Chapter 99
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: War Terror, War Preparation - Part 4
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A single container ship floated on the vast expanse of the West Sea.
The ship's name was Mokwangpaljun.
At a glance, it appeared to be an ordinary 13300 TEU-class container vessel.
However, it was secretly an ocean-going operations ship owned by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. A veritable ‘maritime fortress’ crewed by hundreds of Players and armed with all manner of magical weaponry.
Furthermore, a permanent ‘Stealth’ spell enveloped the entire vessel, making it invisible not only to the naked eye but also to satellites. A ‘Mana Coating’ on its hull allowed it to evade military radar.
In short, it boasted near-perfect concealment.
“Alright, we hold our position here!”
The only thing it couldn't hide was the spray created when the ship was in motion. For complete stealth, the engines had to be cut, and the vessel had to remain stationary.
“Second Spatial Leap Team, are the two-way portals to the mainland ready for deployment?”
Fengtian, the ship’s captain, asked as he inspected the deck.
“Yes! The ‘Link’ spell to the Hongdo Guild headquarters in Nanjing is ready!”
“Good. As soon as the infiltration team returns, open the portal to the mainland. We will transport Laputa’s administrator authority to the continent safely and securely! The hundred-year plan of the People's Republic of China rests on our fingertips!”
Their mission was to serve as the ‘middle bridge’ in a chain of two-way portals, instantaneously connecting Korean soil to the ship, and the ship to Chinese soil.
Before long, the operation began.
“—Receiving a two-way portal ‘Link’ request from Seoul!”
“All hands to their stations! Commence the transcontinental transport operation!”
On the deck, the assembled mage Players raised their wands and staves. Blue streams of light shot out, converging into one.
“Snipers, prepare for any contingencies—!”
*Vwoooooo—!*
Soon, a hole opened in the empty air at the center of the deck, revealing the space within… though it was too dark to see clearly.
From within that darkness, several figures walked out.
*Step— Step—*
“Oh— Xiao Jun, he’s here!”
Someone shouted.
And indeed, it was Xiao Jun, ranked 21st in China, the vice master of the Hongdo Guild and the key figure in this operation. He walked out, perfectly unharmed.
“Hah— Excellent, it’s a success!”
“—Hoorah!”
The crew couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at the sight of him.
A wave of elation washed over them. If the plan had gone accordingly, it meant he had returned after seizing Laputa’s administrator authority.
‘This means Laputa is now truly ours!’
It would undoubtedly cause a rather noisy diplomatic dispute…
‘Well, none of that matters.’
Fengtian thought to himself.
What mattered most was who held it in their hands. ‘Laputa's administrator authority’ was, in the end, just an ‘item.’ As long as they held it tight… international law alone couldn't strip them of their ownership.
“Yes, in the end, victory is ours!”
However, their celebratory mood quickly soured.
“……Huh?”
Strangely, Xiao Jun’s face was a mask of despair.
And behind him, a strange yet familiar face appeared.
“—Ah!”
Fengtian and the other crew members of the Mokwangpaljun recognized that face.
“L-Lee Hyun-wook!”
The name most talked about not only in Korea but around the world today… The savior of Seoul, the man called the Sword Saint Beater! He had appeared alongside Xiao Jun.
‘What, wasn't Lee Hyun-wook the target of this operation?’
As a Villain, Fengtian was privy to the detailed operational plans. The person most likely to be Laputa’s administrator was Lee Hyun-wook.
In other words, according to the plan, he should have been dead.
Or at the very least… he should not be appearing here, now.
“Xi-Xiao Jun, what is the meaning of this?”
Xiao Jun bowed his head deeply and spoke in a weak voice.
“Ugh— Everyone, I am sorry.”
“Huh?”
“……We were wrong from the very beginning.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that?”
“We… we should n-never have messed with them.”
Following that, figures dressed in black emerged from behind Lee Hyun-wook.
“—Dammit! It’s the Korean military! It’s a trap!”
“All hands, respond to enemy infiltration!”
Crew members appeared from all over, surrounding the Korean soldiers. The number of Players currently aboard this ship was close to 120.
“Do you know where you are right now?!”
“We need to dump every last one of those bastards into the sea!”
They growled, aiming their weapons at the Korean Players.
It was then.
“……Nobody move.”
Lee Hyun-wook spoke as he held something up.
It was… some kind of magic scroll.
And that wasn't all. Two ROK A.M.T. officers who had appeared behind him stepped forward, also holding magic scrolls.
“Since you’re the ones who sent these to us, I’m sure you know what they are, right?”
The Chinese crew members’ faces turned pale.
“Th-that’s… a bomb scroll…”
They were none other than ‘Hellfire’ magic scrolls. Simply by infusing them with ‘mana,’ anyone could unleash that powerful spell.
In other words, they were more than capable of burning this entire ship to a crisp.
“It seems there was a delivery error, so I came to make a return.”
Lee Hyun-wook said as he walked forward. The Chinese tankers who had been surrounding the two-way portal instinctively took a step back.
“Make one wrong move, and we all burn together.”
As the captain, Fengtian stepped forward to face him.
“……Lee Hyun-wook, what do you want?”
He asked calmly.
For him to take such a risk and appear in person, there had to be something he wanted. And just as expected, Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
“Yes, I have one demand.”
“Fine. As the captain of this ship, I will accommodate you to the best of my ability.”
He spoke deferentially, for the sake of saving his ship.
But… the demand was beyond anything he could have imagined.
“What I want… is this ship.”
“Wh-what?”
“So, all of you, get off. Now.”
He said, pointing out over the side of the ship toward the sea.
At the absurd demand, Fengtian’s eyebrow twitched.
‘Shit, what kind of nonsense is this goddamn bastard spouting…’
He forcefully suppressed the rage boiling within him.
‘Right, for now, I have to play meek.’
But he had no intention of staying that way until the end.
‘These bastards, I can take them.’
He thought, channeling mana to his fingertips.
‘Hellfire is powerful, certainly… but this is the sea.’
Of course, a ship could still burn even if it was floating on the water. But it was a different story if he, an A-rank spirit user—and a water spirit user at that—was present.
No matter how powerful ‘Hellfire’ was, if he raised the seawater to envelop the entire ship, he could save it.
‘And that guy won't know that about me.’
Fengtian had no official ranking. That was because he was a secret agent from the Ministry of Public Security, one who had grown in strength under the radar.
*Bubble— Bubble—*
He was very discreetly drawing up the seawater.
‘…I’ll raise a wave in an instant and sweep them all away.’
His most powerful moments were right now, when he was at sea.
But just then.
“No—Fengtian, don’t try anything funny.”
“What? You… you know… me?”
*Swish—!*
But instead of an answer, the bracelet on Lee Hyun-wook’s left hand shot out like a snake, binding Fengtian’s body before he could react.
“Gack! Th-this is—!”
No matter how much he struggled, it wouldn't budge.
- You have been bound by ‘Gleipnir’!
- Cannot be broken by your own power for 10 minutes.
- All ‘abilities’ are sealed for 10 minutes.
‘Dammit, of all things, Gleipnir!’
It was the very item they had prepared to subdue Lee Hyun-wook.
But now, it was being used against him.
*Swoosh…*
With that, the rising pillars of water collapsed futilely.
And then, something began to pour out of the two-way portal.
*Whir—! Whir—! Whir—! Whir—!*
It was a squadron of AD-1s, twelve in total.
They soared into the sky, swiftly surrounding the vessel.
“Hah! Those are the items that rain down steel!”
“Dammit… Everyone, watch the skies!”
The power of those things was already widely known.
“I won’t say it twice.”
Lee Hyun-wook slowly raised his left hand.
“……If you don’t want to die, don’t do a thing.”
A dead silence fell over the ship at his words.
In that moment, the Mokwangpaljun, arguably the greatest maritime fortress of the current era, was completely and utterly subdued.
***
Immediately after, Emilia Müller appeared.
“Oh, is this bastard a Villain too?”
She purified the latent magic inside the Villain—Fengtian’s—mind.
With Fengtian now wearing a dazed expression, Lee Hyun-wook spoke.
“Fengtian, deploy the two-way portal immediately.”
“……What?”
“You have a second two-way portal prepared, one that connects here to your homeland, right? I know all about it, so you might as well just open it.”
Fengtian’s face turned red, then blue. Having been defeated in this manner, he must have felt that he had to stop them here.
“No! Don’t listen to these bastards, not even if it kills you!”
He seemed to be quite dedicated to his role.
“Looks like this friend needs a taste of ‘guts stir-fry,’ doesn’t he?”
Emilia Müller said with a grin.
“Hmm, we don’t have time for that. They’ll catch on over there.”
Lee Hyun-wook fastened ‘restraint collars’ around the necks of the mages in charge of portal deployment, then demonstrated by crushing a piece of metal with one.
“Gasp…”
After that, they began the ‘Link’ spell with surprising obedience.
“Ugh, no, you traitorous bastards…”
Amidst Fengtian’s despair, the portal to China began to form.
Lee Hyun-wook watched the scene, preparing five bomb scrolls.
‘I really have to return these…’
Just then, as if sensing Lee Hyun-wook’s intentions, Fengtian shouted.
“You, you crazy bastard, don’t tell me! Do you have any idea what you’re about to do?”
“Hm?”
“Y-you’re… planning to send that to our country! That place is the Hongdo Guild headquarters in Nanjing! You’re trying to kill a lot of people!”
At those words, a shadow fell over Lee Hyun-wook’s face.
“How absurd…”
He hardened his fist and slammed it into Fengtian’s face.
*Thwack—*
“Gack!”
Dark blood splattered across the deck.
“Have you forgotten what you were planning to use this for?”
Lee Hyun-wook found this display of moral citizenry, brought out only when convenient, disgusting. It was the shameless, twisted logic… a hallmark of a Villain.
“Keuk…”
“Like I said from the start, I’m just making a return.”
Finally, the two-way portal opened.
*Vwong—*
It was connected to the Hongdo Guild headquarters in the Nanjing region.
Through the portal, he made eye contact with the Chinese people standing on the other side.
“Huh? What, Fengtian! What’s going on over there…?”
A bewildered voice drifted from the other side.
Immediately after, Lee Hyun-wook threw the mana-infused scrolls.
Five in total.
“—Dammit!”
*KABOOOOOM—!*
A crimson inferno erupted from beyond the portal. Since he had turned the portal’s opening to face the sea, the ship was undamaged. But the blast was so powerful that a pillar of fire stretching over a hundred meters shot out, causing the ship to rock violently.
If it was like this here, the Hongdo Guild’s headquarters must have been obliterated.
‘…The Hongdo Guild is one of China’s foremost Villain factions.’
Of course… it was possible that unrelated people might have died in this.
‘But I can’t afford to consider things like that.’
Lee Hyun-wook had witnessed a world collapsing at the hands of Villains.
It was a future of absolute ruin that could not be stopped with half-measures.
“Ah…”
Fengtian watched with a look of utter devastation as the portal closed.
Lee Hyun-wook suddenly asked the stunned Fengtian.
“Fengtian, this ship, where’s the engine room?”
“Huh, what?”
“There’s something in there I’d like to see.”
The true value of the ship named Mokwangpaljun was located there.