Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Harbin Horde
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On the scorched earth blazing black from the fight, I confirmed there were no more enemies left to eliminate and withdrew my Paradox Flame.
"Casualties?"
"Three dead, eight injured. Two critical."
That meant five out of action total. We'd brought fifty hunters, and one battle had wiped out ten percent of our force.
"Not sure if we'll be okay like this."
"Experience matters. The ones who can still fight must've picked up some tricks."
From here on, even if monsters of this scale and strength swarmed us again, we wouldn't take heavy losses.
If anything, I was starting to worry more about Nanami's side. While we handled the monsters closing in, she'd been relentlessly spotting distant threats on her radar and pounding them with artillery fire non-stop.
She had to be more exhausted than us. And yet, Nanami looked surprisingly fresh.
"Fantasia Stream!"
She even seemed to be enjoying it. With that shout, Nanami launched a massive pink orb high into the sky. The orb in the heavens unleashed a barrage of pink mana blasts like a gatling gun toward some distant target.
"…."
The shockwaves from the explosions rippled through the ground—proof of their intensity.
No one could match this woman—grinning from the truck bed while playing magical girl—for raw long-range area destruction.
Calling her a walking self-propelled gun felt like an understatement. On top of that, her mana consumption for those blasts was abnormally low.
Right then, one of the undead sprawled on the ground suddenly lunged at Nanami.
"Not on my watch!"
Nanami thrust out her hand, and a slender pink beam punched a massive hole through the charging undead's chest.
"Hm? Same mana usage."
That's when I finally spotted the oddity in Nanami's mana control.
I had no idea how she pulled it off, but it was a highly unique method.
The mana she'd used to blast that single undead charging her was roughly equal to what she'd spent firing self-propelled-gun-level blasts at hordes far away.
But the power output was worlds apart.
"Fixed mana cost per shot?"
Nanami let out an "Ahaha" at my question.
"It's a secret!"
Nothing secret about it. I'd always thought her artillery efficiency was suspiciously high, and now I knew why.
The intense barrages she kept unleashing and the single shot that took down her attacker both consumed the same amount of mana.
Meet the conditions, and it's overwhelmingly efficient. Fail to, and efficiency tanks hard.
If she got dragged into close combat, her mana would drain in seconds. She couldn't resolve it with a few shots there—hundreds would be needed, and she'd last maybe three minutes.
But flip it around: at full throttle, those orbital barrages could dump hundreds of rounds in three minutes, turning a zone into a Sahara scorched by nukes.
Nanami noticed me deep in thought, dismissed her hovering radar, and changed outfits.
"Japan's hunters are weak."
She let out a small sigh and muttered that. After switching clothes, she gave her blunt assessment.
"All the top talent fled to Korea. Support's thin too."
Most hunters currently defending Japan were Korean expats, hired via contracts and dispatched for pay.
"Of course, Japanese companies and the government would prefer locals of equal skill. But they're not even close."
As she spoke, Nanami inspected a fallen undead on the ground.
"If fifty Japanese hunters had come here, they'd have been wiped out without killing ten in that last fight."
"You're still top-tier, Adakawa."
Nanami gave a wry smile at my words.
"I sacrificed certain areas to hyper-specialize in others. Se-eun doesn't need to. She could take on fifteen like me from 10km out, close the gap in ten minutes, and sweep us all."
Couldn't argue that.
"The gap between Korea and Japan—in infrastructure for erosion cores and hunter skill—is insurmountable."
"What about China?"
Nanami clicked her tongue at my question.
"China's not even dealing with erosion zones right now. The government's barely functional."
They're clinging to nationhood via the provisional government in Nanjing. To begin with, that Great Eight, Gonzalo Ok, hit their capital directly.
And the timing was the worst: it blew up right during the National People's Congress, wiping out the entire leadership.
"I'm a top hunter in Japan, but in Korea? Just another run-of-the-mill Partner Hunter."
"Can't be fun."
Nanami shrugged at my remark.
"What can you do? Reality."
"How's Japan view Korea?"
Nanami burst out laughing.
"Plenty of groups demanding we kick out all Korean hunters. But if Korea actually pulled them... they'd be on their knees begging."
"Sounds like they cause plenty of headaches operating abroad."
Nanami nodded.
"But they stick to contracts religiously. And if all Korean hunters withdrew, a ton of countries would collapse."
So what choice did they have? Put up with the attitude.
"Oh, sure—Japanese folks think I'm on par with your Kang Hoon, Se-eun, or Sung Si-hoon. I don't bother denying it."
Nothing dumber than poking inflated national pride. As we chatted, word came that treatment for the wounded hunters was done.
"Let's move out."
Nanami transformed again and resumed tracking monsters on radar, blasting away.
The truck carrying the hunters rolled forward.
"Holy shit."
After days of travel, we finally faced Harbin. Nanami stared at her radar with a grim expression.
"Why, too many?"
Jeong O-hun's question got a nod from Nanami.
"Way too many."
Harbin crawled with undead. But them showing up on Nanami's radar was good news—they weren't overwhelmingly strong.
"Probably turned the locals into undead."
Han Sang-ah replied while inspecting her blade, twisting it this way and that.
"Harbin was in constant comms with the provisional Chinese government in Guangzhou before contact cut. Last known pop: 2.5 million."
Once home to over ten million, only a quarter remained by final contact.
Heilongjiang's capital, after all. Bustling place.
"Even if half turned... that's over a million undead."
A hellhole swarming with them.
"We're down to about forty."
Han Sang-ah's words had me stand.
"I'll sneak in and scout their levels."
Jeong O-hun replied.
"Found something: Harbin Longta Tower."
"Central tower, 336 meters tall."
Jeong O-hun nodded.
"From the top, I'd see all of Harbin. I'll scout and relay via in-ear to Galmaegi non-stop."
His eyesight was reliable—that's why he was my sniper. With him atop Longta feeding intel to Galmaegi, they'd share it with us.
"Problem is getting there."
Smack in the city center.
"Can you hold without the undead spotting you?"
Jeong O-hun nodded at Han Sang-ah.
"If Adakawa draws eyes with barrages, I can slip in."
Nanami stays east outskirts with us, pounding away. Jeong O-hun enters from south, heads to Longta.
"We've fought undead over ten times getting here, even with forty advance hunters."
I checked the time and hit my in-ear button.
"Galmaegi Team, where's main force?"
The response came.
― About 250km back. Two days needed.
No way forty could clear and hold Harbin's undead. Needed main force.
― Think we can take it when they arrive?
"With some sacrifices and effort, yes."
Advance hunters weren't hopeless. Plus, Talisman Drawing Method.
"Exorcism Talismans can shred turned humans."
Just huge numbers—rabble, really. Still, no beating a million with forty.
But combine with trailing hunters: nearly a thousand total, plus vehicles covered in talismans.
Then we'd storm Harbin like one in a million.
"And with Jeong O-hun atop Longta..."
Totally doable. Worth the shot.
"But you're coming with me, O-hun."
He groaned.
"Ugh."
"Rather go with Sang-ah?"
He glanced at Han Sang-ah, sighed softly.
"Fine, you it is."
"Keeping you alive, punk. No complaints."
First, figure how Harbin undead detect us.
Sound? Burn it with Paradox Flame. Scent? Same.
"What if life force or vitality?"
"Burn that, you're dead. But byproducts? Fine."
Sneak Jeong O-hun to Longta top, maintain Paradox Flame on him, rejoin main force.
"So that weird black flame's useless in combat?"
"Better you spotting from Longta than me burning a few undead."
No flame doesn't cripple me. It's strong, but I didn't survive by relying solely on it.
"Alright... let's do it."
With that, we refined our hasty plan in detail.