Chapter 178: Rescue
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: Rescue
Logard had informed me that the broadcasting station would be attacked, but there was actually one more thing.
It wasn't that he had intentionally hidden it; rather, it was a supplementary plan the radicals had devised a few days before the raid to make their provocation even more inflammatory. Logard couldn't have known about it.
To be honest, I didn't know the details perfectly either. Since I had to infer this kind of information from passing lines of dialogue, it wasn't exact.
Let’s just conclude that Logard is a bit of a klutz, despite his handsome face... a typical Zboni.
To force a war, these radical bastards commit acts that leave humans with no choice but to be enraged.
Occupying a broadcasting station to declare war? That’s too textbook, too boring.
But these guys—it’s as if they have a drama-hungry streamer among them, because they’ve scheduled a broadcast that’s insanely provocative.
That was the daycare center raid plan, added just a few days ago.
The ones who occupy the station plan to broadcast the massacre of toddlers live to the entire nation.
And that’s not all. They plan to rape the daycare teachers in front of the children and even dismember them.
Shocked by such cruel and atrocious acts—broadcast without any mosaics or editing—humanity would pour its rage toward the Zboni, and a miserable war would begin.
If the Zboni were acting according to the game's original lore, such behavior would be unimaginable.
They are usually depicted like glamorized medieval nobles, with a culture of honor and faith deeply embedded in the entire race.
Thinking about that just shows how truly insane these extreme radicals are.
They likely pushed their twisted imaginations to the limit to ensure the most provocative and rage-inducing outcome possible.
This is the end of War Route A.
I have no intention of interfering with Akito’s choices, but in this case, Route B—where the daycare tragedy is prevented and the war is averted—is much better. So, I’m going to force the change myself.
I’ve already sent support troops to the broadcasting station, so they’ll handle that. I need to save the children.
The problem is, I don’t know the exact location.
If the game had given me a precise location, or at least told me if it was in City A or City D, I could narrow the search. But I have nothing but the clue "daycare center."
So, what else can I do? If I can't solve it through logic, I have to use traditional power.
Namely, manpower.
If a company commander gives the order, soldiers can level a mountain with nothing but shovels. They built pyramids in an era without cranes, so what can't be done?
However, I don't have an organization to command that kind of manpower.
In that case, I just need to find someone who does.
“You’re right on time. I really like that you’re never late, Yeon-woo.”
Park Yu-jeong, the chairman of the SA Group, looks back at me as I arrive and smiles brightly.
Though the group's visible scale is small for a conglomerate, it’s an organization that grew by walking the tightrope between legal and illegal, possessing hidden power far greater than it appears.
A chairman in her twenties... no matter how much this is a game, the setting feels a bit much.
“Did you find it?”
“Yep, yep. My boys had a bit of a hard time, but since you pointed out the clues so specifically, we found it.”
Park Yu-jeong narrows her eyes, emphasizing the part about how I knew.
Seriously, she’s way too suspicious.
“Where do I need to go?”
“Can’t you tell by the fact that I changed our meeting spot to here? You’re quite indifferent to the little details, Yeon-woo.”
So it’s nearby.
And I’m not an intelligence-type character, so it’s troublesome if she expects me to just figure things out on my own.
Park Yu-jeong leads me by the hand to the rooftop railing.
“I set the distance a bit far because we might get caught by mana detection, but see that unusual building over therrrrre? About 10 degrees to the side from there. Right, right. It’s near where the school is.”
Park Yu-jeong stands behind me, holding my head with both hands to fix my line of sight and show me the location.
Don’t do this; just pin it on a map app.
She finally tells me the name of the daycare, and I check the location on my phone.
“What’s the situation?”
“I don’t know because we didn’t approach. Demons are sensitive to mana, after all. My boys are just low-life street thugs, so please don’t expect too much from them.”
It’s much better than them noticing something and messing with the hostages.
At the mention of Zboni infiltrating a daycare, the eyes of the other members turn fierce.
Even the gentle Angelica is fuming, which says it all.
“If you all show your bloodlust like that, you’ll be caught before you even get close~”
Park Yu-jeong giggles at the heavy atmosphere of the group and then looks at me.
Since I already know what’s going to happen and came here to stop it, I don’t feel any emotional agitation.
Perhaps because of that, Park Yu-jeong, who had been studying my calm face, smiles brightly and hugs me.
“As I thought, you’re just like me.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Aha, you hate that. But what are you going to do? Hostage rescue operations are difficult even for veteran mages.”
“I’m going to crush them with overwhelming force.”
“...Yeon-woo, sometimes I think you’re smart, but then you’re so aggressive and stupid.”
Stupid? I might not be an intelligence-type, but I’m not a moron like the Comedy Duo.
I’ve played Route B in the game, so I know exactly what their combat power is.
With overwhelming power, I can sweep them all away before they can even try anything.
Park Yu-jeong glances over my party members and smirks.
“Yukina and Angelica are one thing... but can you really do it with just these two?”
Don’t ignore my party members. And why are you leaving me out?
Of course, since I have nothing but my mana barrier, I probably look useless in an operation that requires agility and stealth.
“I have you.”
“Heehee~ Yeon-woo, you really do like me.”
I don’t like you; I just find you useful.
And though they haven't revealed their full strength to Yggdrasil yet, I also have Akane and Bukgeuk-jwa.
Yukina, Angelica, Park Yu-jeong, Akane, and Bukgeuk-jwa.
And finally, one more person.
As I turn my head, Park Yu-jeong grins at the woman who late-arrived on the rooftop.
“I see... I was the stupid one. Yeon-woo, you had a plan all along.”
A woman who came as an ally, but whose gaze makes it look like she’s here to kill me.
With Shizuka, whose cold eyes perfectly match her long, dark-blue hair, the rescue team is complete.
You have no idea how hard it was to persuade her.
Actually, persuasion wasn't the problem; it was the fact that she wouldn't even let me speak to her.
But at the mention of children’s lives being at stake, Shizuka joined in.
“I am not doing this to help you.”
“Sure, sure~ We have to save the kids. What a good girl.”
“...”
As if she hated my sly attitude, Shizuka glares at me before turning her head away.
Now that we’ve added an Akito-level powerhouse, let’s get going.
* * *
“They say it will take time to prepare the broadcast.”
“Logard... that traitorous bastard!”
The Zboni who appeared to be the leader exploded in rage upon hearing the report.
The plan to occupy the broadcasting station had crumbled from the very start.
The moment they attacked, a massive force of human troops had surged out as if they had been waiting, and among them were mages so skilled that even the Zboni—who were called mad dogs—couldn't ignore them.
Since this could never have happened unless the plan had been leaked, they instinctively knew who had sold them out to the humans.
While they were cursing Logard, Rio was lying on the ground near the daycare center, using detection magic.
“You look comfortable.”
“I’m sensing vibrations, so the more of my body is in contact with the ground, the more accurate it is.”
Masayoshi looked at him with disdain but didn't stop relaying the location data to the members.
Selby’s original magic hadn't been helpful to Yeon-woo, but Masayoshi had gained an idea from her magic and created his own original spell.
It was still an incomplete magic that needed refinement, but it was a spell that constructed a map in his mind based on various information like blueprints, added the location data provided by Rio, and transmitted it to others.
Since his detection magic was still lacking, it was only possible with Rio’s help, but even this was an immense aid.
Real-time information on the location of enemies and allies was of the highest value in an operation, and everyone began to move based on the information he provided.
- Angelica, start.
Receiving Yeon-woo’s radio transmission, Angelica clasps her hands together and gathers mana into the seeds she holds.
Her magic required preparation time, but no one could ignore its sheer firepower.
However, Yeon-woo didn't expect firepower from Angelica.
Instead of firepower, she focused on range, and through her efforts, Angelica became capable of ultra-long-range sniping from a distance where her mana couldn't be detected.
Seeds imbued with mana, and dozens of magic circles forming behind her.
The focused Angelica opens her eyes, her pink pupils glowing brightly with mana.
Based on the information relayed by Masayoshi, Angelica fires dozens of spells, and Yeon-woo, watching from a distance where he couldn't be detected, hops onto Takeo’s greatsword.
“Thug, give it everything you’ve got. How many hostages die depends on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
Takeo concentrates all his mana into his body, reinforcing it.
A single swing would exhaust all his mana and remove him from the operation, but this one swing was crucial.
Gritting his teeth, Takeo begins to swing the greatsword, and the ground cracks as a shockwave spreads in all directions.
Feeling the immense pressure, Yeon-woo kicks off the greatsword and flies like a missile toward the daycare center, alongside Angelica’s spells.
“Mana reaction!!”
The Zboni, sensitive to mana, detect the magic heading toward the daycare and move quickly, but Angelica’s spells pierce through the ceiling and walls first.
Though it was a surprise attack, the damage to the Zboni wasn't as great as expected.
Some avoided it with superhuman reflexes, and since the spells focused on range rather than power, they weren't lethally wounded even if hit.
However, the surprise magic momentarily distracted them, and they missed Yeon-woo, who had used the barrage of spells as cover to infiltrate.
Crash!
“Uwaaaaaagh!!”
As soon as he bursts through the wall, Yeon-woo, unable to control the momentum, rolls across the floor. The Zboni stare at him blankly.
From Yeon-woo’s body as he rolls pathetically across the floor, coins spill out in every direction like a loot goblin.
Though he failed to control the impact, his positioning was perfect; he had successfully wedged himself between the Zboni and the hostages.
It had been their mistake to herd the hostages into one area for easy management.
“Stop him!”
One Zboni snaps out of it and gives the order, and all the Zboni rush toward Yeon-woo as he tries to pick himself up.
He looks disoriented as if the shock hasn't worn off, but in his head, the locations of the fallen coins and information about the surrounding objects are being transmitted to Masayoshi.
Chirr-ring—
The coins held in his hand are scattered forward, and every object in the vicinity is swapped, erecting a wall of junk.
Not just items from the daycare, but cars, vending machines, and all sorts of objects pour out from the coins he had scattered on his way here, creating a barricade. Following that, Angelica’s magic strikes the floor in a straight line as if drawing a boundary in front of him.
The Zboni, who burst through the crude barricade in an instant, see vines sprouting from the floor, wrapping around Yeon-woo and the hostages to form another wall.
Disappearing behind the rapidly growing vines, Yeon-woo smiles at the charging Zboni.
“I can probably hold out for about 15 seconds?”
“That’s more than enough.”
As a voice answering Yeon-woo is heard from behind, the Zboni turn around in surprise, only to be swept away by the blades wielded by five women emitting intense mana.