“It seems like you’re getting more and more angry.”
“I guess so, Grant. I have no choice but to be angry.”
“Well, since you want to get revenge so badly, you must’ve already found his weaknesses, right?”
The Iron-Blooded General Who Shakes the Battlefield valued tactics and strategy. The household members of this constellation had to think strategically and come up with tactics according to the personality of their master.
“It’s hardly a weakness. He’s got such a soft spot for this that it's rather hard to believe,” replied Gerrity while patting his chest. “I don’t know if it’s hypocrisy or weakness... You saw it this time, right? Evacuating people.”
“Yeah, I saw it.”
“What a funny guy! It doesn’t matter what it is. Hypocrisy or sincerity, it’s still a weakness.”
Gerrity thought that Choi Yeonseung was an old man who was behind the times. Choi Yeonseung was a first-generation hunter, so it was natural that he worried about civilian casualties and tried to take safety measures before the raids.
“He doesn’t care about civilians just because he’s a first-generation hunter. That’s just a common misconception.”
“Who asked?”“Sorry… I just pointed it out.”
Gerrity was annoyed by Joseph’s remark. It wasn’t like he said he wanted to know the truth about first-generation hunters. Joseph just opened his mouth without being asked…
“So how are you going to target that weakness?”
“It’s easy. If we tamper with the civilians, he won’t be able to focus on the raid because he’ll be too busy helping them.”
In any case, Gerrity was an experienced A-grade hunter, so he managed to come up with an efficient strategy to disrupt Choi Yeonseung.
Despite the fact that Choi Yeonseung and the employees of Dragon Industry had ordered an evacuation and sent people out, there were still many civilians around the dungeon site. Even excluding the reporters who had come to cover the raid, there were still too many people.
People had gathered to see the monsters that would come out of the S-grade dungeon!
Citizens were generally excited for monsters ranked E or D-grade, so there was no way people were going to miss a raid on an S-grade dungeon.
-Whoa.I hope these ones are stronger than the torch dragon from China.
-That’s too dangerous...I hope it’s a torch dragon.When will I see something like that again in my life?Hey, come over here.This spot offers a great view on the dungeon.
In addition to these people, there were many individuals who didn’t have the slightest sense of danger and fear. Those people would run toward the dungeon the first chance they had.
Gerrity declared, “This raid will be my stage, not theirs.”
“Yes, and I’ll help you.”
In addition to repaying the investment he had received from the Parker family, Joseph planned to help Gerrity with this raid. However...
‘I doubt it will really work.’
From Joseph’s perspective, Choi Yeonseung was a great strategist. He wasn’t just a righteous and soft individual.
‘The Abyss raid proves that.’
[The ‘Iron-Blooded General Who Shakes the Battlefield’ is warning you to beware of that mortal.]
In fact, his constellation was saying the same thing.
The strategy Choi Yeonseung had used to win the Abyss Gate raid last time was terrifying. As other hunters had been moving in a hurry, Choi Yeonseung hadn’t hesitated to help injured and exhausted hunters. He had brought in hunters who had lost their bases or supplies and helped them for free.
At first, Joseph had thought, ‘What the hell is this guy doing? Is he for real?’
In the Abyss, one had to watch out only for themselves, not help others. Moreover, it was standard to sacrifice a hunter’s life in order to gain control of an untouched frontier.
...However, Choi Yeonseung’s eccentric actions had later been revealed.
Once they had lost contact due to an unexpected accident and the hunters had reached exhaustion, the seeds sown by Choi Yeonseung had borne fruit. Even those who normally would never have done anything for other hunters had been moved by Choi Yeonseung’s words.
The other A-grade hunters could’ve sabotaged Choi Yeonseung, but they hadn’t done so.
It wasn’t until Joseph had been hit that he understood. That had been Choi Yeonseung’s deliberate strategy.
'It was a really chilling experience.'
He had created a strong image of righteousness for himself, then used it to his advantage..
That wasn’t something that anyone could have done. That became evident when looking at how other hunters, who were considered good people by their fellow hunters, were treated.
However, Choi Yeonseung surprisingly managed to control others with his good deeds. It was a terrifying trick that not even Joseph had ever thought of! It seemed unlikely that such a shrewd tactician would be outsmarted by Gerrity’s scheming.
Wouldn’t Gerrity use any excuse to give up on civilians and focus on the raid?
‘But he won’t listen if I tell him this.’
Joseph decided to ignore it and do his own thing.
***
“Ohh...”
Choi Yeonseung and Hwang Gyeongryong nodded as they watched the constellation descend in Illeya. It was an explosive power that shook the surroundings.
“Hyung, do a proper background check when scouting hunters from now on.”
“Hey... If I make things stricter, I won’t be able to bring in talented people at all. It’s not easy to recruit hunters that are ranked B-grade and higher.”
They couldn’t make the recruiting conditions too strict given that they were scouting hunters from all over the world who had the potential to evolve to A-grade.
Generally speaking, as long as the hunter didn’t have a contract with an evil god constellation, Hwang Gyeongryong had no choice but to recruit them.
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ says it’s suspicious that this constellation is stepping up to help.]
‘...’
Choi Yeonseung was speechless. He had always taken the side of the goddess, but in this matter…
‘Did she forget that she descended not long ago to help me...?’
In that sense, the goddess of balance was also very suspicious right now.
“I can feel the power well. Everything is fine.”
Illeya had received the power of a constellation and didn’t seem to be incompatible with it. She was obviously very close to her constellation.
‘Well, I guess it’s a good thing in the current situation.’
Choi Yeonseung couldn’t predict what monsters would come out of the dungeon, so the more power they had, the better.
“Now, I’ve already explained it a few times, but I’ll go over it one last time. There will be a siege made up of A-grade hunters around the point where the dungeon gate is located.”
Starting from the point where Choi Yeonseung and Hwang Gyeongryong were located, other A-grade hunters, such as Morales, Carter, Gerrity, and Joseph, would form a siege on the front lines.
The moment the dungeon exploded and monsters burst out, they would concentrate their firepower to wipe out the monsters.
“After that, hunters ranked B-grade and lower will wait in the backlines and deal with any straggling monsters, should there be any. The clans under Dragon Industry will follow your command unconditionally, so if anything happens, do not hesitate to give them orders.”
“I understand.”
“The military is on standby, but don’t expect too much from them. If anything bad happens, there’s a high chance that they won’t respond to the situation.”
“Yeah, I know. Hey, how much money do those soldiers get for risking their lives?”
Hwang Gyeongryong smiled at Choi Yeonseung’s joke.
Chen Xiezhi also smiled, which made Hwang Gyeongryong look at him with a sense of burden.
‘Can’t I just put this guy on the sideline?’
Hwang Gyeongryong had no problems managing a large number of people, but Chen Xiezhi was a bit... He found it difficult to manage him. He was a master from the older generation and had partly lost his memories...
Chen Xiezhi asked, “What should I do?”
“All you have to do is go where I tell you to and fight.”
“Those people are suspicious,” Chen Xiezhi said while pointing to Gerrity’s group in the distance. “Can I really not attack them?”
“They might be suspicious, but no, you can’t attack them.”
Of course, Choi Yeonseung wasn’t so naive to think that all the A-grade hunters had come here with pure intentions.
The main objective of Hwang Gyeongryong and Choi Yeonseung was to prevent the monsters from escaping the dungeon, but the others had come for their own reputation and for profit.
As far as S-grade monsters were concerned, it was evident from the incident with the torch dragon that disasters could be handled with the firepower of several A-grade hunters, or even those ranked lower than that.
The hunters participating in this raid were confident enough to deal with any monsters that would come out, rather than be intimidated by them.
Just as they acted for their own benefit, Choi Yeonseung only acted for his own goal.
Those guys should be available when needed.
“It’s about to open.”
More magic power surged from within the gate.
There was a wave of spectacular magic power, and the dungeon collapsed once the time limit ended.
***
[The dungeon has collapsed and the world inside has escaped!]
[The world is eroded!]
Sometimes, when a dungeon collapsed, it wasn’t only the monsters from within, but also the terrain itself that was released upon the world.
That was the case right now.
The hunters became extremely nervous as grass and flowers instantly grew on the surrounding barren land. The calm atmosphere also stiffened.
‘The range is wider than I thought!’
“Initiate the attack!”
One by one, without a specific order, the hunters attacked the dungeon with the magic they had prepared. The A-grade hunters, who were considered the nuclear missiles of the squad, unleashed magic attacks with all their might.
It was a spectacle that could only be described by one word.
Majestic.
“Ohhhh!”
“This...!”
The reporters watching from a distance marveled at the hundreds of colorful spells overlapped with each other in an marvelous manner. Even those who frequently spectated raids were bewitched by this spectacle.
With this impressive firepower, would any monsters even come out of the dungeon?
The answer was ‘yes.’
“Monsters came out!”
The moment the dungeon exploded, monsters swarmed from the dungeon in random directions. They were ambushed by the hunters, but these monsters were especially fast. They avoided getting hit by the magic bombardment through various evasion skills or with their defensive skills that made them almost invincible.
“Chimera! Chimeras have been detected!”
A chimera’s rating ranged from C to A. This monster was a fusion of several monsters and had a different rating depending on what monster parts it had.
Given the incredible magic power they were exuding, it was fair to say that these chimeras were A-grade.
“Quickly gather information on the monsters and send it to the hunters on the field!”
The US government officials were flying drones and analyzing the situation from behind. Everyone was busy trying their best to gather intel on the monsters from the dungeon and send the information to the hunters.
If the field was the territory of the hunters, then the rear was the territory of the analysts!
“The A-grade exagosaurus has been discovered! It’s leading an army of piogasaurus! They’re coming from the east and the west, so watch out!”
“The A-grade demiurgos has been discovered! Prepare for mental magic! Hunters with artifacts that can defend against mental magic should push first!”
The radio incessantly transmitted shouts and screaming. Even from where Choi Yeonseung was standing, they could clearly see the army of monsters.
“Wait.” Hwang Gyeongryong stopped Choi Yeonseung, looking like he wanted to step forward. “It’s been a while since I’ve shown off my cool side.”
“You don’t have to say stuff like that...”
Before Choi Yeonseung could finish speaking, Hwang Gyeongryong soared into the air.
Dozens of artifacts were attached to his body, and as they activated, they glowed and cast magic. A distinct type of magic surged from each artifact, combining with each other and resulting in a large quantity of potent magic.
-Amazing!He stuck artifacts to his own body and linked them that way.What an amazing trick!
Even the goddess of sloth was amazed.
Humans, whose scientific and technological prowess had advanced to extreme levels, displayed a very unique way of embracing magic.
Abyssal races that could mass-produce artifacts in such a fashion were extremely rare.
Hwang Gyeongryong wiped out the incoming monsters.
A hunter would normally get tired after several bombardments in a row, but Hwang Gyeongryong replenished his stamina with a special potion from Dragon Industry. He seemed to be in peak condition.
“Look, look.”
“?”
“I told you they would betray us!” Chen Xiezhi angrily pointed to the other side.
For a moment, Choi Yeonseung thought that Chen Xiezhi had lost his mind again, but that wasn’t it.
“...???”
Gilbert Gerrity, the A-grade hunter, was attacking other hunters.
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