Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 26

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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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Episode 26.
The shout had come from none other than Ma Do-hyeok.
Ha-gyeong certainly wanted to curse as well.
He simply held back because too many eyes were watching.
Ma Do-hyeok strode toward Choi Hyeon-gi with quick, heavy steps.
His bearing was menacing, as if he meant to strike him down on the spot.
Ha-gyeong quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Before you beat him senseless, we need to make an important decision first.”
“What? What decision?”
“The Curse Breaker. They’re definitely going to claim ownership of it.”
At his quiet words, Ma Do-hyeok’s expression twisted.
He seemed to snap to attention.
And rightfully so.
Inside the Abyss, not only was video recording impossible.
Even audio recording didn’t work.
Only the testimony of those who were there remained.
The Raiders would definitely push this.
Ma Do-hyeok threw a question at Ha-gyeong.
“Then what do we do?”
“Make them admit it willingly. They don’t know we succeeded with the Boss Raid.”
After finishing his whisper, Ha-gyeong stepped forward.
The Raiders guild members surrounding Choi Hyeon-gi.
Ha-gyeong held out both hands in an open gesture and spoke.
“Let’s talk.”
“Speak freely right here.”
“But why are you being like this?”
“Like what?”
“If you’d just done a normal Boss Raid, it would’ve ended cleanly. Why did you lot specifically flee?”
“You’re saying something incomprehensible. The Dungeon Clear proceeded normally.”
At Choi Hyeon-gi’s answer, Ha-gyeong suddenly grasped the situation.
By tomorrow or the day after, the layered Abyss would vanish without a trace.
There was no way to expose Choi Hyeon-gi’s lie.
Which was precisely why he could be so brazenly confident.
Yet Ha-gyeong continued calmly.
“Then what came from the boss? You should share that with us too.”
What happened inside the Abyss could be fabricated.
But not the guest member contract—not up to the point of betrayal.
Before turning traitor, he would have wanted to clear it properly.
At Ha-gyeong’s claim, Choi Hyeon-gi’s expression darkened.
He couldn’t help but find this uncomfortable.
Men he’d thought were dead were now claiming ownership.
At last, Choi Hyeon-gi’s mouth opened.
“This is the Final Reward. Unfortunately, our luck wasn’t particularly good.”
What Choi Hyeon-gi produced was a Cube-shaped Object.
Even without knowing its name, he could roughly discern its purpose.
It was probably a top-tier crafting material.
It was somewhat of a stretch to claim it came from an Incomprehensible Rank Dungeon.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
Even high-rank dungeons had duds sometimes.
Seeming to think they’d back down now.
Choi Hyeon-gi’s lips curled upward.
But Ha-gyeong had no intention of retreating.
“Fine. So you’re not particularly interested in any artifacts obtained separately?”
“Obtained separately?”
“After you left, we continued the raid. We eventually defeated the boss and obtained the Final Reward.”
Ha-gyeong produced a small necklace from his breast pocket.
The Final Reward obtained from defeating Shroud Lace.
The Curse Breaker.
Then Choi Hyeon-gi’s eyes changed.
From disdain to suspicion.
His gaze was trying to determine whether Ha-gyeong’s words were truth or a trap.
But Choi Hyeon-gi didn’t fall for it easily.
“So what?”
“I wonder if you remember—Shroud Lace being promoted to Extreme Rank.”
Choi Hyeon-gi’s mouth faltered.
An Extreme Rank Final Reward could be artifacts worth hundreds of billions.
Or even in the trillions.
Of course, the truth was somewhat different.
Though the dungeon difficulty had skyrocketed, the Final Reward hadn’t been upgraded accordingly.
Ha-gyeong had simply inflated the story slightly to lure his opponent into the trap.
The truth mattered little.
In the end, Choi Hyeon-gi took the bait Ha-gyeong dangled.
“If what you say is true, then that reward should also be split among us, shouldn’t it?”
“Why?”
“Because all rewards obtained during a clear must be shared.”
“What are you talking about? You left, and we caught it on our own. You contributed nothing, so you can’t claim rights.”
“But you said the Boss Raid ended normally?”
“The Final Reward was that material artifact I just showed you.”
“Two could come out. You didn’t embezzle one, did…….”
Choi Hyeon-gi caught himself and closed his mouth.
A dungeon’s Final Reward was always only one.
Now he had no choice but to admit it.
Each party handling things separately.
That was precisely what Ha-gyeong had been aiming for from the start.
‘To have the Curse Breaker recognized as the property of our five, this is the only way.’
They couldn’t dispose of the artifact while evading the Association’s scrutiny.
It was far too valuable an item.
Without receiving any compensation.
Unless they conducted a perfect internal transaction.
But Ha-gyeong’s party wasn’t in that situation, were they?
However, there was one fact he didn’t know.
His opponent was far more amoral than expected.
And shameless beyond measure.
Choi Hyeon-gi, who had been lost in thought, raised his head.
“Since the reward was obtained during the clear, it belongs to the team. Hand it over. We’ll divide and distribute it fairly.”
“What?”
“If you try to break the rules, we’ll have no choice but to resort to force.”
“Wow…….”
Ha-gyeong was genuinely impressed.
What kind of bastard pulls something like this?
The Raiders guild members immediately formed a fighting formation.
They looked ready to unleash Concentrated Barrage at a moment’s notice.
Then Ma Do-hyeok stepped to Ha-gyeong’s side.
“I knew it would come to this. We can’t reason with those damned thieves.”
“I should never have shown them the Curse Breaker in the first place.”
“No. That was unavoidable. No matter what happened, a fortune would have changed hands anyway.”
“Are we going to fight?”
“This is exactly what I wanted. I’ve been itching to plant a fist in that trash’s face.”
Ma Do-hyeok growled like a beast.
Despite being outnumbered, his willingness to stand firm was unmistakable.
Soon three tankers moved to shield Ha-gyeong.
“We’ll stand with you. We can’t let scum like that take the Curse Breaker.”
“We owe you our lives. This is how we’ll repay that debt.”
“Leave the frontline to us.”
It was a reassuring moment.
Twenty-five against five.
Honestly, the odds were terrible.
And they had healers on their side too.
Yet all was not lost.
Ha-gyeong stared quietly at the enemy formation.
‘If I can just find an opening and break through, we can win.’
Precise distance management would decide the battle.
The fight erupting before the Abyss Gate.
Onlookers and photographers were gathering one by one.
This incident would certainly cause significant waves.
Ha-gyeong had originally aimed for publicity.
But that hardly mattered now.
Choi Hyeon-gi was someone who wouldn’t care about public scrutiny.
It was the moment when tension reached its peak.
“What is this, a gang war? What’s going on here?”
Boom!
With a heavy shockwave, someone burst between the two formations.
A man with height comparable to Ma Do-hyeok.
Yet his build was far more massive.
A mere glimpse of him seemed enough to overwhelm all but the mightiest monsters.
The man shook his head slowly, eyes sweeping across both formations in turn.
“Awakeners getting into brawls in front of an Abyss Gate—this is why the young generation’s no good. You’re all hopeless.”
Then, glancing at Choi Hyeon-gi, he feigned surprise.
“Wait, what? Why are you here? You’re old enough to know better than to throw away your dignity like this.”
“Kang Woo-jin. You have no business interfering here.”
At Choi Hyeon-gi’s response, Ha-gyeong grasped the man’s identity.
One of the Four Great Guilds.
The master of Death Hound, Kang Woo-jin.
Also known as the Mad Dog.
He was famous by the nickname Maddog.
Kang Woo-jin stared at Choi Hyeon-gi and spoke.
“I hear you two have different claims. Then you should settle it with a Duel. What, you want to lynch him with a mob instead?”
“Rival factions simply clashed. It’s honorable enough.”
“Honorable? Fighting twenty-five against five? When did you change your surname to Choi—I meant Pu?”
“What the…….”
“Listen here, Pu Hyeon-gi. If you don’t want people calling you ‘old man Pu,’ cut the chatter and do it right—by tradition.”
At Kang Woo-jin’s wordplay, Choi Hyeon-gi’s face contorted.
It was crude, but not entirely wrong.
Throughout history, Duels had been widely used to settle disputes.
Especially when legal systems weren’t properly established.
The Abyss was precisely such an environment.
So Awakeners too frequently resolved their conflicts through Duel.
For Ha-gyeong, there was no reason to refuse.
‘Twenty-five against five is much worse.’
He remained silent, regardless of what Kang Woo-jin was saying.
Surprisingly, Choi Hyeon-gi nodded right away.
“Fine. Then we can field champions as custom dictates, right?”
“Of course. Prepare yours.”
At Kang Woo-jin’s call, Ha-gyeong nodded.
Then he turned to look at Ma Do-hyeok and the tankers.
A brief exchange of eyes.
Though no words were spoken, the outcome was already decided.
Ma Do-hyeok smacked his lips in disappointment.
“I can’t step forward when there’s someone far superior. That wouldn’t be right.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“To maximize our chances of victory, it’s natural for the strongest to step forward. Please, win this.”
“I will.”
“In return, if we win, I’ll make sure you have first pick at any artifacts we auction. How’s that, everyone?”
At Ma Do-hyeok’s suggestion, the tankers nodded.
It was frankly a meaningless benefit.
With Ha-gyeong’s wealth, he wouldn’t lose in an internal auction anyway.
Yet somehow it lifted his spirits.
To be genuinely recognized by veteran Awakeners.
Soon, one figure emerged from the Raiders’ side.
Ha-gyeong recognized him.
‘Kim Tae-gwang?’
A guest member and duelist tanker.
Famous by the nickname “Iron Fortress Butcher.”
His defense was exceptional.
And he possessed a skill that made him incredibly heavy.
Combined with powerful single strikes, he was also called a brawling powerhouse in one-on-one combat.
For Ha-gyeong, he was a bad matchup.
‘The compatibility isn’t good.’
Of course, among Awakeners, no counter was absolute.
But there was definitely a degree of advantage and disadvantage.
Tanker, melee dealer, ranged dealer.
These three had a rock-paper-scissors dynamic.
Everyone seemed to grasp his situation, and murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“Kim Tae-gwang? Isn’t he always mentioned as a ranker?”
“Iron Fortress Butcher and Immortal Explosive Lord facing off? This is real?”
“Doesn’t Ha-gyeong have the disadvantage? With Kim Tae-gwang’s ridiculous defense, he might just get swept aside.”
“Yeah, that’s the fair assessment.”
Amid all manner of commentary.
Ha-gyeong stared at Kim Tae-gwang.
Kang Woo-jin moved to the center.
The Duel was about to begin.
“I’ll serve as witness. Murder is forbidden under any circumstances. The Duel continues until one party is incapacitated or surrenders. Now, begin.”
Kang Woo-jin spoke with casual indifference while looking at his phone screen.
He seemed to be reading the Duel regulations issued by the Association verbatim.
Soon the distance between the two fighters began to narrow.
But as Ha-gyeong observed his opponent’s movement, his brow furrowed slightly.
‘If I can’t kill him, this is going to be rough.’
Gate Ripper
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Moraetop
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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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