Chapter 81

81. To challenge an A-Rank

“Gasp, gasp!”

“This is not the time to gasp! Stop it, Turka!”

“Okay! Woo! Woooh!”

Turka stepped forward and raised the shield. Immediately, fists as black as charcoal collided with it. Bang! It made a roaring sound as if a bullet had hit it.

It was a Crow, a B-class humanoid monster. With a height of 2 meters, its shoulders were wide enough to have three more heads. Its head had no features, except for its snout that resembled that of a crocodile’s.

It pulled its arm back for a follow-up hit, but first, Turka pushed his shield hard.

“Kyahahak!”

It caused no major damage, but that was no problem. From the beginning, the goal was to create a gap. Ko Byeong-gap, who hid behind Turka, rushed in. He straightened out the sword he held in both hands.

The Crow immediately crossed its arms and blocked, but in the end, it was pointless.

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“Hah!”

“Kyahak!”

The tip of his sword, mixed with his aura, easily penetrated the Crow’s karma barrier. It didn’t take long for the B-class monster to become cut meat. He killed another one, but it was nothing more than taking a glass of water from the lake.

“Kyahahak!”

“Keeek!”

“It’s disgusting.”

The Crows, which were roughly twenty in number, let out a shriek with their mouths wide. The atmosphere between the two opposing camps was thin as ice. Ko Byeong-gap ordered, kicking the ragged monster bodies at his feet, “Don’t mess up our formation! Maintain the battle formation!”

“Alright!”

“Kiriyan, Dorma. Punch those bastards first. If possible, make it hot!”

“I will!”

“Got it!”

Dark spears and lightning bolts were created everywhere. As the abnormal air current hovered above, they immediately responded when it crumbled.

They rushed in unison; their momentum was different from the subordinate monsters. They produced an eerie aura that almost caused his skin to sting.

“Shoot!”

Dozens of projectiles were fired as soon as he shouted. Debris splattered all over the ground along with a violent shout. However, even with such a powerful attack, they couldn’t completely stop the enemies’ advance.

If those were low-level monsters, they would’ve been swept away by the previous attack. However, the opponent in front of them was different from the ones they had been dealing with.

“Kyahak!”

“Kerreuk!”

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The two groups competed. When they collided, there was a strong wave. Their side was inferior in number, but that wasn’t a reason to be swept away because they had Ko Byeong-gap, who was a strong support.

‘Two guys in front first. The three on the side, cut them at once.’

Ko Byeong-gap, who finished the calculation quickly, moved according to the formula. His feet took care of themselves, and his arms and waist moved together like elaborate cogwheels.

Blood rained everywhere when the long sword, containing aura, flashed its light. In the blink of an eye, the Crows were separated from their limbs and body, rolling around the floor without even knowing why they were dying.

Ko Byeong-gap moved his body without resting for a moment. Still, he glanced at the situation from time to time. He had full confidence in the Goblins, but he could never know when and how any one of them could die in a fight against the strong.

Those monsters were born to be masters of battle, so the Goblins had no choice but to find loopholes and think on their feet.

“Koook!”

Sure enough, he heard the sound of a groaning ally. Turka’s thighs were dyed red, though it wasn’t a big injury.

Turka shook himself straight away and shook off the Crows. As soon as that happened, a dark sphere flew in that turned into a hive. Subsequently, Turka’s pain completely ended.

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power of healing. Ko Byeong-gap made the Crow’s neck into a blood-spitting fountain and shouted, “Bamond, save your power! Leave it alone unless it’s a serious injury!”

“Ah, I see!”

Minor injuries could self-heal with Ki-breathing. his strength now, he could only stamp his feet when it was really urgent. Ko Byeong-gap had hawk-like eyes and widened his viewing angle; he saw that only five enemies remained.

‘The kids are exhausted. I have to take care of it.’

Ko Byeong-gap raised his aura, veins on his forehead rose as he did so. He released energy onto his sword, creating a storm.

“Kyahahak!”

“Ahhh!”

He swung widely as if swinging a baseball bat. The sword shot straight and fast. Three Crows, running head-on, were bisected by the crescent sword, but the other two somehow escaped. Of course, just because they dodged didn’t mean they could avoid the subsequent attacks.

“Kyahahak!”

The sword that flew like a bolt of lightning split the Crows diagonally. However, they attacked even though their bodies were cut in half. He was in super close proximity, so he couldn’t come up with an angle to dodge.

‘Hardening.’

He defended by hardening his body as urgently as possible. A black fist landed on his left cheek. There was a dull pain, but it was enough for him to bear. The Crow, who fired the final attack, collapsed in vain.

“Kyahak!”

The last one pierced its hand, which had been trimmed like a dagger. A considerable amount of karma gathered at its fingertips.

If he got stabbed by that, it would hurt a lot, no matter how good his hardening ability was. Soon after, dark spheres and lightning bolts smashed into its body.

“Kuhah!”

The monster’s body wobbled. Ko Byeong-gap wielded his sword without wasting the opportunity his subordinates had created. The ever-moving blade produced a lump of cut meat at one stroke.

“Koook…”

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Another battle was over. The only thing that remained in the world was the fishy smell of blood and strange silence. Ko Byeong-gap habitually looked in his wristwatch. 11:37 am… 38 minutes.

‘It had been almost four hours since I entered the crack, and I’m not even halfway there yet.’

If this were his normal routine, it would be enough time to smash a B-rank crack and get some rice soup. A-rank cracks usually contained more than 350 monsters. So far, they had only defeated about 150 Crows, so there was still a long way to go.

“Who else is hurt?”

The attack squad members, big or small, carried wounds all over their bodies. The ones who were most seriously injured were the ones that carried shields. Although Changsik and Taesik were close strikers, they seemed to have avoided fatal injuries with their unique animal senses.

Ko Byeong-gap distributed potions to the two Giant Goblins and instructed the rest of them to have a break. By handing out potions and dumplings for each battle, it was possible to maintain the best condition of the crew, but he didn’t.

Ko Byeong-gap pushed his subordinates hard with vulgar language.

‘In order to grow rapidly, proper suffering is essential.’

The recent slow rise of the Goblin’s textbook rate was because they had been living easily. Of course, it didn’t mean that fighting low-level monsters was similar to eating rice cakes lying down.

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However, there wasn’t enough firewood to generate power for growth. Like in a game, defeating stronger monsters would increase experience points, and a similar principle worked in reality.

“Everyone, come out. It’s time to work.”

Ko Byeong-gap opened the door to Ashvilam, and Normal and Hob Goblins popped out of the large oval passage.

“You know what I’m talking about, right? Do your routine. Come on, hurry up. Hurry up.”

“Yep!”

“Let’s move!”

Ko Byeong-gap rushed the workers. It was absurd to be nagging his allies, but he couldn’t help it. Weren’t they in an A-rank crack? It was a very dangerous place, so he couldn’t afford to take it easy as usual. He smoked a cigarette and scanned the traces of the battle.

‘It’s going better than I thought. They’re good at following along.’

It was common for an attack squad that consists of several top hunters to have three or two S-rank hunters for A-rank cracks. Whatever it was, to have an S-class hunter in a team was necessary because they served as the backbone of the squad.

In that sense, Ko Byeong-gap played a fairly good role as the backbone, and the attack squad followed him as he led.

‘Still, it’s difficult when the children stray.’

“Varmond.”

“Oh. Yes… Yes, Lord.”

“Take the jerky out of your backpack and hand them out to the kids.”

“Jerky? I’ll do that.”

He opened the backpack that Vamond carried and pulled out a black plastic bag. He took out pieces of jerky from inside it.

‘Gold Dragon Meat’ was made of beef jerky. Moreover, Gold Dragon Meat had an excellent effect on rejuvenating. It was expensive, but he made sure it was worth the money. The attack squad ate a piece of jerky, and the tiredness in them melted away.

“Lord, we’re done with the transport.”

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“Oh, yeah, Yookbong. You finished it quickly. You did a good job.”

“Hehe, it’s nothing.”

The work team leader with an armband on his arm laughed.

“Come on, get the kids back.”

“Yes! I’ll see you in a little while. Good luck!”

“Yes, everyone, get up. Let’s move.”

“Yes! I see.”

The pace of their progress wasn’t that fast, so they needed to hurry. They took a short break for about 10 minutes before continuing the subjugation.

***

As monster bodies piled up, the number of wounds that covered their bodies increased. His limbs got heavier, and his lungs had seizures. There was a disgusting smell on his body mixed with blood and filth.

“Yuck, yuck!”

“Gasp, gasp, gasp…”

The attack squad breathed heavily. It was written on their foreheads that they were on the verge of death.

“Are you tired?”

“Oh, no, no!”

“No way. You’re out of breath. We’re almost there, so let’s cheer up a little bit more.”

“Yes!”

Soon, the boss monsters would appear. Ko Byeong-gap distributed jerky and potions to the attack squad.

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‘It’s 4:19. It’s almost time to come out.’

Ko Byeong-gap’s party diligently advanced in the back world. If the sun went down after a long delay, it was going to be difficult. After some time, the much-anticipated boss monster appeared, but it was a little inappropriate.

It was a Raven! A tricky monster with the ability to disappear.

There weren’t that many subordinate monsters assisting the boss. Still, a Raven’s attack was threatening. You could literally get your nose cut with your eyes open.

“Gather up!”

“Gather up!”

“Change the formation! Stand in a crosshair!”

“Yes!”

The two long-distance dealers and one healer were protected in the center. Turka, Orca, Changsik, and Taesik each stood in one direction.

Ko Byeong-gap watched the Raven in front of the formation. Its body became blurred and slowly overlapped with the background since it used its cloaking ability.

“Everyone, focus on your technique. If you follow with your eyes, you’ll react late!”

“I see!”

The Raven and other groups of monsters rushed in. Ko Byeong-gap chased the Raven’s trail in between. The space was distorted, and he didn’t miss it and immediately bounced out, wielding his sword.

Scrap! Fire went out in the air, and the Raven was revealed.

‘Play with me, you son of a bitch!’

“Argh!”

The final battle took place. Ko Byeong-gap hung onto the Raven persistently. Under no circumstances did he let it get close to the Goblins. In terms of simple combat power, Ko Byeong-gap overwhelmed the Raven, but the battle was not easily concluded.

The clever monster was well aware of the fact that it was behind in strength. So, it tried hard to distract Ko Byeong-gap.

It would perform a quick attack and retreat. It was hiding among its men, and then it would pop out and attack again like an experienced boxer.

“You son of a bitch, how dare you rub your temper away!”

Ko Byeong-gap swung his sword wide, but the blade only penetrated the air. He felt the Raven’s movement moving away with the fluctuation of space, so he straightened up to prepare for its next hit. However, the Raven headed to the wrong place. It went for the attack squad.

‘Damn it!’

Currently, the attack squad was limited in blocking the subordinate monsters. They had no room for the Raven’s blind attack!

‘If I don’t do this, they’ll get it!’

Ko Byeong-gap quickly turned away. Haze wriggled in the space. From there, a pointed awl suddenly popped out and stretched out toward Turka, who didn’t notice the attack even though he told them to pay attention to the enemy. Ko Byeong-gap gritted his teeth and flew away.

Crack!

“…?!”

“I got you, you son of a bitch.”

He managed to block the attack aimed at Turka. The awl arm penetrated his shoulder a little. The Raven tried to pull itself out immediately, but it couldn’t because Ko Byeong-gap held its arm tightly.

“Yikes!”

“Don’t squirm and look for a way out.”

He swung the sword. There was a tremendous storm raging on the sword.

“Crush.”

A sword storm completely engulfed the Raven and other nearby monsters.

“Kyahak!”

“Cough!”

The ones who were hit by it died and turned into powder.

“Lord! Are you alright?”

“The fight isn’t over yet! Focus to the end!”

“Yes, yes!”

Ko Byeong-gap’s party diligently wiped out the remaining monsters. The Raven ambush was gone, so their work was done quickly.

It was already 4:59 pm. That was how the nine-hour A-rank crack was fought.

***

“Everyone worked hard.”

“Lord, thank you for your hard work too!”

“Oh, I’m so glad it ended without a hitch. Everyone, heal your bodies and get some rest. Eat a lot. I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Yep!”

The struggle was over. Ko Byeong-gap stopped in Ashvilam for a while to check the condition of his attack squad and washed himself. The sky was already dark when he came out. He took a deep breath of air outside.

“Huuuuu… Haha.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. Oh my God! He couldn’t believe he really defeated an A-rank crack. How did that make sense? Although his body was exhausted, firecrackers exploded in his brain. It was a pleasure from accomplishment.

Sense of accomplishment wasn’t the only reward. If he went around to more A-rank cracks, he would get about 70 million won each. Even now, he made several times as much profit as usual in just one day!

Instead of having a toast, Ko Byeong-gap burned a cigarette. The taste of cigarettes was sweeter than ever.

‘I should hurry up and go to Seoul and hit a bowl of rice soup. I’m starving.’

He got in the car quickly. It would be 8 pm at the earliest for him to arrive in Seoul. He drove back thinking about whether to eat or not on the way there.

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“This country road is missing street lamps.”

It wasn’t midnight yet, but it was quite dark since there were no streetlights and mountains were all around it. All he could trust was the light of the headlights.

He was so careful driving the car, but it became clear in an instant. About three seconds later, a tremendous roar echoed in the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“What was that?!”

His body trembled. He pressed the brakes reflexively and looked at where the sound came from. Soon, his face was drained of blood.

“Hey, hey, fuck!”

It was over the guardrail on the left. The basin and the power plant that he saw this morning. There, a huge fire surged in the power plant.