Episode 261 [ Baekdu Mountain (4) ]
Boom.
A loud sound was heard from the top of Mt. Baekdu.
It was the sound of something hitting. Sound from beneath the crater.
thud.
The sound was coming from beneath the bubbling lava.
Baekdu Mountain in the destroyed world was no longer a dormant volcano with a beautiful lake.
The clear lake called Cheonji was nowhere to be seen, and only a small lava lake was bubbling in the center of the lake, where the bottom was visible.
Baekdu Mountain, which erupted to its fullest after a major battle a few years ago, fell asleep again, leaving behind only bubbling lava.
Not long ago, lava flowed out for a while, but other than that, it was a quiet crater.
However, the atmosphere of the crater has changed a few days ago.
A blurry pattern that appeared in the air a few days ago. A sound heard from the lava after the pattern was formed.
Lastly, the huge mana spreading from Mt. Baekdu.
Mana was gushing out of the lava so intense that not only the Korean Peninsula but all monsters throughout Manchuria were terrified.
thud. thud. thud.
The sound coming from the lava became faster and louder.
And at some point,
it bubbled up.
The lava began to slosh and boil.
And a burning rock rose above the lava.
Wow.
Even within the lava, rocks that had not melted appeared one by one on top of the lava.
Kugugoogung.
Rocks coalesced into one on lava.
Rocks shot out of the lava. The lump of rock rising out of the lava looked like a large hand made of stone.
Under the rock that looked like a hand, there was an arm-shaped rock, and the head, the other arm, and the body made of huge rocks came out of the lava one by one.
The upper body of a stone giant made of rock emerged from the lava.
Wow.
And the giant began to move. He started walking through the lava.
After a while, the stone giant came out of the lava.
The stone giant, which was walking on the dry lake bed, was soon able to climb to the edge of the crater.
In the distance, outside the crater, Baekdu Mountain was quiet as always.
There were no forests, animals, or Mana races that humans called monsters, and only rocks and wastelands left with molten lava.
The volcano was no different than when the stone giants were asleep in the lava.
The stone giant raised his hand.
Chii Iik.
Red lava dripped from the hand made of stone.
The giant clenched his hands.
Kwazizig.
The sound of crushing stones was heard, but the hand made of stone did not crack.
All wounds have recovered. And now only the final stage of evolution remains.
The stone giant spread the mana contained in its core throughout its body.
It was mana created by stealing the energy of volcanic lava over a long period of time. Mana to recover from wounds and achieve evolution.
It was mana that compensated for the long time he had been unable to move from this spot and had to give orders to those who were tied to him.
Now is the time for evolution.
Damn.
Shining gold began to form on the monster’s body. Mana began to create cracks in the rock that even lava could not do.
The glowing cracks that spread throughout the body seemed to form a single pattern of manage.
Couuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
The mana gushing out from the stone giant’s body interfered with reality and created a huge wind.
Stone dust spread in all directions and bubbling lava flew far away.
The wind blew away and the clouds dispersed.
Mana spread endlessly.
The monster’s evolution shook the mana of the entire continent.
Most monsters, who had not done much since the humans disappeared, were surprised by the sudden surge of mana.
It was my first time feeling mana and my first time seeing evolution.
thud.
The rock could no longer handle the cracks. Broken stones rained down.
The stones that made up the head, the stones that made up the body, and the stones that made up the hands and feet fell down.
Stones fell, but the monster only continued to grow.
After so many fragments fell, a completely different monster stood where the stone giant had stood.
Sharp claws. Thick scales. Shiny snake eyes. It was a huge reptile that looked like a dinosaur.
However, unlike dinosaurs or reptiles, the monster had huge wings and its two front feet had elongated toes like human hands.
Long neck and head that looks like an oriental dragon.
The monster did not look like a dinosaur, but rather like a winged dragon from Western legends.
The dragon spread its wings.
[admit. approval. [Longing for joy]
A powerful image mixed with all kinds of emotions spread far and wide.
Those images were eventually expressed as one image.
[Kneel down.]
All the monsters on the continent bowed their heads at the birth of a new class beyond the overlord.
The dragon turned its long neck and looked into the crater.
The lava he had blocked was increasingly boiling. It seemed likely that a major eruption would occur once again.
But what the dragon saw was not boiling lava.
A large pattern spread out on lava. Manajine was gradually taking shape.
All the preparations for his evolution were being completed.
Although it was delayed due to the rat-like people, the newly discovered dimension would give him new powers along with revenge.
There was only one day left.
The dragon stood on one side of the crater and continued to watch Manajine gradually take shape.
***
Same time. The summit of Mt. Baekdu in another dimension.
The tank that was firing the gun was engulfed in flames.
Quaaaang!
The tram exploded with an explosion. The soldiers inside did not have time to escape.
Dozens of tanks were already destroyed nearby.
“Retreat! It’s impossible to fight with your body!”
Jinhyeok shouted into the headset, but the remaining tanks and armored vehicles did not take a single step back.
Rumbling.
Instead, they just went forward and fired.
Boom! Boom!
The armor-piercing bullets of the tank called Prince of the Earth were powerful. But It was difficult to break through the shield of a monarch-level monster.
“Damn it! No one is listening!”
Jinhyeok swore uncharacteristically.
The reason he fought was to save people, not to see his comrades die.
“Everybody move! We have to save at least one more person! Hold the monsters back!”
Instead, he shouted at the awakened people, but it was just as difficult for them.
Jinhyeok gave orders to the awakened people and swung his fist as hard as he could toward the floor.
Bang!
Kuehhh!
A huge caterpillar sticking out of the ground was hit by the glowing fist. It spewed bodily fluids and rolled around.
Bang! Bang!
Jinhyuk kept hitting both fists. He couldn’t let it escape into the ground again.
After hitting it five or six times, the completely devastated caterpillar stopped moving.
Jinhyuk finished off the caterpillar monster. I looked around and hardened my expression.
The situation was bad.
The monarch-level monsters, which were stronger than expected, were a problem, but the larvae hiding in the ground were an even bigger problem. I
thought all the monsters below the monarch-level would have been wiped out with missiles and artillery fire, but the larvae Monsters were alive underground.
Thanks to this, the awakened people who were supposed to restrain the feet of monarch-level monsters had to fight against the larvae that came out of the ground. As a result,
tanks took over their work. The tanks were monkey monsters covered in flames. They rained shells on the and tree monsters.
But the tanks were losing time. There were now about twenty tanks left. More than 70% of the unit was destroyed. In
reality, it was not the tank units that were blocking the two monarch-level monsters. They were EV awakeners wearing black body armor.
In particular, the helmet-wearing enforcer was leading the EV awakeners to stop the monkey monster, and the blonde girl enforcer was cutting down sprawling tree branches by herself. They were also very strong
. It looked difficult.
A few awakened people were already visible, and the girl also looked tired.
However, the enemies did not look tired at all.
The flames surrounding the monkey monster’s head were no smaller than before, and the branches spewing out from the tree monster were also slowing down. It didn’t decrease at all.
Isabel was tired. The tree monster was growing its body faster than it could be cut down using its special ability.
While everyone was struggling, only one was fighting an equal or better battle.
Only one person . An awakened person was engaged in a fierce battle with two monarch-level monsters.
A close brother and a senior in the military. A person who was different from the first time we met.
A lifesaver, he was fighting on equal footing with giant robots and butterfly monsters.
It was a really great thing, but now was not the time to be fighting like that.
Originally, the other awakeners should have been holding onto that giant robot, and Kyung-hoon should have already taken down that butterfly.
I had to create a name.
Whoa.
Jinhyuk took a deep breath. I filled up my mana with the breathing technique I learned from Kyung-hoon.
It was then.
[You don’t plan on going alone, do you?]
I heard Seolhyun’s voice in my head.
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue slightly.
It seemed like Seolhyun had caught him.
He was using Seolhyun’s telepathy as a dual communication network.
But Seolhyun promised that she wouldn’t read other people’s minds.
It seemed like Seolhyun had broken her promise.
[I have no intention of keeping my promise to the president of the association. This is a person who jumps into a fire to save people. Even if I get punished later, the president of the association will continue to watch over me.]
Following Seolhyun’s voice, I heard Jeong Gyu’s sighing voice in my head.
[ha. I will support you.]
The voices of Korean awakeners connected to Seolhyun’s telepathy continued.
[We will join you too!]
[Me too.]
Jinhyuk shook his head at everyone’s words.
“no. “Then the remaining awakened people will be in danger.”
They were the awakened people who barely had the upper hand against the caterpillar monsters. If all of Korea’s high-level awakened people left, the remaining awakened people were in danger.
-Don’t worry and come back. We’ll block this place.
At that time, the voice of Sonya, the head of the Brazilian Awakening Association, was heard through the headset.
-We can hold on for a while. If that guy moves, it’s over anyway!
The voice of the leader of the Awakened Association from the independent Manchurian state was also heard.
Jinhyuk sighed. Everyone was just an idiot.
Everyone connected telepathically gave permission. In this case, I had no choice but to use it.
“Okay, just tie it up for a moment!”
[Yes!]
Everyone’s answers flowed into Jinhyuk’s mind.
“good. Seolhyun, please!”
[Everyone, please open your heart wide!]
The awakened people who heard Seolhyun’s telepathy opened wide the locked doors in their hearts.
All kinds of emotions poured into Seolhyun, and then those emotions were conveyed to everyone else.
At that very moment, Jinhyuk was able to know and feel the emotions and thoughts of countless people as if they were his own.
And all the other awakened people could feel the same sensation.
A phenomenon and technology created by Seolhyun’s telepathy.
An integration technology has been developed that unites the emotions, thoughts, and senses of people who listen to telepathy and makes them move like one living organism.
Jinhyeok, who was shivering at the overwhelming amount of information pouring in, came to his senses and started running towards Gyeonghoon’s battlefield.
And the awakened people who were fighting in various places ran after him.
-A group of awakened people, including Association President Jinhyeok, are approaching at high speed. The target is a giant robot monster. I think I’m thinking of creating a gap!
Kyung-hoon was in a difficult situation.
The butterfly monster was pouring out human waste bombs as it flew through the sky, and the giant robot was continuously attacking him with missiles and cannons installed on its body.
Apparently, human waste was used for treatment during the satellite imaging, but now human waste was being used like a mana bomb like guano.
The missiles and cannons that the robots were firing were all mana weapons.
-It is definitely a robot made by humans. It appears to be American made.
Even without Eve’s words, the American flag drawn on its shoulder indicated that the robot was American.
Although he didn’t know why such a robot fell into the hands of a monster, Kyung-hoon also learned for sure how annoying mana missiles and mana shells were to awakeners and monsters.
Moreover, the monarch that Kyung-hoon targeted was a flying butterfly monster.
There was no time to fire the rail gun, and when I jumped into the sky to catch the butterfly monster, missiles and autocannons were firing at me from behind, leaving me with no way to do it.
In this situation, it would definitely be of great help if they could hold the robot’s ankle even for a moment.
But Kyung-hoon’s expression was not good.
There were no enforcers and they were much weaker awakeners than the EV awakeners.
I had no idea what sacrifices I would have to make to create a small gap.
Kyung-hoon gritted his teeth as he dodged the incoming missile.
I couldn’t waste the opportunity they gave me.
Kyung-Hoon took out a sword from subspace.
A railgun in one hand and a Mirinae sword made by Omar in the other.
-Im here.
The moment Eve’s words fell, Kyung-hoon flew into the sky, holding the strongest item in both hands.
Kwaang! Boom!
The missiles and machine guns that had been flying from behind did not fly this time.
Instead, heavy drinking and screaming hit his ears.
Shuuuuuk!
Gyeonghoon gritted his teeth and continued to soar into the sky.
The target is the butterfly monster.
The sky was filled with human feces as white as snow.
Kyung-hoon raised his rail gun.
