Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Raid (5)
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At Clark's words, Su-ho recalled what the Pubkils had said before launching their attack. When Clark had said something, one of the Pubkils had mocked him, sneering if he'd gotten punched by their boss and fled.
Su-ho turned to Jin Seong-hyeok with a curious look.
"Has Clark ever been beaten by the Pubkil leader before?"
"Was it like that?"
Jin Seong-hyeok paused for a moment, as if thinking it over, before continuing.
"Ah, yeah, I think I've heard about it. He said he nearly got his head taken off with one hit."
Nearly got his head taken off?
"What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. The Pubkil leader is twice the size of the ones lying here. And its power matches that."
Jin Seong-hyeok knew this firsthand, having faced one himself. Even with regeneration, their stats were similar, so the leader he'd fought and the one Clark encountered would be about equal in strength.
"So, getting clocked in the head by a Pubkil like that? It's no surprise."
No matter how strong a Hunter was—or even if they had regeneration—they still felt pain. Their durability wasn't infinite.
Of course, all such assumptions were exceptions when it came to Jin Seong-hyeok.
"Plus, Clark's regeneration is on the weaker side, so he probably had to go through some major surgeries."
Su-ho's gaze shifted to Clark's head. Looking closely, there was a scar along the hairline on his forehead, extending inward toward his scalp. It looked like a surgical scar.
"Still impressive, though. Most people would be traumatized after coming back from the dead. Ah, not you, obviously."
For Su-ho, dying and coming back hadn't been a trauma—it was a turning point in his life. So it made sense.
"True enough."
"But something feels off."
Jin Seong-hyeok's voice took on a meaningful tone.
"Pubkils have incredible regeneration. They could fall into a pit of flames and crawl back out alive."
Su-ho froze and glanced at the sprawled Pubkils.
"And this is the Dead Zone. Even if fire stops their regen, they're not the type to die easily from it."
That's when the milky eyeballs of one Pubkil rolled with a dull thud.
"Like zombies, really."
Zombies. It didn't take long to grasp what he meant.
Krr... .
The Hunters and Helpers flinched and stepped back as the Pubkils began rising one by one, emitting eerie groans.
"Wh-what the hell? How are they alive?!"
"Whoa, shit!"
Everyone's shocked expressions were plain to see when the first Pubkil to rise rolled its eyes.
It was utterly revolting. Burnt flesh exposed the muscles around its eyeball.
"Kyaaak, gross!"
Stephanie shrieked and hid behind Larry's back.
"This... might be tough."
Ji-young's face darkened. They'd burned them, and they were still coming back.
"Back then, didn't we burn them after we killed them?!"
"Man, thinking about it, we chopped 'em up first, then burned 'em, shit!"
Ronnie mimed swinging his axe. Clark pressed his forehead, staring at the Pubkils.
"Ji-young and I will hold them. Ronnie, chop 'em. Eric, freeze 'em. Jacob, smash the frozen ones."
Clark glanced at Scarlett before adding,
"Burn 'em at the end."
"Got it."
As soon as Scarlett spoke, Clark spread both hands wide. Threads burst from all ten fingers, not just one.
The dense web of threads shot out like spider silk toward the zombie-like Pubkils.
At the same moment, the Pubkils charged all at once, as if anticipating Clark's move.
"What the—?!"
Clark, pulling out his psychokinetic threads, couldn't dodge in time.
Thud! Thud!
Dull impacts rang out. Jacob and Ronnie were holding off the Pubkils in front of Clark with their hockey stick and axe.
"Whoa! Yeah! Whoa!"
Ronnie clicked his tongue watching the relentless Pubkils, their forms growing even more grotesque despite his axe strikes.
"Man, these bastards don't have a brain in their heads?!"
Come to think of it, the Pubkils' pupils had clouded over completely, like cataracts. With only the instinct to bite and kill left, they saw nothing else.
Krr...! Graaah!
The mindless Pubkils were ferocious. Their nonstop attacks left everyone scrambling to evade.
"Whoa, shit!"
A Pubkil sank its teeth into Ronnie's thick forearm. It would've severed another Hunter's arm, but Ronnie's pure muscle held firm—the teeth sank in deep but wouldn't come out.
Ronnie grabbed the Pubkil's throat as it thrashed wildly to free itself and yanked hard.
With a pop, the teeth pulled free from his arm. Blood spurted from the two deepest puncture wounds from its fangs.
But Ronnie ignored it, eyes fixed on the Pubkil in his grip.
"Whoa! That's like 2% muscle loss?!"
He hurled it into the air and snatched up his axe.
Whoosh—crunch!
The axe slammed dead-center into the airborne Pubkil as it fell.
Kek!
A choked gasp escaped as it flew off into the distance.
Only after confirming it wasn't moving did Ronnie check the hole in his arm.
"Man, this is bad! Muscle tear!"
Larry looked even more devastated than Ronnie.
"Whoa, nooo! Cable machine, Smith, lat pulldown... !! "
Su-ho blinked in confusion at the nonsense when Ronnie shouted back.
"Whoa, chill, Larry. It'll regen before workout time, man!"
Missing workouts mattered more, apparently.
"Enough workout talk! Fight!"
Clark yelled. Ronnie gripped his axe tighter.
"Shit! I won't let any of you off!"
As the furious Ronnie swung wildly, Ji-young stepped forward against the Pubkils savagely targeting the Hunters. She tried locking eyes to control them like before, but frowned.
"Can't see their pupils, so control won't work."
The cloudy film over their eyes deflected even her ability. Only one option left.
"Clark."
She added to Clark, who turned to her.
"Hold 'em as best you can."
"What?! This is me holding already...!"
"Too chatty."
Massive boulders floated up behind Ji-young's irritated expression. Clark flinched and tensed the hand drawing his threads.
"Everyone, move."
Ronnie and Jacob, seeing the rocks hovering behind her, quickly stepped aside. The boulders crashed down on the rampaging Pubkils.
Boom! Crash! Boom!
A rockslide, or rather, a boulder pile. The mound over the Pubkils slowly lifted back into the air.
"Once more."
The rocks slammed down again right after her words.
An eerie silence fell. Ji-young lifted the unmoving boulders and set them back in place.
The Pubkils beneath were a mangled mess. Turning her back on them, she smiled brightly at Ronnie and Jacob.
"Mash 'em good. Make sure they never get up."
Ronnie, Jacob, and Eric shuddered. Scarlett and Ji-young—women were the scary ones.
"Nice one, Ji-young."
Scarlett, clearly pleased, nodded at Ronnie and Jacob to get to it.
"Hurry and mash so I can burn 'em."
She flicked her fingers like lighting a lighter, igniting and extinguishing flames repeatedly.
Jacob, Eric, and Ronnie sprang into action. Eric flash-froze the corpses, Jacob shattered them to pieces, and Ronnie pounded away with his axe.
Soon, flames engulfed the unrecognizable monster remains. Smoke billowed skyward.
The battle had felt endlessly long. Exhaustion showed on everyone's faces.
"How about we head back today and come again in a few days?"
The Dead Zone was far riskier than the Evil Zone—camping here was suicidal. Better to retreat now, even if regrettable. Scarlett nodded at Ji-young's suggestion.
"I'm for it. Everyone's beat; pushing further is reckless."
"Wait, hold on."
Clark blocked them and spoke up.
"Go back like this?! We could find their nest nearby! And you wanna leave?!"
"Clark. Don't use us for your revenge."
Scarlett cut him off sharply, and he bristled, stepping forward.
"What? Use?! Our job is killing monsters—what else is there? So we gotta hunt 'em! We killed their scouts, so searching now could bag that damn leader!"
"That's your opinion."
Even the entire 5th Branch had never once beaten a Pubkil leader. Options against it were always two: get Jin Seong-hyeok's help or run.
The former more often. But Clark, fueled by inferiority, had pushed too hard once—and nearly died.
"Back then, your stubbornness nearly got us all killed. Once wasn't enough?"
"This time's different!"
"That's why we come back in a few days. Ji-young's here, so we'll request backup from Center 1. Sweep 'em together then."
"Who said you can request from Center 1?"
"Sigh, Clark."
Scarlett brushed back her red hair and sighed.
"Still got a complex about Jin Seong-hyeok? That's why you hate asking Center 1?"
"Who has a complex!"
"Good, as long as it's not. Complexes need similar levels to form. You wouldn't feel that toward Jin Seong-hyeok, right?"
It struck at Clark's core, grating on his nerves. Scarlett already knew: Clark's pointless inferiority complex had worn everyone out around Jin Seong-hyeok.
A guy who lived on his own hype couldn't accept anyone better. The frustration from meeting Jin Seong-hyeok had twisted into resentment.
Watching him, Scarlett felt both frustrated and foolish.
"So we're going back. We're short-handed for the boss right now. With Center 1's forces, we can win."
Clark turned away without a word. Scarlett gestured to the other Hunters and Helpers.
"Sterion's down, Pubkils too. That's it for today. Next time, we finish proper."
Everyone moved in agreement. Clark dragged his feet reluctantly. Until the teleport, he said nothing.