Su-ho appeared between the two men.
It wasn’t magic.
He had simply deactivated Monochrome Solitude.
Both men jumped back in shock.
At the same time, the Joseonjok leader, Jang Seong-chun, drew the machete from his waist and spoke.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Would you even know if I told you?"
"What?"
"I’m An Su-ho, Deputy Team Leader of Special Management Team 2, Gate Bureau, Grand Hunter Association."
"What?"
"Why ask if you won’t even understand?"
Even after hearing Su-ho’s name, Jang Seong-chun simply furrowed his brows in confusion, failing to grasp the situation.
But Noah was different.
Because he was Korean.
"Shit!"
Without hesitation, Noah turned and ran.
Of course.
"You’re Korean. You should know who I am."
Su-ho immediately threw Guiyeong Spear at him.
But instead of piercing Noah’s shadow—
It struck the back of his thigh.
"ARGH!!"
Noah collapsed, rolling on the ground in pain.
His men panicked and shouted.
"B-boss!!"
Noah screamed at them.
"What the hell are you standing around for?! Kill him!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
Hmm.
The formal speech disappeared real fast the moment he was desperate.
Su-ho smirked at the thought.
Just as he nodded, a machete came flying toward him from behind.
Jang Seong-chun.
"Die, you son of a bitch!"
The attack came from Su-ho’s blind spot.
But he dodged it effortlessly, twisting his body as naturally as breathing.
Then, he clenched his fist—
And slammed it into Jang Seong-chun’s face.
THWACK!
Jang Seong-chun’s eyes rolled back as the impact echoed.
Before he could collapse, Su-ho grabbed him and pressed on the Gu Sim pressure point on his lower back.
With his core locked, he wouldn’t be able to stand up.
Not just him.
Every single enemy that charged at Su-ho met the exact same fate.
A single punch, and they were down.
Blood Weapon?
Didn’t need it.
In fact, using it would’ve been overkill.
Just from feeling the force of his own attacks, Su-ho could tell—if he had used Blood Weapon, they wouldn’t be captured.
They’d be dead.
By the time he knocked out the last goon, Jang Seong-chun, the first to fall, finally regained consciousness.
Trembling, he growled.
"Y-you son of a b—"
Still with the cursing.
Su-ho pressed a pressure point on his throat.
Silencing him.
Then, he turned to Noah, who was still writhing on the ground, unable to move.
Su-ho crouched to meet his eyes.
"Beast Master... No, Kim Noah. Formerly Kim Chun-sam. That’s you, isn’t it?"
"H-how do you know who I am...?"
Su-ho scoffed.
"How do I know? I work for the Grand Hunter Association. Of course I’ve been keeping an eye on you. But consider yourself lucky. If someone else had come instead of me, you’d be beaten half to death before they arrested you."
That was the truth.
The Special Division’s policy at this time was simple—
As long as they didn’t die, it was fine.
Which meant criminals were beaten within an inch of their life, then force-fed a healing potion before being dragged in.
Su-ho’s gaze shifted toward the trucks filled with animals.
"You sure gathered a lot."
Then, his voice turned cold.
"You ever think, as a fellow Korean, that maybe you should be protecting your country’s native wildlife instead of selling them overseas?"
"..."
Kim Noah fell silent.
Su-ho narrowed his eyes.
"Not answering?"
"..."
"Wow. Why do criminals only listen when they’re in pain?"
He pressed his fingers together and jabbed the crown of Kim Noah’s head.
And then—
"AAAAAAAAARGH!!"
Kim Noah’s entire body convulsed in excruciating pain.
"You guys never listen unless you’re suffering."
Shaking his head, Su-ho stood up.
Then, he walked toward the trucks, locking eyes with the animals inside.
"Wow. He really went all out."
There was an insane variety of animals.
Native Korean breeds like Jindo dogs and Sapsal dogs, various birds, and even mountain goats and musk deer—species that were nearly impossible to find.
Clicking his tongue, Su-ho muttered.
"Tsk. Ever since the Great Cataclysm, the number of endangered species has skyrocketed. As Koreans, we should be preserving them, not selling them overseas."
Most animals smuggled out of Korea?
They were used as alchemy ingredients.
Especially in China, where the massive population meant there were countless alchemists.
Kim Noah had directly contributed to the near-extinction of Korea’s native species in Su-ho’s past life.
But this time?
He was stopping it.
Here.
Now.
Still—
There was one problem.
And it was exactly what Jang Seong-chun had pointed out earlier—
The animals were all silent.
They weren’t drugged.
They weren’t under a skill effect.
They were choosing, of their own free will, to stay quiet.
The reason?
Simple.
"This is the power of the Beast Master."
Kim Noah.
A.K.A. The Beast Master.
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He had another alias—The Korean Druid.
Because his trait was Animal Communicate.
He could talk to animals.
And he was an exceptional speaker.
Not by human standards.
By animal standards.
So right now, every animal here had been deceived by his silver tongue.
What he told them?
Su-ho didn’t know.
But he knew that in his past life, Kim Noah had always silenced animals this way.
There were two reasons for it.
One—so the animals could be transported quietly.
And two—as insurance, in case something went wrong.
Su-ho walked back over to Kim Noah, who was still writhing in pain.
He released the pressure point.
"Hah... Hah..."
Kim Noah gasped for air, drenched in sweat.
The Pressure Point Pain Express must have been a thrilling ride.
Even after the pain had subsided, Kim Noah could do nothing but gasp for air, barely able to breathe.
Su-ho looked at him and spoke.
"Mr. Chun-sam, you must be in a lot of pain, huh?"
"......"
"You’ve got some serious guts. Are you just going to keep silent?"
"......"
"I mean, I don’t care if you keep your mouth shut. But don’t you think it’s time to release those animals from your manipulation? Don’t you feel bad for deceiving those poor creatures?"
"......"
Kim Noah remained silent.
But his eyes—
They were the textbook definition of shock.
Of course.
Because Kim Noah had never told anyone that he could talk to animals.
Su-ho smirked.
"Tsk, tsk. Why do you look so surprised? Your trait is Animal Communicate. There’s nothing mysterious about how I know. The Grand Hunter Association isn’t that easy to fool. So why don’t you just listen while I’m still being polite?"
"......"
"Oh? Still keeping your mouth shut? Mr. Kim Chun-sam, do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do? You’re saving those animals as bargaining chips for a plea deal. Am I wrong?"
"......!"
Kim Noah’s eyes widened even further.
"How... how does he know?!"
That was exactly his plan.
In Su-ho’s past life, Kim Noah had always used animals as hostages to negotiate sentence reductions.
By law, the Grand Hunter Association did not negotiate with terrorists.
But after the Great Cataclysm, Korea’s native wildlife had dwindled so drastically that they were forced to make exceptions.
"The animals Kim Noah used as hostages weren’t just quiet—they refused to eat, too."
Whatever lies he had fed them—
It worked.
And because of that, Kim Noah—despite being awakened—wasn’t sent to Cheongok Prison.
He was placed in a standard detention center for non-awakened criminals.
Su-ho let out a sigh.
"Hah... Well, I guess I have no choice."
Since words weren’t working—
There was only one solution left.
Su-ho shook his head and placed his hand on Kim Noah’s head.
Then, he activated a skill.
[ True Blood Drain is now active. ]
SHWAAAA!
The skill activated.
Su-ho recalled its description.
[ True Blood Drain ]
– Grade: S+
An advanced blood-draining ability enhanced by True Blood.
Can extract a target’s blood, mana, and unique traits separately.
The first time Su-ho had read this description, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
"It can extract a person’s trait?"
He had seen plenty of mimicry-type skills before.
But this?
This was the first time he had encountered something that could directly copy another person’s innate ability.
[ Successfully copied the trait <Animal Communicate> from target. ]
As the True Blood Drain took effect, Su-ho extracted not only Kim Noah’s blood and mana—
But also his unique ability, Animal Communicate.
The extracted ability was stored inside True Blood Orb.
Su-ho immediately checked its details.
[ True Blood Orb ]
– Grade: S+
An advanced storage ability enhanced by True Blood.
Stores extracted blood and automatically replenishes it.
Can store up to two copied traits.
Currently stored ability: <Animal Communicate>
Seeing Animal Communicate clearly listed in the description, Su-ho grinned.
Then, he turned back to Kim Noah and spoke.
"Hey, wanna see something interesting?"
"......?"
Kim Noah, still dazed, could only dart his eyes around in confusion.
Then—
Su-ho approached the trucks filled with animals.
And simply said—
"Hello?"
A casual greeting.
And at that moment—
[ Animal Communicate is now active. ]
As the ability activated, Su-ho’s words reached every single animal.
And the moment they heard his voice—
Their eyes widened.
"Wait, what?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Each one reacted differently.
Su-ho chuckled.
"Why are you all so shocked? Never met a human you could talk to before?"
At first, the animals thought they had misheard.
But when Su-ho spoke again—
They realized they hadn’t imagined it.
And then—
Chaos.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"NO FUCKING WAY!"
"ANOTHER HUMAN WHO CAN TALK?!"
"What?! Are you a Chosen One too?!"
"...Chosen One?"
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Su-ho asked.
"Chosen One?"
"You don’t know? The Great Nature sends us a Chosen One to guide us to salvation!"
"Yeah, but wait a second—wasn’t Noah supposed to be the only Chosen One?"
"This... this doesn’t make sense!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"I—I don’t know!"
"My brain hurts!"
"What are we supposed to do now?!"
Panic.
The animals descended into utter confusion.
And as he listened to their words—
Su-ho finally understood how Kim Noah had deceived them.
"This bastard isn’t a silver-tongued genius."
"The animals are just stupid."
Of course.
Most animals had IQs °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° lower than human children.
"The only animals with high intelligence are orcas and chimpanzees. And none of those are here."
Su-ho sighed and turned back to Kim Noah.
His expression filled with pure disappointment.
Kim Noah?
He looked horrified.
"How... HOW?!"
"How? What do you mean how?"
Su-ho sneered.
"You better brace yourself. Because I swear, I’ll make sure you rot in Cheongok Prison for a long time."
"W-wait! No! You can’t—!"
"I can."
[ Pressure Point Technique is now active. ]
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!"
Su-ho jabbed his crown again, sending excruciating pain through Kim Noah’s body.
And while the bastard twitched and screamed, Su-ho calmly pulled out his phone.
Dialed a number.
And as he waited for the Special Division reinforcements to arrive—
He explained the truth to the animals.
Kim Noah was a con artist.
And they?
They had almost been shipped off to foreign lands to be slaughtered.
"No way...!"
"This can’t be happening...!"
"The Prophet of Nature... was a fucking scammer?!"
And that night—
The world of those animals collapsed.