Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 218

218. When a Star Casts a Shadow (3)

Hyeon-woo stepped back, his expression displeased.

“Unless you’re going to explain who you *were* in the past, don’t act like you’re something special.”

Hyeon-woo didn’t plan to show any weakness until he understood Monstrell’s game.

If Monstrell’s words held truth, he already suspected one being. That alone made Monstrell unsettling. But acknowledging it and showing concern were two different things.

In the first place, Monstrell wasn’t someone he needed to worry about.

*Who worries about a star?*

She was a ruler among rulers, her very existence proof that she had conquered a star.

Hyeon-woo decided to cut Monstrell off there.

“More importantly, is it wise for you to show yourself like this, even making your voice heard? I remember you used to be quite cautious.”

“Who showed themselves and made their voice heard?”

Monstrell giggled and stepped back.

“From the moment you saw me, none of this happened. Time to wake up from your dream, Kang Hyeon-woo. It was fun chatting with you for a while.”

With that, Monstrell winked.

“But I think we’ll meet again soon. You know?”

***

“Boss.”

Hyeon-woo snapped out of it.

Kirson stood where Monstrell had disappeared, looking at him with a strange expression.

“What are you doing, Boss? You look uncharacteristically deep in thought.”

Hyeon-woo rubbed his eyes. It felt like he’d been asleep for a long time, but it didn’t seem like much time had passed. He was still standing in front of the mirror.

“How long have I been like this, Kirson?”

“Well, when I came into the room, you were looking at your left arm… so it’s been a little over 5 minutes.”

The time he spent watching the apostles of the conquering star in their meeting was about 5 minutes.

If so, the time he met Monstrell must have been very short in reality. Unless he fell asleep standing up and had a dream.

But of course, it couldn’t have been a dream.

Hyeon-woo sighed and accepted reality.

He had been expecting it since he captured Al-Hugin, but war was indeed imminent. There was a lot to do.

“Kirson, how far along is our shelter project?”

“I thought you had forgotten about it since you never asked. It’s almost finished. Only the final touches are left, but the actual functions are all complete.”

The shelter project was started under Hyeon-woo’s instructions when he was undergoing the trial of Yogulem, the Starving Star. Building a bunker and securing escape routes.

Of course, no matter how well-hidden the bunker was underground, it couldn’t hold out indefinitely if the monsters decided to rush in. Therefore, the focus was on effectively securing deeper escape routes and hideouts.

“What’s our total number?”

“112 goblins, 86 ratmen, and 8 beastmen. There are a few more spiders controlled by Ha-hyeon.”

“What’s their armament status?”

“Everyone is armed with rare-grade equipment, and squad leaders and above are armed with legendary-grade equipment.”

“What about the ratman [genetically modified] soldiers?”

“The researchers under me made them well even without Kazart. About 30 are on standby.”

Considering that even the weakest goblin was at least level 30, it was a force capable of occupying a medium-sized country on Difficulty: Easy. Perhaps this alone would be enough to belong to the top-tier clans.

But compared to the forces of the stars, it was pathetic.

“How many do you think there are in the Starving Star’s forces?”

“…Is there any point in estimating? There’s no way to count the zombies and ghouls. The number of gasters alone is over 70, and angler lurkers and ambush predators have also been spotted. The Hungry Ones are also gathering.”

“How strong are they?”

“Even one angler lurker is someone only the Boss and Miss Ha-hyeon can handle. The problem with angler lurkers isn’t their strength, but that not many can withstand eye contact with their angler light. Ambush predators seem to be able to tear apart gasters with ease.”

Just from the description, it’s hard to get a clear picture, but one thing was certain: if they clashed head-on, Hyeon-woo’s forces would not survive.

Perhaps without high-level individuals like Ha-hyeon or Yerdan, Hyeon-woo’s forces would be torn apart like paper.

“And Boss, that’s not the full force of the Starving Star. That’s just how many are likely to come here. If they mobilize their full force, they could cover this entire city and still have leftovers.”

“Well, I guess so.”

But Hyeon-woo’s forces were all he had.

“Should we evacuate the tribe members?”

Kirson asked with a subtle tone.

It was a hopeless fight. The shelter was made to escape or hide, so it was only natural.

Hyeon-woo had worked hard to build up his forces, but this was Difficulty: Hell. If the forces of the stars clashed head-on, there was no chance of winning. And not just one, but three of them were coming.

Hyeon-woo might have been lucky enough to catch one of the apostles, but it was impossible to defeat an apostle with proper protection. The opposing apostle would also be able to use their ultimate skill.

Kirson naturally thought Hyeon-woo would run away.

“No, we don’t run.”

But at the same time, he also thought he would be surprised if Hyeon-woo ran away.

So he wasn’t surprised when he heard his answer. Kirson sighed and asked.

“…Then why did you ask about the shelter?”

Hyeon-woo grinned at Kirson’s question.

“It’s not running away; it’s called a strategic retreat. We’re not retreating to survive, but to thoroughly destroy the opponent.”

“Boss, isn’t that called wishful thinking?”

“No, you idiot. I sometimes confuse the two, but they’re really different. We’re going to kill every last one of those bastards who set foot in our shelter. Our shelter was made for that purpose from the start.”

Kirson, who had led and carried out the construction of the shelter from the beginning, looked suspicious. But Hyeon-woo’s words were sincere. His shelter was not an escape space to survive.

It was a throat to swallow the enemy.

***

The intersection was filled with the buzzing of mosquitoes. It was the time of day when swarms of mosquitoes gathered like clouds. The mosquito swarms, which had been lingering for a while, searching for prey to devour, fluttered their wings at the sound of a flute coming from somewhere.

Soon, the mosquito swarms soared into the sky from the intersection.

As the intersection became quiet, the sound of the flute began to approach. The sounds of the flute and trumpet echoed with bizarre intonation and rhythm.

The monsters hiding nearby to avoid the mosquitoes writhed and drooled at the strange sound.

Soon, a bizarre procession appeared at the intersection.

First to appear were countless ghouls, their eyes gleaming as they searched for food. The ghouls roared with hunger and eagerly occupied the intersection.

Large gasters followed behind.

An angler lurker floating in the air slowly drifted in front of a huge palanquin [a covered litter or sedan chair] that appeared next.

White giants with long, thin limbs silently carried the palanquin. A pale hand holding a pipe protruded from the ornate silk cloth of the palanquin.

*Mosquitoes, huh.*

It was Kawaro, the apostle of Yogulem, the Starving Star, of satiety and sloth.

He watched the mosquito swarms flying into the sky with a displeased expression.

The mosquitoes were under the authority of the Starving Star, but due to their lack of intelligence, the orders they received were extremely limited. Even those orders did not last long and were only maintained for a short time, as if their true allegiance lay elsewhere.

But to Kawaro, that appearance was merely a symbol of their base intelligence, not even knowing who they should truly obey.

“Stop.”

Kawaro, thinking he had arrived at a suitable location, gave the order to the procession.

His face contorted as he recognized the familiar appearance of the intersection. Unpleasant memories arose for him, as he had been humiliated here before.

The memory of running away from the sudden, bizarre scream just before he was about to kill Kang Hyeon-woo. He still couldn’t forget that unsightly appearance.

But at that moment, he couldn’t help it. His body lost control, trembled, and instinctively ran away.

*Those who pass the trial must be respected.*

The stars sometimes obsess over strange things. Even if it was an issue that had nothing to do with them, they would exert their influence to enforce their will.

The same was true of Augustro, the Star of Monsters, who had intervened at that time.

*Isn’t Augustro just a washed-up has-been who only has a high name? Pointlessly interfering.*

Augustro, the Star of Monsters, had already lost its power and only barely had one agent left. Even that agent was said to be in a semi-disabled state.

No matter how strong that agent was in the past, it was certain that he could no longer interfere.

As many as three stars were interested in this land.

Such a clash of forces had never occurred since the extinction of mankind. When these massive forces began to gather, it didn’t matter whether this land was the ‘promised’ land or whether someone had a special interest in it.

The stars would soon begin to fight over each other. Then nothing would be left.

Kawaro had hurried, but he even felt pride in acting before the other stars.

“Find him.”

Kawaro arrogantly waved his pipe outside the silk cloth.

As soon as his order fell, the ghouls let out hungry roars and began to frantically dig up the ground in search of the scent of meat and blood.

They even dug up the asphalt floor until their nails and fingers broke, and dug into the few holes they found.

The gasters moved their huge bodies and thumped on the floor.

Before long, traces began to be discovered.

The subway station, tunnels, and shelters where the goblins had stayed until recently began to appear.

Kawaro smiled.

He knew the guy was up to something underground.

“In this world, the only way for a weakling like you to survive is to hide underground like a rat.”

Many monsters were already hiding underground. Kawaro was sending his subordinates underground one by one in preparation for such a situation.

This was because he knew that Hyeon-woo had actively used the underground when he was undergoing the trial.

“Go, crush everything he has, and show him the emptiness of the poor.”

Kawaro did not forget to convey Yogulem’s orders with a bitter smile.

“And through the pain of that poverty, awaken greed.”

What would it be like to know that what he had worked so hard to build was nothing more than a castle in the air?

Hyeon-woo was a greedy person even in Kawaro’s eyes. He couldn’t easily let go of what he had grasped. He would surely have no choice but to listen to the whispers of Yogulem, the Starving Star.

Kawaro waited for the results with pleasure.

***

The ghouls who had dug underground eagerly set out to find something to eat. But no matter how much they sniffed, they couldn’t smell any living things.

There were traces of hurried movement, but the guys weren’t here. Only spiders were wandering around in a mess.

The ghouls had been starved by Kawaro for a long time in preparation for the fight. The hungry guys let out nervous noises and ran around.

Then the ghouls found something. It was the corpse of a rotting ratman. It was rotting, but the ghouls didn’t discriminate against food. They didn’t hesitate to sink their teeth into it. The flesh fell off with a crack.

Such secret banquets of ghouls were taking place all over the underground.

It tasted strange for rotten meat, but it was enough to fill their hungry stomachs.

***

And deep underground.

Hyeon-woo closed his eyes and focused on the sensation felt from his spiderwebs spread throughout the underground.

The corpses containing his venom were disappearing rapidly.

*As expected, Kawaro arrived first.*

The Starving Star is more greedy than anyone else, and the Wailing Star is leisurely. The Conquering Star was waiting for Al-Hugin.

It was natural for Kawaro to come first. So he was the first to fall into the trap.

“Welcome to my spiderweb, intruders.”

Hyeon-woo muttered anxiously, nervously, but with expectant eyes.

“To my throat, to my trap, to my dungeon.”