The Imperial Hunter Chapter 70 - The Hunters (5)

“Dutton Volunteer Light Cavalry”. The name of the uninvited guests on the tail boom of the cutting-in aircraft. The registration number N177CP was stamped on the engine sides. Neilson, who changed the radio channel to public use, protested fiercely.

「What are you guys trying to do! Get lost, now!」

Then a man wearing goggles peered this way from the distant helicopter. Taking off just one side of my headset, I used a body enhancement technique to control my hearing. By modulating the audible range, an applied skill of suppressing certain frequency bands of background noise while focusing on other audio ranges. So although the sounds I heard were strangely distorted, Neilson’s headset was plenty for me to hear the response from the other side.

「Whoa- Calm down, buddy. We just need to catch the biggest guy in front, that’s all. We’ve been chasing him since last night so it’s definitely our turn based on order. No mistake looking at his appearance and scars.」

「Cut the bullshit! You think we don’t have navigational radar here? You were 3 miles away just minutes ago, what? Tracked him all night? Say something that makes sense, you bastard!」

「It’s true! We lost him briefly when a small avalanche happened during the chase. Couldn’t be helped without lights and barely any fuel left. We don’t even have decent thermal imaging.」

Even while arguing, they continued raining gunfire into the center of the violently swirling snow. Neilson’s face turned crimson with the nonsensical explanation.

「Not having enough equipment is your responsibility! When you lose it, that’s the end!」

It was logical. But the other side kept spouting sophistry.

「The end? Why? The shots we fired last night will be embedded in him. And if we hadn’t herded him first, would you have encountered this guy here? Consider the equity, the equity in this situation.」

「Equity? Equity, you say?!」

「Yes. You could say contribution, to this situation.」

「What contribution is there to discuss in hunting?!」

「I don’t know! Friends who can operate three choppers should also consider the plight of poor neighbors! We’ll die before we let this one go, so either take the bullets yourself or scram if you lack the guts! The audacity of those with more always growing!」

「Hey!」

Neilson shouted. But no more answers came from the other side. Whenever we tried to take a position ideal for shooting, they repeatedly obstructed us with threatening flight. This resulted in neither side being able to properly hunt. The hijackers had to contain three crafts with one, while formation herding lost meaning on our end.

In the end, the four helicopters chased after just one awakened super-heavy boar, the group of pigs scattering.

Neilson spat harsh curses into the shared radio channel while punching the door. I restored my hearing to normal and fixed my headset properly.

Shortly after, Neilson who instructed each craft to cease the dangerous skirmishing, massaged his nape with an expression full of irritation and fatigue as he apologized to me and Kyung-tae.

「I’m very sorry. Rude fools unaware of basic hunting etiquette are ruining your valuable experience.」

「You’ve no need to feel sorry. This is not your fault.」

I asked him,

「Still, I am curious. Do they have some reason to be so obsessed with the T-hog?」

It didn’t make sense just for the bounty. Unlike us who brought paying customers, it seemed they hadn’t based on their actions. And if their claim of continuous tracking since last night was true, just the fuel consumption would be considerable. We were in high-elevation areas where it easily exceeded $600 an hour.

While it may be a simple lack of intellect leading to ignoring cost-benefit analysis, it was more reasonable to assume another motive existed.

「Yes, well…」

Neilson heaved a long sigh, answering in a deflated tone.

「Those idiots also started businesses with government backing… Supported groups have to submit activity records each quarter for evaluation… Higher scores mean reduced equipment rental fees, lower scores mean the equipment itself could be confiscated. That’s how it is.」

「I see.」

「So there’s this thing called fame and brand value, you know. Bagging big guys like that builds up basic pedigree, and also becomes advantageous for attracting additional investments.」

I understood. Part of why this Pioneer Hunters’ team could commence business with equipment superior to average was thanks to the regional reputation of the ex-military man with distinguished service medals. Jealous competitors were apt to feel deprived in relative terms.

Jack growled lowly.

「Should’ve just hosed them down with a magazine…」

Judging by his twitchy trigger finger, it seemed he would have pulled it without hesitation if not for the consequences. Kyung-tae shrugged and flashed an obvious look.

「The world spins in such obvious ways, hyungnim.」

When killing the devil worshipers in the Forest of Giants, we also had partially overlapping conversations. Talk of environments allowing murder without concern for forensics.

‘Brings back old memories.’

In the past when I and my organization were inferior to now in all regards, I had wandered the mountainous wilderness of North America, not Korea, in search of aged wild ginseng to use as bribes for climbing the ranks of high Chinese society. I sought rare treasures unobtainable even with money. It was never easy even with eyes beyond the norm.

In the process, I clashed guns several times with heavily armed herb gatherers. Herb gatherers of the backcountry where government authority didn’t reach had no qualms about killing anyone they saw. Though North America had a reputation for ginseng being common compared to Asia, that was only relative. With precious roots ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per pound, what were human lives worth?

At the time, I took paths avoiding competitors where possible but killed and buried any who doggedly tailed me, erasing their existence. Makes no sense that I would see blood with so many obstacles in the dense forests with my extraordinary eyesight.

The 1.4 pounds of thousand-year ginseng I found that way allowed me to gain high-quality relations and casino operation rights in Macau, so the hardship was worthwhile.

The “Dutton Volunteer Light Cavalry” were ultimately the same breed as the herb gatherers who tracked me through the mountains. The militia member Jack was still growling away. It was an entirely prophetic anger. As such experiences piled up more and more, even those without greed would gradually lose restraint.

Brigade Commander Neilson cautiously sounded out my intentions.

「Mr. Kim. And that fellow. We’ll leave this area to those thieves and try herding a new game if you don’t object…?」

「No.」

I immediately replied.

「If possible I’d like to watch for a bit. It’s quite the spectacle in its own way.」

Hunting was only a sideshow. The important matters were observing “codes” and surveying the vicinity. The boar was straining its circuits to their limit in desperation to escape the hunters. It likely wouldn’t survive long like this even if it did shake off pursuit.

Etching the rough flow of magical power flickering beneath the fur into memory, I recalled the Knight Commander I killed in the Puerto Vallarta cathedral. As the head of those fake knights did, perhaps this oversized omnivore would also demonstrate the use of magical power surpassing limits in its final moments.

「I see…」

Neilson made a troubled expression. Suyeon in another craft and my security department subordinate had naturally deferred the decision to me, so by majority rule, it had to align with my will. The pair of cheapskates in the third chopper were likely throwing fits.

The militia member assigned to me derided scornfully.

「Those freaking morons can’t shoot for crap. They wouldn’t bag it even chasing all night.」

As the militia member said, the so-called cavalry’s marksmanship was pathetic. On top of that, their helicopter positioning was subpar, and the pilot failed to properly consider the senior’s firing angle, so success was impossible in a short time.

‘Those who gain fame yet can’t maintain it.’

Anyway, longer spectating time worked in my favor. Only the greater distance from the super heavy boar now required more focus.

But…

The direction they were herding the boar was strange.

「Huh?」

A gasp from the co-pilot’s seat.

「Shouldn’t they prioritize blocking the path into the woods first!? Those idiots!」

Whether fixated on the boar’s rear or minds clouded from obstructing us, the herder-less fools were leaving the way into the lush forest open for the prey. Even I frowned at this. With the distance closer than before, Neilson, more livid than earlier, spewed urgent profanity into the public channel.

「Hey! You shits with dicks for brains! Accelerate! Cut them off in front! Can’t you hear me?!」

But no reply came. Neilson, groaning, directed one of our light choppers to block instead. It was the very helicopter with the cheapskate couple aboard.

The militia member riding along protested first.

「Why are we helping those punks?」

Neilson answered with a twisted expression.

「You think I want to help them? We’ve got to because who knows who else will get hurt if we lose it! Think of our members who trust us, the members!」

Oh… Reaching that extent of consideration even in this situation. A human of remarkably high quality.

Yet the morons on the other end failed to properly accept even this thoughtfulness. Whether they finally grasped the situation or determined this was a chance to cut in, the Dutton side abruptly accelerated to enter a collision course with our herder craft.

「Evade! Evade!」

The two helicopters charging intersecting courses at similar altitudes barely slipped past each other by a hair’s breadth. Avoiding by ascending and descending differently to maintain a 3-meter separation.

Looked to me more luck than skill. If both had ascended or descended, quite the spectacle of an accident would have ensued. The two crafts buffeted by each other’s turbulence barely managed to recover balance after seeming they might crash any second.

「Phew…」

Kyung-tae’s hands opening and closing had slight sweat. Well, the thrill was rather abrupt. If the Dutton Volunteer Light Cavalry pilot’s skill had been just a bit better, a crisis that never should have happened would have occurred. Our herder pilot couldn’t have imagined they would charge like that.

「Chopper 3, you good?」

Neilson, half stunned, sent a radio call and then soon relaxed, nodding.

「Yeah, yeah. Thank god.」

But that lasted only a moment. Neilson’s face distorted dreadfully again.

「What now? Who let the prey getaway? Screw you, you bastard child!」

Seemed the blame was flying over the public channel. Rather than tune my hearing and listen to that shame, I gazed at the bizarrely liberated observation target. I expected it would flee as is, but…

‘What’s it doing?’

The large hybrid boar dripping blood from various spots on its body was lowering its stance under the shade of trees, staring in this direction – precisely where the cavalry helicopter was.

They said normal pigs were animals unable to look at the sky. Structurally incapable of raising their heads past a certain angle, vision too poor to perceive distant objects.

But that didn’t mean they absolutely couldn’t see the sky. The sky wasn’t only directly overhead. For an individual whose soul circuit was opened, the odds of unimpaired vision were high.

Therefore I was convinced of my sense.

The dark pig was glaring at the hunters that had been pursuing it just before.