Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Lone Blocker
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One of the major guilds and the leader of this alliance, Guardian Guild's Guild Master Song Gil-won stared at the catastrophe that had unfolded just thirty seconds ago, his face blank with shock.
"Is this... even possible?"
It shouldn't have been possible.
It was something that absolutely should never have happened, yet it had come to pass right now, targeting them of all people.
Song Gil-won's legs gave out beneath him, but he couldn't allow himself to collapse in front of his guild members.
He bit his lip until blood welled up, forcing back his instinct to flee.
"How bad is the damage?"
At Song Gil-won's question, one guild member dropped to his knees before him, tears streaming down his face.
"Total wipeout... Not a single one left... They're all gone..."
It was a disaster with no injured to count—only the dead.
Having lost 70% of his guild in a single strike, Song Gil-won felt as if his limbs were being torn apart.
Song Gil-won wasn't the only one drowning in grief and rage.
His phone was blowing up with calls from the guild masters in the alliance.
Were their own guild members safe?
Why hadn't the investigation mentioned a weapon like that?
The questions came in all varieties, too many to answer one by one.
"Everyone, on your feet. We're raiding Pantheon's headquarters right now."
The surviving guild members jumped at Song Gil-won's grim declaration.
"That's suicide!"
"We just saw what Pantheon is capable of!"
The guild members had completely lost their will to fight.
It was hardly surprising—comrades they'd been laughing and joking with just that morning had vanished before their eyes.
But Song Gil-won had no intention of yielding to their pleas.
"Yeah, we saw it! So what? If we back off now, we're done for!"
The city's massive damage and staggering death toll.
The compensation for that would fall on the losers.
If Guardian Guild, having lost 70% of its members, had to shoulder that astronomical sum, any chance of recovery would be gone forever.
As guild master, Song Gil-won couldn't just stand by and watch that happen.
"What if Pantheon uses that tech again? We're really finished then!"
"No need to worry about that!"
"What? What do you mean? No need to worry?!"
"Does the Guild Master have a way to counter it?"
Song Gil-won boldly declared to his guild members' questions: "No!"
He began persuading the dumbfounded guild members with exaggerated gestures.
"Listen up! If Pantheon had a weapon like that, why have they been sitting on their hands this whole time?!"
"Th-that's..."
"Because it takes time to fire! It's been three hours since we launched the operation, so reloading will take just as long!"
Song Gil-won's claim had solid reasoning behind it.
If they could fire it repeatedly, they'd have unleashed another shot by now.
But Pantheon had shown no further response.
Guardian's guild members drew courage from their guild master's words and rose to their feet.
"What they want is for us to get scared and run! Are you going to give them what they want?!"
"No!"
They couldn't retreat until they'd avenged their comrades.
That was the shared resolve of Guardian's members and the entire alliance.
Having suffered such devastating losses, there was no going back for them.
Song Gil-won led his rallied guild members toward Pantheon's headquarters.
He thought only of swallowing up their base before that attack could come again.
If they succeeded, that immense power which had ground his members to dust would become theirs.
But as if to betray Song Gil-won's hopes, a massive rift tore open in the sky.
"Guild Master! Look at the sky!!"
"I see it, no need to tell me!"
It was unmistakably the phenomenon that heralded monsters' arrival.
A common sight in their line of work as hunters, yet Song Gil-won and his followers found their feet rooted, unable to advance.
"That's... way too big!"
"Why a rift that size... Why now, of all times!"
Monsters poured out in overwhelming numbers from the gate that blanketed half the sky.
With all civilians evacuated, the only humans left here were Song Gil-won and his guild members.
The monsters emerging from the rift locked onto them automatically.
"Kuooooh!!"
Starting with the roar of a two-headed ogre, the monsters bellowed without restraint.
Song Gil-won agonized as he watched the horde charge like a pack of beasts.
Fighting the monsters here would leave them no strength to face Pantheon.
But fleeing would invite an even worse backlash later.
Once war was declared, failing to settle it that day meant automatic defeat.
If they could retreat and charge at their convenience, why would major guilds spend years eyeing each other warily?
Declaring war meant being prepared to bear that risk.
"What do we do?"
The guild members pressed Song Gil-won for a decision.
Retreat from here?
Or stand and fight?
Only two choices existed.
There was no third option.
Faced with this brutal dilemma, Song Gil-won gritted his teeth and made his call.
"Weapons out! We're holding the monsters here—no choice now!"
"What about Pantheon?"
"Others are charging in too. Leave it to them!"
Song Gil-won resolved to take on the noble role of sacrificing for his allies since confrontation was inevitable.
He and his guild would pin the monsters down, letting the rest of the alliance reach Pantheon's headquarters unscathed.
"Right. This war ends when someone seizes the objective anyway."
Song Gil-won comforted himself with that as he drew his weapon and took position at the front line, clashing with the monster horde.
"Uwaaaah!!"
"Kill them all!!"
His guild members fought valiantly alongside him.
Though they'd ended up battling monsters instead of Pantheon, they had allies in the alliance.
Even if they couldn't reach the goal, surely others would.
But that faith went unrewarded.
To the south, facing beastkin.
To the east, being pushed back by Seo Sang-ho and his guild members.
And now the west, where Song Gil-won and Guardian were blocked by monsters.
Their only hope was Choi Chang-yeol, leading the alliance's main force northward, and his group.
Choi Chang-yeol, fully aware of his position from reports by the other guild masters, pressed forward with heavy responsibility.
Then he spotted a lone figure standing boldly in their path.
"A civilian we missed evacuating?"
"No way. We double- and triple-checked civilian evacuations."
The guild member responded crisply to Choi Chang-yeol's question.
"Then what's that guy?"
"No idea."
Choi Chang-yeol figured it had to be someone suicidal.
He hadn't even considered anyone trying to block over 300 hunters alone.
'Even with mid-tier guilds, plenty of B-rank Hunters, but taking that on solo is insane.'
Maybe someone on Cheon Sang-ho's level.
A random hunter holding out like Jang Pan-gyo's gear didn't make sense.
"Ah! I know who it is!"
A hunter with scouting skills and enhanced vision shouted.
"It's Kang Jin-hyuk! No doubt about it."
Choi Chang-yeol was dumbfounded at the report.
"Kang Jin-hyuk? That guy's already here?"
Kang Jin-hyuk had definitely taken a commission and gone overseas.
The intel was solid.
"Did he ditch the commission midway or something?"
Impossible unless he'd wrapped it up same-day.
Unaware of the full story, Choi Chang-yeol assumed Kang Jin-hyuk had abandoned the job and rushed back.
"That's Pantheon's guild master. Be careful."
"Hmph. Careful against a punk like that?"
Choi Chang-yeol had heard the name Kang Jin-hyuk before.
He'd paid some attention since the hunter had been rising in prominence lately.
But that was all—Kang Jin-hyuk was just a bit more standout than average.
Choi Chang-yeol dismissed him as nothing special compared to other S-rank Hunters.
Unaware this was a misunderstanding from the association's info blackout.
He issued orders to his guild members.
"If he won't move, just kill him and clear the way."
"Got it."
The guild members didn't slow their advance at Choi Chang-yeol's command.
As the distance closed on the man standing firm in the road, Kang Jin-hyuk picked up the baseball bat he'd propped up at an angle.
Choi Chang-yeol recognized the clear hostility and drew his own sword.
"Gutsy bastard!"
"You're one to talk."
Kang Jin-hyuk slammed the baseball bat down onto the road with force.
The aura infused in the bat seeped into the asphalt, cracking it like an earthquake had hit.
Replicating the strike he'd used on the giant scorpion, it unbalanced Choi Chang-yeol and his guild members—they couldn't stay on their feet.
Hunters charging at full speed toppled over clumsily, like they'd slipped on banana peels.
"Urk!"
Choi Chang-yeol pushed off the ground with his hands the instant he fell, scrambling back up.
"Pulling cheap tricks like that...!"
Glancing back to check his guild members, he froze.
The upturned earth from Kang Jin-hyuk's single blow stretched over 500 meters.
'All that... in one hit?'
Cold sweat trickled down Choi Chang-yeol's forehead.
Realizing it, an unbearable humiliation surged through him.
He, who held a position as alliance leader among multiple guilds.
He couldn't admit tensing up over some no-name hunter.
"You damn bastard!"
Choi Chang-yeol whirled back and swung his sword at Kang Jin-hyuk.
The strike was blindingly fast and precise, but it never touched skin.
It clashed with the baseball bat and shattered like sugar glass from a movie prop.
Choi Chang-yeol couldn't believe the expensive rare item he'd bought was destroyed by a cheap aluminum bat.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he denied it like it'd been a magic trick.
"The Guild Master's in danger!"
"Block him!"
Spotting Choi Chang-yeol's peril, the guild members rushed to interpose themselves.
Kang Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue at the hunters lining up like a shield wall.
"Guess he has some real loyalty if guys are rushing in to die for him."