novel
| ← Ch.096 | Ch.098 → |
"Just like you said, the hunters of other countries only think of us as shields."
As soon as the commander's face stiffened, Ji Yoo Kim continued,
"But I have no intention of doing what they want. Once we enter the tower, we'll only collect the information we need. Please deliver the message to the hunters that they shouldn't be greedy over certain items and that they should solely focus on obtaining information while keeping a safe distance."
The commander knitted his brows.
"They probably won't just leave them alone..."
"Just like the labyrinths, the tower will threaten mankind. No matter how powerful Ethan might be, he won't be able to mess with our hunters in front of the enemy. After all, the tower is a common goal for all of us."
"If that's the case..."
"We need to stay quiet. Tell our hunters not to provoke the hunters of the other countries and to not respond to them either."
"Okay."
The commander immediately headed out to deliver Ji Yoo Kim's message.
The hunters of the other countries stared at Ji Yoo Kim and the commander as if they were strange, but that was it.
After that, they began to send out the reporters.
From that point onward, no outsiders were allowed to enter.
***
The only floor in the tower with the lights on was the first floor. And according to the investigative team, there was only one monster inside.
Even so, the monster possessed great power, and it was likely that there were other hidden monsters inside as well.
The common goal of the hunters was to clear the first floor.
The sight of 300 hunters heading toward the tower was a grand spectacle.
As soon as they reached the target location, they dove into the ocean.
Splash, splash!
300 hunters swam to the tower.
The number was impressive.
Countless hunters began to enter the tower.
***
All 300 hunters successfully entered the first floor of the Black Tower.
There were concerns that there would be a limit on how many could enter, but they were luckily all able to go in.
The hunters squeezed out the excess water from their clothes and took out their weapons.
Ji Yoo Kim also took out her best weapon, which was the rapier.
At that moment, the American hunter master, Ethan, walked toward Ji Yoo Kim.
"What do you think about going in the front lines?"
Ji Yoo Kim looked around at the other hunters.
They were all watching her with cold looks on their faces as if they were telling her not to waste any more time and stand as their shield.
"What's the meaning of making us your front line, Ethan?"
Ethan scoffed.
"You should just be thankful for even being in the attacking force. Know your place."
It didn't sound like he was saying that because he really expected Korea to be in the front lines.
He simply wanted to put Korea in its place in front of everyone.
"Hmph! Korea does us harm let alone give us any help. You must've come here wanting to participate without doing anything, but how about you just turn back? You don't seem to have any motivation in the raid." Ethan said to Ji Yoo Kim with a scornful look.
Ji Yoo Kim felt her face grow red, and her insides burn up, but she looked away and caught her breath.
In response, Ethan laughed and turned around.
"The search teams of each country will split up to cover grounds. If you're scared, you should drop out now. Just remember not to go after the items of the tower."
As soon as Ethan gave the commands, all hunters except those of Korea set out.
Those orders were only decided and given beforehand to all the other hunters besides those of Korea.
Only the Central Institute of Korea was unaware of this operation. After all, Korea didn't attend the meeting that took place at the assembly.
Actually, Ji Yoo Kim didn't even know there was a meeting.
The hunters of other countries snickered at the Korean hunters.
"They came here wanting a free meal."
"That's disgusting."
"What a smelly country."
"They call them hunters? Haha."
"Those scumbags."
The Korean hunters trembled in shame.
If Ji Yoo Kim hadn't ordered them to not react, they would have fought already.
All of the Korean hunters lowered their heads with flushed faces.
Considering the noble lives the hunters of the Central Institute lived, it was expected that they felt deeply ashamed.
The hunters of each country set out while the Korean hunters stayed back.
"... For your citizens, the future, and mankind, please hold out."
Ji Yoo Kim held down her emotions and told them coldly.
In response, the hunters forgot about their pride.
***
The maintainer of the 1st floor of the Black Tower.
Devil Borderer
He saw the many hunters entering the tower and simply laughed.
It appeared that the top hunters of the human world gathered, but in his eyes, they were simply prey.
That was how big the difference was between devils and humans.
However, there was one person that bothered him.
'Black Slaughterer. '
There were rumors going around that Black Slaughterer was in the human world.
According to the rumors, he recently killed a devil. Not just one, but two.
'Was it true... ?'
Devil Borderer looked through the hunters, but he was unable to sense Black Slaughterer.
But for Black Slaughterer, hiding his whereabouts was an easy feat.
First of all... finding out if Black Slaughter really existed was the most important thing Devil Borderer had to do.
As Devil Borderer looked at the entrance, his eyes turned black.
As he lifted his long and slender hand, black and blue energies mixed together and flowed toward the entrance.
***
As a result of these magical powers, the energy turned into monsters on the first floor.
They were monsters that looked like dark ghosts, holding swords.
And within the swords were powers of Aura.
The dark ghosts pounced at the hunters.
***
The conversation stopped.
Despite there being 300 hunters, there were no sounds being made besides footsteps.
They all felt the same way.
They were afraid of letting their guards down and getting into trouble.
And that scary nightmare was just about to begin.
Roar!
The entire first floor shook.
The 300 hunters were tense because of nervousness.
The investigative team went at the back, and the tankers replaced them.
The hunters with weapons stood behind the tankers.
As for the hunters with bows and arrows, they aimed at their enemies.
They began to see the monsters in front of them.
As soon as the hunters saw the dark ghosts, they prepared for battle.
"Fire."
In response to the order, the arrows were fired at the ghosts.
However, there was no use for the mission.
They were ghosts.
As soon as the arrows hit them, the ghosts disappeared into green smoke.
And in an instant, the dark ghosts passed through the ceiling and walls and attacked the hunters.
Despite having the best equipment, the hunters suffered considerable injuries.
Their necks got sliced off, and their legs and arms flew off.
However, there were so many hunters that the fight continued.
As soon as the hunters adjusted, they began taking out the ghosts one by one.
The battle continued for 10 minutes, and they were able to eliminate all of the dark ghosts.
However, the faces of the commanders looked serious.
According to America, an American search team was eliminated by just one monster.
Those dark ghosts couldn't have been the monster.
If that was the case, they were simply the monster of the 1st floor.
In the end, the monsters killed 20 hunters in total.
The hunters realized that their fight hadn't even begun.
***
People died.
Those of high ranks at that.
The hunters need some time to process it, and their arrows were pointed toward the Korean hunters.
It was clear that the hunters of the other countries were dying to attack the Korean hunters.
The commanders stepped up to stop it, but the damage was already done.
The sharp knife toward Korea spread wider.
"You've got to be kidding me. You wouldn't be saying that if your hunters were the ones that died."
"If you really want to care for the smaller countries, you should take over all of the searches."
The voices of dissatisfaction grew louder.
The hunters were growing more and more sensitive.
***
Devil Borderer was certain that Black Slaughterer was not within this group.
There was no reason for Black Slaughterer to be here without saying a word.
Was the rumor that Black Slaughterer was in the human world a lie?
Black Slaughterer definitely died in the Demonic Realm.
There was no way that a dead person would be in the human world.
Hehehe!
As soon as his anxiousness died away, he expressed his relief.
| ← Ch. 096 | Ch. 098 → |