Chapter 390: Chapter 390

“...It’s actually not bad... Why don’t you try it?”

“Choi Yeonseung...” Golodat said reluctantly, his expression somber, “werewolves can actually die if they eat vegetables...”

“Is that true?”

-No, he’s lying.

“...”

Choi Yeonseung turned his head and pushed the salad in front of Golodat, and the werewolf recoiled.

All the household members here were aware of the notoriety of the Chef of Endless Gluttony.

That guy was a lunatic who couldn’t cook a proper dish to save his life, but he offered it to other constellations! Therefore, nobody expected much from the dish made by the household member of such a constellation.

Instead of being excited about it, they were worried.

Uldurg, the dwarf, was relieved that Choi Yeonseung had pushed the salad in front of Golodat and not him. However, as if he had read his mind, Choi Yeonseung put some of the salad in front of the dwarf as well, causing his wrinkled eyes to be filled with anguish.

“...”

“...”

“Nobody gets up before trying the salad.”

“...”

The atmosphere was tense and suffocating.

Wanting to help Choi Yeonseung, Adaquaniel volunteered, “I’ll eat it first.”

“No, Adaquaniel. I’ll treat you to something better later.”

“...”

‘...This bastard...?’

The household members looked at Choi Yeonseung and couldn’t believe what he was doing. They knew that humans were shameless, but they hadn’t expected him to be so brazen.

Golodat finally picked up the salad and took a bite. He had a disgusted expression as he chewed and swallowed it.

“...It’s... okay?”

“Hah, what did I tell you?”

Following the werewolf, the other household members reluctantly tried the salad one by one, and all of them were surprised by it.

It was actually pretty good!

“It’s better than I thought... It’s actually alright!”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ expresses his sincere gratitude to you.]

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ bows his head.]

At the end of the dinner for the household members, the chef constellation thanked Choi Yeonseung wholeheartedly. No matter how drastic the difference in their power of existence was, it was really rare for a constellation to bow their head like this.

Choi Yeonseung was frankly embarrassed.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s faking it.’

-I really don’t know...

Had the Future Sight shown Choi Yeonseung a false vision?

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ is dejected.]

***

The moment the household members finished with their dinner and chatter, they resumed the preparations for the raid. They didn’t know when the mechanical dragon would regain its strength, so they wanted to attack as quickly as possible.

“Put this on...! And this as well!”

“Hey, will this work? Can I put it on like this?

-Stupid organisms. The golem we built can handle this much weight.

The hunters were surprised by the support provided by the robots. The various high-tech weapons were great, but the most fascinating thing was the golem. Despite its massive size and heavy structure, this bipedal weapon could move rather fast.

It looked like something taken straight out of a Sci-Fi movie!

The hunters looked amazing as they straddled the golems.

“The 105mm magic power enhanced gun, the 12.7mm magic-enhanced heavy machine gun provided by the US army...”

“Let’s just attach everything as we please. It’s working.”

“...Where did you get these weapons from?” asked Choi Yeonseung, puzzled. These weapons that the other clan hunters had brought seemed like military weapons no matter how he looked at them.

Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for military units to provide support for raids and lend the hunters weaponry, but it was unusual for the hunters to bring the military weapons themselves.

“These are borrowed from the US government, Hunter Choi Yeonseung,” intervened a man who looked like a government agent. He bowed his head in greeting.

“The Department of Homeland Security?”

“Yes, that’s right. Thank you for leading this raid, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. There have been no casualties thanks to you.”

“It’s not over yet. It’s too early for you to thank me.”

“I beg to differ, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. Since you’re leading this thing, I think victory is already assured.”

‘What is he planning?’

Choi Yeonseung frowned slightly. He could easily tell whether someone’s praise was genuine or if it carried a hidden agenda.

However, this agent from the Department of Homeland Security didn’t know that he was dealing with a constellation, not an ordinary hunter.

-Is he planning to sabotage the operation?

-No, I don’t think so.

“If you need anything else, please let me know. We will do our best to cooperate with you.”

“So what, if this raid succeeds, will I have to thank you?”

“...!”

The agent flinched. He was baffled by the fact that Choi Yeonseung had read his thoughts without him even bringing this up. The instructions he had received from Deputy Secretary Russell Landon were simple.

-Help as much as you can so we can claim a part of the rewards after the raid succeeds!

If a hunter from another country was bound to win this raid, it would be better if Choi Yeonseung was the one to secure victory. He had a pretty good relationship with the US government, and South Korea was an ally.

‘We need some achievements no matter what.’

Given that the US presidential elections were right around the corner, everyone in the international community had their eyes on this high-profile raid. If it succeeded, the US could maintain control in the international sphere, but if it failed, they would face backlash and lose their power.

Thus, failure was not an option. And even if it somehow failed, they needed to have backup plans, one of which being to share the pie with Choi Yeonseung if he won this raid.

It was enough to say that Choi Yeonseung had managed to succeed thanks to the help of the US government. Then they could boast about it all they wanted to improve their reputation.

...However, the raid hadn’t even started yet, and their plans had already been uncovered.

It was more embarrassing because the agent had planned to help a bit first and then bring up the topic little by little.

Most hunters didn’t have this kind of political sense...

“That...”

Choi Yeonseung said, “I can do that for you.”

“!”

The agent’s face lit up. Choi Yeonseung’s reaction to his plan was surprisingly good.

‘No, now it’s not the time to get excited!’

The agent was nervous. A-grade hunters didn’t do things for free, especially if they were in an advantageous position like Hunter Choi Yeonseung.

“But in exchange, I need you guys to promise me something”

“...If you tell me what it is, I will report it to those above and get permission.”

The agent quickly did some calculations in his head. What price would he be willing to pay for Choi Yeonseung’s willingness to allow the US to take some credit for this raid?

‘Does he want an additional city, or... ? No, that’s too dangerous. We might get attacked for that in the upcoming election. Maybe we could just give special treatment to Dragon Industry? But only if it’s done in secrecy... Dragon Industry has many competitors, so we can just keep them down to return the favor. It just can’t be too blatant.’

“It’s not a big deal. I would like the US government to fully cooperate with me in future raids”

“...Huh? Is that all?”

The agent doubted his ears for a second. Was that it...?

This request was rather... Would it even benefit Choi Yeonseung at all? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yeah, that’s it. Do you know how troublesome the last S-grade monster raid was because of the lack of cooperation?

“Ah... I’m sorry. At that time...”

The agent was sweating even though it wasn’t his fault.

In the case of the Rutherford raid, the US government hadn’t provided the necessary support. A-grade hunters usually didn’t listen even if they were beaten to death, so the US government hadn’t bothered to issue an evacuation order.

In addition to thinking an S-grade monster wouldn’t actually appear, the government officials had feared that the public might attack them for wasting tax money on an easy raid.

But in the end, Choi Yeonseung and Dragon Hwang had been forced to use their own money to evacuate the dangerous areas. Later on, people had erected statues of them in the surrounding villages.

“I don’t want any excuses. All I want is cooperation. Do you understand? Unconditional cooperation without any excuses. If I want you to order an evacuation, you do just that. If I want you to get the hunters ready, you get them ready.”

“I... I understand. I will report it to those above me. This much should be okay.”

“Alright, then we have a deal,” Choi Yeonseung said firmly before turning around and walking away.

The agent was genuinely baffled by him.

‘How can such a person exist?’

All the other hunters taking part in this raid didn’t bother to hide their greed and selfishness, so it was incredible that Choi Yeonseung alone was thinking about how to save people.

No one working in this field thought of hunters as heroes because of how difficult it was to please and reason with them.

This agent had thought so as well, but his interaction with Choi Yeonseung had shaken his preconceptions about hunters.

Maybe there was a hero among hunters.

“W... Wait a minute!”

“?”

“Here is my business card. If you need anything or have any requests, please feel free to contact me.”

The agent handed over the card and scurried away.

Choi Yeonseung found it absurd.

-What’s with this guy?

[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ asks if the other person is in love with you.]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says that isn’t the case.]

***

“I don’t think this is a weapon borrowed from the US government...?”

“Ah, we didn’t have enough equipment, so we brought some weapons that our clan had purchased separately.”

“Weapons from where?”

“China. They’re on the cheap side, but they’re definitely effective.”

“...Please change them...”

“Huh? Alright...”

Once the preparations were done, the household members of the constellations stood in front. They would go with the same tactic, even though they had retreated last time.

The household members and the high-ranking hunters were in the forefront of the unit, and the low-ranking hunters were just behind them.

They still thought that the mechanical dragon had to be tired after unleashing that huge explosion.

“There it is.”

Golodat bared his teeth with a fierce expression. Being full after a generous dinner, his enthusiasm was sky-high.

“Choi Yeonseung, can I step forward first and start the attack?”

“If you want to, sure.” Choi Yeonseung nodded. In any case, it didn’t matter who initiated the attack.

Bam!

Golodat’s figure vanished for a second and reappeared out of thin air. His muscles were swollen like they were about to burst. He grew several times in size.

Bang!

“Is he a melee-type?”

“Not exactly,” the dwarf answered from the sidelines. “As a household member of the Endless Gourmet Seeker, he exerts different powers depending on the food he consumes.”

The powers of the constellations varied, but the gourmet constellation was definitely an unusual one. Their household members were affected by what they ate.

“Seeing him moving like this, he must’ve really liked the dinner. I don’t think it’s because of the chef constellation, but...”

Vvrrr-! Dudududu!

With a sudden vibration, the mechanical dragon rose from the valley and soared to the sky. Looking at its eyes, it seemed like it was still angry from the last attack.

“It does look rather tired, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

“Good. Let’s go to our respective positions! We’ll take it down this time!”

At Choi Yeonseung’s shout, the raid began again.

Unlike last time, all the hunters had the same attitude.

‘We’ll take it down for sure!’

‘This time..!’

***

The mechanical dragon was definitely a powerful monster.

Dragons were a powerful species to begin with, and this one had a mountain of weapons that the robots in the Abyss had been creating for a long time. Moreover, the power of existence of this realm directly empowered the mechanical dragon.

But that didn’t make it invincible.

For the first time since the beginning of this raid, the mechanical dragon was on the defensive, shaking and panicking.

“I’m overflowing with strength! I’m overflowing with strength! Strength! Are you listening, Choi Yeonseung?!?!”

-That werewolf is too noisy.

Certainly, Golodat had to be very noisy for the goddess of sloth to complain.

Apart from that, the werewolf was performing brilliantly. Even though the mechanical dragon was firing all kinds of shells and bullets at him, Golodat didn’t retreat and clung to the dragon, tearing apart its metal armor.

Normally, the mechanical dragon would’ve shaken him off and subdued him with force. However, the dragon seemed to be in a daze because of the hundreds of attacks coming from all directions.

It couldn’t properly counterattack, so it only focused on defending itself.

Meanwhile, Choi Yeonseung was determinedly targeting the dragon’s vital spots one by one. His concentrated energy surged and scraped off the shield and metal armor covering the mechanical dragon’s neck.

The mechanical dragon, who had been completely distracted by Golodat, was startled and twisted its neck.

“Seha.”

“Yes!”

The moment Choi Yeonseung’s attack was over, Han Seha threw a spear at it.

The spear slammed into the exposed gap in the armor and the mechanical dragon roared furiously for the first time.

"Aaaack!”

“?!”

Just as Choi Yeonseung thought they had it in the bag, he heard a shout from the other side.

It was Golodat’s roar.

“When did this bastard take a hostage...?!”

‘Oh...’

It was only then that Choi Yeonseung remembered that Illaphael, the household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons, had also been captured.