Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 44: Spider Hunt (1)
A group with spider tattoos on their foreheads, collarbones, or shoulders.
The Red Spider Hunters headed north along a trail through the bushes.
"Every time I come to the border region, it's a damn pain."
"Hey, be grateful. If you stray from the path, it'll be even worse."
It was a path frequented by search party soldiers before the Great Cataclysm.
After the entire demilitarized zone fell into the hands of monsters, the Red Spider made good use of it.
"Damn it. Why are those human hunters coming down here?"
"To catch soft humans like you and throw them to the monsters as food."
"This bastard. You wanna fight me?"
The Hunters growled at each other.
The senior Hunter walking ahead spat.
"Don't waste your energy."
The senior Hunter was at the peak of 3 Star rank.
A professional who had hunted monsters for over 10 years.
He lacked the enlightenment and talent to break through the 4 Star wall, but...
He had accumulated considerable stats and combat experience, making him strong enough to take on the two growling Hunters simultaneously.
"Ah, I'm not fighting."
"Who said anything about wasting energy?"
The two Hunters lowered their voices at the senior's glare.
"There's fog ahead."
"Was there fog around here before?"
"The river isn't far, so it's not unusual."
Shing—!
The senior Hunter leading the way drew his sword.
"From now on, no idle chatter. If anyone talks, I'll sew their mouths shut, so you can look forward to it."
The senior Hunter who issued the warning took the vanguard position.
The remaining Hunters formed a line in pairs and advanced towards the Black Herb farm.
'This is the first time I've seen fog here. Ominous.'
The senior Hunter had been in and out of the Black Herb farm many times.
This area wasn't very dangerous, as monsters were periodically cleared out.
However...
For those eccentric human hunters, changing the surrounding weather was no difficult task.
'This sucks. To be mobilized for a search mission like this.'
The failed raid on the Milky Way pub and the closure of Red Disguise.
On top of that, the news of the human hunters' southward advance.
The atmosphere within the organization was boiling like a volcano about to erupt at the slightest touch.
'Well, the Spider won't fall apart, though.'
The senior Hunter wasn't pessimistic about the current situation.
The Spider has eight legs.
One or two legs may have been cut off in the past, but the organization as a whole had never collapsed.
Despite various incidents during its 20-year reign over Ground Zero...
The Red Spider was the one that survived to the end.
'All I need is the money.'
The senior Hunter shook off his distracting thoughts and recalled Choi Hyungtae's instructions once again.
If a human hunter appears, either fire a signal flare or hunt them down in turn.
'The reward is quite substantial. If possible, I'd like to kill him myself.'
As the senior Hunter was licking his lips in anticipation...
A dark shadow began to flicker beyond the thick fog.
"Suchan. Check it out."
[Eagle Eye]
The Hunter positioned at the rear opened his eyes wide.
A unique trait that negated vision-obstructing effects and allowed him to see through things even hundreds of meters away.
"A Draconian?!"
"Look carefully. Why would a Draconian be in the border region?"
"I-It could be a human hunter."
"Idiot! If those eccentrics had tamed a Draconian, they would have descended upon Ground Zero long ago!"
At the senior Hunter's rebuke, the Hunter with the [Eagle Eye] opened his eyes wide again and let out a sigh.
"It's an undead. Its eyes are burning blue."
"Is that all?"
"A blob-like monster. And a human."
"Hiya. We're in luck."
The higher the rank of a human hunter, the greater the number of monsters they tamed.
But only two?
"Time to collect our bonus."
A murderous glint flickered in the eyes of the Red Spider Hunters.
Although they were all 3 Star Hunters, their level of armament and skill utilization was high enough to hunt even 4 Star monsters with ease.
They were even skilled enough to escape if a 5 Star monster appeared.
'How strong could a nameless undead be?'
Undead monsters didn't appear in Gaesung and Paju.
Therefore...
The undead that the human hunter was bringing along must be a naturally occurring undead, at most a 3 Star level.
"Suchan. You signal."
The shadow beyond the gradually thickening fog.
The Hunter who accurately grasped the intruder's location with [Eagle Eye] swiftly lowered his hand.
[Lightning Shock]
[Ice Javelin]
Widely spread lightning bolts swept across the ground, rushing towards the intruders.
A spear sharply honed with cold air pierced the body of the undead resembling a Draconian.
"Did we get them?"
One Hunter muttered, and the answer came from the opposite side.
【What the...? They aimed right at us.】
"It's the Eagle Eye trait."
【Tsk. We walked stealthily to surprise them.】
"Even if the fog is thick, it's not enough to hide your size."
The group revealed themselves from beyond the whitish air current.
Yoojin and Fafnir exchanged conversation in voices as relaxed as if they were out for a stroll.
＊ ＊ ＊
Thud— Thud—
With one or two gestures, the ice spear shattered and fell.
The lightning, spread wide, lost its power and scattered without even piercing the scales.
【I was already feeling weak, and now they're giving me acupuncture and stimulation.】
"Should I give you a massage too?"
【Huhuhu. I wouldn't even feel it with your Master's grip strength.】
The master and the undead exchanged banter.
They didn't even seem to care about the Red Spider Hunters.
"These sons of bitches."
The senior Hunter's face flushed red.
Anger surged within him at the fact that Yoojin was looking down on them.
"Fafnir. I think he's angry because of you."
【Hmm. Then I should make him unable to get any angrier.】
"Let me help you out a bit."
Yoojin chuckled and used divine spells.
[Using the Giant's Strength.]
[Using the Punishing Spike.]
[Using Unholy Blessing.]
Fafnir's eyes burned with a fierce intensity, strengthened by the triple buff.
【Master. Can I try this one alone?】
"As you wish."
【I'll show you my grown strength.】
Fafnir bent his knees.
He leaned forward slightly, focusing dark aura on his feet, and then...
Thud—!
Just as he had crushed the troll's head by the river, he released power beneath his feet and leaped.
"Th-the enemy is flying!"
"I can see that without using my eyes."
With a speed like a ray of light.
A distance that would take an adult about 20 seconds to run at full speed was closed in less than a second.
While the Red Spider Hunters were surprised by Fafnir's explosive charge...
[Unique Trait - Sensory Zone]
Only the senior Hunter reacted.
He stepped forward, blocking the path of the dark shadow's charge.
'Surprise attacks don't work within my Sensory Zone.'
[Full Counter]
[Nariman Sword Drawing Technique]
[Magus' Hwandoo - Built-in Skill: Power Weapon]
A combination of the sword-drawing technique with the skill that inevitably repels any perceived attack.
Sparks flashed from the Hwandoo drawn from its scabbard, and a blue flash flickered for an instant.
A blow that maximized the performance of two skills and an item.
'This technique has even withstood the aura of a 4 Star.'
It was a decisive blow, crafted by the senior Hunter who, unable to break through the 4 Star wall, had meticulously calculated the synergy between his abilities and items.
The human hunter's undead was indeed faster than expected, but that was all.
'I'll cut him down in one stroke and kill the human hunter as well.'
The giant, shrouded in darkness, clashed with a streak of lightning.
Crack—
"Huh?"
With a sensation as if his body was floating, the senior Hunter's vision flipped upside down.
A moment later...
He saw his broken sword and Fafnir, unscathed, and realized that the shadow of death had fallen upon him.
This isn't right.
【That attack just now. If you had channeled your mana just 0.1 seconds faster, it would have been twice as strong.】
‘That undead… What is he babbling about?’
The senior Hunter, suspended in mid-air, tried to retort...
But from his vocal cords, shattered upon impact, only the sound of escaping air echoed futilely.
"Sh, Shit...!"
"Get him!"
Witnessing the senior Hunter's death, the remaining Hunters unleashed their hidden techniques without reservation.
Lightning bolts at maximum output.
A full swing that could split a boulder the size of a house.
A fatal blow that pierced through defenses.
【Somehow, they're worse than the first guy.】
[Dark Aura]
A black aura enveloped his entire body.
Infusing each scale with Dark Aura, he effortlessly withstood the Red Spider Hunters' attacks without even lifting a finger.
【Now it's my turn.】
[Kenex Combat Arts]
[Seventh Stance]
[Ten-Strike Flurry]
Afterimages lingered in the air with each punch he threw.
"Ugh!"
"Gah..."
The Red Spider Hunters couldn't properly counter even a single blow from Fafnir.
It was a complete and utter domination!
〔It seems they are weaker than the small humans we faced during the gate raid.〕
'Weak? They are?'
Yoojin shook his head.
The senior Hunter's strike, which Fafnir had blocked, was more threatening than Jo Seungchul's fire magic.
'He must have been a 3 Star for over 10 years.'
The other Hunters were no less formidable than those guarding Red Disguise.
Just a month ago, they would have been opponents he'd need to exert all his strength against.
〔But to think he's dominating them so effortlessly...〕
'He's gotten that much stronger.'
〔He fights as easily as a giant crushing a small human's hand.〕
After making the analogy...
Yoojin inwardly agreed with Kronos' words.
'His use of Dark Aura has changed as well.'
He increased his output by emitting Dark Aura from his entire body.
Although it would consume much more mana...
The destructive power of his charge increased accordingly.
'He's developing a method suitable for a Draconian's body.'
A completely different fighting style from Park Haneul, who had reached the [Hell Knight] rank in his previous life.
He wasn't just adapting to the Draconian body, but was also awakening to a method of using Dark Aura that suited his physique.
It seemed like just yesterday he was being beaten up in the Arhan Guild.
As expected of a genius, he's different.
"Da-Damn it!"
The Hunter who had used [Eagle Eye] pulled out an emergency communication scroll from his pocket.
Tearing—
"You're all screwed. Now that the signal's been sent, they'll all come..."
"Why? What's not working?"
The magic scroll burned up along with black flames.
Within Necropolis's sphere of influence, communication magic was jammed.
If it had been a walkie-talkie using radio waves, it would have worked without any problems.
"Ha. Life."
Crack—
Fafnir snapped the neck of the Hunter who had given up even resisting.
"Any survivors?"
【He was the last one.】
"Your skills have improved since you reached 4 Star."
【Now the Dark Aura moves as I want it to. It was a bit difficult when I was 3 Star.】
"That's probably because you were forcing yourself to use power that didn't match your level."
【Huhu. I look forward to the day I reach my original level.】
Fafnir, who had achieved astonishing growth in just one month.
He didn't just rise in rank, but maximized the power of his new body.
In his previous life, he had reached the Hell Knight rank.
With a Draconian body as his foundation, how strong could he become?
'I'm looking forward to it.'
Yoojin licked his lips.
＊ ＊ ＊
For several days, Yoojin and his companions roamed the vicinity of the Black Herb farm.
They weren't the only team moving along the trail.
【How many was that?】
"Seven."
【They're all so weak; it's no fun fighting them.】
Fafnir, having just finished a battle, threw a jab at the air as if in regret.
If the Hunters sprawled out in front of him heard that, they would cry tears of blood.
'Though, being dead, they can't hear it anymore.'
Even 4 Star Hunters were no match for Fafnir.
An Eldritch Dragon crafted from the corpse of a Draconian.
He was called a 4 Star, but...
He was a monster with near 5 Star specs, and his soul had surpassed the 6 Star wall before death. How could anyone defeat him?
-Kihihihit!
A wailing ghost.
There was another group of Red Spider Hunters nearby.
"Did they deliberately keep their distance?"
【Looks like they were planning a pincer attack.】
"Though I doubt they expected us to finish things this quickly."
【Should we eliminate the remaining Hunters as well?】
"Let's retreat for today."
Fafnir's eyes, or rather the blue flames that replaced their function, flickered greatly.
【I can go on all day.】
"Be patient. There are still many more to fight."
【Last time, we retreated even though we had strength to spare. Is there a reason?】
"We're leaving traces."
Fafnir's footprints.
And seeing the traces of battle, anyone would quickly realize it wasn't the work of "humans."
"We need to let them think it was the work of human hunters."
【Hmm. And then?】
"They must have expended a considerable amount of their forces. Now they'll be thinking of an all-out war."
【I heard the Red Spider's boss is a 6 Star.】
"He won't be able to come out."
Yoojin was certain.
Elder Jeong's rank was the same as the boss, Kim Jaewoo: 6 Star.
[TL/N: The old man from the pub.]
If he left his position, there would be no one to stop Madame's actions.
【Things don't always go as planned, do they?】
"It's fine if he comes. It'll make it easier for Madame to move."
Even if Kim Jaewoo came personally, Yoojin was confident he could escape.
Though he might have to give up a black obelisk or so.
No matter which option the Red Spider chose, it wouldn't be a loss for Yoojin.
【You're luring them out.】
"They have no choice but to take the bait."
Yoojin used Raise Undead to raise the corpses of the Hunters.
The purpose of the Gaesung human hunters was human flesh.
To imitate them, he had to dispose of the bodies as well.
"Now, let's go back. We have things to prepare."
A few minutes later.
The Red Spider Hunters discovered the traces of battle etched on the ground and retreated in terror.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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