I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 179
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 179. The Heavenly Kingdom
The second cataclysm struck without warning or herald, and the entire world convulsed in upheaval. Broadly speaking, the transformation could be compressed into three pivotal changes.
First was the Divine Being born upon Earth—the very epicenter of all that had transpired. The Celestial Demon of Pride.
Everyone knew that the Divine Being existed and breathed within the deepest reaches of the Abyss. Yet when asked if anyone had ever encountered or witnessed this entity, not a single soul could claim otherwise with certainty.
Though a handful of individuals had managed to forge contracts with the Divine Being through extraordinarily rare items or stages, even they had never glimpsed its true form—nor even a manifestation of it.
At most, they had heard its voice; some had not even achieved that, merely signing a contract and receiving the merest fraction of its power.
The problem was that even this infinitesimal measure of strength elevated them to the ranks of elite Hunters. Beings utterly incomprehensible in their nature.
The sovereigns of myth and legend. That is what the Divine Being represents.
In short, the Divine Being was an existence far too distant and transcendent for the people of Earth to truly comprehend.
“Does this even make sense!?”
“A Divine Being! A Divine Being has been born!”
“We are astonished! A Divine Being born upon Earth! Most extraordinary!”
Powerbrokers and Hunters from every nation were hastily summoned. The agenda was, naturally, concerning the Divine Being. Before the conference could even commence, a new message spread across the world.
And the second transformation that followed altered the lives of Earth’s inhabitants once more.
The System’s evolution. Should one call it fortunate? Or perhaps premature?
The saving grace was that Earth’s tier had not yet ascended to the Upper Realm, so the System’s protective blessing was bestowed upon the entire planet.
It meant that external enemies could be prevented from conquering Earth. Thanks to this, those who had invaded Earth seeking to seize Shin Ju-ha and plunder the power of Pride found themselves thwarted. Even had they succeeded in breaching Earth’s defenses, it was now nearly impossible for them to overcome Shin Ju-ha with their current strength.
In a sense, the System had saved their lives. Naturally, this did not deter them. Instead, they hardened their resolve and set their sights even more firmly upon Earth and Shin Ju-ha.
In any case, the world was overturned within mere hours. The ranking system humanity had arbitrarily established was now refined and perfected by the System. As Earth’s tier rose, higher-grade Dungeons and superior items began to emerge, and countless opportunities materialized.
It was as though the System urged rapid advancement and evolution, threatening to withdraw its protection. A transformation of high risk and high reward.
And so, as the world descended into chaos once more, the final transformation reverberated across the globe.
A new nation. The land of an absolute being beyond all defiance. And the land where that absolute being’s wrath would commence.
The Heavenly Kingdom. A nation of freedom had been born. A realm that reigns without tyranny. The Divine Being had created a nation upon the land reclaimed from the young Calamity.
Naturally, three nations found themselves in immediate peril—those with stakes in the former North Korean territory.
China. Russia. And South Korea.
When North Korean territory was reclaimed and South Korea swiftly absorbed it, China—which had been quietly and unscrupulously gnawing away at that land piece by piece—found itself in a precarious position.
Even if caught, China had planned to speak loudly and claim the territory as its own, insisting that Chinese nationals inhabited the land.
South Korea was a minor nation with little diplomatic leverage, so China believed it would succeed.
But circumstances had changed. South Korea, already a military power among Hunters and concerned about armed conflict, now faced a different owner of that land—an entity capable of annihilating the world single-handedly.
“*The world has undergone transformation! Chairman!”
“*So what do you propose! Should we simply abandon that land of milk and honey!?”
“*Yes! Director! Have the Hunters mobilize and seize it! That thing there—what was it called? The Tower of Ascension?—it must become the property of Greater China!”
Foolish. They regarded the Divine Being—ranked first, deemed immeasurable even by the System—as nothing more than some street thug of a Hunter.
The sole exception was the Director of the Hunter Management Bureau, who observed and managed these monstrous beings called Hunters, and he shook his head.
“*Even the American Master, whom you all fear and bow before, is merely SS-rank. Yet this Divine Being cannot be measured by the System itself!”
Master. Brighton Jack Stephen.
He could not be unknown. He was the undisputed number one Hunter and the very symbol of America.
The 0th Generation—those who kindled the flames of hope and struggled through the chaos and turmoil of the early cataclysm.
The 1st Generation that followed, achieving stability, recovery, and the establishment and development of systems.
And finally, the 2nd Generation—those who now sought to transcend the current evolution and advance to the next stage.
Approximately two hundred years. Throughout that span, he had survived countless brushes with death, endured every conceivable trial, and ascended to the pinnacle—the man known as the Master.
A monster who had transcended even human aging itself. Naturally, there were limits; his current form bore the ravages of accelerated decline. Yet his monstrous strength and accumulated experience remained utterly formidable.
All Hunters revered and praised him. Every nation acknowledged his deeds and bowed their heads. All humanity treated his sacrifices and achievements as legend.
Such was the Master’s present station. A monster who, despite his dwindling years, still commanded the title of apex. An absurd existence capable of obliterating an entire nation single-handedly.
An entity comprising over fifty percent of the United States’ military might. In terms of the past, he was the equivalent of a nuclear weapon.
Thus, China perpetually deferred to the Master and the United States. Their former boasts of being equals under the banner of “G2” were now utterly impossible.
Though China was indeed a Hunter superpower, it lacked individuals ranking among the world’s elite. The outcome was inevitable.
“*Hmm. Is that all?”
“*This is a Divine Being we speak of! Surely you and everyone here are aware! Have you not read every document our research team compiled on the Divine Being!? They are fundamentally different in caliber from insignificant creatures like us! Should that Divine Being prove to be an evil god, this world faces annihilation! Without question.”
The words were extreme, yet not without truth. Silence fell. A great nation’s pride was worth less than the loss of lives, the surrender of power, or the collapse of the state itself.
Russia faced no different predicament. Even they, desperate to establish a foothold in the Former North Korean Territory and claim shares of the Tower of Ascension, could only prostrate themselves and beg before the Divine Being.
Naturally, pride made such decisions difficult to accept, leaving them hesitant.
And at that very moment, the Divine Being’s proclamation—the words of a god—spread across the entire world.
【My heavenly kingdom arrives this very hour. I declare it: the downfall of South Korea. The demise of the parasites who lurk behind the name of South Korea, wielding power. Pray. Grovel. Beg for your lives. That is the best you can manage.】
Though spoken in Korean, all understood these words.
And they were bewildered. The Divine Being would destroy South Korea—its apparent homeland?
Curiosity seized them. Those who immediately ordered investigations suddenly widened their eyes.
An opportunity!
A chance to curry favor with this new absolute being of a new generation! A chance to grow close to him!
“*Quickly! Predict what the Divine Being desires and bring it to my desk!”
“*Has his identity been determined? Yes, a citizen of a minor nation! Then hurry out and scrape together every scrap of related information!”
“*This is our chance to impress the Divine Being. One must never resist the tide of history! Move swiftly!”
Every nation mobilized, hoping to escape the Divine Being’s wrath. Investigating him might seem disrespectful, but if their findings proved helpful, surely he would forgive them with mercy.
Thus, every nation’s intelligence agencies hastily mobilized their full resources and began their investigations.
While all nations scrambled to curry favor with the Divine Being, one nation alone showed no movement whatsoever.
“How has it come to this!!!”
South Korea.
***
Amid a transformation so dramatic it would be called the Second Great Upheaval, those who wielded power in South Korea gathered, and they heard it—a declaration of South Korea’s downfall.
The President, seated at the head of the table, stared at the System message hovering before his eyes with a face drained of all color, as if he already knew something.
“What in the world is happening right now?!”
“This Divine Being is a citizen of South Korea, yet he establishes an absurd nation! And now he declares war on South Korea itself!”
“We must lodge a formal protest immediately! How dare he belittle our South Korea! We must mobilize every connection across the globe and crush him!”
The President could only let out a hollow laugh watching these snorting, enraged fools before him.
These fat, stupid pigs still don’t understand what’s happening. They fail to grasp—or refuse to accept—that if that Divine Being exerts even a fraction of his power, they will all perish.
Or perhaps they are deliberately expunging such thoughts from their minds.
As he listened to the congressmen’s nonsense and realized that the owner of the System Message before his eyes and the ominous warning left by Dangun Cheonje was that Divine Being himself.
The conference room door burst open violently, and in an instant, what appeared to be security personnel flooded in, shrieking and indiscriminately dragging out the pig-headed fools who had been desperately clinging to sensationalist policies to preserve their power.
And only after that did the true power brokers who ruled South Korea step into the conference room.
Han Min-guk, the Golden King and leader among the six men, arrived at the conference room and, the moment he sat down, hurled the documents his subordinate handed him to the center of the table.
“Information on that Divine Being. It should contain why he desires our deaths and seeks South Korea’s destruction.”
Several of them, unable to contain their curiosity, hastily retrieved the documents and read them, then looked at everyone else with ashen faces.
Meanwhile, Han Min-guk regarded the President with ease and opened his mouth.
“It seems you already knew.”
“Yes. The Black Market, the Miracle Guild, and the Dangun Guild have already sided with him. And Dangun Ji-hyuk notified me that he would reclaim all of the Former North Korean Territory, warning me that if I don’t wish to witness this nation’s true destruction, I should come to him with your heads and beg for mercy.”
The situation is grave. Silence falls.
They had killed a hero for their own power, and that hero’s son had, in the briefest of moments, ascended as a brilliant dragon and begun targeting the necks of these insignificant creatures.
“What do you intend to do? If you have no countermeasure, then I have no choice but to decide.”
At the President’s words, the eyes of the six men sharpened. The meaning was singular.
If there is no countermeasure, then die quietly.
“Are you saying this to me now?!”
The President’s gaze conveyed a question: what will you do then?
“I am the power and strength of this nation! Do you truly think this country will function well if you kill me!”
The Great Horse Never Dies—a massive horse cannot be killed. Because what it possesses is far too vast, it cannot be easily destroyed.
“If I immediately withdraw my money and use my power, do you think you can maintain your position?”
At those words, the President let out a short laugh and shot up from his seat.
And he declared it.
“Fools, the lot of you. These are the ones who have been shaking South Korea.”
He too had been their subordinate. Called a disciple, but he was well aware they had merely raised a useful slave. He had bowed and followed them out of fear of their power and strength.
But now, in this moment when that power he had believed eternal crumbles, there was no longer any need to bow his head.
The instant he pressed the button beneath the table, men poured in as if they had been waiting.
“Hehehehe. Mr. President, have you gone mad? Sitting in that chair makes you feel like the whole world is beneath your feet, doesn’t it?”
But the President’s rebellion ended there. A scarecrow given consciousness need only be burned away.
It was not the six power brokers who were surrounded, but the President.
“For now, we’ll postpone your disposal. Confine yourself to the villa and reflect.”
The six fools, in order to protect South Korea—no, their own power—ultimately began driving the nation toward destruction.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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