Chapter 38 – To North Korea (5)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
“Our Leader is waiting for you.”
A soldier who appeared to be part of the Supreme Guard Command led Sung Joon to the party. Sung Joon couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that they had the facilities installed for a party in a place meant for refuge.
“We’ve arrived.”
They walked for around ten minutes and he gradually felt his surroundings start to become glamorous. Then, he walked busily for twenty minutes. Soon, a large and splendid door was in front of them.
“Please go in. Our Leader should be here soon.”
After the soldier briefly saluted, he parted ways with Sung Joon. Then, the two soldiers guarding the entrance opened the door and Sung Joon went into the party area.
“It’s incredibly vast,” Rishubalt said. Just like Rishubalt said, the inside was so fancy and vast that Sung Joon could barely believe that it was underground. Soon, a young lady approached him and opened her mouth.
“You’re Mr. Kang Sung Joon, right?”
“She’s not a Hunter, but considering the condition of her muscles, she knows how to kill people,” Rishubalt explained. There was someone right in front of him, so he couldn’t show his agreement, but Sung Joon thought the same. His mood worsened as they had sent an assassin to stay near him.
“Please come this way.”
It seemed like she didn’t know how he was feeling, as she affably smiled and guided him to his designated seat. Sung Joon sat in the chair and Rishubalt circled around and surveyed the area.
“It’s a seat that’s easy to surround. Wouldn’t it better to sit in another seat?”
“As long as I don’t get poisoned, I can break through anything. So you don’t need to worry about it.”
Because the young lady who had guided him to his seat had left, he was able to reply to Rishubalt. Because the Supreme Guard Command’s Lee Neung Hwa Corps had lost several Hunters to the Winter Sovereign including Ryu Chul Sung, they didn’t have many superb Hunters left.
‘Colonel Lee Jung Soo said that there was only one S-rank Hunter taking part in this event… If that’s true, I can definitely win.’
Sung Joon organized his thoughts. The most talented Hunter in North Korea, Chul Sung, had died. He didn’t know who the last remaining S-rank Hunter was in the Supreme Guard Command, but he was confident that he could overpower him. It wasn’t excessive confidence; he was sure.
“There are several presences approaching. I’m betting it’s Leader Kim Jang Woon.”
“I think the same,” Sung Joon replied extremely softly, and turned his attention towards the entrance. The door opened and a group of attendants ran out, making a path. Then, the North Korea dictator, Leader Kim Jang Woon slowly walked in.
Everyone stood up and applauded, but Sung Joon stayed seated. A few prominent military men looked at him, but Sung Joon didn’t even budge. He only stood up and faced Jang Woon once he was right next to him.
“Have a good time, since we put in a lot of effort!”
And then the party began. The young lady that had greeted Sung Joon sat beside him and poured him a drink; and a performance began on the center stage.
Expensive looking alcohol and food was served on the table.
“Sung Joon. I have a bottle I’ve been saving… Would you like to drink some?”
The excitement of the performance was rising and when it seemed as though Sung Joon had drunk a lot, Jang Woon spoke quietly.
‘Is this what Colonel Lee Jung Soo was talking about?’
How dare they try to poison and kill him! He surged with anger, but he opened his mouth with a calm expression.
“A bottle you’ve been saving?”
“Yeah. The bottle was made in ’77, and it’s extremely expensive and precious,” Jang Woon spoke excitedly. Seeing Sung Joon drink so well, he thought he’d naturally take him up on his offer.
Even at this very moment, Sung Joon was emptying his cup and the young lady beside him was pouring him drinks.
While Sung Joon was drinking, Jang Woon ordered his attendant to bring him the bottle. Eventually, the attendant brought over a liquor bottle case that looked expensive just by looking at it.
“Do you want a taste?” Jang Woon asked; he smiled icily. Sung Joon’s sharp eyes didn’t miss that.
“The color’s quite beautiful. Could you please pour me a glass?” Sung Joon asked.
“Good! I’ll pour it for you personally!” Jang Woon smiled vigorously and began to pour the alcohol. As Sung Joon’s empty glass was filled, Jang Woon smiled explicitly.
Rishubalt paid close attention to Sung Joon’s raised glass and opened his mouth.
“It’s the Blue Spear Troll’s poison. It causes the poisoned individual’s mana to contort but don’t you already know of a way to untwist your mana, my lord? There shouldn’t be a problem even if you drink it.”
Sung Joon knew about the Blue Spear tribe; it was a Troll tribe. Just like Rishubalt said, their poison caused one’s mana to become twisted, but if one knew how to treat it, they could treat it by simply circulating their mana.[1]
In the other world, this treatment method was spread far and wide, but on Earth, Blue Spear Trolls only rarely appeared in Raids, so people didn’t know how to treat it here.
“Thank you for the drink.”
Sung Joon emptied the glass with a leisurely expression. As he expected, his mana started to become twisted. Sung Joon furrowed his brow and Jang Woon smiled.
“I need to go the bathroom for a bit. Just keep drinking by yourself for a bit, Sung Joon.”
He was probably trying to get away from the battlefield. It was obvious that they would attack as soon as Jang Woon got to safety. Sung Joon circulated his mana around and pierced through his tangled mana.
He was successful in completely piercing through the tangled mana within one minute, but he acted as though he was feeling off in order to fool his enemies.
“What impressive acting, my lord!”
His acting was enough to cause Rishubalt to admire him, and it seemed like the people in the party were being fooled by it as well.
The gathered individuals at the party exchanged glances with each other. It was almost as if he was hallucinating and hearing their eyes move.
And he felt killing intent. It was incredibly faint, but they couldn’t fool Sung Joon’s senses, which were sensitive to killing intent. And the closest killing intent he felt was right beside him.
Then, the moment he thought that…
“Slow!”
Someone who appeared to be a Mage Hunter suddenly stood up and cast Slow on Sung Joon. He was definitely an A-rank Hunter, based on the flow of mana.
And the moment she was sure that the Slow worked, the young lady who had continuously been pouring him drinks aimed for his neck with chopsticks.
“I was waiting.”
Sung Joon released his mana and forcefully repulsed the mana that composed the Slow spell.
“The Slow spell was dispersed?”
“Was he not poisoned?”
The Supreme Guard Command Hunters were flustered, and Sung Joon grabbed and twisted the young lady’s arm.
“AH!”
The woman cried out. Though she had been trained, it wasn’t easy to endure intense pain. Sung Joon didn’t stop at simply twisting her arm, he plunged his sword into her heart.
“Go with plan B! All forces, charge!”
The commander in charge of the Supreme Guard Command ordered. The several thousands of soldiers assembled at the party area, which was as wide as a soccer field, turned into enemies. It seemed as though there were at least a hundred Hunters as well.
“Fire!”
The closest soldiers aimed their automatic rifles at Sung Joon and fired. And from the rear, rocket launchers and offensive spells rained down upon him.
“Shield.”
Sung Joon utilized the ‘Dragon’s Protection’ ability and defended against them. Not one of their attacks pierced through the S-rank item’s magical barrier.
“Fire! Keep firing!”
“It’s no use! Something’s blocking our attacks!”
“So this is an S-rank Hunter?”
Everyone was shocked. They had expected that their bullets wouldn’t easily get through, but they hadn’t anticipated that the Hunters’ offensive spells wouldn’t get through too.
“Don’t stop! He’s definitely using up his mana too! Keep attacking until he runs out of mana!” someone yelled. However, Sung Joon was relaxed. He was definitely using up mana, but there were a lot of people here who could act as mana batteries for him, so he planned to just wait.
While maintaining his Shield, he utilized high-speed movement.
“Hold your fire! There’s a chance you can hit your allies!”
“Ceasefire!”
It was difficult for ordinary soldiers to keep track of an S-rank Hunter using high-speed movement and aim their guns at them. Therefore, the sensible officers ordered their subordinates to temporary ceasefire. At this rate, there was a chance they’d hit their comrades with friendly fire, and Sung Joon was waiting for this opportunity.
“W-Where is he?”
“I don’t see him!”
It wasn’t only the soldiers who couldn’t find him; the Supreme Guard Command Hunters likewise couldn’t track Sung Joon either.
“You idiots! He’s over there!”
The S-rank Hunter, Colonel Park Tae Yong yelled, and the Hunters finally responded, but it was too late; Sung Joon was already at the center of their ranks.
“Tempest Sword.”
Sung Joon softly spoke the activation words; he swung his sword and two hundred sword winds raged in the vicinity.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
The Hunters spewed blood and fell. The swords winds didn’t have as much cutting power as aura, but because it was so sudden and was an attack that they hadn’t expected, most of them hadn’t been able to react.
“Absorb.”
With one attack, he had slaughtered at least twenty Hunters, then used his ‘Absorb’ to replenish his mana and stamina.
“Colonel Park Tae Yong! Get in there!”
The General, wearing an insignia with a star, urgently yelled, and a man up at the ceiling, veiled in black and wielding a short sword quickly fell towards Sung Joon.
He simultaneously landed softly and swung his short sword at Sung Joon’s neck. It was a sword strike clad in aura, so Sung Joon enveloped his own sword in aura, and raised his sword in defense.
“People call you a Healer, but was that just a disguise? Impressive,” Tae Yong said. Sung Joon smiled icily and opened his mouth.
“Do you usually talk this much when you fight?”
“Your provocation won’t work.”
Tae Yong closed the distance with swift movements and lunged with his short sword. It looked like he only stabbed once, but he had actually attacked several times at such a speed that he left behind five afterimages; it was a peculiar technique.
However, Sung Joon had met several strange opponents in his past life, so he easily blocked the five stabs.
“You blocked this?” Tae Yong was astonished. That just now was his secret technique. However, he hid his confusion and continued onto his next attack.
Sung Joon blocked Tae Yong’s quick and continuous attacks with his nigh perfect swordsmanship. No one could overpower Sung Joon with the sword.
The other Hunters couldn’t even intervene in their fight. Just one B-rank Supporter Hunter had cast Haste on Tae Yong, that’s all.
“Then try blocking this too!”
Tae Yong moved quickly, leaving behind an afterimage, trying to confuse Sung Joon. At the same time, an aura slash came from behind.
“Are you dead?”
He had thought that his aura slash had reached Sung Joon, but then…
“Sorry. That was my afterimage,” Sung Joon said coldly. Tae Yong’s aura slash had cut through the air and passed by, but Sung Joon was already aiming for his rear.
“You know, I have a technique that’s similar.”
Sung Joon drew his mana and opened his mouth.
“Illusionary Sword.”
[1] It’s basically like the flow of mana is tangled up and he just pierces through it somehow using his mana.
Chapter 38 – To North Korea (5)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
“Our Leader is waiting for you.”
A soldier who appeared to be part of the Supreme Guard Command led Sung Joon to the party. Sung Joon couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that they had the facilities installed for a party in a place meant for refuge.
“We’ve arrived.”
They walked for around ten minutes and he gradually felt his surroundings start to become glamorous. Then, he walked busily for twenty minutes. Soon, a large and splendid door was in front of them.
“Please go in. Our Leader should be here soon.”
After the soldier briefly saluted, he parted ways with Sung Joon. Then, the two soldiers guarding the entrance opened the door and Sung Joon went into the party area.
“It’s incredibly vast,” Rishubalt said. Just like Rishubalt said, the inside was so fancy and vast that Sung Joon could barely believe that it was underground. Soon, a young lady approached him and opened her mouth.
“You’re Mr. Kang Sung Joon, right?”
“She’s not a Hunter, but considering the condition of her muscles, she knows how to kill people,” Rishubalt explained. There was someone right in front of him, so he couldn’t show his agreement, but Sung Joon thought the same. His mood worsened as they had sent an assassin to stay near him.
“Please come this way.”
It seemed like she didn’t know how he was feeling, as she affably smiled and guided him to his designated seat. Sung Joon sat in the chair and Rishubalt circled around and surveyed the area.
“It’s a seat that’s easy to surround. Wouldn’t it better to sit in another seat?”
“As long as I don’t get poisoned, I can break through anything. So you don’t need to worry about it.”
Because the young lady who had guided him to his seat had left, he was able to reply to Rishubalt. Because the Supreme Guard Command’s Lee Neung Hwa Corps had lost several Hunters to the Winter Sovereign including Ryu Chul Sung, they didn’t have many superb Hunters left.
‘Colonel Lee Jung Soo said that there was only one S-rank Hunter taking part in this event… If that’s true, I can definitely win.’
Sung Joon organized his thoughts. The most talented Hunter in North Korea, Chul Sung, had died. He didn’t know who the last remaining S-rank Hunter was in the Supreme Guard Command, but he was confident that he could overpower him. It wasn’t excessive confidence; he was sure.
“There are several presences approaching. I’m betting it’s Leader Kim Jang Woon.”
“I think the same,” Sung Joon replied extremely softly, and turned his attention towards the entrance. The door opened and a group of attendants ran out, making a path. Then, the North Korea dictator, Leader Kim Jang Woon slowly walked in.
Everyone stood up and applauded, but Sung Joon stayed seated. A few prominent military men looked at him, but Sung Joon didn’t even budge. He only stood up and faced Jang Woon once he was right next to him.
“Have a good time, since we put in a lot of effort!”
And then the party began. The young lady that had greeted Sung Joon sat beside him and poured him a drink; and a performance began on the center stage.
Expensive looking alcohol and food was served on the table.
“Sung Joon. I have a bottle I’ve been saving… Would you like to drink some?”
The excitement of the performance was rising and when it seemed as though Sung Joon had drunk a lot, Jang Woon spoke quietly.
‘Is this what Colonel Lee Jung Soo was talking about?’
How dare they try to poison and kill him! He surged with anger, but he opened his mouth with a calm expression.
“A bottle you’ve been saving?”
“Yeah. The bottle was made in ’77, and it’s extremely expensive and precious,” Jang Woon spoke excitedly. Seeing Sung Joon drink so well, he thought he’d naturally take him up on his offer.
Even at this very moment, Sung Joon was emptying his cup and the young lady beside him was pouring him drinks.
While Sung Joon was drinking, Jang Woon ordered his attendant to bring him the bottle. Eventually, the attendant brought over a liquor bottle case that looked expensive just by looking at it.
“Do you want a taste?” Jang Woon asked; he smiled icily. Sung Joon’s sharp eyes didn’t miss that.
“The color’s quite beautiful. Could you please pour me a glass?” Sung Joon asked.
“Good! I’ll pour it for you personally!” Jang Woon smiled vigorously and began to pour the alcohol. As Sung Joon’s empty glass was filled, Jang Woon smiled explicitly.
Rishubalt paid close attention to Sung Joon’s raised glass and opened his mouth.
“It’s the Blue Spear Troll’s poison. It causes the poisoned individual’s mana to contort but don’t you already know of a way to untwist your mana, my lord? There shouldn’t be a problem even if you drink it.”
Sung Joon knew about the Blue Spear tribe; it was a Troll tribe. Just like Rishubalt said, their poison caused one’s mana to become twisted, but if one knew how to treat it, they could treat it by simply circulating their mana.[1]
In the other world, this treatment method was spread far and wide, but on Earth, Blue Spear Trolls only rarely appeared in Raids, so people didn’t know how to treat it here.
“Thank you for the drink.”
Sung Joon emptied the glass with a leisurely expression. As he expected, his mana started to become twisted. Sung Joon furrowed his brow and Jang Woon smiled.
“I need to go the bathroom for a bit. Just keep drinking by yourself for a bit, Sung Joon.”
He was probably trying to get away from the battlefield. It was obvious that they would attack as soon as Jang Woon got to safety. Sung Joon circulated his mana around and pierced through his tangled mana.
He was successful in completely piercing through the tangled mana within one minute, but he acted as though he was feeling off in order to fool his enemies.
“What impressive acting, my lord!”
His acting was enough to cause Rishubalt to admire him, and it seemed like the people in the party were being fooled by it as well.
The gathered individuals at the party exchanged glances with each other. It was almost as if he was hallucinating and hearing their eyes move.
And he felt killing intent. It was incredibly faint, but they couldn’t fool Sung Joon’s senses, which were sensitive to killing intent. And the closest killing intent he felt was right beside him.
Then, the moment he thought that…
“Slow!”
Someone who appeared to be a Mage Hunter suddenly stood up and cast Slow on Sung Joon. He was definitely an A-rank Hunter, based on the flow of mana.
And the moment she was sure that the Slow worked, the young lady who had continuously been pouring him drinks aimed for his neck with chopsticks.
“I was waiting.”
Sung Joon released his mana and forcefully repulsed the mana that composed the Slow spell.
“The Slow spell was dispersed?”
“Was he not poisoned?”
The Supreme Guard Command Hunters were flustered, and Sung Joon grabbed and twisted the young lady’s arm.
“AH!”
The woman cried out. Though she had been trained, it wasn’t easy to endure intense pain. Sung Joon didn’t stop at simply twisting her arm, he plunged his sword into her heart.
“Go with plan B! All forces, charge!”
The commander in charge of the Supreme Guard Command ordered. The several thousands of soldiers assembled at the party area, which was as wide as a soccer field, turned into enemies. It seemed as though there were at least a hundred Hunters as well.
“Fire!”
The closest soldiers aimed their automatic rifles at Sung Joon and fired. And from the rear, rocket launchers and offensive spells rained down upon him.
“Shield.”
Sung Joon utilized the ‘Dragon’s Protection’ ability and defended against them. Not one of their attacks pierced through the S-rank item’s magical barrier.
“Fire! Keep firing!”
“It’s no use! Something’s blocking our attacks!”
“So this is an S-rank Hunter?”
Everyone was shocked. They had expected that their bullets wouldn’t easily get through, but they hadn’t anticipated that the Hunters’ offensive spells wouldn’t get through too.
“Don’t stop! He’s definitely using up his mana too! Keep attacking until he runs out of mana!” someone yelled. However, Sung Joon was relaxed. He was definitely using up mana, but there were a lot of people here who could act as mana batteries for him, so he planned to just wait.
While maintaining his Shield, he utilized high-speed movement.
“Hold your fire! There’s a chance you can hit your allies!”
“Ceasefire!”
It was difficult for ordinary soldiers to keep track of an S-rank Hunter using high-speed movement and aim their guns at them. Therefore, the sensible officers ordered their subordinates to temporary ceasefire. At this rate, there was a chance they’d hit their comrades with friendly fire, and Sung Joon was waiting for this opportunity.
“W-Where is he?”
“I don’t see him!”
It wasn’t only the soldiers who couldn’t find him; the Supreme Guard Command Hunters likewise couldn’t track Sung Joon either.
“You idiots! He’s over there!”
The S-rank Hunter, Colonel Park Tae Yong yelled, and the Hunters finally responded, but it was too late; Sung Joon was already at the center of their ranks.
“Tempest Sword.”
Sung Joon softly spoke the activation words; he swung his sword and two hundred sword winds raged in the vicinity.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
The Hunters spewed blood and fell. The swords winds didn’t have as much cutting power as aura, but because it was so sudden and was an attack that they hadn’t expected, most of them hadn’t been able to react.
“Absorb.”
With one attack, he had slaughtered at least twenty Hunters, then used his ‘Absorb’ to replenish his mana and stamina.
“Colonel Park Tae Yong! Get in there!”
The General, wearing an insignia with a star, urgently yelled, and a man up at the ceiling, veiled in black and wielding a short sword quickly fell towards Sung Joon.
He simultaneously landed softly and swung his short sword at Sung Joon’s neck. It was a sword strike clad in aura, so Sung Joon enveloped his own sword in aura, and raised his sword in defense.
“People call you a Healer, but was that just a disguise? Impressive,” Tae Yong said. Sung Joon smiled icily and opened his mouth.
“Do you usually talk this much when you fight?”
“Your provocation won’t work.”
Tae Yong closed the distance with swift movements and lunged with his short sword. It looked like he only stabbed once, but he had actually attacked several times at such a speed that he left behind five afterimages; it was a peculiar technique.
However, Sung Joon had met several strange opponents in his past life, so he easily blocked the five stabs.
“You blocked this?” Tae Yong was astonished. That just now was his secret technique. However, he hid his confusion and continued onto his next attack.
Sung Joon blocked Tae Yong’s quick and continuous attacks with his nigh perfect swordsmanship. No one could overpower Sung Joon with the sword.
The other Hunters couldn’t even intervene in their fight. Just one B-rank Supporter Hunter had cast Haste on Tae Yong, that’s all.
“Then try blocking this too!”
Tae Yong moved quickly, leaving behind an afterimage, trying to confuse Sung Joon. At the same time, an aura slash came from behind.
“Are you dead?”
He had thought that his aura slash had reached Sung Joon, but then…
“Sorry. That was my afterimage,” Sung Joon said coldly. Tae Yong’s aura slash had cut through the air and passed by, but Sung Joon was already aiming for his rear.
“You know, I have a technique that’s similar.”
Sung Joon drew his mana and opened his mouth.
“Illusionary Sword.”
[1] It’s basically like the flow of mana is tangled up and he just pierces through it somehow using his mana.
