Chapter 302
Chapter 302
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 302
Chapter Title: The Civil Servant Whose Normal Attacks Are AoE Double Hits
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A horrific disaster.
No words could describe it.
Hell recreated on the mortal plane.
Insufficient. Woefully inadequate.
An incident that never should have happened. A monstrous calamity that must never be touched. A surreal monster that must never be challenged.
Or perhaps Yang Seoho.
The cultists, numbering in the hundreds with weapons smuggled from the underworld, had challenged Yang Seoho—and now they were experiencing the consequences of that foolish choice.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“Attack! Attack!”
“Retreating is more dangerous!”
“Charge! Charge!”
Cultists fleeing forward, since escaping backward was impossible.
Pick up your weapons and attack. Maybe you'll survive.
Yang Seoho slightly furrowed her brow and scanned her surroundings.
“Still a long way to go.”
Should she smash a couple more? Having decided, Yang Seoho swung her fist without hesitation at the cultists charging toward her.
Shiiik—
No fancy name attached to the technique.
A straight punch, something any martial artist who handled strikes could do.
Koo—
The impossible-speed fist tore through the air, generating a pressure wave.
The pressure wave rippled outward at the speed of sound—but Yang Seoho's fist outpaced it, accelerating further.
Woooong—
The pressure wave, barely keeping up with Yang Seoho's fist, compressed endlessly.
The hyper-compressed pressure wave transformed directly into a shockwave.
Puuuung—
Space warped, unable to withstand the shockwave erupting from the punch's trajectory.
Only those far from the epicenter could even scream.
Kwaaaang!
An absurd impact.
Those in awkward positions spewed blood from every orifice in their bodies and were flung away all at once.
“Uwaaaah!”
Buwaaaang!
Dozens of armed trucks bristling with vicious spikes charged toward Yang Seoho.
“More trucks left?”
The cultists' attacks came not all at once, but in loose waves.
Yang Seoho knew this was their delaying tactic.
Though everyone was mistaken, Yang Seoho wasn't moving with the goal of massacre either, so she advanced slowly, swinging her fists.
Peng!
A crisp impact like uncorking champagne.
Yang Seoho didn't stop her fist but drove it forward—
The shattered truck fragments transformed into thousands of bullets, scattering everywhere.
Kwagwagwang!!
Barriers of trucks and steel plates didn't hold for even 0.1 seconds before collapsing.
The explosion from one truck's destruction spread outward.
Some couldn't withstand the shock and soared into the sky, flying over the mountains.
A transcendental sight that blithely ignored the laws of physics.
The planned follow-up attack never came; the cultists couldn't move.
“Ah... Aah...”
“No way...”
Yang Seoho suddenly halted her advance and looked around.
What? Why'd they stop? Pulling something from her pocket?
The distant cultists watched her in fear, wondering what she would do next.
What Yang Seoho pulled from her pocket was a horn-shaped... megaphone. No special artifact.
Compact for easy carry, but high-quality with reliable performance. Something you could order online anytime.
“A— A— Can you hear me, you cultist bastards!!”
Using a megaphone was actually a courtesy to the enemy.
If Yang Seoho really yelled, the shockwave alone could intercept incoming fireballs.
“For the next 30 seconds, I'm offering a surrender opportunity!!”
What? What did she say? Surrender chance? What's that? Oh, surrender? Now? Suddenly?
The cultists facing Yang Seoho now couldn't comprehend what was happening, but the reason her advance hadn't been as fast as expected was because she kept repeating this.
“To those who wish to atone for your dark past and become upright servants of the great and beautiful Republic of Korea, raise both hands now and...”
With that, Yang Seoho held up her left hand straight, then slashed from right to left.
Kwajijijik—
Sword ki from her hand edge? Wind pressure? Telekinesis? Whatever it was—some shockwave even Yang Seoho didn't know—cracked the ground long before her in a straight line.
“...walk over here. Alright, starting now. 30, 29, 28....”
Eeeh... Eeeeh... Wait! I'll surrender! I'm not a cultist! Yang Seoho! Please! Spare me! I'll atone for everything and be a good person now!
Some criminals who joined for money or fame peeled away from the ranks.
Twisted faith and alien ideologies meant true cultists couldn't be persuaded or swayed this way.
Yet even among them, some abandoned their faith and chose surrender.
The merciless violence and surreal superhuman strength Yang Seoho offered had instilled enough terror to make them forsake their beliefs.
“15, 14, 13.”
Yang Seoho, counting down, suddenly shut her mouth and tilted her head slightly.
Because someone appeared, wearing a bizarre robe embedded with twinkling lights like the Milky Way drawn down from the night sky.
A different movement from those surrendering.
As if seeking a confrontation with Yang Seoho, he stopped about 30 paces away and faced her.
Yang Seoho pointed a finger with her left hand—the one not holding the megaphone—at an awkward spot in the air, furrowing her brow. Like struggling to recall a long-lost acquaintance's name.
“Hmm... You— that mask.”
“Yeah. That's the mask.”
“What do you mean 'yeah'? You standing there asking for a beating?”
Yang Seoho said that, then tsked— and made a light threatening gesture.
“Sis told you earlier, right? If you're surrendering, raise both hands and cross this line. Keep standing there, and you'll get hit.”
“I'm not here to surrender. I have something to say.”
“Oh? About 13 seconds passed?”
“Probably.”
“Then get hit.”
Yang Seoho kicked off the ground and charged forward.
* * *
A horrific onslaught flying in.
But it wasn't the end.
Babababap!!
Attacks raining down simultaneously from all directions.
'Ugh, as expected, not ordinary.'
For a physically frail mage like me, taking even one hit would mean limbs torn apart and instant death.
Fluorescent mana circuits unfurled along the hem of my [Night Mantle Robe].
“Hyaah!”
[Distortion Field]
[Force Barrier]
[Protection Circle]
Keeeen!
Simultaneously cast protective spells.
Can't block head-on. The spells, deliberately angled, deflected the enemy's attacks along with the distortion field.
At the same time, mana circuits scattered from the robe's hem spread out, forming spells in all directions.
“Magic?!”
The superpowered civil servant's shout.
“Yeah, magic!”
I shouted back and triggered my prepped spells in sequence.
[Lurue's Mist]
[Explosive Smoke]
Shiiiiiik—
Magical mist neutralizing detection and unstable, explosive smoke spread, blinding the enemies' vision.
[Shadow Veil]
[Emergency Escape]
[Leap]
[Swift Maneuver]
Simultaneously, I wrapped myself in darkness and shot forward.
Hwiiik—
My vision pulled backward like being sucked in.
Everything in the world stretched into long lines and vanished.
“Kim Sihwa!”
A voice calling my name.
What? You finally figured out who I am?
I snapped my fingers, activating the spells I'd launched earlier.
Keeeen—
『Now's the time!』
『Everyone, attack the enemy!』
『Advance! Come this way!』
『Charge!』
A simple spell storing and remotely replaying messages.
Even a novice mage could do this much.
Imbuing messages with specific intent to control crowds required more complex spells.
[Euphoria]
[Voice of Authority]
[Violence Infusion]
[Berzerker's Horn]
Those who heard my voice were suddenly gripped by magical euphoria and irresistible violent impulses, roaring in unison.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Drive out the enemy!”
“Charge!”
People rampaging blindly in the detection-nullifying mist.
Kwaang!
“Ah, there's explosive smoke in the mist, so everyone rampage gently!”
Giving advice they probably couldn't hear, I pressed forward even faster.
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
Bauuuung!
A pitch-black shadow suddenly on my tail.
“Ugh, damn it.”
* * *
Even amid the suddenly arisen mist, Yang Seoho didn't lose sight of her target.
How to fight a mage?
Simple.
Hit them before they cast.
Shiiik—
Yang Seoho's hand blade flew in at flash speed.
Tang! Dadadada!
Right after the mist formed, the rampaging cultists and criminals fired wildly at Yang Seoho too, but she didn't halt her swing.
Kwajik!
The sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching.
Bauuuung!!
The ensuing wind pressure deflected all incoming bullets.
“Keuk!”
The wind pressure flung more than bullets.
The targeted mage was hurled far back, rolling on the ground.
“Ugh, damn it!”
At where the enemy's left leg had been, black blood gushed out.
Just a light backhand with the hand blade, yet the entire left leg was severed.
Charrararak—
'Magic?'
The masked mage's blood coagulated instantly, gleaming black as it morphed into a bizarre prosthetic leg. The mage quickly assumed a combat stance.
“Pretty tough guy.”
At that level, chopping off all limbs wouldn't be an issue.
“At least talk!”
He said, spewing mana in all directions.
Charrarak—
Black darkness made of mana and bone-fragment tentacles wrapped around Yang Seoho.
“Annoying.”
Finally, Yang Seoho tossed the megaphone and swatted the tentacles away.
Despite the immense mana, they tore off like dry weeds.
Shiiik—
Yang Seoho's fist prepared to fly straight ahead again.
Keeeen!
Sensing her intent, the mage immediately cast spells to protect himself.
“Yeah, block it well. See you alive.”
To repeat, no named ultimate technique.
Just a straight punch.
Kuuuung!!
The massive explosion didn't just shred the air, barriers, and the opponent's body—it flung away all the cultists charging sloppily.
Kwaaaaang!
A follow-up explosion. Not a combo attack.
As the straight punch completed, an additional shockwave erupted with immense heat, creating a giant crater around Yang Seoho.
* * *
“Got you, you goblin bastard!”
Beast-like talons. Mane flying like a lion's. Eyeballs wriggling under the hair. Slightly shorter than me.
“Ah, Shin Woojin. You with Yang Seoho?”
A named NPC from the Foreigner Administration and Yang Seoho's closest subordinate.
“You can't fool my eyes with this pathetic disruption magic!”
“Man, must be handy having so many eyeballs.”
“Kraaaah!”
Shin Woojin charged with a beastly roar.
“Jeez.”
Keeeen!
A blue magic circle bloomed from my fingertips.
[Torrent]
[Waves of Destruction]
Kwarung!!
Vast waves poured from the completed magic circle.
“Tch!”
Shin Woojin hurriedly leaped onto a hulking armored truck.
Crouching like a feline predator atop the truck, he let out a metallic kyaaak.
“Well, well, got a tail too. Cute, so cute.”
[Grasp of the Deep Sea]
Charrarak!
The torrent waves morphed into sticky, gelatinous tentacles that ensnared Shin Woojin.
“Uwaaagh!”
Shin Woojin dragged into the mist and vanished. Any more to worry about?
Kwaaaaaang!
An explosion from afar.
Along with a transmitted message.
“Ugh, can't even buy time, huh.”
* * *
Kwarung!
Water sounds from the distance.
“What?”
Yang Seoho scowled and turned her head.
The direction...
Southwest?
Mist blooming everywhere. Frenzied cultists rampaging. Explosions echoing here and there.
And...
At Yang Seoho's feet, a completely pulverized masked mage rolling around.
Not just limbs severed— the whole body shattered to pieces.
No, this isn't human.
“Tricked.”
She'd thought it was a high-ranking cultist blessed by an abyssal entity and beat it down.
But it wasn't human to begin with. Probably an artificial human—or homunculus—created by some cultist's necromancy.
Wasted time on pointless tricks.
To the southwest was the main force of armed trucks—and Dokgo Gyeom, whom Yang Seoho had to escort.
“Wait!!!”
Kwaaaang!
Yang Seoho roared and soared into the sky.
She had no flight ability. Just a leap.
At the leap's apex, Yang Seoho curled up and kicked empty air.
Puuung!
Her subsonic feet struck a shockwave front of compressed pressure waves.
Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Chain explosions.
Yang Seoho rocketed toward Kim Sihwa at tremendous speed.
Stirring absurd storms, whirlwinds, and lightning falls in the sky—
“Damn it. That dog Kim Sihwa.”
Struggling to recombine the scattered flesh on the ground—[The Smiling One] muttered.
* * *
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
“Ah, she's coming, coming, coming! Move! Move! Move!”
Kwaaaang!
[Engulfing Wave]
[Chain Lightning]
Waves swirling everywhere, lightning bleaching vision white.
Kwarung! Kwajik! Pajijik!
I blasted away charging civil servants and contractors, burrowing into the [Foreigner Administration's Mobile Base] of armed trucks and helicopters.
[Grenade Explosion]
[Great Upheaval]
Kwaaaang!
After hurling even the mechanized civil servants in powered exoskeletons, I finally reached it.
[Lock Release]
Kiriririk—
Unlocking the heavy armor and multi-layered wards—
“Who are you?”
“Kim Sihwa.”
“...And who the hell is that?”
“You remember Heo Sanghyeon?”
“...”
Dokgo Gyeom, bound in the mobile prison, glared at me with gritted teeth.
“Why are you rescuing me?”
“Hmm, well, let's say it's a complicated way to make friends.”
“What?”
Dokgo Gyeom blinked in disbelief.
Kwaaaaang!
Clouds exploded overhead.
Uwaaah, she's here.
No time for talk now.
“I'm gonna grab you and bolt from here. Cooperate—that's best. If not, I'll have to carry your corpse.”