Chapter 32
Episode 4: Fate Rides the Wind (7)
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
A sharp dagger flew rapidly towards Kang Cheol-man.
It was so fast that it seemed impossible to see and dodge it.
But.
‘What? Is the raid not over?’
Kang Cheol-man tilted his head slightly and avoided the dagger.
The following attacks were no different.
*Shook! Shook! Shoo-shoo-shook!!*
*Bang!*
Dozens of daggers flew out from the mountain near the portal, and explosions erupted from the ground where they landed, but Kang Cheol-man remained unscathed.
Amid the thick dust, Kang Cheol-man dusted off his clothes and looked around, opening his mouth.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a trap like this. If you guys are capable of this… you’re from Luminous, aren’t you?”
It was the ambushers who were surprised.
In the sunset-lit forest, the eyes of the Luminous members hiding in the bushes widened.
Hwang Dae-gun and Min Su-ah were equally astonished.
“What’s going on? Why is he unharmed?”
“This can’t be right. Did the explosion skill fail?”
According to their plan, once the dust settled, their victim should have been found dead.
Or at least injured.
But somehow, their target remained perfectly fine.
And that wasn’t the only strange thing.
“Wait a minute, his face doesn’t match the photo.”
Hwang Dae-gun compared the face of the person emerging from the portal with Han Sang-woo’s photo on his phone, and they didn’t match.
At that moment, the field commander, who had accompanied them to support the team leaders and coordinate the Luminous hunters, spoke in a trembling voice.
“L-Leader? Isn’t that Kang Cheol-man..?”
“Gasp! Why is Kang Cheol-man coming out of there!”
“Oh my God, it’s really Kang Cheol-man!”
It wasn’t just the field commander who recognized Kang Cheol-man emerging from the unresolved dungeon.
One by one, the Luminous members hiding in the bushes recognized him as well.
After the trap, the previously quiet surroundings suddenly became noisy.
On the other hand, despite being attacked unexpectedly, Kang Cheol-man showed no sign of panic.
Instead, he seemed quite relaxed.
“Perfect. I needed someone to relieve my stress on.”
When he was first ambushed, Kang Cheol-man thought another dungeon had appeared.
Being ambushed right after passing through the portal reminded him of his first entry into the unresolved dungeon.
But the surrounding scenery was clearly Cheonma Mountain, and the flying daggers and explosions at his feet were artificial.
Kang Cheol-man relaxed his shoulders and scanned the surroundings for hidden figures.
There were about 50 people.
Despite the sudden ambush, Kang Cheol-man quickly grasped the situation.
Luminous.
They likely launched a retaliation attack because Han Sang-woo killed Lee Kyu-jin and subdued Kang Du-sik.
They overlooked the fact that Kang Cheol-man was with him.
“It seems like today is a day for charity work. I’ll have to make Han Sang-woo treat me to a meal later.”
From monsters to Luminous members.
He ended up facing them all in place of Han Sang-woo, but he didn’t feel particularly bad about it.
Kang Cheol-man raised one corner of his mouth and swung his greatsword diagonally.
He didn’t have a specific target or swing it particularly hard, but the destructive power was immense.
*Whoosh! Bang!*
The sword wind from his greatsword flew towards the bushes and exploded.
“Cough, cough! What is this…!”
“Gah! Casualties! Casualties!!”
The area around the portal, once full of bushes, turned into a wasteland.
Not only had numerous trees fallen, but masked hunters lay bleeding all around.
The damage was more severe than expected.
The field commander spoke urgently.
“Sh-should we retreat? The damage is too severe!”
“Cut the nonsense. If we retreat now, the research lab will be exposed.”
There were about 50 Luminous members gathered at this location.
They had brought as many people as possible, thinking that Han Sang-woo might not go solo for the unresolved dungeon again. They wanted to achieve their goal regardless of who or how many came out.
The problem was that now an SS-ranked hunter, Kang Cheol-man, had appeared.
Even if they retreated, most would be defeated, and if a single person was captured by the Devil’s Guild’s intelligence network, their research lab would be exposed.
Their numbers, which they had trusted, had become a liability.
“Wh-what’s going on…?”
“We need to change our target. From now on, we attack Kang Cheol-man, not Han Sang-woo.”
“What? Kang Cheol-man is an SS-ranked hunter…”
The field commander seemed inclined to retreat, but Hwang Dae-gun’s attitude was resolute. Min Su-ah felt the same way.
“If we run away now, the research lab will be exposed. And the higher-ups won’t let us escape either. We need to fight, even if it means using enhancement potions.”
“But, the enhancement potions could have side effects…”
“So what? We’ll die if we run away.”
Min Su-ah, feeling desperate, raised her staff and threatened him. There was no more room for discussion.
The field commander, looking determined, shut his eyes tightly and then shouted to the scattered Luminous members.
“Change target! Attack Kim Cheol-min! Everyone, focus on him!”
The sudden order caught Kang Cheol-man off guard, but the Luminous hunters seemed to understand what was happening.
“Yes, understood!”
Following the field commander’s orders, the hunters pulled out small vials of black liquid from their pockets and drank them all at once.
“I don’t know what they’re up to, but this doesn’t look good. I need to attack first.”
Kang Cheol-man hurriedly prepared for battle.
He had been expecting a coordinated attack from the Luminous hunters and was ready to counter them. However, they began drinking potions that emitted a sinister aura.
As he anticipated, the situation became chaotic.
Kang Cheol-man swiftly moved in and swung his greatsword at what seemed to be Luminous and ordinary hunters.
His greatsword cleaved through the Luminous members without hesitation.
However, Kang Cheol-man felt something strange.
‘Did they react?’
Ordinary hunters, at most C-ranked, usually wouldn’t even react to such attacks.
Though his opponents didn’t adopt a defensive stance, they clearly detected his movements and attempted to defend themselves.
Knowing that they shouldn’t possess such skill, Kang Cheol-man was momentarily stunned.
“Haah!!”
“Die, Kang Cheol-man!”
Nearby Luminous hunters charged at Kang Cheol-man.
‘What’s this? They’re fast?’
Kang Cheol-man flinched slightly. As the guild leader of the Ashin Guild, he had experienced clashes with Luminous terrorists several times.
Yet, the current Luminous hunters were showing a level of strength significantly greater than the usual members he had faced.
“But…”
No matter how strong they became, they couldn’t surpass an SS-ranked like Kang Cheol-man.
The blade of his greatsword turned red, its form shifting into something more intimidating.
It wasn’t just a change in appearance.
Kang Cheol-man swung his greatsword with the same speed and stance as before. However, the result of his strikes was vastly different from before.
*Chiyang kadeuk! Kadeuk kadeuk!!*
“Arrgh!”
The greatsword cleaved through both the weapons and armor of the Luminous hunters, as well as their bodies, in one sweep.
A half dozen Luminous hunters who had been struck fell to the ground instantly.
It was an overwhelming display of power, yet the remaining Luminous hunters didn’t show fear.
“Raaah!!”
“Cooperate! Don’t back down!!”
Instead, more hunters, seemingly driven by madness, surged forward.
As about 20 hunters charged, Kang Cheol-man had no choice but to fall back and create distance.
‘These guys have really gotten stronger. The effect of the potion must be tremendous. What the hell did they drink?’
Kang Cheol-man was curious about the potion the Luminous hunters had consumed but had no time to investigate.
“Hahaha! Let’s see how you handle Kang Cheol-man’s skills!!”
Hwang Dae-gun, who had been leading the Luminous hunters, also joined the battle, wearing a mask.
Hwang Dae-gun, an A-rank, and Kang Cheol-man, an SS-rank, clashed in a way that was different from the previous skirmishes. Whenever their greatswords collided, it wasn’t the sound of metal grinding but rather explosive shockwaves.
Their movements were excellent.
Kang Cheol-man’s greatsword’s swing, [Crushing Strike], was met with Hwang Dae-gun’s [Defensive Parry], and he deftly jumped back to evade.
Kang Cheol-man considered Hwang Dae-gun to be the Luminous commander and opened his mouth while glaring at him.
“What kind of potion did you guys drink?”
“Do you think I’d be foolish enough to reveal that? Or are you waiting for the others from the north? Divine Shield, Kang Cheol-man.”
Kang Cheol-man frowned instead of answering.
*Divine Shield.*
An unofficial international organization opposing Luminous, which is involved in terrorism and other criminal activities. It was initially founded to address dungeon and monster phenomena that national agencies couldn’t handle, but it is now seen primarily as an opposition force against Luminous.
Kang Cheol-man was secretly affiliated with Divine Shield, and the fact that Luminous knew about it implied that their information network had leaked.
Kang Cheol-man wanted to uncover the source of the information but had no time.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, but are you meditating too much? Let me introduce you to a teacher.”
“From the north, or nothing, everyone attack!!”
Behind the sinister smile of Hwang Dae-gun, the Luminous hunters moved with military precision.
First, they threw daggers and arrows to block Kang Cheol-man’s escape routes and then charged at him with their swords.
Additionally.
“We’ve just received a report that there are no Ashin Guild hunters in the vicinity. Now’s our chance.”
Min Su-ah, from afar, joined the battle by using her skills. Even if there weren’t any additional support, they couldn’t afford to miss this chance.
*Shiiiiing!!*
Sharp spears formed from Kang Cheol-man’s shadow shot up, targeting his legs and back.
Normally, he would have blocked all these attacks without any damage. However,
“Ugh!”
Kang Cheol-man had his thigh slashed.
Of course, during the counterattack, he managed to send two Luminous hunters to their graves, but he sustained injuries.
The reason was mana depletion.
‘Damn, I barely have any mana left.’
The more enemies there are, the more mana is consumed.
Defending against parts he couldn’t block with the greatsword and increasing his attack speed with mana had drained him significantly. The use of the [Meteor Judgment] spell to quickly resolve the dungeon had taken a heavy toll.
Since this wasn’t expected, he hadn’t brought any potions.
Kang Cheol-man glanced at the portal to the desert dungeon.
He hoped Han Sang-woo would come out and help, but there was still no news of him collecting items.
Meanwhile, the Luminous attacks continued.
“I’ll make this your grave, Kang Cheol-man!”
Hwang Dae-gun led the hunters in another coordinated attack.
*Haa, it seems unavoidable.*
Kang Cheol-man sighed softly and readied his greatsword again.
Even if his mana was depleted, he still had means to fight. He had just hoped to keep them as a last resort.
But just as he was about to open up his full strength, something unexpected happened.
“Heehee, today might be the end of the great Kang Cheol-man! Crack!!”
Min Su-ah, who had been preparing a skill from afar, was suddenly ambushed.
“Who dares to attack the support leader…! Argh!!”
The field commander, realizing the ambush too late, drew his sword, but was slashed in the side and fell to the ground.
The truth soon became clear.
“Who else? It’s the person you were looking for.”
In the shadowy area behind the two people, Han Sang-woo emerged, shaking the blood off his volcanic sword.
