Chapter 125
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Absolute Firepower - 5
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Lee Hyun-wook stood poised at an altitude of 6,000 feet, looking down at the Black Orcs' 'troop assembly point.'
Down below, tens of thousands of Black Orcs swarmed chaotically, like an agitated ant colony. It felt as if he could crush hundreds of them at once just by stomping his foot.
*And that's exactly what would happen.*
Just a moment ago, Lee Hyun-wook had obliterated hundreds of Black Orcs with a single strike.
The 'mass weapon' Moglay, dropped from a low altitude, had pulverized the ground like a cake.
Immediately after, the creatures swarming on top were swallowed by a wave of earth and buried alive.
*Rumble...*
Sand kicked up by the impact still drifted through the air, creating a sound like static.
And the moment he attacked them, a system message appeared before his eyes.
- (!) A quest has arrived.
[War Quest]
- The start of the Great War. Is it the end, or prosperity...?
War. You have made your mark on the first chapter of this epic saga.
Consequently, you will be swept up in an unavoidable storm.
However, remember this! Defeat is the end, and victory is prosperity.
* Reward: Distributed according to 'Merits' in the war.
+) Preemptive Strike Bonus: All stats increased in enemy territory (+50%), additional rewards upon victory.
*This... the trigger for participating in the war event has been activated.*
Ordinarily, the moment the Black Orc army landed on South Korean soil, this message should have appeared before all the Players on the Korean peninsula. That was the 'normal route' for this event.
But Lee Hyun-wook had chosen the 'hidden route' of a preemptive strike.
And so, he was able to receive the special benefit of a 'Preemptive Strike Bonus.'
*Hmm. Additional rewards...*
Even Lee Hyun-wook didn't know what kind of reward would come from clearing this colossal war event. In his past life, the Orc army had occupied Jeju Island and the southern coast, and a war had broken out, but...
*...back then, we ultimately failed to reclaim it.*
In other words, they had lost the war. That was how powerful the Black Orc Kingdom's forces were.
Though they later succeeded in assassinating the king, Stonox, that was an achievement unrelated to the war event.
*No country had ever won a war against the Black Orc Kingdom...*
But this time, the war was different from the very beginning.
*Right now... I'm setting the first button of victory, and I'm setting it perfectly.*
Thinking this, Lee Hyun-wook raised his head.
Only the dark, ominous clouds filling the sky met his gaze.
But he could sense something beyond them.
*One last shot remains.*
The two Moglays that had destroyed the platform and the magic barrier just before his arrival were 'replicas.'
This meant the 'original,' twice as heavy, was preparing to drop from the 'Warbox' in low orbit.
Lee Hyun-wook focused his mind, extending his senses toward the distant sky.
*It's faint, but I can feel it. A massive, cube-shaped chunk of metal...*
Though it was a staggering 160 kilometers away, there were no obstacles to block the mana transmission, and he had even placed three 'magic relays' in between, allowing him to maintain 'synchronization' with the Warbox.
Just then, an urgent voice entered his ear.
- *Ksssh—* Ma-Master! The-the wyverns are coming!
It was Yeo Sang-min. He was currently piloting the Prydwen.
"...Yes, I feel them."
Lee Hyun-wook exhaled slowly... and severed the 'chain' restraining Moglay inside the Warbox.
*Clang—!*
There was no sound, and nothing to see, but he knew.
From the heavens, a two-ton greatsword began its descent.
In just a few seconds, it would break the sound barrier, passing through the dense atmosphere and being forged by frictional heat.
And as it neared the Earth, it would absorb gravity, gaining terrifying weight.
Lee Hyun-wook felt like he had floored the accelerator of a truck.
A truck with broken brakes... even he couldn't stop it now.
All he could do was wait for it to crash into everything in its path and come to a stop on its own...
*Keeeeeeh—!*
Opening his eyes, he heard monstrous shrieks growing closer from below. Dozens of Black Wyverns were approaching.
Excluding dragons, they were top-tier flying monsters, unrivaled in the sky.
But with Lee Hyun-wook positioned higher in the sky and the concept of 'gravity' at play...
*Piiiiing—*
...they felt like nothing more than a swarm of insects he could easily crush underfoot.
Soon, a large hole was punched through a section of the dark clouds above his head.
A single streak of light shot out from it, drawing a straight line toward the ground.
*Th-th-th-th-thump—!*
Impact. Moglay, brimming with gravity, slammed head-on into the Black Wyvern formation, piercing through it.
Severance. Everything in its path was bisected, sent flying in all directions.
- Holy... crap...
It was excessively powerful, like swatting a swarm of moths with a sword.
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Wyvern. (+22)
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Wyvern. (+23)
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Wyvern. (+21)
*They're racking up quite nicely.*
From what he remembered, the merit points in the war event weren't supposed to be this easy to obtain.
It felt like he could achieve the maximum contribution for the war event with the points he was accumulating right here.
*Still, to think I can take down large monsters like wyverns so easily... it's absurd, even to me.*
He had become so strong that his own achievements felt surreal.
*Kra-a-a-a-ang—!*
Next, Moglay slammed into the ground, causing a tremor.
Lee Hyun-wook extended his left hand toward the surface.
There was still one more shot.
*Shockwave—!*
*Roo-oo-oo-oomble—!*
A formidable shockwave erupted from Moglay, which was buried deep in the ground, triggering an earthquake.
The ground, already weakened by two previous impacts, began to crack like a spiderweb.
And in the distance, a building dozens of stories tall collapsed in on itself, kicking up a plume of pale dust.
It was a scene so powerful it could only be described as divine punishment.
*But this is just the beginning.*
If this air raid was a full-course meal, the three Moglay drops were merely the appetizer.
In an instant, two weapons appeared in Lee Hyun-wook's hands.
In his left hand was 'Mjolnir,' and in his right, 'Sudarshana.'
Both were legendary-grade weapons capable of 'returning' when thrown.
- 'Mana' is permanently reduced by using Sudarshana. (-500)
This was Sudarshana's 'over-handicap.'
For an ordinary Player, a permanent reduction in their total mana would be a devastating blow.
*But I can recover it quickly by swallowing mana stones for a few hours.*
Lee Hyun-wook first raised Mjolnir in his left hand.
*Crackle—* A powerful electric current wrapped around his body.
Enduring the high-voltage sensation, he raised his hand.
*Rumble—!*
Within the already thick, dark clouds, lightning began to stir.
And the moment he swung his left arm, dozens of bolts of lightning were torn from the sky and struck down.
The target was the scattered swarm of Black Wyverns, lightning striking down upon them—
*Cra-cra-cra-cra-crack—!*
It was extremely effective. The wyverns caught in the lightning lost consciousness and plummeted.
It wasn't enough to annihilate them, but it was like swatting away a swarm of annoying mosquitoes.
*But just swatting them away isn't satisfying enough...*
Next, he threw Sudarshana from his right hand.
*Swoooosh—!*
With the sound of cutting wind, a two-meter-wide red trajectory was drawn, weaving between straight lines and curves. It was no ordinary impact. A chakra, a powerful 'mana blade,' disintegrated everything it touched into particles.
*Keeeeeeh—!*
The target was the Black Wyverns that had managed to evade the lightning, a circular blade precisely slicing through their wings—
*Sh-sh-sh-shred—!*
And just like that, the last eleven lucky survivors fell cleanly from the sky.
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Wyvern. (+21)
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Wyvern. (+21)
.
.
.
In a brief moment, fifty-five wyverns had plummeted helplessly, like a swarm of insects hit with pesticide.
The sky was once again, completely, Lee Hyun-wook's.
Next, Lee Hyun-wook shifted his gaze to the ground.
The three craters created by the three Moglays formed the vertices of a triangle.
*Flare Whip—!*
From those three points, six crimson whips sprouted.
They thrashed about wildly, tearing the area to shreds.
*Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!*
It was an impressive scene, as if three red roses had bloomed and withered in a single instant.
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Orc Warrior. (+5)
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Orc Warrior. (+6)
- You have gained Merit Points for defeating a Black Orc Elite Warrior. (+11)
.
.
.
- It was all gloomy with those dark-skinned bastards swarming around, but it looks a bit brighter now, don't you think?
This voice belonged to the 3rd Anti-Magic Brigade Commander, Major General Choi Jeong-cheol.
"Yes, but I think we need to add a bit more red paint."
- A fine idea. Shall I lend a hand now?
"Yes! I would be grateful if you'd show us what you've got, General Choi!"
Choi Jeong-cheol was currently standing near the ramp door of the Prydwen.
He raised his staff toward the sky.
A red beam of light shot out from its tip, and energy gathered at the point where it stopped.
*Who-o-o-o-o-osh—*
The temperature in that space changed rapidly, causing convection and stirring up a gale.
In the blink of an eye, it grew to over fifty meters in diameter.
*Semi-Armageddon. It's been a while.*
It was the same skill that had wiped out the swarm of Armored Venom Beetles and crushed Cheongryong Mountain during the 4th Wave.
*And it's much more concentrated than last time.*
He must have gathered every last bit of mana he could to create the most powerful single strike possible.
"Then I shall lend my aid as well."
Lee Hyun-wook said, closing his eyes once more.
*Warbox, teleport—*
At that moment, a massive shadow appeared within the dark clouds, and soon, something poked its head out.
*Vwooo-oo-oo-oom—*
Parting the dark clouds like a stage curtain, a massive, square cube appeared.
*Damn, it's like they floated an entire building up here...*
Even to Lee Hyun-wook, it was a truly bizarre sight.
The intricate magic circuits tangled across its surface glowed, creating a sense of mystique.
It was a wondrous scene, almost as if a spaceship from an alien civilization had appeared in humanity's sky.
*To think they'd put a teleportation function in such a large Warbox... I didn't expect this either.*
This was the work of the Gray Dwarves.
Their talent for creating massive objects like airships and super-weapons was exceptional, and they had contributed greatly to the birth of this masterpiece called the 'Warbox.' The teleportation function was one of their additions. This was how he had been able to instantly summon the Warbox from low orbit to right behind him.
"Now... let's pour everything we have into a clean finish."
From the underside of one Warbox and thirty AD-2s, subspaces opened, emitting a white light.
From the ground, it would look as if lights had been installed in the sky—
But anyone who just stared blankly at the sight would be swept away by the ensuing rain of steel.
*Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh—!*
A total of 1,355 'Fire Spears' rained down densely upon the ground.
Following Lee Hyun-wook's command, they spread out, striking a wide area evenly.
*Th-th-th-th-thump—!*
*Detonate—*
As he infused them with mana, red flashes erupted from the edges.
*Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom—*
Carpet bombing from a fleet of bombers. There was no other fitting description.
- Now it's my turn!
The Semi-Armageddon, now swollen to its maximum size, tilted toward the ground.
*Kwa-a-a-a-a-a—!*
The moment it touched the surface, the entire world was dyed in orange light.
- Now that's more like it, eh?
And so, the red hues painted by the two men filled the ground, red waves surging across it.
The land, which had been gray just moments ago, was now boiling and glowing a dark crimson.
Meanwhile, system messages announcing the acquisition of merit points scrolled before his eyes.
In this spot, Lee Hyun-wook had dealt with 3,151 Black Orcs and 121 Black Wyverns.
If you added the number killed by Choi Jeong-cheol's Semi-Armageddon...
*...I must have killed at least four thousand of them.*
In other words, he had incinerated one-third of their forces in a single spot.
*But I can't stay here. I need to leave quickly.*
This attack was only effective because it was a surprise—the enemy had been caught off guard.
And more importantly, the 'final boss monster' wasn't here.
The Orc King Stonox... a level 175 world boss monster.
*He'll show up soon.*
Thinking this, Lee Hyun-wook turned his head and looked toward the horizon.
True to his title as a final boss, he would be observing the entire situation from his throne in the labyrinth.
But with things going this badly, he would have no choice but to step in himself.
No sooner had he thought this than a black smoke began to roll in from the western sky.
It billowed violently, as if it were a living thing, grinding down the city's skyscrapers.
*Dammit...*
At its center, he could see a single Black Orc cloaked in a red aura.
And yet...
Though it was very far away, he felt an illusion of making eye contact with it.
And for some reason, a sense of intimidation, a primal fear, washed over him.
*This is... Fear.*
Fear, the fundamental terror emitted by beings of a different class, like dragons.
In other words, it was a being of a different class.
*Shaaaaa—*
Then, a strange whisper coiled right next to his ear.
- Warning! 'Ancient Fear' will cause a significant decrease in all abilities. (-20%)
- Warning! The <Devil's Shadow> is scheduled to arrive in this area!
- Warning! All defense will be significantly decreased by the <Devil's Whisper>! (-30%)
- This isn't good...
"Dammit, he's coming."
The Devil's Shadow, that black smoke, twisted and tangled, forming a shape.
It was... a dragon. With its mouth wide open, it flew toward them at incredible speed.
Of course, it wasn't a real dragon, but a wide-range attack skill in the shape of one.
And it was bearing down on them like a storm, much faster than expected!
*—Block it!*
Lee Hyun-wook hurriedly moved the AD-2s, stacking them in front of him like a brick wall.
*Kwadadadada—!*
At the moment of impact, eighteen AD-2s were blown to pieces, breaking free from Lee Hyun-wook's control.
"—Ghk!"
Lee Hyun-wook, who had taken cover behind them, was thrown back and slammed into the underside of the Prydwen. Despite having his body fully reinforced, the Devil's Whisper seemed to have caused several of his bones to shatter.
- Hey! Are you alright?
"Kuh... Yes, I'm okay for now."
But he couldn't guarantee he could block a second attack.
- Don't you think it's about time we returned to base?
General Choi Jeong-cheol, having grasped the situation, shouted as much.
"Yes! We need to go back right now!"
The one regret was that there were a few things he hadn't been able to show.
*I still haven't used Mjolnir's new skill or Sudarshana's chakra explosion...*
If he had used those, he might have been able to kill a few thousand more.
But if he hesitated, he could be consumed by the curse and unable to return.
Lee Hyun-wook took out the vines of the World Tree from the Prydwen and connected them to the 'Warbox.'
Then he lifted himself up and entered through the ramp door.
- Uhhh... if we don't get out of here fast, I-I think we're gonna get caught!
Yeo Sang-min cried out.
*Gwoooooooh—!*
The black smoke had already formed a giant beast's hand and was nearly upon them.
It was about to snatch the Prydwen whole and crush it.
But Lee Hyun-wook was faster.
"Emergency return—"
In the next instant, everything that had been floating serenely beneath the dark clouds vanished like a mirage.
The Devil's Shadow, which had become the claws of a giant beast, swiped futilely through empty air.
"......."
The red-eyed Black Orc, King Stonox, stared blankly at the empty space.
Then he turned his head and looked down at the 'troop assembly point,' which had become a sea of fire.
***
"Ho ho— That was a close one, wasn't it?"
General Choi Jeong-cheol extended a hand to help up Lee Hyun-wook, who had collapsed on the ramp door.
"Lee Hyun-wook... it feels like it's been a while, but you seem completely different. Not long ago, you were just a soldier in my unit, but now I feel like I'm facing someone of very high standing."
He said this, patting Lee Hyun-wook's shoulder.
"Haha... But this war, we have to see this as just the beginning, right?"
His expression turned grim.
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
"Yes, because the Black Orcs gathered there won't be all of them."
Over 15,000 Black Orcs had gathered at the assembly point in Shanghai.
*But that was a kind of vanguard.*
The recent air raid had completely crushed that vanguard. It would give them a much more advantageous start before facing the inevitable war, but at the same time, it was like kicking a hornet's nest.
*The main force will move immediately...*
And this time, this land would unavoidably become the battlefield.
But Lee Hyun-wook wasn't worried.
He had kicked the hornet's nest, and he had finished preparing to catch the hornets that would soon come flying recklessly.
Just then, the Prydwen landed at the Order Tower's airship port.
Talos's voice entered his mind.
「Master, the Steel Fleet's strike force has gathered at the airship port in the upper residential area!」
Lee Hyun-wook and Choi Jeong-cheol descended to the upper residential area.
There, nine airships and twelve military transport planes were on standby. In front of them, the Gray Dwarves and the Bighyungrang team were moving about busily. They were the crew of the so-called 'Steel Fleet.'
"Airship number three, engine maintenance complete!"
"Team 11, board airship number four!"
But the moment they spotted Lee Hyun-wook and Choi Jeong-cheol, everyone stopped and turned their heads...
*Waaaaah—!*
As if they had been waiting, a fervent cheer erupted.
"—That was truly the best!"
"Man— That's a battle that will go down in history!"
They, too, had heard about the perfect strike delivered by Lee Hyun-wook and Choi Jeong-cheol.
From among them, Director Woo Seong-mun walked out.
"General Choi, you've worked hard. You still look like you're in your prime."
"Hahaha— Director Woo, you could still hold your own if you rolled up your sleeves."
After the two exchanged greetings, their gazes shifted to Lee Hyun-wook.
"......."
It was an awkward scene... as if the two top commanders were waiting for Lee Hyun-wook to speak.
Lee Hyun-wook cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
"Director, is what I asked for ready?"
At Lee Hyun-wook's question, Woo Seong-mun nodded.
"We have deployed a force equivalent to two full divisions to the islands in the West Sea, including Ganghwa Island."
Then, Lee Kyo-jun, who stood behind Woo Seong-mun, asked.
"But really... will the Black Orc forces land on those islands?"
Lee Hyun-wook nodded without hesitation. His face was full of conviction.
"According to the information I have, yes."
Lee Hyun-wook had said he saw some hints in the Black Orc 'Ancestor's Relic' stored in Laputa.
That, of course, was a plausible excuse. The true source of the information was, naturally, his memories from his past life.
*As far as I know, the Black Orc invasion always starts from an island.*
The first stage of their invasion was to use a 'totem' to cause an 'erosion' in the invasion site.
By doing so, they would transform the terrain into a 'Wasteland' that gave them advantageous buffs, using it as a forward base.
Furthermore, when they completely eroded 'one land,' they would gain a powerful buff effect called 'Conqueror's Army.'
Here, 'one land' could be an 'island' or a 'continent.'
*And conquering an island is easier than a continent. Of course, the buff from the latter is greater.*
When they swallowed Shanghai after the 2nd Wave, they had used 'Chongming Island' as their starting point.
*In my past life, when they invaded our country, they attacked Jeju Island first.*
But this time, with the clear target of 'Laputa,' they would strike as close to Seoul as possible.
In other words, they would set foot somewhere on an island in the West Sea.
*They'll probably use the Devil's Shadow to summon thousands of them at once.*
That overpowered skill could only be performed by 'sacrificing' hundreds of Black Orcs.
If they used it, there was virtually no way to stop the Black Orc army from landing.
Just then, a voice came through Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun's mana messenger.
- *Ksssh—* This is Bighyungrang Team 4. We have buried 'Fire Spears' and 'Iron Golem Cores' in all open spaces, mountains, and coastal areas of the West Sea islands. All burial locations will be uploaded to the Class-1 security server. Over and out—
"...The mine-laying you mentioned is also complete."
No, to be precise... he had no intention of stopping the Black Orc army from landing.