Chapter 29 – Infiltration

The nights of the Apocalypse were different from the nights of the modern era.

The biggest difference, naturally, was that there were no longer any electric lights. In today’s world, my group was probably the only one capable of keeping the lights blazing in the middle of the night.

As if to compensate, the Milky Way, which had been shyly hiding from the electric lights, now embroidered the night sky.

Under such a dark night, atop a four-story commercial building.

Sua, Seongjae, and I were looking down at the alley below.

“Ms. Sua. Do you think you can really do this?”

I asked in a whispering voice. She nodded with a determined expression and immediately drew up her mana.

Whoosh—

A mass of water floated up before her. She divided the water into four parts, creating four Water Spears.

Taaat—

And she fired.

Thud thud thud thud—

Four figures strolling through the alley collapsed.

“Haaa…”

Only then did Sua catch her breath.

‘Wow.’

For a first attempt, it was a skill worthy of admiration.

She had wiped out a Plunderer squad in an instant.

However, it seemed she was struggling internally.

No matter how much they were Marauders, and no matter how much they might have killed us without hesitation, killing was still killing. Since she hadn’t fully hardened her resolve yet, I was worried.

“You did great. I’ll handle the rest.”

To the girl whose lips were trembling and whose fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were turning white, this was the minimum I could do.

* * *

According to the results from the Observation Probe, there were a total of three squads conducting nighttime patrols around the luxury hotel where the Marauders were staying.

Since Sua had taken care of one.

There were two left.

In the darkness, I checked my machines holding spears.

Their name was [Mountain Breaker Soldier].

They were units I had newly produced for this operation. With long arms that reached the ground and a short stature of about 80cm, they looked like long-armed monkeys, so to speak.

However, at the end of those arms, they held vicious weapons. Like the [Pilum] used by the Roman legions, they were short spears with heavy, long tips that could also be used as javelins.

They were likely designed as small machines to exploit gaps in the front lines by utilizing their small size and agile mobility while the combat-deficient Magitech Armor held the line.

But once the Magitech Armor was granted exceptional combat capabilities, there had been no opportunity to use these guys, whose defense was relatively low.

‘Until now, that is.’

I decided to completely abandon the defense of the Mountain Breaker Soldiers.

Instead, I finished them overall with transparent PET plastic, acrylic plates, and glass, similar to the Observation Probes. I used steel or aluminum only for the main skeletal parts that required strong force.

Thanks to this, the units hiding in the shadows of the dark night became nearly invisible at a glance. Furthermore, perhaps because they were originally designed for ambushes, they were agile and made very little noise.

They were perfect for this purpose.

After confirming the locations of the remaining two squads via the Observation Probe, I tracked their movements and positioned the Mountain Breaker Soldiers in advance.

‘Mountain Breakers, approach.’

Toward the desolate, lightless alleyway. Six Mountain Breaker Soldiers moved silently, sometimes traversing rooftops and sometimes scaling walls.

They were like ghosts.

Step—step—step—

The squad of three Marauders walking through the alley was surrounded in an instant, completely unaware. And then, the confrontation.

Swish—

“Huh? Doesn’t it look like something’s over there?”

“What are you talking— huh?”

Stab stab stab!

Pierced by spears from the front and back, the three were cleaned up in an instant.

After ordering the Worker Bugs to scavenge their belongings, I instructed the Mountain Breakers to move immediately toward the next squad.

‘Five this time?’

They were organized in varying numbers, for reasons unknown.

‘Well, doesn’t matter.’

Once again, the Mountain Breakers surrounded them from the front and back. However, perhaps because they weren’t completely transparent, their shadows were spotted this time.

“On the roof! There’s some—aaagh!”

Thwack!

The Marauder collapsed before he could finish his sentence.

“Damn it! Is it a new type of Monster?!”

“You! Request backup on the phone right now—”

It was then.

Whish whish whish whish whish!

The Mountain Breakers all threw their spears simultaneously.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The spears, like harpoons, embedded themselves deep into their torsos.

“Gahhh!”

“Khaaaaagh!”

Terrible screams echoed through the air.

Among them, two Marauders survived the initial hit. However, the Mountain Breakers’ spears had barbs like harpoons, making them difficult to remove once embedded.

In other words, a long stick was now stuck in their bodies. In the end, they were rendered helpless, unable to fight or flee.

“Aaaagh!”

Their death rattles rang out.

“My… for some reason, I feel like those are stronger than my spears,” Sua commented lightly, having seemingly regained her composure.

“Right? I’m really glad we’re on the same side as Siwoo,” Seongjae added.

Now that all the patrolling squads had been eliminated.

It was time to attack their base.

After completing the deployment of all combat machines, I did a final check with Seongjae regarding the appearance of his younger brother, Ha Seongmin. I had seen photos several times, but this was a final confirmation just in case.

“Got it, Seongjae. You know what to do now, right?”

“Is this really okay…?”

“Harden your heart. This is the way for your brother.”

“I know…”

“And what do you do if someone comes?”

“Leave it to the Magitech Armor and run for it.”

“Correct. Then we’re going in. Ms. Sua, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

We slowly began to approach the luxury hotel.

* * *

The opponent had a Clairvoyance Ability User. They would likely realize soon that we had eliminated all the scouts.

In other words, there was no time to sit back and wait.

It was time to breach.

“See those two sentries?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll breach as soon as you snipe them.”

As I spoke, Sua immediately summoned a mass of water.

Taaat—

Thwack thwack!

And the two collapsed.

“Run.”

We entered through the hotel’s main entrance. A man dozing off inside frowned upon seeing us.

“Huh? Who are you—”

Squelch!

But the Mountain Breaker that entered with us handled it. We immediately took the lobby stairs to the second floor.

Not only that, but the Mountain Breakers were using their spears to punch holes in every fire extinguisher in sight, breaking them.

This was for the subsequent operation.

‘I won’t let a single person leave this building alive.’

I couldn’t leave any seeds for future trouble.

Meanwhile, we continued up the stairs to the top floor.

‘They said he mainly resides on the top floor.’

This was also a result of checking from outside the building beforehand with the Observation Probe.

Our target was Kim Cheonsu. The goal was to get information about Seongjae’s brother from him and quickly dismantle the group.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

Currently, twelve Observation Probes were flying around this single building, circling the interior to find Seongjae’s brother.

I had spent the whole day scouting from outside the windows, but unfortunately, many rooms had their curtains closed, making it impossible to find him.

Meanwhile, behind me, Sua, and the Mountain Breakers who entered as the vanguard.

The Magitech Armors were entering as the rear guard.

“Who the hell are you!”

“What—”

Bang— bang bang bang— bang!

Gunshots rang out.

Thanks to that, all attention was now drawn toward the main entrance.

‘Good.’

And only after some time had passed.

“I climbed twenty floors in one go, but it wasn’t even that tiring.”

“It’s thanks to the mana.”

We reached the top floor.

Screech— click.

The moment we opened the door, a man stood proudly in the middle of the penthouse bar to greet us.

“Who the hell are you people?”

A man of short stature with a goatee.

It was undoubtedly Kim Cheonsu.

Seeing him, I grinned.

“Us?”

BOOOOM—!

Simultaneously, a direct artillery barrage from an Assault Cannon struck from outside.

KABOOM—!

Along with a powerful impact.

“Ghaaaagh!”

All windows and furniture shattered and collapsed.

“People like us.”

* * *

Cheonsu, with a massive burn on his back.

He lay prone on the floor, trembling.

Thump.

Then, he pushed off the floor and stood up again.

‘He’s quite durable.’

He was indeed a Physical Ability User, but it was merely laughable.

“Ms. Sua.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to try fighting him?”

“Alright then…”

Whoosh!

Sua created a Water Spear.

Looking at her, I shook my head.

“No, I mean for you to practice close-quarters combat.”

“Wh-what?! Can I do that?”

“You’re more than enough. Give it a try.”

Sua was pushed forward by me.

Cheonsu looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief.

“A Water Ability User intends to engage me in a brawl?!”

“No, I said it’s training, not a brawl.”

I let out a smirk.

The easiest way to break a person’s spirit is to break them in the field where they are most confident.

“Who do you think I am!”

And Cheonsu lunged.

“Oh, kyaak?!”

Wham!

However, Cheonsu took a direct uppercut to the jaw as Sua dodged his charge and struck. Once again, Cheonsu collapsed.

Crack!

“Eh?”

“Easy, right?”

“Was I always this strong?”

“Then take it slow.”

I smiled at her.

* * *

The more an ability is used, the stronger it becomes. Simultaneously, the mana quantity increases, and this mana quantity, in turn, strengthens the physical body.

Sua and I had been experiencing an enormous amount of mana consumption. Thanks to that, our physical capabilities far surpassed the body of a Physical Ability User like Cheonsu.

In particular, because there were few opportunities to use their bodies in the beginning, Physical Ability Users found it difficult to train their abilities. They certainly became stronger, but growth was difficult.

Although this was a problem that would later be solved by absorbing Mana Stones, it was a difficult story now, as research on Mana Stones was not yet complete.

Therefore, it was perhaps inevitable that Kim Cheonsu, the boss of the Marauder group who boasted the greatest strength in this area, would end up with a blackened eye, kneeling and begging us.

“Please, please just spare my life.”

This was the most critical moment.

‘He must not know that we are targeting Seongmin.’

The moment he knew, he could use that as a bargaining chip.

‘I’ll take a roundabout way for this.’

Thinking so, I began to interrogate him.

“Where are the supplies?”

“We use the 6th through 8th floors as warehouses!”

“What’s there?”

“Water, food, alcohol, clothes—everything there is! Please just spare my life, ughhh…”

“Is that all? Nothing else?”

“Ah, there are guns too! Over there, in those boxes! Four revolvers!”

“I don’t need things like that. Any useful Ability Users?”

Of course, I had already instructed the Worker Bugs to collect them just in case, but I thought acting uninterested would be far more effective. And as if my plan had worked—

“Ah! Contract Ability! There is one kid who is a Contract Ability User!”

Kim Cheonsu shouted as if he had just remembered.

“Oho. Where are they?”

“17th floor! Room 1708!”

I immediately instructed the Magitech Armors to enter that area.

“Hmm… doesn’t sound like much. Should I spare you or not?”

“Please… my life! Ah, there’s also a Remote Viewing Ability User—”

And so, while I was playing word games with him for a while.

After confirming Room 1708 with the Observation Probe and scanning the interior, I wore a small smile and sent a text to Seongjae via smartphone.

[Seongjae. You can unmute now.]

Then, Seongjae’s voice came through the phone inside the Magitech Armor.

“Seongmin? Seongmin, are you there?”

“B-brother? Brotherrrr!”

The operation was a success.