Chapter 170 – Coalition Battle (5)

Anyone connected to the system—in other words, the awakened Hunters—was horrified by the message that had just appeared.

The ‘Dragon,’ a 4-star boss monster that had devastated Australia.

Although it was in the early days when hunting infrastructure was still undeveloped, the fact that the entire country had been laid to waste was a painful memory for Australia.

4-star monsters had been summoned in countries other than Australia and Korea as well.

To defeat them, raid-scale parties of Hunters had to be assembled.

A 5-star monster was a catastrophe.

They were on a completely different level from ordinary boss monsters.

It wasn’t just a one-star difference; it was as if they were an entirely different species.

To defeat the 5-star monsters that had appeared in other countries, it was common to request aid from neighboring nations just to barely succeed.

And that was if they were lucky enough to defeat it. A summoned field boss would simply repeat its devastating acts of destruction, as if it lived to drive humanity to extinction.

A 6-star monster.

For the first time since the great cataclysm of the Gate disaster, a 6-star monster had appeared.

News that a 6-star monster had emerged in Korea spread like wildfire.

Upon hearing the news, the director of the disaster management agency wiped his face with a dry washcloth.

Even the United States, the world’s most powerful nation, couldn’t guarantee victory against a 6-star monster.

That was how overwhelming the existence of a 6-star was.

“Why did it have to be our country…?”

Director Shin Chae-ho felt a sense of dread.

As the director of the agency that managed Hunters, he received real-time reports on the battle.

At first, they had put up a good fight.

But the enemy’s numbers were endless, and because they had fought with conventional ammunition instead of the mana bullets needed to hunt monsters effectively, the front line was now completely collapsing.

Every S-rank Hunter in the country was currently there.

With the exception of one person.

And of all times, the Villains had to start a riot.

When he first heard the news, his world went dark. The Villain who had started the riot was *that* Villain. Kei.

But he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Hunter Lee Hyunbin had suppressed the uprising.

‘What an incredible young man.’

He didn’t know how Hyunbin had detected the Villains’ movements in advance, but if it hadn’t been for him, they would have faced a major threat from within.

He vowed that if this incident ended safely, he would prepare a new medal for Lee Hyunbin.

“Director!”

The director flinched and set down his teacup as the operations manager rushed in.

A sense of unease settled in his heart.

It was a relief that the internal Villain threat had been dealt with, but the front line was now in the worst possible situation.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin is currently hunting the 6-star boss!”

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin?”

Director Shin Chae-ho couldn’t believe his ears.

“How did he get there? He was in Seoul just a few minutes ago.”

“I don’t know! But reports say that the tide of the battle changed after Hunter Lee Hyunbin joined the fight!”

Even flooring it, the drive would take at least two hours.

Literally, even if he flew, it would be impossible to arrive in just a few dozen minutes.

But the operations manager would never file a false report.

He didn’t know the specifics, but if it was the man who had slain the 5-star boss, the Dragon, then perhaps he could pull something off.

Director Shin Chae-ho unknowingly clenched his fists.

* * *

A field boss monster, spawning waves from a Gate.

After a certain amount of time, it contaminated the surrounding area with a demonic magnetic field.

In other words, the vicinity was undergoing ‘dungeonization.’

A system message announced that the 5-star boss, Jeon Woo-chi, had evolved to 6-star.

The sacrifices made by the Hunters and soldiers to protect people had instead given experience points to a disaster that could very well destroy their own country.

The boss had ranked up.

And it was a 6-star, an unprecedented monster.

“6-star? It’s over, then.”

In Korea’s neighboring country, Japan.

An S-rank Hunter there, Kimura, laughed in amusement.

Japan had dealt with its own epic-grade Gate relatively quickly.

They had struggled with the immense monster waves, but since their boss monster, the Shogun, was only 4-star, they had succeeded in clearing it with relative ease compared to other countries.

“Soon, those Korean bastards will be begging for our support, clinging to our pant legs.”

Kimura, with his sharp eyes, was watching the battle situation through an illegally recorded feed.

Korea’s epic-grade Gate, reminiscent of a night parade of a hundred demons, truly looked like a scene from hell.

“Oh, no. If Korea falls, I won’t be able to listen to K-pop anymore.”

Ishida Yume, an S-rank Hunter just like Kimura, mumbled with a blank expression as she chewed on a biscuit.

Kimura despised Korea, while Yume was friendly toward it.

Or rather, it was more accurate to say that with her laid-back personality, there was hardly anything she disliked.

“They’ll ask Japan for a helping hand before they fall. If they have any brains, that is.”

Kimura said, watching with glee as the Korean Hunters were cut down.

With epic-grade Gates sweeping the globe, Korea had apparently responded not with mana bullets, but with conventional ammunition, despite being fully capable of doing otherwise.

Their lukewarm response was the same as Japan’s, but the difference in outcomes was due to the difference in their bosses’ ranks.

That, too, could be called luck.

“…But that person is no joke.”

Yume muttered, munching on the cookie in her mouth.

Kimura turned his eyes to the video.

One man was exceptionally strong.

Wielding an unidentifiable shining sword, he was single-handedly carving through hundreds of monsters, a sight so chilling it sent shivers down one’s spine.

‘What is that?’

Even through the terrible video quality, his overwhelming combat prowess was undeniable.

“Wow…! Amazing!”

Yume found herself mesmerized by the sight, unconsciously fiddling with the ends of her hair.

She had seen many Hunters before, but never one who could create such a spectacle.

Kimura’s face crumpled in dismay.

He had been enjoying the sight of Korea’s S-rank Hunter, Yeomje, being overwhelmed, but then someone had suddenly appeared and was now performing spectacularly.

Japan wasn’t the only one watching this scene.

China, and the United States. Furthermore, Hunters from all over the world were witnessing this sight.

A 5-star boss monster was enough to cause an uproar, but the appearance of an unprecedented 6-star boss drew everyone’s attention.

And what amazed them even more was a single Hunter.

“He’s… overwhelming a 6-star monster?”

Kimura’s eyes wavered.

* * *

A field boss monster that evolved from 5-star+ to 6-star.

Hearing the system message, the Hunters fell into despair.

They had thought the difficulty was strangely high.

It was an unkillable monster from the start. An opponent they couldn’t defeat.

The hope that Hyunbin had created was once again turning to despair.

“Wow, you ranked up? Congratulations.”

Contrary to everyone’s thoughts, Hyunbin was relaxed.

“Kikikikikik.”

“You’re quite the cheerful one, aren’t you?”

Seeing the scholar smile from ear to ear, Hyunbin asked playfully.

On the surface, he seemed to be joking around, but he had already channeled mana into the Holy Sword and was gauging the distance.

“Now.”

Hyunbin readjusted his grip on the Holy Sword.

“I’m going to wreck you.”

Hyunbin’s muscles tensed.

The Holy Sword in his grasp emitted an even more brilliant light.

*Shwiiiiish!*

The Holy Sword swung, leaving only a golden afterimage as it aimed to slice through the scholar’s torso.

The scholar, with a fluid movement like flowing water, sidestepped the blade’s path and stood beside Hyunbin.

Hyunbin immediately slammed into the scholar with a body check.

*Thwack!*

The scholar raised his fan to block Hyunbin’s shoulder charge.

Hyunbin was sent flying back, but he used the recoil to swing his Holy Sword.

*Swoosh!*

The edge of the scholar’s robe, touched by the Holy Sword’s blade, was sliced off.

It was a little shallow.

The smile on the scholar’s face hardened. It bared its sawtooth-like teeth and charged.

Before Hyunbin could retract the Holy Sword, the scholar’s attack came.

*Crack!*

The HP bar momentarily flashed red, its level dropping.

It looked like a mere tap from a palm, but the damage was anything but.

Ignoring the pain, Hyunbin quickly stepped back and swung the Holy Sword.

The scholar blocked the blade of the Holy Sword, which was flying toward its neck, with its steel fan.

*Slice.*

Feeling a sudden chill, the scholar dropped the fan and retreated.

The fan was split in two, and the scholar’s neck was cut so deeply that bone was visible.

What flowed from the severed neck wasn’t blood. A dark energy poured out.

Seeing this, the scholar’s expression turned unpleasant.

“What’s wrong? Is it unfair that I’m the only one with a good weapon?”

Hyunbin looked at the scholar and shrugged.

“That’s why you should always carry a good weapon. What’s with the fan, anyway?”

Before Hyunbin could finish his sentence, a pair of large, sturdy-looking, ink-black fans appeared in the scholar’s hands.

“Can’t say a single thing, can I?”

Hyunbin swung his sword at the charging scholar.

This time, it seemed to be a proper weapon, as the fans didn’t break upon contact with the Holy Sword.

However.

*Swoosh!*

The Holy Sword’s blade slid smoothly along the fan and sliced the scholar’s wrist.

By the time the scholar realized its wrist had been cut, its waist had already been slashed.

When it looked down at its waist and then back at its opponent, he was already gone.

*Swoosh! Pft!*

The scholar watched as its own body was being cut apart.

All living beings connected to the system possess HP.

Upon evolving to 6-star, the scholar had gained a powerful two-layered HP bar.

This meant that most attacks felt like nothing more than an insect bite.

But every time the human before it swung his sword, it could see its HP plummeting.

Enraged, the scholar pulled out several yellow talismans made from goehwangji paper from its robe.

*Slice!*

The hand holding the talismans was instantly severed.

The golden blade that had just cut the scholar’s hand was already slashing toward its chest.

With Hyunbin giving it absolutely no opening, the scholar was forced to retreat a great distance.

And as it tried to pull out more talismans with its remaining hand.

“Where are you going? We’re not done yet.”

“!”

Its one remaining hand was also severed with the chilling sound left by the Holy Sword.

With both hands and its waist cut, dark energy flowed out like blood in all directions.

“He’s overwhelming it…?”

The people watching this situation muttered in low voices.

Something unbelievable was happening.

The furious scholar roared and stomped its foot.

The ground around it cracked, and something resembling lava erupted from the earth.

The goblins that were approaching to aid their master touched the lava and dissolved into white smoke.

But Hyunbin moved, ignoring the lava.

Phantom Step.

An ability to read and predict an opponent’s attack radius.

The scholar was powerless to stop Hyunbin as he charged forward, dodging the chaotically erupting lava.

*Slice!*

In the end, the scholar couldn’t create enough distance and was slashed across the torso by Hyunbin’s Holy Sword.

Black smoke began to pour out of the scholar’s body.

Like a punctured balloon.

The rapidly shrinking scholar collapsed weakly to the ground.

“It’s… dead?”

“Waaaaah!”

The unprecedented boss, evolved to 6-star, had fallen.

Seeing this, the people’s morale was instantly restored.

But while the people rejoiced, Hyunbin prepared for the next battle.

-Jeon Woo-chi is transitioning to Phase 2.

The Hunters who saw the system message froze once again.

It was a message they had never seen before.

Only Hyunbin understood what the message meant and brought his Holy Sword down in a great arc.

*Chiiiiiing!*

Hyunbin saw the black smoke block the Holy Sword.

It soon took shape, and constellations began to form within it, shining like stars in the dark night sky.

Sainchamsageom.

A sword of that name was now in the scholar’s hand.

Revealing menacingly glowing red eyes, the scholar grinned.

‘It regenerated even after being cut by the Holy Sword?’

Hyunbin frowned.

The Holy Sword wielded absolute power against evil beings.

Unfortunately, the Holy Sword was currently a half-blade. Its performance was also reduced by half.

Even now, Hyunbin was just forcing a blade into existence by pouring his mana into it.

In other words, he was expending a lot of mana.

There was only one reason he had wielded the Holy Sword from the start.

He had planned for a very short, decisive battle.

His plan was to turn the tide of the battle in an instant by building momentum and then take down the boss in that window.

“It has been a long time. Since I have faced a worthy foe.”

The scholar let out a disgusting, mad laugh and stood up.

The hem of its robe was now dyed jet black and fluttered in the air.

More than a few people felt its overwhelming aura.

The scholar raised the Sainchamsageom.

An unsettling dark energy extended from the sword.

Much like the Holy Sword.

“You.”

The scholar smiled, its mouth splitting from ear to ear.

“Will not be able to change the future.”

“Is that some kind of catchphrase? Everyone says that crap the moment they see me.”

The scholar moved like black smoke, flying toward Hyunbin to cut him down.

Hyunbin watched his opponent’s movements closely.

He watched the tip of the enemy’s sword, and its trajectory.

I’ve got it.

At that moment, Hyunbin half-rotated his body and swung the Holy Sword horizontally.

*Swoosh!*

The scholar’s arm, which had been holding the Sainchamsageom, was severed and dissipated into smoke.

The Sainchamsageom fell to the ground.

Just as the scholar was about to pick it up with its other hand, another hand snatched it first.

“…!”

It was Hyunbin.

Seeing him with the Holy Sword in one hand and the Sainchamsageom in the other, the scholar sneered.

“Foolish.”

The Sainchamsageom was not a sword that just anyone could use.

Without shamanistic power, its curse would backfire.

“Do you think just anyone can wield that sword?”

It was the moment it mocked Hyunbin for digging his own grave.

The scholar saw the Sainchamsageom in Hyunbin’s hand, its constellations shining brightly.

-Curse Immunity is activated.

-Weapon Master LV Max has been activated.

“I claimed it, so it’s mine now, right?”

As the Hero, Hyunbin possessed immunity to all curses.

And he had the ability to use any weapon.

The scholar’s eyes widened.

A golden sword strike from the Holy Sword and a black sword strike from the Sainchamsageom came at it simultaneously.

It hastily scattered talismans to cast a spell, but the Sainchamsageom absorbed all of the magic.