Chapter 169 – Coalition Battle (4)

“Across the world, a gate of unprecedented scale has opened. The term ‘unprecedented’ is truly fitting for the sheer volume of monsters pouring out. To combat this, the United States has poured three quadrillion won, half of its annual budget, into war preparations, while China has invested in creating specialized equipment to aid its own hunters.”

“So, what about the Republic of Korea?”

Raw, unedited footage of the gruesome battle hit the airwaves.

Filming and broadcasting people dying is a serious crime.

The same holds true in other countries.

Although filmed from a distance, the process of people being slaughtered by monsters was captured unfiltered by the camera.

“Couldn’t they have produced mana bullets with the tens of trillions of won in additional funding? Even if the price of mana stones is skyrocketing, are they truly more precious than the young heroes sacrificing their lives for this country?”

He might never work as a reporter again.

No, he was now a bona fide criminal.

The broadcast would surely be cut off soon, and he would be arrested.

But everyone needed to know that precious lives were being sacrificed on this land, right now.

Only then could such a tragedy be prevented from happening again.

-You are now witnessing the current state of the Republic of Korea.

The reporter’s criticism was blunt. Fat tears streamed down his face.

These were no crocodile tears.

How could anyone put on a show while watching people die in an unwinnable battle, unable to even flee?

Those watching the broadcast on unofficial channels were speechless.

The chat was flooded with condemnations of the government for grinding up the nation’s vital personnel in a reckless operation, as if feeding them into a blender.

The reporter’s illegal footage began to be repurposed as new reports, spreading everywhere.

Someone’s father. Someone’s son. Someone’s family.

They were being abandoned and slaughtered on a battlefield that had now turned into a one-sided massacre.

Everyone had lost their morale and was on the verge of turning to flee.

At that moment, a brilliant golden light shot up toward the sky, wiping out the charging monsters.

For a moment, silence fell.

The reporter couldn’t believe his eyes.

On a battlefield where there were no answers, where nothing remained but the fear of death.

A man holding a sword that shone more brilliantly than anything else was walking forward.

Was it angered by the man who had annihilated its brethren?

The Cheonha Daejanggun opened its mouth wide, preparing to fire a high-energy blast.

*Swish!*

The massive body of the Cheonha Daejanggun was sliced apart by a flash of golden light from the sword.

In an instant, hundreds of monsters were annihilated, but their numbers were still overwhelming.

The man walked alone, holding the shining sword.

Hundreds of Dokkaebi were rushing toward him, attempting to surround him.

“…!”

The Dokkaebi felt something hot slash across their lower abdomens.

Soon, they collapsed to the ground, looking down at their own bodies.

*Pshhh, swish!*

The man unleashed sword strikes in all directions.

With every slice and swing, dozens, no, hundreds of Dokkaebi were cut down.

It had been a battlefield where the tide could no longer be turned.

It was, quite literally, a moment of peerless might.

Witnessing a sight that was unbelievable even as they saw it with their own eyes, everyone fell silent for a moment. A very brief moment.

“Guuuh…”

Someone let out a groan, a sound that seemed to rise from the pit of their stomach through a choked throat.

“Guwaaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

It was a roar.

In a situation bordering on despair, everyone was screaming at the sight of a single hunter displaying such peerless prowess.

Even the Tushin Guild, known as the nation’s best, had been considering a retreat. But the look in their eyes changed.

It was the same for the other guilds.

Though no words were exchanged, everyone felt the same surging emotion, as if by some unspoken agreement.

“Lee Hyunbin… Hunter Lee Hyunbin has come…!”

The reporter finally managed to speak, his voice trembling.

The camera’s connection was already cut, but he couldn’t let go of the microphone, continuing to speak.

‘That damn Hero.’

Seol Ji-hoon of the Tushin Guild watched as the Hero inspired the crowd.

‘That’s what you call exhausted?’

Seol Ji-hoon recalled what Kei had said.

That even if he was lucky, he would return to his comrades exhausted or dying.

He had told him not to miss that chance and to kill the Hero.

But the Hero was clearly brimming with energy. And Kei was unreachable.

‘I can’t win.’

Seol Ji-hoon bit his lip hard.

The Hero in the video was difficult enough; facing him now, when he also possessed the Holy Sword, was impossible.

“Dammit!”

Seol Ji-hoon cursed and smashed a Dokkaebi’s head.

He couldn’t understand why he was risking his life to fight here.

He had never considered his guild members as comrades. Naturally, he felt no camaraderie.

He thought of all modern people as less than insects.

After all, modern people were the ones who had laid waste to his homeland.

Yet, he found himself protecting his comrades without realizing it.

These were disgusting humans who, oblivious to his true nature, had shown him unnecessary kindness.

Seeing them being torn apart by the foxes, his body had moved on its own.

‘Damn it.’

In this moment, he was grateful for the Hero’s existence.

Because he was about to perform a miracle that only he could, something Seol Ji-hoon himself could not.

* * *

Kim In-ho felt the tide of battle turning.

‘The Director’s presence is changing everyone.’

It was something you’d only see in movies or dramas.

The actions of just one person were setting everyone’s hearts ablaze.

Kim In-ho was surprised at himself, too.

Because he also wanted to jump in there right now and fight alongside Hyunbin.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

‘But something’s strange.’

Kim In-ho knew better than anyone that Hyunbin was strong.

He had trained by his side since before Hyunbin became famous.

It’s too reckless.

No matter how strong he was, there was no way he could break through that horde of monsters and take on the boss monster alone.

Kim Tae-yang, Henri, and the S-ranks from the Shinhwa Guild had only been able to reach the boss with support from attack helicopters.

Kim In-ho suddenly snapped to his senses.

He had a wide field of vision.

That was why, unintentionally, he was always the first to catch Hyunbin’s reactions within the team and the first to flee in a crisis.

‘Don’t tell me.’

Kim In-ho realized the meaning behind Hyunbin’s actions.

“A charge…”

Hyunbin was wiping out the Dokkaebi by himself. But the Dokkaebi rushing toward him were as numerous as a tidal wave.

Right now, Hyunbin was just building momentum and raising morale.

“We’re following the Director!”

Kim In-ho shouted. He took the lead and started chasing after Hyunbin.

Kim In-ho’s sudden action.

Just a moment ago, they would have cursed it as an act of madness.

But now, there was a man ahead of them, fighting the monsters all alone.

There was no reason they couldn’t follow.

As Team 3, the core unit, began to move, all the members of the new Hanul Guild, except for the severely injured, followed suit.

“Team Leader…”

“Shit, run. Just follow him.”

In truth, the other guilds felt the same way.

Watching his incredible performance unfold before their eyes made their chests burn with excitement.

The members of other guilds were also taken aback by the sudden, reckless charge. Yet, they found themselves running along, following behind.

If they stayed put, they would be wiped out anyway.

Simply running forward without a proper formation or strategy was no different from a suicide mission.

And yet, they felt no fear.

Legendary warriors like Lu Bu or Zhao Zilong were said to have broken through entire armies single-handedly.

Were such tales nothing but fiction?

“Yaaaaaaah!”

The people here now thought that perhaps those stories weren’t lies after all.

Following behind Hyunbin at the very front, who was scattering dazzling flashes of light from his sword, the battle felt strangely easier.

-The effect of Bless is applied.

-Morale, movement speed, attack power, and defense power are greatly increased.

The hunters failed to notice the buffs that had suddenly been applied to them.

Right now, all they wanted was to swing the weapons in their hands with all their might.

*Kwang, Kwaaang!*

With Hyunbin wiping out enemies at the front, the hunters following behind supported him from the sides, fighting shoulder to shoulder.

It was a chaotic formation. A charge like this should never have been allowed.

But the enemy also lacked a proper formation.

That’s why Hyunbin charged, and in just a few minutes, he had completely changed the face of the battle.

“Kikiki!”

“Kiek!”

The Dokkaebi, which had only been charging forward to attack until now, began to back away.

Now, it was the hunters who were doing the hunting.

The military command was momentarily stunned, watching the unplanned turn of events in the battle.

A battle like that was reminiscent of a cavalry charge from the medieval era.

‘But it’s working?’

The one-sided battle had reversed in an instant.

“Supplies, supplies have arrived!”

“Supplies?”

“New-type bullets have arrived as supplies!”

There was only one thing they called “new-type bullets.”

Bullets coated with melted, expensive mana stones.

That was all, but they could penetrate the enemy’s HP and deal effective damage.

“Distribute all the supplies without delay! As soon as you’re done, begin covering fire!”

The unprecedented gate.

Battle start time: 10:15.

Battle duration: over 1 hour and 18 minutes.

“No way…!”

Kim Tae-yang, who had been holding on until the very end, muttered weakly and collapsed on the spot.

Aside from him, David Henri, Kaldoma, and Yeomje—the three S-rank hunters—let out low groans as they struggled back to their feet.

“Kuk. Kikikikik!”

The Seonbi laughed, fanning himself. Around him, a bipedal white tiger was puffing up its massive body.

The important thing when raiding a boss monster is to identify its patterns.

The three S-rank hunters, excluding Kim Tae-yang, were experienced in boss raids. Thus, they tried to identify its patterns during the fight.

But the Seonbi’s patterns were too varied.

It continuously summoned monsters, transformed, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and even used strange spells.

Thanks to this, the four hunters were being overwhelmed by the Seonbi.

The white tiger let out an enraged roar and leaped toward the exhausted, collapsed Kim Tae-yang.

“Get out of the way!”

Despite Henri’s shout, Kim Tae-yang couldn’t move properly.

Having fought while pushing his Super Regeneration ability to its limit, he was suffering from severe stamina drain.

“Kuh!”

Yeomje urgently drew out a long spear of blue flame and threw it.

He didn’t want to admit it, but if it weren’t for that blond-haired guy, they might already be dead.

Surprisingly, thanks to Hanul’s blondie holding out, they had been able to recover some stamina.

*Kwang!*

Yeomje watched as his blue flame slid off the white tiger’s fur as if repelled.

Kim Tae-yang watched the white tiger open its mouth toward him, gritted his teeth, and raised his knife.

*Swish!*

A vertical red line was drawn across the white tiger’s body.

Kim Tae-yang was startled by the sight of the white tiger spraying entrails and blood everywhere, and he rolled away to dodge.

“You…”

Yeomje stared at the person who had just joined the fight.

Covered in blood, Hyunbin casually brushed his bangs back as he walked over.

The Seonbi saw Hyunbin and walked toward him, slowly fanning itself.

Hyunbin and the Seonbi came face to face, just inches apart.

“You gonna give a lot of experience? And could you maybe tell me in advance what items you’re gonna drop? There are quite a few people here, so I figure distribution might be a pain.”

Hearing Hyunbin’s words, the Seonbi let out a hideous laugh.

-The 5-Star+ Boss Monster ‘Jeon Woo-chi’ evolves to 6-Star.