58

Military Intelligence Section 5, also known as MI5.

It had served the UK for a long time, but it was admittedly not as great as before.

Michael Huntington, the chief of MI5, didn’t like Russell Winsted for several reasons. Their characteristics were completely contradicting, and, to Michael, Russell was an obstacle to his promotion.

Michael was of the opinion that the Winsted family already had too much power.

Russell and Sophie Winsted were both highly influential people in the UK’s political scene. In addition, their brother Anthony was also the prime minister of the ministry of education. If Russell becomes prime minister or gets a somewhat similar position, then who would take his current place?

Sophie Winsted was young, but she was undoubtedly a talented woman. Now, because she was bringing an SS-rated Hunter to help them, she was rapidly becoming popular among the other politicians. Because of that, it was more likely for her to take Russell’s current position, and if that happened, the Winsted family would eventually rule the UK.

However, those thoughts had to be kept in his mind. Michael was talking to the man next to him.

In the UK, there were many army units. Among them, the ‘Blue and Royals’ and the ‘First Dragoons’ executed orders from the royals.

When a gate appeared, these army units become the country’s main Hunter force. Its official name was now shortened to RHG/D.

The man Michael was talking to was Andrew Colman, an S-rated Hunter who was in charge of RHG/D.

According to Sophie, he had a power of 880,000. He did not like the current situation.

“The gate appeared in London, the capital of the city.”

“……..”

“Aren’t we supposed to protect our land by ourselves? Why are we deploying uncertified Korean Hunters?”

Michael and Andrew were good friends. They had known each other since they were in university.

“If we use all our forces, we can clear it. You know it as well. The demon king was cleared by ten S-rated Hunters.”

Michael frowned after hearing that sentence.

“You forgot to mention how many were killed as well.”

“…I know it was around 40,000.”

“Twenty-nine percent of the Hunters deployed from North Korea, or forty-seven thousand Hunters, died. Korea alone had casualties of twelve thousand Hunters, Cheon-Myeong had to make a huge sacrifice as well.”

What Michael was trying to say was simple.

“We will receive a lot of damage. According to previous cases, even if every modern weapon is used, it won’t be enough. They had to deploy a lot of Hunters. Even with all this effort, the SS-rated gate was barely cleared. Do you think we can shoulder that amount of damage?”

“……”

“Don’t think that everyone is like you. We have the best cards.”

“But you heard that he brought a B, D, and even an F-rated Hunter.”

“…I can’t deny that one.”

“……”

“I’ll trust you. Go in the gate and help them. Even if you are not the main fighter, you’ll become a big help to save the UK. I’m counting on you.”

Both men were planning to provide support to Hwan so that they could claim that they had contributed as well.

However, that plan would not work.

“Sir, they have said that they will enter the gate without any support.”

Michael sighed. He doubted his ears at first, but the man’s words were clear.

“…Is that so?”

“I’m afraid yes.”

Even before it began, their plan had already failed.

***

The gate was right in the middle of London. I was familiar with this place.

“Isn’t this where Sherlock Holmes lived?”

Gi-Hoon was surprised to hear that. “How did you know that?”

“There’s a statue of him over there. Am I the only one who can see that?”

“Oh…”

Gi-Hoon smiled awkwardly, and that was when Sophie arrived. She was serious.

“Mr. Lee…”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Are you really okay with this?”

It was easy to know what she meant by that.

Hundreds of Hunters were trying to take control over the SS-rated gates. She was worried about us. The UK was ready to provide us with everything, but we just wanted to enter by ourselves, only the five of us.

“We are not doubting your power. We have seen the video.”

I glanced at Sophie.

“Oh, I didn’t collect the video illegally. A guild member from Ko-gu-Rea sold his video to the government. Anyway, what I’m saying is that it’s dangerous.”

“What’s your reason behind saying that?”

Sophie whispered so that no one else could hear her. “The Chinese gate had power amounting to sixty million.”

“And?”

“This one is one hundred million.”

That was quite surprising. That meant that this gate had the highest amount of power that had ever appeared.

“That is quite unexpected.”

“Previous SS-rated gates were around fifty million, with a few others at sixty million. But this one is twice as strong.”

I glimpsed at Jeong Gi-Hoon. He was shaking his head hard.

That made me chuckle. He must be thinking that I was weak against women.

“So what?”

“…We’ll reinforce you with our army. It’s quite harsh for me to say so, but use them as a human shield.”

Human shield? Did I hear that right?

“We have a lot of S-rated Hunters. Use them.”

Those were not the words I would expect from the president of the UK’s Hunter authority, but she continued to explain the reason why she said that.

“Another SS-rated gate will appear soon. A powerful man like you should not die.”

“But they’ll die if we do what you’re saying.”

“I know. Of course, I’m not requiring them to sacrifice their lives, but the UK is larger than you think. A lot of people want to risk their lives to save London. Even if we are not that helpful, we still want to fight. I am also ready to be a human shield for you.”

This woman was much more interesting than I thought. I admire her spirit, but… it’s not her place to take action.

“Move.”

“…….”

I do trust Sophie’s words, but now is not the right time to discuss it.

When a war occurred, some people risked their lives and fought to save their country. These were such people, but I guessed I had to break their fantasies.

“In our country, there is a phrase called ‘A frog in a well.’”

“You mean the Korean way of saying big fish in a small pond?”

“Yes. And I am saying this because all Hunters in the world look like a frog in the well.”

“…Huh?”

That was my honest thought toward other Hunters, even Lee Ho. We had different backgrounds and stages of development, and that made all the difference.

“It will take about an hour to clear, so bring some video games and wait for a while.”

I waved to Sophie and stepped forward. She tried to stop me, but couldn’t—Gi-Hoon had already blocked her way and was shaking his head.

With that, Jeong Gi-Hoon, Yoo Ee-Na, Kim So-Eun, and Yoo-Jeong stepped forward as well.

London’s police force made a way for us. Some reporters came by, trying to ask us questions, but I waved my hand with aura, and all the cameras nearby were destroyed. As I mentioned before, I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the feeling of being observed.

“If you try to bug us some more, I’ll smash your heads.”

I said it in my language, but they got what I meant. Soon, the place became silent.

With that, I stepped into the gate.

***

The wind was blowing, and I could smell a familiar scent all around me.

It was the scent of blood, fresh blood.

I looked around. This place was like a plateau. I could see that a building had been standing here once, but it has already collapsed.

Jeong Gi-Hoon looked around and nodded.

“This place looks like an estate of land from the middle-ages.”

“Is that so?”

Everyone looked at Gi-Hoon as he explained.

“It’s approximately five hundred or six hundred years old.”

I was quite tired of saying this, but this man always surprised me.

“Have you studied archaeology before?”

“No. It’s my interpretation skill. As I told you before, I’m…”

“A jack of all trades?”

“I would prefer an all-rounder, but yes.”

That made me smile. I checked on my other companions, and all of them were nervous. Keeping the smile on my face, I approached them.

“Are you scared?”

“…No.”

“But your bodies are saying yes.”

The three women smiled awkwardly.

I suppose I would have to make this clear.

“As I mentioned before, I don’t expect you to do anything. You guys can think of yourselves as a burden. You’re not wrong.”

I stepped towards Kim So-Eun and stroked her hair.

“Everyone has their beginning. Remember everything you see at this gate. It will frighten you, but try to overcome it. Then you’ll grow.”

I paused before continuing. “Did I make myself clear?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Alright. Things were settled.

To grow, one must know their level and get the appropriate experience.

After my little pep talk, we walked forward.

Suddenly, Gi-Hoon raised his hand and pointed at something. “Isn’t that a hand?”

I could see that there was a hand peeking out from inside a crack on the wall. The crack was big enough for several people to hide in.

“I suppose there might be a survivor in this gate.”

“Then why don’t you go and check?”

“Alright. Give me a second.”

He stepped forward and grabbed the hand.

“Hi, I’m Jeong Gi-Hoon from… What the fuck!”

He shouted and quickly stepped backward, holding a severed arm that had been chopped off its body. Gi-Hoon immediately dropped it.

I could see that he was also nervous. If he was trying to make me laugh, he was quite successful.

“Didn’t you notice that this hand didn’t have any sign of life?”

Gi-Hoon smiled awkwardly and apologized.

However, I understood his mistake. Despite the fact that he was an S-rated Hunter, it was the first time that he had come inside this type of gate.

“Don’t make the same mistake again. After all, you are my right arm.”

He had lowered his head, but after hearing my words, he immediately looked back up again.

“…Your right arm?”

“Do you prefer my left arm?”

“Not at all, sir. I’ll do my best.”

He had brightened up considerably. I shrugged and asked him.

“What shall we do next?”

He replied readily. “We need to find any trace of the Constantine guild.”

“Is that the guild that came before us?”

“It is. I think that arm belongs to one of their guild members. We need to find a watch.”

“So that we can find clues about this dungeon?”

“Yes. Usually, someone always records everything that happens in the gate.”

“Then what you are saying is that finding such a clue will shorten our time here?”

“Indeed. If not, then I suppose we’ll have to work harder.”

I nodded and smiled at him.

“As my right arm, I ask you to find the clue.”

“As you wish, sir.”