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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Hongbok Mountain.
The mountain, located on the border between Yangju and Uijeongbu, was not far from the city and was a popular spot for hikers and cyclists. And that was where the werewolf, Razaka, had arrived.
Unfortunately, no one had noticed his approach, and that became the beginning of a great tragedy.
“Awoooo—!”
With every move of Razaka, who let out a bloodthirsty howl, people fell. The peaceful afternoon hiking trail turned into a scene of carnage, and the green forest was quickly stained with red blood, transforming into a hellscape.
But Razaka’s hunt didn’t end with devouring the hikers. He immediately descended the mountain and headed towards the nearby Uijeongbu Station.
“M-Monster!”
“Everyone, run!”
The citizens were thrown into chaos in an instant, and the city slowly began to be stained with blood. Members of the Korean Hunter Association were dispatched in a hurry, but they couldn’t stop Razaka, who reigned as a king.
“Kuh-heok—!”
With his sharp claws and teeth, Razaka defeated all the nearby hunters and shoved them into his mouth. The heads of dozens of citizens and ten hunters were swallowed down Razaka’s throat.
Crack—!
Razaka’s form changed once again. It wasn’t becoming absurdly large like before. In fact, its body was getting smaller. But its musculoskeletal structure and balance were more excellent than ever before.
And that wasn’t all. Immense knowledge pierced his mind, granting him intelligence.
“Hahaha!”
While Razaka let out a mad laugh, the surrounding citizens started screaming and running away. But Razaka, the predator, wouldn’t just let his prey go. And so, the disaster began.
“Aaaagh!”
“Help me!”
Throwing the werewolf horde and Lyudmia as bait had been an excellent decision. Humans were different from other species that had clear limitations. There were no limits; humans were a species that could evolve endlessly.
In fact, unlike other species where there was a limit to what he could gain from preying on them, the more he preyed on humans, the more vast knowledge and experience were transmitted to his brain, further evolving his body.
They were the best prey he could consume.
“I can get stronger! I can get endlessly stronger!”
Razaka, now speaking in human language, had his eyes filled with immense desire. The human intelligence he had gained through predation and the werewolf’s instincts were rapidly processing information, providing him with a calculation.
‘If I can achieve this kind of evolution one more time…!’
He would be able to obtain the powerful strength to hunt even the human who had shed his shell and undergone evolution. He would be able to achieve victory in the war.
It meant he could freely prey on the best prey, humans.
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Song Seung-jun, who had urgently joined as the team leader of the emergency disaster response team, gritted his teeth as he looked at the number of hunters gathered at Uijeongbu Station.
“Damn it… this is all we have.”
Less than 50 people, and most of them were A-rank or lower hunters. It was enough to deal with ordinary monsters. But against Razaka, the king of werewolves, who was evaluated as having a threat level equivalent to a Yellow, SS-rank boss monster, it was an absurdly insufficient force.
Song Seung-jun’s brow furrowed.
‘The situation is not good.’
The most depressing thing was that this was the only countermeasure they had at the moment. It was an completely unexpected invasion. There were no designated defense forces.
So they had hastily gathered available hunters and moved them by helicopter. This meant the number of hunters was limited. Normally, the situation would have been better.
But most of Korea’s main forces, the high-ranking hunters, were currently participating in the subjugation force. Of course, there were some high-ranking hunters who weren’t participating, but they were unavailable due to training or hunting.
‘The only hope we have now, the Returnee Alliance, is remaining silent…’
The only good thing was that the hunters who had gone on the subjugation mission had also heard about Razaka and were rushing to Uijeongbu for support. But that meant he couldn’t expect any immediate support.
It was the worst-case scenario. Victory was impossible. Some might even call it a meaningless sacrifice. But despite knowing this, Song Seung-jun had joined the emergency disaster response team.
‘…I made a promise.’
When he became a hunter, he had sworn to protect humanity and Korea. How could he just stand by while Razaka was on a murderous rampage?
If he ignored the current danger for his own safety, he would hate himself. He would no longer be able to be a hunter.
‘I’ll do my best.’
It had been less than 30 minutes since Razaka officially appeared, but the death toll had already reached the hundreds. Not only hunters who had rushed to fulfill their duty, but also ordinary citizens had met a gruesome end.
‘Even if I can’t defeat him… I have to at least hold him back so the damage doesn’t get any worse.’
As Song Seung-jun was gritting his teeth and thinking of the best possible plan, a voice came from the small radio in his ear.
-Crack, this is the Hunter Association headquarters. Can you all hear me?
“Yes, go ahead.”
-It is expected that Razaka will soon enter the vicinity of Uijeongbu City Hall.
“Is there still no response from the Returnee Alliance?”
-We’ve been trying to contact them, but there’s still no response. I’m sorry…
“We’ll have to buy time with the forces we have now.”
-I know it’s a shameless request, but please… I beg you.
“We’ll lure him to the park and engage him in battle. Please evacuate the citizens as quickly as possible.”
-…Thank you. I sincerely wish you good luck, hunters.
The communication ended with a final farewell. All the hunters who had joined the emergency disaster response team had heard the same transmission, and bitter smiles appeared on their lips.
But no one showed despair. They had all joined the team knowing the dire situation. There was no reason to be afraid.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s make sure that wolf bastard doesn’t reach the city.”
“Let’s fulfill our duty as hunters.”
The hunters, each muttering their own words, gripped their weapons tightly. A faint smile appeared on Song Seung-jun’s lips as he watched them.
“Yes, let’s dance a wild sword dance so he doesn’t have a chance to look anywhere else.”
Thud.
A strong sense of duty was in the eyes of the hunters as they walked forward.
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The plan itself was a success.
Razaka, who was heading towards the citizens, changed direction and headed towards the nearby park where the hunters were gathered. But they couldn’t be relieved just yet.
If they couldn’t buy enough time, the evacuating citizens would eventually be caught by Razaka.
The hunters, with a burning sense of duty in their hearts, fought desperately with all their might. They surpassed their limits and showed skills that surpassed their usual abilities.
Song Seung-jun also fought with a desperate heart, sharpening his senses and giving his all. But unfortunately, Razaka, the king of werewolves, possessed terrifyingly strong power.
Initially, with Song Seung-jun at the lead, they seemed to be handling the situation well, but in less than 10 minutes, more than 10 people had died, and the balance of the battle was disrupted.
“Excellent! Excellent! I’ll have a very nutritious meal!”
Song Seung-jun, who was holding a sword in each hand, quickly shot out a whirlwind of sword slashes at Razaka, who was chewing on the head of a dead hunter and letting out a mad laugh.
Whoosh—!
With a fierce sound of wind, dozens of sword slashes shot out and struck Razaka’s body, but the result was nothing short of disastrous. He had only managed to inflict a few minor scratches. And even those regenerated in a short time.
‘A true… monster.’
As Song Seung-jun was gritting his teeth at the overwhelming gap in power…
“You look especially delicious. I’m looking forward to it.”
Razaka, his blue eyes gleaming, licked the corner of his lips with his tongue, kicked off the ground, and shot forward.
“He’s coming! Everyone, dodge!”
Song Seung-jun shouted urgently and readjusted his stance. But Razaka, who had grown stronger through predation, was a step faster.
Crash—!
With a roar, Song Seung-jun’s body slid back as if he had been pushed and crashed into a nearby wall. Although he had managed to mitigate the impact by quickly crossing his swords before the hit, his insides were shaken, and a scream escaped his lips.
“Ugh…”
He knew he had to quickly regain his composure, but unfortunately, he couldn’t put any strength into his body.
‘…This is the worst-case scenario.’
It wasn’t just his physical condition. The overall situation was not good. Razaka was getting stronger with time. In contrast, the humans, the hunters, were quickly getting tired.
‘Based on the current situation, Razaka is getting stronger by eating hunters.’
By the time the hunters who had gone on the subjugation mission returned, he would be an even more powerful monster. Song Seung-jun didn’t know about predation yet.
No, he couldn’t know. But his instinctive senses were telling him about Razaka’s danger.
‘If time passes, he’ll become a disaster that we can’t handle.’
We have to subdue him here. Although a clear plan was forming in his head, unfortunately, reality was too cruel. Instead of stopping Razaka, they were becoming his prey.
He, Song Seung-jun, was about to become the seed of a disaster. Tears began to flow from Song Seung-jun’s eyes at the cruel reality.
‘Damn it.’
Perhaps because he was in a desperate situation with no glimmer of hope, a paradoxical hope began to bloom in his mind.
‘If Hunter Lee Seong-joon were here…’
Song Seung-jun’s eyes widened as he searched for hope in his mind.
‘I thought of Hunter Lee Seong-joon, not my master?’
It could be because he was the leader of the subjugation force. But if he were to ask himself if the reason was simply his position, he would shake his head.
The reason Hunter Lee Seong-joon came to his mind was that there was a hope that he, with the potential and power he had shown so far, could defeat a monster like Razaka. Of course, for now, it was just a futile thought.
“Hehehe, this will be a delicious meal.”
Razaka’s hand, with a sinister smile, slowly closed in on Song Seung-jun.
‘It’s all over.’
As he was falling into a pit of despair, a propeller, spinning frantically through the sunlight, came into his vision.
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!
‘A helicopter?’
Who? There wasn’t enough time for the subjugation force that had gone on the mission to arrive here. There were no hunters who could come for support.
“Who…?”
As a voice tinged with doubt escaped Song Seung-jun’s lips…
“You’ve worked hard.”
A low, deep voice from close by pierced his ears.
Swoosh—!
Immediately after, a figure, with a sound like tearing the atmosphere, appeared and fell on top of Razaka’s head.
Thump—!
Razaka’s body, which hadn’t fallen to any attack, was instantly pinned to the ground, crushed under the man’s feet. As the thick dust that had risen was pushed back by a strong gust of wind, the man’s face came into view.
Song Seung-jun’s eyes widened.
“You’re…?”
Although it was hard to believe, he couldn’t deny the reality before his eyes.
“Hunter Lee Seong-joon…”
The person he had been hoping for had arrived before his eyes. Lee Seong-joon, who had a relaxed smile on his face, looked at the shocked Song Seung-jun and spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll take it from here.”
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