Chapter 189: Chapter 189

Hwang Gyeongryong blushed a little. Every now and then, he would feel?ashamed of himself amid a conversation with Choi Yeonseung.

“O-of course, that’s one of the reasons.”

“I believe in Hyung.”

“Are you doing this on purpose... ”

“I didn’t think Hyung turn out to be like the people you used to swear?at?all the time. Haha.”

“I would rather you just curse me.” Hwang Gyeongryong grumbled, thinking that would be far better.

Hwang Gyeongryong would build factories in China even if it meant abandoning his past values for as long as they could make him profits. However, he wasn’t without a conscience at all. Hwang Gyeongryong was very human compared to other corporate chairmen.

… However, he couldn’t brag about it. If he said that himself, Choi Yeonseung would look at him as if finding him pathetic and say, ‘Do you want to win by comparing yourself to people like that?’

“Anyway, I plan to send our hunters there as well. It’s the best place to get actual combat experience right now.”

Killing monsters in the Abyss was far better than killing monsters a hundred times in the training center.

“You’re right. Only in combat can they further improve their level and skills,” Choi Yeonseung agreed. The hunters who only ever participated in the UHC and SSL grew far slower than the rest. The more hunters fought monsters and risked their life in combat, the faster they grew.

“I plan to send the hunters of Icarus and others to prepare them. Why don’t you go as well?”

From the perspective of the Icarus clan and other hunters, nothing was more reliable than an A-grade hunter. A-grade hunters could solve situations that arose during monster raids, and there was a lot to learn from them. Choi Yeonseung, specifically, had many other abilities.

“I’ll go, but I have something to do prior to that.”

“Aha. You want to focus on making the artifact as perfect as possible before releasing it.”

“Huh? No.”

“......”

***

Earth conquering the First Abyss Kingdom shocked the people, but the constellations were even more surprised. They made a vow when they opened it, but they didn’t really expect the day would come when they would have to uphold that vow.

[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ complains that this is all because of the constellations who taught humans magic and gave them skills.]

[The ‘Arrogant Light Elf’ laughs at the berserker constellation for having his kingdom taken away by humans!]

[The ‘Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood’ warns that it will soon be his turn.]

‘There are times when the constellations don’t seem that different from humans.’

-In some aspects, that isn’t entirely true.

The constellations vigorously buzzed in the Game of Stars. A kingdom being conquered was shocking news. The kingdom of an evil god constellation being handed over to humans was a win for the good god constellations, but... It wasn’t without disadvantages.

Among the kingdoms connected to the Abyss Gate were the kingdoms of the good god constellations. They gave humans skills and powers so they could gather faith and keep the evil god constellations in check, but those could now be used to damage their own kingdoms. The evil god constellations were threatening the good god constellations and warning them of such a future.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ ignores the words of the evil god constellations.]

[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ doesn’t even pretend to listen.]

‘... It’s really fortunate that they aren’t on good terms.’

They didn’t listen no matter how much the evil god constellations warned them. Even if humans of Earth progressed more and more into the Abyss, they were cute compared to the evil god constellations. Moreover, there was one thing far greater than this kingdom event.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ asks the ‘Noble Crown Collector’ about the truth of the incident.]

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ asks the ‘Noble Crown Collector’ about the truth of the incident.

[The ‘Demon of Contract and Order’ asks the ‘Noble Crown Collector’ about the truth of the incident.]

.

The One Who Understands and Penetrates Through Indeterminate Forms, a monster who became a constellation, suddenly jumped out of the Abyss and caused an incident all over Earth. Rumors started to spread that the collector constellation was the one behind it.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that it worked very hard to spread rumors.]

This type of rumor wouldn’t be believable if the constellation in question didn’t have a bad image. However, the Noble Crown Collector wasn’t only an evil god constellation but was also known to enjoy plotting and scheming. No matter what the collector constellation said, the other constellations still doubted him.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ declares that he will take action if you don’t give a proper answer.]

The other constellations were shocked.

‘What? What is he going to do?’

-He’s quite the militant constellation.

The Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons was warlike enough to intrigue even the goddess of sloth. As one of Earth’s most famous constellations, he had a powerful force and combative personality. He was so powerful that not even the evil god constellations who had taken over the countries of Earth could overshadow him.

[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ declares that he will attack the realm of the collector constellation on Earth!]

“!”

[The ‘Noble Crown Collector’ is furious. He is telling the other constellations to wait and see.]

However, contrary to the declaration of the collector constellation, the other evil god constellations remained silent.

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ threatens the collector constellation to quickly explain what happened.]

[The ‘Demon of Contract and Order’ threatens to tell how many minions he has lost due to the factories being blown up.]

[The ‘Expert of Twisted Hallucinations’ is angry for having his factories damaged as well.]

The evil god constellations who had settled on Earth were forced to taste capitalism. Only a few places were like Earth, a planet that had many people developing a complex and advanced civilization. While the kingdoms in the Abyss had gone back to feudalism or monarchy, Earth began to focus on democracy and capitalism after a few industrial revolutions...

Some consideration had to be shown to command such people and receive their faith.The Snake of Alcohol and Dancing preferred to drink hand-made alcohol but still allowed factories and high-tech facilities for humans. For those constellations, It didn’t matter if the collector constellation was an evil god constellation or not. He had committed an unforgivable act.

‘Wait. If he attacks a realm on Earth...’

Choi Yeonseung suddenly had a thought. The constellations fighting among themselves was good and all, but wouldn’t such an event have catastrophic aftermaths?

***

“Uwaah, the stocks are falling!”

The investors screamed. It hadn’t been long since the core factories around the world were destroyed, but another big event was already underway. The good news was that it was only Western Europe that was affected this time. The moment the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons summoned his household members and attacked the British side that the collector constellation had occupied, monsters started to run rampant around them. The sudden increase in monsters made the European countries immediately request help.

“What a mess.”

“Welcome!”

The moment Choi Yeonseung disembarked, the French officials who were waiting for him politely greeted him. Officials of well-known countries had a strong tendency to ignore foreign hunters since they could normally solve things without borrowing another country’s help. However, they were in a far direr situation than they could handle. It was good for constellations to fight against each other, but not when they sent waves upon waves of monsters against each other like madmen.

Hence, the officials had no choice but to be thankful that an A-grade hunter from another country came.

“People along the coast have already been evacuated.”

“The clan analysts speculate that there could be A-grade or higher monsters.”

During a battle between two constellations, dungeons often exploded since they couldn’t be cleared. As a result, monsters, including those ranked A-grade or higher, were set free to run rampant. If one of those A-grade monsters could increase its forces’ numbers, then hell would be let loose.

“Things would be far easier if we could just head into British territory and kill the boss monster, but if you do that...”

“A lot of people are going to die.”

The Icarus clan hunters nodded.

‘I’m glad I didn’t bring the Mount Hua Sect hunters.’

The young hunters of the Mount Hua Sect had been put in charge of the newly acquired territory in the Abyss. It was a very good opportunity to develop their inadequate skills. It wasn’t just the Icarus clan. Other American clans had now arrived in France as well. After all, this was an opportunity to show off, kill monsters, and receive rewards many times over. The problem was...

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung! I didn’t expect an A-grade hunter to come here in person. After all, once you’ve reached the rank of A-grade, you no longer have any reason to join operations like this.”

Lane, a hunter from the large American clan Schreiber, happily waved when he saw Choi Yeonseung. From Lane’s point of view, he couldn’t help but be glad to see Choi Yeonseung. He had almost died in a dungeon in the east recently. If it hadn’t been for Choi Yeonseung, he and several of the hunters currently with them would have been killed there. Hence, it was only natural for him to be happy.

“Is this Hunter Choi Yeonseung?”

“Yes! Everyone, come here and say hello.”

“The Koreans greet each other by kneeling down and bowing, right?”

“Yes. That is exactly what you do.”

“... No, it isn’t?”

“No?”

Lane was flustered. The hunters who were about to kneel stopped.

“We shake hands in South Korea. Don’t bring up something you’ve only seen in some weird movie.”

“Yes! I understand.”

“Please look after us!”

The young hunters of the Schreiber clan were very happy to see Choi Yeonseung. Meeting an A-grade hunter was rare since they usually didn’t go to field operations unless they could gain immense profits from it. Nevertheless, Choi Yeonseung still came here with the Icarus clan hunters.

“Please look after us!”

“Please look after us!!”

“... Wait.”

Choi Yeonseung felt something strange as they greeted him.

“Why do hunters gulp every time they see me?”

“... Haha. You’re mistaken.”

“Are you ignoring the senses of a martial artist?”

“That’s... No... Um...” Lane stammered, embarrassed. Lane told his colleagues how Choi Yeonseung helped him in a dungeon with too much detail, having fleshed the entire story out. According to his story, around 80% of Choi Yeonseung’s help revolved around cooking delicious meals. Hence, his colleagues’ thoughts went from, ‘Wow, A-grades are certainly powerful,’ to, ‘Wow, the food was that delicious?’

What would be the taste of a meal that even not even five-star restaurants could recreate, a meal so heavenly that it melted the tongue and paralyzed the brain?

“What are you talking about?”

Choi Yeonseung found it absurd. Of course, Choi Yeonseung was confident in his martial arts and cooking skills. He had trained in them like crazy in the Abyss, but not to this extent.

‘People might start thinking that I put drugs in my cooking!’

“It isn’t my fault that they misinterpreted what I told them,” Lane said, then hurriedly changed the subject. “So, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. Why don’t we go for a drink? You helped me last time, so I’m paying this time.”

“...... Aren’t we here to kill monsters?”