Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Arriving at a dark, abandoned factory, where the air felt damp and dusty, the clansmen of the Dark Horse Clan threw Ho Sung on the floor.

“Ugh!”

Covered in blood and wounds, Ho Sung looked up at the head of the Dark Horse Clan, Man Sik Choi, who was snickering ominously. Although Ho Sung was provoked by his smile, he simply wasn’t in a position to fight against him and his clansmen. Looking around, Ho Sung realized that he was at an abandoned factory. The windows were small, keeping the light from getting in. On top of that, the factory was quite large, which would make running away difficult. Finding himself in a tight spot, Ho Sung’s heart started to race. At that moment…

“Now! Mr. Lee, head of the Diamond Clan,” Man Sik said, clapping. “I’m sure you know why we’re here, am I right?” he asked.

“Let me guess. My nightclub?” Ho Sung asked, disgruntled.

To which, Man Sik smiled and replied sarcastically, “That is correct!”

Considering how much beef there was between the Diamond Clan and the Dark Horse Clan, Ho Sung would surely get killed if he were to hand the ownership of the nightclub over to Man Sik.

“I promise you, Mr. Lee. If you make this quick and easy for me, I’m willing to let you walk away. Sure, you’ll be limping for the rest of your life, but at least you’ll be alive.”

‘Bullshit!’ Ho Sung cried out internally, resisting the urge to let the words out. The word was that the Dark Horse Clan was going around massacring newbie hunters. Being aware of that, Ho Sung saw right through Man Sik’s sarcasm.

‘Well… If I’m gonna die anyway…’ Ho Sung thought, saying, “Fine. I’ll tell my guys to bring the documents over right now.”

“Very good. Oh, one more thing. If you were thinking about starting a war with us, it might not be such a good idea,” Man Sik said, nodding. Then, as he turned around and signaled his men, the large, metal double door opened with a loud screeching noise, followed by twenty or so hunters, armed to the teeth.

Ho Sung stared at them with widened eyes, thinking, ‘He’s already recruited that many hunters?’

“I don’t know about you, Mr. Lee, but if I were in your shoes, I’d much rather give up my night club than let my entire clan disappear from the face of the Earth. Really, I promise. You hand that night club over, and I’ll let you walk,” Man Sik said with an evil smile on his face. He was as greedy and as crafty as a hungry hyena. Seeing as Ho Sung remained unresponsive, the head of the Dark Horse clan poked him mockingly and said, “Go on. Tell your folks to bring those documents.”

Pale and breaking out into cold sweats, Ho Sung took out his phone.

—

While Min Sung was opening his umbrella just outside the restaurant, his phone went off, indicating a new text message. Then, upon checking his phone, his expression hardened almost immediately, and after a brief moment, he started off toward the location Ho Sung had sent to him.

—

‘Any time now…’ Ho Sung thought, his heart racing as he waited desperately for Min Sung to turn up.

“You’re up to something,” the head of the Dark Horse Clan said, furrowing his brow and glaring piercingly at Ho Sung.

“I’m practically like a bird without wings. As you know, there are hardly any people left in my clan,” Ho Sung said, chuckling.

“If you try anything funny, this night will turn very long and painful. You see, I recently discovered that I have a gift for torture,” Man Sik said, laughing heartily and evilly.

“Well, I gotta say, I’m impressed by how many hunters you’ve managed to recruit in such a short time,” Ho Sung said, and chuckling, Man Sik replied, “As you’re aware, our clan has been on the rise lately, very fitting to our clan’s name, if I might add. There’s this newbie we came across not too long ago, and he was carrying some really extravagant things. It helped us tremendously…”

At that moment, with another loud, long screech, the metal door opened yet again.

“Eh?” Man Sik let out, turning toward the door and adding, “Are they already here? Man, they’re fast!”

“You’re screwed. Every one of you,” Ho Sung said, chuckling while still looking deathly pale. At that, Man Sik’s face twisted into a scowl, and he glared fiercely at Ho Sung, saying, “You think you can pull a fast one on me, huh? Punk?”

Then, a figure appeared by the entrance, and a voice came from the dark, “Ho Sung Lee.”

Confused by why Ho Sung had said what he had said, Man Sik tilted his head. With no name or indication of level, the mysterious figure appeared to be a civilian.

“Sir! Help me out!” Ho Sung fell to his knees and cried out desperately. Looking annoyed, Min Sung walked toward the members of the Dark Horse Clan, glaring piercingly at Ho Sung.

—

‘Who is this guy…? Why is this punk calling him sir?’ Man Sik thought. At that moment, Min Sung took out his phone and read the message that Ho Sung had sent him out loud, “I am SICK of taking orders from you! Kill me! See if I give a damn! Hell, I’ll wait for you right here. For all I care, you can find your own damn restaurants from now on. I’m leaving this damn country if you don’t come find me now, so if you are planning on killing me, you might wanna hurry your ass up. You hear!?”

“Did you really write this?” the champion asked Ho Sung, who seemed deathly pale and swallowed nervously. Meanwhile, dumbfounded by their interaction, Man Sik started to laugh.

“You two must’ve lost your minds,” Man Sik said, clicking his tongue. Then, looking at his clansmen, he said, “Kill that civilian and get him out of my sight. Who the hell does he think he is, anyway?”

At his command, nearly thirty members of the Dark Horse Clan approached the champion, snickering ominously and glaring murderously. Then, Min Sung stomped the ground with his foot, forming a large crater on the ground that exploded into an impact wave enhanced by magic. Like a violent wave swallowing people whole, the shock wave consumed the members of the clan, tearing them to pieces and scattering them in all directions. In a matter of seconds, the entirety of the Dark Horse Clan at the factory was reduced to chunks of meat.

“W-whoa! Whoa! ” the head of the Dark Horse Clan let out, trembling uncontrollably as the champion walked through the corpses in his direction.

‘H-he’s just a civilian! No name, no level, nothing! How the hell did he…!?’ Min Sik thought, seized by suffocating fear, his pants getting soaked with urine. Then, annoyed, Min Sung glared piercingly at Ho Sung.

“Sir! This is Man Sik Choi, the head of the Dark Horse Clan. He ambushed me so that he could take over my night club and he dragged me here to kill me.”

“…”

“This man here is the definition of human trash! He killed countless hunters who were just starting off, robbing them, torturing them… ”

“…”

“I beg you, sir. I can’t die in some abandoned factory like this, and it was obvious that you wouldn’t come for me if I asked plainly. I just wanted to live! Please, help me…” Ho Sung begged with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“…”

“Th-think about it! How could I dare to insult you like that!? I’m sorry for using you! I’ll make it up to you for the rest of my life!”

“…”

“I-I found this amazing ice cream parlor recently. It’ll be the most heavenly dessert you’ve ever had!”

Instead of replying, Min Sung put his phone back in his pocket, looked at Ho Sung and let out a deep sigh. After staring intently at Ho Sung, he turned his eyes toward the head of the Dark Horse Clan.

‘W-what the!?’ Man Sik thought, completely overwhelmed with terror, wetting his pants yet again upon locking eyes with the champion.

“So, you’ve killed, robbed, and even tortured innocent hunters, huh?” Min Sung asked as he pulled his Orichalcon Dagger out of his inventory, which flashed and roared thunderously. Petrified, Man Sik couldn’t say a word, and soon, he collapsed to the floor as his legs gave out.

“No! Wait! No!” he cried out with tears streaming down his cheeks. However, with the swing of the champion’s dagger, his decapitated head was launched into the air and fell to the floor with a thud.

“Ho Sung Lee.”

At the champion’s call, Ho Sung looked up at him, fidgeting.

“The ice cream parlor! You won’t be disappointed, sir. If you don’t like it, you’re more than welcome to kill me on the spot then!”

“You think you can get away with everything just because I have food in my mouth?”

“I-I know what I did was wrong. Please, I’ll spend the rest of my life serving you and making it up to you. Have mercy! I beg you!” Ho Sung said, bowing and slamming his head on the floor. Blood trickled down his face. Staring intently at him, the champion let out a sigh and said, “Clean up this mess and meet me at my house.”

“Th-thank you, sir! Thank you! I’ll be your loyal servant!” Ho Sung said, his face lighting up with joy and relief.

“But you still gotta pay for what you did, right?”

“Sir?”

With that, Min Sung put his dagger back in his inventory and rolled up his sleeves.

—

Turning toward the exit, Min Sung made his way out of the abandoned factory. By the time he came out, the rain had stopped, and the Sun had come up. Meanwhile, having slept through the commotion, the Lich Doll squirmed as if bothered by the sudden sunlight and eventually crawled into Min Sung’s jean’s pocket. Looking up toward the abandoned factory, Min Sung thought, ‘Ice cream, huh… It’s gotta be above average if Ho Sung is recommending it to me.”

—

After cleaning up the corpses of the Dark Horse clansmen, Ho Sung, whose face was swollen beyond recognition, got in the car sniffling. The reflection of himself in the mirror told him just how bad of a shape he was in. ‘I look like I’m wearing a helmet.’

Then, remembering the champion’s ruthless punches, he shook with fear. ‘I thought I was gonna die back there. Never again,’ he thought. Wiping his face with a wet wipe, he smiled and murmured, “At least, I’m still alive. I thought I was a goner.” However, Ho Sung’s face fell almost immediately as he remembered that all of his troubles traced back to Min Sung. If he hadn’t run into the champion, the Diamond Clan wouldn’t be in the shape it was in currently. On top of that, he wouldn’t have had to be humiliated by the Dark Horse Clan, who had eventually surpassed the Diamond Clan.

“Son of a bitch…” he let out, lighting a cigarette and starting the ignition. After making a brief stop at a hospital that specialized in healing hunters, he headed straight to the champion’s house, feeling as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders at the thought of having to take the champion to an ice cream parlor.