I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 122

Commander of the Dead (4)

 

Crunch!

Kang Ian’s sword energy sliced through Hometos.

‘Tch. Missed.’

The creature floating in the air twisted its body just before being struck.

Because of that, from its shoulder down to its right arm was cut off and fell.

“Graaaaah!”

The previously silent Hometos let out something resembling a wail for the first time.

Being in the form of a skeleton, it couldn’t produce sound vocally, so instead it emitted a powerful mental wave.

<How dare you!>

The arm that had been cut off was the one holding its staff.

Its remaining intact arm was holding a book, and it swung it widely.

Because of its sheer size, the moment it swung the book, a massive gust of wind blew.

Since Kang Ian had no separate flying skill, he was inevitably blown backward through the air.

Shwaaak!

At that moment, a shark-shaped undead burst out, splitting the sea.

It leapt high and opened its mouth wide to devour Kang Ian.

Flash!

And at the moment Kang Ian’s sword energy flashed once more, the creature, a shark, split into eighteen pieces.

Ding!

 

[You have defeated Evil]

[+299 Evil Souls]

 

Perhaps because of its large size and because it had been near Hometos, it gave quite a lot of Evil Souls.

Splash

After that, Kang Ian fell into the sea.

Though he should have sunk due to wearing armor, by kicking the water with his superhuman leg strength, he managed to stay afloat.

If he struck the water hard like this, he could bounce back up into the air again.

‘But taking that guy down seems a bit difficult.’

Kang Ian looked at Hometos.

Before he knew it, the creature had already distanced itself again, widening the gap from Kang Ian.

Not only that, unlike earlier when it stood proudly alone, it was now surrounded by the undead it had summoned.

In the sky, bird-type undead with wings flew around as if guarding it, and in the sea, undead sharks and undead whales floated with only their heads exposed.

It seemed that having its right arm cut off by Kang Ian’s sword energy had felt extremely threatening.

Crackle!

Kang Ian fired <Quick Lightning>, but compared to the creature’s massive size, its power was far too weak.

It didn’t even make it flinch.

As expected, long-range combat wasn’t the answer.

‘This won’t work. I need to drag it into the sea somehow…’

At that moment…

Bang!

With the sound of a gunshot, one of the bird-type undead near Hometos dropped like a puppet with its strings cut and fell toward the sea.

Bang! Bang!

More gunshots followed, and several more birds fell.

Kang Ian, wondering if it could be, looked toward the distant coastline.

On the corner of a rooftop of a tall building, a woman lay prone, aiming this way with a sniper rifle.

Kang Ian’s face brightened as he kicked off the sea.

Striking the water strongly with both arms and legs, he shot upward like a rocket.

Hometos flinched, thinking he was coming to attack, but Kang Ian was heading in the exact opposite direction.

After several leaps, he reached the rooftop of the building.

“Hunter Lim Gayeon!”

“Phew… nice to see you.”

Wearing a tight black combat suit and not taking her eyes off the sniper rifle, Lim Gayeon finally turned her gaze.

She took a puff from her electronic cigarette, exhaled, and smiled faintly.

Her unexpected appearance was extremely welcome.

Having worked together on several missions, he knew very well how helpful she was.

“How did you end up here, Hunter Lim Gayeon? Did you hear about the incident and come as support?”

“No. I heard late that Chaewon went on vacation to Busan, so I came along to spend time together. But just as I arrived in Busan, something like this had to happen.”

Lim Gayeon pressed her forehead.

The timing really couldn’t have been worse.

“Haha. I’m just glad Hunter Lim Gayeon is here.”

With no A-rank hunters present, she was the best partner he could work with.

Kang Ian cast <Minor Blessing of the Divine Beast Black Tortoise> and <Guidance of Xeros> on her.

Both were buffs that increased damage against undead, so they would be helpful.

“Thank you. I’ll try to provide good cover.”

“Yes. I always trust you.”

Honestly, even without these buffs, she would do perfectly well on her own, but part of the reason was also to share in the Evil Souls.

Kang Ian turned to look at Hometos again.

At first, it had stood alone with dignity, but now it was surrounded by various undead summons to the point that its figure couldn’t even be seen properly.

Just thinking about having to break through that made his fists tighten.

Thud!

He kicked off the ground and charged toward it again.

He ignored defense.

After briefly clashing with it, he realized that most undead attacks couldn’t deal fatal damage to him.

He could fight while taking hits.

Crackle!

Crack-crackle!

Boom!

From the staff swung in his left hand, lightning shot out nonstop, and his shield flew around on its own, cutting down undead.

Bang! Bang!

Undead that looked particularly dangerous were neutralized at just the right moments by Lim Gayeon’s bullets.

Through those openings, Kang Ian could charge forward, whether on land or sea.

Even so, countless enemies blocked his path… but this was where the Heavy Rock Sword showed its true value.

A sword that crushes enemies with strength and mana.

That meant unless the opponent was strong enough to withstand it, they would either die in one blow or be sent flying.

Each strike of Kang Ian’s sword shattered the undead.

Crunch!

Boom!

When defending, one could only protect a limited direction, but attacking was different.

Like a sharp spear, he could pierce through a single point.

However, Hometos’s undead were simply too many.

Even after so many had entered Busan city, there were still tens of thousands, at least in the thousands upon thousands.

No matter how strong Kang Ian was, breaking through alone was too much.

‘Hunter Lim Gayeon is helping, but we need a few more people.’

Just as he thought that even a little help would be enough…

“Kang Ian Hunter! From now on, our guild will be joining as well!”

“!!”

A familiar and welcome face appeared.

It was Team Leader Choi Seobin from the Red Rose Guild.

“Team Leader Choi!”

“Sorry. We came as fast as we could by helicopter, but this was the best we could do.”

Reinforcements had arrived from the Red Rose Guild in Seoul!

“But there aren’t that many reinforcements on this side. Most of our team members and the other hunters who came for support have gone into the city.”

Normally, when a Black Gate incident occurs, it’s handled nearby.

Cases where monsters invade deep into a city like this had become rare in recent times.

The city was already suffering severe damage, and the bigger issue was that civilians could be in danger.

Therefore, to secure minimum safety first, the supporting hunters had been sent there.

“It’s fine!”

Kang Ian could fully understand.

In fact, he thought it worked out well.

If too many hunters gathered, he might lose priority for entering the Black Gate due to contribution scores.

Since there were no A-rank hunters and he had been responding from the very beginning, in this situation, he could secure first entry priority.

Shukak!

Choi Seobin was a team leader of the large guild Red Rose and a veteran B+ rank hunter.

As such, she was an enormous help.

She swung a single dagger with ghost-like precision, cutting down the undead.

She even stepped on water, albeit briefly.

Kang Ian, who had been repeatedly bouncing up like a rocket and sinking again in the sea, asked enviously:

“Is that a skill?”

“No. It’s mana utilization. It requires practice and mastery, but if you’re around B-rank, you should be able to do it.”

“Oh…”

Not a skill.

Kang Ian’s eyes sparkled.

That meant anyone could do it with practice.

At around B-rank, hunters could not only use skills but also draw out and utilize the mana embedded in their bodies through instinct.

Standing on water was also achieved by concentrating mana on the soles of one’s feet.

“Of course, it takes quite a bit of practice. If you talk to the Association, they’ll rent you a swimming pool, and you’ll get soaked while practicing!!??”

“Oh. It works.”

As Kang Ian stood on the surface of the sea, Team Leader Choi Seobin’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.

“N-no… that’s not something you can do in one try… how…!?”

From experience and hearing others, she knew it was never that easy.

“You told me. To release mana and stand on the water. So I did that, and it worked.”

“……”

Kang Ian knew full well how annoying that sounded.

But what was he supposed to do when it actually worked?

Though he didn’t realize it, the <Advanced Swordsmanship Mastery> he had purchased earlier was influencing this as well.

As a passive skill granting innate talent in swordsmanship, it also increased his understanding of mana, making it easier for his body to handle it.

“Well, anyway, that’s good. Now I don’t have to keep going in and out of the water.”

Kang Ian kicked off the sea and surged forward.

Water splashed outward with a pababat sound.

He passed through the undead in an instant, and those in his path collapsed into wrecks and sank into the sea.

Even though standing on water reduced the power of his swordsmanship, the Heavy Rock Sword still dealt with most undead in a single strike.

‘It would’ve been great if I still had Saint Bruta’s Gauntlet.’

It was an absurd item that weakened the power of nearby undead by 50% just by being worn.

That’s why it was a shame that it was a time-limited item usable for only 30 days.

If he had it, he could have broken through much faster.

However, instead of the gauntlet, there were now supporting hunters.

“We’ll provide cover from behind!”

“Please break through!”

Thanks to the arriving hunters, starting with Choi Seobin, the burden of the undead lessened.

Moreover, Lim Gayeon’s bullets precisely opened the path Kang Ian needed to take.

With all that support, Kang Ian once again reached Hometos.

Thud!

Kicking off the sea, he leapt right in front of it.

With only one arm remaining, the creature tried to resist, but Kang Ian’s sword was faster.

He wouldn’t miss this opportunity again.

Earlier, he had only cut off its right arm… but this time, he would go for its life.

Slice!

Blue sword energy flashed, splitting its skull cleanly down the middle vertically.

[Ughhh…]

At that moment, all the tens of thousands of undead stopped moving at once.

It was as if all of Busan had frozen.

Immediately after, the undead collapsed in droves.

“W-we got it!”

Team Leader Choi Seobin clenched her fist and shouted.

The other hunters did the same.

“Did we finish it?”

“Hey! Don’t say something that ominous.”

“What’s the big deal? This really looks like we finished it.”

“Well… that’s true, but still. Sigh. Fine.”

“Hahahaha!”

Laughter bloomed among the hunters.

Hometos, split in half, fell into the sea.

And even the ominous aura it had been emitting disappeared.

It felt like the air had become clean.

 

***

 

In the darkness, Hometos’s soul rose.

<Now… the true erosion begins.>

A lich that had lived for a long time stored its soul within a treasure.

An object called a Life Vessel.

Hometos was a lich who knew how to use the Life Vessel strategically.

A blade that strikes from the darkness is always more terrifying.

When those foolish humans, believing it to be dead, let their guard down, it would completely devour this land.

<Heh heh heh… hahaha!>

Inside the Black Gate,

within pitch-black darkness, Hometos laughed joyfully.

 

At the same time, Kang Ian tilted his head.

‘What is this? Why am I not getting anything?’

No Evil Souls came in, and there was no quest completion message.

So unlike the other hunters who were celebrating, only question marks floated in his mind.

Kang Ian stared intently at the still-open Black Gate.