Chapter 180: Overwhelming Might

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China had fallen into absolute chaos.

The S-grade Boss Monster group alone had already dealt a massive blow, but on top of that, an A-rank Dungeon Break and a B-rank Dungeon Break had also erupted.

Various industrial infrastructures had already been destroyed, resulting in enormous economic losses.

Furthermore, Hunter casualties were snowballing, and military facilities had also taken considerable damage, making it clear that even if this crisis were resolved, China would struggle to show its former strength as a powerful nation.

Inside the private jet heading to China.

“First, we’re splitting into three teams. I’ll handle the S-grade Boss Monster groups. Gwang-taek, you and Yuseon will head to Heilongjiang Province and deal with the A-rank Boss Monster group there. And Seon-hwa, you and Chang-su will go deal with the A-rank Boss Monster group in Beijing as soon as we land.”

With Seon-hwa joining the party, they were able to split into teams more stably.

Before, aside from Seong-jun, there were only three of them, making it awkward to divide into teams, but with Seon-hwa’s

addition, they could now split into pairs.

“Huh? But why do I have to go with Yuseon?”

Gwang-taek subtly objected to Seong-jun’s decision.

He probably wanted to go with Seon-hwa.

“Then should I send Yuseon with Chang-su instead? A Ranger and an Assassin? Even though Seon-hwa isn’t a Tanker like you, Gwang-taek, she’s still a warrior-type, so her durability is far better than Yuseon’s or Chang-su’s. Of course, since you can use EX-class abilities, an A-rank Boss Monster group would be easy to wipe out, but isn’t it better to be safe?”

The reason Seong-jun divided the teams this way was because both Yuseon and Chang-su, being a Ranger and an Assassin, had very weak durability.

Gwang-taek, of course, was naturally a Tanker, and Seon-hwa, as a Chimera, also possessed considerable durability.

Not to mention, if she transformed, she could even use abilities beyond EX-class.

Of course, since the targets were A-rank Boss Monster groups, frankly speaking, even if each of them took on one group alone, they could suppress them with ease.

But there’s no harm in being careful.

You never know when or where some variable might arise.

“Ah! R-right, I suppose?”

“Why? Disappointed you can’t go with Seon-hwa?”

“What?! N-no, that’s not it. I was just curious about the criteria you used to divide the teams. Hahaha. But you’re going to handle the S-ranks alone?”

Though he denied it, Gwang-taek’s face was already turning red.

Seeing Gwang-taek hastily changing the subject, Seong-jun nodded.

“That’s right. As you know, the areas with the S-grade Boss Monster groups are covered in radiation. I can purify radiation, but others can’t. So I have to step up, purify the radiation, and take care of the Boss Monster groups one by one.”

“Right, I forgot about the radiation. Anyway, what did those Chinese bastards fire a nuke for? If not for that, we could’ve cleaned up the S-ranks much faster.”

Gwang-taek, Yuseon, and the Seon-hwa and Chang-su teams were also fully capable of handling the S-grade Boss Monster groups.

Of course, not to the point of clearing them alone like with A-rank Boss Monster groups, but at least as a team, it was more than possible.

However, since it was uncertain how radiation might affect them, in the end, Seong-jun had to deal with the S-grade Boss Monster groups alone.

“Anyway, I’ll handle the S-grade Boss Monster groups while purifying the radiation, so Gwang-taek, Yuseon, and Seon-hwa and Chang-su, start from the places I mentioned and work your way through the A-rank Boss Monster groups. And if you have time, take care of the B-rank Boss Monster groups too.”

The S-rank Dungeon Breaks had occurred in a total of five regions: Sichuan Province, Jiangsu Province, Guangdong Province, Qinghai Province, and Shaanxi Province.

There were a total of four A-rank Dungeon Breaks, so if Gwang-taek’s team and Seon-hwa’s team each took two, they would finish much faster than Seong-jun.

That’s why Seong-jun asked them to move on to the B-rank Boss Monster groups once they finished the A-rank ones.

“Got it. By the way, what’s going on with the Chinese Hunters?”

“For now, it seems they’ve been deployed to the B-rank Dungeon Break areas. A huge number of Hunters died during the previous Dungeon Break crisis, and they took considerable losses in this S-rank crisis too.”

During the Dungeon Break crisis right before this one, China had thrown its Hunters into the meat grinder to resolve the situation on its own.

With such a large number of Hunters, it was a viable option.

But that ultimately came back to haunt them.

They managed to quell the Dungeon Break crisis by sacrificing Hunters, but they no longer had the strength to stop the S-rank Dungeon Break that followed and the A-rank Dungeon Break that erupted now.

At best, they could only manage to hold back the B-rank Dungeon Breaks.

“Tsk, the Chinese Hunter community, which boasted of being the strongest in Asia and one of the top Hunter forces in the world, how did it end up in this state?”

“That’s what happens when you treat Hunters as numbers, not people. Anyway, we just do our part and get out.”

Whatever China’s situation, they just needed to do their assigned tasks, get what they were owed, and quickly leave.

There was no need for them to worry about China’s Hunter community.

But that ultimately came back to haunt them.

They managed to quell the Dungeon Break crisis by sacrificing Hunters, but they no longer had the strength to stop the S-rank Dungeon Break that followed and the A-rank Dungeon Break that erupted now. At best, they could only manage to hold back the B-rank Dungeon Breaks.

“Tsk, the Chinese Hunter community, which boasted of being the strongest in Asia and one of the top Hunter forces in the world, how did it end up in this state?”

“That’s what happens when you treat Hunters as numbers, not people. Anyway, we just do our part and get out.”

Whatever China’s situation, they just needed to do their assigned tasks, get what they were owed, and quickly leave.

There was no need for them to worry about China’s Hunter community.

But that ultimately came back to haunt them.

They managed to quell the Dungeon Break crisis by sacrificing Hunters, but they no longer had the strength to stop the S-rank Dungeon Break that followed and the A-rank Dungeon Break that erupted now.

At best, they could only manage to hold back the B-rank Dungeon Breaks.

“Tsk, the Chinese Hunter community, which boasted of being the strongest in Asia and one of the top Hunter forces in the world, how did it end up in this state?”

“That’s what happens when you treat Hunters as numbers, not people. Anyway, we just do our part and get out.”

Whatever China’s situation, they just needed to do their assigned tasks, get what they were owed, and quickly leave.

There was no need for them to worry about China’s Hunter community.

But that ultimately came back to haunt them.

They managed to quell the Dungeon Break crisis by sacrificing Hunters, but they no longer had the strength to stop the S-rank Dungeon Break that followed and the A-rank Dungeon Break that erupted now.

At best, they could only manage to hold back the B-rank Dungeon Breaks.

“Tsk, the Chinese Hunter community, which boasted of being the strongest in Asia and one of the top Hunter forces in the world, how did it end up in this state?”

“That’s what happens when you treat Hunters as numbers, not people. Anyway, we just do our part and get out.”

Even so, it’s an S-grade Boss Monster group, and he says he’ll handle it alone?

“Yes, that’s correct. And as a bonus, I’ll purify all the radiation as well.”

When he said he’d not only handle the S-grade Boss Monster group alone but also purify all the radiation, the Chinese

Association President wore a bewildered expression.

“Hah! What on earth…”

Seong-jun simply wanted to do his job, get compensated, and go back.

“There’s no time, so let’s hurry. Even as we speak, countless people are dying. And trust me.”

What else could they do but trust him?

“Sigh, very well. Then please take care of it.”

Seong-jun’s party had already dealt with S-grade Boss Monster groups in Japan and Germany.

If they couldn’t trust them, who could they trust in this situation?

And so, the moment Seong-jun arrived at Beijing Airport, he immediately boarded a Chinese private jet and headed to Shaanxi Province.

Among the regions where S-grade Boss Monster groups had appeared, Shaanxi Province was the closest to Beijing.

The planned route was to clear Shaanxi Province, then move to Jiangsu Province, then Guangdong Province, followed by Sichuan Province and Qinghai Province in order.

The S-rank Monster that appeared in Shaanxi Province was an Ogre.

Seong-jun decided to first purify the radiation that was spreading rapidly.

The Light of Purification was a skill that had evolved through evolution after evolution until it reached its final form, and it could purify anything unclean.

Woooooosh!

A powerful pillar of light burst from Seong-jun’s entire body and soon began to cover the surrounding area.

The Light of Purification was a skill that covered a radius of 5 kilometers from Seong-jun, purifying everything unclean within a total of 10 kilometers.

Perhaps that was why the radiation began to be purified rapidly.

“Since it lasts for an hour anyway, I can just hunt with this on. And I don’t need to summon Summoned Soldiers to take down an S-rank anyway.”

Earth’s S-ranks were significantly weaker than the S-ranks of the Forest of Darkness.

So with Seong-jun having reached G-rank, he could easily suppress them with a decent area-of-effect skill.

There was no need to go through the trouble of summoning Summoned Soldiers.

Thud!

Seong-jun kicked off the ground and moved toward the Ogre group at tremendous speed.

As he moved, the Light of Purification moved with him, rapidly purifying the area.

‘Holy Shield!’

First, he cast Holy Shield to prepare for any unforeseen situations.

“Gruoooh?”

“Kwaaaah!”

He quickly plunged into the middle of the Ogre group.

And then.

‘Amplification Authority! Target! Holy Ice Storm!’

He amplified the G-rank area-of-effect skill Holy Ice Storm with the Amplification Authority.

And immediately cast the skill.

‘Holy Ice Storm!’

Crackle! Crackle!

The air began to freeze in an instant.

Whooooooosh!

An ice storm began to rage across the area.

“Kwaaaah!”

“Kuuuwaaah!”

The Ogres writhed in agony, but there was nothing they could do.

The amplified Holy Ice Storm swept through the Ogres in an instant, and the numerous Ogres were soon scattered across the ground.

The only one still standing was the Boss.

“You should go too. Light of Death!”

Whooooom!

A massive black light swallowed the Ogre Boss in an instant, and that was the end of it.

The G-rank area-of-effect skill Holy Ice Storm and the G-rank single-target ultimate skill Light of Death.

With just these two skills, he had wiped out the S-grade Boss Monster group in an instant.

The majesty of taking down even an S-rank with just two skills.

This was truly the might of a G-rank.

The Boss Monster group was dealt with, and although he didn’t know how far the radiation had spread, purifying everything within 10 kilometers should be enough, right?

Having purified a radius of 5 kilometers, a total of 10 kilometers, he expected that would be more than sufficient.

Of course, there was a chance it had spread further due to the wind, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

He still had other S-grade Boss Monster groups to deal with.

“Let’s move on to the next one.”

Seong-jun deactivated the Light of Purification and headed back to the airport.

At the Beijing Awakened Association, the officials who had been watching the situation on video were left speechless.

“Hah! What in the world…!”

The sight of Seong-jun neatly clearing an S-grade Boss Monster group with just two skills was broadcast to everyone through the video.

Furthermore, it was confirmed that all radiation within a 10-kilometer radius had been purified in an instant.

Meanwhile, the Seon-hwa and Chang-su team had just arrived in Beijing and were heading to the A-rank Boss Monster group location, and Gwang-taek and Yuseon, who had headed to Heilongjiang Province, had also dealt with their A-rank Boss Monster group at a comparable speed.

And they were already moving to the next location.

“Is this truly the ability of a human?”

“If they were to turn that power against China… just thinking about it is terrifying.”

Why were S-rank Hunters called strategic weapons?

Conventional weapons simply didn’t work on them.

Frankly, even an A-rank couldn’t be scratched by most weapons.

And an S-rank each possessed enough power to destroy an entire city.

But Seong-jun and his party?

They possessed the power to bring down not just a city, but an entire nation.

It was safe to say they were on par with national authority.

“I’m at a loss for words. Is there any way to… eliminate them?”

At the President’s words, the executives flinched and tried to dissuade him.

“Hah! Don’t even think about it.”

“Even if we dropped a Nuclear Weapon, it would be impossible.”

“Not just a Nuclear Weapon. With that kind of power, even if all of China’s Hunters rushed in, could we even survive that area-of-effect skill?”

“Assassination would be difficult too. No, not difficult—it’s simply impossible.”

At the executives’ words, the Association President let out a sigh and spoke.

“Sigh, I know. I was just saying. What about persuading them to our side?”

“America already tried that. According to the information we obtained, they offered an absurdly enormous deal. But he turned it down. No matter how much we prepare, in the current situation, it would be hard to prepare more than what America offered.”

At least the United States managed to end the crisis with minimal damage, but China had been reduced to a wasteland due to the successive crises.

In the current situation where all of China had been ravaged, no matter how much they scraped together, it was practically impossible to offer more than what America had proposed.

“Tsk, ridiculous. How did a small country like Korea produce people like them?”

“It’s regrettable, but thanks to them, the situation is being resolved quickly. For now, I think we should find comfort in the fact that we’ve overcome the immediate crisis.”

Seong-jun’s party was tempting, but there was nothing they could do about it right now.

So for the time being, they had to find solace in the fact that they could overcome this desperate crisis.

“By the way, at this rate, the situation might be resolved before the day is over. Is everything we promised prepared? I heard Japan suffered considerable consequences for not keeping its promises. We still have one S-rank Dungeon and multiple A-rank Dungeons that haven’t erupted. Since we never know when they might erupt again, there’s nothing to gain from making an enemy of Hunter Kim Seong-jun. So we should give him everything we promised without missing a single item.”

In other words, they had to hand over everything they’d agreed to, without a single omission.

Even now, weren’t they heading toward a truly desperate situation with the successive Dungeon Break crises?

Yet, China still had one S-rank Dungeon and multiple A-rank Dungeons remaining.

What if those erupted too?

They had lost too many Hunter forces, so they couldn’t stop it right now.

In the end, if such a crisis occurred, they would have to ask Seong-jun’s party for help again, and even in preparation for that, it would be wise not to create unnecessary conflict.

“I’m capable of that much judgment. It’s humiliating to bow my head to a Hunter from Korea, which is practically a vassal state, but the situation isn’t favorable, so I have no choice but to lower my posture for now.”

What could they do? Before Korea, the country that possessed Seong-jun, all nations were equally small and weak.

And having no choice but to bow your head even when you don’t want to—that was the sorrow of a small nation.

Starting with Shaanxi Province, Seong-jun neatly cleared the S-grade Boss Monster groups in Jiangsu Province, Guangdong Province, Sichuan Province, and finally Qinghai Province.

And in the meantime, Gwang-taek and Yuseon, and the Seon-hwa and Chang-su teams, had dealt with the A-rank Boss Monster groups

and even roughly handled the B-rank ones.

It was just past midnight.

Seong-jun and his party met again at Beijing Airport.

“Haha, we really ran around like crazy, but somehow we got it all done in a day.”

“It feels like the travel time took longer than the monster hunting time.”

They had repeated hunting and moving without a break, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t rested at all.

At least while moving to the next city, they could get enough rest on the plane.

Of course, even so, it wasn’t proper rest, so feeling mentally exhausted was only natural.

“Good work, everyone. I’d love to head back to Korea right now, but as you all know, just like in Japan, we agreed to stop by

the Artifact Warehouse here too. We decided we’d each take two items of our choice, so let’s head to the Chinese Association first.”

The same condition he’d proposed to Japan regarding the Artifact Warehouse was also applied to China.

With the urgent situation, China had no choice but to accept, and now that everything was resolved, it was time to collect the reward.

“No matter how tired we are, we have to make sure we get our rewards.”

“We got some great stuff from the Japanese Artifact Storage too, right? Of course, those Japanese bastards have no idea how valuable they were, so it’s hilarious.”

At that, Yuseon smiled and spoke.

Just then, officials from the Chinese Association hurriedly approached the party.

“Great work! That was truly amazing. We saw your exploits in Japan and Germany on video too, but this time… it was truly on another level compared to then. Especially Hunter Kim Seong-jun—your performance was awe-inspiring.”

At the Chinese Association President’s words, Seong-jun gave a slight smile and spoke.

“I see. So, what’s the status of the compensation?”

“The moment we received word that the situation was resolved and you were returning to Beijing, we deposited the agreed amount into your account. And the promised items have also been prepared separately at the Association. Ah! And we will open the

Artifact Warehouse as soon as we arrive at the Association.”

The Chinese Association President kept his posture as low as possible and catered to Seong-jun.

No matter how dirty and distasteful it was, Seong-jun was the one in charge right now.

“Is that so? Good to hear. Then let’s head over right away.”

“We have vehicles prepared. Let’s go. Ah! Before that… allow me to introduce someone. She is the head of China’s strongest guild, Cheonghwa Guild, and an S-Rank Dealer. This is Lian Mei.”

At the Chinese official’s introduction, a strikingly beautiful woman offered her hand to Seong-jun for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lian Mei from the Cheonghwa Guild. Please, just call me Mei.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Seong-jun.”

“When I heard you were coming to China, Hunter Kim Seong-jun, I made a special request to the Association President. I really wanted to meet you at least once.”

At Mei’s words, Seong-jun nodded with a blank expression.

“I see. Anyway, rather than standing here, let’s head to the Association first. We can talk on the way.”

“Ah! Yes, of course. Let’s go.”

And so, Seong-jun’s party headed to the Chinese Association along with Lian Mei and the Chinese Association officials.