Chapter 417: Special (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 417: Special (8)
Warriors from the God-Serving Society appeared out of nowhere, plunging the battlefield back into chaos.
Their presence was incredibly intense.
“Ugh… What is this power…!”
“Everyone, be careful! Something’s off about these guys!”
Their movements were impossibly sharp, so dazzling they disoriented anyone who watched.
At the same time, they seemed to feel no pain. Even when struck by an opponent's attack, they would counter without a second thought, shocking their adversaries even more.
Kim Do-jin frowned at the sight.
“…They’re completely drugged out.”
The red mana tightly enveloping their bodies originated from the Divine Authority Lu Bu had received from Ira.
And that energy was manifested through a drug they had developed themselves, called Rage-13.
For that energy to be wrapped so densely around their entire bodies meant they had ingested a massive amount of the drug.
Their inability to feel pain had to be a side effect.
The pleasure derived from their intense power had pickled their brains, paralyzing their senses.
“No, maybe this was intentional.”
The power of the drug he had initially gotten his hands on couldn't have produced this kind of energy.
If they had tried to gain this much power back then, their hearts would have given out before they could handle it.
That meant they had finally succeeded in improving Rage-13.
He was certain of it, especially since nothing happened when he tried activating a spell formula to detect the drug's energy.
It seemed they had not only made it undetectable by the formula but had also succeeded in raising the concentration of energy in the drug to a level incomparable to the original.
The side effect of sensory paralysis must have occurred during that process, and they had deliberately left it in instead of removing it.
“They’re no different from berserkers.”
Not feeling pain was a double-edged sword.
It was formidable in that they wouldn't fall during a sustained battle and could relentlessly pursue their enemies, but it also meant they would readily allow enemy attacks to land, destroying their bodies in the process.
It was something you would never do if you cherished your comrades and subordinates. But if you saw them as disposable items to be used once and thrown away, it was an incredibly efficient improvement.
Treating humans as disposable was an act that deserved fierce condemnation, but funnily enough, he didn't feel much of that.
“Is it because they have such a large population that replacements are easy to find…?”
Whether they were used like disposable goods or not, it didn't matter.
He didn't have the time for such meddling, feeling sorry for his enemy’s subordinates and getting angry on their behalf.
He was busy enough protecting his own people. Why should he waste a single thought on his enemies?
In fact, taking it a step further, Kim Do-jin was actually pleased with the situation.
“It’s a feast of prey.”
He licked his lips as he watched the members of the God-Serving Society radiate red energy.
To Kim Do-jin, they were nothing more than prey.
And to Gluttony as well.
“That’s right, Gluttony. You want a bite too, don’t you?”
As if in response, the energy in his stomach churned.
They say the craving for a familiar taste is the most powerful of all.
Kim Do-jin had tasted them once before.
Back then, their energy was far weaker than it was now, which only made him anticipate this moment more.
Wouldn't the taste be that much richer, to match the far denser energy?
Feeling an unbearable appetite, he ran his tongue over his dry lips and began to move.
For Kim Do-jin, dealing with them was far easier than dealing with the villains from the Black Market just a moment ago.
Why?
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
[Starving Gluttony devours….]
[Ravenous….]
Because all he had to do was use Gluttony to devour all the energy surrounding them.
Stealing the energy of a proper host of a Divine Authority was no easy task.
But stealing it from those who were merely being swayed by a power they knew nothing about? That was easier than twisting a child's wrist.
“Kuaargh…!”
“My… my power!”
“The power our lord gave us is gone…!”
“Everyone, watch out for him!”
The members of the God-Serving Society shouted in Chinese as they watched their comrades lose their power one by one.
These men, who had charged forward as if they didn't know fear, now hesitated and grew wary of Kim Do-jin. But it changed nothing.
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
They simply became food for the insatiable Gluttony and collapsed.
Everywhere he passed, four or five members of the God-Serving Society fell, their energy drained.
To an outsider who didn't understand the principle behind it, the situation was utterly jaw-dropping.
“What… what the hell is that?”
“That’s impossible…!”
“Is he secretly an S-ranker pretending to be A-rank?”
As bewildered comments flew back and forth, it was over.
Of the 120 members of the God-Serving Society assigned to this area, 98 were down.
The other 20 had been taken down by others, leaving only two still standing.
Having finished a staggering ninety-eight acts of predation, Kim Do-jin felt his body reaching its limit.
And at the same time, he felt it changing.
This is bad.
His first emotion was fear.
Change doesn't always yield beneficial results.
The possibility of changing into a state worse than the present was always open.
That was his current situation.
The balance is breaking.
Because of his thoughtless binge, he had absorbed more energy than his body could handle.
His body was overloading, and its physical balance was slowly starting to crumble.
This was clearly his mistake.
At the same time, he was puzzled.
Normally, the system would have warned me by now, wouldn't it?
It always had until now.
Whenever he binged to the point his body couldn't handle it, the system would send a warning.
He had always used that message as a benchmark to distinguish between predation and overindulgence.
Did I trust the system too much…?
Just as he was berating himself for uncharacteristically over-relying on something other than his own senses, another thought carefully sprouted in his mind.
Or… maybe I really haven't reached my limit yet.
The balance was only just beginning to break.
There were no signs of physical damage or collapse that would lead to the worst-case scenario.
If so, what would happen if he absorbed even more energy?
Will my body collapse, or…
Will he instead turn this crisis into an opportunity and reach a new state?
As his thoughts shifted, two choices lay before Kim Do-jin.
Safely stop the predation and observe the situation, or continue absorbing more energy and swell even further.
The choice wasn't difficult.
It was a choice he had faced countless times over his twenty-plus years as a Hunter.
The safe but slow path, and the fast but dangerous one.
Whether in his much younger days or now at his advanced age, his choice in these moments was always the same.
Shwaaak!
“Kuaaargh…!”
Thud!
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
“Hoo.”
There wasn't nearly enough time to only choose the safe paths.
I have to get stronger.
He was getting entangled with increasingly dangerous things.
The most obvious threat was, without a doubt, Lu Bu.
A world-class powerhouse who possessed a level of strength untouchable even among S-rankers.
And lurking in the shadows was an even greater threat.
Hexagram.
The boss leading them was surely even stronger than Lu Bu.
A woman like Han Ju-hee wouldn't entrust her body to anyone less than that.
In a situation where his life could be targeted by them at any moment, he had to become stronger.
To protect his own life.
And to protect the people around him.
That’s all I need.
Even if the world were to end, as long as he had enough strength to protect his own people, that would be enough.
That was why he chose the dangerous path once more.
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
“…Still not enough.”
Just as he devoured the last two men who had been trembling in fear, he felt a sense of lack.
At that moment, an urgent voice burst from the radio he had been issued before the operation.
[Encountered unidentified enemies! Requesting support in the southern sector!]
It seemed the Hunters deployed to the south had run into the God-Serving Society and were being pushed back.
He was just thinking he needed more.
Kim Do-jin immediately turned. Spattered with a bit of blood, he issued a command to his team members, who had become remarkably more imposing in the short time he hadn't seen them.
“We’re heading south.”
After speaking, Kim Do-jin strode forward.
His team members followed silently behind him.
* * *
In the southern sector, a fierce battle was raging.
With every absorption of the Divine Authority of Wrath, a dizzying sensation swept through his entire body.
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
[Starving Gluttony devours….]
[Ravenous….]
He pushed the endlessly appearing messages to the corner of his vision and continued his feast.
His body, which had been in a near-perfect state of balance, began to creak, and his stomach grew heavier and heavier.
Warning bells rang incessantly in his head.
But the dreaded outcome never came.
It kept breaking and breaking, but there were no signs of collapse.
“Haa, haa…!”
With every ragged breath he exhaled, red mana flowed in and out of his mouth.
Just as more than eighty percent of the God-Serving Society members who had infiltrated the southern sector had fallen and were crawling on the ground, the radio blared to life once more.
[Lu… Lu Bu…! Lu Bu has appeared! He’s currently on horseback, heading south…!]
A shock several times greater than before swept through the area.
Lu Bu was coming.
It seemed one of his subordinates here had reported the situation, and he was now rushing over.
The combatants, who had been fighting fiercely, began to back away one by one.
“Lu Bu is coming! Report immediately and get out of here!”
It was a planned maneuver.
The moment Lu Bu appeared, they were to report and evacuate the operational area to minimize casualties.
It wasn't enough to reduce their losses to zero, but what could they do?
It was the only way to mitigate the damage, even if only by a little.
He grabbed and twisted the arm of a God-Serving Society member reaching for the retreating Hunters.
And he absorbed the energy.
[Starving Gluttony devours the Divine Authority of Wrath, ‘Unquenchable Wrath’!]
The energy was sucked in.
At the same time, a sensation he had never felt before filled his mind.
Fulfillment.
It felt as if a space that had remained empty no matter how much he ate had finally been filled to the brim.
Simultaneously, a new message appeared before his eyes.
[Your Mana stat has reached 100!]
[Stat Limit Break!]
[A new trait awakens.]
[You have acquired the trait ‘Domain of the Ruler’.]
The moment the new trait settled into his body, the world began to go through an upheaval.