Chapter 274: Chapter 274

It was obvious that hunters who would come to a village like this to deal with civilians weren’t that highly regarded.

They were D-grade, no, even D-grade hunters wouldn’t do this either. So it must be lower than that?

Did it make sense for an A-grade hunter to come to a place like this, scatter money and issue an evacuation order?

“...That’s right, you son of a bitch!”

“?!?!”

But no matter how absurd it was, it took less than 30 minutes for the truth to be revealed.

How could the identities of A-grade hunters not be found?

They did a search on their phones and the same face immediately came up.

Originally, they would’ve been shocked that they had been attacked by an A-grade hunter, but the situation was so absurd that they weren’t afraid.

“Why are you doing this to us?”

“What are you up to? Where are you going to take us? Are you going to do human experiments?”

The gangsters strongly argued since they were going to die anyway.

Hwang Gyeongryong’s subordinate hunter spoke like he was dumbfounded, “We said that we are evacuating you because there is an S-grade dungeon.”

“Hey! Don’t talk nonsense! What crazy guy would give us money to evacuate?”

“...”

The hunters were at a loss for words.

It was hard to refute logically.

Honestly, even they thought it was overly suspicious and weird.

It would be better for hunters to come and say...

-Hey, a dungeon is opening nearby. Get lost. We have to hunt. Rewards? There is no such thing. If you don’t want to be beaten, get out of town. Don’t forget that you have to leave beyond half a day’s distance because it will disturb us. I’m saying this in case you don’t know, but if you tell the press and bother us, you will all be buried in the same cemetery. Do you understand?

...If that was the case, the villagers would say, ‘Ah, these are hunters!’ and believed it.

However, if an A-grade hunter came to them and gave them money to evacuate, they would be so suspicious that they couldn’t help getting goosebumps.

What evil purpose did he have for doing this???

***

“...???”

“?????”

The people who were guided to a hotel run by a Dragon Industry business looked around in amazement.

“Aha. I understand! You bastards. The plan is to lock us up in this hotel and not let us out!”

“...You are free to come and go as you please.”

The hunter in charge of the management said patiently.

“Don’t talk nonsense! It is clear that you are going to kill us if we leave after you say so!”

“Ah. You bastards are really... Get lost!”

The hunters ran out of patience, so they grabbed the gangsters by the collar and threw them outside.

If they went outside for a few hours, they would believe it even if they didn’t like it.

“...?!?!”

The people were forced to admit it only after checking that the bills they received weren’t counterfeit, they didn’t have tracking devices on their bodies and that they weren’t monitored.

This was really just an evacuation order.

“T... This is ridiculous...!”

***

“Evacuate...”

“Are you really giving us money?”

“Hey.”

Choi Yeonseung signaled behind him. Just like he had done again and again, a bundle of money came out.

The old man exclaimed, “So the rumors were true! You are really giving us compensation in order to evacuate!”

“What? Were there rumors circulating?”

This might be the fourth time, but Choi Yeonseung hadn’t expected rumors to circulate already. He was puzzled.

Hwang Gyeongryong sighed from next to him. “Yeonseung, these days, information is spread through social media every time you do something...”

“Don’t treat me like an old person even though you are older than me.”

“You son of a bitch... Wait. Speaking of which, aren’t you older than me...?”

Choi Yeonseung changed the subject. “Now, evacuate this way.”

"I really thank you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

The man thanked him with tears in his eyes.

It was surprising that clan hunters came and gave an evacuation order that wasn’t issued by the government, but it was really unheard of for a hunter to pay for it with their own money.

It was to the point where some people checked it over and over again, asking, ‘Do we have to repay this with interest?’

However, the shock was only great in the beginning. As they traveled around several times and more people evacuated, people slowly started to accept it.

These hunters were evacuating them in good faith!

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Once the evacuation was completed, the hunters summoned from one of Hwang Gyeongryong’s clans politely greeted Choi Yeonseung.

It wasn’t just a greeting to an A-grade hunter.

It was a greeting mixed with human respect.

They had seen many strong hunters, but it was rare to see a hunter like Choi Yeonseung.

It might seem strange at first to do good deeds by giving their money to others, bit as time passed, their hearts couldn’t help moving.

“Call me anytime. I will do my best.”

“...”

Hwang Gyeongryong looked at the hunters with trembling eyes.

He hired them and paid them a salary, but the reaction was strangely different.

‘Didn’t they react in a more business-like manner when I gave them money?’

These people had always behaved indifferently when he gave them money. Therefore, he was dumbfounded to see them behave so passionately.

These guys were actually capable of doing this...

***

-Right now, many hunters are gathered for the Rutherford raid!

Reporters gathered like clouds when there were B-grade or higher hunters gathered. However, when it came to an S-grade dungeon, foreign reporters gathered to the point where they had to stand in line.

What type of monsters would appear, how hunters would deal with them and so on were all important information.

Naturally, these hunters tried to go even one step further inside while the soldiers and hunters from the US government tried to block them from entering.

“You can’t go in any further.”

“Let me just go in until there.”

“I said no!”

“Hey! I’m here with permission. You can’t do this! We came here with your government’s permission!”

After seeing the French reporter arguing with the US military officer, a Chinese reporter nodded and spoke to his colleague.

“This is why Americans can’t do it. I can’t believe they are letting people go like that.”

“You are right. If it was our country, they would be beaten hard.”

“...”

“...”

Reporters from other places slowly widened the distance with dislike.

It wasn’t just reporters trying to break inside. There were also many reporters who were covering the news normally.

The reporters walked around Rutherford, interviewing people and checking the clan hunters participating in the raid.

Naturally, it was the higher rated hunters who got the most attention.

-Perhaps due to the rumors that this Rutherford raid is an S-grade dungeon, the Dragon Industry hunters led by Dragon Hwang are waiting. In response to criticism that more hunters should’ve been mobilized, the government said that the ‘designated force is sufficient’...

-Alex Parker has announced that he will mobilize a large number of hunters from the group to support this raid.

-So far, it has been revealed that 11 large clans have stepped forward...

“Unexpectedly, there are many people here?”

“People will notice if they come or not.”

The public and reporters interested in hunters looked almost ecstatic.

There were so many high-ranking hunters who were usually hard to see!

“After reaching a position like this, they are easily attacked for things.”

The hunter clans might seem like they didn’t care very much, but they unexpectedly cared a lot about public opinion.

If they made a mistake that was too big, they could face backlash from other clans.

In particular, they had to consider the relationship with the government so it was better to go on a raid like this.

The problem was...

“They don’t seem very motivated.’

They would fight hard if it happened in their area, but if the other side was in danger, they wouldn’t come forward to help.

“It is just about filling up the numbers.”

“By the way, I’ve been curious about something... That person next to you, is he perhaps...”

“Ah. Do you mean Mr Chen Xiezhi?”

Hwang Gyeongryong waved back when he saw Chen Xiezhi waving his hand with a bright smile.

He actually brought a Chinese S-grade hunter who lost his memory due to aging to such a situation!

“Is it okay?”

“He fights surprisingly well. It is better than nothing.”

“...Hey, don’t let the Chinese reporters see it.”

Hwang Gyeongryong still had a bit of a conscience left and didn’t let the Chinese reporters see this person.

He didn’t want to make the Chinese people collapse while holding the back of their necks from shock.

“Now, Dragon Hwang. Can I ask you a few questions?”

“...”

They had just walked in when a reporter approached Hwang Gyeongryong with a lot of enthusiasm and asked a question.

The nearby hunters were frightened and tried to get the reporter to back off.

They knew very well that Hwang Gyeongryong hated questions from reporters.

It wasn’t just one or two occasions when he blew up at reporters who touched his temper...

“What is it?”

“!”

However, Hwang Gyeongryong allowed it surprisingly easily. All the hunters around him were surprised.

Would Hwang Gyeongryong allow such a request?

“I heard that Choi Yeonseung evacuated a wider range than the evacuation zone set by the government. What do you think about this?”

“What do I think, you idiot...”

Hwang Gyeongryong paused while speaking.

Choi Yeonseung had built up a good image by doing good deeds. He couldn’t ruin it.

“...He did that because he was a bit anxious.”

“So he couldn’t believe the government’s announcement?”

“Hey. Throw this bastard out.”

The moment Hwang Gyeongryong’s impatient words came out, the hunters rushed in and dragged the reporter away.

The reporter screamed in surprise and asked for help from his surroundings, but the other reporters averted their gazes.

Compared to Hwang Gyeongryong, Choi Yeonseung was at the level of an angel.

He answered the question while cursing at them but he didn’t kill them.

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung! I heard that you used private money to evacuate people in the evacuation area. It is very touching. These days, most hunters we hear about are selfish and greedy. A hunter like Choi Yeonseung is...”

Bam!

“All those who aren’t going to ask about the raid should get lost.”

“...”

“...”

Perhaps it was because they belonged to the same company but Hwang Gyeongryong and Choi Yeonseung had similar dirty personalities.

The reporters exchanged looks with each other while looking fed up.

***

Gilbert Gerrity, the A-grade hunter of the Weston Shields, crossed his arms and glared in the direction of Dragon Industry.

Joseph Grant, an A-grade hunter from England, checked the artifacts and asked, “Do you have some bad feelings toward them?”

“I’ve been hit by that guy once.”

Gerrity gritted his teeth.

He was closely related to the Parker family so he couldn’t get along with Choi Yeonseung, who was on Dragon Industry’s side.

It wasn’t just that.

Last time when he went to deal with the monster that broke out on the Korean side, he developed a bad relationship with Choi Yeonseung.

He thought he gained the upper hand by stealing prey from Choi Yeonseung and the Korean hunters. Then he was humiliated when it was found that one of Gerrity’s men had signed with an evil god constellation.

It was humiliating for the prideful Gerrity.

“...?”

Joseph was puzzled by this.

‘Isn’t this something to be thankful for?’

He would be grateful if he found out that one of his subordinates had signed a contract with an evil god constellation...

“Grant. You must have a grudge as well.”

“Ahh.”

Joseph nodded.

In fact, it wasn’t even a grudge.

It was during the 1st Abyss Gate raid.

Joseph relentlessly sacrificed manpower in order to get the credit for clearing the territory.

Then things took an unexpected turn and it was Choi Yeonseung who earned that honor.

His master, the Iron-Blooded General Who Shakes the Battlefield, strongly reprimanded him and Joseph reflected on it.

Gerrity continued, “Besides, he is ruling the United Kingdom with the power of his constellation! Doesn’t that make you angry as an Englishman?”

‘It doesn’t really matter...’

Joseph wasn’t a patriot obsessed with England. He just wanted power.

But Joseph just nodded. He had to keep pace with Gerrity first.