Chapter 189: Overstepping Authority

Episode 189

The Triunfo Clan was under attack!

This news spread throughout the New Continent like wildfire.

Naturally, it also reached the ears of the spectators waiting for the newbie showdown participants outside the exit portal.

“What? Did I see that right? I think I just saw Chano die…”

“The FCC Clan attacked! And Dumont, their Master, is leading the attack! What do we do?”

“This is bad! I heard the FCC Clan is also attacking the Triunfo headquarters!”

“What?!”

The spectators started to panic as they learned about the attack on the headquarters.

What if we’re attacked too?

The same thought crossed everyone’s mind.

“Everyone! Please calm down and follow the staff’s instructions! Everything will be alright!”

“Please move this way!”

The remaining evaluation team members tried their best to control the crowd.

Of course, they were also panicking.

“Is anyone answering yet?”

“We just got through to the entrance portal, but they said the portal has been completely sealed from the inside. It seems like they’re not planning to open it until they kill all the participants.”

“Damn it! What about headquarters?”

“Not yet…”

“This is driving me crazy. What do we do?”

Maximilio, a veteran hunter from Team 9 and the highest-ranking member present, clutched his head in frustration.

They couldn’t do anything about the sealed entrance portal without reinforcements from headquarters.

Even Sergio, the only one skilled enough to force it open, was trapped inside and unreachable.

“Let’s evacuate all the spectators safely and then hide nearby.”

“Us too?”

“Yes. There’s nothing we can do with this small force.”

As Maximilio said, there were only about 20 hunters present. It was far too few to defend against the FCC Clan.

“We’ll move as soon as we hear from headquarters. The most important thing right now is to prevent further casualties. If we try to defend this place and the FCC Clan attacks…”

“Brother!!”

A low-ranking hunter, who had been standing guard, shouted and ran towards him.

Maximilio felt a sense of foreboding and asked,

“What?!”

“It’s the FCC!”

“……!”

His premonitions were never wrong.

He looked ahead and saw about 50 FCC Clan members approaching openly along the main road.

‘Damn it…!’

His face paled as his gaze fixed on the person leading the FCC Clan members.

“It’s Oscar…!”

Oscar, the Team 2 leader of the FCC Clan.

One of the strongest executives in the clan, he was leading his team towards them.

It was clear that they were targeting the hunters at the exit portal.

“I-it’s the FCC Clan!”

“Aaaah!”

“Everyone run!”

The remaining spectators who hadn’t evacuated yet screamed and panicked.

The FCC Clan members charged towards the exit portal, which had descended into chaos.

“Wipe them all out!”

Oscar shouted, drawing his sword and charging it with Mana.

Just as he was about to swing his sword at the nearest spectators, someone suddenly appeared in front of him.

“……!!”

Oscar’s eyes widened as he recognized the person.

He froze in his tracks.

“Halt!!”

He shouted urgently, and his subordinates immediately stopped behind him.

They were all confused by the sudden order, but they quickly understood why when they saw the person standing before them.

‘Yoo Jun-ho?’

‘Why is Yoo Jun-ho stopping us…?’

The Vice Master of the Korean Clan, known as the ‘Future of the New Continent’, a top prospect and a high-ranking hunter.

Anyone would stop in their tracks if Yoo Jun-ho blocked their path, even members of the Alpha Clan, the undisputed number one clan.

“Why are you still here?”

Oscar asked, his face contorted with displeasure.

He had already seen on the broadcast that Yoo Jun-ho was at the coffee shop near the exit.

“I still have some business with the Triunfo Clan.”

Yoo Jun-ho replied with his usual gentle expression, and Oscar raised an eyebrow.

“Are you saying you’re going to block our path?”

“Of course not. I’m just here on business.”

“Postpone your business. You know this isn’t the time for that, right?”

“That’s what I want to say to you.”

“…What?”

Yoo Jun-ho continued in the same calm tone,

“I was the one who made the appointment first. So you have to wait your turn. Surely, a clan like the FCC wouldn’t break the basic protocol between Major Clans, right?”

He maintained his gentle expression throughout the conversation.

But Oscar had already noticed something.

Yoo Jun-ho’s eyes were now filled with murderous intent, unlike before.

‘Ugh…!’

The murderous intent was so intense that even Oscar, the Team 2 leader of the FCC Clan, couldn’t withstand it.

‘…No wonder he’s the most talked-about hunter in the New Continent these days.’

At that moment, Oscar understood why Yoo Jun-ho had become the youngest Vice Master of the Korean Clan, one of the top Major Clans.

‘But this puts me in a difficult position…’

He looked behind Yoo Jun-ho.

Hong Yeonseok, the Team 1 leader of the Korean Clan, was standing there, a formidable presence.

The ten or so subordinates behind them didn’t matter. Those two alone were enough to rival the 50 men he had brought.

‘If I don’t back down, I’ll be making an enemy of the Korean Clan.’

Making an enemy of the Korean Clan wasn’t just about making another Major Clan their enemy.

The Korean Clan had friendly relations with some of the most powerful Major Clans in the New Continent, including the Alpha Clan.

In other words, they could potentially make enemies of more than half of the clans in the New Continent.

‘What should I do…’

He quickly thought about his options.

He was an executive of the FCC Clan. He had the authority to change his team’s operational plans if necessary.

“…May I ask when your appointment will be over?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer. But I’m sure it’ll be over by today.”

“Understood.”

He made up his mind, turned around, and shouted to his subordinates,

“We’re returning to the rendezvous point!”

The FCC Clan members immediately turned around and started heading back the way they came, without a word of protest. It showed how well-trained they were.

Oscar glanced at Yoo Jun-ho one last time before following his men.

‘I need to contact the Vice Master.’

He took out his smartphone as he ran.

The FCC Clan members quickly disappeared from Yoo Jun-ho’s sight, and

“…That was dangerous.”

Hong Yeonseok spoke up, standing behind Yoo Jun-ho.

“It’s a good thing it was Oscar, who’s rational. If it had been Henrique, who’s hot-tempered, he would have attacked us.”

“I had a plan for that scenario as well.”

Yoo Jun-ho replied and turned towards the exit portal.

Hong Yeonseok followed him and asked again,

“I don’t understand why you’re going this far to confirm Alopsky’s identity. Even if Master Yong classified it as a top priority case, I don’t think it’s wise to intervene in this situation when we’re under attack…”

“We have to.”

Yoo Jun-ho cut him off.

“I consider Kim Jinsung to be even more dangerous than Master Yong thinks.”

As he finished speaking, a man who seemed to be in charge rushed towards them from the exit portal.

It was Maximilio, who was currently leading the remaining hunters.

“Thank you, Yoo Jun-ho! You chased away the FCC Clan members for us…!”

“I didn’t chase them away. I just had a conversation with them and asked for their understanding.”

Yoo Jun-ho replied humbly. It was true that he had sent them away peacefully through dialogue.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me the current status of the portal?”

Maximilio readily answered Yoo Jun-ho’s cautious question. In his mind, Yoo Jun-ho, who had driven away the FCC Clan members, was a valuable ally.

“You’re probably aware that the FCC Clan has sent their elite members, including their Master, into the dungeon.”

“Yes.”

“Around the time the broadcast was cut, they completely sealed the entrance portal from the inside.”

“You mean the portal disappeared?”

“Yes. It’s completely gone.”

Maximilio replied with a grave expression. Yoo Jun-ho’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected it.

“They’ve taken drastic measures. This means there’s no way to escape from the inside except through the exit portal.”

“That’s why we have to stay here and monitor the situation. We need to know when the clan members inside come out.”

“Does the Triunfo Clan have any plans to enter the dungeon?”

Maximilio shook his head.

“We’d love to, but it’s impossible with our current forces. We need at least a Master-level elite force to enter.”

The enemies inside the dungeon were the FCC Clan’s elite hunters, who were considered to be slightly stronger than the Triunfo Clan.

With Dumont, the Master, and Henrique, the Team 1 leader, inside, they needed at least three executives stronger than Francisco to even consider entering.

“Moreover, I heard that you need at least a Ranker-level hunter to force open the exit portal. Even if you have a skilled hunter, they can’t open it without knowing the trick…”

“I think I can help you with that.”

“…What?”

Maximilio’s eyes widened at Yoo Jun-ho’s words.

“I know how to open the exit portal. And so does Team Leader Hong here.”

Indeed, during the Colosseum Survival finals, Hong Yeonseok, the Team 1 leader, had secretly opened the exit portal so that his subordinate hunters could easily set up dimensional rift traps inside the dungeon.

And Yoo Jun-ho was considered to be stronger than Hong Yeonseok.

“We’d be grateful for your help, but…”

“Then let’s open it quickly. The longer we wait, the more danger the participants inside will be in.”

Yoo Jun-ho walked towards the exit portal without waiting for Maximilio’s confirmation.

No one dared to stop him, not even as he reached the portal with Hong Yeonseok and the other Korean Clan members.

“Hold on, Vice Master.”

Hong Yeonseok stopped Yoo Jun-ho just as he was about to touch the exit portal.

Yoo Jun-ho turned around, and Hong Yeonseok continued,

“Opening this portal means we’ll be openly making an enemy of the FCC Clan. Master Yong wouldn’t want that.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…What?”

Hong Yeonseok asked reflexively.