Chapter 50
A deafening air raid siren wailed like a banshee across the entire region: "Try to block it if you can, waaaaaaaaaang!" Players swarmed in from every direction like angry bees, as if they'd received the signal over radio. The ground trembled in rippling waves from the unimaginable press of humanity stomping forward.
"That's no joke..."
I furrowed my brow slightly at the endless sea of human heads. ...Truth be told, being short, I couldn't see much.
I gathered a handful of mana in my palm and spread it thin. First things first.
Mana Scan
The circular wave of mana rippled outward, passing over the players' bodies like a scanner. It was as if invisible markings were etched across their entire forms. One by one, their information flowed into me—a preparatory step to unleash the 3-phase skill more effectively.
Slow going...
It would take a while to scan them all. Too many bodies; progress crawled.
When the standoff narrowed to about fifty meters, I halted my advance. A tense game of chicken hung in the air between our lines. Naturally, I wouldn't yield an inch in presence. A few players caught my piercing glare, flinched, and looked away or dropped their eyes.
Pathetic weaklings.
Now it all hinged on how they'd play their hand.
Word reached China's command headquarters, triggering full alert.
"Emergency report! Sertina...Sertina has appeared on the battlefield!"
"What?! What's the situation on the ground?"
China's President Wang Chunfeng twitched his eyebrows, his face twisting in irritation. They were on the verge of striking Korea, only for Sertina to derail everything.
"W-We’ll confirm right away!"
Frantic voices and blaring alarms mixed over the line. Phone rings and radio chatter turned the place into pandemonium.
"Put it on screen."
The generals stared at the monitors, faces drained pale. The military display showed a single figure—the infamous symbol of terror everyone knew. Yet on screen, she was just a tiny girl.
Wang Chunfeng wrinkled his nose and rubbed the bridge. "She came alone?"
"Seems like it, sir."
"What about Korea's players?"
"No movement from their side of the military demarcation line yet."
An officer who’d just phoned the field players shouted, "Confirmed—she's alone!"
"...Why?"
Wang Chunfeng was baffled. They'd prepared contingencies, but Korea striking first? Let alone Sertina solo? Unthinkable.
"What's their game?"
Did Korea abandon her? That was his best guess. World Bosses were designed for 1,000 hunters. Even the undefeated myth Sertina couldn't handle ten million. Korea's government knew that. So they'd coaxed her forward somehow, washing their hands of her. If she died, they'd escape the "puppet state" label, weakening China's pretext.
A smirk curled Wang Chunfeng's lips. "Fools."
Did they think that would stop the conquest? Public opinion meant nothing anymore. National power decided everything. Let foreigners scream—without solving their own monster crises, they were all just yapping pups. Pretexts were mere formalities.
"President Wang Chunfeng, your orders?"
Admin, military, media—even player command—revolved around one axis: him, the nation's heart.
To the deferential commander, Wang Chunfeng replied, "Leave 500,000 rear guard. Throw everything else at Sertina. Redirect all personnel except surveillance to her subjugation."
"Understood!"
Gazing at Sertina facing off against China's players on screen, Wang twisted his lips in a sinister grin. You made a grave mistake, Choi Ah-rin. When you should be clinging to Sertina, you invite divide and conquer.
Kill Sertina first, regroup, then seize Korea. Japan's island dogs aiding their defense was unexpected, but irrelevant. Overwhelming numbers would crush them slow, then sweep the long-coveted archipelago.
"Unleash total assault on Sertina as soon as you're ready."
"Yes, sir!"
Party directives cascaded to the field players instantly.
Under crushing tension like gravity itself, the standoff dragged on. A strange sensation crept over me.
What’s this? Are these guys even human?
No one even tried talking. Like they didn't know how. It felt like I was surrounded by androids following pre-programmed orders etched in their brains.
They said citizen control was tight. Totally different vibe from Korea.
Then, amid the players rigidly aiming weapons at me without a twitch, a minor disturbance: a few well-equipped ones muttering into radios. Coordinating with command, from the looks.
They glanced between their radios and me. Hmm, warming up to talk?
If they apologized and withdrew now, I'd let it slide. They'd hinted at killing me and taking Korea, but hadn't crossed the line yet. So I'd wait a bit more.
But my mercy meant nothing to them.
"The Party's total assault order is down!"
A barrage of multicolored beams shattered my last thread of patience.
These bastards—ambush without a word now?
Vietnam assassins, North Korea occupation, international incitement, outright murder threats against me and my guild. And they thought I'd let it pass?
Damn them all!
Crunch! Air cracked in my fist.
That's it. Can't hold back anymore!
I couldn't recall the last time I'd raged like this. Grinding my teeth, I drew mana from my dantian depths. Blood-red eyes blazing with killing intent fixed on them.
Boom! I stomped the earth to shards and leaped high, glaring down from above.
"You brought this on yourselves."
I gathered mana in my palm and thrust it skyward. The terror from Busan Haeundae reborn inland.