Chapter 447: Chapter 447

“Thank you for saving me.”

“I didn’t expect help to arrive so quickly.”

The rescued hunters were stunned, but soon came to their senses and thanked Choi Yeonseung and his allies.

“I just did what I had to do.”

“Sob...”

“Even if I hadn’t saved you, I’m sure someone would’ve quickly stepped up,” Choi Yeonseung said politely. Of course, he didn’t actually think that. He just wanted to offer some kind words since he was being active as a hunter in a different country.

“That’s not true.”

“Absolutely not.”

“What nonsense...”

“...”

The hunters bowed in gratitude before coming to their senses and straightening up. If there really were others that were trying to help them, it would’ve been weeks before they took action, and they would’ve kept them in the dark the entire time.

“There are rumors that the officials stopped trying to rescue hunters so they could focus on defending the capital...?”

“Where are those bastards? They even forbade us from retreating! What is this bullshit?!”

“The official who gave the order has disappeared. Where the hell is he? Actually, I know. He’s most likely at home, safe, unlike us!”

The hunters were fired up. They put their trust in their government and fought for their country, so they were naturally furious at having been stabbed in the back.

Realizing that the situation was getting out of control, the Namahage hunters rushed over to pacify them.

“Everyone, Hunter Choi Yeonseung is here to help, so watch your manners!”

“I-I’m sorry. I’m just so frustrated and disappointed...”

Illaphael thought to herself, ‘What a nuisance. How pathetic.’ Then she paused and looked at Choi Yeonseung.

“Ch-Choi Yeonseung, the undead are on the run.”

[The ‘Warrior With a Hammer’ says that the enemies are abandoning the occupied land and gathering in one place.]

“They’re backing down? Why?” Hunter Nakao asked as though he didn’t understand. They had only fought one battle, so it was hard to believe that the enemy was already retreating.

Why were they doing this?

“There’s only one explanation.”

Choi Yeonseung and all the other household members realized why the enemy had retreated. After all, they had experienced countless battles between constellations in the Abyss.

‘If we were just regular hunters, they would’ve rushed at us with great force. However, they realized that we’re all household members directly summoned by the constellations of the Abyss.’

By this point, the Black Magician Who Shares Everything had to have realized that several good god constellations had joined forces and sent their household members to attack him.

The constellations who had been in a few constellation battles knew how this worked. The golden rule was to avoid fighting multiple enemies at once!

Of course, the chef constellation had gone on a rampage and fought multiple constellations without hesitation, but he was an extreme exception. Usually, when several constellations joined hands to launch an attack, even a crazy constellation was bound to control their anger.

If he didn’t have to worry about such things, Choi Yeonseung could’ve met with the president of each country the moment he returned to Earth, kidnapped them, and shouted, “I am the ruler of Earth! Obey me!”

“It’s essential to avoid unnecessary fights and conserve your strength. There’s no point in having a lot of territory if you can’t protect it.”

“Then... Isn’t it a good thing?”

The Namahage hunters looked at each other. If they had fought to regain all the territory captured by the black magician constellation, the number of casualties would’ve been enormous. Moreover, it would’ve taken a lot of time and effort.

The Namahage hunters had been worried because they had ignored the request of the government, but given that the enemy had just retreated, they could at least take a breather.

“That’s right. It’s good for now.”

Barbagi, the gray elf, frowned and complained, “Are you really going to ask us to do useless chores like taking care of these humans?”

“Gray elf, you promised to obey orders. Why do you keep arguing?” Illaphael glared at Barbagi.

-The more I see this angel, the more he surprises me.

The goddess of sloth was amazed by Illaphael’s behavior. Illaphael kept calling out people for their attitude, but Illaphael herself had done all of those things at one point or another. Did she actually hate herself?

“I’m not arguing. I’m just giving my opinion. Angel, I don’t know why you’re acting like this. You always talk about how much you want to get rid of the humans, but now...”

“Hey! Hey!!” Illaphael instantly cut in, shouting desperately.

“Illaphael must’ve changed her mind. Anyone can change their mind.”

“...!”

Illaphael was surprised to hear Choi Yeonseung defend her.

“In addition, don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to take care of these humans. There are other hunters here in the country, so I’ll call those. I’m sure they’ll manage to rescue these hunters by themselves.”

“Hah. That sounds perfect.”

In response to Illaphael’s swift reply, Barbagi stared at her, his face contorted with shock. He wondered if this angel that was fawning over the human leader was the same angel he had heard of before.

At this point, Barbagi had a few suspicions.

‘Does this human have the power to seduce angels?’

Barbagi had heard that the famous angel called Adaquaniel was also close to this human...

***

Choi Yeonseung had called some other clans to rescue the people of the liberated zone because he wanted to be efficient. He and his household members couldn’t afford to take care of all those people individually.

‘Those clans will be able to save some face if we let them do this. I bet they’re grateful for this opportunity.’

In reality, Choi Yeonseung had no reason to be kind to the clans that had been hiding in the city without helping. However, given that many constellations were involved in this invasion, it didn’t hurt for Choi Yeonseung to increase his popularity among hunters.

There was a strategic reason for his actions, but it was mostly a gesture of goodwill.

However, there was one thing Choi Yeonseung hadn’t taken into consideration. The whole situation was bound to reach the public eye the moment he called in those clans to rescue the people.

-The hunters in Shizuoka have apparently managed to retake the occupied territory! The Namahage clan has asked for support from another clan...

-What? The Namahage clan alone? How is that possible?

-It’s said that Hunter Choi Yeonseung and the household members of various constellations participated?

-A Korean A-grade hunter has come to Japan?!

When?! No, I’ve never heard of this before!

-Did the government not make an announcement? Was he secretly invited?

-Even so, this is an A-grade hunter. He should at least be treated as an official guest. Does this make sense? Would you want to be treated so poorly if you were him? And did the South Korean government just let one of their A-grade hunters go overseas during an invasion? Aren’t they being too careless?

-Let’s go interview him! We can’t miss this opportunity!

The Japanese government had been hissing a lot, putting pressure on the surroundings and hiding information, but everything had a limit.

Information was bound to be leaked the moment the Namahage clan started making requests and telling other clans what the situation was like.

[Korean’s A-grade hunter entered the country after being invited by the Namahage clan... The clans are ‘squirming’ at the unusual invitation...]

[According to the household member of a constellation, the Japanese government refused him entry... Shocking!]

[Anonymous clan official: After issuing an order against retreating, the officials left the area first. The officials should retire...]

[A politician from Japan’s ruling party is facing backlash after declaring that Hunter Choi Yeonseung “has come to Japan to make money and engage in insidious trickery.” The clan leaders are furious and asked, “How can you speak like that about an A-grade hunter that has come to help the people of another country?!” The clans are protesting...]

[Is the sharp decline in the approval rating of the current cabinet a sign of a regime change? A heightened sense of crisis...]

Even though the hunters had managed to reclaim an important area, the people still couldn’t help complaining about the way things were going. The media was naturally excited by the fact that prominent clans were protesting fiercely.

Articles poured out like a torrent.

@Schreiber_Lane

-How can you treat an A-grade hunter like that? The Japanese government should be ashamed. Last time my friends and I visited, we wanted to meet the king of Japan and take a photo with him, but they refused our request. They are so rude.

?Uh, isn’t it understandable that they declined that?

?What? Why?

@Namahage_Nakao

-I am a Japanese hunter! The current regime denies it, but it’s obvious that they rejected the request of the Korean A-grade hunter. Because of that, he was forced to come to Japan through the invitation of our clan. It’s embarrassing at an international level to ignore such goodwill!

?Are you a member of the Namahage clan?

?What? No? What are you talking about?!

In fact, Choi Yeonseung didn’t know what was happening overall in Japan because he and his allies had other things to worry about. However, Japan was currently like a beehive that had been hit with a stick.

The reporters attacked the ruling party’s politicians and government officials. In response, the politicians were furious and vehemently denied any accusations. This endless cycle of controversy continued as articles kept getting released!

“What a damn bastard! Pretending to be nice and then hitting us in the back of the head like this?”

“As expected, I’m glad I didn’t trust him! Inviting such a suspicious bastard... Those from the Namahage clan have lost their minds!”

The politicians of the ruling party gritted their teeth and cursed at Choi Yeonseung. In their eyes, he was an evil conspirator and a dirty opportunist.

Why would he make an offer like that when it was obvious that it would be rejected? And why would he bother helping another country when it wouldn’t benefit him at all?

He had clearly planned to have the Japanese government deny his request only to have the media go against the politicians and cause an uproar.

‘We fell into a trap!’

The politicians were taking precautions by asking pro-government media to counter Choi Yeonseung if he tried any media play in South Korea.

However, Choi Yeonseung had caught them off guard by acting like he wasn’t doing anything. Then, he stirred up a scandal that couldn’t be covered up.

It was clear that this cunning attack had been his intention from the very beginning.

“Uh... Isn’t it about rescuing the citizens now? It’s better to just admit it...”

“Are you out of your mind?! What do you think will happen if we let Hunter Choi Yeonseung be the hero of this raid? What do you think he’s going to say afterward, huh? Do you really want to see the prime minister resign?”

“N-no...”

“Don’t be fooled by the rumors about his kindness! He’s an insidious man with dozens of schemes in his pockets! Don’t let your guard down when dealing with him!”

“He might’ve acquired Raiden Holdings with an ulterior motive.”

Choi Yeonseung didn’t even think about taking away the Japanese companies, but once a person fell into doubt, everything seemed suspicious to them.

At this point, it felt suspicious to these politicians that Choi Yeonseung had fought a corporate war and acquired a company.

“Contact the clans and pressure them to refuse to cooperate with him! I’ll contact the media to publish articles.”

“W-what are you going to say?”

“Do I have to explain it like you’re five?! Foreigners came and attacked us in order to get cores and items! That’s enough for an accusation!”

It wasn’t the first time these politicians had done something like this. Attacking hunters and clans was second nature to them.

They didn’t care that Choi Yeonseung was an A-grade hunter from South Korea. One spark would be enough to ignite a series of scandals.

‘Once it explodes, I’ll bury him completely!’

***

“Did they send it by mistake?”

“No... They asked us not to cooperate with him?”

The clans gathered at the scene whispered to each other. At the moment, Choi Yeonseung and the household members were deciding on where to attack next.

The hunters wondered if they should tell him about what they had just learned.

“Let’s just not tell him about this.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s better to not upset him before the raid. Let’s at least tell him after all of this is over.”

The hunters could tell just by glancing at it that just a few clans wouldn’t be enough to raid the huge tomb of darkness built by the black magician constellation. So why were the politicians trying to keep Choi Yeonseung in check? No matter how they looked at it, the officials’ decision made no sense.

“I’m so angry right now... Should I contact the reporters? Should we change the direction of the articles?”

“Are you sure you can do that? Won’t we be caught?”

“Actually, can’t we all just do that? If we all send anonymous tips and spread rumors, they won’t be able to trace the articles to a clan.”

“Oh... That could actually work.”

The hunters from various clans whispered among themselves and eventually made a decision. The politicians were looking down on them too much, and even the most patient hunters would explode if provoked enough.

Choi Yeonseung came out after he finished talking and was puzzled to see the hunters together.

“Why are you all here?”

“Oh, it’s nothing!”

“Good morning!”

“Isn’t it the middle of the day?”

Barbagi instantly grew suspicious of the human hunters because they were acting in a strangely awkward manner. He thought about pointing it out but decided to hold back.

He felt sorry for the way Illaphael was struggling to win the favor of the human household member, so he decided to help out a bit.

‘I don’t understand at all, but I guess there are times when an angel like Illaphael might feel this way.’