Ch.129Strike Declaration Is Dangerous (1)

Clang.

Gulp.

Gulp.

“Haha, everyone has done very well. Today’s achievements are thanks to everyone working together.”

“That arrogant young girl couldn’t even move a muscle. I heard she was so angry she locked herself in her room.”

“What can we do? Even if she obtained power beyond her station, in the end, she’s just a child.”

In a restaurant filled with subtle lighting and sophisticated music, a scene resembling a party was unfolding.

Thud.

“Ahem! Now that we’ve joined forces, I understand. To maintain our current position in the future world, we need to strengthen our relationships with each other.”

“Haha, I completely agree. With Baek Eunha leading the way and a powerful line forming in the upper echelons of the Association, there’s no point in fighting over trivial profits.”

“That’s right. If you’re strong, you’re strong. Is it even reasonable to mistreat us who have been protecting and supporting South Korea all this time?”

The leaders of each guild gathered in the meeting room were busy celebrating their victory and constantly badmouthing Baek Eunha and the Association.

The situation had completely turned into a festive atmosphere; they already believed in their victory without a doubt.

In reality, Baek Eunha was no longer exercising her authority over dungeon ownership, and the Association wasn’t taking any particular countermeasures.

“I’ll take the A4 dungeon that appeared in Daegu last week.”

“Well, Director Jung would be the right person for that. I heard it’s large-scale. Do you need any support?”

“Oh my, if you’re offering help, I’d be nothing but grateful.”

Now they were even dividing the resources right in front of them among themselves.

Citizens, unaware of this reality, were nodding their heads thinking that things had been resolved in the right direction.

Without realizing the bleak future that this series of events would bring.

And so, a week passed.

#

“Director, our overall performance has increased by 20% compared to last week. We’ve already exceeded our target, and if more results are added by the end of the month, we can expect even more.”

“Good. Continue to proceed with the work without any issues.”

Jung Hee-eun, the leader of Daehyun, a force considered a major guild in Korea, albeit at the lower end of that category.

Looking at her guild headquarters, which had been enjoying continuous success, she smiled secretly from the top floor.

‘It is convenient to join hands with those sly foxes.’

In fact, Daehyun Guild didn’t have a long history; it was a new guild that until recently couldn’t even solo clear A-rank dungeons.

However, using her massive financial power and connections as the daughter of Daehyun Corporation, she had quickly risen to this position.

And someday, she had ambitions to gather even S-rank hunters and reign as Korea’s undisputed top guild.

‘…At this rate, it’s entirely possible.’

Already, they could comfortably clear mid-tier A-rank dungeons on their own.

If they could continue to obtain dungeon ownership rights, brilliant success was guaranteed.

And now, that wasn’t even a difficult task.

“We’ve secured the A4-rank small dungeon that appeared in Gumi City.”

“That’s going smoothly. A dungeon of that level can be cleared with just Team 2. Quickly finish preparations and deploy them.”

After a week had passed, Daehyun Guild had achieved over 200% performance compared to the beginning of the month.

And after another week, their performance increased by an additional 1.5 times.

It was truly a situation that could be called a jackpot without exaggeration.

However, by the next month, Hee-eun and the upper management of Daehyun had to harbor a growing sense of unease.

‘What is this?’

‘Why do dungeons keep increasing?’

‘Two A-rank dungeons in our jurisdiction in just one week? Does that make any sense?’

At first, it was just good news.

Having more dungeons to clear meant more profit could be generated from them.

But as they continued to increase, nearly doubling, Daehyun Guild, which had worked hard to gather ownership rights, found itself short-handed.

Moreover, this phenomenon wasn’t happening only to Daehyun Guild.

Bang!

“What do you mean? You clearly agreed to send support.”

[Well, Director Jung. I’m sorry about this. But our situation is quite strange too.]

She thought they might be trying to take advantage and eliminate a competitor, but seeing his genuinely perplexed reaction, it didn’t seem to be a lie.

And indeed, the statistics released by the Association supported this fact.

“W-what? Dungeons have increased this explosively?”

It wasn’t just a simple increase in numbers. The size, level of dungeons, and the time it took for them to break—everything had become incomparably more complex than before.

In response, the major guilds in the coalition hurriedly requested support from the Association and neighboring guilds to fill the shortage of personnel, but things didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

Originally, guilds capable of clearing high-level dungeons were limited, and most guilds outside of those weren’t willing to send their members into dungeons they had never experienced before.

Naturally, the Association also indicated that there wasn’t much they could do.

“Damn it, are they trying to take sides even in this situation?”

The guilds in the coalition started cursing but somehow managed to gather personnel to block the dungeons.

Indeed, their claim that they had been supporting Korea all this time wasn’t completely false, as they showed some effectiveness.

However.

Unfortunately for them, the changes in dungeons didn’t end there.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beeeeep—!

“G-Gangnam Seocho District! Dungeon has appeared. Strong reaction! Estimated S-rank!”

It’s worth noting that there are only eight S-rank hunters in Korea currently.

And among them, not a single one belonged to the major guild alliance that had targeted Baek Eunha.

This meant a situation had occurred that they simply couldn’t handle.

“There’s nothing to worry about. S-ranks are handled by S-rank hunters. It was never our domain to begin with.”

Seo Gong-tae of Jucheon Guild, considered to have built the largest force outside of the top guilds, spoke, and the leaders of the coalition nodded in agreement.

They naturally assumed that Korea’s S-rank hunters would step forward to clear the dungeon.

However, strangely, there was no movement.

Only Cheongbaek Guild, which had Baek Seoha and Choi Ha-min, showed some willingness to support, while other hunters, including Baek Eunha, showed absolutely no reaction.

‘N-no way.’

‘Surely they’re not reacting like this because they’re upset about what happened before…?’

From their perspective, it was an extremely bewildering situation. After all, Baek Eunha’s current behavior was completely self-destructive, making everyone, including herself, betray the trust of the citizens.

However, even when they pressured the Association, nothing changed.

[This isn’t something we can control. Frankly speaking, even if we imposed sanctions, they would simply move to another country and display their skills in even more luxurious treatment.]

Crash!

“This little…!”

“Truly an inconsiderate decision. I wonder if she knows this is detrimental to both sides.”

“What should we do? It’s absurd, but if she continues to fuel public anxiety like this, our losses will be significant as well.”

In response, the guild coalition took drastic measures.

They criticized Baek Eunha’s irresponsibility through media play while pooling all members’ funds to hire foreign S-rank hunters.

Although they had to accept massive losses, with most of their profits for a while disappearing, fortunately, they succeeded in adding skilled veterans to their raid team.

Naturally, as a result, the target of citizens’ anger shifted to Baek Eunha.

Unbearable criticism was poured on her, and public opinion turned in an instant.

However, no matter how much time passed, Baek Eunha’s response remained consistent.

【Hunter Baek Eunha Still Maintains Uncooperative Attitude】

【Anonymous Informant Appears, “She’s Been Spending Most of Her Day Gaming for a Month Now.”】

【Public Anger Doesn’t Subside. Now Even Petitions Are Appearing.】

In the midst of the chaotic situation, citizens sought someone to blame.

But even they couldn’t help but be shocked and confused by Baek Eunha’s next action.

【P Company Exclusive: Baek Eunha and Two Anonymous S-rank Hunters Confirmed to Have Left the Country. Destination: Russia.】

Upon confirming this information, citizens finally remembered.

What kind of person Hunter Baek Eunha was.

That she was someone with a reckless mindset who would charge in first when things went wrong.