Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Red Asura - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Is this good enough?”
“Tie it tighter. There’s a gap there.”
“Got it.”
Kim Minjun got to work with his platoon mates and some spare flame-retardant suits.
A narrow passage barely wide enough for two adults to squeeze through.
He wove the flame-retardant suits tightly across it, blocking everything except the center.
“Perfect. That should do it.”
The net was complete in no time.
Woven this densely, even ten Red Asuras charging at once wouldn’t break through.
Of course, as long as he was there, that wouldn’t happen.
“Platoon leader. We’re ready. Let’s get started.”
Kim Minjun signaled to Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin.
“Yeah. We’re set to go anytime.”
He handed Kim Minjun some cooling grenades, then led the rest of the platoon back.
Normally, he’d be the one taking the role of Sergeant Yi Seung-ho or Corporal Kim Kwang-sik.
He had the skills for it, no question.
‘If both the platoon leader and deputy get caught in an explosion, the whole platoon’s done for.’
But.
If the worst happened, there’d be no officers left to lead the platoon.
And that would lead straight to total annihilation.
“Everyone, grab a cooling grenade.”
The platoon leader gave one last order to the hunters who’d fallen back.
If the Red Asuras broke through that wall, they were to hurl their cooling grenades all at once.
“Y-Yes, sir…”
“Whoosh…”
The platoon mates drew their cooling grenades, faces taut with tension.
“Yi Seung-ho. Kim Kwang-sik.”
“Sergeant Yi Seung-ho.”
“Corporal Kim Kwang-sik.”
“Why are you two so jittery? Forgot how we smashed those orcs the other day?”
Before swinging his whip, Kim Minjun clapped the shoulders of the nervous pair.
To loosen them up.
They could make mistakes in that state.
“But those were training orcs…”
“Hey. One-on-one, Red Asura versus goblin—who wins?”
“The goblin…”
“Right.”
As Kim Kwang-sik answered, Kim Minjun cracked the whip.
“I’m gonna set that up for you now. Relax.”
Shiiik!
The whip slithered through the hole in the center like a living snake.
“Closer than I thought. First one. Get ready.”
“Got it!”
With a wrist snap, he yanked the whip back, dragging out a sunflower-like plant creature.
“Chiiik!”
The Red Asura sensed the danger on instinct and flared its gills wide.
To blast out intense heat.
“Now!”
“Yes!”
“Leave it to us!”
While Kim Minjun held it in place.
Sergeant Yi Seung-ho pinned its mouth shut.
“Chiik! Chiiiik!”
“Set the timer and shove it in!”
“Yes!”
As it thrashed wildly.
Corporal Kim Kwang-sik jammed a timed cooling grenade into its gills.
“Sergeant First Class Kim Minjun!”
“Got it!”
The Red Asura wouldn’t spit out the object in its mouth, mistaking it for food.
No need to worry about it coughing up the grenade.
Shiiiiiik!
He flung it behind him, and the Red Asura froze solid in seconds, going still.
The cooling grenade had detonated from inside, killing it.
“Next one, pronto! Ready!”
“Yes!”
No time to dawdle.
Kim Minjun hooked the next monster.
“Timer!”
“Yes!”
Their movements synced like clockwork.
The three handled the situation as if they’d rehearsed it a hundred times.
“Whoa… insane.”
“How’s Sergeant First Class Kim Minjun so good with that whip? Cowboy in a past life?”
“Not just that—grabbing visible stuff is hard enough, but sensing invisible ones? How?”
“And Sergeant Yi Seung-ho and Corporal Kim Kwang-sik are reacting crazy fast too. That’s four already.”
The platoon mates watching from afar gaped in awe.
One down every minute—miraculous speed.
Sergeant First Class Kim Minjun’s genius idea, and pulling it off.
And the hunters beside him matching with top-tier skills.
“Kim Minjun… yes! Keep it up!”
Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin clenched his fist, watching Kim Minjun reel in Red Asuras at breakneck pace.
In the worst crisis, he’d improvised a win on the spot.
If he hadn’t been there as deputy platoon leader, it would’ve been a disaster.
“That’s twenty-five! Almost done—stay sharp!”
Meanwhile.
Kim Minjun was mowing through thirty monsters.
Clearing so many so fast had cooled the dungeon’s heat considerably.
Things were easing up.
‘Hold on. That smells like demonic energy?’
But.
As the heat faded, a familiar scent wafted into his nose.
‘Definitely.’
Demonic energy.
The dungeon’s sweltering air had masked it until now.
‘Two with demonic energy.’
Kim Minjun ordered Yi Seung-ho and Kim Kwang-sik to fall back.
Demonic energy leaking out could harm them.
“Platoon leader! Three left inside! I’ll head in and finish them off for good!”
“What? We’ve been doing fine—why risk it now… Kim Minjun! You idiot, it’s dangerous!”
Before Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin could finish, he dashed into the dungeon depths.
“Look at these guys.”
Deep inside, three Red Asuras writhed.
Two shimmered with dark purple demonic energy.
“These must be why their numbers exploded.”
Monsters infused with demonic energy cause anomalies.
Abnormal growth, population booms, new attack patterns.
The Red Asuras jumping from two to dozens in two days? Definitely their doing.
“So the demonic energy possessed irregular monsters.”
The front lines, Cheorwon in Gangwon Province.
First time I’ve seen demonic energy in irregular monsters.
“Either way, thank you very much.”
Kim Minjun grinned and strode toward them.
“Chiiiiiik!”
The Red Asuras screeched, extending stems toward him.
Sususu.
The slow-extending stems coiled around his body.
Red Asura stems carried a neurotoxin-like poison.
A graze could paralyze you, but their attack speed was glacial.
Even civilians could dodge.
“Not worth the effort to evade.”
“Chiik?”
Kim Minjun didn’t bother dodging.
He just grabbed the stems binding him and yanked hard.
“Chiiiiik!”
The Red Asuras dragged right to him before they could resist.
Panicked by the absurd strength, they flailed wildly.
[Absorbed a certain level of demonic energy.]
[Demonic Energy stat increases by 1.]
[Demonic Energy stat increases by 1.]
“Whoa. Wasn’t expecting this, but I gained some demonic energy?”
Just sucking in the two’s energy bumped his Demonic Energy stat by 2.
Unexpected harvest.
“Corruption.”
Gripping them tight, Kim Minjun unleashed Corruption.
He could’ve crushed them barehanded, but that risked harming the platoon.
Sususususu.
Thick purple demonic energy spread from his hands.
A far cry from the old Corruption that just gave Hunter troops stomachaches.
“Go ahead, try self-destructing.”
The Red Asuras rotted away mid-screech, dead in seconds.
Three seconds flat.
[Agility stat increases by 1.]
[Stamina stat increases by 1.]
“Sweet.”
Maybe from soloing most monsters lately.
His stats were rising faster than expected.
“Demonic energy gained, EXP earned, performance points racked up.”
One stone, three birds.
“With results like this, our guys might get special promotions.”
Not sure about the others, but Second Squad.
Especially Yi Dong-jin or Kim Kwang-sik—plenty possible.
“Seung-ho… well, he’s already a sergeant, might be tough. Sergeant to Sergeant First Class is rough, they say.”
They’d handled grueling training unscathed, resolved emergencies without a scratch.
One of the three he’d named might get that special bump.
Felt like it.
“Ah. But in the army—Hunter or regular—seniority matters.”
Kim Minjun smacked his lips regretfully.
Overwhelming feats had shot him to Sergeant First Class in record time.
Problem was, the time served was too short.
“With one—no, two more years seniority, I’d be a Master Sergeant.”
Just a twinge of regret, nothing major.
Smash seniority with even bigger feats, done.
“Kim Minjun! What if you run into the depths like that? You hurt anywhere?”
Emerging, Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin rushed over, checking him head to toe.
Only after confirming no injuries did he exhale in relief.
“The ones inside were out of my whip’s range. Dragging it out risked them pulling something unexpected, so I handled it quick.”
“Still. Think of your own safety first. You die, it’s over.”
“I knew I wouldn’t.”
“Ha. Can’t even scold you. You’ve never slipped up once.”
The platoon leader chuckled helplessly at his confident subordinate.
“Attention!”
“Attention!”
“The sealed dungeon entrance is open! Quick final check, then we evac fast! Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Got it!”
At the platoon leader’s clear announcement, the platoon erupted in cheers.
A dungeon where one slip meant death.
Irregular monsters swarming a sealed one.
Clearing it in under three hours? Unbelievable.
“Performance points… gonna be huge.”
“Right? Clearing a dungeon like this alone pads the score big time.”
The platoon mates chattered excitedly, finishing their sweep.
“You punks. Good work.”
Kim Minjun approached the resting Yi Seung-ho and Kim Kwang-sik with praise.
They’d stepped up better than expected, letting him handle the monsters with ease.
“Sergeant Yi Seung-ho. Sergeant First Class Kim Minjun did almost everything.”
“Corporal Kim Kwang-sik. Feels like we just reaped the benefits.”
Yi Seung-ho and Kim Kwang-sik brushed it off.
“Reaping benefits is a skill too, you punks.”
Kim Minjun thumped their shoulders.
Ding.
‘Hm?’
A moment later.
A message window popped up before his eyes.