Episode 201 [ Super gap, skirmish – 3 ]
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The world’s attention is now on the battle between the devil and the hero, i.e. ‘World’ It was focused on ‘quest’.
In other words, as the shadow of the apocalypse loomed over one’s head, one could not help but feel intense anxiety, and social safety nets were collapsing and intense chaos ensued all over the world.
If things continue like this, the human community is slowly being paralyzed, with riots and looting taking place every day, to the point where it can be considered that we are approaching the end on our own.
– Do they choose the path of self-destruction in the face of the global ‘demonic shock’? They are victims of the riots that continue day after day. However, even in the midst of
such chaos, there were some who still did their best in their jobs and maintained their positions… Soldiers are also one of those types. It was one.
And now, late at night near the Armistice Line, the northern border of the Republic of Korea…
ta—da—da—da——!
Gunshots rang out one after another along the ridge.
Ta—da—da—da——!
Gunshots ringing out there were, and still are, bound to be a serious problem.
Amid all the sounds of explosions and gunfire, a group of AMT soldiers were running up the steel stairs.
“If this continues, you will be caught!”
In the distance, the light of the guard post, which was their destination, was visible.
“Huh— huh—”
But just a dozen meters behind them….
kkeueh— keueh—
Monsters with blank eyes dressed in rags… Hundreds of ‘inhabitants of death’ were chasing them.
They were coming up the steep iron stairs, bending their limbs in bizarre ways, as if they were jointed dolls, and they were so fast that they seemed ready to engulf the AMT soldiers at any moment
.
“Gasp—gasp—don’t give up, you’ll be outpost soon!”
The person who shouted that was the middle-ranking post commander running at the front.
“There are about 100 meters left!”
But at that moment—
“—Ack!”
The last soldier was eventually caught by the Death Dweller’s hand, lost his balance and fell backwards.
“Kill me—”
He disappeared into the horde of Death Dweller, being held by the head of his head.
But there was no time to worry about his safety.
“Aaaah—”
The wave of death seemed to have not been able to satisfy its hunger even after devouring one person, so it rushed forward without even a moment of hesitation, and then another person was dragged in.
As it was, they were just being eaten one after another.
“Holy shit!”
In the end, several people in the back row gave up on running away and raised their weapons.
“—Team 2 prepares to fire in response!”
It was a deputy chief of staff with the rank of sergeant who said that.
Then, the chief of the first station turned his head in surprise, and the deputy chief of staff pulled the trigger and shouted at him:
“—Commander, go quickly! “We will stop this place!”
Bullets enchanted with divine power spewed out from the muzzle of his gun, pushing away the inhabitants of death to some extent.
“Ugh—no way to Deputy Chief!”
But it was only a very temporary effect.
“You have to listen to me! If those horrible things move south, countless civilians will die! Hurry up and call for support, as soon as possible—” The sentry members who had been suffering for over a year now committed an act that was tantamount to suicide
. It started. As their commander, the sub-commander felt his heart sinking.
But the deputy sub-commander was right.
Countless numbers of undead monsters… They appeared without any warning.
Just five minutes ago. An unidentified tremor sounded from the ground nearby and a report came in that a large pit had been created, and the guard immediately went out on patrol. From there, undead poured out like a pack of dogs. It was an attack that was completely unexpected. No matter how many people
there
were
, Even if surveillance cameras were installed, it would not be possible to see into the ground.
In other words, the Republic of Korea’s defense network itself would not be prepared for this situation, so it was necessary to make time by responding as much as possible here.
Furthermore… .
‘If we bomb the entrance to the cave where they come out now and then deploy the sacred troops, we can minimize the damage!’
Therefore, the person who knew the location had to report it accurately to the higher-up units. That could be said to be the most perfect first response. “
…I won’t forget anything!”
He eventually ran to the guard post, barely ignoring the screams of his subordinates behind him, and the guard opened the door of the guard post.
“So chief, deputy chief, and the guards…”
“Close the door right now and set up a magic shield. “Get it up and running!”
The guards hesitated at his words and then closed the iron gate.
Tong—
Go called a signal officer and instructed him to communicate with higher-level troops.
And as soon as it was connected, he shouted in a hoarse voice.
“—This is the A44 AMT guard post. There are so many undead monsters coming over the propulsion barbed wire that it can’t be handled! Chic— We request immediate assistance! It has also been confirmed that sacred bombs are useless!”
It was confirmed that they were not ordinary undead monsters, and that they were not easily killed by ‘holy bullets’ and even came back to life.
‘What that means is that there is a priest of death class here, and it cannot be stopped with weak divine power.’
As his specialty is ‘raid analysis’, he understood the severity of this situation.
‘This is at the level of a tolerable big event.’
At that time, a loud noise rang out nearby.
The lantern of the sentry turned around.
“Huh…”
Countless undead were clinging to the watchtower along the ridge about 500 meters away from here like a swarm of ants. …..
Go go go go go go go go!
Unable to withstand the load, the steel bars were bent and the watchtower was slowly tilting.
And around it, black waves were seen, like waves on a night sea. There were hundreds and thousands of red eyes.
In other words—
“All of those…”
The number of undead monsters in this area alone is tens of thousands… or even hundreds of thousands if you take into account those that are not in sight. It was normal.
And even…
boom— boom—
“Crazy, that’s an ogre, isn’t it?”
There were even ogre skeletons mixed in.
At that time, a reply finally came from the higher-ranking unit.
– Chic – Wait there as much as possible. Reinforcements will arrive soon.
It was an answer that no one expected.
At this, the post commander immediately questioned.
“… “Commander on duty, this is not normal! You must immediately use all possible means to thoroughly check the situation here! This is a national crisis!”
But…
– Chik – We’ll take action soon, so wait!
“Holy shit…”
He felt so frustrated that his heart was about to explode. On the other hand, he wondered if the higher-ups were being complacent in their response. Anxiety began to soar.
Even when the Korean War broke out back in the day, didn’t the very beautiful initial measures cause an even bigger fire?
‘I don’t care if I die here, but I need to know the exact location of the portal to prevent civilian casualties. It can be minimized.’
He put the Mana Messenger to his lips again:
“I request bombing and the dispatch of sacred special forces immediately! “I know a way to end this early!”
But this time a completely different voice appeared.
-Chik—Socho Chief I am Lee Gyo-jun, team leader of the National Gate Response Strategy Office.
A fairly high-ranking figure, and one with a reputation, had suddenly appeared.
Director So had heard somewhere that he was providing general support for projects related to Steele Rain.
– Chick— I know what happens there is not normal. But…
his voice was somehow stable.
– Chic— We also sent something out of the ordinary, so just hold on a little longer and it will be resolved quickly. So, lead the troops well and hold out as much as possible—
The commander of the sub-commander was about to say something, but realized that there was no use in arguing any longer, and threw the Mana Messenger on the floor.
“…How on earth are you going to resolve this situation so quickly?”
It was an order that he could not understand even a single word of.
He looked around with a cynicism. Then, the sound of the guard post’s magic shield being attacked was heard.
Thong— thong— thong— thong—
Soon even this guard post would be engulfed by waves of undead.
Even if something great came to support them, even if the reinforcements blocked the waves of undead, they would not be able to save them… The guard commander felt an indescribable sense of helplessness.
He looked back at the remaining sentry members and opened his mouth.
“…I’m sorry everyone. “I was incompetent.”
But then—
hoo——!
A gust of wind blew and struck the guard post.
“Tsk!”
“Ack.”
No, it shook the entire ridge.
Then something huge flew overhead.
Hung— Hung—
“Huh?”
“That…”
There was no need to worry about what it was.
“Isn’t that… a dragon?”
Who could not have known that the strongest monster that had shaken this world time and time again was hovering right above their head? However, the scene was unrealistic enough to be thought of as an illusion. “…is this really a big event featuring a dragon?
”
It was clear that it was a situation that could be misunderstood.
Who would think that a dragon was an ally in the first place?
However, that misunderstanding was quickly resolved.
Rays
and flames burst out from the entire body of that gigantic and majestic being. Then, it connected to the ground, and a series of white explosions occurred, blowing huge holes all over the mountain.
Then,
a shock wave that seemed to uproot the mountain hit the guard post, destroying the building in half.
Only a few In just one room, the tens of thousands of undead that had covered the guard post had disappeared like melting snow. And in their place, only a holy white haze remained. “Ah—” Only then did the guard chief sigh briefly, as if he knew what that
was
.
“…and then he came forward.”
“yes?”
“He’s trying to save everyone again this time.”
Everyone knew who he was referring to without even saying it.
There was definitely one person in the world today who could best be described as salvation.
Hung—
and with a mechanical dragon blast and a jet engine blast, he headed north. .
After that, about a dozen airships and dozens of military helicopters followed in a row.
***
About an hour after that, breaking news spread throughout the world.
“I gave you enough chances.”
That was another message from the devil. This time, it was to use humanity’s broadcast to threaten humanity.
“I reached out my hand to tame and guide you who do not know the truth of this world, but you bared your teeth at me like animals that cannot be tamed. .. I intend to punish you for your barbarism.”
At that moment, the TV screen showed the ‘flower of death’ floating over Manhattan.
“The first punishment will be on one city… “This city will disappear from history as of today.”
Then, “Oh my God—” the news anchor’s voice seeped in.
A few days ago, the Demon King, who had taken the entire city of Manhattan hostage, threatened to rain poisonous gas and poison on the entire city if the escape procession came into view.
So, a huge number of civilians were still stranded in Manhattan, and the U.S. government announced several times that they were in contact with the devil, but there was no progress.
And the devil just announced the execution ceremony.
America’s LIVE was reporting this news in a more gloomy mood than ever.
– …The number of citizens currently stranded in Manhattan, New York City is estimated to be 640,000. The U.S. central government is preparing a response, but there are still no answers as to how to prevent this terrible disaster, amidst great concerns that this will only add fuel to the fire.
And after a while…
– Ah! The news is that black smoke started spraying from the main flower of death about 30 seconds ago!
– Oh… God bless everyone there.
CNN’s two anchors sighed one after another.
Soon, the lower part of the ‘Flower of Death’ on the screen opened, and from there, black smoke began to flow down like a curtain and drift towards Manhattan.
If it reached the ground and spread, no one would survive, so it was practically a human pesticide.
Soon it reached the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan and its surface began to bubble and melt.
Kudduddu——
Now, no matter what I did, there was no turning back.
– Ah – God, please save us…
But at that moment –
ugh – –
That black smoke stopped in the air… But didn’t it start flowing towards the sky in the opposite direction? It was a scene as if someone was rolling up the curtains.
– ah? Uh…
– Now….
The two anchors were also just confused because no information had come in yet.
– What happened?
– …It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it seems to me that gravity has been reversed. Oh, of course, we would like to inform our viewers that this is not certain information.
– Uh… if gravity is reversed…
– If you look over there, you can see the building fragments rising into the air as well, as if they are in free fall.
Soon his guess turned out to be true.
– ah! There is news that gravity wizard Lee Seong-yoon and World Tree manager Donald Harris are now on the scene! They stopped the devil’s attack on Manhattan!
Soon the screen changed to show about a dozen figures standing on the roof of a building.
They were activating all kinds of skills while looking at the Flower of Death, and that was how the black smoke was being controlled.
– Then did the saint also come to Manhattan? To remove that black smoke, it seems like just sending it up into the sky isn’t enough; you’ll need a very powerful divine power!
Before I could finish speaking, a hole opened in the sky. An ultra-wide-area teleport was opened, borrowing the power of the so-called Wight Hall Yggdrasil.
– Oh, it looks like the saint has arrived just as I can’t wait to tell you!
However, contrary to their expectations, the saint did not appear.
Instead, a completely unexpected being appeared…
– Oh, that…
– Oh my God….
The two anchors sighed at the same time.
It was the magic engineering city of ‘Laputa’.
But it was somehow different from what they knew.
– But something seems to have changed…
– Ah! I am a tree! If you look closely, you can see a tree towering over the center of Laputa! But it’s not just a tree… it’s the sacred tree of Ganghwa Island, Shindansu!
– Oh no, a crossover between a transcendental object and a transcendental object… Is that possible?
– …I don’t understand either, but has Steele Rain acted within our common sense so far? He always came out with more than you could imagine!
– But wouldn’t a sacred tree more than offset the power of death?
Dark power was often compared to fire and divine power to water.
In general, divine power was superior, but depending on the degree, the darkness could overpower divine power, just as a very strong fire evaporates water.
According to that analogy, the saint’s power could be the most powerful fire hose or, depending on the time, heavy rain.
So what can the sacred tree be compared to?
The powerful divine power, life force, and mana it gave off were enough to fill the entire area and create an ‘ecosystem’. According to the analogy of fire and water, the sacred tree was like a lake or an ocean.
And no matter how powerful a fire was, it was bound to lose its power when facing a lake or the sea.
Go—oh—oh—oh——
Soon, Laputa, equipped with the divine tree, began to rapidly approach the flower of death, emitting a powerful white aura.
The movement was slow and heavy, as if a battleship was approaching a battleship.
Tsutsutsutsu——
Then, the black smoke rising into the air due to the reversal of gravity quickly disintegrated and disappeared, as if being eaten by the white aura.
Also, on the parapet of Laputa, a number of giant soldiers, including Talos, stood tall, holding spears tens of meters long.
“Now, get ready—”
At the command of Talos, the largest Titan Soldier, the 17 Titan Soldiers took a step forward. And then he took a javelin throwing stance.
[—Shoot!]
Hung— Hung— Hung— Hung—
The javelins fired by the 20-30m long giant soldiers were in fact closer to rocket artillery rather than javelins.
A total of 17 spears shot out in an almost straight line, breaking through the Death Flower’s half-melted magic shield—and landing in various parts of its petals. It was a spear made by carving
out
a branch of the World Tree.
In other words, it was as if a silver stake had been driven into the vampire’s heart, and the flower of death withered so quickly that it was visible to the eye.
Kudddud——
Numerous titans and players then launched an onslaught against the Flower of Death, and some even jumped over it to engage in close combat.
However, the resistance of the undead army guarding the flower of death seemed weaker than expected.
That was because the Demon King and the Necromancer did not pay much attention to New York in the first place.
It was a moment where it was proven that this place was nothing more than a ‘fake’.
But regardless of that, it was just a truly touching scene for the world to see.
– Oh my god… this is an unbelievable scene.
– This time, Steele Rain finally did it!
– Yes he is here! He came here to take New York further and save the world! I sincerely hope for his victory!
But Lee Hyun-wook was not there.
***
The place has been called various names since the game began.
But the most famous name was California.
The first territory that humanity had lost many years ago… it was now an eroded land covered with volcanic fields and red wilderness.
How much blood and sweat has humanity poured into reclaiming this land from the Ancient Red Drake?
However, all that remained was defeat and sacrifice, and it was predicted that it would be difficult to regain that land within this century…
Now, 19 airships appeared in the sky there.
It was called the ‘Steel Fleet’.
And Lee Hyeon-wook was on board the flagship ‘Friedwen’.
“I received a call from Lee Seong-yoon saying that they will soon finish clearing up the New York side and join us. And the Dark Elf Army is also preparing to open a wight hall.”
The person who said that was Director Woo Seong-moon.
He also accompanied this operation.
“Also, additional reinforcements from each country are scheduled to arrive one after another as soon as the ‘expedition camp’ is established.”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded while looking at the red mountain range visible outside the window. A
very powerful force of death was surging at that point, which was displayed on a graph on one monitor.
That’s where the devil is.
‘He’s me. We distributed our power to North and New York to try to shake things up somehow… but we blocked both places.’
And in the meantime, Lee Hyun-wook reached the heart of the bastard.
Is the Demon King feeling a human-like sense of impatience by now? That was normal, but maybe not, so I thought of giving him one more punch. “…Even though he came so loudly, the
owner “Seeing as he hasn’t come out, I think I’ll have to knock a little louder.”
Lee Hyun-wook launched Hugin and Munin into the sky.
Then, with a transcendental sense, he sensed three huge chunks of metal floating in the sky further away.
‘…I feel like a war box.’
A total of three war boxes were placed in low orbit.
And following Lee Hyun-wook’s senses, the lower part was opened.
Four Mogleys fell from there.
Soon, four lines were drawn from the sky to the ground, and the Great Mountain Range was transformed into a mere sand castle. It bounced like a pop.
It was the moment when the map changed.
Ku—gu—gu—gu——I
In the midst of an explosion that felt like the whole world was being twisted, Lee Hyun-wook raised the Mana Messenger.
“…Now, let’s hunt the demon lord . “Start.”
