My Catastrophic‑Level Summon Devours Gates - Chapter 200

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

Episode 200

As soon as we returned to Hyeonmu Base, I told Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol the general situation.

“There was friction with Chinese Hunters.”

There were a few embellishments.

Like how I coincidentally encountered Chinese Hunters and they immediately launched a preemptive attack.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. As you can see.”

Or how I figured out the barrier while fighting, and so on.

Absolutely.

I didn’t attack first.

I had no choice but to counterattack, and that’s when I discovered the barrier.

Of course.

Good Min-ho doesn’t know anything about preemptive attacks.

“So to summarize, Hunter Park coincidentally encountered Chinese Hunters.”

“Yes. Really bad luck.”

“…Anyway, during the battle you felt something was off and when you checked, there was a barrier.”

“That’s right. There was a barrier specialized in concealment.”

“Then when you climbed to the summit, you discovered the Chinese stronghold.”

“Yep.”

“A place where twenty A-rank Hunters and over a hundred B-ranks are stationed.”

“There were 142 B-ranks.”

“…”

Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol seemed like he wanted to say something, moving his lips before stopping.

Sigh.

No. How can you sigh first after hearing someone’s story?

“You don’t smoke, do you?”

“No.”

“Good job. Doing this kind of thing only ruins your health.”

His posture gives off a ‘Sigh, you guys shouldn’t do this’ kind of feeling.

Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol touched his chest pocket with apparent regret before speaking again.

“Let me summarize. Hunter Park discovered the Chinese stronghold and buried their hunters by the hundreds, is that correct?”

“Wow. You summarize well.”

“Ugh.”

Why are you acting like you’re sick?

“To be honest, it’s hard to believe right away.”

“I already sliced up ten A-rank Hunters on the uninhabited island.”

“Anyway, I’ll dispatch an investigation team to the location you mentioned.”

“I destroyed that Gaia Former, so it’ll be crawling with monsters.”

“Can you wait until the investigation results come out?”

“Yes. I’ll be training.”

Cross Gate is rich in mana.

Thanks to that, training results are greater, so I can’t waste time.

“Hahaha. Good mindset.”

Sir is more excited.

The support team that had been waiting for me was still at the base.

“Hyung-nim. You’re back.”

“You weren’t hurt, were you, hyung?”

“Did things go well?”

“When are we going to hunt trolls!”

Words poured out like a machine gun.

“You must have trained properly.”

“Hik. Sir Isra.”

“We worked hard too, you know?”

“I hope your skills have improved as much as your spirit.”

Sir Isra smiled slyly.

Ah.

Why is everyone like this?

I have to roll around with them too, so why did you build up their fighting spirit!

“There are no exceptions, Lord.”

Damn it.

* * *

While Min-ho’s group was covered in tears and sweat at Hyeonmu Base.

Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol climbed the mountain with his subordinate hunters.

‘I need to see it with my own eyes.’

He didn’t doubt Min-ho.

But that didn’t mean he trusted him 100% either.

Exaggerating one’s martial prowess is something young people often do.

He could just check to what extent the exaggeration went.

‘The encounter with Chinese Hunters must be true.’

Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol, continuing his thoughts, revealed his irritation.

He knew there was a basin at the mountain summit.

The Korean Government had been exploring Cross Gate for over ten years.

Wouldn’t they have mapped the terrain around the Cross Gate entrance?

‘Built an outpost in a place like a basin?’

Colonel Jo thought it was impossible for that location to be a stronghold made using a ‘Gaia Former.’

How would they transport equipment weighing dozens of tons?

Even disassembling it would face the same difficulties.

Reassembling it and inputting field data – there were countless tasks to do.

This was also why governments of various countries didn’t easily expand their strongholds.

‘Just guarding the Cross Gate entrance requires enormous manpower and funding.’

So Colonel Jo, aside from his anger, gave weight to the possibility that Min-ho’s words were exaggerated and didn’t think much of it.

Until he arrived at the scene.

“Battalion Commander. The unit scale is battalion-level.”

“There’s a dimensional field activation pattern here.”

Traces of a large-scale base in the basin.

Remnants of the dimensional field still remained, suppressing monster generation.

Suppressive force that worked even after the Gaia Former disappeared.

This was why there were notably fewer monsters only around the basin.

“There are also patterns where auras collided.”

“It looks like dozens of them clashed.”

When auras collide, the scattered mana creates millet-sized holes in the ground.

Such traces were scattered throughout the battlefield.

The scars left on the ground were created around the same time.

This was definitive proof that Min-ho’s statement was fact without a gram of exaggeration.

‘He faced twenty A-rank Hunters alone?’

Ping, he felt momentarily dizzy.

A promising young hunter?

No.

This was overwhelming force that far exceeded that level.

Theoretically, if twenty A-rank Hunters threw away their lives and charged, they could bring down even an S-rank Hunter.

Of course.

It was only theoretical since an S-rank Hunter wouldn’t just stand still.

But the fact remained that the Chinese Hunters, who had the advantage of being defenders, were defeated by Min-ho alone.

‘Didn’t they say he recently killed about ten A-rank Hunters?’

Colonel Jo’s mind raced frantically.

What kind of existence was an A-rank Hunter?

Warriors enhanced their bodies with mana or cut through steel like tofu with aura emission.

No modern defense system could stop an aura user.

Mages reached a level where they could learn and wield catastrophically powerful forces, even if only locally.

Each one was treated as a tactical weapon – that’s what A-rank Hunters were.

‘Thirty such A-ranks died to one person?’

Even in the early days of the Great Catastrophe, casualties of this scale weren’t common.

Colonel Jo didn’t know that much detail.

But he could easily grasp that the damage China suffered in such a short time was enormous.

‘How far will the ripple effects of this incident spread?’

China had deployed Hunters from the Superhuman Bureau to various countries.

Their area of activity was Southeast Asia and East Africa.

They dispatched Hunters to nations bordering the sea, involving themselves in both legal and illegal affairs.

‘If they lose thirty A-rank Hunters, China’s external activities will be constrained too.’

Lieutenant Colonel Jo Seung-cheol shook his head vigorously.

Predicting beyond that was a job for the higher-ups.

He just needed to focus on managing Hyeonmu Base.

‘He’s a monster. A complete monster.’

When he heard that Director Jung Seung-il had selected him as the next SS-rank, he hadn’t thought much of it.

Having an outstanding Hunter emerge domestically wouldn’t be a loss.

But.

When he confirmed the location where Min-ho had used force, his jaw dropped.

‘The political situation in East Asia might change because of one Hunter.’

Colonel Jo clenched his jaw to avoid gaping in shock.

* * *

[Level has increased.]

[Maximum level has been reached.]

I had hit max level ages ago.

Cross Gate, where monsters appeared every three steps instead of requiring a pilgrimage.

I came out saying I’d give the Support Team some Troll blood as a gift.

“Kiriririik!”

“Sir Isra.”

“Noisy creature.”

[Imperial Swordsmanship (Modified)_Isra Form]

[3rd Style – Full Moon Slash]

Not just Trolls, but various monsters swarmed and offered their necks to a single sword strike.

[Mutant Red Boost Corpse]

[Mutant Owlbeast Corpse]

[Mutant Troll Corpse]

…

How many monsters with the “Mutant” title had I encountered?

I gave up counting after it exceeded ten.

【Tsk tsk. You’re dumber than I thought.】

Shut up, you bastard.

“Zaugg. Aren’t you managing the youngest?”

“No! This bastard! I’ll give him a beating right now!”

【Kieeeeeek!】

He doesn’t understand exaggeration.

I discovered one weakness of the Grand Alchemist.

Though knowing it wasn’t particularly useful.

“When do you plan to analyze the mutant corpses?”

“I can do it when we get back.”

Just as I discovered the [Predation] ability from the Mutant Ghoul.

The mutants of Cross Gate might also harbor special abilities to give to the Undead.

Monster corpses that were hard to obtain outside.

I wanted to take my time and analyze them leisurely, but it seemed wasteful to do during a Cross Gate visit.

“I should train.”

“A proper mindset!”

I didn’t know what topics would come up in the promotion exam.

Swordsmanship, magic, and blacksmithing.

I had to maximize achievements in three completely different fields.

“Shall I teach you Memorize?”

“I didn’t know that was an ability you could just learn.”

“Of course it’s not. But Master is an exception.”

“…”

Isn’t that too much of an empty promise for someone who hasn’t even mastered multiple chanting yet?

I decided to exclude magic for now.

Like in the last promotion exam, it might be covered by my minions’ achievements.

“Aaah. Masterrrrrr.”

“Gal! How dare you act coquettish toward our Lord.”

“You’re so lucky. Huh? Since he’s learning swordsmanship!”

Ingrid.

If they tell me to do Memorize in the promotion exam, I’ll practice magic then.

So please calm down for now.

Whoosh!

Whoom!

“Put more strength in your legs.”

“Yeah.”

“Your waist is too twisted.”

“Got it.”

“Try advancing the mana release timing just a bit more.”

“…”

Sir.

Aren’t your requirements a bit excessive?

At this rate, you’ll soon be ordering me to do a handstand while spinning plates with my right foot and juggling apples with my left.

But what’s even more frustrating is.

My body actually manages to fulfill Sir Isra’s unreasonable demands.

“Ah. Why does this even work!”

“It’s natural since you possess the same talent as I.”

Damn it.

It would have been less painful if my limbs had gotten tangled and I’d fallen over.

But my hands and feet moved according to Sir Isra’s guidance.

My mana output improved rapidly too.

Skills advancing by leaps and bounds!

It was fun, but so exhausting that I wanted to bite my tongue.

“But why are we receiving the same intensity of training too?”

“It’s to boost our Lord’s motivation.”

“Heck! We’re! Not even! That talented!”

“That’s exactly why you need to suffer more. When will you awaken your aura to be of help to our Lord?”

Anyone watching would think you could buy aura at the mart for 500 won.

“It would have been nice if we brought Yeon-du along too.”

Tsk.

If she had participated in this pain—I mean, training process—her skills would have improved greatly.

Absolutely.

It’s not because I can’t bear to suffer alone.

“There’s the Support Team though?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

While receiving Sir Isra’s harsh criticism.

I swung my sword like crazy until the promotion exam was right around the corner.

Heck.

Save me.

This place is hell!

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