Chapter 240: Poison Duke Aspera (2)

Instead of retrieving his trident, Kim Ki-Rok used Discernment to check its condition. Then he took a magic-imbued dagger from his subspace pocket and placed both weapons, one by one, into the leather pouch attached to his belt.

"Monsters will be swarming us in no time," Kim Ki-Rok announced. "Aside from the twenty on the clear team and the twenty on backup, every other Hunter should focus on subjugating the monsters coming in from all directions. Once their numbers dwindle, the remaining Hunters will join the Poison Duke Aspera subjugation, according to headquarters' instructions."

"Will they be added to the existing teams?" a foreign Hunter asked.

"No. They'll form a new team and cooperate with the current ones to improve the subjugation process. Supporting allies from the rear is the priority until we fill a team of ten. Long-range or reinforcement-type ability users will be assigned to the clear team first."

The Hunters nodded at the clear explanation.

After checking the time and seeing that two minutes remained, Kim Ki-Rok glanced back at Poison Duke Aspera and continued. "Deal as much damage as possible before all of its eyes open. They may all open at once, not one by one. Don't panic if that happens."

"Understood!" the Hunters answered tersely.

Kim Ki-Rok nodded, then began calling out names to form the teams. At that moment, Yoo Seh-Eun raised her hand.

"Hmm? What about you, Guildmaster?" she asked.

"My levels are low," he replied.

"Ah!"

Whenever a dangerous Gate appeared or during risky operations, Kim Ki-Rok used Guardian, which meant his levels lagged behind those of the other participants.

"Well, I did raise my level by hunting all those Hell monsters, but even now my stats and combat abilities are lower than all of yours. That's why I'll join the regular monster subjugation team, not the Aspera subjugation team. Of course, I have other reasons as well." He smiled wryly. "Watching from a distance will also give me a broader view of the battlefield."

Naturally, Kim Ki-Rok was still the subjugation team leader. The Hunters, already familiar with his skills, didn't object to him leading despite his lower level.

"Thirty seconds. Everyone, move to your positions and complete your battle preparations," Kim Ki-Rok instructed.

At his order, the Hunters sprang into motion. Twenty moved forward to their designated places, while the rest spread out in all directions to encircle Aspera.

Ten Hunters remained.

"Even if we defeat the Four Dukes, the Hell King is still out there. Don't push yourselves too far."

Five seconds.

"Trust your comrades."

Three seconds.

"We will begin the subjugation of Aspera, one of the Four Dukes."

***

A total of 330 Hunters had gathered for the subjugation of Aspera, advancing to the Northern Swamps where it lay in wait.

At the Hell Gate clear team headquarters, Commander Kang Man-Ki watched the screens, which displayed the feeds from cameras held by Hunters with flying skills instead of weapons. He kept his eyes on the Hunters as they moved at Kim Ki-Rok's signal.

Although their plan had been tested before, it remained uncertain whether it would work on a monster as powerful as one of the Four Dukes.

"They've started moving," one aide reported.

The Hunters charged toward Aspera, wielding only shields to defend against attacks. As soon as Aspera's eyes opened, they hurled mana stones to the ground.

The forcefully thrown mana stones dug into the earth, releasing mana that seeped into the black soil and transformed it into shimmering blue-black ground.

"Two of its eyes opened at once!"

Kang Man-Ki quickly turned to the screen focused on Aspera.

Along with the vital intel that Hunter mana weakened Hell monsters, Kim Ki-Rok had also revealed a potent weapon: a mana stone infused with Hunter mana. Shattering it would release stored energy into the area. While ineffective against ordinary monsters, this was the best weapon for dealing with Hell monsters. Hunters always broke mana stones first whenever they confronted them.

"As expected, it reacts differently. The other monsters were too preoccupied fighting to notice their own weakening."

It was only to be expected. As a member of the Four Dukes, Aspera immediately sensed that Hunter mana weakened it and retaliated with all its might.

Aspera let out a shriek and unleashed a breath attack. The Hunters took cover behind the barrier set up by Lee Ji-Ah and other long-range ability users, retreating while the shield bought them time. Even as they dodged the attack, Hunters continued to slam mana stones into the ground.

"The third eye has opened," another aide reported.

"They're opening faster. Deploy Team Two. Team One, don't switch weapons yet. Hold your ground. Team Two, proceed with the Aspera subjugation," Kang Man-Ki ordered.

An operator nodded. "I'll relay the orders at once."

With the command given, Team One and Team Two, who had been supporting the others with ranged attacks, drew their main weapons.

Team One advanced, saturating the area with Hunter mana, while Team Two launched an all-out assault to draw Aspera's attention away from their allies.

"What about the surroundings?" Kang Man-Ki asked.

"Please check cameras thirteen through sixteen," his aide replied.

Kang Man-Ki turned to the designated screens. The images showed Hunters locked in battle with Hell monsters hideous enough to provoke disgust: crocodiles, werecrocodiles, two-headed black crows, a five-headed snake, enormous spiders, fish with legs, Fishfolk whose lower bodies were human and upper bodies were fish, and more.

"And Captain Kim Ki-Rok?" Kang Man-Ki prompted.

"Camera sixteen."

Switching views, Kang Man-Ki saw Kim Ki-Rok wielding his trident and defeating monsters with swift, decisive blows. After dispatching five monsters in a flash, he was enveloped in blue light. Without pausing, he thrust his trident at the next monster charging at him before the light even faded.

"A level-up?" Kang Man-Ki murmured.

"Guildmaster—no, Captain Kim Ki-Rok is still considered a lower-rank Hunter," the aide remarked.

"Ah..." Kang Man-Ki nodded, recalling the reason. "That's right."

Kim Ki-Rok had used Guardian repeatedly to save allies and boost Gate clear rates during dangerous or high-difficulty operations, at the cost of his own level growth.

"Can he make it into the top one hundred?" Kang Man-Ki asked, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"If he keeps taking part in monster-filled operations like this, it's only a matter of time," the aide replied.

"Is there any chance the Guildmaster will turn down a promotion?"

The aide shook his head. "None."

"Why's that?"

"Well... he understands the dangers of the Gate better than anyone."

Kim Ki-Rok had been the first to discover Hell, as well as the first to confront its horrors. Kang Man-Ki watched the man on the monitor fight off wave after wave of the regular monsters.

"Did he choose Guardian all this time because he expected the rise of Gate, Hell?"

The aide hesitated, then answered, "Maybe?"

In Gate, Hell, even low-level Hunters could catch up. Perhaps Kim Ki-Rok had prioritized saving allies and lowering the Gate's danger, knowing what was coming.

Kang Man-Ki hadn't heard this directly from Kim Ki-Rok, but seeing him now, it seemed likely.

"Hoo..."

After observing the other Hunters for a bit, Kang Man-Ki exhaled deeply, then issued orders to the subjugation squad.

"Even if things seem to be going well, we're still facing one of the Four Dukes who serve the Hell King. Stay sharp until the end. Don't let your guard down!"

"Yes, sir!"

It was far too soon to relax.

***

When Aspera's fifth eye opened, its speed increased to the point where dodging its attacks became impossible.

"Damn it!" Yoo Seh-Eun cursed as she raised her sword to block.

A crushing blow sent her flying. She lost consciousness for a split second and ended up rolling across the ground.

"Ice Field."

"Air Cushion."

Lee Ji-Ah cast Ice Field to freeze the swamp, while a wind-attribute Hunter beside her helped cushion Yoo Seh-Eun's fall. She tumbled to a stop, nearly sliding into the swamp.

"God... damn..." Yoo Seh-Eun muttered, staring at the black ice.

She jumped back to her feet and glared at Poison Duke Aspera.

"They said we could keep up with it," she said under her breath.

Kim Ki-Rok had analyzed Aspera's abilities using battle footage of the Poison Duke and a gorilla-like monster, and his predictions had been spot-on.

The forecasts were accurate. But still, we couldn't dodge its attacks,

Yoo Seh-Eun thought.

Just as expected, with its fifth eye open, Aspera moved twice as fast as before. Yoo Seh-Eun sized up both the enemy and her allies before charging back into the fray.

"Ah," Yoo Seh-Eun gasped, realizing what the problem was. "The food buff's expired."

She quickly retrieved a rice ball from her subspace pocket. Other Hunters who'd failed to dodge, or who'd been thrown aside like her, came to the same realization.

Some checked their status windows for the remaining buff time, while others focused their mana to assess their physical condition. As soon as they finished checking, the Hunters pulled out the food they'd received from Kim Ki-Rok. There were sandwiches, rice balls, mini rice burgers, kimbap, and donuts.

Glancing at the different foods that all provided the same buffs, Yoo Seh-Eun let out a dry laugh. "He prepared them to suit our tastes."

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She glanced over at Kim Ki-Rok. He seemed to hear her and immediately stepped back to scan the field. When their eyes met, he gave her a bright smile and a wave, prompting Yoo Seh-Eun to shake her head in disbelief.

—The timing is a bit awkward, but we have no choice. We'll deploy Team Three. Joining this team will be the American Hunters...

The ten Hunters who had been fighting Hell monsters assembled without a moment's hesitation and charged at Aspera.

—While Team Three attacks Aspera, Teams One and Two, replenish your buffs. As soon as you adapt, switch with Team Three and continue the attack. In thirty minutes, we'll form a new team to join the subjugation.

Pivoting on his right foot, Kim Ki-Rok spun and drove his trident into a Hell monster rushing him from the right with a solid thwack.

—It doesn't matter how long it takes. We will bring down Poison Duke Aspera with minimal damage.