Chapter 165 – From This Moment, the Black Sea Guild is Our Enemy

“Ughhhh……”

The first thing Gao Zhihong felt when he regained consciousness was pain.

“Kuhuck.”

His nose bone had collapsed and his hand bones were shattered.

His face was so bloodied that it would be difficult to recognize who he was.

“D-damn bread-head……”

Gao Zhihong flinched at his own unconscious curse and looked around.

Fortunately, there was no one else besides him.

‘Phew. That’s a relief.’

If the Black Sea Guild master had heard him, he would have been beaten mercilessly again.

‘To think he would overpower me in strength when my strength is 2,200.’

He could accept that an assassin would be faster, but he never imagined he would be overpowered in terms of strength.

‘Wait. Why am I still alive?’

Gao Zhihong couldn’t understand why he was still alive.

Given the situation, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had died.

‘If he had the chance, he could have killed me.’

As much as he hated to admit it, he had to acknowledge that the Black Sea Guild master was stronger than him.

‘But why did he spare me?’

Looking around, he was still in the same place where he had lost consciousness.

He hadn’t been crippled or kidnapped, just knocked unconscious and left behind.

‘He had no reason to spare me. Ah! Could it be?’

Was he persuaded by the warning that killing him would make an enemy of the entire White Snake Guild?

Had he hurriedly fled after leaving him behind?

‘Whatever the reason, you’re all dead.’

If he returned and reported this to his boss, the Black Sea Guild would be completely wiped out from Korea.

‘I’ll make you clearly understand what it means to mess with the White Snake Guild.’

Gao Zhihong endured the pain and stood up.

This level of injury could be easily fixed by calling the guild’s healer.

‘I don’t know what you were thinking by sparing me, but you’ve made a mistake.’

With that vow of revenge, Gao Zhihong left the scene.

Unaware that someone was watching him from a distance.

* * *

Min Do-jun, who had returned home, closed his eyes and monitored Gao Zhihong.

‘That’s right. Get treated and go back. Go and bring back useful information.’

He had deliberately spared him to obtain more valuable information.

He needed to know who had provided the information about the legendary sword.

‘As expected, could it be Justin Walker?’

For now, it was just a guess without concrete evidence.

‘Let me check the characteristic.’

Min Do-jun examined the characteristic he had stolen from the Black Sea Guild member.

[Characteristic – Cat’s Step]

-Grade: C

-Description: Footsteps make no sound. Impact from falling is reduced by 90%.

Though it overlapped with the Ghost Step Boots, it wasn’t bad.

‘I can hide my footsteps even without the Ghost Step Boots.’

Since he hadn’t expected much to begin with, he was satisfied just to have accumulated another characteristic.

How good of a characteristic could one expect from guild members below level 1,500?

‘Yet I’ve killed people and now I don’t feel anything.’

No matter how much the Black Sea Guild was a group of murderers and criminals, they were still people.

It would be natural to feel some hesitation, but he was killing them without any remorse.

For a trivial reason like needing a spot for a Parasite.

‘People? They’re just trash.’

Was it because he had become desensitized to killing?

Or was it because his contempt for trash had deepened?

In his eyes, the Black Sea Guild members no longer appeared as people.

They were just like unscratched lottery tickets to him.

‘Gao Zhihong will have to be killed someday too.’

By monitoring him, he would surely obtain the information he wanted.

‘When that time comes, I’ll have to exterminate not only Gao Zhihong but the entire White Snake Guild.’

There was no reason to spare a trash organization.

Especially one that had put Hwang Eui-cheol in danger.

‘Those who endanger my people must pay with their lives.’

Hwang Eui-cheol was the most important person to him after Cha Ye-rin.

Now that he knew the White Snake Guild was connected to the legendary sword, he had no intention of letting them live.

‘By the way, to think the right-hand man Gao Zhihong would be this weak.’

He had expected more from an S-rank hunter, but he was weaker than anticipated.

‘Well, preventing him from drawing his weapons was the key to victory.’

Following the strategy from weakness detection, he had easily subdued him by preventing him from using his dual swords.

‘All his skills were probably related to dual swords.’

Without his dual swords, Gao Zhihong was just a strong but stupid brute.

‘Even then, he wasn’t that strong.’

Based on the feeling, his strength seemed to be around 2,000.

‘If I hadn’t used Frenzy, it might have been a bit difficult.’

Gao Zhihong wouldn’t have known, but Min Do-jun had used Frenzy during the fight.

Without the Battle Avatar buff, he had to inflate his stats with Frenzy.

‘With strength and agility over 3,000, ordinary S-ranks are no match for me.’

Thus, the first S-rank hunter he had faced since his regression was more disappointing than expected.

‘If he had drawn his dual swords, it might have been different.’

It was only because he had been careless that Min Do-jun had subdued him so easily.

If they had fought properly, it might have been a bit more challenging.

Just a bit.

‘Since I might face stronger opponents, I need to keep growing.’

His intuition was telling him.

Not to be complacent but to continue building his strength.

‘I need to be able to overwhelm Shin Kyung-min even without the Battle Avatar buff.’

For the sake of revenge, he couldn’t slow down his leveling.

‘Fortunately, I’m not far from level 2,500.’

At level 2,500, he would be able to share Shin Kyung-min’s personal dungeon.

Additionally, he would be able to use the S-grade skill he had obtained from Kim Bedro.

‘I’ll become even stronger by then.’

Min Do-jun began searching for his next hunting ground.

* * *

If asked to name the best guild in America, people would undoubtedly point to the Overlord Guild.

It was a guild where formidable rankers from around the world had gathered, so there was no need for further explanation.

“The Tower of Infinity’s first place has changed?”

Adam Bishop, the guild master of this top guild, showed a surprised expression that was rarely seen.

It was no wonder, as the first place had been held by the world-renowned ranker Justin Walker.

“Yes. A new recruit who entered the Tower of Infinity saw that the ranking had changed. We confirmed it’s true by asking other hunters who entered the tower.”

“Which country is it from? If it’s America, I would have known.”

“It’s from Korea.”

Adam Bishop showed an even more surprised expression at the employee’s words.

He had been thinking of China or India, but a completely unexpected country had emerged.

At the same time, he was pleased.

Korea was his homeland, after all.

“Korea is a country related to me.”

“Ah, you were originally from Korea, weren’t you?”

“Yes. Though I was adopted to America when I was young, so I don’t know much about it.”

The employee, not missing the bitter expression that flashed across Adam’s face, quickly continued.

“Still, you’re amazing. To have created such a top guild in America all by yourself!”

“I was just lucky.”

“Don’t you ever want to go back to Korea?”

“Actually, I went there last year.”

“Oh, how was it?”

“It was quite nostalgic. Not a bad country. And the hunters there were stronger than I expected.”

“Really? Compared to our America?”

Adam let out a small laugh at the absurd question.

“Of course America is overwhelmingly stronger. That’s an undeniable fact. But there are strong hunters in Korea too. Especially a hunter named Shin Kyung-min, who is ranked first there. I think the Korean hunter who took first place in the Tower of Infinity might be him.”

“I thought so too and investigated separately, but this hunter named Shin Kyung-min already conquered the Tower of Infinity a year ago.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. His score was 73 million points, which was in 5th place until recently, but now he’s been pushed down to 6th. Here’s the current Hall of Fame ranking data.”

Adam Bishop couldn’t help but be surprised as he looked at the data handed to him by the employee.

“First place has 147 million points? That’s almost 150 million points?”

“Yes. Below that, in second place, is Justin Walker’s score, and the difference is quite significant.”

“Almost a 50 million point difference.”

Adam couldn’t take his eyes off the data for a while.

He was more shocked by the overwhelming gap than by the fact that first place was from Korea.

“Where did such a monster come from… Do we know who it is?”

“We can’t check the rankings of other countries unless we’re awakened individuals from that country. Perhaps you could, Guild Master?”

It was a question thrown with the thought that Adam, an S-rank hunter and a Korean, might be able to do it.

But Adam immediately shook his head.

“Although I was born in Korea, I’m clearly an American citizen. Even my domestic ranking shows as American.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, we don’t need to investigate; who it is will be revealed soon. If they’re updating the rankings regularly in Korea, it won’t be hard to figure out. Just find a hunter above level 2,250 whose level has significantly increased, and it will be revealed quickly.”

Adam nodded in agreement, and after some consideration, he spoke.

“As soon as their identity is revealed, make a recruitment offer immediately.”

“A hunter of that caliber probably already belongs to a guild.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if we have to pay a penalty, we must bring them to our guild. Offer the same conditions as Justin Walker, but double the contract fee.”

“D-double Justin Walker’s?”

To offer twice the already high contract fee of Justin Walker?

And to a newcomer at that?

“Whoever it is, based on their score, they’re worth that much. We must bring them in no matter what. Understood?”

There’s no hunter who doesn’t succumb to money.

No matter how proud a hunter is, they will bow when offered a massive amount.

‘A Korean hunter would be no different.’

Adam was confident.

That’s how he had recruited hunters from all over the world.

* * *

Swoosh-

“Kuheheck…!”

Xu Zhiping’s sharp spear pierced the throat of an ordinary farmer.

“Boring.”

“P-please spare me. Please…”

A subordinate watching the cruelty of destroying an entire village for entertainment clicked his tongue.

Then, seeing someone entering the village, he ran to Xu Zhiping and said:

“Boss, Brother Gao has returned.”

Hearing the news that his long-awaited right-hand man had returned, Xu Zhiping lowered his spear.

Shortly after, Gao Zhihong appeared with a somewhat haggard appearance.

“B-boss.”

“I already know what happened from what I’ve heard, but I need to hear it directly from you.”

Gao Zhihong carefully reported what had happened in Korea.

He said that when he asked about the sword’s location, the Black Sea Guild suddenly attacked him and fled.

“Did the Black Sea Guild really act that way?”

“I’m ashamed. It was my oversight…”

Swish-

Xu Zhiping’s spear flashed like lightning and severed a farmer’s head.

“Those damn bastards dare to look down on the White Snake Guild?”

Xu Zhiping, who rarely got excited, looked at the farmers with eyes full of killing intent.

Flinch-

The terrified farmers trembled, but they didn’t know that would be their last action in life.

Thud thud thud-

In an instant, the heads of five farmers were cut off.

Gao Zhihong trembled slightly at the sight.

‘W-when did he…’

It was an incredible speed that even he, an S-rank, couldn’t see.

‘I thought the Black Sea Guild master was comparable to the boss, but…’

He was wrong.

The boss was much stronger than he had thought.

Strong enough to easily dispatch someone like the Black Sea Guild master.

“Huuuu.”

As if killing wasn’t enough to quell his anger, Xu Zhiping exhaled a long breath.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? N-nothing.”

Gao Zhihong, who had been looking at his boss with admiration, changed his expression.

“So. You don’t know the location of the Black Sea Guild master?”

“…That’s correct.”

“And the sword? Are you sure they have it?”

“I’m not entirely sure. But the implication was that they have it but won’t give it to us.”

“These bastards not only cut off trade but also took the sword for themselves?”

Xu Zhiping ground his teeth in anger.

Gao Zhihong had never seen him this enraged before.

“From this moment, the Black Sea Guild is our enemy.”

Being designated as an enemy by the White Snake Guild meant they would annihilate their very existence.

It meant they would find and eliminate not only the Black Sea Guild master but all guild members.

As they were vowing revenge:

Bzzzz-

Xu Zhiping’s phone vibrated.

“Who could it be at this late hour…”

After seeing the caller, Xu Zhiping’s expression hardened, and he answered the phone.

“Yes, hello.”

Gao Zhihong’s eyes widened at the sight of his boss being respectful.

However, after guessing who the caller was, he calmed his surprised emotions.

There was only one person who could make the boss adopt such a humble attitude.

“What brings you to call? Mr. Justin Walker?”