Chapter 69
Hunter Lee Shin (5)
Lee Shin had gained many things from his victory in the [World Collision] against the Evil God Beliar.
His divine rank had risen, of course. He had also obtained vast territories that could expand the size of his world, new resources that had never existed before, and [Exclusive Traits].
His world had achieved tremendous development within an extremely short time.
But if he had to choose the most valuable gain among them....
“Hmm.”
Wouldn’t it be the Iron Men?
“Perhaps because this world is not under your control, some of my powers appear to be restricted here.”
Dwarves, undead, and druid dinosaurs.
Every race Lee Shin had gathered until now consisted of unique individuals with their own distinctive personalities. Each possessed a particular specialty that allowed them to perform exceptionally well in a specific field.
However, the inhabitants of the World of Chains and Shackles—
The Iron Men were different.
“Half of my original strength? No... perhaps only thirty percent....”
They were a warrior race whose every attribute had been devoted exclusively to war rather than individuality.
They were life-forms created solely to conquer other worlds, triumph in every conflict, and rule above all others.
And Mars had stood at the very pinnacle of those beings.
“...It will be sufficient.”
Mars was the soul who had single-handedly crushed Lee Shin’s principal believers in a direct confrontation—including Eve, Santiago, Jude, and Hephaestus, all of whom were practically Lee Shin’s closest retainers.
In terms of pure combat power, not a single soul residing in Lee Shin’s world could surpass Mars.
Not one.
“Ha! What the hell is that supposed to be? A summoning ability? Did you summon one of your pets?”
“....”
“What a pathetic little trick! I was willing to forgive you if you understood your place and bowed your head, but you dare defy me?”
Creak.
When Mars turned his head, the unpleasant metallic screech of iron scraping against iron rang out.
He was an empty suit of armor without anything inside. Ominous light flickered through the gaps in his hollow helmet.
“Mars.”
“Give me your command.”
“Don’t kill him.”
The enormous helmet moved up and down at Lee Shin’s words.
“That will not be difficult.”
Boom. Boom....
The ground shook each time Mars took a step.
His movements appeared both unnaturally rigid and infinitely controlled. It was a characteristic shared by all Iron Men—and the very quality that had earned them the nickname living weapons.
“Don’t just stand there listening! Answer me!”
Seeing Mars approach, Zhang Jiang roared and hurled another spear.
Unlike the previous throw, this was no warning. It was clearly aimed at Mars.
The spear flew with astonishing speed, far beyond what should have been possible for a human body.
However—
Zhang Jiang was not the only one here who had surpassed the limits of humanity.
“I pity the metal trapped in your hands.”
Lee Shin blinked.
By the time his eyes opened again, Mars was holding the spear Zhang Jiang had thrown.
No one present had seen how he caught it.
Not even Zhang Jiang, the man who had thrown the spear.
An unusual tension settled over the area as Yang Qianhua spoke.
“...Lee Shin, are you certain this will be all right?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Hunter Zhang Jiang may be deeply problematic in many respects, but when it comes to fighting other people, he is a superhuman considered virtually unrivaled. Even for someone like you, if Hunter Zhang Jiang genuinely tries to harm you in a place like this....”
Lee Shin answered her concern without the slightest change in expression.
“It’ll be fine.”
Even Lee Shin, who possessed no particular expertise in combat, could tell.
Zhang Jiang was no match for Mars.
Absolutely none.
Besides—
Wouldn’t his specialty in fighting people be useless here?
It was difficult to consider Mars a person.
***
Zhang Jiang, China’s S-rank hunter.
Throughout his life, he had believed himself to be a man chosen by heaven.
He possessed an influential family, handsome features, immense wealth, and abundant power. From childhood onward, he had never lacked anything.
Then, as the new millennium began and the world underwent a massive transformation, he had even received an opportunity to awaken—a blessing said to require fortune great enough to reach the heavens.
That day, Zhang Jiang had not received an ordinary evaluation.
He had been classified as an S-rank, one of the greatest superhumans alive.
How could his pride possibly remain restrained?
Not only the Chinese people but humanity as a whole had praised Zhang Jiang as one of the heroes of the new age.
Even when he occasionally committed shameless acts or caused incidents deserving moral condemnation, the people hurried to defend him by claiming, “Zhang Jiang behaves that way because he is the reincarnation of Lü Bu.”
There had been occasions when he made a fool of himself at gatherings attended by all the hunters....
But Zhang Jiang considered even those moments part of his heroic biography. How could a hero possibly be perfect from the very beginning? Even those failures were merely steps toward the completion of his heroic epic.
To Zhang Jiang, receiving the help and sacrifices of others was only natural.
Wasn’t it common knowledge in martial-arts novels that fortuitous encounters existed for the protagonist’s benefit?
Yet that Korean bumpkin from an insignificant nation had dared interfere with what rightfully belonged to him.
Lü Bu had possessed the Fangtian Huaji, and Guan Yu had possessed the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. So how could Lee Shin give such precious equipment to some big-nosed Westerner rather than to Zhang Jiang, the hero of the continent?
According to what he had heard, that petty man possessed the ability to retrieve exceptional objects but was otherwise nothing more than an idiot incapable of protecting himself.
Despite that, he had dared overlook Zhang Jiang, the hero responsible for upholding the continent’s dignity?
It was utterly unforgivable.
How dare he hold his head high even after I personally came here?
Zhang Jiang snorted as he looked ahead.
Apparently, he thinks he can act arrogantly because of that pathetic summoned creature.
He had been told that Lee Shin possessed the ability of a [Dimensional Traveler]. Some hunters with abilities related to dimensional travel also possessed summoning powers like his.
But how strong could a summoned creature possibly be?
Not a single existing S-rank hunter possessed a summoning ability.
He really is a frog in a well.
Summoned creatures from other worlds generally refused to obey their masters. Furthermore, because they had been forcibly dragged into a foreign world, their strength inevitably fell far below its original level.
That was why summoner-class hunters tended to be looked down upon even in the field, and Zhang Jiang was one of those who despised them.
While warriors fought heroically on the front lines, summoners merely watched from behind without doing anything themselves.
How could such cowards possibly deserve to be called hunters?
None of them were qualified.
“I will teach you just how vast this world truly is.”
Whoosh—!
Zhang Jiang smoothly drew another spear.
I don’t know how it caught the spear I threw, but it doesn’t matter. Spear-throwing isn’t my specialty anyway.
Zhang Jiang’s trait was [Martial Artist].
Thanks to that trait, he had instantly become a master of martial arts from the moment he awakened, despite never undergoing any significant training.
And that was not all.
His body had instantly surpassed the limits of humanity, and every one of his senses had been sharpened beyond those of a wild beast.
He had acquired tremendous power upon awakening without making any particular effort.
Of course, because he had obtained that strength too easily and never worked to improve himself, he had gradually fallen behind as the era changed.
Nevertheless, when limited strictly to combat against other people, Zhang Jiang could still be considered a hunter at the highest level.
I’ll strip that armor off you first.
The true value of his [Martial Artist] trait shone in situations like this.
「Retrieving records from the distant Murim.」
Whenever Zhang Jiang held a weapon, the ability allowed him to access the memories of beings from another world.
Those memories contained nothing but battles between humans, making them of little use when attacking rifts. Viewed differently, however, the ability was practically a cheat code when fighting another person.
“Fuck you!”
Zhang Jiang kicked off the ground and charged toward Mars.
As he raced forward, Mars remained firmly planted in place despite his massive suit of armor. Seeing the Iron Man maintain his immovable stance, Zhang Jiang assumed the oversized brute could not react to his incredible speed.
Whoosh—!
The moment he moved within range, Zhang Jiang thrust his spear without hesitation.
His targets were the openings between the thick plates of Mars’s armor.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
In less than a second, Zhang Jiang successfully delivered eight strikes into the exposed gaps in Mars’s armor.
If those openings corresponded to human anatomy, he had struck the nape, lower abdomen, knees, ankles, shoulders, and several other vulnerable areas.
It was a picture-perfect attack.
The creature would undoubtedly collapse without ever understanding how it had been defeated.
However—
“Are you finished?”
“How pitiful.”
Mars merely spoke in an emotionless voice.
“...!”
Startled, Zhang Jiang immediately corrected his stance.
He inhaled deeply before unleashing another barrage with everything he had.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
The spear strikes were so fast that they were nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Not one of the dozens of thrusts struck the metal plates. Every attack passed precisely through a gap and penetrated the interior of the armor.
And yet—
Why can’t I feel the spear piercing flesh?
Something was wrong.
It felt as though he were stabbing empty air.
“What the hell... are you?”
Panting heavily, Zhang Jiang stared blankly up at the creature.
The ominous light continued to flicker within its helmet.
Then—
“Urgh!”
With a sickening crunch, Zhang Jiang’s body collapsed.
“Agh! Aaaaaagh!”
Zhang Jiang fell forward with a pathetic scream and belatedly looked down at himself.
Both legs had been bent in directions they were never meant to bend. Pure-white bones protruded through his torn flesh.
“U-Ugh... Ah....”
“Let us end this now.”
Crack.
Mars seized Zhang Jiang by the hair and pulled him upward.
With the sound of his scalp beginning to tear, Zhang Jiang’s body was lifted into the air. His two broken legs swung limply beneath him.
“Agh! A-Aaaaaagh!”
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Ugh... Sob... It hurts. It hurts....”
“An organic life-form’s vocal cords surely do not exist merely to produce such meaningless screams.”
Dangling from Mars’s grip, Zhang Jiang sobbed as he feebly thrust the spear in his hand.
Tink. Tink....
The powerless impacts echoed pathetically.
Snap!
Zhang Jiang’s spear soon broke.
Mars stared at the fallen spearhead for a moment. He then bent down and picked it up.
Grasping the lower section of his helmet, he forcefully pulled it open.
“H-Hic....”
The inside of the helmet was completely empty.
As Zhang Jiang trembled as though he had seen a ghost, Mars dropped the spearhead inside. He then took the broken shaft from Zhang Jiang’s hand and placed that inside the helmet as well.
“I shall take custody of this pitiful metal that had the misfortune of serving an unworthy master. Spoils rightfully belong to the victor. You have no objections, I presume?”
“N-No. I don’t. No, sir....”
Boom. Boom.
After swallowing the broken spear, Mars walked away with heavy metallic clanks.
Zhang Jiang dragged across the dirt like a piece of luggage, begging for his life as Mars held him by the hair.
“Ugh... Hic....”
“It is finished. I did not kill him.”
Thud.
Mars threw the battered Zhang Jiang down before Lee Shin.
Looking down at the sobbing man, Lee Shin spoke expressionlessly.
“Shall we introduce ourselves now?”
“...Sob... Ugh....”
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Lee Shin, and I’m from South Korea.”
His voice contained no discernible emotion.
“You should introduce yourself too, Hunter Zhang Jiang. Greetings are supposed to be exchanged by both sides, aren’t they?”
***
As expected, Lee Shin’s prediction had been correct.
Mars had not even needed to demonstrate any special abilities. The difference in their fundamental capabilities was simply too overwhelming.
A warrior race really is different.
Within Lee Shin’s world, an S-rank hunter would practically be one of the setting’s strongest beings.
Yet Mars had handled someone like that as though entertaining a child.
Lee Shin looked at the completely broken Zhang Jiang.
What should I do with him now?
He would need a moment to think.
However—
「A demon has appeared!」
Apparently, one more unexpected encounter awaited him.
[Ahem.]
Black mist began rising around Lee Shin.
Someone emerged from within it, walking with extreme caution.
[You appeared to be searching for me, so I came to introduce myself first.]
He wore a neat suit, a black necktie, and polished shoes.
His attire made him look like a stereotypical businessman.
Unlike his clothing, however, his face was not human. He possessed a thick black mane, the sharp eyes of a predator, and fangs protruding between his lips.
It was the face of a lion one might see at a zoo.
A human body with a lion’s head.
It was a truly incongruous combination.
[You may call me Marbas, new god who rose from humble origins to stand alongside the radiant stars.]
A surprising number of people seemed eager to introduce themselves today.
Although this one was not human.
Well, in any case—
「A demon’s presence can be felt nearby.」
「Your soul shines brilliantly.」
「You are a demon’s natural enemy.」
「The conditions for using the skill [True Justice] have been fulfilled.」
I should probably try talking to him first, right?