SMH 164

Chapter 52 – Righteous Shield (1)

TL: Boko

Editor: Frost

“I’ll secure an escape route.”

“Will you be ok?” Sung Joon asked.

If he could, he would’ve killed all of the forces here, but if he did, he might not have enough time to warn the Central Hunter Bureau of the invasion.

“You don’t have to worry about me. As you’ve seen, our main force consists of the first-class assassin and Sir Belloc. I can take care of the rest.”

Though the Investigation Squad collected information from the frontlines, their combat abilities wasn’t very high. Anfel sounded extremely confident.

“Please remember that I wasn’t demoted due to my skill,” Anfels said.

Sung Joon was reminded that Anfels was once rank 226 of the Knight Brigade. Thus, he felt a bit relieved.

“Then I’ll leave the rest to you,” Sung Joon said as he placed the ‘Riodan Crystal’ into his dimensional pouch.

Anfels nodded his head and operated the magic circle. Then, the wall opened up, revealing a narrow passageway.

“I’m the only one who knows about this secret passageway. It’s connected to the outside.”

“I’ll go scout and come back,” Rishubalt said.

Sung Joon quietly looked at Rishubalt. He wanted Rishubalt to scout, as he couldn’t completely trust Anfels just yet. Rishubalt, who understood his intent, scouted and came back in just three minutes.

“It is indeed connected to the outside. There are no traps or ambushes.”

Sung Joon moved after Rishubalt gave his report. As soon as he entered the secret passageway, Anfels operated the magic circle to seal the wall.

“Before you go, I’d like to know your name.”

“I’d like to say ‘I’ll tell you if you survive’, but I suppose I can just tell you. My name’s Kang Sung Joon.”

“I hope to see you again.”

Once the way was sealed shut, the passageway’s magic lamps lit up and Sung Joon began to walk through.

He found the exit after walking for about five minutes. Once he got out, he found himself in a New York back alley.

Sung Joon could hear faint sounds of battle from the Investigation Squad’s base, but it was quiet enough that normal people wouldn’t hear it.

“I think we can just leave this to Anfels,” Rishubalt said.

“Yeah. That’s probably for the best.”

Sung Joon agreed with Rishubalt and hurriedly got away from the base. And then he took out his phone and called Jennifer.

“It seems like you’ve arrived in New York.”

“Now’s not the time for small talk.”

“Did something happen?”

Jennifer became serious once she heard the urgency in his voice.

“There’ll be a large-scale SS-rank raid in New York.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I’ll tell headquarters immediately. I’ll contact you again later.”

The National Guard is mobilized in the case of a large-scale raid, but because Jennifer didn’t have jurisdiction over them, she had to report to her superiors first.

“Now it’s only a matter of time…”

Sung Joon gazed at the sky and muttered.

* * *

Jennifer finished her call with Sung Joon and went to the Beta headquarters, which was responsible for all matters regarding the raids in the U.S.

Each of the Central Hunter Bureau’s respective headquarters were within walking distance of each other.

She was a part of the Delta division, so she would normally have to report to her director, Louis, but he was currently out.

“Agent Jennifer? What brings you to Beta headquarters?” the security agent asked, acting amicably.

They were acquaintances. Once she was cleared to enter, Jennifer said.

“There’s something urgent that I need to report.”

“There are no problems. You can go in.”

As soon as she was finished with her security clearance, she rushed over to the director’s office.

Jennifer had already contacted the Beta headquarters, or in other words, the interested parties. Because of that, she could meet the Beta Director, Echid, without going through any special procedures.

If she were still just a regular agent from the Delta division, then she wouldn’t have been able to meet with a director so easily, but when she became solely responsible for Sung Joon, she was promoted and was now treated as though she was a director.

“Agent Jennifer? What’s wrong?”

Once she got into the director’s office, the A-rank Supporter Hunter, Echid (who was also the Beta Director) asked. He didn’t have a lot of time to waste.

“I’ve gotten word that there will be an large-scale SS-rank raid in New York.”

“That info… Where did you get it?”

Echid no longer looked so annoyed. He asked her with a surprised expression.

“Do you know something?”

Jennifer felt intensely anxious. Once she saw Echid’s reaction, she realized that Sung Joon’s assertion wasn’t ridiculous after all.

“We got a report from the Observation Bureau that they’ve found a dimensional fissure. I’m sure you already know, but a dimensional fissure is a sign that a raid will occur.”

Jennifer nodded her head. She was a Hunter as well, so she knew a bit about dimensional fissures.

“If they’ve already seen it, then why haven’t they alerted us?”

“They’ve determined that the dimensional fissure is much too small for a raid to occur.”

They had to be careful when alerting people of a raid. Once the alert is issued, troops are stationed in the relevant areas and all the citizens begin to take refuge, so it would do a lot of damage to the economy.

The Observation Bureau was like the Dungeon Bureau’s Situation Room, where only the best of the best were gathered to watch for dimensional fissures, but if they weren’t precise, then they would often send out an alert right before the raid occurred.

“Agent Jennifer. Where did you get this information?”

“From South Korea’s SS-rank Hunter, Kang Sung Joon.”

“I don’t know how Kang Sung Joon found out about this, but I guess we can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

Echid picked up his phone. Sung Joon wouldn’t have given them this information for no reason and without any evidence to back it up.

Plus, they’d seen an actual dimensional fissure, so they needed to do something about it.

“I’ll announce the raid and issue an alert. Agent Jennifer, could you ask for Mr. Kang Sung Joon’s assistance?”

“Do we need his help?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, there are no SS-rank Hunters nearby.”

There being no SS-rank Hunters near New York when the Species Alliance was sending their expeditionary force was by no means a coincidence.

The Central Hunter Bureau hadn’t noticed this, but this had all been orchestrated by the Empire.

“Agent Jennifer. I give you full authority over this. We need Kang Sung Joon’s help.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jennifer replied. Echid nodded his head with a satisfied expression. He then placed his phone to his ear and said.

“I’m declaring the outbreak of a raid.”

* * *

The raid was announced and an alert was issued. The National Guard entered from downtown and the Hunters were called as well. The U.S. gathered their Hunters quickly, befitting a developed country.

In the midst of this chaos, Sung Joon picked up his phone.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon? We’ve declared the outbreak of a raid.”

“I just saw,” Sung Joon replied.

Military planes flew through the air, and armed soldiers began taking control of the roads. It was obvious that a raid was going to occur.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Let me explain the current situation to you.”

Jennifer explained that there were no SS-rank Hunters nearby. Hearing that, Sung Joon furrowed his brow.

‘Is this what they were aiming for?’

He couldn’t be sure, but if the Species Alliance had pulled the strings… It was scary to even think about. While Sung Joon was incredibly anxious, Jennifer finished her explanation.

“The closest SS-rank Hunter is two hours away. The U.S. needs your help, Mr. Kang Sung Joon.”

The battlefield would spread too much in two hours. If it was really an SS-rank raid, then it wouldn’t be easy for the S-rank Hunters to take down the boss. Even if they did manage to take it down, there would be several casualties.

They needed Sung Joon’s help.

“If I help, what can you (the U.S.) do for me?” Sung Joon asked.

It was almost fate for him to fight against the Empire and the Species Alliance, but if he could profit from it, then he would.

“We have nothing specific in mind, but if there’s something you want, then we’ll do our best to fulfill that request.”

“That’s plenty.”

That response was good enough. Sung Joon smirked. The U.S. would uphold their end of the bargain.

“I’ll help.”

“Military headquarters would like you to stop the monsters that come out of the warp gate. The Beta division’s Raid Special Task Force and the National Guard will support you.”

“How reassuring.”

“I’ll send you a message detailing where a helicopter is waiting.”

Once their call was over, Jennifer sent him a message. And Sung Joon began to move to the location.

In the center of a park, a Chinook helicopter, as well as the Raid Special Task Force were waiting for him. There was a formation of attack helicopters waiting in the air.

“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. I’m the Raid Special Task Force’s Team Leader, Idun.”

A blonde haired Hunter approached him and greeted him amicably. He could tell that they were using Translation Magic.

“He’s an S-rank Hunter. Based on his clothes, he must be a Mage,” Rishubalt said.

“My name is Kang Sung Joon. I’ll be in your care.”

After they were done exchanging greeting, they felt a powerful mana response spreading. A giant warp gate opened in the sky and a huge flying ship slowly came out of it. Monsters flooded out from a warp gate that opened on the ground as well.

The National Guard attacked them with everything they had to stop their advance, even by a little.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon! We have to leave now!” Idun yelled urgently.

Once he confirmed that Sung Joon and the rest of the Special Task Force had gotten in the Chinook helicopter, he gathered his mana and said.

“Fly!” he spoke the activation words and his body rose into the air.

The helicopter also took off. While the propellers spun, making a huge commotion, Idun spoke.

“We’ll (Special Task Force) will take you to the operation area!”

At the same time, he gave the pilot the signal. The Chinook helicopter flew towards the largest warp gate while being protected by the formation of attack  helicopters.

“They’ve already formed a blockade with their ships!”

“Raise the altitude!”

He could hear the captain and the vice-captain. A tense atmosphere hung over them. Because the Orcs had already formed a blockade with their ships, they wouldn’t be able to get through while flying at low-altitude. The captain thought briefly and raised the helicopter’s altitude.

Two of the attack helicopters went with it, but they were brought down by offensive spells.

The attack helicopters that crashed emitted dark red heat, and the nearby Orcs rushed over to them. It sounded like they were urgently asking for support, but the captain just shook his head.

“We keep going. Our job is to bring Hunter Kang Sung Joon to the ‘source’.”

No one refuted the Captain.