Chapter 55

Episode 55

Yoo-seong’s muscles and bones began to grow larger, his joints popping with new strength. At this, one of the predators lifted its head towards the sound.

It licked its gruesome lips as it stared at Yoo-seong. For them, these preys were much stronger than the Festivals, but their meat was very tender and tasty.

The predator purred, and the other lifted their heads and followed its gaze.

-Clear!

-Clear!

-Clear!

Gruesome human voices rose from their throats as they watched Yoo-seong. Meanwhile, Yoo-seong was still crouching, his muscles stretching towards his new form.

-Damn, help me!

-Vice Lord!

-Help!

-Mom! Mom!

The sounds that the predators mimicked grow more horrendous. Then, one of the beasts lunged.

Yoo-seong raised his head and gauged his foe.

Though they were slightly smaller than a Festival, they were still large beasts, about the size of a water buffalo.

Considering his suit’s durability, it would be best to avoid it rather than meeting it head-on. Yes, this would have been the best option.

However, with Auto-Hunt, his body had a mind of its own. With a Twin Sword in hand, his arm was already moving towards the monster, faster than a car running at top speed.

Quaang-!

It sounded as if the blade hit a rock. However, in an instant, there was a ripping sound.

Jeookkkk-!

The beast split in half. Its carcass, which had split in two, fell with a heavy thud.

Kraar-!

Another beast leaped towards Yoo-seong, its mouth drawn open. Its huge tongue, about the size of a snake, was reaching out towards Yoo-seong. The tongue itself had another mouth on its tip, with needle-like teeth bared.

Yoo-seong quickly spun to avoid it, his muscles changing as he did so. Then, as the beast passed by him, he brought his sword down.

His arm had grown twice in size, and the heavy swing split the predator in half from tail to monstrous tongue.

Yoo-seong stood still, calmly waiting for the next attack.

In Eastern medicine, in addition to Yin and Yang, it was believed that there was a suitable physical environments. In sports, for example, there were different body types depending on which position they were playing in.

Each player may have a separate set of muscles slightly developed more than the others to aid them in their position. The human body had the ability to grow and adapt to a certain action and environment.

They called it the Constitution in the East. It was a general term used to describe a perfect body for martial arts.

However, could there be an absolutely perfect body for hunting?

The answer was no.

There were too many variables to consider. The cracks may each have a different environment, the monsters a hunter could face may vary, and there were unexpected situations that could arise.

Caang-!

However, Yoo-seong…

Jeeokk-!

As he continued to easily split the dreaded predators in half…

Thud-!

It was unbelievable. Even a Ki Master would have found it difficult not to be astounded.

His shoulders and back had grown 1.5 times wider than normal. His arms also grew longer and more muscular. It was the perfect body to wield a pair of full-length swords.

The Red Dragon Society members, who had witnessed everything, were dumbfounded.

‘Is it possible to change your Constitution with Ki?’

They watched as Yoo-seong continuously swung his perfect arms, the pair of swords that was the Red Dragon’s pride splitting predators in half.

Quaang-!

Finally, Yoo-seong killed the last monster – or so they thought.

Yoo-seong looked up as a huge shadow crept through the ground. It was a beast of the same species, but was several times larger than the others.

‘Could it be,’ Yoo-seong thought, ‘that all I have faced so far were cubs?’

The Red Dragon Society members also looked up. Their eyes widened in fear as they confirmed what it was. It was a full-grown beast.

Qiongqi (窮奇). ★★★★★★★★★★★★

It was a monster with a whopping 12-star rating.

It didn’t care for its offspring. It was simply enjoying the sight of slaughter below – the cries of the Festivals and the human victims, the bloodshed, the giggling of its cubs.

But now, the plain had turned silent. Even the laughter of its cubs had been shut down.

It now began to move.

The monster opened its cavernous mouth, letting out a high frequency that was harmful to anyone within reach. The Festivals who were still breathing convulsed as soon as they heard the frequency. Then, they were choked by their own blood, which spurted in all directions.

This frequency had the power to make one’s blood boil to the point of explosion. Fortunately for the Red Dragon Society, their blood had been completely petrified.

Although their eardrums hurt from the sound, they wouldn’t suffer the same fate as the Festivals.

Yoo-seong, however, was standing in the open.

He was thrown to his knees as soon as he heard the sound, but he managed to get back up despite the pain. He had no protective gear against this kind of attack, and he almost fainted, but still, he forced himself to stay standing.

Yoo-seong endured and waited for the howl to end. Even Auto-Hunt could not help him against this.

He only had purpose and faith to hold on to. ‘Keep standing,’ he urged himself as he closed his eyes tight.

The Qiongqi was watching him from above, considering its next move. Soon, it decided that the creature below must be immune to the high-frequency howl.

It began to descend, and Yoo-seong was waiting for it.

As soon as he saw the wings move toward his direction, he filled his legs with Aura. Then, he leapt to meet a 10-m long monster descending towards him.

It was as if time stopped.

Yoo-seong was face to face with a mythological creature in the sky.

“Yaaaah!” Yoo-seong yelled and jumped on its back.

-Assault form applied-

His arms were filled with glaring light as he concentrated his Aura on them.

-Damn it!

-Hey, hey, hey!

-Go!

The Qiongqi’s mouth was spouting different human voices, trying to distract Yoo-seong.

However, Yoo-seong’s focus was on the Twin Swords on his hands.

With a shout, he plunged it in, penetrating the beast’s tough hide. From then on, his developed muscles’ usefulness had ended.

It was all up to his fine veins and Aura control.

Yoo-seong used a Parasitic Bee and sent it through the wound the swords made.

-Hey, hey, hey!

The Qiongqi continued to yell out as Yoo-seong stretched out the Parasitic Bee as far as his CE allowed. Yoo-seong closed his eyes tight as he spent all of his energy pushing the Bee on, towards a vital spot.

…

“The Red Dragon Society is taking too long…” a hunter observed.

“Do you think something went wrong inside?” another remarked.

Outside the rift, the monsters had already been subdued. It wasn’t a big deal, though they were surprised by an outpour of Festivals at one point.

Still, 4-star monsters such as the Festivals were easy for them to deal with.

The hunters even had fun and enjoyed the outpour. It wasn’t usual for them to get so much prey.

“With the foreigner running with them, you can’t tell what could happen,” a hunter remarked as he lighted a cigarette.

Just as he clicked a lighter, lightning cracked through the sky.

Something was coming out. The hunter quickly put away his cigarette and prepared himself for more Festivals.

He smiled inwardly, thinking about money. ‘Come on,’ he thought.

His eyes widened with fear and shock as soon as he saw what was coming out.

“Isn’t that…” he struggled to finish his sentence.

It wasn’t only him. Everyone below the rift had frozen in place.

A Qiongqi has flown out of the crack, crying in pain.

-Sha-ah-ah-ah!

Then, it howled once more with its high-frequency attack.

“Ah, my ears!”

“Oh oh oh!”

The high-frequency howl resonated throughout the city. The hunters below immediately grabbed their heads and staggered as their blood vessels swelled, threatening to rupture at any moment.

Fortunately, the attack ended quickly.

The Qiongqi didn’t seem to have any intention of decimating them, rather, the howl was released unconsciously, mixed in with its cries of pain.

Still, the hunters who had been exposed to it fell to their knees, dizzy from the rush of blood to their head.

No one dared to attack the flying monster. Everyone was focused on catching their bearings. Rescue teams had been deployed in the area to assist the victims.

“Why does it seem to be in pain?” an observer wondered.

The Qiongqi seemed to be twisting in the air, as if trying to take something off its back.

Then, it crashed against a small building, bringing the whole structure down with it.

“Is it dead?”

Some time passed. No movements seem to come from where the Qiongqi crashed. Soon, some of the hunters found the strength to stand and approached the ruins.

“Wow, there doesn’t seem to be any trauma on it,” a hunter remarked.

The body appeared to be perfectly preserved. No torn limbs, not even missing teeth.

“Is it really dead?”

Hunters began to gather around it.

Suddenly, a foreign word was heard from behind the Qiongqi. No one understood what the word was, but everyone could grasp what it meant from its tone.

‘Don’t touch it.’

Yoo-seong appeared over the Qiongqi’s corpse.

“What the…”

“Uh!”

Yoo-seong looked as grotesque as the Qiongqi itself. His muscles appeared to be unnatural, as if they had twisted beyond normal human capacity.

On top of that, blood was spilling out of his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

He held on and endured the Qiongqi’s howls until his Parasitic Bee had reached the beast’s heart. Yoo-seong paid a great price. He was spent both physically and mentally.

If he was in Korea, he would have closed his eyes as soon as he heard the voices of the rescue team. However, he was in a foreign land.

“I’ll say it again,” he declared as he stood to protect the Qiongqi’s corpse.

“Don’t touch my prey.”

His muscles slowly twisted back to normal, but the flame in his bloody eyes was still intense. His hands still clutched the Red Dragon’s Society’s heirloom, the Twin Swords.

“If anyone gets too close…”

The hunters around instinctively understood what he was trying to say, even if they didn’t know the language. One didn’t need to understand a lion’s growl to know not to approach it.

That was how Yoo-seong appeared to them at that moment.

A lion.

“Let’s step back…”

“His eyes have tasted death…”

The hunters respectfully took a step back.

Other Red Dragon members were lifted up to the rift to recover their allies and finish the operation.

Through it all, Yoo-seong never closed his eyes nor stepped away from the Qiongqi. It was only his first strike in a foreign land, but no one who had witnessed it could deny it.

Yoo-seong had firmly engraved his place in China.