Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Plunder in Vladivostok
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Russia, Vladivostok.
While Yoo Seongwon and the Blue Dragon Guild were cracking down on internal issues amid a long-awaited peace, Pastor Lee—who had ascended as an Archdemon Beast—and his band of Scavengers had headed north, throwing themselves into plunder.
Their main targets were universities stocked with advanced machinery for building human factories and materials for biological research, companies with labs, and ships or facilities at the port.
[Muuum, I still lack direct subordinates, so for now I've summoned mostly "Dragon Tribe Butchers" and "Giant Butchers."]
"Kyah, who knew it could feel this good to deal with someone who actually listens? Plus, we have to pay mana or whatever to summon demons, but you can call them for free now, right?"
[Of course. After all, I'm the apostle of that one.]
"That's the stuff, that's the stuff. Puhahaha! The screams of humans and their groans of agony! Music to my ears."
"Aaaah! Kyaaah!"
In the harbor where flames raged, familiar Slaughter King demons roamed, devouring humans, while hunter units were thoroughly crushed by upper-class demons like "Giant Butchers" and "Dragon Tribe Butchers," along with the Scavengers.
"S-Spare me!"
"I don't wanna die... Graaah!"
"Pom... Aaaah!"
Of course, the hunter units and regular army formed by the Russian Federation didn't just sit idly by—they fought back. They were effective against monsters, but as expected, the Russian hunter units were weak against Scavengers and were getting massacred one-sidedly.
"Debile……!"
"We don't understand your yapping~! It all sounds like gibberish to us. Sorry! Sorry! Puhahaha!"
This was exactly why hunters and governments tried to keep monsters outside the barriers as much as possible.
If monsters rampaged through the city, property damage and infrastructure destruction were inevitable, and the dirtiest part was that for the Slaughter King Scavengers—rumored as "human hunters"—downtown areas made for prime hunting grounds.
"Guh!"
"That's twelve hundred and twenty-four. Too easy—it's no fun."
The Scavenger Gwak Wonho exemplified the classic Slaughter King hunting style, methodically taking down the Russian hunter unit.
His main weapons were a custom crossbow that auto-reloaded, booby traps, and wire blade traps, allowing him to kill silently. To the Russian hunters, he was an object of terror.
Though a crossbow, its range matched a sniper rifle's, with ample lethality. The horror of the various traps and wire blades hidden in hard-to-see urban spots was enough for one man to cower a thousand.
"Gaaah!"
"Georgi! Damn it! Hit again! This cursed wire! Why doesn't magic or detection pick it up... Guh!"
"...Because it's not a magic tool or made of metal."
Muttering an answer no one would hear toward the flustered Russian troops, Gwak Wonho shot his crossbow to sweep away the remaining soldiers, stored their corpses in his inventory, and moved on to the next prey.
"Great General! Great Leader! Behold my battle! Kiyah!"
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Meanwhile, Lim Ju wielded the legendary AK-47—still used in conflict zones worldwide—with both hands, spraying like Rambo.
Normally, you'd need to reload after one burst, but without any such action, her ammo seemed infinite. Not even opening her inventory, grenades and crematorium rounds suddenly materialized in the air around her and detonated in sequence.
As a follower who still called the constellation Slaughter King "General," he rewarded her gun-and-bomb frenzy with fitting power.
"Puhahaha, so noisy. Shut up! But that's why I love it! Puhahahaha!"
"Uwaaah! My ears!"
"S-Spare meee!"
Kwang! KABOOM!
Finally, Park Sookja's body was half-transformed into an Archdemon Beast, granting her strength and senses surpassing S-Class hunters—ordinary ones couldn't even compete.
When she got serious, she swung tanks like toys to collapse frontlines, fought like a maniac yet slinked ghost-like into the city for ambushes, then pounced like a beast.
"Damn! Stronger than us, and cunning too!"
"Life ain't a movie, buddy? Puhahaha! They're crumblingggg!"
"Uwaaah!"
Rumble rumble!
And just when you thought she'd vanished, she'd smash entire buildings with raw power.
Russia's hunter units succeeded in controlling Awakeners nationwide through forced conscription.
They excelled at dungeon clears and monster hunts, but their lack of domestic Scavengers meant minimal combat experience against them—a fatal flaw now amplified.
[Muuum! Glad you're all enjoying yourselves, but seeing them retreat means it's time to grab what we can and bail.]
"Ah, and I was having so much fun... No grit."
"Probably bombing or self-destructing again."
"Damn! Damn! Daaaamn!"
That said, Russia was no pushover. If they deemed a city indefensible, they'd rigged remaining buildings with self-destruct to prevent Under Cities from forming.
Their logic: If the enemy gains nothing from victory, fine. Rebuild the ruins—that's Russian thinking, surprisingly effective.
As for shelter residents? True to their Trans-Siberian Railway spirit, underground bunkers connected to other cities via rail from the start. Evacuate, then blow tunnels to collapse them.
This strategy worked well, letting Russia hold its vast borders from Europe to Central and East Asia without yielding many Under Cities to Scavengers.
Any that existed were secret cities built without government knowledge, Scavenger takeovers of refugee camps, or infiltrations in major cities—unlike Korea or others with outright Scavenger-ruled metropolises.
"Haven't seen a self-destruct in ages."
"Usually they'd let us take some loot and pretend to retreat... But it's because of Pastor Lee, huh."
Thus, Scavengers who hated losing prey generally avoided large-scale ops in Russia. But this time, gathering human factory materials meant looting all high-tech gear—no choice.
The key now: How much could they grab before self-destruct?
"But they said they'd give us all the human corpses and meat..."
"Wouldn't have bothered otherwise. Puhahat. Anyway, move fast. Hey, Aunt Miyu! Wrap it up and grab bodies! Self-destruct means zilch left!"
"East one flash! West one flash! Ruling the world! Master of a thousand miles..."
Ignoring Lim Ju—who never listened—as always, the two hustled to collect Russian soldier and hunter corpses.
Ten minutes later, the ground trembled like an earthquake. Explosions, collapsing earth, and missile strikes from above began.
Just days ago, Vladivostok buzzed with daily life. Now, only ruins remained, the ground sinking in an instant.
Most Slaughter King demons occupying the city were swept away, but the veteran Scavengers—those three, Pastor Lee, and C-Class+ high demons—survived unscathed.
"Man, won't be back here for years. Got the bodies, though—no biggie."
"Wonder if Pastor Lee finished his stuff."
"Let's offer the sacrifices and check."
Having offered "human meat" to Slaughter King in their own ways, the trio headed to Pastor Lee, the raid's mastermind.
They expected massive hauls like theirs—piled goods or trailers. Instead, he sat empty-handed on bare ground.
"What? Pastor, why's nothing here? You screw up?"
[Mu? No, nothing like that.]
"Bull. Looks screwed. No goods, no bodies. You know our fees ain't cheap? Don't care about apostle this or that—wanna settle here?"
Scavengers didn't care if they served the same constellation—no pay, no mercy.
Hell, even with pay, they'd eat the weak anyway—human scum.
Even as Slaughter King's direct apostle post-ascension, mismatched accounts could spark a brawl now.
[Don't worry. I've got more than enough—plenty. One university, two research complexes, one Russian hunter base, two industrial parks, one shipyard, one port, even power plant scale—all swept clean.]
"...Then where is it all?"
[Right here.]
Snap!
With a finger flick, a portal opened. Fresh blood scent wafted out, revealing a crimson hellscape.
Park Sookja quickly grasped it.
She'd glimpsed it when offering her body to Slaughter King: his incarnation's core dungeon.
Inside: Mountains of trailers and gear.
[As one chosen and ascended by him, I'm naturally a guardian of this world's "core dungeons." My domain for repelling intruders came with it.]
"Ooh... impressive. And bodies galore!"
[Had demons grab 'em before collapse. As promised, corpses are yours. I took what I needed for research, plus tons of magistones for his merchant trades. Muhuhuhut!]
His goals achieved, Pastor Lee smiled serenely.
Now he could focus on research for ages.
Barring outside interference, he'd succeed no matter how long.
[Now, back to "Pyongyang." Need to install in the facilities there.]
"Why not just set up in that space?"
[That place serves my god! It's sacred! My duty to protect! Retract that blasphemy now!]
'Then what's using it as storage?'
Grumbling inwardly, but pay secured, Park Sookja shut up and turned. Pastor Lee lingered, unfinished business apparent.
[I'll stay, scour ruins for more. Scrap metal, glass—useful as materials. Demons'll fetch your bodies soon.]
"Sure, do you. We'll offer sacrifices and head to Pyongyang first. Finish up and follow."
[Will do.]
The other three had zero interest in human factories—just their promised pay. They took demon-transported corpses, offered to Slaughter King, and vanished.
Left alone in the ruins, Pastor Lee and his demons spent days scavenging scrap and goods to his content.
[Kiek... Apos... Apostle! We'll... Kieek! Do it. Not your job. Drink fresh blood and watch... Kiek!]
[Muuu! No worries. I'm just a servant called by god. Working up a sweat together ain't strange.]
A bizarre sight: smiling, persuading his laboring demons.
His devotion seemed noble at a glance—pity the god he served was wrong.
[Yes, laboring for the god who summoned me is only natural.]
Gazing skyward with wistful eyes—like recalling the past—Pastor Lee soon shook it off, silently resuming his scrap and glass hunt in the ruins.