I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 130

Overseas (4)

 

When Kang Ian had just destroyed the first source of evil…

Nikolai, the Russian hunters’ representative, quickly sent a satellite message.

[First target successful.]

It was a simple message, but the SVR agents in the control room burst into cheers.

“Отлично! (Excellent!)”

“Хорошо! (Good!)”

At the very back of the SVR control room, filled with numerous monitors observing various situations…

Medvedev was also smiling faintly.

‘As expected, my decision was correct.’

Life is a series of choices.

How many choices had Medvedev made to rise to the position of a powerful politician who could be called Russia’s second-in-command?

Some of those choices had required him to stake his life.

A dangerous tightrope… where failure could mean death on the spot.

And yet, Medvedev overcame all those adversities to reach this position.

Would a man like him have flown all the way to Korea for nothing?

Entrusting the request to Kang Ian was not a mistake.

He even handed over an incredible item like the Spear of the Giant Soldier as a mere advance payment to bring him here.

It had been the right choice.

‘Mr. Kang must also be quite satisfied with Russia’s generous reward.’

This was what you’d call a win-win.

It wasn’t an ordinary item, so it had taken quite some effort to get the president’s approval.

But he was a man worth that much.

By now, he must have obtained the Spear of the Giant Soldier.

 

***

 

A giant snored as it slept.

Hunters in front of it, unable to even breathe loudly, frozen in place.

Kang Ian clenched his fist tightly.

‘Giving something like that as an advance payment… aren’t these Russian bastards basically scammers?’

How could they call an item held by an A-rank monster an advance payment?

How many people in the world could actually go and take that?

Still, complaints were complaints… first, they had to retreat.

There were four B-rank hunters and one C-rank hunter present.

Kang Ian and the Russian hunters were exceptional even among B-ranks, but fighting an A-rank monster was no easy task.

They would have to risk their lives.

Let’s fall back.

With that intent, the hunters exchanged glances and carefully…

Clack

At that moment, the Russian hunter Boris accidentally kicked a piece of stone.

All the hunters shot him cold glares.

Boris, realizing his mistake, raised both hands apologetically.

‘That level of noise shouldn’t wake it, but…’

Its snoring sounded like a construction site.

Would something making that kind of noise wake up from a tiny stone?

That would be ridiculous…

“Grrrr… huh!”

At that moment, the giant’s snoring stopped.

‘…Damn it. Just our luck.’

The impossible happened.

The giant opened its eyes.

Kang Ian floated his shield, held a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, and shouted:

“ I’ll hold it off, run!”

They didn’t understand the words, but his actions and urgent tone got the message across.

The other hunters nodded.

Kang Ian was about to fire a quick lightning strike… when the giant opened its mouth.

“(gspehlfksd)”

“?”

“(sldfkhsdl asdfopmvhs)”

It spoke… like it was talking, its voice rumbling.

‘It’s… talking?’

Kang Ian hesitated for a moment.

Charging in blindly was risky, but it seemed possible they might communicate.

The problem was the language barrier…

At that moment, Hometos popped out from Kang Ian’s chest.

Hometos looked at the giant with interest.

<Audhumla? That idiot made it over here?>

“…You know it?”

<I’ve seen it a few times. It’s too stupid, so I didn’t associate with it much.>

“Then can you tell what it’s saying?”

<It’s the language of demons. That guy’s asking if you can cooperate.>

“Cooperate?”

Kang Ian looked at the giant called Audhumla in surprise.

No wonder… it wasn’t attacking, just standing there and rumbling words toward them despite its overwhelming presence.

<If you were weak humans, it would’ve chased you away for waking it up. But since you seem somewhat capable, I’m proposing cooperation.>

“…What kind of cooperation does it want?”

<It says there’s an enemy it wants to fight together. Hah. Idiot. Calling itself a demon’s subordinate yet reaching out to humans first… definitely lacking something.>

Kang Ian looked at Hometos with disbelief.

And what about you?

Thanks to Hometos, they were able to communicate with Audhumla.

Having regained a bit of strength, it could at least transmit voices.

Audhumla complained about hearing the annoying skull’s voice, but communication worked both ways.

The Vorkuta danger zone was vast, and it was said to be divided between two major monsters.

One side was the giant Audhumla.

The other was a frost phoenix.

<So that’s why this guy suggested cooperating with humans.>

“Why? Do you know something?”

<Audhumla and the frost phoenix have been enemies since ancient times. A long-standing grudge. Didn’t expect them to be here together.>

“dfsldfs sldfjsd sldfjsldkf!!”

As Hometos muttered, Audhumla roared.

Kang Ian covered his ears slightly.

“What does that mean?”

<It says this time it’ll rip that bird’s head off.>

The frost phoenix was unusual… it breathed ice instead of fire.

A phoenix scattering flame-like shards of ice.

Aside from everything else, its ability to fly made it a bad matchup for Audhumla.

Under normal circumstances, Audhumla couldn’t defeat it.

‘Still… this isn’t bad.’

It was a strange situation, but Kang Ian accepted it without bias.

Wasn’t he already enslaving Hometos?

At the A-rank level, monsters seemed capable of communication.

Direct communication required psychic ability like Hometos, but with a translator, that didn’t matter.

“Alright. Tell them we accept. But say we’d like it to accept our conditions too.”

<What condition?>

Kang Ian said they wanted to go to a research facility.

Audhumla didn’t know the exact location, but said that if it killed that bird, it could at least guide them.

“And one more thing. I’d like that Spear of the Giant Soldier you’re holding.”

Kang Ian pointed at the spear spinning between Audhumla’s fingers.

But he felt uneasy.

It was something Russia had generously given as an advance, and even Shim Junseok had praised it.

Surely the giant liked it too.

Would it really give it up?

‘Though in its hands, it looks more like a toy than a spear…’

As Kang Ian watched anxiously, Hometos relayed the message.

Audhumla tilted its head, said something, and then tossed the spear.

“Oh. It gave it right away!”

Kang Ian caught it, smiling.

Then he looked at Hometos.

“What did it say?”

<It said it was good for scratching its back. Asked if you’re going to use it for that too.>

“….”

Kang Ian suddenly felt uncomfortable holding the spear.

Was it just his imagination, or was there something stuck to the tip…?

 

***

 

Audhumla and the frost phoenix divided the vast Vorkuta region between east and west.

Though Kang Ian’s group didn’t know, the Ice Grizzly they had fought earlier was actually under the frost phoenix.

More precisely, it was like a pet.

“Are we really going to cooperate with that giant to hunt another monster?”

“If Hunter Kang Ian says so, then so be it.”

“This is madness!”

The Russian hunter Boris raised his voice to their temporary leader, Nikolai.

Earlier, Kang Ian had explained the plan with gestures and drawings on the ground.

The Russian hunters were dumbfounded.

Working with a monster to hunt another monster?

“How can we trust a monster?”

“Then Boris… can you believe the situation we’re in now, walking alongside that giant?”

“….”

At Nikolai’s words, pointing to Audhumla walking beside them, Boris fell silent.

The sight itself was unnatural.

“Still… cooperating with an A-rank monster to hunt another A-rank monster… what if they team up and attack us? And before that… can we even cooperate properly?”

“…I understand your concerns. But right now, our leader is Hunter Kang Ian. It’s his decision.”

Then Nikolai added:

“Perhaps he has a taming-related skill.”

“Taming? Swordsmanship, magic, buffs… and taming too?”

“….”

Even Nikolai thought it sounded absurd.

Having multiple skills was possible, but mastering all of them was a different matter.

“Besides, taming only works on low-level monsters. Who tames an A-rank monster?”

Boris had a point.

If such a hunter existed, they’d already be world-famous.

Yet that very impossibility was happening before their eyes.

“Gwoooooo!”

The giant roared toward the sky.

Ahead was a frost-covered mountain.

The giant charged toward it.

Despite its size, it moved incredibly fast, closing the distance in just a few steps.

The plan was simple:

Audhumla would attack head-on, while Kang Ian’s group supported from afar.

<That idiot couldn’t make a more detailed plan. Even if I made one, he couldn’t follow it.>

Hometos had said that.

But Kang Ian didn’t mind.

He had no desire to witness an A-rank monster battle up close.

As Audhumla approached, a blue phoenix rose from the mountain peak.

A massive creature covered in crystal-like ice, its body burning with blue flames.

Hummm

Kang Ian gripped the Spear of the Giant Soldier.

It vibrated.

An item said to elevate a C-rank hunter to A-rank.

He raised it high with one hand and took a stance.

A throwing stance.

The spear was a throwing weapon.

It was his first time, but he had a comprehensive weapon mastery skill.

Not as good as a sword… but not bad either.

Kiiiiing!

The spear vibrated.

Kang Ian waited.

Then…

Audhumla clashed with the frost phoenix, and the battle began.

When they were distracted…

Kang Ian spun and threw the spear.

Whoosh!

It cut through the air.

The frost phoenix tried to dodge, but Audhumla blocked it.

BOOM!

The spear shot like light…

and blew apart one of the phoenix’s wings.

“Kieeeeeee!”

A piercing scream echoed through the air.