Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Power Shift
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The arrival of the Poison Witch and Jeongwon injected a fresh surge of energy into the Demon Dragon Squad and the Ghost Slaughter Soul Annihilation group.
Clang! Clang clang!
From the Demon Dragon Squad's quarters came the ceaseless clash of swords mingled with faint crackles of thunderous energy.
Whoosh. Swish. Swish swish.
From the Ghost Slaughter Soul Annihilation's quarters poured unrelenting waves of poisonous qi and the sword-gray demonic energy of the demon race.
Jeongwon, realizing he couldn't protect Hogun and the Poison Witch unless he grew stronger, and the Poison Witch, who had to master her poisonous qi just to survive as a poison human.
Their burning desire and focus on training ignited a similar fervor in the Demon Dragon Squad and Ghost Slaughter Soul Annihilation members, who already trained daily.
"I wonder if Hogun's doing okay."
Among the three who had settled on Seodal Mountain, she thought of Hogun—the only one absent from this spot.
'Hogun, you have a task to fulfill.'
She recalled the order she'd given Hogun right before commanding him to come here.
Hogun, having resolved to serve under Yong-un, bowed deeply to him.
'Give me your command.'
'Find the Mercenary Lord. Bring their leader to me.'
The order was short and to the point.
Anyone who heard it would find it suspicious enough to question, yet Hogun showed not a hint of hesitation after receiving Yong-un's command. He bowed once more.
'As the Supreme One wills...'
Hogun was truly a martial artist.
A warrior who would do anything to shatter the wall blocking his martial arts progress.
'Thank you once again.'
Hogun, still bowed, called out to Yong-un in a voice thick with sincerity.
Yong-un responded with a faint smile as he looked at Hogun.
'Everything of mine must be the best. How could I not help those who strive to make what is mine the very best?'
When he'd taught the Poison Witch how to control her poisonous qi,
and when Jeongwon and Hogun pledged to serve under him, he'd given them small pieces of guidance.
To Jeongwon, the art of wielding a sword with maximum efficiency.
To Hogun, insight to pierce through the blocked wall.
That must have been the moment.
The moment Hogun, captivated by Yong-un's strength, vowed in his heart to truly serve him as the Supreme One.
But Yong-un stoked the fire in Hogun's chest even hotter while he remained bowed.
'Do you think this new realm you've reached is the end?'
Hogun flinched, his eyes widening.
Even after breaking through the wall, Hogun had sensed it.
This limit he'd just surpassed was merely the bare minimum to face the next wall.
'Don't you want to reach the next realm... and the one after that?'
Hogun's heart began to pound wildly.
For a martial artist, the chance to grow stronger was like pouring water into a parched throat.
How could his heart not race?
The existence of further realms meant strengths beyond his wildest dreams lay ahead.
'Train without cease until you meet the Mercenary Lord's leader. When you return to me with them, I hope you'll be standing before yet another wall.'
With those words, Yong-un had given the Demon Dragon Squad and Ghost Slaughter Soul Annihilation's quarters addresses to the Poison Witch and Jeongwon, then departed Seodal Mountain.
Under a clear blue sky.
On the roof of the Ghost Slaughter Soul Annihilation's quarters, she pictured Hogun training with fervent zeal and let out a soft chuckle.
"He's not like those idiots from the Northern Peng Clan or the Iron Horse Band. Hogun's a smart one—he'll handle it fine."
Yong-un flashed a small smile, then raised his reclining upper body.
"As Jin-cheol said, we've sent a powerhouse whose face isn't known. The Mercenary Lord will naturally elevate Hogun."
He uttered those meaningful words, then vanished from the spot.
At the height of the guild showdown.
In the office of Baek Myung-hee, the Minister of Korea's Hunter Management Agency, gathered what could be called the entire power structure of the nation's hunter world.
The door opened, and the minister greeted them with a distinctly sour expression.
"You all show up without being summoned."
Hwang Geom, Guild Master of Garosu Guild.
Silla Chang, Guild Master of Hwarang Guild.
Iron Fist, Guild Master of Iron Army Guild.
And finally, Muk-jang, the new Guild Master of Reaper Guild.
The leaders of the four major guilds had entered the minister's office as if on cue.
Undeterred by the minister's sharp glare, they silently took seats on the sofas.
The staffer lingering outside, gauging the mood at the arrival of Korea's hunter titans, looked visibly uneasy.
"Even uninvited guests deserve tea. Bring some."
"Yes, ma'am."
The minister dismissed the staffer and plopped down in the head seat.
She scanned the four guild masters before asking,
"So, why are you here?"
"We're worried Unwoo Guild's unchecked moves might cause problems."
Iron Fist, the hot-tempered Iron Army Guild Master, stated the reason outright.
But this was entirely predictable, so the minister glanced indifferently at Garosu Guild's Hwang Geom.
"I figured Garosu Guild wouldn't have any complaints."
"Like the others, we're suffering losses because of Unwoo Guild."
"Don't you have Sword Tiger?"
"Hasn't the title of Korea's top hunter changed hands?"
The minister had already been monitoring shifts in the hunter world before they arrived.
As expected, Unwoo Guild's activity had drawn all eyes and focus from hunters nationwide.
Many hunters wanted to join Unwoo Guild, and many from other guilds were transferring over.
Even the four major guilds' hunters were no exception.
"Fourteen hunters from our Garosu Guild have defected."
"Twenty-two from Hwarang Guild."
"Thirty-one from Iron Army Guild."
"Twelve from Reaper Guild."
In a way, the four major guilds had taken the biggest hit.
A massive number of hunters had flocked to Unwoo Guild.
Among them were even A-Rank hunters—only thirteen in all of Korea—making the damage to the four guilds catastrophic.
Unable to endure it any longer, the four guild masters had banded together to seek the minister's aid.
But.
"So, what do you want me to do about it?"
With such massive upheaval in Korea's hunter world, Minister Baek Myung-hee's stance toward the four guilds had shifted dramatically.
"Pardon...?"
In the past, she'd have mediated at the mere gathering of the four guild masters.
But not this time.
"You think I don't know? Did Unwoo Guild poach them? Their members moved of their own free will."
Once, these guild masters held real power. Now, the landscape had changed.
Even without the four guilds, Unwoo Guild and Yong-un alone could sustain Korea's hunter operations.
'In other words, Unwoo Guild and Yong-un are now the true powers in Korea's hunter world.'
A woman enduring in this position for so long relied on more than just charisma and authority.
Quick eyes and mind to read the room and sense shifting currents.
For the minister, who had foreseen this massive change, the current situation was entirely anticipated.
At her unexpectedly sharp demeanor and gaze, the four guild masters exchanged uneasy glances, unable to hide their confusion.
But they were titans who had stood at Korea's pinnacle for years.
Their bewilderment was fleeting; anger soon twisted their faces as they began pressuring the minister.
"If the Hunter Agency won't back the guilds, we won't feel obligated to follow its orders."
"Isn't it the agency's duty to help guilds in need? Can you handle the fallout?"
"Iron Army Guild will halt operations like the others. We're going on strike."
"Reaper Guild agrees."
The four guilds were declaring they wouldn't clear their assigned gates.
A full-on strike.
Sword Tiger had once briefly refused gates.
Just one powerhouse holding back had left surrounding gates uncleared, filling people with dread.
What if all four major guilds stopped?
Unchecked gates would rampage one by one, bursting open.
Monsters hidden within would flood into reality.
The damage across regions would be unimaginable.
The four guilds' ultimate—and worst—card.
'So that's how you want to play it?'
Minister Baek Myung-hee now had no choice but to yield to their demands.
Smug grins bloomed on the guild masters' faces.
They were surely toasting their victory already.
But hadn't it been said?
A massive shift had rocked Korea's hunter world—one excluding them from the new power center.
"Go ahead. Your guilds' smart folks will know what happens next."
"You're serious?"
The minister chuckled, shrugging at the four guild masters.
Stunned by her unexpected response, they wiped the smiles from their faces, frowning deeply.
"You think I'd beg, 'Please don't'? No—from this moment, I'm halving the gates assigned to your four guilds."
Daring to toy with the minister?
"Should've said it was too much to handle. There's plenty of guilds to clear them anyway."
Thinking they could manipulate a national minister just because they held some power.
This was a chance to weaken the four guilds' influence.
Letting their stagnant, rotten leadership persist too long might rot the entire nation.
"If gates rampage, the casualties will dwarf the demon gate incident. Hunters and civilians alike will die."
Hwarang Guild Master Silla Chang raised his voice.
With his demands unmet, he was resorting to threats.
But the minister wouldn't buckle to such intimidation.
"If civilians die, whose fault will it be? Who do you think people will curse? You lot, shirking duty for greed? Or me, for not yielding?"
Iron Fist shouted back at her retort.
"Will the media see it that way? It won't be easy for you."
"Doesn't matter if they do. I won't let it come to that."
"Who can clear all those gates if we stop?"
Muk-jang interjected between the minister and Iron Fist.
She chuckled and shot back,
"Why wouldn't there be? Unwoo Guild. The more you do this, the more the agency has to empower Unwoo to contain the gates. What happens then? The defectors are just the start. Unwoo grows stronger, surpassing your four guilds to become the ultimate powerhouse."
They'd come to suppress Unwoo Guild.
Yet their actions were fueling its rise.
They'd ignored the hunter world's seismic shift, trying to control the minister as before.
Ignoring that Unwoo Guild was a far more formidable outlier than they'd imagined.
"...Damn."
"Sigh..."
The guild masters fell silent, unable to continue.
They realized their world—maintained by power and capital without effort—was gone.
"This should have happened sooner. Our real enemies aren't other guilds or hunters—they're the monsters and demons in the gates."
Even the four major guilds would be weeded out without progress.
Unwoo Guild, the new powerhouse, had etched that truth into them.
A fresh tide sweeping away stagnant waters.
"Instead of begging for favors, why not head back and devise new strategies? Then I might rescind my earlier order."
It had even changed the minister, once their puppet.
No more relying on pulling strings for easy wins.
Adapt or perish in the rapid change.
Unwoo Guild and Yong-un had successfully rocked Korea's hunter world.
The boisterous guild masters clamped their mouths shut.
The minister, smiling, watched their transformation with amusement.
'Impressive as always.'
Thinking of the hunter—Yong-un—who had upended tiny Unwoo Guild and Korea's rotten hunter system, she sipped the tea the staffer had brought.
Unwoo Guild was just getting started.
What changes would it bring next?
The minister set down her tea, smile fading as she gazed at the clear view outside.
'Heard there's trouble with the Night Slaughter Society... I hope he's okay.'
For the first time, the minister regarded Yong-un's path with genuine concern.
As if mirroring her worry, the once-clear sky outside began darkening with gathering clouds.