The First Hunter

Chapter 54. In America, Part II

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

4.

When the age of monsters came, when the world was in a mess, and the world began to flood with despair, James Dean was grateful for three facts. One, being given the ability to kill monsters, and two, the freedom of the gun laws of the United States. The third was his trusted colleagues and followers.

The Vegas Rangers, a gathering of James Dean and the Hunters who followed him, was based on these three things. They were literally rangers, those who would fight for the safety and peace of the citizens, not for the personal interests and greed of the individual. Their values did not change even after Las Vegas was subordinated to the Pentagon.

“We’ll go hunting the Desert Dragon in a week, as planned.” That was why James Dean and the Vegas Rangers planned the Desert Dragon hunt, the creature that owned Death Valley National Park west of Las Vegas. It was a great and noble set of values. It was something that impressed and was admired by everyone, showing rather than hiding.

But James Dean didn’t reveal it to anyone. It was because of the Pentagon.

“There is one thing to remember: don’t let the Pentagon dogs know that.”

From the moment the Pentagon made a strange demand to the managers of each city under their command: do not hunt monsters above green grade without the permission of the Pentagon.

It was a demand that did not fit the reality of the facts, that one more monster had to be killed faster for the safety of the citizens, and for the safety and future of the nation. But the Pentagon began to do something ridiculous to fulfill its demands, as well as make such a ridiculous request.

“The moment, they know that there will be some kind of interference.”

They ruthlessly punished those who attempted unauthorized hunting. In addition, in this era, relentless punishment was not simply throwing people in prison.

“Maybe they are trying to kill us. Though there’s no clear proof of that, there’s plenty of conviction.” It was a situation that deserved to be prepared for death.

“Yet we have to do it.” In this situation, James Dean and Vegas Rangers ignored this request of the Pentagon. There was a reason.

“If we continue this way, we’ll all be the dogs of the Pentagon.” The purpose of the Pentagon was the reason.

“Not just us, but the whole world.” The Pentagon was going to use monsters to completely control the land of America. They were going to use the monster’s threat to humans as a tool to rule humans. The problem was that it was an amazingly effective way to do things.

“And the Pentagon has enough power to do it.”

James Dean and Vegas Rangers were the evidence. It was not a democratic process of voting that allowed them to become Las Vegas managers. It was because they had the power to fight against the monster’s threat. So when he realized the Pentagon’s purpose, James Dean no longer intended to accept the Pentagon’s demand. Furthermore, he realized that the only way to fight against the Pentagon was to become stronger.

“So we have to move before them, and if we kill the Desert Dragon in Death Valley, we can work closely with Los Angeles and San Francisco. They are creating forces to fight against the Pentagon in the West, where the Pentagon can’t reach.” The hunt for the owner of the Death Valley, the Desert Dragon, was the first starting point. It would be the starting point of resistance to the Pentagon’s ambition. In other words, the beginning of the war with the Pentagon.

“I believe that we can do it!” But James Dean did not feel any fear about it, because he had his three things.

———————

5.

Death Valley National Park…

It has an eerie name, the Valley of Death, but had a slightly different landscape then its eerie name. For this reason, those who saw Death Valley for the first time often express their admiration, rather than feeling dizzy or getting goosebumps.

The scenery of Death Valley in the eyes of tourists was wonderful, they could feel the grandeur of nature. So the tourists who admire Death Valley’s scenery immediately questioned the name: how did this wonderful scene come to be given the appalling name of the Valley of Death?

The way to know the answer to the question was simple. A walk through Death Valley in the middle of summer showed everything. If they experienced their sweat drying under the sun of Death Valley, where the temperature could rise to 60 degrees, they had no more questions about why it was called Death Valley.

“Hoo!” Now a group of thirty men was moving through Death Valley. Moving on foot, without vehicles, they were carrying loads that looked heavy to everyone. It was a strange sight just by looking at them.

For the monsters who made Death Valley their home, the sight was a sweet thing that made them hungry. This was the case with the Black Horned Lizards, who hid giant bodies reminiscent of alligators under the barren wasteland, only showing the black horns on their heads.

Knowing that thirty prey had come from the senses of their protruding black horns, the Black Horned Lizards had no desire to wait before the sweet temptation.

Zizz… They slowly began to rise from the sands. There was no warning; as soon as they appeared, the Black Horned Lizards began galloping along the parched ground, orange eyes shining.

They were like a sports-car trying to set a zero-60 record. It was that fast, that dynamic.

To the group of Black Horned Lizards, the distance from the target was virtually zero. Of course, no matter how fast they were, they were not faster than gunfire.

In one moment, six shots were fired from each of the thirty men that turned towards the approaching group of Black Horned Lizards. That was a hundred and eighty gunshots. What was surprising was that the one hundred and eighty shots sounded like a single shot.

They were quick shots that could not be made by a simple pistol. There were two secrets to the quick shot. One was that they used revolvers. The other was that the gunmen were not simple ones, but Monster Hunters.

The ten Black Horned Lizards that were racing in front of the results of these two secrets became meatballs spraying blood. Upon seeing this, the Hunters immediately opened the huge revolvers they had in their hands.

From the cylinder of the revolver, shells thicker than the thumb of an adult man fell onto the ground like rain. It was a hunting revolver and bullet specially designed to kill monsters, now the standard of the United States. The perfect handling of such revolvers was the reason these Vegas Rangers were now called Rangers.

“We don’t have to get any bait.” James Dean, the head of the Vegas Rangers, smiled at the pile of dead. The results that he and his colleagues produced at the same time always made James Dean smile. It was not just him, the Vegas Rangers all expressed satisfaction at the sight they had created.

“It’s better to finally hunt like this after a long time. I’ve been a little bored after being stuck in Hoover Dam all these years because of the Pentagon.”

“I agree. A Hunter has to hunt.”

It was proof that they were already skilled Hunters; not those who were desperate to survive against monsters, but Hunters who were willing to devour monsters. They were Hunters who preferred the smell of blood that dried rapidly under the scorching sun to the smell of dried beer in a tavern.

“Ugh!”

“What, what?”

When they suddenly felt an unmarked fear of starting to wash over them, they could tell the reason for the fear, like any skilled Hunters.

“Huh, no way!”

“De, Desert Dragon?”

The Desert Dragon had come for the Vegas Rangers.

———————–

6.

There are several iron rules to follow when hunting predators. When one of them meets a predator in an unexpected situation, he or she should not fight. If they could meet in an unexpected situation and be guaranteed victory, they wouldn’t have to prepare for the hunt in the first place. That is the characteristic of a hunt.

When things go as planned, a group of cats can hunt tigers, but on the contrary, there is only one thing left for the cat to do when the plan goes wrong: to survive with as many as possible.

‘We need to minimize the damage.’ That’s exactly what James Dean thought when everyone was terrified in front of the unexpected appearance of the Desert Dragon. As soon as he reached it, James Dean looked up at the sky and shouted out loud.

Auuuu! Howling came out of his mouth, and the howling that he uttered relaxed the Vegas Rangers’ bodies, paralyzed by the sudden appearance of the Desert Dragon.

“Hoo-eup!”

“Hoo, hoo!”

The Vegas Rangers began to breathe in the clogged air. The one who breathed before anyone else shouted quickly, “Retreat!”

James Dean’s long-awaited order froze the Vegas Rangers once again.

‘What do you mean, retreat?’

‘No way!’

Everyone came to the same conclusion with the same resolve. At this moment, James Dean was willing to sacrifice himself, stay alone and buy time for Vegas Rangers to run away.

“Captain! We’ll stay!” The order, of course, was not accepted by Vegas Rangers. They couldn’t accept it.

Kkeueoeoeo!

At that moment, not so far away, a cry flowed like a river rising through a towering canyon. Behind the cry came a blue-eyed monster, the Desert Dragon. The thirty-meter-long monster had no wings. Instead, it had four thick legs, covering piles of sand instead of ironclad scales. It was far from the common dragon, more like a lizard than a dragon.

Kkeueoeoeo!

But its presence and the fear of spreading around proved that there was worthy to be called a Dragon.

“Uhhh!”

“Kuck!”

The Vegas Rangers were starting to tremble. In such a sudden situation, being exposed to the Dragon fear this way was not different from being shot while defenseless. Only a few of them who had a high Energy rank suffered instead of trembling.

‘What do I do?’

‘I must endure the fear first and unleash the power of the relics!’

‘What about the captain?’

And James Dean, the only one with A-Rank Energy, was running towards the Desert Dragon.

“Captain!”

“My God!”

When the Vegas Rangers called for James Dean, he was already climbing up a cliff rising vertically. After climbing up the canyon, he was going to throw himself directly onto the tail of the Desert Dragon. After provoking the Desert Dragon, he intended to run away in the opposite direction from the Vegas Rangers. In just a moment, James Dean had worked out the simplest, most effective and sure way.

‘I’ll lure the Desert Dragon away one way or another.’ In the process, there was no need to renew his determination not to avoid sacrifice to save someone. He had been a victim more than anyone so far. Of course, he kept thinking angrily.

‘It’s most likely the Pentagon’s trick.’ As planned, it should have been another day before they encountered the Desert Dragon.

‘There’s no way that the Desert Dragon randomly came out here.’ The last place the Desert Dragon was seen was forty kilometers from where they were now. Moreover, the Desert Dragon was not as active as it once was, and it o lived in a desert full of sand rather than a canyon.

The sand covering its body was proof. To the Desert Dragon, if the desert was a comfortable home, the barren canyon was like walking out naked. In other words, it was so angry that it ran outside even though it was naked.

Unless someone provoked it and mocked it, the chances of meeting it here were infinitesimal. It was a matter of rage.

‘Who the hell…’ This time the Desert Dragon hunt had been prepared in more complete security than any other hunt.

‘Who betrayed…’ In other words, if this information leaked out, it meant that one of James Dean’s most trusted colleagues was a traitor. James Dean was more heartbroken that there was a traitor than the fact that he had to fight for his life.

‘Who made this plan that the Pentagon moved so thoroughly?’ Furthermore, he felt a sense of crisis about the Pentagon.

‘John Smith could never have come up with a plan like this.’ The Pentagon was not originally a thinking force. They were simple and ignorant, but strong! They were the group that used violence the most violently. But now the Pentagon was using violence cleverly.

‘… damn it.’ James Dean had run over the canyon and past the Desert Dragon as he reached the thought, was flying through the air now. He landed behind the long tail of the Desert Dragon. He immediately aimed at the Desert Dragon with the large-diameter Revolver in his hand. If he pulled the trigger, there would be a gunshot, and the Desert Dragon would turn its giant body around and roar at him. A race of death for survival would begin.

‘Hoo!’ James Dean, who recalled that fact, pulled the trigger as he breathed.

Blam! The gunshot went off.

The chase began.

———————-

7.

James Dean was at his limit ten minutes after the chase began.

“Gasp, gasp…” It was not easy to run away from the Desert Dragon, which was rushing after him with tremendous speed. It was amazing that he had run away for ten minutes. In fact, the distance James Dean ran in ten minutes was just over 5 kilometers. It was no wonder that he reached his limit.

‘This is enough to get everyone to a safe place.’ It was far enough that he didn’t have to worry about his colleagues. James Dean was now getting ready to die, rather than run away anymore. As he was running, he quickly and skillfully inserted the bullets into his revolver’s cylinder.

Click! James Dean, who had just finished loading up, turned around and faced the Desert Dragon, pointing the gun at it. Of course, he didn’t think he could kill the Desert Dragon with just a gun. Considering his ability, it would have been more likely to hurt the Desert Dragon after holding the metal in his hand and injecting Energy. Nevertheless, holding a gun was to mark his end like a Ranger!

‘I can’t believe I am going to end my life like this.’ James Dean wanted to decorate his end with gunfire, not a crude sound. His dream came true right away.

Blam! Gunfire, intense gunfire, shook Death Valley. At the same time, something like a thunderbolt fell down on the body of the Desert Dragon.

Poowhat! It penetrated the body of the Desert Dragon, which was much harder and denser than steel, in a breath. The sight shocked James Dean.

‘What is this? It was an unthinkable sight. ‘Is my gun a relic?’

But what was more surprising was what happened next.

‘Ah.’ The scene shocked even James Dean, who had seen all the hardships of life. The Desert Dragon, its body made of sand, began to collapse and crumble. It was a sight that could only be seen the moment the Desert Dragon was destroyed, the moment it died perfectly.

“Oh my God…” So the moment James Dean saw the scene, he sought God without realizing it. But it wasn’t the God James Dean was looking for that showed up on the body of the Desert Dragon, which had fallen into a pile of sand.

An Asian man who was standing there now.

“James Dean, Mayor of Las Vegas; from now on, your life belongs to me.” it was a man with black hair and two swords on his back. It was Kim Tae-hoon.