Life Rebooted with Copy and Paste-Chapter 156. You Have Grown Stronger

“What did you just say?”

Son Chang-Il, the Association president, was deeply immersed in his daily work as usual. Well, maybe not exactly.

The unprecedented incident in China had the entire world on edge, and naturally, his work had shifted focus to that crisis.

Despite his advancing age, Son Chang-Il remained active and vigorous. However, the moment he received the latest report from China, he shot to his feet.

“Hunter Kim Do-Joon entered the Branch?”

The report stated that Kim Do-Joon and Jecheon Seong had entered the Branch. Son Chang-Il frowned, lost in thought.

The Branch, once tightly guarded and shrouded in secrecy by Chinese authorities, had now been entered by Korean Hunters. That was undoubtedly a positive development, but there was one glaring concern.

“You said the Eight Dragons Association entered as well?” Son Chang-Il clarified.

—Yes, sir. Hunter Kim Do-Joon and Hunter Jecheon Seong went in first, but the Hunters of the Eight Dragons Association followed shortly after.

Tap. Tap.

Son Chang-Il tapped his fingers on the desk. According to the report, the Hunters of the Eight Dragons Association entered after a slight delay, which meant they weren’t teamed up with Kim Do-Joon.

This presented a clear risk. Given China’s history of underhanded tactics, a betrayal wouldn’t be surprising. Besides, the Branch was a complete lawless zone, so any incident could easily be masked as an accident.

The likelihood isn’t high, but...

The Chinese Hunters were busy gathering intel on the newly emerged Branch and too occupied with defending Shanghai to fully commit to it. Given these circumstances, it was unlikely they’d target Kim Do-Joon. After all, everyone knew the saying: “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

Still, the odds aren’t zero.

No one could predict what would happen inside. Adding to his concerns was information from the United States. According to the rumor, one of Kim Do-Joon’s American allies had been caught by the Eight Dragons Association’s Celestial Trap.

If that were true, the tension between Kim Do-Joon and the Eight Dragons Association couldn’t be mended with mere words.

Son Chang-Il pondered silently before coming to a decision.

“Didn’t the Chinese government request support earlier?”

—Pardon? Oh, yes, sir. They’ve reached out to several countries, not just us. Most are still deliberating.

Countries were weighing their options: should they risk sending Hunters into the Branch to gather information, or wait for a clearer opportunity?

“Call for a press conference. Send notices to every guild, especially Mir and Rune Mage.”

—Sir, does this mean...?

Son Chang-Il gazed out the window. In the distance, a construction site was visible. It was a replacement for the academy that had been destroyed. The sight weighed heavily on his heart.

When the Academy was consumed by the Root, we were powerless.

During that incident, the Association had done nothing but flounder. In the end, it was Kim Do-Joon, along with his ally—a Fire Spirit—who had protected the students and teachers. Without them, the young lives would have been snuffed out by the elves.

Even the breakthrough into the Root was only possible thanks to the elderly Hunter Jecheon Seong. The Association’s contribution was virtually nonexistent.

“We’re assembling a team of Hunters and heading to the Branch. Our priority is to support Kim Do-Joon and Jecheon Seong. Understood?”

—Yes, sir! Understood!

This was their chance to repay Kim Do-Joon.

Hold on, Do-Joon! I’ll bring reinforcements!

Son Chang-Il ended the call, his eyes burning with determination as he clenched his fists tightly.

***

Thud!

Around that time, Kim Do-Joon’s spear pierced through a shadow soldier in one fell swoop. The shadow soldier died instantly, with no room for struggle.

With a flick of his spear, Kim Do-Joon sent the creature’s body flying. Just like outside, the place was teeming with those shadow soldiers. Their sheer numbers suggested they weren’t merely a stolen force from the Eight Dragons Association.

Does this mean the citizens of Shanghai were turned into monsters?

Kim Do-Joon ran his gloved hand down his spear shaft, his expression hardening. He didn’t particularly like the Eight Dragons Association. Their brutal reputation preceded them, and his encounter with their Celestial Trap only deepened his distrust.

However, the sacrifice of ordinary citizens was a different story. To a Hunter, civilians were people to protect, not collateral damage.

Gao Lin.

Kim Do-Joon’s brow furrowed.

As a Hunter, Kim Do-Joon had seen his share of disasters and corpses, but this was the first time he had witnessed civilians caught up in something so horrific on this scale. This was all because of Gao Lin, or perhaps the thing that had possessed him.

Keeeeee!

Thud!

Without even looking, Kim Do-Joon swung his spear.

Thud!

A shadow soldier that had tried to ambush him crumpled into a grotesque angle, buried deep in the ground.

Thump.

His chest tightened. It was not excitement, nor was it fear—it was anger.

What is this feeling?

He had every right to be furious. Who wouldn’t be enraged by the culprit behind such devastation? However, something felt off—like another person’s fury was mingling with his own.

—Don’t worry. I swear to you. Just this once... only this once.

If someone couldn’t think about that dream at this moment, they would be a fool. Lowering the hand clutching his chest, he resumed walking. His emotions seemed under control, but his thoughts were still in turmoil.

What was that dream about? Who was the old man? And was the shadow in the dream connected to this Branch?

The dim surroundings seemed to magnify his brooding as he moved forward.

Clang! Clang!

Then suddenly, a metallic clash reached his ears. It was the sound of steel on steel.

Someone’s there.

Kim Do-Joon broke into a sprint toward the source of the noise. And what he found was a battlefield.

“Stop it! Stop, you monster!”

A woman, armed with a massive crescent blade, was locked in combat with a black armored knight.

Ashunaga...

The knight looked different from the one Kim Do-Joon had encountered before. While it shared the black armor of Li Weipeng, this creature’s face was more grotesquely twisted, with a tail protruding from its back.

Ashunaga was holding her own. Her movements were steady and her strikes deliberate—she had obviously learned well from observing Kim Do-Joon.

The knight, in contrast, fought with blinding speed, his sword a blur of silver arcs. Occasionally, his tail would lash out with deadly precision, his blows powerful enough to shake the ground.

When the knight’s sword clashed against Ashunaga’s crescent blade, his tail shot out, aiming directly for her blind spot.

“Ah!”

A shriek tore from Ashunaga as she realized too late. The tail was already streaking toward her, poised to smash her jaw.

Just then, the knight suddenly went rigid, and his movements halted as if caught in an invisible grip.

“Huh?”

The Black Knight froze, caught mid-motion as if his entire body had been paralyzed. Briefly, he went wide-eyed with panic as he desperately struggled to break free.

"Looks like this trick works wonders on these guys," said Kim Do-Joon as he approached from behind the knight.

Hearing the familiar voice, Ashunaga flinched, her tense posture relaxing slightly. However, before she could fully process what was happening, Kim Do-Joon’s hand darted forward like a lightning strike.

Crunch!

"Hiiek!"

Ashunaga gasped as she saw a hand piercing straight through the knight's armor. Within it was a jet-black heart, resembling a chunk of coal.

She instinctively stepped back, but as she realized the owner of the voice and the hand, a wave of relief washed over her.

"T-thank you," she stammered.

Kim Do-Joon crushed the heart without a second thought, pulling his hand free from the knight’s chest. With nothing to support it anymore, the knight collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Gulp.

Ashunaga swallowed hard, staring at the body. This enemy had pushed her to her limits,vyet Kim Do-Joon had ended it in mere moments.

Sure, it was a surprise attack, but did that even matter? Even if they had fought head-on, or worse, if the knight had ambushed him, Ashunaga was sure the result would have been exactly the same.

She couldn’t even imagine a scenario where Kim Do-Joon struggled, let alone lost.

This is unfair! She thought suddenly, a wave of resentment bubbling up.

She had trained with weapons ever since she could walk, honing her skills to lead her fellow Nagas and defend them from threats. Moreover, she had poured every ounce of her being into becoming stronger!

However, no matter how hard she trained, she felt like she could never catch up to Kim Do-Joon.

"Are you hurt?" Kim Do-Joon asked.

"No," Ashunaga replied. "What about you, Human?"

"I'm fine, too," Kim Do-Joon replied.

Of course, he is. Why did I even ask?

Ashunaga let out a bitter laugh, wondering what her years of effort even amounted to when compared to such a monster.

Then, Kim Do-Joon spoke, his tone surprisingly casual, "You’ve gotten a lot stronger, you know."

"Huh? Me?" Ashunaga blinked, caught off guard.

Kim Do-Joon nodded.

The Ashunaga he had first met was nowhere near this capable. Even after he had helped her unite the Nagas, she had been little more than a brute with raw strength. Back then, she had recklessly challenged him and gotten herself knocked out with a single strike.

But now, she had learned how to use her strength effectively, likely through rigorous training after gaining control over the Nagas.

If she can hold her own against a Black Knight , she’s probably on par with the elite warriors of the Mahal Tribe.

Of course, in a real fight, the Mahal Tribe, with their wealth of experience, would still have the upper hand. However, Ashunaga was no longer the same reckless fighter she had been.

"Really?" Ashunaga perked up, her ears twitching. Her previously dour expression had vanished, replaced by an unmistakable look of delight.

Kim Do-Joon felt a twinge of uncertainty as he watched her.

Is she this easy to please? Or is this just part of her personality? Maybe it’s the Ring of Dominance’s influence...

Whatever the case, he was relieved to have found her in one piece this quickly. He had braced himself for discovering her body instead.

"Humans have good eyes," Ashunaga said with a toothy grin. "Just you wait! I’ll get even stronger! Stronger than ever before!"

"Sure," Kim Do-Joon said with a faint smile. "But for now, let’s move. We still need to find the elder."

Ashunaga seemed positively buoyant, almost too cheerful, but Kim Do-Joon figured that was better than her being downcast. With a shake of his head, he gestured for her to follow, and together they ventured deeper into the Branch.

It was not until nearly a full day later that they finally crossed paths with the Hunters of the Eight Dragons Association.

***

The scattered Hunters of the Eight Dragons Association had begun to regroup, with some managing to find each other despite the chaos.

Among them, Wang Lifei had been particularly lucky. He had successfully rallied five nearby Hunters to his side. It was far from the full force of the elite squad they had brought in, but it was enough to form a small team.

Good...

Wang Lifei's expression was cautiously optimistic. His team had encountered only a handful of shadow soldiers so far and, thankfully, no knights.

Knights in black armor were a different class of threat. Even Yang Huai would have barely escaped from one. If they were to face a monster in their fragmented state, escape would have been the only option.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Lifei! There’s something ahead,” one of his Hunters called out, pointing ahead.

The group’s attention turned to the structure in the distance that looked like a fortress wall. Though not made of ordinary brick, the structure had gates and fortifications that left no doubt about its purpose.

On the wall stood shadow soldiers, their unmoving forms as ominous as sentries.

“Are they guarding something?” one Hunter speculated.

“Or maybe they’re just blocking the way,” another suggested.

Ideas bounced around, but the conclusion was unanimous that they wouldn’t know unless they checked.

“At least there’s no knight around,” someone noted.

“Hey, you’ve got a detection skill, right? What do you sense inside?”

“Other than the soldiers, there’s just one mana presence,” the Hunter replied, “but it’s faint.”

Wang Lifei frowned in thought. The wall was a problem. If it was merely an obstacle, they would need to break through it to continue. However, if it was guarding something, that "something" could be crucial—perhaps even Gao Lin himself.

Either way, retreat was not an option.

“Let’s breach it.”

Wang Lifei decided and the team launched their assault.

Swoosh! Thunk!

The team tried multiple approaches to break through the gate, but all attempts ended in failure. The gate was protected by an intense mana barrier, rendering their attacks useless. Besides, the shadow soldiers rained arrows down on them from above.

Forced to remain on guard, launching sustained attacks were nearly impossible. Despite being low-level enemies, the soldiers’ arrows were lethal enough to kill a careless Hunter.

“Damn it!”

“Focus everything on one point! We’ll break through in one concentrated attack!”

Boom!

Even their combined efforts only left the faintest of scratches on the barrier. Eventually, Wang Lifei had to call for a retreat.

“We need to fall back and gather reinforcements,” Wang Lifei said, frustration evident in his voice.

“Okay.”

“That would be the best way...”

The others reluctantly agreed. They had all experienced firsthand how impenetrable the gate was.

“Huh?”

“Hey... who’s that?”

Just as they were preparing to leave, a lone figure appeared in the distance. It was Kim Do-Joon, accompanied by a single summoned monster. The elderly man who had been with him earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Kim Do-Joon stopped to look at the fortress wall, his brow furrowing as he assessed the situation. Then, as if sensing their gaze, he turned to look at the Hunters of the Eight Dragons Association. Their eyes met briefly before Kim Do-Joon simply turned back and started walking toward the wall.

“He’s going for the gate,” one Hunter observed.

“Shouldn’t someone tell him it’s pointless?”

“Why bother?” another replied with a chuckle.

Their laughter wasn’t cruel, but more of an amused resignation.

He had just arrived, so he didn’t know how tough the gate was. Still, shouldn’t it be obvious from the fact that they were just standing there?

“Guess he lacks experience,” someone muttered. “Remember all the hype about him hitting S-rank in just a year?”

“Yeah, doesn’t make sense. How does anyone get to S-rank in one year? What kind of standards does South Korea even have?”

BOOM!

The ground trembled violently, a shockwave rippling through the air.

“What the...?”

The Hunters instinctively flinched, their conversation forgotten. Slowly, they turned their heads toward the gate. A massive hole had been blasted through the barrier, large enough for a semi-truck to drive through with ease.

Due to the shock, Wang Lifei’s weapon slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. Even the shadow soldiers atop the wall seemed frozen in place, their bows hanging limply at their sides.

All eyes were on Kim Do-Joon as he casually strode through the shattered remains of the gate, unbothered by the destruction he had just caused.