Chapter 97. You Mean A Team Leader?

One of the Sky Beaks somehow escaped from Yeon Hong-Ah’s skill, and flew toward the group.

Shrieeeek—!

However, one Sky Beak was hardly a match for so many Hunters. Soon, it was shot down by an ice spear and plummeted from the sky, crashing below the clouds.

"Well, they can’t say we’re slacking off anymore," one Hunter remarked.

"Hey, you senseless jerk! Think about the amount you’re getting. Does this really look like something to boast about?" another Hunter shot back.

"

Ah

, come on, it’s just a figure of speech," the first Hunter replied, chuckling.

The group looked ahead.

Boom—!

Before them, Yeon Hong-Ah was a whirlwind of destruction, effortlessly taking down countless of Sky Beaks. As she had predicted, there were so many enemies that a few managed to slip through toward the group.

Still, the hunt was going smoothly. Some Hunters were a bit on edge, but their concerns proved unnecessary. As usual, Yeon Hong-Ah was eliminating the vast majority of the enemies.

Even though the Sky Beaks were A-rank monsters with troublesome flight abilities, only one or two managed to approach the group at a time.

Seems like we’ve got this under control.

Yeon Hong-Ah, too, sensed the atmosphere. Although she seemed completely absorbed in the hunt, she didn’t neglect her role as the raid leader. She continuously monitored the team’s condition, ensuring everything was proceeding smoothly.

Just like that, the group continued to advance toward the next island. Yeon Hong-Ah was the first to sense something was off.

"Stop!" she commanded sharply.

Everyone halted, immediately going on high alert. Only then did the rest of the group notice the strange atmosphere on this island as well.

"Why is it so... quiet?" someone murmured.

"Yeah, it’s too quiet," another Hunter agreed.

Compared to the other islands, this one was eerily silent. On all the previous islands, they had been attacked by the Sky Beaks almost as soon as they set foot on it—sometimes, even while still on the bridge. They’d fight off the attackers, then move on to the next island. That had been the rhythm of this hunt so far.

Could it be that... there’s nothing here?

Yeon Hong-Ah briefly considered, but she couldn’t finish the thought. Her senses flared up.

Kaaaang!

Shrieeeek!

It was a massive swarm of Sky Beaks, far more than the team had encountered before.

"Damn it!" one Hunter cursed.

"Are we near their nest?” another Hunter gasped in disbelief.

The Sky Beaks swarmed overhead, their numbers easily surpassing fifty, which was three times more than they had faced until now. The Hunters couldn’t believe their eyes.

"Attack!" Yeon Hong-Ah’s voice cut through the chaos.

Despite the deafening screeches of the Sky Beaks, which made it nearly impossible to hear anything else, her command rang clear, as if spoken directly into their ears. And with it, her counterattack began.

Element!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, her spell sent six Sky Beaks crashing down, plummeting from the sky. The rest of the Hunters snapped out of their shock.

"Fight back!"

"Take them down!"

The Sky Beaks that weren’t caught in the initial explosion dove toward the Hunters. They quickly drew their weapons and fought back.

Amidst the chaos, Kim Do-Joon’s eyes darted around, quickly assessing the battlefield.

Yeon Hong-Ah won't be able to move from her position.

She was at the front of the formation, completely occupied with holding off the swarm of Sky Beaks pouring out from what seemed like their nest. She couldn’t afford to worry about the rear or any stragglers that had already broken through.

In other words, the Hunters at the back would have to handle the remaining Sky Beaks on their own. Kim Do-Joon gripped his Lightning Spear tightly.

Meanwhile, in the external team, team leader Park Sung-Won was struggling.

There are just too many!

He thought in panic as he struck down yet another Sky Beak. As the team leader, he was overseeing the situation. His team consisted of Rune Mage guild members and a few external Hunters—a group of about ten A and B-rank Hunters. However, dealing with over forty Sky Beaks with just these numbers felt like an impossible task.

The situation was dire. Hunters desperately swung their weapons, trying to fend off the enormous birds surrounding them. However, only a few of their attacks landed effectively. Meanwhile, it felt like any of them could be caught by the Sky Beak’s talon anytime.

"

Aaargh!

"

"Won-Ki Hyung, no!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the chaos. Park Sung-Won turned just in time to see one of the external B-rank Hunters being snatched up by a Sky Beak’s claws, whisked into the air.

“No!” Park Sung-Won shouted, stepping forward in a desperate attempt to help.

Before he could take another step, a streak of lightning pierced through the air, striking that Sky Beak.

Crackle!

The bird was torn apart, its wings burning to a crisp as it dove straight down. The freed B-rank Hunter fell to the ground, unscathed.

What... what just happened?

Park Sung-Won’s mind raced. They had someone this powerful on the team? He scanned the area, searching for the source of the attack, and quickly spotted it. A beam of light returned to the hand of a man standing nearby.

Park Sung-Won’s eyes widened in disbelief.

That man is...?

It was the only A-rank Hunter in the external team, Kim Do-Joon. Just a short while ago, he had been an E-rank, but after a special promotion, he shot up to A-rank.

Park Sung-Won took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It made sense for Kim Do-Joon, an A-rank Hunter, to have this kind of power. No matter how much experience he had, without the required strength, a promotion would be out of reach.

Feeling a sense of relief, Park Sung-Won hurried toward Kim Do-Joon. He realized that if they could leverage the man’s abilities, they could turn the tide of this battle.

But then, Kim Do-Joon suddenly vanished from his sight.

“...

Huh?

”

Startled, Park Sung-Won turned his head, only to see Kim Do-Joon on the opposite side of the battlefield, rescuing another Hunter.

Teleportation?

Park Sung-Won was shocked. The way Kim Do-Joon disappeared and reappeared in another location was eerily similar to the skill of their guild leader, Yeon Hong-Ah.

Before he could process it, Kim Do-Joon vanished again, then reappeared, and again. The man moved across the battlefield three times in rapid succession. It took Park Sung-Won a moment to realize what was happening.

Wait... he’s not teleporting. He’s just... moving incredibly fast.

Park Sung-Won let out a nervous laugh. Briefly, he had thought Kim Do-Joon was teleporting like Yeon Hong-Ah, but it was just his astonishing speed. Even so, Park Sung-Won could barely follow him with his eyes. And they were both A-rank Hunters.

Park Sung-Won gulped.

***

What the hell? Why is he just standing there?

As Park Sung-Won stood frozen, staring at Kim Do-Joon, the latter noticed him too. He clicked his tongue in frustration. How could their team leader be zoning out at a time like this?

Instead of wasting time scolding him, Kim Do-Joon focused on the more immediate task. He’d take down as many Sky Beaks as he could.

[You have defeated a monster. You have gained Experience Points (EXP).]

[You have defeated a monster. You have gained Experience Points (EXP).]

[You have defeated a monster. You have gained Experience Points (EXP).]

Nice.

Kim Do-Joon thought with satisfaction. The experience points were rolling in steadily. Since his Compatibility was still lower than Yeon Hong-Ah's, being in her chosen hunting ground yielded him plenty of experience points.

Thud! Boom!

Kim Do-Joon swung his Lightning Spear, knocking a Sky Beak off a Hunter. Then, he sent a surge of energy through the spear, exploding the creature’s wing in a burst of electricity.

"T-thank you!" the Hunter stammered, bowing his head in gratitude.

Just moments ago, he thought he was a goner, but Kim Do-Joon killed the enemy in a single strike! The Hunter’s eyes were filled with both awe and relief.

"It's nothing," Kim Do-Joon replied curtly, before vanishing again in a flash.

Boom!

With a thunderclap, he reappeared in another part of the battlefield.

Okay, this is looking good.

Slowly but surely, the balance between the Hunters and the Sky Beaks was starting to shift. Despite the overwhelming number of enemies, Kim Do-Joon’s relentless efforts had turned the tide in their favor. If they kept reducing the Sky Beaks' numbers steadily, victory was inevitable.

“We’ve got this!”

“

Ha

, these monsters are nothing!”

The Hunters on the front lines also began to feel the change, but they didn’t know who was responsible for it. In contrast, Park Sung-Won, along with the Hunters saved by Kim Do-Joon, knew. The same went for Kim Do-Joon himself.

That was when Kim Do-Joon felt an unsettling shift in his senses. The source of this disturbance wasn’t here, but further ahead, near the nest that Yeon Hong-Ah was blocking.

Sky Beak... they shouldn’t be...

Kim Do-Joon began recalling the biological traits of the major monsters, particularly those of the Sky Beaks.

"Mr. Sung-Won!" Yeon Hong-Ah shouted.

"Y-yes?" Park Sung-Won stammered, still slightly off balance from the earlier events.

At almost the same time, Yeon Hong-Ah also noticed something. She’d been watching the situation closely, and her sharp eyes locked onto a distant figure. She shouted toward the rear, where Park Sung-Won was standing.

"It's a juvenile! Take care of it immediately!"

For a moment, Park Sung-Won froze in confusion. But then the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened in shock as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone, there's a juvenile! Cease fire and—"

Whoosh!

He didn’t even need to finish his sentence. The word "juvenile" was all it took for the Hunters to immediately halt their attacks. Even Kim Do-Joon stopped throwing his spear, focusing instead on neutralizing the adult Sky Beaks around him.

Good. They know what to do.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Kim

Do-Joon thought with relief. It seemed like everyone was well-versed in the Sky Beaks' biology. Information on monsters was essential knowledge for Hunters, especially those ranked B and above.

Just as Kim Do-Joon began to relax, a beam of light shot over the heads of the Hunters. It flew straight toward the smaller, different-colored Sky Beak amidst the swarm—the juvenile.

The arrow of light hit its mark, striking the juvenile directly, sending it crashing to the ground.

“

Kiiiieeek!

”

A piercing, blood-curdling screech echoed through the air, louder than any they had ever heard before.

“What the...?” Park Sung-Won’s face turned pale as the realization sank in.

His voice trembled with fury as he yelled, “Who did that?!”

The Hunters around him exchanged bewildered looks, their faces filled with confusion and fear. And then, from amidst the crowd, a young female mage stood trembling, her face drained of color.

Tsk.

Kim Do-Joon clicked his tongue in frustration. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

***

“What was that noise just now?”

Yeon Hong-Ah appeared in front of Park Sung-Won, having just finished off the last of the Sky Beaks emerging from their nest. Her sudden appearance startled Park Sung-Won, but he quickly composed himself and started to explain the situation.

“The juvenile you warned us about, it flew over to our side. But...”

“But what?” Yeon Hong-Ah pressed, her tone sharp as she swiftly dispatched another Sky Beak writhing on the ground.

Park Sung-Won gulped and shouted, “We... We accidentally killed it! I’m sorry!”

Yeon Hong-Ah paused for a moment, her expression hardening. The most critical rule when dealing with Sky Beaks was never to kill their juveniles carelessly. When a juvenile Sky Beak died, it released a high-pitched death cry, like what they had just heard. Any adult Sky Beaks that heard it would go berserk, becoming far more dangerous.

The real problem was that the range of that death cry was massive. It could echo across most of the dungeon, meaning every Sky Beak in the area would soon be converging on their location.

They had managed to clear out all the Sky Beaks on the island, but now, within minutes, every last one of them would be heading their way.

Narrowing her eyes, Yeon Hong-Ah glared at Park Sung-Won.

“Who did it?”

Park Sung-Won shuddered, but didn’t answer immediately. He clenched his jaw, refusing to snitch. Still, the tension in the air was palpable.

However, not everyone had Park Sung-Won’s resolve. One by one, the other Hunters’ gazes shifted toward a single person. Yeon Hong-Ah followed their stares and instantly knew who was responsible.

“

H-hic!

” the female mage clutched her staff tightly, visibly shaking under the weight of the accusatory gazes.

The looks she was receiving weren’t just cold, but utterly devoid of kindness, let alone mercy. Even worse, Yeon Hong-Ah, the person she admired the most, was staring at her with the same cold gaze. It left the mage completely flustered.

“I... I’m s-sor—”

“Let’s split up,” Yeon Hong-Ah interrupted before the mage could finish her apology, her voice authoritative as she began issuing orders.

She quickly scanned the group, evaluating her own guild members from Rune Mage and the external Hunters they had hired for the mission.

Her next words were decisive. “From now on, all external team members will head outside the dungeon. Please request reinforcements immediately.”

The directive was met with shock, especially from the Hunters from the external team, but Yeon Hong-Ah didn’t slow down.

“My team and I will hold the line here,” she said before turning to Park Sung-Won. “And Mr. Sung-Won?”

“Yes,” he responded promptly.

“You’re technically in charge of the external team, but I need your cooperation here. Every hand counts right now. Can I trust you with that?”

“Of course,” Park Sung-Won answered, his face set with determination.

The moment the juvenile fell, he had feared things might end up this way, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Who’s the strongest among the external team?” Yeon Hong-Ah asked.

Park Sung-Won’s head turned almost instinctively toward Kim Do-Joon.

Yeon Hong-Ah followed his gaze and was momentarily taken aback.

He is...

She remembered the man who had stood frozen before they entered the dungeon. Shaking her head, she turned to Kim Do-Joon and asked.

“Excuse me... would you be willing to take over as team leader for the external team in place of Sung-Won?”

“Take over... as a team leader?” Kim Do-Joon raised an eyebrow.

“I need you to lead them out of the dungeon and call for backup. Use my name to connect with Baek Hwi-Soo, and he’ll know what to do.”

Before responding, Kim Do-Joon glanced toward the direction where the death wail had sounded. He could already see the Sky Beaks amidst the fog of the dungeon, dyeing the sky black as they swarmed toward them.

They had expected it would take days to clear the dungeon. But now, all the monsters would gather here within minutes.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then nodded. “Understood.”

His voice was calm, but there was a reassuring strength to it. Yeon Hong-Ah smiled slightly, feeling a bit of relief despite the dire situation.