Chapter 205
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: The Siege of the Demon King's Castle - 4
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While preparing for the war against the Demon King, Lee Hyun-wook hadn't spared any expense in investing in various fields beyond just amassing weapons.
And in his opinion, the most crucial field after magitech was undoubtedly 'intelligence operations'.
Thus, the secret police agency led by Director Woo Seong-mun—codenamed 'Black Swan'—was in charge of espionage and security-related operations...
‘...This smokescreen operation was perfect.’
For instance, when allied forces were conducting an operation, they would blind the enemy's eyes and ears using jamming, mirage magic, silence magic, and so on, to avoid detection by their intelligence network—that was the 'smokescreen operation'.
‘And the dozen or so airships of the <Divine Bomber Squadron> that advanced into North Korea were equipped with plenty of such devices, paralyzing all communication networks in the area.’
In other words, even if someone among the enemy witnessed the mechanical dragons, they were completely blocked from reporting it to their superiors.
Consequently, the Demon King's side would have realized that the 'Death Hives' they had installed across North Korea were being attacked and destroyed by something, but they likely still didn't know what that something was.
Therefore...
*KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA—!*
"Wha-what the hell... What in the world is that?"
"...That firepower, is it even real?"
"And I can feel a dense holy power!"
Now, as the divine mechanical dragons manifested in the sky, instantly seizing air superiority, Gordon Price and the Demon King's forces had no way of predicting it.
In short, they could only be helplessly overwhelmed.
"Damn it, we're completely outmatched, aren't we?"
"This... I think we've been properly caught..."
This was the price for underestimating intelligence capabilities.
*Fwoooosh—*
Before long, two Bone Dragons, drenched in holy power, were engulfed in white smoke and began to fall. The various flying undead escorting them—Bone Wyverns, Zombie Griffins, and the like—were pierced by lasers and swept away by holy power missiles, plummeting like a swarm of burning moths.
*Zzzzziiing—!*
*P-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!*
Like the British MK tanks that shattered the tedious trench warfare of World War I, it was a truly shocking entrance.
Not only that, but numerous airships advanced alongside them, firing all sorts of cannons and turning the ground into a sea of fire.
The undead legions on the ground, who had been advancing freely, confident in their air superiority led by the Bone Dragons, were also caught in the sudden onslaught and collapsed in vain.
*Kiiieeeeh...*
At this, the Demon King's vassals could only stare at Gordon Price with bewildered expressions.
"H-hey, Gordon... What's happening right now?"
A significant number of them had become vassals of the Demon King because they trusted Gordon Price.
And the Gordon Price they knew had always been a leader more trustworthy than anyone.
But at some point... to be precise, ever since he confronted Steel Rain, their trust in him had been rapidly eroding.
"...Doesn't this throw a huge wrench in our plans?"
Yet, even at a moment like this, Gordon Price's expression remained unchanged. He simply swirled the glass in his right hand and gazed out the window. Seeing this, the Demon King's vassals somehow regained a sense of stability.
After all, Gordon Price had always been this calm, and after a brief silence, he would always offer a judgment that was close to the right answer.
"Still, if it's Gordon, he'll find a solution."
"That's right, he even has the Demon King's support."
So, the Demon King's vassals waited silently for his decision.
However... Gordon Price's inner thoughts were quite different.
'What... What the hell is going on...'
Even he was feeling a deep sense of bewilderment.
'Why is every single thing going exactly as he planned?’
As mentioned before, he had always predicted and controlled every situation, gradually encroaching upon the world.
But ever since the variable known as Steel Rain appeared, everything had changed.
'Not once has anything gone my way... This is ridiculous.'
The man had never once moved within the bounds of Gordon Price's predictions. The cliché 'like a ghost' couldn't have been more fitting, as he moved unpredictably, tearing down the empire of Villains that Gordon Price was building.
‘Damn it, I thought I could crush him with the overwhelming power of the Demon King behind me...'
But even now, it still felt as if the man was one step... no, perhaps many steps ahead.
Just then, the Demon King's voice entered Gordon Price's mind via telepathy.
- Gordon, was no information gathered on those things?
The voice was calm, but one could tell it was laced with an unusual amount of discomfort.
And above all...
‘...Didn't the Demon King say he came from eight years in the future?’
Yet, for him to speak as if he had no knowledge of those mechanical dragons could only mean they were far more advanced beings, unforeseen even eight years into the future.
‘Damn it, then what kind of being is Steel Rain? Could he be from a future much farther than eight years... Looking at that magitech, it's certainly not something from our era...'
At this point, all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind, making it complicated. A strange sense of awe towards Steel Rain grew, and he couldn't help but doubt everything the Demon King had promised him.
- ...I asked you, Gordon, have you identified what those mechanical dragons are?
“Ah...”
He answered the Demon King's question in a small voice.
"Well... a few hours ago, we were aware of repeated unidentified attacks on the 'Death Hives' in North Korea, but strangely, we couldn't establish contact with the area. And with battles breaking out simultaneously in New York and here... I apologize, it seems we failed to grasp the situation in many ways.”
- ......
This heavy silence spoke volumes about the current situation.
“In that case, Your Majesty, it seems our second operation to buy time has also been thwarted... What should we do now? I would be grateful for your insight.”
- ...We proceed to the next operation.
At those words, Gordon Price's eyebrow twitched.
"Hmm, is it alright to use that now?”
- Yes, we must buy time by any means necessary and complete the Demon King's castle.
Lee Hyun-wook wasn't the only one who had prepared for this war.
They, too, had mobilized everything to craft a scenario for the war.
And there was a worst-case tactic to bring it to a grand finale... codenamed 'Operation Heaven and Earth'.
- I will soon use the 'Scythe' and 'Volcanic Upheaval' to isolate the enemy. You will split into two groups and prepare to strike them.
Hearing this, Gordon Price looked out the window at the battlefield. Right now, Steel Rain was quite a distance from the camp.
“...So, you mean to split their forces in two and defeat them one by one.”
- Yes. No matter how strong he is, if the sky is blocked and his rear support is cut off, he will eventually crumble due to a lack of firepower. I was saving this operation for the perfect final move... but it seems I have no choice but to use it now.
If this strategy worked, Gordon Price thought, it could turn the tide of the war.
‘And... he won't be able to predict this.’
***
Lee Hyun-wook's left hand moved slowly from the sky toward the ground.
In response, thousands of metal weapons imbued with holy power rained down, piercing the skulls of the undead on the ground.
*P-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—*
With a single gesture, hundreds of undead were instantly taken out.
All those weapons had been personally blessed by the Saintess, and with the added effect of 'Argetlam' in Lee Hyun-wook's right hand, they were bound to be a fatal blow to most undead.
In particular, the 'Moglay Propeller'—created by linking two Moglays imbued with 'Holy Sword' by their hilts—spun rapidly, creating a ferocious gale that swept across the plains.
*T-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO—!*
If it so much as grazed them, even large and high-level undead monsters like Zombie Trolls, Ogre Skeletons, and Red Drake Skeletons collapsed in vain, without even leaving their bones behind.
And even if, by some chance, they managed to break through all those attacks and approach Lee Hyun-wook and the Players...
“—Warriors of the Red Volcano, we shall punish the Demon King and his kin who have defiled this land!”
Just like that, the Ancient Red Drakes, led by Agaidika, Guardian of the Red Volcano, formed a barrier in a single line and spewed fiery breaths...
*Fwoooosh—!*
Not a single one could break through their line.
The atmosphere was that of a so-called 'shutout victory'.
"Huh? It looks like they're running away!”
"Wow... We actually stopped them..."
In the end, the remaining undead legion gave up their advance, scattered, and vanished into the black smoke.
‘So they've decided not to waste any more troops?’
It seemed even the Demon King saw this situation as a meaningless waste of forces, so he decided to withdraw them.
‘...To think it would be this easy. This is a new feeling.’
Lee Hyun-wook was inwardly amazed.
Even when the Necromancer's notoriously vicious army of the dead charged with a perfect formation, they had managed to stop them completely.
And it was the first time Lee Hyun-wook had ever seen them flee with their tails between their legs.
Soon, a divine mechanical dragon approached from above and landed before him.
*Thud—!*
White smoke billowed from the massive creature's body, and its various overheated mechanical parts blared with loud *Beep— Beep—* warning sounds.
Well, after rampaging through numerous battlefields for hours without rest, even the best-made magitech item would reach its limit.
Soon, a knight in full plate armor, Captain Seo Eun-ha, jumped down from it, muttering a complaint.
“Ugh— Isn't this thing about to explode?”
For hours, she had ridden atop it, bombarding and eliminating a dozen Death Hives scattered across North Korea, then flew straight here to fight again.
Naturally, her fatigue was immense. When she removed her steel helmet, sweat poured down like a waterfall.
Lee Hyun-wook offered her a mana potion.
"Captain Seo, you arrived right on time.”
"Ha... what do you mean? You're the one who told me to finish up and get here as fast as possible?”
"That's true, but you're not late anymore.”
"Don't tell me... are you talking about back when we were in the unit?”
Back when Lee Hyun-wook had just regressed, Seo Eun-ha had a strange habit of arriving at incidents a step too late. He was bringing up that old story.
"By the way... what's with them?”
She asked, looking at the Ancient Red Drakes.
When she had just exited the White Hole, she'd been horrified to see the plains swarming with monsters.
But strangely, some of them were fighting on their side... Unaware of the circumstances, she could only be puzzled.
"As you've probably noticed, they're on our side now.”
She let out a disbelieving laugh.
"You know, you seem to have a lot of connections. I can understand the notoriously temperamental Saintess or the famously strict Guardian of the World Tree since they're human, but Dwarves, Dark Elves, the Water Spirit King... and now them... Thinking about it, it's pretty incredible.”
As she said, half of Lee Hyun-wook's allies were monsters.
"But it looks like not everyone's here yet. Am I the first to arrive?”
Just as she said, Lee Hyun-wook's allies had not yet arrived at the battlefield. Most of them were still in New York, finishing up with the Death Flower.
“They'll be here soon. And the plan is to surround that mountain together and uproot the Demon King's castle. Before that, Captain Seo, you should replenish your mana, and that thing needs some repairs.”
Lee Hyun-wook pointed at the mechanical dragon. Sparks flew from its back, and finally, an explosion was heard.
*Bang— Bang—*
Of course, the creature was so large and sturdy that such damage was negligible.
But for Seo Eun-ha, who had to ride it, her expression was quite surprised.
“Wow... so I was riding on a bomb that could go off at any moment?”
"Hmm, just in case, we should probably add a seatbelt made from a World Tree vine so you don't get thrown off by an explosion.”
Seo Eun-ha glared at Lee Hyun-wook.
“Ah— so you're saying someone like me can just heal myself if I get a few burns from an explosion, so I just need to hold on tight, is that it?”
"Yes, I always have faith in you, Captain Seo.”
“...Are the blacksmiths at the camp over there?”
"Yes, Hee-seol is there too, so let's head back and get maintenance first.”
They were currently about two kilometers from the 'camp', so they would have to fly back for repairs.
But just then—
*THOOM—*
A great vibration began to resonate.
"Huh?"
Strangely, the epicenter of the vibration wasn't the ground, but...
*THOOM—*
“...What? It's coming from the sky.”
The vibration was resonating through the air itself.
"Wh-what is that? Is it lightning?”
"Hmm, it doesn't sound like it..."
*THOOM—*
“Uh— look over there!”
Just then, Brian Teal pointed to the sky.
Soon, Lee Hyun-wook's gaze fell upon a small being floating in the sky.
It was a 'Zombie Griffin', and a figure was riding on it.
Lee Hyun-wook immediately observed the spot through Hugin and Munin's eyes and confirmed that the figure was wearing a black mask and holding a black scythe.
'...It's the Necromancer.’
*THOOM—*
And this vibration was the sound of the man swinging his black scythe... but strangely, he was swinging it at empty air.
*THOOM—*
Each time, a black light flashed in the distant sky, creating a bizarre scene as if the heavens were being torn apart.
“Uh, that looks really ominous,”
"Does anyone have a clue what that is?”
“Hmm— I'm not sure.”
But Lee Hyun-wook alone knew what it was.
‘That's... the Scythe. In other words, he's trying to seal the sky.’
Scythe, the weapon wielded by the Titan god 'Cronus', father of Zeus in Greek mythology, and the inspiration for the 'Grim Reaper's' scythe of death.
‘Also known as the Death Harvester... it was the Necromancer's main weapon. And since the Titan boss monster Cronus is with him, it's highly likely he has two of them.’
But it possessed a rather strange ability, based on the legend that it was used to castrate the sky god, Uranus...
- Warning! 'Sky Castration' has been activated in this area!
* Access to altitudes above 50m is restricted for 30 minutes.
* All 'Spatial Movement' skills are restricted for 30 minutes.
As such, it was an item with the peculiar ability to seal the sky.
Soon, red chains began to form in the sky. They tangled together, creating a dense, net-like mesh, and started to descend toward the ground.
The dozen or so airships floating hundreds of meters in the air were pushed back like fish caught in a net. They hastily activated their engines to resist but fell futilely to the ground.
- *Chkk*— Evasive maneuvers— Evasive maneuvers— Prepare for impact!
Still, they managed to stop precariously just before crashing, forced to hover awkwardly within the 50-meter space above the ground.
Lee Hyun-wook's Hugin and Munin were also pushed back.
'But... the problem is why he's using it now.’
Lee Hyun-wook knew and had anticipated that the Necromancer would eventually use that item.
Sealing the sky like this would render Lee Hyun-wook's signature low-orbit bombardment useless, and he wouldn't be able to deploy multiple AD-2s in the sky to make it rain steel. The airships would also be neutralized.
In other words, he had expected them to bind nearly all of his options and then launch an all-out assault.
‘I did build the Gauss Ship in preparation for such a moment...’
But the timing now was just awkward.
‘Sealing the sky right after being repelled once makes no sense.’
To play such a big card as the Demon King just to buy a mere 30 minutes... it was too much. Even if he had two of them, the timing was not right.
‘Which means, there might be something more.’
And sure enough, that wasn't all.
*R-R-R-R-RUMBLE—!*
"Ugh! What's suddenly happening!”
*R-R-R-R-RUMBLE—!*
The entire world began to shake violently. The vibrations were so intense that it felt like the very ground was crumpling. No one could stand properly, and people who had been standing side-by-side suddenly found themselves at different elevations.
*R-R-R-R-RUMBLE—!*
The ground behind them split open, and lava began to erupt.
"Whoa— Everyone, be careful!”
"Damn it, prepare magic barriers!”
Just then, Agaidika approached Lee Hyun-wook.
It seemed he knew what was going on.
“This is the power to control the Red Volcano.”
“—What? What's that?”
"That mountain... if one controls the 'Heart of the Mountain' at the center of our underground city, they can split and join the land in this area.”
In simple terms, it meant there was an object that could induce tectonic shifts.
‘Damn it, that's ridiculous...’
Before they knew it, a mountain hundreds of meters high had risen behind them, and a large amount of magma began to erupt from within it.
*Thud— Thud—*
And chunks of rock rained down from above like meteors. The airships hovering in their awkward positions couldn't perform evasive maneuvers and began to be pelted by them.
*CRASH— CRASH— CRASH— CRASH—*
Although the airships were equipped with fairly sturdy magic barriers, if they continued to be battered indiscriminately like this, they would soon fall.
"Damn it, everyone activate your magic barriers and take cover!”
Amidst the chaos, the Players poured out their mana to create powerful magic barriers.
"Whew... What just happened?”
They collected themselves and began to survey their surroundings.
“Uh— wait a minute, are we... isolated?”
The distance between them and the camp was two kilometers, but now they were completely cut off by the erupted volcano.
Furthermore, with the sky sealed, they couldn't even use the airships or the mechanical dragon to cross over.
"We have to get back to the camp right now!"
“...It's already too late.”
And a few mages tried to use return magic, but it was useless.
‘...Sky Castration blocks all spatial movement skills.’
And...
- *Chkk*— This is the camp, this is the camp, Steel Rain, respond—!
The voice belonged to Team Leader Lee Kyo-jun.
His urgency suggested something was happening over there, but from their position on the opposite side, they could see nothing.
"Ah, Team Leader Lee, what's going on?”
- *Chkk*— A massive number of monsters are pouring in! *Chkk*— Titans, Black Orcs, Undead... at least several thousand of them!
Only then did Lee Hyun-wook realize the Demon King's scheme.
“They're trying to tie you down and go after the rest.”
The one who said that was Seo Eun-ha.
"Everyone's over there, right? Hee-seol, the blacksmiths... and the supplies. They're trying to prevent a long-term battle. Ah, come to think of it, the Saintess too..."
As she said, blacksmiths like Kang Jeong-du and Kang Hee-seol were at the camp to support Lee Hyun-wook, and Emilia Müller was also on standby.
Just then, Brian Teal spoke.
"But who's at the camp right now?”
"Well, everyone except us.”
The ones out here were a small number of leading Players.
“So... are there any Players there strong enough to stop that attack? The reinforcements haven't arrived yet.”
At his words, the expressions of the guild masters, including Edward Woods, darkened.
They knew that even if they were there themselves, defending would be difficult. Their subordinates left behind wouldn't stand a chance.
“Damn it, everyone at the camp is going to die.”
“Oh, no...”
In the end, a few let out cries. No matter how strong the Players were, they couldn't accept that their comrades were about to be slaughtered.
And at this rate, they would surely be annihilated before the sky reopened in 30 minutes...
Just then—
“...There is one.”
The one who spoke was Lee Hyun-wook.
"What?"
At his words, everyone looked at him.
"There is one S-Rank Player at that camp.”
Lee Hyun-wook raised his Mana Messenger.
*Chkk—*
"Team Leader Lee, can you hear me?”
- Yes! I can hear you!
"Tell Kang Hee-seol right now... to activate 'Operation Zeus Ex Machina'. And tell her she has permission to draw on all the energy from the Steel Fleet, including the Prydwen, without holding back.”
And a moment later...
- *Chkk*— The Thunder God of Machinery... battery is charging for activation. *Chkk*— Pilot is ready. I will report on our progress.