hotmtlnovel Chapter 116
Chapter 116
It was in the blink of an eye that Yoo Han-ul cleared up the situation.
Some people, who like to compare things easily by numbers, often say that twenty mid-tier hunters can take on one high-level hunter.
On average, considering their stats, that might sound plausible.
“Urrrghhh!”
“Stop, stop! I surrender!”
But unfortunately, such figures are quite far removed from reality.
It's the trap of statistics, you could say.
Yoo Han-ul was like a bowling ball knocking over pins without mercy.
The pins fell, and the ball knocked them down. The pins could only stand there, having no ability to break the ball in the first place.
No matter how many pins there are, they can't hold up.
“Don’t come any closer!”
This would be the feeling of humans facing a natural disaster.
Yoo Han-ul easily subdued James’ subordinates.
“That’s impossible!”
James Chen, whose eyes were bloodshot, screamed.
With his hands tied behind his back, face pressed into the ground, he looked utterly ridiculous.
It was the result of Yoo Han-ul’s surprise attack, stunning James.
The confusion on James’ face was evident, having been subdued so easily.
“Why are you here?!”
Yoo Han-ul, an S-rank hunter, was an anomaly even among other S-rank hunters.
Yet here he was.
To be honest, from the moment Yoo Han-ul showed up, it was clear that the outcome of this battle was decided no matter what James had planned.
That's the nature of veteran S-rank hunters.
“Why the hell would you help Layla Lopez? What’s in it for you?!”
This was completely unexpected.
Who would have thought Yoo Han-ul would interfere in this situation?!
James Chen had met Yoo Han-ul several times before.
That’s why he knew just how wide the gap was between himself and Yoo Han-ul, or even between himself and ordinary people.
“Lopez kidnapped hunters from your country!”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Jeong Da-on... no, Han Jae-young, who had transformed into Jeong Da-on’s appearance, nodded.
“I think the same. Why bother getting involved in this pathetic fight?”
“...What?”@@@@
“But our princess seems to have other plans.”
Jeong Da-on’s words made sense.
Since her awakening, hadn’t she been dragged into countless incidents?
The root cause of all these events was that Jeong Da-on had been underestimated.
If that was the case, then she had no choice but to show her strength to avoid being underestimated.
“Certainly, it was time to show them a lesson.”
Still, it seemed like Jeong Da-on herself wasn’t in the best shape, so entrusting it to Han Jae-young was praiseworthy.
‘Learning restraint is a good direction. I’ve been too reckless until now.’
Han Jae-young, disguised as Jeong Da-on, glanced at the camera recording the scene.
Then, suddenly—
Fwoosh!
Yoo Han-ul raised a massive flame, far beyond what James had created, above his hand.
‘By now, those idiots who thought one video of incantation magic would suffice should understand.’
The intensity of the video would be appropriately adjusted.
“Arghhh!”
A hunter, trying to dodge Yoo Han-ul’s sword, was engulfed by flames, letting out a desperate scream.
“Don’t worry, you won’t die. It’ll just be horribly painful.”
Han Jae-young murmured ominously.
“Anyone who touches me will end up like this.”
Unfortunately, even with all of humanity’s civilization built over thousands of years, it was no different from beasts.
In the end, it’s survival of the fittest.
Only by showing them the sharp claws on this side would they stop casually touching Jeong Da-on.
Crash!
At the same time, Yoo Han-ul casually swung his sword, sending a person flying, solidifying the message that he was on Jeong Da-on’s side.
“And James Chen, your disgraceful behavior is all recorded.”
The reason Han Jae-young appeared as Jeong Da-on was, of course, to deceive James.
As expected, the moment Layla was confident she could handle things on her own, James Chen spilled his entire plan.
Submitting this video would be enough proof to show that James was the one who stole the problematic item.
James shouted with anger.
“Don’t be ridiculous. A video recorded without the consent of the involved party won’t hold up as evidence in court! And you’re not even an American citizen!”
“That might be true in a trial, but your judge isn’t American, is he?”
At Han Jae-young’s words, James' face turned pale.
As Han Jae-young said, the legal validity of this video might not be accepted in an American court.
Especially if expensive lawyers were involved.
That’s how human courts work.
“You will be judged by Estella, the head of the Association.”
However, their judge wasn’t a human judge, but Estella.
James bit his lip, then, silently glaring at Layla, who was watching all this drama unfold.
“...As expected, Estella asked you, right? Estella must care about you, Layla...”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Layla denied with a dark expression.
More shock than humiliation filled his heart.
“How... how did you get here...?”
“You should have thought carefully about Layla’s unique skill.”
It was a voice he had already heard.
The voice of the girl who had always gotten under his skin.
James screamed.
“You again!”
The person who had crushed his head was Jeong Da-on.
The same girl who had shattered James’ pride earlier.
“How did you follow me here?”
“I knew you had a teleportation magic item in your inventory from the start.”*
“No way! If you knew that, why didn’t Layla...!”
“Because that woman is now mine.”*
What?
James doubted his ears.
What was this girl talking about?
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
Jeong Da-on’s hand gripped James’ head tightly and lifted it up.
With her other hand, she pressed a sharp blade to his neck.
This allowed James to see her face from up close.
It was the same face he had seen earlier.
But this time, it was different.
When she had mocked him earlier, he had seen a malicious smile, but now that same smile felt more human than he had ever thought.
Jeong Da-on’s face was devoid of anything.
No feeling of superiority over the enemy, no pleasure in trampling the weak.
It was a face as boring as someone repeating the same action hundreds of times.
Instinctively, he realized.
This wasn’t someone human. It was something entirely different.
“I have something I need to ask you.”
“Ugh...!”
“Have you seen this before?”
As she spoke, Jeong Da-on held out a bracelet shaped like a snake.
At that moment, James' eyes widened.
“That’s...!”
He tried to speak, but his mouth shut tight.
Jeong Da-on blinked as she saw James’ mind racing.
“You know it, don’t you?”
“...If you tell me, what will you do for me?”
James was desperate too.
The urge to survive had completely taken control of his body.
But the one in control of the situation now was Jeong Da-on.
“I’m not making a deal with you. I already have a prior agreement.”
“I....”
At this point, there was nothing more to do.
He would have to leak just enough information to open a gap.
Just as James was about to speak—
“Ah... Ah...”
But, the words didn’t come out.
His tongue, which had been about to spill the truth, froze. His eyes couldn’t move. His heart was racing, and the speed of his thoughts slowed, while an overwhelming pain consumed his mind.
It felt like something planted in his head was about to explode, like a time bomb ready to go off.
His vision turned white.
He instinctively understood.
If this continued, his head would explode...
“Well, I wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.”
No, no.
James struggled with the pain as someone forced his mouth open. Then, something sticky poured down his throat.
It was an unpleasant sensation.
Something alive had invaded his body.
Like a worm with will, it wriggled quickly into his head, causing the pain.
“Gah!”
How much time had passed?
James realized he was now rolling pitifully on the ground.
White foam bubbled from his mouth.
“What... What is this...?”
“You almost became a fool under hypnosis. Surprisingly, you’re not the first.”*
Hypnosis?
James blinked blankly.
“Then how did you...?”
“You’re probably familiar with this concept being Chinese. It’s a type of ‘Godo (蠱毒)’.”*
“Godo?”
Something, no, someone, in the shape of a girl, faintly smiled.
“Now you are my servant, controlled by my blood. So tell me...”
In a voice that almost seemed kind, speaking in an elegant tone.
“Where is Orbis?”