Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 170

170. Northern Expedition (1)

After the fall of North Korea, people expected a cataclysm, but contrary to expectations, nothing much changed.

The front line had shifted somewhat.

Even after the North Korean army disappeared, the goal of stopping the monsters remained the same.

In the end, to stop the monsters, the existing barbed wire fences, bunkers, and G.P.s [Guard Posts] had to be maintained as they were.

However, Gaeseong City was one of the forward-deployed areas, and also the forefront base of the Western Front.

With a large number of ability users gathering, the proportion of ability users to ordinary people in Gaeseong City felt like half and half.

In particular, the All-Powerful Union camp, with its large number of ability users, had an especially high proportion of ability users.

All-Powerful Union Camp.

Hyeon-woo, who had been preparing for the Northern Expedition, was slightly troubled by the occurrence of an unexpected variable.

“What kind of guy is Park Do-ryeong?”

Park Do-ryeong.

Just yesterday, Park Do-ryeong, the leader of Smallpox [a powerful hunter group], declared his participation in the Northern Expedition, breaking his seclusion.

Due to his extremely poor relationship with Tae-seong, the general consensus was that Smallpox would stay in the rear to prepare for any emergencies.

However, no one expected Park Do-ryeong to directly declare his participation in the Northern Expedition.

No, some might have predicted it from the moment the All-Powerful Union surpassed Smallpox to become the second-ranked organization.

The rightful successor to Lunatic Tiger, once the top organization in South Korea, had been pushed down to third place.

Seo Ji-hoo began to share what he knew.

“He is the ability user who has been active as a hunter for the longest time in the country. He was the first 4-star ability user and also the first to reach the limit level. He was also the leader of Lunatic Tiger, the first clan in Korea, which gathered all the top-notch talents.”

“He had all the good stuff.”

“Yes. He swept up all the talented people in the country. There is no ranker-level talent in Korea who hasn’t been under Park Do-ryeong’s wing. Team Leader Oh Dae-seong and Lee Ji-tae were also members of Lunatic Tiger.”

“Then why did it break up?”

“I don’t know the details. It must have been related to government policies. Lee Ji-tae and Tae-seong are strongly pro-government. Team Leader Oh Dae-seong left because he wanted to embrace weaker ability users without a clan, but I heard that he broke up with Lee Ji-tae on very bad terms. Lee Ji-tae took a significant number of skilled individuals from Lunatic Tiger.”

From Park Do-ryeong’s perspective, it must have felt like important chunks of flesh were torn away.

It was natural that Lunatic Tiger, Korea’s first and strongest, was reborn with a new name.

“The clan name ‘Smallpox’ is even taken from the saying, ‘Tigers and smallpox are scary, but the most terrifying thing is the greed of greedy officials.’ That’s how much he dislikes being tied to the system.”

“Weren’t smallpox, measles, and war the scariest things, followed by the terrifying consequence of becoming a delinquent youth by watching illegal videos?”

“…What year are you pulling that joke from? There are many people here who are too young to understand Branch Manager Kang Hyeon-woo’s jokes. You shouldn’t make such jokes just because you have a high position.”

Hyeon-woo felt wronged, but no one around him even slightly raised the corners of their mouths.

“No, why is the age range so young here? Am I that old? Is there no one here who rented videos from video rental stores?”

“Why would we watch those when we have YouTube and torrents?”

When Song Yeo-un asked back with an innocent face, Hyeon-woo gave her a cold look.

“You’re getting a pay cut.”

“Yes?!”

“Atone to the movie producers. That’s how you become a delinquent youth.”

“Let’s stop. Anyway, Park Do-ryeong stopped his activities after the clan broke up. He has been in seclusion for about 7 years, to the point where people said he had retired. The actual managers are the siblings Ho-yeon and Ho-ari, both 3-star ability users. I don’t know why he suddenly declared his return to activity this time.”

“Hmm, what about his abilities?”

“He himself is so skilled and strong that he doesn’t need to reveal his skills much. The only skill that has been revealed is acceleration. His ultimate skill hasn’t been revealed either.”

Acceleration.

Hyeon-woo thought of Noh Ha-eul, the only acceleration ability user he knew. She was also a team leader in Smallpox.

Noh Ha-eul was unique but loyal to her duties and considerate.

Seeing that such a person was there, the overall atmosphere of Smallpox didn’t seem bad.

At that time, Hyeon-woo saw Yoo-min deep in thought.

Yoo-min also participated in this Northern Expedition plan.

Although it was on the condition that she stay in the All-Powerful Union camp, some people were uncomfortable with Yoo-min, who didn’t even have a hunter’s license, participating in the expedition.

However, anyone who knew Yoo-min even a little didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. Rather, they were grateful for her participation.

“Why, is something bothering you?”

“Huh? Oh. No. There’s something that feels like it’s about to click… but I need to look into it more. I don’t know anything right now.”

Hyeon-woo nodded.

If there was something Yoo-min was concerned about, it meant there was definitely something.

And if she didn’t say it, it meant it wasn’t the right time.

Deciding to leave the timing of speaking to her, Hyeon-woo turned to Seo Ji-hoo.

“Then there’s no chance that Park Do-ryeong will cause problems for our plan, right?”

“If Park Do-ryeong has ulterior motives, he’s interested in Tae-seong or Lee Ji-tae, not us. Rather, Lee Ji-tae might have to watch out for a backstab.”

“Good.”

Hyeon-woo decided to wrap up the meeting.

“Everyone knows how important this expedition is, right?”

At Hyeon-woo’s serious words, Song Yeo-un and Seo Ji-hoo nodded with heavy expressions.

Beyond the simple meaning of recovering territory, the meaning of humans reclaiming land taken from monsters was significant.

It could be hopeful news in an era shaken by rising difficulty.

Even if they didn’t know about Hyper Flood or the threat to humanity hidden in Pyongyang, that much was certain.

“Good, good. It seems like everyone knows.”

Hyeon-woo said resolutely at their determined expressions.

“This Northern Expedition is a promotional show for our brand items. It’s rare for such a large-scale battle to occur anywhere in the world. It’ll be top-tier in terms of scale alone. With the eyes and ears of the world focused on us, we’re going to sweep up the money from the hunter market with this expedition as an opportunity.”

“……”

Silence flowed. Hyeon-woo felt the atmosphere waver for a moment.

Song Yeo-un briefly didn’t understand Hyeon-woo’s words and wore a blank expression, and Seo Ji-hoo raised his gaze upward.

After a fleeting moment, enthusiastic applause rang out.

It was Yoo-min.

As soon as Yoo-min started clapping, Seo Ji-hoo followed, and then Song Yeo-un clapped with a still bewildered expression.

Hyeon-woo smiled.

Of course, promotion was meaningful, but that wasn’t all. But it seemed like it would be better for ordinary people to only know this much.

Because for most people, a difficult-to-accept result was probably waiting.

***

Thud.

A pack of werewolves lay prone in the bushes on the hill.

The werewolves, who had spilled out from a nearby 3-star dungeon, were living by hunting wild animals, and had reached this area where humans were visible.

Then, a military transport vehicle was seen moving along a makeshift road beyond the bushes. The werewolves began to move for a surprise attack.

“Ahem.”

Suddenly, the sound of clearing his throat was heard from behind. The werewolves, who had been on high alert, were so surprised by the sudden presence that they almost jumped.

A human was standing behind them.

It was a strange human.

Even though he was clearly visible, his presence was barely felt. They probably wouldn’t have noticed him even if he passed right by them.

The werewolves revealed their blind killing intent as soon as they saw the human. As the growling spread, the human wore a satisfied smile.

“Good. Now you’re not going to be so scared that you run away.”

The human was holding out two fingers, overlapping them.

As if holding something.

The werewolves felt a sense of incongruity for a moment, but their hunger and killing intent were greater.

The moment the first werewolf took a step, Hyeon-woo let go of his hand.

Whirrrrr! Snap!

Along with a sharp sound cutting through the wind, blood splattered across the peaceful forest.

The werewolves, who were about to rush in, were split in half as they were, their upper and lower bodies scattered separately.

The forest was instantly dyed red.

Splat, thud.

And a beat later, the trees began to fall one after another.

Exactly from where Hyeon-woo was to the large roadside trees near the road in a fan shape, nothing was left standing.

Shortly after, Song Yeo-un and Seo Ji-hoo approached Hyeon-woo from behind with horrified expressions.

“…What is this? A new skill?”

“No, it’s just an application of an item I have.”

Hyeon-woo answered, moving his blackened left hand, ‘Yul of the Restraint’.

It took time to adapt, but the stiff movements from before had largely disappeared. As the movement of his hand became more natural, his ability to control the spider web also became considerably stronger.

To the point where he could extend the spider web silently to the end of a 20-meter distance.

The strength could also be made as strong as a chain by injecting mana.

Hyeon-woo had simply fixed both ends of the elongated spider web to a large tree and then contracted it at once.

With just that, the werewolves in their 30s were cut in half and died without a scream.

‘The potential for application is considerable.’

Song Yeo-un said grumbling.

“Where do you get such good items, Branch Manager? You get stronger every time I see you.”

Hyeon-woo answered vaguely to Song Yeo-un’s words, examining the state of the werewolves.

If the dungeon was one where werewolves came out in droves, it was definitely a 4-star dungeon.

“Was there a 4-star dungeon near Gaeseong? I heard there was one 2-star dungeon and one 3-star dungeon.”

“It’s a bit far, but it’s up north. It’s an area close to Hwanghae Province, so I haven’t reported it yet, but if they’re coming all the way here, the outflow must be considerable.”

This is what happens when dungeon management is not done at all.

Aside from North Korea, it was common to hear that monsters often formed groups outside dungeons in sparsely populated territories.

Since they wouldn’t be able to stop it even if a Flood broke out, it was safe to say that the entire North Korea was a dungeon.

“I said that teams 1 and 2 would go to the 3-star dungeon, and teams 3 and 4 would go to the 2-star dungeon, right?”

“Yes. In two days, we’ll be able to clear the area near Gaeseong and start heading north. But if these monsters keep increasing, it might take longer than expected.”

Hyeon-woo was lost in thought for a moment.

Heading north was a plan he had been preparing for a long time, but it would be troublesome if he fell behind other clans. Hyeon-woo decided without much hesitation.

“I’ll go to the 4-star dungeon.”

“Yes. Have a good one.”

“Aren’t you even going to ask why I’m going alone?”

When Hyeon-woo asked as if he felt wronged, Seo Ji-hoo looked at him with a sulky expression.

“Who’s worried about who? Not in my place.”

“That’s right. We’re the ones going to the 2 and 3-star dungeons as a group, so we’re more dangerous than the branch manager going to the 4-star dungeon alone, right?”

Hyeon-woo was speechless. That’s because he had already shown them how he swept away a 4-star dungeon alone in the Taean dungeon.

“Are you leaving right away?”

“Is there any reason to delay? You two go back to what you were doing. Contact me as soon as you’re done.”

***

“Are you really okay with this?”

A Chinese military officer, who was looking at the other side with binoculars on the still-frozen riverside, opened his mouth.

Across the river, where the cold wind was blowing fiercely, was North Korean territory, where people had long since become scarce.

If the armistice line in South Korea was a good line to stop the monsters, the Yalu River was playing the role of such a front line on the Chinese side.

“It’s okay. There’s no problem in terms of international law.”

“The South Korean side will still claim that North Korea is their territory.”

“Doesn’t China have a higher rate of accepting refugees? The sovereign of the territory is the people of that country. The UN has already given its approval.”

The Chinese military officer snorted. He was clearly thinking that UN approval, which had no real power, was nothing.

Shiva Amini turned her head and looked at the Chinese military officer.

“I didn’t know the People’s Army would be afraid of a small country on the periphery.”