[I’ve heard the story of the messenger quite well.]
“Thank you.”
The messenger of the Promise’s Finger looked at the holographic figures of several people watching him in real-time.
While their identities were hidden behind a holographic curtain, many of those affiliated with the Promise’s Finger were significant power players.
Executives or sub-masters of the Great Guild.
Top-ranking hunters in the world.
Or sometimes politicians or entrepreneurs.
The reasons they joined the group advocating for extreme human superiority varied.
At the most basic level, it stemmed from hatred and loathing towards monsters, aberrations, and all other races.
Some were corporate heads or heirs who joined the Promise’s Finger for financial gain and economic benefits.
Others were simply there out of curiosity, interest, or for fun.
Regardless of the reason, it was true that since its inception, the Promise’s Finger acted for humanity and hunters.
Their efforts had led to the obliteration of several monsters and dungeons that posed risks to humanity. The creation of the Hunter Train was also thanks to the activities of the members of the Promise’s Finger.
Boom.
[Fuck. After hearing the Green City destruction plan, I invested in steel stocks due to the destruction of nearby residential areas and leaked money into groceries. But now, my funds will take a huge hit.]
[You were always chasing money, and now you’ve brought down a curse upon yourself. Greedy bastard.]
[You $%^&* killed me $#@!]
[The translation module seems faulty; should I get a new one?]
[Shut up! As long as the meaning is @#$ clear, it’ll do!]
[Phew, damn idiot. Even a rich fool like you isn’t spending money in the right places.]
Cough.
However, the messengers often found themselves slightly frazzled because of the intense personalities involved.
Or rather, it was likely because each member of the Promise’s Finger was a powerful political figure.
[Ah, anyway, you also worked hard as a messenger.]
[But you didn’t think about the fact that, contrary to what other members said, the destruction of Green City was a failure.]
[But that’s a failure. It’s a huge loss! My company’s stock price for the next quarter has halved!]
Returning entities aren’t so rare, but Shia, known as the Mangja Seongnyeo, had already shown formidable power that far surpassed S-rank potential, drawing considerable attention.
Moreover, her activities were quite remarkable.
Initially, acting like an ordinary person seeking popularity or money through broadcast, she didn’t attract much notice, but after solving significant events including the Mapo District erosion incident and the Demon King’s descent, she caught the eye of the association and many influential factions.
The Promise’s Finger took a keen interest in Shia especially after she became the guarantor for the Great Forest Elves, who had inflicted significant harm on China with the Spirit Nuke, and her rescue of the mermaids from the Deep Sea Palace was also significant.
[We’ve confirmed through the Korean government and the Korean branch of the Hunter Association that Shia is effectively the guarantor and de facto owner of the Great Forest Elf Nation.]
[Come to think of it, those damn ear-piercers also boarded the Hunter Train?]
[I hope they all die in the accident…]
“That seems unlikely. While individual Elves are powerful at the level of high-grade hunters, it’s been confirmed that they possess the Spirit Nuke.”
[They’re armed with something that dangerous?]
[It seems like they don’t need bunkers like a human nuclear bomb.]
“When I checked, it looked like a regular corn. Just plain old corn.”
[Corn?]
[Is it some sort of mimicry or polymorph?]
[If it’s corn, it could disguise itself as fruit or something else too.]
“I heard that unless activated, it’s just regular corn. There’s a possibility it’s being sold as food in the markets.”
[Whoa, it would be great for assassinations.]
[There was already intel that the Great Forest Nation planned to test market their crops in the hunter market…]
[Indeed, the solution is to exterminate those ear-piercing bastards.]
While the event didn’t make the news due to information control, in truth, Shia had acquired enough power to disregard any considerable guild just by being an Elf benefactor and guarantor.
Though known as a benefactor of humanity, in reality, she was intimately connected with tens of thousands of elves and mermaids.
There was no reason for the Promise’s Finger not to focus on Shia, and she was indeed demonstrating a compassionate path, validating why she held the title of Seongnyeo.
The Promise’s Finger even speculated optimistically that they might be able to recruit an S-rank hunter like Yeonseo if things went well. Some members even suggested drawing her into the Promise’s Finger.
[But Shia preserved, not destroyed, the Green City, which was a threat to humanity.]
The Promise’s Finger had originally thought that the fragment of the Demon King’s was a massive energy source, and detonating it would easily incinerate Green City.
To their dismay, the reported preservation of Green City rather than its destruction garnered disappointment from the members of the Promise’s Finger.
Of course, not everyone showed negative reactions.
[Still, the original plan was to eliminate the threat that Green City posed to humanity by destroying the fragment. How could Shia have rendered that void?]
“I’m not sure either. Miracles are rarely explained as they’re different from magic or sorcery… Perhaps she performed some kind of miracle as a Seongnyeo.”
[Indeed, among the awakened, aside from the long-lost ‘Seongnyeo’ from China, there’s virtually no one who can handle Seongnyeok and miracles…]
Some held reservations towards Shia and the now-sustained Green City, while others showed interest in the unforeseen circumstances.
Especially the existence of Shia could not go unnoticed.
This was the emergence of a being that could cause ripples in the hunter world since Yeonseo.
“Anyway, Shia Hunter took unexpected actions. Unless we plan to move to eliminate Green City, it seems we should hold off on that matter for now.”
[Indeed, since Shia Hunter has clearly shown support for Green City and Lilybet, attempting to annihilate it would be akin to making an enemy out of her.]
[Is Shia Hunter really that strong? Should we really be taking such a submissive stance?]
[As it stands, no S-rank hunter would even dare to stand up against her. We may need to assume she’s stronger than the ‘Knight of Radiance’ at his prime.]
[Whoa, even more than Yeonseo?]
[It’s not just her; the two returnees beside her don’t seem like ordinary returnees either.]
[Menelapie and Teresa Kaitlyn, right? I’ve had doubts about whether they were genuine returnees from the start.]
[Oh, come on. That simple-minded Lilybet crying about duels and romance is just typical of her character, but I never expected Shia Hunter would align with her.]
[Haha, indeed, the world doesn’t revolve around the whines of children.]
“But right now, Shia Hunter has the power to turn simple childish whims into reality. With her as an ally, she has become far too large to ignore, alongside the Elves, Mermaids, and the support of the Yeon Family.”
Originally, there was no choice but to hold off.
The Promise’s Finger concluded that they couldn’t bribe her with money or wealth.
She was a returnee with the title of Seongnyeo, having saved her previous world and defeated the Demon King.
Given the situation in Green City, Shia was seen as an unpredictable entity who could overturn the Promise’s Finger if she so chose.
[By the way, the Shia I thought was on the side of humanity took unexpected action.]
[Wait, no, she’s ‘Her’ now. Anyway, is she really worth keeping an eye on? She’s just a returnee, after all…]
[In this world, a single individual can alter the order of the world and the dynamics of the hunter realm. Korea’s Yeonseo was one, and the first-generation hunters from the past proved that.]
[Honestly, I didn’t assume she would be wholly uncontainable… but the forces already tied to Shia are quite formidable. Elves, Mermaids, the Yeon Family, and recently confirmed ties with S-rank Yujin. It seems Elizaveta Lilybet Rose will likely end up close to Shia too.]
[But it doesn’t seem like she’s friendly with just anyone? There seem to be a lot of frictions with the San Guild.]
[With the San Guild?]
Whether it was intentional by Shia or not, she had gained massive power without even joining any guild.
“Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on Shia Hunter for the time being.”
[Good, keep at it.]
“Yes.”
With that, the hologram dissipated.
○○○○○○○○
When talking about the Hunter Train, usually it’s the thrill of rushing through dungeons in quick succession.
Gathering high-grade hunters of such caliber from across the globe is no easy feat, no matter how hard the government tries. Even in 2088, there were countless lands and gates humanity had yet to liberate.
In that sense, this Hunter Train was rather easy from the outset.
In truth, when 300,000 mutated slimes welcomed the hunters upon their first attack on the Blood Swamp dungeon as soon as the Hunter Train set off, many hunters thought, “We’re screwed.”
In reality, the Blood Swamp and mutated slimes were dungeons near impossible for regular hunters to conquer.
One mutated slime could effortlessly dissolve A-rank gear and weapons, and it could even parasitize human bodies, excelling at disrupting ally operations.
To successfully raid the dungeon, they would need to challenge the Slime Mother, the boss of the dungeon, but dealing with a huge slime the size of a soccer field would certainly entail significant casualties.
The Blood Swamp was optimized for slimes, and the gimmicks reduced visibility to boot.
Even if the hunters managed to fend off the wave of 300,000 monsters at the onset, if Shia hadn’t quickly handled the Slime Mother, there would surely have been fatalities during the subsequent dungeon exploration.
In that regard, the Hunter Train was incredible for its remarkably low casualty rate.
Blood Swamp.
During the train operation, the Uranium Dragon assault.
Green City.
Had luck been against them, over half the hunters might have died right from the start in the Blood Swamp, and the assault by the Uranium Dragon might have turned disastrous for even S-rank hunters if not for Shia’s purification miracle.
Even though Green City could be deemed an anomaly of sorts, it couldn’t be labeled as a fully safe or easy place, given the presence of intelligent aberrants in gangs and clans.
While the power of S-rank hunters is formidable, that doesn’t mean lives can be taken lightly.
Anyway, for whatever reason, the Hunter Train, devoid of even a single casualty, initiated the invasion of another dungeon.
An area occupied by a horde of Minotaurs.
