Chapter 34: Monster Raid

“Now, you said you’re residents of Seonga Village? What brings you here?”

Kim Taehyun faced Yoon Seonghun, habitually checking his rank first.

One shining star.

‘He looks young, yet he’s a Brigadier General…’

He didn’t seem much older than himself, yet he was already a general—an elite soldier, perhaps.

At that moment, Mrs. Kim Sunja spoke up.

“Hello, I’m Kim Sunja, chairwoman of the Seonga Village Women’s Association.”

Despite her earlier aversion to military personnel, she now smiled disgustingly in front of them, her voice sugary sweet, causing everyone inside to inwardly smirk.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Yoon Seonghun, expressionless, asked,

“Yes, good to meet you. So, what brings you here? As you know, the Monsters we’re facing aren’t ordinary. We don’t have much time. Please get to the point.”

He sank deep into his chair, staring at Kim Sunja.

Without telling them to sit, all the soldiers remained seated, silently watching the villagers standing in front of them.

His gaze was anything but welcoming, making the villagers flinch.

Just then, the woman who had been arguing with Kim Sunja spoke up.

“Um… it’s nothing else, but we were wondering if the military is still operating shelters. We’re really scared of those Monsters and want to rely on that.”

Kim Sunja glared fiercely at her, while Brigadier General Yoon sighed loudly as if for the villagers’ benefit.

“Sigh… shelters, shelters… haha.”

Shaking his head side to side, Yoon said,

“Does nobody watch TV these days?”

“……Our Seonga Village’s communication networks are cut off. We don’t even have internet, so it’s like that.”

“Oh, I see. That’s why you didn’t know. It’s unfortunate—what can we do? The military no longer operates shelters. More precisely, in Bucheon region. Ah, Incheon too.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“We don’t operate shelters anymore. The government announced that they would act independently, and it was even on the news… but I guess without internet, you haven’t seen it.”

“Wait, are you saying the military won’t protect civilians anymore?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of nonsense is that! Isn’t the military supposed to protect civilians?”

The woman’s incredulous expression drew a cold glare from Brigadier General Yoon.

“Have you ever even thanked a soldier for their hard work? We—yes, even our own soldiers are precious children to their families. It’s already unfair that we can’t go home, so where on earth did you get the idea that we’d just naturally protect you like servants?”

The harsh tone silenced the woman completely.

At that moment, Mrs. Kim Sunja, now almost smiling, stepped forward.

“If that’s the case… then we have no choice. Did everyone hear that? The soldiers no longer operate shelters, so we can’t rely on them, not because we don’t want to.”

“No, that can’t be!”

“Yoon-ho’s mom, what are we supposed to do if they say no?”

“Well…!”

As the two women argued, Brigadier General Yoon Seonghun chuckled softly.

“These people are really something. Take your arguments back to your apartments and settle them there. Now, please leave.”

No sooner had Yoon finished speaking than soldiers entered from outside, beginning to push the apartment residents out.

Just as they were being forced to turn with heavy steps, Yoon signaled to pause and said,

“Just so you know, we will soon occupy this entire area. Unless you have family in the nearby military units or possess special skills, a forced evacuation order will be issued. Those without any such ties should evacuate early. Of course, if you stay as on-site workers, that’s fine.”

The faintly mocking smile on his lips only stiffened the faces of Seonga Village residents.

Yoon then averted his gaze and stared at the beam projector.

Kim Taehyun stepped back quietly, observing Yoon’s back.

“Track his location once.”

On the beam projector, an image was displayed almost head-on: a man killing a figure wreathed in black flames, his face vacant.

Kim Taehyun felt an inexplicable certainty that he wouldn’t easily forget that face.

***

“Alright, push forward!”

“Junga, set up obstacles on that side!”

“Seoyoung, prepare the Fireball!”

“Jeonghu, what are you doing?! There’s an enemy behind you! Focus!”

Yohan shouted, every nerve on edge.

With Yohan’s chaotic shouts, his family hurriedly moved about.

“Huff… Monster raid my ass… damn it…”

Covered in sweat and Monster blood, Jeonghu cursed while struggling with chains and swinging the Black Dragon Talisman.

“Oppa! Focus! Behind you!”

Flare, bang!

Seoyoung hurled a Fireball behind Jeonghu, killing the Monster that was about to attack him.

Growl!

Enraged, another Monster lunged at Seoyoung, claws bared sharp, but Junga quickly formed a block barrier to protect her.

“Good! Let’s keep going like this!”

Seeing this, Yohan nodded in satisfaction and scanned their surroundings.

Their shelter was now truly a fortress.

Countless werewolves were ferociously charging at Yohan’s family shelter.

Only hours ago, Yohan’s family had been boldly setting out to hunt Monsters and gain experience.

But before long, a pack of keen-scented werewolves discovered Yohan’s shelter and started their terrifying assault.

Already, more than 40 werewolves had been slain.

“Huff… there’s no end to this.”

Despite that, more werewolves still surrounded the shelter than the number they had killed.

Auuuuuuu!

The reason was clear—the howling incessantly called in other werewolves, as if demanding vengeance for their fallen comrades.

At first, Yohan let the kids handle the enemies, thinking it was good training, but as they grew exhausted, he could no longer just watch.

“Huff…”

Taking a deep breath, Yohan immediately leapt down inside the shelter and shouted,

“Jeonghu, retreat inside the shelter!”

“Yes!”

Jeonghu grinned as he backed off.

At that moment, a red aura of Strong Energy began to blaze across Yohan’s entire body.

With the fiery Heavenly Demon’s Strong Energy, Yohan started infusing his Internal Energy.

Though originally completely different powers, because both were Heavenly Demon-related, he found that fusing his Internal Energy caused the two forces to merge into one.

What’s good about the fusion?

It allowed him to freely control the overwhelming power of Heavenly Demon Strong Energy, compressing it for more powerful and efficient attacks.

Swish.

Controlling the Heavenly Demon Strong Energy, Yohan concentrated it into his Heavenly Demon Spear, unleashing a powerful Aura Spear.

The blood-red crescent of energy rapidly shot toward the enemies.

Auuuu… Gah!

Kreeek!

Kyeok!

Wherever the energy passed, werewolves’ bodies were sliced apart, blood splattering everywhere.

In an instant, Yohan wiped out 20 werewolves and charged into the center of the pack.

At this moment, the once formidable werewolves were nothing more than a herd of sheep on the plains, and Yohan was the lone beast weaving through them.

Growl!

The sharp claws aiming for his back were blocked by the Diamond Body title he’d earned after killing the Gray Orc, breaking free from the claws instead.

Teeth that looked like they could bite anything were all knocked aside by Yohan’s single punch.

Snap.

Over 30 werewolves died in a flash, and the remaining ones, losing heart, began to retreat with tails tucked.

The entire fight against the werewolves took barely ten minutes.

Watching from behind, Yohan’s kids couldn’t help but click their tongues.

“Isn’t Dad starting to seem less human?”

“What else would he be if not human?”

“A god or something. Whoa!”

“Oppa, if we learn Heavenly Demon Divine Art, will we be like that too?”

“Don’t know. Whoa!”

“Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about? Are you crazy?”

“Whoa!”

“Shut up, pig!”

“Shut up and go pick up some Power Stones!”

Yohan’s family hurriedly gathered the Power Stones scattered on the ground.

There was a hefty pile of stones thick enough to rival a Giant Hunter’s.

These stones provided Yohan with infinite Internal Energy, but he licked his lips in frustration.

‘I wish the kids could absorb the Internal Energy from these stones too… At least, can’t I share some?’

In martial arts novels, masters sometimes pass down Internal Energy to their disciples, but Yohan had no such ability or skill.

Besides, the martial arts the kids were learning didn’t include the secrets of the Energy Absorption Grand Technique.

Having gathered all the stones, Yohan returned inside the shelter.

While the kids washed up and rested, he scratched his head.

‘Have I earned enough merits yet?’

He had hoped to assign the kids ranks since doing so granted them new martial arts skills.

But he learned that merits had to be accumulated to get promoted.

Even for the lowly rank of Deputy Sect Leader, a whopping 5,000 merits were required.

Though the kids had worked hard killing werewolves, their combined merits were Jeonghu’s 500, Seoyoung’s 320, and Junga’s 200.

At best, Jeonghu could be given the rank of Squad Leader.

Of course, some positions didn’t require merits, like Sect Leader and Young Sect Leader.

‘Should I at least give Jeonghu the Young Sect Leader position?’

No, as mentioned before, Jeonghu might be consumed by Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

‘Am I just too distrustful of my own kids?’

Though troubled, Yohan decided to postpone the Young Sect Leader title and assigned Jeonghu the Squad Leader rank.

“Yes! I’m Squad Leader now! Hey, you guys, salute your Squad Leader!”

No sooner had Jeonghu been appointed than he shouted joyfully from the living room.

“Hmph! I knew you’d envy this lousy Squad Leader title!”

“For someone who says that, you’re reacting way too much. Your nostrils are flaring.”

“Ah, no I’m not!”

“Hahaha.”

Listening to Jeonghu and Junga bicker as usual, Yohan quietly absorbed some of the Power Stones.

His Internal Energy was now nearly full, just shy of reaching three cycles.

‘If I keep this up, I’ll reach 4-star…!’

At 4-star Heavenly Demon Divine Art, he would reach the realm of Hwakyung.

Even in martial arts novels, Hwakyung is the mark of an absolute master.

In the game, it was the same—reaching Hwakyung meant there was no Monster you couldn’t solo.

He was already capable of defeating those huge dragon-like Monsters in the game, so why not in real life?

He couldn’t confirm the stats of that dragon from a distance yet, but once he reached Hwakyung, he planned to scout it, check its abilities, and engage it directly.

Fueled by that thought, Yohan licked his lips while staring at the remaining Power Stones.

‘Maybe I should absorb a bit more?’

Though he wanted to save them just in case, it looked like he’d have to reach Hwakyung soon.