Leveling Up Alone

Ji Geo-Guk’s face beamed the moment Hee-Yun agreed to help. She was his last and final hope, and the fact that she agreed to help gave him confidence that he could overcthis.

“I might be a Master-Rank Hunter, but I can’t win against Lee Han-Yeol,” Hee-Yun said.

“B-But…!”

“I will try to assemble the Master-Rank Hunters and discuss the issue with them.”

“T-That’s right! There was that option!” Ji Geo-Guk exclaimed, as he finally could see hope.

He might be the owner of the biggest conglomerate in South Korea, but the company was bound by various laws, so he was unable to do as he pleased with it. It was the swith Hunters, as the government and association set up numerous laws to restrict them.

However, it was different for the Master-Rank Hunters. They were basically individuals, so they could do whatever they wanted, and even Lee Han-Yeol would find it difficult if five Master-Rank Hunters got together to stand against him.

Most importantly, Ji Geo-Guk made sure to maintain a good relationship with all of the Master-Rank Hunters in the country.

“Secretary Choi!”

The old secretary rushed into the study the moment Ji Geo-Guk called for him.

“Yes, chairman-nim!”

“Tell the Master-Rank Hunters to gather for a meeting this instant!”

“Y-Yes, chairman-nim!”

Ji Geo-Guk finally started to look like the chairman of the S Group, or one of the most influential people in South Korea.

***

“Hmm, is this the 319th person?”

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Han-Yeol was sitting in his office in the Blue House and Barshell was beside him.

Of course, the elites did not go down without a fight. They spent a fortune and hired numerous Hunters to protect them. In fact, seven hired Hunters specializing in clandestine operations to help them escape unnoticed.

Unfortunately, the Bastro Warriors were experts when it cto hunting their prey down, and the Hunters were severely lacking in trying to trick the senses of these hardened veteran warriors.

“Ah, is there something else?”

[We noticed suspicious activities from the S Group.]

“The S Group?”

[Yes.]

Barshell and his subordinates might be adept at tailing and tracking their targets, but they were still Bastrolings at the end of the day. Meaning, they had difficulties obtaining information from their targets, as they did not understand Korean or any of the other languages used on Earth for that matter.

“Stewart.”

“Yes, I will go check it out.”

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Certainly, Han-Yeol-nim,” Stewart replied before using Blink to disappear.

“Hmm, let’s see… When will those scums confess their crimes? Well, I’ll be happier if they actually decide to do stupid things and allowto kill them instead.”

Han-Yeol was not a fan of putting them in jail, as it would cost taxpayers money to keep them alive in jail. He would rather kill them in one go and put an end to it, as that would not place a financial burden on the taxpayers.

“I heard prison food these days is better than the rations that the soldiers receive.”

[What? Your people feed the prisoners better than your warriors?]

“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”

Barshell overreacted upon hearing such a shocking statement.

[A wise decision, my lord. This country does not deserve to exist if that is how they treat their warriors. How? How could they feed those dishonorable criminals better than the honorable warriors?]

Barshell was a thug. He was only docile in front of Harkan, and others found it difficult to control him once his temper started to flare.

[I apologize, my lord. I should not show such an unsightly side ofto you.]

[Yes! Please leave it to me!]

Barshell disappeared as well. Unlike Stewart who used Blink to completely disappear, Barshell moved extremely quickly to make it seem as if he had disappeared.

***

The winds of change fanned by Han-Yeol spread like wildfire throughout the entire country regardless of whether it was positive or negative.

On the other hand, destructive winds blew across China, making it start to look as if the winds would form a storm of destruction.

Chengdu, China.

[Rong’er! Wake up! Rong’er!]

[N-No! Please! Rong’er! Rong’errrr!]

He screamed and wailed at the top of his lungs. He loved her more than anyone else in this world, and he finally received approval to marry her after this war was over. Unfortunately, the woman he loved was now nothing more than a lifeless corpse in his arms, slowly losing her warmth.

What kind of man would be able to remain sane in such a situation?

However, this was not an isolated occurrence. China’s defensive line had fallen, and Chengdu was in the process of being razed to the ground. The remaining soldiers and Hunters retreated all the way back to Chongqing to erect a new defensive line.

The only thing that remained in Chengdu were the fiery blaze of the burning city, stench of blood, littered corpses, and the wails of those who survived.

Then, someone suddenly walked up to the man holding the woman he loved dearly in his arms.

***

[You foolish and naïve one. Are you crying because you lost someone precious to you?]

“…”

[You insolent fool! His Imperial Majesty has asked you a question!]

Surprisingly, the man standing beside him was none other than the one responsible for starting this war—no, he was not a man but a Disaster-Rank Monster that had emerged from the dimensional rift—Qin Shi Huang.

He had already conquered all of Tibet and was expanding his territory by conquering more and more lands.

[Don’t get involved.]

[Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!]

[You seem to be quite strong for a peasant. Yes, you deserve to serve under me.]

The man holding Rong’er dearly was the nineteenth most powerful Master-Rank Hunter of China, Li Yuxin. Surprisingly, he was ethnically Korean, and he dearly longed for the lands of his forefathers instead of swearing loyalty to China.

However, he worked hard to climb the ranking due to the wishes of his lover’s parents. They wanted him to climb the ranks in China before he could be betrothed to her.

Rong’er was a Healer, and they were comrades who had fought together at the frontlines.

[They abandoned us… They let us die… They let Rong’er die…!]

The commander in charge of defending Chengdu was another Master-Rank Hunter named Liu Xiaobo. He was a purist who believed that the Han Chinese were the masters of China, and held contempt for Li Yuxin for being a Master-Rank when he was not a Han Chinese.

Thus, Liu Xiaobo used Li Yuxin’s unit as bait while the garrison retreated to Chongqing.

Li Yuxin was naïve to think that help would cafter they bought enough tfor the garrison to retreat, and his unit fought bravely to stop the advance of the Terracotta Soldiers. Unfortunately, he belatedly realized that no help was coming, and he squeezed every ounce of strength he had to at least open a path for Rong’er to escape.

However, they were up against the minions of a Disaster-Rank Monster that dozens of Master-Rank Hunters had failed to stop.

In the end, one of the Terracotta Soldiers’ spears pierced through the heart of Rong’er and killed her on the spot.

Li Yuxin went berserk after seeing Rong’er was killed. He unleashed strength he had no idea he possessed, but he spared no thought to his newfound powers and solely focused on killing every single Terracotta Soldier around them.

All of his comrades were dead, and he was the last one standing. He fought like a madman filled with bloodlust, trying to kill one more Terracotta Soldier.

However, there were simply too many enemies for him to handle alone, and he soon ran out of strength.

Li Yuxin continued to wail while holding Rong’er in his arms even though he was completely surrounded by the Terracotta Soldiers and Qin Shi Huang himself.

[The pain from losing someone you love is greater than any other pain one could feel in their existence. Unfortunately, even my omnipotent powers cannot bring the dead back to life, but I wield the power to grant life to the deceased as one of my Terracotta Soldiers. I will grant life to your woman if you swear loyalty toand becmy sword.]

[A-Are you serious? Can you really do that?!]

Li Yuxin’s eyes shot wide open after hearing Qin Shi Huang’s proposal.

She would not be the sRong’er he once knew, but if only she could cback to life! It did not matter to him whether she was a human or one of Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Soldiers, all that mattered to him was that he could be beside her again.

He was willing to go as far as selling his soul right now if it meant that he could feel her warmth once again.

[I am a benevolent ruler who spares no gifts to those loyal to me.]

Li Yuxin dropped to his knees in front of Qin Shi Huang.

[M-My lord! Please save her, Your Imperial Majesty!]

[What is your name?]

[My nis Li Yuxin, sire!]

[Li Yuxin… Hmm… I shall hereby appoint you as General Li from now on.]

[Ah…!]

Qin Shi Huang waved his hand and brought Rong’er back to life as one of his Terracotta Soldiers just as Li Yuxin wished.

[W-Where am I…?]

[R-Rong’er!]

[Yuxin?!]

[Oh? The increase in mana density of this dimension has allowedto create even more useful minions!]

[S-Sire! T-Thunder! Thunder!]

The Terracotta Soldiers started to panic when Qin Shi Huang burst into laughter and caused lightning to appear in the sky. Oddly enough, they instantly kneeled down and worshiped Qin Shi Huang as if he was their god.

Li Yuxin and Rong’er had no idea what was happening, but both of them kneeled and worshiped Qin Shi Huang just like the Terracotta Soldiers—albeit a bit awkwardly.

China had the opportunity to subjugate Qin Shi Huang, but they tried to use the Disaster-Rank Monster as a political pawn, which ended up backfiring on them.

Qin Shi Huang’s power grew the more people he slaughtered, and he had grown powerful enough to fight toe-to-toe against the Chinese government.

The Chinese Government belatedly realized their mistake and deployed double the number of Hunters they initially did, but it was at this crucial tthat Earth suddenly transitioned into a second dimension.

The Hunters were not the only ones who had their second awakening due to the sudden increase in mana density on Earth. Qin Shi Huang also had his second awakening, and his newfound powers upgraded his Terracotta Soldiers, which were just a ragtag bunch relying on their sheer numbers, into a force as powerful as Hunters.

On top of that, the new Terracotta Soldiers he raised from the dead beceven more powerful than the ones he previously raised.

[China will belong toonce again! Qin shall rise again from the ashes!]

[Long live the Emperor! Long live His Imperial Majesty!]

Dark clouds started to form above China, and her future seemed grim.

The war against Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Soldiers waged longer than it was supposed to, and nobody could believe that one of the top three strongest nations in the world, China, would be at the mercy of a monster.