Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Arrival of the Leader's Warriors
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“The Leader’s warriors have arrived!”
Ryu Baek-su’s booming shout began to echo everywhere.
“Come out, everyone! Offer your lives to the great Leader’s warriors!”
It happened before Yu Baek could even try to stop it.
“Colonel! What the...”
The moment a People’s Army colonel started protesting to Ryu Baek-su.
Slash.
A crimson line traced across his throat.
“Shut your mouth. You reactionary scum who can’t even recognize the true Leader.”
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Numerous soldiers had been hiding here alongside them.
It was the North Korean troops’ instinctive response to Ryu Baek-su’s sudden action, now leaderless.
“Wipe out the reactionaries!”
Ryu Baek-su shouted.
“They were trash we had to get rid of anyway. Leeches sucking the blood of the people.”
Yu Baek suddenly had a question.
If that was the case, then why had they bothered saving them and keeping them around?
“To prove our loyalty.”
Ah, that was it.
They had deliberately marked some of the North Korean troops as sacrifices.
Sacrifices to offer to Go Yohan’s arriving army—and to demonstrate their own devotion.
Bang! Bang-bang! Bang!
The gunshots rang out briefly.
Then.
Whoosh.
Only a chill wind whispered past their ears.
“It’s done, Comrade Colonel.”
One of the Pyongyang Defense Force members approached Ryu Baek-su, bowing his head.
“You’ve worked hard. When that lord—Lord White Ghost—visited Pyongyang last time, we couldn’t greet him properly. That was a regret that’ll haunt us forever.”
As he spoke, Ryu Baek-su glanced at Yu Baek.
“Hurry, sir. Quite a few in the Defense Force already share our cause.”
Ordinary citizens began to emerge one by one.
They looked different from the North Korean soldiers.
“W-We greet the Leader’s warriors, comrades.”
This wasn’t something that had happened overnight.
‘How long?’
Yu Baek was certain they’d been building this network of comrades for quite some time.
“...You’ve all done well.”
Even Yu Baek couldn’t help but praise them.
“No need for that.”
“Do you know the locations of other civilian shelters nearby?”
“Of course.”
Heh.
Ryu Baek-su gave an awkward grin.
Though he held the rank of colonel, whether due to North Korea’s dire straits or neglect in their treatment, he was gaunt and short, looking both sturdy and pitiful.
“Fire.”
At Ryu Baek-su’s command.
Boom!
Fireworks exploded as if on cue.
“Our comrades were just waiting for the signal. Whoever meets the guards first gives it.”
Boom! Boom-boom!
Fireworks launched from multiple spots, as if they’d all been waiting.
“They’ll all gather at the rendezvous point.”
And Yu Baek knew what he had to do.
“Distribute items to them!”
The Pyongyang Defense Force—their levels seemed higher than expected.
They’d monopolized small gates with minimal manpower, squeezing out every bit of progress, but their equipment was abysmal.
Most of the items they’d salvaged had surely gone to the party’s top brass or been traded on black markets for dollars.
“Th-These are...?”
The items handed to them.
They were clearly exceptional at a glance.
“Check the info windows.”
“Un-Unique...! F-First time I’ve seen one!”
Even these powerhouses hadn’t possessed Unique-grade items.
“Church-issued gear. They call them pseudo-relics.”
“...!”
“They’ll be even more effective against demons and beasts.”
Ryu Baek-su and the Defense Force members gripping their new armament had stars in their eyes.
Yu Baek did too.
‘That’s why we were given so many spare pseudo-relics.’
The moment he understood the purpose of the overflowing supply of fakes.
“Let’s move.”
“Yes, sir!”
Another group was born, setting out to rescue North Korean civilians.
*
*
*
Boom!
Fireworks launching outside.
“That’s how it went.”
Kim Cheon-seok could roughly guess the situation from the changes around him.
Bursting fireworks. Demonic beasts and demons starting to swarm somewhere.
Boom!
Intensifying battle sounds from all directions.
Kim Cheon-seok wasn’t exceptionally gifted in any way, but his experience was vast.
“Thanks, kid.”
Smiling toward where Yu Baek would be, Kim Cheon-seok said.
“Thanks to you, we got here easy.”
His group was arguably the weakest.
Far fewer in number than Yu Baek’s, and individually not standout either.
But Kim Cheon-seok and his crew.
-Count on me, Grandpa?
They’d recently undergone special training from Kim Si-on.
She was just a young kid, but he couldn’t underestimate her.
Especially after she’d claimed a spot in the Sanctuary Alliance and been recognized as one of them.
-I’m counting on you too.
Kim Cheon-seok truly respected and admired the Apostles.
Perhaps precisely because he was an old man who could be called “grandpa.”
‘They’re different.’
The Apostles’ appearances were mere shells.
What dwelled within defied age, something transcendent that shouldn’t be judged by such measures.
Thanks to that.
Swish.
Kim Cheon-seok and his group had mastered stealth.
Focused on covert movement to compensate for lacking combat prowess, honed for secret missions.
Not perfect yet, but.
Boom!
In this chaotic time, their skills shone surprisingly well.
“Grrr.”
Against mere beasts, not demons.
Slash!
They didn’t even need to fear them.
“Who’s there!”
Players? Even less reason to fear.
Unlike Go Yohan’s silver-white glossy hair, Kim Cheon-seok’s was snow-white from years gone by. As he bent low.
Flash.
His eyes gleamed.
Shing.
In an instant, Kim Cheon-seok flanked the appeared player, dagger to their throat.
“Heh, not used to the new weapon yet.”
He chuckled good-naturedly, but.
Drip.
The player, throat gripped, could only sweat in terror of death.
“No need for bloodshed.”
Hope flickered in the player’s eyes at Kim Cheon-seok’s words.
But.
Slash!
Kim Cheon-seok’s dagger severed the throat without hesitation.
“Can’t let your kind live!”
Confirming the kill on the fallen player, Kim Cheon-seok said.
“Guarding a place like this means you’re no ordinary folk.”
Indeed.
Squirm.
Something beastly was crawling from the definitively slain foe’s body.
Crack!
Stomping it dead, Kim Cheon-seok melted back into the shadows and moved on.
Wooeeeng! Wooeeeeeng!
Even the eardrum-shattering sirens were just noise to mask their footsteps.
*
*
*
Kim Cheon-seok’s target location.
“What kind of building is this damn maze?”
Without the increased mana and sharpened senses from elixirs, training, and level-ups, he’d still be lost.
Twitch.
The building he’d infiltrated felt alive.
Which meant he’d sneaked into the right place—and that his mission was critical.
“I’ll go in alone.”
At Kim Cheon-seok’s words to his comrades, they silently melted into the shadows.
They’d guard his life with theirs until he completed the mission.
Whirr, whirr.
The space Kim Cheon-seok entered was bizarre beyond words.
A riot of outdated electronic equipment, massive screens filled with garbled Korean text that was hard to read.
Beep, beep-beep.
People touching the devices as if entranced.
Swish.
As Kim Cheon-seok blended with the darkness again.
Spurt!
Blood sprayed from their throats.
“Gaaack!”
Then, tentacles shot from somewhere, aiming for Kim Cheon-seok’s heart.
Taat!
He leaped back, swinging his dagger.
The extending tentacle was diced and hit the floor.
But.
Splash!
Even from the severed chunks, new tentacles sprouted—leaving Kim Cheon-seok no room to retreat.
Grarl.
Emerging from the blood was a demon with two horns.
Stab!
Impaled, Kim Cheon-seok slammed into the wall.
“Guh!”
He spat blood.
He’d avoided vitals, thankfully, but the demon’s tentacle was iron-hard; escape wasn’t easy.
“Pathetic human scum.”
Its unintelligible language translated directly into his mind.
“I’ll tear you apart and make you my meal.”
In that moment, Kim Cheon-seok saw it.
The demon’s tentacles blanketed and controlled all the electronic equipment here.
Heh.
Kim Cheon-seok smirked.
“Laughing in your final moments, you insignificant worm whose end is near?”
The demon approached slowly.
A long, tongue-like thing lolled from its mouth, lunging to lick him.
Kim Cheon-seok closed his eyes briefly.
-I like you, Grandpa.
Kim Si-on’s voice echoed in his mind.
-I’ll tell you, then.
Maybe because the image of his young grandson made him see Kim Si-on as more than just an Apostle?
The one who’d shown him kindness gave him a gift.
-One of my original skills even the Captain doesn’t know.
That was when it happened.
Flash!
When Kim Cheon-seok opened his eyes, his view flipped.
The demon had clearly been approaching his front.
“...?”
Now, Kim Cheon-seok faced the demon’s back.
-Shadow Swap. Maybe you can pull it off, Grandpa?
The skill he’d failed at endlessly activated for him now.
Stab!
Without hesitation, Kim Cheon-seok jammed his dagger into the demon’s skull and twisted.
A normal item—even Unique-grade—wouldn’t have dealt lethal damage to a demon.
But this was a church-made pseudo-relic.
Spurt!
A massive hole blew open in the demon’s head, and it toppled, disintegrating.
“Huff... huff...”
His first solo demon hunt.
A two-horned one, no less.
But.
“...Gotta hurry.”
Kim Cheon-seok’s heart wasn’t racing—it settled calmly.
That was his nature, the talent Kim Si-on had seen in him.
Swish.
He drew the secret weapon given to him.