Chapter 112
“Be ready to get your head smashed in.”
Kang Hyeon’s wicked smile could be seen on the screen.
“What is he saying?” Bandarenko asked the interpreter beside him.
“Well… He says he’ll come alone to the agreed place at 9 AM tomorrow.”
“Hmm…” Bandarenko let out a thoughtful sound.
‘I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.’
Honestly, he had carried out this plan with some doubt.
He had judged that he wouldn’t lose in any case.
Whether Kang Hyeon was alive or dead, this would give him justification and insurance.
As a bonus, he could even achieve the effect of destroying Kang Hyeon’s status within Korea.
If Kang Hyeon went into hiding, that wouldn’t be bad either, and even if he came out, he wouldn’t be able to act recklessly because of the hostages.
It was certainly a perfect plan.
‘But I didn’t expect him to say he’d come alone.’
Could it be true? Bandarenko couldn’t help but doubt.
After all, Kang Hyeon had been defeated once.
In such a situation, it was hard to easily believe that he would come alone again.
‘Is he being arrogant? Or do I have another plan…’
Kang Hyeon was certainly strong.
If he had to fight him one-on-one, there was a high probability he would lose.
But he was the leader of the alliance.
If he mobilized the power of the alliance, there were countless ways to deal with Kang Hyeon alone.
“Things have flowed according to plan, but I can’t help feeling uneasy.”
For Kang Hyeon to confront him head-on like this, he must have some other scheme.
“Alliance Leader. What will you do?”
At his subordinate’s question, Bandarenko stood up.
“Proceed as planned.”
Bandarenko decided not to worry anymore.
Whatever Kang Hyeon did, it didn’t matter.
All preparations were already complete.
Tomorrow. Kang Hyeon would die.
***
Ippotranslation
***
An enormous crowd.
An unprecedented number of reporters and cameras had gathered.
This was the entrance to an unremarkable F-rank dungeon, but today was different.
“Mr. Kang Hyeon! How do you feel right now?!”
“Do you have a way to fight them alone?”
“What do you say to the criticism that your statements and actions are irresponsible rather than measures for the safe return of the hostages?”
This was the place where Kang Hyeon had promised to meet them.
Kang Hyeon passed through the reporters with an indifferent face.
“Mr. Kang Hyeon! Please give us one last word of determination!”
Kang Hyeon stopped at someone’s words.
And slowly turned around.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, he looked very relaxed.
“I won’t say much.”
Feeling the gaze of many eyes on him, Kang Hyeon grinned.
“He will pay the price.”
Leaving only those words, Kang Hyeon disappeared into the dungeon.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Feeling the familiar sensation of his body rising, Kang Hyeon entered the dungeon.
“They’re hiding inside too.”
Entering the dungeon is possible for any ability user.
He could already sense that many people had entered the dungeon.
Their weak magical power suggested they were probably not active ability users. Most likely reporters.
“I wonder what they think is going to happen here… They’re amazing.”
Come to think of it, even on battlefields, there are war correspondents.
It must be due to their exceptional passion for their work.
Kang Hyeon chuckled, thinking they were truly remarkable people.
“Mr. Kang Hyeon.”
Just then.
Kang Hyeon’s head turned at the voice from beside him.
“This way, please.”
The source of the voice was the interpreter who had been standing next to Bandarenko before.
“Follow me, please.”
“What about the hostages?”
“If you follow me, the hostages will naturally be released.”
“How can I believe that?”
“Well… I was told to tell you that you don’t have a choice anyway.”
At the interpreter’s words, Kang Hyeon laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! Right! That’s right.”
The interpreter felt something strange about Kang Hyeon’s exaggerated reaction, but all he could do was guide Kang Hyeon as ordered.
“This is the place.”
Finally, they arrived at the location.
There was the familiar blue portal.
“Right. They wouldn’t have called me out without this much preparation.”
Honestly, it didn’t make sense for them to set the meeting place in Korea from the start.
Kang Hyeon had expected they would use the portal they had used before.
“You can enter through here.”
“But how do you retrieve this?”
Kang Hyeon suddenly asked about the special device they use to open the portal, catching the interpreter off guard.
‘Is that what he’s curious about in this situation..?’
Though puzzled, the interpreter explained as much as he knew.
“It will probably be discarded after we enter.”
“Is that so? I see. Let’s go in quickly then.”
Kang Hyeon had been secretly coveting the item, but it seemed retrieval would be impossible.
-Whoosh!
As light spread, his body rose, and when Kang Hyeon opened his eyes, a ruined city sprawled before him.
“Oh ho.”
He could sense the presence of many hidden figures all around.
Kang Hyeon immediately activated magical power throughout his body and roughly expelled it.
“Shall we start properly then!”
Just then.
Something flew at tremendous speed and struck Kang Hyeon’s head.
Simultaneously, a gunshot rang out.
-Bang!
Kang Hyeon put his hand to his head where the bullet had hit.
He caught the flattened bullet that had stopped without penetrating his skin.
“Damn, never thought I’d get shot in my life.”
He probably wouldn’t have been hurt by firearms even without activating his magical power, but Kang Hyeon thought he needed to be careful.
-Ratatatatat!
The gunfire didn’t stop at one shot.
As if the first shot had been a signal flare, an enormous amount of bullets rained down.
They seemed intent on not giving Kang Hyeon time to think.
Mixed in with the hail of bullets were rocket launchers meant to take down tanks.
-Boom!
Kang Hyeon ran frantically through the ruins.
His face scrunched up from the flying dirt and dust.
“Enough already, you bastards!”
***
Ippotranslation
***
Kang Hyeon ran fearlessly, piercing through the shower of bullets.
Though his body was shielded by a massive shield, just as an umbrella can’t keep you completely dry in the rain, he couldn’t avoid getting hit.
Bullets that passed through the uncovered parts dug into Kang Hyeon’s skin.
“That stings.”
It was a battle fought in an unfamiliar place using unfamiliar methods.
Being cornered in a different way than before made him feel even more excited.
“Found you.”
In that moment, Kang Hyeon wore an evil smile.
“Ugh?!”
The surprised face of the guy holding an old-fashioned rifle drew closer.
Kang Hyeon swung his shield with the momentum of his run, striking the guy’s head.
The result was instant death.
With a splat sound, the guy’s head burst open in an instant.
In front of the grotesque corpse, Kang Hyeon roared.
“How long are you going to keep up with these childish tricks!?”
He couldn’t even remember how many enemies he had taken down like this.
His stamina was gradually decreasing, and his magic was heavily depleted from using it recklessly.
‘There’s an even more serious problem.’
Stamina and magic didn’t matter.
Kang Hyeon came here today prepared to die anyway.
But he couldn’t just die for nothing.
Kang Hyeon’s goal was to die together with his enemy.
At the very least, he had to kill Bandarenkocompletely to achieve his goal.
To accomplish that, he couldn’t waste any more time.
“Oh, have you finally appeared?”
Suddenly, the barrage of bullets and magic aimed at Kang Hyeon stopped as if it were a lie.
And Bandarenko, accompanied by numerous ability users, revealed himself.
“I don’t know where your confidence comes from.”
As Bandarenko spoke, an interpreter relayed his words.
“Give up now. If you do, I’ll at least spare your life.”
Kang Hyeon smirked at Bandarenko’s words.
“Why is your tongue so long? Forget it, just come at me already.”
The interpreter was flustered by Kang Hyeon’s blunt words.
“What did he say?”
“Well… He says there’s no need for dialogue and wants to fight.”
“Hmm…”
It was certain.
Something was off about Kang Hyeon right now.
He was fighting as if he didn’t care about the hostages at all, battling like someone with nothing to lose.
‘Has he given up?’
For someone who had resolved to die and abandoned everything, his eyes were shining too brightly.
‘What’s he plotting…’
WhileBandarenko was pondering, something flew towards him.
“Commander!”
It was an enormous piece of building debris.
Worried shouts were heard from around, but Bandarenko calmly deployed a shield to block the debris.
“Fine. Once you’re dead, there won’t be any need for further consideration.”
“Stop yapping and come at me, bastard!”
Kang Hyeon, wielding Bilgein’s Long sword, charged at an incredible speed.
“If you think you’ll defeat me like that day, you’re mistaken!”
Bandarenko, facing him, unleashed an explosion of magical power.
It was such an immense amount of magic that even those insensitive to it would feel their skin tingle.
‘This time, I’ve made all the preparations. I’ve finished analyzing his patterns.’
In fact, there wasn’t much to analyze.
Kang Hyeon’s strength lay in his overwhelming physical abilities.
‘Against overwhelming power, you just need to push back with even more overwhelming strength.’
Bandarenko’s magic power, boosted by all sorts of means, exceeded 80.
He possessed over a hundred different skills.
Among them were skills that consumed magic power like a monster.
‘Usually, they’re too inefficient to use often… But now it is different.’
To face an opponent who charges in with the height of inefficiency, one must take on a similar risk.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“What is this?”
Kang Hyeon was taken aback by the enormous magical power emanating from Bandarenko.
“You were an even bigger monster than I thought, you bastard.”
He knew from their last battle that Bandarenko was quite strong, but the magical power he felt now was incomparable to then.
“I’ll end this quickly.”
Just as Kang Hyeon made his decision and was about to charge forward,
“Argh!?”
The ground flipped over.
There was no other way to describe it – literally, the ground flipped over.
Hundreds of square meters of land rose up and crashed down on Kang Hyeon like a tsunami.
The scale was beyond what could be called a natural disaster.
“What kind of overpowered skill is this!?”
Kang Hyeon immediately activated the Light Warrior embedded in Bilgein’s Long sword.
Although it had a time limit of only 5 minutes, now wasn’t the time to be picky.
If he messed up, he might be buried alive before he could even use the Light Warrior.
“Hraaaaah!”
Kang Hyeon swung Bilgein’s Long sword in one hand and Ogre’s giant hammer in the other, frantically.
The avalanche of soil, rocks, and building debris was swept away like leaves before Kang Hyeon.
Just as the enemy’s magic was about to end,
“Now what?”
Suddenly, the temperature around him started to drop dramatically.
The debris falling on Kang Hyeon began to freeze instantly with a crackling sound.
“Damn it, you’re full of tricks!”
-Crack, shatter!
As Kang Hyeon’s body froze, it simultaneously shattered due to his muscle movements, repeating the process.
‘Where is all this magic power coming from?’
This was far beyond what an individual should be capable of.
No matter how exceptional Bandarenko’s magic power was, it should be impossible to pour out magic of this scale.
“Huh?”
Kang Hyeon’s question was quickly answered.
As the debris finally settled, Bandarenko’s figure came into view.
“Shit… What kind of life-sucking technique is this?”
The ability users standing behind Bandarenko.
Each of them, possessing magic power close to Kang Hyeon’s, was infusing their power into Bandarenko.
“Argh!”
Even Bandarenko, enduring this, didn’t look comfortable, but he was in a better situation than Kang Hyeon.
‘It’s already been 3 minutes.’
The way they were gathering magic power was incredibly inefficient and visibly putting a heavy strain on Bandarenko.
However, it didn’t look like he would collapse in just 2 minutes.
‘If I can’t resolve this in 2 minutes, it’s over.’
After 2 minutes, Kang Hyeon would enter a state of extreme exhaustion.
‘Please, hurry up!’
Just as Kanghyeon was getting anxious, as if waiting for something, a message appeared before his eyes.
[The dungeon’s Main Core has been removed]
[A portal leading to the outside will open]
Along with the message, a blue portal appeared between Kang Hyeon and Bandarenko.
Bandarenko’s eyes widened in shock at this unexpected situation.
“Ah, finally it’s done.”
Kang Hyeon sighed in relief and grinned.
“Hey, big nose. Ever heard of dungeon escape?”
The collapsing dungeon.
Failure to escape means death.
“Come on in, bastard.”
Today, Kang Hyeon’s role was to be the boss monster preventing escape.