Chapter 395 – Survival of The Fittest (4)
Han-Yeol was accompanied by the Gurkhas, and they immediately moved to control the crowd as soon as Han-Yeol gave the command.
The total number of protestors in Seoul numbered three million, but they were spread out throughout the city. The actual number of protestors gathered in front of the Blue House numbered four hundred thousand.
Controlling such a huge crowd with just one hundred Gurkhas was an impossible task, as there was no way their voices would reach all the way back.
“Get back, everyone!”
“Please move faster!”
Fortunately, the Hunters with flying abilities flew up and helped the Gurkhas control the crowd. They flew back and forth to alert the crowd of the danger up ahead.
“H-Huh?”
“What did they say just now?”
The people at the back failed to realize the severity of the situation. They stood around looking at each other and did not listen to the warning to quickly move back.
“Ugh...”
“We have to make them move back quickly...”
The Hunters in the air continued to fly around and warn the crowd, but they were not taken seriously.
This reaction was understandable as the crowd couldn’t assess the situation for themselves, given their extreme distance from the front where the threat was located.
They had to come up with a solution fast.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, one of the flying Hunters landed beside the soldiers and snatched away one of the megaphones.[1]
Fortunately, Han-Yeol did not destroy the speakers, so they could still be used.
Beep!
The sound of feedback from the speakers captured the attention of the crowd.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
The Hunter who grabbed the megaphone was none other than the one who agreed with Han-Yeol’s ideology—Se-Na.
[Everyone! A horde of monsters has appeared in front! Please run away!]
‘Eh? Why is Se-Na lying?’
Her comrades were perplexed by her sudden lie.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“H-Hey! Run away!”
“Help me!”
Her white lie was very effective.
The Hunters repeatedly failed to convince the crowd to retreat no matter how much they flew up and down, but just a few words from Se-Na worked magic in making the crowd retreat. She cleverly used the innate fear every ordinary person felt toward the monsters, and that worked wonders as the crowd immediately retreated as if they all had received evacuation training.
Fortunately, no casualties occurred while the crowd ran for their lives.
The massive crowd finally dispersed, and the assailant Han-Yeol had been searching for and finally made his appearance.
“Hoho! This is why these foolish commoners have to be ruled with fear. Hmm... it seems that youngster has realized things quite quickly for his young age. I’ve been trying to teach my grandson for twenty years, but he still hasn’t gotten it.”
Whoosh!
A powerful gust blew past the Blue House gates. The gust created a small twister in front of the gates, and a person’s silhouette was visible within the twister.
Then, a small man holding a cane appeared from the twister.
“I didn’t expect it would be you...” Han-Yeol muttered.
“Hoho! An old man like me would not be of interest to a passionate young man like you.”
“Hmm...”
Han-Yeol had completely forgotten Woo Han-Jong. There were no problems with his memories—the old man simply did not leave that big of an impression when they had first met.
“Hoho! What’s wrong, young man?”
“No, nothing... You’re probably here to fight, right?” Han-Yeol asked. He did not bother using honorifics for Woo Han-Jong.
South Korea might be conservative and sensitive to respecting one’s elders, but something like that was the least of Han-Yeol’s concerns right now. He was risking his life and was not here to play games. Something created by scholars from the safety of their homes was not important right now.
However, Woo Han-Jong was what one would call old school, and he took this personally.
“Ah... Kids these days have no manners unless someone teaches them a lesson...” he said as he straightened his hunched back.
Craaaack!
The sound of the old man’s back cracking made Han-Yeol raise a brow. ‘Hmm?’
Woo Han-Jong nonchalantly patted his back twice as he stood up straight. Then, he unsheathed the sword hidden in his bamboo cane.
‘So he’s a swordsman.’
Han-Yeol could feel the aura of a swordsman coming from the old man, so he somewhat expected this already.
Shiiing! Chwak...!
He drew his Jabberwock Sword and Jabberwock Chain in response to Woo Han-Jong drawing his sword.
Wiiiiing...!
On top of that, the newly-improved cannons discreetly mounted on his shoulders started warming up as mana was infused into them, and their target was none other than Woo Han-Jong.
“Oh?” Woo Han-Jong was impressed after seeing Han-Yeol’s three weapons.
Of course, a warrior’s strength was not decided by the weapon they wielded, but anyone who walked the path of martial arts would covet a powerful weapon at least once in their life.
The Jabberwock Sword was truly a magnificent sword, even in Woo Han-Jong’s eyes. He did not really desire much as he lived numerous years with power at his fingertips, but the sword was truly a work of art that made him covet something for the first time in a long time.
“Hoho! Killing you and taking that sword is starting to sound like a brilliant idea,” Woo Han-Jong said with a laugh.
“Hey, why are you acting as if you’ve already won, old man?” Han-Yeol sarcastically replied and taunted his opponent.
This was a habit of his, but it had been proven to be extremely effective against all of his opponents until now.
“Hoho... You might be a growth-type Hunter, but did you really think you’re the only growth-type Hunter in the world?”
“N-No way...!”
“Hohoho! Do you finally realize? I too am a growth-type Hunter. I trained all alone in seclusion as there were no more befitting opponents left for me in this world.”
Woo Han-Jong’s crescent-shaped eyes finally opened.
Woooooong!
Then, mana erupted like a volcanic eruption from his body.
‘This damned old man... His mana is leaps and bounds stronger than Kim Tae-Sans.’ Han-Yeol understood why the old man was so overconfident.
Woo Han-Jong possessed mana far stronger than anyone Han-Yeol had ever met. It was not the type of overwhelming strength that tried to cut everything around it, but more like a very well-refined mana that only those who trained for decades could wield.
‘Ugh... He’s going to be a tricky opponent,’ Han-Yeol groaned inwardly.
“Ah, one more thing I forgot to mention. This isn’t the limit of my power.”
“Hmm?”
“Come forth!” Woo Han-Jong called someone in the same manner a noble during the Joseon Period would call their slave.[2]
Thud... Thud...
Then, people emerged from all over the place at the old man’s call.
Han-Yeol could not believe his ears or eyes right now. ‘N-No way... People still do these kinds of cliché entrances?’
Who in their right mind would do something so cringe and tacky in this modern day and age?
‘If Jason did this... I might kill him on the spot...’ Han-Yeol meant it when he thought that.
However, as tacky as their entrance was, they were not to be underestimated.
“Hoho! Why don’t you greet each other? They’re my disciples and retainers I personally prospected from the underground world and trained.”
“Does it look like we can greet each other?”
“Hohoho!”
One of the retainers, who was a middle-aged man wielding a sword just like Woo Han-Jong, reacted quite sensitively to Han-Yeol speaking informally to the old man.
“You arrogant little prick!”
Han-Yeol flatly ignored the middle-aged man as his mind was occupied with something else. ‘This is no longer a one-on-one... but it’s not that bad.’
The Hunters participating in the protest were mostly B-Rank Hunters at best with a few A-Ranks. There were no S-Ranks among them. Ah, there was one, but that person was hiding their ability for some reason, which baffled Han-Yeol.
An S-Rank would lose all their special privileges once Han-Yeol’s revolution succeeded, so he could not understand why this S-Rank Hunter was participating in this protest.
On the other hand, there were three Master-Rank Hunters among Woo Han-Jong’s retainers, and these three would be more than enough to massacre all of the protestors int the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, Han-Yeol also had three Master-Rank Hunters with him.
“Tara, Mujahid, and Mariam.”
“Yeah, I felt it too.”
“Please leave it to me.”
“Don’t worry and let me handle it, hyung-nim!”
Han-Yeol nodded and replied, “Hey, who can I trust if not you three?”
He indeed trusted these three more than anyone else. Of course, that was only if his monster pets were excluded.
Compared to Han-Yeol and the trio, who seemed very calm, the Hunters in the crowd started to get frustrated.
“What?!”
“W-Who are they?”
“What are those people?”
“Did they do that a while ago?!”
The thought of changing the country with their hands made their hearts pound excitedly a while ago, but the appearance of this strange group of people doused their excitement.
“Who are you people?!”
“Get out of the way!”
“Do you wanna fight?”
The Hunters’ morale was at an all-time high right now as they held the advantage in numbers, they had no idea they were against Woo Han-Jong, and Lee Han-Yeol was on their side.
“Hoho! A good beating is the best remedy for stupidity.”
Seuk...
Woo Han-Jong made a small movement that looked as if he was just shaking his sword, but the result of that small movement was not small at all.
Sukeok!
However, Han-Yeol was not going to fall twice for the same trick.
‘Heup! Chain Smite!’
Shwiiiik! Bam!
Woo Han-Jong’s slash was about to cut down the Hunter at the front, but Han-Yeol’s Chain Smite managed to deflect it just in time.
Not only the Hunter at the front, but even the dozens behind him would have been cut in half if Han-Yeol reacted 0.1 seconds too late.
“H-Hiiiik!” The Hunter shrieked in horror and retreated.
He failed to notice anything while it was happening, and he only reacted three seconds after Han-Yeol deflected Han-Jong’s attack.
‘T-This is not a fight between humans!’ the Hunter exclaimed inwardly—and he missed his mommy.
“Hohoho! You’re not an easy opponent, young man.”
“Hey, I’m your opponent, old man. Why don’t you focus on me and don’t involve others?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s my turn now, right?”
Bam!
Han-Yeol gathered his mana in his back foot and kicked off the ground. Then, he swung the sword in his right hand extremely quickly, not giving his opponent the time to react.
“Try blocking this,” he smugly said as he used one of the skills he obtained after defeating Craspio.
‘Shockwave Slash.’
This was a skill that would unleash a second shockwave attack even if the enemy blocked the sword. Anyone targeted with this skill should pray they possess the mana and skills to deflect it, as failure to do so would mean certain death.
“Hoho!” Woo Han-Jong nonchalantly laughed and raised his bamboo sword to block the attack.
Cheeeng!
However, Han-Yeol was not fazed by his attack getting blocked—no, he used Shockwave Slash hoping his opponent would block it.
1. I’m not sure how a megaphone connects to speakers...? A quick Google search shows it’s possible, but it requires some additional fancy tech stuff. ˉ\_(ツ)_/ˉ ?
2. I couldn’t find any medieval equivalent of ‘come here’. ?
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