The First Hunter Chapter 67

Chapter 67 – Bucket List (2)  

3.

The soldiers and hunters of the Mek Guild walked across the Incheon Grand Bridge, arriving at Incheon International Airport by way of Yeongjongdo. The first thing to greet them was a corpse.

Twin Headed Ogre.

It was a monster that exceeded common sense, and despite being a corpse, its presence was overwhelming.

Its dead body had a strange expression on its face.

“Ooek!”

“Ugh……”

“Hey, keep it together! Keep it together!”

Even though it was dead, the dead Twin Headed Ogre’s Fear overwhelmed the regular soldiers who could not utilize any Energy. The regular soldiers crumpled, throwing up the food they had eaten earlier that day.

"Soldiers fall back!”

“Only hunters should move!”

Only Awakened with an E Rank Energy or higher could safely approach the body.

“It’s huge.”

Those who approached were given a number of commands.

The first thing they had to check for was the toughness of the Twin Headed Ogre’s skin.

The process was simple.

Either point the barrel of a rifle towards the Twin Headed Ogre’s head and fire off a shot…

“Eurahtcha!”

Use a huge axe that you would use to cut down a tree and try to cut up the skin…

“Explosion!”

"Explosion!”

Install claymores a stone’s throw away from the body to try and blow it up…

Carrying out each task one by one was frightening, but what was even more frightening was the fact that despite all of the damage, the Twin Headed Ogre’s body only just barely spilt blood.

Like a mosquito biting a human.

Furthermore, looking at the enormous size of the Twin Headed Ogre, it may actually be more appropriate to compare it to a building who was struck with a nail.

“I’m speechless.”

“How did he catch a monster like this?"

The Mek Guild hunters had no choice but to have solemn looks on their faces.

Like that, they went onto their next mission.

“It’s our job to protect this body from now on.”

Their mission was to protect the body of this Twin Headed Ogre, something that was far more valuable than gold.

It was literally just that.

Their mission was to prevent others from robbing them of the Twin Headed Ogre.

It was a funny mission.

“Security detail…… just who the h.e.l.l would come to steal this?”

“I know right.”

“If anything, I’d rather a survivor come over than an actual thief.”

It would be impossible for anyone to try and steal the corpse of a monster heavier than that of an elephant.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

But their common sense was easily shattered.

“E-excuse me!”

A rabble of people entered the Mek Guild hunters’ line of sight.

Their faces paled like they had just seen a ghost.

There was no way for them to fish out their Manual to figure out what to do.

“T-this area is forbidden”

“P-put your hands up! Put your hands up!”

All they could do is say whatever was on their minds.

But what came next were words that made the heads of the Mek Guild hunters go blank.

“Please don’t shoot me!”

[TLN: This line was in English]

4.

“So you’re telling me that the lot of you decided to forego the Manual because the other party spoke English? You guys are great, absolutely great.”

Hearing Chang Sung Hoon’s th.o.r.n.y words, the five hunters tucked their heads.

‘For these hunters who were able to withstand a monster’s Fear but then crumple under some words in English…… they should have been taught English for twelve years, yet they can’t use it in practice.’

Chang Sung Hoon laughed while grasping his head.

‘d.a.m.n it.’

Chang Sung Hoon quickly grasped the situation.

There were survivors from Incheon International Airport that had emerged from hiding. It was an unexpected occurrence, and it was only natural that the hunters would panic. The deciding factor for them was the English that came out of one of the survivor’s mouth.

‘Will we need to make learning English a compulsory subject for the soldiers?’

Eventually, the hunters broke rank and one of them ran towards Kim Tae Hoon and Chang Sung Hoon who were resting in the VIP Lounge.

It was absurd.

If the survivors had malicious intentions, then a huge accident could have happened.

Chang Sung Hoon’s expression crumpled.

'But more importantly, is this good or bad?’

But the more frustrating thing was the fact that the survivor in question was Kate Kennedy, the daughter of the US Amba.s.sador to Korea, the very same person that the survivors were currently looking for.

But to be honest, Chang Sung Hoon had no intention of actually trying to weigh the situation.

‘Would it be ok to just hand her over to Capital Defense Command and take the relic?’

The Mek Guild’s deal with the Capital Defense Command to rescue Kate Kennedy in exchange for a national treasure hadn’t been nulled.

However, the deal itself was plagued with political manipulation and conspiracies.

No matter what, it would never be a simple exchange.

Regardless, leaving Kate Kennedy as is wouldn’t be a very intelligent or safe decision. In the end, Capital Defense Command was looking for her.

Her intentions were important as well.

‘What should we do if she causes problems?’

There would be problems if she wanted to go to Seoul for her own purposes and willfully refused to listen to orders from the Mek Guild.

How would they deal with her if she were to act out like that? Would  they need to b.l.o.o.d.y her face and keep her silent so that n.o.body would be able to recognize her? The daughter of the US Amba.s.sador to Korea?

Of all the people that Kim Tae Hoon had met thus far, she was the only one with such political weight.

There was no precedent, so making a decision was not easy.

'What would Boss decide to do?’

If it were Kim Tae Hoon, he would have already weighed the choices and come to a conclusion.

‘No, rather than that, is this alright?’

It was like torture.

‘If he was like me, then he would have torn out his hair by now……’

This fourth death was the most miserable death that Kim Tae Hoon ever experienced thus far.

If the third death was a physically painful death, then the fourth death was a mentally painful death.

All of his deaths until now had given rise to new answers, but this fourth death gave rise to more regret than answers.

The bucket list was basically just a collection of tags that told the story of Kim Tae Hoon’s life.

In the case of such desperate experiences, it was essential to make judgements about these new problems and take responsibility for those judgements.

‘There definitely needs someone to make choices on behalf of Boss.’

Chang Sung Hoon felt that there needed to be a person in a similar position to Kim Tae Hoon and make choices on his behalf.

Meanwhile, he was able to understand one of the three listings on the bucket list left behind by the future Kim Tae Hoon.

‘Cho Sungyeon, it said to make him president, right?’

5.

"There is a secret bunker at Incheon International Airport. The other survivors and I have been living there until now.”

Kate Kennedy was a typical white skinned, blonde haired beauty.

She had large blue eyes, long eyelashes, dazzling blonde hair, and a figure like that of a model’s.

But to the current Kim Tae Hoon, she was not just a beautiful person.

‘So there was a secret bunker here.’

He had realized that there was some reason why the survivors, including Kate Kennedy, survived in Incheon International Airport.

Incheon International Airport had a secret bunker.

‘It would have been strange if there wasn’t one.’

It wasn’t unusual.

Incheon International Airport was one of the most frequented airports in South Korea.

Any member of the parliament or any other high ranking figure would always use the Incheon International Airport to go abroad.

Considering such factors, it wouldn’t have been strange to make a secret bunker.

On top of that, those people who would most likely use that bunker didn’t pay a single penny out of their pockets. It was from a country tax.

In fact, it wasn’t very strange for even a foreigner like the daughter of the US Amba.s.sador to Korea to know of its location as well.

And then afterwards, she and the survivors approached Kim Tae Hoon of their own accord.

‘For now, we’ve the cards in our hands.’

Anyways, from this moment on, they were in their palms.

Kim Tae Hoon had no intentions of ignoring that fact, and at the same time, he had no intentions of showing mercy to those cards that had been placed atop the palm of his hand.

‘We need to find a way to make the most of this situation.’

They needed to draw the maximum profit possible from these cards.

Kim Tae Hoon blatantly looked at the card that was Kate Kennedy.

Kate Kennedy couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable from head to toe.

‘Hm?’

Kim Tae Hoon grabbed Kate Kennedy’s right wrist. Kim Tae Hoon used the Black Snake’s Evil Eye at the same time.

“Ggyak!”

Kate Kennedy screamed as she tried to free her hand from Kim Tae Hoon’s grip.

Even though Kim Tae Hoon’s strength had been bolstered by consuming the Twin Headed Ogre’s monster stone, Kate Kennedy was able to successfully shake off Kim Tae Hoon’s hand.

It was true that Kim Tae Hoon had restrained his strength because he had regarded Kate Kennedy as a normal woman and was worried about breaking her wrist, but his grip wasn’t something that a normal person could just shake off.

That was proof.

“W-what are you doing! Are you crazy?"

It was proof that she was an Awakened.

‘Energy rank…… A Rank?’

It was proof that she was an incredible Awakened.

6.

Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun.

Although you couldn’t say that it was good, the road was still at least in an improved condition so that they could drive on it without too much concern.

Driving.

It was an action that had come about after humans invented the car, and it was something that had become an aspect of everyday life for humans. Despite that, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun driving for dozens of minutes without rest was still something unusual.

It was a wonder that he had been able to press down on the acceleration pedal for such a long time.

The world was just like that.

It was a world where there were no clear roads to drive on and no s.p.a.ce to drive off road.

A world where the ground no longer belonged to man.

‘They did it through any means necessary.’

In other words, this drive was the results of a struggle.

The fact that humans had reclaimed this land once more.

But of course, he wasn’t talking about humanity as a whole.

‘The Mek Guild has eaten Incheon.’

In that struggle, the Mek Guild had won, so naturally, the Mek Guild had the rights to claim that land.

That was only the beginning of the problem.

‘Capital Defense Command wouldn’t be so keen on admitting that.’

The Capital Defense Command considered all of South Korea as their land. And of course, Incheon was still a part of Korea.

As such, they wouldn’t easily recognize the Mek Guild’s sovereignty over Incheon.

‘This is my mission.’

It was Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s job to receive this recognition.

Since the Mek Guild had a grasp of Incheon, the voice and power of Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun would increase given his close relations.h.i.+p with the Mek Guild.

‘It would be difficult, but it would also be worth it.’

At the time of the negotiations, it would be likely that Capital Defense Command would acquiesce to the Mek Guild’s possession of Incheon.

‘There’s no reason for it not to work.’

In the current day, Capital Defense Command’s power was focused on the north.

It wouldn’t be easy for their forces to quickly go to Gangnam. It was because the majority of the bridges over the Hangang River connecting Gangbuk and Gangnam together had already collapsed.

In their current situation, it would be impossible for Capital Defense Command to dispatch troops to take control of Incheon.

If it were possible, the Mek Guild would have never even had the chance to occupy Incheon in the first place.

On top of that, Capital Defense Command simply didn’t have the time to worry about Incheon.

‘At least once they’re informed of the fact that the armored infantry is fighting on the frontlines, even if it’s a little, they’ll place their attention there.’

Frontlines.

It was where the majority of the South Korean army was located and also where the 8th Division’s remaining power was being  absorbed by the Korean Army’s power.

'Colonel Lim Hyunjoon had eaten and cleared out the 8th Division?’

He wasn’t even the 8th division commander. He had heard that Colonel Lim Hyunjoon had accomplished it.

In the case of the Capital Defense Command, there was only one card they could use to reverse the situation: claiming legitimacy with the president or prime minister; but they had no such card.

Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun tried to organize the confusing information in his mind.

‘Afterall, the rise of a new government and military are inevitable.'

In fact, the current government and military were already on the decline.

It would have been strange to even wish for the status quo to be maintained when both the president and prime minister were missing with n.o.body available to play the role of either positions.

Eventually, a new order will be established, and the new order will be put into the hands of those who had obtained the best results.

“We’ve arrived.”

At the end of the soldier’s report, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun got off the military truck and raised his head to look at the scene before him.

Songdo LNG production plant.

A source of renewable energy, something far more valuable than gold.

Looking at the scene before him, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun stepped forward.

‘Major Kim Tae Hoon…… he was someone I thought would be forgotten in the annals of history, but his path down the history is still long.’

To meet someone who would lead the new order.

7.

“We have secured Kate Kennedy.”

The conversation was one-sided.

“But I will not report it to Capital Defense Command. I wish to hide that fact.”

Kim Tae Hoon and Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun engaged in a conversation of great political impact right then and there.

No, rather, it was a one-sided notification more than a conversation.

“From now on, Kate Kennedy will be nothing more than a hunter of the Mek Guild.”

There was proof that Kim Tae Hoon was someone looking at the situation with a level head.

He had caught the Twin Headed Ogre.

And it was all done alone at that.

Kim Tae Hoon had accomplished something that Capital Defense Command could only accomplish with a few helicopters, fire arms, and their ace Oh Saeb.u.m.

It was proof.

Proof of the fact that one would pay a major price should they underestimate the enemy.

Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun was a sword that Kim Tae Hoon would wield against Capital Defense Command.

The master of a sword does not speak to his sword. All he needs to do is swing the sword.

“Please arrange a meeting with Colonel Lim Hyunjoon of the armored infantry unit.”

But if the owner were to recklessly swing the sword, then problems would arise.

“That…… “

“There is no greater threat than one that sits outside your door.”

Hearing what Kim Tae Hoon said, Lieutenant Colonel Yoon Daehyun wanted to ask how the h.e.l.l did he knew that.

But, that question would have been pointless.

No matter how Kim Tae Hoon answered that question, there would be no way for Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun to verify the veracity of his answer.

“……amazing.”

Because of that, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun only asked the questions with relevant answers.

“Then what’ll be your next destination?”

“I’m going to head towards Buyeo.”

“Buyeo? For what reason?”

The moment Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun asked, the words ‘Buyeo National Museum’ came to mind.

“Ah.”

He sighed and gave a light warning.

“It would be dangerous. I’ve sent several men on multiple occasions for the purposes of scavenging, but not even one has ever returned.”

Hearing his warning, Kim Tae Hoon took a look at his left hand.

[Basic Abilities]

– Strength : 501

– Stamina : 299

[Special Abilities]

– Energy : B- Rank

– Mana : C+ Rank

– Telekinesis : A Rank

– Physical Defense : B- Rank

– Magic Resistance : C+ Rank

[Acquired Abilities]

– Twin Headed Ogre’s Herculean Strength(4th Grade) : Grants the user the ability to exert the tremendous strength that the Twin Headed Ogre possessed.

Kim Tae Hoon replied whilst looking at his hand.

“That is why I will be going. It shouldn’t take too long. So if you may, please arrange an appointment with Colonel Lim Hyunjoon for me in June please.

The appointment date absolutely must not exceed July.”

By the time their conversation ended, a distant truck slowly approached them.

There was no driver.

Hoisted on the truck was the enormous, boundlessly ugly head of a monster.

“It’s one of the heads of the Twin Headed Ogre. It’s my gift to Capital Defense Command. The remaining head will be kept in my possession to be turned into a monumental souvenir.”