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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Hunter Lee Seong-joon?”
Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo, the vice-master of the Bulsae Guild, who were on standby at the subjugation headquarters preparing for an emergency, couldn’t hide their bewilderment at Lee Seong-joon’s sudden appearance.
It wasn’t just the two of them. All the hunters waiting in the headquarters were equally flustered.
Facing the wave of confusion, Lee Seong-joon calmly explained the situation.
“The king has been dealt with.”
“You’ve already defeated Razaka?”
“No, Razaka wasn’t there.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“It’s exactly as you heard. Razaka wasn’t with the werewolf horde.”
Ko Tae-hyun frowned, recalling the recent events.
“But… a powerful aura was definitely detected.”
Although he hadn’t been active as a hunter since becoming the vice president, he, Ko Tae-hyun, was an SS-rank hunter. He was skilled enough to detect beings with immense auras, like the monster kings.
And just a moment ago, he had detected a being with a powerful aura, worthy of being called a king, among the werewolf horde.
‘What on earth happened?’
His mind was in a state of confusion, but fortunately, Hunter Lee Seong-joon spoke up and provided the answer.
“The king leading the werewolf horde was Lyudmia, not Razaka.”
The previous situations were somewhat understandable, and his questions were resolved. But his emotional turmoil hadn’t subsided. No, Ko Tae-hyun looked even more bewildered than before.
‘He defeated Lyudmia in such a short time?’
Lyudmia was also known as the queen of the Great Spiders. A monster that even an SSS-rank hunter couldn’t easily hunt. But less than ten minutes after the battle began, he had finished the fight and returned to the headquarters.
‘Considering the travel time, he must have finished the fight within five minutes.’
It was a victory that ‘overwhelming’ would be an understatement to describe. Having gotten somewhat used to Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s continuous achievements, he had thought that nothing would surprise him anymore, but he was mistaken.
‘I can never get used to Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s growth rate.’
It was surprising enough that a returnee who had been back on Earth for less than six months had reached SSS-rank. But he wasn’t just an ordinary SSS-rank.
He was a skilled individual who could overwhelm a king like Lyudmia in less than five minutes, with power comparable to at least the upper tier of SSS-rank, or perhaps even a ranker.
“Haha…”
As if his thoughts had stopped, a dazed chuckle escaped Ko Tae-hyun’s lips. But that was a mild reaction.
Choi Chang-woo, the vice-master of the Bulsae Guild, was staring with his mouth agape, completely stunned.
“……”
It was only natural. He couldn’t fully grasp it just by hearing the stories. But experiencing it firsthand was completely different.
Perhaps because he had accomplished such an unrealistic feat so casually, just looking at Hunter Lee Seong-joon now filled him with a sense of awe.
He felt so amazed that he wanted to praise his own decision to have worked so hard to recruit him.
‘…With Hunter Lee Seong-joon, we can surpass the existing five major guilds!’
Now, it would no longer be the five major guilds, but a two-guild system of Baekho and Bulsae. They would shatter the long-standing balance of the guilds and rise to the top. Of course, Korea was just the beginning.
‘With Hunter Lee Seong-joon on our side, we can become a world-renowned guild.’
For him, Choi Chang-woo, who desired the growth of the Bulsae Guild, it was a truly joyful thing.
As a joyful smile spread across Choi Chang-woo’s lips, Lee Seong-joon spoke again.
“To put it simply, we were played by Razaka’s trick.”
Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo, who had belatedly regained their senses, quickly processed the situation.
“Then that means he’s a cunning bastard. He wouldn’t have thrown the werewolf horde he was leading as bait for no reason.”
“Yes, there must be another motive.”
Ko Tae-hyun, who had quickly sorted out the situation from the brief conversation between Choi Chang-woo and Lee Seong-joon, nodded.
“I’ll issue a wanted order for Razaka to the Hunter Association right now.”
As if waiting for Ko Tae-hyun’s order, Secretary Kim Min-hyeok, who was on standby behind him, immediately grabbed his smartphone and started making calls.
“When Razaka’s whereabouts are discovered, the headquarters will be contacted immediately, so it would be best for you to replenish your stamina as much as possible for now.”
It was the most rational plan he could come up with at the moment. But Lee Seong-joon shook his head without a moment’s hesitation.
“As I said before, he’s a cunning monster. If we move after hearing the news, he might escape. I’ll track him down and eliminate him right now.”
“Do you know his location?”
“……I don’t know for now, but I have a way to find out.”
Having finished speaking, Lee Seong-joon immediately opened his clenched palm.
Woong.
With a resonating sound, the blood floating in the air shimmered like a heat haze and began to move, forming a long thread. He had unleashed the Blood Demon’s martial art, Tracking Blood Veins.
Of course, Ko Tae-hyun couldn’t possibly know about its abilities. Ko Tae-hyun tilted his head.
“What’s this?”
“It’s showing me Razaka’s location.”
“Is it a tracking spell used by shamans?”
“You could say it’s similar.”
Having learned from the interrogation of villains that Lee Seong-joon possessed unique abilities unlike other martial artists who focused solely on combat, Ko Tae-hyun nodded as if it were no big deal.
But Choi Chang-woo’s pupils were shaking violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
‘He can use tracking spells?’
It was surprising enough that a combat-focused martial artist could use tracking spells. But the tracking spell that Hunter Lee Seong-joon had just cast was on a completely different level from ordinary ones.
‘Was a tracking spell something that could be cast so easily…?’
As a SS-rank hunter with a shaman class, he could answer with certainty.
‘It’s impossible.’
Originally, tracking spells weren’t so convenient. They required formations, dozens of mediums, and a rough location, as well as a large amount of qi. But Hunter Lee Seong-joon had manifested the tracking spell just by extending his hand.
‘…I was completely mistaken.’
Hunter Lee Seong-joon wasn’t just a big catch. He was a being who could shatter the existing common sense that had been established since the Great Change and the emergence of hunters.
He possessed abilities worthy of being called a dragon. He was a person who could rewrite the history of Earth’s hunters.
Naturally, a spark appeared in Choi Chang-woo’s eyes.
‘I’m really… looking forward to the future of our Bulsae.’
Of course, what was important now wasn’t the distant future. Choi Chang-woo quickly shook off his distracting thoughts, his mind racing to choose the best course of action.
“I, Choi Chang-woo, along with the emergency standby team, will provide support so that Hunter Lee Seong-joon can comfortably engage in a head-on confrontation with Razaka.”
“I’ll issue an emergency alert to the Hunter Association so we can prepare for any emergency situation. I’ll also request helicopter support so you can move as quickly as possible.”
Lee Seong-joon smiled at Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo’s satisfactory response and nodded.
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Before the werewolf horde clashed with the Korean subjugation force, Razaka had considered humans to be a threat.
To be precise, the elite human forces that were blocking his path. Among them, the human who had shed his unnecessary shell and undergone a physical evolution was a powerful opponent that even he, Razaka, the king of werewolves, couldn’t guarantee victory against.
He had started the war out of a desire for greater power, but he didn’t want to engage in a risky fight. But not being able to prey on the tempting intelligent beings, especially the humans who wielded strange abilities, was also a huge loss.
Amidst his continued contemplation, a brilliant plan came to mind.
He would throw bait. He would use the werewolf horde and Lyudmia, the queen of the Great Spiders, whom he had forcibly subjugated, to divert the humans’ attention.
It meant that his main forces would be consumed by the humans, but he didn’t have to be sad about it. If he had great power, he could create a horde at any time. If he could obtain great power by preying on humans with strange abilities, he could create a horde again at any time.
What was most important now was winning the war.
Finally, Razaka decided on the direction of the war. He ordered the loyal werewolf horde and Lyudmia to march towards the place where the elite human forces were gathered. As expected, the effect was excellent.
With the attention of the elite human forces focused on one place, he was able to easily enter human territory. He could now prey on humans whenever he wanted. But Razaka didn’t prey on humans.
It was ridiculously insufficient.
Even if he preyed on all the humans nearby, he wouldn’t be able to achieve the evolution of his species. He wouldn’t be able to achieve victory in the war against the human who had shed his shell and the elite forces that followed him. Recalling his original objective, Razaka once again formulated a plan.
He wouldn’t act rashly, as creating an unnecessary commotion could draw the attention of humans. And he would move very stealthily, so that the humans wouldn’t notice. Finally, he would find a place where enough humans lived to achieve the evolution of his species.
Although it was a plan with rather difficult conditions, it wasn’t that difficult if he used the ability of the Dark Bat he had eaten, Shadow Cover, to hide his presence and aura.
Having formulated the entire plan in his head, his instinctive senses naturally led his body. After crossing many mountains and running for several hours, he was able to reach a mountain near a city where the scent of countless prey, humans, was strong.
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