Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Royal Classes Close the Case
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For some reason, after clearing the Sudden Gate...
The two Royal Classes declared the incident concluded.
During that final battle, they must have realized they were the intruders in the GHO's fourth underground floor assault.
And according to the Minister, simply attacking Royal Classes was a grave crime punishable not just for Lee Yong-un, but for South Korea itself.
The two Royal Classes had clearly promised not to pursue Lee Yong-un any further over this matter.
But having witnessed human deceit countless times in the martial world, Lee Yong-un prepared for any potential backlash.
That's when Daisy, the head of GHO's South Korean branch, came to see him.
Instead of a greeting, Daisy immediately asked Lee Yong-un,
"How did you do it?"
Unable to guess what she meant, he asked for clarification.
Her response:
"Light of Fire and Light of Ice. They've both forcibly closed the case on this incident."
It was exactly as promised, but Lee Yong-un found it surprisingly unexpected.
Those with great power keeping their word?
It might seem obvious, but to Lee Yong-un, who had experienced the martial world, it didn't feel that way at all.
Because in the martial world, those with immense power and influence never honored promises from enemies they could crush at any time.
Think about it.
Would a tiger ever keep a promise with a rabbit it could devour whenever it pleased?
This wasn't limited to the martial world—it happened constantly in the real world where people gathered.
Those who made promises and those who kept them.
What should be taken for granted was twisted by labels like "common sense," and this conversation with Daisy was just one trivial instance among countless others unfolding right now.
'But...'
They kept their promise?
Lee Yong-un, who had been staring at Daisy, quietly turned his head to look at Jin-cheol, the leader of the Demon Shadow Assassins, standing beside him.
"What do you think?"
The master strategist Jin-cheol.
In a battle of wits, a master strategist was an indispensable weapon.
Much like Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei.
Having heard the full story beforehand, Jin-cheol stroked his chin and replied,
"I can't give a definitive answer. But several possibilities come to mind."
Jin-cheol began voicing his thoughts one by one.
"Royal Classes are the apex predators at the top of the world's massive food chain pyramid. Even having felt the Supreme One's power, until you ascend to their level yourself, a single command from them could bring you immense trouble. For such monstrous beings to honor the Supreme One's promise, there are two main reasons."
Jin-cheol held up his hand.
"Either keeping the promise yields greater gains, or there's an overwhelming reason they had no choice but to comply."
Raising his index and middle fingers, Jin-cheol lifted his lowered head to meet Lee Yong-un's gaze.
"My guess leans toward the latter... Does the Supreme One perhaps possess something that prevents them from acting rashly against you?"
At the master strategist Jin-cheol's words, Lee Yong-un silently turned his eyes to Daisy, who had been listening quietly.
Daisy bit her lip, realizing what that gaze implied.
An outsider had no place in such a crucial discussion.
"Understood. I'll step out."
Subjected to a unilateral dismissal, Daisy suppressed her hurt feelings and turned to leave.
But just as she was heading out...
"They need nothing from me. I merely told them... I would become a Royal Class."
"...?!"
Daisy whipped around.
Her pupils dilated, mouth agape.
She was stunned.
She knew he was no ordinary man, but to speak of becoming a Royal Class so boldly...
But Daisy's shock didn't end there.
"In that case, their closure of the incident can be taken as their acknowledgment."
Even at the mention of such astonishing words, Jin-cheol's voice remained utterly calm, as if he'd known all along.
"It's just my humble opinion, but I believe those two Royal Classes have no further plans against the Supreme One."
Smooth.
"At least, not until you claim a Royal Class seat."
Jin-cheol bowed his head deeply.
As if facing the subordinates of the world's reigning kings, the Royal Classes.
= = =
In the GHO South Korean branch director's office.
Daisy collapsed onto the sofa and let out a smirk.
"A Royal Class? He drags around big trouble, sure, but that's a different story."
The conversation had been so grave that while she was there, she'd half-believed it might be true.
But on her way back to her office, Daisy came to her senses.
Royal Class.
The throne held by only six out of the world's 6 billion people.
A one-in-a-billion probability.
Experts in global hunter affairs even hypothesized no more Royal Classes would ever emerge, making the odds not one-in-a-billion, but zero percent.
Literally.
'Impossible.'
Human greed knows no bounds, they say.
She acknowledged Hunter Lee Yong-un's excellence.
But Royal Class was utterly beyond her realm—absolutely impossible.
She couldn't help but laugh.
Once her mind cleared, Daisy snorted derisively for a good while at how absurd and ridiculous their claims were.
"Director."
Daisy, mocking their delusions, looked at her secretary entering through the open office door.
"What is it?"
"An official document from GHO headquarters."
"An official document?"
Daisy frowned in confusion.
She had already heard from GHO HQ before meeting Lee Yong-un that the incident was closed in the Royal Classes' name.
Why another document now?
Unable to control her wrinkling expression, she reached out her hand.
She took the document binder from her secretary and opened it, glancing at the header.
"...?!"
She hadn't even read the whole thing—just skimmed the opening.
Yet Daisy froze on the spot, binder half-open.
Her eyes widened in shock, pupils trembling.
"Did Hunter Lee Yong-un cause another huge incident?"
The secretary, having witnessed all Yong-un-related matters firsthand, posed a reasonable suspicion.
But.
"No, the opposite."
Daisy's shocked expression quickly returned to normal.
And instead of her earlier mocking smile, one blooming with shock and delight spread across her face.
"Do you remember what I said when I was officially appointed director?"
At the sudden question, the secretary tilted her head.
"The Minister said you'd control Hunter Lee Yong-un. But didn't you give up, saying he was already beyond that?"
Back when Lee Yong-un had summoned the War God.
Daisy had completely abandoned any thought of controlling him.
She realized then he was too vast a vessel for such a small land.
With significant influence in GHO and close ties to the globally roaming War God.
Daisy had acknowledged him as an uncontrollable titan and ordered the secretary to terminate all Yong-un-related projects.
"The project. We need to restart it."
But Daisy's follow-up words stunned the secretary.
"I-impossible. With our capabilities and position, we can't outmaneuver Hunter Lee Yong-un and his War God ally. And now with Royal Classes involved, we can't act rashly until we understand his connections."
"Seems like there's a misunderstanding."
Daisy, having read through the document, lightly set it on the desk.
She looked at the secretary with an expression mixing shock, anticipation, and joy.
"We can't control that man, Lee Yong-un."
"Then what do you mean by restarting the project..."
"It'll go in the complete opposite direction from before."
Smooth.
She picked up the document and showed it to the secretary.
"He's far greater than us. Beyond my expectations... no, beyond everyone's expectations worldwide."
The document's header entered the secretary's eyes.
"...?!"
Like Daisy at first, the secretary's eyes bulged wide.
"Wh-what does this mean? Not a national friendly designation... but a personal hunter designation...?"
"If I tell you what I just heard, you'll understand its significance. And why we're restarting the project too."
Mesmerized, the secretary walked over and sat on the sofa opposite Daisy.
Seeing her dazed subordinate, Daisy chuckled lowly.
'It's real!! Lee Yong-un... recognized by a Royal Class!'
And inwardly, Daisy let out an invisible cheer.
She had been the first to realize the emergence of the 7th Royal Class was imminent.
In other words!
'This is my chance to leap forward!'
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
'I can't let it slip!'
Daisy immediately held a meeting with her secretary lasting over three hours, briefing her on everything she knew.
And within GHO's South Korean branch, a project targeting Lee Yong-un quietly took shape.
"We must bring him under our wing!"
= = =
At that moment.
There was someone who had long known Lee Yong-un possessed Royal Class-level power.
The world's strongest hunter, S-Rank #1, the War God.
"Tch."
But contrary to his title, the War God wore an extremely unfamiliar and awkward expression, barely suppressing his anger.
Because.
"Why do you keep following me?!"
Ignito and Spello trailed him everywhere he went.
Furious at them chasing him even to his room, the War God yelled at them.
"If you lost to Yong-un, go to Yong-un! Tell me why you're stalking me!"
The War God glared at Spello.
Spello held immense influence within GHO.
Even Charlie, the #2 in global hunter power, bowed to him.
He was an invisible director-level powerhouse in GHO.
Whoosh.
He turned to Ignito.
This one he could understand.
The playful guy had chased him around like this before.
A Royal Class who wasn't quite Royal Class-like.
That was Ignito.
"Old man, from what we've seen so far, it doesn't seem like you're hiding anything?"
And Ignito's opening line.
"......"
Angry as he was, with Spello present, the War God's furrowed, flushed face cooled forcibly.
He knew they'd been tailing him to uncover something...
But he hadn't imagined they'd suspect him so directly.
As the War God assessed the situation, Spello uncrossed his arms and asked,
"How did you find out?"
A blunt question tossed his way.
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Yong-un."
The War God's eyebrow twitched.
"Charlie mentioned you'd known for a while he has Royal Class-level power."
"That's why we followed you."
Ignito shrugged and flopped onto the War God's bed.
"You were the only one who knew a fact no one else did. So we tailed you to check if you'd hidden some skill we didn't know about. But nothing."
"We've already verified skills and mana multiple times! There's no way..."
Ignito's face turned deadly serious, playfulness vanished, as the War God protested vehemently.
"Then how did you know? To recognize he's Royal Class-level, you'd have to fight him for real..."
The War God's body jolted.
"If he'd fought seriously, you wouldn't be here—we experienced that firsthand. Why not come clean? How did you learn he's Royal Class?"
At Ignito's words, the War God slowly lowered his head.
To hide his flustered expression.
'Because... to explain that, I'd have to reveal that Yong-un has a Demon Cry among his subordinates...'
A subordinate Yong-un had protected even while declaring the whole world his enemy.
That's why the War God had vowed that day.
To keep Yong-un's possession of a Demon Cry secret to the end.
"There it is. You're definitely hiding something."
At that moment, Ignito caught something in the War God's unusual demeanor.
Smooth.
Ignito sat up from the bed.
"Be honest. How did you find out?"
Lipping his lips at Ignito, the War God bit back.
This time, not Ignito, but Spello uncrossed his arms and unleashed mana.
Crackle.
Furniture in the room began to freeze.
Spello approached the War God in that state, extended his hand, and said,
"This isn't a choice or advice. It's an order. Speak."
Spello and Ignito, sensing something.
The War God clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut.
'Damn it, I didn't think it'd come to this...'
Then he raised his head, meeting Spello's killing-intent-filled eyes.
'What do I do?'