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Chapter 388

The fight was getting more heated the more they talked.

“M-Meyer, you stupid... That hunter! I... Cough, I told you!” Gilbert stammered and gritted his teeth.

As a healer, Gilbert was limited as to what he could do when fighting in such close proximity against another A-grade hunter. However, he was afraid that if he really attacked Isabella Meyer, she might kill him on the spot. She was crazy enough to shed blood in a fit of rage.

“I was threatened and forced to do it!”

“...”

“...”

The A and B-grade hunters burst into laughter. To think he would use such a ridiculous excuse...

“Gerrity, I don’t mean to interfere, but couldn’t you at least come up with a half-plausible lie? Hunter Choi Yeonseung isn’t the kind of person to do that,” said Joseph Grant. He wasn’t any less of an asshole than Gilbert—he was actually one of the most notorious hunters out there—but even he found Gilbert’s excuse absurd.

He assumed that Gilbert wanted to drag Choi Yeonseung into the mud because he had embarrassed him last time in South Korea, but Gilbert had really picked the wrong fight.

Choi Yeonseung was a generous and kind hunter that many rude individuals called him a pushover. It took a lot of patience for a hunter to receive that nickname.

“I think so too, Hunter Gilbert.”

“You nut jobs! Did he pay you off?”

Gilbert was furious. He didn’t know about anyone else, but Joseph Grant wasn’t the type of guy who would side with someone for no reason.

It was clear that Choi Yeonseung had bribed him!

“What nonsense...? I just pointed out your lousy lie.”

“Are you going to just watch?!” Gilbert shouted to his subordinates. However, none of them dared to come to his aid. It looked like Isabella would break their necks as well if they intervened.

Besides, they weren’t on the territory of the Western Shields, Gilbert’s clan. There were also a lot more hunters on Isabella’s side here. Even if they tried to help him, they would just face a miserable death.

BAAANG! “!!!”

“?!?”

It was the explosion of the mechanical dragon that saved Gilbert’s life.

The massive explosion startled everyone, and it sounded like the dragon had self-destructed. Or rather, it was more like a volcanic explosion, with huge subsequent explosions following after the initial one, the mechanical dragon being in the center of it all.

“Raise your shields!”

The hunters were astonished and quickly prepared to defend themselves. Even hunters who weren’t experts in tanking used their 1st-circle Shield spell in order to add an extra layer to their defenses.

The explosion was so massive that they couldn’t even see the monster properly. As if there had been an earthquake, everything shook, and cracks appeared in all the fortifications.

[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ is astonished!}

[The ‘Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ shudders at the power of the mechanical dragon.]

[...]

[...]

[...]

The hunters present were all lost for words. Everyone, including the constellations, thought the same thing at the same time.

At this point, the team would refuse to take the lead in the raid no matter what order the US government gave. Who would still fight after seeing this?

Joseph Grant watched the explosion as if he were possessed. He then gave a start as though he suddenly realized something and said, “Gilbert, don’t tell me... Is this why Hunter Choi Yeonseung threatened you? Was he trying to somehow reinforce the order to retreat?”

“I told you so, you damn Brit!”

“Hey, that’s too much! Anyway, I’m taking your side.”

“What do you mean, you’re taking my side? Don’t try to seem like a good guy by helping just this once!”

“The two of you, stop fighting and focus on the defense!” snapped an agent as he stepped in to separate them.

Gilbert was forced to back off with a huff. In the end, he still didn’t get an apology from the hunters who had doubted him.

“Damn, I almost got screwed over because of those crazy people...”

“I knew the clan leader was crazy about money, but I can’t believe he would go first against a monster like that. Isn’t he a bastard?”

“I can’t stand this! What a bunch of lunatics!”

The hunters had gone out without knowing anything and almost died, but now they were gritting their teeth. If Choi Yeonseung hadn’t given the order to retreat, they could’ve been wiped out. The A-grade hunters might’ve been able to survive it, but the others with lower ranks...

‘Tensions are running high.’

‘I have to report it...’

The agents at the scene picked up on the atmosphere and sent a report to those from above. The raid hadn’t even started and the hunters were already divided and at each other’s throats.

***

-Yes, I can see it from here. What a crazy monstrosity...

Russell Landon, the deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, clicked his tongue as he was watching the explosion from the rear.

He was an official with a lot of experience when it came to monster raids, but it was the first time he had seen an explosion of this magnitude.

However, that initial explosion was just the beginning.

‘The hunters will cause trouble.’

The reason Russell had managed to keep them in check so well and maintain leadership was that he was good at wielding the carrot and the stick.

All the clans and A-grade hunters were greedy, so they had chosen to participate rather than be stubborn and drop out. But now, he could count the hunters whom he could force to participate with both hands.

If a clan leader gave an order in this situation, the other members would sue them...

‘Nah, they’d kill me before they sued me.’

Russell decided to stop pressuring the hunters for the time being. Given that there was a crisis, giving orders unreasonably could lead to a real mess. Moreover, there hadn’t been any casualties so far, so things weren’t desperate enough to force the hunters to take action.

It was genuinely impressive that nobody had died after that surreal AOE attack! It was nothing short of a miracle.

‘Honestly, thank you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.’

Russell was genuinely thankful to Choi Yeonseung.

When the raid first started, he was very upset to see Choi Yeonseung only trusting his own strength and acting as he pleased. But now, Russell could tell that Choi Yeonseung was the calmest person here, the one who could grasp the situation the best.

This hunter had a better understanding of the mechanical dragon than the government’s experts and analysts!

It was frightening to think about how much destruction would’ve occurred if Choi Yeonseung hadn’t given the order to retreat.

‘It would’ve been better if we had recruited him from the beginning...’

-Wait for now.

-What do you mean wait? Many hunters want to retreat right away.

-That’s a problem. There are a lot of eyes here. We’re going to be on the face of every media outlet out there if all of us retreat and give up on the Second Realm.

-B-but the hunters’ position on this...

-That’s why I told you to make them wait rather than forcing them to attack. Throw any carrot at them to keep them here. In addition, contact Hunter Choi Yeonseung. Maybe we should work with him.

-But... Hunter Isabella Meyer would never accept that.

Russell was a hardliner within the US government, but in Isabella’s case, she was an ultra-hardliner, far above him. She would be enraged if they asked her to cooperate with hunters who weren’t part of her raid team.

-So do it quietly. Hunter Choi Yeonseung is the kind of person who’s always open to negotiations. Surely we can make some sort of deal with him.

-......

Russell could’ve sworn he had just heard the agent curse under his breath.

So he had to hide from the eyes of the other hunters and quietly negotiate with Choi Yeonseung...

-Do you understand?

-Yes, I understand.

That was the end of the call.

Russell shifted his gaze to the distant horizon where the explosions were still going off. He was most worried that they would lead to the destruction of valuable mines.

***

“The atmosphere...”

“Isn’t it a mess?”

“...I was going to say it was grim, but I guess that’s more accurate.”

Instead of being glad that his assessment of the situation was more correct, Choi Yeonseung’s expression was somber. A few clan leaders had come to thank him, but the overall mood was bleak.

‘If someone tells them to attack again, they’ll be considered insane.’

In his heart, Choi Yeonseung wanted to try the raid again after the mechanical dragon had unleashed such an unreasonable explosion. However, nobody would be able to pursue the hunters who had witnessed the destructive power of the monster.

“In any case, you didn’t think those hunters would help, right?”

“No.”

Choi Yeonseung nodded at Han Seha’s words. She was definitely right. After all, hadn’t he initially tried to raid this realm with only the hunters he had brought personally?

He had no reason to feel rueful about the other hunters not helping him.

-...Organism, it looks like you require assistance.

“?”

Choi Yeonseung and Han Seha turned their heads.

One of the robots who had evacuated while dealing with the mechanical dragon came up to him.

-I know you organisms are in trouble. I will help you in accordance with the role and responsibility of the master who gave birth to the mechanical dragon.

“What type of master are you? If it hadn’t been for Hunter Choi Yeonseung’s help, you would’ve just been a liquid can.”

The robot pretended not to hear Han Seha’s scolding. For a so-called rational and logical mechanical being, the robot was surprisingly human.

Choi Yeonseung nodded. “Well, I won’t decline your help.”

-I knew it. Our superior technology...

“Hey, shut your mouth! I’m not an outsider, so I’ll move with him. And if you keep talking like this, I will turn you into a scrap metal can.”

-...Isn’t this organism a problem for the team’s harmony?

“No, Seha energizes the raid team.”

[?]

-?

Other Korean hunters would’ve been shook by Choi Yeonseung’s statement, but fortunately none of them were here.

Han Seha was moved by his words and asked with tearful eyes, “Oh, am I like that...?”

[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ wonders if there is something wrong...]

-Shut up.

The Hound of Instinct and Liberation yelped and went quiet.

Han Seha was so excited that she kept bashing the robots.

“Haha, wouldn’t you have all turned into liquid cans? On Earth, even insignificant people know how to express gratitude. Do you even know what gratitude is?

-...We are going to return the favor.

“How? Be more specific. You are very intelligent, so let me hear your detailed explanation.”

-That...

The robot looked at Choi Yeonseung, befuddled. Even though there was no noticeable change in the robot’s expression, Choi Yeonseung felt the desperation in the robot’s eyes. They were saying, ‘Please help!’

“The robots have weapons, so they will use them to help.”

-That’s right!

“If there’s anything we can use, they’ll lend it to us.”

-That’s right.

“They might even help us collect resources by lending us a usable mining area.”

-...Uh, I understand...

“Maybe they can teach us more about technology. Their technology is apparently far more advanced than ours.”

-......

The robots were speechless. Having excellent intelligence and logic was one thing, but negotiation skills were something else entirely!

This was very strange...

“I’m joking. I have no intention of intruding on your precious territory.”

-...Thank you!

[The robots in the realm have started sending you faith.]

[The power of existence has risen!]

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is impressed by your insidiousness in this negotiation.]

‘It wasn’t like that...’

***

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, we want to help you!”

“!”

Choi Yeonseung had mostly given up getting other hunters to help him, so he was very surprised to see hunters from the other group come up to him and tell him that they would side with him.

-That’s because you were genuinely trying to save them!

The goddess of sloth thought that was the reason. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. Like a drop of water piercing a rock, Choi Yeonseung’s sincerity had touched the hearts of the hunters.

“My master said this is an opportunity.”

“Mine too...”

[The ’Fighter of Sweat and Flesh’ supports his household member.]

[The ‘Monk Pursuing Glory’...]

[The ‘Arrogant Light Elf’...]

[...]

The constellations decided to give up on winning this raid by themselves and start cooperating. It no longer seemed feasible for one household member to defeat the mechanical dragon by themselves!

‘...They didn’t mean it...’

-I’m sorry...

‘Nah, I didn’t really believe them anyway.’

However, it wasn’t just the household members of other constellations. Other hunters came up to him and said cautiously, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, we didn’t come at the orders of a constellation...”

“Then at someone else’s orders?”

“Rather, we want to repay you for helping us...”

“That’s right. Our clan wants that as well.”

“Don’t lie. Which constellation is it?”

“We don’t serve constellations! Really...”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is perplexed about why you are trying to push away these prospective believers.]