Chapter 103
"Hunter Lee Seong-jun?"
Suddenly seeing Lee Seong-jun enter the subjugation headquarters, Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo, the vice-master of the Phoenix Guild who were on standby for emergencies, couldn't hide their surprise.
No, it wasn't just the two of them.
All the hunters waiting inside the headquarters couldn't conceal their bewilderment.
Faced with the outpouring of people's confusion, Lee Seong-jun calmly explained the situation.
"I've dealt with the king."
"You've already handled Razaka?"
"No, Razaka wasn't there."
"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you mean."
"It's exactly as you heard. Razaka wasn't among the werewolf army."
Furrowing his brow, Ko Tae-hyun recalled his recent memories.
"But... I clearly sensed one powerful aura."
Although he hadn't been active as a hunter since becoming vice-president of the association, Ko Tae-hyun was an SS-rank hunter.
This meant he had the ability to detect beings with vast auras like monster kings.
And he had definitely sensed a being with a powerful aura worthy of being called a king among the werewolf army just moments ago.
'What exactly is going on here?'
While his mind was in confusion over the incomprehensible situation, fortunately, Hunter Lee Seong-jun opened his mouth and provided an answer.
"The king leading the werewolf army wasn't Razaka, but Lyudmia."
This explanation somewhat resolved the earlier confusion and questions.
However, the emotional turmoil hadn't disappeared.
Rather, Ko Tae-hyun was wearing an even more bewildered expression than before.
'He defeated Lyudmia in such a short time?'
Lyudmia was also known as the king of the Greater Spiders.
It was a monster that even an SSS-rank hunter couldn't easily hunt down.
Yet, he had returned to headquarters after ending the battle in less than 10 minutes since it properly began.
'Considering travel time, he must have settled it in less than 5 minutes.'
It was a victory that could be described as overwhelming.
He thought he had gotten used to Hunter Lee Seong-jun's continuous achievements to the point where nothing would surprise him anymore, but that was just his own misconception.
'The growth rate of Hunter Lee Seong-jun is simply impossible to get used to.'
It was already surprising that a returnee who had been back on Earth for less than half a year had reached SSS-rank.
But he wasn't just a simple SSS-rank.
He had the ability to overwhelm Lyudmia, called a king, in less than 5 minutes. This meant he had power at least in the upper echelons of SSS-rank, perhaps even reaching ranker level.
"Huh..."
As if his thoughts had stopped, a dazed chuckle escaped Ko Tae-hyun's lips. However, this could be considered a mild reaction.
Choi Chang-woo, the vice-master of the Phoenix Guild, was wearing a completely stunned expression with his mouth agape.
"..."
It was understandable. When just hearing about it, one couldn't fully grasp the reality.
But experiencing it firsthand like this, the feeling was completely different.
Was it because he had so casually accomplished something so utterly surreal?
At this moment, just looking at Hunter Lee Seong-jun was causing a sense of awe to well up involuntarily in a corner of their hearts.
It felt so marvelous that Choi Chang-woo wanted to praise his own past decision to make considerable efforts to bring Hunter Lee Seong-jun on board.
'With Hunter Lee Seong-jun, we can surpass the wall of the existing top 5 guilds!'
Now, it would change from the top 5 to a system of 2 major guilds: White Tiger and Phoenix.
In other words, they would rise up, shattering the guild balance that had been maintained for a long time in one fell swoop.
Of course, Korea was just the beginning.
'With Hunter Lee Seong-jun backing us, we could become a world-renowned prestigious guild.'
From his perspective as Choi Chang-woo, who desired the growth of the Phoenix Guild, this was truly a joyous occasion.
As a smile of happiness spread across Choi Chang-woo's lips, Lee Seong-jun opened his mouth once again.
"To put it simply, we were played by Razaka's scheme."
Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo, who had finally regained their senses, urgently processed their thoughts and organized the current situation.
"Then it means he's cunning enough to deceive people. He wouldn't have thrown away the werewolf army he was leading as bait without any reason."
"Yes, he must have another motive."
Through this brief exchange between Choi Chang-woo and Lee Seong-jun, Ko Tae-hyun quickly organized the situation in his head and nodded.
"I'll immediately issue a wanted order for Razaka through the Hunter Association."
As if waiting for Ko Tae-hyun's order, Kim Min-hyuk, the secretary who had been on standby in the back, immediately grasped his smartphone and began making urgent contacts.
"When Razaka's whereabouts are discovered, we'll be notified immediately at headquarters. For now, it would be best if you replenish your strength as much as possible."
This could be considered the most rational course of action that could be taken at present.
However, Lee Seong-jun shook his head without a moment's hesitation.
"As I mentioned earlier, he's a cunning monster. If we move after receiving news, he might flee. I'll track him down and eliminate him right now."
"Do you perhaps know his location?"
"...I don't know right now, but I have a way to find out."
After finishing his words, Lee Seong-jun immediately unfolded his clenched palm.
Woong.
Along with a resonating sound, blood floating in the air began to rise like a mirage, forming into a long thread and starting to move.
He had unleashed the Blood Demon martial art, Idohyeoljeongmaek, specialized in tracking.
Of course, there was no way Ko Tae-hyun would know about the abilities of Idohyeoljeongmaek.
Ko Tae-hyun's head tilted slightly.
"What's this?"
"It's showing me Razaka's location."
"Is it a tracking spell used by spellcasters?"
"It can be considered similar."
Since he knew from the earlier interrogation of villains that Lee Seong-jun possessed unique abilities unlike other martial artists who focused solely on combat, Ko Tae-hyun nodded as if it wasn't a big deal.
However, Choi Chang-woo's pupils were shaking violently as if an earthquake had struck.
'He can use tracking spells?'
It was already surprising that a martial artist focused on combat could use tracking spells.
However, the tracking spell that Hunter Lee Seong-jun was now displaying showed abilities that were on a completely different level from ordinary ones.
'Was tracking magic always this easy to use...?'
He could answer this with certainty, being Choi Chang-woo, an SS-rank hunter with the profession of Shaman.
'This is impossible.'
Originally, tracking magic wasn't such a convenient ability.
It was an ability that required formation arrays, dozens of mediums, a rough idea of the location, and the consumption of a large amount of mana to use.
Yet Hunter Lee Seong-jun had manifested a tracking spell just by stretching out his hand.
'...I've been completely misjudging him.'
Hunter Lee Seong-jun wasn't just a big catch.
He was an existence capable of easily shattering the established common sense that had taken root since the emergence of hunters after the Great Cataclysm.
He possessed abilities that could rightfully be called dragon-like.
In other words, he was a figure who could rewrite the history of Earth and hunters.
Naturally, a glint appeared in Choi Chang-woo's eyes.
'Truly... the future of our Phoenix looks promising.'
Of course, what was important now wasn't the distant future.
Quickly shaking his head to clear away distracting thoughts, Choi Chang-woo rapidly turned his mind to select the best judgment that could be made in the current situation.
"I, Choi Chang-woo, along with the emergency standby team, will provide support so that Hunter Lee Seong-jun can comfortably engage in a head-on battle with Razaka."
"I will issue an emergency alert to the Hunter Association to prepare for contingencies, and I'll also request helicopter support so you can move as quickly as possible."
Pleased with Ko Tae-hyun and Choi Chang-woo's response, Lee Seong-jun smiled and nodded.
* * *
Before the werewolf army encountered the Korean subjugation force.
Razaka thought humans were dangerous.
To be precise, the elite forces of humans blocking their path.
Among them, the human who had shed unnecessary limitations and achieved physical evolution was a formidable opponent that even Razaka, the king of werewolves, couldn't easily guarantee victory against.
Although he had started this war desiring greater strength, he didn't want to engage in unnecessary risky battles.
However, it would also be too great a loss not to prey on the delicious intelligent beings, especially humans who wielded unique abilities.
Amidst his ongoing deliberation, a brilliant scheme flashed through his mind.
Throw out bait.
Use Lyudmia, the king of Greater Spiders who had been forcibly subjugated by the werewolf army's might, to divert the humans' attention.
Although it meant expending major forces to the humans' hands, there was nothing to regret.
If one possesses great strength, an army can always be created anew.
By preying on humans with unique abilities to gain strength, he could always rebuild his army.
In other words, the top priority now should be winning the war.
Finally, Razaka decided on the direction of the war.
He ordered his loyal werewolf army and Lyudmia to march towards where the humans' elite forces were gathered.
As expected, the effect was as excellent as he had thought.
With the attention of the humans' elite forces focused in one place, he could easily enter human territory.
He could prey on humans whenever he wanted now.
However, Razaka did not prey on humans.
It was woefully insufficient.
Even if he preyed on all the humans in the vicinity, he couldn't achieve the evolution of his species.
In other words, he couldn't secure victory in the war against the human who had shed his limitations and the elite forces following him.
Recalling the goal he had set for himself, Razaka once again formulated a plan.
He would not act rashly, as causing unnecessary commotion could attract human attention. Moreover, he would move very discreetly so that humans wouldn't notice.
Lastly, he would find a place where many humans resided, enough to achieve the evolution of his species.
Although it was a plan with somewhat tricky conditions, it wouldn't be too difficult if he used Shadow Cover, the ability he had consumed and absorbed from the Dark Bat, to conceal his presence and aura.
After fully formulating the plan in his mind, his instinctive senses naturally began to guide his body.
Thus, after crossing many mountains and running for several hours.
He was able to arrive at a mountain near a city where the scent of countless prey, humans, wafted strongly.