Ch.99Revenge Plays Are Dangerous (8)

“…Damn it, what the hell am I looking at right now?”

Jacob, the raid leader and America’s S-rank hunter, let out a hollow laugh as he stared at the scene unfolding before him in disbelief.

Using an artifact he had prepared in advance, he sent a telepathic message to Michael and Forden, the masterminds behind the Chaehwa-in incident.

– This is an unexpected situation. What should we do?

Both of them responded with equally bewildered answers.

– I thought she wouldn’t be a simple B-rank like in the database, but this is disconcerting.

– Tsk, stop joking around, that thing is a complete monster, isn’t it?

All three were top-level hunters with years of experience, and naturally, they had faced opponents who used necromancy multiple times.

However, none of them had ever encountered someone who could command such a terrifying army all at once.

That’s how alien and overwhelming Baek Eunha’s necromancy was.

– With this army as our opponent, it’ll be difficult to target Chaehwa-in directly. Michael, we’ll need your power.

If the right situation presented itself, his skill could create an isolated space to separate Chaehwa-in and the other three from everyone else.

Michael and Forden agreed, and Jacob stopped using the artifact and addressed the raid hunters.

“Don’t panic. Honestly, I’m surprised, but that’s all. With this team, we can easily annihilate them.”

That certainly wasn’t wrong.

Everyone gathered here was an A-rank hunter or higher. It would take time and energy, but they wouldn’t lose against an army of this size.

‘The enemy’s display is certainly impressive.’

But that was the extent of it. Against multiple opponents, especially a legion of S-rank hunters, even that would pale in comparison.

Jacob raised his hand slightly as he channeled magical power throughout his body.

And so, the battle that would determine the fate of the raid team finally began.

#

BOOM!

CRASH!

KABOOM—!

‘…As expected, their firepower is ridiculous.’

I had roughly anticipated this. But facing it in reality was truly brutal.

Well, with more than ten S-rank hunters—monsters who transcend humanity—gathered together, perhaps this scene was inevitable.

‘I’ve prepared a lot, but at this rate, will they be wiped out within five hours?’

That means we need to settle this somehow within that timeframe. And that doesn’t necessarily mean making all the raid members kneel.

‘We need to clear the dungeon together anyway.’

Their arrogant behavior was irritating, but whatever the case, most of them are on the same side as us.

In other words, Chaehwa-in and I just need to subdue the American hunters who are our targets for revenge and use them to reveal the truth to the raid team.

‘…That would give us the moral high ground and justification.’

Inside the dungeon, the higher-ups’ typical conspiracies and information manipulation won’t work.

So if we seize this opportunity to convince the raid hunters, our position will be completely reversed when we get outside.

And in this process, the most troublesome obstacle was undoubtedly that woman.

“Celestial Throne’s Holy Light!”

TZZZZZ.

KABOOM—!

[KIEEK!]

[KYAAAK—!]

CRASH!

Even though she used her skill from far away, the unpleasant aura of light reached all the way here.

That meant she possessed powerful divine power.

‘…Damn, I need to take her out first.’

If I were at my peak, I could have overwhelmed her with sheer power, but unfortunately, that’s impossible now.

So Chaehwa-in needs to step up, but the problem is that they know this too, which is why several hunters are protecting the saint.

In that case, my role is to create an opening.

“Gordon.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Go stir things up in the center.”

“…M-me? Directly?”

“Why not? It’s not like you’ll actually die anyway.”

Of course, if he were properly defeated by the saint, he might be permanently destroyed, but I can cover for that.

I placed Kurdalia against Gordon’s skull and cast several powerful enhancement spells targeting a single entity.

Tick.

Whoosh.

“Breath of Magdala, Seal of Extinction. Twilight Baptism.”

“Huurk…! T-this…!”

Gordon inhaled sharply as he accepted the immense power surging through him.

Then, emitting a dark energy like black tears from his empty eye sockets, he headed toward the battlefield.

“Kuhehe, I shall obey Master’s orders and completely wipe out those lowly humans.”

With that, Gordon, filled with enhancement buffs, confidently charged toward the S-rank hunters.

‘…Well, he should last 3 minutes.’

I predicted the horrific scene that would unfold and turned my gaze away.

This enhanced Gordon would be a formidable opponent even for the enemies, so while they’re busy dealing with him, Chaehwa-in should be able to target Saint Yesiel.

And now, it was my turn to face the enemies.

BOOM!

Thud.

Thump.

“Well, we meet again in unpleasant circumstances, kid.”

“You went too far with your pranks.”

“…If I cut you down, all these troops would become useless, wouldn’t they?”

Three S-rank hunters came to directly subdue me, the commander of the undead.

Russia’s Ivan and Italy’s Empress Beatrice, with whom I had friction at the banquet, and Japan’s Sword Master Sanada.

I looked at Ivan and spoke softly.

“You, at least, should have stayed away.”

“Uhaha. True, no one would want to face this old man on the battlefield.”

“No, I was just thinking I’d turn you into a bloody pulp if we met.”

I don’t know what delusion he’s under, but I raised the corner of my mouth at the perfectly arranged situation.

“You two, stay back.”

As I raised Kurdalia to point at Beatrice and Sanada, something hiding in the darkness rushed out and collided with the two of them.

[GRRRR!]

[KISHAAAAA—!]

CRASH!

“Ugh.”

“This is…”

A giant yellow snake covered in sharp armor plates and a four-legged beast soaked in blood with an ominous appearance.

As I mentioned before, these were specially crafted undead—the Blood Wolf and the Yellow Iron Snake.

While they might not be able to defeat an S-rank in one-on-one combat, they can at least buy enough time.

“Well then, shall we finish what we couldn’t do last time?”

“…Hmph, still as impudent as ever. You’ll regret it. This old man shows no mercy to enemies.”

Ivan approached me with a menacing expression, clenching his fists together.

His overly confident attitude deeply displeased me, and I frowned as I spoke.

“You seem to be under some serious misunderstanding.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

I’m not here to compete with Ivan or to have a duel.

“I told you. I’m going to turn you into a bloody pulp.”

Swish.

Ting.

I slightly flicked the magical thread that had been secretly tied to my finger, and something targeted Ivan’s legs with a chilling sound.

“Hmph!”

Detecting it, Ivan immediately channeled magical power throughout his body. A perfect defensive stance achieved in just 0.1 seconds—truly worthy of being called a superhuman who transcends humanity.

However, that didn’t matter at all.

SLASH!

PING—!

CRACK!

“Kugh?!”

Ivan’s legs, protected by magical power, twisted as if losing strength, and he fell to the ground with a painful groan.

Barely raising his head, his face showed only confusion.

“Why, did you think something would happen if you approached to fight?”

“Kuhk, h-how did you penetrate my magical defense…!”

“That’s not what you should be asking right now.”

Ting.

SLASH!

PING—!

The unidentifiable object with unpredictable movements targeted Ivan again, and with a panic-stricken face, he hastily activated one of his skills.

“Fierce Tiger’s Leap!”

WHOOSH!

BOOM!

With an immeasurable amount of magical power, an unprecedented energy rose from Ivan’s body and took form.

It seems to be a quite powerful physical enhancement skill.

But.

“It’s meaningless, I tell you.”

SLASH!

CRACK—!

“ARGHHHH—!”

Ivan screamed and rolled on the ground from the blow that penetrated even his magical defense.

As I approached slowly, stopping my attack, Ivan’s face showed unmistakable fear.

I smiled and knelt in front of him, meeting his gaze.

Normally, such an action would be extremely dangerous against an S-rank, but it didn’t matter now.

After all, I am now.

【Baek Eunha】

▶Level: 46

Having slaughtered hundreds of monsters in the dungeon, I had already gained enough power to overwhelm Ivan head-on.