Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Protect Earth (1)
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“Has the Dimensional Gate security been breached? What the hell were those guys around it doing...?”
Kim Suhyun muttered in disbelief. The security around the Dimensional Gate being broken wasn’t something that happened every day. It meant the troops stationed there, along with all the superpowered individuals on standby, had let a monster slip through.
“No, sir. The area around the Dimensional Gate is fine. And if the security had been breached, they’d reinforce the gate itself—why summon every single mercenary?”
“Then what is it?”
“Dimensional Gates have popped up all over Earth.”
“!!!”
Suhyun was genuinely shocked. What the hell did that mean?
“Dimensional Gates have popped up?”
When a Dimensional Gate appeared, the surrounding area was completely devastated. Cameron Planet’s space would bleed over. Like what happened in old Pyongyang—if one opened up in a city...
Sensing Suhyun’s bewilderment, the base staffer hurriedly explained.
“No, no, it’s not like the one in old Pyongyang. This is a different form. Temporary Dimensional Gates.”
It didn’t seem to be the kind Suhyun had feared, where the entire surrounding region vanished.
Dimensional Gates had appeared irregularly all over Earth. Unlike the one in Pyongyang, they didn’t persist. They opened temporarily, unleashed a burst of powerful energy, and then vanished.
The problem was that even that brief opening was enough for monsters to cross over.
Hearing this, Suhyun immediately grasped the severity. It would’ve been better if the Pyongyang Dimensional Gate’s security had just been breached. He groaned.
“Earth must be in chaos.”
“Yes, we’ve called in every available force... Mercenaries included.”
Mercenaries weren’t military—they were private contractors. You couldn’t just summon them at will. But this time, the situation was desperate enough to break that rule.
No one knew when or where a Dimensional Gate might appear. Nor what might come through it. It was like a time bomb. No—worse than one.
A time bomb exploded once and was done. But monsters that crossed over would stick around, attacking humans relentlessly.
“What’s the current situation?”
“Fortunately, the first gates opened in uninhabited desert areas, and the UN caught on quick enough that subsequent damage hasn’t been as bad as it could’ve been. Though when they popped up in cities, we really thought it was all over...”
“In cities?”
“Yes. Places like New York, Shanghai, Tokyo. New York and Tokyo got hit hardest. One opened right on a subway line—total pandemonium.”
Suhyun rubbed his forehead. It was a nightmare.
“At least it happened at night, so civilian casualties were lower. Not that I should say this, but Japan caught a break because one opened in Tokyo.”
“?”
“They were the prime suspects at first. They’ve got form.”
“Ah, that fake Dimensional Gate fiasco?”
After over a century of quiet, something like this happens—suspicion was inevitable. And you couldn’t suspect just anyone.
Few factions had the tech to mess with Dimensional Gates.
“We couldn’t touch something like that. Guess we should be glad we’re off the suspect list...”
The US, China, Russia—superpowers could weather suspicion no problem. Who’d press them on it? Plus, they’d never caused an incident with a gate.
So Japan unusually quickly issued a public statement. The current crisis had nothing to do with them, and their past gate incident was entirely different.
“They were desperate enough to release all their research data.”
“One wrong accusation and you’re done for. People won’t stay rational.”
“Still, Tokyo getting hit quelled some suspicion. And terrorists are crawling out of the woodwork claiming responsibility...”
“You believe that?”
“No one does. They’ve only ever threatened to open one—no one’s shown they can actually control it. Team Leader Kim Suhyun, you need to head back right now. You can’t stay on Cameron Planet. Every nation on Earth is pooling their Cameron forces. No telling when or where a monster might burst out. The calls demanding you specifically...”
In a crisis like this, how badly they’d want a mage like Suhyun was obvious. He patted the staffer’s shoulder.
“You’ve had it rough.”
“No, sir. This is nothing. I’ll prep the ship—best to leave immediately.”
“Got it.”
As Suhyun stepped out, he sorted through his tangled thoughts.
Things had gone seriously sideways.
He’d just thought they could finally start exchanges with the Underground Kingdom, and now this on Earth...
Worst of all: nothing like this had happened before he returned.
The future had changed. Or been accelerated.
“Damn it...”
Cameron was just a pioneering outpost, with Earth as the main base. They followed Earth’s rules. Couldn’t pioneer Cameron while humanity on Earth was getting hammered left and right.
They’d leave minimal defense forces and pull the rest back to Earth.
Which meant delaying those exchanges, of course...
‘They better not use this as an excuse to say they can’t trust us later.’
From what he’d heard, his team had already headed to Earth. He had no choice but to go too. Skip out, and who knew what backlash he’d face later.
* * *
“Heard the news? Stay safe. Here... I finished this. Take it.”
Seo Kang-seok spoke up beside Choi Ji-eun, his face grim.
“Team Leader, I’ll come with you.”
“No. Stay with my daughter. We’re short on manpower as it is—anything could happen. The corpse legion’s strong, sure, but they’re still controlled by humans. We need experienced hands like you.”
“But...”
“You know I won’t be in trouble without you, right?”
Suhyun spun the received pistol to check it. It looked ordinary. A common model sold everywhere on Cameron—any gun shop had it.
But inside? Far from ordinary. It housed a core extracted from a superpower nullifier grinder. An artifact forged with Seo Yeon-ah’s ability.
“I’ll use it carefully.”
“Take these rounds too.”
“No way... these are...”
“Yeah, Dragon Breath from Heimken’s orcs. Don’t mix ’em up with the others!”
“Like I’ll ever need to fire this thing?”
Suhyun holstered the pistol at his waist. Superpowered folks carried weapons too, but usually as backups for emergencies.
People would wonder why Suhyun was packing heat.
“Gotta go. The handlers outside are probably pacing holes in the ground.”
They desperately needed him now but couldn’t interrupt his conversation—had to be anxious as hell.
“Be really careful.”
“Told you, it’s not that dangerous.”
“You know Cameron inside out, but not Earth. And you’ll be fighting there.”
Only then did Suhyun realize what she was worried about.
“I’m past the point where that’d put me at a disadvantage. Unless a dragon crosses over.”
“Don’t jinx it.”
Choi Ji-eun said sternly. Hearing him say stuff like that just made her more uneasy.
* * *
“It’s a troll!”
“What?! Troll?!”
“Get it! We have to!”
“You idiot, now’s not the time! Hold the sector! Scout for more monsters! Troll sighted in sector 11-2. Requesting superpowered support!”
As the mercenaries buzzed, a superpowered user arrived fast. He hurled a flaming spear into the troll, and the mercs unloaded bullets. Custom anti-monster rounds battered the burning troll to its knees.
“Shit, that thing’s blood is our paycheck.”
“Ours? Try worth more than ours.”
Among mercs and hunters who targeted trolls, there was a running joke: wouldn’t trolls end up endangered soon? Numbers were indeed dwindling that fast.
Sure, trolls lived elsewhere farther out—but that wasn’t work for your average hunter or merc...
Another merc spat as he overheard the mumbling.
“Damn. Can’t even grab the corpse...”
“Quit it. Try now and you’ll get chewed out.”
“So what? Let ’em chew me out. That’s money burning up over there—doesn’t it eat at you?”
“Chill. Government’s covering compensation.”
“For real? They dragged us here in such a panic?”
“No comp? Riots. Hey, this might pay better than Cameron. There you roam days hunting resources, guard for monsters all night. Here? Gate pops, you kill what comes out, get paid.”
“No clue what’ll come through.”
“Pfft, clueless. I majored in math at an Earth uni—probability says weak monsters are way more likely.”
“?”
“Weak ones are everywhere, right? Strong ones? Rare.”
“Yeah?”
“So when a gate rips open sudden-like, odds are it’s weaklings pouring after, not bosses.”
“Makes sense? For real?”
“And if a strong one shows? They sending us? Nah, drones up, sats snapping pics first. Unless it’s dire, results are in before we move. Big stuff? Mages or top-tier supers handle it. We get these chumps...”
Far off, a raptor pack rounded the corner, smashing fences as they charged. Mercs opened aimed fire. Flames bloomed; raptors screamed.
Raptors were the baseline for merc skills. Can’t hit one dead-on? Couldn’t work Cameron.
No armor against bullets, no toughness to tank hits, no regen. Just speed and ambush.
Raptors scared you in forests or jungles with ambushes—not charging openly in the open. Easy prey.
“Just cash the check.”
“Feels like it.”
“Hey, this a chance? Total...”
“Yeah! Could be better than Cameron if we play it right!”
Dragged here against their will, the mercs’ gripes were fading as they sized up the payout.
Handlers dashed around, scrambling funds for these mercs. Rushed summons, sure—but couldn’t work ’em for free.
Cameron’s stockpiled wealth—now emergency budget. Hearing the numbers, grins spread on merc faces.
—Dimensional Gate alert! Dimensional Gate alert! Sector 11-2 Dimensional Gate alert!
The comms blared; mercs tilted heads.
“Wait, 11-2... that’s here?!”
“Shit! Run!!”
They’d been called for monsters from four days back. Never dreamed another gate here.
“Like winning the lottery odds...”
“Shut it, you math nerd!”
“Still hope! Could be raptors...”
BOOMCRASH!
The gate’s opening and closing unleashed a fierce shockwave. Not Pyongyang-level, but enough to hurl light stuff flying.
—GRRROWL!
“An ogre...”
“What’re the odds on ogre?”
“Shut up and run, you idiots! Run!”
They bolted. Yonder, the fire super from before startled and joined the sprint. Laughable even now. ‘Heh, superpowered or not, same boat as us.’
“Floor it! Go!”
“We’re flipping, you maniac!”
“Flip then! Beats ogre chow! Super bro, got anything?!”
“M-my power’s weak penetration—useless on ogre...!”
The ogre ripped a building corner and hurled it. Mercs screamed as massive debris exploded on the road.