Ch.216216. A Nation-Toppling Hunter

SS-class Hunters are disasters by their very existence.

There’s a saying among hunters.

But this wasn’t just a phrase used exclusively among hunters.

Ordinary people.

Especially in the military, the emergence of hunters had completely transformed all defense and attack systems.

Hunters are asymmetric forces.

With proof that a single hunter could overthrow an entire nation, wars are no longer fought solely with modern weapons.

So far, no country has waged war using the full power of hunters.

From the beginning, such full-scale wars couldn’t exist because when hunters’ powers were first vaguely discovered,

America created the Hunter Association to prevent the world from falling into chaos, began recruiting SS-class hunters, and additionally started accepting S-class hunters as immigrants without question.

Some countries strongly opposed this.

Naturally, they tried to demonstrate that with hunters’ power, America was no longer the superpower ruling the Earth.

But America’s strength, using both modern weapons and hunters, was stronger than before hunters appeared, certainly not weaker.

War zones.

Conflict regions.

Hunters deployed to these places suppressed all conflicts.

Talk about the era of drone warfare disappeared with the emergence of hunters.

Of course, hunters aren’t invincible.

Hunters are still human.

They sleep and have vulnerable moments.

But when modern civilization protects them and they’re deployed in the right situations,

They become weapons of mass destruction more powerful, precise, and effective than nuclear bombs.

Since nuclear weapons were created, many countries have acquired them, but actual nuclear wars have been rare.

This is because it’s painfully clear that if countries start launching nukes at each other, humanity will ultimately perish.

The numerous nuclear powers didn’t create nuclear weapons to end humanity.

They’re for deterrence.

“I have them too, so don’t use yours.”

“Let’s talk instead.”

Countries without nuclear weapons, even knowing nuclear war won’t happen, don’t act rashly against nuclear powers.

In the worst-case scenario,

They know they’d be the first to go extinct in humanity’s extinction.

The same applies to hunters.

SS-class hunters have enough power to overthrow a nation.

But except for the early days, there have been no cases of hunters overthrowing countries or intervening in wars.

At least not officially.

The reason is simple.

They’re too powerful.

The moment hunters intervene in war,

It’s like a nuclear bomb.

Or worse, a dirty, messy war where both sides can inflict tremendous damage on each other.

I felt this firsthand.

I leap and slash.

BOOM!

My newly synthesized [Multiple Leap Slash] shows tremendous firepower.

Just one slash guarantees 1-4 additional attacks, so it hits at least twice, plus it includes additional attack power and damage multipliers, and when I add Water Cut, it creates an impressive visual performance.

Five crescent-shaped water blades completely shred the two scouts who spotted me and demolish an entire building.

“Whoa.”

Adding Water Cut makes it look pretty good.

It’s flashy and cool.

Multiple Leap Slash isn’t specialized for individual targets… it can handle multiple enemies, but it has a somewhat analog feel.

It’s possible, but requires me to jump directly, while Water Cut lets me shoot water blades at range by swinging my sword, allowing me to spray blades in all directions from one spot like a ranged area attack.

Its range is so wide that to avoid it, you’d need to lie flat on the ground across my entire 180-degree front or jump incredibly high, which I like.

But I wasn’t ready to synthesize it yet, as attaching an SS-class spirit skill to an SSS+ skill would lower its grade, so I was just using them separately.

That was plenty enough anyway.

“What the hell?”

“What’s happening?”

As expected.

True to their reputation as a world-famous terrorist group’s headquarters, their response was quick.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

I hear gunfire.

I had already moved from that spot.

I leap toward the sound and slice the gunman in half, gun and all.

It’s not some supernatural hearing ability.

It’s mana detection.

Even if not everyone is a hunter, ordinary humans possess slight mana.

Not just humans, but all living beings have some, so I can use this to determine where people are.

Especially in large areas where ordinary people shouldn’t be, I can easily identify where someone is hiding or how many people are concealed in buildings.

“Ugh…”

The terrorists fall without time to scream.

Simultaneously, attacks pour out from inside the building.

The non-hunter Dark Site members fire guns to buy time while the hunters come out to deal with the intruder.

Seeing a wind-type projectile flying at me from a distance, I considered dodging but extended my arm covered in ogre skin instead.

Thud!

I wanted to test it.

I’ve always made a habit of dodging, but now I’m a semi-tank with SSS+ abilities.

[Vitality: 96%]

“Hmm. Not bad.”

I can see the attacker’s confusion.

He’s no pushover—an A-class hunter—but I only lost 4%, so he’d run out of mana before I’d die from his attacks.

The same goes for other attacks.

Sniper shots and various abilities rain down from all directions.

I stood still for about five seconds to test taking hits.

[Vitality: 88%]

“Good performance.”

Thinking about it, Kim Sujeong’s SS+ class attack with her antique ruby staff was truly powerful.

Well, I haven’t taken much damage yet.

Whoosh!

I leaped again, this time avoiding the attacks.

I didn’t plan to keep taking hits.

Even for me, attacks to vital points could be quite fatal.

The Corrupted Ogre Leather Armor Set protects most vital points, which is why I didn’t lose much vitality from the sniper shots and other attacks.

If I had stood there longer, many attacks would have targeted my weak points.

BOOM!

First, I need to reduce the number of enemies.

I started destroying the outer buildings one by one, leaving the main building where most Dark Site members were gathered.

My purpose here isn’t just to take the head of Dark Site’s leader, but mainly to show what happens when someone messes with me.

The camera equipment was following me, capturing everything vividly, and my body cam was perfectly showing how Dark Site was being destroyed from my first-person perspective.

Of course, this isn’t all of Dark Site.

Even their headquarters is just a part, and the size of Dark Site operations worldwide is much larger.

But the reason they can operate with certainty is because of Dark Site’s leader at headquarters, Murad Ampole.

An S+ class hunter.

But his ability is often rated as SS-class because it’s so overwhelming.

Thud!

Suddenly, the world seems to slow down.

But it’s not the world that’s stopped.

My world has slowed down.

It becomes slow and heavy.

[Slow(S+) effect applied.]

[Gravity(S+) effect applied.]

[Weakness(S+) effect applied.]

[Exhaustion(S+) effect applied.]

A parade of debuffs fills my vision.

I wasn’t surprised because Kelin had told me about this.

Dark Site’s leader, Murad Ampole, with his Debuff(S+) ability.

The debuffs focused solely on me momentarily bound my ankles, and attacks poured toward that spot.

Indeed, a debuff ability that could be called a disaster to hunters.

Even I was momentarily stopped by the sudden negative feeling.

Of course, with my leap ability, no attack would hit me.

“Ugh. Heavy.”

From the building with the most people, a man who clearly looked like the leader walked out.

The dozen or so hunters protecting him looked extremely powerful even at a glance.

The attacks stopped, and dozens of people quickly surrounded me.

Many had died.

Judging by the car sounds approaching rapidly from a distance, they were being reinforced.

Murad Ampole walked forward.

Guards followed protectively beside him, but he raised his hand.

There was a reason for his confidence.

[Mana Restriction(SS) effect applied.]

[Skills using SS-class or lower mana are sealed for 600 seconds.]

“How cute.”

I approached him, despite the shackles placed all over my body.