Chapter 45 – Vladimir (3)
TL: Boko
Editors: Frost, StellarRain
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
“Let me live…!”
The sharp sword winds raged like a violent storm and ripped the Russian intelligence agency Hunters apart. They screamed out in agony and begged for their lives. Unfortunately, while Sung Joon was well-versed in the other world language, he didn’t understand Russian.
Of course, even if he could understand them, he would never let them live.
“T-This is… an SS-rank Hunter…?”
Vladimir saw the cruel sight and wanted to deny it, but he now knew why Russia wanted Sung Joon so badly!
As well as why they told him not to engage him in combat… only after he saw what Sung Joon was capable did he understand why that was.
“He’s a monster… A monster!”
Vladimir's subordinates, who had survived the fight with the guards, were killed in an instant. There had been two rank Hunters amongst them.
They weren’t even the run of the mill rank Hunters. They were veteran Hunters of the Russian intelligence agency who specialized in assassination.
Because they were the best of the best, he didn’t think they ‘d be taken down so easily. However, he had definitely been proven wrong.
“We were wiped out in 30 seconds…?”
“You’re next,” Sung Joon said. They couldn’t understand each other, but Vladimir sensed killing intent from Sung Joon’s gaze and realized that it was his turn now.
Vladimir tried his very best to hide his anxiousness, and silently raised his sword. Sung Joon could tell how Vladimir was feeling as the blue aura upon his blade shook.
They exchanged glances and the two rushed at each other. Vladimir took action first. His modified aura coiled around his right arm.
‘I did it!’
Vladimir sported a clear smile. The moment his modified aura, in the shape of a whip, wrapped around his arm, he was sure that he’d attained victory.
However, that feeling soon turned to despair.
“Ha!”
Sung Joon let out a battle cry and released his mana. By doing so, the aura wrapped around Vladimir’s arm melted away.
An overwhelming release of mana would erode and melt away the opponent’s mana. However, this method was quite crude and could only be utilized when one possessed much more mana than their opponent.
‘To think I’d fall prey to such a crude technique!’
Vladimir was an S-rank Hunter and whenever he was given a mission, his opponents would always be weaker. Because he had always overpowered his opponents, he was unfamiliar with fights where he was the weaker one.
“Shit!”
“It’s over.”
Vladimir hastily withdrew his sword, but Sung Joon had already appeared behind him. Vladimir spun around and assumed a defensive posture.
‘I-I’m good! It’s perfect!’
He’d done his very best and his defensive stance was nigh-perfect. Thus, Vladimir was relieved.
However, Sung Joon had a fatal technique ready that overcame any and all defensive stances.
“Illusionary Sword.”
Thirty-one illusionary swords rushed towards Vladimir. If there was one thing Vladimir did wrong, it was that he assumed a defensive posture.
He needed to attack immediately if he wanted to stop the Illusionary Sword. But because he didn’t do so, Vladimir’s body was cut to bits.
“Ugh!”
Vladimir fell covered in blood, and the sight of him was truly ghastly. His arms and legs were sliced into pieces and rolled on the floor.
After taking in the sight, Sung Joon absorbed Vladimir’s mana.
“Your synchronization rate has become 54%,” Rishubalt reported. Afterwards, Sung Joon stretched his left hand towards the area Shin Chul, Jang Hoon, and Jung Chul were gathered and uttered.
“Healing Spray.”
From his left hand, a sphere of light emerged that healed the injuries of the three. It was an large scale healing ability, so the rate at which they were healed was slower than if he had healed them individually. However, their injuries were quickly treated because it was the ‘Heal’ of an SS-rank Hunter.
“You ok?”
“Yes. Guess we won’t die.”
Sung Joon asked, and Jang Hoon replied with a faint smile. Eventually, Sung Joon turned his attention to Shin Chul.
“My father is alright?”
There was no anxiousness in his voice. He could remain calm as he had confirmed that the main building’s defensive line had remained intact.
“The guard leader and Armed Policeman, Han Kyung Min is protecting him,” Shin Chul said. Sung Joon nodded his head and spoke.
“I’ll come back after I make sure my father’s safe. And if you wait a bit longer, the Armed Police Department’s forces will be here.”
“I understand. Our injuries have been treated, so I’ll handle the Armed Police Department’s forces when they arrive.”
“Alright. I’m counting on you.”
Sung Joon went towards the main building
“It’s Mr. Kang Sung Joon!”
A guard holding the machine gun atop the rooftop of the building yelled. Then, a short-haired guard wearing a suit and sunglasses, rushed out of the main building from the first floor. He was none other than Soo Hyuk’s guard leader, the Armed Policeman, Han Kyung Min.
“What about my father?”
“He’s in the underground bomb shelter. He had a seizure once the attack began, so we gave him a sedative. He’s sleeping right now,” Kyung Min said, and Sung Joon grit his teeth. How shocked must he have been for him to have a seizure? If anything went wrong, it could’ve been dangerous.
“They had to be aiming for your father, my lord. We must find out who it was and seek revenge,” Rishubalt said. Sung Joon agreed with him. He didn’t know who ordered it, but Sung Joon planned to find out no matter what with Jung Chul’s help. And he would make sure to punish them, no matter who it was.
‘This can only be paid back in blood…’
Sung Joon’s eyes gleamed with a sharp killing intent.
* * *
It had been a day since Sung Joon’s mansion had been attacked by the Russia intelligence agency. Sung Joon complained about the Armed Police Department, which was responsible for his father’s safety, and even contacted both the Blue House and the two Bureaus.
“If you cannot guarantee my father’s safety, then I’ll have no choice but to go to the U.S.”
Sung Joon complained quite strongly, so the Korean government took remodeled part of a nearby park to station a company of troops there.
“The Armed Police Department has dispatched an additional twenty-five guards. And the nearby guard post has promised to strengthen their patrols,” Kyung Min reported.
“They have stationed a company of troops right next to it. With this, I believe you can relax,” Shin Chul said. They were indeed protected by the Armed Police Department as well as the Korean army, but Sung Joon still couldn’t feel relaxed. Sung Joon was always conscious of his father’s safety and he believed that he should be concerned about it as well.
“How can I relax when I don’t even know who attacked us? If I could, I’d just kill them all…” Sung Joon said, his voice mixed with anger, while leaning against the sofa. The wine glass he held was already almost empty.
He wasn’t one to indulge in alcohol, but on a day like this, he found that he just kept drinking.
“I’ve acquired information regarding our attackers.”
“Who was it?”
Sung Joon’s eyes gleamed at Jung Chul’s statement. He looked like he would go immediately, sword in hand, and cut out the root of their problems if he knew who it was.
“I heard that just a little while ago, the government created an armed intelligence agency. Its name is apparently ‘White Tiger’… That’s where the information came from.”
Surprisingly, White Tiger had offered the information. It seemed as though Russia’s attack on Sung Joon only further reinforced Joon Yeol’s opinion of sharing information with Sung Joon.
“Could you please get to the main point?” Sung Joon felt a sense of urgency. Jung Chul nodded his head and spoke.
“According to the information White Tiger provided us with, the leaders of the attackers were Russia intelligence agency’s S-rank Hunter, Vladimir, and Nikolai.”
“Why is the Russia intelligence agency aiming for me…”
When he heard that Russia was coming for him, it sounded ridiculous and he couldn’t help but laugh. Sung Joon shook his head with a nihilistic expression. No matter how he thought about it, he hadn’t done anything to warrant a grudge from Russia.
‘Is it because of North Korea…?’
It was a sudden thought. But he quickly shook his head. The situation with North Korea had been wrapped up quite nicely. Just a little while ago, the head of the MPAF (Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces), Lee Jung Soo had contacted him, telling him that everything had ended well.
If that’s the case, then what was the problem? Sung Joon ruminated over the issue, but he couldn’t figure out the cause of it all. Ultimately, he could only look at Jung Chul and urge him to go on.
Jung Chul felt burdened and intensely anxious as Sung Joon stared at him all of a sudden. Then, he spoke.
“We don’t have anything definite, but White Tiger believes that while you were in a dungeon assault, Russia attempted to take your father as a hostage.”
Take Soo Hyuk hostage and manipulate Sung Joon. This was the Russia intelligence agency’s plan. After learning that, Sung Joon grit his teeth.
“I heard that Russia was a powerful country. Still, I believe you should show an uncompromising response,” Rishubalt said carefully. Because he’d learned about the world through TV and Internet, he was at least aware that Russia was a powerful country.
“Shin Chul.”
Sung Joon called Shin Chul cordially. Though they had lived in different places before, they had ate together several times and had become closer.
“Yes. Please go ahead, Team Leader.”
“Take care of my father. I have somewhere to go with Mr. Park Jung Chul.”
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon?”
This time, Jung Chul spoke. Sung Joon grabbed his coat that was draped over the sofa and turned his gaze to Jung Chul.
“We’re going to the Blue House.”
He contacted Kyung Chul, an executive of the Blue House. Jung Chul got into the driver seat and Sung Joon sat in the rear passenger seat, calling Kyung Chul.
“This is Ahn Kyung Chul. Were you looking for me?”
“I need to speak with the president.”
“The president’s busy right now…”
“I understand. Then, I’ll talk to the U.S. President about my problems,” Sung Joon interrupted.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll tell the president about this right away. I’ll call you again within ten minutes.”
The call ended.
“What are you going to do?”
“Let’s go to the Blue House. I’ll get a call soon.”
Jung Chul began driving the car to the Blue House. And exactly four minutes later, Kyung Chul called him back.
“Great timing. I’m going to the Blue House right now.”
“R-Right now?”
“Yes. I’ll be there within twenty minutes.”
“I’ll tell the people at the main entrance. No… I’ll be waiting for you there myself!”
Eventually, they arrived at the main entrance to the Blue House where Kyung Chul was waiting for him. Once Kyung Chul recognized Sung Joon’s Hunter sedan, he waved his hand and came over.
Kyung Chul went into the passenger seat and they went deep into the Blue House. It seemed that Kyung Chul had been rushed as there wasn’t even a simple inspection.
“I’ll take you to the president.”
“I’ll stay here with the car.”
Jung Chul realized that this wasn’t a place to stick his nose into, he decided to wait with the car. Kyung Chul led Sung Joon to a remote area in the garden. The president was sitting there.
“Then, I’ll get going.”
Kyung Chul left. Sung Joon sat in front of the president and opened his mouth.
“Please ask the Russian government to apologize. Also, get them to promise that something like this will never happen again in the future.”
The president’s expression darkened at Sung Joon’s request.
“We don’t have the power to make that kind of request. The only thing we can do is to strengthen our security. Please take into consideration our standing in the community of nations.”
“What are you talking about!? Attacking me is the same as attacking South Korea itself!”
Sung Joon’s voice rose, and the president just sighed. He looked at Sung Joon with a calm expression.
“There’s nothing more the government can do for you. It would be difficult to request an apology from Russia.”
“Then what exactly can you do?”
“We can remain silent.”
Sung Joon soon understood what the president was saying.
//
Chapter 45 – Vladimir (4)
TL: Boko
Editors: Frost, StellarRain
“Can you really stay quiet?” Sung Joon asked the President meaningfully. The President smiled faintly and nodded his head.
“We may be facing Russia, but we can at least do that much,” the President replied confidently.
“Director Na Joon Yeol will help you.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. President.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. If Russia asks, I’ll tell them that I have no idea what’s happening.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Sung Joon smiled. It didn’t exactly go in the direction he was hoping for, but he had figured out a means to solve his problem. After a short chat with the president, Sung Joon and Jung Chul rode the car back to the mansion.
“How did it go?” Jung Chul asked. He wasn’t the curious sort, but he asked because he needed to know if he was going to help Sung Joon.
“The Korean government has promised to stay quiet about this matter.”
Sung Joon relayed the contents of his conversation with the president almost word for word. Because Jung Chul was quick on the uptake, he quickly realized what being ‘quiet’ meant.
“Being ‘quiet’, huh… We avoided the worst possible situation.”
There was also a possible scenario where the Korean government stopped Sung Joon from pursuing his vengeance. Of course, if they did, Sung Joon would have left for America without hesitation.
“Then, do you plan on smuggling yourself into Russia?”
Jung Chul was asking him if he planned on attacking Russia's ‘headquarters’. However, Sung Joon shook his head. It was much too risky to attack Russia in its entirety from the get go.
“First, I plan on sending them a ‘warning’.”
“A warning…?”
“I’m going to destroy every single base they have in South Korea,” Sung Joon replied. Jung Chul nodded his head and opened his mouth.
“I heard that there are several footholds here from China and obviously Russia as well, as South Korea is a strategically important location. I believe that’ll be enough of a warning.”
In no time, they arrived at the mansion. After Jung Chul finished parking the car in the garage, he and Sung Joon got out.
“But do you know where those bases are located? Russia’s intelligence agency moves covertly, so it won’t be easy to figure out.”
“White Tiger and the national intelligence agency will be helping me.”
Since the president has said this himself, their support was guaranteed. Rather than assisting him directly, they were assisting him by providing him information.
“I’m not sure about White Tiger, but was the national intelligence agency that capable? That’s the first I’ve heard of that.”
The national intelligence agency was reorganized following the first dungeons and raids, and was often criticized for being incompetent. On the contrary, Russia’s intelligence agency was much too competent.
“Still, they’re our nation’s intelligence agency, so shouldn’t they know a bit about trespassers who invade our country? Just knowing about few of the locations is fine. The rest I can find as I go through the bases. Though if they’re not connected, that could pose some problems.”
“I heard that Russia’s intelligence agency’s foreign bases are all connected. It’s an ineffective method, but it’s the way they work.”
That’s what Jung Chul had heard, as he himself operated a private intelligence agency.
“If the bases are connected then if I attack one, the others will be prepared, right?” Sung Joon asked. They took the stairs up to the second floor terrace, and in the late evening and the cold winds, their conversation continued on.
“Probably? Of course, when they learn that one of their bases has been attacked, the other bases will dispose of any information that could prove their connection. It won’t be easy getting a hold of that data.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Since everything will end in an instant.”
Sung Joon smiled coldly.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon! There’s a visitor. Apparently, it’s Mr. Na Joon Yeol?”
One of the caretakers went up to the terrace and informed him. He thought that Joon Yeol would visit, as they promised to provide information, but he came much faster than Sung Joon had expected.
“He’s fast.”
Jung Chul agreed.
“I’ll wait in Block B.”
Jung Chul knew that this wasn’t a place he could interfere. After Jung Chul left for Block B, Joon Yeol passed the vast garden and went up to the main building’s terrace.
“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Na Joon Yeol.”
“Yes. It’s been a long time.”
Joon Yeol replied and sat in a chair. He took out a document envelope from his jacket and placed it atop the table.
“Is this it?” Sung Joon asked. Joon Yeol nodded and opened his mouth.
“That’s correct. These are the locations of the Russian bases we’ve found. We weren’t able to procure any other information as the Russians covered everything up.”
“Just knowing where the bases are is plenty. Even if they have S-rank Hunters, I can kill them all,” Sung Joon replied in a voice overflowing with confidence. He was an SS-rank Hunter. And he was actually looking forward to encountering an S-rank Hunter.
If he killed an S-rank Hunter and absorbed their mana, his synchronization rate would increase significantly.
Sung Joon took out the map from the document envelope and quickly scanned it. Based on the White Tiger and national intelligence agency’s information, Russia had several bases in South Korea.
“Are you saying that these aren’t all of them?”
“That’s correct,” Joon Yeol replied. To think that Russia’s intelligence agency possessed this many bases in South Korea! Sung Joon wasn’t really patriotic, but he shook his head, speechless.
“If you pass over the data that you procure, then we can decrypt it and pinpoint their next location.”
Though the national intelligence agency was incompetent and it hasn’t been long since the White Tiger has been established, they were still an intelligence agency. If they couldn’t even do this much, then there would be no point in existing at all.
“Thank you for the information. You’ve been very helpful.”
“When do you plan on carrying it out?”
“I’ll start the ‘hunt’ tomorrow.”
Joon Yeol felt intensely anxious, as he felt the cold killing intent that was akin to a leaking cold winter wind.
Though the killing intent was only slightly leaking out, it was enough to cause him, an S-rank Hunter, unease.
‘It seems that Russia has awakened a wild beast…’ Joon Yeol thought.
* * *
Sung Joon decided to attack Seoul first. Within three days, he would destroy all of the Russian intelligence agency’s medium sized bases in the metropolitan area.
He believed that it would be a waste of time to go after the two to four small sized bases, so he decided to ignore them. Sung Joon annihilated the medium sized bases first, as the loss would be large enough to inflict damage upon the Russian intelligence agency, whilst serving as a suitable warning.
In these medium sized bases, there were at least five people or ten at most either staying temporarily or active, but none could stand up to Sung Joon’s blade.
“This is all the information I’ve collected.”
Sung Joon relayed all the information to Joon Yeol. Joon Yeol took the document envelope, scanned the contents, and with a surprised expression, opened his mouth.
“There’s a lot more information than I thought there would be.”
There was quite a bit of data that Sung Joon had brought him. But there was no detailed information regarding the locations of the bases.
However, they could pinpoint the location of the other bases by analyzing the data; Sung Joon’s data was enough for them to do so.
“They should normally be burning the data when they’re attacked… How did you acquire these?”
“I killed them all before they could burn them.”
Sung Joon replied to Joon Yeol’s question. It was quite a short and clear answer.
“I see.”
“When will you be able to finish analyzing the information?”
Sung Joon pressed Joon Yeol, unlike his normal self. That’s because Jung Chul had told him that he’d acquired information that the Russian intelligence agency bases were preparing for an attack.
“We’ll be finished within the day.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Sung Joon's phone rang. Sung Joon checked the display name.
Eun Joo was the one calling him. Just a little while ago, she had contacted him after hearing about the attack, as she was worried, but because he was in the middle of an important conversation with Joon Yeol, he didn’t pick up his phone and put his phone back.
“Is it alright if you don’t pick up?”
“It’s nothing urgent. More importantly, has Russia been saying anything?”
“From the start, Russia didn’t go through the proper legal procedures to form their bases. If they were to protest, that would mean that they formally recognize their bases… but if they do so, that will put Russia in a tough spot,” Joon Yeol replied. In other words, Russia couldn’t formally protest.
“They’ve already sent their informal protests, but as promised, the president is remaining ‘quiet’ on the matter.”
“I’m relieved that the president is keeping his promise as I can continue to hunt the Russians.”
“Are you planning on attacking the large bases now?”
Sung Joon nodded his head and opened his mouth.
“If you figure out where the bases are and give me their locations, then I can attack them immediately.”
“Could you please capture one of them alive and leave them with us?” Joon Yeol requested.
White Tiger and the national intelligence agency didn’t have much information on the Russian intelligence agency. They knew a lot more than before, as Sung Joon had procured quite a bit of information from his attacks, but they still needed more. Therefore, they planned on capturing one of the Russian agents alive to torture him for information.
“It won’t be too difficult.”
“I’ll send you the information by tonight, or at least, tomorrow morning.”
“I understand.”
Their conversation ended and Joon Yeol left the mansion. At seven o’clock in the evening, Joon Yeol came to see him again and brought out another envelope filled with documents.
“We’ve found the location of one large base. It’s verified information, so you can trust it.”
After he finished speaking, Joon Yeol left the mansion once again. Sung Joon entered a secret room within the mansion and opened up the envelope.
He didn’t know why, but the map was divided into various pieces and the method to assembling the map was detailed within an enclosed envelope.
As soon as Sung Joon finished putting the map together, the location of the large Russian intelligence agency base was revealed.
“It’s a lot closer than I expected,” Rishubalt said. As he said, the large base wasn’t very far from Sung Joon’s mansion. Sung Joon didn’t know, but when Vladimir and Nikolai attacked his residence, this base was responsible for gathering their information and disrupting communications.
“I feel like I could just attack it right now.”
“I’ll go scout it out.”
“I’m counting on you.”
While Rishubalt was scouting out the base, Sung Joon ordered Shin Chul, Jang Hoon, and Jung Chul to ensure that the main building’s defenses were secure, and then left. Eventually, Rishubalt joined up with him.
“I’ve finished scouting. It’s disguised as an illegal casino and there are forty workers there that appear to be agents. Most of the facilities are underground. Finally, there’s one S-rank Hunter.”
Rishubalt reported on the S-rank Hunter as they were the most dangerous of the lot, but Sung Joon expression didn’t change at all.
“I’m just going to go in and kill them all. No exceptions.”
He was strong enough to overpower an S-rank Hunter with a synchronization rate of 54%. He calmly took a deep breath, channeled his mana, and opened his mouth.
“Stealth.”
As the skill took effect, his body melted into the darkness. He even erased his own presence with Roukel’s special technique so nobody could sense him coming. It was time for this wild beast to go on the hunt.
//
Chapter 45 – Vladimir (5)
TL: Boko
Editors: Frost, StellarRain
Sung Joon quietly walked towards the Russian intelligence agency base, concealed as an illegal casino, while maintaining his stealth.
“The main facility is underground, but there are some facilities here in the casino as well. I believe you should attack the underground facility first,” Rishubalt voiced his opinion. Because he was stealthed, Sung Joon didn’t speak, but he agreed with Rishubalt and approached the casino.
There were two guards at the entrance of the casino but they weren’t checking their surroundings, as they were talking with each other.
“Both of them are Hunters. They’re E-rank, but considering how muscular they are, they seem to be trained in assassination. You don’t get those kind of muscles from normal training, even if they are Hunters.”
Sung Joon meticulously observed the guards. Rishubalt opened his mouth once more.
“They are definitely agents from the Russian intelligence agency.”
F-rank or E-rank Hunters were weak by Hunter standards, but they possessed much greater physical abilities than normal people. Therefore, if they undergo special training, they can become superb assassins.
Because it was easier than training civilians, F-rank or E-rank Hunters were often scouted for use in information gathering or security.
‘It seems like there are a lot of them (Russian agents)…’
As E-rank Hunters wouldn't be able to sense his presence, he manage to get close enough to listen to their conversation.
It was obviously neither Korean nor English. It was neither French nor German. Sung Joon was sure that they were speaking Russian.
‘They could ask for reinforcements so I should take care of them immediately.’
Sung Joon carefully drew his sword so that his stealth wasn’t released. He aimed for the closest guard’s neck, and struck with his sword.
Though his stealth was released, the guard didn’t notice Sung Joon until his blade had cut through his neck.
“Ugh!”
He belatedly felt pain, vomited blood, and weakly fell to the floor.
“W-What… ugh!”
The other guard attempted to respond, but to Sung Joon, it seemed like he wasn’t even moving. Sung Joon’s thrown dagger had burrowed deep into the guard’s chest.
At the same time, Sung Joon entered the casino. He didn’t waste any time taking care of the bodies.
Strangely, there weren’t any customers inside of the casino.
‘That’s actually good for me.’
It had become unnecessary for him to distinguish between his enemies and the civilians, so it was good for him. At least, that’s how Sung Joon thought.
He quickly moved his feet. There were two B-rank Hunters nearby. He closed the distance and swung his sword.
“Ugh!”
“AH!”
They couldn’t block Sung Joon’s strike, spewed blood, and fell to the floor.
“It’s an intruder!”
Someone yelled in Russian. Sung Joon couldn’t understand them, but he realized that he had been discovered. His stealth had been released when he took care of the guards at the entrance, and now all he needed to do was quickly cut down their numbers.
As soon as the voice yelled of an intruder, the moving presences became fierce. There seemed to be several of them, but there was an item just right for this kind of situation. Sung Joon smirked and raised his left hand.
The ring with a green gem on his left finger shined.
“This is a feast that beckons death.”
Once Sung Joon spoke the activation words and infused mana into the ring, the poison quickly spread. The casino was immediately filled to the brim with poison mist.
Because the few customers that had been there had already left, he used his ‘Feast of Poison’ without any hesitation.
The poison spread quickly and the agents inside the casino couldn’t withstand it for long and fell. The magic poison affected everyone below S-rank and they would sustain critical damage.
“You’ve annihilated everyone in the casino.” Rishubalt finished scouting within three minutes, and reported. Sung Joon nodded his head and asked.
“How do we go underground?”
“I’ll take you there.”
Rishubalt lead Sung Joon towards the stairs that connected the casino to the underground area.
“Several agents have already set up lines of defense. I believe you should be careful.”
“I got it.”
Sung Joon replied heedlessly and walked down the stairs. Because he moved so quickly, it was only after he reached underground did the defense line react.
“Fire. Fire!”
By the time the agents pulled their triggers, Sung Joon was already gone. He didn’t even need to use the ‘Dragon’s Protection’ skill to protect himself.
Sung Joon swung his sword and all of them spurted blood and fell.
“S-Shit!”
There was an rank Hunter. He was the only one who had avoided Sung Joon’s attack. However, that was all. Sung Joon struck once more, but this time, the rank Hunter wasn’t able to avoid his strike a second time.
“Ugh!”
With an agonized expression, the rank Hunter fell and spewed blood. Sung Joon turned his attention to the tightly closed iron gate.
He smirked. His hunt had begun in earnest.
Inside, the S-rank Hunter, Jansen, took the lead and prepared to incinerate all of the materials.
“Burn them quickly!”
“We’ve gotten a report that he’s gotten through the iron gate!”
“Already?”
Jansen, who was directing the burning of materials, was shocked at his subordinates report.
“What do we do now?”
“We fight for our lives.”
A subordinate agent asked, and Jansen replied. Sung Joon had seized the only passage that went up to the surface, so they had no choice but to risk their lives and fight.
“Ugh!”
A dagger flew from somewhere, embedding itself into the neck of an agent pointing his submachine gun at the door. The agent spewed blood.
“W-Where is he?”
“You idiot! He’s over there!”
Jansen had pointed at a hole in the wall. Sung Joon had sensed their presences and threw an aura clad dagger into an agent’s neck.
Jansen was astonished by the marvelous dagger throwing skill. He had only sensed Sung Joon’s presence the moment he had thrown the dagger.
‘He’s at least a top tier S-rank… He might be even higher than that…!’
He grit his teeth and drew two daggers. Jansen had somewhat expected this once they realized they were being attacked and their communication with the casino had stopped, but their opponent’s level was much too high. It felt like death was knocking on the door.
Kwang!
“AHH!”
The wall collapsed and a scream rang out. Something rushed in and slashed deeply into the nearest agent’s stomach.
After the agent fell, Jansen realized that Sung Joon had arrived. He threw one of his daggers. He couldn’t follow Sung Joon’s movements, but he threw one of his daggers where he had last sensed him.
‘Did it hit?’
He thought it sounded dull. It wasn’t a misunderstanding. Jansen was happy that he had inflicted a critical injury upon a powerful foe. However…
“Heal.”
Sung Joon instantaneously healed his wound and aimed for Jansen. Aside from him, all the other agents were already dead.
The agent responsible for incinerating the materials was also dead on the table, spilling blood.
“N-No!”
Jansen bit his lip so hard that blood spilled from his lip. He wasn’t experienced fighting against a strong opponent.
Though he was strong and he’d been trained, it wasn’t easy for him to overcome his fear in this kind of situation.
“You’ve mopped up all of your enemies underground. It doesn’t seem like there will be any reinforcements, so… you might want to use your Illusionary Sword to take care of this quickly,” Rishubalt said. Sung Joon nodded his head and used his high-speed movement. He instantaneously closed the distance with Jansen.
“Illusionary Sword.”
He calmly raised his mana and used his Illusionary Sword. Jansen couldn’t mount a proper defense and his body spurted blood from the thirty-one illusionary blades.
“I-I couldn’t even fight back…”
These were the fallen Jansen’s last words before he died. Because Jansen was an S-rank Hunter, he was extremely prideful. For someone who had never known defeat, he would take that defeat to the grave.
“Absorb.”
Sung Joon used Absorption on Jansen and the other agents’ bodies. His consumed stamina and mana were replenished and he felt satisfied.
“Congratulations. Your synchronization rate has become 55%,” Rishubalt reported on his growth. Sung Joon smiled and collected the materials that the Russians were just about to burn. Afterwards, he leisurely left the base.
* * *
Within a week, Sung Joon had destroyed all of the Russian intelligence agency’s medium sized bases in Seoul, as well as the rest of South Korea, and killed all of the agents.
The Russian intelligence agency was in chaos. The damage they had sustained was unimaginable. They had lost three large bases and twenty-one medium sized bases, as well as the S-rank Hunter, Jansen, and two-hundred fifty agents.
“What is Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) doing?”
The Russian intelligence agency had asked the Korean government to take action through MOFA.
“There’s nothing we can do.”
If they formally complained, then they would be admitting that they had illegally established intelligence agency bases in foreign soil, so even the MOFA could do nothing but shake their heads.
There were no solutions.
“Only the small bases remain. At this point, we can no longer spy on South Korea, one of the U.S.’s allies.”
The intelligence agency expressed their position. In this society where Hunters had become pivotal, it was a huge problem that it had become impossible for them to spy on a foreign country.
The Russian government had no choice but to take this very seriously.
They attempted to negotiate informally, but the Korean President just stayed quiet about all of this, and didn’t take a stance either way. Therefore, the Russian government felt more and more uncomfortable.
“An informal envoy has arrived at the Korean government.”
The day after they had reported that the medium sized and large bases were destroyed, a diplomat from the Kremlin had arrived at the Korean Embassy.
The Russian government had sent a high ranking diplomat to MOFA, and South Korea decided to answer with their own diplomat. The two diplomats gathered in the living room without any attendants present and sat facing each other.
“It’s a pleasure.”
“It’s been a long time.”
The two delegates greeted each other. The Korean delegate brought up the main point.
“I’ve come today for informal business.”
“Please go ahead.”
“You sure have created several intelligence bases in South Korea.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The Russian diplomat feigned ignorance. The Korean diplomat smiled. This was the expected response. With a calm expression, the Korean diplomat spoke again.
“If Russian isn’t involved in this, then the message I’ve brought isn’t necessary.”
The Korean diplomat said, and the Russian diplomat’s eyes shined.
“And what is that?”
“There was a parcel that was sent to the Blue House just a short while ago. We thought it might be a bomb, but it was a voice message. And it was also a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Yes. A warning towards Russia.”
The diplomat relayed calmly. The Russian diplomat felt intensely anxious.
“Please continue.”
“It was a warning from Mr. Kang Sung Joon. He warned that if the Director of the Russian intelligence agency didn’t send his apology within a week, then he would attack the mainland.”
“Look here!”
The Russian diplomat’s rose. He was agitated and stood up from his seat.
“Is this a declaration of war?”
“No, it’s not. This is Kang Sung Joon’s intent alone, and we cannot control him.”
//