Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 154

Chapter 154: The Truth Behind the Scenes （4）

It wasn’t just Kim Myeong-min’s team in Seoul.

Dozens of teams were active in Seoul, and everyone had been having hectic days due to the surge in incidents in recent months. It was so bad that teams sharing the same waiting room often didn’t see each other for over a week.

And now.

The atmosphere in the waiting room was different than usual.

A Ranger, who had been staring at the incident status board with a bored expression, spoke up as if puzzled.

“Min-seok, don’t you think the number of incidents has decreased lately? We’ve only handled 10 missions this month.”

Mid-month.

Their performance was definitely low.

It felt like they used to handle two missions a day, but now, even if they were dispatched once a day, they felt like they had earned their keep. He heard it wasn’t just him. When he contacted other Ranger colleagues, they often said that the frequency of incidents hadn’t decreased, but their schedules were strangely lighter.

In response to the team leader’s question.

The team member called Min-seok said.

“Don’t you know, Team Leader? It’s all because of Kang San, isn’t it?”

“Kang San?”

“Yes. The Hero of Kitakyushu that Team Leader Kim Myeong-min brought in. Considering the national situation, we shared Ranger missions with Kang San’s team for a short period, and Kang San’s team has been carrying out missions like crazy for the past month.”

“We haven’t dramatically increased the number of Rangers, but are we really this free because of just one team?”

“……Sigh.”

A sigh escaped his lips.

This was the problem with Rangers.

Most of them weren’t interested in their surroundings and many acted like machines, simply carrying out their missions.

They carried out missions when there were many, and enjoyed their free time when there were few. In fact, if they weren’t like that, they wouldn’t have accepted this absurd job of self-sacrifice in the first place.

“Team Leader, how many missions do you think Kang San’s team has carried out in a month?”

“If you’re saying that, then over 60? Still, two a day seems pretty impressive.”

“Right? Don’t be surprised. I heard this from the Command Headquarters….”

He smirked.

Currently.

Not only at the Command Headquarters, but also among the Rangers active in Seoul, Kang San’s team’s performance had become a huge topic of conversation.

“120. They’ve been carrying out that many missions, about four times a day.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Seoul’s Rangers.

They gathered in twos and threes.

With the newfound free time, they wanted to see how Kang San’s team was achieving the unbelievable feat of four missions a day. Kim Myeong-min was also among them. He had been summoned to the gathering, and the Ranger who organized it played back the four missions from the previous day one by one.

“The first mission is a B-rank isolation incident.”

In the video.

Kang San’s team entered the operation area.

It was an area where Ogres appeared, and the injured were in critical condition, so time was of the essence.

『Hide.』

Jessica took the lead.

But her speed was remarkable.

She quickly determined their direction as if she knew the destination, and as soon as Jessica spotted a monster, Nakamura Genji immediately jumped in, signaling the start of the battle. There was no cautiousness of double-checking everything. Most monsters had their heads blown off by Nakamura Genji’s sword, and enemies that suddenly attacked couldn’t get past Kang San’s wall.

Shortest distance.

They found the survivors in an instant.

It was a mission that would normally take at least 3 hours, but it was over in less than an hour.

“……Crazy.”

“Why are they so fast?”

The next video.

This time, it was a Link situation.

It had been occurring particularly frequently lately, and it was even more spectacular.

『One Sword Style, Consecutive Strikes━!』

『Papapapat.』

Nakamura Genji.

He, with his flowing hair, was sweeping away the monsters like a madman.

At first, it seemed like just an individual’s overwhelming performance, but when he judged that there were too many enemies, Kang San gave the order. Then, Nakamura Genji obediently changed and immediately followed the order. He joined the position, and Kang San blocked steadily, reducing the number of enemies one by one.

And.

“Their teamwork is too good.”

“That Sub-Tanker and Support Dealer. Are those two really C-rank?”

The party’s teamwork was impressive.

When Kang San blocked but some monsters slipped through, Jeong Chan-woo quickly covered the space, not allowing any gaps. Jo Han-byeol was also impressive. Arrows were shot in the right places, and Yeon Woo-bin’s firepower suddenly erupted, sweeping the surroundings with flames. Like gears meshing together, there was no waste in Kang San’s team.

The third.

The fourth video was the same.

There was a saying among the Rangers.

There must be some special secret behind the unbelievable performance of four missions a day.

A Ranger said with a dumbfounded expression.

“….What secret? This is just pure skill. They carry out missions quickly with perfect teamwork, so naturally, they’ve been assigned an excessive number of missions. But don’t these people get tired? 120 times a month, even a machine would break down and collapse. Team Leader Kim Myeong-min, how did you know to bring Kang San’s team? You must have known they were this good, right?”

“Right.”

“They’re truly amazing. Come to think of it, you recognized Kang San’s talent when he was F-rank and accepted him as a Ranger.”

All eyes were on him.

People thought.

Kim Myeong-min, who recognized Kang San’s potential.

His foresight.

Thanks to Kang San, the Rangers’ missions were becoming a little easier.

Kim Myeong-min said with a bewildered expression.

“….W-well? I don’t know.”

Kim Myeong-min was a little flustered by this situation.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Kang San, having finished his mission, collapsed onto the waiting room sofa, catching his breath.

“Haa━.”

The past month.

It had truly flown by.

At first, the team members showed signs of fatigue from the repetitive missions, but their eyes changed as an astounding amount of rewards poured in. Stat Stones and Skill Spirits dropped frequently even from just dealing with ordinary monsters. As they distributed them fairly among the team, at some point, everyone showed tremendous enthusiasm for the missions.

Everyone was getting stronger by the day.

Especially Jeong Chan-woo and Jo Han-byeol, it was said that if they continued like this for a month or two, they could take the B-rank test.

‘The situation itself is going very smoothly. Until the minimum time to prepare for the S-rank Outbreak, I should carry out as many Ranger missions as possible and push my physical condition to the limit. By the way, the Sun God Church is hopeless. Seeing how they’re hostile towards me, it seems like there’s no room to change their minds.’

The twenty-sixth trial.

It seemed like a failure.

He didn’t dwell on it too much.

He was doing his best, mindful of his promise to Oh Min-yeong, but since it was a trial without a penalty, unlike other times, he didn’t feel like he was on the edge of a cliff. Still, he attended every gathering. He raised his voice and tried to change their minds, and he tried to break down the walls of their hearts through donations and volunteer work in the Pohang area.

Even if it had no effect.

Giving up wasn’t in Kang San’s dictionary.

Rather than accepting the trial at face value, he didn’t want to leave the result of ‘failure’ if he could help it.

He saw his team members in his field of vision.

Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin, Jeong Chan-woo, gathered in twos and threes, discussing whether there were any shortcomings in the last mission, Nakamura Genji polishing his blade on one side, Jessica, who never seemed to get tired, excitedly playing a game console she got from somewhere. Seeing Jessica playing tennis with her opponent on the screen, he wondered if she had always been like this.

But Eileen was nowhere to be seen.

He asked Jessica.

“Jessica-nim, where’s Eileen?”

“I’m not sure. Whew━!”

Thwack━

She wasn’t even interested in her sister.

The person who had tried so hard to find her had now returned to a normal relationship with her family after their reunion.

In fact, Eileen’s disappearances weren’t a one-time occurrence.

Every time they completed a mission, Eileen would disappear somewhere, and when the mission notification came, she would appear out of nowhere and move with them. As a result, Kang San didn’t worry too much. Eileen wasn’t a one or two-year-old child, but a Priest with A-rank potential, so there was no reason to worry unnecessarily.

Then suddenly.

Kang San recalled a question about Eileen’s Worship skill.

‘The Worship skill clearly stated that my stats would increase based on the number of followers I have. At first, it was 28%, then a month ago it rose to 31%, and as we carried out missions, it went up to 32%, 33%, and recently it even surpassed the 40% mark. How is that even possible? How can the number of people increase so suddenly by tens of thousands?’

The increasing power of Worship.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand.

“Is word of what happened in Japan spreading?”

That was the most logical explanation Kang San could come up with.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The survivors.

Standing before them, with traces of hardship evident all over their bodies, Eileen spoke with a deeply concerned expression.

“Are you all alright?”

“….Thanks to you, we’re fine. Thank you so much. If it weren’t for the Rangers, we would have died.”

“No, I just did what I had to do.”

Eileen smiled gently.

Everyone was moved by Eileen’s consideration.

Eileen, who had been carefully checking if their wounds had worsened, subtly brought up the topic in a pleasant voice.

“Did you know?”

“Yes?”

“The person leading the Ranger team I’m part of is Kang San-nim, the Hero of Kitakyushu.”

“Ah, I know.”

“Actually, I’m also safe and sound like this because Kang San-nim saved me. That’s why I feel a deep sense of kinship when I see you all. The feeling when Kang San-nim appeared like magic in that moment of despair, when we thought there was no hope, was truly…. It’s the same with this mission. In fact, every moment is a series of dangers for Rangers, so they never push themselves too hard to carry out missions. But Kang San-nim said that we had to shorten the rescue time even by a minute or a second to safely return the rescue targets, so he took the lead and charged ahead. When I saw his reliable back, I wondered if it was like this during the Kitakyushu incident, and I felt a lump in my throat.”

“Ah….”

The survivors’ faces were filled with emotion.

He pushed himself, she said.

Thinking of Kang San, who would have taken the lead to save them, even they couldn’t help but be moved.

Eileen naturally continued the conversation.

“You see, from that moment on, whenever I face a difficult moment, I recall Kang San-nim’s dependable back in my mind. Wouldn’t I be able to solve the problem if I were as steadfast as him? Wouldn’t he appear as always and save me if I were to face a truly dangerous situation? That belief helps me to exist. That’s what faith is. Just by having someone in your heart, you gain truly infinite strength.”

They were gradually captivated.

As if seeping in.

Kang San’s name was etched into the survivors’ minds.

Believe in Kang San, be grateful to Kang San, the words repeated like a mantra, and the survivors’ thoughts about Kang San changed.

It’s thanks to him.

The fact that they were alive was entirely due to Kang San’s grace.

At that moment.

『Number of believers: 40,201』

『Number of believers: 40,206』

She witnessed the miracle of the number of believers increasing by exactly five, the number of people present.

Eileen smiled gently.

In Korea, it was her.

In Japan, it was Saito Shusuke.

That’s how she steadily increased the number of believers.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

At that time.

Kim Myeong-min met with Team Leader Baek Seong-hyeon of the Command Headquarters.

“Team Leader Kim Myeong-min, please gather the mission reports that Kang San-nim’s team has completed in the past month and follow me right away.”

“What’s going on?”

He reacted with puzzlement.

A report on Kang San.

He could do it anytime if needed, but there was no reason for someone of Baek Seong-hyeon’s stature to come in person.

Baek Seong-hyeon said.

“I have to brief someone higher up.”

“….The Deputy Director of the Hunter Management Bureau?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

And then, he pointed his finger towards the sky.

“Higher. The President wants to know about Kang San-nim.”