Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Dead Zone (3)
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The alarm blaring from their wristwatches brought the Branch 1 members to a sudden halt. Hearing it echo across the field—all at once—nearly gave them nervous breakdowns.
It was only natural. Alarms ringing simultaneously might as well have screamed "emergency."
Branch 1's Hunters and Helpers bolted into action, praying the worst hadn't come to pass.
They skidded to a stop at the edge of a sheer cliff-like drop.
Panting heavily, An Ji-young scanned the surroundings.
"Ha, coordinates. This isn't it?"
Takahiro checked them again beside her and nodded.
"This is the spot."
"Where the hell...!"
Before An Ji-young could finish, a shrill scream pierced the air.
"Kyaaah! Get away!!"
The group rushed to peer over the cliff, and a gruesome scene unfolded below.
The dirt floor was soaked in blood. Pubkils, dripping chunks of flesh and gore, tangled in a frenzy as they charged at Branch 5. Branch 5 had formed a tight circle, backs to each other, fighting desperately for survival.
"Whew, Branch 5's holding up pretty well? Facing that many Pubkils and still standing."
Kai Qing whistled and readied for battle. An Ji-young floated into the air and addressed Branch 1.
"Everyone, get ready."
Dozens of the writhing Pubkils suddenly levitated. Clark spat out a mouthful of blood-mixed saliva at the sight.
"Ptoo, they got here fast."
Scarlett, staggering, let out a sigh of relief.
"At least they came before we died."
"Yeah! Right! Whew, my muscles were starting to cramp! Lucky break."
Ronnie's thick forearms twitched around his axe.
Then it happened. The airborne Pubkils shredded apart midair all at once. Flesh and blood exploded like fireworks.
Fireworks no one wanted to see again.
"See? Ji-young and I are a perfect match. Right, my love?"
The moment An Ji-young lifted the Pubkils, Kai Qing had torn them apart with telekinesis. She let out a hollow chuckle at his cheeky grin, unable to deny it.
The Pubkils thrashed their clouded eyes, scanning wildly. Someone had ruined their feast—they had every right to be pissed.
Their rage-twisted gazes locked onto Branch 1.
Krrrr.
Baring their teeth, the Pubkils turned toward Branch 1 one by one. As they did, Branch 5's Hunters and Helpers collapsed like puppets with cut strings. Ronnie leaned on his axe embedded in the ground; Jacob huffed clutching his hockey stick. Scarlett and Eric slumped, catching their breath. Only Clark stood there, grinding his teeth.
He looked frustrated. He'd thought they had a shot, but failing to even take out the Pubkil leader before Branch 1 arrived had bruised his pride badly.
"Clark."
Scarlett continued, understanding.
"No helping it. This is Pubkil territory. And we didn't expect this many."
"...Clean."
His lips, stained with blood from clenching his jaw, twitched.
"What are you waiting for? Clean us now!"
Startled by Clark's roar, Tag hurried over.
"Clean! Right away!"
Tag began the Clean. Clark kept his eyes glued to Branch 1 and the Pubkils even as he received it.
"Everyone, get Cleaned. The leader could show any second. We need to fight it too."
Dealing with the remaining Pubkils would tire out Branch 1 for sure. A Dead Zone boss-grade monster required a full branch's effort to have a chance—but in this state, they fell short.
"Damn it, we'll have to hope Branch 1 handles it."
All eyes from Branch 5 turned to Branch 1, praying they'd wipe out the damn Pubkils before the leader appeared.
The maddened Pubkils charged at Branch 1. Every one was out of its mind, driven solely by the urge to kill.
Masa, dual-wielding katanas, sliced through the oncoming Pubkils one by one. Heads rolled off mechanically beside his blades. Matching his pace like it was a contest, Eun-woo danced gracefully beside him.
With fluid upward swings, blood sprayed each time.
"No end to them."
Eun-woo dodged lightly. A bisected Pubkil thudded down from above.
"Sorry, Eun-woo!"
An Ji-young grinned after slamming a levitated Pubkil into the ground.
Branch 1 without Jin Seong-hyeok was supposed to be weak, but watching them fight up close left Branch 5 in awe.
They perfectly covered each other's weaknesses while maximizing strengths. They knew exactly when to step back or forward.
Linked attacks flowed without words; Helpers moved preemptively without Clean requests.
It was the first time they'd just stood by, watching Branch 1 fight.
"Who was talking shit?"
Clark muttered to himself, and Scarlett laughed.
"I told you, didn't I? Branch 1's strong."
The ant-swarm Pubkils were thinning out. More lay in shattered piles than remained alive.
Yet Branch 1 showed no mercy or fatigue, pouring on the attacks.
"Ooh...!"
Ronnie's eyes sparkled as he rested against his hammer.
"Man, who's that girl?! Barehanded, tiny thing smashing Pubkils!"
It was Mei in his sights. Mouth agape, Ronnie watched her relentlessly pummel Pubkils.
"Ooh! So sexy! Branch 1 has a babe like that? Larry, I think I found my type! Yeah!"
"Man, finding your type in this mess... Ooh! She really is?!"
While Ronnie and Larry gawked at Mei, the Pubkils were already cleared.
The mountain of Pubkil corpses turned to black ash under Liu Shuen's hands. Acrid smoke stung their noses.
"All done."
Even Branch 1's Hunters looked worn. Cha Su-ho, freshly Cleaned by An Ji-young, scanned around. He scraped the gore off his shoes roughly.
Jin Seong-hyeok, who'd been silent, finally spoke.
'Cha Su-ho.'
'Yes?'
'Stay alert.'
Cha Su-ho tensed and looked around. The exhausted Hunters' ragged breaths echoed in the eerie silence.
'Nothing's here...'
'No.'
Jin Seong-hyeok's unusually low voice put Cha Su-ho on high alert instinctively.
'It'll pop out around now.'
Pop out?
Right then, a massive roar shook the earth like an earthquake. The cliff cracked open amid the tremors.
"Everyone, watch out!!"
Something enormous emerged amid crumbling earth and rocks. Amid the uniform brown, a jarring black stood out.
Krrrng.
Its single red eye, the size of a human torso, rolled menacingly. Jin Seong-hyeok had described it: the Pubkil leader's grotesque form.
Multiple heads, twin torsos fused like Siamese twins, legs numbering disgustingly high. And Pubkils spawned endlessly from its torn flesh.
Its back split open, bones protruding beneath red meat. Fully grown adult Pubkils burst out like newborns.
Three or four tumbled from its back. The leader slowly rose.
"...Ha."
All Hunters and Helpers craned their necks upward, jaws dropping in unison.
It was colossal. They'd figured the leader was just three or four times a Pubkil's size. Wrong. They had to tilt heads back fully to see it.
The leader rolled its red eye over the Hunters and Helpers, growling.
"Who killed my babies?"
The tensed Hunters assumed combat stances, eyes sharp with uncertainty about the next attack.
"No answer? Guess that means you did."
Its two heads took turns speaking.
"Then you die."
Pure white somethings erupted from one torso. Cha Su-ho recalled: the leader wielded its own bones, blood, and muscle as weapons.
"Everyone, be careful."
An Ji-young reacted first beside him.
"Why?"
"Those look like bones."
Sharp bone spikes pierced its skin. Cha Su-ho continued gravely.
"Bones like that? Only one way it'll use them as weapons."
"Probably shoot them like arrows."
An Ji-young's face hardened. She yelled to the group.
"Everyone, heads up! Bones incoming...!"
Before she finished, the leader reared up, then shuddered violently.
Bones burst from its body in all directions like hornets' stings.
Puk, puk. Bone needles rained relentlessly, skewering Hunters and Helpers alike.
"Ugh..."
"Gah."
People dropped one by one. Cha Su-ho was among them.
Puk.
He gasped at the bone, thick as his forearm, embedded deep in his shoulder.
'This is nothing, right?'
Jin Seong-hyeok downplayed it, unconcerned. Cha Su-ho had yielded his body to kill monsters multiple times before.
'Of course.'
Cha Su-ho gripped the bone casually. It held fast. Grimacing, he yanked harder.
It slid out slowly, then clattered to the ground.
The wound healed at terrifying speed. Tolerance had built—piercings hurt less now, regeneration kicked in faster.
He brushed the already-scarred shoulder and stood. His body itched. Watching the fight had left him antsy.
"Hunter An Ji-young."
Cha Su-ho spoke up.
"No, sis."
He smiled at her turned gaze.
"Can I join the fight too?"