Annihilation of the Escort Team
After meeting the High Elf and completing the quest, Park Taemin turned to leave but suddenly realized he had no idea where he was going. He'd been so caught up in her words that he hadn't thought about the way back until now.
'Damn. If I'd known, I would've asked Mirak to wait a bit.'
Taemin regretted sending Mirak off so casually, but there was no changing the past now.
'Which way was it? This direction?'
"This is tricky. A map would solve everything."
Muttering to himself, Taemin reactivated the map on a whim. To his surprise, the map that hadn't been visible moments ago was back to normal.
"What the hell? It's fine now? Better move before it glitches again."
Pushing aside his doubts about the map, Taemin set the exit and dashed along the green path.
Meanwhile, outside the portal, a fierce battle was raging.
Shuuuk! Chaeng! Chae-aeng!
"Watch your back!"
"Ah."
"Get your head down!"
The escort team and guard unit, ambushed by hunters from China, were fighting desperately for their lives. Real combat with clashing blades—it was a chaotic, panic-inducing mess.
'They're really trying to kill us. What the hell are these guys?'
Lee Sung-ho, the escort team leader, couldn't believe what was happening. Combat meant for killing humans? He'd never imagined fellow humans turning on each other like this. It was utterly shocking.
The others felt the same. And their confusion soon showed in the tide of battle.
Compared to the Chinese hunters, honed by real combat and rigorous training, the Korean hunters—with zero experience in PvP—were getting steamrolled. And they were outnumbered to boot. They needed a solution, fast.
'No chance of winning like this. What do we do?'
Lee Sung-ho blocked another attack with effort, realizing the fight was turning against them more by the second. They had only one healer to dispel binds or grease spells, and the guard unit's damage dealers couldn't land meaningful hits on the enemies.
The eight of them had formed a tight formation, holding their ground for now, but it wouldn't last much longer.
"Everyone, stay sharp! One slip and we're done."
At Lee Sung-ho's command, the hunters tensed up even more. But despite their resolve, the momentum kept shifting against them.
Eventually, their fragile formation shattered under the relentless assault, splitting them into two groups in dire straits.
The guard unit members, separated from the escorts, were surrounded by five enemy hunters. They fought valiantly but couldn't overcome the level gap, falling one by one.
The two tanks protecting the healer and sorceress were beheaded first. Then the healer was torn limb from limb.
Left alone after losing her comrades, Kim Hana stared at the approaching enemies, powerless. The escorts couldn't help either—they were barely hanging on themselves.
As death loomed, Kim Hana instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and curled up.
But for some reason, the attacks stopped. Feeling no pain, she cautiously opened her eyes.
The men were right there, weapons lowered, surrounding her. Their eyes gleamed with greedy lust.
With the guard unit wiped out in an instant, reinforcements poured in, and the escort team crumbled rapidly.
Lee Sung-ho, who fought at the front until the end, had his head exploded by a sudden magic blast, dying on the spot. Park Woo-sik, swinging his sword to protect the healer and sorceress, met a similarly gruesome fate.
Having killed five in total, the enemies turned to the surviving female hunters with lecherous grins.
"Nice bonus haul. They're pretty decent-looking. Bring that one over."
At the leader's words, the men around him charged at Park Hye-mi, the escort healer.
She struggled with all her might not to be dragged, but she couldn't match the strength of several burly men.
"Let go! Get off me!"
Dragged across the ground, she was dumped in front of the leader.
Sensing the dire turn, she mustered her last strength and unleashed her only attack spell, Holy Axe, charging at the leader while screaming into the air.
"Everyone, run!"
Her slender hand, glowing with light, struck the leader dead-on.
Pop!
The light exploded on impact, but the man showed no injury whatsoever.
It was expected—a healer's attack skill was weak, meant mostly for monsters.
Even so, she clung to him and shouted.
"Run, now!"
The women snapped to attention at Park Hye-mi's words and bolted. Leaving her behind hurt, but they had no choice.
But they barely made it a few steps before their legs locked up—the enemy mages had cast Bind.
Their bodies tumbled to the ground mid-stride. Escape had failed.
The leader glanced at them, then shoved Park Hye-mi away and drew his sword.
"I hate noisy women."
With a chilling expression, his blade severed her neck.
Thud!
Her head hit the ground, blood spurting like a fountain from the headless neck.
Kim Hana and Kim Min-ah screamed in unison.
"Aaaah!"
"No!"
The leader warned them, eyeing the women.
"Don't do anything stupid, unless you want the same."
He menaced them, then crooked a finger at Kim Min-ah.
Trembling in terror, she reluctantly approached.
Miming stripping, he ordered.
"Strip."
"P-please…"
"Hurry the fuck up!"
"Agh!"
Kicked in the stomach, she doubled over and collapsed, tears streaming down her face.
Seeing this, the leader—with madness in his eyes—commanded his men.
"What are you waiting for? Fuck her up."
At his order, over a dozen men swarmed her like they'd been waiting.
The Hunter Bureau in Jongno-gu, Seoul—the heart of Korea's security and order—was engulfed in flames.
The surrounding barriers lay broken, and countless corpses littered the ground in gruesome states.
"Is a new era finally dawning?"
The man speaking amid the inferno was Hwarang Guild's leader, Ham Ik-hyun.
Alongside the Blue Flag Guild—one of the Seven Strongholds—they had invaded the Bureau, exterminating enemy forces and leaving only cleanup.
"Perfect. Just perfect."
That was Ham Ik-hyun's verdict as he gazed at the blaze.
He shifted his eyes from the main building to a small bunker behind it.
Moments later, people emerged—Park Dae-hyun, Korea's top leader and Hunter Bureau Marshal, bound and dragged out by hunters.
One of the nation's strongest. If his closest aides hadn't been bribed by Hwarang, he wouldn't have fallen so easily.
Even with Hwarang's might and Blue Flag's aid, the Bureau represented half of Korea's total hunter power.
Ham Ik-hyun looked down at the kneeling Park Dae-hyun with indifference.
"Any last words?"
Park Dae-hyun closed his eyes silently.
"Figures. A dead man walking doesn't need words anyway."
Chae-aeng!
Sek-!
Thud!
Without hesitation, Ham Ik-hyun drew his waist sword and decapitated him.
A pitiful end for a national leader, but he accepted death with stoic calm even as the blade flashed.
"Congratulations, Guild Master."
His secretary, who had watched the execution, offered congratulations.
"Thanks. This is just the beginning. Once we clean up here, we rally the regional forces. Oh, status on the guilds we dispatched?"
"Blue Moon is nearly annihilated. Wolfsrein should fall soon too."
"Good. Our casualties?"
The secretary's face darkened slightly.
"Well… All three S-rank combat squads sent to Blue Moon were wiped out. Almost no A-rank survivors."
Ham Ik-hyun frowned at the report. The losses were worse than expected.
"Hm. Heavier than anticipated. Blue Moon went head-on, so… Wolfsrein? They shouldn't have much backbone."
"As predicted, minimal damage there. Latest report: no casualties yet."
"That's a relief. Right, Jeju situation?"
"Completely eradicated. No remnants—total annihilation. No worries."
"Hmm. The Japanese. Three magic battalions mobilized, right? They sure get shit done. They'll be at Jeju by now."
"Yes. But are we really handing Jeju over to them?"
"We need them for now. Very useful. Oh, and keep eyes on the Suwon Red Knights until we're done here. Don't want them rallying locals against us."
"Yes. Capital Alliance and Incheon Union are on standby nearby."
"Good. Report any funny business. I'll head to the broadcast station with the chief of staff to announce the new era. Handle the rest with the executives."
"Understood, Guild Master."