Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Operation Start
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“Could you step aside?”
Choi Ki-cheol’s voice was low and firm. But Hwang Min-hyuk merely shrugged in response instead of answering.
“Can’t do that.”
He readjusted his grip on the spear in his hand.
“It’s not every day you get a chance to fight another S-rank.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than explosive mana erupted from Hwang Min-hyuk’s body.
Kwaaaa!
The air trembled, and fragments of marble flooring lifted into the air. An suffocating pressure. The auras of five S-ranks clashed head-on, making the entire plaza feel like it was crumpling.
A tense standoff on the verge of eruption.
At that moment, Yoon Hyun, who had been standing at the rear, quietly stepped forward.
“Four against one does look a bit unsightly.”
His voice remained calm, but the power within it was no less than Hwang Min-hyuk’s.
“Lee Seol.”
At the signal, the Mage Tower Lord Lee Seol, standing beside Choi Ki-cheol, raised her staff into the air.
Whoooong!
The mana of the two S-rank mages resonated, creating a massive wave. In an instant, a enormous translucent barrier enveloped the area in the form of a dome.
“Let’s finish what we couldn’t back then.”
As soon as the barrier was complete, Yoon Hyun lightly swung his staff toward Hwang Min-hyuk.
Space Distortion.
“……!”
Hwang Min-hyuk reflexively thrust his spear to tear through the warping space, but he was a beat too late.
Paat!
With a flash of light, Yoon Hyun and Hwang Min-hyuk vanished completely from the plaza.
Choi Ki-cheol, left behind in the plaza, gave a brief glance to Kim Hye-seong and Lee Seol.
“We’re going after Cheon Hyuk-jin.”
Just as they prepared to leap toward the top floor, Lee Seol smiled and spoke up.
“Hold on a moment. Since we’ve put up the barrier…”
She raised her staff high into the sky once more. Massive mana surged, and a complex, enormous magic circle appeared around the top floor of White Tiger headquarters. The target was clear: the guild master’s office.
Lee Seol lightly slammed her staff down.
And then.
Kwaaaaaang—!!
“...You don’t hold back, sis.”
A tremendous explosion followed, and the upper portion of the towering skyscraper that pierced the heavens evaporated entirely.
“Breach!”
The top-floor explosion served as the signal flare. The mana-reinforced building withstood the impact with ease, but the internal air heated up in an instant.
“Waaaaah!”
As the Union’s hunters pushed into the lobby, they clashed head-on with White Tiger’s hunters guarding the entrance.
But the fierce battle they anticipated didn’t unfold.
“Push forward!”
The Union hunters, buffed by potions, advanced like a tidal wave. Strength, agility, resistance— they overwhelmed White Tiger’s regular hunters in every aspect.
In contrast, White Tiger’s hunters were visibly demoralized.
“Damn it! Four S-ranks showed up!”
“The top floor… What happened to the guild master?!”
Cracks were already forming within their ranks. Faced with the overwhelming difference in power, they lost the will to fight. There was no reason to risk their lives for a cause without justification.
“D-don’t resist! Drop your weapons!”
“We surrender!”
Surrenders poured in from all sides as weapons were discarded. It was less a battle and more a one-sided suppression. The Union hunters seized half the lobby in moments.
However.
“How dare you slither in here!”
At the center, those blocking the way were different. White Tiger’s core elite forces. And the healers affiliated with the Healers’ Union.
There was no hesitation in their eyes.
“You dare invade White Tiger’s domain? Do you even know where you are?!”
The lead A-rank hunter roared.
“The safety you lowly scum enjoy— who do you think it’s thanks to?! We Awakeners can’t bow to worms like you!”
A faint golden haze rose from their bodies.
“Kill them all!”
The elite forces charged at the Union hunters. Their movements were on a completely different level from the opponents they had faced before.
“……!”
The tide evened out in an instant. They charged relentlessly without tiring, brimming with noticeable vitality.
“Urk!”
The biggest issue was their combat endurance.
“Don’t let your guard down! Something’s off!”
Choi Yuna shouted. Her sword precisely sliced an enemy’s vital point. It was a fatal wound by any measure.
Yet.
A thread-like golden light clung to the gaping wound, slowly beginning to heal. It wasn’t immediate regeneration, but something was definitely different.
“Gr… ah…!”
If they endured just once, it created an opening for the healers’ mana to flow in.
“These bastards…!”
The Union hunters began to falter at the sight of enemies rising again despite fatal injuries, reforming their lines.
“Damn it! Why won’t they go down?!”
The Union’s advance halted amid the healers’ recovery and the enemies’ frenzied resistance.
The front line held only thanks to ACD’s presence and the potions. Those who had consumed the pure buff potions subdued the rampaging White Tiger hunters one by one.
“12 o’clock! Disrupt!”
As a White Tiger mage prepared to launch a massive fireball, an ACD agent extended his hand.
Passs…
An invisible veil from his fingertips twisted the mana flow. The fireball lost form and scattered harmlessly into the air.
“Wh-what?!”
A White Tiger hunter with a massive shield blocked the flustered mage.
“Out of the way!”
Kwon Tae-ho charged in. Instead of a fist, he thrust his palm concisely toward the shield.
Thung!
With a dull thud, the hunter beyond the shield vomited blood and tumbled backward. The impact pierced straight through the shield, shaking him from within.
The now-exposed mage was swiftly subdued.
“Next!”
Similar scenes unfolded across the battlefield.
Amid the fierce combat, Choi Yuna focused on the unnatural energy emanating from the White Tiger forces. She spotted something small fall from the pocket of the enemy Kwon Tae-ho had just neutralized.
“...What’s this?”
It was a wooden fragment emitting a subtle golden glow.
Gate interior command post.
I watched Yuna’s body cam feed on the large monitor, holding my breath.
It had started off looking like an easy win, but new enemies appeared, shifting the situation.
“...Something’s weird.”
I furrowed my brow. Several times, enemies who had collapsed without healers’ mana reached them rose again.
Then, Yuna on the screen thrust some wooden fragment in front of the camera.
- Hey. You watching? These guys had these on them. Feels like fighting trolls more than people right now… Any idea what it is?
Yuna’s urgent voice came through the comms.
The golden wooden piece on screen. Unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar. Where had I seen it?
“...Ah.”
As I racked my memory, my eyes widened.
Elixir main ingredient list. It matched the image at the top exactly.
‘Sun Branch…?’
Why is this here? I immediately pulled up the Alchemy Gallery and searched for Sun Branch.
Title: Let's Learn About the Sun Branch. Araboja
Author: I've Lost It All
1. What is the Sun Branch?
The Sun Branch is basically a mass of pure life force.
Think of it as a literal branch of the living sun— just holding it boosts regeneration and invigorates the body.
But the problem is, keeping it on you constantly puts your mind in an overly heightened state.
In simple terms, it's like being a bit high, so not recommended for personal use.
2. Before Handling
The Sun Branch is structured so its power flows from root to body to fragments in sequence.
It must be planted in the earth to exert full power. Fragments detached from the body draw life force proportional to their size from the main body.
Thus, the moment the main body is uprooted, all surrounding fragments lose power instantly.
So how do you use it as material?... ==
I shouted into the comms urgently.
“The main body is separate! Like a tree! It has to be planted in the ground for effect, so uproot it…”
- Main body? Tree? Then… there should be a place where it’s planted…
Her gaze, scanning the surroundings, locked onto the stairs leading underground.
Meanwhile, above White Tiger headquarters.
Lee Seol’s spell had completely demolished the top floor. Thick dust and smoke filled the barrier.
Choi Ki-cheol, Kim Hye-seong, and Lee Seol prepared their next move. Their opponent was S-rank. It wouldn’t end this easily.
Whoooosh—!
Powerful mana burst forth, clearing the dust and smoke in one go.
And at its center, a man slowly revealed himself.
White Tiger Guild’s leader, Cheon Hyuk-jin.
He stood unscathed, a golden haze rising from his body.
Cheon Hyuk-jin hovered in the air, looking down at them with a stern expression.
“Quite a rough welcome.”
His gaze fixed on Choi Ki-cheol.
“Must we Awakened shed blood against each other? We don’t need to fight for those lowly scum.”
Choi Ki-cheol responded coldly, as if it wasn’t worth replying.
“If you’ve done wrong, you should face punishment.”
He and Kim Hye-seong simultaneously drew glass vials from their pockets.
Disruptor.
Without hesitation, they coated their swords with the dark red liquid.
Chiiiik—
The inky liquid seeped into the weapons, emitting ominous black smoke. At the same time, Lee Seol began casting high-tier magic once more, readying for battle.
Cheon Hyuk-jin’s face twisted.