North Korea, Let's Take It Over
We have to stop him.
Team Leader Park Hae-soo bit his lip. The moment they fought, it would be war. Moreover, this was North Korea. They were isolated in the heart of enemy territory. Even additional troop support was impossible. Once the sparks of battle flew, the flames would spread uncontrollably. But there was no other choice.
Look. There was no one who could stop Cheon Yooshin in his current berserk state. Besides, they had already been attacked. It was North Korea's clear intent. By attacking Cheon Yooshin, they had crossed the line. He could feel North Korea's determined resolve to kill Cheon Yooshin at any cost and seize the Green Magic Stone. To survive in this hellish place now...
Team Leader Park Hae-soo opened his mouth with a stiff expression. "Captain. We must use every means necessary to assist Hunter Cheon Yooshin and get out of here."
Baek Woohyun also nodded. "I know. I was prepared for this situation from the moment they attacked Hunter Cheon Yooshin."
The hunters and agents of the Hunter Management Department were all of one mind.
Meanwhile, Ri Kang-ju felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Yooshin, who had returned alive even after taking a rocket launcher hit head-on. The South Korean bastard was watching him with his head tilted at an angle, having stopped moving. It was dangerous to stay still. That bastard was a monster who had cleared a C-rank gate.
"What are you doing?! Fire the rocket launchers at that bastard right now!"
At Ri Kang-ju's shout, his subordinates began to move in a hurry. "Hurry, hurry! If you don't kill that guy, your lives are forfeit!"
Five subordinates simultaneously shouldered their rocket launchers and aimed at Cheon Yooshin. And then.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
With a white flash, five rockets tore through the air and flew toward Cheon Yooshin. Watching the high-speed rockets, a crazed smile spread across Ri Kang-ju's face.
'No matter how strong a bastard like you are! Before the weapons of our Republic, you're nothing but dust!'
No matter how great a hunter was, if they were hit by five rockets at once, they would die without even a corpse left behind. However, there was no urgency on Yooshin's face. Instead, a sneer began to spread across his expressionless face.
"You believe in this trash to attack me?"
He held out his palm toward the incoming rockets. For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped. The rockets, flying at high speed through the air, had come to a halt in front of Yooshin's palm. Flames were flickering and burning at the tips of the rockets, but they could not move forward any further.
The faces of Ri Kang-ju and his subordinates twisted in terror. "Im-, impossible! Ho-, how..." Ri Kang-ju's face turned pale.
"What's impossible about it?"
Cheon Yooshin's fingers moved minutely. Then, the heads of the stopped rockets began to rotate slowly. People held their breath at this sight, which seemed to defy the laws of gravity.
"Now, is it my turn?"
At that, Yooshin's eyes shone cruelly. The rocket launchers, their directions reversed, were fired back along the exact path they had come.
Whoosh!
The sound of the rockets tearing through the air made Ri Kang-ju's hair stand on end. The five rockets struck the ground where Ri Kang-ju and his men were standing.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
With a tremendous explosion, the earth shook. The spot where Ri Kang-ju and his subordinates had been standing was instantly engulfed in flames. Cheon Yooshin watched the scene with indifferent eyes. As if bothered, he waved his hand once, and the dust cleared and the flames subsided.
The only one who survived was Ri Kang-ju. But he was neither dead nor truly alive. His body was a wreck. Blood gushed from deep wounds, and the skin that wasn't wounded was mangled by burns. It was only because of his B-rank hunter physique that he was still alive after being hit by the rockets.
Cheon Yooshin approached him. "Who ordered it? Who's the mastermind? Is it that pig?"
At that, a sneer appeared on Ri Kang-ju's lips. He spoke in a blood-mixed voice. "F...ck you!"
Ri Kang-ju's voice was weak, but the sneer contained within it was clear. He was going to die anyway. Thinking that, he had nothing to fear. He felt sleepy. His vision began to narrow, and the world slowly turned black. But strangely, he felt at ease. Ri Kang-ju's mouth barely moved.
"You... will soon follow me... too. Let's see... then. Heh... heh-heh."
Finally, Ri Kang-ju's eyes closed. Yooshin watched him intently. And then.
"You idiot, did you think you'd be free from me just because you died?"
Yooshin reached out his hand over Ri Kang-ju's closed face. And he muttered.
"Come out, you idiot."
For a moment, the air rippled. Something whitish emerged from Ri Kang-ju's corpse. It was his soul.
[W-, what is this? I definitely died...]
The bastard looked down at his own body in confusion. Cheon Yooshin sneered and approached him.
[It's you! H-, how did you do this to me? No, how can a human do such a thing!]
Terror rose on his face.
"Would you even understand if I told you? Now, I'll give you a choice. Do you want to just vanish in your soul state, or do you want to go to the afterlife and reincarnate?"
In truth, he didn't even know if an afterlife existed. Since the Abyss existed, he only speculated that a place called the afterlife might exist. Furthermore, Yooshin didn't know if he would reincarnate again. He'd never reincarnated himself, after all. So, what Yooshin was saying to the bastard right now was practically a scam.
However.
[...V-, vanish?]
Ri Kang-ju's expression looked terrified. He knew it himself. That he had died, and that souls actually existed. And that Cheon Yooshin had dragged his soul out. Even for a normal person, no, even for a hunter, such a thing was absolutely impossible. Therefore, he had no choice but to believe Cheon Yooshin's words.
"Yeah, vanish. If I suck up your energy, you won't even be able to reincarnate; you'll just croak right here. Just tell me the mastermind. Then I'll send you to the afterlife cleanly. You should be reborn and live a fancy life, right? Don't you think?"
Hesitation flickered across Ri Kang-ju's face. But that hesitation didn't last long.
[It's... it's Comrade Chairman.]
"I knew it. That pig."
He seemed to flinch at the word "pig," but he nodded as if resigned. He was already dead. There was no need to show loyalty to Comrade Chairman even after death. It might have been different before he died.
The mastermind was decided. Now all that remained was to slit the bastard's throat.
"Then go now. If you go first, I'll send that pig too."
No sooner had Yooshin finished speaking than Ri Kang-ju's soul slowly faded. At that moment, Park Hae-soo and Baek Woohyun approached.
"Yooshin-ssi, what are you going to do?"
Yooshin, who had glanced at Park Hae-soo, sneered. "Obviously, we're going to storm in. Why are you asking? If it had been someone else, they'd already be dead."
"Then let's go right now."
At Park Hae-soo's words, Yooshin opened his eyes wide. "Eh? You're not stopping me?"
Actually, he thought they would stop him. Because the actions he was taking now, and the actions he would take in the future, could push South and North Korea toward war. But they wanted to go right now?
"Yooshin-ssi almost died. We were attacked, and you want us to just sweep it under the rug? Where would you find such an idiot? The hunters and agents of the Hunter Management Department all think the same as I do."
Their eyes were overflowing with indignation. "That's right! Hyung-nim, let's show them properly this time. What happens when you mess with our Hunter Management Department!" Joo Jowoon clenched his fists.
"This damn bastard! Daring to attack someone who came to help? Where did they learn such rude manners?" Yoon Hyewon's eyes were blazing.
"Now is not the time to look back. It is only the time to move forward." Even Baek Woohyun spoke in a calm but firm tone.
These people. I'm touched, aren't I?
Actually, they weren't the ones who were attacked. He was the only one who got hit by the rocket launcher—well, and the driver. Anyway. To think they would step up like this even though they weren't the ones attacked. It's something I couldn't even imagine in the Abyss. There, there were only bastards desperate to kill me.
A strange lump in his throat. Ahem. To hide that awkward emotion, Yooshin frowned deeply.
"Then let's go. To see that pig's face."
The car they were in began to retrace the path they had come. However, the vehicle Yooshin was in had no choice but to stop again. The North Korean army was lined up on the road in their path. Massive tanks, the likes of which you'd only see in movies, blocked the road, and modern weapons like self-propelled artillery were aimed at the vehicle Yooshin's party was in.
Park Hae-soo, who was in the driver's seat, couldn't respond, his mouth hanging open. Even Baek Woohyun in the passenger seat was the same. Even if they were hunters, it was unimaginable if they were hit by such an attack. However.
"Haa... look at these bastards?"
Yooshin shook his head as if it were absurd. "Stay here. Don't come out."
Yooshin, who had spoken to them, got out of the car. Despite the majesty of the army with fierce hostility before his eyes, Yooshin's face was unexpectedly calm. Rather, a smile played on his lips. He then raised his head toward the 20 or so drones floating in the sky, making a loud noise.
'I suppose that pig is watching this place, right?'
Yooshin raised his middle finger toward the drones. If it's a universal insult that works worldwide, they'll understand, right? And watch clearly, and feel it. As I get closer to you, your death is getting closer by that same distance.
At that moment, a sharp shout struck Yooshin's ears.
"You damn bastard! Daring to set your dirty feet here?! Are you dying to die?!"
Yooshin slowly turned his head and shifted his gaze toward the source of the sound. What entered his eyes was a middle-aged soldier with a bulging belly. And on his shoulder, four stars were sparkling.
"Was it this easy to see four stars?"
It meant that this bastard was also a corps commander. He had already seen two in a single day. However, his image was quite different from Kim Seongryong's. If Kim Seongryong was the image of a well-trained soldier without an ounce of fat, the bastard in front of him was like a greedy pig. Anyway. That wasn't important. Right now, they had come here to kill him. If so.
'I can't just sit still either.'
Summon Imp.
For a moment, the air rippled beside Yooshin. And Imp appeared.
"Master."
Imp, who had been beaten once before, was cowering even more. He was so servile that others might feel pity, but there wasn't the slightest change in expression on Yooshin's face.
The moment Imp appeared, a wave of shock spread among the North Korean soldiers.
"W-, what is that!"
"A-, a demon?!"
In an instant, turmoil spread through the front line. Some soldiers were terrified. Someone belligerent instinctively gripped their weapon. As if he couldn't hear such commotion, a cold voice came from Yooshin's mouth.
"You see that bastard with the stars on his shoulder. Kill that bastard first. Then kill all the bastards who open their mouths."
Imp's eyes flashed.
"Understood. Master!"
Familiar Imp uses Shadow of Darkness; 513 Magi consumed from Master Cheon Yooshin.
Along with the message, Imp's body blurred. At that moment, Imp rose up as the shadow of the corps commander, who had four stars drawn on his shoulder, became even darker.
"Huk!"
"It's a ghost! A ghost has appeared!"
"Comrade Corps Commander! Watch out!"
"Hurry and avoid..."
But their warning was already too late. Imp grabbed his neck with lightning speed from behind the corps commander.
"Kuaaaak!"
Before the corps commander's scream could even finish, his neck snapped with a 'crack' sound in Imp's grip. Seeing the corps commander's death, a soldier among the soldiers who had one star on his shoulder shouted.
"Everyone, fire at that bastard!"
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!
Bullets rained down toward Imp with the sound of gunfire, but Imp had long since disappeared. And the place where he reappeared was the shadow of the soldier who had just ordered the soldiers. It took only a few seconds for him to end up in the same plight as the corps commander who had just died.
Three, four... Every time Imp appeared from a shadow, high-ranking officers fell one after another. Only then did they realize. The fact that the soldiers giving orders were becoming targets of death. There is no one who does not fear death. Naturally, those with command authority were no exception. The battlefield changed in an instant. The commotion, which had been like a shambles, was engulfed in silence as if time had stopped. The North Korean soldiers, who had been dignified just a moment ago, kept their mouths shut and were busy watching Yooshin and their own shadows with terrified faces.
At that moment, Yooshin opened his mouth.
"Open the road, you bastards. If you don't want to die."