Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 173

173. Northern Expedition (4)

According to the White Bone Records, the Northern Expedition originally unfolded as follows:

Soon after Tae-sung initiates the Northern Expedition, Undead are discovered, causing casualties.

Only after Tae-sung’s side suffers losses do Hwanma and Jeonneungnyeon [Elite Hunter clans] participate in the Northern Expedition at the nation’s request. However, even Hwanma, actively engaged in combat, incurs significant damage.

In particular, the conflict between Park Do-ryeong and Lee Ji-tae intensifies, leading to a complete lack of cooperation between the clans.

They even fight among themselves, resulting in fatalities.

Worsening matters, the Chinese army and Chrome [A foreign Hunter group], seeing no hope for Korea, unilaterally proceed with the Northern Expedition.

Eventually, North Korea descends into chaos.

‘The climax was the recapture of Pyongyang.’

In Pyongyang, Hunters encounter new monsters they had never seen before, but the ability users, failing to reconcile their conflicts, are helplessly defeated.

Ultimately, Chrome, seeing no potential, resorts to the last resort. The incident known as the ‘Tepes Case’ occurs in Pyongyang.

Numerous ability users are killed or go missing, and Korea suffers a devastating blow.

The ambitious Northern Expedition ends, leaving only ashes and blood.

That was the course of the Northern Expedition in Difficulty: Hell.

This incident drives the conflict between the clans to its worst. Entering Difficulty: Easy marks the beginning of a true game, but the first step was taken terribly wrong.

‘But now… the course of events is quite different.’

Hyeon-mu felt the need to keep a closer eye on the Hwanma clan.

Initially, he thought Hwanma’s sudden intervention was a slight alteration of history due to his appearance. Originally, Jeonneungnyeon wouldn’t have joined the Northern Expedition so early either.

Hyeon-mu speculated that the rise and early intervention of Jeonneungnyeon stimulated Hwanma, leading Hwanma to set aside their pride and decide on early participation.

It was faster than expected, but Hyeon-mu had somewhat intended this.

‘But there’s no reason for Hwanma to cooperate with Tae-sung.’

The deep-seated conflict between Hwanma and Tae-sung was evident in the behavior of Noh Ha-eul, the tactical team leader of Hwanma, during the Guillotine Dungeon expedition.

Lee Ji-tae ignored Noh Ha-eul, and Noh Ha-eul openly expressed contempt for Lee Ji-tae.

‘Yet Hwanma not only actively rescued Tae-sung’s ability users but also flawlessly eliminated the Undead.’

It was inevitable to think that the Hwanma clan knew in advance and prepared accordingly.

Park Do-ryeong was at the heart of this anomaly.

Hyeon-mu decided to meet Park Do-ryeong soon.

“Where is Hwanma’s operational area?”

“Hwanma is currently in charge of the eastern front, but in reality, apart from Tae-sung, neither Jeonneungnyeon nor Hwanma has a clear area. In the first place, the front is too wide, and the number of ability users who can actually eliminate monsters is not large.”

Even though Matan [A type of energy source] is being supplied, soldiers are no different from ordinary people when it comes to dungeons.

It was enough for soldiers to be able to suppress monsters that came out of the dungeon; even Hunters didn’t want them entering the dungeon and being active there.

It was a matter of livelihood.

Hyeon-mu examined the distribution of each clan marked on the military operation map.

Although it had been over a week, the clans, overall, had not yet deeply penetrated the area.

In a situation where a new type of monster called Undead had appeared, they couldn’t move carelessly.

“You said Hwanma helped Tae-sung, right? Then did their operational areas overlap?”

“Yes. There are several such areas. The area was significantly readjusted because Hwanma intervened at the last minute. Our side also has overlapping areas with Tae-sung.”

Hyeon-mu took his eyes off the south and moved them upwards. Hyeon-mu’s gaze stopped at one place, and he tapped it with his finger.

“Here. I should go here first.”

“That place is…”

Seo Ji-hoo’s eyes lightly shook.

A remote area far ahead of the front lines.

Moreover, it wasn’t even Jeonneungnyeon’s area, and it was a place where Tae-sung and Hwanma’s operational areas overlapped. But that wasn’t the only reason Seo Ji-hoo was flustered.

“It’s a dungeon with no grade assessment yet.”

The terrain around the dungeon is so severely altered that it can be easily identified by satellite.

However, the only way to know how dangerous the monsters there are is for a Hunter to go inside.

That’s why there were countless casualties during the initial period of pioneering dungeons. Even now, unexplored dungeons are objects of fear.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve been to worse places.”

“I see. Understood. Then we’ll just do our jobs well.”

“Yes. If the boss is running wild, at least you guys should be calm and do well.”

“Thank you for acknowledging that.”

***

Hyeon-mu headed to a place deep in North Hwanghae Province over two days.

The deeper he went into North Korea, the more numerous and ferocious the monsters became.

Traces of human habitation still remained, but traces of people being unable to escape the overflowing monsters and being annihilated were also frequently seen.

It was a landscape reminiscent of Difficulty: Hell. The air was clear and refreshing, and there were no swarms of mosquitoes covering the sky, though.

‘Perhaps North Korea itself is like a trial version of Difficulty: Hell.’

Hyeon-mu stopped briefly, climbed a tall tree, and looked at the map. He was not far from his destination.

The dungeon was in the middle of a small village, described only as an area covered with blackened, dead trees.

‘If there’s a village, I might as well take a break.’

Hyeon-mu’s stamina was superhuman, but not infinite. Since he didn’t know the dungeon’s grade, he wanted to enter in the best condition.

He thought that if he took a place in one of the buildings and called Ha-hyeon or Kirson, they would take care of it.

However, as he arrived at the village, Hyeon-mu suddenly noticed a strange trace.

“Huh?”

A troll was dead with a hollowed-out neck.

It wasn’t bitten or cut. It was as if it had been scooped out with a sharp spoon.

It was a unique attack method. Hyeon-mu thought about how such an injury could be inflicted and stretched out his hand.

If he sharpened his hand blade and swung it as if scratching, it seemed like a similar shape would come out.

‘Could it be.’

Hyeon-mu couldn’t believe it, but he suppressed his presence again and entered the village.

Another monster’s corpse could be found. It didn’t take long for Hyeon-mu to find the unidentified assailant who had killed the monsters.

‘Jeok-nabi [Red Butterfly].’

Hyeon-mu found a Hunter with red hair, Jeok-nabi, in a narrow alley.

She silently ambushed an orc from behind with her hand wrapped in red aura. The orc, whose neck was cut in an instant, struggled without a scream and fell.

Speed, attack, boldness. Everything was clean without any flaws.

‘Why is Jeok-nabi here?’

Jeok-nabi was one of the talents Lee Ji-tae had selected for the Northern Expedition.

Participating in the Northern Expedition was taken for granted, but there was no reason for her to leave the front lines and come this far.

But Jeok-nabi skillfully took down the monsters one by one. She seemed quite familiar with it.

‘As if she lived here.’

Jeok-nabi headed somewhere without noticing Hyeon-mu. Hyeon-mu followed Jeok-nabi, suppressing his presence.

He wondered if he should take out his mask, but it didn’t seem necessary to go that far.

Hyeon-mu had already far surpassed Jeok-nabi’s level.

But as he followed Jeok-nabi’s movements, something felt strange.

Her path was circular. She wasn’t heading anywhere.

She was patrolling around the village, centered on the dungeon.

As if cleaning.

During that time, the screams of monsters never echoed.

‘What is she doing?’

As the cleaning was coming to an end, Jeok-nabi entered a building.

Hyeon-mu followed Jeok-nabi and approached the building. Hyeon-mu, who was about to enter, stopped abruptly. And at the same time, he reached out towards the wall.

With a roar, the wall shattered, and the sight of Jeok-nabi crouching in surprise came into view. Hyeon-mu’s hand instantly grabbed Jeok-nabi’s neck.

“What were you doing?”

“Ugh, huff… G-Gang Hyeon-mu?”

Jeok-nabi stared at Hyeon-mu with wide eyes.

Her hands were surrounded by a red aura. It was clear she was trying to ambush him.

Hyeon-mu was surprised that Jeok-nabi had noticed his presence, but he was more curious.

Hyeon-mu let go of her hand.

Looking at Jeok-nabi’s expression, it seemed she didn’t know it was him. Besides, Jeok-nabi couldn’t kill him anyway.

Jeok-nabi gasped for breath and stroked her neck where she had been grabbed.

“Gang Hyeon-mu, what are you doing here?”

“Taking a walk.”

It meant he was done with his business, so she should talk about hers. But Jeok-nabi didn’t seem to understand.

“This isn’t a good place for a walk. It’s far from amenities, and there are no hotels. And…”

“I mean, stop saying obvious things that don’t need to be said and tell me what your business is. Tell me what you were doing here. You were hunting as if you were cleaning the yard.”

At Hyeon-mu’s words, Jeok-nabi’s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“…Yard cleaning?”

Jeok-nabi calmly nodded.

“Yes. I live here.”

***

To be precise, she said she used to live here.

Hyeon-mu had heard that Jeok-nabi was a North Korean defector. But he never imagined she was from a village near the dungeon.

He didn’t think it was a coincidence.

Dungeons emit mana [A form of energy].

Naturally, the rate of ability user awakening among nearby residents is higher than in ordinary areas.

Especially the higher the grade. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone wants to live near a dungeon.

“I was originally going to move with my team members, but when I came near here, I couldn’t help but worry, so I came first. I thought it wouldn’t be dangerous if I didn’t enter the dungeon… Besides, this area is where I used to live.”

“Did Lee Ji-tae allow such personal actions?”

“He already knew I was familiar with this environment. I got permission to visit briefly. And I also combined it with reconnaissance up to this point.”

Is he using a local familiar with the terrain to plan the route?

If that’s the case, Jeok-nabi seemed like a good fit. Jeok-nabi was so skilled at stealth that she was never caught while ‘cleaning the yard.’

‘Can she really be called an ally…’

Hyeon-mu hadn’t forgotten that Jeok-nabi was a member of the Alliance [A mysterious organization]. But her current appearance was far from the shady behavior of the Alliance he had seen so far.

Even though she was ordered to monitor Lee Ji-tae, she was arbitrarily separated like this just because her home was nearby.

‘She may have only received the Alliance’s protection, but she may not really be an ally.’

Park Hwi-so also seemed to worry about Jeok-nabi as if she were a cute youngest member.

‘Or maybe I haven’t seen Jeok-nabi’s true colors.’

“Have you ever been inside that dungeon?”

“Are you talking about the dungeon in the center of the village? If that’s the case… Hmm, I’ve never been inside. I’ve never seen anything coming out of there either. I’ve only occasionally heard strange noises.”

“When North Korea was still normal, didn’t they send any Hunters or anything?”

“I told you, I’ve never seen anything coming out.”

That means there are no survivors.

Hyeon-mu judged that the grade of this dungeon might be quite high.

Stable high-grade dungeons do not have a large number of monsters.

It’s the same reason why there weren’t many golems in the Taebaek Dungeon. Even if monsters are introduced from the outside, they will be defeated instead, so the probability of a Flood is low.

In other words, considering the state of North Korea, the dungeon in this village seemed to be at least 5-star.

It might be more difficult than he thought, but Hyeon-mu was rather satisfied. The more difficult the dungeon, the easier his plan becomes.

Hyeon-mu decided to use Jeok-nabi like Lee Ji-tae, while also keeping an eye on her.

“Good. Let’s go inside together.”

Hyeon-mu was rather dumbfounded by Jeok-nabi’s cheerful answer.

Didn’t she just say that no one had ever come out of the dungeon, playing the role of a prophet in a horror movie?

But Jeok-nabi said with shining eyes.

“Instead, teach me how to become stronger. Like you.”