Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Gravity Crush
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Kang Jun-tae accepted the reality crashing down on him.
Right before his eyes, an S-rank Hunter just like himself had lost his life.
He could no longer think of it as something utterly impossible.
‘Run away.’
Even if it bruised his pride, that was the best option right now.
Titan’s Guild Master position or whatever—none of it mattered if he died.
Kang Jun-tae planned to escape from here and then request protection from the Hunter Union.
They wouldn’t turn away a valuable asset like an S-rank Hunter.
‘That guy can’t act recklessly against the government either.’
The reason countless Hunters didn’t challenge the Union’s policies was because the Union held that much power.
On top of that, the Union had Cheon Sang-hoon, the S-rank Hunter known as the Union President’s right-hand man.
Kang Jun-tae figured Cheon Sang-hoon possessed strength far superior to most other S-rank Hunters, so Kang Jin-hyuk wouldn’t dare mess with him.
But no matter how solid the plan, it was useless if he couldn’t escape this situation right now.
Kang Jun-tae first pondered how to get out of this mess.
‘Can’t charge head-on, no way.’
Kang Jin-hyuk’s movements had been too fast even for Jo Won-chul to handle.
For Kang Jun-tae, who focused more on power than speed, he had no confidence in dodging Kang Jin-hyuk’s attacks.
And taking them head-on? The shattered mace from moments ago proved that was the wrong choice.
‘How can I….’
While thinking of a way to escape, Kang Jun-tae recalled the trick Kang Jin-hyuk had used on him.
‘Right, that’s it!’
Kang Jin-hyuk noticed the flush of excitement spreading across Kang Jun-tae’s face.
For a man who’d looked like he carried the world’s sorrows to suddenly brighten up like that—it wasn’t a good sign.
“What lame trick are you plotting now?”
Before Kang Jun-tae could stir up more trouble, Kang Jin-hyuk charged first.
Before Kang Jin-hyuk could close in, Kang Jun-tae slammed his raised mace into the ground with tremendous force.
Boom!
A massive cloud of dust billowed up from the shattered road after the heavy impact.
Kang Jin-hyuk grasped his opponent’s intent amid the dust thick enough to block all vision.
“Trying to copy me, huh.”
Blocking the opponent’s sight before fleeing was a smart move.
Still, it was unexpected for an S-rank Hunter to abandon his pride and choose to run.
“I thought you’d fight to the death, but running away… You’re not a battle maniac, just a pathetic coward.”
Kang Jin-hyuk’s disappointed words shackled Kang Jun-tae’s legs.
He’d planned to bolt without looking back, but he halted in place and changed his mind.
He pulled a potion from his inventory and healed his broken arm.
He stood his ground until the dust fully settled, then glared at Kang Jin-hyuk with fierce eyes.
“Take it back… What you just said.”
Kang Jin-hyuk was slightly taken aback to see Kang Jun-tae still standing there instead of fleeing.
“Take what back? What?”
“What you just spouted!”
“Oh, that you’re pathetic?”
Kang Jin-hyuk realized his words had deeply wounded Kang Jun-tae’s pride.
It was astonishing that someone who’d tried to run still had any pride left to hurt.
“Can’t take it back. You’re acting pathetic—it’s a fact.”
“You bastard…!”
“Why get mad? Did I say something wrong?”
He’d poisoned Seo Sang-ho because he didn’t want to fight him.
He’d yielded the first strike, then thrown a tantrum over a little lightning.
And now, desperate to crush the guy who ran, he’d even deployed forbidden poison gas.
No matter how you sliced it, the guy wasn’t right in the head.
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t fathom how someone with so many examples could hate being called pathetic.
“The more I see, the more flawed your character is.”
Kang Jin-hyuk checked Kang Jun-tae’s karma value.
It was lower than Jo Won-chul’s, but still well over 300—not the mark of a good person.
Objectively, Kang Jun-tae was a villain.
“I’ll make you take it back with force.”
Kang Jun-tae gripped his mace, his face flushed red.
“You? How?”
In response to Kang Jin-hyuk’s mocking question, Kang Jun-tae turned his entire skin a deep red.
It wasn’t from shame or humiliation.
Like iron in a blast furnace, his skin radiated intense heat.
“Popped a buff, huh?”
Ignoring Kang Jin-hyuk’s question, Kang Jun-tae gripped the mace he’d wielded with both hands in his right hand alone.
He then drew another mace from his inventory to fill his empty left hand.
Now holding a mace in each hand, Kang Jun-tae was fully prepared.
“Well, now.”
Kang Jin-hyuk belatedly noticed Kang Jun-tae had healed his injured left arm.
“Healed it while hiding in the smoke, huh.”
He could’ve run far away in that time.
Instead, Kang Jun-tae fell for the provocation and dove into a fight with slim odds.
‘One hit. That’s all it’ll take to end this.’
The buff Kang Jun-tae used continuously drained his own HP to massively boost his attack power.
The lower his health, the more explosively the buff’s power grew.
Kang Jun-tae endured until the last possible moment, waiting for it to peak.
His skin deepened from red to pitch black.
Once it turned fully black, he launched forward without hesitation.
“Gravity Crush!”
He unleashed his most powerful skill on Kang Jin-hyuk.
From right and left, the descending maces screamed their intent to pulverize him into minced meat.
In that brief span of seconds, Kang Jin-hyuk debated pulling back or taking it head-on.
To utterly crush his opponent’s pride, the latter was better.
Decision made, Kang Jin-hyuk swung his baseball bat in a wide crescent arc.
Kang Jun-tae’s maces overlapping that trajectory couldn’t halt the bat’s motion for even a second.
The maces shattered pitifully, leaving Kang Jun-tae’s hands empty.
It was too late for regrets.
Kang Jin-hyuk’s follow-up swing smashed into Kang Jun-tae’s side.
Crunch.
Thanks to his buff-heightened senses, Kang Jun-tae clearly heard his own bones crumbling.
The surging pain raced through nerves far more sensitive than usual straight to his brain.
“Gaaahhh!!”
A gush of blood sprayed from his mouth like a scream.
Kang Jun-tae collapsed to the ground, writhing like a stomped earthworm.
His body, already weakened by the buff’s backlash, was utterly wrecked by Kang Jin-hyuk’s single blow.
“Urk…! Cough!”
Even so, he couldn’t just lie there—he tried to rise.
But before he could lift his upper body, exploding blood and pain slammed his head back to the ground.
Kang Jin-hyuk felt no pity watching the wretched sight.
What if he hadn’t escaped the smoke bomb? What then?
Imagining that scenario, the obvious outcome flashed in Kang Jin-hyuk’s mind.
‘That one writhing on the ground would be me.’
Kang Jin-hyuk steeled himself.
Killing felt queasy, but not when it was someone trying to kill him—he couldn’t hesitate.
“Guys like you, even if spared, would just grind your teeth and come back for revenge someday. Right?”
Kang Jun-tae had no breath to spare for a reply.
Amid the crashing pain, staying conscious was all he could manage.
Deep down, he wanted to pass out.
But he instinctively knew that would mean never waking up again.
Clinging to consciousness and waiting for an opening to escape was his only shot at survival.
Of course, Kang Jin-hyuk had zero intention of giving him that ‘opening.’
* * *
Han Young-seok had moved to a new base under his guildmates’ protection after the building collapsed.
The former warehouse wasn’t in great shape, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
In a room where he’d hastily brushed off visible dust, Han Young-seok issued orders to his guildmates based on incoming reports.
Their top priority: eliminating Tyrant’s Hunters.
Tyrant was a guild that had grown by any means necessary, so its members were equally ruthless.
Early on, Titan had suffered due to their ferocity and skill.
But now the tide had turned.
Most of Tyrant’s executives were locked up, leaving them without proper command structure.
Meanwhile, Titan still had Han Young-seok and the pro-coup executives.
Rallying around them, they rebuilt their lines and struck back, slowly pushing Tyrant back.
“C Sector has been retaken!”
“The remaining Tyrant Hunters are retreating!”
Hearing the hopeful reports, Han Young-seok let out a sigh of relief.
“One worry down. All that’s left is Jo Won-chul, huh.”
Thanks to Kang Jun-tae stepping up, there’d been no word of anyone falling to Jo Won-chul since the collapse.
Han Young-seok thought leaving S-rank Hunters to handle each other was indeed the right call.
“Where’s Jo Won-chul now?”
“Well… The fight’s so intense, no one dares approach.”
“Then find out where that fight’s happening!”
“S-Sorry!”
The guildmate rushed out and immediately radioed his comrades to pinpoint Jo Won-chul’s location.
“…!!”
Shouts echoed from outside, but Han Young-seok couldn’t make out the radio chatter.
Soon, the guildmate returned with a grave expression.
“What took so long out there?”
Even after Han Young-seok’s question, the guildmate hesitated to speak.
The usually quick responder staying silent stirred an ominous feeling.
“What happened?”
“……”
“I asked what happened! Speak up!”
“…He’s been defeated.”
The guildmate’s shocked tone delivered an ambiguous answer.
Han Young-seok clung to a sliver of hope, wondering if it was good news.
“Who got defeated? That bastard Jo Won-chul?”
“Yes.”
Han Young-seok clenched his fist in joy at the confirmation.
“Good! So where’s Kang Jun-tae?”
“Kang Jun-tae has been defeated too.”
“What!? Did they take each other out?”
The guildmate shook his head and forced out the words.
“They both fell to a Hunter who appeared out of nowhere.”
Han Young-seok couldn’t process what he’d just heard.
“So… two S-rank Hunters got taken down by a single intruder?”
He repeated the report to double-check, but it still didn’t sink in.
Who were S-rank Hunters?
Monsters who could match a brigade alone with their personal combat prowess.
For two of them to gather in one place and still lose to one guy? Unbelievable.
“Who the hell is this guy!?”
“K-Kang Jin-hyuk.”
The dreaded name slipped from the guildmate’s lips just as the firmly shut door flew into the room, frame and all.