3.

There was a story about the vacant lot in front of Bucheon City Hall.

In the winter when the cold wind blew, the winter when the world seemed to be different from the appearance of the monsters, Kim Tae-hoon, the head of the Mac Guild, gathered the hunters in the vacant lot, and they were tested.

It was a test that only those who showed the determination to sacrifice a finger as evidence of loyalty. Only two passed the test, and the two who had passed became the two biggest Clan leaders of the Mac Guild.

The story was repeatedly mentioned by those who survived under the flag of the Mac Guild.

Whenever there was no story to tell, people talked about it, and the story got fat. At one point the story became a legend. For the Mac Guild's hunters, that day was a historic event, as seen in history books.

Now the hunters had gathered again in the vacant lot. The number of people gathered was about seventy. It was not many, but it was not few, either, because they were the leaders of the groups, were all in charge of the lives of others, whether they were many or few. Of course, the gathered people knew the story that had become a legend.

'Is it another test?'

So, they were determined.

'I must not miss this opportunity.'

'Even if I really cut off my fingers, I will not miss this opportunity.'

This time, they were determined not to miss the opportunity with a lame excuse. And their resolve was evidence.

'Our party could be better if we were just allowed to be a Clan.'

'If we get Clan recognition, our level of item support will change.'

'There's a story about the Mac Guild having a lot of relics recently, and if we make a contribution and show loyalty… we'll get the relics. Then we can climb higher.'

The evidence was that the people gathered here were not the desperate ones who survived the monster era, but the hunters who would not mind a war with the monsters for a better future in the world.

So, they gathered in the vacant lot much earlier than the promised time, and they were ready to wait much longer than the promised time. They would hold on until the sun was sinking above them and the moon that followed was sinking.

Kim Tae-hoon showed up in front of them at exactly the promised time.

June 14, 2017, 2 PM.

Thump! Kim's body fell like a flash onto the iron stage in the open area in front of Bucheon City Hall.

Gulp! The crowd replaced their cheers with swallows.

"Attention." Thanks to the silence, he did not have to calm down those around him, but he was able to start talking in a low voice from the beginning.

"We received a request from the Capital Defense Command," Kim said in a very low voice in front of everyone's attention toward him. The low voice could not be heard unless they listened carefully.

"The contents of the request is to secure three nuclear power plants located in Gyeongsang Province. It goes through three major processes. One, secure the road. Two, remove the threats. Three, protect the nuclear power plants. What we need to do first is to clean the road from the capital area to the Gyeongsang area."

"According to our current investigation, the Sobaek Mountains, which block Gyeonggi Province and Gyeongsang Province, have at least two monsters of the same grade as the Gamecock that attacked Bucheon, and a large number of monsters are building their own territories."

Kim went on with a voice beyond cool or calm. But his words were neither cool nor calm; it was the opposite, they were horrifying and thrilling.

'Oh, God, there are two more monsters like that?'

'To break through that place…'

'It's like making a road to Hell.'

The Gamecock had been a nightmare for the hunters of the Mac Guild, many of whom had died, and the terrible signs of the battle were everywhere in Bucheon.

But they had to make a road to with not one monster of the same grade, but two monsters like the Gamecock?

"I'll need a volunteer."

There was at least no one here who had ignored the nightmare. These people who had gathered here, were willing to die to earn time for civilians to evacuate to Yeongjong Island before the Gamecock.

"The party or the Clan who wants to volunteer, raise your hands." So, at the end of Kim's words, they raised their hands up in the open space.

Kim smiled slightly when he saw the scene. 'At least my way was not the wrong way.' The sight in front of him seemed to prove that his hardships and the adversity that had come so far were not in vain.

So, at this moment, he gave a gift to those who proved that he was not wrong. "There is no payment of forty percent for this monster hunt, and you will keep everything you kill."

Whoop! Then a thunderous shout began to fill the open space. The cheers were more intense than ever. Even those far away could hear them.

4.

"The Mac Guild has moved. More than six thousand men, including Awakeners, have now gathered in Suwon. According to the plan announced, after moving to Yeoju City through Yeongdong Expressway, Yeoju City will be the base area and then the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway will be the first to be attacked."

Lieutenant General Lee Hyuk, who received the report, signed the document in front of him without worrying.

The signed document was in the hands of the reporter, and immediately the reporter delivered the report using wired communication connected to Namsan Tower.

- Lieutenant General Lee Hyuk signed the operational plan.

Among those who received the message was Lee Ki-soo. 'There's no going back.'

Kim Tae-hoon and the Mac Guild's core power had started a long journey to reach the Sobaek mountain range. Starting with Yeoju City, they would hunt monsters to secure the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway.

The most important part was to handle the high-grade monsters located in the mountains of Wolak and Sokri. It was not something they could finish in a day. Of course, Bucheon City was currently in a state of no owner, and it would not take a day or half day to suppress Bucheon City with the power of the Capital Defense Command.

The point was the following reaction.

After the collapse of Bucheon City, Kim would not stay still.

'Hostage, we have to get the key hostage.' What Lee Ki-soo could trust in that situation was a hostage in the end. It was impossible to even try to deal with Kim with money or relics. However, if he had a hostage, he could take his time. And there were two people who could easily be taken hostages in the present situation.

'I have to catch these two surely, Ahn Sun-mi and Jang Sung-hoon.'

'Of course, hostages are not the only thing. Kim is a specialist in this field. If there is a hostage, he can kill the hostage after weighing his options'

Lee Ki-soo also knew that. So, what he wanted was to earn some time. 'Musashi… I just need to earn time for the person who saved Tokyo, which was worse than Seoul.' It was time for a monster to come to deal with a crazy monster.

Lee Ki-soo got up from his seat. 'But I'll have to get ready to go down to Daegu, in case something happens.' Standing up, he took out a small item in his arms. It was a bird statue of white jade, the size of his finger.

Lee Ki-soo grabbed the bird statue with his right hand and paused a moment. When he opened his hand again, the jade bird statue gradually began to inflate.

Soon, Lee Ki-soo began to mumble to himself to the jade pigeon. After completing the recitation, he ordered the bird, "Tell them what I said."

The bird nodded and immediately began to flap its wings. Swish! The bird slipped out of the room window and quickly disappeared. He also left the room, but through the door.

5.

Bucheon was the first of the ruined cities to start reconstruction after the monsters appeared. There was a clue that showed it most clearly. One was a solar panel park located south of Bucheon City Hall, and the other was a nearby university hospital that used the electricity generated by the solar panels.

The Mac Guild had made a lot of efforts to rebuild the medical system, among the many things rebuilt in the city. A proper medical system itself had a powerful force to reassure people. Even the newly established medical system of the Mac Guild had a much more advanced form in some areas than before the monsters appeared.

"How much Water of Therapy is left?"

"About 1,300 packs."

"Increase the production amount as much as we can."

"I understand."

"How much flesh of the Mud Troll have we got?"

"We have about 590 kilograms left."

"Use 300 kilograms for making recovery pills, send all the amounts we produce to Yeoju City, and send as much of the Water of Therapy and the flesh of the Mud Troll as possible."

"I understand."

It was thanks to the monsters' dead body parts and relics. They brought results that humans could not achieve with medicine, and the Mac Guild took the most advantage of it. The relics that could help the medical system were used unsparingly, and the monsters' dead bodies were also generously donated.

Ahn Sun-mi was at the peak of the medical system here.

"Then I'll finish the June 15th briefing with this."

At the briefing, the people who were seated at the long table bowed their heads deeply. It was a funny sight. Until last year, or even half a year ago, the conference room of the university hospital where she was now was a stage only professors could participate in.

It was a place she could not gain save in the distant future, as an intern at a university hospital. Now that she was the director of this place, it was ironic.

Of course, for someone, it might seem a huge success. But at least she had never thought it was a success. She didn't like this situation.

'I never did anything.' She was left alone in the conference room where people were escaping, and she looked at the mark of an Awakener on her right hand. It was evidence of a chosen person who had the opportunity to fight against the monsters.

'I never did anything again this time.' But she had never done anything right as an Awakener.

When Bang Hyun-wook had taken a risk of his life and walked onto the battlefield, when Kim Soo-ji had led the soldiers in a dangerous battlefield, she has been always dealing with the lives of others in the safest place. That was why she didn't like her situation.

'Am I helpful?' Above all, she was wondering if she would really help Kim Tae-hoon.

It was because of her first meeting with Kim Tae-hoon.

Kim clearly said at the first meeting, when he fought the Black Orc at a large supermarket. He would only take those who would help him. If they were not helpful, he would leave them unremittingly.

Of course, things had changed. Kim did not abandon them because they were not helpful. However, the relationship between Kim and Ahn was not much different then or now. There was no reason to change.

"Ms. Director." A woman in a nursing suit came in carefully.

"What's the matter?"

"Jang Sung-hoon is here."

At the nurse's words, Ahn stopped worrying. 'What's going on?'

Jang often came to her, but he did not come without reason.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the director's office."

"Thank you."

After Ahn got up with a greeting of 'thank-you', she immediately walked towards the director's office.

The nurse who had informed her watched the back of Ahn without words. Then the nurse walked away, too. She took down the stairs and went into one of the rooms. The place was full of patients in their suits.

"Ahn and Jang made contact."

But their eyes were not those ones of patients, those who suffered from wounds and pain.

"They're both in the director's office now."

They were the eyes of trained hounds waiting for the time to come, with their prey in front of them.

"We're lucky, we don't have to spread out our power. What's the security level at the hospital?"

At that remark, a man lying on the bed rose up. "Except for the Awakeners, one platoon is all, and most of them are guarding the entrance."

"Okay."

The man answered and checked his watch. The clock pointed to eight. "Three hours from now, we're going to start operations at eleven."

Everyone checked their watch. There was no answer. The ticking of their watches filled the quiet room. They started to make sounds at 11 PM when the night came.

6.

One of the most precious things since the monsters appeared was electricity, which was now a tremendous power and a great luxury to use it at night.

The five men were able to avoid spending a long time looking for their targets. There was only one place to shining through the doorways lined up by the darkened corridor. The five men moved slowly toward the light-emitting door without making a sound.

Then they stood in front of the door, listening to the room inside, waiting for the sound. They waited, breathless, for the sound of colleagues outside the building breaking into the building.

'When?' 'Why not move?' But no matter how long they waited, they could not hear any sound they wanted. There was no sound even in the room. They could hear two men and women talking, but they could not hear the words.

'There is a problem.' It was natural to be aware of the problem at this point. One of the five men gave the signal to the other four.

His fingers moved quickly. 'Two people behind me break in.'

But at the signal, they were still quiet, and his men were not even showing signs of moving, not even the sound of them alive.

'What the hell…?' The leader turned his head.

Then he saw an arrow with a sharp point toward him. 'Ah.'

That was the last scene he remembered.

7.

Screech! A brightly lit door opened, and a man entered the door.

"Boss, are you done?" The man and woman in the room rose immediately.

"Now is the beginning. There will be fighting all over the place."

"The damage will be great, right?"

"The commandos from the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division will try to avoid massive casualties."

Jang took a short breath at the words of Kim. "You're certainly an expert in this part, and you figured out all the lines and plans of the other person—"

"Most of the assassination and kidnapping manuals used by the Korean Army are based on my reports."

"… I'm glad you're my boss."

Instead of answering, Kim looked over the window. He saw the quiet apartment complex, which stood between the hospital and a road. However, his eyes did not miss the secret movements on the verandas of the apartment complex.

"What the hell is going on?" On the other hand, Ahn, who did not know the situation, looked at Kim and Jang alternately, not hiding her surprise.

"Why, why are you here?" She had to be scared from the moment Kim suddenly appeared. She didn't get any warning in advance.

"You should be in Yeoju! Why are you here?"

Kim still gave a short answer to Ahn while his gaze was still over the window. "Hunting for Snakes."

"What the hell is that..."

At that moment, Kim's eyes narrowed. "The tail is coming to look for its head."