Even if multiple people did the exact same thing, some of them would be praised for it, while the others would be criticized.
They were treated differently because they usually acted differently!
As far as Joseph was concerned, he usually said things like “Hunters who participate in raids together? Those hunters are just my chess pieces. Whether they die or not is none of my business.”
Therefore, there was no way he would get a positive reaction after barging in and saying, “Are you eating? Let’s have a meal together. Aren’t we all hunters after all?”
-Has he finally lost his mind?
-I think he has an ulterior motive for doing this.
...There were bound to be such misunderstandings.
Joseph wasn’t yet aware of the situation, so he continued confidently, “Other hunters will support me even more thanks to my participation in this A-grade monster raid.”
“You want to run for president?”
“This guy doesn’t even have a country. Why is he holding a presidential election...?”The other high-ranking hunters whispered to each other, but Joseph didn’t catch what they were saying.
After becoming an A-grade hunter, Joseph had gained a tremendous amount of confidence that few hunters could match. It was the confidence to casually ignore other people whispering about him.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t participate in the A-grade monster raid right away. Choi Yeonseung, you made a mistake.’
Joseph acknowledged Choi Yeonseung, which was precisely why he wanted so badly to surpass him.
The world of A-grade hunters was also a world of fierce competition. Only A-grade hunters who had built up a strong reputation and achievements could gain more power and have a voice. Joseph intended to use the lessons he had learnt from his enemies to climb up the ladder.
“He’s always been annoying, but don’t you think he’s even more annoying now?”
“I agree.”
***
Many household members and high-ranking hunters, as well as additional Chinese military units had gathered together.
No matter how special their opponent was, there was no way they would lose with this much power. The original plan was to start the operation by striking the surrounding area with military artillery or bombing it…
“Oh, get lost. If I see the Chinese army, I will just withdraw.”
“Aren’t they actual murderers? How can I trust those bastards to not hit me in the back with a missile while I’m fighting?”
“...”
The Chinese officials looked troubled, but the hunters were stubborn. These kinds of hunters had nothing to lose, so it wasn’t completely unlikely for them to leave.
-Please retreat.The hunters are anxious...
-Are you joking?They straight up don’t trust us!
-Please!
The military officers were fuming, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t do anything if the hunters didn’t back down.
“I’ll be the first to attack.”
“Illaphael!”
The top-ranking hunters watched with anticipation and curiosity when they heard that the household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons would get directly involved.
They knew that the constellations were divine beings, but the Abyssal races that served them were different, so they couldn’t help but wonder…
How different were they from human hunters?
‘I wonder how strong he’ll be.’
‘Bah! Even if he is an angel, isn’t he ultimately on the same level as us?’
The hunters here were very confident in their own strength. There were several B+ grade hunters at the scene who considered themselves to be as strong as A-grade hunters. They were so prideful that it was only natural for them to look at the angel with a sense of arrogance.
-Feast of Dragon Hunting!
Illaphael ignored the hunters’ gazes and used his skill. At this moment, the constellations watching the surroundings could see the message window delivered by the world.
[Illaphael, the household member of the ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons,’ has used Feast of Dragon Hunting.]
[The world shakes and the dimensional door opens!]
Illaphael tore open a portal in the air, revealing a giant dragon bound with chains. This was the fierce dragon of the Abyss captured by the angels of the constellation!
The dragon opened its maw and released a storm of condensed energy.
‘A Breath!’
The eyes of the hunters widened as they saw the dragon’s Breath, something they had only seen in the past during the great invasion of the evil god constellation.
It was unusual even for A-grade hunters to see rare and strong Abyssal monsters, such as dragons, in person.
The storm released by the dragon was destructive; its tremendous strength hit and ripped apart the mountain peak.
Illaphael grabbed the end of the chain and firmly controlled the dragon. He was doing it more so with his power of existence than with force.
[The ‘Monk Pursuing Glory’ admires the feat and sends a gift!]
[The ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ praises the strength that has been accumulated over the years.]
[...]
The other constellations were impressed. Even if it wasn’t their own household member, summoning a dragon of the Abyss and controlling its Breath was no ordinary skill.
Illaphael could only do this thanks to his enormous stats, extensive combat experience, and the faith of his constellation.
“...”
Meanwhile, the hunters froze at the sight. They had thought that they were on par with the angel, so they were stunned to see how big the gap between them and him actually was.
“Thank you for helping us, Illaphael!”
“It’s a great skill.”
“It’s not a big deal,” replied Illaphael in a manner unlike him. Normally, he would’ve been more arrogant, but not this time.
He was still ashamed.
‘I can’t believe I got the name of the constellation wrong...!’
His mistake was disgraceful.
Illaphael casually looked around, checking to see if Choi Yeonseung was also at the scene. He wasn’t sure whether he was glad or disappointed that Choi Yeonseung wasn’t there.
“Attack! Hunters B-grade or higher, attack directly! The hunters below that rating should prioritize support. Above all, don’t forget that you need to cooperate with each other!”
‘I want to go after the guy next to me.’
Cuba’s A-grade hunter, Armas Garcia, had become the leader after all the hunters had drawn lots. Of course, this didn’t mean that the hunters were loyal to him. He was the leader just on paper!
The higher-rated hunters listened to his instructions but had other plans in mind.
“Start the attack!”
On this day, at three eleven p.m., the A-grade Monkey King raid, the nightmare of the first generation, was initiated once again.
***
The hunters who participated in this raid were most surprised by the fact that the Monkey King was completely fine after the previous attack. Even though the Dragon Breath had clearly devastated the surroundings, including the peak of the mountain, the Monkey King was still moving quickly.
‘Is it a bluff?’
“Stop his movements first! It will be a headache once he starts moving.”
The Monkey King had appeared on Earth before, so all the hunters knew his characteristics. Firstly, he was incredibly strong, and he was so agile and fast that the human eyes could barely follow its movements. On top of that, he had the intelligence and ability to use magic.
Given its astonishing stats and the amount of damage it had caused before, it was only natural for it to be considered an A-grade monster.
‘But that was how he was like in the first generation. He managed to cause that much damage back then because hunters weren’t that strong. He won’t be able to do anything against the hunters of this generation.’
‘Once we restrict his movements and bind his magic, his overall combat power will drop by more than fifty percent.’
The A-grade hunters analyzed the situation carefully. Unlike in the past, they had plenty of ways to deal with the Monkey King now.
“Seal of the Golden Lock!”
Armas, the leader of the hunter squad, cast a skill. He was known for his unique usage of curse magic. He used the so-called locking cursed magic!
This spell which immobilized the monster without giving it a chance to defend himself or dodge attacks was Armas’ specialty.
With an eerie clinking sound, golden locks and chains hung from the arms and legs of the Monkey King. Seeing this, Rosemary McClure, a fellow A-grade hunter, was determined to not let this opportunity slide away.
“Fighter’s Third Oath.”
[The power of ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ has been used.]
[Ranged magic is temporarily restricted!]
Rosemary, a close-range tanker, was a household member of the Fighter of Sweat and Flesh. Her third oath was an overpowered skill that restricted ranged magic.
With this combo, the Monkey King had both his mobility and his long-range magic restricted. The hunters prepared to deal the fatal blow.
-■■■!
All of them cast different skills, forming an explosive barrage of magic that struck the Monkey King directly. Despite having immense strength, remarkable agility, and powerful magic, the Monkey King had a weak defense and low health. Thus, hunters precisely targeted those weaknesses.
-Use all the strong skills at the beginning, tie him up, and finish him off.You know it’s going to be a pain in the ass if the battle drags out for a long time, right?
-Of course.
No matter how strong the monsters were, there were many hunters in this raid. The hunters who were well prepared and knew about the monster’s weaknesses were bound to have an advantage in the fight, but…
“?”
“...What?”
To everyone’s dismay, the Monkey King withstood the attack. Dozens of skills had been used, but the Monkey King had tanked all of them.
The hunters were shocked and stopped moving.
-■
The Monkey King didn’t miss its opportunity either.
Bang!
Despite being bound by various skills, the Monkey King charged forward, ready to attack the hunters. Rosemary got in the way to try to prevent Monkey King from breaking through.
“!?”
The Monkey King grabbed Rosemary and pushed her aside with its massive strength. He then tore a tree from its roots and swung it at the hunters.
The hunters, who were preparing to defend against the magic cast by the Monkey King, looked perplexed.
‘What is he planning?!’
“Don’t panic! His attacks have a pattern!”
The hunters had figured out the patterns for the Monkey King’s melee attacks well before they had come here to fight him. The monster was strong and fast, but hunters also had superhuman traits. They could avoid his attacks by picking up on his patterns…
“Cough!”
“Ghah!”
The Monkey King overpowered the hunters in an instant. He tied them up with his tail and lifted them in the air.
‘What is he doing?!’
The other hunters were stunned by what was happening to those hunters. They should’ve figured out the pattern of his attacks, so why had they ended up like this?
“It’s a weird attack! Be careful!” one of the hunters cried out in horror as he was watching the monster from the rear.
“He’s using martial arts!”
“What nonsense… Agh!”
-■■■!
Two hunters, who looked down on the tree wielded by the Monkey King, were suddenly knocked back by the monster. The brutal attack completely shattered the shields of the two B+ hunters, seemingly thanks to the internal energy of the tree.
‘Ummmm...!’
Armas was troubled. It was difficult to counterattack because of the captured hunters. If they made a mistake and hurt a comrade, there would be liability issues...
“Never mind the captured hunters and attack!” Joseph gave instructions on Armas’ behalf after noticing that everyone was hesitant to attack.
“I don’t want to!”
“Yes! For the sake of... What?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Listen to me! It’s an order!”
Of course, nobody listened to Joseph, which caused him to feel betrayed. This was what happened when he didn’t rule with a whip!
***
“Is the A-grade monster raid over?” Choi Yeonseung asked casually as he returned home with a bag full of herbs. After he heard about the lineup in advance, he thought the hunters would decimate the monster.
“The raid failed and the hunters retreated.”
“I see... What!?”
Choi Yeonseung doubted his ears.
The raid failed?!
“Did they get the location wrong? Did they retreat because they didn’t find the monster?”
“No.”
“...That’s not it?”
“There are reports that a number of hunters, including A-grade hunters, have been captured by the monster.”
“...”
This absurd news left Choi Yeonseung speechless. What was going on?
“Since it’s an emergency, I thought you should attend the meeting...” said Gong Tao as he looked at him. He felt bad asking him to participate in the meeting after receiving large amounts of money from him.
What if Choi Yeonseung got angry or asked for his money back?
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“?!”
Gong Tao genuinely admired Choi Yeonseung’s willingness to participate in the meeting. He hadn’t expected him to agree to participate without complaining or asking for something in return.
It wouldn’t have been strange for Choi Yeonseung to negotiate all kinds of conditions for participating in the meeting, given that his price had gone up…
However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t complain or ask for anything in return because it was to save people. Gong Tao stopped looking at him in awe and suddenly felt ashamed.
Choi Yeonseung, a foreign hunter, was doing everything in his power to save people, whereas Gong Tao was just taking money from him.
‘When did I become like this?’
Gong Tao made up his mind and said, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, please accept this money.”
“What? Did you get caught by the party?”
“...N-no… It’s not like that!”
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