Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 284 – Shaky Politics (1)

Boom!

Balrog slammed the large fire spear he got from Arch Lich, as if showing it off, on the ground.

“Wow! That spear looks so cool, Balrog-nim!”

[Y-You really think so? Bwahahaha!]

Balrog let out a burst of boisterous laughter after Han-Yeol praised his new spear.

‘Geez… He really is a simpleton…’ Han-Yeol secretly thought.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-San still appeared to be unbothered by the presence of Mavros, Arch Lich, Asus, and Balrog. In fact, he seemed rather bored by the entire spectacle.

“Sigh… Are you done? I’m getting bored here,” he said with a sigh.

Kim Tae-San could have attacked even before Han-Yeol was ready, but he did not do so.

‘I’m going to pay you back a hundred, no, a thousand times for the humiliation you caused!’ he gnashed his teeth.

He had no plans of giving Han-Yeol a quick and easy death. Instead, he planned to subject him to the most excruciating torture known to man and kill him slowly by ripping him apart, limb by limb.

“Ah, my bad. But the next demon is quite something, you know?” Han-Yeol nonchalantly said.

“Keke! Is that your last resort before dying?” Kim Tae-San snickered and asked.

“Heh.” Han-Yeol simply smirked in response.

Kwachik!

‘I really hate that smug expression,’ Kim Tae-San thought in disgust.

He swore to skin Han-Yeol’s face alive before pulverizing his head and making it disappear without a single trace.

“Please come out, Void Executioner-nim.”

Whoosh!

A powerful burst of mana formed a black hole in mid-air at Han-Yeol's words, and an immensely potent mana storm emerged from the black hole. Then, a body slowly materialized from the black hole, sending out explosive shockwaves of electrifying mana throughout the area.

Bzzzzt!

[Power! Over! Whelming!]

Han-Yeol's ultimate secret weapon, the high-ranking demon known as the Void Executioner, made his appearance.

“…” Kim Tae-San grimaced after the emergence of the Void Executioner.

“You’re dead, Kim Tae-San.”

“Bring it on!”

Kim Tae-San would have easily won if he had fought one-on-one against Han-Yeol, the monster pet, and the summoned demons. However, the problem was that he was facing all of them together, making it quite challenging to guarantee his victory. But that didn't mean he was going to back down, especially after he had lost all reason.

Bam!

Kim Tae-San flew high up into the air and shouted, “Disappear from my sight, insects! Super Sound Blast!”

He employed his skill and generated a powerful burst of sound waves that spread throughout the entire area.

“Void Executioner-nim.”

[Destruction is what I desire!]

Kwaachiiiik!

The Void Executioner discharged an incredibly potent burst of electricity from his hands.

"Hahaha! Slow! Too slow!" Kim Tae-San cackled.

He appeared to have lost all reason, as his eyes were solely fixed on Han-Yeol.

‘Hmm... Perhaps it's because he's still in the early stages, but his power seems quite unstable,’ Han-Yeol realized that this was his chance.

“Attack!” he commanded.

[I shall grant thee death.]

[Hoo!]

[Bwahahaha!]

[Destruction! Annihilation!]

The demons shouted their one-liners, followed by Mavros’ cry.

“Kieeeek!”

All of them went on the offensive against Kim Tae-San at Han-Yeol's command.

Kwaaaaang!

The hunters who later visited the Volax hunting ground testified, “There’s nothing left at the Volax hunting ground..."

***

“Huff…! Huff…! Huff…! Kwaaah…!”

His clothes had already burned to a crisp a long time ago. Kim Tae-San's entire body was revealed to be covered in scales, leaving him as good as naked, but there was nothing improper or sexual about his appearance. While not visible when he was wearing his clothes, he had already transformed into a reptile.

It was then.

“Ugh…”

“W-What happened?”

The Tamra raid party members who had their eardrums burst by Kim Tae-San's skill started waking up one by one. Their burst eardrums were slowly healing due to the mana in their bodies, and the reason they had been knocked unconscious was because of Kim Tae-San's mana, not their eardrums popping.

The Tamra raid party members looked up and saw their chairman standing.

***

“Chairman!”

“You are safe!”

The Tamra raid party members knew that the one responsible for their loss of consciousness was Kim Tae-San, but they all let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that he was safe.

In their view, Han-Yeol was a despicable and unscrupulous Hunter who did not know how to engage in a fair fight.

“We will help you!”

“Oh!”

Woooong!

“Please give me a chance to avenge myself!”

The Tamra raid party had a Healer with them, and the thug who had been beaten by Sahas until he was half-dead made a full recovery.

‘I can’t drop my guard…!’ the thug thought.

He did not even spare a glance at Han-Yeol, as his master, Kim Tae-San, was going to make short work of him.

‘I need to kill that bastard with my own hands…!’

Crack…!

The thug cracked his knuckles and considered whether he should kill the arrogant Nepali or not.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-San scanned his overly zealous subordinates with his serpent-like eyes, and these were not eyes that saw them as his subordinates.

“Oh? You’re willing to put your lives on the line for me?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Please give us your command!”

“Sir!”

The Tamra raid party members cried out to Kim Tae-San, displaying their morale.

However, they were not genuinely willing to risk their lives for him. After all, this wasn't the medieval period where subjects willingly laid down their lives for their masters. Their eagerness was just a facade.

Kim Tae-San emphasized the importance that the elite members of his faction should not be afraid of death and must be willing to stand at the forefront of the battle. The Tamra raid party members were merely feigning this willingness to appease him.

Of course, if any one of them had the ability to peer into Kim Tae-San's mind, they probably would have run away a long time ago.

"Is that so? Then I shall grant you the honor of becoming my strength," Kim Tae-San said with a smirk.

“Huh…?”

Shwaaaa!

Kim Tae-San spread his arms open and released dark mana, which slowly started to twirl in front of him. He then directed the tornado of dark mana toward the raid party members.

"W-What?!"

"C-Chairman-nim?"

The raid party members were extremely flustered after witnessing a skill they had never known their chairman possessed, and their instincts screamed that this dark mana was not good news.

"Haha! I will not forget your sacrifice!" Kim Tae-San laughed and shouted.

"C-Chairman-nim!"

"Hey, you son of a bitch!"

The Hunters who realized the severity of the situation tried to run away, but the dark mana was unstoppable.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

They swung their weapons at the dark mana, but it did not budge an inch and continued to hold them down. This marked the end of their struggles.

"Mana Plunder! Hahaha!" Kim Tae-San used his skill.

Gwaaaaaaah!

The dark mana forcefully drained the mana from the Tamra raid party members at a frightening rate, as if it was determined not to leave a single drop of mana behind.

“Aaack!”

“Help!”

“Save me!”

“Kyaaah!”

‘Tsk… That’s horrible…’ Han-Yeol clicked his tongue at the atrocities Kim Tae-San was committing after relinquishing his humanity.

The act of extracting mana from the living was truly horrible, but, of course, Han-Yeol had no intention of helping them.

‘I am not the one who killed them anyway,’ he thought with a shrug.

He had no reason to help them because the Tamra raid party was an enemy he needed to destroy, and witnessing their chairman willingly reduce their numbers was, frankly speaking, something he should be thankful for. Also, there was the fact that he could tell it was too late for them.

Han-Yeol had lived a life full of war for twenty years in the Bastro Dimension, and his thoughts of death had dulled during that time. He had slaughtered countless allies and enemies in those twenty years as Harkan, and not a single day went by without someone dying around him.

This did not mean that he treated life lightly. Now as Lee Han-Yeol, he greatly valued his life and the lives of those dear to him.

"Ahh... That feels much better," Kim Tae-San smirked and muttered.

He absorbed all of his subordinates without leaving a single bone behind, and their sacrifice completely healed all of his wounds.

"I will make you regret not killing me a while ago," he added.

“Haaap…” Han-Yeol let out a yawn in response.

He scratched his neck and grumbled, “Are you done? I’m getting tired of waiting, you know?”

Kwachik!

Kim Tae-San attempted to taunt Han-Yeol after fully recovering from his wounds, but Han-Yeol framed it as if he had given him time to recover instead. Naturally, this caused Kim Tae-San's blood pressure to spike as a nerve popped on his forehead.

“Grrr… You bastard! I’m definitely going to kill you with my own hands!”

Kim Tae-San finally realized that it was foolish to try and win against Han-Yeol in a war of words.

Crack... Boom!

Kim Tae-San crashed down to the ground and charged straight toward Han-Yeol.

‘Hap!’

Han-Yeol infused more mana into his eyes as he prepared for the incoming attacks with Demon Eyes. He might have appeared relaxed a while ago, but he knew better than anyone else that Kim Tae-San was extremely powerful now that he had obtained the Dragon of Destruction's powers.

Currently, he could hold his own against Kim Tae-San thanks to the Void Executioner, but he couldn't afford to drop his guard even for a split second. While Han-Yeol's party had the numerical advantage, all the demons would be sent back to the demon world if Kim Tae-San ambushed and killed him first. Then, the monster pet, having lost its master, would panic and become an easy target.

This was why, despite his aloof appearance, Han-Yeol maintained his focus to the best of his abilities.

Chwak! Chwak!

[Fire Shield!]

Fwaaaaa!

The demon with the strongest defense, Balrog, stood at the forefront and employed his special skills to fend off the dark mana. He had etched the shame of having his shield torn in half and dying to the Hyena Sorcerer's whip during their last encounter into his memory. Although he had already lost a third of his mana at that point, that wasn't an excuse, as being in top condition during a battle was not a common luxury.

This experience had humbled him, leading him to set aside his pride and seek help from the Arch Lich. Thanks to the Arch Lich's assistance, he managed to acquire numerous powerful artifacts.

Balrog, who had once stubbornly insisted on relying solely on his own strength, had changed. He was already an intermediate-rank demon without using any items or artifacts, but he had become a level stronger after incorporating various artifacts.

Of course, the primary beneficiary of this transformation was Han-Yeol, as he now had a stronger demon at his side without having to do anything.

“Scram!”

Woooong!

Kim Tae-San unleashed his soundwave attack, which darkened after being amplified by the power of the Dragon of Destruction, and directed it at Balrog's shield.

Baaaaam!

[I’m not going to back down, even if my life is on the line!]

‘Wow…’

Surprisingly, Balrog managed to halt the dark soundwaves, even though the one who had unleashed it had now transcended the realm of a Master Rank Hunter.

‘As expected, a person or even a demon needs to experience failure at least once before becoming stronger,’ Han-Yeol thought with a smile.

“Void Executioner-nim?”

Gwu Ooooh!

[Destruction! Annihilation!]