Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 207

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

207
The Ice Dragon that had burst onto the Exchange Tournament Field unleashed a torrent of breath from its maw.
Everything—even the golems on our side—froze solid in the onslaught of that breath.
In that same instant, Jung Min-gi’s blade swept horizontally across the field.
That slash bisected the golems that couldn’t evade the breath while focused on containing Jung Min-gi, and it cleaved the Ice Dragon’s breath itself into upper and lower halves.
[Magnificent! Hunter Jung Min-gi! He’s split the breath itself!]
[I saw him practicing this during our sparring sessions, and he’s finally mastered it. It’s the space-cutting technique that the late Grand Master of Tellus once wielded.]
While ordinary hunters refined magic or aura, Hunter Jung Min-gi focused on the fundamentals—cutting with his blade.
[Space-cutting, you say? Extraordinary! But ah, the Dragon remains unscathed! He couldn’t cut the Dragon itself!]
The Dragon withstood the three-pronged assault with its formidable scales and opened its ferocious maw wide at them.
Even as Jung Min-gi repositioned to strike again, the Metal Golems, having witnessed the blade’s power, moved to support the Dragon, pressing the three hunters back.
No matter how superhuman one was, taking successive mana-infused alloy rounds proved dangerous. Especially in this exchange tournament where damage counters determined victory—if a counter shattered from accumulated hits, the match was lost.
The Metal Golems, having learned Nella’s patterns, grew increasingly adept at dodging her arrows, and Nella found herself cornered, her firing rate slowing.
“This is infuriating!”
Wrinkles creased Nella’s brow.
“I thought Jae-in would pull off something remarkable this time, but a Dragon? That exceeds all expectations.”
“Sono Rim, and you—the swordsman—protect me.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Nella nodded quietly.
Jung Min-gi and Sono Rim positioned themselves in front of Nella.
Jung Min-gi engaged the Dragon head-on. It was a battle where the first to show an opening lost, each possessing one decisive strike.
Sono Rim, a versatile mage proficient in all manner of spellcraft, conjured a whirlwind barrier to shield Nella.
Sunlight cascading from the sky refracted and converged upon Nella’s bow. As she, a priestess serving the Spirit of Light, drew all that radiance toward herself, the surroundings dimmed slightly.
“You insignificant insects—I’ll incinerate every last one of you.”
Nella and her bow were enveloped in light, and the bowstring, untouched by any arrow, left her fingers.
As the bowstring rippled like water’s surface, warm-seeming light radiated outward from Nella’s fingertips in all directions.
That deceptively gentle light erupted with tremendous force, obliterating the Metal Golems without mercy.
Jung Min-gi and Sono Rim, standing nearby, and even the Dragon itself were sent flying by the light’s shockwave.
“What are you doing?!”
Jung Min-gi rose to his feet, his voice sharp with bewilderment.
“It’s not an attack you can’t withstand. Look—the field’s been cleaned, hasn’t it?”
Though the attack had taxed Nella deeply, her face pale with exertion, her expression was one of satisfaction.
“Still the same as always.”
Sono Rim brushed the dust from his body.
“I thought that beast would be finished too.”
The Dragon shook its head and rose, charging forward once more.
Unlike a mindless monster, the Dragon’s movements were agile and tactical.
It gave Jung Min-gi and Nella no opportunity to prepare their greatest techniques, instead harassing them with brief bursts of frigid breath while pressing the three hunters relentlessly. Yet with Jung Min-gi alone capable of restraining it, and now reinforced by two others while the golems were gone, it couldn’t hold out much longer.
“Wind Hammer!”
Sono Rim conjured a hammer of wind and brought it crashing down upon the Dragon’s head from above, while Nella’s arrows rained upon the Dragon’s brow and legs as it struggled to hold its ground through sheer force.
“It’s over now!”
Jung Min-gi pushed off the empty air, rising above the Blue Dragon’s neck as he gathered all his strength into his blade.
[Hunter Jung Min-gi is attempting another spatial slash. The Dragon hasn’t recovered yet.]
Hong Long recognized that Jung Min-gi had entered a state of concentration.
[That strike might exceed the Dragon’s damage counter and deal a fatal blow!]
The Golem had no damage counter, but the Dragon’s chest was equipped with one.
[Hunter Jung Min-gi, who has hunted monsters his entire life. Mercy has no place when dealing with monsters.]
“Surrender!!!”
Jae-in rushed into the arena, throwing herself between the Blue Dragon and Hunter Jung Min-gi.
“Damn it!”
Jung Min-gi forcibly twisted the blade he was swinging, and only the ground split open instead.
“Ugh… my back….”
Jung Min-gi sank to the ground, clutching his lower back.
Nella and Sono Rim remained tense, their eyes fixed on the Blue Dragon, but the creature licked Jae-in’s face like a puppy.
“Hah… Did you tame the Dragon, Jae-in?”
“Was this person a Dragon Tamer?”
“It wasn’t tamed by magic. Albert is incredibly intelligent.”
Jae-in, her face covered in frost, stroked the head of the Ice Dragon—Albert.
[With Jae-in’s intervention, the winner of the second match is Team C: Hunter Jung Min-gi, Nella, and Sono Rim!]
The second match showcased the exceptional abilities of Team C’s players, but the unexpected appearance of the Blue Dragon and Metal Golems sent the crowd into even greater frenzy.
“Did you see those Golems just now?”
Representatives from various nations and defense industry salespeople discussed the recent match with grave expressions.
“Yeah. Each one was more powerful than ordinary soldiers, and stronger than most Hunters.”
“It’s astounding that they created so many of them, and they didn’t even blink when they were all destroyed.”
“Can they produce them whenever they want?”
Those who shaped the world’s economy feared Jae-in’s technology, Rigen’s capabilities, and their production capacity.
Lee Ji-seok—an asymmetrical military force—combined with Metal Golems and Korea’s elite Hunters. Korea was steadily approaching a realm beyond reach.
[For the players’ rest, we will take a four-day break. I believe four days will pass in an instant just watching replays of the previous two matches. Until the next match, farewell!]
* * *
“How could this humiliation happen?! Eliminated in the first match?!”
Elchai kicked Ridi, sending her flying into the corner.
“…I apologize.”
Ridi, whose body was already in terrible condition, couldn’t even get up properly after the blow.
“Elchai! Stop this at once!”
The young King Ban Adamant stepped in front of Elchai, blocking his path toward Ridi.
“You expect me to tolerate such disgrace?”
Elchai’s manner toward Ban Adamant was not that of addressing a king.
“If you had given her not only a sword but also a shield and armor, this would never have happened!”
“Lend the few remaining treasures of Metalim to such trash?! Absurd!”
“If victory is so important to you, why didn’t you go out there yourself?”
“Ban Adamant, King of Metalim’s highest nobility—are you truly ordering me to prance about like a fool among these commoners?”
Elchai’s glacial gaze made Ban flinch, his eyes dropping to the floor.
“You remain in that position solely because the royal blood flowing through your veins proves… convenient to exploit. But I would advise against harboring any delusions that I cannot dispose of you.”
Elchai turned and strode toward the door.
“Send that commoner back to the mine tunnels.”
With orders barked at the guards, Elchai departed from the hollow throne room of this puppet king.
“Are you alright?”
Ban helped Ridi to her feet. Though diminutive in stature and meek in spirit, Ban possessed the formidable strength befitting a descendant of the Adamant royal line.
“Your Majesty, you must never display such defiance toward Elchai again.”
Ridi’s concern for Ban was genuine and heartfelt.
“Enough prattling. Get out. Now.”
The guard, whose bulk had been inflated by consuming magic stones and reinforcing his metallic frame, dragged Ridi away without sparing Ban a glance.
“If Father were still alive….”
Ban watched their departure with bitter resentment, lamenting his own helplessness.
* * *
“We cannot remain on this planet any longer.”
“Pardon? Are we relocating already?”
“The surface dwellers have begun to underestimate us. We must leave.”
“With the royal bloodline’s power, what is there to fear?”
“They breed like vermin—their numbers are endless. Even with the royal power, Metallanet cannot survive. If Metallanet and Metalim perish, so too does the nobility’s very existence.”
“I see….”
“Increase extraction immediately. We must relocate to the next planet as swiftly as possible.”
“If we rush, the tunnels may collapse.”
“I do not care.”
* * *
“But… Bourbon, we are already working without rest. Our bodies cannot endure more.”
“I will provide magic stones. Stop your whining and increase production at once.”
Bourbon hurled the magic stones to the ground, his voice cutting like ice.
“Magic stones are not the problem! Our bodies are breaking apart!”
A Metalim who had failed to properly absorb the magic stones and reinforce his metallic form stepped forward, his entire body fractured and his skin discolored with decay.
“Is that so?”
Bourbon conjured a spear in his palm and hurled it into the complaining Metalim’s chest.
“Gah….”
The Metalim froze in place, dead—a statue of his final moment.
“Now you feel no pain. Does anyone else wish to suffer more?”
“…”
“Begin work. Now.”
The laborers resumed their tasks, and a noble tasked with locating rare metals approached Bourbon.
“Bourbon, if we accelerate the work, there will be no time for reinforcement. The ground will collapse.”
“I do not care. Prioritize speed above all else.”
* * *
[The fervor of the fans who witnessed the first and second matches only continues to intensify. As I speak, the athletes are entering the field for the third match.]
The screen, newly prepared for the third match, zoomed in on Nella as she entered the arena.
[Tellus’s supreme Grand Master, Nella!]
[The orc mage Sono Rim, who wields magic of all attributes!]
[The first-generation Hunter Jung Min-gi, who cleaves space with his blade!]
[Opposing them is the United States’s greatest Hunter, Amy!]
Amy propelled herself into the air with electricity, entering the field in a display as flamboyant as a professional wrestling entrance.
[The Demon King Marbas, requiring no special introduction!]
Marbas walked forward, radiating such malevolent power that those of weak spirit could scarcely bear to look upon him directly.
“Perhaps we should have made our entrance that spectacularly as well.”
Sono Rim laughed awkwardly, while Nella snorted dismissively.
[In this final match, just as in the previous two, victory goes to whichever side destroys the damage counter. Having experienced the prior two matches, both teams will undoubtedly demonstrate more refined tactics. Now, the two teams clash!]
Nella unleashed a barrage of arrows of light at Amy, who evaded them gracefully while launching bolts of electricity in return.
Sono Rim extended both hands before Nella, warping the space itself so that Amy’s attack curved downward and struck the ground instead.
“Why is it always two against me?! Marbas is stronger anyway! Get out of my way!”
Amy accelerated her body and zigzagged across the field, dodging the arrows of light Nella fired while unleashing torrents of electricity. Yet her attacks could not penetrate the spatial distortion shield that Sono Rim had conjured.
“I could break through that given enough time!”
She had no opportunity to concentrate while evading Nella’s arrows.
“Which is precisely why we afford you none. It appears Jung Min-gi is struggling, so you should concede promptly.”
Sono Rim spoke with unflappable composure.
As the three combatants flew chaotically across the field, Jung Min-gi and Marbas stood facing each other, their gazes locked in deadly intent.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————