-Northern Stronghold, Earth's LEFT Wing-
"The upper rift is flooding once again! Alert Sir Jonathan immediately!" a woman in a military suit shouted before striking a red button, attracting the attention of her co-workers who weren't far from her. A moment later, four more buttons were struck the moment they witnessed the phenomenon on her screen.
Soon, the alarm echoed through the entire building, followed by the rotating red lights indicating disaster. The C-ranked military personnel exited immediately, standing guard in front of the stronghold's walls with their weapons while the D-ranked personnel stood high on the towering walls with their rifles.
The E and F-ranked personnel took control of the heavy weapons fixated on the walls. Despite all these defenses, everybody knew they wouldn't make it if anything A-rank or above emerged from the rift. Soon enough, a middle-aged man with blonde hair, looking to be in his forties, entered the satellite room.
This man had several military medals on his chest compared to the rest, indicating his higher rank. Despite his appearance, Jonathan was approaching his nineties. However, due to his hunter rank, Sir Jonathan's age didn't match his appearance. As an A-ranked hunter, numerous scars painted his skin, undeniable proof of his experience.
"Why is this one flooding right now? Didn't we clear it not long ago?" Hearing his voice, no one dared to speak. As clear as his words were, they knew the truth very well, as they had never cleared it for real. For him, clearing meant wiping the beasts that got too close to the stronghold while leaving the rest alone since they hadn't caused much trouble for them.
But now, it was different. Their careless actions had come back to bite them. Those beasts—or horrors, as they called them—would naturally pile up on the ones left behind, causing an attack earlier than anticipated. As a result, they didn't have enough time to call for reinforcements.
"Sir, we've got no absolute idea. All that I've noticed is a tiny one is approaching faster than the rest." Looking at the screen in front of her, the woman kept her eyes glued to the red dot accelerating toward the stronghold.
"Red? I'll take care of this one, but send a reinforcement request to the main base right away." Looking at the screen in front of him, Jonathan made up his mind before leaving shortly after. Once he was out, the one who pressed the alarm sneered deeply, displeased by Jonathan's tactics.
While it worked best for them by giving them less work compared to the rest of the bases, it was a disaster if it backfired, and now the result was right in front of her. Regardless, she couldn't show her displeasure, and these were orders they couldn't go against.
Red usually meant A-ranked, but its size hinted it was some sort of anomaly. In the end, she considered deserting, since all she wanted was to survive, but that wasn't something easily done at such a time.
———
Accelerating past the beasts, Kang headed toward where he had come from previously. Remembering the direction, Kang continued past the abandoned city ruins before getting on the familiar road once again. A couple of hours later, Kang noticed the road no longer existed. Still, he didn't stop going forward, as the corruption ratio kept going down.
Two hours later, Kang could see the massive armored walls on the horizon, causing him to slow down the moment his eyes spotted the military personnel guarding the stronghold.
"Time to get in character." Valuing first impressions, Kang had trained his acting skills for a while to deal with humans. Straightening his back and clasping his hands behind him, Kang approached Sir Jonathan, who stood far ahead of the rest of his personnel.
"A human and a suit?" Never minding the mask, Jonathan watched the approaching Kang with a frown on his face. As far as he knew, suits were reserved for S-ranked and above. But the one before him was clearly wearing one despite being A-ranked, as the satellite identified.
"Identify yourself and your motive, stranger!" Retrieving his gadget from his spatial ring, Jonathan fed it his mana, causing it to transform into a spear, its sharpened crimson head gleaming, indicating it was certainly a high-ranked weapon. Still, Kang wasn't deterred and fearlessly moved forward.
"I come in peace, but if you want to fight, we can do that. However, I believe you understand what my attire implies." Bringing his hands together, Kang formed an identical spear using his blood before activating his acid bomb followed by ability fusion.
"What is this? Some sort of ability?" Watching Kang's weapon, Jonathan frowned, as it was the first time he had seen such a bright weapon.
"It doesn't concern you, but I believe you should be concerned by something else. Are you ready to pay for your disrespect?" Taking an offensive stance, Kang intimidated his opponent by slowly walking toward him.
Sneering at Kang, Jonathan rushed forward, striking at him. Deflecting the blow to the side, Kang pointed at his opponent's spear to convey that he already had one.
"What the hell?" Looking at his spearhead, Jonathan was shocked at how damaged it was after just one clash. The spearhead was being devoured by acid from Kang's attack. Though slow, it would render the weapon useless after the fight.
Distracted by his inspection, Jonathan found Kang's sword cutting his own spear in half before Kang kicked him hard, sending him flying back into his personnel.
"I don't think that's a wise choice, do you?" Looking at the personnel who were aiming at him, Kang muttered before turning his attention back to Jonathan.
"Stop right now! Lower your weapons!!!" Knowing the power gap between them, Jonathan immediately gave the order and then brought his attention back to Kang.
"I apologize for my foolishness, your highness!" Kneeling on one knee, Jonathan made his surrender clear.
"Good, good, you're not a complete fool after all." Moving forward, Kang offered his hand to Jonathan before whispering in his ear as he helped him up.
"How about we strike a win-win deal? You help me with some minor stuff like setting up a guild and guiding me around, and in return, I'll gift you one of these weapons for free. Think of it as a temporary job—a servant, as you'd say."
"I'll give you some time to think about it. For now, just let me rest while you take care of those horrors."
"Yes, sir, I'll consider your offer!" Hearing Kang's words, Jonathan led him into the base where he could rest.