Chapter 54

CRASH!

“Aargh!”

Jung Yu-han, the assault leader of the Phoenix Guild, shuddered.

The scene unfolding before his eyes…

It was a sight he desperately wished he didn’t have to believe, even as he clearly witnessed it.

“F-fuck! We’re all going to die at this rate!”

Someone rushed over to Jung Yu-han and shouted.

Yet, Jung Yu-han didn’t hear the voice.

Panic.

He was completely frozen in the face of immense terror.

And for good reason.

They were a seasoned assault team, recognized by the Phoenix Guild as future S-rank Hunters.

They had cleared B-rank Dungeons with such speed it was like child’s play, but now, in this A-rank Dungeon, their pride had utterly shattered.

CRASH—

“Ugh!”

Thud!

Just then, another Hunter was thrown back.

His chest was completely crushed, caved in as if his bones had been pulverized.

“Kim Seong-cheol…!”

His specialty was defense, befitting his massive physique.

He wielded a one-handed shield with astonishing skill, having overcome countless dangers with it until now.

But now, he was dead.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

Standing before them was a colossal great ape.

A massive great ape, its entire body dyed black.

Its immense size was such that it could easily grab a lion in one hand and toss it aside.

And from its two eyes, crimson blood-light streamed out, sending shivers down the spines of all who saw it.

The entire assault team was being utterly decimated by this single creature.

Not long after the reconnaissance team sent out a danger signal, the creature ambushed the main force, and what followed was a one-sided massacre.

The beast, smashing through the Hunters’ armor and shields, charged in, its massive fists swinging, signaling the start of a great slaughter. Assault leader Jung Yu-han was helplessly caught in its rampage, unable to take any action.

‘Retreat… we have to retreat!’

But the problem was, it wasn’t as easy as saying it.

The order to retreat had already been given long ago.

Yet, that mad great ape swiftly caught up with the assault team and pulverized them.

The bodies of Porters were scattered everywhere, and Hunters fared no better.

In this horrific hell, all they could do now was pray to the gods.

CRASH!

Another person was caught in the creature’s grasp and slammed to the ground.

Watching a Hunter, with whom he had shared life and death until now, instantly die, turned into a bloody mess, Jung Yu-han squeezed his eyes shut.

It wasn’t that he had never thought about his end while dungeon hunting.

He had always considered that death was a possibility, and indeed, he had faced such crises several times.

But now, he felt that ‘death’ with absolute certainty.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

The great ape roared, turning its gaze towards him.

Gulp—

Jung Yu-han swallowed dryly, staring at the creature.

The battle-axe in his hand trembled slightly.

He tightened his grip.

He gripped the axe tightly.

Even if he were to die, he intended to land a blow on the creature.

For that was the death of a Hunter he had always envisioned.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the creature’s fist shot down like an arrow towards him.

There was no time to dodge.

CRASH—

“Kuh-heuk!”

He frantically raised his axe to block the creature’s fist, but the axe shattered instantly, and he was sent flying.

“Kuh-heok!”

His ribs must have been broken; even breathing was an arduous task.

His limbs had already lost their function.

Then, he saw the great ape leap high into the air.

It was coming for him.

This was truly the end.

Whoosh!

The creature was descending.

Jung Yu-han squeezed his eyes shut.

But then.

CLANG—

“Kwooaarrgh!”

With an enormous crash, the creature suddenly let out a scream.

Jung Yu-han opened his eyes to see the great ape recoiling backward.

And standing before it was someone.

Flap—

The hem of the cloak he wore billowed in the wind.

—Assault team, begin the hunt.

And a brief command issued from him.

Whoosh—

Having sent the signal, he immediately launched himself forward.

The sword in his hand gleamed with a bright light.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

The great ape roared loudly and charged wildly at the man.

It was a terrifying charge that sent shivers down one’s spine even from a distance.

But the man remained perfectly calm.

He waited for the creature to charge, then slightly turned his body and slashed with his sword.

Shwing!

Blood spurted from the great ape’s thick forearm.

“Krrk!”

The great ape could be seen flinching and trembling.

It seemed slightly flustered when its attack failed.

The man, Kang Yuseong, looked at the creature.

He had moved based on the words of Jang Seong-hu, who identified himself as part of the Phoenix Guild’s reconnaissance team.

The great ape before him.

Its name was Samakan.

If they caught it, there was a high chance of obtaining its gallbladder.

That gallbladder was one of the main ingredients for a highly effective Healing Potion.

To put it slightly hyperbolically, it was an ingredient that could create a potion capable of saving even those on the brink of death.

Furthermore, its claws and nails were incredibly tough, making them suitable for crafting into armor or shields.

This meant that a different form of bone armor could be made from it, distinct from the Iron Armor crafted from steel or other metals.

Bone armor, made from monster bones or by-products, was also quite hard and sturdy, possessing defensive power comparable to Iron Armor.

He hadn’t necessarily moved just to acquire those.

Samakan was an incredibly powerful monster even within A-rank Dungeons, and the Phoenix Guild’s plight upon encountering it was vividly clear before his eyes.

It was a dire situation where a little more delay could have led to complete annihilation.

‘Alright, let’s begin the hunt properly.’

Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed.

Hunters were charging from all directions.

They weren’t just blindly charging.

It was a formation they had mastered through long experience, coordinating with Kang Yuseong.

At the very front, Hunters wielding blunt weapons capable of striking the monsters’ carapaces or bones charged in, striking the creatures, followed by Hunters with bladed weapons who rushed in to cut them down.

When struck by blunt weapons, monsters had a significant chance of entering a brief state of rigidity due to the blunt weapon Chakra skill’s attributes, and it was into this opening that Hunters with bladed weapons launched their attacks.

Swish—

Kang Yuseong precisely coordinated those openings and movements.

The sword in his hand emitted a sharp gleam.

His battle command was about to begin.

Whoosh—

He leaped into the air.

Shwing!

And swiftly sweeping past Samakan, he left a long sword wound.

Though shallow, it was a very irritating attack for Samakan.

The creature turned its gaze to Kang Yuseong.

Its glowing crimson eyes glared menacingly at Kang Yuseong.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

Then it leaped, extending its foot as if to crush Kang Yuseong.

CRASH!

But Kang Yuseong had already slipped away from that spot like a flying squirrel.

Shwing!

Suddenly, a searing pain erupted near Samakan’s hind leg.

Kang Yuseong had slashed past it with his sword.

It was then that Samakan grimaced fiercely and turned around.

“Haaah!”

CRASH!

This time, an agonizing pain, enough to make its head ring, surged through both its legs.

A bone-crushing impact shook its entire body.

Its vision momentarily blurred, and Samakan trembled violently.

In that brief moment, intense pain assailed its legs once more.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

Unable to bear the pain, Samakan thrashed wildly.

Kang Yuseong didn’t miss the opportunity and charged straight at the creature.

Shing!

Thwack!

His sword pierced directly through Samakan’s abdomen.

Chakra, Critical Strike!

Whirr-whirr-whirr!

At that moment, the sword embedded in its belly rotated furiously.

Chakra, Blade Twist had activated.

“Kwooaarrgh!”

Samakan thrashed like a mad beast.

It slammed its fists repeatedly onto the ground and stomped everything around with its feet.

But this time, intense pain erupted from its right shoulder.

“Haaah!”

Crunch, crunch, crrunch!

Unseen, Han Do-seong had climbed onto its shoulder area and was sawing through its hide with a serrated blade.

Even as the creature thrashed wildly, Han Do-seong held on tightly to its fur with one hand.

Even in that situation, his serrated blade furiously tore through Samakan’s thick hide, beginning to sever the muscle layers beneath.

Chakra, Serrated Blade Spin.

That formidable power was shattering the creature’s defenses.

“Charge!”

This time, the blunt weapon squad, who had fallen back, surged forward.

Whoosh—

Upon reaching Samakan, they mercilessly swung their blunt weapons.

CRASH!

CRUNCH! Fresh blood instantly gushed from Samakan’s legs.

The Phoenix Guild Hunters, staring blankly, muttered with expressions of disbelief.

“No… how can this be…”

Assault leader Jung Yu-han, in particular, was watching everything with wide, bulging eyes.

He was clearly seeing what the other Hunters couldn’t.

He was a being groomed to be an assault leader in the Phoenix Guild.

Even in a situation where breathing was difficult, what completely dominated him now was astonishment.

‘That man…!’

He was looking at Kang Yuseong.

While the other Hunters were very experienced, they lacked much needed for hunting in an A-rank Dungeon. As someone trained to be an assault leader, Jung Yu-han could accurately assess this.

Yet, what made this battle possible was the presence of that man.

‘He’s a terrifying… man!’

At first glance, it might seem like the Hunters were wildly attacking, but there was a preparatory step. The man leading them was diverting Samakan’s attention and baiting its attacks, creating opportunities for the other Hunters to strike.

In a situation like this, even a novice Hunter could successfully land an attack.

Trickle—

Sweat trickled down Jung Yu-han’s cheek, but he didn’t even feel it.

So deeply engrossed was he in the man’s actions that he shivered.

Every single movement of the man.

Everything was a textbook maneuver he had to memorize to his bones when he was trained as an assault leader, a perfect battle command.

No, how many individuals could truly command a battle so cleanly and perfectly in a real combat situation?

Even after countless hours of training, such natural execution wouldn’t emerge.

Because this was real combat.

Yet, it was clear that the man and those Hunters hadn’t trained together regularly.

This meant the man was guiding them to move on their own purely through battle command. He was managing countless variables, eliminating unpredictable situations from the outset, and turning it into his own fight.

Gulp—

Jung Yu-han swallowed dryly.

It was an incredible sight, one that money couldn’t buy.

A living demonstration of battle command so natural and possessing such formidable destructive power that it wasn’t found in any existing textbook.

Thump—

Just then, Samakan collapsed.

Samakan, which had slaughtered countless Hunters and seemed like an insurmountable wall, had fallen with such surprising ease.

Step.

And someone approached.

Jung Yu-han raised his eyes to look at him.

“Are you alright?”

It was the assault leader.

Jung Yu-han moistened his dry lips with his tongue and nodded with difficulty.

“For now… I’m alive.”

His arrogance, evident at the entrance, had vanished; his tone had become respectful.

The assault leader nodded.

“Go back. As I told you, this is not a place for you.”

Perhaps if he hadn’t witnessed the battle with his own eyes earlier, Jung Yu-han would have been deeply offended by those words.

But now, he found himself nodding unconsciously.

“…Understood.”

They had paid an enormous price.

They had almost suffered the ignominy of complete annihilation.

Jung Yu-han gritted his teeth.

The surviving Hunters splinted his entire body and laid him on a stretcher they unfolded.

Even amidst the bone-crushing pain, Jung Yu-han looked at the man.

Suddenly, he wondered about his name.

He opened his mouth with difficulty.

“What… is your name?”

At his words, the man offered a faint smile.

“Kang Yuseong.”

‘Kang Yuseong…’

Jung Yu-han etched that name firmly into his memory.

And then he closed his eyes.

He wanted to rest.