Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Sweeping Through the Top Ten
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'There are going to be some major changes in the rankings this time.'
'Changes in the rankings? What makes you say that?'
'That bastard Yong-un... he might be even more of a monster than I thought.'
'Is this really the Battle King I'm talking to? Why's the Battle King showing such a weak side?'
'Damon, that punk. He withstood attacks from both me and the Sword Dragon. Even if I'd gone all out, I couldn't guarantee victory. But...'
The announcer heading to the arena saw something he'd never seen before—no audience in the stands.
It wasn't a smile from seeing the crowd; it was an involuntary grin from his conversation with the Battle King yesterday.
'He collapsed without being able to do a thing against Yong-un's attack, without even knowing what skill was used.'
Yong-un.
A massive CRT monitor caught the eye of the announcer standing on the platform outside the arena.
More precisely, the two huge glowing letters spelling "Yong-un" on it.
"This is the first match that's got me this excited."
He didn't even notice the cue cards on the platform.
Only the name Yong-un captured all his attention.
"This is gonna be fun."
A small country called South Korea.
The miracle named Yong-un born on that tiny land.
Staring at those two letters, the announcer straightened his unusually thick stack of cue cards.
Unlike usual, the chaos wasn't limited to the GHO area where the announcer and officials were.
The waiting room for S-rank hunters in the top rankings was devoid of its typical laid-back vibe.
"So, let me get this straight. Damon stole a weapon from a marquis-level demon, turned into a demon himself, shrugged off both your attacks like nothing, and that same Damon got taken down in an instant by Yong-un?"
The reason was the info on Yong-un from the Battle King and Sword Dragon.
"Yeah, exactly. If he tries to put on some half-assed show like before, we're in deep shit. Especially you, Strike Dragon."
"Tch."
The Strike Dragon, sitting in the top 10 spot, scowled at the Battle King's words.
This seat originally belonged to Gupta, the Indian hunter called Right Hand.
But with Sword Tiger claiming 4th place, 10th-ranked Gupta got pushed out, and 9th-ranked Strike Dragon slid into 10th.
The rankings unchanged for 10 years.
But now, with that shift happening right before their eyes...
Strike Dragon couldn't maintain his usual smug composure.
"We saw it coming anyway. While we've held our spots for over a decade, new powerhouses were bound to emerge worldwide."
And when those powerhouses rise, us old-timers naturally step aside.
Strike Dragon nodded with a bitter smile at the Sword Dragon's words.
"We did. It's just unfortunate it's happening so suddenly. But hey."
Strike Dragon rose from his seat, nodding along.
All the top-ranked hunters watched him stand.
Then, he grabbed the massive cage next to his chair—big enough to hold his whole body—and spoke.
"Who knows. He might turn out to be nothing special, just like all those other so-called powerhouses who've knocked on this door before."
Slipping the huge cage onto his back, Strike Dragon shrugged and opened the door to the arena.
"Give it your all. No regrets."
The Battle King grabbed Strike Dragon's shoulder as he moved to leave.
Strike Dragon chuckled and brushed off his hand.
"You know me. I've never held back against anyone. Don't worry—I'll end it on my terms."
The Battle King smiled faintly at Strike Dragon's confident swagger.
The door closed, leaving a brief silence in the top-ranked hunters' waiting room.
But only briefly.
"That's more like you guys."
"Hahahahaha!"
Laughter erupted, as if the silence had never been.
Was it because the rankings competition had been on hold?
The resumed matches proceeded without a single delay.
The fight between 10th place Strike Dragon and Yong-un.
The fight between Oscar, disciple of 9th place Mercenary King, and Yong-un.
Even the fight between 8th place Spear Dragon and Yong-un.
All ended in under an hour—blazing speed.
All with Yong-un's victories.
"I... lost..."
Leaning on his shattered spear, Spear Dragon conceded defeat.
But the audience only murmured faintly—no cheers rang out.
"Th-the winner is... Yong-un!"
The announcer raised his hand, stammering through Spear Dragon's concession.
Still, only faint cheers from the crowd—no roar.
In the silent arena, Yong-un slowly approached Spear Dragon and offered a hand.
"That last one was sharp. If you spin your mana even sharper, it'll be plenty threatening—seriously."
Spear Dragon smirked at Yong-un's advice, grabbed his hand, and stood.
"Where the hell did you even come from? A monster like you."
Despite the loss, a smile played on Spear Dragon's lips.
He squeezed Yong-un's hand and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Thanks. I got to fight my heart out because of you."
How long had it been?
Pouring everything out without a care for the world around him.
No regrets—he'd given it all. Spear Dragon patted Yong-un's back and walked out of the arena.
"Unbelievable."
"Th-that guy's a real monster."
"Incredible."
As Spear Dragon left, Yong-un stood arms crossed amid the battle scars on the arena floor, not a hint of fatigue.
The crowd couldn't cheer.
Or rather, they'd been so mesmerized by the fights they'd forgotten to.
'To witness something like this with my own eyes...'
If the audience felt that way, imagine the announcer ringside.
His pounding heart showed no sign of slowing.
From Yong-un dismantling Strike Dragon's sniping and stealth to grab his throat.
To Yong-un shattering Oscar's massive axe swings axe and all.
To Yong-un snapping Spear Dragon's precise spearplay spear included.
No one—audience or announcer—could look away.
"Announcer! Next! Get on with it!"
"Announcer! What are you doing? Hurry up!"
"Announcer!!!"
The crowd's fury poured down on the announcer, lost in shock and forgetting to proceed.
Only when his eyes met Yong-un's—still arms crossed—did he snap out of it and hear the boos.
"S-sorry! I was so shocked, I forgot to continue the matches."
The crowd calmed as he grabbed the mic and hurriedly resumed.
Finally regaining his wits, the announcer sighed in relief, rummaged through his dropped cue cards.
Ignoring everyone's shock, Yong-un's next match began amid eager anticipation for what he'd show next.
"The next match is! ......"
On the top floor of a 14-story building in Shinsa-dong, Seoul.
Dark Hand General, owner of the building and guild master of one of Korea's four major guilds, Reaper Guild, tsked at his tablet PC.
"Tsk tsk tsk. I told you to recruit him ages ago, but you waited too long and now we're screwed."
[South Korea Shakes Up the World S-Rank Hunter Rankings!]
[Awakener Powerhouse South Korea vs. Weakling India: Fates Reversed!]
[Yong-un, Sword Tiger: They Finally Did It]
Dark Hand General scowled and turned off the tablet.
Then glared at the 20 hunters standing behind him.
"Sorry..."
"Sorry..."
They all bowed 90 degrees, hands clasped politely.
Who was Dark Hand General?
Reaper Guild's current guild master, the one who killed the insanely strong former master Ghost Killer—its spiritual pillar.
Even in the thug-filled Reaper Guild, he'd always stood unrivaled.
His orders were absolute; he'd kill a few here on the spot without batting an eye if commanded.
His glare alone kept the 20 tough hunters heads down, not daring to lift them.
"We throw big money at them, and if that fails, we handle it our way. But fuck, what the hell stopped us from recruiting this guy?"
They wanted to say Sword Tiger, but no one dared speak.
Mentioning Sword Tiger here meant instant death by Dark Hand General's hand, no matter who.
"Not talking?"
As they all hemmed and hawed...
The door opened, and a man entered.
"Because of Sword Tiger, boss."
Dark Hand General scowled deeper.
"Which bastard?"
The hunters flinched at his rage-filled voice.
But a man shoved past the burly hunters and stepped forward boldly.
"Me, boss. Your little bro Hwang Man-sik."
Hwang Man-sik, Reaper Guild's casting director, stood before Dark Hand General.
"Why so pissed?"
Man-sik moved behind and massaged his shoulders.
Any other hunter would've died instantly, but Dark Hand General was lenient with Man-sik.
"You tell me after seeing this."
Dark Hand General tossed him the pricey tablet PC.
True to his casting director role, Man-sik caught it cleanly and slowly read the article.
Then chuckled and gently set it on the table.
"This is what got you riled up?"
"It's annoying. Can't touch Sword Tiger, fine, but we could've snagged this punk Yong-un way earlier."
"Sorry, boss. You know even I'd have failed."
Man-sik voiced what everyone wanted to say.
"Damn it."
Of course, Dark Hand General knew Man-sik was right.
Even he'd struggle to snatch Yong-un under Sword Tiger's protection.
But that was that, and this was this.
"If we'd known he was this big a deal, we could've mobilized the whole Reaper Guild, held his family hostage, and salted them away."
"Should've seen it coming when Sword Tiger started coddling that bastard."
Man-sik shook his head while massaging, then paused as something hit him and spoke to Dark Hand General.
"Boss, more important than that. Send the kids out."
"The kids?"
Dark Hand General tilted his head.
"Hurry, that's why I came."
Puzzled but noting Man-sik's serious face, Dark Hand General waved at the still-bowing hunters.
"Yes!"
No words needed—the 20 hunters shouted and rushed out.
Once gone, Man-sik faced Dark Hand General with a grave expression.
"Remember the mana stone deal with Seongbuk-gu mayor?"
"Of course! No taxes, pure profit."
"Remember how the mayor fed five grunts poison during that?"
"Yeah. Three, four years ago? They're all dead by now."
"What if one survived?"
Dark Hand General's smirking face hardened at Man-sik's words.
"No chance. Who made that poison? Even Sword Tiger would've been a cold corpse after that dose."
"But one did—perfectly detoxed, cool as ever."
The smile vanished from Dark Hand General's lips.
"How?"
"No idea how. If I did, wrapping up that Poison Witch bitch would be easy... But why do you think I brought it up?"
"Stop dragging it out. I'm getting pissed."
Dark Hand General grimaced and slumped in his chair—clear sign of real anger.
Man-sik smiled awkwardly and spoke.
"That surviving grunt? Fuck, his son is Yong-un."
"...?!"
Dark Hand General's face stiffened at the bombshell.
"What do we do, boss? Kill that grunt to shut him up. If he talks, screw the mayor—we're in danger too..."
"What else? We've played it safe his way till now. Time for our way."
Dark Hand General's face hardened further, slowly flushing red.
And not just that.
His reddened cheek muscles twitched, right lip curling into a sneer.
"B-boss?"
The signature look when he decided to kill—Man-sik stammered.
"Should've done it our way from the start. No pussyfooting, no expensive poison bullshit. Just kill them outright—no mess. Right?"
"Y-yeah, but... his son is..."
"Yong-un? So what? Make it untraceable, handle it before he shows— he'll never know."
Asymmetrical grin, one corner lifted.
His eyes narrowed slyly like a snake's.
Leaning toward Man-sik, he said.
"Night Kill Society. Commission them. Money no object—fastest route, take him out."
And so, Reaper Guild's fangs began to move.
Not toward anyone else...
Toward Yong-un's precious family.