Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Strategic Compromise
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Thirty minutes later.
Having sorted out their opinions and thoughts, both sides gathered in the conference room once more.
This time, it was Yoo Seongwon who spoke first.
Now that he'd organized his thoughts, he wanted to quickly convey his stance to them and wrap up this tiresome discussion.
"For starters, I agree with hitting the Blue Dragon Guild, but the title of Korea's top Hunter doesn't really appeal to me."
"Then do you have some other plan in mind? ...After we drive out or bring down the Blue Dragon Guild, someone has to take that spot. The military, police, and association alone can't manage the power struggles among the proliferating Hunter guilds. It's a throne that someone absolutely has to sit on."
"...Then have Olympus take it. I'm the type who breaks out in hives just thinking about sitting in a position like that, and besides, I don't have the qualifications. I only awakened by some random stroke of luck—deep down, I'm just a nobody without roots, no college degree, and lacking in knowledge and wisdom."
"But even so, for us outsiders to take control of Korea without a single member from here..."
"Then just prop up some puppet guild with a decent figurehead. Once Blue Dragon's gone and we don't lift a finger, won't the one Olympus backs end up as Korea's top guild?"
Olympus had more than enough capability to pull that off, and there were tons of people who'd jump at the chance to be installed as a puppet guild master.
But Tritonias countered Yoo Seongwon's words with a troubled expression.
"We can't just put anyone in as a puppet. They need at least S-rank Hunter status for any symbolic value."
"...Anyway, I'm not planning to waste my life cleaning up the trash heap. Just smash the Blue Dragon kids, then polish up and use whoever's left."
"Urgh... Fine. We agree on taking out the Blue Dragon Guild, so let's handle that first together. We'll figure out the rest later."
At least they were on the same page about dealing with Blue Dragon Guild, so they could proceed jointly.
The issue was how exactly to handle it.
That was the key point of discussion when Tritonias took the lead.
"You know this, but we absolutely cannot handle it like New Gangnam this time."
"Got it."
"You're okay with that? There's precedent from before. I'd like to assign a monitor..."
"That's not a pleasant suggestion. Yeah, I caused trouble back then, but I was acting alone, so I went all out. I'm not doing that now. Or rather, I can't."
The New Gangnam incident.
The event where he'd toppled the Seoul Guild and shattered New Gangnam's barrier still had massive repercussions—Yoo Seongwon was still viewed with suspicion or even called a demon by some.
The only reason it didn't show was because he avoided populated areas or because he wielded off-the-charts SS-rank Hunter power.
"Then I'm relieved, but have you checked the internet for what people say about your reputation?"
"Why would I look at that? It just boils my blood. And honestly, New Gangnam was their own damn fault."
"Yes. That's why it's somewhat tolerated."
Among New Gangnam's elite, the revelation that some kept humans like livestock for twisted torture hobbies had been publicized, softening the backlash a bit.
Once hailed as Korea's safest zone, it was now routinely attacked by Constellation Mountain Ghost faction forces, and with barrier repairs still unfinished, its reputation was plummeting.
"The fallout left about 50,000 unemployed, over 40 related companies reeling, and frequent battles due to the broken barrier have even hurt the working-class folks in New Gangnam. You know this better than anyone, sir. Please, handle it carefully."
"Don't worry. If I see any signs, I'll contact you right away."
"...Sir, whose side are you on? Anyway, let's smash them properly. No holding back on intel, okay?"
"You do the same. I think that's enough for now."
They settled on a suitable compromise, finalized the communication channels for future sharing and regular check-ins, exchanged a few documents, and the meeting concluded.
Tritonias and Diomedia packed up and left with their entourage, while Yoo Seongwon, finally freed, handed off remaining tasks to Elder Baek Ga-yeon and rose from his seat.
"Urgh... Diomedia, sorry. That guy's got zero trust in people—he won't let you anywhere near. And honestly, you liking someone like that makes you a weirdo too."
"Nah. It can't be helped. And maybe dropping it now is the smart move."
"Ah! Meeting's over. Freedom! Time to go wash up and watch 'Super Roots! Ladies' Clash! Master Muscle vs. Catty Daemon Princess: The Final Showdown!'"
"What's so great about those bizarre muscular women?"
"Variety shows are for laughs, not because I like them, sis. Ayoung, you laughed when you watched it before too."
"I laughed because it was ridiculous! Why's 3 vs. 500 such a big deal?"
Glancing back, she saw Yoo Seongwon and the Shin Somi crew chattering like one big family.
Seeing no room to insert herself, Diomedia felt relieved she'd backed off before getting in deeper.
She decided to focus solely on finding a way to deal with Blue Dragon Guild as she left with Tritonias.
***
A few days later.
Hunter Association Headquarters, Republic of Korea.
After the previous operation's failure, General Jo Pil-seong had been ousted, and the military was reorganized.
They'd tried to bury the 30,000 soldier deaths under other news, but furious bereaved families made that impossible, leading to endless compensation, veteran honors, and headaches galore.
"We're seriously going to drain the national treasury at this rate. And it's not just us at the Ministry of Economy and Finance—every day without fail, the National Tax Service, Customs Service, Procurement Service, and Statistics Agency are screaming bloody murder. '100 trillion isn't some dog's name!' they say."
"Then tell them to think about the national credit rating tanking without Hunters."
"Anyway, with things this way, we need to hound that Yoo Seongwon Hunter—no, 'knight' since he fancies himself one—to spend some money. But he's ignoring every email we send. What the hell did he take the money for then...? If he'd do something, anything, the situation might improve even a little..."
30 trillion was an astronomical figure, one that rarely hit the news outside national-scale projects.
Paying it in core resources like magistones and foreign currency made it even worse—they desperately needed him to reinvest or spend it in-country to avoid derailing next year's budget and planned projects, but he wasn't engaging at all. It was maddening.
"We're the same, Minister. The association and various businesses have sent meeting requests and proposals, all stonewalled. I checked with Elder Baek Ga-yeon... and that idiot doesn't even know how to spend money. Classic nouveau riche thinking."
"...Then why'd he demand 100 trillion in the first place? That bastard!"
"He figured if he pushed that hard, they wouldn't give him work."
"No roots, no education—just some uneducated punk who got lucky with awakening..."
The minister and association execs had clawed their way up through cutthroat politics despite not awakening, only to be jerked around by some high-school dropout bottom-feeder. It twisted their guts.
But what could they do? That dropout was an SS-rank Hunter, and without the 100 trillion payoff, Korea's fate would've been up in flames.
"Anyway, with no way to beat him, we need smooth relations, right? Where are the records from the association protection facility that made him this way?"
"We've looked, but they're all gone. We're tracking down involved parties, but the ones who know are dead, abroad, or clamming up."
"Not even what happened there? There must've been more than one survivor!"
"We've pieced some together from testimonies, though reliability's iffy. But it was worse than we thought—extremely serious."
Originally, association protection facilities were for sheltering and educating kids orphaned by monsters or scavengers, and rehabilitating injured Hunters and soldiers.
But amid national chaos, someone in charge hijacked it for personal gain, embezzling funds and supplies.
Rehab was performative for a few; most were killed, their bodies sold to research or Slaughter King scavengers for cash—every evil imaginable.
"It's chilling... Even Nazi camps for Jews weren't this bad. Enslaving kids mercilessly..."
Testimonies included no real education—just fake high-school diplomas, treated like slave labor, and for girls, even forced prostitution.
How this hellhole evaded exposure for so long was a mystery—a true den of demons.
"...Grew up in that hell, no wonder he has zero patriotism or trust in the state. Sigh~"
"But military records show he served normally..."
"After all the corruption, abuses, even grinding E- and F-rank dungeons, and still doing the military service no one wants? That'd kill any sense of duty."
"Isn't that too harsh? If the facility had run properly, he wouldn't be like this."
"I was a newbie association staffer then! No records left anyway! Why blame me? If anything, the pre-awakening military—same as always, no, worse—messed him up more!"
With no resolution, blame-shifting was inevitable.
No one was truly accountable, but survival to their positions required dodging responsibility, so neither wanted to admit creating the Yoo Seongwon monster.
Just as tempers were about to erupt and they'd both stand, Go Cheonsu of Blue Dragon Guild interjected.
"That's enough, both of you. Yes, we suffered a huge failure and losses this time, but for Korea as a whole, it's not a bad outcome. Five archdemons that kept provoking us are down, and the rest fled to core dungeons. Now threats are just A-rank and below monsters, dungeons, and scavengers."
"But the current situation... Haaaah~"
"We know. And though it was for the op, I shared command with Commander Jo Pil-seong, so I bear responsibility too. I'll donate all our guild profits from this subjugation to the government."
"Oh... As expected of Guild Master Go Cheonsu."
Association and government officials teared up at Blue Dragon Guild's donation news.
Of course, it was calculated: counter the bad press from retreating and leave behind soldiers, and use them as a shield against potential Yoo Seongwon moves.
Painful as it was to donate massive prior subjugation profits, buttering them up meant long-term gains, no losses.
'For contingencies, I sent individual boxes to top execs, lawmakers, chaebols, judiciary, judges, etc., plus consolation money and magistone gear to subordinate guilds and affiliated scavengers.'
Generosity wins survival.
Useless as they seemed, invest without stint—favor returns.
Especially against unbeatable foes, grow allies relentlessly.
"As expected, only Guild Master Go Cheonsu thinks of the nation."
"Right. Worlds apart from that rogue. Haha!"
"I'm just sorry we couldn't do better. If only I were stronger..."
In the warm atmosphere, they exchanged compliments, strengthening ties.
The ideal cartel of government, association, and guilds: covering mistakes, dumping bad, sharing good and interests, excluding irregulars.
"Anyway, we can't beat that insolent punk yet, so swallow the humiliation and hang in there..."
"W-We have a huge problem!"
Bang!
A frantic association staffer burst in with a loud crash.
Interrupting the good mood, the exec glared and raised his voice.
"What? This is an important meeting—bursting in like that! Mind the time and place!"
"I-It's! Yoo Seongwon's caused another massive incident. On an internet broadcast right now...! Here's the link... Hurry!"
At Yoo Seongwon's name, the exec, Go Cheonsu, and minister tensed. His direct action never meant good news.
They steadied themselves as the staffer pulled up the internet broadcast link.
And there, shocking news was unfolding.