Chapter 153

“Aaaaargh!”

“Aaaah!”

Inside the Black Dragon Unit, Beijing’s elite defensive force, screams and death throes echoed ceaselessly.

Corpses swarmed from all directions.

Among them were comrades who had fought alongside them against the enemy just moments ago, and acquaintances who had recently succumbed to illness.

The sight of those corpses, eyes blazing with murderous intent as they charged, was nothing short of a nightmare. Initially, the Black Dragon Unit soldiers had rejoiced at seeing them, but they soon realized their mistake and shivered with dread.

They didn’t know what the enemy had done, but resurrecting the dead to attack was an unprecedented act in history.

Moreover, the attacks of wild animals like decaying dogs and cats were also formidable.

At first, the Black Dragon Unit soldiers were overwhelmed, unable to react as the creatures, as if seeking vengeance from their living days, charged madly.

“Form ranks! Don’t waver!”

Yet, the Black Dragon Unit lived up to its reputation as China’s strongest defensive force.

Commanders stationed throughout the ranks calmly assessed the situation, struggling to fend off the zombie attacks.

As a result, the initial chaos was barely contained, and now they were engaged in scattered skirmishes.

But as one problem gave way to another, the real issue wasn’t that.

“Hold them! Hold them!”

*Crash!*

*Snap!*

A group had already infiltrated deep into their formation, no one knew when.

Their destructive power was terrifying.

Especially the strength of the middle-aged man at the forefront, swinging two hand axes, was something even the elite soldiers of the Black Dragon Unit dared not confront.

*Thud!*

“Gah!”

Several famously strong soldiers formed a squad to try and stop him, but the outcome was the same.

Along with their weapons, they were split from crown to chin, becoming corpses.

And those who died were resurrected by a strange power, turning into enemies that attacked the Black Dragon Unit.

It was maddening, utterly insane.

They couldn’t stop them, nor could they ignore them.

The Black Dragon Unit’s two proud Magic Users had also been tied down for a long time.

In fact, their power was a major reason why the Black Dragon Unit earned its reputation as the strongest defensive force, yet it had been neutralized.

By just one person.

A single Fire-attribute Chakra Force wielding Magic User, somewhere within the Republic of Korea’s attack force.

But there was no reason to feel wronged.

In fact, it could be said that it was precisely because there were two Magic Users that they were barely able to stop that one, such was the overwhelming destructive power of that Magic User.

The way they freely wielded fire-attribute magic, skillfully targeting only their weak points, was truly astonishing.

Since its establishment, the Black Dragon Unit was facing its worst crisis, with no viable way to overcome it.

Forced to yield ground by the corpses, they couldn’t secure positions for proper tactical maneuvers, and the two Magic Users were tied down by terrifying fireballs raining down from afar.

At this point, they should have been launching an all-out assault, but instead, they were pouring all their energy into barely fending off attacks.

It was utterly maddening.

Moreover, they had allowed the enemy’s vanguard to penetrate deep into their interior.

“Vanguard! Slaughter them all!”

They raged wildly within, as if tearing apart the Black Dragon’s innards.

The repercussions were significant.

Problems had already begun to emerge in the command structure, leading to an increase in groups fighting localized battles based on their own judgment.

This, in turn, became fodder for the vanguard.

*Crunch!*

Gil Hyeok-jun’s axe, leading the vanguard, split open the heads of lost Black Dragon Unit soldiers, shattering their skulls.

One enemy with a single strike.

That was Gil Hyeok-jun’s combat style.

Aiming for maximum effect with minimal effort.

But that simple movement became a tremendous terror for the enemy.

“Stop him!”

Elite soldiers were dispatched.

This time, they weren’t just ordinary soldiers.

At least company-level commanders.

These were individuals formidable in both combat power and experience.

Gil Hyeok-jun grinned as he watched the elites charging towards him.

He recognized their strength.

“Good, this is more like it!”

Gil Hyeok-jun, on the contrary, sported a deep smile at their appearance.

“Come!”

As five elites charged, Gil Hyeok-jun stomped his foot hard on the ground, *thud!*

A fierce wind swirled around him, and the ground rumbled as if an earthquake had struck.

In an instant, a man wielding a massive sword soared towards him.

*Whoosh!*

He hung in the air, bringing his sword down with all his might towards Gil Hyeok-jun.

*CRASH!*

Gil Hyeok-jun raised one axe to block him.

*Crack!*

So powerful was the attack that Gil Hyeok-jun’s legs sank slightly into the ground.

But Gil Hyeok-jun merely smiled coldly.

*Thwang!*

His foot seemed to push off the ground, and then the other axe in his hand shot upwards like a mad thing.

*Swoosh!*

*Clang!*

The man who had attacked him widened his eyes at Gil Hyeok-jun’s suddenly flying axe, but it was already too late to dodge.

The axe, aimed precisely at the man’s ribs, was deflected by a long spear thrusting in from the side.

“Hah!”

At the perfectly coordinated attack, Gil Hyeok-jun let out a long shout and grinned.

This is what he needed.

This is what makes his blood boil.

This is what makes a fight enjoyable.

“Hup!”

Gil Hyeok-jun immediately recovered his stance and began wildly slamming down both axes in quick succession.

*CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!*

There was no precise target.

Every man who approached his side was his target.

The men’s faces contorted at the madly swinging axe blades, which could strike from anywhere.

These weren’t just the wild swings of a lunatic.

Rather, a highly precise and accurate calculation was hidden within, and the angle of the axe’s flight and the force behind it relentlessly targeted the enemy’s vital points with terrifying persistence.

*CRASH!*

“Ugh!”

Even blocking was difficult.

Because their grips rang out with a *thrum*, and the pain of tearing flesh assailed their entire bodies.

But retreating would be an even greater disaster.

That man, wildly slamming down two axes, would surely rush in and tear his prey to shreds if he found an opening.

*CRASH!*

They sustained injuries just from colliding with him.

That was the current situation for the Black Dragon Unit soldiers.

“Press the attack!”

At that moment, the man swinging the axes shouted loudly.

Simultaneously, the elite soldiers’ expressions hardened.

He wasn’t alone.

Several vanguard members had followed him.

In truth, they had disregarded them, as they didn’t seem particularly strong.

But they… had changed.

They were completely different from before, having become beasts, tearing into the elite soldiers’ ranks.

‘No, surely not!’

Only one thing could change the situation so drastically.

Enhancers.

Only then did the elite soldiers recall that the Republic of Korea had the best enhancer pharmaceutical company.

“Kuaaaaaah!”

However, the state of the vanguard members, who appeared to have taken the enhancers, was completely different from what they knew.

The power of the vanguard members had become so utterly overwhelming that the enhancers they could acquire seemed like child’s play in comparison.

‘Damn!’

The elite soldiers realized just how much the Republic of Korea had honed its blade for this very moment.

That Star Pharmaceuticals had secretly developed an incredible new drug, and it was being used now.

“Kukukuku!”

As the vanguard flawlessly exploited openings and attacked the enemies, Gil Hyeok-jun let out a mad laugh.

“Kraaah!”

And at the same time, a fierce gale erupted from the two axes he held.

Chakra, Reaper’s Requiem Dance.

The terrifying requiem dance, performed with two axes, had begun.

*CRUNCH!*

“Guh!”

The elite soldiers dared not resist that terrifying power.

In that instant, a massive storm unleashed from the axes engulfed them.

Terrifying attacks that tore flesh and shattered bones continued, as a mad wind that devoured and chewed up everything spread in all directions.

*CRRRUNCH!*

Shields were useless, and even protecting their bodies with powerful Chakra Force was only temporary.

For the desperate moment when the living envied the dead was unfolding right then.

“Aaaaargh!”

Only at the moment they were caught in the gale and torn apart did the elite soldiers realize.

What kind of enemy they had fought.

They were no longer human.

*CRRRUNCH!*

The blood-devouring mad wind, after engulfing all the enemies, not content with that, ground up the entire bodies of other nearby foes before finally dissipating.

*CRASH!* *BOOM!*

The surroundings were already a complete pandemonium.

*Thump, thump.*

Yet, amidst it all, there was one who walked alone, serenely.

Overwhelming black energy emanated from his entire body, and his eyes flickered with a blood-red glow.

The Lord of Death.

Wherever he passed, the dead resurrected, their eyes radiating ferocity, and charged madly towards the living prey.

That was his ability.

“All of them.”

His lips, which seemed to have no intention of drawing his sword or fighting, parted slightly.

“Purify them.”

*Rumble rumble rumble!*

His will immediately became an absolute command to the undead, and the undead, obeying his order, resurrected and surged towards where they needed to be.

Beijing.

The gates of that colossal city were now opening.

As the Black Dragon was torn apart by countless vengeful spirits, bleeding profusely and plummeting, and with every part of the city ablaze, the proud and noble city’s gates were being breached.

Inside, ‘he’ was there.

The ruler of this colossal city.

And furthermore, the man who had reigned as the hegemon of the Chinese continent, Wang Hao-ping.

All of this had happened because of him, and because of him, China was falling into ruin.

As the price for provoking Kang Yuseong, he was paying an enormous sacrifice, and soon he himself would become one of those sacrifices.

*BOOM!* *CRASH!*

Everything was being shattered, broken, and collapsing.

The two Magic Users who had resisted to the end also seemed to have run out of power, only intermittently casting spells and no longer able to withstand Kim Do-jin’s powerful pressure.

*Grrrraaaaah-*

Through the gates flung wide open by the attack force, the Republic of Korea’s armored division rapidly surged forward.

The beautiful, burning city.

Towards Beijing.

“- Alpha, entering Beijing. Repeat, Alpha, entering Beijing.”

Kang Yuseong’s low voice was transmitted to all units via radio.

*Thump.*

And he stepped into Beijing.

The heart of China, it was there.