Episode 18
Staff members dispatched by the association waved glow sticks and guided citizens to safety.
Usually, when such large-scale invasions occurred, large guilds would cooperate and fight a defensive battle.
So it was rare to see monsters entering the city.
But now, monsters were being seen in the sky, on the ground, and everywhere else.
“Did it start earlier than expected and you couldn’t cope with it?”
Looking around, most of the monsters running wild in the city were small monsters that even a D-class hunter could hunt.
Even though a large-scale invasion had occurred, seeing only monsters roaming around gave me a rough idea of what was going on.
“They’re only going to deal with the best monsters on the defensive line and leave the rest to the haphazard hunters.”
Even that was a welcome relief to the lower-level hunters who were not part of a guild.
If it were like before, Kang Jin-hyeok would have been sweating bullets hunting the monsters.
But now that I’ve discovered the dungeon, there’s no need for that.
There were enough small monsters like that in the dungeon to overflow.
If I tried to catch it now, it would only be a waste of energy.
“I should go home and sleep.”
Even if Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t step forward, the other hunters would have handled it foolishly.
This wasn’t the first or second time such a large-scale invasion had occurred, so there was no way the defense could fail just because it had started a little early.
Kang Jin-hyeok yawned so loudly that tears welled up in his eyes as he hurried to walk home.
But soon, my steps were stopped by a message that arrived with a loud notification sound.
[Notice to all hunters.]
[The current situation is very urgent, so we will reward you three times the usual amount for hunting the monsters that have invaded the city.]
[The above is limited to today. Hunters who wish to receive compensation are requested to bring items that can serve as evidence to the Association as soon as the current situation ends.]
Kang Jin-hyeok heard cheers erupting from here and there.
It was clear that other hunters were exclaiming in response to this message.
“Three times… … .”
Not only is this a chance to legally sell monster corpses without going through an organization, but the rewards have also tripled.
It was foolish to go to bed with such a proposal right in front of me.
Kang Jin-hyeok immediately turned around and ran toward the city.
“Stick your necks out, you guys!”
* * *
The center of the large-scale invasion was surrounded by walls built by members of the Titan Guild.
Most of the guild members rushed into the hunt, leaving only a minimal number of people to maintain the siege.
Because we didn’t have enough people, we couldn’t stop all the monsters.
“Don’t waste your energy on lower level monsters! If you waste your stamina, it will be difficult to maintain your formation!”
The executives ran around diligently and directed the guild members.
They were usually people who only plotted for profit, but in times of crisis, they faithfully carried out their original role.
Executives who may be greedy, but are not incompetent.
That was the power that kept Titan alive as a large guild.
“There’s some room in the west, so take out about 10 people and support the front line!”
“All right!”
The guild members also faithfully followed the instructions they received amidst the confusion.
The way they moved briskly under a proper command system was no different from that of soldiers.
Thanks to the executives and guild members keeping track of the situation, Seo Sang-ho was able to fight with peace of mind.
“Guild Leader! I heard that Yoon Tae-yoon’s side is being pushed back!”
“I’ll be there soon, so just hold on a little longer!”
Seo Sang-ho swept away the monsters gathered around him with one punch, then quickly ran to the place where there was a shortage of power.
The power of an S-class hunter shines even more in difficult situations like this.
“Put the pressure down!!”
As he ran wild across the battlefield, most monsters were torn apart without even being able to get close.
The only ones that could withstand that power were large monsters that were at most 5 meters tall.
Seo Sang-ho’s appearance, sweeping away monsters with one fist, was like that of the main character of a martial arts novel.
The guild members were thrilled by the sight and their spirits were boosted, but Seo Sang-ho himself felt like he was dying.
“Damn it! No matter how much I kill, there’s no end to it.”
Originally, it wasn’t this difficult because it was something we did in cooperation with other guilds.
They were rivals who usually growled at each other like enemies.
I never knew I would miss you this much when you weren’t around.
Why on earth did everyone go overseas at a time like this when they had a request?
“It reminds me of the time when I worked on group projects alone… … .”
Seo Sang-ho, who had been sighing as if the ground was collapsing, raised his head again at the shouts of his guild members.
“It’s a two-headed ogre!”
“Those of you below Class B, step back!”
The right formation was about to collapse as a giant ogre twice as large as a normal one ran wild.
“Are you not going to give me even a moment to rest?”
Seo Sang-ho approached the Twin Headed Ogre and swung his fist before the situation could get any worse.
“Krrrrr… … !”
The Twin Head Ogre, which was barely being held back by Class A Hunters, had its center of abdomen pierced with a single punch.
The twin-headed ogre, with more than half of its internal organs gone, had no choice but to collapse on the spot.
It was a wonderful sight, but I didn’t have time to look at it in admiration.
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The guild members, including Seo Sang-ho, had to move immediately to find the next prey.
“This invasion seems a bit harsh.”
When one of the guild members nearby spoke half-jokingly, Seo Sang-ho smiled bitterly.
“That’s right. There’s no end in sight.”
A bigger problem than the number of monsters was the appearance of giants like the Twin-Headed Ogre.
Even if a few more monsters appeared, the guild members could deal with them.
But in the case of the Twin Headed Ogre, it was a different story.
A monster of that level could only be dealt with by a large number of A-class hunters.
Since the formation was bound to fall apart when all the A-class guild members were concentrated in one place, Seo Sang-ho had no choice but to step forward.
That’s why guild members take turns resting with those in the rear every 30 minutes.
Seo Sang-ho fought nonstop for over two hours.
His secretary, who could no longer stand seeing him take on difficult tasks without even taking a breath, finally stepped forward.
The secretary, who had rushed into the battlefield, went straight to where Seo Sang-ho was and grabbed his shoulder.
“Get some rest. If you continue like this, you will collapse before the battle is over.”
“I just came back from resting.”
“Don’t lie. You haven’t had a single moment of rest since the invasion began.”
“… … If I back off now, the fight will only get longer.”
If the battle dragged on without enough personnel, there was a high possibility that the defense line would collapse.
Since he couldn’t urge the guild members who were doing their best, Seo Sang-ho decided to do it himself.
Delegating command to the officers was also a stepping stone to focus on combat.
“Take care of the clerics more than me. Their importance increases as the war goes on.”
“We’ve already provided enough escorts for those people. What we need to worry about now is the guild leader’s condition.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Seo Sang-ho hurried into the battlefield before his secretary could nag him any further.
Even though there didn’t seem to be a problem at the moment, the secretary felt that his back looked very precarious.
“There’s no way you’re okay, running around like that… … .”
The officers who should have supported Seo Sang-ho were focused on maintaining the defensive line, so there was no one to fill his empty spot on the battlefield.
The secretary suddenly remembered Ando Yoon’s presence, but quickly shook his head.
“I’m crazy to ask a person like that for even a moment of help.”
It would be better to leave the fish to the cat than to rely on that human.
“I guess I’ll have to ask the other hunters for cooperation.”
The executives saw this as a golden opportunity to increase the Titan’s reputation and minimized the hiring of mercenaries.
Although Seo Sang-ho opposed the policy, the executives pushed through with their plan, using the tiresome murderer excuse.
Considering the power of Titan and Seo Sang-ho’s ability, it wasn’t such an unreasonable plan.
But who knows how things will turn out?
If a large number of high-level monsters appeared, we wouldn’t be able to deal with them with just the current number of people.
The secretary thought that, for safety’s sake, they should hire outside personnel before it was too late.
Since the executives would not come and give permission now, the secretary went outside the defense line himself, avoiding their eyes.
* * *
Kang Jin-hyeok confirmed that there were no more monsters in the area and sat down on the nearby stairs.
If you go to another area, you can hunt more monsters, but there are already other hunters there.
Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t want to take away the share of those who came first.
That was something he had been getting sick of from the big guilds until just a few weeks ago.
Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t want to do the same thing as those guys.
“Let’s see… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok looked through his inventory to check how many he had hunted today.
“I think I caught about thirty.”
Assuming that the reward was tripled, it would be a profit of close to 100 horses.
It wasn’t an amount that would make me feel dissatisfied if it ended here.
“I guess I should just go home now.”
Kang Jin-hyeok got up and turned towards the house, and the moment he did, his eyes met with a woman’s familiar face.
The girl who was running in a hurry was definitely the one who had been by Seo Sang-ho’s side when he had met him before.
She also recognized Kang Jin-hyeok.
Seo Sang-ho’s secretary stopped running and approached him.
“Are you Kang Jin-hyeok? Do you have time now?”
“No, I was just about to go home… … .”
“If you don’t have any other plans, could you please help me out for a moment?”
The secretary’s tone of voice was filled with urgency.
Kang Jin-hyeok felt a sense of deja vu as he recalled the time when a hunter belonging to Titan had asked for help.
“Could it be that the Titans are preventing the monster invasion?”
“yes.”
“Is it difficult with only Titan’s personnel?”
“Has the rumor already spread? How do you know so much?”
“… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok was so dumbfounded that he almost burst out laughing.
What happened is that the situation hasn’t changed one bit since then.
It seems that Titan’s specialty is to quickly clean up after something happens.
‘Do you have no ability to learn?’
Although it was a bit annoying, I felt like my sleep would be in turmoil if I ignored someone’s cry for help when they were in trouble.
Kang Jin-hyeok had no choice but to take out the baseball bat he had put away in his inventory.
“How much will you pay in compensation?”
“Should I pay you by the hour or by performance?”
Clerics usually preferred to be paid by the hour.
This was because the Cleric was a job specialized in support, so unlike other Hunters, they did not have to go out and do things themselves.
But Kang Jin-hyeok chose the latter without hesitation.
“Please give me the number of kills.”
“Yes? Weren’t you a cleric, Kang Jin-hyeok?”
“that’s right.”
“But why necessarily?”
Kang Jin-hyeok asked a question in return to his secretary.
“Do you know what a real heel is?”
“Well… … Even bringing the dead back to life?”
“No, it’s about removing the target that’s causing the damage. That’s the ultimate healing.”
The secretary looked dumbfounded, wondering what kind of nonsense this was.
