I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 131

Overseas (5)

 

The spear Kang Ian threw struck the frost phoenix at the peak of the ice mountain with perfect accuracy.

Its right wing exploded.

The Russian hunters who saw it from the side were shocked.

“(H-Hunter Kang Ian… do you have a throwing skill as well?)”

“(Just how many abilities… do you even have?)”

Nikolai and Boris muttered in turn.

Sword, shield, magic, buffs… and now even throwing.

And not just that, the level of proficiency he showed in throwing was far from ordinary.

Even if the Spear of the Giant Soldier was specialized for throwing, actually hitting a target required skill.

And just seeing him land a throw from such an incredible distance made it clear how remarkable Kang Ian’s abilities were.

However, Kang Ian’s inner thoughts were a bit different.

‘…That’s not where I was aiming. Got lucky.’

He had aimed for the frost phoenix’s head.

Why would he deliberately target something like a wing instead of the head or heart?

But with his current level of comprehensive weapon mastery, it was impossible to hit precisely from such a distance.

The spear had completely deviated from its intended trajectory.

But at that moment, the frost phoenix suddenly spread both its wings wide and took off.

More precisely, it lifted itself to avoid the approaching Audhumla… and by sheer coincidence, its wing moved directly into the path of Kang Ian’s spear.

A jackpot.

With one wing shattered, the frost phoenix lost its balance and rolled around the mountaintop.

“Kwaaaaah!”

The giant Audhumla shouted while looking in their direction.

It wasn’t just a shout; it had a certain rhythm to it.

Kang Ian looked at Hometos beside him.

“What did it say?”

<From the moment I saw you, I knew you were no ordinary human. Nice shot, it says.>

The reason Audhumla had a bad matchup against the frost phoenix was that the phoenix could fly and attack unilaterally.

But when both were grounded, there was no reason for Audhumla to be at a disadvantage.

It swung its massive fists, and a full-scale monster battle erupted.

Even from far away, the shockwaves reached Kang Ian’s position.

That showed just how intense the fight was.

Kang Ian stretched out his hand.

The Spear of the Giant Soldier flew back and landed in his grasp.

A-rank hunters weren’t something just anyone could become.

Even someone like Kang Hoopung, whom Kang Ian still couldn’t compare to… was an A-rank hunter.

The Spear of the Giant Soldier was an item that could make a C-rank hunter be called A-rank.

It needed to have abilities of this level.

‘An auto-retrieving spear that can be thrown infinitely… as long as you have the ability.’

But there was a problem.

The frost phoenix suddenly turned its gaze toward them.

Its eyes locked clearly onto Kang Ian, holding the spear.

‘Damn.’

If Audhumla lost hold of it, it was obvious the phoenix would fly toward them.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Kang Ian drew his staff.

Throwing was powerful, but the earlier hit had been pure luck.

Crackle!

Quick Lightning was unleashed.

The power weakened as it traveled through the air, but that didn’t matter.

The lightning struck exactly where the frost phoenix’s right wing had been.

“Kyaaaa!”

The creature shrieked.

True to its name, the frost phoenix possessed powerful regeneration.

‘Hometos said it doesn’t revive like a true phoenix.’

But it still had troll-level regeneration.

The wing that had been blown apart by the spear was already regenerating as frost gathered.

Kang Ian’s Quick Lightning struck that spot precisely.

Its power was weak, but enough to disrupt regeneration.

Boom! Boom!

In that opening, Audhumla’s fists pummeled the frost phoenix relentlessly.

Splitting the ice mountain, it buried the phoenix within it.

Even as an A-rank monster, the phoenix couldn’t properly fight back.

It fired frost beams and launched sharp ice shards… but it was already caught by Audhumla.

Even while taking those attacks, Audhumla never loosened its grip.

It ignored most of the damage with its sheer durability and kept attacking.

If its body had been intact, it might have been different.

But once its wing was torn apart, the outcome was already decided.

And Kang Ian’s lightning kept interfering with its regeneration.

After struggling for a long time, the phoenix gradually stopped moving.

No matter how strong its regeneration was, it couldn’t withstand attacks that exceeded it.

Ding!

 

[You contributed to defeating evil.]

[+516 Evil Souls]

 

The frost phoenix was completely crushed.

Audhumla stood up.

Its gaze suddenly turned toward them.

A killing intent-filled stare.

“(Uh… isn’t there a bad proverb from the East for situations like this? Something like… ‘discarding the hunting dog after catching the rabbit’?).”

It was Nikolai muttering beside Kang Ian.

The problem was… it was in Russian, so Kang Ian couldn’t understand.

At that moment, Audhumla kicked off the ground.

With that massive body, even a step caused part of the ice mountain to collapse.

Then it leapt… almost as if flying, and landed in front of Kang Ian’s group.

BOOM!

The ground shook and dust scattered.

The chilling killing intent of an A-rank monster filled the surroundings.

Kang Ian glared at it, holding a longsword in one hand and a staff in the other.

‘Winning is impossible. I’ll focus on creating an opening and escaping.’

First, he’d strike with sword energy to create an opening…

Then…

“pweidfn sldfhp alsdfnm!!”

At that moment, Audhumla spoke.

To it, it was just speaking… but to small humans, it sounded like shouting.

“…What is this guy saying?”

<It says thank you.>

Hometos popped out beside Kang Ian and answered.

<It says thanks to you, it was able to tear apart the neck of that bird that had troubled it for so long.>

“…That’s what it’s saying while radiating killing intent like that?”

<Giants are like that. Judging by its expression and attitude, it’s insanely grateful.>

“….”

It was hard to believe, even seeing it directly.

It looked like it could devour them at any moment.

But Hometos couldn’t lie.

Kang Ian sheathed his sword.

“Tell it I’m glad it’s satisfied.”

<Got it.>

Hometos relayed the message, and Audhumla responded immediately.

<It asks if there’s anything you want in return. It wants to repay you no matter what.>

“Well… does it have any treasure or something?”

<Probably not. Giants usually think they need nothing but their own bodies.>

“I see.”

That explained why it had been using the Spear of the Giant Soldier as a back scratcher.

“Then tell it to just guide us as we agreed.”

<Alright.>

Hometos conveyed the message, and Audhumla nodded.

Then it beckoned them to follow and turned around, starting to move.

 

***

 

On the way to the research facility…

The Russian hunters looked at Kang Ian walking one step ahead of them.

They had witnessed something unbelievable.

He had calmly controlled an A-rank giant radiating killing intent with just a few words.

They couldn’t see Hometos, so it looked like Kang Ian was muttering, and the giant was responding.

‘Controlling a monster with simple conversation… is he really a tamer?’

‘A tamer who can control an A-rank monster… and can purify danger zones… Now I understand why the Vice Chairman is interested in a mere hunter.’

Though publicly known as a B-rank hunter, he was clearly hiding his true abilities.

At first, they had been skeptical… but now they looked at him with respect.

Thus, they continued toward the research facility.

With the Russian hunters guiding them, they arrived peacefully.

No monster in this danger zone would dare block Audhumla.

When they reached the destination, Audhumla pointed, asking if this was the place.

A research facility wrapped in the aura of a danger zone.

Kang Ian nodded.

Audhumla smiled and muttered something.

<It says since it guided you, it’ll be heading back now.>

“Tell it I’m grateful too.”

<Got i-!!???>

Hometos suddenly exclaimed in shock.

Audhumla extended its large hand and handed something to Kang Ian.

It was a small scroll covered in hieroglyph-like writing.

<Th-this is a scroll!? And a summoning scroll at that!?>

“What is it?”

<It’s a one-time-use scroll that can summon this guy from anywhere. It probably made it to use when demons descend on this land… and it’s giving it to you?>

Hometos muttered in disbelief.

That meant it was incredibly valuable.

‘Being able to summon someone like Audhumla is basically carrying an extra life.’

Kang Ian accepted the scroll carefully.

Audhumla stood up as if done with everything.

It muttered one last thing.

<It says it’s going to absorb the frost phoenix’s heart now. Says goodbye for now… You won’t see it for a while.>

“Alright.”

After their farewell, Audhumla left.

Watching the giant quickly disappear, Kang Ian felt relieved.

The detector he had been checking showed another source of evil nearby.

‘I was worried what if Audhumla disliked me destroying those… good thing it left first.’

He found and destroyed the source of evil.

Something that couldn’t be found without a detector… and even if found, couldn’t be destroyed due to mental contamination.

To Kang Ian, it felt like picking up free candy on the street.

Crunch!

Ding!

 

[You have destroyed a source of evil.]

[+390 Evil Souls]

[+390 Nobility]

 

The air in the danger zone became a bit cleaner.

At the same time, the ominous aura around the research facility disappeared.

 

***

 

“(From here, we’ll take the lead.)”

The three Russian hunters said as they stepped forward.

Kang Ian shrugged and stepped back.

The request had been to safely enter the research facility.

While he also needed to remove enriched uranium, Kang Ian wasn’t a scientist.

The Russian hunters would handle the specifics.

They seemed to know the layout and moved without hesitation.

The uranium was located deep within the facility.

Normally, protective suits would be required due to radiation… but as B-rank hunters or higher, they didn’t need them.

Their skin was tougher than protective gear.

They advanced without issue.

At times, security systems are activated, plastic bullets or closing bulkheads… but to hunters, they were trivial.

They easily destroyed everything and reached the lowest level.

Beyond that was a triple-sealed door.

The innermost chamber contains the enriched uranium.

“(Wait here. We’ll go in and retrieve it.)”

Nikolai said.

Kang Ian nodded, understanding roughly.

They broke the door and went inside.

Kang Ian was left alone.

With nothing to do, he looked around.

It seemed to be where researchers once lived.

Supplies and documents were scattered everywhere.

While browsing, he noticed a small notebook.

Thinking it might be a diary, he opened it… and tilted his head.

‘This… the writing is strange.’

It didn’t seem to be Russian.

Even without knowing the language, he had seen Russian script before… this was completely different.

Nothing like any writing on Earth.

A strange script mixing drawings and text.

If anything, it resembled Egyptian hieroglyphs.

As he wondered, Hometos popped out and muttered:

<Oh? What’s this? This is demon language.>

“Demon language?”

<Yeah. It’s what demons use. Interesting to see it here. Let’s see… ‘While researching gates for a long time, I succeeded in making contact with what lies beyond them.’>

“!!?”