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Chapter 28 – A City With No Laws (1)
1.
It was Chang Sung Hoon’s idea.
"Even the newcomers are aware of what kind of personality you have boss. There’s no reason for them not to know. Although it takes awhile for people to figure out if someone’s personality is good, doesn’t it only take a mere 10 seconds to determine if it’s bad?"
He told Kim Tae Hoon that he needed to turn a new leaf towards the newcomers.
"Right now, the newcomers aren’t too sure of what kind of person boss is. Even if they are awakened, they would only have a vague feeling of it. Even boss made a confused expression in regards to the awakened, right?"
Now is the time to not only fight monsters, but also to survive.
He needed to speak to them and find the Awakened in this era of monsters.
"That’s why you must show them. Show them how monstrous you are boss."
There was a need for Kim Tae Hoon to show them the amazing powers of an awakened.
"As soon as they see what kind of person you are boss, the newcomers will stop thinking about it. They won’t bother to think about putting up with a monster with a s.h.i.+tty personality. At the very least, they won’t make things difficult for you."
Kim Tae Hoon accepted Chang Sung Hoon’s idea, and with a blade in hand, he stood in front of a monster.
So he showed them.
He showed them what a fight between monsters looked like.
What kind of monstrous beast he was.
2.
As soon as Kim Tae Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook approached the monsters, the Mek Clan members watched in antic.i.p.ation.
A colleague, a comrade, and their leader. Kim Tae Hoon was a monster willing to fight another monster!
On the other hand, the newcomers to the Mek Clan watched in terror.
"Oh my G.o.d, just what kind of crazy act is that?"
"Those monsters are still alive! So then why?"
In the eyes of the newcomers, Bang Hyun Wook and Kim Tae Hoon were basically committing suicide.
However, to Kim Tae Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook, the two horned pigs were nothing more than regular beasts.
"It’s suddenly become a show."
Having rushed towards the Mek Clan while plowing through cars and bullets alike, the pigs’ bodies had become a mess.
Because they were monsters, they still expressed their desire to fight.
However, they were basically already dead.
The monsters were overcome with monsters, but compared to their opponents who would not feel such a thing, the pigs’ opponents were quite perverse.
Above all, Kim Tae Hoon’s abilities were overwhelming.
[Basic Abilities]
– Strength : 76
– Stamina : 51
[Special Abilities]
– Energy : E+ Rank
– Mana : E+ Rank
– Telekinesis : A Rank
– Physical Defense : E Rank
– Magic Resistance : E+ Rank
Thanks to his monopoly over the monster stones, Kim Tae Hoon’s Strength had already hit 76 points.
He had already exceeded human limits.
He had grown beyond an olympic medalist’s cla.s.s, in fact, it would be fair to say that he had grown beyond an olympic medalist’s abilities when doping.
A literal superhuman.
Starting with [Black Skin], he had acc.u.mulated abilities like [Howling] and had now gathered four abilities.
It was obvious who the predator was.
Gguuuuek!
Therefore, Kim Tae Hoon did not spend much time against the screaming horned pig.
So while the pig tucked its chin in and rushed towards Kim Tae Hoon with its horn, Kim Tae Hoon also rushed towards the pig.
As the distance between the two narrowed, Kim Tae Hoon grabbed the horned pig’s horn and rode atop the pig’s body like he was at the rodeo.
Kim Tae Hoon, with the knife in his right hand, stabbed it towards the point that connected the horned pig’s head to its body.
Puk!
The knife cut through the tough hide and thick fat that not even bullets had much effect on.
The kitchen knife was an effective weapon, but not because it was a relic.
The secret was Energy.
Kim Tae Hoon, just like Bang Hyun Wook, figured out ways to utilize Energy.
In addition to allowing the Energy course through your body, you could use it to strengthen a weapon.
Of course, since Kim Tae Hoon’s Energy rank was low, the knife would only go in about pinky finger deep.
Gguik, gguik!
Although the knife had entered a fatal spot, it wasn’t enough to bring the pig death.
So Kim Tae Hoon followed up on his actions.
He focused the black orc’s ability into his right hand.
His right hand began to s.h.i.+ne with a dark light. The amount of blackening had increased. Before, it had barely reached past his wrist, but now, it reached all the way to his elbow.
Kim Tae Hoon slammed his hand against the knife.
Puk!
It was like a hammer hitting a nail.
Puk!
The knife went in deeper with every hit.
Gguek!
The horned pigs cries had an eerie sound.
The horned pigs struggled. Like a bull in a rodea, the horned pig’s bodies bucked wildly.
However, since Kim Tae Hoon had managed to seat himself on the pig and grab onto its horn, it was too late. Every time the pig struggled, Kim Tae Hoon struck it with his right fist.
Puk!
The blade went in deeper and deeper.
Puk!
Soon, the blade completely disappeared.
Puk!
Then the handle started to sink in.
Ggueeeeee!
Screams indicative of an imminent death were let loose from the pig’s mouth.
However, Kim Tae Hoon did not stop.
It wasn’t too long before Kim Tae Hoon was striking the flesh since the hilt could no longer be seen.
Puk!
The went in deeper.
At that moment.
Koong!
The mad horned pig collapsed onto the floor like a broken doll.
"Huk!"
"Hub!"
In addition, the spectators’ breathing could be heard.
"Alright! How do you like the taste of Bucheon’s Barry Bond’s metal baseball bat! This is the bat that struck two home runs in the high school weekend league!”
While ignoring the spectators, Bang Hyun Wook was spouting out nonsense whilst also smacking the dead horned pig’s body with his baseball bat.
Kim Tae Hoon entered his line of sight.
Kim Tae Hoon pulled out the knife that was embedded into the horned pig’s neck, causing it to spasm.
Puhwat!
Blood poured forth like a fountain. White steam also started to rise.
Despite the creepy atmosphere, Kim Tae Hoon brought his ear closer to the dying horned pig’s body.
Dugeun!
Hearing the sound of a heartbeat, Kim Tae Hoon stabbed the kitchen knife towards the sound of the heartbeat.
Seugeuguhk!
Cutting away at the hide and the flesh, Kim Tae Hoon inserted his blackened right hand into the wound.
When he finally pulled out his right hand, Kim Tae Hoon had retrieved a gleaming, red gem.
Kim Tae Hoon popped it into his mouth and swallowed.
Gulp!
Everyone who was watching heard the sound of Kim Tae Hoon swallowing the gem.
3.
Bucheon’s Wonmi City Library.
"Move carefully, be careful! It’s a grenade!"
"Yes sir."
"Where should I move the drinking water?"
"The second floor! The drinking water will go on the second floor!"
Located between Wonmi mountain and Bucheon Stadium, a library whose life had been modest so far, was facing the most turbulent day it had ever experienced since its establishment.
"Everything’s been moved sir."
"Then let’s go smoke a cigarette."
"Yes sir."
There were fifty people amidst the racket.
They were all moving various things from trucks and cars that were parked in front of the library.
Watching the scene, Kim Su Ji asked Kim Tae Hoon, who was drinking coffee, a question.
"Major, do you really intend to make this place your base?"
"Is there a problem in making this place a base?"
Kim Su Ji replied immediately.
"No sir."
Kim Su Ji had no problems with making Bucheon Wonmi City Library their base.
Rather, she felt that the library was the best place to set up a base in such a situation.
The surroundings were enclosed by mountains, and there was quite a distance from the library to a residential area. There were many advantages. It wasn’t as much as the Ojang-dong’s industrial district, but there were a few factories in Wonmi-dong where they could find some useful tools. In fact, scavenging for objects to make items out of was also not very hard.
The library itself also held many advantages.
The books and the bookshelves that lined the insides of the library could be used as kindling and firewood during the cold winter. Furthermore, since the infrastructure of civilization had collapsed, the library was an important location in regards to the knowledge that humans had gathered.
For the sake of rebuilding society, you could argue that a library held more importance than a gun.
Ahn Sun Mi and Chang Sung Hoon had long since been searching about in the library in order to collect books that were helpful and essential for their future plans.
There was no real reason for Kim Su Ji to object to making the library their base.
It was just that Kim Su Ji was a little doubtful.
"Why would the major suddenly want to secure a base? Wasn’t such a plan rejected until just yesterday?"
Kim Tae Hoon had not voiced any intention to make a homebase until last night.
If he had been thinking of doing so, he wouldn’t have waited at the Bucheon Stadium and instead sought to make the library his base sooner.
It wasn’t even training to endure the cold, so there was no need to spend the night trembling in the cold beside a car in a tent.
Kim Su Ji thought that Kim Tae Hoon would move to a different place after securing the artifacts he wanted in the Bow Museum.
In that situation, Kim Tae Hoon had suddenly proposed securing a base, so it wasn’t surprising that Kim Su Ji had her doubts.
But Kim Su Ji did not ask any more questions.
She was a soldier to the bone.
"Second Lieutenant Kim Su Ji, after cleaning up, gather everyone in once place. Place the awakened in the front row."
Kim Tae Hoon gave her a new command.
"Yes sir."
Watching Kim Su Ji’s feet carry out his order, Kim Tae Hoon went to go get more coffee.
The thick aroma of coffee filled his mouth.
Unfortunately, Kim Tae Hoon could not enjoy the coffee’s aroma at the moment. He had a conversation with Chang Sung Hoon at dawn earlier today.
Chang Sung Hoon had given Kim Tae Hoon his opinions without exception.
"Boss, if you monopolize the monster stones, then sure, you’ll become strong, but the rest of the clan will only get weaker. If that’s what you plan for, then it doesn’t matter······ if you want to play big, I suppose you have to ignore the smaller things."
Kim Tae Hoon’s actions would only strengthen himself while leaving the Mek Clan to wither.
"Also, I suppose it doesn’t matter if the group is small, but as the group gets bigger, won’t we need a hierarchy? Since boss was a soldier, I’m sure you know. Of course, I don’t think that we should use military rank. In this world, the ranks would be put in your hands boss."
If they wanted to increase the size of their force, it was necessary to have a hierarchy of ranks.
In short, if Kim Tae Hoon wanted a greater military strength, he would need to make a warlord’s framework early on.
In fact, that was something that Kim Tae Hoon knew better than anyone else.
When he was a soldier, he had secretly operated in third world countries where civil wars, revolts, warlords, and conflict were common.
He knew better than some terrorists how warlords were organized and how they operated.
In the end, Kim Tae Hoon’s activities were as simple as ever.
He didn’t intend on becoming a warlord.
It was also why he used the word ‘clan’.
If it was his intention to become a warlord, he would have used a word that befit a larger group than the word ‘clan’.
The word ‘clan’ wasn’t something that was used in the military or used in modern societal expressions.
"Although it’s not something I would do."
Furthermore, it wasn’t Kim Tae Hoon’s style to lead a warlord’s forces.
In fact, his goal was to snipe the chiefs of such forces.
The higher you went, the bigger a target you became.
But things had changed now.
"Knowing the outcome of my path, I have no choice but to give up and try a different route."
Kim Tae Hoon knew that his method would not work.
He realized that living like a hunting dog would get him killed.
There was only one solution.
"For now, we’ll be able to plan out the future after establis.h.i.+ng a stronghold in this area······."
He can’t diverge and become a hunting dog. He needed to make a clear distinction from a hunting dog and become a hunter.
"I need to go into the city and collect the awakened so that they could be my hunting dogs."
Kim Su Ji entered Kim Tae Hoon’s gaze. Kim Tae Hoon swallowed some coffee and rose from his seat.
The monster stones in Kim Tae Hoon’s inner pocket b.u.mped against his chest.
Meanwhile, Kim Su Ji stood before Kim Tae Hoon and spoke.
"Major, I’ve gathered everyone."
Nodding his head, Kim Tae Hoon confirmed the location of his monster stones.
"Hunting dogs are best motivated by the prey’s meat."
Confirming once more, Kim Tae Hoon’s eyes were devoid of hesitation.
Only one, the eyes of a hunter who was set on pursuing a new goal for the sake of his survival.