Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Aerial Bayonet Assault
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Jeong Oh-hoon caught my gaze and put on a troubled expression.
"You look like you're about to assign me something I really don't want to do."
"It's not that tough."
Jeong Oh-hoon grimaced at my words.
"My role's crucial, right? Then pay me more."
"You damn money-grubber."
He was the type who bragged everywhere that he was in this business just to make cash. Requests like that were par for the course.
"Fine, fine. Remember that trick you used to do with the bayonet?"
"Trick? It's my finishing move."
Finishing move or whatever. The label didn't matter.
"At your current level, you could launch it seven or eight kilometers, no problem, right?"
"Yeah, possible."
My plan was straightforward.
"Let's borrow a chopper from the nearby army base."
We'd board the helicopter, get eyes on the fortress in question, and have Jeong Oh-hoon fire off a bayonet wreathed in Paradox Flame.
The difference between a mortar round and Jeong Oh-hoon's bayonet? Just one. Mortars can't be steered, but his bayonet could.
Jeong Oh-hoon, who'd been listening, looked like he had a headache.
"So, you're saying launch the bayonet, then dodge every single interception from that fortress?"
"Pretty much."
He replayed the footage on the screen. It showed the fortress shrugging off a barrage fired to test its interception capabilities.
Yeah, even to me, it didn't look easy. The fortress reacted with scary speed, and the projectiles it launched for interception were incredibly fast.
"..."
"You can do it. Probably."
Jeong Oh-hoon let out a "Whoa, shit!" and leaned against the wall, staring at me.
"Alright, let's give it a shot. Nothing to lose anyway!"
Han Sang-ah scratched her head as she responded to him.
"We do have something to lose. The bayonet. And if it fails, it'll prove that breaking through that Unique Trait's barrier is gonna be insanely tough."
What a cool-headed analysis. If she was right and it got blocked, I'd have to get up close myself to punch through the barrier.
"Thanks for the pressure, Sang-ah."
"Glad I could help."
After some back-and-forth like that, Jeong Oh-hoon turned to me.
"Okay, say we somehow bust the barrier. Then what?"
"We go in and beat the crap out of them. Like hornets swarming a beehive."
Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon both shot me looks loaded with some unspoken meaning.
"What? Why are you staring like that?"
"Just the three of us?"
Ah, I got what they meant.
"What, you think we can't?"
They both nodded. What should I say?
"Overestimating yourself is a problem, sure, but underestimating is too."
These two had made it onto Hope's List. Not scraping by at 100th or 90th either—they both cracked the top 30.
"Come on, at your level, companies everywhere would kill to recruit you. What's with all the fear?"
Plus, they'd busted their asses in Cheorwon. They still looked skeptical.
"Still, it's just three of us."
"Oh, come on. At our level, enemy numbers don't mean much."
Go in, thrash them hard, pull back for a breather if it gets dicey, then charge again and keep pounding.
"Kaesong isn't some Three Blood Caverns."
Kaesong was just a waypoint we had to pass through. Not the ground zero for a Rank-1 Erosion Core.
Sure, monsters from the Three Blood Caverns might've dug in there, but most of the ones hunkered in Kaesong were small fry spilling over from nearby Rank-2 and Rank-3 Erosion Zones.
"And undead command structures aren't like human ones."
The undead under command moved like extensions of their superiors. But flip that around...
"Chop off the heads, and the minions turn into idiots. You saw it in Harbin."
I perched on the edge of the table and kept going.
"Three skilled hunters, undead that fall apart without their leaders, and the crown I snagged from the Association."
I folded fingers one by one, looking at Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon with a serious expression.
"Plenty of chance for success, so let's do it before other hunters show up."
I wasn't the type to tackle something this big on enthusiasm and grit alone.
"We might not totally demolish the fortress in Kaesong, but the three of us can definitely inflict massive damage."
Lee Hee-sun, who'd been listening, let out a small gasp of admiration.
"Wow, that actually sounds solid."
I hadn't even been trying to convince her.
"If I hadn't gotten separate orders, I'd have thrown my hunters into that op too."
I gave a wry smile. Yeah, Taebaek had promised support, not a joint front. And honestly, I wasn't keen on it either.
What was I supposed to trust about teaming up with Taebaek? They weren't Zanabi. Turning your back on unreliable allies was as dangerous as underestimating the enemy.
"Plus, personally, I admire all three Headhunters."
"Admire? Come on."
Lee Hee-sun replied.
"You're all so strong. Sure, Yoo Chan-seok Hunter and Taebaek don't exactly get along... but a lot of Taebaek's hunters still respect you three."
Han Sang-ah started to say something, but I figured in this vibe, she didn't need to drop any harsh truths, so I cut her off.
Her point was obvious: Taebaek's whole "strongest rule" ideology that their rep Sung Si-hoon pushes is just a tool to control their hunters on his terms.
"..."
She glanced at me and shut her mouth. Good. If you can't lie, at least keep quiet when asked.
"Alright, let's prep. We can snag an army chopper from Paju Airfield, right?"
Han Sang-ah answered.
"I'll make some calls."
A bit later, word came back.
"They said sorry."
Sorry my ass. I stared at Han Sang-ah in disbelief.
"They said their schedule's packed, so cooperation's tough."
Off to a great start. It reeked of them not wanting to help.
The Korean military answered to the government anyway. Taebaek promised support—not the Korean government.
From the looks of it, some order had come down from on high.
"No way to swing it?"
Han Sang-ah thought for a sec.
"Maybe ask Ilsan broadcasters for a news chopper?"
"Come on, if the army won't lend one, you think a TV station will?"
Part of public opinion turning sour on us was the media's fault too.
Hell, bluntly put, President Jo Won-hoon was running a dictatorship right now. He'd been clinging to the presidency nonstop since the Erosion Zones popped up.
From meeting and eating with him, I could tell he had zero intention of stepping down.
Dictatorships and media control go together like pizza and cheese.
"Damn, and even if we snag a chopper, without army approval, we can't even fly out of Paju."
No way the military, already stonewalling us, would greenlight flights. Wishful thinking.
No options left. I fiddled with my smartphone and eventually called someone.
— Huh? What's up, calling me out of the blue?
"Help me out."
I'd called Lee Se-eun. Hope's List Top 10 or whatever—didn't matter.
She had pull. Not the absolute strongest hunter, but barring the No. 1 whose whereabouts were unknown, she was the most respected.
Almost no hunter would turn down her request. That's her clout.
Confirmed it crossing Siberia together. And that massive influence surely didn't stop at hunters.
I calmly laid out the situation for Lee Se-eun.
— So, you need a chopper, but the vibe is they won't help you guys?
"That's the gist."
She went quiet for a moment, then sighed softly.
— I'm not some magic bag that poofs out whatever when I say "abracadabra."
She grumbled, then answered.
— Can't exactly call this a personal favor. Hold on.
With that, she hung up. About 30 minutes later, the base that rejected us called Han Sang-ah back.
After the call, she looked at me.
"They said it's possible."
"...Guess she is a magic bag."
Bottom line: rejecting Lee Se-eun's request was a huge burden, military or not. Proven again.
Even with clear top-down orders, the aviation unit couldn't say no.
But she'd stuck her neck out, taking heat for us.
"I owe her one."
This was a debt I had to repay Lee Se-eun, no question. She'd take flak for it. Her solid position wouldn't crumble over this, but...
Bluntly, we hadn't helped her climb to that spot at all. Acting like "take one for the team since you're fine" would make us total punks.
My phone buzzed with a message.
[You meet up with Oduak's owner Sa Seung-hee sometimes, right? Hook me up later. Wanna chat, but solid hunters like me don't get face time easy.]
Sure, she could strong-arm Sa Seung-hee, but if she swung her weight like that everywhere, she wouldn't have her current rep.
I agreed right away. Perfect way to settle the debt.
"Chopper's secured. Let's move."
Jeong Oh-hoon muttered "Damn it."
"Fine, let's do this."
We boarded the army chopper they'd provided. Han Sang-ah didn't need to join, so she was waiting nearby.
If the Paradox Flame-wrapped bayonet burned through that barrier, me and Jeong Oh-hoon would jump out, link up with her, and charge Kaesong.
The chopper chugged along. Soon, the pilot spoke up.
— This is as far as we go. Any closer, and we'll get shot down.
Now it was all on Jeong Oh-hoon.
"See it?"
"Clear as day."
Pretty far, but no issue for him. With the overhead view from the sky, plus his ability to scan his field of vision like a top-down map.
"Bayonet."
He handed it over. I wrapped it in Paradox Flame, compressed as tight as possible. It blazed so fiercely it looked like it'd melt the bayonet.
"Safe to touch?"
"Scaredy-cat."
Jeong Oh-hoon took the bayonet I offered and slotted it into his rifle.
"Ready."
He shouldered the rifle, aimed at distant Kaesong, and gathered mana.
Nothing left for me to do now. This was his play. I'd just watch.