Chapter 63: Blood Phantom—4

[Sudden Mission]

Subdue or eliminate an enemy too powerful for your current strength.

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Reward: Moderate amount of experience, a trait

Kim Hyeon-jun narrowed his eyes at the hologram that appeared before him.

'A trait as a reward?'

Until now, the rewards had mainly been gold, but this time, they were offering a trait.

Was it a structure where the more difficult the mission was to solve, the better the reward you could receive?

'First, I need to deal with that summon and the villain.'

He dismissed the hologram and shook off his distracting thoughts.

Although they hadn't engaged in full-scale combat yet, he could sense it instinctively.

The villain they were currently facing was stronger than Yang Buk-cheon, whom he had subdued earlier.

Lieutenant Park A-young and Kim Hyeon-jun briefly exchanged glances and soon nodded.

It was to deal with the approaching summon.

*

Gwang Pil-gyu was a level 6 villain with the Corrupted Summon trait.

He was also the leader of the villain group, Blood Phantom.

Why had Gwang Pil-gyu chosen the path of a villain?

To explain would take a long time, but it was due to the discrimination and oppression he had experienced in Hunter society in the past.

He had ultimately fallen to villainy, but he did not regret his choice.

That was because his Corrupted Summon trait was gradually shining.

He had gathered and collected summoning mediums and materials that could not be obtained through normal channels, trained his power, and had been able to rise to this position.

Moreover, a few months ago, he had acquired a new skill.

It was a summoning skill that required a large amount of human blood.

Gwang Pil-gyu was fascinated by the explanation that the more blood he used, the more powerful a summon he could call forth.

From then on, he began collecting blood in earnest.

He had acquired a skill worthy of the name Blood Phantom.

He was convinced there was no better skill to firmly secure his position as leader.

After all, power struggles were common in the world of villains too.

However, there was one problem.

The fact that only Hunter blood reacted to the summoning skill.

And the fact that to collect the target amount of blood while evading the eyes of the Hunter Army... even taking years wouldn't be enough.

'Tch. Maybe my subordinates weren't trying to stop me for no reason.'

As time passed, Gwang Pil-gyu grew impatient and repeatedly pushed too hard, eventually getting his tail caught by the Hunter Army.

'If I'd had just three more hours, the adjustment would have been finished... Why did things collapse so quickly?'

He had used his connections to hastily have Yang Buk-cheon, who possessed the Magic trait, stand by, but judging by the lack of contact, it seemed he had been taken down by the Hunter Army.

'Why on earth isn't this over yet?'

He frowned as he watched the summon fighting.

[Corrupted Blood Knight Captain LV.7]

The summon was clearly strong.

It lacked intelligence, but all its specs exceeded level 7.

It should have been, yet it still hadn't finished off the two Hunters.

It should have been just one common officer and one soldier.

'...And I can hear footsteps coming up from below.'

It was the Hunter Army reinforcements coming this way.

Gwang Pil-gyu called forth additional summons.

They were summons he was going to scatter as decoys after escaping from here, but he decided to use them now.

[Corrupted Plague Rat Swarm LV.5]

A horde of black rats that had instantly swelled at his feet rushed down the stairs.

"Damn it! What is this!"

"What's with all these damn rats?"

"Argh! What are these things!"

"Hey! These things are monsters! Take care of them quickly!"

After hearing the confused voices coming from below the stairs, he poured more mana into the summon fighting at the front to strengthen it.

'I need to finish this quickly.'

Most of his subordinates were annihilated.

On the other hand, the Hunter Army side would keep sending reinforcements.

The longer he dragged this out, the more disadvantageous it was for him.

*

Ting! Ting!

Meanwhile.

Kim Hyeon-jun and Lieutenant Park A-young were in the midst of battle with Gwang Pil-gyu's summon.

The two had never practiced coordination beforehand, but they maintained good spacing so as not to get in each other's way.

When Lieutenant Park A-young blocked the summon's sword head-on, Kim Hyeon-jun would attack the summon's openings with his spear.

"I've never seen a summon like this... We absolutely must eliminate it here!"

She felt a sense of incongruity looking at the summon Gwang Pil-gyu had summoned.

It was as if she was fighting a human who had been alive... more precisely, someone who had lived by the sword.

Even though its movements were jerky, as if the strings were cut mid-action, it was barely managing to block attacks.

If that summon were to grow even stronger later... she couldn't imagine what damage it would cause to society.

"Yes, sir! Please wait just a little longer!"

In the meantime, Kim Hyeon-jun was diligently applying mana to the summon's body.

The black mana clinging to the summon's body was gradually spreading.

'But why is this thing so tough?'

Kim Hyeon-jun narrowed his eyes.

It looked like a squishy lump of blood on the outside, but when he stabbed it with his spear, his hand ached to the point of tingling.

And that was despite not using an ordinary supply spear, but a better one he had equipped.

'If it's not working well even when I'm coating it thickly with mana and stabbing it hard...'

At least level 7.

Worst case, he might have to consider it up to level 8.

Kim Hyeon-jun could understand why Lieutenant Park A-young had let the villain escape before the regression.

The summon called by the villain was stronger than expected.

Because of that, even the mana that weakened monsters didn't seem to take effect quickly.

'If he gets a chance to switch to the summoner side, things might get messy...'

Should he use his hidden trump card, the Demon-Slaying Spear?

'Its power is certain... but it requires preparation time, and there's no follow-up after using it.'

While he was pondering this, Lieutenant Park A-young spoke to him.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun! It doesn't seem like this will work, so I'll settle it here!"

She told him that if things didn't go well, he should abandon her and retreat.

'It seems she has some desperate move.'

Kim Hyeon-jun decided to follow her instructions for now while preparing to intervene depending on the situation.

She said to retreat if things didn't go well, but he had no intention of doing so.

He had the strength to escape even while carrying one person in a situation like this.

'Good. He's listening well.'

Moreover, the mana he had been diligently spraying on the summon's body until just now was gradually increasing.

Thump!

Meanwhile.

Lieutenant Park A-young slammed the gauntlets equipped on both her hands together.

With a dull sound, the golden gauntlets began to glow.

Whoosh!

The dark space brightened.

The name of the personal item Lieutenant Park A-young possessed was Fortune Roulette.

It was a unique item that provided powerful strength and penalties with a 50% probability, a chance-based item.

Ding.

A hologram visible only to Lieutenant Park A-young appeared.

It was a coin with a golden front and a black back.

Rolling.

The coin began to spin slowly.

If the front came up, she would receive powerful strength for a certain period, but if the back came up, she would have to suffer an equivalent penalty.

Because the effect was unstable in many ways, she usually only activated it in emergencies.

Without considering her own safety.

Whoosh!

Fortunately, the gamble succeeded.

The front came up.

[For the next 4 minutes, you are imbued with power that ignores all types of defense!]

[After using the power, you will fall into an exhausted state for 4 minutes!]

[Time remaining until reuse: 48 hours]

After confirming that a decent power had been provided, Lieutenant Park A-young charged at the summon again.

Thwack! Thud!

A barrage of blows followed.

Holes began to appear in the summon's body.

The summon's posture collapsed in an instant.

The attacks were working.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun! You can join in now!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kim Hyeon-jun also joined in and continued the attack.

"Should I use my hidden card already...?"

The flow of battle reversed in an instant.

Gwang Pil-gyu's expression gradually hardened.

The summon, which hadn't even been scratched until now, was shaking.

Not only that.

At some point, the black mana settled on the summon's body began to seriously weaken it.

Moreover, that black mana belonged not to the officer, but to the soldier.

"Berserk. Split."

Gwang Pil-gyu poured additional power into the summon.

He used an additional skill to strengthen the summon.

Groooar!

The summon let out a roar as if howling.

The summon's blood seemed to bubble and boil, then it roughly shoved Lieutenant Park A-young and Kim Hyeon-jun away.

At the same time, it split into two, and although only their size decreased, their power wasn't significantly different.

"Cough!"

Gwang Pil-gyu vomited blood.

The backlash from pushing too hard repeatedly was affecting his body.

Nevertheless, he did not stop.

Ting! Ting!

The momentarily strengthened and divided summons.

Lieutenant Park A-young and Kim Hyeon-jun were pushed back rapidly.

Even so, their momentum did not die.

They shouted in unison and put strength into their hands gripping their weapons.

How long did the battle continue like that?

Gwang Pil-gyu's summon began to stagger.

The debuff effect imbued in Kim Hyeon-jun's mana was taking effect.

Lieutenant Park A-young did not miss that opening and pressed the summon.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun! Leave this to me and finish him off!"

"Yes, sir! Leave it to me!"

Upon receiving the order, Kim Hyeon-jun rushed forward.

Because Gwang Pil-gyu was stealthily backing away.

He must have sensed his defeat.

"Trying to run away now? Absolutely not."

Of course, Kim Hyeon-jun wasn't the type to just watch that happen.

He quickly rummaged through his pocket and pulled out an item.

It was a fragment of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

After attaching the Ruyi Jingu Bang fragment to his spear, he threw it with all his might toward the passage the villain was trying to escape through.

"Grow."

As he uttered the activation word, the spear swelled in size and blocked the passage.

"...Damn."

The escape route was suddenly blocked.

Gwang Pil-gyu quickly looked for another way out.

The only remaining escape route was outside the window.

He tried to jump out, but he couldn't.

Because armed Hunter Army personnel were already deployed around the building.

'A summon that could even defeat a level 7 Hunter... here...'

He thought he had just pushed a little too hard.

He never imagined that the result would lead to something this fatal.

"I don't surrender. Kill me."

As Kim Hyeon-jun approached, Gwang Pil-gyu closed his eyes as if resigned.

His previously triumphant expression had long since disappeared.

"I was going to do that even if you didn't say anything."

If they let that bastard live, there was no telling what he would do.

That's why Lieutenant Park A-young had given the order to eliminate him from the start.

Kim Hyeon-jun returned the spear to its original form and retrieved the Ruyi Jingu Bang fragment.

Then he deeply thrust the spear into the center of the bastard's chest.

These were the ones who had mercilessly drawn Hunter blood and created prisons to imprison them.

There had been casualties during this time too.

Such vicious bastards deserved to die.

"Cough!"

Gwang Pil-gyu, who had been vomiting blood, collapsed.

He was dead.

As he died, the summons he had summoned also naturally disappeared.

"Whew."

Kim Hyeon-jun, who had retrieved his spear, regulated his rough breathing.

Perhaps due to the aftermath of the battle, there were many minor wounds on his body.

'If I hadn't used my stamina recovery skill, I would have collapsed long ago.'

He had been drained from dealing with Yang Buk-cheon earlier, but this bastard was definitely strong.

Especially the summon that seemed to be made of blood.

Just blocking its attacks was burdensome.

And that was even though it was simply swinging a sword.

It would have been difficult to handle without Lieutenant Park A-young.

"Ugh..."

Turning his head, he saw Lieutenant Park A-young staggering as if about to collapse.

Kim Hyeon-jun quickly ran over and supported her.

If he had been any later, she might have face-planted on the ground.

"I'm fine."

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun. You have no strength in your body. I will support you."

"...Then just for five minutes, please."

"Yes, sir."

While they were briefly gathering themselves, the special mission squad soldiers arrived at the scene.

"Squad Leader!"

The soldiers, who had quickly formed ranks with tense expressions, belatedly realized the situation was over.

"The situation is concluded. Gwang Pil-gyu, the leader of Blood Phantom, is dead."

In response to Lieutenant Park A-young's question about their situation, one sergeant quickly finished reporting the current situation.

Team 1 eliminated a considerable number of villains, subdued a small number of personnel, and safely rescued all captured Hunters.

Team 2 subdued a considerable number of villains belonging to Blood Phantom.

Finally, Lieutenant Park A-young and Kim Hyeon-jun eliminated Gwang Pil-gyu, the leader of Blood Phantom.

"...I see. Everyone worked hard."

Lieutenant Park A-young reported to the unit via radio.

It was the moment the operation to annihilate Blood Phantom concluded.