195. Don't Make the Scary Person Angry.
Igor Dudnik caught the hint that Sim Wol was trying to flee.
'Well, I would've run too. Two S-ranks are too much.'
Plus, she was injured, so giving up the fight was the right call.
Sim Wol struggled under Igor’s massive palm. But she couldn’t overpower him with raw strength. She channeled mana into her spear shaft, condensing it. A blade of mana surged from the spear tip.
Igor felt a burning sensation on his palm. Blood sprayed from the back of his hand at the same time. He quickly pulled back and checked the wound. A sizable hole had been punched through.
“Not a fly, but a mosquito, huh? You drew blood.”
“I’ll suck you dry. Come at me.”
“Big talk for someone about to die. Anyone can see you’re not leaving here alive today.”
Igor sneered and took a step forward. That single step turned Sim Wol’s position into a wasteland.
Sim Wol leaped onto his massive foot. She tried climbing his leg like a rock wall, but Igor shook her off with a kick, forcing her to jump back down.
David versus Goliath—no, more like Jack against the giant from the beanstalk. Fighting a monster far beyond human scale was never easy, even with preparation.
The reason the Tyrant was such a pain was his avatar skill.
It didn’t feel like fighting a hunter at all. It was like battling a giant monster.
If you listed monster types in order of how hard they were for hunters to hunt, it went like this:
Humanoid, beast, magic, flying, giant, aquatic, dragonkin.
Of course, it wasn’t absolute. Sometimes a humanoid could wipe out an entire top guild’s expedition team.
It was just a general rule.
In that sense, the Tyrant’s trait was straight-up broken.
'This guy’s a real pain in the ass.'
Giant type with humanoid features. What people called the giantkin form.
You’d need serious prep to hunt something like that.
“Hahaha! Squirm some more!”
Igor laughed uproariously, swinging his feet and fists wildly in excitement.
Sim Wol didn’t confront him head-on. She dodged fluidly, using movement skills at the right moments.
'My mana and stamina are less than half. Damn it. I got too carried away going after Kamenisky.'
Compared to her, Igor was fresh as could be. Even without skills, his raw power was no joke, so spamming normal attacks didn’t tire him out.
'Still, my speed’s superior. If I recover stamina and bolt at full power…'
A plan flashed in her mind, but she couldn’t execute it.
Nikolai Kamenisky had finished his emergency treatment and rejoined the fight.
Sim Wol dodged a massive scythe aimed at her throat and snapped in fury.
“You sneaky old bastard!”
“The one who got hit is the fool, no?”
He threw back the exact words the Huanglong Guild expedition had spat earlier when they’d interfered. Sim Wol had no comeback.
Igor bellowed in Russian.
“Hey, you frozen fossil! That prey’s mine. Don’t steal my meal—get lost in the tundra.”
“I had prior claim. You back off.”
“Without me, you’d be dead, geezer. Unbelievable.”
“We’ll see who lasts longer.”
Sim Wol couldn’t understand the Russian, but she picked up the vibe from their tones.
“I’m not handing my neck to you dumb Russian pigs. Eat this and crawl back to Siberia!”
Shackling Dragon Fang
A dragon with swords instead of scales burst from the tip of Sim Wol’s spear as she thrust it irritably.
“Now we’re talking. Bring it on.”
Igor grinned and hurled himself at the dragon.
Mountain Shield
He became a shield like a mountain range, smashing into the dragon’s blade.
An explosion roared out. The Huanglong Guild hunters retreating behind clutched their ears and flattened themselves. The aftershock swept over them next.
“Aaaah, boss! We’re gonna die if we stay here!”
Silin Nai screamed, slamming her hands into the ground. The other hunters stabbed weapons into the earth for anchors or grabbed nearby objects.
A few who couldn’t hold on got swept away. All high-rankers, so the raw impact wouldn’t kill them—but the mana strands mixed in the storm were deadly. Some got shredded as the mana scattered wildly with the wind.
“Hold on! Just hold!”
That was all Dinigerul could command.
Heaven answered his plea; the wind died down moments later. The revealed landscape was indescribable. An entire city block had vanished.
And so had Sim Wol.
“Tch. Weakling. One big boom and she bails. Guess we both ate a hit, old man… old man?”
Igor looked for Kamenisky, but he was gone too. He soon realized Kamenisky had chased after Sim Wol.
Igor focused his senses fully, detecting two presences speeding west.
“Those bastards! Ditching me for the fun?! No way in hell!”
Igor shrank. Released from avatar state, he rocketed after Sim Wol.
The remaining hunters finally exhaled in relief, collapsing after brushing death’s door.
“How many’d we lose?”
Dinigerul’s question got an answer from nearby Silin Nai.
“Nine blown away. Seven dead. Two probably alive.”
“Seven from one attack? And not even direct hits?”
Unbelievable. Top-tier hunters dead from mere fallout.
Dinigerul felt it viscerally. The gap to S-rank wasn’t just one step.
“We’re pulling out. This ain’t our fight.”
“Told you. Interfering means death.”
“Disobeying orders is death too.”
Silin Nai couldn’t argue. No one here could resent Dinigerul. With family hostages in Huanglong’s grip, options were nil.
“Still, we did our part. Gave a shot at the Desert Reaper before the Tyrant jumped in.”
“Luck. She got distracted by Sim Wol.”
“Nah. I think you guys are just unlucky.”
A chilling voice froze them. They stiffly turned toward it. An impossible figure stood there.
“Tyrant…!”
Igor, who’d chased Sim Wol, was back.
“Almost forgot about you punks.”
No need to ask what.
Killing intent oozed from Igor. He cracked his neck with a pop and stepped forward, muttering.
“Avatar.”
“Kahk!”
“Gah!”
Screams echoed everywhere. Groans mixed with shouts.
“Magic! Snipe with magic!”
“Damn it! Magic’s useless!”
“Tank line! Body-slam ‘em! Push!”
“Fuck… can’t block…”
Melee, ranged, magic, poison, debuffs—nothing worked on the enemy.
“Where’d this monster come from…”
Huanglong’s main force from Harbin hit a wall before even entering Jilin City, crumbling in despair.
“What the hell is that thing? Russia hiding this?”
“Don’t know identity, but S-rank for sure. No match for us.”
Natural conclusion. Their foes were Russian hunters.
No one imagined another power—specifically, Korea, dipped in the Makyung mess—intervening.
They thought Korea had no official S-ranks.
Even Huanglong and allies’ top brass kept Joo Se-ah’s S-rank secret.
'Before, even I’d struggle with these numbers. Post-S-rank? Meh.'
Joo Se-ah wore armor coat with guild logo scrubbed, hood and face mask concealing identity.
She pulled the mask to her nose bridge and resumed attack.
A tanker 30m away hastily raised his shield. Heavy impact jolted through the handle. The shield crumpled, handle bent—wrist and arm snapped.
“Kuh!”
Bone pierced skin. Compound fracture.
Shoulder dislocated next; unreacting body took full force.
Like hitting a car at 200kph? No. Dump truck? Still less.
The tanker fluttered skyward like a severed puppet.
Joo Se-ah targeted next: a mage.
Eye contact triggered frantic spell spam. Nearby debuff supporters bound her.
“Uh… I’m being dragged.”
“Magic’s not working? Like a witch…”
One hunter recalled Korea’s top hunter: massive magic resist, “Magic Killer.” He dredged up the name.
“Joo Se… guk!”
Before finishing, he crumpled. Joo Se-ah planted her foot on his head. As consciousness faded, her finger rose over the mask.
'Shh.'
The hunter knew: this S-rank was Joo Se-ah. But memory ended there. Guts pulped; he vomited blood. On death’s edge, he opened mouth to warn allies.
'Joo Se-ah. The witch… her identity…'
Only wheezing escaped. He died.
“No hope. Scatter!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“Spread out! Clumping means death!”
Battle ended soon. Of 121 from Harbin to Jilin, 70 survived. Half badly hurt—year of rehab minimum.
'Kang said no need to kill all, so this works? Gotta let Huanglong hear.'
Joo Se-ah didn’t pursue. If she’d gone all-out, none escape.
Even lucky survivors couldn’t evade her chase.
“This spot’s done. They catch Sim Wol?”
Joo Se-ah glanced south.
The plan’s highlight.
'Eliminate Sim Wol.'
Kamenisky’s meddle shook things, but Kang Moo-hyuk adjusted.
Outcome unchanged.
“Seriously scary guy. Good he’s not a hunter.”
Joo Se-ah lowered hood, heading to Jilin City.
“Gotta do my part. Can’t make the scary person mad, right?”
Kang Moo-hyuk had given Seong Seon-je a mana stone satellite phone from C Warehouse.
Thus, the unified strike force could contact him even in Makyung’s mana interference.
“Getting investment shares.”
“Nothing big. But top-priority mission.”
“Secure witness.”