, offering desperate prayers only to God, this man had appeared.

It was because of the man before them that they were able to survive.

The man had cut down monsters, again and again, with a face like a vengeful demon.

To the point where those being rescued were chilled to the bone.

That very man now stood before them.

And he opened his mouth.

“Are you all right?”

His voice was so gentle and warm that one had to look again to confirm it was the same man from moments ago.

And his eyes, once clouded with madness…

“H-hoo!”

A woman, meeting his now softly unfurled gaze, burst into tears.

Only now did the reality of her survival sink in. And she realized the truth: her loved one had been torn to shreds right before her.

Around the woman, a quiet weeping spread.

Kang Yuseong silently watched them.

People who were weak, vulnerable, and could only scream when fear consumed them…

Clench—

Kang Yuseong clenched his fists tightly.

As he had in the past, looking at them, he once again vowed inwardly.

‘I will… I will protect them. Even if it costs me everything!’

Monarch.

Kang Yuseong, who knew the weight of that name all too well, reiterated that vow once more.

And he turned his eyes to the distant horizon.

That place.

Where a colossal disaster, dwarfing all previous calamities and horrors, was slowly brewing.

A chilling resolve settled in Kang Yuseong’s eyes as he gazed upon that place.