Infinite Evolution Hunter [NOVEL] - chapter 23
This subjugation was an operation to march north and reclaim North Korean territory. The reason I took part is because many fairies appear here, and hunters are given first rights to the fairy mana stones and materials they themselves capture.
The northward push on the first day was carried out without much difficulty. Because the hunters advanced in formation, the lower-tier monsters were busy fleeing.
From time to time I also saw the fairies I was targeting. With a body about one meter tall, big eyes, and smooth skin, fairies have a beauty like androgynous baby angels. Someone ignorant might foolishly approach them because they’re cute, but there’s no one like that left anymore. Anyone who approached would have been killed to the last.
Like other monsters, fairies view humans only as enemies. Their physical ability is about that of a goblin, but because they use various elemental magic, fairies are treated as D-class monsters.
Hunters were assigned to temporary parties by the military, sweeping away small fry monsters and pushing the defensive line forward. Behind them, engineers carved roads, built fortifications, and gradually raised the line.
“Please proceed just as you are now. Keep your ranks. Do not go ahead or fall behind.”
The net of hunters stretching for kilometers slowly advanced north at the commander’s order.
“Hunters. Do not leave formation. Do not charge out alone! I said don’t go!!!”
The soldier relaying the commander’s orders strained the veins in his neck trying to control disobedient hunters. They say the hardest things in the world to control are hunters and reservists; controlling hunters is no easy task.
The appearing monsters, aside from fairies, were mostly E-class ones like small hellhounds, slimes, and werewolves.
Full of fight and having assumed they’d face D-class monsters, many hot-blooded hunters kept disobeying orders and rushing ahead.
I was frustrated that the fairies I needed didn’t show, but I silently took care of the petty monsters along with the other hunters.
—
“Battalion commander! Sectors B4 and C3 report a stalemate. They’re asking for support from B-class hunters or higher.”
“They’ve got more people over there—what kind of crap is that!”
“They say many werewolves and fairies have appeared.”
The signalman looked resentful at getting cursed out for a request he hadn’t made himself.
“Tsks… ahem… Director, can we pull some personnel?”
At the signalman’s report, the Army battalion commander asked Director Baek Young-shin from the Awakener Bureau.
“It seems high-tier monsters don’t come to this AO much, so we can detach a few B- and C-class hunters. I’ll issue the orders.”
In the command tent, Director Baek Young-shin reallocated personnel. In such subjugation operations the military moves with them, but command over hunters belongs to the Awakener Bureau.
“Huh? Those folks are pulling back. Aren’t those the B- and C-class hunters?”
“Better that they’re gone. It’s been dull as it is with only bland mobs—if the high and mighty pull back, our share increases.”
Seeing the high-tier hunters pull back, other hunters murmured, but since our line wasn’t in a tough spot, people welcomed it rather than complaining.
Even though many high-tier hunters pulled out, the monster level was low compared to the hunters, so our line kept pressing forward.
“That’s it for today! Hunters assigned to security duty, please remain; everyone else, return to camp~!”
Under military direction, most left the front except for the hunters assigned to guard and mop up small fry. It would’ve been nice to have a resort like during the hellhound operation, but here the forest was dense. We couldn’t get too far away, so this time the hunters had no choice but to sleep in temporary tents. Still, the rewards were that much higher.
I drew first watch, so I didn’t go to the temporary tents. Security duty didn’t mean staring holes into the forest anyway. It was more like a standby detail to go support the pickets when they spotted monsters, so I had time and helped the soldiers building the fortifications.
“Oh, Hunter, you’re going to help?”
“Yeah, I don’t really have anything else to do.”
When I rolled up my sleeves to help, the soldiers looked at me as if surprised.
In my past life I’d fought plenty alongside soldiers. More soldiers died than hunters, so seeing them now made me feel a bit of pity; I wanted to treat them well.
“No other hunter has ever helped us. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Inside gates, electronics go dead and you can’t bring in many heavy-caliber rounds, so they can’t be used. But outside gates, modern weapons help a lot.
Monster hides are tough, so by C-class ordinary modern weapons don’t do much, but if you emplace heavy machine guns and MLRS, you can kill low-tier monsters or at least buy time until hunters arrive.
Still, in fights against monsters, hunters are most important.
“Should this go over there?”
“Oh?! That’s too heavy to lift—… he lifted it….”
I picked up a whole heavy machine gun and carried it to the designated spot, and the soldiers’ jaws dropped.
“Wow… as expected of a hunter. Doesn’t that thing weigh over a ton?”
Even each ammo can weighed dozens of kilos; I carried several at a time to move things fast.
“Hunter, would you like some snacks?”
Soldiers a few years younger than me shared their private snacks with me. Thanks to me, the work ended much faster; everyone looked pleased.
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
I’d been craving something sweet anyway—perfect.
“Um… how long has it been since you awakened?”
The soldiers stuck to my side and asked little questions. They looked as excited as if a sports star had visited.
“Not many months.”
“Months?! Aren’t you D-class?”
“I am.”
“How can you get to D-class in just a few months?”
“I worked hard and it happened.”
“Your skills or stats… we shouldn’t ask, right?”
“Right.”
“Ah, of course. Sorry.”
Skills or stats are like corporate trade secrets—industry etiquette is not to ask or tell lightly. Not that it matters; once you’re famous it all ends up online anyway.
“It’s fine. You’ve seen me fight, so you probably get the gist: I don’t have any special skills, I’m just plain strong.”
I picked up a rock off the ground and crushed it.
“Uwoaaah.”
Seeing the soldiers amused put me in a good mood too, and we chatted over dinner.
—
“Alert! Alert! All personnel to battle stations!”
In the middle of the night the alarm blared. I didn’t need to grab weapons or armor; I sprang up and went straight out of the tent.
“What’s going on?! What is it!?”
Hunters and soldiers hurriedly put on clothes and rushed outside.
Fairies rained magic from the sky while werewolves charged on the ground. With wind cutters and fireballs flying from every direction, the inside of the position was a wreck.
The soldiers fought back with the heavy machine guns and rifles we had moved during the day. Of the dozens or hundreds of heavy rounds, a lucky one might hit, but the fairies’ barriers blocked them. If the targets were stationary, sustained fire could break the barriers, but it’s not easy to land consecutive hits on tiny, fast fairies.
Conversely, the fairies’ magic destroyed the machine guns far too easily.
Thanks to returning hunters and soldiers, we barely formed a defensive line again, but then the fairies cast fireballs and firewalls to encircle the position. The freshly cut green logs from building the fortifications caught fire, choking smoke spread everywhere, and sparks hit ammo cans causing explosions here and there.
The soldiers tried to douse the flames with dirt and extinguishers, but it was a drop in the bucket.
“Damn it! We’re going to burn to death at this rate!”
One hunter cursed as he knocked down a werewolf.
“Mages, prioritize extinguishing!”
The battalion commander, drenched in sweat, ordered the mages.
The mages did everything they could in their own ways—bringing in water, changing the wind’s direction, dispelling the fairies’ magic—to stop the flames from spreading.
“All other hunters, go out and take down the fairies!”
“Are you crazy?! You want us to go through that fire?”
At the commander’s words, a hunter in the middle of fighting werewolves shouted.
“We can’t suppress this without high-tier hunters! Where are the B-class hunters from earlier?!”
“Damn it… Signalman! Did you request support?!”
“Y-yes! ETA ten minutes!”
“We’ll all be dead by then!”
Panic started creeping over the soldiers and D-class hunters.
I smashed werewolves one by one and assessed the situation. I could survive somehow, but at this rate in ten minutes the soldiers would all be dead even if the hunters weren’t.
We came to hunt fairies anyway—time to get to work.
I threw myself into the flames. Seeing me charge, the fairies hurled fireballs. Their burst power was weaker than hellhounds’ flames, but the shower of fireballs burned my clothes and skin to a crisp.
But thanks to Hardened Body, I didn’t die on the spot; I regenerated while dodging and pushed straight through the flames.
I sprinted through the fire, climbed a tree, and leapt at a flying fairy.
The fairy’s big eyes went even wider, not expecting me to approach like that, but its body couldn’t react. I opened my hand and swatted the fairy together with its barrier, knocking it down.
Fortunately, these things don’t fly very high, so from the trees I could jump and reach them.
Because I drew their eyes, more than ten fairies were casting at me instead of the position, and that much reduced the firepower headed for the fort.
“The fairies’ magic is weakening! Push them!”
I dodged as much as I could and launched myself at the hovering fairies. I could finish off the careless ones, but the wary ones kept their distance and only cast magic.
Thanks to that, I kept swinging in vain and taking hits.
[Agility has increased by 2.]
It wasn’t a fatal wound, but after taking several hits in a row, my Agility increased.
With enhanced agility I put power into my legs and zigzagged between trees faster than a monkey, then launched at a fairy. My burst speed got faster than the fairies’ ability to flee; I closed in.
“1st Company cease fire and focus on extinguishing!”
Rifles wouldn’t inflict major damage anyway; combat was the hunters’ job, and the soldiers fell back to concentrate on firefighting.
As I slowly took down fairies one by one, the tilted situation started to shift in our favor.
“Support’s here!”
Far off, a helicopter approached, and the B-class mage aboard cast lightning over the cluster of fairies.
“Kyyaaaaah!”
As the lightning spread wide, it burned the fairies; the survivors scattered, shrieking chilling screams.
“’Bout damn time!”
Commander and hunters alike in the position shouted half in joy, half in anger.
“Whew….”
After clearing the nearby monsters, I finally noticed my appearance. My clothes were all burned off and I was naked; my whole body was blackened. I had regenerated, but the dead cells were still stuck on my skin.
“Healer!”
“I’m fine. Just give me some clothes.”
I stopped a soldier who was calling a healer, took a blanket, and wrapped myself.
“You’re Hunter Lee Ji-seok, right? Good work.”
The battalion commander approached me as I rested.