Ch.3333. Outpost Elimination Operation

After rising star hunter Teresia was attacked by an extreme nationalist group, the news sent shockwaves throughout South Korea, plunging the nation into chaos.

The news that a celebrity who had appeared in numerous TV commercials was attacked by a radical group—and in Seoul, a city known for its good security—naturally shocked citizens.

Property values near the alley where she was attacked plummeted, and opposition parties launched continuous offensives against the ruling party.

As bills restricting the possession of heavy weapons like machine guns and high-speed grenade launchers were being drafted, and crackdowns on various extremist groups intensified…

Alarming news arrived from the Gangwon Province front line: the number of monsters heading south had suddenly increased dramatically.

The Situation Monitoring Room identified the cause: the 68th superior monster, a Dragon, was moving northward, reducing the scale of battle between the Grade 1 Hive Mind—the Bomb Spider—in Gangwon Province.

As a result, the Bomb Spider had redirected monsters previously used to block the Dragon southward, and the offensive was only growing stronger with time.

The monsters deployed in this offensive were different from the usual explosive types—they had absorbed the characteristics and skills of the Dragon and its subordinate drake-type monsters through combat.

Armed with dragon-specific high stats, defense, psychic resistance, and various elemental breaths, these monsters posed a major threat to the front lines, appearing after suicide monsters had devastated defensive positions.

After explosions damaged shields, disabled some turrets, and injured soldiers, these monsters pushed hard against the weakened front lines… but fortunately, the defense line held.

RATATATATATATATA—!!!!!

BOOM! BOOOOOM!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!!!

This was because Nano-Tech’s mercenaries, who were guarding the Gangwon front line through a government contract, “coincidentally” joined the defense line, supporting it with cutting-edge equipment using nanomachines.

Eight 12-meter Titan Armors, twenty-four 8-meter Giant Armors, 40 armored vehicles, 60 self-propelled mortars. Plus a total of 200 4-meter Giant Armors and over 1,000 infantry in powered suits.

Except for tanks (which guilds and civilians weren’t legally permitted to own), they possessed almost every weapon—all cutting-edge with nanomachine technology. As expected of Nano-Tech, second to none in wealth, their performance was outstanding.

Most were pilots or low-grade modified humans with few high-grade modified humans or psychic users, but paradoxically, this made it easier for them to fill gaps in the military’s defense and coordinate effectively.

The Titan Armors drew the monsters’ attention at the front line while absorbing concentrated attacks; the 8-meter Giant Armors escorted the Titans, attaching firepower modules and unleashing devastating barrages.

The armored vehicles used medium machine guns and anti-monster missiles to sweep away weaker monsters while shielding infantry, and the self-propelled mortars spread out to provide active fire support.

Those in 4-meter Giant Armors served as elite infantry, while powered suit infantry moved organically between these larger war machines to support them.

Thanks to these Nano-Tech guild hunters, the successful defense prompted humans to immediately prepare a retaliatory operation to root out the monsters’ forward base, believed to be located in Gangwon Province.

As a large-scale operation requiring military support and front line movement, the mobilized forces were beyond imagination.

Korea’s largest state-owned guild—Daehan Guild; Seonggwang Guild with three superior hunters and ranking third in Korea by size; and Goryeo Guild, which despite being only one team (200 members) in size, boasted five superior hunters and 50 intermediate hunters.

Additionally, over 8,000 civilian hunters were deployed, and the military committed five infantry divisions (roughly 60,000 personnel) along with various military assets.

Naturally, Teresia, as an intermediate hunter and deputy commander of Seonggwang Guild’s 13th Unit, was deployed to the front line.

Specifically, as a member of the Nest Descent Team, tasked with directly descending into the nest being used as the Hive Mind’s forward base.

※ ※ ※

Inside an aircraft heading toward the drop point 9km from the nest.

Teresia was already aboard her 7-meter Giant Armor, ready to descend at any moment.

Her Giant Armor, specially modified for this descent, was equipped with dozens of detachable ultra-high-output jump packs across its body, along with additional external psychic shield generators to prevent being hit.

Naturally, this old Giant Armor wasn’t designed for air raids and lacked shock absorbers or parachutes, but such things were only for cowards anyway.

As Teresia sat in her air raid-modified Giant Armor trying to clear her mind, she heard the voice of her superior, the 13th Unit Commander Lee Sujin.

“Nervous, Teresia?”

“…Yes.”

Though she was actually thrilled to be carrying out her mother’s orders, she couldn’t say that out loud.

So Teresia gave Sujin an appropriate response, but couldn’t bring herself to be cold toward Sujin, from whom she could sense her mother the Hive Queen’s energy, and spoke gently.

“When will we arrive?”

“Hmm… in about three minutes, I think?”

Despite the information being displayed on the holographic interface right in front of her, Teresia asked anyway and gave a wry smile. Just as Sujin was about to speak—

BOOM!!!

“Kyaaaaaaah!!!”

“Whoa!”

“What is this?!!!”

Suddenly, from the right side of the transport, an impact like something colliding with the aircraft came with a deafening explosion.

As the passengers began murmuring about what was clearly a monster attack, a low male voice echoed through the speakers.

[This is the captain speaking from the cockpit. Our aircraft has been hit by flying monsters! The engine has been damaged, and we cannot reach the planned drop point. We will commence the drop immediately!]

Though some were momentarily flustered by this announcement, everyone aboard was a veteran of veterans with ample experience.

The hunters calmly completed their final preparations for the descent, and shortly after, the captain’s voice was heard again.

[Prepare for descent! 5, 4, 3—]

As trained, Teresia operated her 7-meter Giant Armor according to the captain’s signal.

She activated the jump packs, adjusted her posture, and deactivated some weapons, storing them inside the frame to prevent damage.

[—2, 1. Drop!]

The moment the captain’s signal came, the floor of the aircraft opened, and the hunters on it began to fall.

WHOOOOOOSH—!!!!

Of course, they weren’t just falling.

The hunters, equipped with jump packs combining small plasma engines and plasma batteries, adjusted their falling speed and direction by firing the engines as they descended-fell toward the dense forest below—

—KYURURYARYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!!!

Suddenly, some of the wyvern-like flying monsters that had been attacking the plane turned and, with a roar, began attacking the descending hunters.

These monsters, with wings instead of forelegs in typical fantasy wyvern fashion, swung their claws at the descending hunters, rammed them with their bodies, bit down hard, or spewed energy from their mouths.

[Shoot! Shoot!]

[Giant Armors, fire quickly!]

“This is Teresia! Engaging targets!”

The hunters resisted with all their might.

Giant Armors fired every available weapon, and ranged hunters with various firearms unleashed maximum-output weapons to prevent the wyverns from approaching.

Meanwhile, close-combat hunters actively used their jump packs to hunt the wyverns in reverse, and psychic users focused on support to protect the hunters during descent.

Since aerial combat didn’t suit most hunters’ aptitudes, what should have been a 3-minute descent felt more like 3 hours.

Nevertheless, the hunters managed to land on the ground with only seven casualties from this reckless descent.

THUD!

Landing safely thanks to jump packs operating beyond maximum output to slow their fall, the hunters immediately detached their jump packs and quickly prepared for battle, retrieving their stored weapons.

[They’re coming! Everyone, prepare!]

This was because they had landed 17km from the nest.

KISHAAAAAAAK!

KYURURYAAAAAAAK!!

KYAAAAAAAK!!!!

And right in the path of monsters born from the Hive Mind’s forward base heading south.