Chapter 57 – There's no answer

Chapter 57 – There’s no answer

“Ugh, what is this?”

Minju, who was passing by, exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m sorry to say this… but it looks really stupid.”

Yongjin, likewise, shook his head.

The only favorable review came from Deokchan.

“Oh, that would make a refreshing spicy fish stew!”

No… perhaps it wasn’t a favorable review after all.

The submarine patrol boat, which generally looked like a large mudskipper, had a very impressive solemn, expressionless face on its front.

Seongjae, who had heard a more detailed explanation of my abilities in his previous life, saw it and came to this conclusion.

‘Hmm… so the Magitech Civilization must have been built by humans, right? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have carved a human face.’

But that was all.

He hadn’t figured out the exact secret of the ability.

‘Well… that’s not important right now.’

What was important now was the Incheon Defense Battle. I continued to order the Worker Bugs to increase the number of submarine patrol boats.

“Ding-a-ling!”

The creatures scurried around busily.

A large-class submarine patrol boat was indeed a burden on mana, but considering that three Mana Facilities would soon be completed, this much strain was manageable.

‘Even more so when considering the future.’

They could be used continuously for things like pioneering routes.

It was when the fourth one was made.

‘This should be enough.’

They were incredibly strong, especially underwater.

Four of them would surely be more than enough to perfectly defend the Incheon waters. Satisfied with that, I instructed Minju to move them to the Incheon dock.

Whoosh- splash!

“Don’t they need to be put in the water?”

“Oh, it’s fine.”

“Is it because they’re mudskippers…?”

Minju tilted her head.

“You’ll see later.”}

I smirked at the man.

***

The day of the battle.

“One… Two…”

Minju calmly counted something. The woman was inspecting the Adamantite Dart, specially prepared for this occasion.

They were military darts, about 20cm long, and each one was quite heavy due to the material.

That’s why they might have been difficult to carry normally. But as her body began to be reinforced with mana, the woman could easily carry this much.

After counting all the darts and slinging the dart quiver on her back,

“Whew.”

She let out a small sigh.

It was to relieve tension. This was her first Defense Battle. She had been in small-scale battles, but this was her first big stage.

“Okay, I can do it.”

It was the moment the woman steeled her resolve.

Buzz-

[Everyone to your positions. It’s about to begin.]

A text message came from Siwoo.

Sua, who was standing next to Minju, received the same message and smiled.

“Sister, please take care of me again this time.”

Minju somehow felt that there was a determination in her eyes. She thought that it must be possible because she had been experiencing it for a long time.

‘Will I be able to do well…?’

It was the moment she started to worry like that.

Whoooosh-

As if something was sucking mana from somewhere.

A strong sensation was felt.

“W-what is this?”

It was then that Minju, startled, looked at Sua.

“It’s starting, unnie.”

The woman’s face had lost its smile.

Shudder-

[Like everyone else, I hope you all do your best without getting hurt.]

The Defense Battle had begun.

* * *

It didn’t take long for the monsters to arrive.

“Kkheeeek!”

“Damn it! There are too many!”

“Shoot, just shoot!”

Boom! Crash!

The survivors of Incheon desperately tried to defend the City Wall. But unlike Bucheon, which had already reached a certain level, the survivors of Incheon were still very lacking.

“Increase the output!”

“I’m doing my best right now, damn it!”

The front line continued to be pushed back.

There was nothing they could do.

Even the Stompers, who had been appearing for a long time, were difficult to defeat. And the Stone Giraffes, covered in rocks, were practically invincible against them.

Roar! Crash!

Therefore, seeing the Stone Giraffes rampaging like overlords without any opposition, the survivors could only despair.

“Is there no one who can deal with that guy?!”

“My, my mana is insufficient!”

As they gradually fell into a panic-

“No, at this rate the City Wall will be breached!”

Thump!

It was the moment the Stone Giraffe, which had somehow reached the City Wall, unleashed a body blow. A small shimmer rose behind The Men.

Whoosh- Pop!

It was Sua and Minju.

“Reinforcements are here!”

Shouts Sua.

Whizzzz-

The woman instantly condensed the nearby water vapor, creating a large Water Mass, and then unleashed dozens of Water Spears.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-

“Screeeeech!”

Meanwhile, Sua was not the only one who started fighting.

Whoosh- Pop!

Minju once again deployed her ability, this time teleporting the darts strapped to her back into the air.

Whoosh-

The darts whistled through the air, rushing towards the ground like a rain of arrows. And when they impacted-

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

They delivered a considerable impact. This was possible thanks to the heavy weight of the Adamantite.

“Good!”

Satisfied, Minju continued to deploy her abilities.

Teleporting objects instead of herself required much more concentration and had many more restrictions, but it was still much easier to use in combat.

It was a given that a considerable number of Monsters died.

However… the problem was still alive and well.

Rumble!

“Th-the Stone Giraffe?!”

Sua saw the Stone Giraffe and focused her mind once again.

Hiss-

A single stream of water shot out.

It was a water jet cutter. It quickly pierced the stone of the Stone Giraffe, making a hole in its body, but… it was just a small hole.

It wasn’t enough to kill the Stone Giraffe.

“Tsk! This isn’t enough!”

It was the moment Sua shouted that.

Sssseeaeaeaeek-

Something flew down from the sky.

Bwaaaaaang!

Then, a single stream of condensed light shot out.

Chwarreuk!

The light instantly split the Stone Giraffe in half.

“Th-this?!”

It was when Sua looked up at the sky in surprise.

A familiar figure, a flying squirrel.

It was an interceptor.

“It feels much stronger than before, doesn’t it…?”

They were surprised to witness the photon condensation upgrade for the first time.

But this wasn’t all.

Heeek-! Heeaeek! Heeaeaeek!

Along with the strong wind, assault cannons appeared, huffing and puffing. They used to perform artillery barrages from far behind, but now it was different.

Cheolkeokeokeok!

Moving forward-

Weeeeeeeng-

After condensing light for a long time.

Tookwaaaaaang!

They all fired at once. For a moment, there was a bright flash of light, and the monsters were instantly turned into a bloody mess.

“W-what is this?!”

“So, so strong!”

“Unbelievable!”

“Is this what it meant that we only needed to buy time for the man?!”

It was natural that all the survivors who witnessed the combat power of the Magic Legion for the first time were flustered.

The same went for Minju and Sua.

“Wow…. All those monsters at once….”

“Seriously, Siwoo seems to have gotten much stronger….”

Sua shook her head.

***

The same pattern repeated afterwards.

Sua and Minju would move to urgent areas, put out the immediate fires, and buy time, then an Interceptor would fly in from somewhere and an Assault Cannon would arrive to end the situation.

Minju somehow felt unsettled about not being able to play a big role and only providing support. Sua, noticing her feelings, laughed and added that she should get used to it.

“Sister… We all feel that way at some point.”

That was her words.

As they moved around so busily, the ground battle was mostly resolved. In particular, as Choi Yongjin’s Volunteer Knights began to move in earnest, a significant number of monsters were seen being eliminated before even reaching Incheon.

Meanwhile. As they gained some breathing room, their gaze shifted elsewhere.

“Oh, here they come again.”

“They really are coming like waves.”

“Look over there, ugh! Disgusting!”

Sua listened to the other survivors and turned her head.

‘What are they looking at…?’

When she turned her gaze in the direction they were looking, it seemed they were all looking at the sea. And as she turned her gaze back to the sea—

“W-what is that?”

It looks like a monster?

Oh my… It’s really big.

Black monsters were surging from the sea like waves. It looked as if it was half water, half monster.

So, so many…

Su-a looked at the man and a good idea suddenly came to her. She was a water ability user. Perhaps she could be a great help in a naval battle. With that confidence, Su-a shouted to Min-ju.

Sister, let’s go see if there’s anything we can do to help Si-woo!

Min-ju nodded her head.

***

[Wolmido Island. Top of the Ferris wheel.]

Si-woo’s text message arrived calmly.

Whoosh! Pop!

Min-ju used her ability towards that place. Since Min-ju had visited all the major locations before the battle, there was no major problem.

But unlike what they expected-

Oh, you’re here?

Si-woo was sitting on the Ferris wheel, calmly drinking soda.

Ah… Yes.

Su-a and Min-ju were momentarily flustered by his overly calm reaction.

Su-a, feeling awkward, asked Si-woo.

Um, is there anything I can help with?

Huh?

Well… I’m a water ability user, you see.

Ah… It’s fine. You’re already doing great. Don’t overdo it, just stall for time.

Si-woo reassured her.

He was being sincere. Combat personnel are always helpful. Because the less he invested directly in combat personnel, the faster he could snowball.

Su-a asked Si-woo.

“But… with so many monsters swarming…”

“Oh, that?”

Siwoo chuckled.

“They’re currently undergoing maintenance.”

Siwoo pointed towards the beach.

Four submarine patrol boats were lined up, and worker bugs were busily moving, handing mana stones to their faces.

Meanwhile, the monsters were approaching the beach more and more. At the moment I thought it might be dangerous at this rate-

“It’s about time to go.”

Siwoo grinned.

At that moment, just as a mudskipper walks on the mudflats with its fins, the four submarine patrol boats powerfully swung their huge fins.

Swoosh!

With a strong impact sound, a rift appeared in the concrete floor.

Numerous pieces of concrete flew out, scattering in all directions, including towards the worker bugs moving mana stones.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-

“Ding!?”

The worker bug tilted its head. This was because the submarine patrol boat that had been in front of it had disappeared at some point.

“Huh, huh?”

Seeing the confused Minju and Su-a,

“They’re over there.”

Siwoo pointed into the distance.

With a single swing of its fin, the submarine patrol boat, which had shot far away as if teleporting-

Splash- Splash-

Bounced a few times on the water like water dough-flakes.

Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle-

It began to submerge.

The man then flicked his fins again in the shallow water-

Splash!

This time, the water shot up as if it had exploded.

The submarine patrol boat moved through the water in an instant, cutting through the surface. At this point, it was even doubtful whether it was truly “diving” anymore.

And that was the moment the underwater monsters and the boat collided.

“Huh?”

Splat-

Clearly, the submarine patrol boat had only passed by him.

But it was as if four claws had ripped through the sea.

The sea began to turn dark red with water.

“W-what on earth?”

Siwoo grinned at Minju’s question.

“Imagine standing next to a jet plane flying at full speed.”

“A j-jet plane?”

“The air, which is a gas, would be compressed and pushed away, right? But water, which is a sticky liquid, doesn’t compress well. In other words, it becomes a shockwave.”

“Then, then…”

“Yes. Even if a machine with strong power like a submarine patrol boat just passes by… your internal organs would turn into a mush.”

And so… the sea began to turn dark red with water.

* * *

Meanwhile, I felt the mana rising pleasantly within me.

I was planning my next move.

‘Incheon is practically taken care of now…’

Three more mana facilities had been added simultaneously. With the available mana quantity having increased overwhelmingly, I had an enormous number of options.

Of course, my immediate goal was set.

‘Recover the 38th Parallel and stop the Siberian Front.’

The problem was that.

Ground combat was one thing, but the air was the problem.

Interceptors could only operate near Mana Facilities, so they couldn’t defend the vast scale of the 38th Parallel.

And it was inefficient to just randomly install Mana Facilities along the 38th Parallel. Especially in the mountain valleys of Gangwon Province, where there was little traffic or population.

‘If that’s the case… then there’s only one answer.’

He had to go with the Super-Large Class machine… the Aerial Mothership.