Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 031
Chapter Title: The Direction of the Counterattack, Second Raid Strategy Meeting (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“……Leather armor?”
Whispers spread, as if they found it amusing.
“……Confidence? Or skill?”
“……Obviously both.”
Some Nightmare Hunters nodded in awe, while others muttered in disappointment.
“Is that the rumored Lead Hunter?”
“Hmm…… Doesn’t look as strong as I thought.”
“I was expecting a monster like Im Yong-gon.”
A slender shiver choked my breath.
Yeah…… These must be the real deal Hunters.
Their very presence was worlds apart from the rear-guard Hunters.
My seat was directly across from Choi Uk at the head table.
The round table had only seven seats, a religious symbol representing the Seven Star Gods.
Only the leaders of large and small raid parties were seated. Their members stood automatically behind them.
I’d never been a leader before……
I was pushed into my seat. Hong Byeong-gyu’s group and Jeong Ha-kyeong stood behind me.
The whole process felt burdensome somehow, yet reassuring too.
“Now, we begin the second strategy meeting. Everyone, please focus.”
At Choi Uk’s words, the round table fell silent at once.
What overwhelming charisma……
Soon, Seo Hwa-yun and Im Yong-gon lifted and unfurled a massive leather-bound map.
It was the map of the old Kyonam-dong district.
Kyonam-dong was an outer administrative dong in Jongno-gu, neighboring Seodaemun-gu. It had once been famous for its dense cluster of high-rise apartments.
Now it was just a Nightmare cityscape……
“To cut to the chase, the second Subordinate’s location is none other than Gyeonghui Palace.”
Choi Uk manipulated his system interface, and an [Info Window] appeared before our eyes.
=====
[Subordinate Information]
[Description Summary]
- Raging Despair, Arishel’rap
- Level: ???
- Attribute: Physical
[Hunting Method]
- Classified as a Giant Type. Exercise extreme caution when preparing for the hunt.
- Heavy physical defense armor is recommended.
[Location]
- Gyeonghui Palace
Chaos is the root of this world.
The essence of the world that the Creation Gods sought to ignore.
Ah, beware the madness of that frail child who harbors the chaos of outer space……
=====
Sighs escaped.
Gyeonghui Palace? Of all places?
This would be even harder than Muak-dong.
“Wow, fuck. We’re screwed.”
“Isn’t that the main nest for those Giant Type bastards?”
They were right.
Gyeonghui Palace was the habitat of the worst Heteromorph type: the Giant Type Earth Dragon species.
Earth Dragon species.
Lizard-like quadrupedal monsters, with shoulder heights ranging from a minimum of 2 meters to a maximum of 2.5 meters.
That hopeless size.
At least three Hunters were needed to safely take one down.
At least three.
We were overwhelmingly outnumbered.
“Now I get why they issued the mass mobilization order.”
To Choi Uk’s left at the head table.
A plump middle-aged man spoke up, with an astonishingly arrogant demeanor.
“To gather the force needed to break through Gyeonghui Palace. But…… even thirty people wouldn’t be enough, would they?”
I unconsciously twitched my eyebrow.
That hunting outfit…… it’s army combat gear?
No matter how I looked at it, it was a hunting uniform mimicking Republic of Korea Army combat clothes.
Olive drab [Light Armor], helmet.
Gaiters. Leather boots. Detachable gas mask too.
“That’s the raid leader from [Army Headquarters]. Name’s Choi Jeong-gyun.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong whispered right up against my ear, her breath brushing my skin.
“[Army Headquarters]?”
“Full name’s something like Post-Korea Army Headquarters……? Just call it Army Headquarters. It’s made up entirely of ex-officers.”
In that case.
Did they stick to modern warfare even in name and tactics?
The reason I thought that was because all the Hunters under him were armed solely with firearms.
Ex-Army officers banding together to fight on the front lines—truly inspiring.
“They must’ve sent love calls to Ha-kyeong too.”
“Of course they did. Fuck, I’m a beauty Hunter. But I’m not a soldier anymore, so fuck off.”
She seemed pleased with “beauty Hunter.” I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief, and Jeong Ha-kyeong gave a slight smile too.
“But it’s not as great an organization as you might think, old man.”
At the round table, a few Hunters chimed in agreement with Choi Jeong-gyun.
“I agree. Gyeonghui Palace isn’t a place to take lightly.”
“Even the trash mobs are fuckers, and this is a boss fight.”
“How about waiting for the rest of the Hunters?”
Choi Uk tapped the table to quiet them.
“Let’s think logically. Those who didn’t respond to the first mobilization—why would they come for the second?”
He had a point.
Waiting might just make the people who showed up for the first one bail.
“Here’s the key point. In this operation, the main raid party won’t enter Gyeonghui Palace.”
The meeting room went dead silent.
Even I tilted my head.
Are my ears playing tricks? This doesn’t make sense?
About ten seconds of silence passed.
The one who muttered softly was Kim Gye-sang.
“Not entering the tiger’s den—how can you get the tiger cub?”
What the hell does that mean?
But Choi Uk reacted to the cryptic Chinese proverb.
“To catch a tiger, you must enter its den…… True enough. If this were a normal situation.”
Kim Gye-sang was a former elementary school teacher.
Choi Uk was an even more knowledgeable intellectual…… We regular folks just sat there blankly, like listening to a foreign language.
“Kim Gye-sang. One question. What if a herd of wolves guards the tiger’s den?”
“……You’d have to lure the wolves out first?”
“That’s the core of this raid. We lure the Giant Types out and annihilate them.”
Lure-and-destroy operation?
An absurd yet brilliant idea.
“The lure point is Dasin High School soccer field. We plan to set traps across this vast area.”
“……!”
“To put it simply, it’s a trap that blocks all non-Giant Type Heteromorphs from approaching.”
I had to admit, I was genuinely impressed.
If Gyeonghui Palace was the Giant Types’ home turf, the lure point would be ours.
A strategy that completely flipped the terrain advantage.
If I had to compare, Choi Uk was like a genius tactician on Shin Tae-yeop’s level. But for two reasons, this felt like armchair theory.
“I have a question.”
First one.
“Will the Giant Types actually be lured?”
Heteromorphs had a territory radius. You could call it their habitat.
They rarely strayed beyond it.
For example, they’d chase like madmen but slink back once crossing the boundary.
“In normal cases, no. But there’s a way.”
Choi Uk pulled a small wooden box from his coat pocket and placed it on the table.
Inside the wooden box.
Five red pills with blood-like wave patterns……?
Those are definitely consumables that lure Heteromorphs: [Holy Blood Pills].
“Kim Baek-jun. Do you know that Heteromorphs are drawn to powerful souls?”
“……Powerful souls?”
“Yes. The Star Messenger explained that soul rank is quantified by the level system.”
I briefly pressed my forehead.
Drawn to powerful souls…… That means……?
“You mean Heteromorphs get lured by high-level Hunters?”
“Quick on the uptake. Now, if those Hunters coat themselves with these [Holy Blood Pills], how do you think the Heteromorphs will react?”
“They’ll act like horny fuckers in heat.”
Choi Uk nodded at Jeong Ha-kyeong’s answer.
“This isn’t a hypothesis. We’ve already proven it twice by luring Giant Types.”
Then this is…… incredible.
As a former SWAT cop, I might know tactics, but strategy was beyond me.
- If tactics are the colors, strategy is the underdrawing.
That was true genius territory.
As the old saying goes: not every great soldier makes a great commander.
“Role assignment is key. Form a small [Bait Team] of high-level Hunters. The rest form the [Escort Team] to protect them to the lure point.”
Why the escort?
Because the [Bait Team] would be the main force in the annihilation battle. They needed to conserve stamina and unique skill uses.
“The [Bait Team] is the [Annihilation Team]. It’s the most dangerous and crucial mission, so it must be composed solely of the strongest.”
I was silently organizing my thoughts when I felt countless gazes. I looked up.
Immediately, my eyes met Choi Uk’s.
“By those standards, as Lead Hunter, you’re the first pick for the [Bait Team].”
“……!”
“No forcing it. Will you join?”
Suddenly.
A heavy shiver rattled my heart.
Screaming death throes swirled and clawed through my mind.
- Th, this human, human wheel!
- Save…… save me……
- This is as far as I go. Dodging one beat too slow……
The Nightmare Zone.
That clear deathtrap.
Now I had to go back there. And become the Lead Hunter once more.
“I’ll join.”
I swallowed dryly and continued.
“I’ll lead the charge to reclaim Kyonam-dong.”
“I figured you’d say that.”
The [Bait Team] was truly the elite of elites. Choi Uk and Im Yong-gon at levels 33 and 37.
And…… Kim Gye-sang.
“Two warrior-type Hunters. One archer-type. One caster-type. The most ideal attack squad composition.”
Kim Gye-sang’s level was 27.
Excluding my abnormally high level and <Romance>, Hong Byeong-gyu’s group had the highest levels among Hunters.
“Kim Gye-sang, will you join too?”
Among them, Kim Gye-sang was now the strongest caster-type Hunter since Shin Tae-yeop vanished.
Hold on.
Something felt off.
Fine, Choi Uk knowing Kim Gye-sang’s name made sense, but how did he know he was a caster-type?
Only the Star Messenger could view Hunters’ [Status Windows]…… Unless he learned from the Baekhwa Society incident?
“Sounds fun…… Count me in.”
Kim Gye-sang smiled as he stood beside me.
Having a comrade like Kim Gye-sang (and same age too) was incredibly reassuring—no complaints there…… but.
“One thing to clarify.”
I raised my hand, and the room quieted again.
“What?”
“The first raid. You know we nearly got wiped because the Subordinate ambushed us?”
“Of course.”
“We survived half thanks to Shin Tae-yeop’s ingenuity.”
Shin Tae-yeop.
Mentioning his name cast sad shadows over Kim Gye-sang and Jeong Ha-kyeong’s faces.
“What I mean is, the Subordinates aren’t to be taken lightly. They might think like us—or even more.”
In short.
There could be another ambush.
Choi Uk, with his brilliant mind.
He grasped my point in not even a second.
“You mean the Subordinate might show up again. No need to worry. I’m actually hoping for it.”
What?
His unexpected reply left me speechless.
“The Subordinates are clever. They’ve calculated everything. They strike only at the worst-case scenarios.”
What’s the worst case for this raid?
The Subordinate appearing mid-lure operation.
“If they aim for the worst, we just build every strategy around that worst case.”
“……Ah!”
“Yes, the lure operation assumes the Subordinate appears directly.”
Chills ran down my spine for real.
Choi Uk…… this guy…… holy shit……!
We’d feign executing the lure op.
To draw out the Subordinate……
To bait it into ambushing us……
In other words, the lure op was originally meant to lure the Subordinate.
A mind-blowing reversal of conception.
My heart pounded.
What if—just what if—Shin Tae-yeop and Choi Uk teamed up on strategy……?
The rebuttal came then.
“You’ve gone completely mad.”
The one who pointed it out.
Was the female Hunter seated to Choi Uk’s right at the head table.
“Let me recap: you’re saying we draw in the Subordinate to break through the old Kyonam-dong district?”
“Accurate summary.”
“Strange…… A Hunter of your caliber should know what Kyonam-dong is like.”
She was truly beautiful.
I’d never prioritized looks before…… but she might be the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.
Her attire was as elegant as her features.
A knight’s uniform of deep crimson embroidered with a pure white H. Matching cape and sword. Pleated collar.
“That’s the rumored <Guard>.”