Chapter 513: A Changed Situation (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 513: A Changed Situation (5)
A short while ago, Roman Dmitry had said,
“I am going to Busan. I will only bring Park Min-woo with me, so strengthen Incheon’s defense system until I return. If a problem arises that you cannot handle, I will return to Incheon immediately.”
His words had deeply moved the people. Roman Dmitry placed Incheon above all else.
In truth, he could have resolved the crisis in Busan with his strength alone, but he brought Park Min-woo along to use Teleport magic at a moment's notice. Or at least, that was how everyone else understood it. No matter how famous Park Min-woo was as the Mage in White, Roman Dmitry had proven through this Great Disaster that he existed on an entirely different level.
However, Park Min-woo interpreted it differently.
Being the only one brought along felt like special treatment.
Lord Roman Dmitry definitely trusts me. Otherwise, there’s no reason to bring only me.
Ah.
What a beautiful situation this was.
His heart pounded at the thought of earning the Heavenly Demon’s trust. Even as they headed toward Busan—a city that had turned into a living hell—he felt like he was walking on air. He was truly devastated that he had nowhere to brag about this incredible honor. If this were his past life as Kim Pan-seok? He would have shouted, “Advent of the Heavenly Demon, Submission of Ten Thousand Demons!” in a crowded tavern, boasting to everyone that he was the Heavenly Demon’s man.
And now.
“Clear the path.”
The command fell.
Park Min-woo’s eyes burned with intense desire. Now that he had the Heavenly Demon’s trust, he absolutely refused to betray those expectations.
This is my chance. A chance to prove my skills to Lord Roman Dmitry.
Rumble!
Ruuuumble!
He drew up his mana. Stepping ahead of Roman Dmitry, he unleashed an explosive torrent of mana toward the monsters surging forward like a tidal wave.
“Thunder Storm.”
Flash!
Boom, boom, crash!
The sky was dyed blue.
Bolts of lightning struck down, creating a powerful tempest that swept the monsters away in an indiscriminate slaughter. People did not know the truth about Park Min-woo. Though he was hailed as a pioneer in this world for his magical abilities as an S-Rank mage, his current level was actually nothing special compared to his past life.
But that did not mean he was weak.
Through the awakening system of his current life, Park Min-woo had learned how to maximize his power in ways completely different from his past life.
“Amplify.”
Crash, crash, crash!
He activated his skill.
The tempest’s power grew even more devastating, and hundreds of monsters lost their lives in the blink of an eye. Park Min-woo did not stop. He continued to pour down his magic. The entire city of Busan had failed to hold back the monsters even after unleashing all their firepower, yet the presence of Park Min-woo alone overwhelmed the horde.
His white robes fluttered.
Fully assimilated with his mana, he swiped his finger from top to bottom.
“Giga Lightning.”
Flash!
Kaboom!
A path opened.
The monsters were blasted back.
As if that weren’t enough, Park Min-woo ferociously unleashed his mana like a madman.
I will sweep away every single bastard who dares block the Heavenly Demon’s path.
At this moment, Park Min-woo felt truly alive.
* * *
Roman Dmitry threw himself into the wide-open space.
Dropping down from the city wall, he raised his head and looked toward the starting point of the surging monster wave.
A war of attrition against a monster wave is meaningless. In the end, this will only finish once the source of the problem is resolved.
That was as far as his thoughts needed to go.
The problem was clear.
And he had the power.
Therefore, there was no reason to stand by and watch any longer.
Whoosh.
Dash, dash.
He charged forward.
Although Park Min-woo’s magic had cleared a path, as Roman moved further from the wall, the space ahead of him suddenly teemed with monsters once more. He did not slow down. Utilizing his charging momentum, he plunged straight into the midst of the horde.
Slash!
Screeech!
Screams echoed from all directions.
The moment they clashed with Roman Dmitry, the monsters’ limbs were torn apart. They could not even visually track his movements. If a scream was heard on the right, he had already appeared on the left; if a scream was heard on the left, he was blowing off a head right in front of them. Tens, hundreds, thousands—numbers were meaningless. Even though he was fighting hand-to-hand, he cleared a path faster than Park Min-woo could cast his magic.
At that sight, the people were dumbfounded.
Even though they realized Roman Dmitry’s objective, they could not accept this absurd reality.
“……Is he seriously trying to annihilate a monster wave all by himself?”
It defied all common sense.
Setting aside the fact that a monster wave typically required national-level military force to deal with, the wave that had occurred in Busan was highly unusual. A monster wave generated over the ocean. People called such things natural disasters. A monster wave itself was already a catastrophe that humans could not handle, but because of the geographical terrain, attacking this one was far from easy, forcing them to sacrifice countless lives just to hold the line.
Yet, he was handling this disaster all by himself.
Because Roman Dmitry’s intention was clear, the people of Busan, who had temporarily secured their safety, stared over the city wall with dazed expressions.
As if Moses’ miracle were unfolding, a path split open with Roman Dmitry at the center.
In an instant, Roman Dmitry reached the area flooded with seawater and threw himself forward without hesitation.
Whoosh.
Tap, tap, tap.
It was an astonishing sight.
Even without using any special magic, Roman Dmitry was running across the surface of the sea.
Treading on Water.
It was a type of Lightness Skill.
By spreading a thin layer of mana across the soles of his feet, he walked on the sea. Though common sense dictated he should sink, he moved forward at rapid speed. Monsters popping out of the seawater posed no threat. He crushed their heads underfoot, using them as stepping stones to leap higher. When other monsters soared into the air to swallow him whole, Roman obliterated them with a single strike.
Whoosh.
Crash, crash, crash!
A tsunami rose.
The fierce waves tried to swallow the human, but with a single swing of his sword, the seawater evaporated instantly.
Heavenly Demon Sword Technique - Mid-Half First Form.
Boom.
Bang, bang, bang!
He surpassed human limits.
He defied nature.
Finally, he reached the source.
The monsters tried desperately to stop Roman Dmitry, but their struggles were utterly futile.
Kaboom!
Rumble!
With a single blow, the source was torn to shreds.
* * *
Witnessing this sequence of events, Cha Young-min felt like he was losing his mind.
Two days ago, during a meeting with the leadership, when asked if they should really trust Incheon, he had replied:
“The presence of Baek-il does not guarantee the truth. However, we have no other choice. We honestly reported Busan’s situation, and we can only trust the confidence of Roman Dmitry, who said he would help even after knowing the truth. If that confidence is groundless… then we aren’t even allowed a shred of hope.”
He had turned a blind eye to reality.
A monster wave occurring over the sea.
It was a problem that could never be solved with Incheon’s publicly known strength, but Cha Young-min had hypnotized himself, grasping at straws.
Roman Dmitry is incredibly powerful. Since he disposed of the S-Rank monster, the Green Dragon, in one go, Busan will survive as long as he appears.
Even though he knew it made absolutely no sense, he couldn’t keep his sanity otherwise.
Yet, the absurd had become reality.
Following Park Min-woo’s powerful magic, Roman Dmitry’s overwhelming martial prowess caused Cha Young-min’s thoughts to grind to a halt.
“……What on earth is his identity?”
He blinked several times.
The visual information delivered to his eyes did not change.
The monsters, numerous enough to fill his entire field of vision, could not handle Roman Dmitry alone. The sight of him running across the sea and slaughtering monsters made Cha Young-min doubt whether this was reality. He knew what kind of person Kim Jun-hyeok was. Just a few months ago, he couldn’t understand why such a rational man would oppose the Central Government, but with Roman Dmitry in Incheon, everything made perfect sense.
S-Rank?
No.
He was an existence far beyond what could be measured by numerical values.
If one knew of Roman Dmitry’s power, following him rather than the Central Government was the only wise choice.
No one thinks of the Central Government as the best option. Since we cannot choose the worst-case scenario of facing the Great Disaster with only the strength of a local government, the Central Government is merely the lesser evil we are forced to obey, despite knowing how unjust they are. But Roman Dmitry is different. Though it was only a single conversation, he showed trust in the people of Incheon who followed him. In this chaotic world, that was reason enough to go against the tide.
The achievements of Roman Dmitry that the leadership had spoken of… they were not absurd rumors.
Roman Dmitry had provided more than enough proof of how Incheon had managed to survive solely on its own strength.
The situation was resolved.
Thanks to the active roles of Roman Dmitry and Park Min-woo, the remaining monsters were quickly cleaned up. As Roman Dmitry returned to the final defense line, Cha Young-min ran over in a single breath. He looked like a complete mess. Having fought until the bitter end, he looked ready to collapse at any moment, but upon facing Roman Dmitry, he prostrated himself with a face full of intense reverence.
“Cha Young-min, Mayor of Busan! I greet our savior!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The sentiment spread like wildfire. The soldiers of Busan, many of whom were missing limbs or severely injured, gathered without exception to pay their respects to Roman Dmitry.
“We greet our savior!”
“Thank you so much!”
“Thanks to you, Busan was able to survive!”
Barely an hour after the two had joined the fray, Busan had survived the brink of the abyss.
* * *
The battlefield was cleaned up.
Once the wounded were moved and they had secured enough breathing room, Roman Dmitry gathered the leadership of Busan.
Cha Young-min and the people of Busan showed intense reverence.
Even without being prompted to fulfill his promise, Cha Young-min spoke first.
“Thank you so much for saving Busan. Without Lord Roman Dmitry’s help, Busan would never have survived. As promised, Busan will fully cooperate with the Incheon Government and Lord Roman Dmitry. From now on, whatever Lord Roman Dmitry’s command may be, we will follow it blindly.”
“Thank you so much!”
“We will serve Lord Roman Dmitry as our lifelong savior.”
They were all of one mind.
Roman Dmitry calmly accepted their devotion and signaled Park Min-woo with his eyes.
Park Min-woo stepped forward.
“The reason we have gathered you all is to discuss the future. Although the Red Time has ended, the disaster that has struck South Korea is still unresolved. The Central Government succeeded in slaying the S-Rank monster, the Red Dragon, but on the final day, three monster waves and another S-Rank monster appeared near Seoul, putting them in a dangerous situation. Because of this, they have issued a Summons for the local governments whose military forces remain intact. The problem is that the situations of other local governments are just as dire. Much like Busan, most local governments were attacked by monsters. Far from offering help, they cannot even guarantee their own survival without assistance.”
The 6th Great Disaster.
The world had fallen into great chaos.
In the case of the USA, which had been designated as a Red Point, they were struggling significantly despite possessing powerful military forces.
Just because the Red Time had ended did not mean the Great Disaster was resolved.
There were still many problems left to solve.
Roman Dmitry spoke.
“As you have heard, the Great Disaster still threatens South Korea. I intend to use this opportunity to bring all of South Korea’s local governments, including Busan, under my wing. I will personally help and resolve the problems of the local governments willing to cooperate with me, but those that do not will be thoroughly excluded. The timeframe is three days. After securing the safety of my people within three days, I intend to achieve a single objective.”
The existence of Busan.
By accepting them, he had established a clear goal.
Had he chosen not to act, it would be one thing, but from the moment he decided to move in earnest, there was no room for half-measures.
“I will attack Seoul and overthrow the Central Government.”
“……!”
The people’s eyes widened.
Cha Young-min was also shocked.
Attacking Seoul.
At a time when the Great Disaster had not even ended, Roman Dmitry’s statement was shockingly overwhelming.