Whiiiirrrrrr—
On a desolate plain swept by a bleak wind, a lone Sapien stood guard at the outskirts of a village, surrounded by dilapidated concrete buildings sparsely scattered about.
Whoooooosh—
The creature, wielding weapons in each of its four hands, let out a bored yawn, its large eyes blinking slowly.
"······Grrr?"
Suddenly, it sensed sothing amiss in the air and tilted its head to the side, its ears pricked.
Swish—
A sharp gust of wind brushed past, causing it to look up.
"······!?"
To its horror, it saw a blazing fireball plumting from the sky.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah─!!!!!"
The guard Sapien, overco with panic, let out a bloodcurdling scream and slamd the brass bowl in front of it, signalling the ergency.
But it was too late.
The fireball had already descended beyond the guard post, crashing into the heart of the village.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM─!!!
A deafening explosion shook the ground, leaving a deep crater as if a massive shell had detonated.
And it all began with Kang Do-hee.
"Ugh······!?"
"Waaaaah─!"
"Kek─!"
Without any warning, Kang Do-hee’s aerial assault took the unsuspecting Sapiens by surprise, sending them into a frenzied scramble.
Scraaape─────
But before they could even take a step, a chilling scraping sound froze them in their tracks.
A streak of deep navy-blue light sliced through the village.
"······!?"
The fleeing Sapiens, their hos, pillars, stones, and trees—all were bisected by this single black line.
Screeeech—THUD!
In quick succession, everything the black line touched was cleaved in two, as if by a giant axe.
A clean cut.
At the village entrance, Jin Yuha, with eyes narrowed in concentration, withdrew his sword from his sheath.
Sluuuuush!
"Gurgle─."
As the surviving Sapiens stared in horrified disbelief, another tallic clang rang out from the center of the village.
CLANG─!!!
There stood Lee Yoo-ri, confidently holding aloft a golden shield.
Aegis.
Nad after the ancient Greek myth, the shield bore the face of a serpent-haired woman at its center, true to its legendary nasake.
The range of her provocation was unprecedented, not just drawing attention but also staggering the magical power of the monsters that witnessed it.
Thud.
Thud.
The Sapiens, overco by dizziness from her skill, fell to their knees. While they were immobilized...
Whoosh-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The sky opened up, and a silvery rain began to fall, precisely targeting only the heads of the Sapiens while sparing the Utopia Party.
It was Sophia’s arrows.
In an instant, half of the Sapiens forces were rendered helpless, their pupils quivering in fear.
If this wasn’t hell, then what was?
Though they could not speak, their expressions conveyed it all.
.
.
.
Richard Parkers, the chief analyst at the US Hunter Headquarters, had dozens of holographic windows open, his face tense.
The Montana Sapiens extermination operation was a turning point for the United States.
The Sapiens, with their four arms and gorilla-like appearance, possessed incredible strength, easily tearing apart low-level hunters. They were intelligent, living in groups and learning to use human weapons. It would have been ideal to deal with them while they were still within the dungeon, but...
The dungeon had already exploded, and the Sapiens that escaped had established themselves on Arican soil, taking advantage of the civilization that humanity had built.
This was a disgrace for the once top-ranked nation in the world.
Hence, this operation was crucial.
It was a chance to rectify the failure to prevent the dungeon explosion and restore Arica’s reputation. It was also an opportunity to prove the effectiveness of Arica’s rcenary strategy.
The amount of money spent on hiring hunters for this operation was astronomical!
’If we fail this operation, the United States will beco a laughingstock worldwide. Spending money and begging for help from other countries, only to fail—damn it!’
Richard’s hands trembled.
’I won’t stand for such a shaful stain on our nation.’
So, they had put extra effort into recruiting hunters for this operation. Who could have foreseen that the first hurdle would co from the Academy’s student party, gathered with the intention of building a good relationship with Director Lina?
Never did they imagine that the Chinese hunter, Ling Xiao, would pick a fight with such a newly ford party. Unlike the famous but unproven Utopia Party, Ling Xiao was a true powerhouse.
It happened so quickly during a brief maintenance break that they couldn’t even respond properly.
As a result, a strange sense of caution had spread among the other hunters participating in the operation, and the original plan of everyone working together to attack the village had fallen apart.
In the end, they had no choice but to resort to the less-than-ideal strategy of separate attacks.
"Haaaa..."
Richard sighed, his expression conveying his headache, as he scanned the screens.
Naturally, his gaze fell upon the Utopia Party, the source of the initial commotion.
"......Huh."
As he watched, intending to keep an eye on them, another sigh escaped his lips.
This ti, however, it was not a sigh of frustration or dismay, but of astonishnt.
"What in the world is going on here?"
His eyes widened as he watched. Unlike the established hunters, the Utopia Party was a newly ford group composed solely of students from the Velvet Academy.
The reason they were recruited for this operation was twofold: half to maintain good relations with the prestigious academy, and half because they expected them to draw public attention.
This assessnt was not made lightly but was based on objective analysis.
"While each mber of Utopia undoubtedly possesses decent individual combat abilities, they don’t seem to excel in group battles..."
But what was this?
The Utopia Party had transford beyond recognition, performing as if they were an entirely different group.
-Waaaaah!
-Ugh!?
-Eek!?
The Sapiens were in disarray, fleeing for their lives as if a pack of wolves had infiltrated a flock of sheep.
A girl with blue hair caught Richard’s attention.
’Is she a new mber of the party? I don’t have any data on her yet, so she must have joined recently. She’s probably the reason behind Utopia’s astonishing new mobility.’
That black shadow...
It had completely revolutionized Utopia’s dynamics!
With Kang Do-hee and Jin Yuha’s enhanced speed, their already formidable breakthrough capabilities were further amplified.
The support and healing roles, now operating in the air, provided even more effective assistance.
Another individual who stood out was the tanker, Lee Yoo-ri.
"That taunt of hers is certainly a powerful move, but aside from that, she didn’t seem particularly remarkable, did she?"
While the change in her shield played a part, it felt like her entire combat style had been revamped.
Instead of staying in the backline or flanking the damage dealers, she now positioned herself among the attackers, actively guarding against the monsters’ assaults.
As a result, the entire party moved as one cohesive unit.
Their overwhelming firepower sliced through their enemies, pulling and pushing them, leaving nothing but death in their wake.
Richard realized he had been staring at Utopia’s feed for too long and reluctantly turned his attention to the other hunters’ videos.
"Goodness ."
He shook his head and let out a laugh tinged with exasperation.
"There’s just no comparison..."
Indeed, there was none.
While the other parties relied on the standard strategy of utilizing magic to wipe out large numbers of monsters, they couldn’t even co close to matching Utopia’s speed and efficiency. Most of them were struggling to handle the fierce resistance of the Sapiens.
To be frank,
Utopia alone might be enough to ensure the success of this operation.
"Maybe it would be best to just focus all our efforts on supporting Utopia..."
No, it was necessary.
Backing Utopia would not only ensure the success of this operation but also bear fruit in the days to co.
However, a sigh escaped him as he recalled the face of the woman who had refused to yield an inch during their helicopter negotiation.
"......Does this an I’ll have to negotiate with Cheonhwa again?"
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and his eyes lit up.
"Ah, or perhaps...? Could I use that girl as a bargaining chip? There did seem to be so tension between them earlier."
His gaze shifted to the feed from the Chinese hunters, where Ling Xiao could be seen furiously swinging her spear, battling the Sapiens.
﹌﹌﹌﹌
Support the Translation! 🌐✨
20 Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support our team.
patreon/Immortal_author
sko-fi/immortalauthor
sdiscord.gg/KscfBegBPT
Reviews
All reviews (0)