Chapter 102
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: 100. Songdo Defense
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Let me sort this out for a second.
In the previous timeline, the Cheonsan Group existed too. But back then, their stock had hit rock bottom.
Why? Because they'd stupidly poured everything into developing magic firearms to fight monsters.
These weren't your standard gunpowder or fuel-based weapons. They ran on mana stones and the like.
The problem was the insane consumption of mana stones.
In low-level dungeons, the cores and materials you got weren't worth the mana stones you burned through.
In high-level ones, they often didn't even do damage. And you couldn't just dump more mana stones in to fix it.
But what if the target wasn't a monster, but a human?
Even if hunters were stronger than monsters, their durability was on another level. Unless they had proper body enhancement, they'd take damage from magic bullets no problem.
So why was I pulling out these inefficient weapons?
Because I could run a mana stone creation economy.
In short, they weren't inefficient for me at all.
That's why I went to see Im Yoo-jin.
"What brings you here today?"
Im Yoo-jin poured me some tea and got straight to the point.
She was running the Cheonsan Group, but she seemed pretty free.
Which was exactly why I could drop by like this.
"Looks like the Hunter Association's gearing up to take down the White Flower Cult. The guilds might band together too."
Im Yoo-jin crossed her legs every time she saw me, sitting all prim and proper.
What was she up to? Trying to seduce me?
No way she had an egg vibrator stuffed in there, right?
"Does that mean our deal's off the table?"
"Nah. I need some weapons."
"What."
Her face turned ashen, like she'd seen a ghost.
Even with our backroom dealings, supplying weapons was a no-go.
"Those magic firearms the Cheonsan Group tanked on a few years back."
"You're seriously saying you want to use those inefficient relics against a guild alliance?"
"You think I'd lose?"
From the look in her eyes, she already knew who I was.
Did she really think I'd go down?
"Uh. No."
"Exactly. Hand 'em over. I've got mana stones rotting away, so no worries about recharging. You didn't scrap them all, did you?"
Knowing Im Yoo-jin, she wouldn't have tossed everything.
The Akashic Records confirmed it. With her personality, she'd have held onto some out of sheer reluctance to waste them.
[The Cheonsan Group only scrapped the project and a portion of the weapons. Most of the arsenal remains intact, Master.]
With that settled, I'd squeeze every last gun out of her that I could.
"We did hold onto some for a rainy day. But if word gets out that our stuff ended up with the White Flower Cult..."
"That's for Cheonsan to handle."
Why dump that on me? If they were supplying weapons, they could clean up their own mess.
"That's awfully irresponsible of you. We're still good business partners."
"You got government approval before dumping them in the West Sea, didn't you?"
If Im Yoo-jin really wanted to, fixing that kind of leak would be child's play.
"Ah."
"We'll say we salvaged them. A big corp like Cheonsan moving that much firepower? The government's not blind."
Originally, Ha Jung-seok had pushed Cheonsan into developing those magic firearms. When the project bombed, he washed his hands of it and ordered them dumped in the West Sea.
In the original story, it came out later that Cheonsan had mass-produced them for the outdated military to cover the hunter shortage.
The public barely knew about it.
"Ugh. Fair point. Supplying that many weapons to the White Flower Cult at once? Doesn't add up. Fine. We'll support you."
Good. Smart choice.
But why was she getting all hot and bothered by herself? The scent wafting off her screamed she had something shoved down there. No normal people around me, huh.
If I didn't bounce soon, she'd probably arch her back like a bow right in front of me.
No time for that now, so I split before she could flaunt her heat.
The weapons I brought blew the heroines' minds.
They'd never seen anything like them.
They looked like relics from a bygone era—rifles, machine guns, that sort of thing.
"What the hell are these?"
Reina. Good question.
"Magic firearms from the Cheonsan Group. They guzzle mana stones."
"Why'd you even bring them?"
Why do you think? To use them. Most hunters stuck to swords, bows, or staves for mana efficiency.
"To make up for our numbers."
"But the mana stones... Oh."
"I can crank out mana stones like it's nothing."
I conjured a pile right there in my hand, and Reina looked queasy.
"Who knew that gloomy demonic energy would come in handy."
Gloomy? Only I could freely wield both demonic energy and mana like this.
"Eun-ha. So what now? You giving all that to the Songdo folks?"
I nodded at Han Su-ji's question.
"They need to fight back. We're burning the bridges. Yoo-jeong sunbae, can you drone-stream the outskirts of Songdo for me once it turns into a battlefield? Not right away, but prep now. And round up the Songdo citizens."
"Got it."
Ha Jung-seok might have scouts lurking, after all.
I gathered all the adults living in Songdo in front of the penthouse.
Villains, monsters, regular citizens—all mixed in.
They'd survived thanks to me, moved to Songdo thanks to me.
"Listen up, White Flower Cult followers and Songdo citizens."
I infused my voice with mana, making it sweet and piercing, lodging right in their ears.
"That dog Ha Jung-seok, who abandoned the isolation zone's people, is pressuring the Association to raid Songdo. They've put a 5 billion bounty on my head, vowing to crush the White Flower Cult and take Songdo. But most of you aren't normal humans anymore. Legally, and for Ha Jung-seok's power grab, you won't be allowed to live. It's not certain, but talks have already happened between the president and the Association. War's coming."
Even if they spared the defeated monsters, it'd be prison at best.
"We choose: fight and maybe die, or run. I brought you to Songdo, and I'm fighting here. If you can hold a gun, grab one from the front. If not, run. Just watch out for villains on the way."
My words hit, and the ex-villains exchanged glances before one thrust his hand up.
"Fuck it, let's fight!"
"Running won't save us anyway. Obvious."
"Might as well die fighting."
Survivors from the isolation zone were often handy with guns.
Seoul villains had strong powers, but the powerless scrubs needed old-school weapons to scrape by.
A bunch of outdated firearms were around here too. Just no ammo.
"Songdo now prepares to defy the government. White Flower Cult, set up barricades around the perimeter."
The monsters bought in. Perfect.
Now, fortify Songdo and hold.
With every fighter rounded up, we'd hit around 500. They'd stand against the government—not as monsters, but as righteous rebels.
Ha Jung-seok. Come if you dare. I'll smash you all.
Hunter Association
The Association buzzed with hunters from every guild—a rare sight.
But Choi Cheol-sik's meeting room was pure ice.
The guild masters had just been ordered to take down the White Flower Cult.
With the Blue House pushing hard, tensions boiled over.
Ice Empress Cha Ji-eun slammed the table.
Bang!
"We're really stooping to Ha Jung-seok's lapdog level? You think we left White Flower alone because we don't know what they are?"
The other masters nodded fiercely.
These guild masters had lived through the Great Flood, right before their freshmen graduated. It drowned everywhere outside the capital and major cities in demonic energy—a disaster.
Cha Ji-eun's ice wall saved Seoul by sacrificing Incheon, but she and her generation—Yoo Jin-seok's era—could never forget.
Cha Ji-eun especially still saw those desperate eyes from the isolation zone, begging for rescue as she raised the wall.
White Flower had saved those people she couldn't. Raiding them now meant slaughtering their survivors too.
Even merging them into Seoul would see most trampled by the raiders.
And those folks couldn't easily join Seoul anyway.
One reason why.
"Why poke the hornet's nest? Remember, half of Songdo's probably monsters. Natural monsterization. Even if we hit Songdo, you think Ha Jung-seok spares them?"
By then, many had fallen to demonic energy, turning monstrous. Post-Flood monsters were mostly criminals. Integrating them into Seoul? Too risky.
One reason Cha Ji-eun had no choice but to wall off back then.
Songdo was no different. Even good monsters would threaten Ha Jung-seok.
Choi Cheol-sik, battered by the cursing masters, wiped sweat from his brow and grimaced.
Over a decade as Association Chair—he wasn't about to be Ha Jung-seok's dog.
He had plans.
"Cool it."
"Cool it? What the—"
They'd issued the raid order, now this?
"If resistance is fierce, pretend to lose and pull back. Association's rep is already trash. If guilds smash Songdo and piss off the public, trust in hunters tanks."
All because White Flower had the people's faith.
Otherwise, they could've crushed Songdo with some sacrifices.
"Then."
"Ha Jung-seok'll send his hunters. Use 'em as meat shields."
His goons were scum anyway.
Who cared how many died?
With Association hunters stretched thin, couldn't afford guild losses.
"Maybe meet White Flower first. Where's Seo Ji-yeon?"
Baek Cheong-gang spotted no Seo Ji-yeon—usually fiddling with finger guns—and asked Choi Cheol-sik.
"She bailed."
"What?"
"Said it's that day. Needs rest."
She'd notified them unilaterally and ghosted.
"Ha! Never seen her pull that."
Noah of Flowers, Lily Guild master, chuckled hollowly at Seo Ji-yeon's fake sick day.
She was bailing solo. Weak bitch, as always.