Chapter 101 – Goalkeeper

Chapter 101 – Goalkeeper

The removal of the Giant Nest in Siberia was, of course, an action for my benefit. It was to restore Forgotten Knowledge and to secure the safety of the Northern Region territory.

However, if one were to ask if Humanity didn’t benefit from me… that would be a very foolish question.

Humanity naturally benefited from me.

After the destruction of the Giant Nest, the Siberian Front would have clearly weakened noticeably. This would have had an impact not only on me, but also on China, and even on the front lines in distant Europe.

‘So China must have gained some leeway as well…’

But… using that leeway against me.

This was a huge mistake they made.

‘They’re repaying kindness like this…’

I felt my anger boiling up.

But… despite everything, I composed myself.

There was something more important than him right now.

“First, let’s defend, then think.”

I clenched my fist tightly.

***

Ballistic missiles were truly dangerous weapons.

Warheads that reach their apex and begin to fall towards the ground hit Mach 7. As they say, that’s several times faster than a bullet.

Thousands of such objects were currently flying towards Incheon.

At such high speeds.

‘There isn’t much time to respond.’

Unfortunately, I couldn’t use Interceptors.

Even though Interceptors are the kings of air-to-air combat, their short combat endurance limits their range. If I were to force their use and miss even one falling warhead…

The outcome would clearly be catastrophic.

‘This calls for a Direct Method.’

I took a deep breath.

“Hoo-hoo-hoop-“

‘Legion, excluding Emitter. Halt equipment.’

Tiririririk-

All nearby machines began to shut down, and the city stopped.

“What? What’s happening now?”

“Power outages are quite frequent these days…”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a ‘power’ outage but a ‘mana’ outage. However, in Incheon, where the machines of the Magitech Legion were closely tied to daily life, it was practically the same as a power outage.

I felt a little sorry for the confused citizens, but this was a necessary measure.

‘Well, they’ll find out soon enough…’

It was around the time I was thinking that.

Whoosh-

Mana began to surge. But the mana from The Man wasn’t directed at me. It was all heading towards the Emitters located around Incheon.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeng-

The Emitter, overcharged with an excessive amount of mana, began to vibrate excessively. The amount had already far exceeded its limit.

‘It’s a real relief that this Water construction was made primarily with Aetherium.’

If it weren’t for the Aetherium that could store mana, all the circuits would have already burned out. Just as the Emitters vibrated to the point where all their parts were about to fall off.

Flash-!

A thick Mana Barrier, enough to obscure the sun, covered the sky.

“Huh?”

“Is it a solar eclipse?”

“No? What in the world is that?”

The City suddenly had a ceiling.

The Citizens all looked up at the sky with puzzled expressions. It was around that time when the first impact began.

Kwaaaaaang!

Krrrrrrung!

A bright light, and the Mana Barrier vibrating like waves.

“Oh my!”

“What is that!”

“Bo-bombs?!”

But one shot was just the beginning of Fire Manipulation.

Kwaaang! Kwakwakwakwakwaaang!

Missiles repeatedly striking the Mana Barrier.

“Whoa!”

“Mom! It looks like a Fire Manipulation fireworks show!”

Children, unaware of the exact situation, were even excitedly cheering. Of Water, my heart felt differently.

Just, just a little more!

I was anxiously watching the Mana Quantity. As a result of absorbing an enormous impact, the Mana Barrier was getting thinner and thinner.

KWAANG!

Booooom-

The Mana Barrier, which had been barely holding on, finally collapsed.

Ha… hahaha.

It was right after the last impact. The tension released, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with a trembling hand.

I will never… let it pass like this.

Of course, this was only the beginning and involved Fire Manipulation.

* * *

As a result of over-rotating mana.

Every single Emitter near the Main Base was lost.

The internal Aetherium even completely evaporated, unable to withstand the enormous mana Subordinate, making even part recovery impossible with Fire Manipulation.

However, it was a cheap expenditure compared to the human lives I saved.

Especially since the Aetherium Expeditionary Force recently returned with a significant surplus, the Production Facilities were automatically replenishing the target number of units by executing repetitive production orders without any specific commands from me.

Compared to the enormous price of the Missiles they would have spent, I might even be at a greater advantage.

Still, this time was dangerous.

If the number of Emitters had been fewer, or if I hadn’t responded properly, it could have escalated into a major disaster for the Capital City.

And against civilians, no less.

Seriously, have they lost their minds?

I shook my head.

They were from the Regular Army’s Loyalty Militarist Faction.

Moreover, China’s forces were already continental powerhouses, incomparable to the North Korean Army.

Especially, according to Seoyeon’s information… the Divine Merit Party, who had seized power by staging a coup as rebels, seemed to be nothing short of Marauders in terms of their Castle.

They were truly not opponents who would casually launch indiscriminate attacks against civilians. However, there were also differences compared to typical Looters.

He said they were exploiting civilians.

Truly, he was a troublesome opponent in many ways.

Since he exploited civilians, his industrial power was strong, unlike other Looters. However, since civilians were mixed in, indiscriminate bombardment was not an option.

At a time when every person who genuinely put in effort was valuable, such an act was unthinkable. Moreover, considering the future need to attract people from diverse backgrounds, it was something that simply could not be done.

It was a matter of human lives, and furthermore, my own interests, so it couldn’t be dismissed as merely troublesome or complicated.

However, the opponent was acting with the mindset of a Marauder but wielding the capabilities of a Regular Army… Truly, it was a dangerous faction that had taken all the advantages and disadvantages of both Marauders and Militarists.

After a long period of deliberation, I finally came to a conclusion.

“This… I’ll have to try to recruit that guy first.”

When it came to China, leaving it to The Man was the answer. Meanwhile… I wasn’t going to let The Man get away with doing nothing either.

“I’ll have to change the main force’s direction once too.”

My main force, descending from Siberia to the Korean Peninsula.

Click-clack- Click-clack- Click-clack-

Thump-

The Men paused for a moment and then-.

Screech!

They turned their bodies, changing direction.

Click-clack- Click-clack- Click-clack- Click-clack-

And then The Man started marching again.

Towards the Central Plains, of course.

***

While my main force was advancing, I was also focusing on Internal affairs. And the biggest internal affairs task at hand was, without a doubt, the construction of the Behemoth-Class Production Facility.

True to its Behemoth-Class name, it was a production facility of immense size. If a Super-Large Class was four times the size of a regular Production Facility, this one was a whopping sixteen times larger.

Furthermore, the Behemoth-Class Production Facility did not accept regular materials; instead, it used parts that had already been produced by other Production Facilities for its construction.

Indeed, a facility of enormous scale was being constructed.

‘Will there be enough mana for this?’

Even with the increasing number of mana facilities, I was worried if they could handle it.

Meanwhile, there was another harvest.

The Giant Nest Mana Stone, from which the essence had been completely extracted, was combined with other Nest Mana Stones. This was because the Nest Core of the Giant Nest was clearly of a different caliber than other Nest Cores.

The Nest Cores, which act as Dimensional Rifts that can open Dungeons, look like Mana Bands, similar to ribbons, but the Giant Nest Core not only appears much thicker and larger than the Mana Band, but also…

Its appearance was distinctly different.

It looked as if someone had torn and broken it. Perhaps because of that, no matter how much it tried to form a pattern, the coordinates wouldn’t align properly.

‘What is this…?’

It was when I was thinking that.

[It is a Fragment of an Advanced Nest Core.]

Assistant AI answered instead.

‘…Advanced? How do I use it?’

[You must collect other fragments to complete the core.]

‘Then I’ll have to eliminate other Giant Nests as well, won’t I?’

…It was the moment another long-term goal was added.

***

Meanwhile, Shanghai.

Approximately 3 minutes before the missile impacted Incheon.

Wang Wei displayed the scene of Incheon on a large screen.

“Look.”

He pointed to the screen with a dignified tone.

Incheon’s streets looked as vibrant as before the Apocalypse, and everyone seemed to be enjoying a prosperous life.

Everyone who saw this had their mouths agape.

“Only they were living so well?”

“Is that their current appearance?”

“Are there no monsters on the Korean Peninsula?”

For these men… no, for all other humans living outside the Korean Peninsula, it was a sight they could never even imagine.

But Wang Wei…

Seeing Incheon in that state, Wang Wei deliberately furrowed his brow.

“Behold! The dirty prosperity built by extorting the blood and sweat of others.”

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t true.

He just wanted to show it to them.

‘Be even more jealous, be envious.’

That was his goal. And he utilized the public’s emotions incredibly well. In difficult times, anyone’s heart would waver if they saw only others living well.

Especially if it was obtained unfairly.

“All of that, with the blood and sweat of others…”

“How many people must have suffered…”

As he intended, those who were initially flustered-

“Dirty bastards!”

“I hope they all die!”

Soon, they were swayed by his almost magical charisma and began to reveal their ugly emotions. And it was by no means because they were bad people.

It was simply that Wang Wei was that capable.

Seeing the public moving as he intended, he hid a satisfied smile and raised his voice again.

“That’s right! They are like devils!”

And the screen facing the sky.

Kuguguung-

This screen, flying through the sky, zoomed in on a missile like a movie. This was possible because the screen was provided by an ability similar to clairvoyance.

Of course, due to the limits of the ability, it wouldn’t normally reach Incheon, but the ability user was absorbing mana stones to their limit to show this scene to the public right now.

‘An opportunity that won’t come again. I must use this as an opportunity for propaganda.’

That was also Wang Wei’s resolve.

“Therefore, I have decided. To those wicked individuals who not only launched a preemptive strike against us but also exploit innocent people…”

The man closed his eyes as if acting and pointed at the missile.

“To bring down divine punishment.”

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!”

“What is that?!”

Wang Wei, still closing his eyes as if acting, felt a slight sense of incongruity from the suddenly noisy crowd.

‘Huh? I haven’t heard the sound of impact yet.’

It was because the crowd’s reaction became agitated a little earlier than expected.

But the man decided to continue acting as planned.

Koo-kwa-ah-ang!

Kwang-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

Then came the sound of impact.

Hearing this sound, Wang Wei hid his joy in his heart and said,

“Ah… a fleeting life… This is the end of those who built their wealth with blood in these difficult times!”

And then the man opened his eyes.

The crowd was in shock.

“Huh?”

Feeling that something was wrong, Wang Wei immediately looked at the screen.

Koo-woo-woong- kwa-aang!

Kwang-kwang!

The missile warheads were blocked by a thick curtain…

Koo-kwa-kwa-kwang!

Not a single one was able to fall on the city.

“Ah… uh, ahem.”

Wang Wei’s expression hardened.