Swordmaster Healer Chapter 96

Swordmaster Healer - Episode 96

TL: Boko

Editor: Frost

Chapter 32: Mad Dog's Death (2)

The battle on the ground was fierce.

The PMC mercenaries' bullets rained down on Sung Joon, but the 'Dragon's Protection' prevented him from being injured.

Just by releasing his killing intent a little bit, the mercenaries (who weren't Hunters) fell, foaming from their mouths.

There were also around thirty C-rank Hunterson the ground fighting, but they all died in vain, and Sung Joon entered the first floor. He had penetrated all the way through to the final line of defense.

"Attack!" someone yelled.

Three machine guns installed in the lobby spewed bullets, firing hundreds of bullets at the entrance. There were also Mage Hunters behind the guns on standby, casting offensive spells.

"Fire Spear!"

"Wind Cutter!"

The blazing spears and the wind blades came all at once, but Sung Joon just looked at them calmly, and didn't even attempt to avoid them.

"Shield."

He simply recited the activation words.

The red gem took in his mana and radiated light, manifesting a powerful barrier that blocked all long-range attacks.

"H-He blocked all of this?"

"How monstrous are these Hunters?"

This was the mercenaries' first battle with an S-rank Hunter, and they paled as they faced Sung Joon. They even shot him with a rocket launcher, but there's no way it would work when the Mage Hunters' offensive spells wouldn't work.

"R-Run away!"

"We can't win!"

The mercenaries from the PMC decided that the battle was hopeless, so they began to escape in different directions; Sung Joon didn't follow them.

Now, the only ones remaining in the first floor lobby were the Executive Branch Hunters. They were also terrified, but they endured with their sense of duty as they couldn't betray the guild.

If they were normal guild members, they would've run away with the PMC mercenaries. It was only possible for them to endure this far because of their loyalty to the guild, as well as being part of the Executive Branch.  

"If he gets through here, it's the end."

The rank Hunter, who was the Executive Branch Leader, said with a firm resolution. The first floor lobby was equivalent to the final line of defense.

They didn't know what might happen, so they had placed Hunters on each floor, but there weren't that many of them on the other floors.

The remainder of the Executive Branch's Hunters were mostly gathered on the first floor lobby.

"It seems like you've all gathered."

Sung Joon questioned indirectly, but no one responded. Amidst the rising tension, the Il Sung guild Executive Branch Hunters was waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Sung Joon smirked, and raised his sword.

"I'd like to give you the first move, but I don't have the time."

As Sung Joon disappeared, the fastest amongst the Executive Branch Hunters utilized their high-speed movement. They heard a metallic bang, and saw blood spread through the air.

Ordinary civilians, as well as B-rank Hunters and below, couldn't witness the spectacle at all, but a few of the gathered Executive Branch rank Hunters could see them exchange fierce sword strikes.

"AH!"

"Ugh!"

At the end of their desperate struggle, two of the Executive Hunters spurted blood, and fell onto the floor. Both of them had been rank Hunters.

"He can kill rank Hunters this easily?"

"Team Leader! We can't interfere!"

The B-rank Hunters panicked, after seeing how quickly the rank Hunters had been taken out. They were outclassed by Sung Joon, whether it be in swordsmanship, combat experience, or the amount of mana he had.

The B-rank Hunters wanted to move in to help their comrades, but they didn't see an opportunity where they could intervene.

"AH!"

Three rank Hunters, who had fought to the bitter end, yelled in agony as they fell. The five Hunters he had killed just a second ago had been the fastest at high-speed movement in the Il Sung guild.

That's why they had been able to take on Sung Joon for a short time.

"Hoo!"

Eventually, Sung Joon reappeared. Although he wasn't unscathed, he was much better off than the five dead rank Hunters.

He didn't have any injuries aside from a long injury on his left arm.

"S-Stop him from healing!"

The fact that Sung Joon was a Healer, not a Combat Hunter had spread far and wide. He was about to heal himself, but upon the Team Leader's order, the Executive Branch Hunters initiated a full-scale assault.

"Slash!"

Sung Joon recited the activation words, and launched a aura slash. As his synchronization rate rose, his aura slash had quickened, so several of the Hunters couldn't dodge it; parts of their bodies were severed, and rolled onto the floor.

"Move as we were trained! Attack simultaneously!" someone yelled.

An Executive Branch Hunter was trained in PvP, but they were also required to learn how to effectively attack a single person with many.

However, it wouldn't work if their opponent was too strong.

"Howl, Roel."

Though the Dragon Fear consumed a lot of mana, it was difficult to find another skill this effective against a large group.

Sung Joon recited the activation words, drawing upon his mana, and Roel howled, overpowering his surroundings.

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

The B-rank Hunters felt a primal fear from the absolute existence and convulsed, while the rank Hunters briefly stiffened.

Sung Joon didn't lose the opportunity while they were stiffened and used his high-speed movement.

"AH!"

"Ugh!"

The first floor lobby was drowned in the sound of agonizing screams for only a brief instant. The Hunters spurted blood and collapsed. The Il Sung guild Executive Branch Hunters felt helpless before an S-rank Hunter's absolute strength.

They couldn't do anything.

"Don't panic and form up. Be on guard!"

The Executive Branch Leader gave out several orders in order to minimize casualties amidst the chaos, and it was proving to be quite effective.

"The Executive Branch Leader has good leadership skills. You should take care of him immediately," Rishubalt said, and Sung Joon pointed the tip of his sword at the Executive Branch Leader.

"Gale Sword."

"AH!"

"Ugh!"

He closed the distance in a split second. The Hunters blocking his path were bathed in blood and were pushed away by the sword winds.

"Yeah! Come on!"

The Executive Branch Leader intersected both of his blades and tracked Sung Joon's movements; he was also a skilled, high-tier rank Hunter.

He could barely keep track of Sung Joon's movements, but the problem was his reaction speed.

"Ugh!"

He could read his attacks, but before he could even respond, Sung Joon had severed his left arm, and the Executive Branch Leader cried out in agony.

He tried to move his left arm, but only blood spurted out from the cross section.

"AHH!"

The Executive Branch Leader seemed to struggle, and yelled; several phantoms* appeared, aiming for Sung Joon. (*Probably something like making clones of himself.)

"They're phantoms, but they have substance. You must be cautious," Rishubalt explained.

After he cut through the phantoms, Sung Joon closed the distance, and swung his sword.

"AH!"

Their fierce battle had come and gone; the Executive Branch Leader couldn't even withstand for three minutes before he fell.

After the Executive Branch Leader fell, the remaining Executive Branch Hunters couldn't mount any sort of resistance and fell like scarecrows.

Sung Joon had 'cleaned up' the first floor lobby, and went up to the next floor. He killed the Hunters on the second floor, and moved on to the next.

"Your synchronization rate is at 40%. It's possible to use the complete Illusionary Sword now."

After he had killed two rank Hunters guarding the tenth floor, he absorbed their mana, and Rishubalt reported on the increase of his synchronization rate.

Sung Joon surveyed his surroundings, but he couldn't find anyone who appeared to be the Guild Leader.

"Rishubalt, there isn't anyone besides us in the building, right?" Sung Joon asked.

At least, he felt like there wasn't anyone in the building besides him. Rishubalt nodded his head, expressing his opinion.

'Did he escape…?'

Sung Joon narrowed his eyes and looked out the window. However, he didn't hear a response. Ultimately, he took out his phone and called Jung Chul.

He had to call him anyway, since he also needed to find the hidden items of mass destruction.

"Mr. Kang Sung Joon! We have a serious problem!"

As soon as the call connected, Jung Chul urgently spoke through the phone.

"What's the matter?"

"It's my mistake! I thought that the items of mass destruction would be stored in the guild, but it seems like they were stored within a hidden vault in the Group's headquarters!"

"Is that really such a serious problem?" Sung Joon asked.

Sung Joon didn't realize the severity of the situation because Jung Chul hadn't given him enough details. He could hear Jung Chul taking a deep breath from across the phone.

"Kim Do Hyuk has used an item of mass destruction! We assume that the item he used was the 'Feast of Poison', and hundreds of people that were in the Group's headquarters were swept away in its wake."

"How many people have died?"

"We have no way to check, but anyone without an rank Hunter's mana would have died within five seconds from the powerful magic poison that the 'Feast of Poison' scattered. They're probably all dead."

"Didn't Kim Do Hyuk die as well?" Sung Joon asked.

If the poison was that powerful, he didn't think Do Hyuk would've survived.

"The 'Feast of Poison' can control the scattered poison. The poison has spread across the Il Sung headquarters, aside from the seventh floor that the Strategic Business Director is in. If it wasn't for the fact that most of the workers had gone home for the night, the damage would've been even greater."

The Il Sung guild house and the Il Sung Group's headquarters couldn't be compared in terms of scale; the Group's headquarters was considerably larger. What if Do Hyuk had activated the 'Feast of Poison' while most people were still working…? It was appalling to the point that he didn't even want to think about it.

"Mr. Kang Sung Joon. The government has sent a request. This magic poison isn't effective against S-rank Hunters who possess powerful mana, but you're the only S-rank Hunter who can act immediately, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Please stop the item of mass destruction! If we just leave it be, the damage will spread!"

The army and the Armed Policemen were surrounding the area, but whenever the poison spread, they had no choice but to retreat as gas masks wouldn't be effective since it was a magic poison.

Sung Joon didn't answer easily; he thought briefly, and when he opened his mouth…

"This is also my personal request. If you stop Kim Do Hyuk, I'll make it so that you can utilize my intelligence agency."

Sung Joon smiled at the unexpected harvest.

"I'll go and cut off Kim Do Hyuk's head, and stop the 'Feast of Poison'. Please tell the government to prepare my reward."

After he finished his response, he drove his car parked nearby to the Il Sung Group's headquarters. As he got closer, he saw a lot of Armed Policemen and soldiers.

In order to prevent the spread of the poison, they were regulating the vicinity, and guiding civilians to shelters. They must've already been informed, as they didn't even inspect his Hunter sedan and just let him pass.

"Yeah!"

"The S-rank Hunter, Kang Sung Joon has arrived!"

As soon as he arrived at the final police line nearby the Il Sung Group headquarters, people burst out into cheers. Sung Joon didn't have the time to respond to their cheers and walked over to the Il Sung headquarters.

"If the concentration of poison becomes dangerous, report it to me immediately."

"I understand," Rishubalt said.

As always, Sung Joon was preparing for the off-chance that something goes wrong. After he gave Rishubalt the command, he hurriedly walked towards the Il Sung Group's headquarters.

"There're only corpses."

When he saw the gruesome bodies strewn across the floor that resembled a battlefield, Sung Joon, unbeknownst to himself, said his thoughts aloud.

"He's crazy. Even if he was backed into a corner, doing something like this is really cowardly…"

Rishubalt couldn't say anything. The scene right before their very eyes would make even an insensitive knight emotional.  

"Yeah… The victims wouldn't just be the Il Sung Group employees…"

The ordinary civilians who were just passing by the Il Sung Group's headquarters were killed as well. Even Rishubalt had nothing to say as they saw the chilling corpses of dead children.

"I'm killing him before it spreads."

Sung Joon's eyes gleamed coldly.

//

Chapter end