Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Aftermath and the Giant Scorpion
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Seo Sang-ho received the call and arrived at the scene with Lee Jun-cheol, but by then the situation had already been fully resolved.
The masked hunters lay collapsed on the ground, their clothes shredded to rags from severe slashes.
All of them had lost consciousness, but the cuts had avoided vital spots like arteries, so their lives weren't in danger.
"They really turned these guys into total rags."
The beastkin who had handled the job had long since departed.
All that remained were the pathetic-looking masked intruders and the D-rank hunters flopping their mouths open like carp.
Seo Sang-ho explained the situation to them before any unnecessary rumors could spread.
"It was just our guild members who stepped in, so no need to be so surprised."
"Th-the people who showed up just now... they were Pantheon hunters?"
"Yes. This is confidential, so please keep it from spreading."
The D-rank hunters nodded at Seo Sang-ho's polite request.
But Seo didn't believe for a second that all of them would keep their word.
Not everyone weak in society was a saint.
There were surely some among them who would sell the info for cash.
'That was the point all along.'
Pantheon's real goal was to hide a group of mysteriously skilled operatives.
Spreading rumors like this would create an air of suspicion, deterring other guilds from reckless attacks.
Seo Sang-ho kept his expression meticulously neutral to avoid giving away his intentions.
"Whoever they are, their skills are the real deal."
Lee Jun-cheol had chased after them with forced excuses just to witness their prowess, but all he got to see were the aftermath traces.
A bit of regret lingered, but learning of the beastkin's strength left him satisfied.
"They look like pretty skilled hunters..."
Lee Jun-cheol peeled off the masks one by one to check their faces.
Spotting a familiar one, he grinned.
"Choi Jun-seo. The guy who jumped from Titan to Cardenza Guild."
Seo Sang-ho peered at the face upon hearing that.
As expected from a former Titan member, it was a face he recognized.
"Then this attack was Cardenza Guild's doing."
"Pulling in even ex-Titan guys shows they were pretty serious."
Just look at how they'd thrown over twenty hunters into an area with barely any patrols.
Cardenza had aimed to drive in the wedge with their first strike, but they'd picked the wrong opponent.
"Should we contact the Association?"
"That sounds best. Now that we have justification, we should milk it for all it's worth."
Lee Jun-cheol looked surprised at Seo Sang-ho's response.
"Milk it...? You've changed a bit."
He never expected such words from Seo Sang-ho.
If Seo had his old personality, he'd have said they were attacked but no casualties, so just let it go.
Lee Jun-cheol had come to the scene partly to prevent that decision.
"I've learned the world isn't as forgiving as I thought."
"Heh heh, I see."
After getting burned badly once, even Seo Sang-ho had learned to compromise with reality.
Lee Jun-cheol saw it as a positive change.
Better to chase real gains and profit properly than live idealistic and get stabbed in the back.
"I'll head back first and report this to the Guild Master."
"No, do that later."
"Pardon? Why?"
"With how busy he is all the way in the Middle East, when would he have time to worry about this? It's fine to tell him after he returns from the job."
Seo Sang-ho had traveled abroad often for commissions and knew the headaches involved.
From his experience, there was no way to rush here from overseas instantly—adding needless worry wouldn't help.
Lee Jun-cheol pondered briefly before agreeing.
"Got it. It's not urgent, so we can handle it ourselves."
They planned to spread the rumors anyway, buying time so other guilds wouldn't dare attack.
No immediate counterstrike was needed, so waiting out Kang Jin-hyuk's commission wasn't a big deal.
"Now, let's see... It should be lunchtime in Qatar right about now."
"With the heat in full swing, he's probably in a foul mood."
Seo Sang-ho's prediction rang true from experience.
In reality, Kang Jin-hyuk was dying under the sun blazing down overhead.
If it were just hot, that might've been bearable, but the humidity in this coastal country was no joke.
Kang Jin-hyuk grumbled every step, wondering why he had to come abroad to taste Korea's summer.
"Where the hell is that damn monster? Let's kill it quick and bounce!"
One of the secretaries pointed ahead to answer his whining.
"Beyond that wall over there."
"Wall? Where's the freaking wall?"
All Kang Jin-hyuk saw was an ordinary cityscape.
As he scanned around for the wall the secretary mentioned, he witnessed a bird slamming into an invisible barrier and plummeting.
"Huh?"
To Kang Jin-hyuk, invisible walls felt all too familiar.
'No way—does this place have dimensional magic side effects too?'
Drawing closer to the wall, Kang Jin-hyuk realized his assumption was wrong.
Qatar's invisible wall wasn't from dimensional magic—it was a barrier conjured by pooling hunters' power.
Dozens of hunters took shifts hourly, gripping the barrier and constantly pouring in MP.
"So the new monster's beyond that barrier?"
"Yes, exactly. They're making a gap for entry soon, so please wait just a bit."
The person who'd greeted Kang Jin-hyuk's group upon arrival walked to the site and spoke to the hunters.
The hunters glanced at Kang Jin-hyuk and Cheon Sang-ho.
Then, frowning, they created a gap big enough for people to pass.
"Feels like those hunters don't trust us much."
"You noticed, huh."
"With them showing their displeasure so openly, it'd be weirder not to."
Qatar's hunters bristled at pride from foreigners taking a job they couldn't handle.
As Kang Jin-hyuk and Cheon Sang-ho slipped through the gap, their mutters were clearly Arabic curses.
"Why does this necklace translate other races' languages fine but choke on Arabic?"
Kang Jin-hyuk vented at the dwarf-forged necklace.
It seemed the necklace only handled other-dimensional tongues.
He'd thought he could ditch foreign language studies forever, but life had other plans.
If communication worked properly, he'd have fired back a torrent of insults at those hunters—such regrets.
"Heh heh heh."
Once Kang Jin-hyuk and Cheon Sang-ho were fully inside, the Qatar hunters let out unpleasant chuckles.
Though unseen, their frequent aura use let them sense the gap sealing shut.
"They act all sour when opening it, but closing it turns into a party."
"It's wounded pride—let's understand."
Cheon Sang-ho advised against reacting to every petty slight; it wasn't worth it.
"Right now, we should focus on tracking the new monster's traces, not those guys."
"Do we really need to hunt traces? It'll come to us anyway."
With two humans walking right into its lair like bait, Kang Jin-hyuk figured the monster would show soon.
"Knowing an attack's coming means nothing if you don't know from where."
Cheon Sang-ho concentrated, trying to read the monster's presence to avoid being caught off guard.
While Cheon focused, Kang Jin-hyuk pulled a radar from his inventory to pinpoint enemies.
"What the...? Broken?"
Kang Jin-hyuk frowned at the screen's countless dots.
Hundreds, by rough count.
And all within 5 meters.
No one, even the most oblivious, could miss so many that close.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing major. Just checking why the radar's glitching."
"The new monster reportedly nullifies all detection items. Probably that."
Cheon Sang-ho relied on gut over tracking tools for good reason.
"Why didn't you mention that crucial bit earlier?"
Grumbling, Kang Jin-hyuk stowed the radar.
Instead, he drew his baseball bat and slammed it hard into the ground.
The bat rang out loudly, piercing the concrete effortlessly.
"Hup."
With a short shout, Kang Jin-hyuk unleashed his aura, channeling it down the bat's tip.
The aura spread from the tip across the floor, expanding its reach and upheaving the surroundings.
Kang Jin-hyuk's aura and Cheon Sang-ho's instincts pinpointed the monster's location almost simultaneously.
As their gazes locked on one spot, the new monster emerged as if waiting.
Boom!
Burrowing up like a mole, the new monster closely resembled a scorpion.
The difference? Unlike normal ones, it towered over 15 meters tall.
Including the tail, its body length easily hit 50 meters.
"The tail has poison."
"No need to tell me that."
It looked exactly like a scorpion—one glance showed the venomous stinger on that tail.
The giant scorpion struck first, whipping its tail like a lash at blinding speed toward the pair.
Cheon Sang-ho swung his sword horizontally to block.
A deafening clang echoed on impact, sending out a powerful shockwave.
"...It's quite tough."
Cheon Sang-ho was stunned his sword hadn't severed the giant scorpion's tail.
This was his first such experience against a monster—only Kang Jin-hyuk had matched him before.
"Still just scorpion level, right?"
Kang Jin-hyuk stepped up confidently, aura-infused bat aimed at the scorpion's head.
The scorpion nimbly deflected the bat with its pincers.
Despite the aura-charged blow, the giant scorpion blocked unscathed.
"Uh?"
Kang Jin-hyuk mirrored Cheon Sang-ho's shock—it was the first time his no-holds-barred aura strike had been so casually rebuffed.