Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 274

274. The Sky is Falling (5)

As blood splattered onto the crystal stone, it glowed an even more intense red.

The eerie red light was chilling.

Peterovich’s consciousness was still hazy, so the fact that his arm had been severed was first noticed by the other hunters around him.

The first to realize something was wrong was the bald man who assisted Peterovich.

He hurriedly drew his weapon, but a long cut immediately appeared across his face. The bald man screamed, clutching his face as he collapsed.

Lee Ji-tae swung his sword, shaking off the blood. Electricity crackled, spreading across the ground.

A gaze filled with contempt and hatred turned towards the Russian hunters.

The hunters were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the enemy, but their trained bodies moved on instinct.

Powerful attacks rained down, instantly turning the area where Lee Ji-tae stood into a wasteland.

However, Lee Ji-tae’s speed was too much for them to handle.

The moment it seemed like lightning struck the ground, the hunters screamed as if electrocuted and collapsed.

Lee Ji-tae’s sword, seemingly enhanced like its owner, cut through even well-equipped armor like tofu. No one could withstand Lee Ji-tae’s attacks for more than a couple of strikes.

It was as if a storm was sweeping through, tearing people limb from limb.

It was utter chaos.

“Lee Ji-tae!”

The bald man screamed and roared as his subordinates were unilaterally massacred.

His face was a mess, with one eye and his nose sliced off, but he relentlessly chased after Lee Ji-tae with his one remaining eye.

Suddenly, the bald man slammed the floor with the half-sized greatsword he was holding.

Crack!

A huge undead crawled up through the gap created by the sword. It was a bizarre monster with a wolf’s skull and a snake’s body.

As if to prove its power, the surroundings began to freeze, and frost formed.

Lee Ji-tae’s gaze turned towards the undead.

“Die…”

However, the bald man couldn’t finish his sentence.

Hyeon-mu, who had been watching all along, stepped forward.

The pure white blade of Tam in his hand split sharply like a summer glacier.

The shattered fragments shone in various colors, each representing the different weapons they had devoured.

There were more than a hundred steps between Hyeon-mu and the undead, but Hyeon-mu swung Tam without hesitation.

The fragments of Tam instantly split the wolf-headed snake from head to tail, along with the ground.

Thanks to its winding body, the snake was cut into dozens of pieces with a single slash.

Kang Hyeon-mu swung Tam a second time towards the bald man. It seemed he had no choice but to watch his own neck fly off.

Clang!

A sharp sound echoed.

The Tam that Hyeon-mu swung was blocked by Lee Ji-tae’s sword.

Hyeon-mu stared at Lee Ji-tae’s sword that had blocked Tam, as if amazed.

‘It seems there really is something to it. To think there would be a weapon that could block Tam.’

Lee Ji-tae glared at Hyeon-mu and said.

“Don’t kill him.”

“Why, so you can torture him and then kill him?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t put me on the same level as you.”

Hyeon-mu looked around at the carnage Lee Ji-tae had created. Groans and sobs were coming from everywhere.

Lee Ji-tae had cut off the hunters’ limbs—at least one or two, and at most all four—but he had spared their lives.

With the hunters’ vitality, they wouldn’t have to worry about dying from losing one or two limbs.

In the meantime, the bald man took advantage of the opening and quickly swung his greatsword at Lee Ji-tae, who was showing his back to him.

But at the same time, a slicing sound echoed, and the hand holding his greatsword fell off.

Lee Ji-tae didn’t stop there; he kicked his knee, shattering his kneecap.

Hyeon-mu shook his head with a disgusted expression.

“Don’t you think you’re even more terrible?”

“If they use a potion within 30 minutes, they can reattach it. But if they die, it’s over.”

Is he really planning to spare those guys?

Hyeon-mu shrugged, feeling absurd. He was curious about Lee Ji-tae and the teacher’s philosophy.

He wanted to know if that infinite positivity about the future was just a manifestation of confidence, or if there was something more hidden.

Hyeon-mu glanced at the Russian hunters. The hunters were groaning and looking at Lee Ji-tae and Kang Hyeon-mu.

Hyeon-mu saw fear, bewilderment, and futility mixed in their eyes.

‘They must be dumbfounded and feel empty.’

They are also among the top hunters in Russia, a great power.

At least 3-star or higher, and some were once 4-star hunters like Lee Ji-tae.

They grew up hearing that they were promising new stars, and they have devoted their entire lives to being hunters.

They have researched all sorts of ways to become stronger.

But the moment they faced Lee Ji-tae, they were swept away as if being harvested.

There was no way to explain this absurd gap.

Hyeon-mu could understand their feelings because he had looked at Lee Ji-tae from the same perspective just a year ago.

‘But that was then, and this is now.’

What you see changes when where you stand changes.

Hyeon-mu realized anew that his perspective had changed.

He, who was only envious of Lee Ji-tae, was no longer conscious of him at all.

No, rather, Lee Ji-tae was conscious of him.

He could feel that Lee Ji-tae was anxious and uneasy whenever he looked at him, even though he tried to ignore him.

“Lee Ji-tae, did you hear from the teacher that a second Heavenly Ruin will appear here?”

“…I don’t see any reason to answer.”

“Oh, okay. You don’t have to answer. The fact that you came here explains everything. But, do you know why you had to come to the second Heavenly Ruin instead of the first?”

“It’s obvious because many national leaders are gathered here. To prevent the world from falling into great chaos, of course…”

“Hey, besides such trivial reasons. Honestly, wouldn’t it be less chaotic if half of the national leaders gathered here just died here?”

Lee Ji-tae really seemed not to know.

Hyeon-mu could tell that the teacher was only telling Lee Ji-tae just enough to be useful.

He didn’t know if it was to avoid putting pressure on him, or if there was another trick up his sleeve.

“I know.”

Hyeon-mu smiled.

“Originally, today is the day the world ends.”

Lee Ji-tae wondered what Hyeon-mu was talking about. But Hyeon-mu didn’t say anything more.

Just as Lee Ji-tae was about to argue, thinking that Hyeon-mu was teasing him, he heard a groan from the side.

“Haha, ha.”

Peterovich, who belatedly regained consciousness, was laughing as he looked at his severed arms.

Hyeon-mu and Lee Ji-tae’s gazes turned towards him.

Peterovich looked around at the other hunters with a pale complexion. He wasn’t stupid, so he would have grasped the situation the moment he came to his senses.

The fact that he was completely ruined.

But Peterovich was laughing.

“You should have cut off my neck instead of my arms. Idiots.”

Hyeon-mu and Lee Ji-tae’s gazes turned towards the crystal stone.

The blood splattered on the crystal stone and the arms that were still attached to it.

Peterovich had been trying to synchronize even while his arms were being cut off and his subordinates were being attacked.

The Heavenly Ruin began to shake violently.

***

Lin Huimin, one of the apostles of the South China Union, was certain that he would have been one of the world’s leading powerhouses even if he hadn’t been an apostle.

It’s not just arrogance.

He is different from Kailo, who became the darling of high society with her face, or Richard, who resembles a circus clown with his bizarre talents.

He was born into a prestigious family with a long history and served as the deputy director of the Party’s Central Organization Department.

In addition, he held a general-level position while consistently working as a hunter.

However, those who stand in high places have many things to see, so they also desire many things.

That was why the Starving Star [a mysterious organization] was able to easily co-opt the powerful.

He had power, wealth, fame, and a brilliant career as a skilled person, but Lin Huimin’s life still had an unfulfilled thirst.

That thirst grew stronger as he achieved more. That was also why he moved to the South China Union.

Because he believed that the Starving Star would quench his thirst.

Therefore, Lee Seo-yeon could easily empathize with Lin Huimin’s ‘thirst’ and life.

Of course, it was also because the other person was hanging himself and dying miserably.

Flap, flap.

“Ugh, did he just shit himself?”

Lee Seo-yeon took a step back, putting aside her sympathy as Lin Huimin’s crotch bulged while hanging in the air.

Yoo-min looked at Lee Seo-yeon with an absurd expression.

“Is this your first time seeing someone die?”

“It’s not my first time, but it’s my first time seeing someone die like that.”

Lee Seo-yeon said, recalling the two apostles who had been defeated by Hyeon-mu.

Kailo’s entire body was dismantled and disappeared, and Richard was literally crushed.

There was no way they could have shit themselves.

Most of the other dead were secretly disposed of in places Lee Seo-yeon couldn’t see.

“The escorts are all taken care of! Yoo-min!”

Song Yeo-un, with her hands stained red with blood, appeared from around the corner with a bright face.

Yoo-min nodded and pointed at Lin Huimin.

Song Yeo-un understood what she meant and swung her whip, pulling Lin Huimin down to the floor.

Lee Seo-yeon looked at Lin Huimin’s bluish face.

It was a pathetic sight for the death of someone who was considered a promising figure among the Starving Star’s followers or even within the South China Union.

She wanted to keep that image in her eyes.

Yoo-min, who was watching Lee Seo-yeon, opened her mouth.

“But are you okay? I thought you were going to help them find the South China Union hunters, but I didn’t know you would help trap and kill Lin Huimin like this.”

“What, were you expecting something like camaraderie?”

Lee Seo-yeon chuckled.

“This is one of the missions I received. It’s not a quest, but something I was personally asked to do. Lin Huimin was plotting to betray Helen. He couldn’t stand the sight of a woman from the African outback daring to tell a Chinese person what to do.”

In the end, it is a group of people united by the single desire of greed. Infighting where they kill each other is still happening everywhere.

To survive within the Starving Star, you had to be paradoxically less greedy, or very smart.

“Even if that wasn’t the case, he was someone I had to step on anyway.”

Lee Seo-yeon said with a smirk. In the South China Union, which is the center of the Starving Star, the Chinese apostles are powerful competitors.

Being able to take care of Lin Huimin and Mei Lunhai was a great gain for her.

“More than that, I didn’t know I could kill Lin Huimin so easily. To think he had that item from Mei Lunhai.”

Lee Seo-yeon said, looking at the blood-red rope being released from Lin Huimin’s neck.

“What is that that’s so famous?”

“It’s a legendary equipment called ‘Swallowing Gallows’. It was also the foundation for Mei Lunhai to become an apostle even at a low level. Once the rope wraps around the neck, you can’t escape until you kill the user. The more you struggle, the more it digs into your neck, but the problem is that the binding force also increases in proportion to the strength of the bound person.”

However, if you act calmly and respond well to the initial response, there is a way to escape.

Lin Huimin also tried to act calmly when he realized he had been tricked.

However, Song Yeo-un used the Swallowing Gallows in a very traditional way. After floating Lin Huimin in the air with repulsion, she wrapped her whip around his neck again and pulled him in the opposite direction of the gallows.

All that was left was farming [cleaning up the mess].

Yoo-min averted her gaze from Lin Huimin, who was being stripped bare.

“Well, if the result is good, then it’s fine. But what are you going to do now?”

“My mission is still there. Now I have to meet the South China hunters again. Even if Lin Huimin is gone, someone is needed to lead them.”

Yoo-min could see another reason why Lee Seo-yeon assassinated Lin Huimin.

It was to prevent her power from being diminished by unnecessary conflicts while drawing Lin Huimin’s hunters into her own forces.

Because there would definitely be damage if they clashed with the Jeonneumnyeon [likely a rival group].

Lee Seo-yeon turned to Yoo-min and said.

“Win-win for each other, is that okay?”

“…Yeah, well. It’s okay.”

***

Of course, it was not easy for Lee Seo-yeon to lead the South China Union hunters.

The hunters had been working with Lin Huimin for a long time. But suddenly, Lee Seo-yeon appeared and told them to follow her because Lin Huimin was dead, so there was no way they could be convinced.

But.

“What are you going to do if you’re not convinced?”

Lee Seo-yeon said, throwing Lin Huimin’s head at the hunter who was looking at her with a dissatisfied face.

The hunter’s face turned red and blue. If the hunters rebelled all at once, it would be a matter of time before Lee Seo-yeon ended up like Lin Huimin.

Lee Seo-yeon was not even an apostle, so she could not forcibly issue orders.

However, Lee Seo-yeon gave a cold smile.

“I’m not asking you for loyalty. I’m not asking for sacrifice either.”

From the beginning, they did not enter the South China Union for that purpose.

They only want one thing.

“I want results from you.”

To have what you want, to eat what you want, and to enjoy what you want.

Since they were only followers, their thirst and hunger were not severe, but in the end, they came because they wanted something.

And Lee Seo-yeon had enough wealth and power to give them what they wanted.

Enough to reward them for their performance.

That was enough to turn their loyalty around.

Song Yeo-un, who was watching from afar, whispered to Yoo-min.

“It seems like they’re giving in more easily than I thought.”

“Lee Seo-yeon’s own position and wealth also play a role, but they must have been eyeing her position as a quasi-apostle. Lee Seo-yeon is rising rapidly, and there are not many people who have sided with her yet.”

“But they were Lin Huimin’s direct subordinates…”

“They say that when the dog of a high-ranking official dies, people line up, but when the high-ranking official dies, not even an ant comes near, right?”

Song Yeo-un easily understood.

Since they were initially connected by a relationship of mutual benefit, it is rational to switch sides as soon as they feel that the connection has been severed.

The problem with this kind of relationship is that Lee Seo-yeon is also easily betrayed, but that is her problem to solve.

The South China hunters led Lee Seo-yeon somewhere. It seemed they were going to report something they had found.

Yoo-min and Song Yeo-un continued to follow them. They soon stopped in a room.

In the middle of the room was a red crystal stone. But unlike the other crystal stones they had seen so far, its size was almost the size of an SUV.

In addition, crystal moss grew luxuriantly on the floor, spreading out like roots in all directions.

Song Yeo-un, who was examining the shape of the crystal stone, tilted her head and muttered.

“It looks like a heart.”

But no answer came.

When Song Yeo-un looked at Yoo-min, she saw her frozen stiff.

“…Prepare to fight.”

Yoo-min barely whispered, trying to calm her racing heart.

“It’s the heart of the Heavenly Ruin.”