Chapter 65

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 65: Mission Preparation (3)

“It’s… it’s been a while,” Kwon Hudon greeted with a trembling voice. He seemed genuinely glad, but Kwon Hanul didn’t return the sentiment.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well… I’m participating in this mission too.”

Hanul frowned. This was news to him.

“I didn’t hear anything about that from the Chairman.”

“Of course not. It was my decision,” Goriki Nana interjected before Hudon could explain further. Hanul gave her a disbelieving look.

“What are you talking about?”

“I hired his team as additional support,” Nana replied flatly.

“And why is that?”

“I appreciate Hyukcheon Group’s support, but frankly, I don’t find it reliable enough,” Nana adjusted her glasses with her index finger as she spoke. “I did my own research on your team. It’s just the three of you. And from what I found, you were just recently formed.”

She crossed her arms and raised her voice, clearly on the offensive.

“The Takamine family is under threat from Pandemonium. I couldn’t risk relying solely on a team like yours, so I arranged for a backup.”

“And the backup just so happens to be another Hyukcheon team?”

“Don’t nitpick. I’ve already settled it with Ms. Kwon Mi.”

At the mention of Kwon Mi’s name, Hanul’s expression darkened. He had suspected as much, but didn’t expect Kwon Mi to pull such a move.

“Ms. Takamine Ryoko, were you aware of this?”

Ryoko’s face stiffened. She took a deep breath before answering.

“…This is the first I’ve heard of it. Nana, you should’ve discussed this with me before making a decision.”

Her voice was low as she scolded Nana.

“You’re still too young to make such decisions.”

“I’m an adult now,” Ryoko replied firmly.

“Even so, you lack experience. What if you make the wrong call?”

“That’s…”

“I have a duty to protect you and the family until you’re truly ready. Don’t you understand that?”

Nana’s impassioned rebuttal silenced Ryoko.

Hanul sighed inwardly. He was beginning to understand how this household operated.

“The Takamine family’s request was reviewed and approved directly by Chairman Kwon Seonwoo,” Hanul finally said. Both Ryoko and Nana turned to look at him.

“The Chairman deemed the three of us sufficient for this mission. And yet the Takamine family decided to make an unauthorized move.”

His tone sharpened.

“Are you saying the Chairman’s judgment isn’t trustworthy?”

Nana gulped dryly under Hanul’s firm tone.

Then—

“Looks like someone’s seriously pissed off.”

Hanul turned his head. One of Hudon’s teammates was chuckling quietly.

“I get why you’re upset, but maybe you should take it down a notch?”

“And you are?”

“You mean you don’t recognize me? That stings a little,” the man scratched his head. “They call me Rockbreaker.”

Hanul didn’t recognize the name—but Joo Hayun did.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Oh, I figured you’d recognize me,” Rockbreaker winked, but Hayun didn’t flinch.

“Hayun, you know who this is?”

“Yes. Mark Griffin. Known by the alias Rockbreaker. He’s a global-ranked hunter.”

Hanul’s eyes widened.

Global-ranked.

The pinnacle of the world’s hundreds of millions of hunters. Even qualifying for the rankings was nearly impossible—you needed at least three S-rank stats, a mark of transcendent ability.

“He made headlines for capturing the internationally wanted playboy criminal Casano.”

Hanul hadn’t known, but this man was more than just famous—he was the real deal. Unlike that poser Ruyn Aspadam.

“Aw, you’re making me blush,” Rockbreaker grinned.

“I hadn’t heard anything about you recently. I didn’t expect Ms. Kwon Mi to have recruited you,”

Hayun said.

“Me neither. But the offer was just too good to pass up. And now…”

He slung an arm over Kwon Hudon’s shoulders.

“I work under Captain Kwon Hudon. I’m his second-in-command and advisor.”

“R-Rockbreaker’s been a great help,” Hudon muttered. But anyone could tell their dynamic didn’t look like commander and subordinate.

“Hey, Little Dragon,” Rockbreaker addressed Hanul. He flinched at the unpleasant nickname.

“I get that you’re mad about losing the spotlight, but c’mon—this industry rewards the strong, doesn’t it?”

He was smiling, but his eyes weren’t. It was a warning: fall in line or face the consequences.

Hanul laughed aloud. He found it impressive—this guy had the guts to challenge Hyukcheon without flinching.

“Honestly, we’ve got more people and more firepower. So for the duration of this mission, your team should follow my lead.”

“Your lead?”

“Oh—slip of the tongue,” he chuckled, pulling Hudon closer.

“I meant our captain’s lead.”

He was clearly trying to take over the operation. Hanul’s temper began to rise.

“Excuse me,” Mei Hong raised her hand, cutting through the tension. “There’s another world-ranked hunter on our side.”

She looked to Joo Hayun. Hayun spoke up.

“I’m a global-ranked hunter too.”

Then, without changing her expression, she added, “You and I are both Zero Numbering—same situation, wouldn’t you say?”

Zero Numbering.

It referred to world-ranked hunters who weren’t part of the top 500 list. It sounded like a contradiction—how could someone be ranked yet unranked?

Simple. There were over a thousand hunters who qualified for global rank, but only 500 could be officially listed. The remaining ranked but unlisted were known as Zero Numbering.

“You say that like there’s no difference between us,”Rockbreaker sneered.

“Do you even know who I am?”

“I do. The Witch of Hyukcheon. Of course I know. But you’re still just another Zero Number, same as me.”

That jab made Hayun’s brow twitch ever so slightly.

“You’re absolutely right!” Nana raised her voice.

“Do you even know how famous Rockbreaker is? He’s captured multiple criminals and appeared on TV more times than I can count!”

Come to think of it, Hayun had recognized him instantly. Clearly, his fame wasn’t just smoke.

“You’d better learn to listen to someone like him!”

“I’m afraid that won’t be happening,” Hanul said bluntly. “I was the one originally assigned to this mission. And now you’re telling me to follow another team’s orders? That’s unacceptable.”

“Little Dragon, are you really trying to assert your pride against me—”

Rockbreaker couldn’t finish his sentence.

At some point, Mei Hong had placed the tip of her blade against his neck.

“Our leader’s speaking. How about you shut up?”

“You arrogant bitch… Looks like you’ve got a death wish.”

“If you think you can, go ahead and try.”

Even when facing a threat from a world-ranked fighter, Mei Hong didn’t blink.

“Then I’ll continue.”

Kwon Hanul resumed speaking.

“I’m the one in command of this mission. Kwon Hudon, my subordinates, and the Takamine family will follow my lead.”

“Excuse me?! What are you saying?! The client is our Takamine family! You should be following us!“

“Seems you’re misunderstanding something.”

Kwon Hanul glared at Goriki Nana.

“I didn’t come here to take orders from the Takamine family. It was your family that first requested help. Our team, Hyukcheon, simply responded to that request.”

His voice and demeanor shifted. The sheer weight of his presence made Goriki Nana swallow dryly.

“How we protect your family from Pandemonium will be decided by me. You lot just stay out of the way.”

“W-What did you just say?”

The sheer audacity of his words left Goriki Nana stammering.

“Hmph. No mistaking it — Hyukcheon’s temper is something else.”

Rockbreaker smirked. He and Goriki Nana clearly had no intention of backing down.

“Then how about we settle the pecking order before the mission starts?”

Rockbreaker stood. Kwon Hanul rose as well and faced him.

Then suddenly, he turned away—his gaze fixed on an empty window.

“Hey?”

Rockbreaker asked in confusion. Ignoring him, Kwon Hanul called out, “Hayun.”

“So you sensed it too, Mr. Kwon.”

“Not sure how many.”

“More than ten. They’ll breach any second now.”

No one else in the room understood the exchange. Mei Hong groaned beside them.

“There they go again, talking like it’s just the two of them.”

Before her complaint even ended, the mansion’s windows shattered all at once.

Intruders burst in through the broken glass.

“Where’s Takamine Ryoko—”

Before the sentence finished, one attacker’s head snapped violently backward. He dropped dead.

The rest looked down at him in alarm.

A perfectly round hole was drilled through his forehead.

“Thought the deadline was today.”

Kwon Hanul lowered his outstretched hand.

From his index and middle fingers, smoke trailed into the air.

“That bastard Frederance sure is impatient.”

Finger Bullet — a skill he’d obtained from the Iron Fang Guild, revealed now for the first time.

Kwon Hanul glanced at his fingers and remarked casually, “Not bad.”

The intruders shouted in panic.

“S-Spread out! Distract him!”

“Raise your aura! Protect your bodies!”

A bright aura shimmered over the intruders’ armor. Clearly, these weren’t amateurs.

But neither was Kwon Hanul.

He opened all ten fingers, bent them at the second joints, and swung both arms outward.

Ten bullets of magical energy fired at once. They punched through the intruders’ aura and armor with ease.

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Cries of pain filled the room as attackers crumpled. But some were still standing.

“Why are you just standing there?! Grab Takamine Ryoko!”

“B-But that guy—”

“You idiot! Die here or die to him, what’s the difference?!”

The remaining assailants lunged again. Kwon Hanul prepared to reload his bullets—

But Mei Hong moved first, charging ahead and slashing wide with her blade.

A crescent-shaped arc of sword energy cut through the intruders at the waist. Their upper and lower halves collapsed to the ground separately.

“I could’ve handled it too, you know.”

“The captain’s job is to give orders from the back.”

Mei Hong sheathed her sword and grinned as she turned to Joo Hayun.

“Right, unni?”

“There are more coming.”

“Huh?”

Before Mei Hong could even process the words, more enemies burst in through the windows.

This time, they began sprinting across the ceiling. It was immediately clear—they were far more skilled than the last wave.

“Kyaaah! S-Someone stop them!” Goriki Nana screamed, hiding behind Takamine Ryoko.

But the ceiling attack made it hard to react in time.

The intruders reached Ryoko in an instant.

Kwon Hanul raised his hand to fire again—but Joo Hayun was faster.

She pointed her finger, drawing black magical energy to its tip. At the same time, dark rings formed around the intruders’ heads.

Joo Hayun flicked her finger upward.

In that instant, the attackers were slammed into the ceiling.

Squish.

The sound wasn’t loud—but the intruders were crushed, their bodies smeared into the plaster.

It was like swatting mosquitoes against a wall with your palm.

“Oops. Got the ceiling dirty.”

Joo Hayun withdrew her magic. Only then did blood and flesh begin to drip down in streams.

The floor turned red beneath it. Watching it all unfold, she commented calmly, “Figured we wouldn’t get any useful intel from them anyway, so I just killed them.”

No one objected to her decision.

What she’d just done had been terrifying.

“Ahem.”

Kwon Hanul cleared his throat to gather attention.

“While all this happened, where were the mansion’s guards, I wonder?”

Then, in a cool but biting tone, he added, “Not to mention, none of you noticed a thing either.”

He turned to look directly at Rockbreaker. The man’s face flushed red.

“Miss Takamine Ryoko.”

“Y-Yes?”

Kwon Hanul didn’t even glance at Goriki Nana. His words were directed solely at Ryoko.

“Until the succession ceremony is over, our team will be handling the mansion’s security. Do we have your permission?”

He said it like a question, but it was effectively a declaration.

Takamine Ryoko answered without hesitation.

“Yes. Please take care of it.”

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]