abcnovels
Chapter 437
Chapter 437
Chapter 437
The politicians shouted angrily at the sight of Jeong Wonuk evacuating with the hunters. How could he leave the civilians behind and move just with the hunters...?
“Clan Leader Jeong! Clan...”
“Stay away!” Jeong Wonuk shouted coldly at the politicians, disregarding them.
Demons—out of the countless Abyssal races, they were the most menacing and ferocious. Their race combined extraordinary power with cunning.
Given the nature of their race, most of them naturally worked under the evil god constellations, and they were infamous on Earth.
‘We have to keep our distance. It’s too dangerous to fight them head-on!’
Being a veteran of combat, Jeong Wonuk managed to make the most sensible decision in a short period of time. He had to keep his distance and prepare defensive spells before dealing with these demons. Engaging in combat with them unprepared would be suicide!
...But to the hunters, it looked a bit different.
‘As expected of the clan leader.’
‘I can’t believe he has to deal with such asshole politicians...!’
The hunters protecting Jeong Wonuk couldn’t help voicing their admiration.
“That’s impressive, Clan Leader!”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t expect you to deal with those unscrupulous politicians like this...”
“...No! What are you talking about?!”
“I understand! I’ll keep my mouth shut!”
“It’s not what it... Oh, forget it...”
Jeong Wonuk didn’t even have time to get angry, for demons rushed at him from behind.
Click.
He instantly pulled out the Blue Dragon Sword, South Korea’s national treasure and one of the most famous artifacts. Jeong Wonuk’s whole body glowed in vibrant colors due to various enhancement magic.
He shot forward like a bullet, dark blood spraying in the air as the demons fell.
“Fortify your defenses and slowly retreat! Get in touch with the others! Demons have appeared in the rear!”
“Demons have appeared in the rear! We ask any hunters that can still fight to join us!”
Jeong Wonuk had no intention of fighting the demons head-on. Considering the defenses around the area, time was on the humans’ side. Since they had already taken the lead, they could just retreat without any regrets!
Surprisingly, the demons didn’t chase them either.
-Grab any humans who seem useful! We’ll take them hostage and use them as leverage.
The demons had appeared with sulfur smoke coming off of them, and they shouted instructions at each other.
-Beware of the human who uses martial arts. He uses strange skills up close!
-I know! Why are you even mentioning it? Don’t we have to keep our promise to the Black Magician Who Shares Everything?
Neither of these demons that had emerged from the dimensional portal were household members.
In the Abyss, there were a few neutral races and monsters that generally didn’t serve any constellations. However, there were quite a few demon tribes that roamed around, led by powerful demon leaders.
These demons were famous as mercenaries in the Abyss, and knowing that, the evil god constellations had brought them here for the invasion.
From the demons’ perspective, it was a very satisfying contract that allowed them to run wild on Earth as long as they kept a few promises.
-These humans look very weak. Won’t they be useful?
-No! As far as I know, I heard that the humans who dress up lavishly are very precious.
“Y-yes, please spare us! We are precious!”
-Ohh!
The big demons were pleased with the words of the politicians.
-Are you royalty?
“N-no.”
-Then are nobles?
“That isn’t it either...”
-You damn humans!! Are you mocking us? You dare take Beliras’ servants for fools?!
The politicians trembled and bled from their ears as the demon roared.
-Such fools. If you aren’t royalty or aristocracy, then what are you? Are you generals? Look at that fat figure. You must’ve gained weight from constantly giving out orders from behind the scenes.
-Oh, he’s actually a general?
“No...”
-Then I’ll just kill you!
“...That’s right!! General!!”
“Yes, we’re generals! So please...!!!”
The politicians shouted desperately, tears streaming down their cheeks and spittle flying from their lips.
The demons nodded with satisfied expressions.
-Good, then tell us the location of the human bastards. We need to know where they are.
“Uh... Well...”
***
“How can the evil god constellations just summon their minions like that?”
“I’m sure they prepared beforehand.”
Illaphael had been fighting in the Abyss for a long time, so she could take a guess as to how the evil god constellations were able to constantly send their warriors to the battlefields.
First of all, the household members of those constellations had carved magic circles in various areas to make it easier to open dimensional portals, which naturally allowed the constellations to effortlessly send their armies to fight.
Hearing Illaphael’s explanation, Choi Yeonseung frowned.
“They’re using dirty tricks. As expected from Abyssal creatures.”
“That’s right... Huh?”
Illaphael agreed with Choi Yeonseung, but she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
“Demons...?? They’re here!” Illeya screamed and pointed ahead. She could see a horde of demons in the distance.
The demons, which were as big as giants and emitting a deadly-looking smoke, occupied parts of the base one by one.
‘They’re close-range types, huh?’
Choi Yeonseung had killed many demons during his lifetime, so he was able to evaluate them just from their appearance. Besides, his constellation eyes made it even easier to make an accurate assessment.
They were typical warlike demons who enjoyed close combat.
“Illeya, can you freeze them like before?”
“Sure, no problem.”
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ activates her power!]
‘I’ll go in the second she immobilizes them.’
The power of the observer constellation was especially great in a battle against many opponents. After all, wasn’t it thanks to the fact that she had frozen the rampaging beast army that Choi Yeonseung had easily killed them?
“?”
Choi Yeonseung was ready to jump in, but he noticed that Illaphael was staring at him from the side as though she was waiting for something.
‘What?’
-It looks like she’s waiting for an order...?
-Why is she waiting for my order? She’s not my household member.
Choi Yeonseung was confused, so he asked the goddess of sloth about it, but not even she could fully understand Illaphael’s mentality.
-I don’t know that...
“...Illaphael, can I count on you to have my back?”
“Of course!” Illaphael replied enthusiastically. She was so excited that she unwittingly flapped her wings.
Illeya paused as she was preparing her power and looked at Illaphael with an astonished expression.
‘She’s an angel... right...?’
***
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, thank you for coming to help. There are demons...”
“I’ve been briefed on the way here. What about the damage?”
“Nothing yet. The demons have been staying put ever since they took control of that area, but...”
“There’s a good chance they’re planning something. They might be able to summon more troops.”
Choi Yeonseung’s words caused Jeong Wonuk’s complexion to darken. Any senior hunter remembered how the demons had managed to increase their armies during the first great invasion.
In contrast to dungeon explosions, it was impossible to know in this situation when and how much the number of monsters would increase if they were left unchecked.
“Even though we knew about it in advance and were prepared, we couldn’t stop it right away.”
“It’s not that bad. Didn’t we prepare exactly for this kind of scenario? We’ll be fine, so lift your head.”
Jeong Wonuk felt his vigor return, not fully realizing how effective Choi Yeonseung’s encouragement was. Indeed, he was right. They had only lost one base, and the hunters here could still fight.
“Oh, by the way, the demons have also kidnapped the members of the National Assembly,” added one of the hunters as though they had just remembered it.
Choi Yeonseung asked with a surprised expression, “Have demons entered the city?”
“No, they came to the base...”
“Why were the politicians there?”
“...Really?”
Choi Yeonseung thought about it for a moment. In the midst of all of this, those guys had the balls to come this far...
‘That’s right. They’re here to make some impression on the public.’
Not much seemed to have changed between the first generation and the current one.
“We were in a hurry to retreat, so we couldn’t rescue them...”
“Hey... It was actually amazing. Clan Leader Jeong, that’s how you should deal with them every time they try something like that.”
“?!?” Jeong Wonuk jumped up and shouted, “No!”
“Ah, yes. Of course, we shouldn’t say this in public. I understand.”
“No, really...!”
Jeong Wonuk was stunned, but all the hunters present were nodding in understanding. They truly believed their leader had done the right thing!
[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ says she is ready.]
“Ready to go!”
“Alright! Hunter Jeong Wonuk, I’ll jump in when the power of the observer constellation is activated. Will you join me?”
“Of course.”
Choi Yeonseung was still uncomfortable with having Jeong Wonuk fight in this battle, given that he had seen him piss his pants in fear in a dungeon before.
However, Jeong Wonuk had no intention of backing down in this situation. He would certainly deal with the demons and rescue the politicians!
“I’ll personally rescue those politicians.”
“Uh... There aren’t any cameras here, so you don’t have to say stuff like that...”
“...”
Jeong Wonuk gave up on explaining.
***
Bang!
“!”
An attack based on martial arts honed to the extreme that would obliterate the enemy—Choi Yeonseung approached quietly and attacked with explosive concentrated energy, targeting the opponent’s vital points.
This attack was as flawless as it was simple. It was especially destructive because Choi Yeonseung used it in combination with Illeya, who had borrowed the power of the observer constellation and frozen everything around her.
Such an attack should’ve been lethal, but the opponent somehow managed to block it.
-You human bastard...! You must be the one using the strange skill!
The badly wounded demon snarled at Choi Yeonseung.
[The blood of the demon lord, Beliras, is protecting the demons!]
Monsters who had lived in the Abyss for a long time sometimes displayed unique skills that could match a constellation’s power of existence.
The blood tattoos covering the demons’ bodies were exactly that kind of skill. They allowed the demons to endure the freezing cold unleashed by the observer constellation and even withstand the Origin of the Celestial Fist!
-Who cares about your skills? You stand no chance against Beliras’ blood!
Bam!
Choi Yeonseung immediately used Origin of the Celestial Fist and blew off the opponent’s head with Origin of the Celestial Kick!
This wasn’t the first time he faced a demon with outstanding vitality. He just had to be fast enough to execute the demon before it managed to recover.
-That’s the human being the constellation spoke of. Be careful!
The demons swung their weapons, which were infused with magic power and glowed bright red, at Choi Yeonseung.
Hearing them shout, Choi Yeonseung realized that rumors about him had spread.
‘The constellations must be gritting their teeth.’
The constellations would’ve preferred to invade quietly, but Choi Yeonseung had been incessantly warning everyone and making preparations everywhere. Thus, the constellations were probably frustrated enough to shed tears of blood.
Bam!
A fierce melee fight started with a roar.
The hunters watching from afar had their mouths hanging open at the magnificent fight. Most melee hunters could never even dream of such a fast-paced and complex fight.
Choi Kwonseop, a B-grade hunter from the Golden Blood Fish clan who was escorting Jeong Wonuk, couldn’t help gulping at the fierce battle. Since he was a martial artist himself, he could properly see how great Choi Yeonseung was.
Using advanced footwork, Choi Yeonseung dodged all the opponents’ attacks and counterattacked, somehow creating space for himself and killing them one by one.
‘I have to help!’
Choi Kwonseop infused internal energy into his spear and thrust it forward, targeting a nearby demon’s vital point. He was doing this more so to keep the demon in check and help Jeong Wonuk than to kill it.
However, the demon jumped high in the air and retreated.
“What the...?”
“Kwonseop! What did you just do?”
“I-I also want to know...?”
Was the demon scared of Choi Kwonseop?
***
-He’s a lot faster than expected!
-He’s a nuisance! Bring the hostages!
After Choi Yeonseung tore through their army and completely shook off the battlefield, the demons gritted their teeth and tried to come up with something else.
They threatened him with the hostages.
-Hey, you nimble human bastard! Look! The hostages here...
However, Choi Yeonseung ignored it and struck down another demon.
-Human! Take a look!
The politician trapped in the grip of the demon screamed for help, but Choi Yeonseung ignored him as well and continued swinging at the demons, knocking more of them down.
-Human! The ho... Cough!
Illaphael also killed a demon and cried out from behind, “You really thought such a pathetic trick would work? You can kill a hundred hostages if you want. Hunter Choi Yeonseung won’t blink an eye!”
“...”
-Is it really like that?
-Uh...