Chapter 145
Chapter 145
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: The Vote of the Strong
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Biro the Grassland Wolf leaped vigorously all the way up to the Doom Giant's face.
[Acceleration skill 'Prairie Wind (A+)' activated!]
[Slicing skill 'Knee Timber Slash (S)' activated!]
The elegant blade sliced through the Doom Giant's green eye, dodging the flames it spewed.
Kraaaack!
"Now slice its ankle and knock it down! It's over!"
"OK!"
As the burly man's axe embedded into the Doom Giant's heel, the taut Achilles tendon snapped, sending the demon crashing backward.
Having barely overcome the crisis, Biro wiped his dripping sweat and fumed.
"Huff, huff! Where the hell is Ju Gonghyeok? What the fuck is he doing, nowhere in sight?"
"I saw him over there earlier!"
The burly man pointed to one side while vigorously chopping at the Doom Giant with his axe.
There, Ju Gonghyeok was tending to a fallen hunter alongside two others.
"Urk, thank you."
"No big deal."
He pressed clotting flowers and flesh mending flowers onto the blood bubbling from the man's gut.
Blood vessels and muscle tissue reconnected as chunks of flesh wriggled over the raw, red cross-section.
[Angel Quest: Help Your Neighbor. 8/10 completed.]
Brushing away the floating message window, he spotted a hunter tangled with a drake.
Kieeeek!
"Argh! It bit me! It's dragging me up!"
The hunter, thrashing as the drake clamped onto his left side, spotted Ju Gonghyeok approaching slowly.
"Fuck off."
Crunch—
Ju Gonghyeok's hand blade tore through the drake's throat like it was butter.
Gurgle... hack.
Severing the esophagus and snapping the spine outright, bloody foam spilled from the drake's maw.
For the finishing touch, he casually ripped off its head, leaving the grotesque sight of a drake's head still attached to a human body.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes! Yes! The armor and its durability are solid—no teeth got through."
[Angel Quest: Help Your Neighbor. 9/10 completed.]
"Keep at it, then."
Ju Gonghyeok turned and waved over his shoulder.
There were still plenty of monsters left—and hunters in peril.
Time passed, the first stage trial ended, and Ju Gonghyeok could be seen receiving his reward from the angel.
The hunter who'd been bitten by the drake, 'Rodric Diaw,' thought to himself.
'He's progressing an angel quest by doing shit like that... so the opposite should work too, right?'
He was the leader of a devil contractor group.
Lilianne addressed the 50 survivors just as before.
"Congratulations on passing stage one, everyone. Lucky you—all of you made it. Now, on to the next stage."
The 50 groups in the audience seats merged into 5 groups.
"Ten teams have now become five. Among the leaders, choose the strongest ones. We only need five."
The remaining leaders eyed each other warily before the five strongest hunters stepped forward as the final representatives.
[Strongest Vote: Stage 2.]
- The five representatives enter a new trial.
- All 500 participants vote for one of the five candidates.
- Top vote-getters 1st and 2nd receive stat enhancements.
- Bottom vote-getters 4th and 5th receive stat weakening.
- If a voted-for candidate dies, all who voted for them die as well.
- However, voters for the 3rd-place candidate are exempt even if they die.
"What the hell? Why's 3rd place get a pass like that?"
"Maybe 'cause it's mid-tier."
"Oh dear, Lilianne forgot to mention it."
Lilianne giggled and added a line to the end of the message window.
- The 3rd-place candidate dies instantly.
"Instant death?"
The hunters' faces paled as if they'd seen it coming, while Lilianne beamed.
"Yes, exactly. No questions asked—they drop dead on the spot."
"Isn't that pure luck?"
Lilianne tilted her head.
"Is it, though? Could be luck... or strategy. Depends on how you look at it."
'Luck... or strategy?'
The crowd sized up the five representatives.
The rising savior, Company’s Ju Gonghyeok.
The swift swordsman, Grassland Wolf Biro.
Halloween survivor, armored Rodric.
Legion’s gatekeeper, Crusher Cloze.
Illibatus representative, A-19.
"Hmm, if we're voting, gotta be Ju Gonghyeok."
Someone cautiously broached the topic, glancing around.
Among the five, Ju Gonghyeok was by far the most renowned.
Not only had he repelled the Death King, but his feat of subduing the transcendent monster Deserter was beyond doubt.
"Back on Earth, the UN ranked Ilya first and Christina second among hunters."
"Ilya's holed up in Russia, and Christina was the symbol of hunters worldwide..."
In Christina's stead—the former focal point for hunters since Earth days—Ju Gonghyeok had emerged as Babel's new supernova.
For self-preservation, voting him to 1st place was the safe bet to ensure no death.
But they eyed the other representatives.
"We can't not vote for our own leader, right? What if they end up 3rd..."
"3rd's not the only problem. Dropping to 4th or 5th means stat debuffs that could get you killed."
Murmurs rose as the leaders did the math.
'If all my guys vote for me, that's 70 votes? Barely?'
'How many votes is Ju Gonghyeok pulling? This ain't good.'
'How big's that other rep's crew? Better count.'
At that moment, the wall dividing the trial arena from the audience vanished.
Celestial Knight Randarma jerked his chin, signaling them to return.
"You get time to discuss before voting. Go on."
A path opened back to the audience, but the five reps moved unhurriedly, their steps heavy.
Scrambling desperately for their lives would erode their subordinates' trust.
No hunter here would entrust their fate to someone who clearly lacked margin for error.
"You all know the drill—vote for me, no exceptions."
"Of course."
"Who else would we vote for but the boss?"
Cloze menaced his men with bulging eyes, axe in hand, and they nodded vigorously.
Classic vote-rallying.
Cloze didn't stop at his own crew—he canvassed other hunter groups too.
"Listen up! I'm Cloze, gatekeeper of the unique city 'Legion'! This mission? Piece of cake for me! Vote for me, and I'll reward you after—coins and all!"
As other hunters nodded along to Cloze's fervent pitch, Biro of Wolf Fortress calmly tallied headcounts.
'Wolf Fortress has 54. Illibatus looks biggest—150? 200?'
Having checked each faction's numbers, Biro realized.
"This is all wrong."
Ju Gonghyeok smoked in a corner of the audience.
Flatterers swarmed him.
"We'll definitely vote for you, Mr. Ju Gonghyeok!"
"The other reps are just fillers, right? With you alone, this mission's a breeze."
Ju Gonghyeok ignored the noisy hunters, his eyes on the desperate-looking Biro.
"You've had it rough too."
"Yeah, yeah. The gap between you and the other reps is just..."
Ju Gonghyeok's mutter drowned in the bootlicking.
Two hours later, Randarma roared.
"Voting time! Representatives, to the arena!"
Cloze glared one last time, Biro gave his men a single word, then both descended silently.
Lilianne pulled out her mic as the five lined up.
"Alright! Welcome to the grand voting arena! Before votes, let's hear from each rep! First up, Legion's Cloze!"
Cloze shuffled awkwardly to the mic.
"Uh, vote for me, and I swear I won't die. I took down that Doom Giant earlier... so yeah, I'm strong. And if you vote me, coins later..."
"Yes, next!"
Lilianne cut him off casually and passed the mic.
"Yes, from Illibatus, Kim Jung-seok! Let's hear that bold ambition!"
Despite her high energy, he remained stone-faced.
"It's not Kim Jung-seok—it's 'A-19.'"
"Oh, no names anymore? Speaking of, a year ago your lord Animus met a tragic end. How's the city faring these days?"
"......Nothing's happened. We follow Lord Animus's will."
"Yes, a solemn vow to uphold the deceased's legacy. Noted! Now, the most important interview!"
Lilianne grinned widely at the audience and swung the mic toward him.
"The latecomer to Babel in the 7th Great Summoning, now hailed as humanity's strongest—Ju Gonghyeok! One word into the mic, please!"
Lilianne hyped him up, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Gonghyeok grabbed her mic-holding hand.
"Eek, wait, not here like th—"
"Yeah."
He yanked her hand down while cocking his fist from below.
Pow!
"Gehurk!"