Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Plans Against Titan
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Lee Jun-cheol laid out everything he had prepared, as if this weren't some off-the-cuff idea.
He listed the material resources he could provide, the personnel, and even the facilities available for emergencies.
It clearly proved that they had weathered even the tough times of low income thanks to such solid foundations.
Of course, being able to prepare this much was thanks to distancing themselves from Kang Jin-hyuk.
The monster corpses obtained through him were top-grade items hard to come by even on the black market, so buyers lined up.
The connections and capital gained in that process were more than enough to bolster the organization's power.
"You seem to have made some preparations, but it's still not enough."
Kang Jin-hyuk carefully reviewed the list Lee Jun-cheol had prepared before stating firmly.
"We can't beat Titan with this."
"Of course, if we go head-to-head with just our own forces."
Lee Jun-cheol had no intention of confronting Titan with only his own power.
Anyone who couldn't even realize that much wouldn't have survived in this business for so long.
Lee Jun-cheol revealed the plan he had in mind.
"We propose an alliance to a guild capable of standing against Titan."
"What nonsense is that? Why would any guild like that help us...?"
"It's not for free, obviously. We need to make an offer they can't refuse."
"Like what, specifically?"
"We hand over a portion of the area Titan was in charge of."
The one most shocked by Lee Jun-cheol's words was, naturally, Lee Hye-na.
She stared at him with eyes twice their usual size.
"You're giving up Titan's territory?!"
"Why are you so surprised?"
"Are you seriously asking that? You know how important a guild's assigned territory is, right?"
"I know full well. That's why offering something that crucial will make other guilds more than willing to help."
"You call that an offer?"
As Lee Hye-na spoke in disbelief, Lee Jun-cheol met her gaze with sharp eyes.
"Do you think we can take back Titan without any losses or costs?"
Lee Hye-na had no choice but to shut her mouth again at his point.
Right now, their only real fighting force was Kang Jin-hyuk.
It was impossible for him alone to handle Titan's members plus S-rank Hunter Kang Jun-tae, whom Han Young-seok had recruited.
As Lee Hye-na fell silent, Lee Jun-cheol resumed his interrupted explanation.
"From what I gather, Titan's internal split has left their guild master in that state, right?"
"That's a rough summary, yeah."
"Then my plan stands."
Instead of suppressing the coup by Titan's guild members themselves, they hand over part of the assigned territory.
Lee Jun-cheol argued for proposing this to other major guilds to borrow their forces.
"So you're saying we start a war."
A war that Seo Sang-ho had tried so hard to prevent, now to be ignited to save his life.
It was ironic, but Lee Jun-cheol's argument was valid.
"Well, yeah. It's the only way to deal with Titan and Kang Jun-tae."
"Wait, who?"
The name from Kang Jin-hyuk's mouth made the confidence Lee Jun-cheol had shown moments ago vanish like a frog in a hailstorm.
"Did you just say Kang Jun-tae?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Why is that guy's name coming up here?"
"Because he's the hunter who joined Titan."
Lee Hye-na added from the side that Titan planned to put him forward as their new guild master.
"My god."
Lee Jun-cheol felt like the tower he had painstakingly built was crumbling before his eyes.
"So that's why those Titan bastards did that to Seo Sang-ho..."
Realizing his calculation error, Lee Jun-cheol sighed deeply.
He had thought dealing with Titan without Seo Sang-ho would be manageable.
A major guild without an S-rank hunter was just a mob; push hard enough, and they'd fold.
"We need to come up with another plan."
"Now?"
"No choice. What guild wants to tangle with an S-rank hunter when they should be conserving strength?"
Lee Jun-cheol had planned to lure other guilds with the bait of vast territory for minimal investment.
But with Kang Jun-tae in the picture, things changed.
An S-rank hunter wasn't something you could take down just by throwing hordes of A-rank hunters at them.
The moment you underestimated them over a single rank difference, it was total annihilation.
You could claw your way to A-rank with blood and sweat.
But S-rank was pure talent territory.
"You know S-rank hunters aren't just about higher levels, right, Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk?"
"Of course."
Reaching the required level was just one condition.
To officially prove S-rank status, you had to pass the International Union's exam.
"Solo-clear an S-rank commission certified by the Union, or win an official duel against an S-rank hunter."
Lee Jun-cheol recited the exam details himself to highlight the danger.
"S-rank commissions are for monsters that could wipe out a whole city."
"I know that."
"No, you don't know, Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk."
Lee Jun-cheol even gulped as if revealing a huge secret.
"Kang Jun-tae cleared three of those in a row. And he didn't stop there—he took the extra exam too, the madman!"
"Extra exam?"
"Beating an S-rank hunter."
"Huh... Why'd that guy go and do something so stupid?"
"Guess he enjoys life-or-death fights, being a lunatic."
Kang Jin-hyuk tilted his head, a question mark floating in his mind.
"But he got zapped by lightning and was pissed off big time."
If he enjoyed risking his life, shouldn't he like it more the more it hurt?
Kang Jun-tae had been all smiles when he thought Kang Jin-hyuk was an easy mark, but after getting hit by lightning, veins bulged on his face as he flew into a rage.
Having seen that, he didn't seem like someone who enjoyed fights.
"What did you just say? Zapped by lightning?"
"Yeah, two bolts in a row."
Lee Jun-cheol's face went blank, like he'd been smashed in the back of the head with a hammer.
Only after some time did he process Kang Jin-hyuk's words, his mouth gaping in shock.
"You're saying you fought an S-rank hunter?!"
"Yeah. He just seemed like a psycho living for the thrill of power."
His impression from clashing directly was more a narcissist soaked in self-love than a battle maniac.
That's why losing to a C-rank rookie who hadn't even taken the B-rank exam had crushed his ego, making him lose all reason in anger.
"You managed to survive fighting that guy. Did you win by any chance?"
"Nah, I ran because I thought I'd die if we kept going."
"I see..."
Lee Jun-cheol looked disappointed at first, then suddenly brightened and shook his head.
"No, escaping unscathed from Kang Jun-tae is impressive in itself. You're amazing, Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk."
"You don't have to force the praise."
"It's not forced. It's genuinely impressive."
Most hunters couldn't even dream of escaping an S-rank hunter.
Humans don't have lizard tails to sever and flee with, so even barely surviving meant limbs mangled—zero chance of emerging intact.
Yet Kang Jin-hyuk had all his limbs fine, without a single noticeable wound.
That fact alone was like a new ray of hope for Lee Jun-cheol.
"Maybe we could borrow forces on the condition that you hold out against Kang Jun-tae."
"...You call that a plan?"
Lee Jun-cheol's words meant using Kang Jin-hyuk himself as bait.
Kang Jin-hyuk found it grating how casually Lee Jun-cheol suggested it, as if it weren't his own life.
"Not your life on the line, so you're going all out, huh."
"N-No! That's not it at all."
"Then what? Hold out against an S-rank hunter?"
Kang Jin-hyuk pulled out his hunter license from his wallet.
He thrust it right in front of Lee Jun-cheol's face like showing off a badge.
"Here, look. What rank does it say I am?"
"C-rank..."
A shadow fell over Lee Jun-cheol's face as he checked the license.
Kang Jin-hyuk sighed and put it back in his wallet.
"Say I can hold out against Kang Jun-tae. You think other guilds will buy that?"
"..."
It was spot on, so Lee Jun-cheol clamped his mouth shut.
Telling a C-rank hunter to hold off an S-rank was basically suicide encouragement.
And using that as a bargaining chip with other guilds?
They'd get kicked out on sight, and rightfully so.
"My thinking was shortsighted."
Lee Jun-cheol realized he had blurted out anything in hopes of salvaging the plan and reflected on it.
As Lee Jun-cheol hung his head in defeat, cold sweat dripped down Jo Hyung-il's forehead beside him.
He had followed solely on faith in his hyung's "I have a plan."
But the situation was unfolding completely differently from Jo Hyung-il's expectations.
'Is this totally fucked?'
There was no sign of the mood improving.
Desperate to lighten the heavy atmosphere, Jo Hyung-il cautiously opened his mouth.
"Um..."
"I have an idea."
Jo Hyung-il looked at the person who cut him off and drew everyone's attention.
Seo Sang-ho's secretary, Lee Hye-na, had come up with a solution while Kang Jin-hyuk and Lee Jun-cheol were deep in thought.
"No need to shrink Titan's territory, and Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk doesn't have to face Kang Jun-tae."
"There's a way like that?"
"What is it?"
With all eyes on her, Lee Hye-na flashed a smile.
"We use Tyrant."
"Pardon?"
Lee Jun-cheol wondered what on earth she meant.
He had expected some clever scheme, but using Tyrant made no sense.
"A dying guild like that doesn't have the spare capacity to help us."
They were barely holding onto their remaining territory as it was—that was Tyrant's current state.
Even excluding Kang Jun-tae, they wouldn't answer a call for aid.
But that was the view of someone who didn't know the details.
Kang Jin-hyuk, who knew the ins and outs of Titan and Tyrant, understood Lee Hye-na's intent unlike Lee Jun-cheol and his eyes lit up.
"I see, I see."
"Exactly."
Kang Jin-hyuk and Lee Hye-na exchanged smiles.
Lee Jun-cheol, clueless, grew even more frustrated watching them.
"Don't just smile between yourselves—explain!"
"Explain?"
"Yes! Looks like there's something. Let's hear it together."
Hearing Lee Jun-cheol's plea, Kang Jin-hyuk hesitated.
"Ah, this isn't something I should just blurt out..."
"Haha, don't tease—just tell us."
"It's not teasing; it's really confidential."
The matter tying Titan and Tyrant couldn't be leaked outside.
Kang Jin-hyuk wavered on whether to tell Lee Jun-cheol.
"It should be fine to tell. I came up with this idea thanks to hearing this person's plan."
"If the secretary says so."
With Seo Sang-ho's secretary declaring it okay to reveal, Kang Jin-hyuk had no reason to keep it secret.
Kang Jin-hyuk briefly explained to Lee Jun-cheol the events of that one night he had experienced firsthand.
And the reason Tyrant had fallen so far.