Swordmaster Healer - Episode 93
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
Chapter 31: One-man Raid (2)
Ji Yeon gripped her spear with a pale face due to Sung Joon's statement, which was no different from a declaration of war.
One person declaring war against an entire guild hadn't happened since the Raids had first begun.
"No way…"
Unbeknownst to even her, Ji Yeon spoke aloud to herself. A top guild would possess, several hundreds of Hunters at minimum, and up to several thousands at best.
The Il Sung guild possessed 10,000 Hunters; this was a huge number even when compared to the other high ranking guilds. Thus, they thought that a person declaring war on them was impossible.
"Do you think it's impossible?" Sung Joon smirked, and asked. He didn't pick out someone specifically to ask, but Ji Yeon unknowingly nodded her head.
"Look around," Sung Joon said.
Ji Yeon, as well as the other Hunters, scanned their surroundings. There was a river of blood flowing on the cement underneath the night sky.
"I'll ask again. Do you really think that it's impossible?" Sung Joon asked again. However, this time, Ji Yeon, as well as the rest of the Hunters couldn't easily nod their heads.
Before twenty minutes had even passed, an rank Hunter, and twenty or more B-rank Hunters had been gruesomely killed.
An S-rank Hunter's combat ability was beyond one's imagination. It was to the point that perhaps Sung Joon could perform a one-man raid against the great Il Sung guild.
"Yeah, that's all I needed to hear."
"D-Don't lose sight of him!"
Ji Yeon urgently ordered her subordinates as Sung Joon disappeared, but not one of them could track him.
"AH!"
"Ugh!"
Screams of agony resounded out where Sung Joon had reappeared. By the time Ji Yeon had turned her sight to him, Sung Joon had already hidden himself, and two B-rank Hunters spurted blood into the air.
Sung Joon was spreading fear across the battlefield.
"W-We have to stand together!" someone ordered.
The Executive Branch rallied together to avoid being ambushed, but they didn't even have ten people left. Moreover, Sung Joon hadn't received a critical injury, and the injuries they had inflicted were treated through his overwhelming 'Heal'.
Everything was currently in Sung Joon's favor.
"Is this all you got?" Sung Joon lightly provoked them.
Contrary to a fantasy novel set in medieval times, the guild members hadn't sworn loyalty, and were no different from employees who followed their own thoughts and interests.
Although the Il Sung guild had several thousand members, there were honestly very few that could be mobilized for this kind of task, aside from the Executive Branch.
Thus, if the Executive Branch were eliminated, then one could say that the guild itself was eliminated.
"Stay focused!"
Ji Yeon encouraged her subordinates. Her comrades that had been in a state of panic due to all the death, managed to get a hold of themselves, but they still couldn't see themselves winning.
'We underestimated an S-rank Hunter way too much…'
Ji Yeon felt extremely anxious. She was an executive, so she had also participated in the meeting regarding this planned ambush. There hadn't been any trouble in South Korea between the guilds and the S-rank Hunters. There was a precedent of it happening in foreign countries, but they hadn't taken those into account.
'I didn't think he'd be this strong…'
The nation didn't mess with the S-rank Hunters for a reason. If the Il Sung Group Strategic Business Director, Kim Do Hyuk, in his youthful indiscretion, hadn't mobilized the guild, they wouldn't have incurred so much damage.
"AH!"
While she was briefly organizing her thoughts, several of the Executive Branch Hunters had fallen. They had truly died in a split second.
"Ms. Ha Ji Yeon! We're the only ones remaining now!"
One of the Executive Branch Hunters reported urgently. Ji Yeon gathered the remaining members, but including her, there were only four remaining.
All of them were injured, but at least they were all rank Hunters. If the other surviving members had been B-rank Hunters, they would've lost all thoughts of resistance.
"He's cleverly mixing his stealth and high-speed movement. He has plenty of PvP experience," one of the surviving rank Hunters said. It could be said that amongst all the Hunters on Earth, Sung Joon had the most combat experience.
His past self, Roukel's bloodstained combat experience, was of a great help to him in killing his enemies.
"So that's why it's hard to read his presence," Ji Yeon muttered softly, so softly in fact that it seemed like she was muttering to herself. Because they were so tense, they didn't even have the strength to speak.
If he wanted to kill them all in one go, Ji Yeon and the rest of the Executive Branch Hunters would've already died gruesome deaths.
'Is he enjoying this…?' she thought suddenly. Perhaps Sung Joon was punishing them for raising their swords at him by instilling terror.
"Are you sure you should do this? I heard that your father is being hospitalized right now… Do you think he's doing well?"
The instant she finished speaking, Sung Joon reappeared.
"He came out!"
"Kill him!"
The three rank Hunters, excluding Ji Yeon, swarmed Sung Joon. Ji Yeon didn't move. She didn't know the reason, but she just couldn't.
"I had thought as much, but you're disgusting."
He was infuriated because they threatened his family. He swung his sword filled with his fury in its entirety.
"Illusionary Sword."
"AH!"
The twelve blades danced, causing the lead spear-wielding Hunter to spew blood from all over his body and collapse.
"In one blow?"
His comrade Hunters were astonished. They hadn't expected that he'd be taken out in a single strike.
"Ugh!"
Another Hunter had blocked Sung Joon's slash, but he couldn't endure the tremendous force behind the sword, and stumbled as his form crumbled.
Sung Joon was overpowering him purely through physical strength.
Sung Joon drew the dagger at his waist and slashed the Hunter's throat. Since his defensive posture had crumbled, it wasn't easy to block Sung Joon's flawless follow-up strike.
"Ugh!"
"S-Shit!"
The rank Hunter's blood flowed, and the remaining Hunter cursed. He swung hissword towards Sung Joon, causing a bomb-like eruption.
It was a strange ability, but Sung Joon pierced through the blast, got right in front of him, and lodged his dagger into the Hunter's neck. The rank Hunter weakly fell, and Sung Joon turned his sight towards Ji Yeon.
He utilized his high-speed movement, and instantly closed the distance.
"AHH!"
In a blink of an eye, the two exchanged blows and her flash-like stab managed to pierce Sung Joon's left shoulder, spurting blood.
It seemed like a successful attack, but Ji Yeon had lost her left arm. She screamed, and retreated, but Sung Joon quickly closed the distance, unwilling to let her get away.
Ji Yeon gritted her teeth, and tracked Sung Joon's movements. Then, she stabbed with her spear, but since she had lost an arm, the force had been reduced by half.
"AHH!"
Sung Joon also severed her right arm. Her cut arm spurted blood and rolled onto the cold floor. Sung Joon opened his mouth as he saw her agonized look.
"You messed with the wrong person."
His frigid voice rang out through the night air.
"You shouldn't have threatened my family."
As he finished, his sword flashed, cutting off Ji Yeon's head.
Ahn Ki Chul, an executive of the Il Sung guild's Executive Branch, and an rank Hunter, followed the guild's 'order', bringing two other rank Hunters, and six B-rank Hunters to the Korean Central Hospital.
"Team Leader, we haven't received any of the details. Who exactly are we fighting, for us to have brought this large of a force?"
Including the Team Leader, Ki Chul, there were three rank Hunters, and six B-rank Hunters working together on this assignment; that in itself was rare.
In an assassination, only two or three people would usually be assigned*, and when this many people were sent, it meant that it was a power struggle. (*The Great Demon guild also sent three people to assassinate Sung Joon's father, so it checks out.)
"There aren't that many enemies. We're to take care of it quickly without any casualties," Ki Chul said with certainty.
He had gotten a message stating that their enemies would be a few guards in the Korean Central Hospital, as well as a few Armed Policemen* that the National Police Agency had dispatched. (*Just a reminder. This is one of the perks of becoming an S-rank Hunter. Their families are protected by guards sent by the National Police Agency.)
He had gotten a report stating that there were Hunters amongst the Armed Policemen, but because there were only two C-rank Hunters, he didn't worry about it.
'Who exactly is Kang Soo Hyuk for the Executive Branch to have been sent?'
Ki Chul's recalled the contents of his mission and pondered on it, but shook his head. That's because he had learned that it was best not to be suspicious of, or think deeply about the higher-ups' decisions.
"Team Leader? Didn't you say that there weren't a lot of enemies?" one of the rank Hunters looked at Ki Chul and asked. Amongst the mobilized Executive Branch Hunters, he was particularly skilled in presence detection.
"That's what I was told."
"You'll be able to sense them soon, but there seems to be more than thirty of them, Team Leader."
"What did you say?"
Ki Chul's eyes shook as he heard his subordinate's report. Since there were occasions where their information was wrong, they couldn't afford to be careless.
He moved faster in order to check.
'Holy crap…'
Just like his subordinate had said, there were more than thirty of them. He couldn't precisely ascertain their ranks, but there were more than fifteen Hunters there.
"H-Halt!"
Ki Chul hastily stopped his team, and had his subordinate skilled in presence detection to check their levels.
"There's one rank Hunter, and the rest of them are B-rank Hunters."
Thankfully, their levels weren't very high. Ki Chul ordered them to start the operation, and the Il Sung guild Executive Branch acted.
They had infiltrated into the Korean Central Hospital, and an executive of the Seraphim guild, as well as the Seraphim guild Executive Branch Hunters stood before them.
"This isn't the way to the emergency room," he said coldly.
Ki Chul drew his dagger and opened his mouth.
"Since when did a guild's Executive Branch start guarding a hospital?"
"You messed with the wrong person."
As he finished, a man garbed in a bloodstained priest vestments appeared in between the Il Sung guild Executive Branch Hunters.
No one had even noticed his approach.
"Thanks for saying it on my behalf."
As he finished, he swung his sword, decapitating the two closest B-rank Hunters in front of him. The headless bodies spurted blood like a fountain, and toppled to the floor. Then, Ki Chul ordered his subordinates to attack.
"I'm killing them all."
The Seraphim guild Executive Branch was about to intervene, but Sung Joon raised his hand, and stopped them. He then began the slaughter.
Blood spurted in every direction, and the agonizing screams were unceasing. Sung Joon killed them as brutally as possible. He would slice off their arms and legs, and then he'd cut off their heads.
All of them had died, except for Ki Chul, the lone survivor, but he wasn't left unscathed.
"Ugh…"
He groaned briefly. His left arm had been severed, and his entire body was bloodied. Despite that, he was still alive. He had thought that he had survived, but honestly, Sung Joon had let him live.
Sung Joon came closer to the fearfully shaking Ki Chul. He stepped back, but the Seraphjim guild Executive Branch Hunters were behind him.
"S-Shit!"
All that came from his mouth was a curse.
Sung Joon stared at him, and then he swung his sword, slashing his neck. It was so fast that he couldn't even respond, let alone knowing where the sword strike came from.
The battle came to a close.
The cleaning crew that the Seraphim guild had called started to clean up.
"Absorb."
Sung Joon absorbed the mana and stamina from the bodies while moving his bloodstained body. Eventually, Jung Chul appeared before him.
Jung Chul was the one who had grasped the Il Sung guild's Executive Branch's movements first, and had mobilized the Seraphim guild's Executive Branch in order to protect Soo Hyuk.
"What will you do now?"
"I'll begin my one-man raid against the Il Sung guild. Those involved won't come out of this alive," Sung Joon said, his voice filled with killing intent.
And Jung Chul's body shook slightly.
//