Leveling Up Alone

“Shahas.”

[Yes, Hunter Han-Yeol-nim.]

“When did the battle between the Demon King's army and the Qin Emperor’s army against the world alliance army reach a brief period of stabilization?”

As expected of a Hunter, Han-Yeol had a really good memory, and if he’d heard or thought about it even once, he would’ve recalled the date. But since he wasn’t interested in this battle in the first place, he didn’t pay attention to it at all, so he didn’t know the date.

[T-That’s…]

Crumple.

He could hear the sound of pages flipping through a notepad over the phone.

[Ah, yes, it was exactly twenty-two days ago.]

“That’s…”

“Yeah, I remember that too.”

[I apologize.]

“No, it’s okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

[Of course. Is there anything else you’d like me to do?]

“No, just let me know if anything else pops up.”

[Alright.]

Beep!

“Hmm, I’ll admit, their behavior has been a little suspicious since then.”

“Huh? Tia, you knew all of this already?”

“This was obvious if you looked a little closer, but you weren’t really interested in this place, and after that, you were addicted to gaming, which is why you didn’t notice.”

“You’re right.”

Han-Yeol had observed the Demon King's army and Emperor Qin Shi Huang, but he hadn’t paid much attention to their situation in detail.

He missed something like this because he had only checked for their strength and signs of the hyena race, and hadn’t taken an interest in anything else.

“Well, it’s not that important anyway.”

“True.”

The fact that the Demon King's army and the Qin Emperor’s army had formed a temporary alliance or whatever to attack the world alliance army on two fronts didn't make Han-Yeol particularly nervous or worried. It was simply an interesting event.

Rumble!

The ground shook, and before they knew it, Han-Yeol’s army and the Demon King’s army were less than a kilometer apart.

Ta ta ta ta tak!

One person from the Demon King's army rode on a four-legged monster the size of a bull and pompously approached Han-Yeol’s army.

“Huh? What the hell? That’s a messenger.”

“Oh my, is the Demon King’s army looking at this fight like it’s nothing?”

“Ugh, I didn’t like these guys in the first place, but now I’m starting to hate them even more.”

“Haha, then just kill them all, Master.”

“I was going to, but let’s first hear what kind of nonsense they spit out.”

“Sure.”

Part of him wanted to just shoot a blast of mana and turn the messenger to ashes as they approached, but since he found this all so funny, he decided to wait.

Thud, shh!

Three hundred meters in front of Han-Yeol’s army, the messenger stopped and unrolled a scroll from his arms.

[I now deliver His Majesty, the Demon King’s orders…]

Swoosh!

[Huh?]

As the messenger was just about to read the scroll, he felt a powerful mana approaching him, so he looked up in confusion.

Kwang!

However, a mana cannon struck him before he could even finish raising his head, turning him to ashes without allowing him to scream or understand why he had died.

“Master, I thought you said you were going to listen to what he had to say first?”

It sounded like Tia was rebuking Han-Yeol, but her smile and expression showed that she was amused.

“That idiot was talking in Chinese, and it pissed me off.”

Stewart lightly attacked Han-Yeol. “But I can interpret.”

“I don’t care. Everything’s just annoying.”

Stewart didn’t know Chinese, but he could interpret and hear any language through his interpretation magic, so Han-Yeol didn’t kill the messenger because he couldn't understand what he was saying.

“The fact that those bastards sent me a messenger with a scroll in Chinese, knowing full well I’m Korean, means that they’re clearly just trying to screw me over. There’s no reason for me to listen to this crap.”

“Haha, yeah, they were a bit cocky.”

“Ugh, I don’t know, just attack!”

Whirrr!

With Han-Yeol’s attack order, the Black Orcs flag unit started to move.

Whoosh!

“Attack!”

“Let’s kill all those filthy monsters and fill our stomachs!”

“Chek chek chek!”

Rumble!

The Black Orcs had been eagerly anticipating the order to attack, so they rushed forward as soon as the order was given. They charged chaotically, with no order or discipline whatsoever.

Orcs didn’t like complicated things like humans, and they didn’t need to be organized in terms of rules since they were already good at what they did. They were powerful enough through brute force.

*

In the meantime, the Demon King's army was in chaos.

[T-T-That…!]

[What a bunch of idiots!]

[Killing a messenger is so barbaric!]

The six newly appointed feudal lords were particularly angry.

There were enough dark mages within the Demon King's army to appoint as new lords. The Demon King's army had been conserving and growing its power, so even after Han-Yeol wiped out the existing six feudal lords, they were still as powerful as before, if not more so.

He didn’t share his powers even though the six feudal lords had been resurrected because the Demon King thought that Han-Yeol might target him. The Demon King didn’t overestimate Han-Yeol, but he didn’t make the mistake of underestimating him either.

[Everyong, calm down.]

The dark mages, including the six feudal lords, fell silent as soon as the Demon King spoke.

[Y-Yes, Demon King.]

[It seems like Lee Han-Yeol doesn’t want to participate in this war play.]

[D-Demon King.]

[In that case, we’ll have to do this for real. Gather all the monsters.]

[Yes, sir!]

At the same time, the Black Orc army started to rush over.

[Hmm… Haha, I look forward to seeing how much you’ll entertain me, Lee Han-Yeol.]

The Demon King didn’t think about losing at all.

He was the head of the powerful army that even the World Alliance army didn’t stand a chance against, and now he was unleashing a massive attack. Therefore, he felt that it was impossible to lose against a mere Hunter named Lee Han-Yeol.

‘He’s the perfect opponent to use as a warm-up before taking over the world. He’s also strong, so if I kill him, turn him into a monster, and make him take the lead, it’ll be perfect. Hehehe.’

Brrrrr!

Along with the sound of a loud trumpet, the two forces clashed fiercely.

Kwang, kwang, kwang!

“Kwaaa!”

“Chhh!”

Slice!

The Demon King's army had the upper hand at the beginning of the clash.

As expected, the bigger side had the advantage in the beginning.

The Demon King’s army had some of the biggest, dinosaur-sized monsters, and they overpowered the Black Orc army in terms of charging power.

Whoosh! Chuck!

“Khehhh!”

As a result, many of the Black Orcs in the lead were trampled by the monsters and sent flying as the horns and tails of the giant monsters hit them. But that only happened early on in their clash.

“Throw the hook!”

“Hah! Let’s hunt the monsters!”

Even if they were giant monsters, the Black Orcs Han-Yeol had raised with great care were not warriors who would be defeated so easily. Although they weren’t considered monsters, the Black Orcs were just as powerful as them.

In the Black Orc’s original dimension, the monstrous Black Orcs were the humans’ only natural enemies.

They were the top hunters in the monster food chain.

While the humans of that dimension looked down on the Black Orcs as monsters, they were actually the strongest competing faction vying for control of the dimension. However, the Black Orcs who had crossed over to Earth was a small group that was no match for Han-Yeol.

“Block with a shield and throw the hooks! Hahh!”

Whoosh!

“Krrrr!”

As the mid-level commanding Black Orcs skillfully led the way, the monsters pushing their way through the Black Orcs stopped in their tracks in the middle of the Black Orc army. The Black Orcs mounted them and swung their glaives, brutally slaughtering the monsters.

“Move!”

Shove!

“Ahh!”

An elite warrior pushed past a stumbling orc and stepped forward. The warrior was not as strong as a Black Orc lord, but with the devouring skill, he was stronger than a typical Black Orc warrior. His newfound power made him equal to a human who had awakened as a Hunter.

Crunch, oong!

“Die, you nasty monsters!”

Whoosh! Crush!

The elite warrior leaped up high and swung his glaive at the giant monster’s head, splitting its skull in two.

The giant monster let out a sound that sounded like a scream, fell onto its side with its eyes rolled back, and died.

“Khaa…”

Thud!

“Che, what a bunch of weaklings!”

“Hah! As expected of an elite warrior!”

“You’re the best!”

The warriors considered strength to be their everything, and they cheered at the elite warrior's overwhelming gloriousness.

Chuck!

Suddenly, the elite orc raised its arm high.

“...”

All the warriors fell silent.

“We have not yet fulfilled the great one’s command. We’re just getting started!”

“Kuehhh!”

“Yahhh!”

The Black Orcs started searching for the next closest monster.

One by one, the Black Orcs wiped out the giant monsters, and from then on, they fought a full-scale battle against the smaller monsters. The monsters were still larger than the Black Orcs, but they were smaller than the ones that had charged in at the start.

Crush!

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and cries of anguish and anger filled the vast field, creating a horrifying scene.

As soon as the battle between his subordinates began, Han-Yeol headed straight for the Demon King.

[Khaha, you little brat. I heard you killed my feudal lords. Even if you hadn't come to me like this, I would've found you myself and torn out your throat. I admire your courage in seeking me out to meet your early demise.]

Twitch.

Han-Yeol’s brow twitched again.

“Why do you talk so much before fighting? At least speak in a way I can understand. Are they stupid? Do they not have any IQ? Are they goldfish?”

Only a few people liked to talk as much as Han-Yeol before a fight. But this was only something he did with others he could understand, not foreigners who didn’t speak Korean.

He could try interpreting, but provoking someone was only effective when the opponents’ facial expressions, tone of voice, and mood were conveyed in the first place. If he had gone through the first step of interpreting his provocation, it wouldn’t have had the same effect.

Han-Yeol and Tia chatted amongst themselves despite the Demon King’s authoritative demeanor.

“Haha, Master, hold on a bit. You can tell by his ugly face that he doesn’t have a thought in his head.”

“Haaa, I’m putting up with this because of you, Tia.”

“Good thinking, Master.”

[Huh?]

The Demon King frowned.