Chapter 27
As all the team members slipped behind the Yeti and took their positions, Baek Ho-seung gripped his modified hand axe with precision.
All five were seasoned hunters who had worked together for a long time. After signaling that they were ready, they were about to move immediately.
However, Baek Ho-seung raised his hand to stop them.
“Wait. Let’s attack in a bit.”
“What nonsense? We need to take them down quickly while they’re aggroed!”
“Exactly!” Urgent voices of impatience erupted all around.
“You idiots. Think for a moment. That salvation striker—doesn’t he seem suspicious? Did you sense his presence?”
“….”
A cold silence fell among the team.
I knew it.
That guy is dangerous. If the B-rank team members can’t even sense him, he could very well be an A-rank.
Baek Ho-seung quickly made a decision.
“Kill him. If we ambush him while the boss is distracted, we can take him out without much effort.”
“But if we kill them and the aggro swings toward us…”
It would be troublesome, yes, but better than leaving a potential seed of conflict alive.
“So what, you want them to walk away alive?”
What if they report to the Administration Bureau? Everything they’d done so far—and this incident—could blow up and ruin their lives.
Just then, the salvation striker was moving toward the Yeti’s Achilles tendon.
Baek Ho-seung pointed at him and shook two fingers.
The team moved instantly, signaling to target from behind.
We need to redirect the aggro.
The Yeti’s gaze was unnaturally fixed on Gru.
Normally, its targets would be the closest of the three, meaning it would have gone after Gi-dan.
Gi-dan crept close to the Yeti’s legs, frowning as he saw the boss ignoring him.
This is sketchy.
Unable to let the youngest be threatened, Gi-dan cut the Achilles tendon in one strike, intending to stop its movement.
For a moment, the Yeti wobbled, but its severed tendon astonishingly regenerated quickly.
Twisting its torso, the Yeti looked back. Meeting the boss’s gaze, Gi-dan’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
“Right, you should be looking at me, not Gru.”
The Yeti roared toward Gi-dan with its upper body twisted.
“Grrrrgh!”
Bang!
The Yeti’s smashing skill hit the snowfield.
The attack narrowly missed Gi-dan, sending debris flying in all directions.
Tilting his head, Gi-dan avoided the debris.
To finish the boss raid quickly, the core needed to be destroyed.
However, the Yeti was covered in thick fur, making its reach too short for a dagger.
Gi-dan flicked the dagger in his hand.
[Beart’s Aspiration (S)]
A sword of the guardian Beart family. Can freely change its form according to the user’s will.
Bound to the user.
The dagger transformed into a long sword.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The Yeti wildly unleashed its skills, but Gi-dan’s new form disappeared like a phantom, causing the Yeti’s attacks to hit nothing repeatedly.
Spotting something on the Yeti while dodging, Gi-dan’s eyes sparkled.
Found it—the core.
He prepared to activate a skill.
But then, someone leapt from behind, weapon raised.
It was Baek Ho-seung.
[Activating Skill: ‘Skilled Downstrike’]
As the axe blade descended toward the Yeti’s head, Gi-dan turned, their eyes locking.
A blue gleam followed his head movement.
Gi-dan?!
A chill ran through Baek Ho-seung’s stomach.
But it was already too late.
At the instant the axe struck, Gi-dan flicked his thumb and middle finger like swatting a pesky fly, hitting Baek Ho-seung in the solar plexus.
Thud—
“Phew!”
Baek Ho-seung slid across the snowfield, leaving a long trail behind.
“Ugh!”
Gripping his solar plexus, his body trembled.
This wasn’t a skill. This was pure strength.
What hit him was not pain, but fear.
“Damn it, it’s Gi-dan! Run!”
Before Baek Ho-seung could finish, Gi-dan activated his skill.
[Activating Skill: ‘Breath of the Lion Dead’]
Crack!
The ground beneath him caved in.
Vwoooosh—
“Ah?!”
Everything within a 2-meter radius was pulled toward Gi-dan.
“Ugh!”
Baek Ho-seung suddenly lost all strength and sank. The other team members experienced the same.
Their mana was being drained.
All mana in the area flowed into Gi-dan. They tried to resist but felt stuck as if in a thick swamp.
This…! We can’t escape!
While Baek Ho-seung and the team felt despair, the Yeti, having fully restored its Achilles tendons, stood upright and unleashed its skill.
Swish!
Huge hands descended toward Gi-dan and the clustered team.
Whoosh!
“AAAH!”
“Gah!”
“Argh!”
They screamed and shut their eyes tight.
Tilting—
But instead of the giant hands crushing them, the fur-covered giant’s body leaned sideways.
Thud!
Gi-dan thrust his sword into the Yeti’s crown, standing upright.
He wiped the Yeti’s fur clean with the sword.
Just a bit of blood…
Not something to show a 4-year-old. Gi-dan stood proudly, having cleaned the sword.
It was time to find the Gru he had left behind.
Vwoooosh—
“Hm?”
Gi-dan frowned at ‘Beart’s Aspiration.’
The all-black sword was resonating, vibrating as if sensing something.
“Gi-dan? Really?”
“I told you, really…”
S-rank hunters appearing like knights on white horses only in videos or newspapers?
The sisters still couldn’t quite believe it.
Gru, cradled in their arms, tapped Son So-young with a magnifying glass.
“- Hunter, if it’s okay, please put me on the ground.”
“Ah, uh… okay…”
Son So-young hastily set Gru down.
“- Thanks.”
Gru landed on his feet and toddled to stand at the forefront of Son Ah-young’s team.
Hup!
Standing proudly with his arms flexed, debris bouncing off the shield he wore from prior protection items scattered away.
Even though Son Ah-young’s team was hunters, they wouldn’t have been hurt much, but still…
Gru’s S-rank too. So cool!
Unaware, Gru immersed himself in protecting them with his shield.
The team sighed briefly as multi-million-dollar shields deflected rubble.
Huh!
Gru gave them a thumbs-up, as if to say not to worry. His expressive eyebrows twitched up and down in a comical way.
“Somewhat…”
“Cute, right…?”
“Cute…”
The three were confused by the mysterious bear-like figure and his antics.
“- Hm?”
Gru touched the back of his neck.
Hot, hot!
A mosquito? Gru spun in circles, inspecting with his magnifying glass to see if it was related to the boss’s skill.
[Scanning Target…]
[White Eyebrow Yeti (Boss)]
Collectible items: Eyebrow, fur, teeth, magic stone
Skill: Skilled Flattening Slam!
I don’t get it!
It seems unrelated to the burning sensation in the neck.
As Gru tilted his head to look back…
Crack—
Buzz?
Something broke, and a familiar energy began to spread.
Behind Gru, ‘it’ tore through space.
Through the magnifying glass lens, Gru’s eyes widened.
[Scanning Target…]
[Malikian (S)]
One of the eight fallen guardians of the Hesed Knight Order. Last descendant of the Beart family, rulers of the seas.
Collectible items: Mostly unknown, cursed sword ‘Beart’s Void’
Skills: Beart Swordsmanship 12-Style, Subjugation of Cursed Blood
Two hands attached to its body and two floating around it.
Four hands struggled to open the narrow space.
Soon, a massive figure in a tattered hood emerged from the space.
