Chapter 44

*Clang!*

Kang Yuseong’s sword sparked.

The monster’s hide, like Iron Armor, easily deflected his blade.

But Kang Yuseong remained unfazed, immediately slashing his sword again.

*Swish!*

“ROOOAR!”

This time, the monster let out a pained shriek.

It was only natural.

Though not before, Kang Yuseong’s sword was now imbued with the power of Chakra, Carapace Melt.

It was only natural for the beast, wounded by that power, to scream in agony.

However, the monster didn’t just stand there and take it.

“Grrrrowl!”

Its speed as it lunged forward, mouth agape, was terrifying.

In an instant, Chakra, Wind Flow activated.

*Whoosh-*

Kang Yuseong, having deftly dodged the furious charge with a slight movement, immediately thrust his sword into the monster.

*Thunk!*

As the sharp tip of his sword pierced the monster’s hide, it writhed in pain.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong’s communicator crackled.

“Attack Unit, begin the hunt!”

At his command, the Hunters, who had been gripping their weapons with tense expressions, let out wild shouts and charged forward.

“Haaaah!”

Baek Myeong-han, who seemed so gentle and quiet outside, led the charge.

His eyes blazing, he spun his massive battle hammer and brought it down hard on the monster’s leg.

*CRASH!*

The single blow made the colossal monster’s body flinch.

Considering the difference in their sizes, it was an unbelievable sight, but it was possible because his battle hammer was infused with the full force of his Chakra Force.

“Yaaah!”

Having struck the monster’s leg with a single blow, he lifted his hammer again and brought it down.

*CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!*

A tremendous shockwave shook the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

*CRACK!*

Then, a gruesome sound, as if something was breaking, echoed as the battle hammer heavily slammed into the monster’s instep.

“Aiiieee!”

The monster shrieked wildly.

But even in pain, it twisted its body ferociously.

Its dozens of eyes, bloodshot and crimson, and foam began to spew from its mouth. Its rage was palpable.

At the same time, it lunged at one of the Hunters who had been rushing it.

“ROOOAR!”

The horns on its forehead had grown even longer, and just as the Hunter was about to be impaled without being able to do anything, something blocked his path.

*Clang!*

A flash, sparks flying, and,

*Swish!*

A frantic swirling sound was heard, and then blood spurted.

It was Kang Yuseong.

He had entered the fray at some unknown moment, blocking the raging monster and deflecting its head.

In his hands, he now held two swords.

Chakra, Two-Headed Snake.

One sword for defense, the other for delivering a fatal strike.

Blood poured from the monster’s neck where his sword had struck.

“Snap out of it!”

At that moment, Baek Myeong-han’s shout rang out loudly.

The Hunters clenched their fists and charged at the monster again.

Han Do-seong grabbed a handful of the monster’s long, shaggy fur and climbed onto its leg.

“Hey, you idiot! It’s dangerous!”

Jwa Myeong-hoon shouted from below, but Han Do-seong paid him no mind.

He knew that the standard method for taking down a giant monster was to target its lower body.

But Han Do-seong had no intention of stopping there.

He planned to somehow climb to its neck and embed his serrated blade.

That was the only way to unleash the burning something that was surging within him.

“That crazy bastard! Ah, screw it!”

Jwa Myeong-hoon yelled, watching Han Do-seong climb, then swung the greatsword in his hands.

*BOOM-*

Chakra Force exploded, vibrating the surrounding air.

“Dieee!”

Chakra, Madman’s Dance.

His frenzied swordsmanship was unleashed.

*CRASH! CRASH! CRASSSHH!*

His greatsword relentlessly targeted the monster’s lower body, and each time, the monster writhed painfully.

*CRUNCH, CRUNCH!*

Despite the tremendous shaking, Han Do-seong clung tightly to the monster’s fur with one hand and dug his serrated blade into its hide with the other, climbing higher.

“Whoa, that madman! Hey, what are you doing? If he falls, he’s dead! Let’s go!”

Other Hunters spotted him and charged forward wildly.

Now, they no longer feared the monster.

At this very moment, a strange sense of obligation to get Han Do-seong up there completely consumed them.

“Hey, you bastard! Hurry up and climb!”

Jwa Myeong-hoon shouted, and,

“Do-seong, you’re truly insane! I admit it!”

Seong Dae-jun, wielding a battle axe, yelled.

But they were of one mind, one purpose.

Even facing this monstrous beast, they showed no retreat.

Kang Yuseong watched them, a quiet smile on his face.

They probably didn’t even realize that Kang Yuseong had stepped back.

They were finding their own way, and the monster was slowly crumbling under their focused assault.

That was growth.

If Kang Yuseong led, anyone could follow.

His combat leadership was supreme, and the aura of a Monarch was not something just anyone could exude.

But now, without his direct command, they were forging their own path and creating their own battle.

*CRASH! BOOM!*

A fierce battle.

Blood splatters, roars echo.

Shouts ring out, and adrenaline, drenching their entire bodies, surges wildly.

The scent of men, that intense and primal scent, stings the nose.

The smell of sweat, the smell of blood, the smell of frenzied madness!

All of it mingled, becoming a battlefield, becoming the fight itself.

“Oh, he made it up!”

Indeed, Han Do-seong had climbed frantically and was now perched on the monster’s neck.

“Hey, don’t fall, you idiot!”

Now, another strange sense of obligation arose within them.

Having sent him up, their actions were now aimed at preventing Han Do-seong from falling!

“Hey, you bastard! Don’t twist your body!”

*CRASH! BOOM!*

Each time the monster shook its body violently, iron hammers and blunt weapons rained down on its legs, relentlessly striking.

Each time, Han Do-seong was shaken so violently he was almost thrown to the ground, but the Hunters attacked the monster wildly, driven by their own sense of duty.

Han Do-seong shuddered at the sight of the Hunters, then, for a moment, a fierce light gleamed in his eyes.

Just for a moment.

He had seized that single moment to embed his serrated blade into the monster’s neck.

“KRAAAAAGH!”

He let out a monstrous yell, raised his serrated blade high, and plunged it in.

*CRUNCH!*

The monster’s steel-like hide deflected the serrated blade.

“Ugh!”

A jarring pain shot through his grip, but Han Do-seong didn’t give up.

“Uwaaaah!”

His serrated blade once again cut through the air.

*THWACK!*

This time, it accurately struck the monster’s neck.

A look of madness poured from Han Do-seong’s eyes.

It was embedded.

Now, all that remained was to saw it apart.

The one thing he did best!

*CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!*

Han Do-seong’s hands moved frantically.

Holding onto the monster’s fur with one hand and sawing with the other was no easy feat.

But with the power of Chakra Force, it wasn’t impossible.

*Thwock!*

Then, in an instant, the steel-like hide was pierced, and blood gushed out.

*WHOOSH!*

Wherever he had struck, the blood, which had initially trickled, suddenly surged out in a torrent.

Han Do-seong was drenched from head to toe in the metallic-smelling blood, but he didn’t stop sawing.

*CRUNCH, CRUNCH!*

Watching him from afar, the Porters were horrified by his appearance, so demonic was he as he sawed frantically, soaked in blood.

“DIEEE!”

He plunged the serrated blade in once more.

He had already sawed enough to expose white flesh and bone, but he showed no sign of stopping.

The monster’s dozens of bloodshot eyes turned towards him, but he didn’t even register them.

*THUD-*

And a moment later, the monster couldn’t withstand the assault and collapsed.

*CRASH!*

Han Do-seong, who had been plunging his knife in from above, was unprepared and slammed into the ground.

“Do-seong!”

Jwa Myeong-hoon, his friend, rushed over.

“Hah, hah!”

But Han Do-seong slowly got up, gasping for breath, his shoulders heaving.

“You idiot, why would you do something like that?!”

“…because.”

For a moment, Han Do-seong said something, but Jwa Myeong-hoon didn’t catch it.

“What? What did you say?”

“We can’t… always leave everything to the Monarch. I wanted to show that I could do something too.”

“You… bastard…!”

Jwa Myeong-hoon bit his lip.

Looking back, they had been nothing without Kang Yuseong until now.

Hadn’t it been the same when they first entered this dungeon?

If Kang Yuseong hadn’t led the way, how many Hunters would have willingly entered on their own?

Han Do-seong seemed to be pointing out that very fact.

“The Monarch is truly amazing… but we can’t push our duties onto him. We have to do our part too.”

At Han Do-seong’s words, the surrounding Hunters took on solemn expressions.

“He’s right. We’re Hunters too.”

“Exactly. The Monarch can’t do everything for us. We need to be his strength, not a burden.”

While they were talking, surrounding Han Do-seong, Kang Yuseong approached them.

“Ah, Monarch…”

The Hunters spotted Kang Yuseong, their faces momentarily surprised, then they made way for him.

Kang Yuseong smiled warmly at them.

“You’ve all grown.”

He looked around at the Hunters.

In fact, this was exactly what he had hoped for when coming to this dungeon.

An attack unit that could always grow, even without him.

And yet, through an unexpected turn of events, they had grown in an instant.

“Actually, you’re all right. This attack unit isn’t just my, Kang Yuseong’s, attack unit. While I am the Monarch, as a member of the attack unit… I want to be with all of you.”

“Monarch…”

Kang Yuseong smiled again.

“Now, I truly feel like doing something. With people like you, I feel like I can accomplish anything.”

Smiles also appeared on the Hunters’ faces.

These weren’t just polite smiles.

Both the speaker and the listeners felt the same way.

“We feel the same way. From the first time we met you, until now… and in the future too.”

Kang Yuseong listened to their words and took a deep breath.

‘In the future…’

They probably didn’t know the meaning of those words.

How much significance was hidden in that ‘future’.

It could be stained with blood and pain, or they might even lose their lives.

Despite that, he had to impose that ‘future’ upon them.

But…

“Me too.”

Kang Yuseong looked around at the Hunters, his eyes filled with a calm, yet firm resolve.

“I will be with you. In the future too.”

A difficult future surely lay ahead…

But Kang Yuseong had the power to change that future.

‘I will never lose my people in vain again. Never!’