Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Fear of the Infection Lord
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"Are you that scared?"
Roze tilted her head at the seniors' reactions.
"Of course we are. Haven't you heard of the Infection Lord? It was the most infamous alien ten years ago."
"...W-Well, we just have to take it out fast before it gets us, right?"
"No way. Even if we succeed, we won't make it out unscathed. Rumor has it most of the superhumans who saw the Infection Lord's face retired due to contamination aftereffects."
Shepin lowered his voice, his face deadly serious.
Roze almost dismissed it as him messing around, but she couldn't ignore Nora's follow-up.
"That's not a rumor. It's fact."
"Really?"
"Really?!"
Shepin's voice was even louder than Roze's.
He must have firmly believed it was just a rumor.
Nora nodded with a smile at their reactions.
"I know the details pretty well because one of my academy classmates was in that raid. It's not true that most retired, but out of the seventy superhumans deployed, forty were ruled unfit for duty. That was big news among us."
"...I had no idea. I spoke out of turn."
"No need to apologize. That classmate messaged me saying she was glad to quit the boring superhuman life. She's living happily now with a handsome husband."
"...Oho!"
Shepin clapped his hands with an exaggerated reaction.
Ever since he first saw Nora, he'd been going on about finding his ideal type, but whenever he stood before her, he couldn't act out like usual.
'Is he serious...?'
Nora wasn't someone to take lightly, which worried me.
I watched him with concern for a moment before looking away.
Nora's words had quite the impact, prompting even the silent Ivan to speak up.
"If what Nora says is true, what makes you bold enough to step up?"
"I agree. Why not request additional fleet forces and smash it from outside?"
"That would be the safest option."
I nodded in agreement with Rodrigo's supporting comment.
In cases like this, the answer wasn't a frontal assault—it was gathering more fleet power and overwhelming it with firepower.
I would've agreed if our situation allowed it.
But we lacked the spare forces for reinforcements, and time had already run out.
The hatchery was already on its sixth wave, and factoring in the Infection Lord's wildcard, crushing it with firepower would require at least three full regular fleets.
On top of that, these things needed to end quickly.
It had been over six hours since we started pounding the hatchery, and it was already mass-producing anti-air units to counter our fleet.
Massive flesh blobs bloomed like flowers on the surface, launching attacks at our orbit-bound fleet. Mosquito-like things bloated with blood flew around, using their bodies to block shells.
All sorts of aliens were struggling to protect the hatchery from the fleet's onslaught.
'Efficiency will drop soon enough.'
For now, the hatchery was diverting everything to defense, but that wouldn't last.
That's why Cardinal Karl's side was deploying ground forces, but with the distance from their garrison to the hatchery, I doubted it'd make much difference.
"You can't say that. If sis is right, just participating risks aftereffects."
Shepin spoke up at my reaction.
From his tone, he didn't want to quit superhuman life anytime soon.
"Don't worry about the aftereffects."
"You have a way?"
"From the point where the core weapon's barrier fails, a contamination-immune holy warrior and I—with my high resistance—will infiltrate. You all clear the path..."
I gave a brief outline of the plan.
Only Roze knew about my strong contamination resistance so far, so I had to explain.
Even so, the response wasn't positive.
Merdi was the first to snap, her face showing clear displeasure.
"...You?"
"It's the best option."
"You're weak. What trick do you have to go in there?"
"Right. Even with resistance, if you can't break through the guards, it's pointless. I don't know how good that holy warrior is, but two people? No way."
Shepin chimed in.
Hard to argue with that.
Even I thought it was a stretch.
"The holy warrior coming with me is Jang Woowolf, captain-level skill. We go way back from academy days."
"...Ah, that sandbag?"
Merdi recalled the name.
'Sandbag...'
I could instantly picture Jang Woowolf's image in Merdi's memory.
But was he still the same Jang Woowolf from back then?
He'd been outmatched then, but as one of the Miracle Generation, he wasn't far behind the other four.
Considering Roze and Merdi's near-transcendent growth since, Jang Woowolf wouldn't disappoint either.
"Remember him?"
"...He might actually work."
Merdi nodded reluctantly, still unhappy, and stepped back.
"You're academy mates, and he's captain-level? Whew, you guys have monsters too."
"Don't push it. Run if it looks bad. Resistance doesn't mean fully immune, right?"
Shepin whistled, deeming it acceptable, while Nora still looked worried.
"I have a way to handle moderate contamination, so no worries."
"...You sure?"
"Yes."
Nora stared at me, genuinely shocked.
The others—except Roze—had similar reactions, varying in degree.
I spoke confidently because I had something to back it up.
"So please don't worry, everyone. I'll take responsibility."
The superhumans' gazes turned to me.
I was among the weakest here, with the least experience, but my voice carried weight.
Excluding Nora and Ivan—who were just tagging along for this op—the rest already saw me as leader.
This wasn't just from my independent unit command authority; it came from handling so much and shouldering the responsibility.
*
Operation time arrived.
The holy warrior order had landed.
No time for casual comms, though.
Confirming Jang Woowolf's name on the holy warrior roster, I boarded the high-speed assault shuttle and prepped for descent.
Everyone aboard knew this op's risks were higher than ever—their faces were grim.
The shuttle launched soon after.
Protected by allied fighters from the combined fleet, it accelerated through the atmosphere.
Rumble rumble!!
Missiles poured for safe deployment exploded, vibrations sweeping the hull.
The ship shook violently, doubling our tension.
"Final gear check! Speak up if you forgot anything. I'll punch you back to the ship!"
No time to feel uneasy.
The squad leader was bellowing nonstop.
True to his Lion's Heart martial artist training, his voice boomed like thunder with every shout.
"Extra hazard gear distributed?"
"Two per person."
"No need to conserve munitions. Use them freely if it gets dicey."
"Yes sir! Hear that? Hoarders heading to the afterlife on my watch get killed by me first!"
Our armament was overkill, pulling every resource available.
We even gave each squad two pricey Flying Jacks.
If the cases got in the way, ditch them—no recovery needed.
Boom!
"...Gah!"
A sudden impact rocked the hull hard.
It didn't stop there.
Popping sounds followed as small attacks rained down.
-Concentrated fire incoming. Hull armor damage 2%. Barrier reserves critical. Repairing. Beep!
I unbuckled at R3D3's alert and dashed out.
'Infection Lord? It spotted us.' Quick reaction.
Long-lived named specimens were threats for this reason.
They 'understood' humans through experience.
"Come with!"
"You stay seated. What can a ground-pounder do?"
I heard Merdi stop Roze from following.
Moments later, footsteps approached as I opened the hatch.
Turning, I saw Merdi's face.
"I can handle it alone."
"I don't trust my life to others."
"...Hold tight so you don't fall."
The hatch opened to raging winds.
Barriers were cracking in spots, failing their job.
Plus, under fire, the hull shuddered violently—easy to get tossed out.
"Who're you worrying about—Whoa!"
She staggered mid-sentence.
I grabbed her arm reflexively.
"You okay?"
"...Let go."
I released her immediately.
One close call—she'd be careful now.
She looked fragile, but as a cultured martial artist, she was solid.
Good athleticism from talent meant decent skill.
But her strength and stamina were average esper levels, risky in this.
"I'm going first."
Still worried, but no time to waste.
I leaped along the hull's wing toward the nose right after letting go.
Intercepting incoming fire with R3D3.
"Can you handle all?"
-Leave it to R3D3. Beep!
R3D3, fully clothing-integrated on my legs, morphed into circles and fired forward.
Long-range covered.
But the remaining stretch looked rough.
'Already that many...'
Despite the massive preemptive bombing for safety, unknown aliens swarmed the sky.
Their target: our high-speed assault shuttle, obvious.
With the fleet firing more conservatively to avoid hitting us, breakthrough seemed tough.
'How's everyone else?'
I glanced back.
The holy warrior order's shuttle—departed almost simultaneously—trailed right behind.
Same situation as us, minus less barrier damage.
Sensing danger, five in holy warrior gear popped out, using holy weapons to intercept alien attacks.
"Haa, haa!"
Merdi reached my side.
She flinched when I looked at her heavy breathing.
Checking her waist, I saw a safety line tethering her to the hull.
Merdi—who hated cumbersome gear—had thought of it.
I realized she'd changed a lot.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
She glared at my stare, then looked forward as I shook my head.
"Filthy swarm."
"We should clear them before landing. Want me to?"
"Outta the way."
Merdi stepped up.
Her hands were already wrapped in lightning.
One hand gripped the safety bar, the other extended forward.
"Time to fry every last dung fly."
Her power surged, silver hair glowing white.
Lightning rings shot from her hand, multiplying.
10, 100, 1,000.
The rings filled the shuttle's front like a bug zapper net.
At around 10,000 rings...
Lightning exploded outward, sweeping the aerial alien horde.
Zzzzap!! Flash!!
Spectacular and fierce.
Light danced, dazzling the eyes.
Moments later, the path was filled with charred aliens plummeting to the ground.