Chapter 101 – Goalkeeper

The removal of the Giant Nest in Siberia was, of course, an action for my own benefit. This was because it allowed me to recover Forgotten Knowledge and firmly secure the safety of the Northern Region.

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

Humanity naturally benefited.

After the destruction of the Giant Nest, the Siberian Front must have weakened noticeably. This would have exerted influence not only on me, but naturally on China, and even further to the fronts in Europe.

‘So China should have gained some breathing room…’

But… using that breathing room against me.

That was a massive mistake on their part.

‘So this is how they repay a favor…’

I felt a surge of boiling anger.

Nevertheless… I composed my emotions.

There was something more important right now.

“Let’s focus on defense first, then think.”

I clenched my fist tightly.

* * *

Ballistic missiles were truly dangerous weapons.

Warheads that reach their peak and begin to descend toward the ground hit speeds of Mach 7. Literally, they move several times faster than a bullet.

Thousands of such objects were currently flying toward Incheon.

At that exact speed.

‘There isn’t much time to respond.’

Unfortunately, I couldn’t use interceptors.

No matter how much they were the kings of air-to-air combat, interceptors have a limited range due to their short combat endurance. If I tried to force their use and missed even a single descending warhead…

The result would undoubtedly be catastrophic.

‘I’ll… go with the direct approach.’

I took a deep breath.

“Huuuuh-.”

‘Legion, excluding the Emitters. Cease equipment.’

Tiririririk—

All nearby machinery began to shut down, and the city came to a halt.

“What? What’s happening now?”

“Blackouts have been frequent lately…”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a power ‘outage’ but a ‘mana’ outage. However, in Incheon, where the Magitech Legion’s machines were closely integrated into daily life, it was effectively the same as a blackout.

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

‘Well, they’ll find out soon enough…’

It was around the time I thought that.

Whoooosh—

Mana began to surge. However, that mana did not flow toward me. It all surged toward the Emitters located around Incheon.

Wiiiiiiing—

The Emitters, overcharged with an excessive amount of mana, began to vibrate violently. The amount had already far exceeded their limits.

‘Thank goodness these were made primarily with Aetherium.’

If they hadn’t been made of Aetherium, which can store mana, all the circuits would have burned out already. Just as the Emitters vibrated to the point where every part was about to fly off—

Paaaaaat—!

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

“Uh… huh?”

“Is it a solar eclipse?”

“No? What on earth is that?”

A city that suddenly gained a ceiling.

The citizens all looked up at the sky with bewildered expressions. It was around then that the first impacts began.

Kwaaaaang!

Kurururung!

Along with a bright light, the Mana Barrier vibrated like a wave.

“Oh my!”

“What is that!”

“B-bombs?!”

But one shot was only the beginning.

Kwaang! Kwakwakwaang!

Missiles repeatedly struck the Mana Barrier.

“Waaaah!”

“Mommy! I think it’s fireworks!”

Children, unaware of the exact situation, were cheering with excitement. Of course, my feelings were different.

‘Ju-just a little more!’

I watched the mana quantity anxiously. As a result of absorbing the immense impact, the Mana Barrier was gradually becoming thinner.

Kwaaaang!

Brrrrrt—

And the Mana Barrier, which had been holding on, finally collapsed.

“Ha… hahahaha.”

It was immediately after the final impact ended. As the tension released, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with a trembling hand.

‘I will… never let this slide.’

Of course, this was only the beginning.

* * *

As a result of circulating an excessive amount of mana.

I lost every single Emitter near the Main Base.

Because they couldn’t withstand the enormous mana load, the internal Aetherium completely evaporated, making it impossible to even recover the parts.

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

In particular, since the Aetherium Expeditionary Force had recently returned with a significant surplus, the Production Facilities were carrying out repeat production orders without any specific command from me, automatically refilling the target quantity.

Compared to the astronomical price of the missiles they must have spent, I might actually be the one who profited.

‘Still, it was dangerous this time.’

If the number of Emitters had been fewer, or if I hadn’t responded properly, it could have escalated into massive damage.

And that was directed at civilians, no less.

‘Have they truly lost their minds?’

I shook my head.

They were a militaristic force composed of regular army veterans.

Furthermore, the forces in China were continental powerhouses that couldn’t even be compared to the likes of the North Korean Army.

Specifically, according to Seoyeon’s information… the Divine Merit Party, which had seized power through a coup as rebels, seemed to have a nature no different from Marauders.

They were truly an opponent that could carry out indiscriminate attacks on civilians without any hesitation. However, there was a difference compared to typical Looters.

‘She mentioned they were exploiting civilians.’

They were a headache in many ways.

Because they exploited civilians, their industrial power was strong, unlike other Looters. Yet, because civilians were mixed in, I couldn’t simply resort to indiscriminate bombardment.

In a time when every single person who puts in effort is precious, I couldn’t do such a thing. Moreover, considering my plan to attract people from various backgrounds in the future, I shouldn’t.

This was a matter involving human lives and, by extension, my own interests; it wasn’t something to be dealt with carelessly just because it was tedious and complicated.

Yet, the opponent was exercising the capabilities of a regular army with the mindset of a Marauder… they were truly a dangerous force that took only the advantages of both Looters and militaristic powers.

After pondering for a long while, I finally reached a conclusion.

‘I… should try recruiting that guy first.’

When it came to matters regarding China, leaving it to him was the answer. Meanwhile… that didn’t mean I would let this go without doing anything.

“I should shift the direction of the main force as well.”

My main force, which had been descending from Siberia toward the Korean Peninsula.

Clank— clank— clank—

Thud—

They stopped for a moment—.

Screeeech!

They turned their bodies and shifted direction.

Clank— clank— clank— clank—

And they began to march again.

Of course, toward the Central Plains.

* * *

While my main force was advancing, I was also focusing on internal affairs. And among the current internal tasks, the biggest was, without a doubt, the construction of the Behemoth-Class Production Facility.

True to its name, it was a production facility of staggering size. If a Super-Large Class was four times the size of a general production facility, this was a whopping 16 times the size.

Furthermore, the Behemoth-Class Production Facility did not take general materials; it began construction only after receiving parts that had already been produced once by other production facilities.

A facility of truly immense scale was being built.

‘I wonder… if there’s enough mana for this?’

I worried whether it could be sustained even with the increasing number of Mana Facilities.

Meanwhile, there was another harvest.

The Giant Nest Mana Stone, from which the essence had been completely extracted, underwent a process of being merged with other Nest Mana Stones. This was because the Nest Core of a Giant Nest was clearly different in nature from other Nest Cores.

The Nest Cores that acted as Dimensional Rifts to open dungeons looked like Mana Bands, similar to ribbons, but the Giant Nest Core not only appeared much thicker and larger in its band…

Its appearance was distinctly different.

It looked as if someone had torn it, leaving it severed. Perhaps that was why, no matter how I tried to form a pattern, the coordinates wouldn’t draw properly.

‘What… is this?’

It was when I thought that.

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

The Assistant AI answered for me.

‘…Advanced? How do I use it?’

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

‘Then I’ll have to remove other Giant Nests too?’

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

* * *

Meanwhile, Shanghai.

About three minutes before the missiles impacted Incheon.

Wang Wei was displaying the image of Incheon on a giant screen.

“Behold.”

He pointed to the screen in a dignified tone.

The streets of Incheon looked as vibrant as they were before the Apocalypse, and everyone seemed to be enjoying a prosperous life.

The people seeing this all gasped.

“Only they were living that well?”

“That’s how it looks right now?”

“Are there no Monsters on the Korean Peninsula?”

For them… no, for all other humans living outside the Korean Peninsula, it was a sight they could never have imagined.

But Wang Wei…

Seeing the image of Incheon, he artificially frowned.

“Behold! The filthy prosperity achieved by extorting the blood and sweat of others.”

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t true.

He simply wanted to show it to them.

‘Be more jealous, more envious.’

That was his goal. And this was a masterful use of the public’s heart. Anyone’s heart wavers when they see others living well during hard times.

Especially if that wealth was obtained unfairly.

“T-t-that, all of that with other people’s blood and sweat…”

“How many people must have suffered…”

As he intended, those who were initially bewildered—.

“Filthy bastards!”

“I hope they all die!”

Soon, they were influenced by his magic-like charisma and began to reveal their ugly emotions. And this was by no means because they were bad people.

It was simply that Wang Wei was that competent.

Seeing the public move according to his intentions, he hid a satisfied smile and raised his voice again.

“Indeed! They are like demons!”

And the screen shifted toward the sky.

Kuguuuuung—

The screen flying in the sky zoomed in on the missiles, 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 normally wouldn’t have reached Incheon, but the Ability User was currently absorbing mana stones to their limit to show this scene to the public.

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

That was Wang Wei’s resolve.

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

As if acting, he closed his eyes and pointed toward the missiles.

“To deliver divine punishment.”

“Ooooooh!”

“What is that!”

Wang Wei, still keeping his eyes closed as if acting… felt a slight sense of incongruity as the crowd suddenly became noisy.

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

It was because the public’s reaction had become intense a bit earlier than expected.

However, he decided to continue acting according to plan.

Kukwaaaang!

Kwangkwakwakwang!

And then, the sound of impact was heard.

Hearing this, Wang Wei spoke, hiding the euphoria in his heart.

“Ah… oh, fleeting life… this is the end of those who piled up wealth with blood in these difficult times!”

And it was when he opened his eyes.

The public was in shock.

“Eh?”

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

Kuuuung— Kwaang!

Kwang kwang!

The missile warheads were blocked by a thick barrier…

Kukwakwakwang!

Not a single one was falling into the city.

“Ah… uh, ahem.”

Wang Wei’s expression froze.