Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Protect the Earth (2)
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“Support! Give us support! Artillery, whatever—pour it all on!”
“You idiot! Dream on! This isn’t Cameron—this is inside the city!”
The mercenaries, accustomed to Cameron’s ways, had forgotten they couldn’t just level the surroundings with bombardment in the city. Sure, out on Cameron they could unleash firepower to their heart’s content once they left the city limits, but Earth was different.
“Damn it…!”
Whoosh!
“Whoa!”
The superhuman poured every ounce of power into a flaming spear that shot toward the ogre like an arrow.
Thud—
“...”
The ogre swatted it away effortlessly with its arm. The flames crashed into a concrete wall and fizzled out.
“Stomp it flat!!!”
* * *
“So, where are my team members?”
The first thing Kim Suhyun felt upon passing through the Dimensional Gate was Earth’s air. To Suhyun, Earth was a hard place to describe. He wasn’t someone who had lived on Earth before coming to Cameron—he’d been born and raised there from the start.
He had visited Earth before, but only briefly for tourism.
‘My subordinates threw a fit about going on vacation, so I stopped by for a bit.’
By Suhyun’s standards, Earth was too chaotic and hectic. The polluted air didn’t help.
“Ah, they’re on standby for now.”
“?”
Suhyun gave him a puzzled look. His team was now a solid force even without him. They were all experienced ex-military, equipped with various superpowers, and had gained tons of know-how traveling with him. They wouldn’t crumble easily against ordinary foes anymore.
And yet his team was just sitting on standby? The situation didn’t look that relaxed.
“If we moved without you and something went wrong—like casualties—it’d put us in a tough spot.”
‘Ah, I see.’
Suhyun got it. They were being considerate of him, in short. If they’d taken his team out in his absence and thrown them into the fray only for casualties to occur...
Sure, it might be an emergency with no choice, but who the casualties belonged to made all the difference. If Suhyun got furious about it, they’d be in real trouble.
“I appreciate the consideration. Then I’ll pull my weight accordingly. Where do you need me right now?”
“Yes? You can rest a bit longer. It’s not that urgent yet.”
“Not that urgent? What kind of situation are you talking about?”
“Like when a dangerous monster that’s hard to handle pops up in a bustling downtown area of a major city. That’s when we’d call on Team Leader Kim Suhyun first.”
“Has that happened a lot?”
“Fortunately, we haven’t had many cases like that. But China, Russia, the US... they must’ve been total chaos.”
Countries with vast landmasses had to deal with headaches on that scale from the Dimensional Gate storms. Monsters appearing in uninhabited areas were manageable, but you couldn’t just leave them be—they might wander anywhere.
They had no choice but to prioritize the ones in densely populated zones.
“Thanks to that, we’re accumulating a lot of data, though...”
“Data?”
“Monsters we’ve never seen before are popping up. Probably from places we haven’t reached yet. This one’s called a ‘Flame Turtle’—it showed up outside Hamhung City. Completely immune to fire and explosions. Gave us hell. We even called in Chinese ice users to take it down...”
“China cooperated?”
“It started heading north. We’ve helped them out a few times near the border, too.”
“Still, we can’t just stand by.”
“Team Leader...”
“With great power comes great responsibility, right? The other superhumans are working nonstop to protect the citizens. I can’t just sit around.”
Shaina, listening from behind, gaped.
‘Did he take some kind of pill while I wasn’t looking?’
“Team Leader!”
The man gazed at Suhyun with an awestruck expression. Rumors about the mage were widespread, but he hadn’t realized he was so full of civic spirit and patriotism.
“If we stay mobile with transport ready nearby, we can respond to emergencies right away.”
“Got it! We’ll do our best to assist you.”
Once the man left and they were alone, Shaina whispered.
“Care to explain?”
“You row when the tide comes in. Especially when there’s someone trying to gain popularity.”
Suhyun didn’t think this mess had anything to do with Yi Joong-young. If he had that kind of pull, he wouldn’t have bothered scheming with a few battalions for power in the first place.
But this situation was definitely a boon for him. The more he led troops to handle monsters, the more fame he’d rack up. Disasters were always prime opportunities for politicians to shine.
‘Sorry, Yi Joong-young. The hero role suits me better.’
One side: a commander who couldn’t lead from the front. The other: a flashy mage charging into the fray. Even if they accomplished the same feats, the spotlight would swing to the latter. No matter how much you bribed the press, some things in the world just couldn’t be forced.
“So you’re volunteering?”
“Not exactly volunteering. They’ll owe me... Anyway, these unknown monsters are bugging me. Gotta stay sharp.”
“What if, hypothetically, monsters keep coming here nonstop... Does that mean we can’t go back to Cameron?”
Suhyun’s face hardened at the question. Now that he thought about it, this was a serious issue. If it was just a temporary uproar, they could wrap it up and things would settle. But if Dimensional Gates kept erupting endlessly...
“...Let’s not think about that for now.”
“Team Leader, your team’s linking up in the area. This way. Helicopter’s ready.”
“Helicopter?”
Shaina looked like she’d rather not. Cameron had a civilization much like Earth’s, but one big difference was the skies. They were crawling with all sorts of flying monsters, making flight risky.
“That thing can actually fly? How does a lump of metal...”
“C’mon, don’t act like a country bumpkin.”
“You calling me a bumpkin too?!”
Shaina grumbled but followed Suhyun. She still smarted from being treated like a hick by the dark elves of the underground kingdom.
* * *
“Good to see you again. Enjoying Earth?”
“It’s a bit toxic compared to Cameron’s air, but fun. Would be even better without the monsters.”
They were now on the road leading into Pyeongseong City. A city that had once belonged to North Korea, it had boomed after the Pyongyang Gate incident.
Of course, right now...
“What’s that shooting up over there?”
“Looks like the ogre’s tossing buildings.”
Even as massive chunks soared from the downtown area in the distance, none of the squad members flinched. Only Kwak Hyun-tae, the newbie, twitched.
‘Just how big are these guys’ balls?’
“It’s not a Twin Head, right? Please say it isn’t.”
“Relax. Just one head.”
“Phew.”
Few mercenaries would call facing an ogre a relief.
A Dimensional Gate had burst open inside the city before this ogre showed up, so the evacuation order was already in effect.
“Our job’s simple. Take down the ogre, hop on the waiting chopper, head to Pyongyang, and pray no more monsters show.”
“Where’s Jennifer?”
“She grabbed a flight to the US the second we arrived.”
As Blue Bear’s team leader, Jennifer couldn’t shirk her duties. She’d hopped straight on a flight to Washington.
“What was underground?”
“More impressive than I expected. The most amazing异種 city I’ve seen so far. The reason they live like that was kinda weird, though...”
Louiril’s ears perked up at that.
“Really? Mind if I tag along next time?”
“I barely talked my way into permission to pass through... Damn, things got messed up. Who knows when we can go back now. Wait—why are you here anyway?”
“...”
Louiril balled her tiny fists and grabbed at Suhyun’s collar.
“No, I thought you stayed in the village with Aida and Erendil. Didn’t you say you took them along because of the emergency?”
“You left me behind! I was gonna help, and what? You thought I stayed in the village?! Are you serious right now?!”
“Sorry. Sorry.”
“You two... nice talk, but there’s an ogre on the road ahead.”
“Start from the feet. Roll down the windows and approach. In-gyu, curse ready?”
“Yes!”
“Curse it. Goo Jung-chul, bolt out if shit hits the fan. Everyone else, like usual.”
Suhyun frowned at the energy rippling around the ogre. Lingering on Earth for too long wasn’t his plan.
But if powerful monsters kept popping up everywhere like this...
Humanity couldn’t pioneer Cameron.
Staying here to grab wealth and fame wasn’t bad, but ultimately, Suhyun was a Cameron native. Everything he wanted was there.
* * *
“Doesn’t that ogre bastard ever get tired?!”
“Instead of asking when a monster tires out, ask when support’s coming!”
The ogre was faster and more tenacious than expected. It hadn’t forgotten the human who’d hurled fire at it. And it had the cunning smarts to understand paths—hurling obstacles at any choke points where the mercenaries might slip away.
Thanks to that, they were still on the run.
“We sent word already?”
“Ask again! Tell ’em if no support in five minutes, we’ll burn the city!”
Boom!
“What the hell?! Shit, what?!”
“It tripped!”
“What? Tripped?”
From afar, the ogre was staggering, unable to get up. Without a scratch, even.
“?”
Meanwhile, Suhyun’s team closed in.
“No berserk this time?”
“Confusion landed perfectly!”
Kang In-gyu shouted confidently.
“Good. Then...”
“We going in for the attack?”
“No. Need to check something. When I signal, blow some bombs.”
“Bombs? That won’t even scratch it.”
The ogre’s defenses were legendary. Especially against regular physical attacks.
Suhyun ignored him and drew the pistol from Choi Ji-eun. The Crusher was a powerful artifact. Superpowers that nullified other superpowers weren’t easy to come by.
“Now.”
Kaboom!
Jung Seong-jae was baffled but followed orders—Suhyun’s calls never led to losses. As an ex-combat engineer, he was a pro at this.
Drones flew in, and the bombs they carried detonated in unison.
—Kraaaargh!
The confused ogre couldn’t even shield its face properly. When the explosions cleared, its mug was grotesquely torn.
‘As expected... it works on monster defenses too.’
Some monsters had innate tissue structures that let them tank hits, but a few were overkill. Suhyun suspected superhuman-related factors.
As he thought, the Crusher-imbued ogre’s defenses had weakened dramatically.
Thwuck!
A poison-laced piercing shot punched through both shoulders. Kim Chang-sik asked upon seeing it.
“But did we really need the bombs? You could’ve dropped it solo, Team Leader.”
“Gotta experiment while we can, since we might face unknowns later. Can’t pull this on new ones.”
Kwak Hyun-tae paled at the idea of testing on an ogre. Everyone had guts of steel, but Suhyun’s were on another level.
—Grrr... grrr...!
“It’ll get annoying if it stands. Close in. One-shot it.”
“Yes.”
Despite curses, poison, and bomb wounds, the ogre stubbornly tried to rise. Incredible vitality. But Suhyun gave no chance for retaliation.
He slammed an energy spear right into its forehead. Like a knife through soft tofu, it pierced skin and skull.
The fleeing mercenaries rubbed their eyes in the distance. An ogre going down that easy? Unthinkable.
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