The Celestial Returned From Hell - Chapter 421

“Wh… What?! Uh, how are you still alive…?”

“That’s what you have to say now?”

Choi Yeonseung looked at the official in bewilderment. Wasn’t he from the same country as these hunters?

The Japanese hunters were likely thinking the same, given that they were glaring at the official with venom in their eyes.

“Uh, n-no… I’m glad you’re alive! We were putting all our efforts into searching for you guys!”

Hearing that, Russian clan members next to the official shook their heads.

“He didn’t ask for anything.”

“I was preparing the paperwork!”

“…Are you actually crazy?”

The Russian clan hunters were more and more amazed by this official. How could he blatantly lie like this with a straight face?

The official noticed how the atmosphere was and quickly changed tactics.

“O-of course, you might feel betrayed because I didn’t take action right away… But, hunters of the Namahage clan, this has all been for your sake and for the sake of our country! Why don’t we just rejoice that everything turned out well? If I hadn’t done anything, it wouldn’t have been good for you either!”

“…”

Nakao frowned, knowing what the official was talking about.

Hunters had to follow certain rules.

Choi Yeonseung and the other A-grade hunters had rescued the hunters trapped in the dungeon and helped them recover after the dungeon explosion. Such deeds would always be rewarded after the raid.

However, rumors were sometimes more powerful than tight contracts.

If left unchecked, rumors would quickly spread among the overseas hunters that the Japanese hunters were just a bunch of helpless amateurs. If that happened, they wouldn’t manage to get help when it mattered the most.

Naturally, the Japanese government and the Namahage clan had to compensate Choi Yeonseung and the other A-grade hunters accordingly.

Considering that Kohei Nakao was an A-grade hunter, his life had a high price, which meant that those who saved him would receive a very generous sum of money.

However, there was one way to get out of this mess…

Blame the other party and fight dirty!

The Japanese official was blaming Choi Yeonseung and his hunters for the sudden explosion of the dungeon. This tactic would be beneficial for the Namahage clan as well, not just for the official’s reputation.

This way, they could avoid taking responsibility for their failure, but also avoid compensating Choi Yeonseung and his squad.

“You insane bastard!”

“Get the hell out of here! You think we’ll sell our souls to save your sorry ass?!”

“You piece of shit!”

“?!?”

However, the Japanese hunters vehemently opposed the official. In this situation, even the most brazen hunters would find his suggestion shameful.

None of these Japanese hunters were despicable enough to throw Choi Yeonseung under the bus after he had saved them from dying. They had entered the dungeon before him as competitors, but he had still rescued them.

“You… You’ll regret this…”

“I think you’re the one who’ll regret it!” a Russian clan leader warned firmly. “Get out of here before I formally complain to the Japanese government.”

“The raid team led by Choi Yeonseung did their best to deal with the aftermath of the dungeon explosion. On top of that, he succeeded in rescuing other people. I won’t allow you to put the blame on them.”

“…”

Seeing that nobody was on his side, the official stopped trying to argue with the hunters. He merely nodded with a dazed look on his face.

Seeing this, the Chinese official clicked his tongue and said, “This is what happens when hunters lack patriotism.”

“…”

The returning Chinese hunters looked bewildered by the official’s words. What the hell was he saying in this situation…?

A Russian clan hunter asked in disbelief, “Are you trying to persuade the hunters to avoid responsibility after all that’s happened?”

“What? What persuasion?”

“Ah, did we misunderstand?”

“It’s not persuasion. It’s an order.”

“…”

‘This guy has a screw loose…’

Bam!

Ma Jun, China’s A-grade hunter, couldn’t stand it anymore and blew off the official’s head. He then turned around with a bewildered expression.

“Uh…”

“A monster killed him.”

“Let’s just say he was killed by a monster.”

“!”

***

“Goddess of Discord and Estrangement, those overseas hunters are receiving praise! How dare those foreigners…!”

Everyone assumed that evil god constellations wouldn’t be that powerful in a tightly controlled dictatorship.

However, it was surprisingly the opposite. The more the government controlled and suppressed its people, the more likely it was for the common people to fall for the temptation of the evil god constellations.

Compared to a government that disclosed information about evil god constellations to the public and warned them in a timely manner, a government that concealed and erased such information would make it easier for the evil god constellations to gather followers.

As such, some powerful evil god constellations had taken root in Russia.

It wasn’t just the ones who had taken over a country or made the news in various incidents that were the powerful ones.

Constellations nestled in populous countries like Russia were also quite powerful, even if not many people heard about them.

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement was one of them.

[The ‘Goddess of Discord and Estrangement’ urges you to not worry about that. She says that if you leave it alone, the clans will argue among themselves.]

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement didn’t pay much attention to the activities of the household members of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training and Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons who were outside of Russia.

One was a constellation who had been gaining momentum recently while the other was a fierce good god constellation who relished combat.

Some evil god constellations directly tried to collide with such constellations and put them down, but there were also evil god constellations who left them alone and focused on their own business.

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement was the latter.

Combat wasn’t the only source of entertainment for constellations. Some of them preferred to quietly scheme behind the scenes.

[The ‘Goddess of Discord and Estrangement’ says that the more active the external hunters are, the more the clans will fight each other and the more they will spread their faith.]

“I understand.”

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement nodded with great satisfaction at the sight of the hunter obediently following her words.

Indeed, the overseas hunters would be a good stimulus for the Russian clans. The more they competed, argued, or envied each other, the more power the Goddess of Discord and Estrangement would gain!

“…Be more aggressive… By creating a new war… I will get a chance to prove myself…”

?

The goddess of discord was taken aback by the muttering of her subordinate. There was something wrong with them…

[The ‘Goddess of Discord and Estrangement’ orders you to be wary of your surroundings!]

However, the constellation was a step too late.

The nightmare demon emerged from behind the hunter.

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement realized that the nightmare demon was using the power of existence to hypnotize the hunter.

This is ridiculous…!Wake up, you idiotic human!

–Let your desires run wild.That is what your master wants as well.

What the hell is this bastard talking about?Don’t ruin my plans and get lost!

–Unleash your desires!

Undeterred by the goddess of discord’s threats, the nightmare demon completely bewitched the hunter.

The Goddess of Discord and Estrangement was furious. These monsters had crawled out of the dungeon and dared to disrupt her great plan!

***

“It’s rather surprising how kind they are.”

“It’s only fair after your hard work!”

“Thanks, Seha. And also, there was no damage to the surrounding areas thanks to you. Nicely done!”

[The power of existence has increased due to faith.]

[The realm of ‘Nobility’ has become stronger.]

[…]

[…]

Even if not all Russian hunters and citizens thanked him directly, Choi Yeonseung knew how they felt thanks to the message windows.

Moreover, the news headlines were all about what had happened in Vladivostok.

It wasn’t just the Russian clans; the Japanese and Chinese hunters also testified in unison, so it would be rather strange for the public to not pay attention and respond to this.

–Boris, A-grade hunter of the Shilka clan, has expressed his gratitude to the Korean hunters on behalf of the clan.He said they wouldn’t have been able to deal with the explosion of the Chort dungeon without the Korean hunters.

-‘I am outraged about the numerous false rumors about Hunter Han Seha’s character. Those who insult a hunter who dedicates herself to the safety of civilians should reflect on themselves…’

ㄴ???

ㄴAre the Russians crazy??

Since it was such a huge incident, the Korean hunters also saw the news, and evidently, they found that last part about Han Seha hard to believe.

@Kim_Sanggi

–Aren’t the Russian hunters saying this just because Hanseong Group has several companies in Russia? It doesn’t make sense otherwise.

ㄴHey, you don’t know anything, so stop running your mouth. Does our Shilka clan seem like that kind of clan to you?

ㄴIs this bastard insulting our clan? Let’s fight in a clan battle, you asshole!

ㄴThere’s no need to do a clan battle. Let’s just meet up and settle this.

–I apologize for insulting your clan with my ignorant words.It has nothing to do with the clan, so please…

The Korean hunters knew why Han Seha was called Mad Dog, so they replied on social media that Boris’ statement about her was nonsense. However, the Russian hunters and citizens replied aggressively and even threatened them.

In the eyes of those whom Han Seha had saved, the Korean hunters were just jealous of her.

Moreover, the Russian hunters weren’t the only ones who testified to her exemplary character. In addition to the hunters serving the angel constellation, the Japanese and Chinese hunters also praised Choi Yeonseung and Han Seha for averting the crisis.

Everybody knew that Choi Yeonseung had a great personality, so no one was surprised when he was showered with praise.

However, it was really hard to accept that Han Seha had a good personality. What was even more shocking was the fact that many people were actually buying it after seeing the news.

In this situation, the ordinary citizens, who had never met Han Seha in person, would naturally think that the Korean media was rotten for trying to slander the image of a righteous A-grade hunter.

–The media are just too much.Last time, they wrote an article saying that she destroyed the entrance of a newspaper office.

–Those reporters just want to ruin her image for no reason!

–No, you’re wrong!I saw Hunter Han Seha beat up fifteen clan hunters!

–I’m sure they did something to deserve it.

–Yeah. That’s why you shouldn’t trust the media.

–Which clans testified that Han Seha ?Those clans are the biggest problem.

The Korean hunters were so frustrated that they were on the verge of going crazy, but they couldn’t swim against the tide.

–Hunter Han Seha and Hunter Choi Yeonseung were awarded the Order of Friendship, Russia’s highest medal…

–Highly praised by the Russian clans!The sales of Hanseong Electronics soars in Russia. Is a second Hallyu wave coming?

Choi Yeonseung and the Icarus hunters were resting as more events unfolded.

The Russian clans were in pursuit of the nightmare demons who had escaped through the siege. All that was left was to wait for the Russian government to conduct the medal awards ceremony.

Of course, Choi Yeonseung couldn’t just rest and wait.

‘I have to look for any useful hunters.’

As a constellation, he felt that the more he ruled his kingdom, the more essential it was to attract more talents, regardless of whether they would be his household members or mere subordinates.

At the end of the day, wouldn’t it be profitable to attract as many people as possible, whether it was by teaching them martial arts, granting them favors, or just giving them money?

The Russian clans readily agreed to meet with Choi Yeonseung when they heard he was looking for hunters.

“It’s an honor to work with you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

“I appreciate your saying that.”

‘No, why are we…?’

Choi Yeonseung hadn’t come by himself. He had brought the Icarus clan hunters with him.

It was a good opportunity to train with the Russian clans and compare their skills with each other. Of course, most hunters were excited about this, but there were also some hunters like Whittaker who just wanted to slack off and engage in debauchery. Those had been dragged here.

“Choi Yeonseung, Choi Yeonseung! Whittaker wants to demonstrate his skills as a healer!”

“Really? Give it a try. The Russian hunters would love to see a demonstration”

“When did I…? I don’t want to! Do you have any idea how much magic power it consumes?”

“Do it.”

“Why?!”

“Because I’m paying you a salary.”

“…”

Whittaker caved, and he was disappointed in himself for doing so.

“If you can’t show anything good, I’ll cut your bonus right away.”

“…!”

As Whittaker was desperately showing off his magic in front of the Russian hunters, Choi Yeonseung asked Illeya, “Do you know any Russian hunters that are underrated but you think have potential?”

Choi Yeonseung didn’t really expect her to know someone like that but asked just in case.

A hunter’s mindset was more important to Choi Yeonseung than their stats or skills, but it was difficult to find earnest, hardworking hunters.

However, a constellation replied in Illeya’s place.

[The ‘Observer Who Returned From a Cold Place’ makes a suggestion.]

‘…?!’