Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Repelling the Ambush
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While casting heals toward the front lines, Kang Jin-hyuk sensed something off.
Wondering what it could be, he scanned his surroundings and spotted the baseball bat trying to slither out of his inventory on its own.
From past experience, Kang Jin-hyuk knew this wasn't happening without reason.
"Is something nearby?"
Kang Jin-hyuk quickly grabbed the baseball bat and carefully checked front, back, left, and right.
Thanks to the bat's presence detection ability, he could vaguely sense the enemy's position.
Kang Jin-hyuk spotted a section of his view shimmering like heat haze and immediately swung the bat.
"Kiek!"
The lizardman, camouflaged in protective coloring, screamed as its face caved in.
The surrounding lizardmen, startled by the sight, revealed their true colors.
"Gasp!"
"Monsters made it all the way here?!"
The clerics turned pale upon discovering the monster horde right next to them.
The Titan Guild hunters fighting up front seemed too busy chasing after An Do-yoon's reckless charge to notice.
They had no idea about the group ambushing from behind.
Kang Jin-hyuk shouted at the panicking clerics not to worry.
"I'll handle these guys, so you all focus on healing!"
The clerics leaped back in shock at his words.
"You're going to block them alone?"
"That's impossible!"
Even by rough count, there were over twenty of them.
Even dealer-type hunters would struggle to hold them off, let alone a single cleric—that was suicide.
"We'll help too!"
"We can manage if we fight together!"
The clerics thought they could fend off the ambush by healing each other while holding the line.
But that approach could never solve the problem.
"If you do that, the hunters up front will all die. Their health is draining fast—even a slight delay in healing is bad."
"B-But..."
"I'm confident. Don't worry—just focus on what you were doing."
Kang Jin-hyuk spoke with assurance, readjusted his grip on the bat, and charged at the lizardmen.
The clerics, who had been half-doubting, witnessed him shatter a lizardman's head with a single swing and quickly regrouped.
"How is a cleric hunting like that...?"
"Come on, no distractions! Like he said, we stick to healing!"
"Yes!"
As the clerics resumed treating the hunters, the lizardmen moved to stop them somehow.
But with Kang Jin-hyuk blocking the path, the lizardmen couldn't advance any further.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The head of the lizardman that pushed forward too aggressively splattered like wet clay the moment the baseball bat struck it.
The lizardmen, watching their comrade die without even a scream, saw their morale plummet.
Overwhelming numbers, yet unable to take down a single foe.
Unable to bear the humiliation, a few lizardmen charged.
Thinking they could overwhelm him if they attacked together, six or seven swung their swords at once—but none connected.
Kang Jin-hyuk had swiftly moved to the side of the lizardmen.
Buoyed by confidence from previous battles, he pressed forward without hesitation and swung the bat.
"Kieek!"
The lizardman struck in the side tangled with its comrades and tumbled down.
While Kang Jin-hyuk smashed the heads of the fallen lizardmen one by one, another lizardman gritted its teeth and attempted a sneak attack.
The lizardman that stabbed its blade into Kang Jin-hyuk's back wore a triumphant smile.
But the target didn't bleed and collapse as expected.
"Kik?"
Kang Jin-hyuk smashed the head of the bewildered lizardman with the bat.
Then he rubbed the stabbed area with his hand and frowned.
"Ugh, damn it—this is gonna bruise."
Thanks to the chainmail armor he'd received from the dwarf and worn under his clothes, the damage Kang Jin-hyuk took was just a bruise.
"Kiiik!"
Seeing that he was unscathed even after being stabbed, the lizardmen turned tail without looking back.
Even their monster brains realized there was no chance of victory no matter how hard they fought.
The clerics watched the scene in awe, unable to hold back their admiration.
"Wow... He really held them off alone."
"Is that guy really a cleric?"
They were stunned that someone in the same profession as them was showing skills they'd expect from a B-rank dealer or higher.
Especially the sight of him bashing monsters with just a baseball bat left a stronger impression than flashy skills.
Nor were the clerics the only ones watching Kang Jin-hyuk's exploits with interest.
Seo Sang-ho, the S-rank hunter who had rushed over after finishing the raid, hadn't missed it either.
"Thanks to that cleric, An Do-yoon survived."
If Kang Jin-hyuk hadn't blocked the lizardmen targeting the rear, the clerics would have been wiped out.
The fate of Titan's hunters without clerics was obvious.
"Guess I should do some work too."
Seo Sang-ho, who had been observing from afar, did some light stretches to loosen up.
Then he leaped in one bound, landing smack in the middle of the lizardmen horde.
The lizardmen had no way to react to Seo Sang-ho, who covered over 200 meters in three seconds and crashed down like a cannonball.
Boom!
A massive roar erupted on impact, shaking the surroundings like an earthquake.
Titan's hunters cheered at Seo Sang-ho's dramatic entrance.
"It's the Guild Master!"
Everyone rejoiced that they were saved now—except An Do-yoon, who looked sullen.
He grumbled to a comrade nearby.
"Who called the Guild Master?"
"We called him as soon as things went south. Asking guildmates for help isn't a problem, right?"
"...Pointless meddling."
It seemed like An Do-yoon wanted to say he could've handled it without that guy.
But no one acknowledged it.
How could anyone follow and trust someone who lost control and broke formation first?
Unlike An Do-yoon, Seo Sang-ho didn't go solo.
Despite having the skills to do so, he prioritized the exhausted and pressured hunters first.
"Clear a path! Anyone whose health is dipping below 50%—fall back!"
Seo Sang-ho bellowed, then infused his fist with aura.
As the fist of the Fist Emperor—fourth advanced class of the Fist Master—shot forward, it tore through the front lines, shredding the lizardmen to pieces.
"What the—suddenly?!"
Kang Jin-hyuk gaped at the spectacle unfolding right before his eyes.
"Looks like S-rank hunter Seo Sang-ho's here!"
"Seo Sang-ho? Titan's Guild Master?"
"Yeah! Now we can go home."
So that's the power of an S-rank hunter.
Kang Jin-hyuk was deeply impressed by how one person could turn the tide of battle.
He realized his own path was still long compared to that level of skill.
And he harbored the expectation that he could reach that strength someday.
After appearing, Seo Sang-ho cleaned up the situation in just 15 minutes and counted the lizardmen corpses scattered everywhere.
By rough estimate, at least 300.
Even using mercenaries as clerics, newbies couldn't have handled a force like that.
"An Do-yoon, you crazy bastard."
Seo Sang-ho realized appointing a vice guild master based on performance metrics had been a mistake.
He approached the sulking An Do-yoon and grabbed him by the collar.
"What were you thinking, not calling for reinforcements and trying to handle it alone? Were you planning to get us all killed?"
"Asking for help in that situation would've hurt the guild's reputation..."
"It's not the guild's reputation—it's that you didn't want to lose face!"
Seo Sang-ho was displeased with An Do-yoon's attitude of excluding other guilds' hunters just to boost his own record.
The executives had let it slide before because it benefited the guild, but now he couldn't tolerate it anymore.
To cause a crisis like this over mere pride while responsible for the newbies.
At least if he'd commanded calmly to the end, it might've been salvageable—but An Do-yoon had given up even that.
Seo Sang-ho realized words were wasted on this guy.
Frowning, Seo Sang-ho released An Do-yoon's collar.
"I'm not letting this slide. Go back and wait for your punishment."
"What? What did I do wrong? It was just bad luck."
"You little shit..."
He nearly threw a punch right then, but Seo Sang-ho held back upon noticing the onlookers.
Beating the vice guild master in front of everyone would only stir guild discord.
As leader of a major guild, he had to prioritize the situation over personal grudges.
"Haa."
Seo Sang-ho sighed to calm his anger.
Sensing the heavy mood, one of Titan's hunters stepped in to change the subject.
"Guild Master, first let's reward the clerics who helped us."
"Oh, right. Almost forgot."
Seo Sang-ho recalled Kang Jin-hyuk, who had shone against the lizardmen.
He walked over to where the clerics were gathered and expressed his thanks.
"Thank you for your help. Without you, this would've turned into a disaster."
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't believe Titan's Guild Master was bowing at a 90-degree angle in gratitude.
He'd thought big guild folks were all arrogant, but apparently not.
There was more to be surprised about.
Seo Sang-ho approached Kang Jin-hyuk and extended his hand first for a shake.
"I saw you handling the ambushing lizardmen alone. Impressive skills."
"Ah, yes."
Kang Jin-hyuk shook Seo Sang-ho's hand in a daze.
"If it's not too rude, may I ask your name?"
"Kang Jin-hyuk..."
"Do you belong to a guild?"
"No, not yet."
"How about ours? We'd waive the entry fee, of course."
Kang Jin-hyuk was stunned by the sudden offer.
An S-rank hunter personally recruiting him—it was unbelievable even after experiencing it.
"You're inviting this guy to the guild?"
Before Kang Jin-hyuk could respond, An Do-yoon barged in.
He remembered Kang Jin-hyuk's face from just days ago, when he'd complained about monopolizing monsters.
He couldn't accept letting a no-name low-tier hunter who only whined into prestigious Titan.
Above all, it stung his pride to have been helped by such a nobody.
"What's so great about this guy that you're offering that?"
Seo Sang-ho felt his patience being tested to its limits.
He was already furious at this guy butting in when he should be shrinking away.
'Hold it in, hold it in—no, screw it, I can't hold back.'
Finally, veins bulging in his neck, Seo Sang-ho said,
"He's the one who cleaned up the shit you dumped in the back, you shit-for-brains bastard!"
The hunters on site were all shocked by the Guild Master yelling profanities at the vice guild master.
Kang Jin-hyuk watched the scene with amusement.
Seeing a hunter who'd once screwed him over getting reamed by his superior was popcorn-worthy.
How could he make this even more heated?
After a moment's thought, Kang Jin-hyuk smiled and spoke up.
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really want to join a guild with a guy like that."
An Do-yoon's eyes flipped at the words.
Already pissed at being dismissed in front of everyone.
He couldn't tolerate this nobody saying crap like that.
"Know your place, you shit!"
An Do-yoon swung his hand as if to slap Kang Jin-hyuk's face.
Seo Sang-ho moved to stop it, but something faster intervened.
With the clang of metal hitting flesh, it was An Do-yoon who flew backward—not Kang Jin-hyuk.
"Ow..."
Kang Jin-hyuk had reflexively swung the bat the moment it detected the threat.
Normally, An Do-yoon could've dodged such an attack.
But after prolonged combat, his stamina and MP were depleted.
Taking a full swing from a bat enchanted with Durability S in that state—he couldn't withstand it.
'An A-rank hunter knocked out by a guy like me? This is front-page news.'
Sure enough, people around whipped out their phones to snap photos of An Do-yoon, racing to be first.
In less than ten minutes, this incident would hit every community forum and blow up.
Kang Jin-hyuk snickered as he stored the red baseball bat in his inventory.