The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become-Chapter 147: Friends (8)

“The boss monster is kneeling before Kang Hyunsoo Hunter!!”

“What... What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Hyungnim...!!”

Yuhana, Jin Seoyun, and Han Sungbin stared in shock, their eyes wide as they shouted.

They had cleared countless dungeons before, but never had they seen a monster kneel and submit to a hunter.

Kang Hyunsoo himself was just as bewildered.

‘What’s going on? Why are they doing this?’

- "I have no idea either, Master. Weren’t these monsters the ones who attacked you on sight in your past life?"

Swallow was right.

In his previous life, this dungeon had been a battlefield of chaos.

Back then, Hyunsoo had entered as part of a large raid team, with over 100 hunters pushing their way through countless enemies to reach the Succubus Queen.

It was also the first time he had raided alongside Yuhana and Jin Seoyun, though they hadn’t interacted much.

The scene had been utter bedlam.

- "Buff! Someone give me a buff!!"

- "We need support here!!"

Hunters’ desperate cries for help had filled the battlefield.

If not for Yuhana applying buffs to over a hundred hunters, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against the waves of enemies.

Even so, amidst their hard-fought progress, disaster struck.

- "What... What’s happening?!"

- "Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

- "Why are our allies attacking us?!"

- "It’s the Succubus Queen! She’s the cause!!"

The Succubus Queen, the dungeon boss, had bewitched the hunters, turning them against their allies.

Those who charged at her succumbed to her charm and began attacking their comrades, throwing the raid team into utter disarray.

Hyunsoo ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) had been the one to cut through the chaos and slay her.

Her charm worked through eye contact, but Hyunsoo had closed his eyes and relied on his instincts and training to avoid being affected.

Even as the Succubus Queen lashed out with a pink aura whip, Hyunsoo dodged her attacks flawlessly, relying on his Sword King Skill: Insight to read her movements and land the decisive blow.

[Activation]

[Sword King Skill: Insight (S)]

Effect: Detect all movements within a 1km radius by sensing the flow of energy.Mana Cost: 100 per 10 seconds.This skill, a gift from the Sword King, allowed him to fight without sight and had saved him during that battle.

He had prepared to do the same now—closing his eyes and readying himself to activate Insight.

But this time, the situation unfolded very differently.

“The Sin of Lust... Truly magnificent!”

“Such flawless allure...!”

“Please lead us, oh Lord of Enchantment.”

Not only did the Succubus Queen kneel, but her subordinates—the other succubi—also fell to their knees, utterly captivated by Hyunsoo’s appearance.

Even Hyunsoo was stunned.

‘What is this...?’

To make things even stranger, he could perfectly understand their speech, despite never being able to communicate with monsters in his past life.

Hyunsoo looked down at the Succubus Queen and her followers, his mind racing.

“Are you saying you’ll follow me? If that’s the case... order them to disarm,” he commanded, testing her loyalty.

He wanted to see if her submission was genuine—or if it was some sort of ploy.

The result?

“As you wish, Lord of Enchantment. All forces of the Abyss, disarm immediately.”

It was real.

At her command, the monsters complied.

Golems, ogres, and other creatures on the ground dropped their weapons.

Even the demon knights riding wyverns descended to the ground, laying down their swords and bows.

To confirm further, Hyunsoo swung his Thunder Sword.

[Activation]

[Heaven’s Rend (S)]

SLASH—!! BOOOOOM—!!

[You have defeated Lv 730. Corrupted Abyssal Brainwashed Ogre.]

[You have defeated Lv 730. Corrupted Abyssal Brainwashed Golem.]

The disarmed monsters didn’t resist at all, even as Hyunsoo cut them down.

Instead—

“Ah, to see justice delivered to those who dared rebel...!”

“You’re truly magnificent, Lord of Enchantment!!”

They clasped their hands to their chests, gazing at him with expressions of pure reverence.

Hyunsoo’s companions were just as baffled.

“They’re not even resisting?”

“What’s going on here?”

“I have no idea...”

Yuhana, Jin Seoyun, and Han Sungbin could only exchange confused glances from a distance.

But as bewildering as their reactions were, another figure appeared who seemed even more frustrated.

FLASH—!!

“I summoned these creatures to kill you, yet here they are, falling under your spell?!”

A robed figure appeared atop the fortress wall, glaring down at the succubi and monsters in visible irritation.

Hyunsoo immediately recognized him.

“You...!”

“It’s Frontier, Master!!”

This was the same figure who had handed the Shard of Beauty to Ji Wonhoon and triggered the SS-class dungeon within an S-class dungeon.

The moment Frontier appeared, Hyunsoo activated Heaven’s Rend once more, and Swallow fired off a barrage of feathers from above.

But—

CLANG—!! TING—!!

Frontier’s barrier deflected their attacks with ease.

“Was this all your doing? Why? What’s your goal?” Hyunsoo demanded, glaring at Frontier.

He had countless questions—about the changes since his regression, the powers tied to Beauty, and Frontier’s motives.

But Frontier gave no answers.

“You don’t need to know. All I require is...”

Raising a staff inlaid with a crimson gemstone, Frontier unleashed an ominous energy that spread across the dungeon.

“The Sin of Lust! Hand it over!!”

The dungeon was bathed in crimson light.

“GROOOAAAARR!!”

“AAARGHHHH!!”

The monsters—including the Succubus Queen—clutched their heads and let out agonized screams.

And then, one by one—

[Lv 805. Enhanced Succubus Queen]

Her level had risen.

But that wasn’t all.

Following Frontier’s shout—

WHOOOM—!! SLASH—!! WHIRRRR—!!

Multiple portals appeared in the sky above the fortress, crackling with an ominous energy.

And then—

“GROOOOAAAAARRR!!”

“SCREEEEEEE!!”

[Lv 785. Enhanced Abyssal Wyvern]

[Lv 775. Enhanced Abyssal Manticore]

Hundreds of monsters poured out from the portals, their numbers seemingly endless.

***

"Support over here! The line’s breaking!!"

“Damn it, why are the golems so strong?! We need more people here!!”

Gangnam Boulevard was chaos.

The battlefield was a cacophony of shouting, clashing steel, and monstrous roars.

Hunters were doing everything they could to hold the line against the onslaught of monsters pouring out of the massive portal hovering over Seoul, but the tide was against them.

The monsters, all above level 700, were overwhelming the defensive lines, forcing them back inch by inch.

Amid the chaos, Go Kyungseok fought tirelessly.

When he saw one side faltering, he would charge in with his sword and shield, cutting down monsters to stabilize the line.

If wyverns overwhelmed the skies, he’d leap onto a building, using its glass facade as a foothold to climb to the rooftop. There, he’d jump into the air, bringing his sword down to intercept the airborne enemies.

“Wooooaaahhhh!!”

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“Of course, it’s the Chief!!”

Hunters cheered as they watched Go Kyungseok’s feats of skill and strength.

But even with such displays of heroism, the situation didn’t improve.

“SKREEEE!!”

“GROOOAAARR!!”

The sheer number of monsters pouring out of the portal was staggering.

It wasn’t just Go Kyungseok who felt the weight of the battle.

“Haah... Haah... Chief, there are too many of them. We can’t hold out much longer,” a hunter gasped, clutching his side.

“I agree,” said Hwang Ji-hyuk, the guild master of Muyoung Guild, his breath ragged. “The hunters are running out of stamina and mana. Ten minutes at most, and this line will collapse. If we don’t retreat now, it won’t just be Gangnam—we’ll lose all of Gyeonggi Province.”

Shim Wonsik, the guild master of Ilsum Guild, nodded in agreement. “We should pull back while we still can.”

Dungeon Breaks typically ended when a wave of monsters was repelled or the boss monster was slain.

But this SS-class Forced Dungeon Break showed no signs of stopping.

They hadn’t even spotted the boss monster yet, and despite repelling wave after wave, the number of monsters emerging from the portal only seemed to increase.

They’d expected a difficult battle due to the portal’s sheer size, but this was far beyond anyone’s predictions.

Even after Kang Hyunsoo had wiped out an entire wave earlier, a fresh horde of monsters had spilled out, filling Gangnam Boulevard to bursting.

The monster count was now well into the thousands.

Logically, retreating was the only sensible choice.

But Go Kyungseok shook his head.

“No. Let’s hold out a little longer. There’s still time left on the clock.”

“Time left? You’re waiting for Kang Hyunsoo Hunter’s promised time limit?” Shim Wonsik asked incredulously.

“Chief, there are only ten minutes left,” Hwang Ji-hyuk added. “At this point, it’s as good as failed.”

“I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but it’s impossible,” Shim Wonsik continued. “There are likely even more monsters inside the dungeon than out here. How could four people clear it in 30 minutes? If we keep holding out, the losses will only grow.”

Their arguments weren’t unreasonable.

Statistically, what Hyunsoo had promised was near impossible.

Moreover, the hunters holding the line here simply couldn’t hold out for another ten minutes. Even if Hyunsoo emerged victorious, they might have no defenses left to protect Gangnam by then.

Go Kyungseok bit his lip, frustration evident on his face.

And then—

BOOOM—!! BOOOM—!! KABAAAAANG—!!

A series of massive explosions echoed across Gangnam.

“SCREEEECH!!”

“ROOOAAARR!!”

Monsters were suddenly hurled through the air, crashing into buildings or disintegrating upon impact.

The sound came from the far end of Gangnam Boulevard, where a massive disturbance had erupted among the monster horde.

Go Kyungseok turned his head toward the source of the commotion.

“Who... Who is that...?”

He stared with wide eyes, whispering in disbelief.

A completely unexpected ally had appeared.