Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Civil Defense Duty
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The next day.
6:30 a.m., Seoul Academia gymnasium.
"Alright, those who responded to the civil defense call-up, line up over here."
I'd been enjoying a month of laid-back healing life, and now this bolt from the blue?
Damn Seoul Guild bastards! They couldn't handle even the so-called weakest constellation, Mountain Fortress, and now they're dragging healthy folks into emergency civil defense duty!
Until yesterday, I'd been leisurely fishing, but now here I was, lining up and waiting in a crowd.
'Ayoung too, and even Guild Master Somi said hunters are exempt from military service, so why do I have to go...'
'I'm registered as E+ rank right now, so of course I have to.'
Sure, I could get recognized as D-rank, but that meant taking the promotion exam, so no choice there.
And since Baekya Guild had been called up for the last subjugation, they were exempt from this Shin-Gangnam incident. With no need for them to step in, I quietly complied with the civil defense summons.
"Here, take this."
I'd figured civil defense meant no real combat, just labor or support work. But suddenly, they shoved a familiar K-2 rifle loaded with live ammo into my hands. I was stunned.
"What's this?"
"...Self-defense tool. There might be wild monsters where you're heading for work."
"This ammo doesn't look like magistone rounds."
"Well, better than going empty-handed, right?"
Yeah, right. They were just dumping excess stock on us—someone should say it straight.
But lacking the guts to speak up myself, I just imagined it and headed to my spot, checking my phone while waiting.
Soon enough, a middle-aged man with a bald spot in the middle of his head stepped out and took charge.
"Alright, everyone got their rifles? No need to worry too much. The moment we use them is the day we're done for. Now, let me explain our mission. In short, it'll be supply transport to Shin-Gangnam and building fortifications, with assignments accordingly."
Assignments started going out to the crowd.
Thanks to my past as an Academia staffer, I got put on loading stored supplies from the Academia into trucks.
'Feels like old times. Oof~ Oh, war updates?'
To keep the indoor workers from panicking, they were openly broadcasting Shin-Gangnam news on phones since everyone could get info that way anyway.
''The battle with the apostle 'Girmark' of the 'Constellation Mountain Fortress' is still ongoing, and hunters are struggling against the endless waves of 'Mountain Fortress Plunderers.' The Capital Defense Command has already sent support troops, but with the 'Constellation Slaughter King' monsters and scavengers moving from the north at the same time, response is...''
"Huh? The bad constellations teaming up? That's unexpected."
"Constellations have their likes and dislikes too, you know."
Had Slaughter King and Mountain Fortress joined forces?
They were both anti-human constellations, but their goals differed.
Slaughter King loved offerings of human flesh, while Mountain Fortress favored plundering money and treasures to offer up. So their apostles and scavengers linking up for a pincer attack made sense.
'They're not dumb; they know a two-front assault is advantageous. Hmm~ Whatever, let them handle it.'
"Come on, move it, people. If we lose this war, we're all dead."
"Hey, old man! You think us hustling changes the battlefield? Tsk tsk. In the end, it's up to the hunters and soldiers."
"Yeah, without Park Sunwon, Seoul Guild's falling apart. Bunch of idiots strutting around, can't even stop a golden mine knight, getting wrecked by the pushover Mountain Fortress constellation they mocked as easy prey. Tsk tsk, how badly are they running that guild?"
"Anyway, hope it wraps up quick so we can go home. What a hassle~"
Everyone kept cursing the hunters rolling around in Shin-Gangnam while carrying out their assigned tasks.
Worrying about losing because the constellations teamed up was pretty much pointless.
Even without Seoul Guild, there was Blue Dragon Guild and Olympus, plus plenty of skilled hunters below them, even if their fame was a bit short.
'Our folks always misunderstand—thinking the top three guilds and ten hunters defend the whole country.'
With countless other formidable constellations watching over those guilds besides Mountain Fortress and Slaughter King, the worry was mostly unfounded.
It was just a matter of time and process. Sure, the emergency call-up wasted some of my time, but I could just enjoy watching those guys suffer.
"Alright, break time after this round."
"Agh~ My back. What a pain because of those rotten bastards."
"Tell me about it."
When the work wrapped and we took a break, I messaged Ayoung about the situation.
News was just propaganda to hype people up, so for real facts, better ask someone involved.
「Yoo Seongwon: How's it going?」
「Universe's Strongest Ayoungie: Total mess. With Slaughter King's side moving again, everyone's rattled? Blue Dragon's holding the north for now, and Olympus is supporting Shin-Gangnam.」
「Yoo Seongwon: Just as expected.」
「Universe's Strongest Ayoungie: What about you, mister?」
「Yoo Seongwon: Me? On civil defense duty~ Loading trucks or checking magistone stocks, that kinda thing?」
「Universe's Strongest Ayoungie: Wow, that's... really unfortunate.」
She seemed like she wanted to say more, but probably held back since chats get logged.
I got the nuance, though.
An officially SS-rank powerhouse doing civil defense grunt work—frustrating, right?
"Anyway, once this is over, promote to D-rank and head down to the provinces."
But in the end, it was someone else's problem, someone else's circumstances.
Like wars in far-off lands or people starving in North Korea.
And with the golden mine knight threat already out there, doing good deeds now wouldn't gain me anything—just make me more of a target.
"Let's see. Best spot to hole up... mountains, probably?"
So I leisurely searched for mountains to kill time, and when break ended, back to civil defense work.
Figuring the Second Shin-Gangnam Incident could go however; the world keeps turning.
***
At the same time.
'Second Shin-Gangnam Incident' special headquarters.
Unlike the leisurely Yoo Seongwon, the big shots saw it as a grave crisis, setting up a special HQ to manage it.
Alone, Mountain Fortress forces could've been crushed by the top three guilds' full might in one go. The problem was them moving with Slaughter King and scavenger forces.
"Luckily, no Archdemon Beasts or that pastor from Slaughter King yet, but hordes of A-rank dragonkin slaughterers and B-rank giant slaughterers are descending. The pastor's busy reorganizing in his territory, so he's not coming. But he's sending scavengers—that's the issue."
"At least that's something. The scavengers?"
"They're the bigger headache this time. With all the laborers flooding into Shin-Gangnam for wall reconstruction, they're mixed in, impossible to distinguish. They're harassing with construction sabotage, night raids, facility destruction."
"...Haa~ Traitor scum. Driving me insane."
Full-scale war could be handled by Seoul Guild hunters with air and ground force support. But scavenger guerrillas were a real pain.
There was a scavenger response team, but as always, attackers had the edge over defenders.
"Why's Shin-Gangnam stalled like this? Defense Ministry's gone all-in with bombing approvals, constant air and army support!"
"W-Well... Mountain Fortress's Four Heavenly Kings all showed up. Like Slaughter King's Archdemon Beasts. Casualties are worse than expected. Not public yet, but air and army losses are already..."
"Haa, they've got us pinned perfectly. Those plundering bastards!"
"Used to be, toss 'em some gold and they'd back off... Not fooling them anymore, huh?"
Like other constellations, Mountain Fortress's virtue was 'plunder'—they loved taking everything.
To them, top value was 'gold,' then 'magistones.'
That's why bribes or gold bait used to work before.
"Field reports say they tried... didn't work. Scavengers fighting alongside, apparently?"
"Those guys getting smart must be their influence. Haa~"
"Actually spotted on-site: scavenger commanders directing Mountain Fortress forces..."
"Nothing's easy. Need this wrapped up ASAP..."
No quick fixes, so worries mounted.
Worse, prolonged crises piled damage on the nation.
Past worrying about falling housing prices—the evacuated Shin-Gangnam citizens clashing badly with outsiders already.
"Refugee shelters for Shin-Gangnam folks getting verbal abuse from other citizens lately."
"Online sentiment too... 'Rich pricks deserve the beatdown, tails between legs.' Class gap's too wide; hardly any sympathy."
"Self-inflicted. Aigoo~ Seoul Guild playing victim now, but what were they before? Whenever subjugation orders for monsters or scavengers, they ghosted claiming 'protecting Seoul,' then cry for help when Shin-Gangnam gets hit!"
"Everyone, sure, but Shin-Gangnam's Seoul's key city..."
"Plus their backers are rotten to the core, right?"
Even in crisis, infighting—humanity's trait.
Shin-Gangnam had piled up scandals and corruption; now malcontents seized the chance to let it fall, sabotaging.
'Damn Shin-Gangnam, should just collapse. Wipe out that cesspool of old rot now.'
'Monsters whatever, they deserve to fall—gotta let it.'
'Any tips to feed the scavengers?'
As the saying goes, internal enemies scarier than external. Anti-Shin-Gangnam sentiment ran deep among association and guild staff, even soldiers and officials at the front.
The key players' meeting wasted time in chaos without solid plans, as Shin-Gangnam slowly sank into an unseen quagmire.
"What are you all doing? Get your heads straight. Venting doesn't solve anything. Internal issues matter more than external—fix those first!"
And as every organization has idiots, it also has the sane ones.
A elderly woman with an eyepatch over one eye and scars across her face barked like she couldn't take it anymore, setting the agenda.
Even those mid-fight grimaced or looked uneasy but didn't confront her outright, pretending to comply.
The one proper person here—the current Academia president, S-rank hunter Baek Gayaen, legend of the old guard.