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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 17
Lee Taejun, Team 2's Leader of Dawn Constellation, made a deal with the Chinese Communist Party in an attempt to reclaim his former fame.
In exchange for handing over Yi Sunsin’s relics from Noryang Gate, he would receive the Party’s full support.
Of course, Taejun hadn’t made this deal recklessly.
He firmly believed that Noryang Gate had already been emptied of all of Yi Sunsin’s relics.
After all, this wasn’t the first time Noryang Gate had gone out of control; it had already been raided before.
According to the Korean government, anything worth taking had already been retrieved.
At this point, Noryang Gate was an empty house, nothing left but dust.
So when the Chinese offered him their backing in exchange for relics, it felt like a golden opportunity.
In fact, even if Yi Sunsin’s relics did appear, Taejun still planned to hand them over to China.
It wasn’t like he could keep them for himself anyway.
Any top-tier relics would automatically go to S-rank hunters first.
‘And even if I did get one, I might not even be able to use it.’
Ancient-rank and higher relics choose their own masters.
If the relic didn’t recognize you, it was nothing more than a useless piece of junk.
Taejun knew he had a slim chance of being acknowledged by Yi Sunsin’s relics.
More than that, though, he had one clear goal to reclaim his status.
Ever since Kim Hayoon showed up, he’d been treated like trash within Dawn Constellation.
‘Those bastards.’
He clenched his teeth.
His plan was simply to undermine Kim Hayoon and claim the rewards for himself.
And that plan was already set in motion.
China had already secured all the necessary resources to raid Noryang Gate.
“Haha! I bet the whole guild is in mourning by now.”
Taejun chuckled, picturing the gloomy atmosphere at HQ after their failed Noryang Gate raid.
Maybe he’d go and pretend to console them just to watch.
“Heh.”
Just imagining Kim Hayoon’s miserable face made him grin.
Still smirking, he stepped into the guild headquarters only to be greeted by Ha Jinwoo, Team 1's Leader.
“Taejun, where the hell have you been?”
Taejun quickly wiped the smirk off his face, replacing it with a serious expression as he lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry. I was trying to find a water-attribute relic, but I failed.”
His acting was flawless. Anyone watching would think he was genuinely regretful.
But then…
“Ah, don’t worry about that. We already got one.”
“…What?”
Taejun’s head snapped up in shock, completely forgetting to keep up his act.
“A water-attribute relic… You actually found one?”
“Haha, not just any relic.”
“?”
‘…Not just any relic?‘
"Then… what are you saying?"
"It’s a relic from the Imjin War."
“!”
Lee Taejun’s eyes widened.
"I-Imjin War? That would mean it’s a relic of the Joseon navy, wouldn’t it?"
"That’s right. It belonged to Commander Ahn Wi."
"!!!!"
Lee Taejun was so shocked that he nearly let out a curse.
‘Fuck!’
Ahn Wi?
Wasn’t that the name of one of Admiral Yi Sunsin’s most trusted commanders?
And now, they had found a relic of his?
"A-Are you sure this really belonged to Commander Ahn Wi?"
"We just finished getting it authenticated by experts. It’s real. There’s no doubt about it."
"W-Where on earth did you find something like that…?"
"Haha, someone in Yeoksam-dong contacted us to sell it, so I went to check. Turns out, it was the real deal."
Ha Jinwoo was in such a good mood that he casually shared even the minor details.
Completely oblivious to the way Lee Taejun’s expression was stiffening.
‘No, fuck!’
A relic of Ahn Wi?
How the hell did something like that suddenly appear out of nowhere!?
Even as he screams internally, Lee Taejun forced a bright smile, as if relieved.
"H-Haha! Well, that’s great news!"
His voice trembled slightly, unable to fully mask his emotions.
At that moment, he spotted Kim Hayoon following behind Ha Jinwoo and greeted her.
"Congratulations, Hayoon. I just heard the news. Looks like the Noryang Gate operation won’t be a problem now."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Anyway, Taejun, you came at the perfect time. You’re free, right? Get in touch with all the major broadcast journalists. Tell them we’re holding a briefing on the Noryang Gate incident tonight."
"…Got it."
As he turned away, Lee Taejun’s face twisted in frustration.
‘Fuck!’
***
The Noryang Gate Incident had thrown South Korea into chaos, with public outrage mounting against the Dawn's Constellation day after day.
└ These bastards were so confident they could handle it so why do they keep failing?
└ I live near Noryang. Does this mean I’m doomed?
└ Run while you can. The monsters are about to flood out.
└ People hyped up Kim Hayoon so much, but she’s useless. Just a glorified water rocket.
└ LMAO, for real. That Udamhwa one-hit kill was pure luck.
Both general online communities and Hunter Web, the primary hub for hunters, were in an uproar.
No matter the circumstances, it was painfully obvious that Dawn's Constellation had failed to prevent the Noryang Gate’s rampage.
The public’s faith in them was crumbling.
Then, amid the storm of criticism, a bombshell report hit the news.
[Dawn's Constellation Secures Commander Ahn Wi’s Hwando!]
It was just a single headline.
But it was enough to flip public opinion completely.
└ Are you seriously underestimating Dawn's Constellation??
└ I never doubted them for a second.
└ Holy shit. But seriously, Ahn Wi’s relic is legendary. Did they plan to reveal this after letting people bash them for a while?
└ Where are all the guys who were trashing Kim Hayoon earlier?
└ Wait, is Hayoon noona going to protect my neighborhood??
└ Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon, Kim Hayoon.
Just that morning, the forums had been filled with criticism toward Dawn's Constellation.
Now, they were flooded with posts worshipping Kim Hayoon.
After all, in the context of the Imjin War, Ahn Wi was one of the most revered heroes.
A hwando he had once wielded couldn’t possibly be an ordinary relic.
└ But if it’s Ahn Wi’s relic, what rank would it be?
└ Not sure, but at the very least, it should be Epic-tier.
└ If we're lucky, it might even be Ancient-tier...
└ Damn, I’m jealous.
The wave of criticism against Dawn's Constellation disappeared in an instant.
On television and YouTube, videos explaining who Ahn Wi was started flooding in.
The entire country was in a celebratory mood.
Well, not everywhere.
At the Chinese Embassy, the atmosphere was anything but festive.
"Mr. Wang Wei! What the hell is going on? You said we didn’t have to worry about the relic because they wouldn’t find it!"
"Ugh… How was I supposed to know Commander Ahn Wi’s relic would suddenly appear? I’m just as shocked as you are."
Lee Taejun’s rude tone made Wang Wei’s face twist in irritation.
‘This incompetent bastard…’
Honestly, it was a miracle that Lee Taejun had even managed to become the Team 2's leader of Dawn's Constellation.
Compared to Kim Hayoon, he was nothing.
No talent. No leadership. No character.
And yet, instead of being grateful for the support he was given, he had the audacity to come here and complain just because things hadn’t gone exactly as planned?
Rage bubbled inside Wang Wei, but he forced himself to stay calm.
Because to obtain the relic hidden within Noryang Gate, he still needed Lee Taejun’s help.
‘I don’t care if the Gate is cleared. The Koreans don’t even know what’s hidden inside.’
The Koreans had already convinced themselves that Noryang Gate contained no relics of Yi Sunsin.
But Wang Wei knew the truth.
There was a relic inside and not just any relic.
Yi Sunsin’s helmet, the very one he wore at the Battle of Noryang.
Wang Wei knew this because it was his ancestor who had hidden it there.
Why hadn’t his ancestor taken it back then?
Because at the time, it wasn’t a relic.
His ancestor, Jin Feng, had been the greatest tomb raider of the Ming Dynasty.
A man who looted countless ancient sites until he dared to rob the Emperor’s great-grandfather’s tomb and was executed for it.
Most people believed Jin Feng had only plundered Chinese tombs.
But in reality, he had also targeted Joseon.
That was how he discovered Yi Sunsin’s helmet inside Noryang Gate.
But at the time, it was just a helmet.
Because Yi Sunsin was still alive.
Knowing that one day it would become a powerful relic, Jin Feng devised a plan.
He sealed it deep within Noryang Gate, using an ancient formation to keep it hidden.
By leaving it there for centuries, he ensured that when the time came, it would evolve into a true relic.
‘Now, it’s finally time to retrieve it.’
Through his ancestor’s records, Wang Wei knew exactly where Yi Sunsin’s helmet was hidden.
Recently, he had even confirmed through Lee Taejun that the ancient formation protecting it was still intact.
As long as the formation remained unbroken, the helmet would still be there.
The only issue was that Noryang Gate was controlled by the Koreans.
A Chinese national couldn’t simply walk in and take what he wanted.
That was why Wang Wei needed Lee Taejun to help him gain access to Noryang Gate.
‘I need to move fast.’
The ancient formation was virtually undetectable, but if Lee Taejun kept pressing him like this, it would only make things more difficult.
For now, he needed to pretend to cooperate.
At least until he got what he wanted.
Wang Wei put on a friendly smile before speaking.
“Mr. Taejun, if you say you’ve brought in support from China, even Dawn's Constellation will welcome you."
"Oh, so you're willing to do that for me?"
"Of course. No need to worry."
"Haha! I knew I could count on you, Ambassador Wang Wei."
‘Count on me, my ass. What an idiot.’
Cursing Lee Taejun internally, Wang Wei rose from his seat.
"Let's go, Taejun."
His heart pounded with excitement at the thought of claiming Yi Sunsin’s helmet.
***
At that very moment, while Wang Wei was heading toward Noryang, I was testing out Shadow Step.
"Oh, this is nice."
Swish, swish moving swiftly, the technique seemed perfect for emergencies.
"Kiiiik!"
A Goblin Warrior swung its baseball bat at me, slicing through empty air.
Panting heavily, it was visibly frustrated.
Even as it flailed wildly, its attacks couldn’t touch me I was too fast, effortlessly dodging with Shadow Step.
Shuuk—
Dashing backward.
Bang!
A headshot with Napoleon’s rifle!
[You have defeated the Enraged Goblin Warrior.]
[D-8 Gate Cleared.]
[Clear Rank: SSS]
System messages popped up, confirming the successful clearance of the D-8 Gate.
I barely paid them any attention until a new notification appeared.
==
[Twin Dragon Sword's Fate (2)]
Retrieve Yi Sunsin’s relic, hidden somewhere within Noryang Gate.
[Difficulty: E]
[Clear Condition: Twin Dragon Sword]
[Reward: Yi Sunsin’s Helmet]
==
Yi Sunsin’s helmet…?
My eyes widened in shock as I read the reward for this second quest triggered by the Twin Dragon Sword.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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