235 - 239

Chapter 235: Chapter 235

[Hero of the Republic of Korea, we welcome you to China!]

[1.5 billion people send their gratitude! Thank you very much, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!]

[For the continued and everlasting friendship between Korea and China!]

Large placards written in Korean – so Jin-Woo would be able to understand them – were hung up on various places of the airport.

Liu Zhigeng, here to welcome Jin-Woo personally, frowned somewhat while glaring at the placards plastered all over the place. There were so many of them here, he could hardly see an empty spot on the building itself.

It wasn't as if he didn't like the contents of those placards. Oh, no.

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo choosing China over other nations with super-massive Gates in their territories was, without a doubt, something to celebrate as far as the Chinese Hunter was concerned.

He was tasked with taking the lead in the fight against the monsters that would pour out from that massive Gate in the sky, so he felt a massive amount of gratitude to Hunter Seong Jin-Woo for being here.

His problem, though, was with the totally different attitudes his own countrymen showed him back then when he stepped up to aide South Korea. That was what pushed his annoyance level to a dangerous height.

Even now, the memories of those times still remained vividly in his head.

'Don't these people understand the concept of shame??'

All those fellow Chinese citizens who pointed at him and berated him for being a traitor, were currently busy praising and cheering Jin-Woo in one voice and one heart.

So, it was only obvious that Liu Zhigeng wouldn't look at those placards plastered all over the airport in a favourable light.

'If I hadn't dragged our Hunters and made the trip down to Korea, would we even have the face to greet Hunter Seong Jin-Woo today….?'

Liu Zhigeng inwardly clicked his tongue and turned around towards the aeroplane touching down in the airport just beyond the window.

He could already tell. Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was riding in that plane.

The sole Seven Star-rank Hunter of China, Liu Zhigeng, felt a sensation chilly enough to make all the hair on his body stand up emanating from that plane. There could only be one person in the entire world who could pressure him to this degree.

Sure enough – the message of Jin-Woo finally arriving reached the ears of high-ranking government officials as well as executives of the Chinese Hunter's Association waiting around. They hurriedly rose up from their chairs and began raising an almighty fuss.

'This isn't right…. Doing things this way is wrong.'

His already-displeased mood due to the placards had become even sourer after watching these people making noise like this. Weren't they the same idiots who raised their voices and loudly opposed him when he said they needed to help the Koreans?

Indeed, these people would've done anything to stop him from going to Korea if he wasn't the Seven Star-rank Hunter – if he wasn't the one and only Liu Zhigeng.

It simply wouldn't do for these pigs to welcome a warrior risking his life to fight for this land. Liu Zhigeng's expression hardened, and he spoke to his personal gopher.

"Deliver this message to the premier. I'm cancelling this charade of a planned welcoming party, and I shall take full responsibility for greeting and guiding Hunter Seong."

"Sir? B-but, these people are…."

The gopher took a look behind at all the important politicians and executives, his hesitation easy to see. Meanwhile, the folks in question overheard the conversation and began coughing uncomfortably to clear their throats.

Smirk.

Liu Zhigeng broke out in a smirk and stood before these people.

"I'd like you folks to disappear from my sight right this moment. Is there anyone here with a good reason why you can't do that?"

These high-ranking politicians and executives from Hunter's Association knew how crappy Liu Zhigeng's personality was, so as soon as his words came to an end, not one person chose to remain and hurriedly escaped from the waiting area.

Liu Zhigeng scanned the now-empty waiting area in satisfaction and reverted his gaze back to the gopher.

"How about now?"

"Yes… Yes! I shall immediately send the word to the premier!"

While the gopher was hurriedly operating his phone, Liu Zhigeng walked over to the 'Arrival' gates where the travellers were now pouring into the airport.

"Over there! Hunter-nim has arrived!"

"Take his pictures!"

Click, click, click, click, click, click!!

Reporters, waiting the whole day in order to occupy the best position possible to snap their shots, spotted Jin-Woo in the distance and almost immediately, countless camera flashes went off simultaneously.

He was looking around his vicinity after feeling puzzled by the atmosphere of the airport which seemed slightly different from what he'd been told before arriving here.

'Weird. Didn't they tell me that close to a hundred government officials were here to greet me….?'

Not just him, but the accompanying Korean Hunter's Association employee was also scratching his head in confusion. They were also getting rather greatly flustered too, since the Chinese Association's employee that was supposed to guide them around was nowhere to be found, either.

But, with great timing, a familiar face walked over from the distance and a happy smile floated up on Jin-Woo's lips.

"Liu Hunter-nim."

"Seong Hunter-nim."

As befitting the warriors getting ready for battle, these two shared short but manly handshake. The first person to ask his question was Jin-Woo.

"By the way…. What about the other people?"

Liu Zhigeng listened as the Association employee tasked with translation passionately did his job, and grinned brightly while replying to Jin-Woo's inquiry.

"Ah, that. You see, Chinese people can be quite impatient at times. They couldn't wait for that long and decided to go home, so I'm now tasked with guiding you around."

For some reason, Jin-Woo began thinking that quite a hefty chunk of how that situation came about had been omitted here, but as he didn't dislike Liu Zhigeng as a person, he decided not to pursue this issue anymore.

The Chinese Hunter felt relieved that Jin-Woo didn't display any signs of displeasure, as well. He quickly assumed the role of guiding the group to the airport's exit.

"It's this way."

They couldn't take many steps, though, as Jin-Woo came to an abrupt halt first. That meant Liu Zhigeng had to stop, too.

A portion of that massive Gate covering the sky could be seen through the clear glass wall of the airport.

"So, that thing is…."

….The super-massive Gate appeared in China.

Jin-Woo stared at the Gate with a hardened expression, and Liu Zhigeng stood next to him with a solemn expression.

"I can't deal with something like that alone."

If it was something impossible for him, then there was no need to even mention other Chinese Hunters. That was why he felt so elated after hearing of the news of Jin-Woo's decision to come here.

He wanted to express his gratitude to his Korean counterpart, even if only by a little bit. He pondered carefully about this issue, before speaking with a voice filled with his heartfelt sincerity.

"I can't speak for the rest of China, but I, Liu Zhigeng, swear to never forget your help in this matter."

***

As the hour of the Gate's opening approached closer and closer, breaking news from the affected nations around the world continued to fly in.

[Hunter Seong Jin-Woo chooses China!]

[Both Japan and Russia decide to support Hunter Seong Jin-Woo….]

[Planes carrying Hunters scheduled to depart in the afternoon today….]

[On the other hand, the white-coloured fortress discovered near Japan's sea of forest revealed to be unrelated to these Gates….]

[Finally, five hours before the dungeon break. Will Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's warning come true? Or….]

Jay Mills began swearing almost right away.

"Both Japan and Russia are way too busy flattering Seong Jin-Woo, eh."

Why would those two countries try to help China? It was bleedingly obvious.

Weren't they trying to get some brownie points with Seong Jin-Woo and ask for his help when they find themselves in grave danger later on?

How weak.

China, Japan, Russia – they were all too weak.

How could anyone call those people Hunters when they couldn't even protect their mother nations with their own powers?

'Compared to them, how great are we?'

Canadian Hunters had willingly gathered here in order to protect their land.

'We did not waver in our convictions.'

The crap about getting as far away from the Gates couldn't make these great Hunters of Canada waver and falter. Jay Mills proudly looked at tens of thousands of Hunters who had voluntarily gathered here to participate in the raid.

Waaaah-!

Their fighting spirit seemed to pierce into the heavens. Regular people standing quite a bit of distance away were also sharing these Hunter's sentiments as well.

[We shall never give up on Canada!]

[Wanna run away? Not us!]

[Our Hunters will protect our land and our lives!]

Citizens carrying around pickets of all sizes and various colours were cheering on the Hunters.

Jay Mills stared up at the super-massive Gate floating high up above his head and became convinced of his victory.

'Regardless of which monster shows up from there, we can win this!'

He felt really pumped up and, while turning around towards the other Hunters, he raised both of his fists up high. He was then greeted by a loud, energetic roar.

Waaaaaah-!!

***

The preparation on the Chinese side had been completed as well.

Just like how it had been like back in Seoul, a raid team consisting of several nationalities was surrounding the ground right below the Gate. The biggest portion of that force was made up of, as one would expect, the elite Chinese Hunters which numbered well over one hundred thousand.

As befitting a nation boasting the highest number of Hunters in the populace, the upper-ranked Hunters carefully selected for this raid alone numbered over a hundred thousand.

Jin-Woo had warned them before that monsters far too difficult for humans to fight against would fall out of the Gate in droves. However, looking at the headcount of over a hundred thousand Hunters gathered here, a certain thought of "Maybe, we might stand a chance here" began germinating within their heads.

As if to remind them that they were being far too optimistic, Jin-Woo summoned out his Shadow Soldiers.

'Come out.'

The wide-open space behind Jin-Woo deliberately left unoccupied was instantly filled up by the 130,000-strong Shadow Army.

Guoooooh….

The nearby Hunters couldn't even breathe properly from all the spooky aura oozing out from these summons. Cold sweat drops rapidly formed on the foreheads of the humans.

'The gap between our strengths… It's too much.'

'Things like them are going to fall out from the sky? Right here?!'

'No freaking way….'

This was an overwhelming fear.

The highly-enhanced sensory perceptions of these upper-ranked Hunters were warning them of the dangers posed by the beings that had appeared before them. Even Liu Zhigeng, who'd hardly get surprised by what life would throw at him by this point, gasped out in shock as well.

"All these things…. Are they all your summoned creatures, Seong Hunter-nim?"

Jin-Woo nodded his head. As their master, he could clearly sense the burning fighting spirit of his Shadow Soldiers finely honed like a sharp blade.

'Nice.'

Jin-Woo looked up at the sky. There were only a few minutes remaining until that Gate opened up. He needed to achieve victory here and convert as many creatures of the Chaos World into his Shadow Soldiers and absorb them into his army.

That would be his first step in this war.

The noisy, bustling vicinity instantly became dead quiet with the entrance of the Shadow Army. They all could sense it – that the moment of bitter battle was just around the corner. The weighty nervousness began pressing down on the shoulders of the waiting Hunters.

Gulp.

Jin-Woo swallowed his dry saliva.

Out of the eight armies, which one would come out this Gate?

It was then.

"My liege."

Bellion informed his master that the time had come and Jin-Woo replied in a low voice.

"I know."

Liu Zhigeng witnessed Jin-Woo sharing a conversation with his summon as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and opened his eyes real wide in surprise.

"Hunter-nim, is it possible to converse with your summons….??"

It was at that point that Beru determined Liu Zhigeng had come, unnecessarily, too close to his liege and in the blink of an eye, blocked the Chinese Hunter's path.

Growl.

An overwhelming killing intent leaked out from this ant-shaped soldier.

"Heok!!"

Liu Zhigeng flinched in nasty surprise and hurriedly distanced himself. Jin-Woo watched this scene unfold and unhappily smacked the back of the rather-agitated Beru's head.

"Hey, he's an ally."

Beru bowed his head non-stop to his master and stepped aside. Jin-Woo apologised for his soldier instead.

"Sorry about that. He's a bit on edge because of the upcoming battle, you see."

"It's… It's fine."

Right there and then, Liu Zhigeng decided to give up on trying to understand Jin-Woo using logic.

That was because he got a fairly strong premonition just now that he'd never be able to understand the Korean Hunter with his common sense.

It was then.

"It, it's opening up!!"

Someone shouted out loudly. Everyone's head snapped up towards the sky.

The light shining in Jin-Woo's eyes transformed. Just as that unknown person had shouted out, the Gate's gigantic mouth was slowly opening up. The choking tension began tightening the chests of everyone below the Gate.

However, even though the Gate was now fully open, nothing happened.

The one most surprised among the crowd was Jin-Woo. He focused his perception but discovered that there was not a single presence beyond the Gate itself.

Meaning, this particular Gate was empty.

'What the hell?!'

A chill suddenly brushed past the back of Jin-Woo's neck.

Could he have….?

Something he had overlooked until now; one certain possibility he hadn't yet thought of abruptly entered his head. And the ominous foreboding gradually morphed into a certainty as time continued to tick by.

"Huh?"

Hunters also began realising that something was wrong here.

Liu Zhigeng turned to look at a Hunter charged with communication next to him and urgently asked his question.

"What about other locations?"

"It seems to be the same story with other locations. They say nothing has happened so far."

"In that case, are all these Gates empty, to begin with?"

"That… uhm… I don't…."

Liu Zhigeng's head swivelled to the side again. His gaze stopped by at Jin-Woo. Unfortunately, the Korean Hunter's expression had hardened to such a scary degree that he couldn't even dare to ask for a clarification anymore.

Was he making that face because his prediction turned out to be incorrect?

No.

That emotion on display wasn't as simple as that.

The one and only Liu Zhigeng couldn't even dare to get close to Jin-Woo, simply because he felt greatly shaken up by the unrest bubbling within the latter's emotions.

'I… I made a mistake.'

Realising the error in his judgement, Jin-Woo bit his lower lip.

Why….

Just why did he treat the Sovereigns as simple creatures?

'They should have anticipated that I'd try to utilise the advantages of my Shadow Army.'

If his thoughts were correct, then….

Jin-Woo raised his head, quickly walked past Liu Zhigeng, and asked the communication Hunter.

"What about Canada??"

"Pardon?"

Unable to hold back his agitation, Jin-Woo's voice got louder.

"Tell me what's going on in Canada!!"

***

Around the same time, the Gate also opened up in Canada as well.

Strangely enough, nothing happened here as well, just like with other locations. Hunters rousing up their fighting spirit for the upcoming raid tilted their heads and busy glanced at each other in confusion.

"What's this?"

"But, weren't the monsters supposed to rain down from there?"

"Did Seong Jin-Woo really bullsh*t us all?"

It was then.

Jay Mills discovered something strange in the distance and quickly shouted out towards other Hunters.

"Silence!"

Rather fitting for the strongest Hunter present today, his warning that carried a great deal of magical energy managed to shut the mouths of every Hunter here.

Now that the surroundings had become silent once more, Jay Mills began glaring at the Gate again.

As he suspected, he hadn't seen it wrong. A certain humanoid figure was leisurely making its descent. That was the only thing that came out of the Gate so far.

'No, hang on. It's not a humanoid figure. It's just a…. person?'

Jay reconfirmed the appearance of 'something' that lightly made its landing. He stopped other Hunters from rushing past him and he alone walked towards the landing spot.

Gulp.

He unknowingly swallowed his saliva after sensing this heavy tension in the air.

The closer he got, the better he was able to see his opponent. It was a middle-aged man with reddish-black hair and beard.

As for his attire, this man was kitted out in the most gorgeous metallic armour that boasted an arresting blend of silvery and reddish colours, extending from just below his neck right down to his toes.

Jay finally arrived there and stared at this unknown man.

[Are you the king of this place, then?]

Even though this mystery man didn't open his mouth, his voice resounded out within Jay's head. Naturally, he could understand the meaning of these words as if it was his mother tongue being spoken.

Jay's heart began racing really fast now.

"I knew it! Yes! I knew sh*t would go down like this!!"

Here was the reason why Seong Jin-Woo could turn all those soldiers coming out of the first Gate into his pets. They had been in secret communication like this, that's how!

"That d*mn lying con man, I knew it'd be like this! I bloody knew it!!"

Now that his prediction had come true, the inside of his head began filling up rapidly with sheer joy.

He failed to cool down his excitement and raised his fist up high towards other Hunters. They also raised their fists up and cheered on energetically.

Waaaah-!!

Jay turned around towards the mystery man again.

The latter was quietly waiting for an answer even then.

'So, the process is, it asks the first person it sees if he's a king, and if the answer is yes, it submits to him, is that it?'

It was unknown whether this mysterious man was a human or a monster. Jay Mills studied 'him' as the corners of his lips arched up.

"What if I am?"

Since he was the leader of all the Hunters gathered here, it'd not be an exaggeration to call him a 'king' now, would it?

His voice was filled with his strong self-confidence.

But then…

[It seems that b*stard isn't here.]

When the mysterious man opened his closed his eyes, the irises of a lizard hungry for blood blinked ominously from within.

Chapter 236: Chapter 236

"T-the situation in Canada is still…."

The Hunter in charge of communication stuttered like a broken clock. Jin-Woo, feeling genuinely frustrated now, pulled out his smartphone, instead.

There was only one person who could give him the most accurate information as quickly as possible. Jin-Woo searched through his contact list before tapping on the contact number of the Special Agent in charge of the Hunter Bureau's Asia Branch, 'Adam White'.

With the current timing being what it was, he was briefly worried whether his call would get through or not, but then…

– "Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!"

A really tense voice came out from the phone's speaker. There was no time to mouth a proper greeting, so he jumped straight to the main topic.

"Adam? Can you tell me what's happening with the super-massive Gate in Canada…."

It was then – he heard a loud cheering of "Waaaah-!!" coming out from the phone's speaker, as well.

Although it was a soft, almost inaudible background noise even his highly-developed hearing could barely catch, that was more than enough for him. Jin-Woo urgently asked over the phone, his expression harder than a stone now.

"Where are you right now??"

– "I'm at the location of Canada's super-massive Gate to provide support, alongside other agents."

"And why are you even there in the first place?!"

Jin-Woo's voice cracked up from agitation, and that caused Adam to reply in a surprised voice, quite obviously failing to hide his fluster.

– "We simply couldn't watch the events in Canada unfold as if it's unrelated to us…. Not just myself, but many other agents are currently assigned to deal with this matter, and…"

Adam White then added that his current location was quite a distance away from where the Canadian Hunters were, so if something bad were to happen, he should be able to escape relatively easily.

Hearing that explanation, Jin-Woo was suddenly overcome with sheer frustration that couldn't be described in words.

'The things I've warned everyone of….'

None of these people seemed to have understood the scale of the enemy just yet.

However, Adam still being unscathed could mean that his prediction was wrong. Jin-Woo collected himself and calmly asked his next question.

"What about the Gate…? Has there been any changes yet?"

– "No. It seems that the inside was empty, just like every other Gates. It's really quiet here in the location, actually."

What a relief that was.

Even after taking into consideration the world pointing their fingers of ridicule and blame at him for his warning being false, he could still breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fuu…"

His prediction seemed to be wrong.

But, then this happened.

– "Uh? Please hold."

After hearing Adam's voice that sounded uneasy for some reason, a creeping dread travelled down Jin-Woo's spine. Why did his ominous forebodings always have to come true?

Adam quickly explained the current situation.

– "Right now! Something is making its descent. Uh? Uh, uh? A person… A person is descending from the Gate!"

Jin-Woo's heart that regained its calm a few seconds ago began racing faster and faster again.

'Just one… person?'

All the hair on the back of his head stood up. Jin-Woo's voice rose up really high.

"The hair colour!"

Adam said that his current location was quite far away from the Hunters. In that case, it'd be impossible for him to see the creepy eyes of that non-human creature.

"What is the hair colour of that person??"

– "H-hang on…."

Adam's voice of borrowing special equipment from an agent nearby could be heard for a brief moment then.

– "Black and red colours are mixed together… It's reddish black."

Oh my god.

Jin-Woo's eyes widened.

"Adam! Run away from there, now!! Doesn't matter if it's a car, whatever, get on it, and escape from there right now!!"

– "Pardon me??"

Before Adam could ask what was going on here…

KWA-BOOOOOM-!!!!

A loud explosion so horrifying that its brutality could be heard even through the phone's speaker resounded out next.

– "Oh, dear lord!!"

Adam's voice had transformed into a scream now.

"ADAM!!"

As if he had regained his wits for a brief moment there from Jin-Woo's shout, Adam began muttering in a tearful voice.

– "H-Hunters….!! The top-ranked Hunters in the front row all got turned into charcoal in less than a second!! T-the flames burning on their bodies are still raging on!! Oh, my god!!"

"Adam! Adam, listen to me! It's going to be alright, so start running now! You gotta escape from there as soon as possible!"

Jin-Woo tried to calm Adam down, but unfortunately, the American agent seemed half-crazed by then.

– "Oh, Jesus…."

Even though he began sobbing softly, he still explained everything he could see and hear to Jin-Woo as if doing that was his final duty.

– "Dragons, Dragons from the sky…. Dragons and other monsters are pouring down endlessly from the Gate!! All sorts of monsters mixed in the horde!! Ah, ah, how could something like this even be….."

The emotions of sorrowful determination could be heard from his voice.

Jin-Woo couldn't just sit back and listen anymore; despite the risk, he connected his senses with the Shadow Soldier inserted into Adam's shadow.

When he did, he got to see the spectacle the American agent got to see, as well.

It was as if he was seeing the scenes of the apocalypse.

From the wide-open Gate, messengers of death and destruction were pouring out in droves, dyeing the heavens black. The skies and the ground were being rapidly filled up by horrifying monsters. The roars of beasts rocked the world, and the flying creatures and their powerfully-beating wings dominated the sky.

Hunters gathered here to fight against them had all been turned into ash even before the creatures landed on Earth from a single flick of the Sovereign of Destruction's hand, who had arrived before everyone else.

The remaining people were trying to run away in pure pandemonium, but unfortunately, their odds of escaping from there seemed pretty dismal at this point.

'Even still…'

He should be able to save one person… Adam White.

The High Orc Shadow Soldier currently being controlled by Jin-Woo reached out and grasped the wrist of the deeply-terrified Adam.

"U-uwaahk!"

He screamed out in fear after seeing that High Orc kitted out in black armour, but he soon saw the shadow of a familiar man within the eyes of this monster.

"S-Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim??"

There was no time to explain the situation. That could be done after he had been safely transported out of there. Still possessing the High Orc, Jin-Woo got ready to drag Adam White into the shadow below his feet, but then…

….Something approached them before anyone had noticed it and grabbed the shoulder of the High Orc real tightly.

Swiiish.

The High Orc looked back in a hurry and spotted a middle-aged man with a pair of bizarre reptilian eyes glaring in his direction.

[Where do you think you are going, oh, child of Shadow?]

The middle-aged man opened his mouth wide. A truly gob-smacking level of power suddenly began gathering inside his mouth, then.

Wordlessly, Jin-Woo shifted his gaze back to Adam.

At that moment, as if he had realised something just then, Adam White stared deeply at Jin-Woo – no, more correctly, the High Orc Jin-Woo was controlling.

"Hunter-nim, I…."

KWWUAAAAHHH-!!!

The Breath attack pouring out from the middle-aged man's mouth erased the Shadow Soldier completely out of existence.

"Keu-heuk!!"

Jin-Woo was beset with the sensation of his entire being set on fire and his body powerfully shuddered from the cruel pain.

He was connected to the High Orc with his mind only, so he could escape from there no problem, but it was a different story for Agent Adam White.

The American man's final moments Jin-Woo saw…..

Recalling Adam's eyes as he turned into scorched ash in the flames, Jin-Woo began gnashing his teeth in pure rage.

BOOM!!

He slammed his fist on the ground, causing the world to shake like the advent of an earthquake.

'God d*mn it….'

He should've expected it.

He should've guessed that, once the enemy knew they were going to face off against the Shadow Army – which got stronger the longer the battle wore on – they would then try to decrease the number of the potential battle locations down to an absolute minimum and gather their combat force into one chosen location, instead.

The Sovereigns even went so far to generate all eight portals as if they were sticking to their original plan.

'They gathered their forces in the Gate that's the furthest away from me.'

What a painful oversight on his part this was.

His plan of increasing his Shadow Soldiers while other locations were being attacked and then make his counterattack went down the crapper in a spectacular fashion now.

Liu Zhigeng realised from Jin-Woo's expression that something terrible had happened and cautiously approached the latter's side.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunte…."

It was then.

The Hunter in charge of the communication belatedly received the news and, with a completely pale face, hurriedly ran towards the duo.

"H-hunters…. Canada, Canada is…."

The rest of his sentence didn't need to be heard at this point.

When Jin-Woo glared upwards, the Gate covering up the sky was already disappearing from the view as if it had served its purpose now.

***

A lone Shadow Soldier and a human standing next to it both evaporated into ash. This was the power of the Breath of Destruction capable of erasing even the soldier of immortality.

'...'

The Dragon Emperor looked at the results of its actions, the piles upon piles of ash beneath its feet, with a great deal of satisfaction and soon spun on its heels.

It now saw the soldiers of the Chaos World, trapped within the gap between dimensions and unable to wield their powers properly for far too long, enjoy their freedom with reckless abandon like fish meeting water.

The Dragon Emperor slowly closed its eyes and opened its arms wide to enjoy its own freedom.

The pounding heartbeats of all living things….

And their dying screams….

The noises of all creations being destroyed continued to ring out like a wonderful symphony.

It was then.

RUMBLE-!!

Accompanied by Ancient-grade Dragons powerfully landing on the ground, two other Sovereigns gently landed in front of them. Right behind them, there were several Marshals of the invading armies.

Every single one of them politely knelt before the strongest Sovereign in existence, the Dragon Emperor.

The creature in the appearance of a middle-aged man formed a meaningful smile. The Mana trembling within the atmosphere was finally theirs. Mana let loose in this world in order to fortify it served to also enhance the strengths of those who could wield it.

Indeed, their 'preparation' had been completed now, as well.

"KUWAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The Dragon Emperor let out a roar of laughter powerful enough to shake the land and shouted out towards the monsters still pouring out from the Gate.

[Destroy everything! That is the one and only glorious mission bestowed upon us!]

Hundreds of Dragons flew above its head next, and vicious flames rained down from their maws to burn away every single thing on the ground.

Kuwaaaaahhh-!!

***

The director of the Hunter Bureau, David Brennan, found himself sitting alone in his office with all lights switched off.

While ignoring the endless streams of reports flooding in to his desk as well as the incoming calls from the higher-ups, he slowly sipped a glass of expensive alcohol he'd been saving for his oldest daughter's wedding day.

Inside his darkened office, images inside the muted TV screen flickered and danced. Monsters could be seen briefly in those images.

He knew why the TV station covering the breaking news was playing the exact same footage over and over again.

'Because they are all dead by now.'

….Just like every single Hunter Bureau agent sent there to support the Canadian Hunters.

Not one person would have survived that.

Hunters, agents, reporters and cameramen filming the scene.

Every one of them, dead.

Thankfully, though, a cameraman risked his life and did his job, resulting in short footage that at least helped everyone with understanding the scale of the enemy's invading force.

"It's all over!!"

The director suddenly yelled out like a mad man.

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo wasn't exaggerating back then.

Dragons alone numbered in the hundreds. Behind those, Giants, beasts, and insect-like things rushed out like tidal waves. They were creatures of calamity that mankind simply could never fight against.

He now understood the reason why Hunter Seong Jin-Woo repeatedly told everyone in no uncertain terms to distance themselves as far away from the Gates.

This world was now over.

But, still….

"What a crazy b*stard!"

Didn't Seong Jin-Woo go to China with his summons in order to fight against creatures like that? How could he even think about fighting against them when he knew that such monsters existed?

If it was at all possible, David Brennan wouldn't have minded cracking open the Korean Hunter's head and take a look at his brain.

'Before that, though, I should crack my head open into several pieces first.'

Huhuh….

Evidently finding something really funny now, the director formed a grin and pulled out a single photograph from his inner jacket.

It was a photo of himself, forming a clearly-annoyed expression, as well as his daughter wearing a party hat.

'This was when she was around sixteen, wasn't it?'

If only he knew that she'd become a victim of a dungeon break a year later, then he'd have taken lots more photos like this one, even if that meant giving up on his job.

Thinking about there being only one photo containing both him and his daughter, made this father's chest numb from his belated shock and sorrow.

Sip.

Yet another glass became empty.

After burying his daughter, he never expected to crack open the lid of this booze, but here he was. He smacked his lips in bitterness and shook the bottle around a little.

Before he had noticed it, it was almost half-empty now.

"Right…. It's all over."

Almost half of Canada had been wiped off the map the last time he bothered to listen to the reports. That was only a rough estimation, though.

No one could know for sure how fast those creatures were marching towards the United States.

The director angrily loosened his tie.

"I won't die by your hands."

Back then, he swore on his daughter's grave that he'd get his revenge against the monsters, that he'd not die at the hands of these d*mnable things. At the bare minimum, he'd go out from this world in his own terms.

Such a determination filled his head and he was soon standing next to the window sill where the distant ground below could be seen.

The chilly wind was brushing past his sweat-soaked forehead.

'….I hope that my daughter is waiting for me where I'm about to go.'

He squeezed his tearful eyes shut and was about to leap to the ground, but then….

….Someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Heok?!"

He nearly jumped out of his shoes from sheer fright and quickly looked back with his eyes wide open, only to discover a man with a very familiar face standing there.

"H-Hunter S-Seong Jin-Woo???"

As the director's face paled like a man seeing a scary ghost, Jin-Woo quietly spoke to him.

"I'm looking for something."

Chapter 237: Chapter 237

What could he possibly be looking for when the world was facing certain annihilation? No, besides all that, was the man in front of the director's eyes the real Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, to begin with?

Wondering if he got too drunk and was seeing things, the director roughly shook his head from side to side.

But, Jin-Woo's figure became even clearer and in focus from that action, leading the director to realise that the man in front of him was not a figment of his imagination.

His intoxication flew away in an instant and his voice rose up an octave.

"W-what are you looking for?"

"The Rune Stone."

Jin-Woo told the director precisely what he was here for.

"The Rune Stone from Kamish, give it to me."

"…..!!"

His surprised lasted only for a short while; the director reflexively shook his head.

"As you may well know, Hunter-nim, the Kamish's Rune Stone is the Hunter Bureau's….."

That was when his words came to a choking halt.

This d*mn work-related habit of his. What about the Hunter Bureau? So what? Never mind the Bureau, the whole of the United States of America was about to go up in flames, so who cared about a measly little Run Stone now?

'Looks like I haven't fully woken up from the booze yet.'

The director loudly slapped his cheeks with his palms. After his skin reddened up from the stinging impact, he finally felt as if his brain was getting in gear.

His once-blurry eyes regained their focus as well.

He then arrived at a certain conclusion that to the Hunter Bureau, no, to the entire United States of America, the reason why Jin-Woo wanted the Rune Stone in the first place was far more important than its financial value.

A short bout of deliberation later. The director asked cautiously as to not sour Jin-Woo's moods.

"I can definitely give you the Rune Stone, but why do you need it?"

Without a single shred of hesitation, Jin-Woo replied back.

"I'll use it as a tool for my counter-attack."

***

Through the eyes of the System, Jin-Woo got to confirm the 'Skill' sleeping within the Rune Stone in question pretty early on. It definitely contained a certain power of a Dragon.

There was a reason why he showed no interest whatsoever to this Rune Stone until now, though – this Skill had a rather serious drawback.

Meaning, it was a power he didn't need.

'However…. The story has changed now.'

After descending to the ninth underground floor of the Hunter Bureau's HQ, the director and Jin-Woo now stood before the reinforced glass case that housed the Rune Stone in question.

Rather than through the System, Jin-Woo only needed his eyes and senses this time to accurately decipher the Skill contained with that little 'stone'. It was as exactly as he remembered it.

A 'Skill' that boasted a truly horrifying power. The seriousness of the current situation should be more than enough to offset the drawback of such a horrifying power.

Ba-thump. His heart pulsed softly in approval.

The director wordlessly stared at the Rune Stone before asking his question.

"Hunter-nim, you once told me that the monsters of the dungeons were sent here by the beings called the Rulers, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"In that case, what are these Rune Stones found inside the bodies of the monsters?"

"They are gifts from the Rulers to enable humanity to hunt monsters down more efficiently."

What the Rulers wanted was to spread Mana around this world through violent clashes between monsters and mankind. The sacrifices made by humans were simply a side-effect, not their true end goal.

Indeed, these Rune Stones – stones inserted into the monsters so, upon their deaths, their powers could be sealed within – were the sign of the Rulers' consideration towards mankind's monster hunting.

And so, Kamish's power was stored within this stone.

Jin-Woo took hold of the Dragon's power that would play the crucial role in his fightback.

The director tensely observed Jin-Woo grasping the Rune Stone tightly and swallowed his dry saliva.

"Truly…. Can you truly stop the monsters with that thing?"

"Well, I should at least give it a shot."

Even at this very moment, the armies led by the Dragon Emperor were repeating the actions of destroying everything in their paths and advancing forward before stopping to destroy some more.

Thanks to the Mana from the Rulers fortifying the planet, the marching speed of the Army of Destruction had been pegged back somewhat, but that would only last for a short while.

Soon, every inch of this land would be engulfed in the conflagration of war. He simply couldn't sit back and watch as the world crumbled, now could he?

The powers of the Shadow Sovereign that they feared so much – they tried to cowardly hit him from behind and prevent that power from blossoming, but now, it was time to show them what this power in the hands of a measly little lifeform was capable of achieving.

"I'm planning to do everything within my power."

The unwavering will within Jin-Woo's two eyes left a powerful impact on the director's heart.

Seeing that this young Korean Hunter wasn't trying to avoid fighting the enemy, even though he knew full well their frightening scale, the older American man realised how pathetic he was behaving not too long ago when his mind was still filled with thoughts of running away and nothing else besides.

'I wanted to go to where my daughter was? You stupid son of a b*tch….'

He felt so, so ashamed of himself. And also, he wanted to witness this young man's battle right up until its conclusion, regardless of how everything would play out.

"I know I have no right to ask you of this, but…. Please, I beg of you. Please, stop those b*stards, those monsters."

The director bowed his head deeply as tears trickled down his face again. Maybe, what he really wanted to avoid was not his impending doom, which would most likely be at the hands of the monsters.

No, the truth was, he simply lacked the courage to witness his countrymen getting killed and pillaged by these abominable monsters when he was supposed to be the leader of the Hunter Bureau, a man whose job was to be at the forefront, leading the Hunters in the battle against humanity's enemies.

Even if it was nothing but a straw, it didn't matter.

Just a single strand was enough at this point.

If there was one glimmer of hope, then he'd do anything to grasp it.

His emotions had morphed into hot tears as they flooded out of his eyes. Jin-Woo wordlessly grabbed the director's shoulder.

"…"

That single gesture felt a hundred times more reassuring than any words for the director. He belatedly wiped his tears away.

"I ended up showing you something pretty disgraceful. My apologies, Hunter-nim."

Jin-Woo waited for a little while until the director regained his calm before opening his mouth.

"There is something else as well. I'm looking for a person now."

***

Jin-Woo followed after the director and entered a certain apartment building near the Hunter Bureau's HQ.

"You had her stay so close by?"

"We at the Hunter Bureau believe that the things we're supposed to protect should always be within reach, you see."

Perhaps their destination wasn't high up, the director chose the stairs, instead. Just as his back was getting soaked by the sweat, they stopped at a certain door on the fourth floor. The director turned about to look at Jin-Woo.

"We're here."

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

Knock, knock.

There must've been some sort of a security arrangement, because rather than pressing the doorbell, the director lightly knocked on the door twice, instead.

A short bout of silence later.

An agent confirmed the face of the director through the peephole and opened the door.

"…..Director??"

The agent frowned slightly at the strong stench of booze stinging his nose, before belatedly discovering Jin-Woo standing behind his boss and jumped up in surprise.

"…!!"

Should one call this a piece of good fortune when the agent didn't immediately yank out his firearm, just like back when they met him for the first time?

The agent instinctively reached down to his waist after spotting the unfamiliar visitor, but perhaps he recalled the events of the past, a flustered expression quickly bloomed on his face, instead.

"S-Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"

The agent wasn't even given a chance to think about why the world's most powerful Hunter showed up here, because the director simply led the visitor straight into the apartment.

The other agent waiting on standby greeted the director.

"Where is Madam?"

"She's waiting for you inside. Heok!"

Like his partner that opened the door, this agent also jumped up in surprise after seeing Jin-Woo here.

"S-sir, this gentleman….?"

"Hunter-nim wishes to speak to the Madam, so I guided him here. Can you inform her that Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is here to speak to her?"

"….Understood, sir."

It was then.

"….I didn't expect you to pay me a visit during such times."

As if she was waiting for Jin-Woo's arrival, the door to her room opened up and the Madam slowly walked out.

It was none other than Madam Norma Selner.

Currently, she was acting as the 'Upgrader', capable of enhancing the strengths of Hunters to their maximum potential, but before she awakened her powers, she used to work as a psychic.

Jin-Woo took a step forward and politely bowed his head towards the middle-aged woman.

"Please, this way."

She guided him into the room. The director standing behind Jin-Woo also tried to come in, but Madam Selner stopped him with a gentle voice.

"I believe that Seong Hunter-nim would want to speak to me in private. Am I wrong?"

She looked behind her and asked, prompting Jin-Woo to nod his head. It was as she said. The director spat out a couple of fake coughs and began fixing his attire a little as the room's door closed shut.

She closed shut the door completely and slowly turned around to face Jin-Woo, patiently waiting for her at the corner of the room.

The moment she took a look at his entire being, she failed to stop the shocked gasp from bursting out of her mouth.

"Oh, my gosh!"

He looked completely different from the last time she saw him.

"You are…. You're not the same person as the one I know."

Her eyes began trembling fearfully.

Back then, the darkness had been hiding deep, deep within him somewhere, but now, he had become the perfect darkness itself. She could clearly see the power of 'death' enveloping Jin-Woo. However, he quickly shook his head and corrected her misunderstanding.

"I'm still the same person you know, Madam. Except that I've become one with the darkness you saw inside me."

"Ah, ah…."

Which words in the known vocabulary would be adequate enough to describe this truly wondrous development? The power of a god, now dwelling inside a human being!

She studied just the tail-end of that incredulous power leaking out of Jin-Woo and continued to gasp out in pure admiration. Her slack jaw didn't want to shut close for a long while, but eventually, she did recover her wits somehow.

"Looks like…. I don't possess the necessary power to help you, Hunter-nim."

No, could there be someone possessing an ability capable of helping this man out in this entire world? Because… he had already transcended the limitation of humanity.

The thing was, though, Jin-Woo was thinking of something else. He cautiously approached the still-terrified woman and asked her.

"Madam, you said that you can glimpse into the future, yes?"

"To a certain extent, yes…."

"In that case, can you tell me about my future?"

Before he was about to enter the battle properly, he wanted to see the end through her eyes first. He thought that, regardless of what she saw, he'd be more relaxed going in.

Madam Selner hesitated somewhat before she nodded her head slowly. She reached out and grasped both of Jin-Woo's hands and closed her eyes.

To look deeper into the inner workings of the darkness – she needed a big dollop of courage for that.

However, she couldn't dare to refuse the request of a warrior about to go to war against the foes that required a far greater level of courage than hers. No, the level of courage required would be so great that it defied all attempts to compare it.

The time flew past as if it was merely a moment and, when she finally opened her eyes, uncontrollable tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"You… Are you really going to carry all that burden by yourself?"

"…."

Jin-Woo didn't answer her.

"But, how can it be…. How can just one person carry all those terrible burdens…. Are you going to sacrifice one to save everyone?"

Jin-Woo's expression brightened.

"Sounds like I can at least get that far. That's a relief."

"What do you mean, you're relieved?! No one will be able to remember you. You'll end up fighting a lonesome battle all by yourself!"

Jin-Woo let go of her hands as she tried to dissuade him. Back when he made up his mind to fight, he was already prepared to go that far. He took a step back from Madam and bade farewell in a dignified manner.

"I'm sorry for coming by unannounced and asking you for something like this."

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!!"

Even before her earnestly pleading voice came to an end, Jin-Woo slid into the shadow beneath his feet and disappeared from there.

The agents outside were taken surprise by her cries and hurriedly rushed into the room, but he was long gone by then.

***

'...'

Just like back when he was searching for Yu Jin-Ho, Jin-Woo climbed back up on top of the tallest building in the city and expanded his sensory perception as much as he could.

At the far, far off distance, towards the far end of the land up north….

….He felt the presence of so, so many monster soldiers that couldn't even be counted anymore, making their march south. There seemed to be almost no presence of life beyond the advancing army.

Meaning, they had become prey of the denizens of the Chaos World.

Min Byung-Gu, Goh Gun-Hui, Adam White, and even his own dad.

Faces of many people who became sacrifices in this war against those creatures fleeted in and out of Jin-Woo's mind.

Pure anger.

Anger gradually welling up from the depths of his chest began dyeing the Black Heart. Jin-Woo closed his eyes and began searching for the Dragon Emperor's aura within that massive army.

As it turned out, it wasn't all that difficult to spot the centre of the mass of 'power' that raged on like a violent storm and swallowing up everything in its wake.

'….Found you.'

Jin-Woo saw the Dragon Emperor.

At that moment, the Sovereign of Destruction also saw Jin-Woo.

That sharp sensory perception that swept past it – there could only be one possessing senses like that. The Dragon Emperor abruptly came to a halt and glared in Jin-Woo's direction.

Its demonic snake-like eyes didn't shy away from the darkness in the distance for a long while. It had finally sensed the presence of the true enemy that could threaten its existence over yonder, that was why.

'…..'

'…..'

The Shadow Sovereign and the Sovereign of Destruction glared at each other while transcending past the distance itself. The latter bared its fangs first.

[I am right here!]

Its terrifying roar as loud as hundreds, no, thousands of lightning bolts exploding at the same time resounded throughout the entire planet.

[Tens of millions of your kin have died already! So, how long are you planning to hide like this?]

Murderous glare flickered for a moment within Jin-Woo's eyes.

'Don't you worry. I'll see you soon.'

And when I do….

Jin-Woo swallowed back the words he wanted to say and submerged quietly into the shadow.

Chapter 238: Chapter 238

If one were to transplant 'Hell' to Earth, would it resemble something like this?

The skies were filled with thick black clouds that showed no signs of abating. The ground below was, in turn, filled with blood, screams, ashes, and acrid stink.

Sovereigns were born from the darkness with the sole purpose of destroying everything, and so, they proceeded to systematically erase any semblance of light and life from this world.

The Dragon Emperor stood in front of them. It stepped proudly on top of the city now reduced to ash and swept its gaze all over its surroundings.

'What is going on with that b*stard, I wonder?'

After that brief stare-down, the Shadow Sovereign went into hiding and didn't appear again, even until now.

When he used his sensory perception to reveal his existence, the Dragon Emperor took that as the sign of the Shadow Sovereign finally declaring war.

And that was why, for the first time in an extremely long while, the Dragon Emperor's heart that went dormant while wandering within the gap between dimensions had begun beating powerfully once again.

Finally, one of only a few enemies that could truly threaten its life had bared his fangs at it. The true war was at hand.

To the 'Sovereign of Destruction', the sight of the battlefield filled with sheer, uncontrolled madness from all parties involved was pretty much the same thing as a marvellous gift from the heavens.

Could anything be compared to the pure joy derived from the battles?

Too bad, the event it had been waiting for didn't materialise.

The Shadow Sovereign vanished without a trace and showed no signs of appearing again even after a nation of his kin had been annihilated completely.

Of course, it'd be no different than killing himself to fight against the combined army of the Chaos World that easily numbered in the ten-plus millions with just over one hundred thousand of his servants.

However, if he was planning to run away from the get-go, he wouldn't have tried to threaten the Dragon Emperor even at the risk of exposing his current whereabouts.

'….Could he be aiming for something else?'

The Dragon Emperor grew more anxious as time continued to pass by.

Now that they had no clue when and where the Shadow Sovereign would begin his assault, the soldiers under the Dragon had no choice but to move at a much more cautious pace. Obviously, their marching speed had slowed down to a crawl as a result.

The Dragon Emperor wanted to get rid of all the nuisances bothering them as soon as possible and get ready for the battle against the Rulers, so without a doubt, the current situation was proving to be rather annoying.

Could it be….?

'….He's waiting for the annihilation of his kin so he can convert them all into his Shadow Soldiers?'

However, turning humans who didn't know how to wield Mana into his soldiers wouldn't be much help against the Army of Destruction. Surely, that b*stard would know of this fact, too.

It was then.

A voice interrupted the deep deliberation of the Dragon Emperor.

"Humans are coming, my liege."

One of the Ancient-class Dragons acting as its bodyguard informed it of the incoming attacks of the humans. But, didn't all the humans of this nation capable of wielding Mana, 'Hunters', die? If so, what could this be?

The Dragon Emperor formed a puzzled expression and raised its head, and with excellent timing, countless missiles rained down from the sky.

BOOOOOM-!!!

This was the final struggle of the weak creatures, so pathetically meaningless that even the Sovereign of Destruction felt sorry for them. Humans knew that their weapons not imbued with Mana couldn't even touch a single hair on the Army of Destruction, yet they stubbornly refused to give up.

'….This is getting boring.'

The brows of the Dragon Emperor quivered slightly. Anxiety morphed into annoyance, and soon, annoyance transformed into anger.

[None of you step forward.]

The Dragon Emperor warned its underlings not to make a move and for the first time ever since setting foot in this world, revealed its true appearance.

These fighter pilots had flown here while risking their lives in order to buy time, however little it'd be, for the civilians to evacuate. But then, after seeing the truly nonsensical size of the personified calamity approaching them, every single one of these brave men and women became completely speechless.

"Mommy…."

The terror and shock of these pilots only lasted for a brief moment. Soon, the breath of pure destruction fired out in a straight line from the jaw of the calamity, swallowing up all of the fighter jets in the air.

Kuwaaaaah-!

In less than one minute. The lives of these pilots couldn't even buy one minute and their sacrifice was ultimately in vain.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Emperor wasn't satisfied by these humans' sacrifices and raised its head to spew out a terrifying roar at the heavens.

KUWAAAAAAHHH-!!!

That was the Sovereign of Destruction declaring war against the Shadow Sovereign.

***

Jin-Woo also heard that roar.

His eyes, closed in stillness so that he could organise his thoughts, quietly opened up.

'….It's time.'

The moment his eyelids lifted up, the sight of the 'lodging' Beru had constructed immediately entered his view. Darkness and silence seemed to have taken over the dominion of this needlessly humongous room.

Was it because the current atmosphere resembled the moments of eternal rest? Jin-Woo didn't dislike the combination of darkness and silence as experienced within this empty, wide-open space.

He felt guilty about scolding Beru initially after clapping his eyes on this white fortress for the first time back then, so he quietly summoned the former ant king to his side.

"Hey, Beru. Thanks."

Beru had been silently waiting in Jin-Woo's shadow until then. He sneaked his head out of the darkness below to speak.

"Oh, my king…."

"Yeah, I know."

Jin-Woo cut off Beru's sentence even before another word could be uttered. This time, Bellion rose up to the surface from the side of the ant king.

"It's far too dangerous, my liege."

Even Igrit emerged from below too, as if he was waiting for this chance. He knelt down and lowered his head, his voice sounding earnest.

"I share their opinions, my liege."

All three Marshals were trying to dissuade Jin-Woo from enacting his plan. Wordlessly, their master studied the trio.

Shadow Soldiers would never die unless their Sovereign was killed off. Which meant that they would always worry about the safety of their Sovereign first and foremost.

However, sometimes one had no choice but to make a move even though he knew of the dangers waiting for him on the other side.

For Jin-Woo, this was one such occasion.

"Osborne…. The former Shadow Sovereign said that he liked this aspect of me."

That would be the aspect of him willing to tackle the seemingly-dangerous problem head-on first to see what's what, even though he looked cold and calculating on the outside.

Jin-Woo continued on.

"If he was in the same situation as I am now, what would he have done?"

"…"

Bellion recalled the past actions of the former Shadow Sovereign and realised that he couldn't readily provide an answer.

Osborne, the former Shadow Sovereign, was someone who stepped up all by himself to try and stop the rebellion of every other Fragment of the Brilliant Light marching forward to kill their creator, the Absolute Being.

If it was him, he'd never give up on his duty regardless of the situation facing him. Once Bellion's thoughts arrived there, he raised his faltering head up high.

Jin-Woo was smiling back at him.

'They… resemble each other.'

Jin-Woo's face overlapped with that of Osborne's in Bellion's eyes, just then.

'As expected.'

Bellion lowered his head again and made an earnest pledge towards Jin-Woo.

"I shall accompany you till the end, my liege."

It seemed that other Marshals shared his sentiment because they no longer bothered to dissuade Jin-Woo.

Perfect.

"You should've come out like that from the beginning, you know."

Jin-Woo grinned refreshingly at them.

He felt that there really wasn't much time remaining, and pulled out his phone from the pocket. This might prove to be his last chance to speak to his family.

'...'

In the end, though, he couldn't bring himself to tap the 'Call' icon. He thought that, if he heard the voices of his loved ones now, he'd not be able to take another step forward.

That's the feeling he got.

Crack!

The crushed phone slowly fell from Jin-Woo's hand.

It'd be perfectly fine to delay listening to their voices until the end of the upcoming battle. Jin-Woo reaffirmed his resolve and summoned the pair of Kamish's Wrath from the storage within the subspace.

And then, he tore the T-shirt he was wearing to create long ropes and wrapped them around his hands holding the shortswords. His weapons shouldn't slip out of his grasp during the battle, but in reality, he was doing this to rouse his fighting spirit up.

The rope made out of his torn T-shirt tightly secured the shortswords in his both of hands.

His firm, well-developed torso muscles, fully on display now that his top was gone, quivered and writhed every time he breathed deeply in and out as if they were alive.

'Alright, good.'

The heightened sensation before the battle quietly made its descent on his shoulders. His heart was steadily pounding away, too.

Jin-Woo always liked this heightened sensation spreading throughout his entire body just before he was about to step into a dungeon.

Both his mind and body were prepared now.

Fuu….

He let a soft sigh leave his lips, and chilling light began shining from deep within his eyes.

The plan he ran countless simulations of in his head raced past his mind one more time. He could not afford to make any mistake from here on.

His expression now reflected the weight of his determination. His Marshals, having read their liege's will to fight, nodded their heads in unison.

Jin-Woo spoke with a determined voice.

"Let's get going."

***

Inside the office of the Korean Hunter's Association President.

Woo Jin-Cheol was busy recalling the sage advice his grandfather had left behind some time ago.

If he wanted to figure out the severity of an incident, then he'd have to take a closer look at the expressions of the news anchor.

His grandfather had personally experienced and survived the war and various calamities that came to visit Korea in the past, so he knew what he was talking about. After placing a very young Woo Jin-Cheol on his lap, he said these words.

– If the expression of the news anchor is on the bright side, then it's nothing to worry about. If the anchor's expression is a little gloomy, then you should be a little bit cautious. However…. The moments you should really feel scared would be….

Woo Jin-Cheol was studying the expression of the female news anchor and muttered softly without even consciously realising it.

"….When the anchor is trying to maintain a calm expression."

In cases of truly calamitous events, news readers would try to prevent the unrest and agitation blooming in the hearts of the viewers at home by doing their best to project how calm they were.

His grandfather always told him not to miss the moment when such grim determination would be shown on live TV.

And sure enough, the lady anchor of the TV news was ably maintaining a calm expression as well as a level voice to report on the events unfolding in North America – exactly as his grandfather had warned.

[….When all contact with the Hunters stepping forward to stop the advance had been cut off, the American government has urgently mobilised all of their military forces to buy enough time for civilians to evacuate…..]

Woo Jin-Cheol squeezed his eyes shut.

He just didn't feel confident of continuously watching the unfolding tragedy happening on the other side of the planet.

Through Jin-Woo's memory, he had witnessed the grand scale of the enemy's invading forces. He was being serious here – that was a calamity nothing in this world could defend against.

The nation boasting the greatest combat strength, the United States of America, was crumbling helplessly at the hands of those d*mn monsters. And right now, the only thing humanity could do was to pray for a miracle.

Unfortunately, just what kind of a miracle would it have to be to stop those creatures?

Imagination filled with ominous foreboding and terrible imagery continued to bubble one after the other in his head as if they had formed a long, unbroken chain. Woo Jin-Cheol slowly shook his head, hoping to get rid of those distracting thoughts.

A miracle, was it?

'Now that I think about it…'

It had been already over three days since all contact with Hunter Seong Jin-Woo had been cut off.

Woo Jin-Cheol got to clearly see Jin-Woo's ability to create dozens of Gates, back when the representatives of the world's nations had gathered in one place. As long as he wanted to, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo would be able to escape to another world.

It could very well be that he had already evacuated to somewhere safe by now. But, even if he did that, who here could criticise his decision?

It was either fight against ten million soldiers born for the sake of destruction with no one else but himself, or escape to somewhere far away, where their hands didn't reach.

Even if it was Woo Jin-Cheol making this decision, he wasn't confident of choosing the former over the latter.

So, all that remained was to truly pray fervently for a miracle.

"Please, I beg of you. Don't…."

Although there would never be a reply, Woo Jin-Cheol still looked up at the ceiling of his office and whispered softly.

"…..Don't forsake us."

But, it happened right then.

"…???"

Woo Jin-Cheol jumped up in shock and his gaze was locked onto the TV immediately.

There was an earthquake erupting within his eyes now.

***

"Uwaaaahk!!"

The best air force in the world, the United States Air Force that proudly boasted the history of zero defeats, didn't fare any better compared to their Canadian counterparts when subjected to the power of the Army of Destruction.

BOOM!!

A fighter jet's engine was destroyed in an instant and its pilot hurriedly attempted to eject from the plane.

As this pilot made his rapid descent towards the ground, he began screaming out in despair as he watched his friends and colleagues getting massacred in the blink of an eye.

"No!! Nooo!!"

Boom!! Bang! Ka-boom!

Booming exploding noises and flashes of fireballs filled up the sky.

The pilot continued to cry out the names of his dying friends even as the disorientating chaos pushed his head into a dizzy spin.

The ground approached at the rate of knots. Just before he was about to become a flat pancake, his parachute unfurled itself in time.

He messily tumbled and rolled around on the ground several times before coming to a stop. He then emptied the contents of his stomach from the extreme case of dizziness.

"Blergh, blergh…."

Were the tears pooling on the edges of his eyes the result of the pain wracking his body, or because of the resentment he felt at his own powerlessness?

Unfortunately, he wasn't given a lot of time to consider that dilemma.

Even though the surroundings were filled with the acrid stink of blood and stinging fumes of chemicals, monsters still managed to sense the breathing of a lifeform from far away and began rushing towards his location.

The pilot hurriedly cut himself loose from the parachute's straps and yanked out a pistol mounted on his hips.

"Die!! Die, you sons of b*tches!!"

Blam! Blam!! Blam!!! Blam!!!!

Several ear-piercing gunshots echoed in the air, but as expected, they were simply inadequate to slow down the monsters by one bit.

Click, click, click….

Now that he ran out of bullets, the pilot instantly began regretting his actions. He should have reserved the last shot for his own final moment.

His hands powerlessly sagged to the ground.

The very first monster to arrive his location as he stood there dazed and numb was a denizen of the Chaos World that resembled a giant cockroach.

Shashashashak!

After seeing the insect-type monster utterly filling up his view, all strength in the pilot's legs abandoned him and he sunk down to the floor.

A despairing moan leaked out of his mouth.

"D*mn it…."

Right at that moment….

kwagagagagahk!!

All those insects rushing at him were suddenly torn apart at once as if a claw from a gigantic creature took a swipe at them.

"Jesus Christ?!"

His tearful eyes anxiously sought out the origin of that miracle. And soon, he found a single Asian man gently landing in front of his eyes.

Although it was only his back, the pilot found it not too difficult to guess this man's name by looking at the pair of uniquely-shaped shortswords in his hands.

"Seong Jin-Woo…. Hunter Jin-Woo Seong??"

Jin-Woo took a look at the pilot behind him.

There was an incredibly intense scowl on his face that made it hard to tell whether he was an ally or an enemy. But, his eyes definitely said, "Run away, now!"

Sure enough, a horde of monsters far outnumbering the ones that got killed was rushing towards them from the distance. The pilot's voice rose up an octave just then.

"Even if it's you, Hunter Seong, you can't do this alone…."

That was as far as his words could go.

KWA-GAGAGAGAHK!!

Jin-Woo furiously swung Kamish's Wraths, resulting in the monsters to get torn apart into bits and pieces like dolls made out of paper. Having successfully bought more time, Jin-Woo looked back at the pilot again.

"Go, now!"

"Ah, y-yes!"

The pilot finally managed to ungainly push himself off from the ground and he began running away using everything in his power. Jin-Woo briefly watched the back of the departing man, before shifting his gaze back to his front again.

He had cut down dozens upon dozens of enemies with those two attacks, but that was like shaving a tiny piece off a massive iceberg.

Enemies hundreds of times greater in number seemed to have latched onto the smell of combat that had taken place here.

This would be the first steps of the war. His first victims would be with these insect-type monsters.

Fuu….

Jin-Woo sucked in a quick but deep breath, and in the direction of the Chaos World��s soldiers rushing towards his location, he spat out the two words that would become the turning point in this war.

"Rise up."

Chapter 239

"Rise up."

As soon as Jin-Woo issued his command….

Kiiieeehk-!!

All those insect monsters that got torn to shreds just now stood back up as new Shadow Soldiers.

In the past, he also revived monsters that got killed during the battles and added them to his stock of soldiers, but these new additions were on a different scale altogether compared to those guys.

Quite far removed from the recent past when the System suppressed the powers of the Shadow Sovereign and resulted in the creation of Shadow Soldiers that were weaker than their living counterparts, Jin-Woo was now the bonafide King of the Dead, and the restrictions of the System no longer affected him. He could create the perfect Shadow Soldiers at will now.

Kiiehk!

These soldiers were so much stronger than when they were still alive. Black smoke rose up vigorously like flames from their bodies. It was pretty obvious that the stronger the soldiers of the Chaos World, the stronger his Soldiers extracted from their shadows would be.

And so, this would be how the unparalleled power that tried to destroy this world ended up becoming the noose that tightened around his enemies' necks.

Jin-Woo issued his first command to these new soldiers, overflowing with fighting spirit.

'Go rampage to your heart's content.'

Kiiiiieeeeehkkk-!!

The insect-type Shadow Soldiers madly rushed towards the incoming waves of Chaos World's forces. Jin-Woo also dashed forward, as well.

He instantly overtook the insect-type Shadow Soldier at the very front of the pack and leapt into the midst of the Orcs unfortunate enough to be marching at the forefront.

Keu-hahk!!

The panicking hordes of Orcs, as well as Ogres standing here and there among them, blindly swung their weapons in a hurry, but the odds of those hits landing on him were zero.

Jin-Woo evaded every attack pouring in from all sides with consummate ease before swinging his shortswords. Like being sucked into the centre of a whirlpool, the hapless Orcs were swept away in one go without any mercy.

Every time he sliced down, the black aura shooting out from his blades utterly tore through not just the Orcs, but the ground they were standing on, too.

Simply put, it was a hellish storm.

The headcount of Orcs decreased a lot faster than the screams exploding out from their mouths could be heard.

It was then. A tall shade was suddenly cast above Jin-Woo's head. He raised his head to look.

Guooo….

A Giant-type monster, so humongous that tilting one's head to look might actually injure one's neck, was busy glaring down at him. And it was also in the middle of raising up high a pillar of stone that matched the length of its arms.

It must've devoured innumerable humans while getting here because the blood of its victims had dyed the vicinity of its mouth dark red.

Jin-Woo's brows creased up. Even before the creature could smash down its stone pillar, he made his move first. In the blink of an eye, he arrived right below the Giant's groin area and swung his reverse-gripped Kamish's Wrath with a crap-ton of power.

SLICE!

The black aura dancing around on the edge of the blade cleanly severed the Giant's thick ankle.

Wuh-uh-uh-uh-uh!!

Suddenly losing one of its ankles, the Giant's body tilted to one side and it cried out in alarm before its balance eventually broke. That humongous body tipped over to its back and soon, gained momentum as it crashed down to the ground.

Ka-boom-!!!

Countless monsters located behind the Giant couldn't evade in time and were crushed to death quite unexpectedly by that huge falling body.

Next up was the turn of the Shadow Soldiers.

As the Giant lay on its back breathing heavily in pain, the insect-type Shadow Soldiers quickly began climbing up on the creature.

Shashashashashak-!!

The Giant struggled mightily to shake off the insects, but too bad, they reached the panicking creature's face in no time at all. And soon, their ravenous feeding time began.

Uwuuuuhhh-!!

The screaming Giant's convulsion ended pretty quickly. However, that wasn't the end for this Giant, not by a long shot. Once more, the Shadow Sovereign issued his command.

"Rise up."

When he did….

Wu-uh-uhhh….

Next to the corpse of the Giant with its face mostly gone from the insects and their vicious bites, a Shadow with the exact same height slowly rose back up. Not just this guy, but other Shadow Soldiers began crawling out one by one from beneath this gigantic shadow, too.

These new Shadow Soldiers created out of the Orc remains were already outfitted with their own weapons. Their hostile eyes were now glaring at their former, still-alive comrades.

In no time at all, over one hundred of Chaos World's forces had been absorbed into the Shadow Army.

Wuuuong….

When the Giant soldier made its move, the enemies flinched greatly. Ignoring them for now, it bent all the way down to the ground where the original's body lay, unfurled the dead monster's fingers, before yanking back the stone pillar for itself.

That was how the massive object had become the new weapon for the Giant soldier.

Tumble, duduk….

Clumps of soil clinging onto the stone pillar tumbled and fell to the ground.

As if not being able to swing its pillar while still alive was its greatest regret ever, the Giant soldier cocked that enormous weapon behind it and got ready to take an almighty swing.

Only then did the soldiers of the Chaos World realise just what kind of authority their enemy possessed.

Stagger, stagger….

These monsters used to enjoy fighting in this so-called war, but now, they all began taking retreating steps in fear. Their unchecked terror travelled through the air of the battlefield and got transmitted in full to Jin-Woo.

He roared out in the languages of the Sovereigns towards these creatures.

[What are you all scared of?]

After all, his counterattack had only just begun. It was indeed far, far too early to feel fear from only this much. A murderous, chilly glare flickered within Jin-Woo's eyes.

In that moment…

WHOOSH-!!

The stone pillar powerfully swung by the Giant soldier brushed past and swept away every single enemy in its path as if they were mere small toys.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gahk!!

***

Immediately after Jin-Woo made his entrance to the battlefield.

The Dragon Emperor, having never let its guard down once, finally detected the presence of the Shadow Sovereign.

'Towards the eastern front.'

Right at the eastern end of the gigantic army spreading out with itself as the centre – that was where the Shadow Sovereign decided to make his appearance.

Although a bit later than their leader, the Ancient-class Dragons as well as other Sovereigns also eventually detected the Shadow Sovereign's movements.

The King of Demonic Spectres, the Sovereign of Transfiguration, addressed the Dragon Emperor respectfully.

[We should lead all of our forces and….]

However, the latter raised its hand up and abruptly cut off the words of the former.

The Emperor's underlings formed various puzzled expressions.

The one who waited for the entrance of the Shadow Sovereign with the greatest anticipation was the Sovereign of Destruction right before their eyes. So, why did it choose not to make a move even after the much-awaited enemy had finally signalled the earnest beginning of this war?

Even at this moment, the forces of the Chaos World were rapidly morphing into the Shadow Army's soldiers.

The anxiety felt by the Sovereign of Transfiguration, currently occupying the body of a short-statured middle-aged man, forced it to open its mouth, but before any words could be spoken, the Dragon Emperor voiced his opinion first.

[The Shadow Army…. Can you see where the Army of the Dead is?]

Even though they were separated by an incredible distance, the Emperor of Dragons didn't miss the crucial fact that the Shadow Sovereign's loyal soldiers were not present within his shadow.

'But, that can't be….?'

The Sovereign of Transfiguration hurriedly closed its eyes shut.

At the Eastern battlefront – a large illusory eyeball created using magic appeared in the air just above the location where the Shadow Sovereign had begun his warfare.

This magical eye took a sweeping look at the battlefield.

'….!!'

It was as the Dragon Emperor had said.

The Shadow Sovereign was freely roaming through the middle of the battlefield as the storm of blood raged on, but not one single hint of the army that should have been hidden within his shadow could be detected.

The Sovereign of Transfiguration opened its eyes and looked at the Dragon Emperor and discovered that the latter's glare was now half-made up of rage and unanswered questions.

'Just what….?'

What was the Shadow Sovereign thinking of by stepping into the battlefield without the army to protect him?

At a casual glance, this seemed to be the most perfect opportunity to eliminate him for good. However, they simply couldn't mobilise the entire army when it was unknown what their enemy was scheming right now. In a way, doing precisely that might be the true aim of the enemy, to begin with.

Anxiety akin to a veil of fog clogging up one's vision grabbed hold of the Dragon Emperor and it couldn't readily make its next move. One of the Ancient-class Dragon worriedly called out to its master.

[Oh, my Sovereign….]

The Dragon Emperor shot a glare at its servant, and all of the Ancient-class Dragons lowered their heads.

Having silenced them all with nothing but sheer intense pressure, the Sovereign of Destruction shifted its glare back towards the eastern battlefield, where Jin-Woo was going on a rampage at the moment.

The number of the Chaos World's soldiers were decreasing at a noticeable rate. And at the same time, that b*stard's own forces were increasing rapidly.

The decision needed to be made right now. The quicker the better.

Too bad, the Dragon Emperor couldn't readily make a choice when the battlefield's direction was unfolding in an unexpected direction through one man's actions that seemed to defy all attempts to predict what his next moves would be.

The Dragon Emperor's brows creased up.

'Shadow Sovereign…. Just what is it that you're aiming for?'

***

From a certain point onwards, Jin-Woo gave up on consciously cutting down on the vast sea of enemies. There were simply far too many of them for that.

The number of his own allies was increasing at a rapid pace, but still, the scale of the enemy forces was just so ridiculous that it almost rendered all of his actions so far inconsequential.

'Fuu.'

After he sucked in a deep breath, Jin-Woo entrusted himself not to his logical reasoning, but to his senses. When he did, reflexive movements that seemed to have transcended the limits of human anatomy began repeating as if he was a machine created solely to murder and destroy.

Just one strike from him tore through hundreds of monsters. And then,

"Rise up!!"

Then, hundreds of new Shadow Soldiers joined his army. Like a gigantic tsunami wave crashing and swallowing everything up, the Shadows gradually dyed the battlefield black.

Every time Jin-Woo moved, black waves rumbled and rose up from the ground.

"Uwahhh-!!"

A thunderous cry filled with Mana exploded from Jin-Woo and it proceeded to knock down all the monsters standing in the frontline of the battlefield.

Their eardrums must've blown up because blood was trickling down from their ears; as the creatures gruntled out in pain and failed to orient themselves properly….

….Shadow Soldiers pounced on them without mercy.

Screams of monsters reverberating from all corners completely filled up the battlefield.

And so, just how much time went by in this manner?

Jin-Woo finally detected the approach of existences quite different from the forces of the Chaos World that he'd been fighting so far.

He raised his head to spot hundreds of Sky Dragons, as well as Dragonewts possessing humanoid appearances riding on top of them, completely blanket the sky above.

'Is the Army of Destruction finally making its move?'

However, he still couldn't sense the presence of the Dragon Emperor yet.

Not yet, huh?

There was no need to be disappointed, though – because, he had plenty of time on his hands, after all. Besides, if that b*stard was reluctant to make a move, then all he had to do was to give it a good enough reason.

Kiiihak!

The Dragonewt flying at the front of the pack let out a loud shriek which in turn made every single Sky Dragon change their heading and rush towards Jin-Woo's location.

At that moment, determination filled up his eyes.

The reason for the Dragon Emperor to make a move? He'd create that through his overwhelming power that these measly underlings were incapable of dealing with.

Jin-Woo reached out with both of his hands towards the Sky Dragons descending towards him.

'Ruler's Authority!!'

As if to squeeze dry the heavens itself, he strengthened his grip and dragged 'something' that eyes could not see. Mana in the atmosphere answered the will of the Shadow Sovereign next.

Without a single exception, hundreds of Sky Dragons buzzing towards him like a swarm of bees were caught by the invisible hands and were slammed down to the ground.

KWA-GAH-GAH-GAH-GAH-GAHNG!!!

It was a spectacular sight to behold.

The earth rocked violently from the Sky Dragons seemingly endlessly crash landing to their deaths.

What a truly absurd level of power this was. Even Jin-Woo himself got stunned by this display of the Shadow Sovereign's power that was no longer restricted by anything.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to stew in his surprise for long.

A Dragon that was previously hidden from his view by the swarm of Sky Dragons revealed itself. And he witnessed a cluster of energy gathering in the flying creature's jaw.

'….!!'

Sure enough, the horrifying Breath of a Dragon made up purely of flames fell from the sky.

Kuwaaaaaaaah-!!

Having accurately fired the Breath attack on the target, this Dragon then increased its altitude.

The enemy's presence couldn't be detected. Could the human have been melted away by its Breath, then? Thinking that it had reached a safe-enough altitude, the Dragon stopped flying up and looked down at the ground to confirm the fate of the Shadow Sovereign.

The raging flames died down, and the black smoke dissipated, but…

….But, not a trace of the Shadow Sovereign could be seen anywhere.

'Where is he…??'

It was then.

A presence could be felt on top of the Dragon's head. A chill-inducing sensation brushed past the back of this creature's neck, but by then, it was already too late.

– You b*stard!!

Even before the Dragon could look up, Jin-Woo standing on its head stabbed down with 'Kamish's Wrath'.

Kwa-jeehck!!

Sharp black aura shooting out from the tip of the shortsword penetrated clean through the Dragon's head and exited from underneath its chin.

Rather obviously, the dead flying lizard lost its ability to stay airborne and helplessly fell towards the earth.

The ground rapidly closed in, and eventually, collided with the Dragon.

BOOM-!!

Jin-Woo lightly jumped off from the head of the unmoving, sagging Dragon and while walking towards the approaching enemies, spoke without even bothering to look behind him.

"Rise up."

Just like that, the Dragon and hundreds of Dragonewts began rising up again right behind him.

***

The Dragon Emperor also felt it.

Its own army shouldn't even be compared to the ragtag bunch calling themselves soldiers that belonged to other Sovereigns. But now, a portion of its proud army had been lost to the Shadow Sovereign.

With that, the situation was now beyond the point of wait-and-see in regards to whatever schemes the b*stard had cooked up. The event of the Army of Destruction being swallowed up by the Shadow Sovereign must be prevented at any cost.

[We shall strike him down.]

The Dragon Emperor issued a new order to the Ancient-class Dragons waiting for their chance to participate in the war.

[All of you shall accompany me.]

And just in case, it issued a different command to the Sovereign of Transfiguration.

[You shall remain here and prepare for the possible surprise attack by the Shadow Sovereign.]

[It shall be done.]

Hundreds of Gates connected to the battlefield in the east suddenly materialised in front of the Dragon Emperor and the Ancient-class Dragons.

'I shall not let you escape.'

With that thought in its head, the Dragon Emperor and its eyes burning in the flames of rage disappeared into the Gate. Right behind it, the Ancient-class Dragons also entered their respective Gates.

Finally, the Army of Destruction, shrinking back and not doing anything until now, was forced to make their move after the Shadow Sovereign successfully managed to provoke them.

***

Quite unlike in the east where the violent storms of power were on a collision course, a comparatively quieter battle was coming to an end on the opposite side, on the western front.

The American military that had set up their final defensive line here was tragically being torn apart by the fangs and claws of the monsters.

What these soldiers had bet their last hopes on were the weapons used by the Hunters. Unfortunately, there was simply no way that these regular people could effectively use the Hunter-issue weapons that were originally designed for raid situations.

And so, the American military rapidly crumbled away in defeat.

"Uwaaahk! Uwaahk?!"

The role of the marauding army's spearhead for the western front was also given to the insect-type monsters that possessed great agility and sharp senses.

Shashashashak…

The insect monsters quickly closed in on the human soldiers.

Blam, blam, blam, blam, blam!!

These creatures completely ignored the barrage of bullets and pounced on the humans to tear them apart.

"Uwaahk!!"

The survivors retreated and continued to fire away with their guns, but as expected, their actions were completely ineffective. However, it was even more unimaginable that they would suddenly start swinging swords around to fight these insect monsters now.

While they found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place…

Kiieek.

The insects, having finished their feast on the human soldiers, swivelled their heads towards the next wave of prey. It was now the turn of the survivors.

The platoon commander's expression hardened as he took a look at his soldiers to the side. They were nodding their heads back to him.

From the moment they learned that this mission was simply a ploy to buy enough time for the civilians to evacuate, they all had prepared themselves for this moment.

The platoon commander pulled out a hand grenade. This little modern-day explosive might not be able to kill these enemies, but on the flip side, they couldn't avoid becoming food for their enemies, either.

The platoon commander yanked out the safety pin.

The insect-type monsters sensed that the atmosphere had turned weird from the human's action and while screeching out loudly, they madly pounced on the platoon commander.

Kiiiiaaaahhkk-!!

His eyes grew wider as he watched the insects swarm towards him. It truly happened in the blink of an eye.

These insects arrived right before his nose in less than a breath. Just before their sharp mandibles split open wide to swallow him up…

….A certain figure stepped before the platoon commander faster than any of the insects could and took the hand grenade away, while blocking the attacks of the monsters with his bare back.

The commander could only look up in a total daze at the man blocking his view, who was also at least a good two heads taller than he was.

"T-Thomas Andre???"

Thomas winked and spun around towards the insects before shoving the grenade into the open mouth of one of them.

Although there wouldn't be any tangible damage suffered by the d*mn thing from the grenade, but, it still should get really surprised by a strange object suddenly entering its gut like that.

The corners of his lips arched up as a rather humorous situation played out in his head. Meanwhile, he swung his massive fist and easily blew away the head of that insect.

Kwa-boooom!!

The dead headless insect flew away and landed far away.

"Oops…. That thing's not gonna get surprised now, is it?"

As Thomas stood there scratching the back of his head, top-ranked Hunters urgently rushing forward from somewhere behind him began their desperate struggle against the insect-type monsters.

Kiiieeehk!

Kiiaaahk!

Painful screeches of dying insects noisily rang around. The surviving soldiers quickly recognised who these people coming to their aid were and bright expressions filled up their faces.

"I-it's the Scavenger!!"

"They're Hunters from the Scavenger Guild!"

"Ah, ahh!! Thank you, Lord!"

As befitting a Guild consisting of truly exceptional Hunters, the current situation was resolved in no time at all. However, they didn't have any breathing room whatsoever as yet another wave of monsters was madly rushing towards them.

Thomas Andre's ultra-sharp glare swept across the incoming enemies.

Orcs, Ogres, Trolls, Minotaurs, Cyclops, etc….

All of them were monsters commonly seen inside dungeons. No matter how many of them were here, they didn't pose any challenge to him.

'Except….'

In the middle of this sea of weaklings, there hid a nonsensically powerful being. Just like how other monsters were scared by Thomas's presence, he too couldn't make a move because of that one presence.

Eventually, this creature slowly walked to the front of the horde, as if it was done observing the situation.

[You're the human from that time, aren't you? The weakling vessel of the Rulers, almost driven to death by the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs.]

The King of Monstrous Humanoids formed a sinister grin.

The Sovereign of Beastly Fangs did indeed possess powers of a predator, but basically, it was more specialised towards hunting down its prey, instead. However, this particular King was different from its now-dead comrade in that it ruled over Monstrous Humanoids such as Orcs and Ogres, and its speciality was in up-close-and-personal physical confrontations.

So, it was quite obvious that it'd find this human acting so flippant when he had only a pathetic little bit of strength to fall back on rather humorous to behold.

The King of Monstrous Humanoids, the Sovereign of Iron Body, began unleashing its enormous Mana reserve.

Pressuring the opponent's fighting spirit through aura alone. This was a display of confidence from the Sovereign, implying that it could easily kill off a measly human like Thomas Andre in a heartbeat.

But then….

[….?]

In stark contrast to the Hunters behind him with their rapidly-paling complexions, the vessel of the Rulers didn't seem to lose his relaxed demeanour at all.

The Sovereign began to wonder if this human had some sort of a scheme, a trick up his sleeve, but then…

"…..So, this much should be enough, right?"

….Thomas Andre muttered to himself.

When he did, the darkness suddenly spread out from beneath his feet and in the blink of an eye, completely covered up the land.

The Sovereign's brow quivered greatly.

'Shadow….?'

This was, without a doubt, the skill belonging to the Shadow Sovereign.

The odd thing was, though, if he was here, then there was no way that the King of Monstrous Humanoids would have missed the source of that enormous power.

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rose up from right behind Thomas Andre.

[It's been a long time, oh, King of Monstrous Humanoids.]

The Grand-Marshal Bellion sent his greeting in a polite yet still threatening tone of voice. And right behind him, over 130 thousand Shadow Soldiers, hiding within Thomas Andre's shadow while patiently biding their time, were rising up above the ground at the same time.