Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Deluge of Gates
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The days when no more gates appeared.
As if that brief moment had been an adjustment period.
As if it had been the last mercy granted.
Weeeeng!
The things that reappeared were multiplying at a frightening rate.
“Busan, C-rank gate manifestation!”
The noisiest place was, naturally, the association.
“C-rank gates… a total of 8 manifested! Confirmed 3 B-rank manifestations!”
Weeeeng!
All player associations existed under the influence of the World Association.
They were government agencies in each country but also subordinate organizations to the World Association. After Min Junhyeok’s death and Go Yohan’s takeover of South Korea, that connection had been severed.
-The UN expresses deep regret over the current situation in South Korea…
It was what happened after Ivan’s disappearance and the retrieval or weakening of all church branches overseas.
The world, wary of dictatorships and leaders contrary to democracy, began imposing sanctions on South Korea, one of which was.
-The World Association has announced it will withdraw support from the South Korean Player Association…
Withdrawal of World Association support.
It was practically the same as cutting off the connection entirely.
Moreover, with no gates appearing and no further player awakenings occurring.
Weeeeng!
The South Korean Association, which had been enjoying unprecedented leisure, was now in the midst of the busiest time in its history.
Every window of the association building was dyed red.
Weeeeeeng.
The siren blaring from within pierced through the building, echoing even to the surrounding areas.
“Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju….”
“Buyeo, no, Chungcheong Province….”
“Near Paju!”
Gates continuously manifesting, and alarms announcing them.
Even now, with World Association support cut off, it was a time that confirmed the association’s functions were still operational.
Weeeeeeng!
An hour since the incident began, and over 60 gates had already appeared in South Korea.
“It’s as if….”
One association staff member watching the scene muttered hollowly, as if having lost something.
“The apocalypse is coming.”
A world turned entirely red, red dots adorning the map of South Korea.
And.
Papapapap!
The gate alert map connected to the system made it seem as though this phenomenon wasn’t limited to South Korea.
If the demon invasions until now had felt like wars in some distant third world detached from ordinary people.
“…….”
This was inducing a tension as if an enemy nation had invaded directly.
Weeeeng!
The sirens continued blaring, but no one was left to report the phenomenon.
There was no point in even bringing it up.
More than chanting it out loud.
Papapap!
The gates were manifesting faster.
“Haa.”
“Hoo. Hoo….”
The situation room had long been filled only with the ragged breaths of those in panic.
Amid that, someone was clenching their fists and sweating coldly.
“What the hell….”
Kim Dayeon.
A long-time friend of Go Minji of the Sanctuary, and one of the veteran agents.
She, who had been promoted another level for managing Go Yohan during his Black Room confinement, now stood at the center of this crisis.
“What… is happening.”
She had been agonizing since the time many were leaving South Korea.
No matter what it was, Go Yohan’s actions weren’t easy to accept.
But she stayed.
‘Go Yohan.’
The other things he had shown made Kim Dayeon harbor some faith and expectation.
And that was also instinct.
The reason Kim Dayeon, with no big connections or powerful backers, had risen to investigation director and earned the association president’s favor.
Something even the system couldn’t explain.
-You have good instincts.
It was due to that transcendent sense called instinct.
Her instincts, which had rarely been wrong, had told her.
Staying in South Korea was the safest path, and remaining here was the most necessary thing.
Had she, who thought that way, been wrong?
Papapap!
Even now, the red dots signaling increasing gates seemed on the verge of covering the entire country.
“Angels, huh….”
With self-mockery, Kim Dayeon let out a hollow laugh.
“…Gods.”
Thanks to her friendship with Go Minji, she had heard that ridiculous story.
The existence of angels had already been directly revealed in numerous places.
-The great United States is under the protection of angels…
They had been flaunting their power and existence.
There was one thought that came to mind.
“If they were real gods….”
It was unreasonable to think they weren’t involved in this series of events.
It even seemed as if they were controlling the system itself.
“Isn’t this too shallow?”
The smile twisting up the corner of Kim Dayeon’s mouth was definitely a sneer.
*
*
*
“Shallow bastards.”
There were a few places in South Korea that had built their own independent systems, separate from the association.
Super-large guilds like the Sanctuary could detect gates and respond immediately, and since it was for safety, they had been permitted to share parts of the system in the past.
Not the world map like the association’s, but their own territories.
Woooong!
Around Seoul and Gyeonggi Province in South Korea, they could confirm gate manifestations almost simultaneously with the association.
But unlike those sharing parts of the system.
Woooooong!
The place with even more information—things even the South Korean Association couldn’t see—was none other than.
“Angels, gods.”
Go Yohan’s stronghold, the Yohan Church, and its secretive space that could be called a temple.
A hologram floated in the air, mimicking the Earth itself.
Red dots appearing worldwide marked gate manifestations and their ranks.
Associations affiliated with nations could check gate occurrences in other countries but struggled to rank them.
But here, even that was visible.
“Shallow as hell.”
Lee Jaekyung’s voice carried clear displeasure.
Beside him stood Kim Siyon, Yoon Seunga, and Go Yohan, all gazing at the map.
“Look at this mess.”
Lee Jaekyung’s face showed genuine exasperation.
The red dots in South Korea were quite large and intense.
But in major nations—especially those where angels had appeared—the numbers were similar, but the colors and sizes differed.
“Higher-rank gates are almost entirely concentrated in South Korea.”
A short click of the tongue followed.
“In contrast, look at the US.”
Creak.
The US map enlarged.
The red dots embroidered on it were blatantly obvious.
“As if they painstakingly took care of every single one, right?”
Even distribution, even ranks.
It felt less like a threat and more like consideration.
“And South Korean players have lost their systems in the meantime.”
Pfft.
The intent was plain to see.
Creak.
Lee Hayeon entered through the opening door, her expression no different.
Her face openly showed disgust.
“The US has already announced it. This incident was anticipated, and the World Association and US have already prepared countermeasures.”
At her words, Lee Jaekyung flung open his phone, and sure enough, it was filled with breaking news reports.
“Whenever you want.”
“They also said the World Association, US government, and World Association affiliates will help if requested.”
Pfft.
Lee Hayeon echoed Lee Jaekyung’s words with a sneer.
“Shallow things.”
The intent was too transparent.
Another fracture in South Korea, which had been stabilizing.
Pressure on Go Yohan as a result.
And….
“They want us to bow our heads.”
To resolve this crisis, bow to the World Association.
To the so-called angels and the gods behind them.
“Gate saturation is rising rapidly.”
It was Seunga’s voice.
“It seems due to too many gates manifesting at once.”
Gate masses of mana appearing in great numbers simultaneously.
Gates manifesting near each other resonated, becoming more active.
The resulting rise in saturation.
“At this rate, it won’t even take two weeks for a chain break.”
It would create the disaster called a gate break.
Overwhelming even one or two, the most dreaded catastrophe.
“The projected number….”
Yoon Seunga spoke, looking at the red dots that had momentarily paused.
“At minimum, over 60 gates could break simultaneously.”
60 gate breaks.
Something that couldn’t be explained as mere disaster, calamity, or catastrophe.
“Are they telling us to perish?”
A situation close to annihilation.
“Also, gates that wouldn’t normally be that hard to raid.”
If the church revealed all its hidden power, simultaneous raids on over 100 gates were possible.
Now they could even mobilize the Sanctuary, Holy Sanctuary, and Crusaders.
But.
“Players’ system failures are severe.”
Most players had lost their power.
“They’re barely maintaining mana and mimicking skills, but it’s futile. In fact, mid-to-low tier players may soon revert to ordinary people.”
Combat strength halved—no, quartered or worse.
“What if we raid gates quickly with our available forces?”
Despite thinking raids possible with movable forces, Lee Jaekyung spoke.
“Impossible.”
Lee Hayeon shook her head.
“Presumably—no, certainly—the gates are linked to those self-proclaimed gods. If they’re even building domains.”
“They could set traps and stall for time.”
“They might even try to trap us in gates. We could escape, but.”
“Others couldn’t.”
Indeed.
“Ha.”
Shallow, but effective.
“At this rate, South Korea perishes in two weeks.”
Yoon Seunga declared it like a death sentence.