EPISODE 141

“Hey! Can’t you go a little faster?!”

“Hah, but sir…”

The winding roads in this remote region of Gangwon-do were already harsh enough. The rain made them even more dangerous.

“Why is it raining all of a sudden?” Yang Chang-guk complained as he looked up at the sky. Then he looked at his tablet, which also turned out to be useless.

“Crazy old man, are you really planning to capture the Habaek yourself? If things go wrong, you won’t even know what to do!”

The target of Yang Chang-guk’s curses, as well as his fury, was none other than Chairman Han Kwang-ho.

What was making Yang Chang-guk even more resentful was that Hankwang had run to the scene without even reporting to the Special Defense Agency.

“This is already over the line. No matter how greedy they are, there are still rules they have to follow.”

The tablet that Yang Chang-guk held was connected to the Defense Agency’s drone at the site. However, right now, the tablet was showing nothing but a black screen.

It was pretty obvious what had happened.

The drone’s channel primary connection was to the control center. Hankwang must have been preventing Yang Chang-guk and the Defense Agency, who usually kept them in check, from intervening in the situation.

“How far…”

‘This is making my head hurt,’ Yang Chang-guk said as he held his head in frustration. To make matters worse, Yang Chang-guk already knew that Hankwang wouldn’t be punished for this. He hated to admit it, but it was true.

Hankwang’s power was categorically enough to handle the Habaek. Perhaps, if the operation to drive out Habaek turned out to be successful, Hankwang’s failure to report to the Defense Agency and the drone channel would be counted as a “mistake made by a person unfamiliar with protocol.”

‘And then it gets worse.’

There would surely be an act of superiority over the Special Defense Agency.

In a way, it was natural.

Regardless of the field, gross overstepping by large corporations was implicitly allowed. In many countries, including Europe, large corporations already participated in the hunting business.

It was almost as if the privatization of the hunting industry had begun.

If a corporation like Hankwang succeeded in establishing its position, other large corporations would follow them.

Korea’s current system, which could be seen as the country’s unique strength, had become possible due to the close cooperation between the Special Defense Forces and hunter groups.

In a country that already lacked a pool of talent and Tech, this change in the system could turn out to be a major disaster.

‘All because we could not stop the Habaek on our own.’

For a moment, Yang Chang-guk stopped thinking,

“Pathetic.”

He felt ashamed of himself.

‘What is going on? I cannot believe that, as the Director of the Defense Agency, I cannot do anything to stop the monster.’

“Director,” started the driver.

“No, I’m talking to myself. I am sorry to have bothered you. You don’t have to overdo it. Just go as fast as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yang Chang-guk turned his gaze out the window to stare at the rain. Thick, ominous clouds darkened the sky. “That could be thunder. It is awfully quiet. ”

—

Coo-oong-!

Another round of thunder broke through the air and hit the Habaek right on the neck.

Ka-a-ah-!

The Habaek’s skin was soaked in the rain.

It was the best condition to maximize the effect of the electric shock. Thanks to the rain, the arrow had been able to penetrate the Habaek’s thick skin.

‘There’s not enough damage,’ Yoo-seong thought.

When he’d met the Habaek inside the crack, even Auto-Hunt had made the same judgment. At that time, Yoo-seong could not beat the Habaek because he’d lacked firepower. His Flame Salt could not inflict much damage to the Habaek.

Come to think of it, the last time he drove it off, he’d used the Parasitic Bees deep in the monster’s eyeball.

However, in the end, all that had changed was the color of its eyes. At that time, the Habaek had shown no signs of difficulty against Yoo-seong.

‘But now my CE capacity is doubled,’ Yoo-seong thought. Even now, with his arrow lightning hitting the Habaek’s body multiple times, he could hear only cries of pain. He was only inflicting shallow wounds and minor injuries. Yoo-seong needed a blow that would paralyze it.

‘But how?’

Given all the shooting he was doing, not once had Auto-Hunt aimed for the Habaek’s eyes. In fact, it seemed not to be aiming at the eyes or anywhere near the head at all.

Taang-!

Yoo-seong dodged the Water Dragons.

Booung-!

Yoo-seong kicked a semi-circle using Explosive Acceleration.

A myriad of tiny streams evaporated on contact.

The Water Dragons were not the only problem. The rain had not ceased pouring. Using it to their advantage, the Water Dragons tried to attack Yoo-seong from a blind spot.

With his Explosive Acceleration, he easily avoided the Water Dragons. Then he saw a small gap.

Taking advantage of that precious moment…

Kuguguk-!

Yoo-seong’s arm pulled on the Thunderbolt Nine Pythons Bow.

Kwaang-!

There came a bolt of lightning fire.

However, the target was not the Habaek’s eyes, which were its obvious weakness. Instead, it was the beast’s left front paw.

Kaahahahahah-!

The arrow stuck in the Habaek’s left front leg.

‘No matter what happens, I believe in Auto-Hunt.’

As he had done to this point, Yoo-seong just had to stay focused. Anyway, his core was now doubled in capacity. His CE was being constantly regenerated at short intervals. So far, his physical strength had also worked the same.

But was it enough?

The problem did not lie with Yoo-seong. He looked down at his arrows. They were the ones Seoyu had ordered from a special workshop.

Of course, they weren’t infinite. Yoo-seong had started with were sixty-eight arrows.

‘I did not even dream of using all of them in the next battle. And now, I have only twenty left,’ Yoo-seong thought.

The forty-eight arrows he had used so far had not dealt any significant damage. It wasn’t easy to believe that the remaining twenty would make much difference.

Taang-!

However, Auto-Hunt increased the Explosive Acceleration’s firepower without pause.

Avoiding the Water Dragons set to attack him, Yoo-seong dodged around in the air and shot arrows all over the Habaek’s body.

Kwaang-!

He shot its other three legs.

Kwaaang-!

He also targeted the Habaek’s shoulder joints.

Like an oriental medicine doctor who uses acupuncture on his patient, Yoo-seong focused on getting as many arrows in as possible rather than focusing on a single point. And finally…

‘The last one!’

Kwaaang-!

When the arrow hit the turtle’s left foot…

Taang-!

Explosive Acceleration’s direction changed completely.

Auto-Hunt had been keeping Yoo-seong away from the Habaek’s body before. However, now, he found himself rushing toward the beast with his final arrow in his hand.

‘Am I going for the head?’ Yoo-seong guessed.

But for some reason, Auto-Hunt seemed to avoid it. Then, about thirty meters from the Habaek’s head…

Taang-!

Auto-Hunt caused Yoo-seong to turn upward sharply. Looking down at where he had been just a few seconds ago, Yoo-seong immediately realized why. Five or seven Water Dragons, which he had not noticed until now, had appeared from the bottom of the water.

This wasn’t the end. The other Water Dragons, which had been hiding quietly until now, began to appear one by one. It was almost as if the Habaek had been waiting for Yoo-seong to aim at its head. Yoo-seong faced another surprise.

“You!”

Around the Habaek’s head, big and small Water Dragons were intertwined, creating a Water Shield, a thick shield that made it impossible for the arrow to reach not only the monster’s eyes but also any part of its head.

‘The Habaek has prepared for my attack…’

It had been waiting for Yoo-seong to aim at its eyes. Once Yoo-seong fired an arrow, the net it had formed would stop it. On the other hand, if Yoo-seong decided to attack directly, the hidden Water Dragons would intercept him.

This made things even more difficult. After breaking through the Water Shield, Yoo-seong would have to inflict an impact several times more than his CE and aim it at a vital spot.

Taang-!

“Huh?”

Something felt weird. Yoo-seong looked down.

Taang-!

Auto-Hunt continued to step on Explosive Acceleration. Of course, it was the perfect way to avoid the Water Dragons rushing at Yoo-seong.

‘Even so, this is too far,’ Yoo-seong thought.

Taang-!

Wasn’t it coming up? No Water Dragons were chasing Yoo-seong. He had reached a range that not even the Habaek’s Water Dragons could reach.

Taang-!

Nevertheless, Yoo-seong’s body continued to shoot upwards.

‘Why?’

Countless speculations ran through his head. Soon…

“…!”

Yoo-seong realized the answer, and it was the right one.

“Then… Yes… Of course… Ha, ha ha ha.”

Yoo-seong could not help his laughter. The moment was so absurd.

“Yeah, no matter how much damage it has endured, I’m pretty sure this one will work.”

Even though no one was listening, even though he couldn’t speak properly because of the thinning air, Yoo-seong could not keep his laughter down.

‘Now I can feel it for sure.’

His Aura was concentrated on his whole body, not just his legs. He held the Thunderbolt Nine Pythons tightly with both hands. And, as if interacting and reacting to him, dark clouds began to form from above.

The very next moment, Yoo-seong heard a “sound.” It was a sound so loud that, as soon as he heard it, Yoo-seong’s eardrums were paralyzed.

“…!”

It hit Yoo-seong’s body directly. His body twitched. He felt as if his entire being would pop out of it.

No, he felt much more than that. It had not been just a “flash” of lightning. It had hit evenly across the area below.

The lightning, which usually never reached the ground, had crushed the poor creatures that reached below its territory.

Even the Lightning Ape, a monster that gained power through the lightning that struck its horn, would never have endured this amount of power.

“…!!!!!!”

‘I wonder if it will disfigure my body.’ Yoo-seong was curious.

He could feel his whole body burning. Right then, as if completely losing track of time, the sound stopped. Yoo-seong felt the wind against his skin.

‘I can still feel it. I’m not completely burnt.’

As Yoo-seong thought about this, he started plummeting down from the sky. The inside of his mouth tasted like iron.

In his arms, he still held the Thunderbolt Nine Pythons Bow. Looking down, Yoo-seong saw the Habaek getting closer and closer. In his hands was something that held more power than any attack he knew.

“This…”

Yoo-seong held lightning.

“You monster!”

Yoo-seong, plunging down from the sky as if he were some sort of heavenly punishment, struck the Habaek.

The impact made its whole body tremble.

The Water Shield that the Habaek desperately tried to use was easily torn apart. It was fortunate that Yoo-seong had not yet regained his hearing.

Even feeling the vibrations of the sound through his skin was enough to make him quiver.

Kaaa-!

He did not have to hear the Habaek’s screeching cries as he penetrated through its hard shell.