Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 51

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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 51.
The curse was easily negated by the Curse Breaker.
It was possible to achieve complete immunity up to the Unknown Grade.
Of course, the squad members had no way of knowing that.
So they all stood there, mouths agape and unable to close them.
Shortly after, Ha Gyeong picked up the Whisperer.
“All teams that were engaging the Night Stalker—reposition to support against the Void Mauler.”
―Yes, sir! Moving immediately!
The despondent squad suddenly came alive.
Ha Gyeong’s display of strength had opened a vein they didn’t know was blocked.
And his orders proved to be precisely on target as well.
Since the Void Mauler was the second-weakest creature after the Night Stalker.
The Eastern Defense Squad was steadily seizing the momentum.
Ha Gyeong watched the situation unfold from atop the City Wall.
‘We’ve held the first Wave, at least.’
There had been tense moments, but the result was reasonably solid.
The fact that they’d managed it without significant casualties was something to be grateful for.
The battle concluded as the last Blight Liver fell.
Ha Gyeong continued his orders.
“Clear the field as quickly as possible and dispose of the corpses.”
―Is that really okay?
“Yes, nothing else will come for a while.”
Normally in a Gate Break, Clearance was done last of all.
The ownership was clear regardless—it didn’t matter who had taken down which creature.
There was no point in being greedy about it.
It was wiser to prepare for the next engagement instead.
Yet Ha Gyeong ordered them to begin Clearance immediately.
He knew there would be no additional attacks.
His Thermal Vision pierced through the dense fog.
Then Seo Jun Hyeok approached, his voice cautious.
“Are you certain? If we’re caught off guard while clearing, it could get dangerous very quickly.”
“Yes, it’s fine. Nothing will come for a while.”
“Well, if you say so, Captain, I can’t argue with that. Ha!”
“Clearing them out will be good for what comes next anyway. Monsters can climb over the Field Boss’s corpse.”
“That does sound risky when you put it that way.”
Ha Gyeong and Seo Jun Hyeok gazed at the Blight Liver’s corpse.
Inconveniently, it had died leaning against the City Wall, making it a nuisance.
The Eastern Defense Squad dismantled the boss monster’s body in moments.
Of course, Ha Gyeong and Seo Jun Hyeok didn’t participate.
They were the squad captain and Healer, after all.
It wasn’t a matter of privilege.
They had to remain ready for emergencies.
As the Clearance was nearing completion,
while Ha Gyeong stood at the Wall Protrusion,
someone suddenly approached.
“Um… excuse me.”
Ha Gyeong turned slightly and found an unexpected figure before him.
Guild members from the Raider Guild.
Park Jun Ho and his group.
They all wore awkward expressions.
Ha Gyeong spoke as coldly as possible.
“What’s the matter?”
A single phrase devoid of all emotion.
Because of that, it seemed to pierce even deeper into their hearts.
Park Jun Ho struggled to find his words.
His neck flushed crimson.
“Thank you for saving us.”
“I simply did what needed to be done.”
“I… I see.”
At Park Jun Ho’s gesture, the guild members bowed their heads.
“We are grateful for your grace in saving us, Captain!”
With so many men doing this together,
it looked like a scene from some gangster film.
Ha Gyeong, lost in thought, shook his head.
‘No, is this a medieval fantasy movie?’
They were all clad in armor, which suited knights better than thugs.
In any case, Ha Gyeong simply waved his hand dismissively.
“Never mind. I didn’t do this for thanks. I’m satisfied that we held off the first Wave well.”
“We’ll cooperate fully from now on.”
“That would be appreciated.”
“However…”
Park Jun Ho suddenly trailed off.
It seemed to be as difficult for him to speak as it had been when he first approached.
Truth be told, Ha Gyeong didn’t care what this man said.
So he simply shrugged lightly.
“Speak freely.”
“Within our guild, Ha Gyeong is classified as an enemy. The reason given is that you undermined our Master.”
“Ha! Is that so?”
“We’d like to know the truth about what happened.”
“What’s publicly known is all there is.”
“The problem is, AI-generated strategy videos have very low credibility. They’re made from secondhand accounts, so exaggeration is inevitable.”
“Almost everyone involved was from the Raider Guild except for a few people.”
“But none of them will give us the full details.”
Apparently, everyone who had participated back then was keeping quiet.
And it was understandable why.
They’d been scared and abandoned a teammate.
They’d even lied about the dungeon being cleared normally.
They’d mobilized professional warriors to wage a frontal battle and still lost.
They couldn’t bear it without making Ha Gyeong out to be a bastard.
They needed someone to curse together so their own shame would be hidden.
Of course, Ha Gyeong had no intention of explaining himself.
“I don’t know what you expect to learn at this point, but you’ll have to figure it out for yourselves. If I tell you, it only becomes my side of the story, doesn’t it?”
“Ah…”
“A new Wave will arrive soon. Please return to your positions.”
“Yes, then. I’ll wish you well.”
Park Jun Ho turned away with a troubled expression.
If Ha Gyeong had explained what happened back then,
they wouldn’t be agonizing so deeply.
But by staying silent, he’d inadvertently created something far more persuasive.
It was the exact opposite of the Raider Guild’s active denunciations.
Ha Gyeong watched Park Jun Ho leave with a sidelong glance.
‘I didn’t mean to, but I’ve managed to plant serious doubt.’
Still, he didn’t feel any particular guilt about it.
Wasn’t this reaping what they’d sown?
The conflict had started with Choi Hyun Ki’s foolish judgment in the first place.
But then Seo Jun Hyeok, who’d been standing at a distance, returned with a pleased expression.
“Wow! You really are amazing, Captain.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Everyone’s saying you’ve subdued those troublesome thieves. How on earth did you manage it?”
It seemed to be because the Raider Guild members had bowed as a group.
From a distance, they’d looked like defeated soldiers before a conqueror.
He glanced around briefly,
and found every squad member’s eyes fixed on him.
They’d apparently seen the scene just now as they returned from Clearance.
Ha Gyeong shook his head slowly.
“More strange articles are going to surface now.”
“Strange? This is incredible. I hear you rescued those people—but why?”
“Isn’t distinguishing between public duty and personal interest obvious?”
“Even if that’s the principle, it’s not easy to do in practice…”
People aren’t machines, after all.
How could emotion be removed from what people do?
Yet Ha Gyeong didn’t hate the Raider Guild members.
‘They weren’t the ones in the Layered Abyss.’
Besides, what power could ordinary guild members have?
They’d probably just followed because their Master ordered them to.
Standing with a calm face, Seo Jun Hyeok shrugged.
“Maybe instead of the Immortal, you’ll be called the Bodhisattva.”
“Please, anything but that.”
Roooooar!
While they’d been talking briefly,
the Gate Break had entered a new phase.
The fog grew thicker,
and the reaction of the Abyss Energy shifted dramatically.
Something felt like it was about to happen at any moment.
Seo Jun Hyeok, sensing the abnormality,
closed his mouth mid-chatter.
Soon, someone came running frantically to find Ha Gyeong.
“Captain! Captain, where are you!”
“I’m here.”
“Gasp! Gasp! An order has come down from the Association.”
Within the Abyss Energy’s zone of influence, electronic devices became useless.
So they had no choice but to deliver it in person like this.
Ha Gyeong immediately broke the seal
and unfolded the contents.
“…Retreat? What does this mean?”
“Before I departed for here, the Northern and Southern Defense Squads were already withdrawing.”
“Surely they couldn’t hold even the first Wave?”
“No, they did eliminate three Field Bosses each, but the wall collapsed under the subsequent assault.”
The Eastern Defense Squad had one fewer Field Boss to deal with,
but it seemed the second Wave had started much faster for the others.
Either way, they had no choice but to withdraw from here too.
The attack would now come from behind,
and supplies would definitely be cut off.
Ha Gyeong nodded.
“Understood. Let’s retreat immediately to the next rally point.”
“Then I’ll see you at the next assembly area.”
“Yes, thank you for your service.”
The messenger left,
and Ha Gyeong immediately relayed the situation.
The squad members followed the order without hesitation.
Since the defense line had already been breached,
they knew that holding on here would be pointless.
The Eastern Defense Squad quickly vacated the City Wall.
But Ha Gyeong did not withdraw.
‘Something… feels off.’
Standing at the Wall Protrusion above the wall,
he peered through the fog.
The Gate, now pitch-black, writhed endlessly.
Then yellow, mottled patterns began to form across it.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Ha Gyeong released a small groan.
An enormous pressure bore down on his entire body.
Soon he understood.
‘This isn’t a real, physical force.’
Concentrated killing intent had materialized and struck him directly.
The Gate was several kilometers away,
yet across that distance, its will had been transmitted.
What kind of thing was this?
Ha Gyeong stared at the yellow marks on the Gate.
‘What is that?’
It wasn’t a will directed specifically at him.
Just a vast tide of consciousness spreading outward,
which only Ha Gyeong could sense.
[The Soul Stigma detects an odd presence.]
[An Abyss Heart has been discovered.]
‘An Abyss Heart? What’s that?’
He posed the question, but no further system message appeared.
Still, he could make a reasonable inference.
The Abyss Heart, glowing yellow.
Ha Gyeong grasped it instinctively.
‘Is that the cause of the Gate Break?’
It made sense logically.
Korea was a nation where dungeons were suppressed the moment they appeared.
This quiet land of the morning had perfected tactics and strategy,
and was home to the most relentless monsters on Earth.
A Gate Break from dungeon accumulation should have been impossible.
So Ha Gyeong reached only one possible conclusion.
‘It must have been triggered artificially.’
Then what should he do?
The answer was simple.
The Abyss Heart.
Destroy that ominous yellow sphere.
Ha Gyeong moved forward.
As he descended below the City Wall, the Whisperer suddenly chirped.
―Captain, we’re ready. Should we retreat as planned?
“Yes, proceed directly to the next rally point.”
―But Captain, where are you?
“I have separate business to attend to, so I’ll be moving on my own.”
―Understood, sir.
Perhaps because the Association’s order had come through,
the squad members didn’t suspect Ha Gyeong’s deviation at all.
He paused briefly, lost in thought.
‘Should I retreat, convince the Association, and come back?’
The Gate Break was currently progressing actively.
What lay beyond was probably extremely dangerous.
The standard approach would be to assemble a team of skilled Awakened Ones and form an Expedition Team.
But Ha Gyeong’s instinct—
his Soul Stigma was sending a signal.
That if much more time passed, the Abyss Heart would vanish.
Ha Gyeong made his decision.
‘Before something bigger arrives, I’ll finish this.’
He would become a special forces soldier, striking at the enemy’s heart.
But just as he was about to move forward again,
someone unexpectedly called out to him.
“Captain, where are you off to alone? Let me join you on this grand expedition.”
He turned around and found unexpected figures standing there.
One of them was Seo Jun Hyeok.
That he’d followed made sense.
He’d admired Ha Gyeong for years.
But the hesitant forty-something man—
Park Jun Ho was truly unexpected.
Ha Gyeong posed a question.
“Why have you come?”
“Call it atonement.”
“You’re not here to stab me in the back?”
“…What?”
“A joke. You should have managed your image better beforehand.”
Park Jun Ho stood there with his mouth open.
Then he muttered quietly,
“Is… is that how it is?”
It seemed even they didn’t realize it.
After all, thugs have no sense of shame.
Tearing the Gate
Author |
Morae Top
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editorial Director |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F Gwangseong Building, 28, Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306112
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
This book may not be used in any form or by any means without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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