The final restriction was lifted. The "master of the Dungeon" who had finally regained freedom of movement left the boss room and stepped outside the Gate. The chieftain, Groctar. His entire body was covered in black tattoos—barely a patch of unmarked skin to be found. Orc tattoos were symbols of victory. They were proof of just how many battles he had fought and how many enemies he had cut down.
"Groctar!" "Groctar!"
The Orcs waiting for him before the Gate chanted his name and bowed their heads low. Conversely, Groctar's own head was tilted toward the ceiling.
'...'
It was noisy up above. Quite some time had passed since the scouting party had led warriors out to seize the city where humans lived. So why had the battle not ended yet? An Orc, drenched in sweat, hastily answered under the furious chieftain's gaze.
"High Orc warriors are aiding the humans." "High Orcs?"
High Orc warriors were powerful. Ordinary Orc warriors would be no match for them. It was time for him to step in.
"How many?" "Three."
Even so—the sight of dozens of warriors of the great Orc tribe being outmatched by a mere three High Orcs was pathetic.
"Sloppy..."
Groctar's face contorted with displeasure. The Orcs, startled by the chieftain's fury, trembled. Soon, the great warriors who had fallen behind unable to keep pace with Groctar's speed filed out of the Gate one by one. There were five of them in total, still panting. Groctar confirmed that all his bodyguards had exited the Gate, then jerked his chin at the Orcs who had delivered the report.
"Lead the way."
The messenger bowed deeply and took the lead, with the chieftain and his bodyguards striding heavily behind. A sharp gleam flickered in Groctar's eyes.
'Insolent wretches...'
It was time to make the High Orcs who had dared interfere with the Orcs' hunt pay the price.
* * *
Park Jong-Su, who had been left behind with the ants, was dumbfounded.
"Brother..." "Stay put. Let me think for a moment."
Kieeek— Kick kick. Kaak! Staring at more than twenty magic beasts—no, summoned creatures—he desperately wished he could just quit right now. And on top of that. The one that was bigger than the other ants, with wings on its back. Wasn't that the very same monster ant that had toyed with S-rank Hunters? The terrifying mana it radiated still made his skin crawl.
'If that thing turned hostile toward us...'
With a renewed sense of admiration for the S-rank Hunters who had faced that monster ant on Jeju Island—
'No, wait a minute...'
Doubt suddenly crept in. Hunter Sung Jin-Woo was the one commanding that monster ant as a summoned creature now. So just who exactly was he?
'He was also the one who single-handedly brought that thing down...'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, his heart began to race.
'No. I'm going too far.'
Park Jong-Su shook his head vigorously to dispel the thought. What he needed to consider right now was whether to continue the raid with those monsters—not how strong Hunter Sung Jin-Woo was or what his true identity might be.
'Fine... let's say we give up the raid.'
Then what would he tell the reporters waiting outside the Gate? That Hunter Sung Jin-Woo had suddenly deserted the raiding party and they could no longer proceed? Or that the new friends Hunter Sung Jin-Woo had summoned were so terrifying that they had no choice but to abandon the raid?
'Both of those would be humiliating...'
Either way, it would be fodder for ridicule for a long time to come. Park Jong-Su clenched his teeth.
'Fine. Let's go.'
So what if the summoned creatures were scary? They were Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's servants at the end of the day. That thought brought him a small measure of comfort.
'Worst case scenario, they're just Master Sung's summoned creatures. What could go wrong?'
When Park Jong-Su turned his gaze with renewed confidence, Beru, who had noticed the attention, approached him.
'Hek...'
His brief confidence evaporated instantly. Park Jong-Su squeezed out a trembling voice.
"L-let's go."
Polite language slipped out naturally. But Beru showed no reaction to his words. It simply stood there, staring. Park Jong-Su wondered if his phrasing was off and tried again, more deferentially.
"Shall... shall we go?"
Beru still showed no sign of moving. As the eye contact stretched on, the sheer power behind that gaze began to cloud Park Jong-Su's consciousness. That was when Jung Yoon-Tae approached from behind.
"Brother, are you going to continue the raid with these guys?"
Park Jong-Su, already on edge, snapped at the vice president who was rushing him.
"Just shut up for a second!"
Or better yet, why don't you take charge of the raiding party and tell them we're done?—the words surged up his throat and barely stayed down. Glaring at the blameless Jung Yoon-Tae, Park Jong-Su turned back to face Beru. Gulping, he swallowed hard. He wanted to escape this awkwardness as quickly as possible. Then a thought struck him.
'Could it be that this thing can't understand what I'm saying, and that's why it's not moving?'
Having arrived at this possibility, Park Jong-Su forced his facial muscles into a smile. He then pointed toward the depths of the Dungeon.
"Forward. Forward."
In that instant—Pishook. A sound like a bullet flying from a silenced gun barrel rang out, and the monster ant vanished in the blink of an eye.
'Huh?'
Where did it go? Before Park Jong-Su could even sweep the surroundings with bewildered eyes, Beru returned. Tap. Beru held something in his hand and thrust it in front of Park Jong-Su's face.
'Wh-what is that?'
Looking closely, it was a monster's head. More specifically, it was the helmeted head of a Death Knight—an apex undead magic beast—yanked clean off and dangling from the monster ant's hand.
"Ugh, uaaah!"
Park Jong-Su, horrified, fell flat on his backside. The other members of the raiding party were startled and gathered around him. But Beru scanned the assembled Hunters, tossed the Death Knight's head aside like it was nothing, and let out a cry to the ants.
"Kieeeeeek!"
At that, the ant legion began advancing in flawless formation.
'...'
Beru gazed down at Park Jong-Su for a moment, then slowly turned and followed after the ants. Soon the Hunters checked on Park Jong-Su's condition.
"Brother!" "Boss, are you okay?" "Are you alright?"
Park Jong-Su answered with a vacant expression.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine."
His body was fine. But his chest ached for reasons he couldn't quite articulate. It felt as though he had been toyed with by a summoned creature.
'I'm sure that's not really the case, but...'
A summoned creature couldn't possibly possess that level of intelligence. In any case, after coming this far and enduring this much humiliation, he could not abandon the raid. Park Jong-Su slapped off the dust and got to his feet.
"Let's move out too."
The Hunters' faces hardened.
"What?" "Follow them?" "How are we supposed to raid alongside monsters? I can't do it." "Neither can I."
Park Jong-Su let out an exasperated sigh. Was there even a need for more words? He walked over and picked up the Death Knight's head that the monster ant had casually flicked aside.
"Hek!" "Isn't that a Death Knight's head?" "A Death Knight?"
The experienced veteran Hunters recognized the Death Knight's helmet and cried out in shock. Park Jong-Su explained calmly.
"You all know how much mana crystals from apex magic beasts are worth, right?"
Gulp. The Hunters swallowed hard.
"All we have to do is follow along and pick up what's left."
At that, the Hunters, who had been brimming with complaints moments ago, began to relax one by one. Exactly the reaction he had expected. Park Jong-Su sealed it with a question.
"Anyone still want to sit out?"
The Hunters moved even more in sync than the ant legion. The ones who had already surged ahead turned back and called out.
"Boss, what are you doing standing back there?" "Hurry up, you're falling behind!" "Brother, how long are you gonna stand there?"
Park Jong-Su clicked his tongue.
"Honestly... these people."
And just like that, the Knight Order's raid—which had been briefly halted—resumed.
* * *
Jin-Woo's gaze was directed downward. People, roads, vehicles, buildings, rivers, trees, mountains, mountains, mountains, mountains. The backdrop changed endlessly in the blink of an eye.
'Fast.'
Kaisel's speed, unrestricted by any limits, was truly terrifying. If he had been an ordinary person rather than a top-tier Hunter, the colossal impact coursing through his body would have been completely unbearable. But. Despite that. Jin-Woo was growing anxious. The soldiers' signals were still coming in, but they were growing weaker by the moment. And on top of that—
'Status Window.'
[MP: 8,619 / 8,770]
His mana had been draining for a while now. This was no ordinary situation. It meant the High Orc shadow soldiers were being destroyed and regenerated over and over.
'An enemy capable of destroying shadow soldiers is targeting Jin-Ah.'
Crack. Jin-Woo's face hardened. Even if his sister didn't have a single hair harmed, he would never let that enemy walk away alive. A cold, lethal killing intent filled his eyes.
'Faster.'
Kiaaaa-! At Jin-Woo's command, Kaisel roared and pushed its speed even higher.
* * *
The High Orc warriors were strong. But they were no match for Groctar, the Orc chieftain. Groctar stepped forward alone, leaving his bodyguards behind. The creature dodged the High Orcs' attacks effortlessly, then drew the curved blade sheathed at his back.
"Is this all you've got?!"
The classroom was littered with Orc corpses. A rough count put it at fifty. Fifty of his subordinates had fallen to just three High Orcs.
"Entertain me more, High Orc warriors!"
The chieftain's fury manifested in merciless strikes. Groctar's curved blade danced in dazzling arcs as it began carving through the High Orcs' armor.
"Ah!" "Kyaaah!"
The screams did not come from the High Orcs but from the humans behind them. Groctar's brow furrowed.
'Noisy pests.'
After the High Orcs, they would be next. Groctar, who had just severed an High Orc's arm and diced it to pieces, seemed to grow bored. He spun around and lopped off its head. Sck! At that, the Orcs who had been pushed out of the classroom and fled stood cheering.
"Groctar!" "Groctar!"
Just then—Groctar's eye twitched. The High Orc whose head had been severed dissolved into black smoke and reverted to its original form.
'Sorcery...?'
No matter how many times he cut them down, the result was the same.
"Kraah!"
Groctar roared in frustration. He had slain High Orcs countless times, yet they invariably returned to life.
'Killing them once or twice more is no great task.'
But there would be no end to it. Even now, the voice inside his head kept repeating its command—kill the humans, kill the humans. His skull throbbed from the incessant noise. But he could not ignore the High Orcs and simply go after the humans either.
'...This has to end.'
Groctar racked his brain. If these were soldiers created through sorcery, then someone had to be controlling them somewhere. Having encountered many forms of sorcery in countless battles throughout his past, Groctar knew a thing or two about how to put a stop to this wretched sorcery.
'That woman!'
The human woman hiding far behind the High Orcs, holding her breath! She was faintly connected to these High Orc creatures. Groctar's eyes lit up.
'Was it you?'
His killing intent shifted targets. The moment their eyes locked, Jin-Ah's body began to tremble. The woman clearly knew something. Groctar, having intuited this, turned around and pointed at Jin-Ah.
"Kill that woman!"
Before his words had even finished—per Groctar's command, the bodyguards who had been watching the fight from behind surged forward. The High Orcs ignored Groctar right in front of them and threw themselves desperately to block the bodyguards' path.
'Just as I thought.'
His suspicion was confirmed. Groctar used the distraction to slip past the High Orcs' line of sight and positioned himself in front of Jin-Ah.
"So it was you."
With the hand that was not holding his curved blade, Groctar seized Jin-Ah by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
"Aah..."
The woman's throat was so compressed she could barely manage a scream. Groctar tilted his head. Such a slender neck—apply just a little pressure and it would snap like a twig. Could this fragile human truly have perfected high-level sorcery capable of turning warriors into immortal thralls? There was only one way to find out.
'I'll find out once she's dead.'
The instant Groctar's grip tightened, about to snap the woman's neck—Kiaaaak! From the distance came the cry of a wyvern.