Chapter 251
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 251
Chapter Title: Sea of Flames and Hong Sion (1)
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"Fuck. That's good."
"Pardon?"
Hong Sion had overheard my mutter and was asking back in a dazed voice.
"Oh, that wasn't a swear. It's the name of the skill I just used. The black orb thing."
"……."
She furrowed her brow and tilted her head, but I couldn't be bothered to explain in more detail.
Shibal. This was one hell of a powerful skill.
It seemed like enemies with a certain level of [Speed] stat could spot it and dodge, but that didn't mean much to me.
All I had to do was stop time like this and slam the attack home.
"Hmm... Feels like it steals the target's time?"
The situation was already neatly wrapped up.
It hadn't even been a few minutes since I'd taken down the leader when Uni finished off all the tigers.
Right now, Lime was scampering around, swallowing up the intact tigers into its own body.
I was standing near the boss-grade tiger that had gone down to Shibal.
The size of this thing was no joke. People often call them 'house-sized tigers' in stories, but this one seemed even bigger.
"Can't use this guy's hide... "
Just to be safe, I'd crammed about four shots of Shibal right into its face.
Sure enough, its face had aged beyond recognition.
The fur had lost all its luster and turned brittle and dry. It was hard to see through the fur, but the flesh seemed sagging, covered in wrinkles.
There was no trace of the majestic aura it'd had when we'd first locked eyes.
Did it steal time away?
Or did it forcibly rewind the flow of time, aging it to death in an instant?
Either way, it sure as hell wasn't a skill to use lightly on people.
"Ji-ham!"
Just then, a familiar voice called out from afar.
"What the hell happened!? Why are Ye-chan oppa and Sion acting like... I told you not to act on your own! I'm the squad leader! What if you got hurt!? Are you injured anywhere!?"
Song Dan-pung rushed over frantically, scanning me from head to toe.
She'd finally caught up to us, following the distance we'd put between us while fighting the tiger pack.
"What? You worried about me?"
"W-what are you talking about? I'm mad! Why'd you go off on your own!?"
"Ye-chan and Sion wanted to meet up with the squad members quick, so we linked up with Squad 3 and headed for the platoon."
"Did you report it? Did you report to command!?"
Hong Ye-chan averted his eyes at Song Dan-pung's words.
He couldn't exactly report to superiors that he'd ditched his assigned sector to come find us.
"Haa... Fine. I'll report it. That Squad 4-4 linked up with 4-3 and is heading up."
"Oh, and while you're at it, mention we took down a boss-grade tiger?"
"Pardon?"
"It's a solid achievement for our squad. We saved Squad 3, and now united, we can show off Squad 4's power. That way, our squad leader can puff out that big chest of hers with pride."
"W-wait a sec! Don't touch my chest! E-everyone's watching!"
"Oh, so it's okay if no one's watching?"
"Even if I say no... you're gonna grope them anyway..."
I slipped behind Song Dan-pung and grabbed her breasts with both hands.
I cupped them from below, gently kneading with an upward lift.
The warm body heat, pleasant scent, and soft texture combined in a collaboration that soothed my battle-frazzled mind.
"Mind-calming boobies..."
"Don't give someone else's tits a weird name!"
"……."
Right then, my eyes met Hong Sion's.
She was staring at me and Song Dan-pung in disbelief.
She'd already seen my dick buried in her, trembling like a leaf... and she was still reacting like this? Was her grip on reality a bit shaky?
"Oh, right. In exchange for helping Squad 3, Sion and I made a deal to sleep together later. You'll join us too."
"............Pardon?"
Song Dan-pung parroted back in a dumbstruck voice.
But nothing was changing.
"It's a 3P. Two cousin girls taking turns getting railed by the same guy."
"D-don't say such nonsense!"
"We already promised, right? Isn't that so, Sion?"
"……."
Hong Sion glanced around silently for a moment.
The cleanup was mostly done, leaving just the one boss-grade tiger right in front of me.
"That promise from earlier... Can you really keep it?"
"You mean freeing you from Eden? Of course I'll keep it."
"What if later you say it was just talk... or back out saying it's impossible? Then marry me."
"Sion!? W-what are you saying!?"
"……."
Hong Sion met my eyes with a resolute gaze.
"Fine then. Fuck buddy or 3P, whatever."
"Good. Three years. I'll free you within three years."
I released Song Dan-pung and walked over to Hong Sion.
Her red hair framed a delinquent-like face that gazed calmly at me.
"Wanna commemorate it with a kiss? Okay?"
"......Yes."
I gently cupped Hong Sion's cheek and pressed my lips to hers lightly.
She was trying to feign an emotionless expression, but I could feel the tension in her body.
Her pupils trembled faintly, and her lips quivered.
"Pretty face. Makes me wanna see how it breaks on the bed."
"……."
Mm... Chuu...
"You conquered her quick this time. As expected of Master."
Miho's voice tickled my ear amid our overlapping lips.
Then Hye-jeong's voice followed right after.
"One more soul saved. Truly a blessing."
"I'd rather we keep piling on members so my turn never comes."
Uni clicked her tongue in complaint.
"Never seen a skill called Shibal before... How does it even work? It's bugging me..."
Lime was lost in her own world.
"……."
"……."
"……."
Siri, Song Dan-pung, and Hong Ye-chan watched us silently.
"So you're Jeong Ji-ham. What a weird name."
"Ah, you're the platoon leader? Pretty rude for a first meeting."
"What? Ahahaha! As bold as the rumors say! No wonder Sis took a liking to you!"
The bald, muscular man bellowed a hearty laugh.
"If I offended you, sorry! Sis Hong Yeon-jin went out of her way to snag Dan-pung's fiancé, and that piqued my interest!"
"Aaaah... So you're that general-of-an-older-sister's little brother?"
"General? Hah! Spot on! Sis has been called general material since she was young."
The platoon leader, still chuckling, narrowed his eyes and scanned the people gathered inside the large tent.
This was a meeting of each squad's leaders and vice-leaders.
"Haa... Anyway, glad at least Squads 3 and 4 made it back safe."
"Um... What about Squads 1 and 2..."
"Squad 1 went radio silent from the start. They stopped responding right when other platoons started getting hit, so they probably got wiped out around the same time. Squad 2 ran into a monster pack led by two boss-grade tigers on the way back and got annihilated. We sent support, but only traces of the fight remained."
He rubbed his forehead and continued.
"Right now, all that's left is my Squad 0, plus Squads 3 and 4."
His presence was overwhelming, leaving a heavy feeling in the air.
Annihilated meant dead.
Death. That word I'd never even considered made my chest tighten.
"Other platoons aren't much better off."
The platoon leader spoke while looking at the large map on the table.
"This sinkhole is an island about three times the size of Jeju. Tall mountain in the center, endless ocean around it. The island-clearing op's basic strategy was to secure the wide plains first, then slowly push up the mountain while taking out monsters. The plains and forest dwellers are weaker than the mountain ones, so we spread out thin with minimal forces to cover ground."
Listening while eyeing the map, it sounded like a solid plan.
Clear the weak ones first, then have the real powerhouses lead the charge up the mountain against the strong monsters.
It gave green hunters combat experience while letting vets scout monster traits and warm up before the big fights.
"But then the strong mountain ones came pouring down all at once. Those boss-grades rallied the independent monsters and started hunting us. Strategy got scrapped from the root. Now companies handle their zones and wipe monsters ASAP."
His finger pointed to the island's south side.
"Our company's under the Hong family, with Sis Hong Yeon-jin holding final command. Looks like she's planning to just burn the whole area."
"Pardon? Burn it?"
"The Hong family's handled fire for generations. Me, my son, my daughter."
His gaze turned to Hong Ye-chan and Hong Sion.
Apparently, the bald guy with red eyebrows right in front of me was Sion's dad—the one I'd just been passionately kissing his daughter.
"She held back to avoid ruining graves or robbing young hunters of experience. But too many of our family and kin have died. No time for half-measures now. We're pooling the clan's power to turn the op zone into a sea of flames."
"Wow..."
"So until company command comes down, we hold the base and wait."