Chapter 396

Chapter 396

Chapter 71: The Decisive Battle (1)

Tak, taktak.

With my arms crossed, I tapped my feet impatiently and spoke in a curt voice.

“Don’t you know the meaning of quick? Hurry up.”

I was urging the system, which hadn’t yet completed the gate connection work.

I felt its gaze glaring at me.

However, I didn’t back down and instead glared back more fiercely.

“If you have time to idle, shouldn’t you be connecting faster?”

The reason I was hurrying the system was simple.

All the news it had brought was just bad news.

As I had predicted, new holes continued to open on Earth.

And what emerged from them was an entire army comprised solely of evolved species.

With less than half of our forces remaining, it was difficult to confront such a scale.

Many countries had already retreated and abandoned their capitals repeatedly.

‘I needed to return, and the extermination squad’s return was urgent as well.’

Anxiety made me tap my foot even faster.

Suddenly, I stiffened, my shoulders trembling.

“What on earth…”

The apostles connected to me suddenly started dying en masse.

Within seconds, there were one, two, three, soon up to four and five.

Realizing the situation had drastically changed, I yelled out vehemently.

“System!”

No longer did I receive a glaring look.

Instead, the long-awaited gate had opened.

I tore up the relocation voucher and quickly looked through the window.

Steadying my sight beyond the entrance, I met eyes with a strange being.

Resembling a human, yet not quite human.

Its neck was grotesquely long, double the length of a human’s.

To add to that, its arms were stretched out to the sides, with joints protruding oddly.

Its somewhat dusky gray skin was wrinkled all over.

Each of its long, dagger-like claws was threatening, and bright red eyes glistened dangerously from hollow eye sockets.

A murky shade, as if drenched in blood.

Standing at the spearhead that entered Earth a step ahead of me was my main enemy.

Its red eyes began to show signs of bewilderment and dismay.

After circling around extensively, meeting its face at last unleashed a surge of killing intent.

The puppet responding to my will also began rampaging wildly.

Simultaneously, authority, imbued with the firm belief of living beings, surged towards me.

A fierce anger and murderous intent, powerful enough to incinerate the whole world, were honed sharply within me.

The spear embedded itself in the creature’s shoulder as it attempted to retreat.

An overwhelming amount of divinity flowed through the spear, causing it to shine densely as if about to explode.

And indeed, it did explode.

An overly condensed puppet erupted in an explosion.

Bang.

After a clear and neat blast, Omby was thrown away.

I watched Omby crash into a half-destroyed building and fully exited the gate entrance.

I clearly saw its skin sliced and its arms dangling.

At the same time, however, I noticed its rapid recovery while being airborne.

It was certain this battle wouldn’t be easy.

Taking a deep breath, I scanned my surroundings.

An utter ruin greeted me, not a single intact sight.

Even though I had returned to Seoul, it was hard to believe this place was Seoul.

It wasn’t a city; it was sheer devastation.

More shocking was the battered state of the previously unnaturally noble and arrogant Grette.

An individual who seemed incapable of dying hung lifelessly in a pathetic condition.

He had one arm torn off, and his side was severely gouged open.

His lower body was twisted oddly, as if struck by a massive force from the left.

However, his condition was comparatively better; at least he was breathing.

In contrast, Horfe lay a distance away without a single twitch.

Not even a mana response was detected.

‘Because he’s dead.’

My hands clenched naturally.

I knew that the last and fifth apostle to Die was Horfe.

But seeing him truly dead made my insides twist.

Out of the 12 apostles I stationed in Korea, a total of 7 were casualties.

Recounting that number made my stomach churn.

‘It’s not guilt.’

In this place, everyone accepted my offer with the expectation of their potential death.

Thus, saying that I drove them to their deaths was an exaggeration.

Yet, just a hair’s breadth.

The moment I was urging the system still lingered in my mind.

‘If I had only been faster.’

Perhaps a better outcome might have ensued.

I would likely carry this lingering regret my entire life.

And today, I would use this regret to craft the flames burning within me even more keenly.

Creak.

A grating sound emerged from between my tightly clenched teeth.

At that moment, Omby, who had been cast aside, began moving again.

The rubble of the ruined building it had crashed into began to stir.

Gazing steadily in that direction, I gestured.

“Take care of the wounded.”

Only then did the still mobile apostles begin moving.

There was no time for greetings or reunions.

Ignoring their hurried movements, I raised my spear.

Swish.

Golden light shone in my eyes as I straightened the spear forward.

Boom.

The creature burst from the debris and tried to escape through the air.

Crunch!

Golden rain poured down towards Omby.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Watching the creature plummet again unable to dodge, I muttered softly.

“Entering someone’s home with dirty feet has its cost.”

That cost would only be paid by its annihilation.

* * *

After following incomprehensible orders from the association to keep distance from the Hole and retreat…

“Monsters!”

“Stop them! Use whatever means necessary!”

“Don’t retreat from the front lines. Prepare to Die and hold!”

Boom, bang!

“Kiaaaa!”

Terrifying booms, dizzying explosions, and sinister screams echoed.

The players were desperately trying to kill the loathsome monsters.

The reason a battle suddenly erupted in the city center was simple.

As soon as the extermination squad crossed the hole arranged by the association, that hole closed, and new holes opened in succession.

The number floating in the sky had already exceeded a million.

The number that had once dwindled to zero was now dauntingly large.

Even before despair could settle, they had to contend with the new monsters emerging from the holes.

As a result, players who hadn’t joined the extermination squad and remained in Seoul were in pandemonium.

“Kill them!”

“They’re scattering! Stop them!”

“Aim for the legs! Cripple their mobility!”

“Argh, it’s collapsing!”

It would have been nice if they could focus solely on battling.

Unfortunately, there were too many concerns to deal with.

More than 80% of civilians had already evacuated from Seoul, so there was no worry of major casualties.

But being a city meant there were too many hiding spots.

Moreover, they couldn’t just destroy them haphazardly.

Due to the blame that would come from player groups after the battle.

Combat in the city inevitably followed with criticism and insults.

Because individuals could suffer unbearable financial losses due to the battles.

Criticism, rebuke, resentment, hatred, and even curses sometimes.

Players couldn’t escape from the negative outcomes, resulting in them being troubled.

The one consolation was that this was Seoul.

It was paradoxical, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Simultaneous monster appearance at 12, 2, and 8 o’clock directions!”

“Unleash area skills!”

“What about the buildings?!”

“Instead of worrying, wipe them out!”

“Ugh, I don’t know anymore!”

“The Guildmaster will take care of it!”

Seoul was also the city where the Palao Guild’s headquarters was located.

Their basic policy was to focus on the task at hand without worrying about future consequences.

Responsibility fell not on the players but on Hyunwoo, the Guildmaster.

– Those entities are harm that shouldn’t be on Earth. Compromise and calculations are unnecessary. Kill whatever you see first. Any resulting issues will be handled at the guild level.

Thus, don’t ask or hesitate—obliterate any monster on sight.

Following unwavering instructions since the foundation of the guild, Palao guild members didn’t overthink when faced with monsters.

For them, the moment of encounter left only one choice.

“Die!”

Slay until no living monsters remained.

Therefore, wielding powerful magic brought no hesitation.

Craack-!

The ground split open.

Boom!

Flames erupted, engulfing the monsters.

Swish!

A wind magic pursued creatures attempting to flee their fiery demise.

With the shock, building windows shattered all at once.

Some structural frameworks couldn’t endure the repeated explosions and collapsed entirely.

Yet, normals, who couldn’t use magic, didn’t idle either.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Bring it on, you monstrous bastard!”

“Today’s your death anniversary!”

They pursued monsters escaping the range of area skills and magic.

No stray creatures dared remain on Earth’s soil.

Without hesitation, they swung bladed weapons infused with red mana.

Black blood splattered everywhere.

It pooled into puddles, which flowed like streams towards lower areas due to its sheer volume.

“Exterminate!”

“For victory!”

“Protect the land where my family lives!”

Players not worrying about future consequences wielded incredible power.

Their influence in Seoul wasn’t trivial.

The Palao Guild was the largest private guild in Korea concerning player occupancy.

No single organization, aside from the association, had as many members as the Palao Guild.

In particular, seoul, being Hyunwoo’s hometown and where his family resided, was brimming with guild members.

To make matters more challenging, the many members here were overwhelmingly above average player levels.

Thanks to the foundational hell training crafted by Shamel with utmost dedication.

Numerous relics and items acquired through exclusive missions delivered by Hyunwoo with a heart like raising chicklets.

The practical hunting schedules drafting by Hyunwoo’s installed Spartan ideology.

After undergoing all these processes, honed members meticulously and perfectly slaughtered the monsters.

Other guild players, swept in this fervor, began igniting their fighting spirits.

Screeches and screams of monsters echoed from all over the city.

The army of evolved species was diminishing at a surprising rate.

But as with all things, a peak monsoon brings a drought.

When there’s a flourishing moment, a decline is bound to follow, and a thriving age ends with a descending period.

“Huff, huff!”

“How much longer?”

“4 hours until shift-change!”

With battles dragging on for days, players quickly tired.

Their forces were weaker than usual in confronting the monsters.

Players worldwide were conscripted into the extermination squad.

Overall preparedness was noticeably lacking.

Constant deployment without proper rest led to exhaustion, with injuries and casualties escalating.

The common tragedy of comrades becoming fodder for monsters was all too familiar—a sorrow not given special significance.

Everyone barely managed with the tragic scenes playing out before their eyes.

Compounding the situation further.

“Great Earth-attribute nemesis-grade emergence in Yeongdeungpo-gu!”

A nemesis-grade monster, one that took several Platinum ranks to subdue, had crossed over.

Those in the association receiving the news turned pale.

Damned System.

**New Elements and Characters:**

– 옴비 = Omby(it)

– 그레트만 = Grette(he)

– 게이트 = gate(it)

– 한국 = Korea(it)

– 서울 = Seoul(it)

– 영등포구 = Yeongdeungpo-gu(it)