Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 310

310. Asura (2)

Thud.

Kirson tossed the halved upper body of Tsuruya down the hill and checked on Song Yeo-un’s condition. Even amidst all this, Song Yeo-un was still vomiting blood.

Confirming her poor state, Kirson took out a potion and fed it to her. After a while, Song Yeo-un’s expression gradually improved.

“Being nursed by a monster is a first for me.”

She had seen Kirson before, but his appearance was still hard to get used to.

Taming monsters and using them like people. The hunters from the South China Alliance who had attacked were also being taken care of by the monsters.

The monsters’ abilities were far superior to those of the JeonNeung Alliance hunters, making it almost disheartening.

“Haha, at this point, why not just use monsters…”

“What you guys can do is different from what they can do.”

Song Yeo-un turned her head, brightening her expression at the welcome voice. But she quickly grimaced again at the pain in her stomach.

“Branch Manager!”

Hyeonmu was coming down the slope. He looked like a drowned rat as well, but he had taken off his top as if it were a bother, revealing his curvaceous figure.

Song Yeo-un admired the sight without realizing it.

“Wow, Branch Manager, your chest is really big. It would be better if you breastfeed instead when I have the baby.”

“That’s something that needs agreement with Yumin.”

“Ah, don’t tell Yumin I made a joke like that… Ugh! What’s wrong with your eye?”

Song Yeo-un screamed and clutched her waist, groaning.

It was no wonder Song Yeo-un was surprised; even after pouring potions on it, Hyeonmu’s one eye was in a state that could only be described as a complete mess.

“I’ll explain later.”

Hyeonmu answered vaguely and surveyed the surroundings. The target he was chasing was not Tsuruya Miharu but Helen.

He was sure he was chasing Helen, but somehow the target he was tracking had changed to Tsuruya. She must have noticed him and tricked him.

‘She’s not an easy opponent after all.’

Song Yeo-un also looked around and suddenly asked.

“If Branch Manager is here, does that mean Adam Fault is here too?”

“No, Adam is moving separately. It’s better for him to move alone.”

Currently, the only opponent who could threaten Adam was Helen.

Helen had a strong force and possessed various ability users. Above all, her ability itself was threatening to Adam. Therefore, Hyeonmu tried to eliminate Helen early on.

“The situation doesn’t look good.”

“Well, I can only say that you came at just the right time.”

“Good job. You’ve worked hard.”

The presence of the JeonNeung Alliance alone prevents other clans from focusing on Adam and Hyeonmu. They were already playing a sufficient role just by disrupting things from behind.

“But you’ll have to try a little harder. As always, just try hard enough not to die.”

“Ah, I should have known when my friend said this place was blacklisted…”

Song Yeo-un pouted and replied.

“We’ll do whatever you tell us to do. Just give the orders.”

“It might be a little embarrassing…”

After hearing Hyeonmu’s order, Song Yeo-un looked blank. Then, she looked around as if searching for someone to sympathize with, but no one around her shared her bewilderment.

She looked at Hyeonmu with a suspicious expression.

“Drink… Branch Manager’s blood?”

***

Hyeonmu shrugged and replied.

“I told you it might be embarrassing.”

“No, still, how can you tell me to drink Branch Manager’s blood… Branch Manager’s blood is poisonous, isn’t it?”

“You won’t die from drinking it. Instead, well, it’s like entrusting your life to me forever. If I think you should die, the poison blood will activate immediately. Other than that minor detail, it’s fine.”

“That doesn’t seem much different from now. I’m already a subordinate, right?”

“But the reward you get in return is great.”

Hyeonmu looked at Kirson. Kirson made a slightly uncomfortable expression before nodding.

“You won’t regret it.”

“If possible, I wanted to limit it to the monsters, but the plan has changed slightly. A strange guy showed up and interfered. So, I think I need to ask you guys too. I’ll say it again, this is a request. Not an order.”

Song Yeo-un saw Hyeonmu lowering himself to ask for a favor for the first time.

But that didn’t mean she would be swayed. From the start, Song Yeo-un had no intention of refusing whether Kang Hyeonmu ordered or asked.

“Sure, give it to me. But how do I receive it? Do I bite Branch Manager’s neck?”

“Ah, it’ll be quick.”

Hyeonmu took out Tam and stabbed it into Song Yeo-un’s thigh in one swift motion. Before she could even scream, Tam was pulled out again.

Just as blood was about to gush out, purple crystals quickly formed around the affected area.

“This… is crystal moss?”

“Sell it if you want. I recommend keeping it as a souvenir, though.”

Song Yeo-un examined the wound on her thigh and realized that her internal injuries had also healed in an instant.

Was this what he was aiming for? Increased healing power?

It would definitely be helpful, but she couldn’t tell if it was something worth asking for a favor for. Besides, Hyeonmu seemed to be planning to have other hunters drink his blood as well, not just Song Yeo-un.

“But is that the only order you have for us? Donating blood to us?”

“Yeah.”

Song Yeo-un had a dumbfounded expression. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“What exactly is Branch Manager’s plan?”

Hyeonmu smiled bitterly.

“There’s something I’ve been consistently teaching you guys. Keep that in mind.”

“Something you’ve been consistently teaching… was there something like that?”

“Of course. What do you do when it looks like you’re going to fail?”

“Hmm, don’t fail alone.”

“If someone tries to benefit from my loss?”

“Make sure they lose too, even if my loss is greater.”

“What if someone more capable than you shows off?”

“Bring them down somehow.”

“Well learned.”

“What is this, anyway? How to buy a ticket to hell? Are you telling us to plunder your assets and hit Seo Ji-hoo in the back of the head if something goes wrong and you die?”

“Too well learned.”

Song Yeo-un had learned well, but there was no time to keep joking around.

Time was passing.

***

Thump.

Just as he finished transfusing blood to most of the JeonNeung Alliance hunters, Hyeonmu felt a weak but heavy impact. It was a nauseating sound.

It meant that Adam was fighting somewhere nearby.

“I’m going first. Once things are settled, continue as you have been.”

“Yes, sir.”

Since his business with the JeonNeung Alliance hunters was finished, Hyeonmu hurried to move.

The JeonNeung Alliance hunters would now do their part in their own way. But he had left Adam alone for too long.

About five minutes after Hyeonmu started running, someone blocked his path.

It was the leader of the South China Alliance, Helen.

“Kang Hyeonmu.”

She muttered, exhaling a sigh with white breath in the heavy rain.

“How do you plan to keep your promise?”

“Promise?”

Hyeonmu replied as if he were hearing it for the first time. Helen smiled as if she expected Hyeonmu to act that way.

“I already knew that trust is just nonsense to you.”

“If you knew that well, why did you make a promise with me?”

“It’s not a loss for me if killing Adam Fault is delayed a little.”

Helen looked up at the sky and said.

The sun was now nearly 80% obscured. Moreover, the clouds and heavy rain made the area as dark as night.

All the civilians who had not evacuated from this shadow-covered area would have become monsters or subordinates of some star [entities from another dimension].

“In just 23 hours, the world as we know it will end, Kang Hyeonmu.”

“You sound like you’re looking forward to it.”

“I am looking forward to it. Why wouldn’t I be? To be honest, I’m starting to think it might be more beneficial to let the ‘Leviathan’ mission fail. The number of subordinates has increased dramatically as Adam has stopped razing the inside of the shadow.”

Helen wore a satisfied expression.

“There are guys with much better potential than trash like Tsuruya Miharu. In Las Vegas, there were swarms of species driven mad by greed. As the number of controllable subordinates increased, so did my power.”

Hyeonmu smiled bitterly. One of the things he had been worried about was this.

The more subordinates there were, the stronger the stars became. But Hyeonmu, being just a newborn star, could not enjoy such benefits.

“Thanks to you, most of my competitors have been eliminated. Even if the star, starving from the failure of the trial, doesn’t choose me as its agent, it’s enough to make me the only option in the end. Now, I’m the only apostle of that star left.”

“That’s a shame.”

“So, what are you going to do, Kang Hyeonmu?”

Helen asked, standing sideways with her hands in her pockets.

“Are you going to keep your promise, or are you not going to keep it?”

She was asking whether he would kill Adam or not.

But what Hyeonmu had promised was not to kill Adam, but to kill ‘the worst person in the world.’

Hyeonmu checked the time and decided it was not yet the right moment.

“Of course, if I made a promise, I have to keep it. I’m like a symbol of trust.”

“I see. That’s a shame. That promise no longer needs to be kept.”

At the same time as Helen’s words, Hyeonmu felt a force pressing down on him. In an instant, dozens of debuff skills were pressing down on his body.

The mud on the ground firmly bound his legs, and he felt his muscles cramping and his strength draining away.

His tongue became parched, and it became difficult to breathe. Hundreds of hunters surrounding Hyeonmu revealed themselves.

“At least one of them will be your weakness.”

Soon, snipers aimed at Hyeonmu. Despite his significantly slowed reflexes, Hyeonmu could tell that some of the numerous attacks were fatal to him.

There were skills that could purify his poison blood and turn it into plain water, and there were attacks that could predict his movements and pierce his heart.

There was even a skill that could rot his body in exchange for his lifespan. Hyeonmu dragged his heavy body and evaded.

There were many skills that didn’t end with simply blocking them.

This is why someone with power is more dangerous than someone who is strong alone.

Diversity.

If Adam Fault had faced Helen alone, Adam would have likely lost.

Her skills were exceptionally powerful, but her ability to prepare for such a large-scale battle was lacking.

And this was precisely why Helen was considered ‘the strongest person in the world’ in the difficulty: Hell world, and why she was selected as the ‘Leviathan’ at the time.

She even survived that war. Power, ability, and a fierce battle of wits to survive.

But it is different now.

In the original timeline, this was supposed to happen a year from now, when Helen was promoted to agent.

In that timeline, there was no ‘Teacher,’ and there was no Adam Fault who was suddenly designated as Leviathan.

There was no return stone that could go to difficulty: Hell.

Above all, there was no Kang Hyeonmu of now.

Bang.

Hyeonmu kicked off the ground.

Helen’s eyes widened, and she quickly dodged. With a narrow margin, Helen barely managed to save her life.

She looked back and forth between the hunters and Hyeonmu with a bewildered expression.

Hyeonmu still seemed to be crouching as if his body was heavy, but he had an annoyed expression.

“Well, my body is definitely heavy.”

“…Is he a monster?”

“Do I have to have this much penalty to fight on equal terms? It’s been a very long time since I’ve faced an opponent who ‘sees and avoids’ me at this difficulty.”

But Hyeonmu had no intention of dragging out the fight.

Hyeonmu summoned his Ego Weapon without hesitation. Helen moved quickly and took evasive action.

But to Hyeonmu’s eyes, it was a slow movement that he could grasp.

The Ego Weapon was fired.

It wasn’t as fast as he would have liked, but it was enough to pierce Helen’s body. In an instant, the Ego Weapon pierced her heart.

At that moment, Helen smiled instead of screaming.

Heavy, ink-like aura dripped from Helen’s chest.

Helen groped the spot where the Ego Weapon should have pierced and pushed her hand straight in. Soon, she took something out of her chest, or rather, her ‘warehouse.’

What was trembling in Helen’s hand was none other than the Ego Weapon that Hyeonmu had summoned.

“What an interesting weapon. A weapon so full of murderous intent.”

Hyeonmu wore a disgruntled expression. Helen pulled her arm back with all her might and threw the spear at Hyeonmu in one swift motion.

The spear, overflowing with fierce murderous intent towards Hyeonmu, rushed towards him like crazy.