Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Subjugating Titan Uros
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The Titan Uros didn't hesitate for even a moment before charging at Choi Yeon-ah once more.
"Groooar—!!!"
Even without any mana mixed in, the beast's roar was chilling to the bone.
It was a good thing Choi Yeon-ah was facing it head-on. Anyone with even a little less experience would have frozen up from that murderous bellow, unable to move a muscle.
Whoosh—
As Choi Yeon-ah dodged the beast's slashing forepaw and leaped back, she swung her sword at the same time.
Having been thoroughly briefed on its dangers beforehand, she was already wielding her prized blade, Daeha.
'Tough as hell, and solid too.'
Her stance had been unsteady, so it wasn't a full-power strike, but against any other monster, it would have pierced the hide and severed the paw clean off.
Not this one, though.
The Titan Uros let out a roar laced with pain at Choi Yeon-ah's attack.
Its bellow hummed through the air, dizzying their heads.
As Choi Yeon-ah grimaced and staggered for a moment, the beast swung its opposite paw.
"Yeon-ah unnie!"
With Han So-yul's shout came a gust of wind that tore wildly into the beast's arm.
"Kraaang—!"
A blast of power incomparable to Choi Yeon-ah's strike.
The beast recoiled with a cry of agony, stumbling back.
An arrow from Yun Ga-ram flew straight at it.
"Tch—dodging that one too."
Lee Da-hye clicked her tongue as she watched the arrow, aimed at its head, graze by with the barest margin.
At the same time, she and Lee Ha-na charged at the beast together.
Two hunters closing in from both flanks, Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul blocking the front, and Yun Ga-ram lurking at a distance, waiting for an opening.
The Titan Uros's massive body shrank back sharply.
Then its stiff fur bristled up like the spines of a hedgehog.
Something flashed in Yeon Sung-hun's mind at the sequence of movements. He shouted urgently.
"Fall back!"
Thankfully, he'd warned them beforehand not to venture too deep, so everyone retreated just in time.
As the four who had charged pulled back sharply, the beast straightened its huddled form.
In the next instant, needle-like spines shot out like machine-gun fire.
They reached all the way to Kim Jun-su and Seo Jin-su, who were relatively farther back, and even to Yeon Sung-hun and Yun Ga-ram at a distance.
Yeon Sung-hun deflected all the spines flying toward himself and Yun Ga-ram, then quickly checked on the raid members.
Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul seemed unharmed, but Lee Ha-na and Lee Da-hye weren't so lucky.
In their haste to retreat, their stances had crumbled. They'd blocked some, but others had pierced through.
Mostly arms and legs, where the beast's spines were embedded.
Fortunately, there was no poison, but the fur from a creature that had rolled around these mountains couldn't be clean.
Just thinking about the filth made it dangerous enough, poison or not.
"Wash the wounds with potions right—!"
Yeon Sung-hun, mid-order, furrowed his brow at the sight of the Titan Uros drawing in a massive breath.
"Cover your ears!"
With his curt shout, the Titan Uros expelled the breath it had sucked in.
A colossal howl erupted.
The sound reverberated through the entire forest, just as Yeon Sung-hun had warned—it shook their minds and bodies to the core.
Laced with mana, even with prior warning, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul fared better, but the others, with lower ranks, took a heavier hit.
A few raid members let out low groans and dropped to their knees.
They hadn't lost consciousness, but their legs had given out.
They were barely holding themselves up, but joining the fight right away seemed unlikely.
Yeon Sung-hun and Yun Ga-ram, positioned far back, were mostly fine.
"Hunter Yun Ga-ram, instead of targeting it, move the other raid members back. That thing will go for the weakened ones first."
Any beast that cunning would prioritize the vulnerable over the hale.
Yun Ga-ram slung his bow over his shoulder and leaped into action.
Yeon Sung-hun followed suit, dashing toward the retired members.
As expected, the Titan Uros was aiming for the others first, but Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul were blocking it.
Though less affected than the rest, the lingering effects of its roar had dulled their movements slightly.
Yeon Sung-hun hurled a potion right away.
Not the usual explosive kind.
"Hold your breath!"
The two quickly covered their mouths and noses.
The potion bottle hit the beast and shattered.
A faint pink gas spread silently.
Sniff sniff—the Titan Uros shook its head violently after unwittingly inhaling it.
Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul charged at the staggering, disoriented beast.
"Kreeeong—!"
Even dazed, it twisted its body against the two attackers.
Hunching again, it prepared to fire more spines.
Yeon Sung-hun, now right up close, pulled a potion from his pouch and yelled.
"Fall back!"
Almost simultaneously with Yeon Sung-hun tossing the potion, another barrage of spines launched.
The bottle collided mid-air with the spines, shattering in an explosion.
The unbridled flames engulfed the beast and surged toward Yeon Sung-hun and the raid members.
Han So-yul thrust her sword up, shielding everyone.
The fierce gale she unleashed blocked the rising inferno.
"Attack full-force the moment the flames clear. We end it before it recovers."
Yeon Sung-hun issued the calm order, glancing back briefly.
Yun Ga-ram had gathered all the members and was nocking an arrow, eyeing his chance.
Seo Jin-su and Kim Jun-su, first to recover, were ready to rejoin anytime.
Yeon Sung-hun nodded shortly.
As the flames died down, he and Choi Yeon-ah launched forward.
Han So-yul, having expended a major burst of her demon sword's power, fell back to recover.
Tat tat tat—
As the pair dashed in, Seo Jin-su and Kim Jun-su followed.
Yun Ga-ram loosed several arrows.
They overtook Yeon Sung-hun and Choi Yeon-ah, embedding in the still-dazed Titan Uros.
Puk puk puk—
The sharp arrowheads pierced deep, drawing screams like wails from the beast.
"Kraaaar—!"
As it thrashed wildly, trying something else, Choi Yeon-ah and Yeon Sung-hun thrust their swords.
Aiming for heart and head.
The beast spotted them and flailed its forepaws wildly, but Kim Jun-su and Seo Jin-su blocked.
Its brute strength sent them flying, unable to fully block, but it bought the time needed.
Puk—
Their swords sank in almost together, and the beast convulsed in a final frenzy.
"Kreeeong—!!!"
Yeon Sung-hun popped a potion straight into its roaring maw.
The thrashing body shuddered violently.
Soon after, thud—it collapsed its massive frame to the ground.
Yeon Sung-hun let out a quiet breath.
"We took it down safely."
"How are the other raid members?"
He worried about Seo Jin-su and Kim Jun-su, flung far at the end, and Lee Ha-na and Lee Da-hye, hit by the spines earlier.
At Yeon Sung-hun's question, Choi Yeon-ah furrowed her brow slightly.
"Take care of yourself first."
She pointed quietly at his chest.
Not deep, but a sizable gash.
From the beast's final death throes.
"Ah..."
Yeon Sung-hun let out a belated gasp of realization and downed a potion immediately.
He hadn't noticed before, but now the pain stung sharply.
As he winced faintly, Choi Yeon-ah sighed and glanced at the others.
"Everyone seems fine, no major issues."
"Noona! I think some bones are broken here!"
"That'll heal with a potion."
Seo Jin-su groaned at her matter-of-fact reply.
Chattering away fine meant he was okay, as expected.
Confirming his chest wound fully knit, Yeon Sung-hun chuckled softly.
"Good thing."
"This and that, all thanks to Guild Master. I swear, it's like you've seen this monster before—how do you know all its tricks?"
Yeon Sung-hun smiled awkwardly at the tricky question.
He couldn't exactly say it was from his past life.
"Right, oppa! You knew all about that one when we first met too! How?"
Han So-yul, approaching after chugging a mana recovery potion from her heavy mana drain, chimed in.
Faced with their curious stares, Yeon Sung-hun averted his eyes innocently.
"Ah, Ha-na-ssi. Feeling okay?"
"Pardon? Yes, nothing major..."
"Relief. Still, just in case, take a detox potion each. You too, Hunter Lee Da-hye."
He turned to Lee Ha-na, who had approached at the right moment.
His obvious topic shift drew faint glares from Choi Yeon-ah and Han So-yul, but they didn't press.
If he wasn't saying, there was a reason.
He'd tell them when needed, right?
They trusted Yeon Sung-hun deeply.
Having safely felled the Titan Uros, the raid members took a break.
As dusk fell and night approached, they set up camp with pre-packed gear.
Heading out of the rift meant traversing a perilous nighttime mountain—unavoidable.
At least this was Titan Uros territory, so fewer monster attacks to worry about.
Not entirely carefree, but safer than elsewhere.
Once camp was ready, everyone gathered around the bonfire.
"Factory gear really is top-notch. Tried all sorts of camping stuff, but nothing this comfy before."
Like other equipment, the camping tools came from their factory.
They specialized in combat gear, but convenience items matched the prestige of Korea's top three workshops.
Yeon Sung-hun chuckled at Seo Jin-su's endless praise.
"Doesn't K.G run its own workshop? Not top three, but pretty big, right?"
"K.G's so huge, they sell internally and it's massive. Big workshop? More like trash heap. So we buy our own instead of rations."
Tsk tsk—Seo Jin-su tutted, and fellow ex-K.G. members Lee Da-hye and Yun Ga-ram nodded vigorously.
Even the usually taciturn Yun Ga-ram agreed, hinting at serious rot in K.G.
"Wasn't that bad when I was there... It got that messy?"
"Don't ask. You held the center, unnie. After you retired, tons bailed. You know Jun-ho? He went abroad."
"I see..."
Choi Yeon-ah's expression clouded faintly.
Not her fault, really, but guilt lingered for the guild she'd once been part of.
Yeon Sung-hun, noting it, asked.
"How's K.G these days?"
"Been out forever—how should I know? I'm full Golden Guild now. If you're vetting ideology..."
"Quit yapping and answer! Oppa’s waiting!"
Han So-yul's shrill yell shut down Seo Jin-su's usual banter.
Despite his words, he kept tabs via old contacts.
"Worse now. Hushed up, but infighting happened."
"Infighting?"
"Yeah, vice-guildmaster faction vs. first raid leader faction clashed. No deaths, but injuries."
"...What was the guild master doing while it got that bad?"
Seo Jin-su tutted at Choi Yeon-ah's frown.
"Not the guy from your time. Power-mad now... Rumors he's heading to the Association soon."
"Ha..."
Choi Yeon-ah let out a hollow laugh.
The K.G. guild master she knew wasn't exceptional, but his passion for the guild was genuine.
How had he changed so?
She smiled bitterly.
"Something big coming soon, then. Dissolution seems certain..."
"Probably split into four or five. Lots'll get scouted elsewhere... Which brings me to..."
Seo Jin-su trailed off, gauging Yeon Sung-hun's reaction. Yeon Sung-hun nodded with a chuckle.
"People you want to bring over?"
"...Yeah, a few."
Caught red-handed, Seo Jin-su scratched his head sheepishly.
"They're solid. Ranks low, but skilled, good people. Da-hye and Ga-ram know 'em. You probably too, unnie."
"They want to join our guild?"
"Ugh, don't remind me. Mentioned it casually on a call, and they lost it..."
Yeon Sung-hun pondered at Seo Jin-su's tale.
Seo Jin-su added cautiously.
"Trustworthy bunch. Mild tempers, fit right in. Especially with Jun-su."
"Hyung, what do you mean 'fit with me'?"
"Dude, you know. Total social butterflies."
"For real?"
"Of course! When have I lied?"
"Wasn't your K.G. nickname 'Jubalgou'?"
"'Jubalgou'? What's that...?"
"'Liar the second you open your yap.' Guy lied constantly."
"Hey, Da-hye! Stop slandering! No cheap smears!"
"Just facts. Ga-ram and Yeon-ah unnie agree."
"Jin-su, still at it?"
"No! Not you too, unnie! My rep...!"
The guild members devolved into noisy chaos off-topic. Yeon Sung-hun chuckled quietly, still mulling.
He didn't plan mindless expansion, as before.
Bonds over numbers first.
K.G. was a prime example of what blind growth wrought.
After a moment, he asked Seo Jin-su, still protesting his innocence.
"How many?"
"Uh, about five?"
"Hm. Bit many. All five essential?"
"No bias—I swear they're great."
"Their ranks?"
"Not high. Top one's C, rest D."
Yeon Sung-hun stroked his chin with a hum.
Taking low-rank hunters now was tricky.
If the protest panned out, Lee Ha-na and Kim Jun-su could hit B smoothly.
Seo Jin-su was emotion-based anyway, rank secondary. But adding other C/D-ranks?
With high-rank rifts ahead, no spare to raise them.
Sensing his doubt, Seo Jin-su jumped in.
"They were K.G.'s pre-scout team."
"Oh? Pre-scout?"
Yeon Sung-hun perked up.
Just then doubting Association intel, he'd pondered an in-house team. Perfect timing.
He'd have accepted outright if mentioned first.
"Yes! Ranks low for experience 'cause pre-scouts, but top-tier stealth and detection skills beyond rank."
Noting the shift, Seo Jin-su brightened.
"Really trustworthy?"
"Stake my paycheck... not life. Good folks."
"The pre-scout third team oppa means? I approve."
"They're solid."
Lee Da-hye and Yun Ga-ram backed quietly.
Trust built through life-or-death trials let Yeon Sung-hun take their word fully.
"After this rift, I'd like to meet them."
"I'll set it up!"
Thrilled to help his favorites, Seo Jin-su beamed.
Choi Yeon-ah chuckled.
"Our Jin-su's grown. Looking out for the juniors."
"Learned from you, unnie. Our guild's perfect for 'em. Wanted more, but they found spots."
His recs were low-rank, harder to place than others.
Scout roles valued rank over all.
They chatted idly after, soon drifting to sleep in the Golden Raid Team.