201. US Monster Extermination Request (5)
201. US Monster Extermination Request (5)
Fwoooosh—
A desolate, windswept plain.
On the edge of a village dotted with crumbling concrete buildings, a lone Sapiens stood sentry.
Hwoaaaahm—
Clutching a weapon in each of its four hands, the creature blinked its two huge eyes and let out a bored yawn.
"...Kuruk?"
Suddenly sensing something off in the air, it cocked its head to the side.
Fwiiiiish—
It lifted its head at the sharp sound of wind whistling past its ears.
"...!?"
A ball of fire was plummeting from the distant sky, blazing furiously!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Kyaaaaaaahk—!!!!!"
The sentry Sapiens gaped at the sight,
let out a thunderous shriek, and hammered on the brass gong in front of it.
It was the emergency signal.
But it was too late.
The fireball had already passed the sentry and was hurtling toward the center of the settlement.
KWAAAAAANG—!!!
An intense explosion erupted.
The ground caved in as if a massive artillery shell had struck.
That opening move was Kang Do-hee.
"Kuek...!?"
"Kwaaack—!"
"Keeek—!"
Caught completely off guard by Kang Do-hee's surprise attack, falling without the slightest warning,
the Sapiens scattered in confusion.
Shwiiick—————
But before they could even lift a foot, a chilling cutting sound echoed.
A single stroke of deep navy-blue Sword Qi slashed across the settlement.
"...!?"
The fleeing Sapiens, the buildings they lived in, pillars, houses, stones, trees.
A single black line cutting across everything around it.
Grrrrind— THUD!!
With a slight delay, everything the black line had drawn across split in two, sliced apart like a log.
One Slash, Two Halves.
At the village entrance, Jin Yu-ha, his eyes lowered coldly, was driving his sword into the sentry's neck.
Shunk!
"Kreuk—."
The surviving Sapiens' eyes bulged in horror at the surreal spectacle—and at that very moment.
CLAAAANG—!!!
This time, the crash of metal resounded from the center of the settlement.
There stood Lee Yu-ri, her shield glowing with golden light, wearing an utterly confident expression.
Aegis.
A shield named after the myth of ancient Greece, and true to its name, a woman's face with snakes for hair was set into its center.
The range of her Taunt had expanded far beyond anything she'd shown before.
And its shocking effect didn't just draw attention—it disrupted the very Mana of any monster that witnessed it!
Thud.
Thud.
Overcome with vertigo from her skill, the Sapiens dropped to their knees.
While they were stopped in their tracks.
Patapatapatapatak—!
Rain began to fall from the sky.
The silver rain bypassed the Utopia Party entirely, striking only the heads of the Sapiens with pinpoint accuracy.
They were Sofia's arrows.
In an instant, half their forces had been helplessly wiped out. The pupils of the remaining Sapiens quaked.
If this wasn't hell, then what was?
Even without words, their faces said it all.
* * *
The Chief Analyst of the U.S. Hunter Headquarters.
Richard Parkers stared at the dozens of holographic windows in front of him with a tense expression.
This Sapiens subjugation operation in Montana was a turning point for the United States.
Sapiens.
A monster resembling a four-armed gorilla.
As its appearance suggested, it possessed monstrous strength that could tear low-rank Hunters apart in seconds.
And it had the intelligence to live in groups and learn to use human weapons.
It would have been best to deal with them while they were still inside the dungeon, but...
A Dungeon Break had already occurred.
The Sapiens that poured out of the dungeon had exploited the civilization humanity had built and established a stronghold on American soil.
For the United States, once the world's greatest superpower, it was a humiliation.
That was why this operation was so crucial.
It was a chance for America to correct its failure to prevent the Dungeon Break and restore its honor.
Furthermore, it was an opportunity to prove that the American mercenary strategy was an efficient method.
As a result, the amount of money spent on hiring Hunters for this operation alone was astronomical!
'If this operation fails, the U.S. will be ridiculed by the whole world. A country that spent a fortune, begged other nations for help, and still failed. Dammit!'
Richard's hands trembled.
'No way in hell I'm letting us bear that disgrace.'
So he'd put considerable effort into recruiting Hunters this time.
But from the very first step, things had gotten tangled.
And all because of a cadet party from the Academy, casually recruited just to build a good relationship with Chairwoman Rina!
He'd never dreamed that Ling Xiao, a Hunter from China, would pick a fight with that rookie party.
Unlike the merely famous Utopia, Ling Xiao was a genuinely renowned expert.
Since it happened in that brief interval of downtime, they hadn't even been able to properly manage the fallout.
Because of that, a strange wariness had spread among the other Hunters participating in the operation.
The initial plan for everyone to join forces and assault the settlement together had also evaporated.
In the end, they had no choice but to go with the backup plan of defeating each group separately.
"Haah..."
Richard let out a sigh, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache, and scanned the screens.
Naturally, his gaze went to the Utopia Party.
After they'd caused such a commotion from the start, how could he possibly view them favorably?
"...Huh."
But as he watched Utopia's feed with a "let's see how this plays out" attitude, another sigh escaped his lips.
This time, it wasn't a sigh of irritation or frustration, but of astonishment.
"...What in the world happened?"
His eyes widened.
Unlike those renowned veteran Hunters, Utopia was a rookie party made up entirely of cadets.
The reason they'd been brought into this operation
was half a desire to maintain good relations with Velvet Academy,
and half an expectation that they would serve as a lightning rod to attract public attention.
This wasn't idle speculation from ignorance of Utopia's strength.
On the contrary, it was an assessment made after an objective analysis.
"...Their individual combat capabilities are clearly decent, but weren't they supposed to struggle in large-scale group battles?"
So what was going on?
The Utopia Party had transformed so completely you could almost call them an entirely different party.
— Kwaaack!
— Kuek!?
— Kiiiik!?
The Sapiens were fleeing frantically, as if a pack of wolves had invaded a flock of sheep.
Then his eyes fell on a woman with blue hair.
'...That woman. Is she a new party member they brought in recently?'
Since there was no data on her yet, she must have joined recently.
She was likely the source of the staggering mobility the Utopia Party was now displaying.
Those black shadows.
Those had completely overturned Utopia's entire structure!
It was as if wings had been attached to the feet of Kang Do-hee and Jin Yu-ha.
That amplified their original strength—overwhelming breakthrough power—even further.
And with the Support and Healer operating from the air, it was only natural that they were far safer.
Then there was another person who caught his eye.
"That Tank... Yes, Lee Yu-ri. What happened to that woman?"
Sure, her Taunt was a powerful tactical asset, but aside from that, wasn't she just an ordinary figure with nothing particularly special about her?
The change in her shield contributed, but more than that, it felt like her entire combat style had changed.
Before, she always functioned as the central axis between the back line and the Damage Dealers.
Now, she planted herself right among the Damage Dealers and actively blocked monsters' attacks.
As a result, the entire party was moving as a single unified body.
Overwhelming firepower.
The enemies were sliced apart in an instant.
Drawn in.
Pushed back.
Slaughtered.
Richard eventually realized he'd been staring blankly at Utopia's footage for far too long,
and shifted his eyes to the feeds of the other Hunters.
"Well, this is something."
He shook his head and let out a hollow laugh.
"There's no comparison..."
Truly, there was no comparison to be made.
Even though other parties were using the standard tactic of having a magic-class Special sweep through hordes of monsters,
they couldn't even keep up with Utopia's pace of extermination.
Most were engaged in chaotic melees against the Sapiens' fierce resistance.
To be frank,
the gap was so vast he wondered if the operation might succeed with Utopia alone.
"If it's come to this, it might be better to just put our full support behind Utopia..."
No, it was what he had to do.
If they secured Utopia, not only would the operation succeed,
but thinking about the follow-up business, it would be immensely profitable.
Yet a sigh welled up from deep inside him.
Because the face of the woman who had negotiated without yielding a single inch during the helicopter ride flashed through his mind.
"...So we'd have to negotiate with that Cheonhwa again."
Then, for a moment, Richard's eyes gleamed.
"Ah, wait... Could we use that woman as a bargaining chip? They clearly didn't seem on good terms just a moment ago."
His gaze was directed at the feed from the Chinese side.
On the screen, Ling Xiao was gritting her teeth, swinging her spear and slaughtering Sapiens.