Chapter 350
“I knew it! That’s why you’re here.”
Joseph Grant was satisfied with Choi Yeonseung’s answer and nodded.
The media and other hunters often portrayed Choi Yeonseung as a hero, the last man of this era who still had a conscience, but Joseph wasn’t deceived. In his opinion, Choi Yeonseung was a cold-blooded wolf whose ambitions had no limits.
Otherwise, it would make no sense for his master, the Iron-Blooded General Who Shakes the Battlefield, to hold Choi Yeonseung in such high regards.
Treating people well was most likely a strategy to help him achieve his selfish goals. Other hunters didn’t do things like that due to their personalities, but Joseph could see how terrible Choi Yeonseung was for building up such a facade.
“Why are you here?” Choi Yeonseung asked.
“There are two reasons, one of which is money,” Joseph replied confidently. It was said that hunters made a lot of money, but the higher-ranked hunters also spent a lot of money.
In Joseph’s case, he often had to mobilize hunters under him instead of roaming alone. Thus, a cold-blooded man like him needed money to have people follow him.
The Chinese government had promised Joseph a generous reward in exchange for participating in this raid.
“The other is my master’s command.”
“?”
“You don’t know? The constellations are sending their household members. It’s not just me. Many more hunters are coming.”
“...!”
Choi Yeonseung realized what was going on. With the Kunlun clan having declared its independence, there had been suspicions that constellations were involved.
If the Master of Slowness and Silence provided support to them, the constellation would be able to increase its power enormously, and since it was one of the most powerful constellations on Earth, the other constellations wouldn’t just stay put and concede to it.
If the Master of Slowness and Silence achieved its goal first in the long battle between constellations and won...
At any rate, even if it wasn’t the slowness constellation, gaining so much power so fast was unacceptable for the others. No matter the constellation, the others would try to keep it in check in a situation like this!
‘There are times when the constellations seem a bit clumsy.’
-I definitely can’t deny it.
“That’s right.”
“Everyone will fight fiercely for their master’s favor. However, if you’re trying to unite these constellations to gain more profit from the Chinese government... It would be a very good strategy.”
Choi Yeonseung turned around because he couldn’t be bothered to continue this absurd conversation.
At this, Joseph got slightly flustered and said, “Don’t panic about getting caught. I have no intention of interfering with your plan! Hey!”
‘There are too many crazy people.’
***
“We will also start moving from today.”
“Oh, that’s great. I was going to move slowly anyway.”
Choi Yeonseung was happy to hear that the Bulgae clan hunters were moving. In addition, wasn’t it said that there were several martial artists in the clan?
“You said you use the Four Prisons Fist Technique, right? The last time I saw it, I thought it was a good martial art. Try using it against monsters.”
“Yes!”
The hunter seemed motivated by Choi Yeonseung’s encouragement.
‘Step forward to close the distance, then thrust a punch to prevent the opponent from getting closer. If they try to widen the distance, stay on top of them and keep the distance short. If they try to counterattack, knock them away and hit them repeatedly...’
The hunter reflected on the advice he had received and prepared to unleash his martial art skill. The Four Prisoners Fist Technique entailed a quick series of blows delivered at close or mid-range. Correspondingly, the hunter’s stats were focused on dexterity.
Hunters usually developed skills that fit their strong points and overall style.
‘I’m happy when I see things like this.’
The city was tightly packed with buildings, leaving no room to move, but when they stepped outside, they found empty fields, forests, mountains and rivers.
In these places, it was hard to die straight away even if monsters appeared.
“There are jiangshi, but they don’t seem special or anything. Are they E-grade?”
Jiangshi were monsters that walked around while releasing a cold, evil energy. Their overall presence was rather menacing, but their movements were slow and stiff. Therefore, the experienced hunters weren’t scared at all.
None of the Bulgae hunters were scared of these monsters.
Lee Changuk warned them lightly, “There’s a lot of them, so be careful.”
“Yes!” a hunter replied with determination before he rushed forward. Perhaps due to the power of this realm, the martial art movement seemed better than usual.
The Four Prisoners Fist Technique shot forward accurately to the jiangshi. The fist was as fast as a bullet and powerful enough to shatter rocks with ease.
‘It’s over.’
To the hunter’s surprise, the jiangshi suddenly stepped forward and punched him.
“?!?”
“What?!”
The punch wasn’t strong enough to kill the hunter, but it was shocking nonetheless. Did the jiangshi just use martial arts?
The jiangshi took advantage of the hunter’s shock and launched a counterattack. The hunter was taken aback by the stiff but powerful blow that came his way.
“You are faster and stronger, so push with your strength!” Choi Yeonseung called out.
“Yes!”
The hunter came to his senses the moment Choi Yeonseung shouted at him. It was rather shameful of him to show Choi Yeonseung such a poor performance in front of an E-grade monster.
Instead of dodging, the hunter threw another punch in a straight line, his fist colliding with that of the jiangshi.
The hunter’s punch turned out to be more powerful, knocking the jiangshi’s fist back and throwing it off balance, leaving it in a vulnerable position.
Bam!
“I did it!”
“Wait, what the hell is with that jiangshi? Is it a special one?”
“No... Its movements just now were strange... Hey! We’ll back you up!”
The hunter’s colleagues were taken aback when the other jiangshi suddenly coordinated and surrounded him.
“Reinforcements! These monsters are abnormal! Enhanced Combat Spirit, Enhanced Vision, Intermediate Enhanced Agility!”
“Stop them! Don’t let them break through!”
The Bulgae clan hunters drew their weapons and rushed in with panicked expressions.
They had an advantage in terms of numbers and skills, so they defeated the monsters almost in a landslide victory, but... They couldn’t help feeling embarrassed for having struggled like this against monsters which were supposed to be just a light warm up.
“Did the monster just use martial arts?” asked Han Seha.
“Yes,” replied Choi Yeonseung.
To everyone’s surprise, the monsters were actually using martial arts!
‘Is the world coming to an end?’
As a matter of fact, there were monsters that used magic, which meant that it wouldn’t be impossible for there to be some monsters that used martial arts, but it was still shocking to actually see one in action.
‘Wait... I hope the other monsters won’t be this strong.’
***
Shah Rukh Bachchan was a promising B+ hunter from India who was certain to be promoted to A-grade in the near future.
No matter how many hunters a country had, hunters of this rating were bound to receive special treatment. Therefore, it was quite shocking that Shah Rukh Bachchan was sent flying, unable to do anything.
“Was a jue yuan that strong?”
“It must be a B-grade monster...”
The jue yuan was a B-grade monster that resembled a monkey.
They were highly intelligent and possessed powerful magic, which explained their high rating. However, their combat ability wasn’t as good as their other strong points. Their defense and health were so low that they could be severely injured by a single AOE spell.
For that reason, the B-grade hunters had thought that the jue yuan were easy to deal with...
However, the jue yuan had suddenly broken free of the spell and jumped out, punching Shah Rukh out of the encirclement.
It was a truly unexpected phenomenon!
“It’s heading toward the C-grade hunters!”
“Run away!”
“It’s too late! It’s faster than we thought!”
The hunters involuntarily closed their eyes the moment the monster rushed toward the C-grade hunters. At least a few of them would die because of this terrible accident...
“Aaack! Arghh!”
“!?”
However, the C-grade hunters held out surprisingly well. They clashed fiercely with the monster, both sides trading blow for blow. Of course, the C-grade hunters were more at a disadvantage, but it was amazing that they could fight so well against a monster ranked higher than them.
-■!
The jue yuan was annoyed because its opponents held their ground, so it stopped attacking and jumped back.
A C-grade hunter, who barely held on with his sword, slumped down with a stunned expression.
“I... I’m alive!”
“Hah, you son of a bitch! You actually saved us!”
“How did you manage to stop it?”
“I-I learned a new martial art this time, but I didn't expect it to work so well...”
“Really? As expected, something made by a big company is truly different.”
“Still, it was just one martial art, so I don’t know how it managed to be so effective...”
The hunters sighed with relief. However, the monsters’ counterattack had just begun.
-■■, ■■!
-■■■!
A lot more monkey monsters rushed at them from the mountains, causing the hunters’ expressions to contort in shock.
“Look from above, fly, and ask for support. Use all your artifacts’ skills.”
“Can I use a potion?”
“Use it. Do you want to die here? Everyone gather! Fire your magic! Shah Rukh, are you okay?! Can you move?”
They were a group of B and C-grade hunters, so their response was quite fast. They instantly prepared their wide-range spells. They would suffer too much damage if they fought one-on-one against those monsters, so it was best to finish them off from a distance with their superior firepower.
-■■ ■■...
“...”
“...”
There was a sudden shift in the air. The magic power around them became so dense that they could feel it on their skin. With that, the hunters spotted a giant monkey emerging from the mountains, which reminded them of one of the catastrophes that had struck China in the past.
“Monkey King...?!”
“An A-grade monster appeared! An A-grade monster appeared! It’s an emergency! An A-grade monster...”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The lesser monkeys were dangerous enough already, so none of these hunters were crazy enough to fight an A-grade monster when they were only B-grade.
“Please ask for support from the A-grade hunters at the scene!”
***
“Umm. I’m worried.”
Joseph Grant was troubled by an urgent call. Generally speaking, it was better for A-grade hunters to not rush over right away when receiving such a call. If they waited for a bit, the people who needed help would end up giving the A-grade hunter more favors.
However, the current situation was a bit different. Joseph had already received a lot, and he thought that it would be overall better to go and help right away because the hunters in need of help were from overseas.
He wouldn’t have cared if there had been Chinese hunters at the scene, but it would be dangerous to create hostility between him and hunters from other countries.
‘I wonder how Hunter Choi Yeonseung will act.’
Joseph had already asked an official this question.
‘He will probably be the first to rush over. After all, he needs to maintain his image!’
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung has yet to go to the scene.”
“...?!”
Joseph was shocked. Choi Yeonseung still hadn’t left to help the hunters?
“What? Choi Yeonseung, you risk ruining your image! Hunters are ungrateful, and they’ll certainly blame the A-grade hunters for not helping!”
***
“Can I really take this?” Choi Yeonseung asked while pulling out the plants around him one by one.
Gong Tao nodded firmly. “It’s okay!”
“Does that mean it’s legal for me to take them, or do you just think I won’t get caught?”
“Uh, well, who’s going to find out? Just take them! The situation is so chaotic that nobody will care about some plants!”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung was impressed. The power of money was truly amazing!
“Alright, then I’ll help myself.”
While the hunters of the Bulgae clan were doing hard work, Choi Yeonseung went around and looked for useful things using his constellation eyes.
He was looking for plants that changed under the influence of magic in particular.
‘Um. This is enough to grow. I’ll take it.’
Han Seha cocked her head as she watched from the side. She didn’t have the eyes of a constellation, so to her, it looked like Choi Yeonseung was just picking up random plants.
“You... You don’t have to get so many.”
“No, I have to take this.”
Like a hiker on a spring hike who was gathering herbs at will, Choi Yeonseung swept up everything around him.
Han Seha was about to say something but stopped.
‘Nevermind, he seems to be enjoying himself. I should just be grateful.’
Han Seha made up her mind to calmly and gratefully accept the herbs that the elder of the family collected, even if they weren’t tasty. They didn’t seem to be very useful either, but...
[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ is disappointed.]
-Shut up.Be quiet.
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