The Hero's Streaming Life with the Saintess-Chapter 21: Winner Takes Everything

[How the hell do you start with a looks insult...]

[That’s ice cold lololol]

“Nice to meet you.”

[‘Nice to meet you’ my ass LOL]

[This bastard reminds me of when he first debuted]

The monster raised its fist in response to my greeting and tried to slam it down.

“Spicy kind of hello.”

With my hands still in my pockets, I didn’t move a muscle.

There was no point dodging that kind of attack anyway, and besides, Lyla had my back.

She brought her hands together and chanted a spell, and a golden, dome-shaped barrier formed around me.

— CRAAANG!!!

[What the hell???]

[Wasn’t that just a regular protection spell?]

If it blocks attacks, isn’t it a protection ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) spell?

“I’ll have you know, I’m the Saintess who fought alongside the Hero when we took down the Demon God, okay?”

[Oh right, that was her gimmick...]

[Didn’t they say the Saintess is C-rank!!!!!]

[By that logic, the Hero’s still C-rank too lolol]

Maybe it pissed the monster off that we were chatting instead of paying attention—

it started pounding away at the barrier nonstop.

— CRANG! CRANG! CRANG!

“Hit it all you want. It’s not breaking.”

Apparently it had some level of intelligence, because the monster shifted its gaze to Lyla.

Maybe it decided I wasn’t worth the effort and swung its fist at her instead.

[Saintess, hurry!!!!]

[That looks dangerous!]

— BOOOOOM!!!

Its massive forearm slammed down, leaving a deep crater in the ground.

But Lyla simply stepped aside lightly and dodged it.

“If you can’t take down the DPS or the tank, of course you target the healer, right?”

[I mean, yeah...]

[My common sense is cracking inside...]

I drove my hand deep into the monster’s forearm.

For it, it probably just felt like a little needle prick.

[Doesn’t even flinch lol]

[Bet it stings a little]

But I tore through its tendons and wrapped them tightly around my arm.

Putting in the willpower to say I would not let go.

“Now you’re not going anywhere.”

[What the hell’s he doing?]

[Just shake him off and be done with it lol]

“Hrrgh...!”

Deltoids, biceps, triceps, forearms—each muscle swelled as if my shirt was about to explode.

I planted my feet firmly into the ground, twisted my hips, and lifted the monster clean off.

“Overhead throw!”

The monster’s body flew out of the lava, spun in a wide arc through the air, and slammed into the ground.

— KABOOOOOM!!!

The monster blinked all its many eyes, like it couldn’t believe something the size of a fingernail had thrown it.

[...?]

[Did I just see what I think I saw???]

[That’s literally a judo master’s overhead throw lmao]

[OVERHEAD THROW LOL]

— KRAAAAAAAAAH!!!

“Why does it look bigger than an apartment complex.”

[Yeah it’s like... 63 Building sized at least?]

The monster stood up and tried to stomp us flat with one enormous foot.

But Lyla hopped aside with ease.

— CRAAASH!!!

[Where’s the Hero??]

[Got left behind like a dog LOL]

“Mm... I dodged because I didn’t want to get my clothes dirty.”

[Oh yeah she’s wearing white and it’s still spotless lolol]

[Is that even cosplay? Looks like an artifact at this point]

[How dare you call it cosplay!!!!]

The monster, annoyed, kept stomping down—until it tilted and fell over sideways.

And from underneath it, I casually stepped out, brushing dust off my clothes.

“Ugh... fucking bastard... kicking up nothing but goddamn dust...”

“Hero! No cursing!”

“Oh, uh... yeah...”

[LOLOLOLOLOL]

[‘Yeah’ my ass lololol]

[Instantly turned into a scolded puppy]

“Ugh, my neck hurts...”

[Wait what? Is he hurt?]

[I mean he did get stomped on like that]

“No, not that. My neck’s sore from looking up the whole time.”

[...]

The monster’s breath ignited into burning flames.

Lava dripped from its mouth.

It clenched its fist again and aimed to strike.

“Since this is a guide stream, let me walk you through how to deal with attacks like this.”

Its strike was fast—but very clearly aimed at the top of my head.

“When a monster throws a brute-force but powerful attack like this...”

I flexed my arm again.

The functional shirt I wore gave a sizzling rip as the fabric strained.

Right at the moment the monster’s strike came down, I threw my own punch.

Like a toothpick going against a giant hammer.

— CRACK...!

The moment my fist hit the equivalent of its middle finger joint,

bones shattered, tendons snapped, and its veins all burst open at once.

— GWOOOORGH!!!

“You just counter with an even stronger attack.”

Lyla clapped cheerfully from the side.

I looked at her and gave her a thumbs up.

“Easy, right?”

[Thanks for the lesson you fucking bitch!!!]

[You crazy bastard LOL]

[He’s like that curly-haired art guy but with fists]

“Alright, this is getting boring. Let’s wrap it up.”

****

“Mm...”

That was fun as hell.

It had been a while since I had a punching bag with so many good target zones—

slamming, breaking, twisting—its corpse didn’t even stay intact.

“What do I even do with this thing?”

[First time I’ve ever felt sorry for the monster]

[Aren’t you supposed to be a Hero? Have some fucking chivalry, man lol]

[Wait, aren’t Heroes different from Knights?]

[Just let it go, bro;;]

“Which parts are even valuable?”

[‘ThrowThatResignation (Mobile)’ has donated 10,000 Watts!]

Normally the blood, hide, horns, and heart... but honestly, I’ve never seen a monster of this tier so I’m not sure either.

“Guess I’ll just take all of it.”

I touched the ring on my finger, and the monster’s corpse was sucked in.

Meanwhile, the donos didn’t stop—obviously from companies trying to buy the body.

[Where you gonna sell that thing?]

[Do it for your parents lol]

“Nope, this time I am gonna sell it.”

[Hmm... stuff like this almost never drops though...]

[Yeah, I heard on the news someone auctioned it off—maybe you should do that too]

[True. Unless it’s a Gate Break, there’s no real reason to kill something like that]

“Alright then. We’ll do an auction. I’ll announce the time and place later.”

****

[A “clear impossible” Gate may now be clearable!]

[Who is this Hero-Streamer guy, anyway?]

[C-Rank stronger than S-Rank appears out of nowhere]

[Historic-tier monster corpse triggers funding rush from governments and corporations]

As expected, the media lost its shit.

The Gate clear was news, sure,

but the real bombshell was the monster’s corpse.

Normally, you don’t go after a Gate labeled "unclearable."

You only attempt one when it's breaking and there’s no choice.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

And things were blowing up on another front too.

[China: “Unauthorized raid carried out on Chinese territory”]

[Chinese Hunter Association: “He must return Chinese property immediately”]

ㄴ LMAOOO these dumbasses left it untouched cuz they couldn’t clear it

ㄴ Mmm~ classic taste

I spent some chill time with Lyla before re-entering Korean territory.

And of course, the moment we got back, a wall of reporters was waiting.

The second I got out of the car, they swarmed us with mics and cameras.

This whole thing was probably being broadcast live too.

“Back up unless you want your cameras smashed. I’ll take questions in order.”

Maybe they’d seen the fight with the monster, because they actually stepped back quietly without a fuss.

“Raise your hand if you want to ask something. I’ll call on you, then you ask. Simple, right?”

I also made it crystal clear—if you speak without being picked, I’m walking.

It’s not like I’m some celeb desperate for good PR.

I can’t be bothered to entertain everyone.

As soon as the Q&A opened, a flood of hands shot up.

“There’s growing concern that the monster’s corpse might be exported overseas. What are your thoughts?”

“A hunter sells to whoever pays the most. That’s it.”

“Do you plan on clearing any other Gates marked as ‘unclearable’?”

“Maybe later, but not interested right now.”

“There are rumors the Saintess has incredibly powerful defense magic. Is she capable of using other types of magic?”

“Yes, she can use other spells, but... we don’t feel like showing off right now.”

“May I ask why that is?”

“I’m not a zoo monkey performing for people’s amusement.”

A polite but firm line in the sand.

The reporter who asked got completely shut down by Lyla’s unreadable energy.

“China is taking this incident very seriously. They’ve already filed an official complaint with Korea. Any comment on that?”

There it was—the question I’d been waiting for.

We were gonna have to deal with this eventually.

“Hm... let me think.”

I stroked my chin, pretending to ponder.

If I was gonna shut them up, it had to be final.

“Winner takes it all. The one who wins gets everything.”

“...Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly what I said.”

We put the Baekdu Gate monster corpse up as the prize,

and anyone from their side can fight one of us—

winner takes all.

“Oh, but we each put down something to enter.”

Me and Lyla will wager our earrings and rings.

China can put up the Forbidden City.

“How’s that sound?

Isn’t my artifact worth way more than some dumb old building?”

“...I’m not sure if the Chinese side would accept those terms.”

“If they’re down, tell them to hit me up.

But...”

I turned to the camera and looked dead into the lens,

raising one corner of my mouth in a cold smirk.

“If they do show up,

they won’t be going home in one piece.”