Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Descent from the Stratosphere
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100
"We're going to the sky."
I answered Na Young's question about how we were getting to Beijing, China.
"The sky? By plane?"
"Plane... yeah. A kind of plane."
Na Young tilted her head at my vague response.
"Let's depart once the sun sets. I have something to do before then."
"Okay. What is it?"
"Try connecting to my mind."
"You want me to go into your head, oppa?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"This way, we can communicate without making a sound."
It was a huge advantage to converse silently during infiltration.
"That's true, but... do you trust me, oppa?"
"I do."
My immediate reply moved Na Young, her eyes growing misty.
"But your mental barrier is too strong, oppa. It won't work."
"I learned how to adjust the barrier from Lady Eres this time. It should work now."
Thinking back made my forehead throb where she'd flicked me.
Na Young steeled herself and gently placed both hands on either side of my head.
"I'll do it."
The sensation was different from when Eres had resonated me with the World Tree. Back then, it felt like something forcing its way in, but now it was soft and warm, enveloping my entire mind.
[Can you hear me?]
Na Young's voice echoed in my head.
[I can. Can you hear mine?]
[Yeah.]
Na Young pulled her hands away and met my eyes. Now, if we willed it, she could read my mind, and since it was two-way, she'd opened her mind to me too.
Night fell, and we boarded the plane.
"Oppa, this plane looks a bit different."
"Yeah, but it's not a regular plane. It's a low-orbit plane."
"You mean a spaceship?"
"Exactly. We'll jump out over Beijing, in the stratosphere."
I pointed up at the sky.
"From that high up?"
"If we fly in normally, we'll get shelled by the brainwashed Chinese military. On the ground, no matter how careful, we'd be surrounded by tens of millions of Chinese people. I considered going by sea or river, but it would take too long, so scrapped that."
I was a little excited at the thought of seeing space.
"We'll drape the invisibility cloak and jump. Small and transparent, so radar won't detect us."
"Sounds fun."
Na Young, who used to freak out when I carried her at high speeds, barely felt fear anymore.
We reached the target point. Looking out the window, I saw the blue Earth and space. Stunned by the unprecedented view, I stared silently for a moment.
"We'll reach the target point soon!"
At the pilot's announcement, Na Young and I moved to the ejection hatch prepped for our jump and sealed the bulkhead.
I hugged Na Young tight, and she cast a shield around us. I gave a thumbs-up to the camera, and the pilot began the countdown.
[You okay?]
Even if she wasn't scared, this was her first time, and Na Young's heart raced.
[Yeah, no problem.]
[Hold on tight.]
[Okay.]
"3! 2! 1! Eject!"
The hatch opened, and we plummeted from the stratospheric sky. I grew to three meters to cradle Na Young. Even with the shield, surviving the impact and heat from that height wasn't easy.
The wind tore fiercely around us.
A human without gear falling from the stratosphere would die from pressure, temperature, and lack of oxygen before hitting the ground. But I was fine, of course, and Na Young was now an S-Rank Hunter with a superhuman body. Protected by me and her shield, the descent was smooth.
Beijing from the sky looked more peaceful than expected. The fighting was on the outskirts, and the damage from the battles we'd seen on TV had already been mostly cleared.
[It's surprisingly normal-looking?]
[Really? I thought it'd be a sea of fire, totally devastated.]
I shared my impression with Na Young.
People moved in perfect unison, clearing rubble from damaged buildings. Soldiers and vehicles hurried along without a hint of waste, like a single organism.
They were fortifying a defensive line on the Beijing outskirts, it seemed, with every brainwashed Beijing citizen mobilized.
In my past life, the Succubus Queen had seized Zhongnanhai, where China's key government agencies were clustered. Assuming the same this time, I targeted it—and sure enough, spotted her there.
The Succubus Queen looked no different from a human. Just an alluring woman, no horns or tail. But her immense life force marked her as far beyond human or ordinary monster.
The Queen sat in a chair, legs crossed, wearing a blood-red dress. Despite turning a nation upside down, she gazed calmly at the lake. Utterly relaxed.
[I'll go in first, so block anyone who comes at us.]
[Got it.]
I tossed Na Young into the air so she could use float magic, then kept falling without slowing. I'd already broken the sound barrier.
Boosting with life force, I prepared to collide with the Succubus Queen.
As we entered her widely spread mind control field, she noticed us and looked skyward.
A shadow leaped from behind the Succubus Queen—Hong Long, the Chinese Hunter. He stared right at my invisible form. Even cloaked, he could see the wind displaced around me.
Hong Long's Tai Chi could easily redirect my falling momentum. Without Na Young, I'd have had to go all-out, likely killing him. But with her support, I could subdue him non-lethally.
Caught in Na Young's mind control from above, Hong Long's body froze mid-leap. In an S-Rank Hunter duel, that split-second was fatal.
I slammed my fist into Hong Long's gut, sending him flying far off, then crashed down atop the Queen's head. She tried nonstop to breach my mind, but my barrier held.
BOOM!
My punch to the Succubus Queen's head unleashed a shockwave. Even slowed by hitting Hong Long, the impact shattered the ground around us, lake water erupting like a pillar.
The Succubus Queen wasn't a combat monster to begin with. Hong Long's brainwashing wasn't due to her fighting prowess.
Not every S-Rank Hunter has an S-Rank mental barrier skill. Her potent mind control was enough to briefly halt or disrupt them. Then her other brainwashed Hunters would finish the job, slowly deepening the control over time.
But even the mighty Succubus Queen hadn't anticipated a drop like this from the sky.
The impact cratered the ground, lake water rushing in.
I grabbed the dazed Succubus Queen's neck and leaped, slamming her down onto the lakeside island.
KABOOM!
Specialized in brainwashing or not, as a Legion Commander-level monster, her head didn't crack from the fall and smash.
"Let... go..."
BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Gripping her neck with my left hand to drain life force, I hammered her head with my right fist repeatedly. After endless suffering, this matchup made things easy for once—it felt damn good.
"Release the brainwashing."
"I won't..."
BAM BAM BAM BAM!
I hadn't even drawn my sword from my palm or used full power, but striking with enough force to pulverize an A-Rank monster's head repeatedly still didn't crack hers. Legion Commanders were tough.
But as I drained her life force and her brain rattled from the blows, the brainwashed humans around collapsed like puppets with cut strings.
Na Young floated down gracefully.
"Can you do that thing you mentioned?"
"Have to try. Even dragons couldn't get close. She's humanoid and can talk, so odds are way better."
"What are you trying to do?!"
I pressed the Succubus Queen's head to the ground.
"Now, now, stay still~"
Na Young placed both hands on the Succubus Queen's head.
"Ha! A mere human daring to interfere with the mind of the Nightmare Queen... grrrkkk..."
Only the Nightmare Queen's right eyeball spun wildly, a grotesque noise leaking from her mouth.
"Not that..."
Na Young twisted the Queen's head. Normally, the Queen's brainwashing outmatched Na Young's, but pinned and suppressed by me, she couldn't block a direct mental probe.
"Grah? Guh... eek..."
The Succubus convulsed, emitting eerie sounds.
"Na Young, is it working?"
Na Young was too focused to hear me. I kept watch around us while she worked. The brainwashed humans lay strewn everywhere, the city deathly silent.
"Whew... seems like it worked? I was worried since I've never succeeded before, but her mental world is human-like, so it took. Now she'll answer questions."
I'd tried capturing Gate monsters for info before, but their minds held nothing—just orders to kill humans.
"When's the next Legion Commander coming?"
"Soon. The Ice Dragon's fall wasn't planned. Nor was mine."
The Succubus Queen's eyes lost focus as she answered. Not fully sane, her speech was slow, drool streaming from her mouth. No trace of her former seductiveness remained.
"Soon as in when? Who's coming?"
"Don't know. We just follow the Commander's orders."
"Commander?"
"The one commanding all Legion Commanders. Possesses power on another level from us."
"A monster? The Destruction God's strongest subordinate?"
"Destruction God?"
"The one devouring Earth."
"Destruction God... that existence isn't like that. Just a part of the universe moving on instinct. No subordinates."
"What? Then what are the monsters? Who's sending them?"
"That's the Administrator... kkh... eek!!"
The Succubus Queen's eyes rolled back, body convulsing.
"Hey! Hey!"
I tapped her head like a broken machine and infused life force, but she flatlined.
[Your level has risen.]
"She had a protector in her mind. Blocked her from talking about the 'Administrator.'"
"Administrator? What's that?"
First I'd heard of it. I'd ask Eres later.
"Ah, looks like the Chinese government sent planes. Kyaa! Oppa? What's wrong?!"
I scooped up Na Young.
"Those aren't here to pick us up. They're here to bury us."
Not transport planes. Five fighter jets incoming.
"What?!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Missiles streaked in succession. Plenty of fallen citizens around, but they didn't care, bombing the city heart freely.
Still, they couldn't match my running speed.
Alone, I'd tank those missiles and smash the jets, but with Na Young, I didn't want the risk.
Na Young fired mana orbs over my shoulder like machine-gun fire.
Dozens of purple mana orbs slammed into the lead fighter.
KABOOM!!
One jet exploded; the others scattered at the sight of the mana orbs' power.
Swoosh!
An arrow several times normal size grazed my cheek. Glancing at the source, I saw Tian Pei.