Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Legion VS Legion (1)
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"If you master the basics, I... think you won't die from a stray attack."
"You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Hah, yes."
Cha Ji-yeon forced a smile.
Seeing her, I forced a smile too.
Otherwise, I felt like I'd turn to stone from the tension.
We had finished packing.
We're heading to a battlefield. There, we will fight monsters.
"Yo."
While we were waiting, a van with heavily tinted windows pulled up.
The window slid down, revealing a large, young Caucasian man looking at us through sunglasses.
It was Chris, the colleague and fellow Unit she had told me about.
"Get in."
We got in the car immediately.
Honestly, I was a little surprised. Right now, they were the hottest topic in the world, more so than existing S-rank Hunters or top celebrities.
To think people like them were driving themselves around without a single attendant.
"So, this is the newbie you were talking about?"
"He's not one of us. Don't cross the line."
"Doesn't matter if he's one of us or not, if we're going to the same battlefield, that stuff goes out the window. Ever see anyone minding their manners in a Gate defense? Hey you, you understand me?"
Chris glanced at me in the back seat and grinned.
"I can hear you."
I barely managed to speak.
I never thought keeping up with my English studies would be this helpful.
"Good. I was worried we wouldn't even be able to talk."
He whistled as if pleased and stepped on the gas.
The place we were heading to.
It was a military base where the allied forces were gathering.
"Keep your ID handy. And stick close to me. Being with Evolution should save you some trouble."
The area around the assembly point was already bustling with swarms of media and the families of soldiers.
Passing through several guard posts and checkpoints with a free pass, we drove deeper inside.
"Part of the East Asian allied forces will depart from here. The plan is to launch a simultaneous attack from 67 bases worldwide, including this one."
"Hey, that guy over there looks like he's looking for you."
"Hah, Min Joon-yong, the President's Chief of Staff... I'll be right back."
She clicked her tongue and got out of the car.
I was a bit nervous being left alone with Chris, a foreigner, but on the outside, I was amazed at how she met with high-ranking people so casually.
Then again, even though we'd been living in the same house for the past few days, she was probably the most famous person in our country right now.
Not just because of her strength, but because she was the only link to Evolution in the country.
"Heard you volunteered. If the Player went as far as revealing his identity to approve it, I guess there's nothing else to check. But I'd like to hear your reason."
Just then, Chris stopped the car, turned off the engine, took off his sunglasses, and turned around.
"As for us... well, you probably know, we got something out of it. But you?"
"Hmm, let's call it revenge."
I told him the story I had prepared.
In truth, my sister was alive and well, but the fact that she was attacked was true.
"I see. Against those sci-fi-looking bastards. So you joined the war to get stronger and get revenge."
As soon as he heard about my sister, his attitude changed, and he looked hesitant.
It seemed he regretted asking.
"Uh... well, I hope you get what you want. I said we're going to the battlefield together, but honestly, you'll rarely fight alongside me or Cha Ji-yeon. Just calmly build up your experience with the others."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Alright, let's get out. Time to get ready."
We got out of the car too.
The area was filled with soldiers armed with real firearms.
A few Hunters who had volunteered were also visible.
The place I arrived at, following Chris, was where the Evolution personnel were gathered.
"I heard about you. That... uh, Kang..."
"It's Kang Shin-woo."
"Just call me Robert. This is Sneaky."
The personnel who recognized and greeted me were mercenaries hired by Evolution.
The mission I was assigned wasn't direct combat, but essentially security and guard duty.
It was exactly the kind of mission I wanted, and one I would be undertaking with them.
"Heard you're a Hunter? What are your abilities?"
"Just physical enhancement types."
I showed what I had learned to those who had gathered out of curiosity.
The reason these battle-hardened veterans were tasked with working alongside a rookie like me was because I had power.
"Good. Brute force is the best, after all. Guys who can only do weird fireworks shows are useless. But."
Robert chuckled and nodded, but then his rough, wrinkled face hardened.
"The most important thing is your mentality. Guys who talk a big game end up crying for their mommy when the bullets start flying and the bodies pile up. How about you?"
"...There's something I must gain from this expedition. I'm... not alone."
I answered his deep-set eyes with sincerity.
I don't know if he truly understood, but after looking into my eyes for a while, he nodded.
"Congratulations on joining our Black Snakes."
There was none of the picking fights I had half-expected.
It made sense, since we were on the verge of a real battle.
They were professionals.
"In reality, there's a high chance we'll be in the rear, but I'm still anxious as hell."
[When a crisis arises, the only solution the Legion knows is to confront, destroy, and trample. How about learning from that once in a while?]
"You too?"
Having stepped back a little, I looked at my phone and let out a small laugh.
Then again, it was probably saying this because it ultimately wanted the Legion to grow.
[I say this because I trust you]
"Hilarious."
Besides, it was being unusually talkative today.
*
"Everyone, stand back!"
"No time! Move it!"
In the middle of the base, a helicopter landed swiftly, and someone scrambled out.
"Hey! Cage!"
"No time to waste! I have to circle the entire globe in 24 hours!"
The man running at the front ignored everything else and sprinted to a pre-arranged location.
The place he arrived at was a spacious clearing, the spot designated for opening the Gate.
"Are you really alright?"
"I've already opened twelve of these. I feel like I'm going to puke. Here, take these."
He handed something to Cha Ji-yeon, who had run up with several other key figures.
Mana stones engraved with complex patterns.
They were the items used to open the Gate.
"...I understand."
She hurriedly took them and began placing them in their designated positions.
Everyone watched in tense silence.
Its effect had already been thoroughly verified.
Most people didn't know it, but the panting Hispanic man who had collapsed to the ground was the only being to have been taught the magic of spatial manipulation by the Player.
Over the past few hours, he had started in eastern North America, passed through Japan, and come all the way here, opening twelve massive Gates.
The Gates, along with the Hunters' status windows, were phenomena that humanity had failed to unravel in the slightest.
That Gate, once called a cataclysm of the apocalypse alongside the status window, a supposed miracle from God, was now being opened by human hands.
"What are you all doing? Get ready!"
But there was no time to stand around in dumbstruck admiration.
Those who had been staring blankly at the scene belatedly came to their senses and scrambled into motion.
The first mission to be carried out was to enter as soon as it opened and establish a foothold.
"...Unbelievable."
"Space is tearing apart."
And soon enough, a large crack began to form in what was clearly empty air.
In that moment, everyone was speechless, just watching.
"Next! Was Shanghai next!?"
Only the panting Cage hurried back toward the helicopter.
'If the Legion learns of this technology, they'll come to Earth immediately.'
And there was someone else having different thoughts as they watched the slowly widening Gate.
Shin-woo's hand, gripping his phone, trembled.
He knew the Legion's obsession.
If a Gate like that opened and the Legion soldiers he had seen until now poured out onto Earth.
[If you do not want the Legion to conquer Earth, then teach it well starting now]
His Adam's apple bobbed as he read the words appearing on his phone.
"Move out! Stay sharp!"
"Alpha, Alpha, this is Archaeopteryx..."
From all around, the roar of military vehicle engines rumbled to life.
The first wave of allied forces—a newly formed division of the Korean army composed of volunteers, along with a legion-sized unit recruited from neighboring countries—began to move out, their cannons and tracks aimed at the Gate.
"We're moving out, too."
The Korean branch of Evolution, led by Cha Ji-yeon and Chris, also began to move.
No one in the vehicle spoke.
Even for the Hunters and mercenaries who had seen it all, a war on this scale was a first.
"Look at them. They're ordinary soldiers, but I hear they volunteered for this expedition. All of them... they hold deep grudges against the monsters. The bastards have been running rampant lately."
At Robert's words, Shin-woo looked at the vehicle driving alongside them.
They were soldiers from Southeast Asia. Their faces were grimly determined.
It wasn't just them; the majority of the Korean troops were also volunteers.
'A grudge against the monsters. Now that I think about it, I'd forgotten.'
His expression darkened.
To him, monsters had always been enemies to be slaughtered.
They were his sworn enemies, literally.
He had just momentarily forgotten due to everything that had happened.
Now, he had both the power and the justification. There was no reason to hesitate.
"Mr. Robert, do you hate monsters too?"
"Nah. I'm more scared of money and people. For now, anyway. Though this expedition might change my mind."
Robert grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.
And in that instant, the vehicle plunged into the shimmering Gate.