Chapter 41: Give Up or Being Destroyed

News of the battle between Moon So Yeon and Black Dragon Kai spread at a terrifying speed.

Less than a few minutes after the fight ended, videos filmed from various angles flooded the internet. Among them were scenes of Moon So Yeon transforming into a massive blue whirlwind, and scenes of Kai using just one hand to grip her throat tightly and lift her high into the air.

Hunters commented enthusiastically beneath those videos. Battles between top-tier hunters rarely took place outside Dungeons, and were even more rarely disclosed to the public. Getting to see Black Dragon Kai and the vice president of Guild Crying Ghost was truly an unprecedented opportunity.

— Is that really Black Dragon Kai from Guild Black Dragon? I heard his strongest dragon form can even crush half a large city just from a jump?

— Moon So Yeon is also an SS-rank hunter! Why was she completely dominated like that? I once had the chance to see her fight inside a Dungeon, and she felt just as powerful as any of Korea’s top SS-rank hunters.

— Who’s the person standing next to Black Dragon Kai? What did he do that made Black Dragon Kai show up there and fight Moon So Yeon over him?

Questions kept appearing, bringing with them countless speculations. In an instant, the incident in Dong-San City became a hot topic discussed everywhere.

However, less than half an hour later, all those videos disappeared one by one.

Posts were deleted, accounts that shared the videos were suspended, and discussions quickly sank as if they had never existed. Black Dragon Guild and Crying Ghost Guild had joined forces. With the power of two SS-rank Guilds, controlling an amount of information on the internet was not too difficult a task.

Moon So Yeon and Kai chose not to publicly reveal too much news about themselves, which was why their Guilds always tried to control the information about them online.

But even if the videos were completely wiped out, there were still people who had managed to see them.

In a meeting room at Guild Black Rose, Yudian and Ular sat facing each other. On the table in front of them were the latest reports on the situation in Dong-San City. No one spoke for a long time.

Both of their faces were heavy.

"Everyone is waiting for Guild Black Rose to collapse."

Yudian spoke up. His voice was hoarse, carrying an anguish he could not hide.

The appearance of Moon So Yeon and Black Dragon Kai, followed by the brief visit of Abyss Kang Ian—needless to say, everyone knew why they had suddenly come to this tiny city.

Large Guilds always favored cities with high danger ratings. The more powerful Dungeons a city had, the more abundant the resources obtained, and the greater the chance of rare items appearing.

Dong-San had originally only been rated as a B-class city. But the anomalies occurring recently could not be hidden forever. The appearance of Black Dragon Kai, Abyss Kang Ian, and then the battle between two SS-rank hunters were more than enough to draw the attention of the major Guilds to this place.

They were waiting.

Waiting for Guild Black Rose to be unable to hold on any longer, waiting for Dong-San City to fall into chaos, and right after that, they would seize this city in their hands.

"This place is my father’s life’s work..."

Ular lowered his head to look at the table, her hands clenching tightly.

The original founder of Guild Black Rose was Yudian and Ular’s father. He had been one of the hunters of the first awakening era. Back then, he was only an E-rank hunter.

But he had entered Dungeons alone that no one dared to set foot in. He fought through countless battles, survived moments that seemed certain to be fatal, and then gradually climbed to A-rank.

After that, he and his comrades founded Guild Black Rose.

From an unremarkable E-rank hunter, he became a legend of Dong-San City.

Yudian grew up under that great shadow.

Since childhood, he had heard the city’s residents speak of his father with respectful eyes. For Yudian,Guild Black Rose is not just a Guild. It is the legacy his father left behind, proof of a lifetime of battles, and what has protected the city of Dong-San through the years.

Yudian considers protecting Guild Black Rose and this city his life’s mission.

But right now, that mission is being eyed by countless large and small Guilds. The moment Guild Black Rose weakens, they will swarm in like predators that have been waiting all along.

Yudian raises a hand to rub his forehead. His head feels heavy, as if a boulder is pressing down on his chest.

"We can’t win against them. And this trip to handle the Dungeon level upgrades also carries an extremely high risk of failure..."

Yudian mutters, his face full of despair.

Ular is silent for a long time, then slowly speaks:

"Hyung-nim..."

Yudian looks up at his younger brother.

Ular still keeps his head down. He himself seems embarrassed by the question he is about to ask, but the unease in his heart has made it impossible for him to stay silent any longer.

"How about we retreat, hyung?"

Yudian does not answer.

"Pull back from this city, leave this place to them."

The meeting room falls into silence.

Yudian looks at Ular, then at the reports lying on the table. Outside the window, the city of Dong-San remains as peaceful as ever. People still walk the streets, shops still open their doors, and hunters still prepare to enter the Dungeon as if tomorrow will be no different from today.

But Yudian knows very well.

That peace is only the quiet before the storm arrives.

The decision to give up or to push forward stubbornly and end up destroyed rests on a single sentence from Yudian, yet it will decide the fate of so many people...