Chapter 167 – Coalition Battle (2)

“Hurry up with the supplies!”

“You clumsy bastard, I told you to move that stuff over there!”

Even beyond the front lines, a state of emergency was declared, with everyone scrambling to support the battle.

On TV, major news outlets were broadcasting live, attempting to reassure the public.

Many people were glued to their screens, their eyes fixed on the reporters.

-Here at TBC, we are sparing no effort to bring you the fastest, most accurate coverage of this emergency.

-We’re joined by Na Kyung-seok, a former Gate Special Forces team leader currently serving as a section chief at the Agency’s Tactical Command.

-Currently, our citizens have no cause for concern. Our most elite troops are engaging the enemy to protect the nation, and a team of veteran hunters is making steady progress in the raid.

Of course, the reality was far different from the Agency’s official statement.

The front lines were actually being pushed back, and the situation was deteriorating.

The rising number of casualties turning into fatalities told the real story.

-This is a historic Gate event, occurring all over the world. What’s the situation in other countries?

-North Korea executed all of its Awakened, so they have no hunters to raid their Gate.

-Australia suffered a critical blow during the last dragon incident. They’re asking neighboring countries for help and have requested a dispatch from the Union Hunters…

An hour had passed since the battle in Korea began.

The front lines were steadily being pushed back, but no broadcast mentioned it.

-Following air support, the boss raid has finally begun! The Republic of Korea is facing this crisis head-on and fighting valiantly.

The ever-changing battle situation.

From behind the control lines, with the sounds of battle roaring in the background, reporters continued to feed the public unconfirmed information.

Some of it was true, some of it was false.

Normally, reporters weren’t allowed on the front lines. But one journalist, having scouted a side path into the combat zone beforehand, had infiltrated the perimeter.

He was the same reporter who had covered the dragon incident.

Thirsty for a scoop, he hadn’t landed a real exclusive since the Seoul Station dragon incident.

For him, this was a make-or-break moment for his career as an investigative journalist.

“A-Are you sure this is okay?”

“You coward. Don’t you remember the dragon incident? They made a big fuss, but all we got was a small fine.”

It had been a reckless move back then, too, but his exclusive had heralded the birth of the incredible hunter, Lee Hyunbin. That scoop had been his saving grace, getting him off with just a fine.

“Just trust me. I’ll make you rich.”

The cameraman nodded at the reporter’s words.

It was an all-or-nothing world.

They had already entered the restricted combat zone, like war correspondents.

There was no turning back now.

“This is…!”

After passing through a thicket, the cameraman looked down from a hill and saw the battlefield.

He gasped involuntarily.

“Kuaaaack!”

“Help… me…!”

Soldiers were firing their rifles on full auto. But they weren’t firing mana-infused rounds, just ordinary bullets.

Seeing the bullets ricochet harmlessly, a soldier stumbled backward.

A giant goblin rushed forward, grabbed the soldier by his belt, and brutally slammed him into the ground.

Splat!

The soldier’s head shattered on impact, spilling brains and blood onto the ground.

Foxes swarmed everywhere, mindlessly tearing at flesh, oblivious to the battle raging around them.

The government knew a highly dangerous Gate was opening, yet they had failed to properly supply mana-infused ammunition.

Of course, the supply was limited.

It might be one thing for low-level monsters, but against durable mid-level monsters, mana stone-coated bullets were essential.

But they were expensive.

To face the new era of Gates, the government had allocated a record-breaking investment to produce improved ammunition.

Of course, if all that investment had been used properly, the raid would now be proceeding smoothly with mana-infused rounds.

“Urp!”

Seeing the gruesome sight, the cameraman vomited against a tree.

“Film it.”

“Guh… Hrk! What…?”

The cameraman wiped his mouth and looked up at the reporter.

He thought he must have misheard. But the reporter, without batting an eye, repeated himself.

“Film all of it.”

“Man, this is crossing a line…”

“Yeah, it has.”

He was gutter press.

He chased scoops to feel superior, to be special.

To that end, he sometimes broke the law and often ignored all sense of morality.

As a journalist specializing in hunters, he could tell at a glance.

The battle was going overwhelmingly against them.

The front lines had been pushed back significantly.

The army, which should have been conducting a one-sided slaughter from the safety of their barricades, was instead desperately holding back monsters right on their doorstep.

The hunters were the same.

Casualties were mounting, and those who lost their morale were being devoured by monsters.

The hunters had been deployed not so much to raid the Gate, but because they were a source of free firepower—beings who could use mana without cost.

Foolish hunters, inspired by delusions of heroism, were now gambling with their lives.

Would they feel a sense of satisfaction even in their final moments, thinking they were protecting someone?

Not a chance. They would have wanted to live.

“Those motherfucking bastards. If they had just fought properly with mana-infused rounds from the start, none of this would be happening.”

He might be gutter press chasing a scoop, but seeing this hellscape, a pure, journalistic fury welled up inside him.

All these bright young people.

Talent that could compete on the world stage.

Were having their lives ground away because of someone’s greed.

“Fuck it, film everything. We’re leaking it all! If I can’t even report this, I’ll hand in my press pass!”

“*Sob*, yes.”

The cameraman, though less jaded than his senior, understood the situation.

Firearms that lacked the distinct glimmer of mana-infused rounds.

It meant they were fighting with conventional ammunition.

Their last hope was the four people fighting the boss.

***

Yeomje unleashed his signature high-temperature flames in all directions.

Blue flames radiated outward.

The nine-tailed foxes that caught fire shrieked and writhed on the ground.

However, smaller nine-tailed foxes burst from the bodies of the twenty giant ones, pouring out like a swarm of insects.

Fwoooosh, BOOM!

The blue flames erupted.

Among all living S-rankers, Yeomje possessed the most powerful area-of-effect attacks.

‘Damn it.’

Yeomje gritted his teeth.

He had unleashed his flames countless times, but the enemy’s numbers were endless.

The fox kits all transformed into will-o’-the-wisps, then into goblins wearing official’s caps.

There had never been a boss like this before. Its patterns were too varied, and it was impossible to tell which was the real body.

‘If this were a normal situation.’

Of course, this coalition raid included a reconnaissance-type supporter. But in a chaotic melee like this, proper communication was impossible.

Worse, they couldn’t maintain a proper formation, and their losses were mounting.

“Partner, this looks dangerous.”

“Don’t whine. You’re from the great Shinhwa Guild.”

“I’m just a contractor.”

Yeomje merely scowled at the quip from Kaldoma, who was bantering beside him.

It might have seemed like he was just joking around, but Kaldoma was systematically clearing out nearby enemies so Yeomje could focus his firepower.

Kaldoma.

Having this man in the Shinhwa Guild was truly a blessing.

He was arrogant and prone to bluffing, but his skills were undeniably top-tier.

‘Hanul Guild.’

Yeomje glanced at the two from the Hanul Guild.

David Henri was a global hunter, so his skill was a given. But the blond man next to him was nothing more than a rookie.

He had thought so.

He was anything but ordinary.

He maintained his composure even in this horrific melee.

He was accustomed to chaotic battles and showed no fear.

Judging by his performance now, you could have told him the blond was an S+-rank hunter on par with David Henri, and he would have believed you.

Hanul had an unusual number of gems.

Seo Hyun-ji, currently protecting her comrades, was fighting with four different types of spirit giants she had summoned.

And he hadn’t noticed before, but the young-looking woman was demonstrating incredible healing abilities.

She’d been casting spells repeatedly, her mana supply seemingly endless.

But the best of them all…

‘Lee Hyunbin.’

It was frustrating to admit, but that guy was probably the strongest in Korea right now.

He called himself number one, but that was just a ranking based on cumulative past achievements.

Based purely on this year’s accomplishments, Yeomje couldn’t even compare to the Delivery Man.

That was how dazzling his performance had been in such a short time.

‘If he were here, would something have been different?’

Yeomje had rewatched the Delivery Man’s combat footage many times.

He was a potential threat, and Yeomje wanted to gauge his abilities.

He mostly fought solo, but his battles had a way of inspiring others.

In other words, he had a charisma that boosted the morale of everyone around him.

Thwump-thwump-thwump!

The attack helicopters, having finished re-arming, were taking off again to support the hunters.

Seeing the attack helicopters approach, the hunters felt a glimmer of hope.

If they unleashed the same firepower as before, they could wipe out the monsters.

Just then, the Scholar reappeared.

He folded his fan and pointed it at the helicopters.

At that moment, several goblins screamed, their bodies convulsing.

Kim In-ho saw.

He saw the goblins’ bodies split in half.

From within, something dark shot out, growing rapidly like a tree.

…!

It was a Cheonhadaejanggun.

The giant Cheonhadaejanggun opened its mouth and fired a high-energy beam.

KRA-KOOM!

The unexpected blast instantly melted the attack helicopter, causing it to explode.

The Cheonhadaejanggun then turned its head, carving a line across the sky with its energy beam.

KRA-BOOM, KBOOM!

Everyone watched in despair as the helicopters providing air support fell from the sky.

The goblins began to mutate.

Into Cheonhadaejanggun, tigers, and grim reapers.

“If we take that bastard down!”

Kaldoma fired a Shadowless Arrow at the Scholar.

The Scholar fanned himself lightly.

The Shadowless Arrow changed direction and slammed into Kaldoma’s body.

Seeing Kaldoma thrown to the ground, Yeomje created a spear of blue flame and hurled it.

It was the same this time.

With a single wave of the Scholar’s fan, the flame dissipated, transforming into a bird that fluttered away into the sky.

In that opening, David closed in on the Scholar and launched a kick empowered by a Striker skill.

Crack!

Henri was struck by the Scholar’s fan and collapsed.

It wasn’t some paper fan. It was a war fan, forged from solid steel.

That wasn’t the important thing.

Henri scowled, looking up at the Scholar.

This bizarrely smiling Scholar was on a completely different level from the one they’d seen before.

In other words, this guy was the real boss.

Kim Tae-yang stepped over the fallen Henri and swung his kukri at the Scholar.

The Scholar effortlessly deflected the kukri with his fan.

A jarring shock ran up his arm as if his wrist had been struck.

Kim Tae-yang realized this was not an enemy he could handle. But he couldn’t retreat.

With the helicopters down, they wouldn’t get another chance to kill the boss.

And above all.

‘If I can just hold on until the Director gets here…!’

Even Hyunbin couldn’t possibly turn this situation around by himself.

And yet, when Kim Tae-yang thought of the strongest person he knew, no one else came to mind.

Crack!

Kim Tae-yang watched as his kukri shattered against the Scholar’s steel fan.

It didn’t matter that he was now bare-handed. He had sparred with Hyunbin countless times.

Kim Tae-yang struggled desperately against the overwhelming enemy.

A faint light began to glow around his body.

Thanks to his Super Regeneration skill, the fatal damage he’d taken healed rapidly.

The Scholar smiled cruelly. He snapped his steel fan shut and thrust it toward Kim Tae-yang’s abdomen.

KRRRA-KOOOOOM!

At that moment, a sudden explosion roared.

The Scholar paused his attack on Kim Tae-yang and witnessed an unbelievable sight.

A colossal blade of light soared toward the heavens.

Someone swung it sideways.

A sacred, golden brilliance flashed, bathing the area in light.

Slice.

The goblins and foxes that had been swarming forward like a tidal wave were simultaneously sliced in half, turning to ash and disappearing.

-You grow stronger in a crisis.

-You grow stronger the more people there are to save.

Ignoring the Hero’s perks that popped up in his system window, the Delivery Man appeared, wielding a sword of light.