Chapter 515
“We’re so lucky!”
“Oh, really?”
Zheng Zhiyun’s subordinates didn’t understand why he was so elated and were flustered. Their hearts sank when they heard Choi Yeonseung’s name.
Who was Choi Yeonseung? It was a name that inspired awe and fear even among the proudest Chinese hunters.
Not only had he led the S-grade monster raids, but he had recently been unanimously crowned as the new S-grade hunter.
Dragon Hwang was still on the sidelines due to his injuries, and Chen Xiezhi, China’s S-grade hunter, was half-incapacitated because of his old age. Therefore, Chinese hunters couldn’t help being jealous of Choi Yeonseung’s performance.
Besides, this was happening in the country next door. When it came to this trio of Northeast Asian countries, if one of them succeeded, the other two would strike it down to keep it in check. Thus, China was obviously wary of South Korea.
“You fools... How can you not tell why this is great? It’s so obvious.”
“But... isn’t it dangerous to have someone like Hunter Choi Yeonseung at the forefront?”
Zheng Zhiyun clicked his tongue at his subordinate’s words.
“Still wrong. What happened when the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor led the Korean hunters? No matter how excellent he is, in the end, it’s the hunters under him who compete, not him. You all know that Koreans can’t work as a team to save their lives. You’ve seen it so many times, so why are you being so clueless?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Hunters are bastards that need to be chained around the neck and whipped. And even so, they’d barely listen. South Korea is a prime example of what happens when you let hunters do whatever they want.”
‘I guess that’s why the hunters have rebelled this time...’ Zheng Zhiyun’s subordinate thought so but couldn’t say it out loud. After all, their life was more precious than their opinion.
“But don’t the Koreans have a plan by appointing Hunter Choi Yeonseung as the director?”
“You idiot... What good is it to have a brain if you’re not going to use it...? I don’t know what they’re thinking. He’s the most prominent hunter in South Korea, so they probably appointed him without making a plan. Didn’t they do the same with the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor?”
Zheng Zhiyun looked down on South Korea a lot. He couldn’t help it, as they had constantly embarrassed themselves in international competitions even though they had a hero like the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor train them.
Their clans always played for themselves, while their Hunter Association stood idly with their hands in their pockets. As for the heroes, they would just get cursed at...
In this situation, whether it was Choi Yeonseung or his grandfather, the result wouldn’t change.
“True strength comes only from firm control and discipline. We don’t have to give the hunters or clans freedom or anything!”
“You’re right.”
“Call in the hunters to prepare for the showdown. I might be able to rise back up thanks to the stupid Koreans.”
Zheng Zhiyun nodded with satisfaction.
It was unfortunate for the Martial God, who didn’t know the details of the situation and agreed to that position in good faith, but this was how the world worked.
Zheng Zhiyun would eat away at Choi Yeonseung’s reputation and return to the core of the party!
***
“I thought there’d be more useful hunters...”
“Uh... You...”
“Hyung, go and relax. I got this.”
“No...!”
Choi Yeonseung pushed Lee Changsik away, knowing what he was going to say next.
-I’m fine, so don’t worry about it and just pick the best hunters...
Of course, Choi Yeonseung had no intention of doing so. Why would he choose those brats who disobeyed Lee Changsik’s orders just because their ranks were high? They would most likely drag the team down.
Of course, after filtering out those hunters, there was the issue of recruiting new ones. After all, those problematic and disobedient hunters had been selected because they were talented in their own right.
‘It doesn’t matter. Now that things are like this, I have to go with martial arts.’
Choi Yeonseung looked for the names of martial artists among the list of undervalued hunters. Having martial artists on whom he could use his constellation abilities would be the most convenient approach. Since he was the only constellation who governed the realm of martial arts on Earth, he was bound to have great synergy with martial artists.
“...Why are all the martial artists down here...?”
Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. After filtering out the troublemakers from the top of the hunter list, he realized that all the martial artists were stacked on the very bottom of the list.
He was heartbroken.
The reality was that martial artists were more ruined than in the first generation! ‘I thought martial arts have made a bit of a recovery recently, but I guess I was mistaken.’
Of course, thanks to his influence, the number of hunters using martial arts had increased rapidly. In addition, there were several hunters who mastered martial arts and magic concurrently.
However, those hunters had yet to prove themselves to the world, which was why they were at the bottom of the list.
“Call all the hunters from here to here,” said Choi Yeonseung as he pointed to the list.
“Understood.”
The staff member would comply with Choi Yeonseung’s instructions, but he was a bit worried.
Choi Yeonseung crossed out all the verified hunters and only picked a bunch of martial artists. Then if they were destroyed later... First of all, people wouldn’t stay still, and similarly, Hunter Choi Yeonseung wouldn’t stay still if he was criticized.
Suddenly, the staff member remembered the person who had been thrown out the window and shook his head.
***
[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ is worried.]
-It might not work.
‘Um...’
Choi Yeonseung was anxiously waiting for a favor from the angel constellation. He had asked him to hand over Han Seha’s younger sister, Han Sehui.
Han Sehui was an outstanding hunter, just like her sister, and a household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons. Moreover, she was learning martial arts and magic at the same time. Her skills were excellent, but since she had mastered magic first, her martial arts were naturally still lacking a bit.
Choi Yeonseung was going to take her as a household member and use his constellation powers to compensate for her shortcomings and strengthen her considerably.
After all, it had already been confirmed that he had a powerful influence on his household members and followers. If he did his best to empower them, they would achieve greater results.
Of course, China would consider it unfair if they found out that a constellation was supporting their adversaries...
‘Well, if it’s unfair, why don’t they do it as well?’
-Exactly.
The goddess of sloth nodded. She and Choi Yeonseung had come too far to worry about doing such things as constellations. Why now?
[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says he will specifically allow it in consideration of Illaphael.]
[He wants to ask your household member Choi Yeonseung to take care of Illaphael.]
‘Aren’t I already taking good care of Illaphael?’ Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. He felt like he was taking good care of her.
He usually asked his household members to do all sorts of troublesome things, but he didn’t do so with Illaphael because she was a guest.
If Choi Yeonseung himself came forward...
-She might be bothered by things we didn’t think about.
As befitting of her name, the goddess of sloth insisted that Illaphael be left alone.
Choi Yeonseung nodded, thinking her suggestion made sense.
‘I guess so.’
Thank you, Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons.
[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says he is giving permission because he trusts you.]
***
Kang Haejun?, a B-grade hunter from the Pearl-Spitting Turtle, had long wanted to compete in the international competition.
It was an opportunity to achieve fame and wealth, but this competition had a special meaning to Kang Haejun?. It was the kind of competition that martial artists couldn’t join. Only famous hunters were drafted, and the association had no reason to accept martial artists and get rebuked by the public.
Even though he had been working hard in raids and had been recently promoted to B-grade, Kang Haejun? didn’t have high expectations.
“Can I apply for it?”
“There’s no need,” the bandaged clan leader replied.
Kang Haejun? heaved a disappointed sigh.
“Orders came from above. They’re requesting your participation. Don’t be late and do your best.”
“!!!”
Kang Haejun?’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even thought he would be allowed to apply, let alone be drafted. It was truly an unexpected opportunity. “I-is that true?”
“Yes.”
“They’re allowing me to participate even though I’m a martial artist?”
“Yes.”
“I really have to thank Hunter Choi Yeonseung...”
“Why aren’t you leaving?! Who are you trying to make fun of, you brat?!”
The clan leader threw the cup he was holding, causing Kang Haejun to rush out of the office in a panic.
“You bastard! I’ll kill you if you’re late! I’ll make you like Choi Wuseok!”
“???”
Kang Haejun couldn’t tell whether the clan leader was cheering for him or not.
What was this?
***
There were more martial artists gathered for the competition than expected.
Since the landmass of South Korea was small and martial artists were always in touch, everyone at the scene knew each other.
“Hey, have you heard the rumors?”
“What rumors?”
“This international competition... If you make a mistake, they’ll throw you out the window.”
“What are you talking about?” Kang Haejun? asked incredulously.
Recently, strange rumors had been circulating on social media. Apparently, Hunter Choi Yeonseung had attacked the media and everyone who had criticized the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperon in order to get revenge for him.
However, Kang Haejun? didn’t believe it. Choi Yeonseung was the light, the hope, the role model of martial artists around the world. There was no way he would do such a thing. Just like the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, Choi Yeonseung was a bright hero in South Korea.
Kang Haejun was extremely grateful that such a hunter existed in his country!
“I’m sure those are just baseless rumors spread by those who are jealous of Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”
“Uh... The rumors are too specific, and there’s a lot of evidence...”
A hunter who was acquainted with Kang Haejun? cocked his head. It was too much of a coincidence that the hunters who had previously messed with the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor had suddenly come forward at the same time, all with broken limbs and apologetic.
“What is this? It seems that only losers came. This international competition will also be a failure. All the decent hunters are gone.”
Yoon Siwon, a B-grade hunter of the Jangjamari clan, clicked his tongue as he looked around at the other hunters. He was among the few hunters at the scene that could use magic.
He hadn’t participated in the last international competition because he had been cut out of the rankings. But this time, since so many hunters had been eliminated, he could come forward like this.
“Watch your mouth, you bastard.”
“It’s you who should be careful. You must be out of your mind. You think you can handle making a mistake in an international competition? Don’t insult me for nothing...”
Before he finished his sentence, Yoon Siwon suddenly froze up. He could no longer speak, as if his tongue had been paralyzed.
“???”
“????”
‘Pressure Point Attack!’
Kang Haejun? realized what had happened to Yoon Siwon. There was only one reason a B-grade hunter would suddenly freeze like that.
No one noticed, but somewhere nearby...?
Kang Haejun? looked around. Then, Yoon Siwon was lifted in the air and flew forward.
Choi Yeonseung had grabbed Yoon Siwon by the collar and thrown him out the window.
“...”
“...”
The other Jangjamari hunters at the scene received an urgent text message from the clan leader.
-YoucrazybastardsifyousaythewrongthingsIwillripoutyourtongues!
As everyone was blinking in astonishment, Choi Yeonseung greeted them warmly.
“Nice to meet you, guys. I’m Choi Yeonseung.”
“N-n-n-n-nice to meet you... We’re sorry. Please give us one more chance!”
The selection of hunters for the international competition quickly turned into a terrifying trial.
If they made a mistake, they might fly out the window...!