Chapter 144
"We won! Lethar has fallen!"
"Hurray for Hunter Lee Seong-jun! Hurray!"
As Chinese hunters were showering Lee Seong-jun with praise, Zhazan, standing at the center, couldn't believe his eyes.
'He defeated Lethar...?'
Lethar, whom everyone thought was unstoppable, had been defeated.
'I knew Lee Seong-jun was in a league of his own, but...'
This was too much.
'It was literally unbelievable.'
With a single strike, Lee Seong-jun tore apart the black rift that could be called the world itself, creating a gap in dimensions.
This alone was unbelievable, but the surprises didn't end there.
'What was that power he shot at the end?'
The distance was too great to see clearly.
However, one thing was certain.
The red lightning shot from Lee Seong-jun's sword didn't lose its power even after being fired into the space beyond the rift.
It maintained its power even after crossing space and dimensions.
'How on earth can he do such a thing?'
To manipulate energy, one had to clearly perceive and feel that energy.
Therefore, it was nearly impossible to sense energy that had gone beyond sight, or even into a different dimension entirely.
But Lee Seong-jun had controlled that power as if it were nothing.
He had demonstrated an ability that even Zhazan, known as a top-tier barrier master, couldn't even begin to understand the principles of.
'To think I can't even comprehend it...'
A wry smile spread across Zhazan's face.
Originally, barriers were about harmonizing energy with the world.
Therefore, he took great pride in his superior skills related to energy manipulation and had the abilities to match.
The widespread evaluation that he possessed exceptional skills even among barrier masters was proof of this.
It wasn't just public opinion.
In fact, he had clearly understood the techniques of the Guardians, who called themselves the world's protectors.
Yet he, Zhazan, couldn't grasp even the slightest clue about Lee Seong-jun's technique.
'...It was a high-dimensional technique beyond my ability to even gauge its level.'
Just now, Lee Seong-jun had used a high-dimensional technique that even those active as Guardians couldn't demonstrate.
In other words, Lee Seong-jun had attained power equal to or surpassing the world's top-tier powerhouses in less than a year since returning to Earth.
"Haha! Hahaha!"
Laughter burst from his mouth at this shocking and amazing fact.
At the same time, a great sense of relief washed over him.
'Finally... we have a way to prevent the fate that's coming.'
Great hope began to fill Zhazan's eyes as they shone brightly.
Of course, since no one could predict what variables might arise, he couldn't be one hundred percent certain.
'But... there's more than enough possibility...'
No, it's overflowing with possibility.
With a bright smile, Zhazan lifted his head and gazed at Lee Seong-jun floating in the sky.
'With Lee Seong-jun, we can surely prevent it!'
He had finally found the person he had been searching for, someone who could change the approaching fate.
* * *
Although the war had finally ended and peace was restored, the hunters still couldn't leave the plains.
The reason was simple.
Intense poison energy continued to flow from the corpse piles that covered almost the entire area.
Even with the thickest protective suits, ordinary people could never withstand this poison energy, so the hunters had to handle the cleanup themselves.
Of course, due to the grueling war, most of the Chinese hunters were in a state of extreme fatigue, and with their bodies battered, there weren't many who could move immediately.
However, fortunately, there were elite Korean hunters who had come to support along with Lee Seong-jun.
"We'll burn it all at once, so please gather them here!"
"Please chop up the Ragdoll Golem corpses and bring them over!"
"You might get burned from the explosion, so please step back a bit!"
With the help of the Korean hunters, they were busily incinerating the corpse piles on the plains.
It was then that Japan's elite ninjas, led by Mizunohara Kento, the master of the Aqua Guild, arrived belatedly and entered the plains with puzzled expressions.
"W-what happened here?"
Questions poured incessantly from the ninjas, but even Mizunohara couldn't easily provide answers.
He, too, had thought they would be engaged in a fierce battle.
Considering the scale of the corpse army he had seen in videos before coming to provide support, it was only natural to think so.
That's why he couldn't accept the reality unfolding before his eyes.
'The entire corpse army was subjugated in this short time?'
Furrowing his brow, questions began to arise in Mizunohara's mind.
Fortunately, the questions didn't last long.
Wei Zhigang, the Dragon-Subduing City Lord who was directing operations in the area as the overall commander, approached the ninjas and provided an answer.
"Everything was taken care of before you arrived."
Although his voice wasn't particularly loud, Mizunohara, with his exceptional physical abilities befitting a master ninja, could hear Wei Zhigang's words clearly.
In fact, the scene unfolding before his eyes was enough to guess the situation.
But Mizunohara found himself unconsciously asking again.
"You say you subjugated the entire corpse army... is that even possible?"
It was natural that he couldn't easily accept it.
To be honest, even Wei Zhigang himself still found it hard to believe.
"I thought it would be impossible too. That's why I requested your help. But everything changed thanks to Hunter Lee Seong-jun's efforts."
Mizunohara's eyes narrowed at the sight of Wei Zhigang, whose eyes were shining with admiration.
'Wei Zhigang praising someone else?'
The Dragon-Subduing City Lord, Wei Zhigang, was known for his strong pride and self-confidence, equal to his abilities.
He wasn't the type to flatter others or give praise with empty words.
This meant that Lee Seong-jun's performance in the battle against the corpse army was literally game-changing.
It meant he had shown prowess that overwhelmed Wei Zhigang, an active ranker.
'Something's not right.'
Japan's current estimation of Lee Seong-jun's combat ability was that it was roughly on par with active rankers like Wei Zhigang.
But judging from Wei Zhigang's reaction just now, he couldn't be considered an equal-level martial artist at all.
All the information and calculations they had painstakingly gathered were off the mark.
'...Could he have already crossed the barrier?'
Since he hadn't seen the battle directly, he couldn't be certain.
But this wasn't something he could just guess about and move on.
'To naturalize Lee Seong-jun to Japan, we need to offer treatment and conditions befitting his true abilities.'
It meant they needed to gather accurate information.
Just then, he spotted Lee Seong-jun resting not far away.
'If I can confirm his skills through a duel...'
He could gather more accurate information than any calculation.
Of course, Lee Seong-jun might be greatly displeased by a sudden request for a duel.
But it would only be a momentary emotion.
If they could naturalize him as a Japanese citizen by offering the best conditions, this would be treated as a mere incident.
Finally, having made his decision, Mizunohara stepped forward.
"Hello, Hunter Lee Seong-jun. I am Mizunohara Kento, a master ninja of Japan's Aqua Guild."
On the surface, his attitude was extremely polite.
But Lee Seong-jun, who had reigned as the supreme Blood Demon and Devil God for decades, couldn't miss the emotions hidden in Mizunohara's gaze.
'Curiosity... and greed, is it?'
Naturally, Lee Seong-jun's eyes narrowed.
"...What is it?"
Anyone could hear the considerable displeasure in Lee Seong-jun's voice, but Mizunohara, who had already steeled his resolve, pressed on without hesitation.
"I heard you showed brilliant performance and became a role model for martial artists. As someone who also cultivates martial arts, I would like to receive guidance from you, Hunter Lee Seong-jun... if it's alright with you, could you briefly instruct me?"
He was trying to package it in the best possible words, but the intent was clear.
"You're taking quite a roundabout way to ask for a duel."
As a wry smile spread across Lee Seong-jun's face at Mizunohara's bold proposal, Wei Zhigang, who had arrived behind the two, let out a thunderous shout.
"A duel? What rudeness is this, asking someone who just finished a grueling battle!"
Even if it were an ordinary duel, it would be unacceptable in this situation, and he would have reacted angrily.
But the person Mizunohara was asking to duel was none other than Lee Seong-jun, who was like a benefactor to the Dragon-Subduing City.
"Is the Aqua Guild looking down on our Dragon-Subduing City!?"
"If I have caused offense, I apologize... My excessive desire for martial arts led me to be rude."
In the face of Wei Zhigang's fierce anger that seemed like it could explode at any moment, Mizunohara bowed his head and offered words of apology.
But his eyes showed no sign of regret; they were merely scanning Lee Seong-jun's body with busy movements.
'He's trying to hide his gaze to some extent, perhaps to maintain a minimum level of decorum, but...'
There was no way he could deceive Lee Seong-jun's eyes.
'...It seems the purpose of the duel is to gather information.'
It certainly wasn't a pleasant situation, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant either.
'A duel with a ninja... This is actually something I was curious about, so it works out well.'
Although it meant his own information would be exposed, he had no intention of hiding it anyway.
It would be meaningless no matter how much they tried to analyze it.
After all, how could they possibly see through the essence he had achieved at the realm of Devil God?
It meant he could satisfy his curiosity about ninjas without any loss.
There was no reason to refuse.
With a smirk, Lee Seong-jun stepped towards Mizunohara.
"It seems we both have things we're curious about, so let's have a match."
"Thank you for the opportunity."
After a brief greeting, Mizunohara immediately distanced himself from Lee Seong-jun and took his stance.
"Then, please, your move."
With Lee Seong-jun slowly nodding his head, the duel naturally began.
However, Mizunohara didn't show any movement.
To be precise, he couldn't move.
'There's not a single opening...?'
In his sight, Lee Seong-jun's appearance gave the feeling of facing a great mountain.