Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 358
Chapter Title: Pyron
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The situation wasn't good. No, it was getting worse with every passing day.
The monsters raided the village at least three times a day. The problem was that the number of hunters had dwindled since the white monster's attack, and victims kept emerging from the gaps that created.
Ten days after the white monster's assault, the surviving villagers numbered 2,170 in total, with only 11 hunters left.
Considering there had been over 5,000 villagers and 30 hunters on the first day, more than half had been lost.
"Ah, fuck!"
I spat out a curse as I swung the sword crackling with red lightning.
Kieeeek!
The beast-type monster with five legs screamed as it collapsed to the ground. I stabbed its throat to make sure it was dead, then looked around. The area was littered with monster corpses.
About 20 minutes ago, a horde of monsters had attacked the village. Fortunately, most were D-rank, so we cleaned them up quickly, but there were just too many.
'Looked like around 200 when I scanned them earlier...'
A sigh escaped me naturally.
I'd sent Yuria to the west to block monster raids as best as possible, but I was starting to feel the limits.
The monsters attacked every day without fail, but the village's forces weren't growing—they were shrinking. We had plenty of food, but we couldn't handle the monsters.
'Won't last another week. I've fucked all the beauties in the village anyway, so I'll hang around a bit then bail.'
I gripped my sword again to help the hunters still fighting when—
Shuuuuuung!
A deafening roar assaulted my eardrums. I reflexively looked up at the sky. Three fighter jets streaked by at high speed, dropping bombs toward the massive black tree and unleashing a bombardment.
Kwaaaang! Boom!
Black smoke billowed out with the explosions.
The black tree burst into flames.
The jets circled the black tree and village before flying off toward Lanzhou.
"Fuck! If you're gonna bomb, do it quick. You're way too late!"
I muttered irritably, my eyes fixed on the blazing black tree. Could a mere bomb burn it down? Contrary to my worries, the massive tree kept burning, and by evening, only its skeleton remained.
The jets targeted only the black tree, nothing else.
'With the crisis this bad, deploying jets isn't weird. But sending them just for the black tree is odd... Does China know what it is? And is it so dangerous they had to bomb it from the air?'
I stopped thinking about it. Even if I figured something out, there was nothing I could do. I was just a C-rank hunter. And I had no intention of doing anything. All that mattered to me was myself and my women.
'Hm?'
Fiddling with my smartphone out of habit, I realized the GPS was working.
On a hunch, I tried calling the China Hunter Association, and it connected. The black tree must have been jamming signals before.
-Yes. This is the People's Republic of China Hunter Association.
It was a man's calm, subdued voice.
"...This is C-rank hunter Sung Yu-jin, sent from Korea to support China."
I explained my current location and situation, requesting Chinese hunter support. Naturally, I mentioned the nearly 3,000 deaths, but his reaction was flat.
-I see. Understood. I'll give you the Lanzhou Hunter Association contact. Report the situation to them daily. We'll dispatch a rescue team within a week.
He brushed off 3,000 deaths without a hitch. Two possibilities: the guy I was talking to was a heartless bastard, or casualties incomparable to 3,000 were already happening all over China.
'Ah, damn. I wanna go back to Korea.'
The rescue team would probably come in about a week. Or ten days. I didn't expect them sooner.
???
The next day.
I was wrong.
The rescue team arrived around noon. Shocking speed, but it made sense once I saw the members.
There was an S-rank hunter among them. But I couldn't be purely happy. The reason...
"Father!"
"Ja-young! I'm sorry! I wanted to come rescue you right away, but things were so dire I couldn't until now!"
Ryu Ja-young's father—the leader of the Tyrant Sword Sect and China's S-rank hunter, Heavenly Central Overlord Ryu Gi-cheon—had come personally.
Over 2.2 meters tall, with a massive build rivaling a bear. Thick eyebrows, bulging eyes, large nose and lips. Square face. He wore flashy black clothes straight out of a Chinese drama or movie.
Surrounding him were hunters in martial uniforms. They looked like his subordinates, all at least B-rank powerhouses, each equipped with a demon-slaying sword on their backs.
"I'm so glad you're safe! Of course you are!"
He hugged Ryu Ja-young, beaming. Seemed like a total doting dad.
I found him uncomfortable. If he caught on to my relationship with Ryu Ja-young, he wouldn't let it slide.
"Ja-young. You must have led everyone well to survive this long. With the black tree here, Pyron must have appeared... How did you deal with Pyron?"
"Father. What is Pyron?"
"The white monster that walks on two legs like a human and can talk. They have intelligence close to humans."
"I didn't take down that monster. And I haven't been leading the village until now."
"Not you? Then who..."
Ryu Ja-young glanced at me. Eyes from Ryu Gi-cheon and others turned my way. I grinned.
"No way. You mean that dumb-looking guy among the women?"
Yuria and Han Ha-rin flanked me.
Ryu Ja-young frowned.
"Father. Dumb-looking? He's a disciple of the Youngcheon Style and a martial artist skilled enough to beat me!"
"..."
Ryu Gi-cheon stared alternately at me and Ryu Ja-young with a stiff expression. Whether he'd noticed subtle changes in his third daughter's demeanor or sensed it instinctively, he suspected our relationship.
"Ja-young. What's your relationship with that man?"
"Our relationship is..."
Ryu Ja-young glanced at me.
My and Ryu Gi-cheon's faces hardened seriously. Anyone could see that was the look of a woman in love.
'No. Sure, we'd been fucking whenever we had a chance until yesterday... But that was consensual! Friends! Sex friends!'
Ryu Ja-young had once tried to stab me for taking responsibility. Luckily, I won that knife fight, but our relationship continued unbroken. Under the name of sex friends, that is.
For the record, she was the type to piss herself every time she climaxed. Not as much as Han Ha-rin, but rare enough that I cherished her.
Before trouble brewed, I stepped forward and greeted Ryu Gi-cheon. Right fist clenched, left hand open, clashed in a baoquan salute—the one old-school wuxia fans go crazy for.
"Pleased to meet you, sir. Disciple of the Youngcheon Style and C-rank hunter Sung Yu-jin, who rushed from Korea to support China. I met Miss Ryu by chance in this village and became... new friends."
"Disciple of Youngcheon Style... I've heard. A once-in-a-millennium genius appeared there! That's you!"
"Haha. You're too kind."
"But friends with Ja-young?"
"Yes. Friends with Miss Ryu."
"And the ladies beside you?"
"Ah. Neither speaks Chinese. This is Han Ha-rin, my college senior and friend."
"...And the one next to her?"
"Yuria Grace. My maid."
"Maid?"
"Housekeeper. Housekeeper. Excellent at cleaning and cooking. Very delicious. Yes, very tasty."
He strode toward me. His huge frame exuded pressure. But I didn't back down.
Couldn't look weak in front of the women. And Ryu Gi-cheon wouldn't kill me here.
"Sung Yu-jin, was it."
"Yes."
"I can read faces. You're the classic playboy type. The face of a man who can never be satisfied with one woman."
"Haha. Quite witty, sir. But I don't believe in physiognomy. Nor horoscopes."
Ryu Gi-cheon stared at me steadily.
"Be honest. What's your relationship with Ja-young."
"Friends. Friends. Besties, you could say. Ah, besties is short for best friends."
"I know that much! Don't treat me like an old fogey!"
"Ah. Sorry."
Ryu Gi-cheon wasn't someone I'd see long anyway. I'd return to Korea, he'd stay in China.
'Ryu Ja-young can visit Korea for fun.'
I decided to play it bold.
"Father!"
Not Ryu Ja-young's voice. A slightly more mature one.
Me and Ryu Gi-cheon's gazes turned to the village entrance simultaneously. A woman sped toward us using lightness skill. Gray martial uniform, demon-slaying sword on her back. His subordinates parted and bowed as she approached. She ignored them and came straight to us.
She strongly resembled Ryu Ja-young, but her body was incomparably larger. Not fat—literally big.
Nearly 1.9 meters tall. Voluminous even under clothes, toned from martial arts. Face like Ryu Ja-young's, so a beauty. Just big all around.
Age around early to mid-30s.
"He's our benefactor! Don't pick fights for no reason! Don't you know Ja-young survived thanks to him?!"
"Ah, no. I was just reading his face..."
Ryu Gi-cheon fumbled before her.
"Physiognomy, physiognomy! Aren't you sick of it?! Use that great skill to find me a husband!"
Her voice boomed.
"Cheong-seol. Hear me out. This man..."
"Father, please! Stop with that nonsense! Because of your bullshit..."
I was busy sizing her up. The unnatural chest compression—she was definitely binding them like Ryu Ja-young.
'Thanks to Ryu Ja-young, I can estimate. That's... J-cup! Definitely J-cup!'
J-cup, rare even in porn! And she was Asian!
'Heh heh heh... Natural J-cup here of all places. If not natural, no need to hide it so much. Heh heh...'
I licked my lips and focused on Ryu Gi-cheon and Ryu Cheong-seol's conversation. Turns out, he'd made a big mistake with her in the past. And she was definitely an old maid.
And old maids are easy to seduce.
Having appraised her, I baoquan-ed toward her.
"Pleased to meet you! Disciple of Youngcheon Style and friend of Miss Ryu, Sung Yu-jin!"
"Oh my. How rude of me. Nice to meet you. I'm Ryu Cheong-seol, acting leader of the Tyrant Sword Sect and Ja-young's big sister. Pleased."
Ryu Cheong-seol returned the baoquan.
"Haha. Nice to meet you, Miss Ryu."
"Miss...?"
"Ah. Was that rude? You don't seem much older than Miss Ryu Ja-young..."
"Hohoho. I'm just not used to it since I'm usually called acting leader. Call me whatever."
"Then, Miss Ryu it is. With Miss Ryu Ja-young around, use names accordingly."
"I'll call you Hero Sung."
Haha. Hohoho. As we laughed, Ryu Gi-cheon cut in with a displeased look.
"Cheong-seol! That guy's got playboy face, don't trust his words! He's not trustworthy!"
"Father! He's our benefactor! Don't be rude! Ja-young!"
"Yes, sister."
Maybe because of their ten-plus-year age gap, Ryu Ja-young treated Ryu Cheong-seol respectfully.
"Gather the villagers with Father and prepare to head to Lanzhou. I need to talk with Hero Sung briefly."
"Understood, sister."
Ryu Ja-young led Ryu Gi-cheon away. The doting dad couldn't shake off her hand easily. The subordinates, who'd been watching quietly, went about their tasks. Seemed routine for them.