Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 163

Chapter 163: S-rank Outbreak （7）

Hook━

Crack!

An undead’s head shattered with a crunching sound.

Only after dealing with hundreds of them did Kang San start to wonder how so many undead had been created. However, he didn’t have the luxury to dwell on such thoughts for more than 10 seconds. He immediately retreated. With dirty hands reaching out from all directions, Kang San used the impact of the undead colliding with the Barrier of Light to push off the ground.

Flash.

Papapapapak!

Wherever the sword touched,

the undead were swept away helplessly.

It was truly an overwhelming presence, but with each swing of his sword, his breathing became increasingly unstable as he exhaled and inhaled.

“Huuup, Huuup.”

He caught his breath.

Repeated attacks.

Repeated defenses.

As the movements were repeated, human muscles naturally accumulated fatigue.

Of course, thanks to his A-rank stats, the problem of his movements slowing down significantly didn’t occur to this extent, but what worried Kang San was that the ‘Dark Lord’ still hadn’t shown itself. If this war of attrition continued, his physical abilities would inevitably decline. What would happen if his condition dropped even by 10% against a monster he couldn’t guarantee victory against even with 100% of his power?

There was no chance of winning.

At first, he seemed to have wasted time hoping for support, but after 10 minutes, he forgot about it.

‘Maybe support won’t arrive even until I die.’

Pohang’s forces?

They would only be a hindrance.

If they came to help half-heartedly and only increased the number of undead, the catastrophe he had experienced in fragmented memories might repeat itself. He needed pure, concentrated power. Considering the time it would take for those in Seoul to arrive here, it was actually an operation that would cost him his life from the beginning. Nevertheless, he ignored it. If he didn’t believe he could overcome the trials as he always had, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to move forward.

He cut down the enemy.

He cut, and cut again.

With each swing, he cleared his distracting thoughts, and Kang San fell into a state of Muajigyeong （selflessness）.

The black wave crumbled.

Thanks to Kang San’s tenacity, the undead couldn’t get past him even without the Barrier of Light.

It was then.

Kurururururu━

A tremendous tremor shook the ground.

Suddenly, as the undead parted like the parting of the Red Sea, a sinister energy could be seen surging from afar.

Passs.

The trees swayed.

Through the gap, a black shadow as large as a giant tree slowly rose.

『Wicked human. Receive the judgment of heaven.』

Thump.

A giant foot stomped on the ground.

A terrifying being, stained black, emerged through the trees, flapping a cloak like membranous wings. Its height was about 3 to 4 meters. The monster, clad in a sturdy dark armor, glared at Kang San with glowing red eyes.

He finally faced it.

The Dark Lord.

The S-rank catastrophe.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Kang San’s situation.

Jo Han-byeol and the others also heard the news.

They had serious expressions on their faces due to the sudden situation.

“I had a feeling something was off. He went down to Pohang out of the blue and seemed to be preparing something on his own.”

It was Jo Han-byeol.

Kang San’s actions.

What others might dismiss as coincidence, Jo Han-byeol and the others saw differently.

The time they had spent together.

They had long sensed that Kang San had some intention.

Yeon Woo-bin said,

“I think so too. I heard that Kang San-hyung requested something like a ‘Crisis Response Drill’ in Pohang. He probably noticed some signal foreshadowing a disaster, like the Kitakyushu incident. And I think there are two reasons why he didn’t tell us. First, he didn’t want to put us in danger, and second, there might be some restrictions on revealing the disaster. That’s my guess.”

“……He’s a foolish man. Both in Japan and Korea.”

Jessica had a complicated expression.

Even if he couldn’t reveal the disaster,

facing it alone was another matter.

As she recalled the memory of him rescuing her and Eileen from the pit of despair, she realized how selfish that help had been. Ultimately, it was someone else’s business. Kang San willingly jumped into the fire in a situation where he didn’t have to risk himself, and thanks to that, Jessica and Eileen were able to be here now.

Everyone in the group

was emotionally moved.

Even without explicitly saying what to do, the looks they exchanged conveyed the message to go down to Pohang.

Especially among them,

“Time is of the essence. Let’s go down there quickly.”

Nakamura Genji’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

It felt like he was barely suppressing his boiling emotions.

As if his words were a detonator, everyone was about to move immediately, but Eileen alone didn’t budge.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Eileen?”

“Unni. Realistically, even if we move right now, it will take at least three hours to reach Pohang. And that’s the shortest time, not considering any variables. Kang San-nim is already fighting from the starting point of the Outbreak. Can we guarantee he’ll hold out until we arrive? I’ll pray here. If my wish reaches Kang San-nim, it might be of some help, however small.”

It was a valid point.

Everyone nodded.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Please.”

They took turns looking at Eileen with sincere eyes, and then the group hurriedly moved.

Eileen, left alone.

She knelt down.

And then she clasped her hands together and began to pray earnestly.

‘Please, I pray that nothing happens to Kang San-nim, please don’t take such a good person first.’

She had been hearing an unknown voice for some time now.

A being presumed to be God.

To that almighty something, she prayed with all her heart for her wish.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Daeyang’s decision.

And Cheonsang’s immediate response.

Their movements created a chain reaction.

Some of the managements and guilds that had been wary of the current government made the difficult decision to bet on Kang San.

However, among them,

Flare’s name was missing.

They were connected to Kang San, but they judged that they couldn’t expend their power on this matter.

It was a natural judgment.

They had staked everything on the S-rank raid and had to produce results, having poured in a lot of human and material resources. They couldn’t pour all of Flare’s power into recruiting Kang San, whose whereabouts were uncertain. In the end, after a heated discussion, they decided to just go through the motions as the government requested.

10 minutes after the disaster occurred.

That was the case until Master Blacksmith, Yu Jeong-yeong, visited Flare.

Thump.

“……Please.”

“No, you can’t do this!”

Yu Jeong-yeong immediately knelt down.

At the sight of him bowing his head and speaking earnestly, Jeong Min-jun, Flare’s representative Mage, had a troubled expression.

Yu Jeong-yeong said,

“Kang San-nim saved my life. I thought that succeeding as a blacksmith was the way to repay Kang San-nim’s grace, so even after hearing about the hardships in Kitakyushu, I devoted myself to hammering steel every day. But I can’t do that now. There are rumors that it might be an S-rank Outbreak. If Kang San-nim is alone in such a desperate moment, even he, who has overcome countless hardships, might not be able to guarantee his life.”

He raised his head.

He met Jeong Min-jun’s gaze.

“Please help Kang San-nim. Please send the forces you’ve prepared for the S-rank raid to Pohang to help rescue Kang San-nim. Wasn’t the reason you prepared for the S-rank raid to prove Flare’s potential to the world? Now that the world’s attention is focused on this national disaster, if Flare shows meaningful results, it will surely gain considerable fame. The problem is that there will be no reward for succeeding in the raid. I’ll give you that. From now on, Flare’s items will be allocated separately, so I’ll make sure this choice isn’t wrong.”

“No……”

He was speechless.

The S-rank raid.

Sending out that force wasn’t an easy choice.

However, that didn’t mean Yu Jeong-yeong’s offer wasn’t attractive.

What Flare really wanted was the fame of succeeding in the S-rank raid and the rewards that would come with it.

Yu Jeong-yeong had made not only a request but also an offer that met realistic conditions.

“The world calls me Master Blacksmith. Just as my skills improve day by day, the value of my skills will rise astronomically over time. This is an opportunity to monopolize a part of that. That one fact will give Flare wings in the future.”

It was reasonable.

His heart was moved.

In fact, the reason Flare had a heated discussion was because they judged that the value of Yu Jeong-yeong and Kang San was greater than expected. Yet, the reason they followed the government was that they couldn’t make risky investments blindly because Kang San’s whereabouts were uncertain. Yu Jeong-yeong’s offer at least secured their relationship with him.

The scales on both sides wavered.

It was a decision that couldn’t be made easily, but they couldn’t take too long either.

There was a deadline: before Kang San died.

Jeong Min-jun said,

“……Alright. I’ll report to the higher-ups and discuss this matter again.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

10 minutes later.

Flare gave up on the S-rank raid and decided to send the forces they had prepared for that time down to Pohang.

Following Daeyang and Cheonsang, Flare too.

Their decision was enough to set fire to the landscape of South Korea.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Crack.

The cigarette in his hand crumbled.

President Jang Beom-seok’s expression hardened and then turned cold as time passed while he listened to the report.

“These damn bastards.”

Just a moment ago,

he had clearly given the order.

Groups based in Seoul were to cooperate with the government and send support troops to Pohang at exactly 30-minute intervals. The order bearing the presidential seal was absolute. It was something that everyone living in South Korea had to follow, but he heard a series of bad news from the Chief Secretary.

Korea’s managements and guilds.

The Ranger units led by Kim Myeong-min and the Special Forces led by Kim Chun-sik.

They disobeyed the order and chose to go to Pohang.

Not only that.

“……Director Yeon Gyu-seong of the Hunter Emergency Center headed to Pohang with a large number of medical staff.”

“Even though he heard my order to prepare for any contingencies?”

“Yes.”

Bang!

“These bastards are collectively disobeying orders.”

Seoul’s medical staff.

He had ordered them to implement a 24-hour treatment system for the powerful figures, creating an environment where they could be treated at any time in case they were injured. It was a situation that had been repeated several times before. Each time, the medical staff hadn’t protested much, but this time, they seemed to have gone too far and chose to disobey.

His stomach churned.

This was why.

President Jang Beom-seok, during his long three terms, hadn’t allowed any authority to rise above him.

Once, when White Knight, Lee Han-seong, gained immense fame through his righteous actions, public opinion exploded, suggesting that he would be a suitable next president. For that reason, President Jang Beom-seok had secretly threatened Lee Han-seong. If he hadn’t joined the Guardians, Lee Han-seong might not be here now.

Jang Beom-seok said,

“Tell those bastards right now. If they disobey the order…….”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Mr. President. There’s something urgent to report.”

The conversation was interrupted.

Jang Beom-seok’s face flushed red in displeasure, but he instinctively knew that if someone came to see him so abruptly despite knowing the current situation, it couldn’t be an ordinary matter.

“Come in.”

Creak.

It was a staff member from the secretariat.

He couldn’t even raise his head and stated the purpose of his visit.

“……A request has just come in through the official channels from the Japanese government. They are requesting that the Busan Teleport Gate be opened. They say they will send troops to rescue Kang San, the Hero of Kitakyushu.”

“What nonsense!”

Japan’s intervention.

Jang Beom-seok’s face contorted.