abcnovels
Chapter 237
Chapter 237
Chapter 237
The lich was utterly bewildered when the orcs tried to tie him up and drag him into the paddy field.
-Wait! Wait...! I am the destroyer and corruptor of kingdoms, the nightmare of many heroes and the master of the immortal army. You dare treat me like this?!
“Will you tell us who sent you?”
-That’s not...
“Then you’re just a nuisance. Make him a scarecrow.”
The orcs diligently followed Choi Yeonseung’s words as they stuck the immobilized lich into the ground of the paddy field.
-Orcs, listen to me. The destroyer of kingdoms...
-Hey, this might work better than expected.
-Since he’s an undead monster, he’ll definitely scare away other monsters.
The orcs looked at the lich with satisfaction. Even though he was tied up, he still had his distinctive ominous aura. For that reason, the lich was the perfect scarecrow. No monster would dare approach him!
It would work even better because it seemed that he couldn’t stop yelling.
-You orc bastards, listen to me!
The lich could shout all he wanted, but the orcs weren’t going to listen to him. They were completely loyal to their constellation, so to them, the lich’s words were just background noise.
-The undead are gone, so we have to fill our quota today.
The orcs picked up the farm tools and began plowing the ground with enthusiasm. Their cries seemed like they wouldn’t stop any time soon, which made the lich wish he had been in an isolated prison rather than that paddy field.
***
They had killed an S-grade monster, and once the loot issue was resolved, there would be no reason for the hunters to stick around. Every country that helped China by sending valuable hunters would be making all kinds of demands, but that was the problem of the Chinese…
“Shouldn’t we declare dead the hunters who are still missing?”
“You guys really have no conscience. They came here to help you!”
“Hunters who are still missing will have legal representatives to participate in their place!”
A fierce quarrel broke out because a lot of hunters were still missing. If they did in fact die, the compensation would be drastically reduced. However, they were still missing in action, so they still had the right to take their share of the loot.
“It’s a nasty conflict.”
Choi Yeonseung clicked his tongue and stepped forward. Fortunately, he wasn’t really involved in this conflict, as his achievements were indisputable.
When it came to fighting for loot, the fiercest contests were among those who had had similar contributions in the raid. If one hunter had achieved more than the others by a large margin, then they wouldn’t be disputed.
Naturally, Choi Yeonseung’s first priority was the torch dragon’s core, as the core of an S-grade hunter was extremely valuable. The next item was...
“Ugh.”
“Kuaack.”
“Kiiiik...”
Several grunts could be heard coming from officials and hunters.
It was the magic book with the sixth circle magic ‘Garunga’s Frost’! It was one of the items dropped by the torch dragon, and everybody wanted to get it. Sixth circle magic was so powerful that A-grade hunters could use it as their main power source. It was no exaggeration to say that this item was literally priceless.
“I’ll take this as well.”
“Ugh!”
Everyone sighed when Choi Yeonseung eventually took Garunga’s Frost. They had a faint hope that because he was a martial artist, he would choose something else. They had hoped in vain.
‘I guess it was to be expected.’
‘I’d rather Choi Yeonseung take it. If anything, it would be easier to negotiate with him. I’m just glad it’s not in the hands of the Chinese government.’
‘If the Chinese had gotten it, they would’ve prohibited anyone from taking it outside the country...’
Unlike other countries, China had restrictions that prohibited its hunters from taking items outside the country. From that point of view, it was quite fortunate that Choi Yeonseung managed to get it.
‘The next item is...’
‘Is it the Torch Dragon’s Bracelet?’
The people in the room looked at each other with a mix of anticipation and intrigue. The next highly sought after item was the Torch Dragon’s Bracelet. The hunters didn’t exactly know its effect, but they had keen senses and could sense the magic power emanating from it. The great amount of magic power was enough to captivate anyone!
However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t pay much attention to the Torch Dragon’s Bracelet.
[Torch Dragon’s Bracelet:
Durability: 400/400
Magic Defense: 150
The skill ‘Space Movement Defense’ is always active.
Level Restriction: 300.]
‘I don’t like the effects.’
Whenever he inspected items, the first thing Choi Yeonseung would look at was the base stats, such as offense and defense. Of course, sometimes the effects would be better than the base stats, but the Torch Dragon’s Bracelet seemed more like a gimmick.
The Space Movement Defense effect was rather useless.
-I miss the old days.
-Why?
-Because in the past, if someone obtained such a treasure, they would try to hide its feats when trading it so the other person didn’t know the truth.
In the past, when constellations traded treasures with each other, they would usually try to play tricks and obscure the effects of the item so the receiver couldn’t properly understand it.
-... The constellations are majestic beings, but looking at their actions, don’t they seem a bit petty?
-Ah... It’s not like that, Successor. It’s like a confrontation where we test each other’s eyes and deductive abilities...
-Yeah… I’m not really buying that.
Regardless, Choi Yeonseung passed over the Torch Dragon’s Bracelet. He was aiming for the orb anyways, not that bracelet.
[Precious Orb with the Power of a Scaled Dragon: You can acquire the skill ‘Scaled Dragon’s Power’ when using it.]
This was the item with the best effect. At least, that’s what Choi Yeonseung thought.
“???”
“N-No.”
Han Seha stepped forward in surprise.
“Why do you want to grab that?”
“...Do you want it?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to give this one to Kwon Yeongseung and choose a better item for yourself?”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung was at a loss, but he nevertheless agreed to Han Seha’s proposal. When it came to choosing loot, the most important thing was to find out which items were good before others did. If he really wanted this item, he could just order Kwon Yeongseung to give it to him.
At the moment, the most important thing was to secure the good items before they were taken by someone else.
“Um. Do you believe in me?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Choi Yeonseung was amazed by his niece’s instant reply.
“I don’t think that bracelet is very good. I wouldn’t take it.”
“Ah. Really?”
Han Seha turned her head and looked at the bracelet. Then she looked back at Choi Yeonseung and nodded.
“I understand.”
That was the end of it. The Korean hunters were completely bewildered by the scene. Was she really giving it up?
“Oh, you’re going to give it up?”
“I think people are going to say things if you give up on that...”
Just because someone was an A-grade hunter didn’t mean they didn’t get criticized, quite the contrary. Hunters like Han Seha would receive more critique than usual because the public held them under a microscope. That also applied to the distribution of loot after a fierce raid!
The reality was that even if the hunters fought hard during the raid, the public would tear them apart if they picked the wrong loot.
-Is that A-grade bastard blind? Why did he bring back something like that?
-Wow. If I’d been in his shoes, I wouldn’t have picked something like that.
Appraisers wouldn’t hesitate to fiercely criticize any hunters who picked the wrong loot, no matter what their rank was. At the end of the day, not even hunters could disregard public opinion.
“If they come forward and complain about it, I’ll murder half of them. I fought during this raid. What about those reporters? Did those assholes fight? If they think I’m making the wrong choice, tell those bastards to go and fight. Tell the press. They’ll know what I mean, right? I’ll take them on raids. They should conduct themselves well.”
“...”
“...”
The hunters were impressed by Han Seha’s cold reaction. As expected of an A-grade hunter...!
In the meantime, Choi Yeonseung took the orb. There was a commotion around him.
“Ah, right.”
Choi Yeonseung approached Han Sehui. He put up a barrier of internal energy so that others couldn’t hear and softly spoke to her, “If you get a chance to pick up that bracelet, it’s better if you don’t. I don’t think it’s very good.”
Han Sehui nodded.
Amelia, who was next to her, asked curiously, “What did you talk about?”
“I left the bracelet for you, so I told her to pick another one,” replied Choi Yeonseung.
“... In case you didn’t know, she and I are in the same household, so we share the information we hear.”
Amelia stared at Choi Yeonseung in amazement. To think he would lie to her face like that… She had been watching him closely, given how well he had fought during the raid. However, her appreciation for him had just decreased.
“Is that so? It’s a pity.”
Despite Amelia's statement, Choi Yeonseung was still very confident. Anyone who saw it would think he was a Chinese hunter.
“... What do you mean by ‘don’t choose the bracelet’?”
“Are you my niece?”
“???”
“She’s my niece.”
“Nie...ce?”
Amelia got embarrassed and her stern expression quickly relaxed. She didn’t expect that.
“So why are you asking me?”
“...Hunter Han Sehui, can you ask him about the bracelet for me?”
Amelia didn’t give up. She grabbed Han Sehui and held her in front of Choi Yeonseung, who looked disapproving and said, “I don’t like the bracelet, but if you don’t believe me, then you don’t have to follow my words.”
Choi Yeonseung turned his attention to Han Sehui and spoke to her with a friendly voice.
“Make sure not to pick that bracelet. Let the others have it... I think the gray ring over there is better. It would be a good fit for you.”
“... Did I do something wrong?” Amelia asked with a voice full of indignation.
She was an A-grade hunter from a royal family, and thus, she was supposed to be treated well by everybody. Whenever she participated in raids, she was always treated with respect by foreign hunters.
“What? No, nothing like that. ”
“Then why are you treating me like this?!”
“Well, isn’t it worse to pry like you just did?”
“Then why are you being so kind to Hunter Han Sehui?”
“She’s like a niece to me.”
Choi Yeonseung looked at Amelia with baffled eyes. The other household members around them sensed the tension and grabbed Amelia, pulling her away from him.
“Amelia, please calm down. There are a lot of people here.”
“In addition, Hunter Choi Yeonseung isn’t wrong...”
“This is unacceptable!” cried Amelia before being dragged away.
The allocation of items, which had been suspended for a while due to the commotion, was resumed.
‘Why aren’t they choosing?’
‘It makes me worry for no reason.’
Choi Yeonseung’s choice made people anxious about the next round, and their worries intensified when hunters like Han Seha, Jeong Wonuk, and Kwon Yeongseung, all passed the bracelet over. It would’ve been better if they had just picked it!
‘Damn. Let’s pick it and see.’
Despite the fact that the high-ranking hunters didn’t pick the bracelet, some people couldn’t pass it over. As soon as the next turn came, a hunter, who had been waiting for this opportunity, picked up the bracelet.
Voices filled with regret could be heard from all directions. Who would’ve thought that a guy of that level would get it!
***
“Mr. Chen Xiezhi. If you remain calm, I’ll give you something delicious.”
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to!”
“...Mr. Chen Xiezhi! Please!”
The Chinese hunters in charge of Chen Xiezhi were on the verge of collapsing. The Chinese representative naturally took over the distribution of loot. Now that the event was over, they could finally sleep quietly while the foreign hunters returned to their countries...
Chen Xiezhi wasn’t that stubborn by nature, but perhaps the raid had made him more greedy.
“I understand. Then bring me something delicious. If you do, I’ll stay put!”
“!!”
“Thank you! What do you want to eat?”
“Jajangmyeon!”
“... What’s that?”
“How can you not know what jajangmyeon is when you’re Chinese?!! It’s Chinese food! Are you trying to mock me?!”
“I’m sorry! I’ll go get it! I’ll go get it!”
Chen Xiezhi looked around as the hunters rushed out in fear.
Bam!
Chen Xiezhi knocked out the guards and disappeared, his shadow crossing the high wall of the base in an instant.