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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth
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Ling Xiao, a hunter from the Chinese party, the Grand Congress of China (中華大國會), trembled with rage.
Because she had shown such an unsightly display to a mere rookie party, barely a year old at that, and to a man no less.
Even her roughly shorn hair kept reminding her of the humiliation she had just suffered.
"...Damn bastards."
She held a deep grudge against Utopia, the Korean hunter party.
Who wouldn't?
Things they had painstakingly worked for years to achieve.
Those guys had easily obtained them just because they were from the Velvet Hunter Academy.
As if she could ever like such people.
"Selling their lucky-born faces, a bunch of upstart whores. How dare they..."
So she had intended to put them in their place, but instead, she was the one who ended up humiliated.
"Those bastards from Utopia. I'll kill them."
As Ling Xiao gnashed her teeth in fury.
The party's tank approached and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Captain, you did well to hold back earlier. If we had clashed with them there, things would have gotten complicated. Think about the reward for this quest."
'Ah, the quest.'
Her head cooled slightly.
She slowly nodded, indicating her agreement.
"Right. Yes. The quest. The quest comes first. Ha, those arrogant bastards can be dealt with after the quest is over."
That's right.
This American monster subjugation quest was quite significant, both in terms of reward and scale.
A quest with such a wide-reaching impact doesn't come along so easily.
What a joke it would be if they caused a conflict over a trivial new party and had to turn back.
But that was that.
Feeling rotten was feeling rotten.
"Seriously, though, don't those guys have a death wish? If we gave them good advice, they should have had the decency to accept it. How dare they draw a sword there? They would've had no one to blame if their heads had been chopped off right then and there. It's a good thing Captain held back."
"Exactly. They should have bowed their heads and greeted us on the spot when they saw a senior party, but they didn't even do that."
"Aren't those Koreans just insufferable with their arrogance? They're nothing without Lina."
From the start, no one here liked these utterly arrogant rookies who showed no respect for senior hunters.
And with nationalistic sentiments mixed in, even sharper criticisms poured out.
Listening to her party members' defense, Ling Xiao gnashed her teeth.
'...Yes, those damn bastards. Once this quest is over, I'll truly teach them a lesson.'
Of course, she knew that the Velvet Hunter Academy, meaning the world's number one Mage Emperor, was behind them.
That's precisely why it was even better.
The higher one's position, the easier it is to bring them down.
If it turned into a war of public opinion, they would have much to lose.
'And with this, Chinese hunters might once again gain recognition.'
Wasn't China a great nation that had never historically lagged behind a small country like Korea?
It was just that now, a single irregular, like a comet, had appeared.
They were simply overshadowed by the existence of Lina.
In terms of population, China naturally had more hunters than Korea.
Though there were evaluations that their quality was somewhat inferior, that was merely slander.
Ling Xiao genuinely believed that.
'So, all I have to do is show them here.'
Ling Xiao, her eyes lowered, looked back at her party members and spoke.
"Surely, none of you want to lose to those kinds of bastards here, do you?"
At that, the party members also nodded with determined expressions.
"Good, then let's go and show them. Show them that the true world of hunters is not a place where mere greenhorns dare to set foot."
Ling Xiao and the Chinese hunters, their spirits soaring, headed towards the Sapienz tribe.
* * *
"Chain Lightning!"
Fzzzzzt—!!
The lightning bolt cast by the special ability surged through the Sapienz horde, electrocuting their bodies in a chain reaction.
"...Krrk!?"
"Kaack!"
At that, a momentary paralysis spread among the Sapienz, who had seemed ready to charge with their weapons clenched.
"Now! Sweep them away!!!"
Ling Xiao roared, dashed to the very front, and swung her spear.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The massive long spear, imbued with monstrous strength, created a storm, sending Sapienz heads flying and shattering their bodies whole.
However, each of her powerful attacks created an opening.
Seizing that gap, a Sapienz thrust its sword.
Clang!
"Hmph!"
But the tank immediately stepped in beside her, blocking the attack with his shield.
Thwack!
"Keeeeeek!!!"
Ling Xiao's long spear pierced through its neck.
And then, a perfectly timed buff imbued her at the moment she was about to use a skill.
Feeling her power strengthen, she immediately cast her skill.
Revolving Spear (回輪矛).
Whirrrrrrr—!!
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Above her head, the massive long spear spun like a propeller, sweeping away five Sapienz at once.
'...Today's synergy is exceptional.'
A glance.
Ling Xiao glanced at the camera recording from her chest.
Perhaps fueled by her anger towards those Utopia bastards, today's battle was proceeding far more smoothly and unhindered than usual.
Although there were still many Sapienz to deal with, as their horde was quite large.
At this rate, she would be able to leave a deeper impression than any battle they had shown before.
Of course, she couldn't check the chat window right now, as she was in the middle of combat.
But just imagining the reactions, filled with voices praising her.
She felt even more invigorated.
"Not much left now! Let's go!"
Ling Xiao raised her spear and shouted.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!"
The Chinese hunters roared loudly and began to eliminate the monsters with even greater fervor.
And then.
One round of combat ended.
In the completely devastated tribe, Sapienz corpses lay scattered.
"Captain! You were insane today!"
"That was no joke! We're too strong!!"
"At this rate, we'll be ranked among the top!"
It wasn't just her who felt that sense of unity; her party members also shouted with exhilarated voices.
"Ranked among the top? What are you talking about? Our goal is number one."
When parties from multiple nations gathered like this, competition was bound to arise.
And today, Ling Xiao's party was in peak synchronization.
It felt as if everything was perfectly aligned.
To the point of giving her goosebumps.
At this rate, perhaps even receiving a higher evaluation wouldn't be a dream.
"Whew, let's regroup and head straight to the next tribe. Everyone, get ready."
It was then, as she tried to calm her excited heart and prepare her party members for the next assault.
[ To the members of the Grand Congress of China party. ]
At that moment, a stiff male voice suddenly came through her earpiece.
It was Richard, the American operations assistant.
[ Everyone, you've worked hard. Today's Sapienz subjugation will now conclude. Please return to the operations headquarters immediately. ]
'...What?'
At the thunderbolt-like order to return, Ling Xiao's eyes widened like lanterns.
And other party members, having heard the same words, looked just as bewildered as she did.
There were still many tribes left to deal with, and they had only cleared one.
But for the subjugation to be over...?
"W-what in the world..."
"C-could it be that those Utopia bastards caused trouble?"
"...Trouble?"
"Usually, if there's significant casualties in a quest or a party gets wiped out, they stop the subjugation midway."
At one party member's words, everyone's eyes widened.
Annihilation.
Hunters, who usually live closely with death, don't stop a subjugation just because one or two people die during a quest.
But what if it was the Utopia party?
They would probably stop the subjugation, mindful of the Velvet Hunter Academy behind them.
"...Those greenhorn bastards!!! Causing trouble until the very end."
Ling Xiao, never dreaming that the subjugation could already be over, bit her lip and vented her fury.
And as if in agreement, her party members also hurled harsh insults.
'Should we really give up here?'
Ling Xiao surveyed her party members.
Today, the party's condition was truly peak.
To the point where she wondered if a day this good would ever come again.
'What if our party continued the subjugation here? What if we even completed it entirely?'
If that happened, they could become the party that completed the quest without giving up, even in a situation where Utopia was annihilated.
And furthermore, they could make the Velvet Hunter Academy eat dirt.
That the Utopia party, despite lacking the skill, stepped up, got annihilated, and caused trouble, but the Chinese party resolved it.
'Yes, after suffering such humiliation. It would be a shame to let them off easy just because they were annihilated.'
Ling Xiao, her resolve firm, pressed her earpiece and spoke.
[ We, the Chinese hunters, will continue the subjugation. ]
[ …What are you talking about? I just told you the subjugation is over? ]
At that, Richard's bewildered voice came back.
Believing that she should be even more assertive in such a situation, she put force into her voice and spoke again.
[ Does it make any sense to stop this subjugation just because a pathetic party like Utopia was annihilated!? Ha, since when did America grovel to Korea like that? Have you abandoned your pride just because you lack your own hunters? ]
[ What… Pride? You're crossing the line. I clearly stated that the subjugation is over. ]
[ We in China will continue the subjugation. ]
Ling Xiao steadfastly pushed forward, insisting on continuing the subjugation.
Unable to tolerate it, Richard's rough voice burst out.
[ No! The quest has already been! Completely! Successfully completed!!! There's nothing left for you people to do! You foolish woman! ]
'...What?'
At Richard's words, Ling Xiao's pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
The subjugation is over?
What in the world did that mean?
There should still be plenty of Sapienz left...
"C-Captain...! L-look at this!"
A party member, sensing something amiss in her reaction, turned on the broadcast.
And called out to her in an urgent voice.
* * *
"Hahahahaha…"
Shin Se-hee, who had been observing all of this from the operations headquarters via drone.
She let out a low chuckle.
"At this rate, they must have completely lost face…"
Shin Se-hee was broadcasting Utopia's feed while simultaneously monitoring the Chinese hunters' broadcast on another screen.
"Even if left as is, that party will probably become the subject of public ridicule."
Unlike Utopia, who took less than 30 minutes to decimate a single tribe,
the Chinese hunters had taken several hours to subjugate just one tribe.
And their triumphant boasting afterward was a comedy in itself.
What they said among themselves was truly a spectacle.
They denigrated countries, disparaged Utopia, and even touched upon Lina, a global hero.
Of course, their broadcast would be edited before going out, but all of it had already been recorded by Shin Se-hee's drone.
She probably only had to wait a little, and endless ridicule would pour down on them, like fire to oil.
However.
Shin Se-hee had no intention of ending it so moderately.
After all. Those Chinese party members had touched what was most precious to her.
And with insults so severe they couldn't even be uttered.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Shin Se-hee hadn't forgotten a single word of what she had spewed towards Jin Yu-ha.
"I have a personality that returns what I receive, a hundredfold, you see? I'll shatter what's most precious to you. Until not a speck of dust remains."
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
Shin Se-hee's fingers, typing on the keyboard, quickened.