Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Tyrant's Guild Master, S-Rank Hunter Jo Won-cheol
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Tyrant Guild's master and S-rank hunter Jo Won-cheol.
Just a month ago, cheers would erupt whenever he showed up on the streets.
The prestige of an S-rank hunter outshone even top celebrities.
And as the leader of one of the top two guilds in Korea, even snot-nosed kids knew his name.
But now, that fame had twisted into something entirely different.
“Haah.”
Jo Won-cheol plopped his ass down on a shattered concrete pillar.
He figured it was the perfect time for a smoke, but the cigarette pack he pulled from his pocket was empty.
“Fuck.”
The trash he tossed away with a curt curse smacked the cheek of a fallen hunter.
Jo Won-cheol tilted his head toward another hunter beside him, still groaning.
“Hey, you smoke?”
“Ugh…….”
“Quit whining and answer me, you punk.”
Jo Won-cheol kicked the hunter's side like he was punting a ball.
“Gahk!”
The hunter spewed blood as he flew through the air, landing atop his comrades who had fallen first.
Even a rough count put them at over twelve.
Gruesomely, every one had been struck in vital spots, reduced to corpses.
All A-rank hunters, but to Jo Won-cheol, they were less than a post-meal stretch.
Guys who couldn't even meet his eyes straight back in the day.
Once the truth about Alraune came out and Tyrant became public enemy number one, they swarmed like hyenas.
Idiots who didn't know their place, but their numbers grew overwhelming, and even Jo Won-cheol couldn't handle them alone.
“So, which side's running the decoy op this time?”
Jo Won-cheol grabbed the hair of the hunter who'd flown onto the pile of corpses.
Yanking him up by the locks, the hunter groaned in agony.
“Pin me down in one spot while you raid another to steal territory. Yeah, fucking obvious tactic, but gotta admit it works like a charm.”
They'd fortified the stolen zones with all sorts of scrolls and items to prevent any counter-reclaim. A damn smart move.
In fact, Tyrant was crumbling bit by bit because of it.
Jo Won-cheol couldn't stand knowing he had no choice but to fall for it despite seeing it coming.
“I'll give you props…… but that doesn't mean I ain't getting pissed off more every time.”
Jo Won-cheol figured this basic ploy worked because he'd been too soft in his responses.
“I went too easy on them. Should've crushed the cocky ones from the start.”
Since he was already the villain, might as well go all out.
With that resolve, Jo Won-cheol drove his hand blade through the hunter's solar plexus.
“Gurgle…….”
He yanked it free, and the hunter collapsed, foaming blood at the mouth.
After a few twitches, the hunter went still, life fully extinguished.
Jo Won-cheol rummaged through the pockets of his fresh kill with blood-soaked hands.
Finding the smokes he wanted, he grinned and pulled out his lighter.
“Punk, why didn't you say you had 'em sooner?”
Jo Won-cheol sat back on the broken pillar and inhaled deeply.
Not his preferred brand, but the nicotine hitting deep in his lungs satisfied him.
As he savored the taste, footsteps approached from around him.
Jo Won-cheol flicked his eyes toward the source without moving his head.
Spotting Tyrant's emblem on the guy's shoulder, he relaxed his blade-stiffened hand.
“What're you crawling in here for?”
“I-I have a report, sir.”
“I told you not to bother reporting every time we get fucked while I'm gone.”
Jo Won-cheol hated repeating himself.
The guild member frantically shook his head at Jo Won-cheol's furrowed brow.
“No, sir! This is crucial intel!”
“What?”
“We found out who leaked the Alraune info.”
“…….”
Jo Won-cheol spat out his cigarette and shot to his feet.
“Who.”
The culprit behind his guild's ruin, turning them into chum for small fry.
He closed in on the guild member, murder in his eyes at the revelation.
“Spit it out.”
“T-T-Titan!”
Cowed by the intimidation, the guild member barely forced out the name.
Jo Won-cheol held back his urge to charge off and double-checked.
“No mistake?”
“Seo Sang-ho's secretary delivered the info herself.”
The tablet PC the guild member handed over brimmed with irrefutable proof.
Photos and details never aired on TV confirmed Titan was behind spilling the Alraune secret.
“……Why would that bitch sell out her own guild?”
“She said she's leaving Titan anyway, so as long as she gets paid, she doesn't care.”
Jo Won-cheol sneered at the guild member's answer.
“Heh heh, what a girl after my own heart.”
The guild member asked in a worried tone.
“What's the plan, sir?”
“What plan? Obviously, we storm in right now and smash 'em to pieces.”
“Starting a war now would wipe us out too.”
“Who gives a shit? We're as good as dead anyway.”
Even if they stabilized somehow, they'd never reclaim their old glory.
Altron was out of reach, let alone top ten.
“If we can't be the best, might as well go down as the worst guild ever.”
Sensing Jo Won-cheol wasn't joking, the guild member nodded.
“I'll muster every last member right away.”
In this mess, Jo Won-cheol wasn't the only one nursing grudges.
Tyrant's survivors all seethed with hatred toward those who'd toppled them.
From proud top dogs to traitors overnight—natural reaction.
Give those folks a clear target like Titan, and no need to guess what happens next.
A tiger with no teeth was still a beast.
Han Young-seok, hunting for Kang Jin-hyuk and Seo Sang-ho, screamed silently upon hearing of Tyrant's advance.
* * *
Objectively, it was just two small groups—neither totaling a thousand—clashing.
Yet it fully deserved the name 'war.'
Hunters going all-out to kill spammed skills like walking bombs.
Skills meant for monsters torched streets and toppled buildings.
Han Young-seok watched from a distant building as flames engulfed the structure they'd used as a command post moments ago.
Without prior warning, he'd have burned with it.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
“No one's at Tyrant's HQ!”
“They've mobilized everyone!”
The reports shook Han Young-seok's fragile composure from both sides.
“Doing this shit in broad daylight! What the hell's the Association doing?!”
“They've warned on broadcast nonstop, but Tyrant isn't listening.”
“Warnings ain't cutting it! They need to step in and show some force!!”
Han Young-seok slammed his fist on the table.
The wooden surface shattered under a hunter's grip.
“Those bastards want us to kill each other till we're both wrecked.”
Kang Jun-tae stated the obvious in a flat tone.
“With guilds getting too powerful left and right, they wanna trim the numbers.”
Proof: Over an hour into the war, and the Association had done nothing but warn.
Han Young-seok couldn't fathom their inaction.
Eyesores or not, sitting back during this chaos made no sense.
“They're letting this happen in the city and just watching?!”
Ignoring civilian casualties would bring public backlash.
No way they'd allow mutual destruction knowing that.
“They won't just let civilians die, right?”
“Some group's evacuating them now.”
Kang Jun-tae was dumbfounded by the guild member's reply.
“What? Heroes showed up already?”
“Which guild?”
The guild member shook his head at Han Young-seok's question.
“No idea. No info on them.”
“No info?”
“They call themselves 'Pantheon,' but there's zero data, like I said.”
Around thirty strong, yet they'd anticipated this and swiftly aided civilian evacuations.
“Pantheon? Not the game…… a guild name?”
Kang Jun-tae figured it was a new guild seizing the chaos for a debut.
But Han Young-seok, lost in thought, offered a different take.
“Could be tied to Kang Jin-hyuk and Seo Sang-ho.”
“What? Where's that coming from?”
Kang Jun-tae couldn't follow Han Young-seok's leap.
No other intel—just their guild name.
“Wait…… the name……?”
Kang Jun-tae belatedly sensed something off.
'Pantheon' originally meant gods in Greek myth.
Specifically, the Twelve Olympians who ousted the Titans for power.
“Is it really coincidence they pop up here, with that name, right when we're clashing with Tyrant?”
“No way.”
Claiming coincidence now was pure denial with suspicions this solid.
“Flaunting a name that snipes us outright means they knew our situation in advance.”
“They think we can't act directly even knowing.”
Han Young-seok itched to correct their arrogance.
But fighting Tyrant left no spare manpower.
Kang Jin-hyuk wasn't some scrub—he'd crushed A-rank hunters effortlessly.
Catching him needed serious numbers, and pulling them now risked Tyrant hitting first.
“Looks like they dragged Tyrant into this too.”
“Smart play.”
Kang Jun-tae's joking tone didn't match his grim face.
That damn hunter who'd humiliated him had roped in another guild for this mess.
Kang Jun-tae wanted to find Kang Jin-hyuk and beat him to death right now.
“We gotta crush Tyrant quick before those bastards get cockier.”
“Already on it.”
Han Young-seok recalled all scattered search parties.
“Prime Tyrant? Maybe. But not in this state—they can't beat us.”
He said it, but Han Young-seok harbored deep unease.
Most hunters he could handle, but not Jo Won-cheol.
Among his allies, only Kang Jun-tae could match him.
“Save your stamina till Jo Won-cheol tires.”
“You think that guy even gets tired?”
“He's human—wear him down.”
“That'll leave us no guild members.”
“Doesn't matter. Winning's all that counts now.”
Han Young-seok was set to sacrifice every last one for victory.
Losing here ended everything.