The Mountain King's Counterstrike
As Mir Guild's raid team unleashed the thunder of their counterattack, chaos erupted outside the gate in South Korea.
The first to detect the anomaly was the Bureau's Geumgang Mountain Observatory.
EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! Level 8 Gate detected!! Location: North Korea Gate Danger Zone!
“Hurry, call the government! You, contact the Ministry of Defense!! What about the Association?!”
“They’re not picking up!”
“Goddamn it! Tell them to answer even if you have to grab them by the collar!! This is real!!”
The danger detection alarms blared without pause.
Eight glowing points appeared on the screen, signaling the emergence of a Level 8 Gate.
The mana readings on the detector weren’t rising gradually. They were spiking in sharp, stair-step surges.
There was only one thing this graph could mean.
This gate was the worst possible case of ‘Gate Fusion’—a Chain Fusion.
The shocking revelation sent the Blue House into immediate panic.
“Just what the hell are you people doing with gate management?! Unauthorized, unauthorized, this is why! Were you really just sitting on your hands?”
“We’re sorry!”
“Forget sorry! Gather every Ranker right now and contact the Association! Maintain an emergency hotline with the Bureau as well!”
“But the evacuation…”
“We have to prepare first! Prepare!! Do you have any idea what kind of chaos will break out if we issue an evacuation order now? Tell every agency to get ready immediately! Now!!”
South Korea, having once faced an unprecedented catastrophe when a Level 9 Gate opened in the past.
Perhaps because of that painful history, the country was extremely sensitive to any gate anomalies. After all, it was the reason North Korea had collapsed.
Therefore, when it came to situations like this, no nation acted more decisively or swiftly.
“W-wait a moment. Let’s think this through. So you’re certain it’s a Chain Fusion?”
— “Listen, Association President. Don’t think. This is an actual situation. Summon the Rankers immediately and notify every guild.”
“No, I need to at least understand the basic information, don’t I?”
— “Really? So if we’re even one minute late, you’ll take full responsibility? I can record this, right?”
“…Haa. I’ll summon them right away.”
Even the Awakener Association President, who usually flaunted his power, had no room to argue. This wasn’t just any Level 8 Gate. It was a Level 8 Gate born from Chain Fusion.
If it somehow regressed, or—though it was unlikely—became a Level 9 Gate…
The mere thought made the President shudder. He shook his head and began pressuring the guilds.
“Representative Han Jeong-do. Where are you right now?”
— “Hawaii. Why do you ask?”
“Return immediately with every guild member.”
— “What…”
“A Level 8 Gate has appeared domestically. Suspected to be Chain Fusion. The signs are bad. Come back as fast as you can.”
— “!!”
“Hurry. If you arrive first, I’ll make sure you get priority on the distribution rights.”
— “I-I’m leaving right now.”
Of course, this uproar wasn’t a disaster for everyone. A powerful gate meant powerful monsters, which in turn meant a golden opportunity to obtain valuable items.
Especially with a Level 8 Gate, even Legendary-grade items were no longer a dream.
From Han Jeong-do’s Kirin Guild to every other major guild in Korea, they all scrambled to board the next flight back to Seoul.
But then.
Amid this great turmoil, a single phone call reached the Association President.
“…It looks like our raid team is in there?”
“Say that again.”
“I’m saying… it seems our Mir raid team has entered that Level 8 Gate!”
The President checked the caller ID.
It wasn’t a prank call. It was definitely from Mir Guild.
“Who is this?”
“This is Vice Raid Leader Chae Dong-ha.”
“Vice Raid Leader Chae Dong-ha, are you telling me that your team is inside that fused Level 8 Gate…”
“Our entire raid team is in there!! The Representative, the Mountain King, and every single member of our team!!”
The Association President gave up on thinking.
…It was absolute pandemonium.
People often asked the Mountain King.
What is true command? Whenever that question arose, Kim Jong-pil would always answer the same way.
Self-doubt.
It was the mantra Kim Jong-pil repeated to himself across hundreds, even thousands of raids.
Never let your guard down.
When planning operations.
When sending out his team members.
When stepping into battle.
Even when opening the door to the final boss room.
He would recite the mantra. Jong-pil, never let your guard down.
A commander is the one who balances the scales of the battlefield. On one side of the scale must sit strategy and tactics. On the other, comrades and fellow hunters.
His mistakes would become their crises.
Therefore, Kim Jong-pil could not afford to make mistakes. He had to be thorough. He had to be even harsher on himself.
And only when certainty emerged from that endless self-doubt.
Only then did Kim Jong-pil become the Mountain King.
“……”
Vita’s horn sparkled.
Hundreds of spirits raced across the battlefield. Water rats scurried along the ground while wind hawks flapped their wings. They were repeatedly unsummoned by attacks from vines and all manner of assaults, but they paid it no mind, continuing to roam the field.
Slowly, they began to take control of the battlefield.
The raid team, which had been focused on one side, spread out. Centering around the Yggdrasil located at the altar’s core, they formed an encirclement from three directions.
Team 1 took the left flank, Team 2 the right, and at the front stood the Mountain King and the children.
It was a puzzling decision.
Why had they concentrated their forces in the first place?
Because Yggdrasil’s absurd destructive power was too much to handle. That was why they had deployed six tanks, even attaching Park Su-bin and Kim Yu-shin, to finally make progress…
And now he was suddenly splitting that power? On what basis?
The vines were one thing, but how would they stop those roots? And what about that final bombardment pattern?
If someone were to ask the Mountain King, he would answer like this:
Trust me.
I’ll take care of everything.
The raid team thought they had wasted precious time, but that was far from the truth.
The trajectories of the attacks they had endured, the characteristics of each pattern, the attack power and range of every part, and every other gimmick.
Not a single detail had escaped the Mountain King’s mind. Every piece of information was recorded perfectly.
Now was the time for their blood and sweat to be repaid.
⊳ Move exactly as I command.
⊳ Follow the designated paths without deviation.
The battlefield began to dance in perfect sync with the Mountain King’s commands.
Under the guidance of the spirits, the raid team moved in flawless coordination. Was the music the sound of vines and roots slamming into the ground?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
KWAGAGAANG!! CRACKLE!!
They dodged everything.
Not a single hit landed.
The raid members, and even the attacking Yggdrasil itself, seemed dumbfounded as every strike slammed uselessly into the floor.
Of course, in such a confined space, some attacks were impossible to avoid. But even then, tanks were positioned at precise points to deflect the damage with minimal impact.
Trajectories, distances, angles, ranges…
The strongest mind currently in existence, capable of analyzing and orchestrating every piece of information on the battlefield, both enemy and ally. This was a tactical maneuver only the Mountain King could execute.
But even for the Mountain King, that root pattern was troublesome.
Those roots, larger than buildings, possessed not only immense destructive power but also an overwhelming mass that made their attack range completely unfair.
Therefore, they would bring their own unfairness.
The absolute strongest character among all of GM’s end-game specs, despite its brutally difficult training requirements.
An existence so broken that only Lee Shin could handle it.
The Absolute Dignity Monster.
“Park Su-bin.”
At the Mountain King’s call, Park Su-bin responded.
“Yes.”
He shot into the sky and came crashing down like a meteor.
The place where Park Su-bin landed with a heroic touchdown was directly in front of Yggdrasil.
The appearance of an enemy threatening its main body sent the roots into a frenzy. They reared up like snakes, looking down at the insolent human, then fired forward all at once.
A critical moment.
Those were the same roots that had required the entire tank line, Hwarang’s defensive skills, and even Park Su-bin’s own ‘True Madness’ to block. Yet now, no one stood around him.
Was he really planning to handle all those roots alone?
In front of the wall of roots that blocked his vision, Park Su-bin looked incredibly small.
But at that moment, as Park Su-bin lifted his head, his eyes turned blood-red.
KWAAAAAANG—!!
With a deafening roar, the roots that had been shooting forward in a straight line were completely bent and repelled.
Through the scattering debris of the impact, a figure emerged.
Park Su-bin, his coat fluttering within a crimson torrent.
And behind him, the two arms of the milky-white giant that should have been protecting him…
They were different. They had merged into one.
There were shoulders. There was a torso. And a milky-white head lifted high.
◈ Advent (SSS)
◈ The entity beyond the dimension has finally recognized you.
It was Lee Shin’s second contingency plan.
The trait awakening triggered by the ‘Ka Rakkum Set effects’—Park Su-bin’s instruction manual.
The half-body of the milky-white giant roared toward the sky.
Though no sound was heard, it was clearly transmitted. The wave of mana shook the surroundings.
The half-body of the milky-white giant assumed a combat stance and threw a punch at the charging roots.
The roots snapped and bent in every direction. Sparks of mana flew as wooden shrapnel exploded outward.
Which meant—
As if responding to the Mountain King’s words, all the scattered roots converged on a single point.
Their target was obviously Park Su-bin.
At that moment, Park Su-bin’s red eyes curved like crescent moons. It was a mischievous gaze that somehow reminded one of a certain someone.
Even a dog at a temple learns to recite poems after three years. Well, it’s been three years for us too, hasn’t it?
“Come at me.”
The half-body of the milky-white giant raised its middle finger toward the roots.
Take this, you sunfish MC. Provocation (feat. Lee Shin).
BANG! BANG! BANG!
GRRRRRR——!!
While the notoriously difficult root pattern was completely blocked by Park Su-bin’s milky-white half-body, the raid team had already closed a significant distance, dodging the vines.
The closer they got, the more effective hits landed.
Under the raid team’s firepower, Yggdrasil’s outer bark exploded. Even its white inner flesh became visible. Considering how it hadn’t taken a scratch in the beginning, this was tremendous progress.
But the Mountain King didn’t think this was enough.
Plant-type monsters were known for their tenacious vitality. As someone who possessed Vita, he knew that better than anyone. Therefore, a half-hearted offensive would only be poisonous.
They needed to deliver shock. Continuous, overwhelming shock.
⊳ When the long-range dealers focus fire, charge in immediately.
⊳ Strike exactly once, then retreat. Do not get greedy. One hit only.
⊳ Never take your eyes off the spirits.
The close-range dealers, including Hwarang, loosened their bodies and prepared. Soon after, the magical bombardment paused for a moment.
3.
Their eyes were fixed not on Yggdrasil, but on the wind hawks.
2.
They placed their hands on their weapons and assumed their stances.
1.
Their bodies leaned forward.
“Now!”
Starting with Yu Ri-ra’s anti-materiel sniper rifle blowing off one side of Yggdrasil, a kaleidoscope of magical explosions hammered the main body.
Using the brilliant aftermath of the mana explosion as cover, the close-range dealers fanned out in a wide arc.
Then, spinning like a whirlwind, they closed in on Yggdrasil and unleashed their strongest techniques.
At the exact same moment.
BOOM——!!
As the bark at its base shattered and scattered from the attack, the close-range dealers spun in the opposite direction without looking back and retreated.
Their formation didn’t waver in the slightest.
If this had been a league raid, the commentators would have given this beautiful maneuver a perfect artistic score.
Every time Yu Ri-ra’s muzzle flashed, explosive firepower followed, and the formation bloomed like a flower.
Yggdrasil was swallowed by the explosions.
And amid it all, the Mountain King clearly saw it.
The Yggdrasil reflected in the Mountain King’s eyes…
“…is shrinking.”
Its size was decreasing with every attack it received.
They were on the right track.
What they needed now was patience.
Strike. Strike. Strike.
“Now!”
“Now!”
“Now!”
One hour. Three hours. Seven hours…
In a battle of endurance, the first to give up loses.
They continued striking while maintaining their patience.
They believed that eventually, there would be a reaction.
And they were right.
GOOOOOO—!
Wrapped in a black aurora.
The final phase finally revealed itself.
Creak.
Between the shattered fragments of wood, a horrifying pair of glowing eyes appeared.
Legion Commander of Despair, Para, has entered the stage.