Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Hunters of the Plains
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After traveling along the river for about two hours, a village finally appeared.
Nella, one of the northernmost villages on the continent.
It was a village of about a hundred households, sustaining itself through farming and fishing in the river.
“There are quite a few people.”
Despite having no major distinguishing features, many people came and went.
“It’s close to the Decartes Mountains.”
Thanks to that, a special market had formed in Nella. A market for trading monster carcasses and medicinal herbs.
“All sorts of characters gather here.”
Wang-sik pointed to the men just entering the market.
“Mercenaries?”
“Just remember this. Whatever they are, they’re dangerous. To have drifted this far means they’re either strong enough to hunt monsters in the Decartes Mountains, or they’re at rock bottom with no other options.”
For this reason, Nella had developed a commercial hub where an enormous amount of money changed hands, disproportionate to its number of households.
Hooray!
Just as they were entering the village, a cheer erupted from the riverbank.
“What’s going on?”
Children who had been playing in the water were dragging an object that had floated down the river onto the shore.
“A monster carcass?”
“That’s this village’s lottery ticket. A monster carcass that died in the Decartes Mountains.”
The children casually dragged it out and shouted with joy.
“This is what this place is like.”
“I understand perfectly now.”
The innocent laughter of the children, jumping up and down with delight, was seen alongside the gruesome corpse of the monster.
Witnessing this scene from a completely different world, Oh Min-jae steeled his resolve.
“Let’s just buy a carriage and some simple food, then head out.”
After purchasing a carriage and food from an inn, the two left the village immediately.
As they traveled across the vast plains, a giant bird flew overhead.
“A Hadis, you know? They’re docile for their size, so the military sometimes raises them for strategic purposes.”
A person in armor was riding the bird, which was over five meters long.
Following the first one, five more appeared, and they soon vanished from sight. In the distance, a herd of three-horned rhinoceroses could also be seen.
“I’ve never seen a sight like this.”
Oh Min-jae, sitting beside him on the driver’s seat, muttered his thoughts aloud.
He was a returnee, but he'd never had the chance to see such vast plains.
Afterward, Oh Min-jae witnessed several more scenes that forced him to reconsider his understanding of the world.
From a group of slaves harvesting plants in a mudflat to plants and insects of unimaginable shapes, and even predators that saw them as prey.
Overcoming all dangers, they stopped to set up camp around midnight, when the moon was at its highest.
“It’s only another hour from here. The castle gates won’t be open at night anyway, so let’s rest here.”
“Alright.”
Wang-sik made a sleeping space in the carriage’s cargo bed and had Oh Min-jae lie down first. As he was about to move the horse’s reins to a tree, he suddenly sensed a strange presence.
—Fear detected.
It wasn't Min-jae.
‘Search.’
Using Fear Search, he confirmed a cowering presence quite far away.
‘Looks like a person.’
It looked as if it were trapped in something.
‘Better not get involved.’
Deciding there was no need to create problems, Wang-sik got into the cargo bed and lay down next to Oh Min-jae.
“It's been a while since we've slept together like this.”
“Shh. Stay still.”
Sensing that something was happening, Oh Min-jae fell silent.
They had set up camp under a large, solitary tree on the plains, so their surroundings were quiet.
But Wang-sik’s ears clearly picked up an out-of-place sound.
‘They're approaching.’
The being detected by Fear Search was still in the same spot. That meant the ones causing the fear were approaching.
“Someone’s approaching.”
Wang-sik whispered the warning and focused his senses on their movements.
Six figures slowly approached the carriage.
A heavy silence enveloped the carriage.
*Shwick!*
The silence was broken by a sharp whistling sound.
*Clang!*
Wang-sik raised his shield and blocked the falling object.
The blade, blocked by the shield, had been aimed at Oh Min-jae’s neck.
*CRACK!*
Wang-sik shot up, smashing the head of the man who had swung the sword with his shield.
It was a single blow.
Seeing their comrade’s head explode, the attackers immediately charged at Wang-sik.
‘They're experienced.’
Even in this unexpected situation, their actions were decisive.
‘Five of them.’
Four went for Wang-sik, while the remaining one targeted Oh Min-jae again.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Four sharp sounds rang out from Wang-sik’s body.
He hadn't blocked the attacks of the four men charging him.
As the attackers realized with dazed expressions that something was wrong, Wang-sik extended a chain toward the one approaching Oh Min-jae.
“Gak!”
The chain pierced through the man’s chest.
Though the man was clearly dead, Wang-sik dragged the corpse closer. He didn't want to expose Oh Min-jae to even the slightest risk.
The force of the pull tore a large hole in the corpse’s chest.
*Twang! Twang!*
The men who had created some distance fired their crossbows twice. Once again, Wang-sik made no move to defend himself, taking the bolts with his body.
As the arrows lost their momentum and fell to the ground, the men realized again that something was terribly wrong.
“How…”
The men’s minds raced.
“P-Please spare us.”
The two men closest to him, knowing they couldn’t escape, dropped to their knees. They then began begging for their lives, rubbing their hands together as if in competition.
Their experience allowed them to clearly see the vast difference in skill.
‘How could a guy like this be here…?’
They were just unlucky. That’s how they rationalized their begging.
“Run!”
Instead of begging, the two who had fired the crossbows turned their backs.
They had already given up on rescuing or helping the ones on their knees.
That last shout wasn’t for their comrades either.
They thought that if they scattered, at least one of them might survive. Desperately hoping it would be them, they sprinted with all their might the moment they shouted.
*CRACK!*
Wang-sik didn’t hurry.
He smashed the heads of the two kneeling men with his shield and then began the chase.
“Aargh!”
A scream echoed through the dark night sky, followed by another after a short interval.
Two screams in total.
No one escaped.
* * *
The hunter, Simonde, leisurely drank his liquor as he gazed in the direction his companions had gone.
Just then, he heard a scream.
“Finished already?”
Simonde didn't even consider that it might have been one of his comrades. Their skills weren't so poor that they'd die screaming on the road. Concluding the job was done, he downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.
“This trip has been really lucky. To run into guys like that at the very end.”
They were a group of nomadic hunters.
Usually, they hunted beasts or monsters, but in truth, they would do anything for money. While it was true they had started out focusing on hunting, criminals who had drifted to the frontier joined their ranks, and gradually, they began hunting people, which was easier than hunting monsters.
“Those guys looked pretty well-off. I wonder if we can take a few months off now? Hehe, I'm already dying to see that bitch Serena’s face. Heh heh.”
Lost in his happy fantasy, Simonde glanced at the carriage’s cargo bed. He felt a slight tremor from the square iron cage covered by a cloth.
“That thing alone should be worth well over a hundred gold coins.”
In fact, what they already had in the back was enough loot to make the entire journey worthwhile. That’s why they had been on their way back, but two days ago, a particular carriage had strangely caught their eye.
The carriage itself was ordinary, but the important part was the two people riding in it.
Their clothes were high-quality, and more importantly, their whole demeanor reeked of money. To be traveling outside the castle walls, they must belong to a wealthy merchant group, yet the fact that they had only one mercenary for protection was also interesting.
In short, they were the perfect prey.
Prey that was reasonably wealthy and looked reasonably weak.
“It’s about time they got back…”
Just as he had that thought, he sensed a presence in the distance.
“Find anything good?”
Simonde put down his liquor bottle and headed toward the presence. But he was forced to stop after only a few steps.
*Ch-chak!*
A chain had wrapped around his body. He tried to twist away, but it threw him off balance, and he fell.
The startled Simonde struggled, but the chain only tightened.
“Where are the others?”
Suddenly, two men appeared before his eyes.
It was Wang-sik and Oh Min-jae.
Wang-sik, uneasy about leaving Oh Min-jae alone, had brought him along.
“W-Who are you?”
*Crack!*
Wang-sik broke the man’s shoulder with brute force. The man screamed in agony, but Wang-sik didn’t stop.
“The others?”
“P-Please spare me.”
“That’s not the answer I was looking for.”
His other shoulder was broken in the same manner. The man passed out midway, but Wang-sik roused him with even greater pain. Oh Min-jae watched the brutal interrogation calmly, without surprise.
“I-I’m the only one here. Besides the ones who attacked your carriage…”
“What are you?”
“H-Hunters.”
Wang-sik continued to ask several more questions.
“So you’re just nomadic hunters with no backing?”
“P-Please spare me.”
*Snap!*
Wang-sik snapped the man’s neck.
After dealing with all the hunters, Wang-sik finally stood before their carriage. The life form he'd detected with Fear Search was there.
He pulled back the cloth covering the box, revealing an animal cage made of steel.
Cowering inside was a young girl.
Oh Min-jae tried to approach, but Wang-sik stopped him with a hand.
“I’ll check.”
As Wang-sik reached for the cage, the girl suddenly lifted her head.
“Graaah!”
The girl bared her teeth.
Sharp fangs.
That wasn’t the only change.
“So she was a beastkin.”
The girl had transformed into a white-furred tiger. She had changed into her beast form upon feeling threatened. But her strength seemed to be spent, as she shook the cage door once before collapsing.
Reverting to her girl form, the beastkin panted pitifully.
She didn't seem to have the strength to resist.
“Wang-sik.”
Wang-sik knew what Oh Min-jae was about to say.
“Isn’t she… like we used to be?”
They had been treated like this, too. For a very long time.
Back then, there were words they had longed to hear hundreds of times, but sadly, no one had ever said them.
“You are free now.”
Wang-sik tore off the cage door and stepped back to allow the beastkin to exit comfortably. But the beastkin in the small cage remained huddled, too afraid to come out.
“Whether you come out or not is up to you.”
As if his job was done, Wang-sik turned to leave. Oh Min-jae started to follow but then grabbed Wang-sik’s arm.
“Wang-sik. Let’s just give her this.”
In Oh Min-jae’s hand was the bread they had bought at the inn.
“Don’t get too close.”
Having received permission, Oh Min-jae cautiously approached the carriage and laid a handkerchief on the ground.
On top of it, he placed the bread and a wooden bottle of milk.
“Be careful. Don’t get caught again.”
Min-jae smiled, said his farewell, and returned to Wang-sik’s side.