Leveling Up Alone

"Those Americans can be a bit of a thorn in our side, but what can they do against us?”

The relationship between the two countries was not that good. The United States, being the strongest country in the world, was on the other side of the globe. Additionally, American Hunters rarely ventured overseas, as they tended to focus more within their own borders.

A trade embargo by the United States would certainly hurt, given their possession of numerous vital technologies. However, it was highly unlikely for them to impose one, as it would mean losing one of their biggest trade partners. Moreover, the United States always looked out for its own interests, so they would likely be satisfied with concessions in exchange for not meddling in the affairs of another country.

The only other country, aside from the United States, that posed a challenge was Japan, but they thankfully self-destructed. Thus, nobody could stop them now if they decided to annex North Korea into their territory.

"Haha! The day Asia becomes one is near!"

Of course, Craspio had to be defeated for their dream of unifying Asia to come to fruition. Craspio might be a terrifying monster, but there were more than one hundred thirty-seven Master Rank Hunters available in the country.

The official tally of Master Rank Hunters in the country was one hundred thirty-seven, no, it was reduced to one hundred thirty-six since one died yesterday. There were more Master Rank Hunters in the country, but it was far too difficult to keep count of them, as their territory was simply too vast to search every nook and cranny.

The number of Master Rank Hunters in the country also tended to frequently change between one hundred sixty to one hundred ten due to various reasons, but one of the biggest contributing factors was the Hunter Culture in the country. Most of the Master Rank Hunters in the country were heavily influenced by murim s. Because of this, they created sects and challenged other Master Rank Hunters, which ended up becoming the leading cause of death among Master Rank Hunters in the country.

A fight between Master Rank Hunters ending up in either dying was something unimaginable in most countries, but it was specially allowed here due to one simple reason. There were far too many Master Rank Hunters within the country, and any attempt to control them by force could end up backfiring.

The hunting grounds within the country were controlled by sects, which were big raid parties or guilds. A weak sect that does not own any hunting grounds had to pay to use a bigger sect’s hunting ground, and the only way they could own a hunting ground was through engaging in sect wars and forcefully taking it from them.

The sects paid substantial amounts of taxes to the government every year, and a significant portion of the country’s annual revenue came from them. It was as if the world of murim was being recreated in the real world.

However, that did not imply the government had no control over their Hunters. The concern of an armed rebellion by Hunters was always present, so the government changed its social policies to heavily favor the Hunters. In other words, the entire country was designed to favor Hunters over ordinary people.

Moreover, the current leader was the top-ranking Master Rank Hunter, making him the most powerful person within the country in terms of both political and real power. Craspio might be strong, but it was definitely not formidable enough to withstand a coordinated attack from more than one hundred Master Rank Hunters.

“Good! Everything is finally falling into place! Hahaha!”

The flames of ambition started to blaze within the leader’s heart.

***

While the Black Orcs were carrying out Han-Yeol’s command to sweep through the western region of Japan.

A storm was brewing in the area around Nagoya.

The rain, carried by the raging winds, pricked at their skins. It was a bit early for a storm to brew, but weather in this region was extremely hard to predict.

Still, the weather did not matter, as those gathered to fight against Craspio were unaffected by the storm. They wouldn't have been recruited for this battle if they were unable to withstand a mere storm in the first place.Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

It was in the midst of the storm that a familiar face visited.

“It’s raining cats and dogs, oppa!”

“Thanks for coming all the way here, Yoo-Bi.”

“Hihi~ No need to thank me~ It’s good to have some fresh air after a long time!”

Another secret weapon Han-Yeol prepared was Yoo-Bi. He decided that the countless researches she had carried out so far were going to be better than nothing, and she was surely going to be helpful against Craspio. It was highly likely she was going to be extremely helpful in this battle.

The Bastro Warriors were gathered under a tent pitched to protect them from the elements.

[Oh? What is this?]

[It’s my first time seeing such a weapon. What does it do?]

[What did they call it? G-Gun?]

[They said it was a ranged weapon, right?]

The special mission Kandir received from Han-Yeol was to go back to the Bastro Dimension and rescue more of Bastrolings while waiting for Craspio’s seal.

There were more than one thousand Bastro Warriors gathered here, and they were the ones rescued by Han-Yeol last time and the ones Kandir rescued this time.

Being able to gather one thousand warriors from the second dimension was a huge achievement, and every single one of them was an elite warrior who survived the war against the hyenas.

He initially had no plans to go this far, but his pride was hurt by Craspio, and Han-Yeol was the type of person to repay his debts with added interest.

However, this was not the end of his preparations.

The Bastro Warriors were unable to jump in mid-air like Kandir, Riru, Taichin, and Barshell. Thus, Han-Yeol urgently requested Yoo-Bi to prepare guns for them to use in this battle.

Luckily, Yoo-Bi already had a stockpile she was about to export to the United States, and she diverted those to Japan without an ounce of hesitation. After all, defeating Craspio was much more important than money right now.

The stockpile of guns arrived at Nagoya Port, and the Bastro Warriors were armed with them immediately.

Dozens of camera drones were hovering in the air, filming the entire scene.

Han-Yeol was a businessman now, and he wanted to sell his goods for the highest price possible. What better way was there than to show how effective these guns were in a real-life combat situation against the most powerful monster the world had ever seen?

He initially considered calling the Mulan Team over, but he decided against it, as there was the risk of them getting wiped out by a single earthquake as ordinary people. Even Yoo-Bi was scheduled to return back to South Korea after she finished making all of the preparations, and she was to monitor the battle through her camera drones.

“Will you be alright, oppa? That guy looks very dangerous,” Yoo-Bi worriedly asked.

“Ah, it’s fine. I’ve made full preparations,” Han-Yeol confidently replied.

Losing once already annoyed him to the point that he would not be able to live with himself if he lost for a second time.

“Well, I guess it’s impossible for you to lose twice to the same opponent. That thing might be strong, but there’s no way it can win against someone like you who prepares for even the tiniest variable.”

“Exactly!” Han-Yeol clapped his hands and exclaimed in response.

The fact he lost was indeed annoying, but losing rekindled a flame within him that long died off.

Kandir approached Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi.

[Our forces have finished their preparation, Harkan-nim.]

“Hmm… Kandir.”

[Yes, Harkan-nim.]

“Did the warriors have any qualms with using guns?” Han-Yeol worriedly asked.

What kind of race were the Bastrolings? They were a bunch that prided themselves as warriors, and their pride made them dive headfirst into an army of hyenas, who were basically necromancers. Han-Yeol was worried the Bastro Warriors would refuse to follow him or even start a mutiny after finding the guns to be cowardly.

However, his worries turned out to be unfounded.

[You do not have to worry about that, Harkan-nim.]

In fact, Kandir was smirking, which was quite rare for him to do.

[Did you know about that, Harkan-nim?]

“What?”

[We Bastrolings have already suffered a lot due to our stubborn foolishness.]

“Well, I guess you’re right.”

Han-Yeol had tried hard during his time as Harkan to fix the stubbornness of the Bastrolings, but he was unable to do so. In the end, this stubbornness caused them to lose their home to the hyenas, and Han-Yeol concluded it was not something they could fix.

[But we have changed our ways after losing our home, having your body stolen, and getting humiliated by those hyenas.]

“So you guys no longer obsess in melee combat?”

Kandir nodded in response. [But that is not the only change. Our warriors have unanimously agreed to spend time training ranged skills and study tactics on how to fight as a group. Also, a few of our warriors showing potential to be sorcerers have volunteered to change their classes.]

“Oh? I admire your resolution, but it’s already too late. You’ve already lost everything.”

[I…have no words for that…]

There was absolutely nothing Kandir could say in response to what Han-Yeol said. Kandir was one of the Bastro Warriors who had shown no interest in the policies Han-Yeol had tried to implement back then as Harkan.

In fact, every single Bastroling in the Bastro Dimension had rejected Han-Yeol’s attempts to reform their system. Of course, Kandir was a direct subordinate of Harkan at that time, so he could not openly reject the new policies. Still, he only pretended to follow them in front of Harkan and neglected them when he was not looking.

The Bastrolings regretted not listening to Harkan, but the ones who regretted it the most were the Canine Bastrolings. Unfortunately, the water had already been spilled, and they could no longer fix their mistakes. However, there was still a bit of water left in the glass, and they had to change, even though it was too late if they wanted a chance at survival and reclaiming their home world.

The start of that change was laid in the guns Han-Yeol distributed, and the Bastrolings had a feeling they could easily deal with the hyenas and their corrupted soldiers with this new ranged weapon. Their minds were filled with nothing but avenging their comrades and reclaiming their home dimension, and they were fine with losing their honors as warriors if it meant they could achieve their goals.

Of course, that did not mean they were willing to corrupt themselves just to achieve their goals. They would still rather die fighting than become corrupted by that filthy mana. The winds of change started sweeping across the Bastro Warriors.

“The third-rate warriors are ready, but what about the first and second-rate warriors?”

[They have finished their preparations too.]

Han-Yeol knew the special mana guns Yoo-Bi brought were not going to be of much help against Craspio, but that did not mean they were not going to be of help at all.

It was already proven in the first battle that the Bastro Warriors were effective against the monster, and the addition of more Bastro Warriors was definitely going to play a big role in the upcoming battle.

Han-Yeol clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

Time passed, and the storm grew weaker and weaker as if about to signal the start of something.