Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Vanguard Advance
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Finally, our preparations were ready to bear fruit.
Exactly 837 hunters. And we'd prepared consumables to distribute to the joining hunters, along with transport vehicles to carry them all. The Seagull Team agreed to cooperate with us without hesitation, probably because Lee Se-eun and I had synced up with them once before.
Of course, it cost us a fortune. But the Seagull Team were operating experts worth every penny.
Now, it was time to set out. The broad strokes of the plan were as follows.
"A group of about 50 hunters, including us, will head out first as the vanguard from Vladivostok and clear the path to Harbin."
The fog from Ziyun Valley spread from Changchun all the way up to the Songyuan lowland in the north. Harbin lay even farther north, so it was free from the fog's influence.
"If Harbin turns out to be in bad shape when we get there, we'll pivot to Mudanjiang."
It was farther from Changchun, but that put it closer to Vladivostok—the safest reliable port we had.
The shorter distance would make resupply easier, and holding position while pushing toward Changchun City would be far simpler.
"Of course, if we want to plan for success after the raid, basing ourselves in Harbin is still the best option."
A number of Erosion Zones dotted the area north of Harbin.
If we properly cleared Harbin and dealt with the Grade 1 Erosion Core in Ziyun Valley below it, Harbin could serve as a forward operating base for the hunters afterward.
It'd be like cutting off the waist of the enemy lines.
"Let's push for Harbin if we can. Man, it's still freezing cold, though."
The 50 of us in the vanguard—including me—were riding trucks from Vladivostok toward Harbin.
"Not cold for you?"
This vanguard included not just me, Han Sang-ah, and Jeong Oh-hoon, but Adakawa Nanami as well.
Naturally, Adakawa Nanami was dressed in that frilly, all-pink outfit I'd seen before. The temperature on the Vladivostok coast was minus ten degrees Celsius.
"That's no outfit for wandering around in."
Jeong Oh-hoon clicked his tongue and whispered at my comment.
"Name one place where that outfit would be appropriate."
There wasn't one. Nanami's eyes turned toward us.
"Keep making weird comments, and I'll cast a spell to make you nice."
"A spell to make you nice?"
At my question, Nanami made a "pop" sound with her mouth before answering.
"All bad thoughts happen in your head, right?"
A pink heart-shaped mass of mana formed above her hand. Just because it was heart-shaped didn't mean it symbolized happiness and peace.
Anyway, Jeong Oh-hoon and I decided to shut up. It'd hurt if she hit us with it.
"This is pretty interesting, though."
Nanami rested her chin on her hand as she examined the Exorcism Talisman I'd inscribed on the truck. I'd drawn them on all the transport vehicles carrying supplies and hunters.
"Does it actually work?"
Nanami answered Jeong Oh-hoon's skeptical tone right away.
"It does. I can feel the ambient mana flowing through it and activating the effect."
Of course, I figured the weakening effect would be minimal at best.
Time passed, and our trucks from Vladivostok entered an Erosion Zone. It wasn't from Ziyun Valley—just one created by nearby Erosion Cores.
The moment we entered the Erosion Zone, Nanami casually raised her left hand.
"I didn't even say anything this time."
Jeong Oh-hoon shot her a wronged look. Three pink lights appeared above Nanami's hand, then slowly began orbiting in a pattern.
"Detection spell?"
Nanami looked utterly shocked at my words.
"Oh my, how did you know?"
I was more surprised she could do detection magic—I hadn't expected that from her. It wasn't one of her innate abilities; she'd probably developed it through her own efforts.
It was like a radar.
I had to admit it qualified as proper magic. The structure was simple enough that any decent mage could fool it if they tried, but it was efficient above all—and the detection range looked impressive.
So she could use magic after all. As I watched the three pink lights rotate in their orbit, Nanami formed a massive pink orb in her other hand and hurled it into the sky.
The pink orb shot high into the air, writhed violently for a moment, then flashed into a streak of light that raced off somewhere.
"That's impressive."
Both Jeong Oh-hoon and Nanami specialized in long-range attacks. But if he was a sniper, she was an artillery piece. He picked off precisely targeted foes, while she obliterated entire areas.
Efficiency-wise, Jeong Oh-hoon dominated. But for wiping out hordes of monsters in one shot, Nanami was far better.
And her range was much longer to boot. Of course, no amount of range mattered without accurate targeting coordinates. But Nanami had her radar for that.
Nanami winked as she replied.
"Anyone can do it with the right mindset and a pure soul."
I doubted that. The world didn't work that way. Still, her radar seemed straightforward enough that I could probably use something similar with a little practice.
"Some villains will dodge it. But my magic sweeps up friends and foes alike..."
"Understood."
Any monsters that slipped past Nanami's radar were ours to handle. If they could evade it, they'd probably be serious threats.
Her bombardment range apparently matched her radar's detection perfectly. She kept eyeing the detection spell floating above her hand while firing off pink barrages.
"Here they come."
And sure enough, monsters that had evaded her radar appeared. As we'd scouted, the creatures in this area were undead.
Corpses clad in tattered armor, gripping weapons rusted a dull crimson. They looked so fragile they'd crumble at a touch, but the mana they exuded was potent. They wouldn't go down easy.
The shambling figures suddenly snapped their heads up as they trudged forward on limp legs. Sinister mana gleamed in their eyes.
"What the hell? Are they spasming?"
The undead froze in place, then began trembling violently. They shook as they blurred into afterimages, closing the distance at impossible speeds.
It was eerie movement. No—not movement at all. They stood still, convulsing, yet their bodies teleported from spot to spot.
This was what seeing a ghost felt like.
"Battle stations."
As the undead closed to a certain range, the Exorcism Talismans took effect. Black smoke billowed from the approaching corpses and wraiths.
"Yeah, just a minor weakening, as expected."
We had to clear them out. We weren't just racing to Harbin; we were paving the road.
Nanami handled most of the weak undead with her radar and barrages, while we took the strong ones that slipped through. Simple when you put it like that.
"Time to make our hard work pay off here, Jeong."
"You bet!"
Gunfire erupted in bursts as bullets poured from Jeong Oh-hoon's rifle. The corpses dodged with their supernatural movements, weaving this way and that. But the bullets twisted mid-flight like living things, ultimately slamming into their skulls.
They embedded with a wet thunk.
"Doesn't hurt them?"
"They're corpses. You expect them to scream?"
The heads of the shot undead snapped back, then righted themselves. The bullets burrowed out on their own and clattered to the ground.
"I got stronger, right?"
"Don't ask me. You know you did."
It wasn't ineffective. We were dealing damage; they just looked fine because corpses felt no fear or pain. Hunters from the other trucks drew weapons against the encroaching undead as well.
"Chan-seok, do something!"
"Quit whining, Jeong."
Spear in hand, I plunged into the horde of corpses and ghosts salivating for my flesh. An undead gripping a rusted sword swung at me.
At the same instant, a rotten arm burst from its chest, lunging for my collar. I grabbed the arm in reverse, incinerating it with Paradox Flame as I muttered.
"Yeah, yeah... undead privilege."
Their joints, muscles, and bones could twist in grotesque ways without issue. Arms or mouths might sprout from their chests. Soles of feet could sprout mouths, or bone shards might erupt from swung limbs the moment you dodged.
Some undead of a certain caliber loved those tricks. The craziest one I'd faced was a corpse that gripped swords in both hands and spun its arms like propellers while charging.
Erratic moves and attacks possible only because they were pain-immune dead things or spirits. The foes before me now were pulling every dirty trick to turn me into one of them.
An endless hatred for all living things that breathed and pulsed with hot blood beneath their skin.
"Gahhh!"
In the chaos, one hunter screamed, clutching the stump of his severed arm. He'd clearly been caught off guard.
That's the job—death breathing down your neck. No time to worry about him. Nothing I could do right now anyway, and everyone knew the drill.
Arm gone? Fall back, staunch the bleeding, grab the limb. If you couldn't retrieve it or reattach it?
Time to ponder retirement plans.
Flesh tore, bones shattered—the sounds echoed amid occasional screams and cries.
I rammed my spear into a corpse's skull and set it ablaze while seizing a hazy specter's throat with a hand wreathed in black flame.
The wraith's body was devoured by Paradox Flame, and the blaze spread in all directions—but only as far as I could control.
The ground ignited, swallowing the corpses and wraiths atop it.
"Again."
The spreading flames flowed back into me. Enveloped head to toe in Paradox Flame, I left trails of blue in my wake as I carved through the undead before me.
"He's mulching those ugly bastards like a weed whacker."
Jeong Oh-hoon muttered as he kept firing. Plenty of hunters attacked from range, but he stood out with his pinpoint support at perfect timings. That alone eased the burden on us melee fighters.
And that was exactly what I wanted from him. Han Sang-ah and I could handle the killing blows.