The First Hunter

Chapter 38. Trojan Horse, Part I

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

1.

Tokyo was now not the capital of Japan, but the home of the Japanese Empire, and looked like something out of a historical drama. In the vast space of Tatami, kimono-wearing men and women were sitting in rows, like rails on a railway. At the end of the rail, a man in a kimono was looking down at everyone with a brightly shining Sword beside him.

It was not a historical drama. There were no cameras filming this, and the man’s ferocious eyes were shining brightly. The crowd accepting the eyes turned pale. The eyes and expressions were not acting.

“So it’s impossible?”

The man sitting on the podium spoke into the silence. Everyone swallowed at that. Only one neatly-shaved bald man in his early thirties, with an angular face, dared to speak. “We must lead a large army at once to take over the Korean Peninsula, in a situation where the Tsushima Island has been taken away. But as you know, if we move a large army, we will irritate the King of the Sea.”

“So it’s impossible?”

“If we encounter the King of the Sea, we must think about throwing away half of our troops. I do not know if you can achieve what you want at the expense of the damage, but according to the report of the Iga Ninjas, Korea is deploying defensive forces quickly. Most of all, the army power of Korea…”

“So it’s impossible?”

But in front of this same third question in return, Matsumoto Kanyo, the only man who dared speak, the leader of the Imperial Hunting Unit, had to keep his mouth shut.

There was no longer a man who could defy the words of Musashi on the podium, and there was silence.

It was a hard silence, and one of the people who could not bear it finally spoke. “If you want a way, there is only one way to get there, and we will have to travel through Hakata Port in Kyushu. It is the shortest distance from Hakata Port to Busan. We could take the risk because the distance is short.”

Only then did Musashi take back his ferocious eyes. He must have wanted that answer.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

At that time, Matsumoto Kanyo, who was silent, spoke again. “There is an Eight-tailed Fox in Kyushu. It is possible to regain Hakata Port, but if there are warships, troops, and logistics bases there, there will be inevitably tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people, around Hakata Port. There are not a hundred people there now, and if there are tens of thousands of people, the Eight-tailed Fox will not be still. ”

“Well, why don’t we kill the Eight-tailed Fox?”

However, the words of Matsumoto Kanyo were once again blocked by the cross-question of Musashi.

‘Finally…’ In fact, Matsumoto Kanyo knew better than anyone what Musashi wanted to hear. Nevertheless, Matsumoto Kanyo did not intentionally say that. ‘Is he going to raise the stakes?’

It was because he wanted to prevent Musashi somehow from trying to kill the dark blue-grade monster, an Eight-tailed Fox.

‘Apparently, we have to kill an Eight-tailed Fox.’ Of course, if they could kill such a monster, it was only right to kill it. Furthermore, the Kyushu region was more important than any other region to the Japanese Empire, as it sought to enter the Korean Peninsula.

‘But it is suicide if we want to kill it now.’ The problem was that the cost and risk to take to kill an Eight-tailed Fox at this point were too great.

“Lord, it’s dangerous.”

Musashi was definitely strong. He was a man who regarded the hell of Tokyo as a trial to be strong, and a man who built a great Japanese Empire alone in collapsed ruins of Japan.

The Kusanagi in his hand was not different from evidence that God looked over Japan. But such a Musashi could never guarantee a chance of winning against a dark blue-grade monster. Even if Musashi was alive and killed the Eight-tailed Fox, many others would be sacrificed regardless.

Musashi knew that. Because he knew that, Musashi had been staying in Tokyo all this time.

“Kanyo, you want me to be treated like a jerk?”

The changes in the mind and attitude of Musashi were caused by a jade bird Okjo from Taiwan yesterday.

“The Chinese army is already in North Korea, and soon they will come down to the Military Demarcation Line as promised and begin a military demonstration against South Korea. What will it look like if I don’t do anything?”

Musashi told to the Six Snakes that the Japanese Empire would destroy Korea and make the Korean Peninsula the territory of the Japanese Empire.

The Six Snakes said they would use the Chinese army to strike the Korean border and the Military Demarcation Line to help him.

‘Look one way and row another!’ While South Korea’s military power was concentrated in the north to check the Chinese army, Japan was planning to use a very simple but effective operation to land on the Korean Peninsula.

And the operation was now under way. The Chinese army was now ready to cross the Yalu River. It was not an ordinary matter.

“The Chinese army is moving, bearing the danger, even though there is a dark blue-monster in Mt. Paektu, but if I am stuck in Tokyo being afraid of the Eight-tailed Fox, what would they see me as?”

‘There is a dark blue-grade monster in Mt. Baekdu. No matter how far apart they move through Mt. Baekdu, there is no guarantee that the monster of Mt. Baekdu will tolerate it. And if the monster of Baekdu Mountain is hostile toward the moving troops, the troops will be annihilated.’

However, the Six Snakes were moving at that risk. But Musashi and Japan, who had strongly advocated this operation, could not do anything?

Musashi’s pride did not find this acceptable.

‘I should have informed them when Tsushima Island was taken. Because of my pride…’

In fact, because of his pride, Musashi did not even announce the current situation and the situation that he had lost Tsushima Island through the Okjo. If he had informed him of the fact, the Six Snakes would not have moved the troops to the Korean Peninsula unless they were insane.

‘So, after all, my pride has done this to me.’

It was a situation where his pride had made things worse, and Musashi had no intention of bending his pride at this moment. He was determined to make a reckless choice because of his pride.

‘We must stop it.’

Of course, now it was just a word.

‘We have to stop it somehow.’

The moment a word was acted, it would be the end.

So, at this moment Matsumoto Kanyo said, “Then I’ll see what’s going on with the Kyushu branch manager, and I’m sure it won’t be too late.”

‘You have to have time to do that.’

At that point, Musashi looked at Matsumoto Kanyo with a cold eye. But this time, Kanyo did not avoid the look.

“Do it as soon as possible.”

Musashi finally took a step back.

2.

‘Fuck!’ Hiyoshi Kyushu Branch Manager, the recent days for him were really hell days.

‘Who the hell killed the White Snake?’

The starting point was Kim Tae-hoon’s report. The news brought by Kim, who went out to search before hunting the White Snake, was that the White Snake had disappeared.

The plan to use the crystal of the White Snake as a stepping stone to change his position and to use the good sword Kim Tae-hoon, who he could abandon anytime, was suddenly gone with the wind.

The problem was, as said earlier, the starting point!

‘Nakagawa, that bastard, is also missing.’ The absence of the Samurai Nakagawa Genji had been too long. Of course, the fool had never reported his actions to Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi.

Nakagawa Genji was not the subordinate of Hiyoshi, nor was he demoted to Kyushu. He always did as he pleased, and sometimes he treated the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi as if he were a subordinate. However, if there was a problem with the life of Nakagawa Genji, the responsibility was on Hiyoshi.

‘Damn it! Did he die while hunting the White Snake?’

If Nakagawa Genji had died, the responsibility would be on Hiyoshi. Moreover, his sense told him that there was a connection between the disappearance of the White Snake and the absence of Nakagawa Genji.

‘But if Nakagawa Genji died, the homeland would have known it. They can always check the life and death of Ninja and Samurai through the Shikigami.’

The common sense and system that Hiyoshi the Kyushu branch manager knew denied his thinking.

If something was clear, he would act. But it was not, so he could not even do anything.

‘What the hell happened?’ It was also the reason why Hiyoshi was going crazy.

“Sir!” With a sudden burst, the door opened and a man came in.

Hiyoshi, who was already angry, shouted out with eyes reminiscent of an ax blade. “What?!”

“I’ve received a call from the home country.”

“What?”

“Sir, they want your report.”

3.

==[Achieved Abilities]

– The Eyes of the White Snake (Grade 4): It is the power of the White Snake. It improves vision significantly.]==

Kim Tae-hoon looked at his right hand with his black Eyes for a moment before looking away. A view came through the broken windows of Kitakyushu City Hall.

For Kim, who was using the Eyes of the White Snake, all the scenery seemed to be detailed.

His black Eyes began to change like camera lenses. Things in the distance looked detailed. Kokura Castle was now quite close. He could see a rat moving along its roof.

‘The Eyes of the White Snake and the Eyes of the Black Snake overlap!’

The view was familiar to Kim in a sense, because it was very similar to what he saw through a sniper scope. ‘I can work it more clearly if I can see it.’ In other words, he had the confidence to do what he could with a sniper rifle and scope.

At this moment, Kim set up a hypothesis in his mind. ‘I can do physical actions with my Telekinesis even if they are not visible now, but it will be the most accurate and powerful if I see and move things with my eyes. If I can see what is far away, then wouldn’t it be possible for my Telekinesis to take actions at that far distance?’

As soon as the hypothesis was established, Kim thought of the arrow in his waist. He quickly drew a picture that the arrow seemed to penetrate the rat moving along the roof of Kokura.

Shooting an object that was far away was so boring that Kim no longer needed to do image training. The sniper rifle was just turned into an arrow.

However, Kim Tae-hoon did not put the attempt into practice. ‘Someone is coming.’ He heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs from a distance.

Kim’s eyes returned to their original form. At the same time, he put the sticker he had prepared on the back of his right hand. When he removed the sticker, his right-hand mark changed. He put his gloves on top of it.

It was a double security device installed so that no one could know his abilities unless someone cut his wrist.

“Sergeant Kim So-hoon!” By the time Kim finished all his preparations, the subordinate of Hiyoshi appeared in front of him.

“The branch manager is calling for you.” His voice was urgent, and his eyes were nervous.

When he saw it, Kim felt intuitive. ‘Musashi must have given up on taking Tsushima Island and chosen to hunt the Eight-tailed Fox.’

Now the time had ripened.

3.

“Can you kill a Green Monster?” The heart of Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi was running more urgently than ever as he asked the question.

Kim’s ears were sore at the sound of that frantic heartbeat. “I don’t want to say I can kill a green-grade monster in a situation I haven’t even killed a yellow-grade one… but you asked me a question, and I’ll answer it. I’d be able to kill a green-grade monster if I had my men.”

“How would you do that?”

“Do I need to explain to you, Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi, who belongs to the Imperial Hunting Unit. You should know it better than me.”

“Just tell me.”

“… it is possible to kill the yellow-grade monster with the ability of an Awakener himself, but for the green-grade one, the hunting is different depending on the relics secured. The reason I say it is possible if I have men is if the relics they can handle are worthy and capable.”

At the moment he heard that, the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi relayed a command from his home country.

‘They suddenly urged me to report.’

What came from the home country was nothing but a demand for a clear report on the current achievements of Kyushu. To Hiyoshi, it meant submitting a report card in which his fate was at stake.

‘Damn it!’

It was the worst because the report card of Hiyoshi was not good at all.

Recently, thanks to Kim’s performance, he had filled the monster stone payments required by Tokyo, but it was merely a given task.

‘What the high people want is not to do well at the given homework, but to finish the homework and do something new. That way I can get a good evaluation.’

‘But I couldn’t even maintain it.’

The bigger problem was that now, rather than homework, deductions were everywhere for Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi.

‘Nakagawa Genji is still absent.’

He could not kill the White Snake, and the absence of Nakagawa Genji had not been solved yet.

======

The moment Tokyo receives my report, they will come to check if the report is correct, and then Kim Tae-hoon’s existence becomes a large bomb that can burst at any time. Currently, Kim is a sword that I have hidden and used well, but from the perspective of Tokyo, I held a weapon without permission.

Fuck! In other words, when the situation is settled as it is now, my fate is over here. Perhaps, the next demotion area will be a grave, if not hell!

I don’t have a choice now, I need an accomplishment that can cover all my wrongdoings.

======

So at this moment, the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi was going to gamble in a desperate attempt to reverse his situation.

“There’s a green-grade monster in Hakata Port.”

“I know.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“The green-grade monster search is harder than the yellow-grade, so you have to give me more time to explore.”

“You don’t need to search.”

The gambling card was, of course, Kim Tae-hoon. Hiroshi the Kyushu branch manager handed a document file that he had already prepared to Kim.

“The Green-grade Monster Ghost Turtle now occupies Hakata Port. How many men do you need to kill this one?”

Kim closed his eyes as soon as he saw a document file, a picture of a huge turtle with a bizarre shape on the back shell that reminded him of a ghost. He started calculating. And when the calculation was over, he opened his eyes.

“You know, killing a hard monster is harder than just killing a monster. Moreover, according to the report, it’s one of the monsters of the highest grade among the green-grade monsters.”

Kyushu branch manager Hiroshi was already fed up with his words.

The Ghost Turtle was one of the most powerful green-grade monsters, and if they divided the green-grade monsters into top, intermediate, and low according to power, it was a top grade one. It was not a monster that dozens of people could kill. Hundreds or thousands of people might die trying to kill it.

“So how many people do you need?” Of course, the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi, who knew the fact well, was curious about the number needed to kill this monster.

“I need 200 men, at least.”

“Can 200 people make it here?”

“25%. It’s a probability that anyone who leaves Korea can reach Japan. If I bring in several warships, the possibility goes up, but crossing the ocean on a ferry is like walking a tightrope between a cliff and a cliff. If the Japanese see a ferry right away, why wouldn’t they sink it first? I’ve been in a lot of trouble. Even I had to swim ten kilometers to get to mainland Japan.”

“If we send eight hundred men to bring two hundred people, six hundred of them will die.”

“If we look at it simply, it is so.”

At the words, Hayoshi said firmly, “What’s the price of six hundred lives?”

Kim looked surprised. “It’s…”

“If you kill this guy, I’ll introduce you to Matsumoto Kanyo, the captain of the Imperial Hunting Unit. I promise on my neck.”

Kim was silent again at the answer.

The Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi did not grill him, as if he had finished the calculation. He waited for the man weighing his ambitions against the sacrifice of six hundred men to finish the scales.

“… do I have to hand over the crystal of the Ghost Turtle?”

“If you kill it, you can have the crystal. The dead body of Ghost Turtle belongs to the Imperial Hunting Unit.”

“How much can you help me to attempt an illegal entry into the country?”

“If it’s a port near Kyushu, you can pass with my personal connections.”

“How many can you pass? More than two hundred?”

“Of course. A hundred or a thousand is okay, but ten thousand will be hard.” Hiyoshi smiled wryly on the inside.

‘It doesn’t matter if there are 1,000 or 10,000. They’re all consumables that I can throw away at any time.’

Kim Tae-hoon, who did not see his bitter smile, replied, “Okay.”

4.

‘For Manpasikjeok, there is a legend that two flutes are combined together, and I must focus on that.’

Jang Sung-hoon, who was studying the data in a space in Busan, put the booklet he was holding down on his desk. He leaned back in the creaking chair.

‘The Japanese have already acquired a legendary relic, and the problem is that we have no legendary relic. Musashi would not have come into the eyes of the boss, unless he had had a legendary relic. If there was something in the boss’s hand…’

Currently, Jang Sung-hoon was working on finding the relics that existed only in the legendary folk tale, Manpasikjeok and Geumchuk. It was a specialized field he was adept in. He was that kind of guy in the first place. He was a man who had no talent in commanding an army or leading the country, and he did not want to have such talents.

‘… I’ve got to find Manpasikjeok or Geumchuk, but the best strategy is to steal what the others have.’

He heard a noise from the window. A jade bird was tapping on the window with its beak.

‘Boss!’

Jang immediately rose from his seat, approached the window, and opened it. The jade bird came in through the window. He raised his arm, and the Okjo sat on his arm. The Okjo checked his face, and after confirming his identity, said, “Send Trojan Horse.”

Kim Tae-hoon’s voice came out of the beak of the jade bird. Jang smiled at the voice he had not heard in a long time.