Chapter 175: The Raid Begins (1)

In just six hours, an A-Class guild was wiped out.

Of course, the Chaser Guild's collapse was officially blamed on the late exposure of its long list of past crimes. But those who knew the truth understood that it wasn't justice that brought them down. It was a single man.

"Because of that, there are two choices we can offer to all of you Hunters who have come here from France. You are free to either stay and participate in our raid, or return home," Kim Ki-Rok said, wrapping up his explanation.

After returning to the forward base near the Gate to the Last City in the Patera Dimension, Kim Ki-Rok had summoned all Hunters involved in the raid and laid out the situation in full.

There was a simple reason he had gathered everyone involved in the raid, not just the French and Japanese Hunters, and briefed them on the Chaser Guild's demise. He needed their full agreement to ensure the incident could be quietly buried and forgotten. More specifically, he needed every Hunter to accept the investigation's findings and the punishment handed down. Only then could the incident be erased, and the dead honored as having fallen in battle, not as casualties of a disgraceful scandal.

"Has our government been informed of this choice you are offering us?" a French Hunter asked in his native language.

"Yes, they have," Kim Ki-Rok confirmed. "There are still many who oppose dispatching Hunters to other countries under the banner of international cooperation, and the French government has agreed to keep this incident a secret to avoid stirring up trouble. It's still possible that dissenters might discover the truth and use it as a rallying point against sending reinforcements abroad, but with the Chaser Guild—the party most responsible for this incident—now gone, their argument loses much of its force."

For a few moments, the French Hunters fell silent, lost in thought.

After observing them for a while, Kim Ki-Rok spoke again. "I believe it would be better for all involved if the deceased Hunters are seen as soldiers who sacrificed their lives during an operation, rather than as victims of an unfortunate accident. While we cannot erase the sorrow of the families they've left behind, we will ensure they receive sufficient compensation so they will not want for anything in the future."

The French Hunters all nodded in agreement. Just then, a Hunter from another country raised his hand.

As Kim Ki-Rok turned toward him, the Hunter asked, "Are you telling us this because you need our cooperation?"

"That's right," Kim Ki-Rok admitted. "Everyone here knows this incident was caused by a member of the Chaser Guild. So we need your cooperation if we want to keep it a secret."

After confirming that all the Hunters were in agreement, Kim Ki-Rok took a piece of paper from his subspace pocket and said, "This is a scroll inscribed with the spell Mana's Oath. It was purchased from the Yuashiel Dimension."

If they agreed, the spell Mana's Oath would bind their mana, making it impossible to reveal the secret. It was a strict measure, but none of the Hunters objected.

As he passed the scroll around for everyone to appraise its effects, one Hunter raised his hand and asked with interest, "Hunter Kim Ki-Rok, where can we buy one of these for ourselves?"

"You can buy these scrolls from any wizard advertising their services in the Yuashiel Dimension. It's certainly a useful spell, isn't it?"

No one could disagree. The effectiveness of such a spell far surpassed the loose security of a verbal promise or even a signed contract. The spell enforced absolute secrecy, binding everyone to their word through magic.

"In that case, let's wrap up our discussion on this topic here. Now, shall we get straight to business?" Kim Ki-Rok turned to one of the Japanese S-Class Hunters. "My fellow Japanese Hunters, what's the latest news?"

The Hunter had just concluded an extensive conversation with President Kikumoto, who'd personally visited the Gate given the national urgency. As Kim Ki-Rok addressed him, the Hunter started in surprise, quickly composed himself, and replied, "We've finished gathering all the information obtained from the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension."

Kim Ki-Rok glanced at his watch and suggested, "In that case, considering how late it is, shall we go over the information you've gathered during our meeting tomorrow morning?"

The Japanese Hunter nodded in response. It was currently 11 p.m., a time when everyone except those on night duty should have been resting.

"Yes. I'll have the information ready by our meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m.," the Hunter promised.

"In that case, we can also decide on a good day to start the raid at tomorrow's meeting. Alright, everyone can disband for now—ah! To all the Hunters from France and Japan, there's still something I need to say to you, so please stay behind as the others leave," Kim Ki-Rok requested politely.

Japan and France were the only two countries directly involved in the incident. The Hunters from other countries hesitated for a moment out of curiosity, but quickly remembered their positions and quietly left the barracks where the meeting was held.

Yoo Seh-Eun raised her hand and asked, "Guildmaster, should we leave as well?"

Kim Ki-Rok quickly replied, "Only the Korean Hunters from the DG Guild should remain. This topic involves our guild, as well as France and Japan."

As soon as Kim Ki-Rok responded, South Korean Representative Ji Seok-Hyun lowered his hand and left the barracks with the other Korean Hunters. Only the French, Japanese, and DG Guild members remained in the conference room.

After scanning the room, Kim Ki-Rok nodded and addressed the French Hunters first. "As I informed you at the start of our meeting, the Guildmaster of the Chaser Guild, Eigawa Toshino, has unfortunately escaped."

The French Hunters all gritted their teeth at this reminder, struggling to contain their anger.

"However, there's a high chance we'll encounter him again once this raid concludes," he added, drawing immediate interest from the French Hunters.

"He lost his identity as a Hunter and became a wanted criminal, and he

still

won't try to run away?" a French Hunter asked doubtfully.

"Eigawa Toshino is an extremely ambitious man with the skills and pride to match. He will surely consider running away shameful and seek revenge," Kim Ki-Rok confidently stated.

The French Hunter who had questioned Kim Ki-Rok turned to see the reactions of the Japanese Hunters and the representatives of their Hunters Association.

While the Japanese Hunters looked bewildered, the Association representatives seemed to recall something at the mention of revenge. One of them let out a short gasp and asked, "Are you saying that Awakened criminal will be targeting you, Hunter Kim Ki-Rok?"

"That's right."

One of the Japanese Association representatives frowned. "But would he really do something so reckless?"

Not only was Kim Ki-Rok a famous Hunter in his own right, he was always surrounded by a considerable number of other Hunters. His defenses lacked neither quality nor quantity. The representatives were sure that seeking revenge would be impossible with the resources of a single Awakened criminal who was already on the run.

Such an opinion wasn't unwarranted. In fact, they were correct in assuming that there was no way a single Awakened criminal could get revenge on Kim Ki-Rok. However, he had access to information the Association couldn't know.

"First of all, the Awakened criminal Eigawa Toshino will not be attacking me alone."

"Are you suggesting he still has followers even after becoming an Awakened criminal?" asked a Japanese representative.

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "No, not exactly. However, in return for my previous help, I made a certain request of Japan. Because of that, I've made many enemies here—politicians, underworld figures, and, among them, a large number of Awakened criminals. Considering the dangers of the Gate, they won't make a move until the raid is over, but once it is, they will target both me and the DG Guild."

He appeared completely confident that all the Awakened criminals with a grudge against him would come seeking revenge. Yet Kim Ki-Rok's expression was so calm, it almost seemed as if he were speaking of someone else's troubles.

For a few moments, the French and Japanese could only gape in shock, unable to process what he was saying.

Unbothered, Kim Ki-Rok shifted his attention. "President Kikumoto."

"Yes?" the president responded calmly.

"You know what I'm trying to say, don't you?"

President Kikumoto nodded. "Of course. I will make the proper preparations."

"All right," he said, nodding in return. "Oh, and make sure to reach out to Monitomo Yorito, the other S-Class Hunter from the Chaser Guild. He wasn't involved in their shady dealings. He only stuck around because he and that Hunter were childhood friends from the same hometown. Find something for him."

With the Chaser Guild's disappearance, its other former S-Class Hunter was suddenly left unaffiliated. This unexpected turn proved to be a blessing for President Kikumoto, who had visited the Gate in person to assess the situation. The moment Kim Ki-Rok gave the order to disband the meeting, Kikumoto nodded eagerly at the chance to recruit an S-Class Hunter and rushed out of the barracks with his aides.

"

Uuuugh...

"

Left alone in the barracks, Kim Ki-Rok finally slumped back into his chair. With this, he had succeeded in covering up the shameful incident and preserving the practice of dispatching Hunters to other countries as reinforcements.

Kim Ki-Rok hadn't needed to do anything especially difficult to make things work. He just organized the information only he had and gave it to the right people at the right time. His habit of always preparing backup plans and thinking through what might go wrong had paid off. Still, all that planning had left him mentally drained.

"Now all that's left is to safely proceed with the raid..." he muttered to himself.

Even so, he remained uneasy about the upcoming clash between the mechanical monsters and the Hunters. What concerned Kim Ki-Rok most was the likelihood that the humanoid machines had already studied footage from their last battle to identify the Hunters' weaknesses. That was why he'd kept as many cards hidden as possible.

He did regret that the Mana Platform had been exposed during their escape, but he also knew it couldn't have been helped. Without it, there would've been far more casualties, both among the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension and the Hunters.

***

The day after the incident was fully resolved—and the Chaser Guild's crimes of terrorism and drug distribution were publicly exposed—the raid teams reconvened in the barracks conference room.

The focus of this meeting was to share intelligence gathered from the inhabitants of the Patera Dimension. This included details about the Animaloid and Humanoid Mechanical Monsters, the revelation that factory buildings made from Pastera were actually monsters themselves, and several other key findings.

Thanks to the inhabitants' active cooperation, a significant amount of information had been collected. With everything now out in the open and thoroughly discussed, the raid teams turned their attention to final preparations for the raid scheduled to begin in three days.

"Wow... this is really an amazing sight," Yoo Seh-Eun muttered.

The other Korean Hunters standing beside her all nodded in agreement.

"It's like something right out of the Middle Ages," she marveled.

It was hard to disagree. In front of them, various catapults, ballistas, and other siege weapons—the kind usually seen only in movies or in the magic-dependent Yuashiel Dimension—were all undergoing final inspections with the help of crafting Hunters.

"And lastly..." Yoo Seh-Eun said as she turned her head to one side.

The other Korean Hunters followed her gaze, eyes landing on one particular siege weapon.

"

Kyaaah!

"

"

Uwoooh!

"

They all let out cries of excitement. Something about that siege device stirred their sense of national pride.

"It's the shingijeon!"

"

Uwooooh!

"

"Oh! Ko! Re! Ah!"

Clap clap clap. Clap clap.

Kim Ki-Rok burst out laughing at the sight of the Korean Hunters, who immediately broke into rhythmic clapping as soon as Yoo Seh-Eun led them in a popular football chant.[1]

After a moment, he turned his gaze toward the distant city. The longer the siege dragged on, the more pressure they could put on the city's defenses. But mechanical monsters weren't bound by the same physical limits as living creatures. If they waited too long, the enemy would simply rebuild and return stronger.

"It can't be helped," he mumbled to himself.

They still needed more time to wear down the city's defenses. After destroying as many mechanical monsters as possible during the siege, they would have to breach the city gates and fight through the streets. Charging straight to the city center wasn't an option, either. If they didn't clear out the remaining mechanical monsters first, they risked being surrounded the moment they approached the First Monster.

Just then, a voice from the command center crackled through their earpieces.

—Final inspection of all siege weapons is complete. The current time is 13:00. The raid will commence in 3 hours and 13 minutes. All participating Hunters are advised to finish personal preparations and proceed to their designated positions. This message will now repeat.

Kim Ki-Rok turned to the Phoenix Guild Hunter. "Hunter Ji Seok-Hyun."

"Yes?"

"We should go get ready."

Ji Seok-Hyun nodded and addressed the other Korean Hunters, "In that case, as the leader of the Korean Hunters Team, allow me to give everyone my very first order."

The Korean Hunters all waited in silence for his command.

Before the wait grew too long, Ji Seok-Hyun announced, "I will be transferring my command to Hunter Kim Ki-Rok."

As all eyes shifted to Kim Ki-Rok, he quickly continued, "As you all know, I prefer to fight at the very front. Meanwhile, Hunter Kim Ki-Rok specializes in commanding from the rear."

No one objected, not even the members of Ji Seok-Hyun's own guild. Everyone knew exactly what kind of Hunter their Guildmaster was. Watching their quiet camaraderie, Kim Ki-Rok let out a chuckle. This kind of handoff usually occurred when he raided with Ji Seok-Hyun, but somehow, it never stopped being funny.

"

Ahem,

my apologies," Kim Ki-Rok said after regaining his composure. "In that case, allow me to immediately begin giving out your marching orders."

1.

Popular football chant

☜