Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Part 2) The Age of Predation, Overture (3)
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6.
“I’ll call Shin Tae-yeop.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong and Choi Uk froze in place.
Lee Seong-mi seemed to shiver for a moment as well, but she soon shook her head with a sigh.
“Tae-yeop’s in seclusion, though.”
“I know.”
“It’s been about half a month already? You can count on one hand the people who’ve seen him.”
Choi Uk crossed his arms, as if lost in thought.
“Like back in Gyo-nam-dong…… Do we have to convince him again?”
“We’d have to track down where he is first.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong added her voice, laced with concern. I flashed a grin.
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
I slipped off the glove on my left hand.
Revealing a magic circle pulsing white.
“No need for convincing.”
It was the stigmata of the Ice Dragon King, Salarakas.
“Or hunting around to find out where he is.”
The item Dragon Wife Xserinia had given me as both a gift and repayment.
“I’ll bring Tae-yeop back myself. Just like during the Gyo-nam-dong raid, I’ll bring him for sure.”
“For sure?”
“Yeah. He promised he would.”
7.
How does a Hunter move quickly through Paradise?
The most basic way.
It’s by using a twin-headed carriage.
Any Hunter can use one, and they’re pretty fast too.
“But they have clear limitations. If I had to point one out.”
They can only travel on paved roads.
The grand avenues of Paradise.
In other words, if the pavement’s destroyed, they can’t move.
“With another defensive battle like the last ‘Exalted One’ raid, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.”
That’s why Choi Uk gave this order to the <Association> Hunters.
“From now on, any <Association> Hunter needs to learn horsemanship. That’s my decision.”
8.
“Whoa, whoa.”
I yanked hard on the reins.
The black horse reared up on its front legs, coming to a halt in place.
Reaching the summit…… It’s pretty chilly up here.
Bukak Mountain.
This peak at the northernmost tip of Cheongunhyoja-dong in Jongno-gu was a natural wonder of white cliffs.
According to the stigmata’s guidance…… It should be around here?
I scanned the surroundings.
Needle-leaved trees lined both sides of the mountain path, exhaling a cool pine scent.
“………!”
Then, out of nowhere.
The bushes rustled over there, and something burst out.
“Shirak!”
I caught a glimpse.
Eyes clear as a winter lake.
A body and wings blanketed in white frost.
“Hey, you──”
A fragment of the soul of the ice dragon Seskasari.
“──Shishishishishishis!”
I didn’t even have time to react.
It flew straight at me with all its might, landing on my head and letting out a roar.
“Shirak! Shirak! Shirak!”
Such an adorable roar.
But the black horse trembled in terror and tried to bolt, so it took some effort to calm it.
“Shirak, look at you. Flying like a pro now?”
“Shishishi!”
“And your size…… You were fist-sized before, now you’re basketball big. How well have you been eating?”
Right then.
The bushes over there shook, and someone came running out.
“Hey, Shin Shirak! You can’t just──”
It was a boy with a ponytail.
Bundled up thick in wool winter gear, making his small frame look a bit bulky.
“What the? Lead Hunter Uncle?”
And it was the boy I’d been looking for.
“Tae-yeop.”
“It really is Lead Hunter Uncle?”
I jumped down from the horse.
I grabbed the rushing Shin Tae-yeop, lifted him up, and spun him around once. Shin Tae-yeop burst into giggles.
“Full of energy, huh? Guess you’ve been doing well, Uncle.”
“You too. Shirak’s grown huge. Must’ve fed him good.”
“No joke. This guy’s on track to bankrupt the house.”
Shin Tae-yeop laughed with a sigh.
Shirak, perched on my head, hopped over to Shin Tae-yeop’s shoulder and nipped his cheek.
“Ow! Oh, Uncle. Perfect timing.”
“You were waiting for me?”
“No, no. I was just prepping lunch. Hungry? Let’s eat and talk!”
Shin Tae-yeop turned to Shirak with a “Right?” and Shirak let out an enthusiastic cry.
“The cabin’s that way. Five-minute walk. Surprise—I built it all myself?”
Shirak playfully yanked at Shin Tae-yeop’s hair in response.
“Ow! Okay! Truth is, Shirak helped!”
“ShiShishishishi.”
“Special tour for Uncle.”
- You can leave him alone now, right?
That’s why I hesitated for a moment.
This kid living so happily…… Did I really have to drag him back to the jaws of death?
- How many more wounds do you need to inflict before you’re satisfied?
“No.”
But…… We desperately needed Shin Tae-yeop’s help.
“Tae-yeop, afraid we don’t have time for that.”
“Huh?”
Did he not catch the serious tone?
His smile as he turned to me was utterly innocent.
“It’s an emergency…… An entire regiment wiped out by some unknown enemy.”
“…………?!”
“I need your help. And time’s running out…….”
I could see Shin Tae-yeop’s expression freeze over.
He went quiet for a bit.
The next moment, he glanced at the mountain vista, then at Shirak, then smiled with a sigh.
“Guess it’s time for the hero to make his entrance.”
“…….”
“Whew. Can’t be helped, then.”
Shin Tae-yeop climbed onto the saddle in front of me on my black horse.
“Let’s go! Explain what’s up on the way.”
9.
“……And that’s how it happened.”
As I rode, I gave him a quick rundown.
“Blizzard…… Frozen corpses that won’t melt in fire…… Some eerie chill……?”
Shin Tae-yeop muttered the key phrases to himself.
“No way…… Snow White Star…… Ikilas……?”
He jerked his head up.
Ikilas. The ominous shiver in that word alone made me tilt my head.
“Ikilas? What’s that?”
“A holy apostle you absolutely don’t want to run into.”
“……Holy apostle?”
“Ikilas…… One of the five absolute gods! Known for wielding the power of cold…….”
Power of cold?
I clamped my mouth shut for a second.
“You mean……?!”
“High chance it’s a hunter from another world, like you guessed. Just a hypothesis for now…… But if not…….”
“If not? If not, what?”
Shin Tae-yeop shuddered, and Shirak shivered along with him.
“Better hurry. ……We need to check it out fast.”
We arrived at the Yongsin-dong forward base around 11 a.m. No sooner had we dismounted.
“It’s the Leader!”
“Shin Tae-yeop!”
“Quen-jang~ Knew you’d come~!”
The Association members, who’d been grimly forming squads, erupted in cheers at the sight of Shin Tae-yeop.
“He really came.”
And there was Choi Uk.
Fully geared in his crow hunter outfit, he’d come out to greet us at the headquarters gate.
“Been well?”
“Yeah. As you can see…… So, what’s the situation now?”
“Follow me. I’ll explain.”
Choi Uk led the way into headquarters.
“We’ll figure out how to resolve this together.”
Shin Tae-yeop and I followed right behind.
“Squad formation done?”
“For now, all deployable forces are assembled, as you said.”
“Park Ji-won?”
Forward base operations room.
Staff officers and Hunters opened the heavy iron door for us.
A massive stone table.
Neatly arranged maps and stacks of documents on top.
And.
The <Association>’s squad leader-level executives surrounding it.
“Association President?”
“It’s Shin Tae-yeop.”
“W-What’s that? Baby dragon?”
Shin Tae-yeop and I waved half-simultaneously. Greetings could wait.
“Want to check the bodies?”
“No.”
Shin Tae-yeop shook his head at Choi Uk’s question.
“I heard the condition from Lead Hunter Uncle…… More importantly, where was the body found?”
At Lee Seong-mi’s gesture.
Two scouts and Hunters spread a leather map across the table.
“Near this intersection.”
Lee Seong-mi pointed to the heart of Jegi-dong.
[Sam-il Bridge].
Sam-il Bridge. I unconsciously furrowed my brow and spoke.
“Where the Jegi-dong city area starts……?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t go any farther. Like I said, the blizzard was too intense.”
Shin Tae-yeop leaned over the table, hands planted, staring at the map. Choi Uk stepped up beside him.
“We can’t even hypothesize the situation. Any hunches?”
“Highest probability is still a hunter from another world. Subordinates wouldn’t enter Paradise. But…….”
“But?”
Choi Uk pressed for the rest.
The words Shin Tae-yeop muttered next turned the room as silent as if doused with ice water.
“……Could it be Hunters from another Paradise?”
Another Paradise?
I swallowed hard.
I didn’t even want to think what that meant.
“Hmm…… Tae-yeop. That’s probably impossible.”
Lee Seong-mi, the scout chief, was the first to refute.
“We’ve tried contacting other Paradises since the ‘Exalted One’ raid.”
It made sense.
All <Association> intel passed over her desk first.
“But the boundary line was still there. Couldn’t cross.”
Choi Uk saw it differently.
“No…… That’s entirely possible.”
“What? But──”
“──There were gaps in the scouting period after the ‘Exalted One’ raid up to now, right?”
The room buzzed instantly.
Squad leaders started chattering among themselves.
“……From another Paradise?”
“……You mean just briefly.”
“……Those Nowon-gu bastards attacked us?”
This could go on forever……
Clap. I clapped my hands to quiet the noise.
“Speculation just breeds more speculation. Table talk won’t get us answers.”
“No, wait. This isn’t something to dismiss as mere guesswork.”
Choi Uk looked at Do Su-jin.
“Do Su-jin. I’m giving you four regiments. Head to Pyeongchang-dong immediately.”
Pyeongchang-dong……?
The northernmost administrative dong in Jongno-gu. Do Su-jin looked as baffled as I felt.
“Four regiments? Why?”
“It’s where the northern gate is, and geographically closest to Nowon-gu.”
I sucked in a breath.
Choi Uk, what was this man seeing?
He peered back at the map.
“And Seo Hwa-yun. Do Ye-jin’s at the <Workshop> now, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Don’t tell her anything. Keep her at the <Workshop>.”
“……Not deploying her? In this crisis?”
Seo Hwa-yun frowned deeply, and Choi Uk replied.
“Subordinate weapons aren’t invincible. If she gets sniped out of nowhere, even ‘Subordinatization’ is useless.”
I let out an admiring gasp.
Right, that was it.
Do Ye-jin had only been deployed to confirmed enemy zones so far.
A so-called decisive battle weapon.
Then Shin Tae-yeop, who’d been pondering with hands gripping the table edge, looked up.
“Then train that kid in ‘Subordinatization’ too.”
“Now……? Why?”
“He seems dumb but has sharp instincts.”
I glanced at Do Su-jin, who grinned back. For some reason, Jeong Ha-kyeong’s eyes turned icy.
“He’ll definitely notice and strut around offering to help.”
“True.”
“Like Choi Uk Uncle said, better keep him somewhere safe.”
I was the one raising concerns about Shin Tae-yeop’s suggestion.
“No…… Training might be overkill? We need insurance just in case.”
“Nah. He’s the type who won’t go to dangerous spots unless ‘Subordinatization’ is off-limits for him.”
Something felt off in the conversation’s core.
But Shin Tae-yeop seemed stubborn…… So I backed off.
Finally, Choi Uk steered back to the main issue.
“The key now is heading into Jegi-dong…… But we have no way to scout.”
Shin Tae-yeop rubbed his chin with a hum and looked up.
“You said the blizzard’s stalling the search? Is that the only issue?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t worry. That’s why Shirak and I are here.”