## Chapter 358 – 358. Pylon
The situation wasn’t good. No, it was getting worse by the minute.
Monsters were attacking the village at least three times a day. The problem was that the number of hunters had decreased after the white monster’s attack, and as a result, casualties were continuously occurring in the gaps.
Ten days after the white monster’s attack, there were a total of 2,170 villagers and only 11 hunters left.
Considering that there were over 5,000 villagers and 30 hunters on the first day, more than half had been lost.
“Ah, shit!”
I cursed, swinging my sword with red lightning crackling around it.
Kieeeeeeeek!
A beast-type monster with five legs screamed and fell to the ground. I stabbed its neck to make sure it was dead and looked around. The area was filled with monster corpses.
About 20 minutes ago, a group of monsters had attacked the village. Fortunately, most of them were D-rank monsters, so I was able to deal with them quickly, but there were just too many.
‘I think I saw about 200 of them when I glanced earlier…’
I couldn’t help but sigh.
I had sent Yuria to the west to somehow block the monster attacks, but I was starting to feel the limits.
The monsters attacked every day, but the village’s strength was only decreasing, not increasing. There was enough food, but we couldn’t handle the monsters.
‘We won’t last another week. I’ve already slept with all the pretty women in the village, so I should just do this for a bit and then bail.’
Just as I was about to grab my sword again and go help the other hunters who were still fighting,
Shuuuuuuuuuuung!
A deafening roar hit my eardrums. I reflexively looked up at the sky. Three fighter jets were flying at high speed, dropping bombs on the giant black tree.
Kwaaaang! Bang!
Black smoke billowed up with the explosions.
The black tree was ablaze.
The fighter jets circled the black tree and the village before flying towards Lanzhou City.
“Shit! If you were going to bomb it, you should have done it sooner. You’re way too late!”
I grumbled irritably. My gaze was fixed on the burning black tree. Could a mere bomb really burn down the black tree? Contrary to my worries, the giant tree continued to burn, and by evening, only its skeleton remained.
The fighter jets didn’t target anything else, only the black tree.
‘Given the situation, it’s not strange that fighter jets are moving. But it’s a bit odd that they sent fighter jets just to target the black tree… Does China know what that black tree is? And is it so dangerous that they had to use fighter jets to bomb it?’
I stopped thinking about it. There was nothing I could do even if I knew something. I was just a C-rank hunter. And I had no intention of doing anything. All that mattered to me was myself and the women.
‘Huh?’
While habitually fiddling with my smartphone, I realized that the GPS was working.
Just in case, I tried calling the Chinese Hunter Association, and the call went through. It was clear that the black tree was the reason why the calls hadn’t been connecting.
-Yes. This is the People’s Republic of China Hunter Association.
It was a calm male voice.
“…I’m Sung Yujin, a C-rank hunter from Korea who came to support China.”
I explained my current location and situation, requesting support from the Chinese hunters. Of course, I mentioned that nearly 3,000 people had died, but his reaction was indifferent.
-I see. Understood. I’ll give you the contact information for the Lanzhou Hunter Association. Please report the situation to the Lanzhou Hunter Association every day. We will dispatch a rescue team within a week.
He took the news of 3,000 deaths so calmly. There were two possibilities: either the man I was talking to was cruel, or there were already damages far greater than 3,000 occurring all over China.
‘Ah. Damn it. I want to go back to Korea.’
The rescue team would probably arrive in about a week. Or maybe ten days. I didn’t think the rescue team would come quickly.
•••
The next day.
I was wrong.
The rescue team arrived around noon. I was shocked by their incredible speed, but it wasn’t strange considering the composition of the rescue team.
There was an S-rank hunter on the rescue team. However, I couldn’t be purely happy. The reason was…
“Father!”
“Jayeong! I’m sorry! I wanted to come rescue you right away, but the situation was so serious that I couldn’t come until now!”
It was Ryu Gicheon, Ryu Jayeong’s father, the head of the Overlord Sword Sect, and China’s S-rank hunter, the Heavenly Overlord.
He was over 2.2 meters tall, with a body as massive as a bear. His eyebrows were thick, his eyes were sharp, and his nose and lips were large. His face was square. He was wearing flamboyant black clothes that looked like they were from a Chinese drama or movie.
Hunters in martial arts uniforms stood around him. They seemed to be Ryu Gicheon’s subordinates, and they were all at least B-rank strong. They were all equipped with zanbatos on their backs.
“I’m glad you’re safe! Yes! You have to be safe!”
Seeing him hugging Ryu Jayeong and being so happy, he seemed to have a doting father side.
I was uncomfortable with him. If he noticed the relationship between Ryu Jayeong and me, he wouldn’t let it slide easily.
“Jayeong. You must have led the people well to survive until now. Seeing that there was a black tree, it seems like a Pylon appeared here too… How did you deal with the Pylon?”
“Father. What is a Pylon?”
“It’s a white monster that walks on two legs like a human and can talk. They have intelligence similar to humans.”
“I didn’t defeat that monster. And I wasn’t the one who led this village until now.”
“You weren’t? Then who…”
Ryu Jayeong looked at me. The gazes of Ryu Gicheon and many others turned to me. I grinned.
“Surely not that spaced-out-looking guy among the women?”
Yuria and Han Harin were on either side of me.
Ryu Jayeong frowned.
“Father. Spaced-out? He’s a disciple of the Yeongcheon Style and a martial artist skilled enough to beat me!”
“…….”
Ryu Gicheon looked back and forth between me and Ryu Jayeong with a stiff expression. Whether he noticed the subtle change in his third daughter or instinctively sensed it, he was suspicious of the relationship between me and Ryu Jayeong.
“Jayeong. What is your relationship with that man?”
“My relationship with him is…”
Ryu Jayeong glanced at me.
My face and Ryu Gicheon’s face hardened seriously. It was the look of a woman in love, no matter who saw it.
‘No. It’s true that we’ve been having sex whenever we had the chance until yesterday… but that was consensual! Friends! Sex friends!’
Ryu Jayeong had once tried to stab me for taking responsibility. Fortunately, I somehow won in the sword fight, but our relationship continued without breaking. Under the name of sex friends.
For reference, Ryu Jayeong was the type of woman who peed herself every time she reached her climax. She wasn’t as bad as Han Harin, but she was a rare woman, so I cherished her quite a bit.
Before a disaster could happen, I stepped forward and greeted Ryu Gicheon. I made a fist with my right hand and opened my left hand, bumping them together in a fist-and-palm salute. It was the fist-and-palm salute that the old-fashioned martial arts masters in China were crazy about.
“Nice to meet you, Elder. I am Sung Yujin, a disciple of the Yeongcheon Style and a C-rank hunter from Korea who came to support China. I met Miss Ryu by chance in this village and became… new friends.”
“A disciple of the Yeongcheon Style… I’ve heard of it. They say a genius of the Yeongcheon Style has appeared! So it’s you!”
“Haha. You flatter me.”
“But Jayeong’s friend?”
“Yes. Miss Ryu and I are friends.”
“What is your relationship with the ladies next to you?”
“Ah. Both of them can’t speak Chinese. This is Han Harin. She’s my college senior and friend.”
“…And the lady next to her?”
“Yuria Grace. She’s my maid.”
“Maid?”
“Housekeeper. Housekeeper. She’s excellent at cleaning and cooking. Very delicious. Yes, very delicious.”
He strode towards me. Maybe it was because of his large physique, but I felt a sense of pressure. But I didn’t back down.
I couldn’t back down in front of the women. And there was no way Ryu Gicheon would kill me here.
“Sung Yujin, was it?”
“Yes.”
“I can read faces. You have the face of a typical playboy. You’re the type of face that can never be satisfied with one woman.”
“Haha. You’re very witty. But Elder, I don’t believe in things like face reading. Of course, I don’t believe in horoscopes either.”
Ryu Gicheon stared at me intently.
“Tell me honestly. What is your relationship with Jayeong?”
“We’re friends. Friends. You could say we’re best friends. Ah, best friend is short for best friend.”
“I know that much! Don’t treat me like an old man!”
“Ah. I’m sorry.”
Ryu Gicheon wasn’t someone I would see for long anyway. I would return to Korea, and he would stay in China.
‘I guess I can tell Ryu Jayeong to come visit Korea.’
I decided to be brazen.
“Father!”
It wasn’t Ryu Jayeong’s voice. It was a slightly more mature voice.
My gaze and Ryu Gicheon’s gaze simultaneously turned towards the entrance of the village. There was a woman running quickly towards us using her lightness skill. She was wearing a gray martial arts uniform with a zanbato on her back. As she approached, Ryu Gicheon’s subordinates made way for her and bowed their heads. She didn’t pay attention to her subordinates’ greetings and approached me and Ryu Gicheon.
She looked very similar to Ryu Jayeong, but her body was incomparably larger. Not that she was fat. She was literally bigger.
She was almost 1.9 meters tall. The volume that was clearly felt even under her clothes, and a firm body that was typical of a woman who had trained in martial arts. Her face was similar to Ryu Jayeong’s, so she was naturally beautiful. However, her body was bigger in many ways.
She looked to be in her early to mid-30s.
“He’s a benefactor! Don’t pick a fight with him for no reason! Don’t you know that Jayeong was able to be safe thanks to him?!”
“Ah, no. I was looking at this guy’s face and…”
Ryu Gicheon was flustered by her.
“Face reading. Face reading, face reading! Aren’t you tired of it?! Why don’t you use that great face reading to find my husband?!”
Her voice was thunderous.
“Cheongseol. Listen to me. This man is…”
“Father, please! Please stop with that face reading! Because of that nonsense…”
I was busy sizing up her body. Judging by the unnaturalness of her chest area, she was definitely compressing it, like Ryu Jayeong, by wrapping her chest with bandages.
‘I can roughly estimate the size of a bandaged chest because of Ryu Jayeong. If it’s that much… J-cup! It’s definitely a J-cup!’
A J-cup that’s hard to see in porn! And she’s Asian!
‘Hehehe… I never thought I’d meet a natural J-cup here. If it wasn’t natural, there’s no reason to hide it so tightly. Hehe…’
I licked my lips once and focused on the conversation between Ryu Gicheon and Ryu Cheongseol. As a result, Ryu Gicheon had made a big mistake with Ryu Cheongseol in the past. And Ryu Cheongseol was definitely an old maid.
And it’s easy to hit on old maids.
After sizing her up to some extent, I made a fist-and-palm salute towards her.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Sung Yujin, a disciple of the Yeongcheon Style and a friend of Miss Ryu!”
“Oh my. I’m so out of it. Nice to meet you. I’m Ryu Cheongseol, the young head of the Overlord Sword Sect and Jayeong’s older sister. Nice to meet you.”
Ryu Cheongseol also made a fist-and-palm salute.
“Haha. Nice to meet you, Miss Ryu.”
“Miss…?”
“Ah. Was I being rude? I didn’t think there was much of an age difference between you and Miss Ryu Jayeong…”
“Hoh ho ho. I’m just a little surprised because I’m only called the young head these days. Call me whatever you like.”
“Then. I’ll call you Miss Ryu. When I’m with Miss Ryu Jayeong, I’ll call you by your name.”
“I’ll call you Sung Songhyeop.”
Haha. Hoho. While we were laughing at each other, Ryu Gicheon interrupted with a displeased expression.
“Cheongseol! This guy has the face of a playboy, so don’t believe his words carelessly! He’s not someone to be trusted!”
“Father! He’s a benefactor! Don’t be rude! Jayeong!”
“Yes, Sister.”
Perhaps because they were sisters with a difference of more than 10 years, Ryu Jayeong treated Ryu Cheongseol respectfully.
“Gather the villagers with Father and prepare to leave for Lanzhou City. I need to talk to Sung Songhyeop for a while.”
“Understood, Sister.”
Ryu Jayeong took Ryu Gicheon away. Ryu Gicheon, who was a doting father, couldn’t easily shake off Ryu Jayeong’s hand. The subordinates, who had been quietly watching, started their respective tasks. It seemed to be a familiar routine for them.
