The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - Chapter 39

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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 39
39.
Through bleary eyes, Ju Do-gyeom gazed at the clock hanging on the wall.
9 a.m.
‘I’ve slept over twelve hours.’
It wasn’t unusual.
Whenever he deployed a Triggered Skill like the Divine Water Sleep Force Technique, this kind of risk always came with it.
The temple where he’d punctured himself hadn’t fully recovered, but bone and flesh had already knitted back together considerably.
‘I’ve reached this level of regeneration now.’
Physical stats at C-Rank.
With the Earth-Seal Qi Technique at five stars working in tandem, the result was inevitable.
If his stats and mastery of the Heaven-Earth Absolute Divine Technique grew stronger, he’d eventually recover even from a severed arm or leg.
A shocking level of regenerative immortality by modern standards.
But it was nothing compared to the true immortality that future calamities—or Jin Woo-seong—possessed.
Those monsters could survive with their heads flying off, their brains shattered, their hearts crushed.
“Sigh…”
Ju Do-gyeom exhaled deeply and pushed himself upright, pressing his palm to his forehead.
He walked to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and let his mind settle.
‘I should call Lee Seo-ah.’
What happened yesterday couldn’t be resolved with just an apology.
He needed to make amends somehow, one way or another.
Of course, there were limits to what he could offer.
But he couldn’t leave it like this.
With that thought, he picked up his mobile phone.
The battery icon blinked red.
Hundreds of missed calls.
An unusual situation.
A chill ran down his spine.
Ju Do-gyeom called Lee Young-sik, the chairman whose name appeared most frequently among the missed calls.
The first ring hadn’t even finished before the connection opened.
—Ju Do-gyeom?
Lee Young-sik’s voice came through the receiver.
Ju Do-gyeom answered.
“Yes, Chairman. It’s me.”
—…You’re alive. Thank goodness… what a relief.
A sigh laden with relief filtered through the line.
Ju Do-gyeom couldn’t help but feel confused.
What on earth had happened?
—I’d like to say more, but I’ll keep it brief. Right now, my Seo-ah is in danger.
“What’s going on?”
—Do you know Jin Woo-seong?
“…Yes.”
—He abducted Seo-ah last night in the middle of the Blue Zone downtown.
Crunch!
The sound of grinding teeth came through the phone.
Ju Do-gyeom’s fist clenched hard.
—Fortunately, we’ve pinpointed his location. He’s waiting at the outer edge of the Red Zone. The problem is that we can’t see any sign of Seo-ah.
“Keep going.”
Lee Young-sik continued.
The Hunter Association and multiple Guilds were currently working together to establish an encirclement.
The plan was to appear cooperative on the surface, then the moment Lee Seo-ah’s safety was confirmed, immediately subdue Jin Woo-seong.
—Judging from your silence last night, you must have had your own situation to deal with. Still, I’m shameless enough to ask anyway. Could you possibly help us rescue Seo-ah?
Ju Do-gyeom had already changed his clothes and organized his thoughts about the suddenly erupting crisis.
He nodded and replied.
“Of course.”
—Thank you. Then let me give you his current location…
“Chairman.”
—What?
“The Jin Woo-seong at that location is a fake.”
—…!!
“And this phone call is very likely being tapped.”
-W-what……!
Ju Do-gyeom knew Jin Woo-seong well.
He was humanity’s worst enemy.
And the man he’d fought longer than anyone else.
“I cannot tell you much, but I will answer you with certainty: I will absolutely bring Lee Seo-ah back.”
-What are you—! Let me help somehow…….
Ju Do-gyeom hung up.
The longer he spoke, the more openings he’d give that bastard to react.
‘Jin Woo-seong lived like a king in the Gray Zone outside Seoul during this period.’
But did he have no residences within Seoul?
No, that wasn’t the case.
He was constantly suppressing Seoul’s strongest in his time, and steadily laying plans to return to Seoul himself.
One of those plans was the Secret Hideout.
Houses scattered throughout Seoul, hidden under other people’s names.
Not ordinary houses.
Small fortresses equipped with vast sums of money and technology channeled into various Magical Engineering Artifacts and Magical Tools, not only making location tracking impossible but also outfitted with equipment to reverse and exploit an opponent’s weaknesses.
In truth, Ju Do-gyeom had never witnessed this himself.
Sadly for him and Jin Woo-seong alike, all those fortress-like hideouts were completely annihilated during the Seoul invasion.
‘That’s what he heard.’
From whom?
From Jin Woo-seong.
Strangely enough, he quite liked Ju Do-gyeom.
Having chased and been chased for so long, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say a bond had formed between bitter enemies.
That’s why he’d heard so many stories.
From personal matters to his very purpose.
He’d even come to read his thoughts to some degree.
That this current incident was no calculated crime, but a reckless accident.
All of it was so very Jin Woo-seong.
‘The man had revealed three locations of Secret Hideouts to me.’
There was no need to deliberate which one.
Moving with deliberate ease, by the time Ju Do-gyeom reached the first floor via elevator.
His mobile phone rang again—just as it was about to die.
Ju Do-gyeom answered without even checking the number.
-Ju Do-gyeom? That was cool.
“…….”
-I was really moved, you know? ‘I will absolutely bring Lee Seo-ah back.’ Whew~ now that’s romantic. Felt like I’d gone back to the nineties. Her side went crazy the moment she heard about you too. Are you two like that?
“Jin Woo-seong.”
-Don’t interrupt. You damned thieving bastard.
“What……?”
-How dare you steal my Cheonsalseong, and then steal my wife-to-be?
“……!!”
Ju Do-gyeom’s eyes widened sharply.
He’d known that the kidnapping of Lee Seo-ah was a reckless accident.
But what had been his original purpose?
He’d been pondering this very question when a shockingly unexpected answer came back.
‘So he knows I took the Cheonsalseong.’
This was truly beyond expectation.
The Jin Woo-seong of his past life.
He was said to have obtained the Cheonsalseong unintentionally.
What if, in the cannibal’s mansion, he drove the cannibal into a corner and killed him instead?
The idea, born from something like psychopathic impulse, had created a snowball effect.
But now he was clearly aware of the Cheonsalseong’s existence.
He’d even discovered that Ju Do-gyeom had stolen it.
Surprising, yes—but he mustn’t show it.
Ju Do-gyeom understood Jin Woo-seong.
All such emotions only delighted him.
Does his delight become a problem?
No, it doesn’t.
It’s only that Ju Do-gyeom’s mood has taken a turn for the worse.
So he spoke calmly, without the slightest hint of emotion.
“These days, when someone lacks the ability to hold onto something, they call it theft, don’t they?”
-Puh-haha! So you’re trying to provoke me? How clumsy. Well, it is amusing, though. Ju Do-gyeom. But here’s the thing……
Ju Do-gyeom didn’t wait to hear the rest.
“Jin Woo-seong. Your parents didn’t choose your brother over you because Jin Young-hun deceived and manipulated your family.”
-……What?
“Jin Young-hun didn’t steal your family from you. It was your own sins that made them abandon you.”
-Ha…… haha…… hahaha…… hahahaha……!
Through the phone, Jin Woo-seong’s laughter rang out, loud and brittle.
Then it stopped abruptly.
A moment of quiet silence followed.
The mobile phone vibrated once more.
A text message notification.
Then came a voice, chillingly cold.
-You’ll have to come alone. Ju Do-gyeom.
Jin Woo-seong hung up.
Ju Do-gyeom looked at his phone’s screen and checked the location of the Secret Hideout.
‘So it was here.’
He nodded, then hurled the mobile phone—its battery flashing its dying breath—to the side of the street.
After that, he turned and walked.
Toward the Green Zone.
* * *
Lee Young-sik couldn’t make sense of the situation.
The Jin Woo-seong they had surrounded was a fake?
And they’d had their phone call intercepted?
How was that even possible?
With South Korea’s foremost experts gathered here?
His eyes, full of doubt, went blank.
‘……It’s possible.’
The world was constantly changing.
New Magical Engineering Artifacts emerged, and Hunters with unusual occupations and skills continued to appear.
It was foolish to believe that only conventional methods existed.
It was simply a shock that came from not being prepared to accept it.
“Sigh……”
Lee Young-sik released a deep breath.
Kang Tae-woo spoke to him.
“We plan to track Hunter Ju Do-gyeom’s mobile phone location and dispatch reinforcements.”
“That’s a good idea.”
He acknowledged that Ju Do-gyeom was a special Hunter.
He even believed him to be reliable.
So much so that when he’d said he’d bring back Lee Seo-ah safely, Lee Young-sik had felt a wave of relief wash over him without thinking.
That was why he’d personally made the request for his help in rescuing his daughter.
But.
That was separate from believing Ju Do-gyeom could face an A+ danger-level Jin Woo-seong alone.
It was a matter of rational judgment.
Though never officially disclosed, Jin Woo-seong’s estimated Rank was at least A-class or higher in public speculation.
Combined with his innate combat instincts and that unpredictable nature that made it impossible to anticipate his moves, even confirmed S-Rank Hunters found him troublesome.
Ju Do-gyeom could handle such a man alone?
It was realistically impossible.
That’s why he’d called Noh Beom-seok.
He’d poured vast sums of money into hiring as many available Hunters as possible to mobilize right now.
Yet even with all that, he couldn’t shake the conviction that they could cleanly eliminate him and safely extract Lee Seo-ah.
But Ju Do-gyeom alone would pull off something like that?
Even if he wanted to believe it, he couldn’t afford to.
Of course, he understood that his actions might well become poison in themselves.
But rather than gamble on something impossible, shouldn’t he increase even the slimmest chance of success, even if it meant taking on that poison?
‘In the worst case….’
Even if he lost one of them.
He could never bear to face that dreadful scenario where he lost them both.
As Lee Young-sik’s lips pressed tight and his fist clenched hard.
Kang Tae-woo’s voice came through again.
“……The mobile phone location has been fixed.”
“What?”
And after a few more minutes passed.
“Mobile phone belonging to Hunter Ju Do-gyeom confirmed abandoned on the roadside. Currently in a discharged state.”
“Damn it…….”
A groan of regret escaped Lee Young-sik’s lips.
His head began to spin.
‘What in the world is he thinking? Ju Do-gyeom.’
His heart pounded wildly.
* * *
“Hmm, hrmm…… Hehehmm…… Hrmm…….”
Jin Woo-seong was humming to himself.
Lee Seo-ah watched him in silence, then opened her mouth.
“Ju Do-gyeom isn’t a fool.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He won’t come alone. He’ll come prepared to finish you for certain.”
“Ah……!”
Jin Woo-seong snapped his fingers.
“That meaning? Then I’ll stake my head on it that the cursed thief has the gall to come alone.”
By the end of his words, Jin Woo-seong’s expression had turned serious.
Lee Seo-ah, observing him, spoke in a cold voice.
“You won’t die even if your neck gets cut off anyway.”

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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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