The Reincarnated Hunter Sweeps Up All Fortunes - Chapter 29

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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 29
29
Im Gang invested Skill Points appropriately into the martial arts he’d learned from Qingxian, and thinking, well, I’ve learned it, so I should put it to use, he headed toward Geogan-so.
In truth, he hadn’t expected to find any work there.
Yet when he arrived at Geogan-so, the place was teeming with rogues and mercenaries.
‘…What?’
For the past few days, Geogan-so had been silent as a tomb. Why the sudden change?
He grabbed someone at random and jabbed them in the ribs with a pointed question.
“What’s going on? What’s all this about?”
“Hey, don’t poke me. The Evil Sect Alliance just issued a commission.”
“The Evil Sect Alliance?”
Hangzhou was home to countless Evil Sects, but among them stood three of the most powerful: the Cham-ryong Sect, the Nak-hyeol Sect, and the Bi-geom Sect.
These three were collectively known as the Hangzhou Three Tyrants, and most of the Evil Sect factions in the city fell under their dominion.
But in ordinary times, the Three Tyrants remained little more than observers—taking no direct action so long as they suffered no direct harm, and largely indifferent to what the others did among themselves.
The Evil Sect Alliance existed precisely to address situations where the sects had a common stake: it was how the Evil Sect factions coordinated when shared interests were on the line, acting on behalf of the three aloof masters.
When the Alliance moved, old rivalries between factions were set aside and forces united. Yet the Evil Sect Alliance had acted only a handful of times. It meant whatever stirred them now was no ordinary matter.
‘Could it be the Demons?’
Im Gang did not know it yet.
But Hangzhou had been suffering sustained attacks from Demons.
And the damage was growing worse by the day—becoming almost unbearable to endure.
The Evil Sect factions had petitioned the Cham-ryong Sect, the Nak-hyeol Sect, and the Bi-geom Sect for their counsel, but received no response. So the Evil Sect Alliance had made its decision: they would exterminate all the Demons, and they would see it through.
‘What do I do?’
Im Gang wrestled with the thought.
The Wudang Sect Daoist Qingxian had told him that some Demons were notorious for their power.
At his current level, he was absolutely not to entangle himself with such creatures—a warning to take seriously.
He had already felt the truth of those words at the Cliff.
Even low-level Demons refused to die even when struck in the brow by a Hidden Blade technique; they detonated themselves in desperation. What a notorious Demon might be capable of defied imagination.
Withdrawal seemed the only sensible choice.
Thud—click!
The doors of Geogan-so slammed shut. The sound of locks engaging followed.
“What? Why are they locked?”
“…This is bad…”
“Hey, open them! They won’t budge!”
The interior of Geogan-so descended into chaos. A few rogues attempting to slip away were caught and forcibly dragged back.
Order was restored by dozens of Evil Sect practitioners.
Walking in formation from the back, they surrounded the gathered rogues in a tight cordon.
……
As the tumult subsided, someone emerged from the depths of Geogan-so. A man dressed in antiquated robes. The rogues who recognized him quickly averted their eyes.
“Who is that?”
“Vice-Master of the Pae-do Sect—Il-do Sam-jeol.”
……!
A silent shockwave rippled through the crowd of rogues.
Even Im Gang could not hide his astonishment at the unexpected arrival.
Il-do Sam-jeol swept his gaze across the assembled mercenaries and spoke.
“This commission cannot be refused. The moment you entered Geogan-so, you accepted it. Should you attempt to desert, you will die where you stand—or if fortune favors you and you survive, you will never set foot in Hangzhou again.”
A moan escaped from among the rogues. Yet none dared openly resist.
The Evil Sect Alliance. And the Pae-do Sect.
No mere rogue could stand against such power.
‘Damn it. The hand’s already played.’
Im Gang could only curse silently to himself.
This wasn’t a card he’d chosen to lay down, yet he found himself unable to take it back—a damned, inescapable situation. This time, neither instinct nor foresight would serve him. If only the doors hadn’t been locked, none of this would have happened. The only consolation was the compensation.
After Il-do Sam-jeol departed and the details of the commission were explained, the matter of payment arose.
Commissions of this type typically offered between fifty and a hundred coins per day.
But this one started at two hundred. However much the Evil Sect Alliance had scraped together, they were clearly prepared to bleed substantially for this.
‘Two hundred coins… how many bowls of thin noodles would that buy…’
About two hundred bowls.
Im Gang was lost in a fantasy of swimming through noodle broth when he was pulled back to reality by the order to form groups of five or six.
The rogues clustered together with those they were close to or had dealings with.
Since Im Gang had never cultivated friendships or closeness with other mercenaries,
he stood alone.
‘It’s so lonely without them…….’
The remaining members were grouped together.
The largest man among them surveyed the faces around him before speaking.
“Fine. I’ll be the Team Leader. Anyone object?”
Everyone shrugged their shoulders. Im Gang scratched his cheek and half-raised his hand, then lowered it. There was an old saying about not putting on hats carelessly.
Especially not a Rogue’s hat. You gained nothing from it, only the burden of responsibility.
Honestly, he couldn’t fathom why that man was stepping forward.
‘My situation is different, though.’
Im Gang simply didn’t enjoy taking orders from someone weaker than himself.
* * *
The contract was straightforward.
Teams would patrol the vicinity of Hangzhou hunting for Demons.
When a Demon was spotted, they were not to attack immediately—they were to fire a Signal Flare instead.
Then other nearby teams would converge and overwhelm it.
There was no room for any nonsense about masters dueling heroically in single combat.
Dignity? Honor? You didn’t ask such things of Rogues.
“Move out.”
At the large man’s command, the team members stirred into motion.
Im Gang’s team was assigned the Western Outskirts of Hangzhou.
The terrain of forests and rolling hills made visibility poor.
Im Gang moved forward with both his Map Skill and Qi Sensing active simultaneously.
“Grrrrrrr!”
“…Demons! Fire the Signal Flare!”
The first day.
They spotted seven Demons and fired the Signal Flare.
Other teams in the vicinity converged and dealt with them through combined effort.
Im Gang’s Demon-Subduing Blood-Draining Sword proved instrumental.
[Proficiency in several skills has increased.]
‘Good.’
The second day.
Five Demons.
This time there were no other teams nearby, so Im Gang’s team had to handle them alone. His teammates tensed, but as Im Gang advanced with the Demon-Subduing Blood-Draining Sword in hand, the Demons fell one after another.
“A, a master!”
“I had no idea the technique was this powerful!”
“Could he possibly be… second-rank……?”
“Stop talking and finish them off!”
At Im Gang’s shout, his teammates drove their blades through the throats of the fallen Demons.
The third day.
He cut down over twenty Demons.
[The Demon-Slaying Blood Scripture Sword skill has advanced to third mastery.]
‘Excellent. The Experience Points are flowing in.’
The more Demons he slew, the more the Demon-Slaying Blood Scripture Sword’s Proficiency skyrocketed.
He was a fish that had found its water.
The Demon-Subduing Blood-Draining Sword grew increasingly responsive to his grip with each taste of Demon blood.
The fourth day.
The Demons that had been so plentiful stopped appearing. Even after making a wide circuit through the Western Outskirts of Hangzhou, they found not a trace. The Rogues were delighted—an easy job indeed.
“If it stays like this, we’ll pocket the full 200 coins just for being here, won’t we?”
“Long live the Evil Sect Alliance! Long live the eradication of Demons!”
“If I’d known it’d be this cushy, I’d have brought some wine to pass the time…….”
The fifth day.
The Rogues grinned and chattered. Im Gang too felt his spirits lift. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the birdsong that drifted through felt peaceful.
Then it happened.
“……!”
The cicadas that had been chirping fell silent. The birds stopped their calls.
At the same moment, his Intuition flared like a seizure.
It wasn’t the Intuition of a Treasure Hunter, nor was it the Intuition of a Rogue.
It was the survival instinct.
The hair on his body stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine. A warning similar to—no, more primal than—when he’d encountered Ho-muk the Silent.
Im Gang spat out the dried meat he’d been chewing.
“Everyone move. We need to leave this place. Now.”
The mercenaries exchanged confused glances at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why the sudden change?”
“…None of you felt it?”
Im Gang clenched his teeth hard before speaking.
“Something’s coming. If we stay here, we’re dead.”
“…What?”
“What do you mean something’s coming? I don’t see anything.”
“Move! Now! There’s no time!”
At Im Gang’s insistence, the mercenaries grudgingly began to scatter. But the moment they moved, it was already too late. Between the trees, through the undergrowth.
“Screech… shriek-shriek-shriek!”
“Howwwwwl!”
Demons emerged. Not just one or two. Dozens—no, more than that. They had completely surrounded Im Gang’s team.
‘They killed all the other mercenaries in the area and came here.’
Im Gang swallowed hard as he saw the blood crusted on the demons’ clothes.
The decrease in demon sightings from the fourth day onward hadn’t been a natural decline. The other teams had been picked off one by one. Like a methodical hunter stalking prey, taking them slowly.
Now it was Im Gang’s team’s turn.
The demons snarled and drooled like dogs with rabies. But they didn’t attack or move closer.
They simply stood encircling them, unmoving.
‘Damn it… what the hell….’
It chilled him more that these madmen weren’t attacking.
It meant someone was controlling them.
And likely….
Thud.
A footstep—light yet heavy—echoed across the ground. The demons parted on both sides, creating a path. Through it walked a man in a crimson long robe, moving with unhurried ease.
His face was surprisingly ordinary. Wasn’t it said that a murderer’s face is unremarkable?
But his eyes were different. Two pupils stained blood-red, like contact lenses, gazed directly at Im Gang’s team with unflinching intensity.
The moment his gaze fell on them, Im Gang’s heart seemed to shrivel.
“I am Pok-yeol Ma-gun.”
Pok-yeol Ma-gun revealed his identity in a low, measured voice.
As if speaking his name alone were sufficient.
And in truth, it was.
“Pok-yeol Ma-gun!”
“Heavens…”
“It’s over… we’re finished….”
The mercenaries’ faces drained of all color. Their sword hands trembled uncontrollably, and some even collapsed to their knees. Im Gang tapped one of the pale-faced mercenaries urgently and whispered rapidly.
“Hey. Who is Pok-yeol Ma-gun?”
The mercenary stared at Im Gang with a face bleached white.
His mouth opened and closed for a moment.
“I don’t know. I’ve never even left Hangzhou—how would I know?”
“…….”
Im Gang was at a loss for words.
The man had just cried out in recognition, and now he didn’t even know who it was?
“I just got caught up in the panic…”
The mercenary hung his head in embarrassment.
Caught up in the panic?
In horror films, the one swept up by atmosphere is always the first to die….
The thought had barely finished when the mercenary’s neck twisted a full three hundred sixty degrees.
Crack-crack-crack-!
“……!”
Im Gang’s body went rigid.

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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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