Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 111

111. Assassination (3)

“How does it look?”

Seo Jihoo was ‘analyzing’ one of the fallen werewolf corpses.

Unlike the werewolves near the entrance, this one was a bit further away.

It seemed to have been hidden by the tall grass, making it hard to spot.

“It doesn’t seem like he was taken down by an Omnipotent hunter [a hunter with exceptionally high stats].”

Hyeonwoo looked at Seo Jihoo with a disapproving gaze.

“You should be able to tell that at a glance. What kind of guy do you think did this?”

The werewolf had been cut sharply at the neck and had fallen.

“As you know, it’s very difficult to kill a monster in one blow. You either have to be incredibly skilled or have overwhelming stats. This seems to be the former. What’s bothering me is that the wound seems to be the work of someone who mainly deals with humans rather than monsters, and no one on our team can do this.”

Hunters don’t usually aim for the neck. It’s hard to hit, and there are plenty of monsters that will keep coming even if they have trouble breathing.

“I see. Then the hunters who came with them might already be dead.”

“Huh? How can you be so sure?”

“Why? They didn’t loot the bodies. Have you ever seen a hunter kill this cleanly and just leave it?”

“……Ah.”

“If the hunters who came with them were alive, there would have been signs of them diligently dismantling the bodies.”

“I’ve been so focused on leveling up with the support I’ve been getting that I forgot about it.”

Kang Hyeonwoo’s team members, who were focused on growth with solid support, didn’t even have time to loot corpses.

Thanks to this, they didn’t have much income other than the salary Hyeonwoo paid them, but Hyeonwoo strictly kept holidays, so they had enough time to loot and earn extra income.

“You should use your body and run some dungeons too. When are you going to level up?”

“Level 3 is pretty fast.”

Hyeonwoo thought he should throw Seo Jihoo into a dungeon someday.

He knew that he wasn’t an expert in combat, but it would be a disaster if he wandered around without confidence and died. He had to build up enough stamina to survive.

“Hmm, so that means they didn’t just lose contact for no reason.”

Whether it was an Omnipotent hunter team or an independent hunter team, their identity was unknown, but it was clear that they had malicious intent.

The fact that there were so many monsters gathered at the dungeon entrance proved it. It was clearly a sign that they had been deliberately herded there.

“Well, anyway, if it seems like an Omnipotent hunter is dead, I should go take a look first.”

“Huh? What are we supposed to do then?”

“Just farm while catching werewolves. It’s a 3-star dungeon, so it should be easy.”

Hyeonwoo got up from his seat and ran straight out.

Seo Jihoo sighed deeply and watched his back.

***

Ai Hua, a rogue from Jilin Province, China, who participated in this expedition, was watching the battle taking place at the dungeon entrance from a low hill.

By adding his skill ‘Tracking’ to the telescope, he could detect not only the hunters’ movements but also every single action.

It was a skill usually used against fleeing monsters, but it was even more valuable when used against ordinary people.

Wei An, Ai Hua’s partner, suddenly opened his mouth.

“How does it look?”

“I’ve only heard about it, but he’s a real monster. He’s tearing werewolves apart with his bare hands.”

Wei An’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Ai Hua, are we really making a profit from this?”

“Get out if you’re scared. I’ll be happy to reduce your share.”

Ai Hua scoffed and ridiculed Wei An. Wei An shut his mouth.

China is already saturated with hunters.

There are too many hunters compared to dungeons, so income is decreasing, and there are many cases where they are reduced to rogues because their skills are labor-intensive.

Among them, contract killing was a business that promised as much profit as a hunter.

In particular, this job was big enough to live and play for several years.

“Besides, we’re not even catching that guy ourselves, are we? What’s the problem?”

Wei An’s expression worsened at Ai Hua’s words.

They were also Korean-Chinese rogues who would do anything for money, but the spirit of the Japanese hunter who came with them was chilling.

He didn’t even reveal his real name, only revealing the pseudonym ‘Endo’, and didn’t explain anything other than the operation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that bastard killed us all after the job is done.”

“Go cut your dick and run away, you butcher who catches people is talking nonsense. Do you think only one or two people are involved in this operation? There are a lot of Korean bastards involved too. No matter how good that Japanese bastard is, he can’t kill them all.”

But Wei An said cautiously.

“But that Japanese guy… no matter how I look at it, his face looks similar to some 4-star hunter.”

“A 4-star level?”

There are only 70 4-star level ability users in the world, and less than 2/3 of them are active as hunters. Naturally, their faces are bound to be known.

“Yeah. Kang Hyeonwoo is a 5-star, but if it’s a 4-star who has been active for a long time…”

“Wei An, wait a minute.”

Ai Hua stared intently through the telescope. Hyeonwoo, who seemed to be looking around for a moment, suddenly started running towards them.

Ai Hua estimated the distance between where Hyeonwoo was and where he was using his tracking ability and felt a chill.

About 1.5km.

A distance where a person can’t even be seen as a dot. But Hyeonwoo was running directly towards them.

“Wei An, we’re caught! Run!”

“Huh? What?”

Ai Hua immediately left his spot as planned. Wei An also hurriedly followed behind.

Hyeonwoo’s speed was incredibly fast, but fortunately, Ai Hua and Wei An were able to retreat to a reasonable distance before that.

As soon as Hyeonwoo arrived at the place where they were, an explosion echoed from the hill where they were.

It was the sound of Claymores [directional anti-personnel mines] and landmines that had been smuggled from inside the military demarcation line exploding.

The explosion didn’t end with just one. Secondary and tertiary explosions followed, turning the hill into scorched earth.

“Damn it. I hope this takes care of it.”

This was their mission. To monitor Kang Hyeonwoo and detonate the traps when he approached. Hyeonwoo was caught in it.

They waited for a long time, but there was no sign of anyone coming out of the dust cloud.

“……Did the body completely fly away?”

“I think we should go check it out up close.”

But Ai Hua couldn’t carry out those words. Werewolves began to gather after hearing the explosion.

Ai Hua didn’t want to face so many werewolves with just the two of them.

“Let’s just get out of here. If he’s still alive but hasn’t come out yet, he must be seriously injured. The werewolves will finish it off.”

Soon, as Ai Hua said, werewolves covered the area near the hill.

Wei An mourned the hero of the Cheoldu Dungeon in vain and retreated to where the hunter team was waiting.

***

The explosion echoed loudly even in the valley deep inside the dungeon.

When they saw smoke rising in the distance, cheers flowed among the gathered Omnipotent hunters. Unlike Hyeonwoo’s expectations, the Omnipotent hunters were not dead. And the number was also different.

Most of them were hunters who were pushed in by debt and coercion, but there were also some key executives.

They were executives of the Oh Daesung line who had been active as hunters a long time ago and had retired or had their positions pushed back by Hyeonwoo.

They had been secretly looking for a way to oust Hyeonwoo, and when the executives of the Kang Sunggyu line promised rewards and coaxed them, they gladly accepted.

The fact that it was a North Korean area, where tracking and investigation were difficult, also played a role.

Not long after, Ai Hua and his partner Wei An arrived.

But Endo, the hunter who planned this assassination, didn’t easily accept it. He, who had been observing all along, got up from his seat and approached Ai Hua.

“Did you confirm the body?”

“Yes? Ah, the werewolves rushed to where Kang Hyeonwoo was, and there was no fight. If he were alive, wouldn’t there have been a fight or would he have been eaten?”

“He may have used mimicry or stealth. The confirmation was insufficient.”

Stealth, like a ninja.

Ai Hua thought so inwardly, but didn’t show it.

How could he hide underground while a bomb buried in the ground was exploding? Japanese guys have too much delusion.

“But you came straight here. Without even checking if there was a tail [checking if they were being followed].”

“Yes?”

Thud. Endo grabbed Ai Hua’s head and threw it sideways. The moment the sound of Ai Hua’s neck snapping echoed, Wei An screamed and rushed at Endo.

But Endo drew his sword in an instant and cut Wei An in half.

“Huh? Ah, Ugh!”

The moment the Omnipotent hunters screamed, they saw werewolves growling and rushing in from the valley entrance.

They were the ones who had been secretly tracking Ai Hua and Wei An’s movements.

The hunters hurriedly blocked the entrance, but the number of those who started rushing in was too large.

The Korean-Chinese rogue, who was shocked to see Ai Hua and Wei An being attacked, also joined in.

Endo looked at the entrance with an unpleasant expression. He had caused unnecessary commotion.

If ordinary people are easily attacked by monsters, then hunters catch monsters, and hunters are easily attacked by guns made by ordinary people.

That was the same for even top-ranked hunters.

If there is no way to avoid or physically defend against it, they cannot withstand the firepower of the military.

This is why ability users have difficulty being relatively active on the battlefield.

Of course, ability users who have received military training will also have stronger combat abilities. But just because you are a strong ability user does not mean you become a bulletproof human.

‘He’s probably dead. But it would be a problem if he died so easily.’

In fact, Endo wanted to take Hyeonwoo alive if possible. Because there was something to interrogate him about.

But if he inevitably died, there was one more person to interrogate besides Kang Hyeonwoo. She was the second target.

‘Yumin, she would know about the location of that crystal moss.’

Endo thought there was no need to drag out the time pointlessly. He leaped into the middle of the werewolf pack in an instant. And his sword flashed.

In an instant, the bodies of the werewolves within a 10m radius were all cut diagonally and fell down.

The valley fell into silence for a moment, but other werewolves rushed in again. Endo cut down the werewolves without taking a step.

“Oh oh…….”

“Is this a 4-star hunter?”

Everyone was shocked by Endo’s amazing combat power.

“Woo-oh-oh-oh!”

Suddenly, a roar that echoed through the valley erupted from above the valley. The hunters looked up and were shocked.

Dazzling white fur. It was the Lycanthrope, the third target of this dungeon.

“Didn’t we already catch the Lycanthrope?”

The Lycanthrope had the ability to summon a large number of werewolves, so it had to be killed as quickly as possible. Therefore, the second and third targets, excluding the return stone, had already been finished off to prevent interference.

Endo’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s a different one.”

That Lycanthrope was clearly different from the other Lycanthrope he had cut down.

Much glossier fur, arrogant eyes looking down at him.

It was different from the monster that was just full of hunger and madness. It was a clear anomaly. The corners of Endo’s lips went up.

“I’ll take care of that one. You guys just block the entrance well.”

The Lycanthrope jumped lightly from the high valley. Endo licked his lips at the quiet yet smooth movement.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a prey worth hunting. To meet a guy like this in a 3-star dungeon. Did he flow in from outside? Anyway, good. Shall I cut him once?”

Endo rushed forward, swinging his sword greatly towards the Lycanthrope. The moment the Lycanthrope’s hand rushed straight towards the Japanese sword, Endo had no doubt that he would tear apart the claws and split the torso together.

Bang!

At that moment, Endo’s body flipped over. He had no idea what had happened. His combat instinct was just to get up quickly.

But the view in front of him was completely distorted.

‘What, what?’

Endo tried to figure out what was going on and fumbled for his sword.

The back of the sword was digging into his skull and stuck in his face.

Out of his blurry vision, he saw the Lycanthrope licking the blood vessels on his slightly injured palm.

Only then did Endo realize that he had dropped his sword due to the Lycanthrope’s unexpected strength and had been hit by his own sword.

‘What is this… a monster?’

“What, I was expecting something, but was he just a guy who would be taken care of by Yerddan [a low-level monster]?”

Then an unbelievable voice was heard.