Relic-5

10.

What is the most necessary virtue to survive in the Space Era?

To that question, Kim Seojun could answer without hesitation.

It was to use any means and methods necessary.

It is the same now.

The moment the thought occurred that the king might come here, Kim Seojun completely re-evaluated his priorities.

First, he figured out that it was impossible to face the king with his current combat power.

“We have to run.”

Naturally, the next option that came up was escape.

Here, the agony began.

Fleeing with only Kim Seojun’s Group was not a problem.

But the rest were different.

Fleeing with the Xenos gathered here was a problem on a different level.

Difficulty levels like easy or hard were meaningless.

Weren’t they currently providing combat support while hiding their identities and telling lies?

But if Kim Seojun stepped forward and told them, “If you come into the inventory here, we will safely transport you to earth!”, would they really accept it, saying, “Thank you, human! So, are you giving us space refugee support funds?”

Rather, there was a high chance that another war would break out.

Then there were two options.

Whether Kim Seojun’s Group flees, or fights.

Here, Kim Seojun did not hesitate.

“If push comes to shove, we run.”

In the first place, with the warp skill available, choosing the option to run was far too easy.

So there was no need to choose just one, and so Kim Seojun began to ponder his next move.

“If we fight, we use whatever method it takes.”

And when he reached that thought, Kim Seojun communicated to Jo I-hyeon without a shred of hesitation via telepathy.

“Please analyze the Xeno Relic.”

He was asking her to check whether the weapon sleeping in the ruin could be used on the battlefield.

[Pardon?]

When she heard those words, Jo I-hyeon was flustered.

[Um, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun. That is, I mean…]

She wasn’t flustered because it was hard or difficult.

Rather, Jo I-hyeon was the opposite.

The blood of Doctor Space flowed in her body, blood that burned even hotter in the face of the unknown.

She was someone who had even chosen weapon research as a way to surpass her grandfather.

From her perspective, researching the relic left by the Xeno ancestors, a relic powerful enough to destroy the balance of the universe, was a blessing.

So the reason she was flustered was this.

[“C-can I really do that?” Mr. Kasaknat said…]

The relic inside that ruin was something the Xeno species themselves had sealed, an object that must not be touched.

Furthermore, all this telepathy was also being transmitted to Kasaknat, a member of the same legion.

In other words, Kim Seojun’s telepathy was directed at Kasaknat rather than Jo I-hyeon.

Is it okay to touch the ancestor’s relic?

It was tantamount to asking that question.

[Kim Seojun.]

To that question, Kasaknat answered.

[The relics our ancestors used are far too powerful. It is an act that destroys the balance of the universe.]

It was something he had already heard several times.

“Yes, I know.”

There was no way Kim Seojun didn’t know that.

“But I don’t worry about things like that. Kasaknat, I am not disparaging your efforts or those of the Xeno species, but my brain isn’t good enough to calculate something that massive.”

However, from Kim Seojun’s perspective, that balance of the universe was merely an incomprehensible realm.

“Only one thing is important to me.”

There was only one calculation he could make here.

“It is to save the people over there. And to do that, I need a powerful weapon.”

It was just that he needed a more powerful weapon capable of killing Mogs in order to save even one more life.

“And I don’t overthink things here either. If the weapon over there is truly dangerous enough to harm the balance of the universe, we just have to destroy it.”

Above all, Kim Seojun thought.

“After we eliminate the King of Mogs.”

He rather hoped that the ancestor’s relic beneath that ruin was powerful enough to destroy the balance of the universe.

[I think I have been with humans for too long.]

When he heard those words, Kasaknat answered.

[Kim Seojun, please take care of our kin.]

At that moment, Kim Seojun did not answer.

Kim Seojun, who was on the attack helicopter, threw his body straight toward the ground.

“Stealth.”

After that, he used stealth, becoming transparent, and plummeted rapidly toward the ground.

Eventually, when he reached the ruin, he reached the ground.

“Teleport.”

Kim Seojun used teleport and moved to the underground of the ruin.

And he could see it.

The incredibly massive ancestor’s relic had been sleeping beneath the ruin for a long time.

“Inventory.”

Afterward, the moment he opened the inventory, Major Lee Hyena wearing the Goblin Suit and Private First Class Park Boseop riding a special forklift immediately appeared and began transporting that massive ancestor’s relic straight into the inventory.

All the work was done swiftly.

[What? You’re already done?]

Not even 100 seconds had passed since Kim Seojun dropped from the attack helicopter before the ancestor’s relic entered the inventory.

[To think you’d take the relic guarded by the Xeno species in a mere 100 seconds. Later, when peace comes, how about we make a living off this?]

Hearing that, Noah Winston spoke as if she were dumbfounded.

Of course, that was a joke.

A joke meant to relieve everyone’s tension.

However, her effort went up in smoke without much effect.

It wasn’t because her joke was unfunny.

[Oh my god.]

The very thing Kim Seojun had been worried about happened.

[I think the real king is here.]

11.

The incredibly fierce battle with the Mog Legion.

The first to feel something strange in that battle was Noah Winston.

While Kim Seojun went to recover the ancestor’s relic, a woman, who was pulling the trigger while riding the attack helicopter, discovered something.

“I think the real king is here.”

And she immediately sent telepathy to everyone.

[What do you mean by that? You think it’s here?]

Using her telepathy, Kim Seojun immediately raised a question.

If it’s the king, it’s the king. What does “think it’s the king' mean?

It was hard to understand in many ways.

“Because a lump is coming.”

However, from Noah Winston’s perspective, it couldn’t be helped.

“I mean, a lump of tangled Mogs is coming this way.”

Because what she saw was a massive lump clumped together with all sorts of Mogs, including Mogdogs.

Around that time, Kim Seojun, who had come out of the ruin, also moved quickly and confirmed the lump that had appeared.

Just as Noah Winston said, it was a massive lump with a diameter of 100 meters made of clumped-up Mogs.

[We’ve seen a lot of things, but this is truly beyond Shanghai.]

It was a form beyond common sense, something not even Kim Seojun, who had seen the inside of a behemoth’s stomach, had ever imagined.

[On second look, it kind of doesn’t look like the king.]

In fact, because of that, seeing it as the king was unreasonable in many ways.

But Kim Seojun was certain the moment he saw it.

“It is the king.”

[The king?]

“Yes.”

[Can you see inside that?]

“Even with my clairvoyance skill, I can’t see inside. An enormous number of Mogs are clumped together without a single gap.”

He hadn’t confirmed the existence of the king.

“That’s why I’m certain it’s the king.”

Even so, the reason he had such certainty was simple.

“That is the best armor imaginable right now.”

The best defense method the Mogs could construct was what they saw before their eyes at this point in time.

“On the contrary, from our perspective, it’s the worst. There is no way to pierce that.”

Just as Kim Seojun said, that was an absolute defense.

First of all, Mogs were very powerful in themselves.

But what if such Mogs weren’t just a few hundred, but clumped together into a sphere 100 meters in diameter?

It was impossible to pierce it with any ordinary weapon.

“Infiltration is also difficult.”

It was obvious, but going inside there to do something, attempting such an operation, was also impossible.

“Even if we use behemoth-exclusive weapons, the behemoth will be restored.”

The more troublesome point was that even if they inflicted a wound, even if they dealt damage, it could be repaired as much as needed.

Other Mogs just had to replace the destroyed parts.

And right now, an astronomical number of 100 million Mogs exists on Planet Pora.

Of course, it wasn’t an efficient method.

That was why Kim Seojun was certain.

“There is no target other than the king that they would protect even while using such a ridiculous method.”

When they heard those words, there were no more rebuttals.

And there was no need to rebut.

Because at this moment, there was only one decision everyone had to make.

[So we can’t catch it. Then there’s only one answer, right? Let’s run.]

They were choosing the option they had prepared.

Of course, she didn’t mean to just run away here blindly.

[So let’s quickly knock the Xeno kids out, put them in the inventory, and go straight to earth. We might get some resentment, but it’s still better than dying right here or being used as the Mogs' biological experiment materials, right?]

Just as Noah Winston said, at this point, forcibly subduing and rescuing the Xeno species was a much easier task.

“I agree.”

And it was the same for Kim Seojun.

It was true that Kim Seojun had done quite a few reckless things so far, but that was only when there was a possibility.

In Kim Seojun’s eyes, it was impossible to pierce that wall of Mogs with any weapon they currently possessed.

So Kim Seojun pondered something else.

“Why did it come here?”

Kim Seojun harbored deep doubts about why the King of Mogs was here.

It was natural.

“Even traveling such a long distance, is there a reason to come here?”

First of all, the distance between the Mog’s Nest where the King of Mogs was and this current ruin was very far.

Kim Seojun’s Group had also spent a considerable amount of time coming here.

But the King of Mogs traveled that far?

There was absolutely no possibility that it had traveled the entire time while surrounded by Mogs like that.

Because of moving like that, it wouldn’t be able to reach here even if it took years.

So there was a very high chance that when it came all the way here, it was in a defenseless state compared to now.

It meant that it had come here even at the risk of a very dangerous situation.

'It’s aiming for something.'

Then there had to be a reason, and in Kim Seojun’s eyes, there were largely two reasons.

First of all, it wasn’t the Xenos.

From the Mogs' perspective, Xenos were materials they could obtain as much as they wanted even if they weren’t here.

“Either the ruin or the rescue ship is coming here.”

At that point, a few spine-chilling scenarios popped into Kim Seojun’s head.

It wasn’t just Kim Seojun.

“Staff Sergeant Kim, sorry for suddenly spouting nonsense.”

Brigadier General Lee Yeong-jun also spoke.

“If those mog bastards get their hands on the Xeno species' technology, wouldn’t that be a real headache?”

When he heard those words, Kim Seojun didn’t answer anything.

Because it didn’t sound like nonsense.

It was the same for the others.

The Mogs had already conducted biological experiments on the Xenos, and through that, they had succeeded in wiretapping the High Priest’s will.

And very detailedly at that!

There was nothing strange at all about their using the Xeno species' relic now.

And naturally, it wasn’t difficult to imagine what the Mogs would do with it.

At that point, earth came to Kim Seojun’s mind.

Could humanity really stop them?

The reality was that, far from stopping them, they couldn’t even properly intervene in what was happening in this distant space.

There, Kim Seojun realized.

“Doctor Space.”

The reason the great genius willingly accepted death.

Kim Seojun, who was wavering in the face of that vastness - what caught him was none other than that name.

[Whoa, fuck!]

Jo I-hyeon sent telepathy.

[Ah, I’m sorry for suddenly swearing through telepathy. I’m sorry.]

To Jo I-hyeon, who was flustered and apologizing for it, Noah Winston said.

[Little sister, it’s fine. It is because that sound is so good. So what’s the “whoa, fuck” this time?]

[It’s here! The method for using this weapon is here!]

And at the words that came out, everyone was startled.

[Grandfather knew! And he inputted that method into the Xeno Suit!]

And the moment they heard the following explanation, everyone was convinced.

In front of that name, it wouldn’t be strange no matter what miracle occurred.

“Jo I-hyeon, I apologize for cutting you off in the middle.”

[Yes?]

“Time is urgent. I will listen attentively to the other stories later.”

But here, Kim Seojun focused on the most important thing.

“The weapon’s usage method and power, please just briefly explain those.”

[Ah!]

To that question, Jo I-hyeon immediately answered.

[This is like the Philastergun. It’s a weapon that uses Philaster. The method is simple. It consumes Philaster Ore to launch a powerful beam cannon. If the Philastergun is a gun, this is a Philaster Cannon.]

“How is the power?”

[It can pierce that!]

And at Jo I-hyeon’s words that came out, everyone, including Jo I-hyeon herself, began to harbor expectations.

Because they knew.

A powerful ranged weapon was one thing, but they also had Kim Seojun.

[Wait.]

However, in that situation, only Noah Winston had a different thought.

[I’m against it.]

She opposed aiming for the king with this weapon.

[One, from what I hear, we have to waste the precious Philastergun. Two, there’s no possibility of catching the king by doing that.]

While saying so, she explained.

[Do you even know where the king is inside there? Even if we somehow figure out the king’s location, it’s a problem. We could pierce the king’s body. I admit that. But would that really lead to a fatal wound? Would the king die just from getting a somewhat large hole in its body?]

The answer to that question was given by Kim Seojun.

“It won’t die from just that.”

At the same time, Kim Seojun said.

“That’s why we have to use that.”

[That?]

“Once a hole is made, I will put Hydra’s Poison Bullet inside it.”