Chapter 364
Chapter 364
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 364
Chapter Title: Interspecies War (3)
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Han Shin's low murmur carried a trace of self-mockery mingled with cold resolve.
He had accurately grasped Lee Hyuk-soo's intentions.
A man who wouldn't be swayed by pity, moving solely for victory.
And the warrior with the highest chance of surviving this battle in the disadvantageous 'Dark Space'.
The contractor of the Demon God Belial.
Darkness was a familiar stage for Han Shin as well.
Han Shin slowly stepped forward.
His footsteps didn't waver in the slightest.
A few gremlins looked at him with pleading eyes, but Han Shin didn't spare them a glance.
With the system message, the scrawniest gremlin from the tribe with the most vicious glint in its eyes stepped forward.
In its hand, it held a rusted dagger alongside some unidentified small mechanical device.
The gremlin warrior's eyes burned with the venom of one who had abandoned all attachment to life.
Shoooo—
Black mist-like fog began rising from beneath Han Shin and the gremlin warrior's feet.
In an instant, all surrounding light vanished, and vision was completely blocked.
In the pitch-black darkness, only each other's ragged breaths, heartbeats, and an unidentified mechanical hum stimulated their senses.
With the system's cold declaration, Han Shin and Shatoml were left in perfect darkness.
The cheers of the Great Plains of Fierce Battle and the breaths of their comrades faded into the distance, leaving only silence and the faint presence of the opponent to stimulate their senses.
"...We must win."
From the darkness ahead, Shatoml's grinding voice echoed.
At the same time, scraping sounds on the ground, clashing metal, and faint vibrations like an unidentified machine activating began irregularly resounding from all directions.
The creature was clearly busily moving in the darkness, building its own hunting ground.
Han Shin didn't budge.
He took slow, deep breaths, focusing all his nerves on his other senses.
The loss of vision was undoubtedly a fatal penalty, but it was also a familiar sensation to him.
His contract with Demon God Belial had granted him a 'disposition' different from that of ordinary humans.
'Sound, vibrations, air currents... and killing intent.'
His soles detected faint tremors in the ground.
Shatoml's movements were growing ever more cunning.
It wasn't simply hiding in the dark for a surprise attack; it was turning the entire space into its trap.
Shring.
Han Shin unfastened the massive shield from his back and secured it firmly to his left arm, slowly drawing the sword from his waist with his right hand.
Sword in one hand, shield in the other.
The 'sword-and-shield' style honed for the interspecies war.
In the darkness, Han Shin's movements were silent and agile.
'A head-on clash would be foolish.'
Han Shin assumed a defensive stance, lowering his body as much as possible.
His ears strained to distinguish every tiny sound.
Identifying the types and positions of the traps Shatoml was setting was the top priority.
Then, a small 'click' sounded from beneath his feet.
At the same moment, his entire body screamed in warning of danger.
Instinctively, Han Shin thrust his shield forward and leaped backward.
Kaboom!
A sharp explosion erupted from where he had stood, with tremendous force that could have blown off his ankle if he'd reacted even a moment slower.
From the darkness ahead came Shatoml's ragged breathing.
No mockery or cheers.
Only metallic friction sounds, as if preparing the next attack.
Its concentration was reaching its limit.
Every action from Shatoml reeked of desperate stakes for its tribe's fate.
'Dodged it.'
Shatoml's low voice echoed in the darkness.
Rather than disappointment, it carried cold calculation for the next move.
'I've pinpointed your position. We'll stake everything and win no matter what.'
Shatoml's vow was desperate.
Han Shin staggered briefly from the explosion's shock but quickly regained his posture.
'......Not an opponent to underestimate.'
He heightened his vigilance inwardly.
The gremlin tribe's desperation infused lethal killing intent into every one of their traps.
It wasn't mere trickery.
It was the desperate struggle for survival.
Against such an opponent, a single minor mistake could reverse the tide.
Han Shin readjusted his grip on the shield.
The enemy planned to use the darkness to turn the entire space into traps, slowly strangling him.
Staying purely defensive wouldn't guarantee victory within the 6-hour limit.
Han Shin held his breath.
All his nerves focused on Shatoml's next action.
Once more, scraping on the ground, sounds like small mechanical parts assembling.
And for a very brief moment, Shatoml's killing intent weakened as it moved elsewhere.
'Now.'
Han Shin didn't miss that split-second opportunity.
Shield forward, he launched himself without hesitation toward where the sound had vanished.
And thrust his sword.
Stab!
Above Earth's sky.
The interspecies war was being broadcast in real time like an illusion.
The tense moment when the 'Gremlin Tribe' was named as humanity's first opponent, and 'Dark Space' was presented as the first match condition.
The time left for the humanity representative team to select their first combatant was steadily ticking down.
Who would fight the first battle under these disadvantageous conditions?
Earthlings held their breath, awaiting Lee Hyuk-soo's decision.
It was then.
A close-up appeared of a small, emaciated gremlin crying out in a trembling voice, yet desperately.
-Humans. Can't you surrender?
At that one sentence, plazas and living rooms across Earth fell into instant silence.
The murmurs vanished in a heartbeat, everyone staring at the screen in disbelief.
"......What did that thing just say?"
"Surrender?"
A man watching the broadcast with friends at a restaurant dropped his chopsticks.
-You have a chance.
Another gremlin painfully continued.
Rusted mechanical devices that seemed barely functional dangled precariously from its body.
-We... don't. This is... truly the last...
Their desperate voices reached Earthlings' ears unfiltered through the system.
The screen unflinchingly showed the gremlins' ashen green skin, limp ears, and eyes blurred with despair and pleading.
The watchers were at a loss for words.
Was this the reality of the interspecies war?
That the fate of defeated species was this miserable?
It wasn't just a competition to rank them.
It was a literal war staking species survival and extinction.
"......What do we do."
A girl sniffled in her mother's arms.
Her eyes filled with fear and pity for the gremlins.
The mother silently stroked her daughter's head, her face etched with mixed emotions.
Similar scenes unfolded across Earth.
Those who had been thrilled by the spectacular scale of the interspecies war fell silent.
The gremlins' cries transmitted through the screen weren't mere data or information.
They were the final death throes of living beings on the brink of annihilation.
"But... we have to fight too. If we lose... we'll end up like that."
A young man beside her bit his lip, unable to continue.
His eyes reflected anxiety for humanity's future.
Humanity's team leader, Lee Hyuk-soo, remained motionless with eyes closed.
Time to select the first combatant ticked away relentlessly, but he couldn't decide easily.
Should they show mercy, or win?
"Of course we win! Crush them properly!"
"Ah, even so, aren't they too pitiful?"
"Pitiful my ass! Can't you see what they look like?"
"If we lose this one, the whole species gets wiped out..."
"If we go easy, we die!"
"You want us to fight heartlessly after hearing those kids are marked for death? Is that what humans do?!"
A young man retorted with teary eyes.
Online communities and SNS were war zones.
Hashtags like '#InterspeciesWar_Gremlins' and '#HumanitysChoice' exploded in real time, sparking fierce debates.
Extreme opinions clashed sharply, plunging the entire Earth into a massive debate hall.
Some argued for ruthlessness to ensure humanity's survival, others pleaded to retain basic humanity regardless.
Still others spewed only despairing predictions, as if all hope was lost.
They hadn't experienced it yet.
The finale of the interspecies war.
What treatment low-ranking species received.
Then, as Han Shin stepped up and the battle began.
"D-Did he win?"
"No. What is that?"
People were shocked.
Han Shin swung his sword, slicing through Shatoml's torso.
But what burst from Shatoml's body wasn't blood.
Countless rusted gears, twisted springs, and unidentified black liquid.
Like an old mechanical doll breaking apart, Shatoml's form grotesquely twisted, spilling its innards.
Kikik, kigigigik...!
With eerie mechanical friction sounds, thin metal limbs like spider legs protruded from Shatoml's body, flailing wildly in the air.
Where its eyes had been, a red warning light now flashed.
"W-What is that... Gremlins are... machines?"
"No, just earlier they were clearly... begging alive!"
"Penalty... Is that the curse and penalty Adora mentioned?"
Earthlings couldn't comprehend the scene before them.
The gremlins who had been tearfully worrying for their young moments ago had transformed into something no longer resembling a living being—a horrific abomination.
As if despair and pain had condensed into a broken mechanical weapon.
-No, matter, what, you, do.
-Even, after, I, rebuilt, my, body, completely.
-Gremlins, just, want, to live!
Kwaaaaaang!