Xiao Shen realized something for the first time.
Roooooar!
The sight of an airplane diving toward the ground with both wings engulfed in flames inspired terror that transcended species.
—Graaaar!
The supposedly ferocious ogres and Trolls screamed.
—Gweeeaaah!
Even the notoriously sluggish Ghouls ran hard enough to work up a sweat on the soles of their feet.
—Squeeeeee!
“Uh, uh, uhhh…”
The monsters capable of screaming were the lucky ones.
Xiao Shen and most of the others could only stand frozen like statues, staring at the airplane hurtling toward the ground.
I have to run…
His hands and feet refused to move.
More importantly, Xiao Shen and the Hunters of the Public Security Armed Forces Department were surrounded in the middle of the battlefield. They had no chance to escape.
Is this really the end?
The same thought crossed everyone’s mind at that moment.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
With a deafening roar, the airplane’s enormous fuselage swept across the battlefield.
The earth-shaking collision began at the rear of the monster army as it scattered like a swarm of ants.
Crunch! Crack!
The massive steel hulk, weighing dozens of tons1, crushed and burst apart everything in its path.
Green monster blood sprayed like fountains, and limbs of every size flew in all directions.
W-What the hell is this…?
No matter how powerful the monsters’ physical defenses were, they had their limits. Nothing could stop the airplane now that it had transformed into a monster blender.
—Graaaar…!
—Kiiiiek!
Krrrunch!
The monsters’ screams vanished beneath the grisly sounds of flesh being torn apart. It was a scene of carnage beyond anything they had ever seen or heard.
As Xiao Shen and the Hunters stared blankly at the unimaginable sight, someone’s frenzied shout pierced their ears.
“Monsters! Ram them! Kill them!”
“……!”
Even amid all this chaos, they could clearly hear their native language. A single word flashed through the minds of the Public Security Armed Forces Department Hunters.
Reinforcements.
Xiao Shen was stunned.
An incredible powerhouse!
The voice carried tremendous mana. The speaker was unquestionably an S-rank Hunter.
“Go for it! Airplaaaaane!”
“……”
And unquestionably a slightly insane S-rank Hunter.
To think he’d resort to a tactic those island bastards used in World War II. Did he not consider that his own allies might die?
He seems to have been sent by the Central Military Commission… But did our country have an S-rank Hunter like that?
The question suddenly occurred to Xiao Shen, but it was about to become irrelevant.
The gigantic steel hulk that had ground its way across half the battlefield was now charging straight toward him and the other Hunters.
—K-Kiiit!
“Run!”
There was no distinction between friend and foe in the struggle to survive.
Forgetting the humans right in front of him, Xiao Shen drove his dagger into a monster that barreled into him.
Schunk!
—Grrrk.
The monster’s lifeless body collapsed toward Xiao Shen.
He could not move a single step with monsters surging in from every direction. As the crushing weight fell upon him, Xiao Shen shouted.
“The battle isn’t over! Fight until the very end!”
He was right. The battle was not over yet. A Hunter was someone who had to kill monsters until the final moment, until their own breath ran out.
The Hunters who heard Xiao Shen’s shout gritted their teeth and swung their weapons.
This will do.
With lightning-fast skill, Xiao Shen buried his dagger in the back of a fleeing ogre’s head, then drew a deep breath.
The airplane’s massive body was already less than twenty meters2 away.
It had slowed considerably, but with everyone trapped in place, avoiding it seemed impossible.
I have no regrets.
If he died fighting for the people as a proud Hunter of Zhonghua3, that was enough.
Xiao Shen closed his eyes as screams rained down from every direction. At that moment, he heard:
“Heave-ho.”
Krrrunch! Splat!
Drenched in a sticky liquid he assumed was blood, Xiao Shen thought:
…Heave-ho?
Wasn’t a person’s dying cry usually more like “Aaaah”?
The strange sound was an odd choice for a dying cry, so Xiao Shen slowly raised his eyelids.
At last, he saw it.
The airplane had stopped dead only a few steps away. Two men stood beside it, chatting casually.
“All right, we’ve arrived. It might explode, so get everyone off quickly.”
“……Mr. Jin Taekyung. They’re all unconscious.”
“Really? How weak.”
“……They would have died if not for the Barrier magic.”
“Then carry them out, Team Leader Choi. Oh, right. Is that bastard who called us bangzi4 earlier alive, too?”
“Yes. He’s… alive, at least.”
“Then keep a close eye on that bastard. I’ll keep giving him hell for it when we head back.”
“……I’ll do my best.”
Xiao Shen could not make sense of the situation at all.
Who, when, where, what, why, and how—this bizarre sight defied even the five Ws and one H.
How did the airplane suddenly stop, and who are those people? Weren’t they Hunters sent by the Central Military Commission?
The two men were even speaking in another language.
Xiao Shen could not understand the words of the clean-cut man who looked like a young master, but he knew what country the language belonged to.
It belonged to Korea, their longtime neighbor.
Wait. If they’re Korean…!
Xiao Shen hurriedly wiped the blood from around his eyes. Only then did he recognize one of the men.
A muscular young man who stood a full head taller than everyone else.
The man Xiao Shen had only ever seen on television—his idol—was standing right in front of him.
“C-Could you possibly be Mr. Jin5 from Korea?”
“Huh?”
The young man, Jin Taekyung, tilted his head as he looked at Xiao Shen.
“I’m not a teacher.”
“Then… Lord Fuck6…”
“…Fuck. What?”
It really is him!
Relief and hope washed over Xiao Shen, making his entire body tremble.
How the hell does a Chinese guy know about Lord Fuck?
Articles about me had caused a brief stir in the foreign media, but I never expected even that nickname to spread this far.
Lord Fuck, making the five oceans and six continents tremble.
If I ever went to the United States, some huge Yankee bros might walk up to me holding beer bottles and act like they knew me.
Hey, you. Lord Fuck?
I’m fine, thank you. Fuck. What kind of deranged bastards came up with a nickname like this?
Anyway…
“What a mess.”
That was my brief assessment as I looked around.
Team Leader Choi, who had strung the unconscious flight attendants together like dried fish, and the Skeleton Warlord, whom I had shoved into my Inventory, both answered me.
“It is a horrifying sight.”
—You wicked human. This commander rather likes this place. It feels familiar and comforting.
“……”
The fact that a named undead monster—death itself, for all intents and purposes—found the sight pleasing said more than enough.
“We get thrown into actual combat the moment we arrive.”
As if responding to my complaint, a System notification rang.
Ding.
System
—Defeated Lv. 15 Undead Goblin!
—Defeated Lv. 78 Undead Lycanthrope!
—Defeated Lv. 93 Dullahan!
—Defeated Lv. 30 Skeleton!
—…
—…
—There is a large Level gap. You gained negligible EXP!
System
—An unexpected Quest, Unexpected Attack, has been generated.
Was this why they said they were paying so much?
I clicked my tongue and spoke.
“Team Leader Choi, protect the civilians first. After that, fight as you see fit. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes. That was already my intention.”
Team Leader Choi was a smart man. Learning the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique had made him incomparably stronger than before, but he would never show off.
“And you there, young man.”
“Y-Yes, Mr. Jin5.”
Mr. Jin? What am I, a schoolteacher?
I looked the young man who had answered so quickly up and down.
His face was young, but he was obviously a Hunter. A powerful one, too—probably around A-rank. Unlike the surrounding Hunters, who all wore identical armor as if they had come off a factory line, he also had a red insignia on his shoulder.
“You look like you hold a pretty significant rank, so take good care of your men. Let’s save even one more person.”
“Y-Yes?”
“This is only the beginning.”
As I answered, I thrust out my fist.
Boom!
Streams of Scorching Yang Qi shot toward the monsters standing blankly in place.
Searing heat swept through the area, leaving behind dozens of monster corpses.
“Why are you all staring? Did someone hit the pause button?”
“……!”
—……!
At my single remark, the silence pressing down on the battlefield shattered.
—Graaaar!
“K-Kill them! Stop the monsters!”
Humans against monsters. Monsters against humans.
The battle to kill or be killed began anew. I pulled White Flame from where it was embedded deep in the ground and swung it.
Shing!
Forget half water, half fish. Monsters packed every inch of the battlefield.
A crescent of Force extending from the spearhead brushed against a tightly packed cluster of monsters.
Ding.
System notifications announcing monster kills and EXP gains rang out without pause.
Under normal circumstances, I would have let them go in one ear and out the other or simply ignored them.
But this time, they provided an important clue.
“Don’t tell me these things are…”
—Ah, that’s right. Wicked human! What a powerful undead army!
The Skeleton Warlord’s delighted shout was enough to turn my suspicion into certainty.
No wonder something felt strange.
I had already been puzzled by the fact that I could not sense any life force from them.
There were still quite a few living monsters, but more than half were undead. Altogether, they formed a massive army nearly two thousand strong.
“And undead monsters are…”
The Skeleton Warlord shouted, brimming with excitement.
—Beautiful! Magnificent! Heroic!
Thwack!
I cut down five monsters and muttered.
“Want to be erased like that thing just now? Beautifully, magnificently, and heroically?”
—……I misspoke. I apologize, wicked human.
The Skeleton Warlord, who had briefly forgotten its situation, hurriedly added:
—Wait. If that is the case, then they must be under someone’s control!
I thought so, too.
There was only one thing I was not certain about.
“The Lich. Did that bastard come here in person?”
—Hmm. If you mean the Lich from that holographic video you showed me last time, then probably not.
As I listened to the Skeleton Warlord’s answer, I took half a step forward.
Boom!
A massive iron club passed within inches of my shoulder and smashed into the ground. It was an ordinary ogre, still carrying the vitality of a living creature.
—Graaaar!
“Sure. I’ll grill you.”
Boom!
The Flame Divine Palm struck the ogre in the chest, sending dark green blood spurting from its seven apertures.
I passed its collapsing bulk and brought White Flame down at an angle.
Shiiiiing! Slice!
Space itself split apart, and the monsters caught within it were chopped to pieces.
Leaving behind the Chinese Hunter who stared blankly at me while covered in blood and bodily fluids, I clenched my fist.
Whoooom.
Extreme heat surged into my fist, then blasted forward.
Boom!
Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist.
A massive pillar of fire swallowed the monsters.
The ones that somehow survived shrieked in agony amid the foul stench of burning flesh.
The destructive power made monsters and Hunters alike forget to fight for a moment.
The Skeleton Warlord spoke in a faltering voice.
—W-Wicked human. You have become even more of a monster.
“It feels strange hearing that from a monster. Anyway, if it wasn’t the Lich, then what kind of bastard is causing all this?”
—How should this commander know? But I can guarantee you one thing.
“Guarantee what?”
—His control over the undead is a notch below mine. Wahaha! Legion! This commander has missed you!
“……”
Should I kill this bastard or let him live?
As I considered the question, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind, and I stopped dead.
“Hey. What did you just say?”
—Wahahaha! Have you finally felt the majesty of this commander, wicked human?
“Talk, or be erased.”
—……I will talk. But what are you asking about?
“That part about controlling the undead.”
—Isn’t it obvious? This commander is a Skeleton Warlord. Compared to them, of course I’m… Huh?
A brief silence followed.
The Skeleton Warlord must have reached the same conclusion I had. I swallowed hard and broached the subject casually.
“Try it. That thing you do.”
—…….
“Do it, or be erased.”
The Skeleton Warlord opened its mouth.
—Grow, grow, skeletons, skeletons…
At that moment, the undead monsters locked in fierce battle suddenly froze in place.
…It works.
Footnotes
-
A metric ton is 1,000 kg, or about 2,200 lb. ↩
-
Twenty meters is about 66 ft. ↩
-
Zhonghua is a Chinese term for China and Chinese civilization, often used to express national identity. ↩
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Bangzi is a derogatory Chinese term for Koreans. ↩
-
The respectful form of address rendered “Mr. Jin” can also mean “teacher,” prompting Taekyung’s reply. ↩ ↩2
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A crude online nickname coined after Taekyung accidentally swore during a broadcast. ↩
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