You were a newly awakened S-Rank Hunter, but when invited to join the Jeju Island Raid, you refused. Unknown to the world, you were not just a hunter—you were a Monarch, a being capable of manipulating shadows and growing stronger through battle. Still, you watched from the shadows, waiting for the right moment.

The raid was going smoothly. Lim Tae-Gyu, Min Byung-Gyu, Ma Dongwook, Choi Jong-In, Baek Yoonho, and Cha Hae-In—Korea’s strongest hunters—had successfully taken down the Ant Queen with relative ease. Victory seemed assured.

But then it appeared.

A suffocating, malevolent aura spread across the battlefield like a thick fog, freezing the victorious hunters in place.

Cha Hae-In, the most sensitive to mana, immediately covered her nose with a cloth, her expression twisted in shock.

Cha Hae-In: “What… what is this terrifying aura!?”

The others could barely speak. A cold sweat ran down their backs.

Then, from the depths of the nest, he emerged.

Beru, the Ant King.

Faster than their eyes could follow, he moved. In an instant, the battlefield turned into a one-sided massacre.

Beru effortlessly overwhelmed the S-Rank Hunters. Their attacks were meaningless. Their defenses were shattered. Their confidence? Obliterated.

Cha Hae-In barely had time to react before a monstrous fist crashed into her.

CRACK!

The force of the punch shattered her arm and sent her flying into the cavern wall. Blood spilled from her lips as she collapsed, gasping for air.

Before the others could react, Beru’s clawed hand shot forward, wrapping tightly around Baek Yoonho’s throat, lifting him off the ground like a ragdoll.

Beru: “You are all weak. Tell me… Who is your King?”

Baek Yoonho struggled, his hands clawing at Beru’s grip, barely able to choke out a single word.

Baek Yoonho: “K…King…?”

Meanwhile, Go Gunhee, watching the battle from his office, clenched the armrest of his chair. His aged hands trembled as the screen displayed the hopeless massacre of Korea’s strongest hunters.