The workers dragged the corpses into one massive heap. Kael burned the pile himself, flames roaring high until the stench of blood and rot turned to ash.
By then it was around two in the afternoon. The workers sat down for a late lunch, still chewing while talking about the fight. In just a few hours, they would need to start building the barracks or else they'd be sleeping inside the buses and trucks.
Justin offered to edit the footage himself.
Meanwhile, Andrew was busy setting up an Ntube account for their guild, something to promote Kalza Guild to the public.
When the video was ready, he posted it with a bold title:
"How an F-rank Farmer Guild Master of Kalza Guild Hunted an S-rank Lizardman General."
Andrew shut his laptop after uploading, not realizing what kind of storm he'd just released.
Across the world, an otaku stumbled on the video. His jaw dropped.
"Holy crap I've never seen anything like this! You guys gotta watch this. The description says he's an F-rank farmer!"
"Bullshit," someone replied. "There's no way that guy's F-rank."
A commenter named Great Robinson wrote:
"If this isn't CGI, then that guy's a legit S-ranker. His level must be above 300."
The video spread like wildfire. Some viewers recognized Kael immediately after all, this wasn't his first time going viral.
First, there was the Valencia Academy graduation incident two years ago.
Then the infamous interview with White Tiger Guild members.
And who could forget the coffee shop scene, when he became a sudden heartthrob to half the internet?
The Kael fan club exploded overnight. Girls across forums began calling him Kael Virel of Valencia, from the Philippines.
News channels picked it up. Vlogs, reaction videos, endless commentaries everyone wanted a piece of this fight. After all, it wasn't normal for anyone, let alone a supposed "farmer," to fight an S-rank humanoid monster barehanded.
Even governments took notice.
In Moscow, the Russian President's eyes narrowed at the footage.
"Find this hunter immediately. Present me his information. If possible, arrange a meeting. I want him here."
Far away, Anthony watched the clip in silence. His cold tone cut like ice.
"You've surpassed your limits… my friend."
Rowell, already a guild master and drinking in his expensive suit, grinned as he raised his glass.
"So you never stopped climbing, huh, Kael? Fine. Let's settle our fight properly this time."
Selena of Amarifo group holdings also watched in secret.
"I knew it… Kael, you've always been different."
Her heart ached with feelings she'd buried for years. Back then, their status had been worlds apart. But now… maybe it wasn't impossible.
Even the legendary Jian Wuhan, the Chinese Sword Saint, watched from atop his red wyvern, surrounded by piles of slain monsters.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Will the Philippines give birth to another hunter as great as Teacher Victor? Perhaps I should visit that small country soon."
But for now, he remained inside an SS-rank gate.
A giant red dragon roared and spewed fire, its flames splitting the sky. Jian Wuhan's katana flashed, cutting the fire in two. In a blink, he dashed forward and unleashed a thousand slashes in a heartbeat splitting the dragon clean in half.
He sheathed his blade, eyes still lingering on the phone screen.
"Kael right… we'll meet soon."
Inside the forest, the workers immediately began building temporary barracks. The trucks and buses were parked in a wide circle, forming a makeshift wall around the camp. They wasted no time cutting down trees for materials.
Jordan swung his sword in vertical slashes, felling tree after tree, while Paul stacked them into neat piles. The other three swordsmen Kael had hired joined in, hacking away at trunks, while workers from Settlement 16 stripped the bark clean.
Paul and two other tank-class hunters carried the massive logs together, their muscles straining but never faltering. All of it was stored future materials for houses shelters and furnitures.
Meanwhile, heavy machinery roared as workers dug out tree roots, clearing the ground. Others set up the barracks framework.
Still, by nightfall, not all of the barracks were finished. Many workers ended up sleeping inside buses and trucks.
The hunters took shifts guarding the camp. Small monsters tried to attack in the night, but the hired hunters swiftly cut them down before they could even cause a commotion. They were seasoned, veterans of countless hunts.
By morning, work resumed. The workers were full of energy, fired up after eating large portions of roasted wolf meat from yesterday's hunt.
But a problem soon surfaced water.
Arnold frowned, clearly worried. "Kael, we don't have enough drinking water for the week. We need to build a water system… or better yet, a dam."
Kael nodded. "A dam is the best choice. If this city is going to house millions in the future, we'll need more than just a water line."
They spread a map out across the hood of a truck. Around twenty-two kilometers away, there was a river. But Arnold pointed out the problem "That river dries up every summer. Right now it's January. In just two months, it'll be gone. Not reliable for construction."
Kael tapped the map. "Then let's build a dam."
Without wasting time, Kael left with his guild members and two of the hired party leaders and Justin , in case strong monsters appeared along the way. seven hunters stayed behind to guard the workers still finishing the barracks.
Along with them, Kael brought over four hundred construction workers.
When they arrived, Arnold pointed toward an open plain. "Alright… this should be the spot."
Kael studied the land carefully. His gaze swept over the river, then toward the horizon. "Hmmm… two kilometers from the river? Too close. Move it 7 kilometers further in. Trust me I have my reasons."
Arnold blinked, but he didn't argue.
"With 3,100 construction workers, plus engineers and architects, we should have more than enough manpower," Kael said. "Once the barracks are fortified, we'll speed up the schedule. I'll pay extra if I have to. And this time, I'll help with the work myself."
The leaders gathered Arnold, Cardo, Kael, the engineers, and architects pouring over blueprints spread across a makeshift table.
The land they stood on used to be rice plantations. Now, it was empty plains perfect for construction.
The city plan was ambitious: a massive circular city, 250 kilometers wide, with three defensive walls and the guild headquarters in the very center.
But first the dam. It needed to be at least 4–5 kilometers long, and more than a hundred meters deep.
Kael's ambition was clear: once this land was developed, international law would recognize it as new territory.
After all this place was recognized as wilderness.
And according to international law of hunter association, if a guild or group of hunter managed to clear or reclaim a land that was been abandoned by a country they can claim it as theirs.
A potential new country. And Kael had no intention of letting the current Philippine government control it.
The head engineer frowned, pointing at the map. "There's a problem. The area is full of massive boulders. Some are over ten meters tall. And from the river, we'll need to dig several kilometers of canal. The rocks are far too big we don't have tools that can chip them down."
Kael looked up. His gaze locked on one of the giant boulders ten meters tall, fourteen meters wide, a wall of stone looming over them.
"Oh… you mean those rocks?" Kael said casually, and started walking toward it.
"Kael… what are you doing?" Paul called out.
"Clearing rocks."
He stopped in front of the boulder. His eyes narrowed. Mana surged through his veins, his skin glowing faintly as he activated Physical Boost and Fire Fist at the same time. His muscles tensed like steel cables.
Then
KABOOOOOM!
The sound was deafening. The shockwave rippled through the ground, knocking dust into the air and making workers stumble back.
The massive boulder didn't just crack it exploded into thousands of fragments, scattering across the plain like shrapnel.
Silence.
Every worker. Every hunter. Every guild member stood frozen, mouths hanging open.
"…Holy sh*t," Paul muttered.
Justin only smirked. He had already seen Kael's strength before.
"Just wait," Justin said confidently. "There's more where that came from."
Kael dusted off his hands like it was nothing. "Alright. That's one down. Next?"
Even seasoned hunters stared in disbelief. Not even high-rankers would casually destroy a rock like that.
Andrew, Paul, Jordan, Liam they were stunned into silence.
Only now did they truly realize why Kael had been so confident in founding his own guild. He wasn't bluffing. His raw power could rival S-ranks.
And Kael wasn't done.
He activated Speed Boost.
In a blur, he blitzed across the plain, smashing boulder after boulder.
KABOOOM! KABOOOM! THUD! THUD! CRACK!
His fists pounded the largest rock in the center, blow after blow after blow. Each strike was strong enough to kill a hunter outright, yet Kael threw them in rapid succession like it was nothing.
Stone shattered. Dust filled the air. By the time he stopped, the boulders were reduced to rubble small enough for transport.
Kael wiped sweat from his brow and exhaled sharply. "Phew… alright, guys. Rocks are cleared. You can start working now."
The workers gawked. The head engineer, Tim, stammered, then raised his arms. "Wh-what are you waiting for? Move it, boys! Start digging the canal!"
Engines roared, and workers surged into motion.
But Kael wasn't finished.
"Let's check the area ahead," he said, climbing into a truck.
They drove to the cliffside. Kael studied the map again. He pointed at the river's edge. "The canal… I'll handle the digging myself. Focus on the barracks first. Then dig the first stretch of the canal for the survivors. I'll take care of the rest."
The engineers stared at him like he was insane. "That's impossible...."
Kael cut him off. "Focus on your job. I'll handle mine."
He handed his phone to Justin. "Record everything. Don't waste a single clip."
Justin grinned and readied the camera.
Kael stepped off the cliffside, levitating into the air. Mana gathered around him, swirling hotter and hotter.
Liam gasped. "That's Inferno Core… B-rank skill!"
"Only A-ranks can usually use it," Andrew muttered. "It eats up way too much mana…"
Kael raised his hand. A massive red fireball swelled in his palm. With a roar, he hurled it to the ground.
KABOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the cliff, burning the ground black. The blast carved out a crater tens of meters wide and deep.
But Kael wasn't satisfied. "Hmmm… not enough."
Mana surged. His eyes glowed.
Multi-Cast: Inferno Core. 96% Mana Output.
The sky lit up. Hundreds no, thousands of fireballs as large as basketballs appeared, floating above him like a blazing constellation.
The hired A-rank hunters stared in horror. "W-what the hell…? Inferno Core is supposed to be one fireball…!"
A Black Fang party leader muttered, "That's not a strength of a hunter… that's insane."
Are you really sure he's not S rank or higher? Said by mercenary guild party leader.
Jordan smirked. "Nope. He's F-rank. Our guild leader."
Kael waved his hand.
The sky fell.
KABOOOM! KABOOOM! KABOOOM!
Dozens of fireballs rained down, explosions chaining together in a fiery storm that burned the earth. The heatwave was suffocating even from hundreds of meters away.
When the smoke cleared, a sea of fire and molten magma stretched before them.
"That's insane…" Andrew muttered. "Even an S-rank monster wouldn't survive that…"
Hunters gaped in disbelief. The mana output alone was monstrous beyond anything they'd ever seen.
Kael wasn't finished.
"Back up to the hill," he ordered calmly. "This time, I'll use my strongest skill."
They didn't argue. The hunters scrambled away, retreating up the hillside as Kael floated high into the air.
His aura shifted.
Mana Reset: Complete.
"Good," Kael muttered. "Now… my strongest attack."
He activated Fire Fist. Strength Boost. Speed Boost.
Mana swirled violently into his fist so much that his arm glowed white, blue, and green, raw power condensing into a single point.
Dense mana was gathering, the light was so bright.
Justin's face went pale. "Wait that's… stronger than last time."
"Stronger than what?!" Paul asked, panicked.
Justin's voice trembled. "His strongest move, that punch destroy an S rank monster."
Kael clenched his glowing fist. Mana cracked the air around him. The pressure was suffocating.
Then, from 700 meters up, he kicked downward, accelerating his fall.
"HRRRRRAAAAAAHHH!"
He swung his fist.
KAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The impact was apocalyptic.
The ground cracked like glass, splitting apart. Dust and rubble exploded upward like a nuclear blast. Winds howled like a hurricane, flattening trees for kilometers around.
The sea itself rippled violently, waves smashing against the coast as if struck by an earthquake.
The land cratered. Six kilometers wide. Over 150 meters deep.
The engineers' jaws dropped. They had only planned for five kilometers, one hundred meters deep.
This was bigger. Better. Perfect.
150 meters deep and almost 6 kilometers wide.
And Kael just stood at the center of the crater, fist still smoking, breathing steady.