Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Kang Jun-tae felt something unusual as his baseball bat made contact with the iron mace.

Thanks to his long time as a hunter, where he often danced between life and death, he had developed an intuition that was anything but ornamental.

However, even with that exceptional intuition, it was impossible to fully evade Kang Jin-hyuk’s attack.

What Kang Jin-hyuk unleashed was lightning, and no matter how quickly one moves, one cannot surpass the speed of light.

“Ugh!”

Kang Jun-tae gritted his teeth and tried to endure it.

He didn’t want to show an ugly side after having relinquished the initiative.

“AAAH!”

Yet, human will has its limits.

No matter how desperately he tried to endure the pain, the tingling sensation coursing through his body ultimately exceeded his threshold of patience.

In the end, Kang Jun-tae coughed out smoke from all over his body and knelt on one knee.

Despite being an S-rank hunter, he still retained consciousness after taking a blow that would turn an ordinary person to ash.

“I almost got careless and wound up dead….”

He had anticipated that there might be some hidden cards up his opponent’s sleeve, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.

From what he heard, the opponent had only registered as a C-rank hunter a few weeks ago.

He had thought the news of killing a new type of monster was just good fortune on their part.

“That strange red light and this latest attack… There must have been enough skill to back up some bragging.”

Kang Jun-tae believed stepping away was a wise decision.

If he had sent out other Titan hunters, they would have all become utterly incapacitated by Kang Jin-hyuk.

Kang Jun-tae felt satisfied escaping a situation where he would need to hold back his full power.

The shame of having allowed a single hit due to carelessness had long vanished.

“Damn it!”

Kang Jin-hyuk wanted to attempt another attack while his opponent was still reeling, but he was entirely out of MP at that moment.

Even though he could use lightning without MP, recklessly unleashing it could be dangerous given the limited number of uses left.

It was better to conserve options for when enemies began to swarm in.

Kang Jin-hyuk hurriedly rummaged through his inventory to recover his MP.

Kang Jun-tae flicked a coin from his pocket at the moment Kang Jin-hyuk was about to drink a potion.

The coin shot forth with the force of a bullet.

“Huh?!”

The potion in Kang Jin-hyuk’s hand shattered upon impact.

Kang Jin-hyuk stared vacantly at the potion’s contents scattered on the floor amid the fragments.

“Kehehe, it’s bad manners to dope up during a fight~”

Kang Jun-tae uttered what could be mistaken for game-like rules as he slowly got back on his feet.

As Kang Jin-hyuk, undeterred, took out yet another potion, Kang Jun-tae closed the distance almost immediately.

“No way.”

“Kugh!”

Kang Jin-hyuk stepped back to avoid Kang Jun-tae’s punch.

While pretending to reach for his opponent’s face, Kang Jun-tae was actually targeting the potion from the very beginning.

In the end, the potion shattered once again, spilling its contents onto the ground.

“So obsessed with potions means your MP’s totally spent, huh?”

Struck at the heart of the matter, Kang Jin-hyuk scowled without realizing it.

Kang Jun-tae did not miss that fleeting change in expression.

“Clearly! Now die!”

Kang Jun-tae swung the mace viciously without holding back.

If that previous hit was recklessly thrown without considering how much was left as far as MP was concerned, there was no need to show leniency now.

‘Oh no!’

It was impossible to drink another potion from this distance.

His only remaining option was to utilize the lightning from the baseball bat.

Given the risk of his head being smashed in at this moment, Kang Jin-hyuk chose not to hesitate any longer.

“Kugh!!”

The dazzling flash of lightning erupted again, hitting Kang Jun-tae’s body.

“How the hell can a guy with no MP…!”

Kang Jun-tae assumed his opponent had no skills left time to charge in.

This turn of events was beyond what he ever contemplated.

“If you don’t know, then you’ll just have to take the hit!”

Those unaware of the secrets behind the baseball bat could only brace for impact.

“AHHHHHHH!”

Han Young-seok felt a chill running down his spine as he heard Kang Jun-tae’s scream grow even louder than before.

If things continued like this, everything would be over.

Unable to bear it any longer, Han Young-seok called out to his waiting subordinates behind him.

“What are you doing just standing there?! Hurry up and catch that guy!!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Understood!”

The Titan hunters hastily armed themselves and charged at Kang Jin-hyuk.

Even through the chaos of lightning crackling in the room, Kang Jun-tae locked eyes with them and gritted his teeth, shouting.

“Get out, everyone!!”

With a voice booming like a roaring beast, all Titan hunters froze in place.

“Stay silent until I finish this bastard! Anyone who steps up will be killed!!”

The shame of having been outwitted twice stung Kang Jun-tae’s pride greatly.

To heal that wounded pride, there was no other option but to crush Kang Jin-hyuk’s skull directly.

“You’re going to die today…!”

Despite sustaining severe injuries to the point of gasping smoke, Kang Jun-tae held his ground.

His bloodshot eyes brimmed with fierce determination.

Kang Jin-hyuk felt nearly overwhelmed by that urgent ferocity.

Taking a deep breath to regain composure, he opted to flaunt his own bravado.

“If you charge in all furious, once again, you’re just going to get zapped!”

A single incident could be overlooked as a coincidence.

But if it happened twice, there was a good chance it could occur a third time.

Kang Jin-hyuk hoped to use that realization against Kang Jun-tae, anticipating he might hesitate.

However, Kang Jun-tae had no intention of being played.

“So you know what’s coming?!”

“What?”

“How you’re able to use that level of technique without any MP… it can’t be unlimited, can it?”

“Stop talking nonsense in the middle of a fight.”

“Hehe, just a story, huh? You really think so?”

Kang Jun-tae easily saw through Kang Jin-hyuk’s bravado.

The number of hunters, monsters, and items Kang Jin-hyuk had faced throughout his life was several hundred times less than Kang Jun-tae’s experience.

Thanks to that overwhelming experience, Kang Jun-tae was entirely confident.

There were no invincible cheat skills in this world.

“Without a doubt, that technique has a set number of uses. That’s why you couldn’t show it off from the beginning.”

Even an S-rank hunter like Kang Jun-tae couldn’t dodge if he saw an incoming attack.

Yet, Kang Jin-hyuk had refrained from unleashing further attacks until his MP ran out.

Kang Jun-tae believed he had gathered enough evidence to validate that fact.

“Go ahead and try. I’m already expecting one hit anyway.”

Bending his legs, Kang Jun-tae lowered his body.

Unlike his previous appearances, his serious stance signified he would not let his guard down even for a moment.

Having already been humiliated twice, whether he lived or died.

Kang Jun-tae intended to put an end to this confrontation with his next strike.

On the contrary, Kang Jin-hyuk had zero willingness to take this lying down.

‘With a guy like that on my tail, I’ll only end up dead.’

This was never about him personally from the start.

Kang Jin-hyuk felt like a victim merely caught in circumstances beyond his control.

‘But there’s no way I could pull back now.’

Having struck two consecutive blows with lightning, making it right to wave just a casual sorry word wouldn’t cut it.

At the very least, he would have to be taken away in a half-dead state to finally let things settle.

‘There’s no way out. I don’t want to die or end up suffering in the hospital…’

Kang Jin-hyuk stealthily returned his hand to his inventory.

‘If brute force doesn’t work, I’ll have to think outside the box.’

Deciding to use his wits like a higher creature, Kang Jin-hyuk pulled out an item from his inventory.

Kang Jun-tae, whose rage had risen to the max, couldn’t miss that moment.

“What are you cooking up now?!”

Kang Jun-tae picked up a shard of debris from the broken floor and hurled it toward Kang Jin-hyuk’s item.

At that moment, Kang Jun-tae caught a glimpse of a wicked grin adorning Kang Jin-hyuk’s face.

“What a fool.”

In his rush to respond, Kang Jun-tae had failed to properly scrutinize the item being revealed.

Distracted by the ongoing thought process, he’d just assumed it was a potion.

Instead, Kang Jin-hyuk had actually pulled out a smoke grenade favored by hunters for obscuring enemy vision.

The moment the debris collided with the smoke grenade, it detonated right there.

The dense smoke that poured out within seconds filled the room.

‘If I had thrown it on the ground, that bastard would’ve attempted to block it first.’

Considering Kang Jun-tae’s tendencies, preventing the smoke grenade from going off would have been a simple task.

Thus, Kang Jin-hyuk believed he had to pop it with his own hands.

As Kang Jun-tae focused intently on searching for openings, harboring rage made him believe he could respond faster than anyone.

And his faith was confirmed.

“Shit!! What the hell are you doing you bastard!!”

Caught off guard, Kang Jun-tae became bewildered as he’d been blindsided.

“UAAH!”

“Ugh!”

“Please stop!”

Despite missing a proper visual, Kang Jun-tae swung his mace wildly only to accidentally strike the equally stunned Titan hunters.

“Don’t you dare come near me!”

Not wanting to challenge fate, Kang Jin-hyuk made a judgment call, opting to act.

Seizing the quickly diverted attention, he hoisted Seo Sang-ho, who had been laid out in the back, and dashed toward the attic.

“Don’t open your eyes until I say so.”

Han Young-seok, who was desperately coughing and trying to keep his eyes shut, managed to nod.

Kang Jun-tae hastily fled along with the remaining Titan hunters, who were still immobilized by the unpredictable situation.

“Aaagh! Open the windows and doors immediately!!”

Han Young-seok coughed, trying to keep a cool head while giving orders.

Yet, the gathered hunters found it challenging to react quickly.

“We can’t see because of the smoke! Cough!”

“Kang Jun-tae’s going wild! We can’t get close!”

“This is outrageous!”

It was futile to step out in conditions as chaotic as this—one misstep would yield a decapitated head under a mace.

In such a tumultuous situation, courage was nowhere to be found.

“Then those standing at the door should head outside and watch where Kang Jin-hyuk runs off to!!”

“Understood!”

The four hunters who had been outside immediately bolted up the stairs to the rooftop.

Once there, they each took a cardinal direction, keeping their eyes peeled on any passerby below.

While the four hunters kept watch, the remaining group, along with Han Young-seok, had no choice but to wait for the smoke to settle on its own.

Fifteen long minutes passed painfully.

That was ample time for someone to evade discovery while fleeing.

As the visions came back clearer, with no sign of Kang Jin-hyuk and his crew, Han Young-seok could finally shout up to the hunters gathered outside.

“Where did they go?!”

“U-uh, I don’t know!”

“We watched closely, but they didn’t even step outside!”

“That doesn’t make any sense?!”

Even when Han Young-seok erupted in a fiery rage, no hunter had anything they could say in response.

If they hadn’t emerged, they simply hadn’t come out, but crafting lies was implausible.

“You incompetent fools!”

Kang Jun-tae destroyed the last of the living room furniture still standing.

“I have to deal with this mess in this pathetic guild?! Damn it!”

The Titan hunters shot disdainful looks at the rage-filled Kang Jun-tae.

“Rather than being stubborn, if you had just attacked together with everyone else…”

“What did you just say?”

Kang Jun-tae heard the faint muttering of a hunter’s voice, as soft as a mosquito.

With his face flushed red with anger, he turned to the hunter whose voice had slipped up.

“Uh, I didn’t mean…”

His explanation was cut short as Kang Jun-tae swung his mace, sending it crashing into the head of the hunter who had badmouthed him and breaking it like a watermelon.

Kang Jun-tae approached the corpse with its now absent head, pulling the mace back from the wall.

“Anyone else wanting to keep talking?!”

In the blood-soaked atmosphere, the Titan hunters, desperate to avoid death, swallowed their complaints down their throats.