Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Mantis Guild (4)
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“M Hyun-soo! Hyun-soo!”
“Hey! Kang Hyun-soo!”
Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor lost their reason and charged into the flames.
If it had been an ordinary explosion, they wouldn’t have worried in the slightest.
Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor knew better than anyone just how strong Kang Hyun-soo was.
But the explosion’s power was unimaginably immense.
“I’m fine.”
As the flames gradually died down.
Kang Hyun-soo’s calm voice echoed from the center of the blast.
‘That was pretty powerful.’
It was an explosion strong enough to vaporize part of the body of Mara Dragon Karas, the sturdiest among Kang Hyun-soo’s summons.
“You’re really okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank goodness.”
Song Ha-na’s eyes welled up with tears.
“You scared us. Be more careful from now on.”
The Fist Emperor grumbled at Kang Hyun-soo in his usual gruff tone.
But even he looked quite shaken.
‘They must’ve panicked.’
If Kang Hyun-soo had actually died?
His summons would have vanished first, and Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor wouldn’t have made it out unscathed either.
‘They probably didn’t even have time to think of that.’
For some reason, his mood lifted.
“Let’s clean up the rest first.”
“Got it!”
“I’ll take care of these bastards right now!”
Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor leaped off in furious voices to sweep away the remnants of the Mantis Guild.
‘In truth, I was never in any real danger.’
Kang Hyun-soo had the Guardian Ring, which had transformed Guardian God Lee Cheol-min into Atlantis dimension’s greatest tank.
And that wasn’t all.
He was wearing Dragonscale Armor, which greatly boosted physical and skill resistance, as well as health and mental strength.
On top of that, the Ring of Vitality from the Rokto Empire’s emperor and the Beast Heart collaborated to amplify Kang Hyun-soo’s health and mental stats.
So in reality.
‘My defense is probably the highest among all existing players.’
It had been powerful, sure.
But even ten more explosions like that wouldn’t leave a scratch on Kang Hyun-soo.
‘Well, even if I did get injured, Immortal Holy Flame is always active, so I’d recover instantly.’
Immortal Holy Flame had great synergy with Mana Heart.
That allowed it to run constantly.
As a result.
‘Vampiric Aura, learned at the same time, is only C-Rank, but Immortal Holy Flame is B-Rank.’
The passive skill Mana Heart had already reached S-Rank.
Because Immortal Holy Flame and Beastification, both constantly active, continuously consumed mana, their proficiency levels rose automatically.
‘Wish Primal Sense consumed mana too.’
Primal Sense was also a passive skill.
Unfortunately, it didn’t consume any mana, so it didn’t help Mana Heart grow at all.
‘Well, this is more than enough.’
Once the SSS-Rank Guardian Ring reached EX-Rank?
‘Before regression, I’ll have the Guardian God’s defense stat.’
When the Guardian Ring finished growing?
Kang Hyun-soo could hold the title of ultimate tank not just now, but far into the distant future.
‘Time to resurrect him.’
The Demon of Mass Slaughter Jo Sa-pyeong had detonated all his mana to kill himself.
However.
‘His soul remains.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s class skill Legion Formation didn’t create undead from corpses.
It simply used the souls left on the earthly plane after shedding their flesh as materials to make summons.
Therefore.
‘Legion Formation.’
Even if the residual mana from the player’s death had dissipated.
Saaaaah!
He could still turn it into a summon anytime.
‘Time to replace the battalion commander.’
Kang Hyun-soo demoted Northern Blade Wind from interim battalion commander to company commander and appointed the Demon of Mass Slaughter as the new interim battalion commander.
“You know where the Mantis Guild’s headquarters is, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
Hearing the response from the Demon of Mass Slaughter, revived as a summon, a bright smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
Soon after, the Mantis Guild’s Mightor Kingdom branch was annihilated.
As a result.
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Avenger of the Wronged Spirits S-Rank has been granted.]
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Guardian of Freedom S-Rank has grown to Guardian of Freedom SS-Rank.]
He earned a new S-Rank title and a growth reward for Guardian of Freedom from S-Rank to SS-Rank.
‘Beginner Hunting Ground Guardian didn’t level up.’
Well, that made sense.
The Mantis Guild’s Mightor Kingdom branch hadn’t primarily targeted beginners.
‘Cleanup first.’
Kang Hyun-soo mobilized his summons to loot items.
And through Legion Formation, he turned usable Mantis Guild players into summons.
‘Can’t leave that guy out.’
A-gui, the next strongest player after the Demon of Mass Slaughter.
Kang Hyun-soo returned to the site of the first battle and turned A-gui and other Mantis Guild players into summons.
‘Next up, the main force.’
So far, he’d only smashed one branch of the Mantis Guild.
‘It’s pretty far.’
But using a spatial transfer gate and then riding a flying summon?
He’d get there quickly.
* * *
“We lost contact with Mad Slaughter Sword Jo Sa-pyeong after his report of being attacked and his request for backup.”
The Mantis Guild Master, Mad Dog King Volkaonged, hardened his expression upon hearing the report from his subordinate.
“Shall we send reinforcements right away?”
“Prepare to move.”
“Pardon?”
“I know Jo Sa-pyeong’s skills well. Plus, the Mightor Kingdom branch has top-tier forces in the Mantis Guild. For them to get wiped out without proper resistance? This is an emergency.”
“You think a large-scale subjugation force is coming?”
“Maybe, maybe not. But when things get suspicious, the best move is to pull back first. Issue the orders now.”
“Yes, sir.”
No sooner had Mad Dog King Volkaonged spoken than the Mantis Guild’s main force began preparations to relocate.
Mad Dog King.
Though his title included “King,”
It carried more mockery than respect for anyone who heard “King of Mad Dogs.”
However, Volkaonged’s temperament was far from rabid.
On the contrary.
He was more like a highly alert wolf, full of vigilance and caution.
‘When in doubt, retreat first.’
If his suspicions turned out wrong?
They could always reclaim the base later.
It was this cautiousness that had allowed Mad Dog King Volkaonged to keep the murderer-filled Mantis Guild alive this long.
A guild made only of madmen?
If it really were, it would’ve collapsed long ago.
* * *
“It’s empty.”
Based on Demon of Mass Slaughter Jo Sa-pyeong’s memories, Kang Hyun-soo had endured the long journey to raid the Mantis Guild headquarters.
But.
“It’s completely deserted.”
“They must’ve fled ages ago.”
Not a single ant remained in the Mantis Guild headquarters.
“What now?”
At the Fist Emperor’s question.
“Let’s head back for now.”
Kang Hyun-soo had no choice but to withdraw.
However.
‘I should leave a few summons behind.’
In case those guys came back.
* * *
After that, Kang Hyun-soo attacked the slave markets in the Mightor Kingdom.
The slave traders, waiting for the Mantis Guild to act, poured all their efforts into identifying the three attackers.
In the meantime.
Rumors spread that the trio belonged to Dark Knight.
And when it became known that Dark Knight had even annihilated the Mantis Guild’s Mightor Kingdom branch.
Even the resisting slave traders had no choice but to surrender.
They couldn’t handle it with force or authority.
What could they do?
Just take it.
-We’ll settle things later.
-Think of it as a vacation.
The slave traders ultimately decided to close shop for the time being.
However.
Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t the type to stop there.
* * *
After the slave traders vanished.
Kang Hyun-soo resumed hunting.
Shadow Queen Cecilia was investigating, but it wasn’t perfect yet.
From Kang Hyun-soo’s perspective, he had no choice but to wait.
Then.
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Guardian of Freedom SS-Rank has grown to Guardian of Freedom SSS-Rank.]
His title upgraded on its own.
It had probably been on the verge of upgrading.
But something had pulled the trigger.
‘Only Zhonghua Guild.’
Following Kang Hyun-soo’s orders, Zhonghua Guild had eradicated slave trading in Lujaven.
The issue was.
‘Some of them got the achievement.’
Demon Extermination Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong and a few Zhonghua Guild players had earned titles.
Excited by this, Zhonghua Guild players proposed expeditions to foreign lands.
It was only natural.
Tutorials made achievements easy.
But once entering the Atlantis dimension for the real game?
Achievements were as rare as stars in the sky.
To obtain them by simply eliminating low-level criminal players?
Zhonghua Guild players couldn’t help but go wild.
‘That means info control is tight.’
Others besides Kang Hyun-soo must have realized this too.
‘But they kept it secret.’
Why share the honey when you can hog it?
But Kang Hyun-soo approved it.
As a result, Zhonghua Guild started from Dion, a major city in the Lamepazil Kingdom under the former Kabbal Guild’s influence.
‘They’re gradually expanding, rooting out human trafficking in Lamepazil Kingdom.’
Conflicts with local guilds were likely.
But to repair the national image damaged by the Kabbal Guild’s demon king minion incident, Lamepazil Kingdom directly supported Zhonghua Guild.
‘Once bitten, twice shy.’
They didn’t want to block Zhonghua Guild and risk suspicions like, “Wait, is Lamepazil hiding something else?” or “Are demon king remnants in Lamepazil?”
But.
‘That turned out to be a godsend.’
Kang Hyun-soo was the one who mobilized Zhonghua Guild.
And the one who permitted foreign expeditions.
As a result.
‘I didn’t lift a finger, and my achievement rose.’
Zhonghua Guild, under Kang Hyun-soo’s orders, massively purged human trafficking groups.
They expanded into Lamepazil Kingdom.
Thus, human trafficking there was eradicated.
Kang Hyun-soo’s title ranked up, Demon Extermination Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong’s title grew, and other Zhonghua Guild players earned titles.
If not just Mightor and Lamepazil, but all Atlantis guilds moved like this?
‘It’ll definitely boost achievements.’
And if that uprooted human trafficking across the Atlantis dimension?
‘I can make Guardian of Freedom EX-Rank.’
No, he even thought a new title might emerge.
-I need to spread one piece of info across all of Atlantis. The content is…
He gave orders to Shadow Queen Cecilia.
-We’ll disseminate the information across the Atlantis dimension immediately.
After issuing the orders, Kang Hyun-soo.
Returned to ordinary daily life with Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor.
And soon after.
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Beginner Hunting Ground Guardian SSS-Rank has grown to Beginner Hunting Ground Guardian EX-Rank.]
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Guardian of Freedom SSS-Rank has grown to Guardian of Freedom EX-Rank.]
His titles upgraded.
And.
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Atlantis Human Trafficking Exterminator A-Rank has been granted.]