Chapter 478: Chapter 478

-■■■■■■...

The wendigo attacked after letting out an unintelligible scream.

This wasn’t the kind of monster that relentlessly pursued its prey and slaughtered it. Rather, this giant monster unleashed destruction all around itself without having a specific target.

Given the whole mining operation, there were huge pits and piles of soil around the open-air mine, forming hills and valleys.

Instead of using complex or elaborate magic, the wendigo used the humans’ materials to unleash destruction—earth, sand, gravel, and all kinds of materials from the ground flew in all directions, obscuring the sky.

“...!”

“What...?!”

At first, the hunters didn’t understand what the wendigo was trying to do. The first one to notice was Isabella Meyer.

It was clear that the wendigo was trying to alter the surrounding terrain to bury the intruders alive.

What would an A-grade hunter do in this situation? If it were Choi Yeonseung, he would say something like this:

-There are many civilians here, so we need to act defensively first. The wendigo is clearly targeting this area, so the hunters specializing in movement should take the civilians as far as possible from the monster while the remaining hunters focus on tanking.

However, Isabella Meyer had a completely different approach in mind.

-The wendigo’s targeting this area, so it won’t run away for a while. In addition, its defense is bound to weaken when using such skills. We have to attack now.

It was a crazy mindset that prioritized the opportunity to kill an enemy rather than avoiding harm to allies.

“Start the attack! Hunters, please move to your designated locations.”

“H-Hunter Meyer! What about us?”

“You take care of yourselves. It’s moving!”

Bang!

Isabella Meyer activated her artifact boots, and the powerful movement skill caused her figure to be blurred.

The clan leaders in charge of the other side also moved as ordered.

“Surround it! Get its attention!”

“Tankers, prepare to defend!”

“Get its attention so that it can’t concentrate! Long-distance damage dealers, attempt an attack!”

The C and B-grade hunters followed their orders and surrounded the wendigo at lightning speed, forming a siege. Once they got in position, the hunters unleashed various spells on the monster.

However, the wendigo kept destroying its surroundings instead of fighting back.

“!!!!”

“Th-this is...!”

It was only then that the hunters realized what the wendigo was trying to do.

A mountain of dirt and all kinds of materials was falling from the sky.

“Run!!”

“Meyer! What should we do?!”

“Focus on attacking! Most of its magic power is being released from where its heart is. Break through its defenses and hit that point!”

“...”

“...?!”

The clan leaders looked baffled by Isabella Meyer’s orders. Given the situation, wasn’t she supposed to give instructions on how to save everyone from being buried alive instead of killing the monster?

But despite the confused gazes from the clan leaders, Isabella Meyer continued her attack undeterred.

If close-range damage dealers and tankers envied Choi Yeonseung, the most active hunter in recent years, then long-range damage dealers envied Isabella Meyer the most.

Rumors had it that not even S-grade monsters could withstand her attacks once she properly started fighting and unleashed dozens of long-range skills.

-Philoctetes’ Magic Circle.

Meyer cast a 6th-circle spell that only A-grade hunters could use, and an enormous amount of magic power fluctuated around her. With that, magic bullets with various attributes flew from the magic circle, roaring akin to a machine gun.

“Attack!” n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Y-yes!”

The clan leaders felt a chill in their hearts when Isabella Meyer’s stern gaze turned toward them, and no one dared to speak against her.

The other hunters took notice and cast their magic at the wendigo. None of them could disobey the orders of an A-grade hunter, who had the power to end their careers, regardless of how strong they were.

***

The situation was surprisingly stable when Choi Yeonseung arrived.

Of course, the wendigo was howling and resisting, but the hunters had properly encircled the monster and launched a series of attacks.

They were making good progress, all things considered.

“How dare those idiots cut in line and attack first?” Illaphael raised her eyebrow with an angry expression.

In fact, strictly speaking, Choi Yeonseung was the one who had cut in line, but Illaphael didn’t care about that. In her eyes, those humans were trying to steal Choi Yeonseung’s prey.

“Kill them right awa-”

“I’m glad.”

“...”

At that, Illaphael fell silent abruptly.

“What did you say?” asked Choi Yeonseung.

“Nothing, nothing... I just thought that those stupid humans would be a nuisance because they can’t even properly communicate with each other.”

“...”

“...”

The hunters who had been brought here by Choi Yeonseung had nothing to say. After all, their eyes had rolled back the moment they saw the metal cat.

-Ca... Capture it! We just have to capture and report it! Then we...

-What? You are going to catch it and give it away? Are you crazy?! If we sell this, we’ll be able to retire and live comfortably for the rest of our lives!

-Don’t you think we’ll get caught if we try to sell it? I’m sure the company’s side will definitely check it! The clan will contact us!

-Then let’s keep it! There are many ways to make money if we have it! Don’t hand it over!

-I’ll take care of it! I’ll hide it away...

-Hey, hands off the metal cat, you asshole!

You’ve got more than $100,000 in gambling debt...

-What kind of bullshit is that, you drug addict!

“B-by the way, Hunter Choi Yeonseung,” asked one of the dejected-looking hunters after noticing something strange.

“What?”

“Uhm... The number of people... I think it’s too little.”

In fact, there should’ve been a lot more people at the scene, like Huntsman, his aides, and the filming crew. However, there were only hunters at the scene. The others were nowhere to be seen.

Hearing that, another hunter scolded, “You idiot! They must’ve been evacuated!”

“Ah, I see.”

“You’re selling out. How can you say something like that?”

“...No. Wait.”

Choi Yeonseung used his internal energy to search around in case something bad had happened, and it wasn’t long before he was shocked. He detected the life force of more than a dozen people from underneath the huge pile of dirt and rocks.

For a moment, he thought he was mistaken. If an ordinary person was underneath there, shouldn’t the group of hunters think about clearing up the mud mountain instead of attacking the wendigo?

“Are there any constellations who can check whether there’s someone down there?”

At Choi Yeonseungs’ request, the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons went to check.

[...The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ says that survivors are holding out down there.]

“...”

With that, everyone at the scene was bewildered and speechless.

***

Even though a mountain of dirt was about to fall on him from above, Huntsman wasn’t scared at all. If anything, he thought it was an amazing scene.

“Are you filming this? Are you filming this? My fellow citizens, I, Huntsman, will not be daunted by any trial! I’m not like those politicians who get scared and run away!”

“Mr. Huntsman! You need to calm down!”

The staff of the filming team ran over and screamed at Huntsman while holding the equipment. They almost couldn’t believe what was happening.

The hunters, who were around Huntsman as his escorts, were also realizing everything was going downhill.

-Galad’s Veil, Galad’s Shield!

-Enhance Magic Power, Connected Shields!

They tried to block the falling soil by casting defensive magic above them, but that would only help so much. After all, having such a gigantic pile of earth fall from the sky was uncommon even in the Abyss, and a thin magic shield certainly wasn’t going to cut it.

“It can’t be helped. Evacuate Huntsman first!”

The hunters pulled out a short-distance teleportation artifact, which was essential for hunters guarding high-profile people.

“...!?”

However, the artifact didn’t work.

The hunters turned pale when they realized that it was because the wendigo’s stormy attack had disturbed the flow of magic power around them.

“We’re... We’re deep shit!”

“Those above, block it! Those above, block it! You bastards! What are you doing? Those above, block it!”

Some hunters started shouting when they realized that others had tried to flee unnoticed. If they didn’t stop the mountain of dirt, they would be crushed to death!

“Hey, why are you making such a fuss? Stop it.”

Huntsman didn’t understand why there was such a commotion, so he gestured to the film crew and firmly told the hunters, “Hey, we’ve filmed enough, so you can stop running around. Let’s get the hell out of here. It’s narrow and dusty, and my suit is ruined.”

“Is this... how he sees the situation...?”

The hunters noticed something and gulped nervously. They had managed to form a barrier around them with magic, but they didn’t know how long it could hold against the weight of the earth. In addition, the space was very narrow, so it was difficult to breathe.

Who was going to tell Huntsman this?

“Why aren’t you saying anything? I told you to let me out of here!”

“...Mr. Huntsman. We’re trapped.”

“...”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, and then Huntsman burst into laughter.

“Bahahaha! What nonsense is that? Why are we trapped? What are the hunters out there doing?”

“That’s the thing... We have no idea.”

“...”

Huntsman was stunned. He wasn’t so stupid that he couldn’t understand the situation.

Bang!

“You bastards! What the hell are you saying?!” Huntsman shouted as he grabbed one of the hunters by the collar, strangling him. What good were these bastards if they couldn’t even protect the most important person at the site? What were those hunters outside doing?

“Please calm down, Mr. Huntsman.”

“Help is on the way! How many hunters are out there?!”

“We can’t evacuate, you idiots!”

Huntsman bristled at the hunters, but he quickly calmed down. He was sure someone was coming to rescue him.

“...”

“...”

However, a few minutes passed and nobody came. It was eerily quiet outside.

“...Were they wiped out?”

“It’s... possible”

“...Did they retreat?”

Someone brought up a very likely possibility. When fighting an A-grade monster, it was common practice to retreat when at a disadvantage.

...But then what would happen to everyone buried under the mountain of dirt?

“You just need to dig up!”

“It’s impossible! Holding on now is already consuming a lot of magic power. If we try to break through here, the shield can collapse.”

“Shut up and make a path! There’s no way I’m dying like this!” Huntsman bellowed as he stomped his feet.

At this moment, Huntsman made up his mind that if he saw the light of day, he would get rid of all those incompetent hunters who could do their jobs!

That included Isabella Meyer. He had joined forces with her because she was a famous A-grade hunter and praised by everyone, and yet she couldn’t save a single person. Or perhaps she wasn’t incapable of saving them. Maybe she refused to save them because she was jealous of Huntsman’s reputation.

‘It’s plausible!’

Many politicians and hunters were jealous of Huntsman, and it wouldn’t be strange if Isabella Meyer was one of them.

“Get me out! Get me out!” Huntsman howled.

“Stop it, Mr. Huntsman!”

“If we could get you out...”

BANG!!!

At that moment, everything collapsed with an earth-shattering roar. Dust was swirling everywhere to the point where it was difficult to see.

The hunters didn’t immediately realize what had happened. They only realized it later when cool air and sunlight poured in on them.

‘We’re alive!’

“Is everyone fine? You’re alive.”

Choi Yeonseung had smashed through the pile of dirt with his power and checked on everyone. They were exhausted, but they seemed otherwise fine.

“Sob sob sob!”

Huntsman, whose disheveled appearance made him look like a beggar, rushed at Choi Yeonseung and burst into tears.

Everyone was taken aback by his embarrassing behavior.

Illaphael glanced with interest at the nearby film crew.

“Is this a camera?”

“Huh? Yes...”

“You can show this video to other humans, right?”

“Yes...”

“Then film this.”