Chapter 35: Hunter or Prey

Chapter 35

The disqualified defenders were given another chance to compete in a Loser’s Revival match.

“What?”

“Seriously?!”

The despairing defenders in Area 2, who had been sitting in defeat, perked up energetically at Jang Seungwook’s announcement coming through the radio.

And so, the disqualified defenders were commanded to immediately seek out the Contestants and eliminate them. Successful defenders would pass the preliminary round.

“Wow!!”

“Nice!!”

Cheers echoed loud enough to shake the walls following Jang Seungwook’s words.

“We’ve got another chance at life!!”

“Hey, quiet! He’s not done yet!”

Their celebration was cut short as they tuned in to hear more of what Jang Seungwook had to say.

Before you move out, let me tell you a few rules. First, any defender who kills even one Contestant will immediately pass the preliminary round.

Second, if a team collectively eliminates an Contestant, that will also be recognized as fulfilling the condition.

“Oh!”

“We can play as a team!”

This was nothing short of a boon for the defenders.

Whether in groups of ten or a hundred, if they managed to surround and kill an Contestant, they all would survive, wouldn’t they?

Third, the Loser’s Revival match will proceed until the sunrise of the next day. Any defender who fails to kill at least one Contestant by sunrise will be definitely disqualified.

“Before sunrise…?”

“What time is it now?”

Some defenders looked towards the western sky. The sun, spreading hues of twilight as it dropped towards the horizon, came into their view.

The Loser’s Revival match starts now. From this moment, the defenders from areas 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, you may leave your current positions at the walls.

“Let’s go!”

“Who wants to be on my team?”

“Any tanks here? We need a tank!”

Quickly forming into small teams, the defenders left the walls and sprinted towards the bushes where the Contestants had fled.

Watching from a distance in a high tree was one person, Kim Jinsung.

“So, this makes us the prey…”

Through his radio, he too had heard about the conditions of the Loser’s Revival declared by the production team. Initially puzzled why the message wasn’t just meant for the defenders, after hearing the complete announcement, he understood.

‘If I hadn’t heard this, the Contestants would have been at a severe disadvantage.’

Naturally, the chance of surviving an ambush when you know it’s coming is significantly higher than if it’s a total surprise. The production team was warning the Contestants to run away as fast as they could.

‘Luckily, night is falling soon, which works in my favor…’

The sun had almost completely set beyond the western horizon, ushering in the shadow-filled night – Kim Jinsung’s realm.

‘The other Contestants will be at a huge disadvantage. It must feel like they’re being hunted.’

With fully geared defenders in uniform, making it easy to identify each other, forming a hunting party could prove deadly for any Contestants acting solo.

‘Well, that’s not really my concern…’

Kim Jinsung took another glance at the defenders rushing towards him and then leapt down to the ground.

***

Elsewhere at that moment, Jang Seungwook, having finished relaying the announcement, was on the phone with Baek Jun.

“Did you pass it on?”

“I did as you asked. Everyone’s forming teams and moving out.”

“Good. But isn’t this too dangerous for the Contestants? It’s dark at night, the defenders are moving in teams, and they even have infrared scopes, right?”

“They were newly equipped this season.”

“It seems too harsh for the Contestants. If they are unlucky, by tonight, everyone but the likes of Kim Jinsung, Kang Minhyuk, and Fade might be dead.”

“That won’t happen.”

Baek Jun’s response was firm and confident.

“When cornered, some Contestants will undoubtedly surprise us with brilliant performances. By tonight, at least three stars capable of drawing attention like Kim Jinsung will emerge.”

“I hope your predictions are accurate. Sincerely.”

If Baek Jun was wrong, the entire Preliminary Group A could come crashing down in one night.

“Trust me. When have I ever been wrong?”

“Still…”

“I’ll clean up and come into the office, and we can talk later.”

“Alright.”

As soon as Jang Seungwook hung up, the producers’ voices reached his ears.

“It’s completely dark now. Night has fallen.”

“It’s time for the hunt.”

Jang Seungwook glanced at the monitors. The ‘prey,’ Contestants scattering and fleeing, and the pursuing ‘hunters,’ the defending forces, filled his view.

“Gasp, gasp, gasp…”

In a dark part of the forest, the laborious breathing of someone at the brink of exhaustion could be heard. It was the middle-aged man who almost led the Contestants in Area 2, now relentlessly looking back as he ran towards the hills.

“They’ve already caught up so close!”

A shout came from not too far behind him.

“Chase faster!”

“Shoot into places they might be hiding!”

And intermittent gunfire followed.

All this pointed unmistakably to the pursuers being defenders.

“If only I hadn’t let us scatter earlier!”

The man suddenly regretted the rallying on the walls earlier.

If only they had communicated faster via the radios, he wouldn’t be being hunted down like prey!

Bang!

“Argh!”

Then, a gunshot from behind and the middle-aged man screamed as a bullet accurately struck his thigh.

“There he is!”

“Don’t let him go!”

As soon as he screamed, a multitude of defenders rushed towards him.

“No, no, no!”

Struggling with the wounded leg, he tried to escape, but slowed down considerably, he was caught by the defenders in an instant.

“Found him!”

“Kill him!”

“Don’t kill him alone!”

In moments, at least five defenders pulled out their knives and rushed at the middle-aged man.

“Arghh!”

His screams were quickly drowned out by the subsequent stabbing sounds. A few seconds after the middle-aged man’s desperate cries ceased, a voice from the radio declared.

“Defenders from Area 3, numbers 8, 9, 21, 27, and 32, you’ve passed the first preliminaries.”

“Woo-hoo!”

“Yes!”

“We made it!”

The five defenders who had taken down the man hugged each other, jumping in joy. Their cheers were loud enough to be heard by other defenders scouring in the distance.

“Aw, man. I’m so jealous.”

“Why can’t we see any Contestants here?”

Chapter 35: Who is the Hunter and Who is the Prey

“Keep searching diligently! There’s still plenty of time left!” Encouraged by a fellow defender, the group refocused on their hunt. These were six defenders, all from Area 1.

“Don’t take your eyes off the infrared scope. We’ll find someone before the battery dies.”

They didn’t need the order, as they were already searching ahead using the infrared scopes attached to their rifles. It was the only way to find prey in the pitch-black darkness.

“Contestant spotted!”

One of the colleagues urgently announced a sighting. As they all halted, he aimed his rifle at a young man in the distance through the infrared scope. The rifle barked and,

Ping!

The sound of the bullet hitting armor resonated from afar.

“Over there!”

“Hurry up!”

Seizing the opportunity, all the defenders sprinted towards where the sound came from. Had they run for about two seconds when…

“!”

The lead defender was horrified. Instead of fleeing, the ‘prey’ had raced straight toward him.

He didn’t even have a chance to react to the great sword swinging his way.

Sssk.

“!!”

“Huh?!”

The collective defenders froze in place at the sight of their companion’s throat being cleanly slit.

Looking at the aggressor, they recognized someone all too familiar.

“Ka-Kang Minhyuk?!”

A tremendous figure nearly two meters tall, wielding a matching gigantic great sword.

Even in the dim light, no defender present could fail to recognize Kang Minhyuk, not with such distinctive features.

How could they forget his incredible display at the wall by day, alongside Kim Jinsung?

‘Why did it have to be Kang Minhyuk?!’

‘Can we even take down this monster?’

The name Kang Minhyuk alone was enough to instinctively make the large number of defenders backpedal.

But Kang Minhyuk wasn’t one to let them just stand there, unchallenged.

Swish!

“Argh!”

He lunged into the center of the defenders, swinging his great sword,

What followed was akin to a wolf among sheep – an utterly one-sided massacre.

“Aaargh!”

“Hurk…!”

“Save me!”

The defenders fell one by one, a domino effect, each gushing blood from wounds inflicted by Kang Minhyuk’s savage swings.

After dispatching five with ease, Kang Minhyuk turned his sword towards the final defender in the back.

Slice.

The sound was clean, but different from his usual strikes. Checking to confirm, indeed, the final blow had sliced through a mere scarecrow.

The panic-stricken defender participant had transformed into a pitiful scarecrow the moment the sword connected.

‘A special skill, likely.’

Kang Minhyuk immediately glanced left. He heard someone running away with all their might in that direction – the same person probably responsible for using that scarecrow skill.

As well-focused on the sound of footsteps receding, Kang Minhyuk pivoted.

After quickly checking the fallen defenders for any valuable items, he resumed his trek towards the hills.

Simultaneously.

“Heugh, heugh, heugh!”

The participant from the defender’s team had barely survived Kang Minhyuk, panting as if his lungs would burst, constantly looking back as he ran.

“I need to join the other defenders quickly…!”

He had narrowly escaped moments ago, employing his unique skill, ‘Doppelganger Technique’. Still, Kang Minhyuk could catch up to him and finish him off at any moment.

It was crucial to find and join another team of defenders to escape the current predicament and make it easier to hunt down other Contestants passing the preliminaries.

“Where is everyone?!”

Why could he no longer hear the voices of other defender teams, which had been so clear before? However, he soon spotted them.

“There!”

He saw a reflection of moonlight on the scope lenses from afar. Powering towards the alleged safety, he found a figure in defender’s gear, rifle in hand standing near a tree.

“Don’t shoot! I’m one of the defenders! There…!”

Before he could explain further, his feet stopped dead. He realized that the figure he thought was an ally was not reacting at all.

‘What’s going on? Don’t tell me!’

Looking more carefully, he saw that the figure’s legs were dangling mid-air, hung by the neck on a branch – it was a corpse.

His gaze naturally moved to the ground below.

Only then did he notice numerous dead bodies of defenders sprawled around.

“Screwed!”

Realizing his predicament, he tried to trigger his special skill. But it was too late.

Thwack!

His neck was pierced cleanly from behind by a longsword.

“Now, I’ve reached a thousand points.”

The owner of the sword, Kim Jinsung, left a cryptic remark as he stood over the body.