As they broke into the clearing, the sight was enough to make a veteran Hunter's blood run cold. In the center of a ring of jagged obsidian pillars sat a Lycan the size of a small house. Its fur wasn't silver, but a ghostly, translucent white.
Its eyes were twin pools of crimson malice. Standing around it were four Elite Shadow-Claw Lycans, their bodies wreathed in dark smoke.
"Now!" Jinchul commanded.
The plan went into motion with surgical precision. Kang Taeshik didn't wait for an opening, he lunged at the first Elite.
With a flick of his wrist, he buried a dagger in its shoulder and retreated behind the broken benches at the end. The beast let out a deafening howl and gave chase, lured by the scent of the assassin.
Deep in the thicket, Taeshik moved like a predator. The Elite Shadow-Claw was fast, but Taeshik was faster.
He used the trees as springboards, his daggers dancing across the beast's hide.
"It's all yours, Chiyul" Taeshik whispered, appearing behind the Lycan's. Song Chiyul faced his opponent as a mage.
"Flame Sakura" he whispered and a Sakura shaped flames started appearing near him. He attacked the Lycan with it and it started raining it down.
Few seconds later, we can see the lycan struggling a little but still moving towards Chiyul with enough rage. Chiyul immediately switched to his sword parrying the attack
"You forgot me, wolf" whispered Taeshik while plunging two daggers into its shoulders while Chiyul used his flame sword to cut it down.
Meanwhile, the Reaper Guild's elite strike team, bolstered by Jinchul's earlier advice on positioning, surrounded the third Elite.
They used a "Cycling Guard" formation, where the front-liners rotated out as they took damage, allowing the mages and archers to pummel the beast from a distance. For the first time, Lim Tae-Gyu saw his men fighting with a confidence he hadn't seen in months.
In the center of the clearing, the White Lycan King rose. Its growl vibrated in the very marrow of their bones.
"Mr. Seok, you're the tank" Jinchul said, stepping back to let the shield-bearer take the lead. "Mr. Lim, you and me will be the attacker but you will be at the end."
The King lunged. It didn't move like the others; it was a blur of white fur and destruction. Seok slammed his shield down, his feet digging deep into the soil. [Mountain's Endurance].
A shockwave erupted as the King's fist struck the shield. The ground beneath Seok cracked, and he moved behind a little.
"Is that all you've got, doggy?" Seok grinned, though blood leaked slightly from his mouth to tank pressure after a long time.
Lim Tae-Gyu seized the moment. "Seven-Star Volley!" he roared. He loosed seven arrows in a single breath, each one imbued with fire and wind magic.
They struck the King's flank, exploding in a shower of sparks and fur. The beast roared in agony, turning its attention toward the archer.
For ten minutes, the battle was a brutal stalemate. Seok blocked every devastating blow, his shield glowing brighter with every impact, while Lim rained down a constant stream of high-rank arrows.
Jinchul remained on the periphery, his eyes darting back and forth. He would occasionally shout a direction—"Left, three steps!" or "Jump now!"—saving Lim from a surprise swipe or Seok from a crushing overhead slam.
But the White Lycan King was a B-Rank Boss for a reason. As its health dwindled, it entered a state of [Blood Frenzy]. Its fur turned blood-red, and its speed doubled.
With a roar that shattered the nearby obsidian pillars, the King bypassed Seok's shield with a deceptive feint. It swiped its massive claws toward Lim Tae-Gyu, who was mid-draw and completely defenseless.
To Lim, who were at the center of the storm, the world simply... stopped.
Jinchul was gone from his spot. In the blink of an eye, he appeared between Lim and the descending claws. He didn't draw a weapon.
He simply raised his hand like a blade and drove to its heart. The sound of the impact was like a cannon blast, but Jinchul's arm didn't even tremble.
With his other hand, he held its claw.
"I told you," Jinchul whispered, his voice cold and terrifyingly calm, "this dungeon is weak."
He tightened his grip on the King's wrist. The sound of snapping bone echoed through the clearing.
The King let out a whimper, its red eyes widening looking down where Jinchul's hand passed through its heart.
There was no explosion. No flashy light. Just a dull thud.
The King's chest cavity collapsed inward, and the light faded from its eyes instantly. Jinchul let go, and the massive corpse slumped to the ground, dead before it even hit the dirt.
Jinchul stood there for a moment, his breathing perfectly steady. He looked back at Lim and Seok, who were both frozen in shock. The rest of the hunters were still occupied finishing off the last bits of the Elites; they had only seen the King fall, not the movement that caused it.
Jinchul put a finger to his lips, winking slightly.
"Mr. Lim, Mr. Seok," Jinchul said, his usual professional mask sliding back into place. "That was an excellent finishing move by the two of you. Your coordination was top-notch."
Lim Tae-Gyu found his voice, though it was raspy. "Mr. Jin... you... that wasn't us. You just..."
"The Reaper Guild needs a victory today, Mr. Lim," Jinchul interrupted softly, stepping closer so only the two of them could hear.
"And the Association needs to remain an administrative body, not a front-line powerhouse. So let's make a deal….the victory will solely go towards your Guild, In turn, you only will have to keep what happened at the end a secret. And you may have to enter into an alliance with us which will only be beneficial to your Guild "
Lim Tae-Gyu looked at the crater where the King's chest used to be, then back at the unassuming man in the armor. He realized then that Jinchul wasn't just a strong hunter—he was a monster masquerading as a bureaucrat.
"I... I understand," Lim said, in a mix of respect and determination. "Thank you, Mr. Jin."
"Good," Jinchul smiled.
As the other hunters approached, cheering at the sight of the fallen King, they saw Jinchul standing by the sidelines, clapping politely for Lim Tae-Gyu and Lee Jin-Seok, looking every bit the modest official he claimed to be.