Chapter 53: A Period of Upheaval(3)

Was it because he had resolved to kill them all?

For the first time against humans, illusions were created and guiding lines were drawn.

Of course, they weren’t as clear as the lines he saw when he was slaughtering Goblins.

[Estimated Combat Power: Late 20th Floor to early 30th Floor]

The terrorists had prepared for this attack based on an analysis of Min-hyeok’s power.

Perhaps that was why the group consisted of hunters who had all reached at least the mid-twenties floors.

There were many hunters in the world who were not registered.

Some stopped climbing because they hit their limits.

Some stopped because of injuries that were difficult to recover from.

Others stopped to carry out missions for the Villain Union.

There were various types.

Even in the third world, there were many ordinary people not registered with any nation.

Registering as a Hunter would be even more difficult for them.

It wasn’t hard for those disguised as commoners to enter the Kingdom of Korea, which often turned a blind eye to illegal residents due to labor shortages.

As a result, it was possible for veteran assassins to target Min-hyeok.

‘Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any veterans.’

With that thought, Min-hyeok leaned his head back just as a hand axe infused with Mana flew past.

Immediately after, a terrorist tried to use explosion magic, but Min-hyeok used a backstep to widen the distance.

‘There are more openings than I thought.’

The individual levels of the terrorists were much higher than those of the monsters in the Tower, but their cooperation was weak.

In fact, an army of Goblins felt more troublesome.

Min-hyeok moved here and there, capitalizing on the gaps that appeared in their formations.

Strangely, every time he moved, an arm or a leg would be severed with supernatural precision, sending fountains of blood spraying into the air.

Most of the attacking terrorists were tanker types.

For that reason, they used skills to strengthen their bodies or Magic Battle Arts that momentarily concentrated Mana for powerful strikes.

Despite that, they couldn’t withstand Min-hyeok’s attacks.

“Why is this happening…?”

The terrorist wore an expression of disbelief as he was sliced apart despite countering with his own Mana.

The others felt the same way.

When even a terrorist who had cleared the 27th Floor couldn’t understand the outcome, a middle-aged man who appeared late clicked his tongue.

“This is happening because of the difference in Mana manipulation techniques.”

The moment Min-hyeok saw the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared, his body sent out a danger signal.

‘I might die if I don’t respond properly!’

At that signal, he pulled up his Mana with all his might and released it.

At that moment, new figures targeting Min-hyeok revealed themselves.

A dark, crow-like bird shape flew toward Min-hyeok’s heart.

From behind, Fighting Spirit in the form of a Black Panther lunged for the back of his neck.

From the right, a faint presence like a Flying Squirrel charged in.

‘They’re all assassin types.’

Realizing that the new arrivals were all assassin types, Min-hyeok hurriedly manifested his Fighting Spirit.

The Crow caused paralysis to everything in a straight line.

The Black Panther emitted Fighting Spirit from the front to cause a slow effect.

While these two powers confused the opponent’s senses, the Flying Squirrel, hiding its power in an extremely compressed state, tried to drive its condensed strength into Min-hyeok’s heart.

Min-hyeok blocked the enemy attacks as much as possible with his Fighting Spirit while retreating.

However, unlike the terrorists he had fought earlier, these well-trained assassins clung to him tenaciously.

If he had been forced to defeat them all, it would have been a difficult fight.

But what if he didn’t have to engage them?

*Clang!*

Instead of countering the Crow’s attack, he barely deflected it and spun his body to the side.

The Black Panther targeting his back hurriedly adjusted its trajectory, but Min-hyeok widened the gap with a single step.

Were pros truly pros?

The Flying Squirrel, the core of the assassination, shifted its footing and changed direction toward Min-hyeok.

*Boom!*

Min-hyeok raised his Zanbato to block his heart just as the Flying Squirrel’s small dagger flew in.

*Screeeech!*

Accompanied by the sound of metal scraping, Min-hyeok retreated while the Flying Squirrel pursued him relentlessly.

Right then, Min-hyeok’s body sent out another danger signal.

This time, the signal was so powerful it made his entire body tremble, so he immediately used his hidden trump card.

**[You are using Butcher’s Blade Dance.]**

Min-hyeok exploded his power outward, which had been temporarily amplified tenfold.

Even the tenacious Flying Squirrel was blown away by the aftermath.

However, a giant black sword falling from the air split through Min-hyeok’s Fighting Spirit and struck downward.

*K-boom!*

A crater was formed with a thunderous roar as Min-hyeok’s power collided with the middle-aged man’s strength.

‘Is he a monster?’

The man broke into a cold sweat as he watched the monster who was countering his power despite only clearing the 15th Floor.

Though he was currently nothing more than a loser who had given up on the climb, he had once been a prospect aiming for the 50th Floor.

He was a veteran who far surpassed the 40th Floor, yet his full-power strike had been blocked.

‘I must kill him.’

He held the upper hand for now, but once the boy surpassed the 20th Floor, he would quickly overtake someone like him.

Thinking that he had to kill him here and now, the man put all his strength into the attack.

Min-hyeok seemed to be struggling to hold his ground, vomiting blood from internal injuries and crying tears of blood.

The problem was that the more he suffered, the stronger Min-hyeok’s power became.

“This is insane…”

The middle-aged man eventually decided to use his final trump card against the monster-like youth who was still holding out.

When he bit down on a hidden pill, power surged through his entire body.

In an instant, he felt the strength of his prime when he had aimed for the 50th Floor, and a surge of confidence filled him.

‘An S-rank skill!’

Due to the penalty for giving up the climb of the Tower, the skill had been halved.

Now, thanks to the special medicine, its full power was unleashed.

The moment the skill that had once made him a candidate for a top ranker was reproduced, the middle-aged man saw Min-hyeok’s eyes, which were stained red.

“What… is this?”

As the middle-aged man muttered in confusion, Fighting Spirit exploded from Min-hyeok’s body, forming a vivid shape.

*Boom!*

As if the previous struggle was a lie, his compressed power shattered the sword made of giant Fighting Spirit and sent the man flying.

“Cough!”

The middle-aged man stood up from the ruins of a collapsed building, coughing up blood and staring at Min-hyeok with trembling eyes.

It was an overwhelming power that felt impossible to oppose.

‘There’s no need to wait until the 20th Floor. Once he reaches the 18th or 19th Floor, assassination will become impossible.’

The only silver lining was that it was still possible now.

As if to prove it, the powerful Fighting Spirit from before vanished, and Min-hyeok was seen barely standing, leaning on his Zanbato.

“Now! Kill him!”

At the middle-aged man’s command, the assassins and terrorists who had been blown back by the explosion of Fighting Spirit rushed forward again.

Right then, the surrounding air suddenly began to feel cold.

“How dare you…”

The moment a woman’s voice filled with rage was heard, the people rushing toward Min-hyeok flinched.

Their bodies momentarily froze from the overwhelming killing intent.

“K… Ki… Kill him.”

The man tried to shout his command, but he stopped.

He wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Before he knew it, his mouth had frozen shut.

The other terrorists and assassins targeting Min-hyeok were the same.

They had all become frozen statues, unable to move.

“Don’t even think about dying peacefully.”

Min-hye appeared before the middle-aged man and spoke with a terrifying expression.

Having frozen the man so thoroughly that even suicide wasn’t an option, she hurriedly ran toward Min-hyeok.

“How is your body?”

“I’m fine.”

Min-hyeok had already started a Bonfire and was drinking a potion.

Seeing him look so relieved to be alive, she gave him an exasperated look.

“You should have started the Bonfire first.”

“I was careless.”

He had thought that he could handle terrorists of their level without the Bonfire.

However, the assassins who appeared afterward and the middle-aged man who targeted him at the end had nearly killed him.

“I didn’t expect them to target me so openly.”

He spoke while looking at the frozen middle-aged man.

How could such a strong person bypass the strict surveillance of the Hunter Management Bureau?

“Are there still spies left?”

“An expert of that caliber couldn’t have reached this far otherwise.”

Min-hye spoke as she looked at the support units from the World Association that arrived late.

The guards selected to protect Min-hyeok had been screened multiple times, but the support units were different.

It was common for countries to insert one or two people for their own interests or political negotiations.

There was a high probability they had slipped in through that route.

“Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Don’t lie.”

Min-hye looked at the Bonfire, telling him not to lie.

She was certain that even though the last moment was dangerous, he would have survived.

After all, he was in the middle of summoning the Bonfire.

She also believed that Min-hyeok would have had a hidden trump card.

“You still have other means left, don’t you?”

“I was just going to release some poison smoke to buy time.”

Buying time was the key, so he had planned to throw all the poison potions he had and use the time inside the Bonfire to hold out.

Unlike the monsters in the Tower, it wouldn’t guarantee perfect safety against hunters, but it would have been enough to stall.

“In any case, I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

“I was lucky.”

Min-hyeok felt keenly that he had been careless because he was under the protection of the Hunter Management Bureau and the World Association.

Min-hye also blamed herself for being careless while negotiating with the four major Villain Union factions.

“Let’s just stay home for a while.”

Min-hyeok nodded obediently at Min-hye’s words.

Those who were desperate enough to kill him wouldn’t stop after just one attempt.

The two waited in front of the Bonfire for Yeong-hwan to arrive.

They could have returned home immediately with the other agents, but Min-hye stopped them.

She couldn’t trust the World Association or the Hunter Management Bureau.

Since Min-hyeok’s classified route had been leaked and terrorists had been planted there, there was no guarantee that there weren’t moles among the agents.

In times like this, it was best to move only with the most trustworthy and capable people.

“Mr. Min-hyeok! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, as you can see.”

Yeong-hwan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Min-hyeok resting calmly in a place filled with corpses.

“Let’s go for now.”

Min-hyeok nodded slightly and stood up.

Yeong-hwan and Min-hye walked on either side of him as if escorting him.

The World Association agents tried to follow them, but Yeong-hwan firmly raised his hand and shook his head.

“We will go on our own.”

At those words, the blonde woman in charge bit her lip.

She also recognized that there was a high possibility the breach occurred on her side.

“If a leak happened on our end…”

She wore an expression that suggested she would personally kill everyone involved.

Her subordinates trembled.

After all, they had seen her slaughtering her way through to reach Min-hyeok.

Hundreds of terrorists lay dead outside the building to prove it, most of them killed by the blonde woman alone.

“Leave the escort to those two. From now on, we focus on rooting out the spies. Don’t miss a single one; bring them all before me!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

As soon as the blonde woman finished speaking, the World Association agents began to scatter.

At that same time, another problem was brewing in the Kingdom of Korea.

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