abcnovels
Chapter 224
Chapter 224
Chapter 224
It was said that the Icarus clan was well-funded and received a lot of support, but this was ridiculous. How could they know stuff about his subordinate that Gerrity was unaware of? Perhaps the hunters had a microphone attached to them...
“Captain! What are your orders?”
“...Ah?”
Gerrity was confused and made a mistake that no A-grade hunter should’ve made. He was caught off guard by the presence of a hunter who had made a pact with an evil god constellation.
-Ilhongsa’s Poisonous Tooth!
“Is this bastard crazy?”
Once his seemingly obedient subordinate had his eyes turn red and lunged at him with lethal magic, even someone like Gerrity couldn’t react in time. Even though he was wearing a lot of artifacts, a strong poison surged over them.
[The poisonous snake’s kiss is a terrible poison...]
Choi Yeonseung frowned when he saw the magic used by the hunter who had made a contract with an evil god constellation. The poison was so potent that it melted the ground and the surrounding rocks.
‘But why is he attacking his boss instead of me?’
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. Did he resent his boss?
“You must've abused your power quite a lot, right?”
“What... Nonsense!”
Gerrity gritted his teeth as he heard the critique. He was busy trying to use magic in order to prevent the poison from getting into his body.
“I guess it’s because he knows my... strength!”
He was right.
Sutherlich, the one who signed the contract with the evil god constellation, had been helping Gerrity for a long time. He knew it would be dangerous to give Gerrity any more time.
“Sutherlich, answer me, you bastard! Was there anything I didn’t do for you?”
“Just don’t talk too much before I dispose of you, Gilbert! I’m done putting up with your nonsense.”
“Again, you must’ve abused your power within the clan quite a lot.”
“Shut up!” Gerrity replied in a furious manner.
‘Whoops!’
He instantly regretted replying to Choi Yeonseung.
Sutherlich was originally much weaker than Gerrity, but considering the contract he’d made with the evil god constellation, they had no idea what he was capable of. Despite that, Gerrity made such a mistake by not being careful enough…!
Instead of magic, Sutherlich pulled out of thin air an artifact that looked like a longsword. The blade dispersed dark energy and contaminated the surroundings.
-A demon sword!
Demon Sword of the Fallen Avenger:
??????????
???????
...
[It can’t be seen due to the power of a constellation.]
The evil god constellations were good at hiding their own identity. That was especially true when it came to making a contract with human hunters. However, that didn’t matter in this situation. Choi Yeonseung had already received important intel from the berserker constellation.
“That hunter signed a contract with the ‘Greedy Owner of the Treasure House’. Be careful!”
The Greedy Owner of the Treasure House.
He didn’t occupy any territories, but he was one of the most famous evil god constellations. His nickname was the capitalist constellation!
This constellation was obsessed with wealth and possessions, so he wasn’t as bloodthirsty as other evil god constellations, nor was he inherently strong. Humans were the sole reason why such a constellation was able to become stronger. Ever since Earth was connected to the Abyss through the gate, he had gained a tremendous amount of power of existence.
For this constellation, which was the owner of a treasure house that gained power from greed, a place like Earth, where an enormous number of souls developed capitalism to the limit, was like heaven.
-This constellation is the owner of that treasure house... If I remember correctly, he was a really insignificant constellation in the Abyss, right?
The goddess of sloth was wondering about the constellation. During the time when she was active, the constellation who owned the treasure house was indeed inconsequential. While others were ruling their kingdom, he was roaming around the outskirts of the Abyss and collecting as much junk as possible.
-That constellation is just as dangerous as any other evil god constellation.
Choi Yeonseung clicked his tongue and stared at the person who served the owner of the treasure house. Evil god constellations were tricky because each of them had a different personality, and on that note, the treasure house constellation was one of the trickiest. He wasn’t aggressive or unreasonable, nor did he cause incidents… However, he had one pernicious weapon, and that was corruption. If he found the right person, he corrupted them and made them gradually lose their mind due to greed.
-As far as I know, he has caused two global economic crises.
It was impossible to count the number of accidents caused by people who had gone crazy due to greed. The household members who served the constellation literally went mad because of greed. As long as they made more money, they didn’t care if dozens of people died. They were willing to commit every crime possible, such as from illegal company management, the prohibited use of raw materials, waste dumping, wage theft, etc.
Because of that, he was one of the evil god constellations that governments now cared about. He had been subtly influencing people, and by the time someone noticed, there was a big accident...
“You signed a contract with the capitalist constellation?” Gerrity asked in surprise, but Sutherlich’s movements became quicker.
The moment Sutherlich drew the demon sword, magic power erupted from his body.
“Ku... Kuooh... Kuooock! Protection of Great Vengeance, Swiftness of the Corrupted, Nomis’ First Magic Sword, Nomis’ Second Magic Sword!”
“Stop!”
Even though Sutherlich didn’t bother to speak, the other hunters in the clan rushed in and stood in his way. If Gerrity fell, then so would they. However, Sutherlich was much more powerful than expected.
He swung his demon sword to break down the numerous layers of shields, then he cut off the spear of a nearby hunter. The spear was cut in half by one single strike, despite its wielder being enhanced by Gerrity’s magic. The hunter wielding the spear looked shocked.
Sutherlich might’ve signed a contract with an evil god constellation, but they hadn’t known it would be this bad...
“Get lost!”
Bam!
A hunter spat out blood before being slung to the side, and Sutherlich proceeded to attack again. Gerrity tried to widen the distance, but it wasn’t easy to remove the effects of the poison he had been hit with earlier.
‘Shit... If I had known he was the household member of the capitalist constellation, I would’ve been prepared...!’
The power of the capitalist constellation was hard to deal with for a different reason than one might expect. Its fighting power wasn’t necessarily high, but the constellation could give his household members all kinds of items.
The items of the Abyss were endlessly diverse. It was only natural that Gerrity would take a big hit the moment he was caught off guard due to a ‘mistake!’
“Uh... Aren’t you going to help, friend?” asked Smallwood, who arrived late on the scene and was trying to assess what was happening.
The situation right now...
Uh...
Um...
‘I don’t know!’
He knew roughly that there was one guy over there who signed a contract with an evil god constellation, but he had no idea how Choi Yeonseung was involved in this conflict. All he knew was that Choi Yeonseung went in and swiftly attacked them, and then one of Gerrity’s subordinates was revealed to have made a contract with an evil god constellation.
In any case, even if he didn’t understand the situation, one thing was for sure. If someone who made a pact with an evil god constellation appeared, he had to help stop them.
“I hear you’re not on good terms with the Western Shields?”
“It’s not that we don’t get along. We just had a lot of conflicts with each other. Friend, now that I’ve said this, I don’t think they need much help.”
Smallwood convinced himself as he spoke. Come to think of it, the guys who had always been trying to steal someone’s raid were now fighting among themselves. He had no reason to step in and help.
Illeya nodded, probably thinking so as well.
“You don’t understand the subject... This jerk? Am I saying that correctly?”
“It’s a bit different, but if you say ‘bastard’ then it generally makes more sense.”
“... Are you actually teaching her how to curse in Korean?” Smallwood asked while hoping this wasn’t the case. “Why would you do that...?”
“Swearing is good.”
“Indeed, swear words can be used anywhere, friend.”
In the meantime, Han Sehui arrived late. Choi Yeonseung hit Smallwood right away and scolded him, “What’s so good about swearing? You have to think about using the proper words.”
“...Friend, behave yourself before I teach you the swear words used in the United States.”
Choi Yeonseung quietly watched Han Sehui fight and suddenly had a thought.
‘Wait. What we’re doing right now… Don’t we look bad?’
It was hard to believe that hunters rated A-B were just standing by, watching the hunters of other clans die. Wasn’t it a bit weird?
“I have to help.”
“Yes, friend. After the fight, I’m going to shave my head and go to the temple over there to try to be a monk for a day. Training in a temple will help me with my martial arts and magic.”
“What nonsense are you saying?”
Smallwood seemingly found Choi Yeonseung’s response unfair and asked, “Wasn’t it the time for jokes? I just thought that...”
“...I really am going to help.”
“It’s Korean irony, right?” Illeya questioned Choi Yeonseung as well.
Was it something she didn’t know about Korean culture?
“...Just watch.”
***
Sutherlich’s assessment of things was precise. Given that he had been serving Gerrity for a long time, he knew exactly what his weakness was. Once he poisoned him with his items, the other hunters immediately got weaker. Because he was casting buffs on everyone like crazy, Gerrity was the most vital member of the team.
-Sealing Cobwebs!
A hunter risked his life to tie up Sutherlich’s sword. The latter snorted and said. “Did you think it would work if you ensnared my sword? You absolute clowns!”
Sutherlich pulled out a new sword, and the other hunters were filled with despair.
“No way...! Why does the constellation believe in a scumbag like you and keep giving you such items?”
“Watch your words. Gerrity. The constellation has great confidence in me. For this monster wave, he lent me this item at a very low price.”
“......”
Gerrity looked fatigued. He had heard rumors that the capitalist constellation had such control over money that he even offered private loans to his own household members, but he hadn’t expected it to be true.
“You idiot! Get yourself together! I’ve never seen anyone who made a deal with the capital constellation end up well!”
“You should worry more about yourself, jerk.”
Sutherlich pointed his new weapon at him, but before he could say anything else, his head was cut off. Choi Yeonseung appeared behind him seemingly out of thin air, just like a ghost.
“I don’t think there is an item that gives you multiple lives.”
“......”
“......”
“......!!!”
The hunters of the Western Shields were horrified when they realized what was happening. They hadn’t expected Choi Yeonseung to help!
Of course, when a person who made a contract with an evil god constellation appeared, the unwritten rule was to forget about animosities and cooperate with each other to kill the one with the contract. However, in reality, how many hunters actually followed the rules?
If a traitor was discovered in an enemy clan, the hunters from the other clan would watch the whole thing while eating popcorn and placing bets on who would die first. The Western Shields hunters would’ve done the same if there was a traitor in the Icarus clan. Despite that, Choi Yeonseung helped them without hesitation.
‘...Damn, it’s embarrassing!’
‘This bastard makes us look like awful people.’
In fact, Choi Yeonseung has also been watching from the side, and waited quite some time before he decided to help. At any rate, the Western Wings hunters were too busy fighting in order to pick up on that. To them, Choi Yeonseung looked like their savior.
They had to acknowledge his integrity no matter how proud they were, or rather, it was because they were so proud that they couldn’t help but feel the difference between him and them. Even Gerrity was at a loss for words.
“Hey. Thank y...”
Splash!
Gerrity held out his hand with difficulty as if to thank him, only to fall into the sea. Choi Yeonseung had pushed him with his foot.
“Ah. Sorry. I thought you were going to attack.”
“......”
“There was already one person who made a contract with an evil god constellation. It wouldn’t be strange if another one appeared, right?”