Chapter 77
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Breaking the Moon (3)
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The first to charge was the White Fang leader at the front.
*Grrrrr!*
The beast, the size of a one-ton truck, rushed not at Gono, but at me.
From the very beginning, Yu Wolha had been after my life.
Of course, Gono moved before the creature’s sharp fangs could reach me.
*Swoosh!*
*Grrrrr!*
Gono, who had been waiting by my side, leaped into the air, and the dagger in his hand plunged into the wolf's neck like a flash of lightning.
“!”
But the White Fang didn’t stop.
*CRASH!*
The moment I leaped back, the beast’s massive body crushed the spot where I had been standing.
Droplets of blood trickled down from beneath its white fur.
But the eyes glaring at me were now filled with an even greater killing intent.
‘Just how much of that cocktail did he feed it?’
That single monster had been pumped full of pain resistance potions, physical enhancement potions, and ferocity amplification potions.
“That’s right, keep running away like a little rat.”
From a distance, Yu Wolha’s crazed voice echoed.
At the same time, countless monsters surrounded me once again.
Gono stood beside me, dagger in hand, on high alert.
“Gono. Don’t worry about me. Do what you need to do.”
“Kiruk.”
“I’m fine. Monsters like these can’t even lay a scratch on me.”
I was no longer the E-Rank Hunter I used to be.
With the blessings of numerous Divine Seats, my body now possessed the stats of at least an A-Rank Hunter.
Mere tamed monsters were no match for me.
“If things get rough, I can just draw on Akan of Frost's stats. So, do your job.”
“Kiruk.”
Gono nodded.
*Woof!*
*Grrrrr!*
Simultaneously, the monsters that had formed a circle around me charged all at once.
Their airborne forms blotted out the arena’s roar and lights.
And so, Gono slipped through the gap created beneath the leaping monsters.
As for me.
[Lord's Lingering Shadow - Akan of Frost]
After momentarily causing my stats to explode.
*Thud!*
I kicked off the arena floor and launched myself upward.
The concrete-packed ground caved in, and for a moment, my vision cleared.
*CRASH!*
*Grrr?!*
A split second later, I heard the sound of monsters colliding with each other below.
The cries of the beasts, now like dogs who’d lost their prey, echoed from below.
Meanwhile, I was still floating.
“...?!”
At a height of nearly ten meters.
The gazes of the astonished audience met mine.
It wasn't just the crowd that was surprised; Yu Wolha, in the distance, was as well.
The moment our eyes met in mid-air.
*Thud!*
As I fell, I kicked off one of the arena walls and shot downward.
*Tap.*
And landed right in front of Yu Wolha.
“Wh-what...!”
“I’m not a tamed monster. Wasn’t this supposed to be a monster-versus-monster fight?”
“What are you doing, you bastards! Get him! I said get him!”
His eyes bloodshot, Yu Wolha screamed.
The monsters, who had crashed into each other and were disoriented because of my leap, finally came to their senses.
They immediately unleashed their killing intent and surged toward me.
But, this time.
“Kiruk!”
A small figure weaved through the dozen or so monsters.
Each time the goblin’s form was briefly revealed.
*Stab!*
*Groooaaar!*
The monsters charging at me collapsed one by one, screaming in agony.
One, two, three, five, seven.
They couldn’t even close the mere 300-meter distance.
*Swoosh!*
The monsters, enhanced by all sorts of potions and physical modifications, fell as if they were slipping on ice.
*Stab!*
*Grrrrr...!*
*Swoosh!*
Only after the White Fang leader finally collapsed right before his eyes.
“Wh-what in the world...”
Yu Wolha muttered blankly, his mouth agape.
“Why so surprised? Did you not see this coming? Your abilities can’t even beat one of my goblins.”
“Wh-what trick did you use? Just seven years ago, you were nothing but trash! A worthless bug with no abilities!”
Was it a blessing in disguise?
Yu Wolha’s frantic shouts were mostly drowned out by the roar of the crowd.
So I replied with a smile.
“I wasn’t completely without one. I had a respectable skill called Regeneration, you know.”
“Cut the crap with your word games, you bastard...!”
*Whoosh!*
In a flash, Yu Wolha’s hand flew toward me.
Aimed right at my solar plexus.
I twisted my body at the last second and stepped back, evading the attack.
An attack that would have been a little dangerous if I hadn't activated Lord's Lingering Shadow.
“You’re crossing the line.”
I glanced at Yu Wolha’s hand and smirked.
A gleaming dagger was now clutched in his hand.
Killing intent flickered in his snake-like eyes.
And, of course.
“Wh-what the hell is that?! Is he trying to kill him with a knife?!”
“Shit, announcer! Do something, stop the match! That bastard isn’t following any of the rules...!”
The audience, having witnessed the scene clearly, erupted in an uproar.
“That son of a bitch, he would’ve pulled the same shit on us if we’d beaten the Golem guy and advanced! What the hell is this!”
“Stop the recording! This can’t be broadcast! Destroy everything we’ve recorded so far, we’ll be in deep shit if this gets out!”
Even the announcer was thrown into chaos, clutching his head and shouting.
But Yu Wolha, right then.
Crossed the line even further.
“Shut up, you worthless trash! I pitied you bottom-feeders and stooped to your level to play along, and now you don’t know your place?”
Having already lost his mind, Yu Wolha pointed at the crowd and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Wh-what! What is that bastard spouting!”
“That Yu Wolha bastard, I knew it from the start!”
“I bet he’s made a fortune fixing matches! Fuck, let’s tear this place apart!”
The commotion exploded like a volcano.
When directionless fury was layered upon unfathomable chaos, the result was catastrophe.
*CRASH!*
Tables were smashed, bottles shattered, and a few spectators, unable to contain their excitement, tried to rush into the arena.
In the middle of the pandemonium that had become the ‘banquet hall.’
“What are you waiting for, you bastards! Fucking kill them all! I’ll take responsibility, so just do it!!”
Yu Wolha’s voice echoed.
And at the same time.
*Tatatang!*
*BANG!*
“Aaargh!”
“Wh-what the, fuck! Are you crazy?!”
“Shit! The Samwol Guild bastards are shooting! They’re firing mana guns!”
“Fuck it, let’s fight back! Kill these bastards!”
The sounds of gunfire, screams, and breaking objects filled the hall.
The Samwol Guild members who had been on standby had started firing their mana guns indiscriminately at the rioting crowd.
The Hunters who grasped the situation also drew their weapons and charged at the guild members.
A scene of utter pandemonium.
In the midst of it all, I let out a smirk and said.
“You’re really crossing the line now. How are you going to handle the aftermath?”
“Hah, the aftermath? They’re all bottom-feeding scum here anyway. I’ll just bury them all, pin it on one guy, and shut everyone up.”
So this was why he had switched the live broadcast to China to a recording, just for tonight's banquet.
He really is a piece of work, I thought, slightly impressed.
Yu Wolha’s eyes curved into crescents.
“By the way, you’re still as soft-hearted as ever. To think you’d just stand there even after I almost stabbed you.”
“Hm? Ah.”
“Thanks to you, my guys have all recovered.”
*Grrrrr.*
A low growl.
The monsters that had collapsed behind me began to stir, one by one, staggering back to their feet.
*Grab.*
And suddenly, Yu Wolha seized my wrist.
“You won’t escape as easily as last time. I’m going to watch with my own two eyes as you get eaten alive.”
The monsters, baring their fangs, began to slowly close the distance.
And I.
“Hah, you’re still as hopelessly stupid as ever.”
I let out a sigh.
“What?”
“I dodged your all-out knife attack, so why would you think I’d just let you grab my wrist?”
“What does that mean...”
“And I don’t chat in urgent situations. Talking while fighting for your life is something that only happens in comics.”
Therefore, there was a reason for my leisurely demeanor.
This time, I grabbed Yu Wolha’s wrist with my other hand.
Then I asked in a low voice.
“Take a good look. Do these monsters still look like they’re yours?”
“...Huh?”
A moment ago, Yu Wolha had sneered at me for standing still after his attack.
But that wasn’t it.
I was just waiting.
For Gono, who had approached my side unnoticed.
For the ‘Gift of the Divine Seat’ in his hand to properly activate.
[Emperor's Majesty - S-Rank]
[The Emperor can dissolve a master-servant relationship with a single word. This dagger is imbued with the authority of the First Emperor.]
[All Stats +5, grants the skill 「Oathbreak」. Oathbreak: When used on a summoned creature or monster of A-Rank or lower under a master-servant contract, the contract is forcibly terminated.]
Oathbreak.
This was the trump card I had prepared to bring about his ruin.
“The, the contract...”
Yu Wolha’s mouth fell open stupidly.
He had only just checked his own status window.
“The contract is broken? How could this... no, more importantly...”
But as he grasped the situation, malice once again filled his face.
“So what? They aren’t bound to anyone now? Ha, then it’s the same. Even if the contract is broken, these guys were tamed by me...”
“You think so?”
I said, gripping the wrist of the hand that held the dagger.
I smiled brightly.
“Let’s find out. Let’s see if they’ll still follow you even after the contract has been broken.”
“Of course they’ll follow me...”
The massive forms of the monsters drew even closer.
And the moment he met their fiercely glowing eyes.
Yu Wolha stopped talking.
“Wh-what the hell. Hey, what are you guys doing? Why are you looking at me? I’m your master. That’s the guy, eat that bastard!”
*Grrrrrrr.*
The White Fang leader was the one to answer.
It let out a growl filled with killing intent, baring its fangs.
While staring at Yu Wolha.
Only then did Yu Wolha realize something.
Realize, and begin to twist his wrist frantically.
“Wh-what is this. What did you do to them!”
“I didn’t do anything. They’re just acting on their own will.”
“D-don’t lie to meeeeee! Shoot him! You bastards, shoot him noooow!”
Yu Wolha struggled to break free from my grasp.
At his cry, a few of the guild members engaged with the hunters turned their guns toward me.
*BANG! Bang bang bang!*
[Special Item, Parental Love, is activated.]
The mana-infused bullets that rained down on me stopped in mid-air.
As if enveloped in a squishy, transparent jelly, the bullets lost their momentum and floated before me.
[Special Item, Repayment, reflects the ranged attack.]
*Thwip!*
Suddenly, they changed direction and shot back.
“Kuaargh!”
“Wh-what the, aaargh!”
The mana bullets fired at me slammed into an invisible barrier and returned to the guild members.
The guild members who were struck by their own bullets tumbled to the ground.
The frenzied crowd rushed in and trampled them.
Facing a stunned and frozen Yu Wolha, I spoke.
“Go on, check. See if the monsters will keep following you.”
“H-heuk, hhhh...!”
The White Fang leader strode past me.
*Grrrrr!*
“G-guaaaaaah!”
And the wolf immediately sank its fangs into Yu Wolha’s shoulder.
“Y-you crazy beasts, I’m your, master! I’m your master!!”
You *were* their master.
A master who used a forced contract to treat lives like toys.
A master who turned creatures that wanted to fight and die for humanity into his playthings and killed them for sport.
*Crunch, crack.*
*SMASH! CRACK!*
One by one, the monsters began to gather around Yu Wolha.
The arm of a forcibly modified Werebear swung down.
A Big Rat, blinded by the cocktail of potions, sank its teeth into his ankle.
A dozen monsters unleashed their sorrowful malice upon their former master.
“Guaaaaaaaah!”
A wretched scream pierced the heavens.
But even that scream was buried and lost in the pandemonium.
* * *
“Gurgle, cough.”
Only after about ten minutes had passed did the monsters back away from Yu Wolha.
No, it would be more accurate to say their lifespans had run out.
After finishing their revenge, they collapsed one by one and died.
[The Sage informs you that you will be able to collect the mana stone of the monster that chose to follow you.]
I nodded.
Only the White Fang leader left behind a mana stone.
The rest, I supposed, died with their distrust of humans intact to the very end.
Regretting their choice to follow a human.
“Cough, shit, gurgle.”
Yu Wolha wasn't dead.
He couldn't be allowed to die just like that.
So I took out a regeneration potion and poured it all over his body.
Thanks to that, he was left gasping for breath, plastered to the pool of his own blood.
“Kim Hanul, once this situation is sorted out, I’ll take care of you bastard first...”
He still hadn’t come to his senses, spitting out curses even in his state.
A small figure approached him.
“...”
It was the Gnome.
It seemed to have escaped its iron cage during the commotion.
The creature was covered in blood, its earlier injuries not yet healed.
But as it stood before Yu Wolha, the hand holding its hammer.
Trembled not with fear, but with a different emotion.
“Cough.”
When the large, hairy feet stopped in front of him, Yu Wolha slowly raised his head.
And, his eyes twitching, he spoke.
“...What is it, dwarf, you came to save me.”