Chapter 48
Raid Team Revengers, Subdues the Formidable Darkwing!
As always, news traveled faster than people.
Revengers diligently uploaded the combat data, and the experts who reviewed it were all left speechless.
“Wow…”
Although it was written in detail, the combat data could be summarized in a single sentence:
Even in the Horned Gorgon raid, Mason played a leading role. He established the concept of”Destroyer Style”tanking, which physically smashed the monster’s body to immobilize it.
However, the results of this Darkwing raid were shocking in a different sense than the Horned Gorgon raid.
As with birds, the danger of flying monsters mostly stemmed from their ability to strike first in battle. Once engaged in close combat, they often displayed combat power below their core rank.
Even so, to single-handedly defeat a raid boss…
It was something no one had ever done before.
And that fact presented one possibility.
“Humans can become stronger than monsters.”
It was just a possibility. It was just a possibility, but… that possibility could be called by another name.
Hope.
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The terminal was approaching.
Mason, perched on the corner of the camp trailer, sighed deeply and said,
“…There will be reporters, right?”
Deroa replied with a bright smile.
“There will be.”
“…They’ll hound me, right?”
“They will.”
Mason grumbled.
“Don’t talk like it’s someone else’s problem…”
“It is someone else’s problem. How can I not talk like it’s someone else’s problem?”
Deroa chuckled.
“Cheer up! I’ll post malicious comments when the articles go online!”
“…Malicious comments? Why on earth?”
“You said you feel burdened by praise, right? Then I have to neutralize it with insults.”
“Oh…”
Masika shook her head as she watched the two.
Finally, the vehicle stopped, and the door slowly began to open.
Camera flashes were already going off, visible through the gap in the door.
“The time has come.”
Mason wore the same expression as Jesus facing Golgotha.
“Everyone, remember me…”
Just as Mason was about to bid farewell with a solemn expression,
Deroa shoved him hard.
“Huh?”
As Mason lost his balance and tumbled out of the car,
“This is our chance, let’s run!”
The others began to flee.
When Mason looked at Deroa with a betrayed expression, Deroa triumphantly shouted,
“This is for Itaewon! Ha!”
Seo Yeonhee wore a perplexed expression.
“Was that really something to take revenge for…?”
In any case, it was a satisfying operation for everyone.
“Deroa…!”
Except for one superhuman.
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Mason was on every channel.
He was flustered by the barrage of questions but somehow managed to respond to the interviews.
Yekaterina looked down at the combat data.
Through the eyes of an expert, she could see between the lines. How he chased, how he fought, and how he won, it came to her as if she had seen it herself.
Yekaterina looked back at the TV.
It was the same person.
The gentle giant sweating profusely under the barrage of questions from all sides, and the indomitable superhuman who defeats monsters with rage and hatred.
Each aspect was interesting in its own right, but both coexisted within a single person.
That… made him even more attractive.
“Hehe.”
Yekaterina laughed unconsciously and was slightly surprised to find herself doing so.
How long had it been?
Since she had smiled unintentionally, not for the sake of showing it to someone else?
But it wasn’t enough.
He was already a hero as he was now, but what Yekaterina desired was not a mere hero.
What she desired was a king.
No… a savior.
Yekaterina, in her haste, had misread fate and crowned the wrong king. The sins she had inflicted upon the world were immeasurable, and she could not be redeemed until all those she had broken were saved.
Therefore, only a savior could redeem her…
“Your Majesty.”
At that moment, someone knocked on her door.
It was Liza Kronen, Yekaterina’s left arm.
“I have come at your summons.”
“Yes, come in.”
In the brief moment the door opened, she regained her icy composure.
As Liza bowed and took her place, Yekaterina asked directly,
“Have you seen Revengers’ combat data?”
“Yes.”
“What are your thoughts?”
“We were inadequate.”
In fact, Liza’s Forest Guard had also considered the possibility of a nest. But the problem was tracking.
The Forest Guard formed a five-person tracking team. This was to ensure minimal survival in case of a counterattack.
However, the Darkwing immediately noticed that it was being tracked and changed its flight path.
In the end, they had to give up the pursuit, only suspecting that there might be a nest somewhere.
It was the same idea, the same attempt.
The difference was that Mason was alone, while they were five.
“No, it would be more accurate to say that we didn’t have Sir Mason.”
That was it. The presence of a single person, Mason, was the difference.
Mason could survive and escape even if he encountered the raid boss, while the Forest Guard couldn’t guarantee their survival even if they sent a party.
It was an excuse, if it could be called that.
However, it was also what Yekaterina wanted to hear most.
“So… do you acknowledge Mason now?”
Because it was an acknowledgement of Mason’s abilities.
“I acknowledge that he is a superior being to us.”
“Good.”
Yekaterina smiled.
“That’s a good start.”
“It could be, or it could not be.”
However, Liza’s face, in contrast to Yekaterina’s smile, turned cold.
“A benevolent king is still a king, and so is a tyrant. Whether he can be a good king is a separate issue from whether he is worthy of being a king, is it not?”
“Do you doubt his goodness?”
“Even Hitler was a kind man…to humans.”
Hitler.
The moment the name, forbidden by both of them who shared a painful past, was uttered, a heavy silence fell upon the room.
“Well, I think we’ve discussed this matter enough.”
It was Yekaterina who spoke after a long silence.
“Go and rest until further notice.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Liza bowed politely and quietly left the room.
Yekaterina looked at Mason’s video in the data.
“It seems we have a long way to go.”
The image of the superhuman, trampling the Darkwing and letting out a victorious roar.
“…Mr. Mason.”
Yekaterina smiled.
It was still a lonely and arduous path…
Because, for the first time, it was a path illuminated by hope.
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After the battle, busy days followed.
Mason, bombarded by camera flashes, was slumped over like a zombie, and Deroa, as always, was engrossed in games, glued to her computer or phone.
Everyone else except for the two was busy with work.
The most important task was, of course, the sale of the monster.
Numerous companies were vying to purchase rare materials and research materials, and contacting them was also the raiders’ responsibility.
Especially this time, the handling of salvaged items was also overlapping.
It was so busy that they didn’t have enough hands just to classify and trade the officially returned items and the loot.
However, the most important deal was the one handled by Masika.
Masika’s office. Seo Yeonhee sat across from her and asked,
“What happened to the reward for the Darkwing quest?”
Discussion about the reward for catching the Darkwing.
The Darkwing was both a formidable enemy and a burden to the government.
Since the government had requested them to catch the Darkwing, they were entitled to demand a reasonable reward.
“The government wanted to give us a bounty.”
“Did you accept it?”
“Of course not.”
Taking money was the most foolish deal.
Money was a common resource. Everyone had it.
Only by receiving something that only the government possessed could it be considered a proper deal.
“It seems like it’s going to be one of two things.”
“If it’s one of two…?”
“Either they’ll exempt us from standby duty once, or they’ll give us income tax exemption.”
Seo Yeonhee said without hesitation,
“The former would be better.”
After a raid, there had to be a rest period. Even if they didn’t need to rest, it was the same. The government wanted to have a certain amount of reserve forces in case of an emergency.
The fairest thing was to be fair.
All raid teams had to go through rest and standby periods.
But what if they were exempt from standby duty?
They could go on another raid.
It was the government’s authority to fairly adjust the schedule of top raid teams. Conversely, it meant that they could also adjust it unfairly.
“That’s why I said the former would be better.”
Masika smiled leisurely.
“Of course, it’s likely to be in the form of a quest, like this time.”
“It’s a reasonable deal.”
Masika asked,
“How did things go on your end, Seo Yeonhee?”
Seo Yeonhee, who was from a wealthy family, had connections with high-ranking officials, including chaebol families. She was the perfect person to handle the return of artwork and the trading of valuables.
“I think it’ll be around five or six large ones.”
“5 billion won?”
When Masika looked disappointed, Seo Yeonhee shook her head.
“50 billion won.”
Masika looked surprised.
“Really?”
She had thought the practical maximum would be around 30 billion won. But Seo Yeonhee had achieved almost double that.
“It’s important to know why something is valuable, and how valuable it is.”
Seo Yeonhee wasn’t a professional appraiser, but she had that level of discernment. She had been exposed to expensive and valuable things since she was young.
The most important thing in trading valuables was knowing their worth.
Just as ordinary people who lacked knowledge would lose money in phone or computer parts transactions, valuables whose worth was unknown could only be sold at a low price.
Of course, they could ask a professional appraiser, but who would appraise stolen goods to be sold on the black market under their own name?
“You’re truly multi-talented, Seo Yeonhee.”
“You flatter me.”
It was a rare exchange of genuine compliments between the two, without any ulterior motives hidden beneath the surface.
“But… it wasn’t our main source of income, was it?”
“That’s right.”
50 billion won was a large sum, but the raid team was also expensive. Considering the expenses and consumables, it was only enough to break even.
In the end, the main source of income for the raid team was the raid boss and the price of its byproducts.
That meant, conversely…
The Darkwing’s price could be considered pure profit.
“How much do you think the Darkwing will fetch?”
“Around 100 billion won, I think.”
“That’s good.”
Seo Yeonhee smiled faintly.
“Everyone’s hard work has paid off.”
