The [Valley of the Bull] doesn’t exactly scream ‘threatening dungeon,’ so at a glance, one might mistake it for a low-tier dungeon, like F to D-class, tucked away in a neighborhood back mountain.
When an agent stated, “The next invasion site is [Valley of the Bull]” on the Hunter Train, some hunters couldn’t help but chuckle.
“This dungeon seems really easy.”
“Looks like a Minotaur is the dungeon boss. Piece of cake!”
With that kind of banter, there were quite a few hunters on the train confidently sipping kimchi soup, convinced that this dungeon would be a walk in the park.
With nearly a thousand A-grade hunters around, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that a dungeon featuring a Minotaur would be a piece of cake.
However, the bull in the [Valley of the Bull] does not simply refer to an ordinary, run-of-the-mill bull.
Originally, the word ‘bull’ employs the character for yellow (黃), which indicates a hue or can mean vast, thus used to signify a large bull.
Nonetheless, the [Valley of the Bull] is a gigantic dungeon located between China’s Heilongjiang Province and the Russian border, fittingly named with the character for emperor (皇).
While referred to as [Valley of the Bull] in Korea, the official name given by the Chinese government upon its discovery is ‘Hwangwoo Valley (皇牛溪谷,’ and it’s not just one Minotaur as the dungeon boss, but a collective of fierce and powerful Minotaurs living in a congregation.
The estimated number of Minotaurs surpasses ten thousand. Typically, Minotaurs live as solitary beings rather than in clans, even killing their own kin upon encountering them. Yet, this place wasn’t merely a gathering but rather a cadre of trained military-level Minotaurs.
Moreover, while Minotaurs possess intelligence, persuading them through conversation is likened to teaching elementary school to a Goblin—it just doesn’t happen.
Thus, when Minotaurs discover a human, their usual reactions can be summed up as one of two things:
Attack to kill, citing an intrusion.
Or start munching because they’re hungry.
In short, with no room for talk or compromise, fighting is the only option against these monsters.
Despite this, the hunters remained oblivious to the impending danger.
“Hey, but there are 21 S-grade hunters! Plus, we have the Returnees Menelapie and Isia; we’ll manage somehow. They seemed incredibly strong…”
However, complacency turned into chaos as the Hunter Train’s teleportation gimmick activated, and the S-grade hunters found themselves scattered, unsure of where they landed.
Ultimately, the task of protecting the Hunter Train and the civilians fell to the A-grade hunters, who had just earlier mocked the dungeon’s supposedly easy difficulty.
As soon as the Hunter Train landed on the surface, the sight of 3,000 enormous Minotaurs charging with furious snorts sent the hunters into a tizzy—not laughing, but rather awash in panic, perhaps even hissss! themselves!
With the Blood Swamp, Uranium Dragon, and Green City being fairly laid-back experiences for the Hunter Train, the hunters, feeling relaxed and on vacation, were abruptly jolted back to reality by the sheer violence of nature.
Right, we’re not here for a holiday; we came to invade a dungeon.
In such scenarios, being complacent is a first-class ticket to the grave.
However, even as the hunters snapped back to attention, the Minotaurs here were no ordinary foes.
It wasn’t unimaginable that 3,000 Minotaurs could unite and attack hunters, but these Minotaurs were on a whole different level.
They were about 1.5 times the size of your average Minotaur.
Their muscles appeared harder than rock.
Their thigh muscles were pulsating as if ready to break free, enhancing the force of the Minotaurs’ charge.
The sight of these violent creatures, more befitting a myth, sent waves of terror into the hearts of the hunters.
And the most terrifying part…
“The Minotaurs possess great magical power!”
“What the hell…!”
“Great magical power!?”
Every single Minotaur wielded powerful magical abilities.
What’s worse, it seemed that they could nullify all magic below A-grade, making any reasonable ranged spell attacks or curses futile against the Minotaurs’ simple charge.
To take them down, the hunters would need to exert physical prowess that matched this ancient force.
While there might have been a few A-grade hunters capable of dealing significant burst damage, against 3,000 foes, that was hardly a concern.
With more than half of the hunters’ firepower rendered useless, everyone had to descend to the ground to face the Minotaur army head-on.
Crash!
“Kill them!!”
Roar!
Hunters and Minotaurs clashed in the narrow valley.
With broken ribs clutched tight, a frontline hunter endured relentless attacks, while assassin hunters did their best to pierce through the thick skin of Minotaurs clad in powerful magical resistance, taking down one here and there.
Only then did the hunters grasp the true dangers and horrors of the Hunter Train.
The Hunter Train was invading dungeons that basic guilds or parties wouldn’t dare approach.
They aimed to prevent these overwhelming forces of nature from reaching Earth—before this savage violence extended its grasp on humanity and smashed it to bits.
And within the chaos danced a thread of lavender.
Shwaaaak!!!
“Oh, it broke?”
Click.
The moment Teresa stomped down on the Minotaur’s head she just controlled, a grimace painted her lovely face as she rose.
“Now, you’re next!”
Roar!?
As Teresa snapped her fingers, a blood-soaked purple thread darted in the direction she indicated with alarming swiftness.
It had nothing to do with magical power.
The magic thread was Teresa’s masterpiece with physical substance. It didn’t involve mere magical effects; it controlled everything from nerves to muscles to brain cells, making it impervious to the Minotaurs’ magical prowess.
The thread quickly wrapped around the arm of a Minotaur attempting to attack Teresa, swiftly climbing its body and taking control.
The Minotaur resisted, muscles trembling as if about to burst, blood vessels in its eyes bursting into tears of blood.
Yet, once the Minotaur’s body was seized by the thread, its body no longer belonged to it.
In mere seconds, while fully taken over, Teresa comfortably climbed aboard the Minotaur’s hand as it hoisted her up onto its shoulder.
“Let’s go again!”
Roar!!!
“Fellow countrymen, run!”
The Minotaur’s roar echoed, now imbued with a meaning of deep desperation.
The Minotaur under Teresa’s control unleashed an output several times beyond what its original body could muster, slaughtering its brethren left and right.
However, the state of the controlled body wasn’t taken into account.
Boom!
Bam!
Thud!
“Even I think this is a remarkably crafted piece!”
Shimmy-shimmy.
With a flick of her wrist, Teresa orchestrated her magical thread, her finest work.
Even without mana, Teresa could wield it. It emerged from impossible positions, bridging gaps in space, designating targets, and executing Teresa’s orders with unwavering loyalty.
Thus, Teresa always prioritized crafting this thread through her various encounters, embodying the weapon that could obliterate the very Minotaurs that charged with a vengeance towards the hunters.
“Now, who shall I choose next?”
Roar!
“Block it!”
“It’s already too late! Block it!”
Roar!
The muscles of the Minotaur were shredded in real-time.
Blood vessels burst, painting fur in crimson as the amount of intact bone was far exceeded by the shattered remnants.
In anguish, the Minotaur’s eyes rolled back as it was twisted with pain, yet still, its body complied meticulously with Teresa’s commands.
Once more, blood flew.
It didn’t matter whether it was the blood of the puppet Minotaur or that of the kin it had slain.
Teresa glanced down at the blood splattered on her toes.
She playfully shook her leg, causing droplets to drip from her toes.
Delighted by the long-lost thrill of the gruesome spectacle, Teresa’s smile deepened.
“Ahahaha!! It’s quite entertaining after so long!!”
Ah, I am indeed the Black Witch!
An evil Black Witch!
Of course, I have my reasons.
Neither Shia nor Menelapie are here.
And there were no other S-grade hunters around.
Behind her are the civilians, and onboard the train is Yoonjeong, Shia’s mother, and many A-grade hunters are struggling too.
“Although I’ve been holding back with Shia around… but now I’m considerably weakened, so I’ve held back even more…!”
So it’s only natural for me to step up now, isn’t it?
This is a good cause, after all!
“Yes, I am the wicked and terrifying Black Witch!”
Crack!
Roar!?
When Teresa forcibly twisted the Arm of a Minotaur bent in an unnatural direction, the beast let out a scream of agony.
Having shown kindness by correcting the Minotaur’s arm, Teresa admired her own benevolence and mercy, her lips curling upwards.
It was a smile too dark to emerge from a little girl.
“Now, shall we kill some more?”
“Moo, moo…!!”
Seemingly exhilarated by tasting blood once more, Teresa’s gaze sparkled grotesquely, leaving the Minotaur trembling with fear.
Yet, resistance was futile.
“Hee hee~ One, two~”
Bam!
Boom!!
Prompted by Teresa’s words, the Minotaur under her command charged forward, only to eviscerate a fellow kin that tried to block its path.
With its horns impaling.
Twisting its body at absurd angles or causing bones to pierce through another Minotaur’s head.
While this happened, Teresa remained on the Minotaur’s shoulders, graciously crossing her legs like a princess, relishing the moment.
“Three, four. Five~”
“Moo, I’m not doing it, fellow!?”
“Roar!”
“Six, seven, eight. Nine now. How many will this puppet manage to slay?”
Assuming a Minotaur’s strength is capped at 50, Teresa’s command could be phrased as “Pierce your kin’s belly with 100 strength.”
The Minotaur, under the influence of the thread, executed this order with extreme precision, understanding it completely.
As its body broke down, fractures appearing, it was only the Minotaur’s burden to bear.
Teresa simply manipulated the puppet.
A puppet that obeyed her every command without its own will.
Thud!
“Thirty, thirty-one! Wow, what a record?”
“Moo, oh…!”
“Oh, already? I thought I was about to set the new record…”
Having completely surpassed the physical limits of its owner, it was inevitable for the puppet to break sooner or later.
With a light shrug, Teresa began her search for the next puppet.
However, surrounding her were only the corpses and blood of monsters, and at a slight distance, the Minotaurs were starting to retreat.
“The Minotaurs are pulling back!”
“Form a defensive line!”
“Backline for the injured!”
During this commotion, the hunters reestablished their ranks and attended to the wounded.
Seeing the Minotaurs’ retreat begin thanks to Teresa, several hunters felt relief, grateful as they noted that Teresa was on their side.
“…Wow, that girl is amazing.”
“She may look like that, but she’s no ordinary kid, right?”
“This is just sad for the Minotaurs…”
One could hardly imagine how dreadful it would be had there been another monster or entity with capabilities similar to Teresa’s.
Typically, when clashing against a powerful monster army, countless lives would be lost, but the reason why no deaths had occurred among the hunters thus far was that Teresa was controlling the Minotaurs like puppets, tossing the frontlines into disarray.
Grrrr…!
“What should we do?”
Growl…!
The Minotaurs surrounding Teresa were growling, glaring at her with suspicion, and while they could have attacked the defenseless Teresa, they found it hard to approach her.
Though eager to devour the wicked witch who employed dark sorcery, the moment they drew closer, they’d become entwined in her purple thread, turning into her puppets.
Yet, they couldn’t quite stand still either.
After all, Teresa had dispatched more Minotaurs than a thousand hunters here, prompting the beasts to view her as a more immediate threat than the hunters behind their defensive line.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming in?”
With one Minotaur’s limbs severed and spewing blood, Teresa playfully hopped down to the ground, casually walking as if on a stroll.
Roar…!
“Avoid getting close!”
“You’ll fall under her control!”
The Minotaurs weren’t lacking in intelligence.
They had witnessed how one of their own had succumbed to Teresa’s thread, their body dismantled while being made to kill its brethren.
With a smile reminiscent of a child on a thrilling amusement ride, Teresa joyfully commanded the Minotaurs like toys, diving into the very heart of the enemy lines while disregarding her allies.
Thus, their charge formation shattered completely, leading them into utter chaos.
But any attempts to get near her would result in the Minotaurs being instantly pierced by the lavender thread, becoming Teresa’s playthings until death.
As a result, the Minotaurs prioritized their caution against Teresa, though they could do little more than growl at her from a distance.
Throw stones!
Roar!
“Don’t get too close!”
At that moment, one Minotaur thought of a plan, and soon the others joined in.
It began pulling out rocks and boulders lodged in the valley to throw at Teresa.
A simple yet meaningful tactic indeed.
If they couldn’t approach her, they could kill her by tossing stones.
Given the Minotaurs’ overwhelming strength, their rock-throwing could rival the might of even a heavy cannon.
“Ha, these beefcakes are using their brains?”
Yet Teresa’s thread did not merely target those who approached.
Raising her hand as if conducting an orchestra, the purple threads adorned the air, seizing the stones and boulders hurtling toward her.
Roar!?
“Oh no!”
“Grr, no way!?”
Those Minotaurs believing they could successfully lob rocks were met with shock as all projectiles froze in midair—terrified faces colored by disbelief.
Noticing the hunters tending to the injured, Teresa grinned softly.
Guess there’s still room for more fun?
“Alright, beefcakes, shall we try again?”
Playing with cow puppets had gotten stale.
Perhaps it was time for some boulder puppets?
