Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Armor Stripped Bare
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The sound rang out across the Siberian plains like hammers pounding molten steel in some otherworldly forge.
With each clang-clang, a barrage of strikes hammered the gear Nikolai was riding in. Of course, it wasn't dealing much damage. It had to be built tough, after all.
"Not feeling particularly toasty, huh? Can't be helped."
The frontal armor plating on his ride was covered in pitch-black flames, merrily gnawing away at its durability.
I was deliberately controlling the Paradox Flame to avoid the rear plating. Once it was dealt with, I'd pry it off, hand it over to Choi Seung-gi, turn the scraps into protective plates for gear, and sell whatever was left.
Sure, the frontal armor was tougher overall for protection, but eliminating Nikolai took priority over salvaging plates.
"Looking pretty relaxed there. Even glancing away now and then."
Thwack! The thrust spear slammed into the transparent visor shielding his face. With a crack, spiderweb fractures spidered across the glass.
"A bit disappointing."
I'd figured it'd be pierced through by now. Guess I'd have to wait a little longer.
— Wait, why the hell is it cracking?!
Nikolai was visibly rattled now that the glass pane, which had staunchly blocked attacks until moments ago, was spiderwebbing.
"That's what happens when you keep at it."
And that was just the start. My relentless spear strikes finally succeeded in scratching up the frontal armor, one after another. It was proof he'd been pushed back.
"Feels like I've burned through a good twenty minutes."
This wasn't the Paradox Flame I'd used back on Gyodongdo. A blaze this size would've melted the Erosion Core's nucleus there in about thirty seconds through catastrophic muscle wasting.
Yet he'd lasted twenty whole minutes. Not quite solid mithril from the old world, but at least on par with workhorse mithril alloy in terms of durability.
"But hey."
The fact that my attacks were now leaving scratches meant even that impressive defense was nearing the end of its lifespan. Soon it'd be soft as modeling clay.
"Here, a little gift."
After a few more strikes, I etched a heart shape into the frontal armor with the spear tip.
— You goddamn bastard!
With a series of heavy thuds, the armor encasing his body disassembled and fell away. Fat lot of good those bloated plates had done weighing him down—he was ditching them to boost his speed.
He didn't stop at the armor; he dismantled and tossed aside the hefty cannon mounted on one arm.
With the plating gone, the gear's power source was exposed.
"Not edible, huh."
The mana was potent, but it wasn't something I could consume.
The glowing power core, thoroughly pissed off by the looks of it, was emitting a menacing hum while glowing cherry-red hot.
— Haa... Hoo...
Heat haze billowed up from the core. It looked scorching just to glance at.
"It's cold out—why strip down naked like that? Shameless."
I taunted the stripped Nikolai as I assumed a stance and gathered my mana.
Bang! Air burst with a crack, and Nikolai vanished from sight, reappearing right in front of me to swing a blazing beam saber.
Nearly ten strikes per second poured down. At this rate, it rivaled a machine gun's fire rate.
He'd long surpassed human limits, and so had I—dodging, blocking, and countering.
— You monster! Die, die! I'll grind you to dust right here, leave no trace!
Sight, sound, anticipation of the next attack while parrying, and plotting counters.
One solid hit would end it. He'd gained impressive agility shedding the armor and ramping output, but the tradeoff meant a single clean strike spelled doom.
— Fine, then self-destruct it is!
"Whoa, straight out of a kamikaze playbook. Noted."
But no way it had a self-destruct. This wasn't some cartoon.
No fighter pilot volunteers for a plane wired to blow. Who'd climb into that?
Besides, it screamed expensive. Sure enough, as it pushed beyond its output limits, the machinery began grinding ominously.
"Hear that? The death knell of your ride."
Nikolai said nothing. Black smoke belched from his gear, turbine whine fading until it sputtered to a complete halt.
"Any last words?"
As I spoke, he raised the visor covering his face with a hiss of escaping air and pleaded.
"Spare me, please. I didn't want to do this."
"Tempting. I could, actually."
I drove the spear into his skull. No one survives that.
The "mercy" was just to stop any final desperation. This was battle, not sparring—losers die.
"Five minutes left..."
Lee Se-eun's seal was nearly shattered. Nikolai's minions, who'd charged in so boldly, deflated at the sight of their boss's head pulped.
A bit of breathing room. I calmly inspected the seal binding her.
"Fancy work."
Complex and precise, sturdy yet cunning. Had to admit, it was masterfully crafted.
But I could follow its flow and structure.
"Definitely within three kilometers..."
Trace the mana, and I'd reach the caster. Watching her detonate her greatsword repeatedly inside the seal, I clicked my tongue.
"Find 'em, and they're dead meat."
The maintainer was probably coughing up blood right about now.
But then, the seal around her dispersed.
"Cowardly punk."
Sensing trouble, they'd bailed and released it. Meant they'd fled.
"Ugh, annoying."
The moment the seal broke, Lee Se-eun exploded outward with her greatsword, unleashing storm-force slashes, each step quaking the earth like an earthquake.
"What a temper."
Mana pouring from her body warped the air around us into shimmering haze. Mana this vivid affecting the world meant she was bleeding it out wastefully from every pore.
As if wielding this much power was no big deal. And for her, it wasn't.
"Good work."
She joined me in mopping up Nikolai's demoralized minions. They didn't stand a chance; it was over in seconds. Then she approached.
"Good work. Beyond expectations. Hard to believe, but you could snag a Partner Hunter spot anywhere."
She'd watched our fight even while smashing her seal. Instead of replying, I held out my hand, placing a reward candy on it.
"Thanks. I'll dig in."
As I popped the candy, the Zanabi Hunters gawked. What? It's candy they gave me.
"You're probably the only one who actually eats them."
Lee Se-eun's words left me dumbfounded.
"So what, we build Lego with 'em?"
"They collect them. Brag about how many they've got."
Like trophies, huh. Sucking on it, I replied.
"Any Hunter aptitude tests I skipped? Like a sanity check?"
Made me wonder if you needed to be nuts to be a Hunter.
With things sorted, the train started moving again.
And I ran into an irritating snag.
"The Korean military wants to recover the gear I took down?"
They were demanding Nikolai's ride.
"It was originally developed with Korean government funding."
"And some bandit-wannabe roaming Siberia looted and put it to good use."
I shot back coldly, eyeing the dispatched officer.
"I took him down. It's my spoils of war."
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, please. If that gear hits the market as your trophy, it'll be a massive embarrassment for the Korean government."
Like U.S. nukes flooding an Iranian bazaar, he explained—the fallout.
Sounded reasonable on the surface. But I couldn't buy it.
According to Lee Se-eun, the one who'd forcibly sealed her was tied to Dangun's descendants.
Too fishy.
Nikolai had gotten his hands on Korean military special gear and operated it freely. To roam unchecked like that, one of two things: massive backing ignoring the government, or tacit military approval.
Nikolai and Dangun's descendants seemed linked. Plus, I'd long suspected ties between them and the Korean government.
Could I trust the Korean military sharing this train? Nope.
"Again: my spoils from my kill."
"This isn't a personal request. It's an order from Korean Military Security Support Command."
Pulling rank, basically turning "request" into "command." I decided to play dirty.
"Fine, but what about my hard work? Least you could do is let me snag something. You gonna swoop in and take it all after doing zilch?"
Grievance mixed with a hint I'd yield a few steps.
"So... how can we both walk away happy?"
He caught on, softening his tone.
"Nothing fancy. I want the armor plates from Nikolai's Korean military gear as my spoils."
He let out a "whoa" and grimaced.
"Can't hand over the whole set."
"Then just the front plating."
He radioed someone, then shook his head.
"Sorry. The front plating..."
"Then what can you give? Driving me nuts. Fine, rear plating only. No more concessions."
After another call, he returned looking relieved.
"Command approved that much."
"I'd like to trust you, sir, but mind sending official orders in writing?"
Paper trail kills backpedaling. He nodded.
"Of course. Should have documents in two or three hours."
I smirked inwardly. The front plating, properly scorched by Paradox Flame, was basically kid's modeling clay now. Useless even if they took it.
As he walked off, I stared at the back of his head.
"That's as good as confirmation."
No hard proof, of course. But circumstances pointed to a link between the Korean government and Dangun's descendants.
Until contrary evidence, I'd proceed assuming they were connected.