Chapter 82
Chapter 82
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Dawn Offensive
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At dawn, the reinforcements arrived.
The Seagull operators quickly received reports via in-ears and disseminated the information.
"Jeong No-hun's still hanging in there, huh."
Han Sang-ah muttered.
"What, disappointed he's alive?"
"Nah."
Han Sang-ah drew her sword and carefully inspected the blade.
"If he dies, we're in deep shit. No more eyes on the inside."
"True enough."
Han Sang-ah eyed the blade shimmering with cloud-like patterns, then spoke up.
"How strong do you think I am? Curious about your take."
I gave her a straightforward answer.
"If you and Nanami went at it full throttle, it'd be hard to call the winner."
Han Sang-ah let out a casual "Oh" at my words.
"Didn't expect that high. So, what about Jeong No-hun?"
"Eh, if a few conditions line up, he'd be worth a real fight."
Han Sang-ah nodded at my response.
"Guess that means I'm still stronger for now."
"Pretty much."
While Han Sang-ah and I chatted, hundreds of people bustled about, prepping to sweep Harbin clean.
—Confirming once more: Hunter Yoo Chan-seok and Hunter Han Sang-ah will operate independently.
The main force advanced into Harbin from the east along the outer ring road. Then Han Sang-ah and I would split off. She'd take the ring road north, sweeping from top to bottom.
I'd break south and charge up from below.
"This okay?"
"No issues."
Han Sang-ah and I had the skills for it. And in my case, I didn't even need to break a sweat. I glanced at the ring on my finger without another word.
Harbin's swarming undead were crude. They couldn't resist this ring. I could just stroll through, unleashing its power, and any undead that got close would freeze solid like cryogenic pork belly.
"Don't count on the others too much. Assume it's all on you."
Expectations lead to betrayal. Thinking the rest would pull their weight alongside me was a recipe for disaster.
"These are people who came here to fight together."
"I know."
But if something unexpected hit, banking on them for big help was a stretch.
"We've got a lot to lose. The other hunters joining us? Not so much."
If things went south, they'd likely cut and run. Han Sang-ah sheathed her sword and eyed a bottle on the ground. With a sharp pop, her hand blurred, and the bottle shattered into an X across the pavement.
I checked the shards and gave my assessment.
"In top form. About 20% faster than your baseline."
"Yeah. Feeling pretty good. You can look forward to it."
—Preparations complete. Current time: 5:38 AM. Movement starts in 7 minutes. Hunter Yoo Chan-seok and Hunter Han Sang-ah will operate separately. Your call signs from here on: Yoo Chan-seok is Left Wing, Han Sang-ah is Right Wing.
I let out a low "Ugh" at that.
"Not thrilled about the political vibes."
The Seagull operator didn't bite. Guess they weren't into banter with me.
—Call sign for both of you together: Clipped Wings. That's all.
"Dude can't take a joke."
I wrapped up, stood, and took a swig from my canteen. Meanwhile, the Seagull operators sorted hunters into groups and assigned call signs.
Adakawa Nanami was Cannon. Jeong No-hun, holding down the lonely watch at Harbin's Lungta Tower, was Lighthouse. The rest were grouped in twenties, each with team names and numbers.
—Commencing now. Proceed to your assigned positions.
"See you on the other side."
Movement began. As we closed in on Harbin, a report crackled through the in-ear.
—From Lighthouse: Major concentrations of Harbin threats shifting east.
They'd spotted our approach. Figured as much. Hundreds of hunters on the move—if they didn't notice, they'd be idiots.
"Proceed as planned."
—Roger.
Expected that. No changes.
"Time to really cut loose here."
They'd clocked our advance and sent hordes of undead to block us. We'd sweep this wave, then Han Sang-ah and I would head to our real targets.
Chance to flex overwhelming power and boost the other hunters' morale? Probably wouldn't get another shot like this. Had to make it flashy, solidify that sense of inevitable victory.
"That's a lot."
Dawn's light crept into the murky predawn sky. Far off, the undead masses loomed.
—Threat confirmed: Approximately 150,000 undead.
And we were just hundreds strong. Numbers heavily against us. In fights like this, being outnumbered crushed morale.
That's why I'd told Han Sang-ah we had to lead the charge.
"Adakawa, fire a salvo for us."
Nanami extended her hand sideways. A sparkly, kinda childish-looking magic wand popped out.
The kind that'd probably go prrring if you pressed a button.
Nanami gripped it and pointed the tip forward.
"Spectacular."
An intricate, complex magic circle of pink lines and shapes materialized ahead. Looked impressive on the surface—like some epic spell—but really just mana shaped to look cool.
But the mana packed inside was vicious. One glance screamed, Whatever this thing unleashes, getting caught in it means an ugly death.
Against these ragtag undead we faced, a well-placed shot could wipe thousands in one go.
"After this barrage, don't worry about this area, Adakawa."
Once we closed for melee, her artillery was off the table. Instead, Jeong No-hun at Lungta Tower, overlooking everything, would spot prime targets for her.
She'd just blast wherever he called. Nanami flashed a thumbs-up instead of words.
"Here goes!"
She swung the wand hard at the fully formed, ornate magic circle.
A flood of mana erupted as a massive pink beam, surging forward. Like a muddy deluge sweeping everything away.
"Brutal."
For real. Well, undead were already dead, so not "killing," technically. Those swept by the light crumbled to ash. The unrelenting pink mana wave parted the horde like Moses' staff, splitting them clean in two.
Time to dive in. Han Sang-ah and I charged without a word, spears and swords ready.
"Hey, buddies."
These weren't worth overthinking. No strengths beyond sheer numbers.
We were anteaters raiding an anthill, hornets storming a beehive.
No matter how they thrashed, they were helpless against us. I could've used the ring to flash-freeze the nearby ones in seconds...
But that lacked visual punch. To hype the other hunters, better to swing the spear and mow them down up close.
I whipped my spear through the air, tracing blue arcs.
"..."
Sparks crackled behind me, roasting dozens of undead at once.
No sparks flew from Han Sang-ah's blade, but each swing unleashed pale lightning bolts like thunderbolts.
"Ah, no time to gawk."
I marked my spot, picked my next, and drew the line.
Undead along the path shredded, rotten limbs flying everywhere.
Like shaving with a razor.
"Rest of you sleeping?!"
Other hunters finally joined in. Obvious, but once you grabbed one and smacked it a few times, you realized these things were pushovers—numbers aside.
"Watch for the exploders—only the exploders!"
Just stop 'em from blowing. Kick the wannabe bombers far away first. Their blasts would chain into nearby undead instead.
"Blast radius is about 5 meters from the center. Takes around 5 seconds to detonate."
So, handle bombers by sprinting 5 meters in 5 seconds and booting them. Anyone who'd made it this far could manage that.
Mess up? Hurt like hell. Might even die.
Battlefields don't forgive mistakes. Screw up, you die. Survive by luck? Be grateful.
—Lighthouse reports additional reinforcements inbound.
"Fuck, it's a snowplow op."
Just like one. Clear a path, more piles up—like endless snowfall. We were like winter soldiers raging through the drifts, plowing corpses by the heap.
As expected, no end in sight. Harbin's undead count made it inevitable.
"Which is why we peel off now."
I radioed Seagull that we were pulling out.
—Confirmed. Left Wing extracting. Right Wing, extract and head to your designated spots.
This was the feint. The real work was for Han Sang-ah and me. While moving Jeong No-hun to Lungta Tower earlier, I'd backtraced the hack magic commanding these undead.
Meaning I knew its lair.
"Report when we're near. Have Cannon ready then."
—No problem.
While the horde tangled with the main force, we'd punch into Harbin. The undead boss was holed up underground at the Science and Technology Museum on Taiyang Island.
If we reached it, Nanami would blast a hole from afar.
Then we'd storm in and lop off that commander's head. Leaderless, the undead would scatter.
They'd still chase living flesh hungrily, but no more coordinated waves crashing like tides.
Cleanup would get way easier.
"Still a ton left."
Even thinned out, the city crawled with them. No need to showboat now. No audience.
The ring on my finger began to glow. No need for spear swings.
Once unleashed, every undead approaching within range froze solid and shattered on their own.