Chapter 174
People were in a frenzy as more detailed plans were announced. This time, the announcement wasn’t aimed at the general public but at hunters and raid officials.
“... Is it so novel?”
“Hey. Didn’t I say not to give compliments? My stomach hurts.”
Hwang Gyeongryong grumbled at Choi Yeonseung’s praise. Companies around the world were fighting fiercely to be on top of the raid industry. Most of these attempts would fail, but if they succeeded, everything could change. Hwang Gyeongryong’s inability to take the initiative made him feel sick to his stomach.
“But it is indeed novel.”
There was a reason Choi Yeonseung was impressed. Hunters who challenged the Abyss Gate were the real deal. They were the elite minority. If more than a certain number of hunters entered the dungeon, they would needlessly attract the monsters’ aggro and make it more difficult to clear.
Although the Abyss Gate could be a dungeon, its scale was different from other dungeons. It was a kingdom of a constellation, so it was naturally spacious. This expedition revolved around the idea of launching a large-scale offensive than an attack composed of a small number of elites!
The idea was to cross the gate, build a base near the entrance, and gradually expand the range. It was like an expedition to explore unknown areas like Antarctica and Mars. The difference was that there were enemies actively targeting the expedition. Hence, they recruited a large number of hunters.
-Anyone who wants to join, please apply.
He was serious. The expedition team was planning to increase their numbers by letting D and E-grade hunters join as well. No matter how weak a hunter was, they had awakened and were more helpful than soldiers. They needed people to build and defend the base.
“Isn’t it really interesting?”
Groan.
Choi Yeonseung continued to admire the idea, causing Hwang Gyeongryong to let out sounds of suffering.
“Stop sulking and read this. What do you think are the chances?”
“Honestly, it isn’t like I haven’t thought of this plan.”
“Aish... It is too late for you to say that now.”
“Dude, I’m serious! I didn’t do it because it seemed like too risky a gamble!”
Hwang Gyeongryong was upset. Rather than entering and clearing the dungeon with a small number of elites, they would send in numerous hunters to build a base and push the enemies little by little before eventually getting rid of the boss.
Hwang Gyeongryong had already thought of that approach, but there was one reason why he didn’t try it. Money aside, too many people would die if he failed.
“Besides hunters, how many civilian engineers would have to participate in this? Who will care about those people’s lives? They will obviously turn toward the hunters in dangerous situations. That’s why I didn’t want to?push with?this.”
“Wow...”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing. I’m just a bit impressed, Hyung.”
“Is that so?”
Hwang Gyeongryong felt better after hearing a few words of praise.
“But considering the atmosphere right now, they’ll probably get quite a few participants.”
“So what?! Joseph?is an annoying bastard anyway!”
“You have been saying that for a while now. Do you two have a bad relationship?”
“I’ve bumped into him a few times. He’s the type of person who treats people’s lives like flies. What do you think would happen if that man leads the expedition?”
“Ahhh...”
Choi Yeonseung immediately understood what he meant. Hunters were selfish, but some stood out among them. Those people thought everything else aside from their own lives was insignificant, so they took advantage of it!
-E-grade hunters will learn a lot from this raid.
-Really? Isn’t the Abyss Gate so difficult that no one has cleared it yet?
-That’s because they used the wrong tactic. The Abyss Gate dungeon is very different from a normal dungeon. Aside from many hunters joining the expedition, A-grade hunters will be leading the fight against dangerous monsters.
-Why do they want low-grade hunters to participate?
-Well, hunters can already be helpful just by being there. Dealing with weaker monsters or standing guard can greatly reduce the burden on other hunters. Hence, it is better for E or D-grade hunters to apply without hesitation. If you participate, the expedition will give you huge rewards...
“Those bastards have always been like that.”
Hwang Gyeongryong became even angrier when he saw the hunters and experts talking on air. Wasn’t their intention too obvious? This probably seemed like a door of opportunity for hunters who were just starting out.
“You don’t have to worry too much. If they try to play tricks, I will stop them.”
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing... Come to think of it, I forgot that you were going to participate,” Hwang Gyeongryong said.
Hunters A-grade and above would be quite concerned about this raid. However, even if they wanted to participate, they were so precious that the country would stop them. In comparison, nobody could stop Choi Yeonseung from participating due to his personality.
“The expedition having trash for a leader aside, shouldn’t we at least give it a try since it has a chance of success? If we succeed, we could reduce a constellation’s power and take away their territory.”
“Certainly.”
“Ah. I’m a bit worried, though...”
“About what?”
“Unlike me, all the hunters leading the expedition probably already have their own company or are supported by one. If I cross the gate without any supplies, I will have to borrow from others, but I can’t trust them. Should I just take their supplies away by force?”
“... Yeonseung... I am the chairman...”
Did he forget?that Dragon?Industry existed?
***
The Abyss Gate raid provoked a fiercer reaction than expected.
Not only did a large number of low-grade hunters participate, but even the number of A-grade hunters who had expressed their intention to participate surpassed expectations. The governments normally would’ve stopped them, but they couldn’t completely break the A-grade hunters’ resolve this time. However, now that they were participating, the expedition was naturally divided.
[China has approved and will be participating in the Abyss Gate raid...]
[A-grade hunter Han Seha says that the Abyss Gate raid can’t be led by just one hunter...]
[Are the hunters unhappy with Joseph Grant? An anonymous hunter complained, ‘That beggar of a hunter doesn’t even belong to any country, yet he’s living in luxury using our taxes…’]
“Aren’t they too noisy?”
“I was already expecting this much,” Joseph said coldly.
Of course, it wasn’t that he wasn’t inwardly angry. Phrases such as ‘someone who doesn’t belong to any country’ were very sensitive curses for hunters from England. It wasn’t something a person should say unless they were prepared to die.
However, everything else was within Joseph’s expectations. Since so many hunters were participating in this large-scale expedition, how could Joseph command all of them? It was more like other countries were saying, ‘We will attack on our own!’
“I don’t intend to lead other countries or even those brought in by other hunters. They just have to draw attention.”
He was serious about trying to raid the Abyss Gate with superior numbers. The more people who entered, the more distracted the enemies beyond the Abyss Gate would be.
“Yes. I trust you. I’ve always evaluated you highly.”
Joseph inwardly laughed at the words of Alex Parker, the chairman of the Parker family. He couldn’t believe even 1/10th of what this person was saying. What did he mean by high evaluation? Alex Parker wouldn’t have even dealt with him if he hadn’t risen to this position. However, on the surface, he had to be polite. This was one of the investors who paid for this expedition.
“If you find something useful in the Abyss...”
“I swear on the name of my master that I will tell you without any deceit.”
“Haha. That’s right. That’s right.”
Alex Parker laughed like a child. The chairman’s eyes had a strange gleam of greed.
In the past, rich people on Earth used to waste money because they didn’t know where to spend it. However, these days, all the rich people?poured?their finances into magic and the Abyss. Magic to keep them young, magic that extended their life, magic that allowed them to have eternal life...
The interest that the rich showed in dungeons and the Abyss was beyond imagination. Alex Parker was one of those people.
“By the way, isn’t it strange? Is it okay for a constellation to teach how to target the territory of another constellation?”
Joseph’s expedition and Alex Parker’s investment were guaranteed by a constellation. Joseph’s master had shown him how to raid it.
“Evil god constellations and good god constellations don’t get along well. There’s even a chance of members of the same disposition not getting along well. My master worked very hard to find that realm’s weaknesses.”
“I see. That’s great. then.”
Alex Parker looked at his oldest son, Jacob, who was standing nervously next to him.
“You should take charge of this expedition and support it. Don’t think of it as just a raid. When this raid succeeds, all of that territory will belong to humanity. From that point on, we’ll find ourselves in intense combat.”
Despite his seemingly composed appearance, Alex Parker was the most excited and the one who looked forward to this occasion the most. Successfully capturing the first area of the Abyss Gate would go down in history. That aside, he also had to think about the future. Greedy countries and corporations would rush at each other and try to plant a flag on the new territory somehow. They had to prepare as much as possible to get ahead of the others.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes!” Jacob answered with a nervous expression.
Alex Parker was a bit puzzled because his son’s expression seemed different from usual, but he didn’t care about it and just moved on. There was too much happening right now to care about this.
***
“We will build a base here and put up barbed wire barriers at regular intervals.”
“Can that do anything against monsters?” Choi Yeonseung asked, puzzled after listening to the technicians from Dragon Industry.
“Ah... This is for humans. Many people are participating in the expedition, but they are all of different nationalities. We don’t know what will happen...”
“I see.”
Choi Yeonseung nodded. They were definitely right. Considering their numbers had increased, they would probably have to worry more about people than monsters.
“There could also be Russian spies.”
“Chinese spies are probably more dangerous these days. Here is a list of those who have declared their participation in the expedition. The ones checked in blue are those you can cooperate with, and the ones in red are those who are impossible to work with.”
“Those people will be acting solo.”
It was difficult to cooperate with expeditions supported by the Chinese government or other companies. They had separate goals and, above all, it was difficult to guess what they would do.
“Ah. Korea has also launched their own expedition.”
“I’m a bit worried.”
“Why?”
“There was a bit of chatter last time about the construction company joining the Korean expedition...”
Hunters could easily enter the Abyss Gate even if they just had a small group of elites, but this wasn’t the case for large-scale campaigns. Hunters, civilian engineers, support companies, and other participants had to work together like cogs in a wheel. If the participating construction companies lacked competence, they couldn’t even begin to imagine what problems could arise.
“... Haha. You are talking nonsense. South Korea hasn’t reached the point where a company with such problems would participate in a dangerous expedition...” Choi Yeonseung stopped. “No. It’s actually possible.”
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