82

Hong Jong-Geun was waiting outside the gate in China’s mountains. He was smoking hard, clearly worried.

The situation now was vastly different from what had happened in Japan.

Ho had declared that he would become the king of Asia, but it was not wise. He was trying to form a new union, and that meant he would be taking control over the entire continent of Asia.

The biggest obstacle was not politics; it was two people. Oda Takeshi from Japan, and Jin Yong from China.

The two of them were the strongest people in Asia, and they symbolized their countries. Ho had to defeat both of them to achieve his desire.

Oda had thusly been defeated. The prime minister of Japan had bowed to him as well. China was the only obstacle left.

Jin Yong and Ho had entered the gate by themselves.

Jin Yong was a strong man. With his unique ability, ‘Ignite,’ he could burn everything in sight. His ability could even counter Lee Ho’s ‘manifesting’ skill.

Jong-Geun was worried, and that’s why he was smoking hard.

The fight Lee Ho was having right now would decide his future.

Time passed, and the gate was cleared. A man appeared from the gate, and Jong-Geun stood up, trying to see who it was.

It was Lee Ho.

Hong Jong-Geun was speechless. Jin Yong was also with Ho, but he was passed out.

That meant that Lee Ho had won.

The king of Asia had well been decided. Lee Ho placed Jin Yong on the ground and smiled.

“Don’t forget to clean up this mess.”

His voice was confident. Jong-Geun smiled and said, “I will. And congratulations on your progress.”

Suddenly, Lee Ho’s smartwatch vibrated. It was a message from Lee Hwan.

[ Are you busy? ]

Was he up to something?

[ I’m free right now. Why? ]

[ I don’t remember his name. Is it Jong-Geun? Bring him with you. ]

[ …Now? ]

[ Now. ]

“There really must be something happening.”

Lee Ho murmured. With this, Lee Hwan sent another message.

[ Where are you, by the way? ]

Wasn’t that supposed to be the first message? Lee Ho laughed and promptly replied.

[ China. ]

[ China? ]

[ I’ll have to leave for Mongolia soon. Do I really have to go there now? ]

Ten seconds later, Lee Ho received a reply.

[ Come to your apartment now. Use teleport. I have a great gift for you. ]

A great gift? Lee Ho wondered what it could be. However, it was from his brother, so he decided to go. There must be a good reason for it.

[ I’ll be there in twenty minutes. ]

He put down his watch and turned to Hong Jong-Geun.

“I’ll have to return to Korea for a while.”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Actually, you have to come as well.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you too.”

Hong Jong-Geun wondered about the reason for this strange request.

Why did he have to go as well?

***

After taking a shower, Lee Ho immediately teleported back to Korea with Jong-Geun.

He opened the door to his apartment and was greeted by a lot of people inside. It had been quite a long time since he had felt this way. Lee Hwan and his team members were there as if they were also his brother’s family.

Lee Ho approached Hwan and said, “It’s been a while since this house has been as loud as this.”

They both laughed. Lee Hwan then turned to Jong-Geun.

“Is this the second time we’re meeting?”

“It is.”

He didn’t offer Hong Jong-Geun a handshake. Instead, he enveloped his brother’s secretary in a warm hug.

“I haven’t had a chance to say this, but thank you for helping my brother.”

Jong-Geun smiled awkwardly, his eyes asking Lee Ho for help. Ho laughed, saying that it had been a while since he saw Jong-Geun’s face like that.

After exchanging some more pleasantries, the brothers headed to the living room. Lee Ho greeted his guests and discussed the current issues together, how the Hunter Authority case was going, how Ho was planning to be the ruler of Asia, and so on.

Yoo-Jeong stood next to Lee Hwan.

“It’s peaceful.”

“It is indeed.”

Lee Hwan was cooking, and he asked Kim Yoo-Jeong to assist him.

“Can you hand me that?”

It was Rahab’s heart.

It was not as valuable as the blue gem, but this would allow everyone to be immune to the effects of extreme temperatures.

“I’ll cook it like a pork steak.”

“…Pork steak with that?”

“We’ll call it Rahab steak, then.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“it is.”

He laughed. It really didn’t sound appetizing. Then, he asked her to hand him another ingredient.

“I need Musmahhu’s poison as well. Can you hand that to me?”

Kim Yoo-Jeong brought out the Musmahhu meat.

He was planning to do something that he should have done for his brother a long time ago.

“We’ll make soup with this.”

“Soup?”

“Yes. That would be appropriate.”

After quickly preparing the soup, Hwan called out to Ho and Jong-Geun.

“Eat this. Mr. Hong, you should eat it as well.”

“What’s this?”

“It’ll make you immune to poison.”

“By just eating this?”

Lee Hwan shrugged. “Believe it or not, but everyone else is immune to poison. I did this while we were in London’s gate.”

“…Is this the real reason why you called us?”

“You should thank me.”

“I’m really grateful.”

Without hesitation, Lee Ho and Hong Jong-Geun devoured everything.

“You might have a stomach ache later, but I think you can recover in ten minutes. I’ll pass you six more of these. Give them to those you trust.”

After giving Ho the extra portions of Musmahhu’s meat, Hwan looked at him.

“Lee Ho.”

“What?”

“Come here for a moment.”

He took his brother to the kitchen, where Yoo-Jeong saw them and smiled brightly. She was ready with the food.

Lee Hwan passed it to Lee Ho, and he asked what it was.

“This blue gem is Rahab’s life orb.”

“…This is as valuable as an elixir. Are you sure you want to give this to me?”

“Who else should I give it to?”

“…I suppose no one.”

“Just take this gift from your brother.”

They both smiled at each other.

“Do you know how to absorb it?”

“I do.”

“Will you do it now or later?”

Lee Ho thought for a moment before answering.

“…I’ll do it after dinner.”

Upon hearing that, Lee Hwan nodded.

***

It was a small gathering. Only Lee Hwan’s team members, Jong-Geun, and Ho were there. The seven of them became immune to the effects of extreme temperatures and poison. The party was not long, but it was enjoyable.

Lee Ho was also known as a workaholic. He still had a job to do. He took a deep breath and checked his status window.

Name: Lee Ho

Level：93 (78%)

Title: Manifester

Strength: 86

Stamina: 91

Agility: 99

Intelligence: 97

Unique Skill: Manifesting (?)

Skill: Dash, Concentrate, Painting, Inventory, Poison immunity, Extreme Temperature Immunity…

He then clicked the ‘simplify’ button.

Name: Lee Ho

Characteristics: Manifesting, Martial Art of Sky Demon, Blessing of Sea God

Overall Stats: Strength LV86, Stamina LV91, Agility LV99, Intelligence LV97

Hidden Stat: Aura LV 99

Overall Rating: SS++

Three things have changed. He received poison and extreme temperature immunity and the ‘Blessing of Sea God.’

Because of that, his new rank was now SS++.

He was sure that he now had power amounting to at least sixty million. He was as strong as an SS-rated gate.

Lee Ho stretched out his hand. He could now control water.

He smiled, thinking of how funny it would be for him to act like Poseidon. After going over his stats one more time, he called out to Jong-Geun.

“Have any updates?”

“None yet. I’ll call one of our team members.”

He then sent a message and received a reply within a few seconds.

“There are about thirty Hunters near the gate, but it is not yet cleared.”

The Godfather was clearing an SS-rated gate in Switzerland.

Lee Ho wasn’t sure if it was related to Tiamat, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the Godfather was in there alone. It would take a minimum of two days for him to clear that up.

It was time for him to settle everything.

With this in mind, Lee Ho stood up.

“Let’s get this job done.”

“Will you visit Mongolia first?”

He nodded. “I’ll take you there, sir.”

Hong Jong-Geun bowed.

***

After dinner, Kim Yoo-Jeong headed back to her house, where she found Emilia meditating.

“Please don’t feel bad.”

“About what?”

“He is just calling you a hostage so that he can check that you are safe.”

Emilia laughed and took her hood off. She was very pale, and some might even think that she bleached her skin. Other than that, she was beautiful.

She didn’t care whether she was a hostage or not. She was interested in Lee Hwan and the relationship between him and Yoo-Jeong.

“How did you grow to be A-rated?”

“…I killed an SS-rated monster.”

“You? You were only D-rated.”

“I did get help from others.”

After hearing Yoo-Jeong’s story, Emilia asked, “Are you some sort of whore?”

“…I beg your pardon?”

Yoo-Jeong thought she had heard her wrong. She doubted her ears, but what she had heard was correct.

Emilia was known for her supporting skills and generosity, but the words that came from her mouth were not like her reputation at all.

“I asked, are you a whore?”

“…I’m not.”

“Then what are you? Having sex inside the gate? Is that the reason why you got an opportunity to kill an SS-rated monster?”

Her words were rather dirty.

She certainly was not like what everyone said she was. She had even been praised as a living angel who would cure everyone willingly; that’s why Yoo-Jeong never expected Emilia to have such a horrible personality.

“That was rude of you.”

“But as far as I can see, that is the case. Also, keep in mind that I have a higher rank than you.”

She meant the Hunter’s hierarchy. A Hunter with a lower rank must obey a Hunter with a higher rank.

Emilia was using that to control Yoo-Jeong.

“I think you just killed a monster that Hwan had weakened. You must have slept with him a lot. You can get all these benefits by being a method of transportation and having sex with him.”

“…”

“Why? Are you mad? You can’t say anything because everything I said is correct. Aren’t you ashamed, darling?”

Kim Yoo-Jeong realized that this was her true personality.

“Must I have a reason to like someone?”

“Don’t tell me that bullshit. You’re just a whore who sold your body to a stronger person.”

Yoo-Jeong glared at Emilia, and Emilia did not dodge her eyes.

“I understand what you’re thinking now. You don’t know him well, and that’s why you’re saying this.”

“So?”

“I don’t want to explain this to you, anyway. A lot of people may think like you, but I will ignore that. I’m not going to explain my time with him.”

Yoo-Jeong quietly stood up.

“You may sleep in that room. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Yoo-Jeong kept her politeness, but Emilia was smirking at her attitude. They were very different people.

As Yoo-Jeong closed her bedroom door, Emilia snarled.

“Fucking bitch.”