Chapter 482: Ant Cave (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 482: Ant Cave (3)
Park Gi-tae’s report threw the Incheon government into utter chaos.
At the mere mention of a suspected Omen Phenomenon, Kim Jun-hyeok immediately issued a Summons.
“…I was too complacent.”
Left alone in his office, Kim Jun-hyeok ran a hand through his hair in agony.
In truth, the anomaly in the Ant Cave could have been resolved long before it escalated into a serious threat. If the Incheon government had decisively deployed its forces when the first two Queen Ants were discovered, this Omen Phenomenon could have been nipped in the bud. In fact, there were countless instances where Omen Phenomena had been entirely prevented through such preemptive measures. He had certainly found the initial reports strange, but with the looming threat of a Great Disaster, he couldn’t afford to mobilize troops recklessly.
He had been complacent.
He had been incompetent.
The crushing realization that a problem he had been fully aware of was now spreading like wildfire filled him with deep self-reproach.
If it truly is an Omen Phenomenon, just as the guide reported, the Incheon government must risk everything to subjugate the Ant Cave immediately. Jeju Island, once hailed as the safest place in South Korea after Seoul, was destroyed because they overlooked an Omen. Just as marine monsters rushed in and wiped out Jeju Island while the authorities stood by and watched, an Omen Phenomenon is a threat that can escalate into a disaster at any given moment.
The fall of Jeju Island was a textbook cautionary tale.
Omen Phenomena manifested in various forms, and ignoring them simply because they hadn't yet reached the scale of a Great Disaster guaranteed a catastrophic end. That tragedy had happened six years ago. Hearing of Jeju Island’s fate had initially prompted Kim Jun-hyeok to tighten security against Omen Phenomena, yet he had still made the grave mistake of overlooking the anomaly in the Ant Cave.
There was no excuse.
Even with the numerous constraints placed on a subjugation campaign, he should have made a decisive move the moment the anomaly was discovered.
Roman Dmitry. Is he still alive?
He had heard the full story from Park Gi-tae.
The man had acted as their guide into the Ant Cave, but Roman Dmitry and Kang Min-ho had chosen to remain inside instead of fleeing. Though it hadn’t been Kim Jun-hyeok’s intention, he had essentially driven them into the jaws of death. If he had known an Omen Phenomenon was brewing in the Ant Cave, he never would have sent the two of them there.
Above all, Roman Dmitry had not mobilized his own forces.
The fact that Roman had faithfully kept his promise left Kim Jun-hyeok feeling utterly miserable.
When I was agonizing over the Ant Cave issue, I thought testing Roman Dmitry’s worth would kill two birds with one stone. I have failed as a Mayor responsible for the safety of the citizens. If I recognized the Ant Cave as a problem that needed to be solved, I shouldn’t have passed it off to someone else. If he dies, it is entirely my responsibility.
He sincerely hoped.
He prayed that Roman Dmitry wasn’t dead.
Even though he knew it was practically impossible, he hoped Roman was somehow holding out until he and the subjugation team arrived.
“Mayor, we are ready,” Lee Tae-seong announced.
“Understood.”
Kim Jun-hyeok stood up and walked out of the office. Even then, the possibility of Roman Dmitry succeeding in the subjugation alone did not cross his mind.
* * *
The subjugation team immediately departed from the Safe Zone.
Composed of Incheon’s military forces and several Hunter guilds, the coalition also included Cheongsan, a prominent mercenary guild.
They had accepted a commission.
A Hunter guild’s primary client was always the government. For Cheongsan, this was a golden opportunity to make money, but they also deemed it necessary to help secure Incheon’s safety. In truth, this dynamic was the exact reason Kim Jun-hyeok had coexisted with Red Moon for so long. Although he knew they were plotting behind the scenes to expand their influence into Seoul, Red Moon’s mere existence was a necessary evil for Incheon’s defense.
Of course, that was in the past.
Just because Red Moon was necessary didn’t mean he was willing to turn a blind eye to their wrongdoings forever.
On the way to the Ant Cave, Park Gi-tae—who had joined the subjugation team—spotted Cheongsan’s Guild Master, Gu Cheol-ho. He immediately exploded in anger.
“You son of a bitch! If you knew it was this dangerous, you should’ve told me beforehand! What was that bullshit about ‘If it looks dangerous, use a teleport scroll and run’? Because of you, I almost died in that damn cave!”
“Whoa, Gi-tae. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!”
“Is ‘sorry’ going to fix it?!”
Gu Cheol-ho tucked his tail between his legs.
Though the two were close, a mercenary guild deceiving someone about the difficulty of a commission was a severe breach of trust. If rumors spread that they had lied about the danger level of a hunting ground and sent their people to their deaths, Cheongsan’s mercenaries would desert in an instant. That was the nature of mercenaries. Depending on financial terms and personal safety, they were the type of people who would switch affiliations overnight, even if they had been with Cheongsan for years.
Gu Cheol-ho raised his hands defensively. “Gi-tae, I really didn’t know. If I had known it was such a dangerous hunting ground, of course I wouldn’t have sent you. And keep this a strict secret, but this commission wasn’t from an individual in the first place—it was requested directly by the Incheon government.”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. The client was the Incheon government. Think about it. It makes no sense for an individual Hunter to casually drop hundreds of millions of won on a D-Rank guide. I just trusted the Incheon government. I assumed they would form a subjugation team with a decent chance of winning. How could I have known they’d only send two people? When I told you to use the scroll and run if things got dangerous, it was because your safety is my top priority, no matter who the client is—even if it’s the Incheon government.”
Perhaps the excuse worked, as Park Gi-tae’s expression finally softened.
If the Incheon government had secretly placed the request, then this mess couldn’t entirely be blamed on Gu Cheol-ho.
But then, what was the relationship between Roman Dmitry and the Incheon government? If they were on friendly terms, sending only two people into the Ant Cave made absolutely no sense.
Gu Cheol-ho quickly read the room. Judging that Park Gi-tae had calmed down enough, he subtly changed the subject.
“By the way, those people who went into the Ant Cave… do you think they’re still alive?”
The image of Roman Dmitry suddenly flashed through Park Gi-tae’s mind.
With Kang Min-ho’s skills alone, survival would be impossible, but Roman Dmitry had carried himself with the absolute confidence of someone who had something to rely on.
If he is an A-Rank powerhouse…
An S-Rank was completely out of the question. Those were transcendent beings who numbered fewer than twenty in the entire world. There was no way Roman Dmitry was the sole S-Rank Hunter in South Korea.
But an A-Rank was a possibility.
Even that felt absurd, but if he stretched his wishful thinking to its absolute limit, it was a realm he could barely fit the man into.
However, Park Gi-tae ultimately shook his head. “…They’re probably dead. No matter how strong he is, surviving in that hell until now is impossible.”
* * *
Right after Park Gi-tae had fled.
Kang Min-ho gripped his sword, his posture rigid with anxiety. From the massive tunnels bored in every direction around the Queen Ants’ nest, a seemingly endless tide of ants was pouring out.
Screeech!
Grrrr!
…Is this how I die?
There were dozens of Queen Ants. If they had been continuously producing offspring for an entire month, there was no telling when this monstrous wave would end. A thousand? Two thousand? Tens of thousands? Because there was no end in sight, a cold sweat broke out all over Kang Min-ho’s body.
He had to live.
He couldn’t die in a place like this. He gripped his hilt tighter, his hands growing slick with sweat.
Unlike him, Roman Dmitry remained perfectly calm.
“Kang Min-ho.”
“Yes, sir.”
“By this world’s standards, how strong of a person do you think it would take to wipe out all these ants?”
“Well…”
Kang Min-ho fell into thought for a moment. A B-Rank Hunter was out of the question. It would have to be at least an A-Rank, but no matter how strong an A-Rank was, fighting this many ants alone would eventually drain their stamina. Of course, there might be an A-Rank Hunter out there who defied common sense. But there was only one premise that could definitively answer Roman Dmitry’s question.
“An S-Rank. In South Korea, only the Mage in White could resolve this situation alone.”
“Is that so?”
Shring.
Roman Dmitry drew his sword. Stepping forward as if to shield Kang Min-ho, he walked slowly toward the surging swarm.
“If that is the case, then this will be a suitable experience to gauge the standards of this world.”
* * *
A new world.
A new standard was needed.
Roman Dmitry trusted his own strength, but he was not so complacent as to be blindly overconfident in an unknown world.
For the past month, I have studied this world. Though much has now been established in my mind, it is foolish to judge a world solely by knowledge acquired through text. I need experience. A clear, visceral experience to prove that what I have studied is indeed true.
Rumble!
Ruuuumble!
He drew upon his mana.
He walked toward the terrifying tide of ants rushing from all sides, and the very moment they clashed, Roman Dmitry kicked off the ground.
Flash!
Slash, slash, slash!
The leading ants were torn to absolute shreds. Their hard carapaces were sliced through like tofu, and in the blink of an eye, Roman Dmitry penetrated deep into the heart of the swarm.
The ants reacted savagely. To their compound eyes, the human had been far away just a second ago, yet he had seemingly materialized right in front of them.
Splurt!
Blood splattered in all directions. Before the monsters could even react on instinct, Roman Dmitry’s sword tore through their bodies.
Screeech!
Screeeeeech!
The ants rushed him frantically. Devoid of any concept of fear, they kept pushing forward even as they watched their kin get slaughtered. Their numbers were truly beyond count. From afar, it was an overwhelming sight—a suffocating black wave crashing inward. Yet, the moment that black wave met Roman Dmitry, it was dyed a dark crimson.
Flash!
If they thrust their heads forward, their heads flew off.
If they swung their forelegs, their forelegs were severed.
Even when dozens of ants attacked simultaneously, the outcome remained entirely unchanged—their bodies were effortlessly torn apart.
Boom!
Ruuuumble!
The surroundings vaporized under the sheer pressure of his aura.
With every step Roman Dmitry took, the lives of the ants in his path were extinguished. It was a one-sided massacre. Against his blade, the distinction between worker ants and soldier ants was utterly meaningless. Whether worker or soldier, they all met the exact same fate, dying without being able to block a single strike. They were merely easy prey. Barely a few minutes had passed, yet a mountain of mangled carcasses had already piled up behind Roman Dmitry.
A sense of danger?
There was none.
Visually, it looked like a perilous, impossible battle, but every attack coming from all directions fell well within Roman Dmitry’s domain. He didn’t even need to dodge. He simply cut them down mid-strike. Hard forelegs split as bodies were cleanly sliced in half, and terrifying mandibles shattered as heads flew into the air.
A deep thirst welled up inside him.
More.
More, more.
He wished they were stronger. When he had first set foot in this unknown world, setting aside his lingering feelings about his past life, Roman Dmitry had felt a spark of anticipation. He had hoped to encounter new powerhouses. He recalled the battles of his past that had always been fiercely contested—opponents against whom he couldn’t guarantee victory even after pouring out his entire strength. Even if his past had been a grueling life of blood-drying tension, walking a path of thorns, he had never felt more alive than during those moments on the edge of death.
Ultimately, Roman Dmitry was just that kind of being.
He was someone whose true nature could never shine in a peaceful life; he could only find meaning in his existence by living extraordinarily. It was entirely contradictory. Even as he wished to reclaim the peaceful life he had lost in the past, Roman Dmitry prayed that the process of achieving it would be arduous.
Flash!
Crunch!
He slaughtered them. He fully unleashed his domineering presence.
By the time he had butchered over a thousand ants, the Queen Ants watching from the sidelines could no longer hold back and rushed forward.
A Queen Ant was a B-Rank monster. Setting aside their terrifying ability to spawn over a hundred ants a day, their incredibly hard carapaces and razor-sharp mandibles alone made them powerful enough to earn that B-Rank classification.
But that was all they were.
The fate of the Queen Ants was no different. Just like the worker ants, just like the soldier ants. When Roman Dmitry’s sword ground through their flesh, the carapaces that had been deemed so impenetrable split open, spraying dark crimson blood into the air.
Splurt!
Kieeeek!
The ants shrieked in agony.
It was an overwhelming display of martial might. With fear spreading like a contagion, as if it were suddenly imprinted into their very cells, the monsters realized far too late that Roman Dmitry was an existence they simply could not handle.
If this is what the people of this world call the level of a disaster…
Crunch.
He stepped on the head of a trembling Queen Ant, crushing it into the ground.
Now, his assessment was complete.
There is no reason to hesitate from now on.
After slaughtering every single ant before him, Roman Dmitry would proceed with his plans without ever looking back.