Ch.67U.S. Military Bases in Korea Annihilated?

“Urgh…!”

“Captain! Are you alright?!”

“Is that you, Lieutenant Paul…? First, help me lift these debris.”

“Yes sir! Right away.”

It was just another ordinary day at the USFK Base.

Then suddenly, with a tremendous roar, the ground shook violently. When Talisman regained consciousness, he found himself trapped under the ruins of the commander’s office where he had been sitting just moments ago, barely escaping death.

Fortunately, he was discovered by one of his capable subordinates and rescued from the brink of death.

“Cough! Cough!”

Talisman emerged from the building debris with support, making his way outside.

His momentary relief was short-lived.

“…Holy shit.”

He stared at what should have been his state-of-the-art, fully equipped base.

The entire USFK Base had collapsed into ruins, completely flattened, leaving him utterly speechless.

“Was… was it an earthquake…?”

“No, sir. If it were, it wouldn’t have collapsed to this extent.”

“Right, a mere earthquake couldn’t possibly bring down a US military base…”

The base had been meticulously constructed with earthquake-resistant design and built with particular attention to detail to withstand potential North Korean attacks.

It was designed to withstand even direct hits within anti-aircraft missile range and still be able to deploy tanks if necessary.

Yet something had completely annihilated such a fortress in one go?

There was only one possibility that came to mind.

“It’s that monster…!”

The monster that single-handedly destroyed six divisions of America’s strongest military forces in the US mainland.

Originally, it wasn’t supposed to awaken for another four days before it would have systematically destroyed this USFK Base. It should never have been revived.

“The nightmare of California… ‘Alien Beth’ has awakened prematurely…!”

“Alien Beth? Isn’t that the National Disaster-Level monster from America’s distant past? I heard about it from my parents when I was young.”

“Yes, that monster has come back to life. And in this small Korean peninsula that’s only about a quarter the size of California!”

Back then, the monster had rendered one-tenth of California’s area uninhabitable.

It took nearly 20 years to restore it to its original state. Now imagine such a monster rampaging in Korea, a country weaker than America and smaller than a single American state?

The entire nation could potentially be paralyzed for over a century.

It meant that South Korea, a developed nation, could revert to the underdeveloped country it was 60 years ago after the Korean War.

“Mo-mobilize all available forces to stop that monster!”

“Yes sir!”

“First, pinpoint its location. And don’t engage in hasty combat! I’ll immediately request support from the Korean Hunter Association and military. And…”

And.

The main culprit behind this incident.

Donzo Mykree, a US congressman.

Talisman planned to request support from him as well—one of only seven National Authority-Level Hunters in the United States.

Even if he had to threaten to release the recording of their conversation to the media should Mykree refuse.

Even if it meant his own dishonorable discharge, perhaps because Talisman had served in this small Asian country for over 20 years.

Korea had become his second homeland outside of America, and he was prepared to die to protect it.

“Captain. We currently have five tanks, 200 infantry, and 10 special infantry ready to move.”

“Good. Then relay the following to them: The monster that has appeared in our base is EXTREMELY! DANGEROUS! Tell them to avoid confrontation if possible and just observe from a distance.”

“But, Captain.”

“…?”

The next words from Lieutenant Paul, who had been noting down his orders:

“The special infantry have already surrounded the monster…”

“Wh-what?!”

Hearing this, Talisman’s already pale face turned as white as flour.

***

Special infantry.

In the “Hunter’s Blood” universe, special infantry referred to a unique military position.

Special infantry were literally soldiers with abilities far beyond the ordinary.

If a regular infantry soldier was rated as 1, these individuals could exert a minimum power of 100—they were “superhumans.”

While standards varied by country, the US special infantry required at least a Hunter background, and only those ranked B-class or higher could qualify for this position.

“Leader. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Each of the ten USFK special infantry members was equal to or stronger than Sophia, who was called Asia’s rising star.

Hidden in squad formation among the collapsed ruins, they spotted the perpetrator of this incident just emerging to the surface—a horrifying cyborg that was part machine, part monster.

Rather than being terrified:

“We’ll handle this one.”

They were practically salivating, preparing for a “hunt.”

“Who wants to take the first strike?”

“Sergeant Michael. May I go, sir?”

“Michael. Are you confident?”

“Yes sir! Of course.”

Having roughly assessed the enemy’s position, the special infantry squad was selecting their first combatant.

At that moment, an enthusiastic black corporal named Michael Dillian, with a Japanese sword at his hip, raised his hand.

“I’ve been wanting to test this equipment I bought from Japan for $20,000.”

“You were an A-class Hunter when you served at the Association headquarters, right?”

“Yes sir. I was even a candidate for National Authority-Level Hunter but unfortunately failed and enlisted in the military.”

Someone looking for a new opportunity.

Not bad.

With that thought, the squad leader, Sergeant Mikela, gave her approval.

“Alright. Show us what you’ve got.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“If you’re about to die, we’ll rescue you right away.”

She sent the confident subordinate toward the cyborg monster that had been standing still for some time.

Drawing the Japanese sword he had purchased for $20,000 from his hip, Michael Corporal walked confidently toward the enemy that had just noticed them.

“Huff…”

His Hunter profession was Saber Hunter.

Specialized solely in cutting and slicing in combat.

“Here I go.”

The sharpness of a Saber Hunter wielding a real sword was beyond imagination—someone who could slice sashimi with a blunt stone.

Clang!

The iaido technique of Michael Corporal, who had risen to A-class Hunter at US headquarters, should have sliced through the cyborg monster’s abdomen like a black meteor in the blink of an eye…

“?!”

That’s what should have happened.

“…Clang?”

Michael Corporal was shocked.

But the point of his surprise wasn’t that his attack had failed.

The opponent was a monster presumed powerful enough to have destroyed the entire USFK Base.

He had volunteered as a sacrificial pawn to gauge its strength.

He was somewhat prepared for his attack to be blocked.

But the sound when his metal blade touched the creature’s skin…

It wasn’t the sound of flesh tearing or organs being pierced, but rather the sound of metal striking metal.

“What the hell…”

Michael Corporal felt an unpleasant dissonance and tried to retreat, but—

Slash!

The next moment, he coughed up blood and collapsed in place, with no time to even tilt his head in confusion at the even more incomprehensible phenomenon.

“…Huh?”

He hurriedly looked down at his chest where he felt pain.

There was a large wound as if cut by something extremely sharp.

But the monster before him had no sharp claws, nor had it made any movement.

So what caused this wound?

“What kind of ability is this…? I fought it head-on but still can’t figure it out…”

He needed to relay some information to his comrades.

But facing a monster type he’d never encountered before, Michael’s consciousness was fading along with the stream of blood flowing from him.

And as if to finish off the human:

“Michael!!”

“You monster bastard! Get your filthy hands off my subordinate right now!”

The cyborg monster grabbed Michael’s drooping head and lifted it to its eye level.

Michael, his legs already off the ground, was nearly unconscious.

Seeing this, the special infantry squad all entered combat stance, ready to attack the monster from all directions at their leader Mikela’s signal.

…However.

“A, mer, i, can… man…”

“?!”

“The monster…”

“It can talk?”

A monster capable of human speech.

They’d read about it or heard of it.

Faced with a monster type that only appeared in legends or ancient history, the special infantry squad froze in surprise, momentarily halting their actions.

Even in that moment, the cyborg monster continued speaking:

“American, man, is, kind. Too, good, to, kill.”

“…What?”

“What is it saying?”

Swoosh.

“…! Michael!”

“Corporal Michael!”

The next moment, the monster released Michael’s head, dropping him to the ground, when it had seemed ready to kill him just seconds ago.

“Where, am, I? Who, am, I?”

It clutched its head in apparent agony.

“…! I, feel, it. Dis, gust, ing, pre, sence.”

Suddenly it turned its head to look in a certain direction.

That direction was toward the city center, which remained as bright as morning despite being evening time, filled with countless Korean people.

“Kill, them. Gar, bage.”

With that, the cyborg monster let out another massive roar that shook the ground violently.

“N-no!”

Then it leaped toward Hongdae, Seoul’s bustling district, completely ignoring the American soldiers, simply following its instincts.