A Side Character's Mission ↠ Solo Leveling

Chapter 41: Jeju Island 1

"I joined the raid because I want to protect you." he replied under his breath.

"Do you actually care about me?" Hae-Seong asked bitterly.

Seung-Eun could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He cared, of course. More than his own life, he cared about him. He didn't want Hae-Seong to get hurt because of him again.

Unlike him, Hae-Seon deserved a better life and future. Se-Yoon, Jin-Woo, Jin-Ah and others around them, they all should be happy.

But, looking at the boy in front of him, who was wearing a hurt expression, he was at a loss.

"I don't get it. What went wrong? It wasn't like this before. We used to be together every day but now you don't even want me to see you." The worn appearance on his face indicated that his days were not as well as Seung-Eun it would be. "I'll only be happy if you're by my side."

It felt somewhat tempting, to forget the mission and live freely. 'Maybe then... you won't be sad anymore. But, if I hadn't accepted the mission, would I have met you?'

"But I can't," 

'The mission... I have to complete it.'

"I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry."

If things don't work out, this will be my final goodbye.

...

He eventually left quickly, trying not to look back at Hae-Seong's disappointed expression. He assured himself in his heart that it would be best if Hae-Seong hated him so that he could forget about him.

Off the shores of China and Taiwan, all of the military vessels headed in the direction of Jeju Island. Two KDX-111 destroyers, two KDX-IV destroyers, four DDH-975 destroyers... one DDH-971 destroyer, and 12 frigates were stationed close to the north side of Jeju Island.

"Steel your nerves. If you don't, the ants can most likely sense your fear and will attack you first." As the members of the Knights guild stood on one of the ships, the guild master spoke to them.

"Hyung-nim, will this even apply to us?" A hunter replied hesitantly.

"You never know. Besides, it's our style to always be prepared for any given situation. We'll make sure to kill mercilessly ants that fly towards us."

"A-As expected of our hyung-nim! I, Jung Yoon-Tae shall follow wherever I go!"

The Jeju Island raid includes hunters from the Knights guild, Fame guild, and others, as the Hunter Association requested that hunters from all guilds prepare to defend the country. Even if the raid is successful, they don't want any ants to escape and attack the mainland.

A B-rank hunter served as the commander of each defense force, which also included three C-rank and ten or more D-rank hunters. There were ex-hunters as well as people who had awakenings but chose not to take up hunting. Additionally, there were 5,000 of them in all. Only ten people in the entire nation possessed an awakened ability, including them.

The Korean S-rank hunters were preparing themselves in the military aircraft as they were transported to their destination.

"I'm the cameraman from the official hunter's reporting scene." A middle aged man wearing full armor introduced himself. "Just like the name implies, I'm someone who specializes in filming hunters. This raid will be broadcasted live on TV. You also won't have to worry too much about mistakes. Since the broadcast will have a ten minutes delay, the editing team can cut those parts for you."

"I can't believe a cameraman is accompanying us in such a dangerous mission. What on earth was Mr. Go Gu Hee thinking?" Baek Yoon-Ho complained, while sitting next to him was also a guild master of Fame guild, Ma Dong-Wook.