Chapter 87
7.
The moment Kim Seojun’s Group entered the Sky Whale’s mouth, the first thing General Gu Byeong-seop did was slap his own cheeks with both hands.
Slap!
A sound like bursting skin rang out, and in reality, a nosebleed due to the sudden impact trickled from General Gu Byeong-seop’s nose.
“G-General!”
Seeing the blood, everyone gathered was startled, and General Gu Byeong-seop said to those startled people.
“Shoot.”
“Sir?”
“Eliminate even one more Mogdog!”
At those words, everyone snapped back to their senses.
“That is the only thing we can do!”
He was right.
Putting their heads together to ponder here wouldn’t yield an answer.
It was already too late to run away.
There was nowhere to run to, either.
In the Republic of Korea, there was absolutely no place fit for a human to live other than Busan Port.
The only hope they could hold onto here was just one thing.
“And evacuate the citizens through the gate.”
A gate exists here right now, and by traveling through that gate, they can move to the Chinese First Headquarters on Planet Kingclench.
Of course, unlike earth, that place was a stage where even breathing was a struggle once you stepped outside the headquarters.
Although there were some supplies, if everyone here at Busan Port crossed over, those supplies would inevitably dwindle rapidly.
Crucially, going there, to Planet Kingclench, could never offer hope.
The home of humans was earth.
Because once they left earth, humans would be nothing more than lifeforms wandering through space.
But right now, no one had anything like a choice.
Citizens fleeing, and soldiers shooting their guns - other than that, there was nothing anyone could choose.
“If the situation becomes critical, the soldiers are to escape through the gate as well.”
There was just one thing: in this moment, General Gu Byeong-seop alone had a choice that others could not make.
“Sir? Then what about you, general?”
“I am not going.”
He could choose the place where he would die.
There was no hesitation.
The day he was chased by the behemoth - every day since surviving that day has been like a bonus to General Gu Byeong-seop.
Moreover, even if that weren’t the case, he had already achieved everything he could as a soldier.
And when the other stars fled to the moon, smearing pitch-black ink on their own stars, General Gu Byeong-seop willingly remained a shining star.
He had no regrets.
Rather, he considered it far more terrible to go to that barren land and become someone who did nothing but eat up rations.
Above all, General Gu Byeong-seop knew.
“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun will take over after me.”
“Sir?”
“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun will take on the role of Acting General from now on.”
There was a leader so excellent he couldn’t even compare himself to.
“T-That is…”
“It’s a nation where even the Head of State fled to the moon anyway. Honestly, there’s no need for this rank-playing game. Just making Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun a general is the most certain and comfortable thing to do. If push comes to shove, it’d be better to appoint Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun as the new Head of State. All those fucking bastards ran away to the moon anyway, didn’t they? Bastards like that, who are no different from deserters, are to be shot on sight.”
And in this situation, delegating everything to him was an incredibly easy thing to do.
In any case, at this moment, General Gu Byeong-seop had no interest in his own lifespan.
His interest lay in only one thing.
“Staff Sergeant Kim, please come back alive.”
For Kim Seojun to be safe.
That was why General Gu Byeong-seop waited for a transmission from Kim Seojun.
In that situation, a strange thing suddenly occurred.
“Uh, general!”
“What is it?”
“The Mogdogs have just changed direction.”
“Direction?”
The Mogdogs that had been flying madly toward Busan began to fly in the exact opposite direction.
“They are gathering around the Sky Whale!”
Then, soon enough, the Mogdogs began to circle around the Sky Whale.
As if trying to protect the Sky Whale.
It was an utterly incomprehensible event.
What was even more surprising came next.
“G-General!”
“…I see it.”
The Sky Whale that had been approaching from afar, flying high in the sky, suddenly changed direction and began to gradually descend.
Slowly.
Like an airplane with a problem making an emergency landing.
Beyond the level of being incomprehensible, in the face of a moment that common sense and logic could not accept, everyone stopped thinking.
General Gu Byeong-seop was the same.
- This is Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun.
General Gu Byeong-seop could soon hear it.
- the Sky Whale Hunt was a success.
8.
The moment he destroyed the Sky Whale’s core, a notification announcing the appearance of a reward rang in Kim Seojun’s ears.
However, Kim Seojun did not heave a sigh of relief at that fact, nor did he express joy at having accomplished something.
It was not the time for that.
Kieeeek!
Right now, they are still inside the Sky Whale’s mouth, inside its body, and Mogs were overflowing inside it.
Now was the time to avoid them and escape this place.
“Everyone, get into the inventory,”
So Kim Seojun issued the command, and at that command, everyone immediately entered the inventory.
There was only one exception.
[Kim Seojun.]
Kasaknat did not enter the inventory.
[You are an existence far too precious to become star dust.]
Instead, he offered praise - the highest compliment the Xeno species could give.
It was well-deserved.
[The Sky Whale, like the behemoth, is an existence that shatters the balance of the universe. You have protected the balance once again.]
Because protecting space was what Kim Seojun had accomplished.
“I didn’t hunt it for such a grand reason.”
Of course, Kim Seojun hadn’t moved for something so tremendous.
“It was for an extremely personal reason.”
To protect his family currently at Busan Port.
Just as Kim Seojun said, it was for a very private reason.
Kasaknat did not show any emotion in response to that answer.
He simply reached out his hand.
And then he said.
[I will take you outside.]
That was the reason he hadn’t entered the inventory.
Kasaknat wanted to help Kim Seojun even a little, and Kim Seojun gladly took that outstretched hand.
Kieeeek!
After that, Kasaknat, holding Kim Seojun like a young child, dodged the swarming Mogs and reached the vicinity of the Sky Whale’s mouth in a single breath.
And through that already open mouth, where seawater had begun to pour in endlessly, Kasaknat threw himself.
The incoming water was extremely fierce, but it was useless against Kasaknat’s powerful physique.
Like that, Kasaknat exited the Sky Whale’s mouth.
The sky came into view.
The blue sky.
The moment he saw that sky, Kim Seojun finally spoke.
“The Sky Whale Hunt was a success.”
He informed everyone, including General Gu Byeong-seop, who would be astonished by this incomprehensible situation over at Busan Port.
Of course, even as he spoke the words, Kim Seojun’s expression was not good.
He was tense.
'There’s no answer.'
It made sense: the time it took to enter the Sky Whale’s mouth and hunt it was one hour.
That was more than enough time for the Mogdogs flying toward Busan Port to finish landing and engage in ground combat.
And naturally, it was impossible for the current forces at Busan Port to gain an overwhelming advantage against those Mogdogs.
Even if they had evacuated the ordinary citizens to Planet Kingclench through the gate, casualties among the soldiers were unavoidable.
And an evacuation wasn’t something they could just do haphazardly simply because there was a gate.
A radio transmission came to Kim Seojun.
- It’s General Gu Byeong-seop. This place is safe.
General Gu Byeong-seop told him.
- I will say it again. This place is safe. There are no casualties.
“Ah.”
And the moment he heard those words, a long sigh escaped Kim Seojun’s lips for the first time since today’s battle began.
It was a signal.
A signal announced that Kim Seojun had finished today’s battle.
[The battle has ended.]
[The points acquired in this battle are 682,332 points.]
[You have used 150,000 points during the battle.]
And the status window also sent a notification announcing the battle’s end, and the moment he heard it, Kim Seojun felt his strength drain away.
It wasn’t strange.
He had fought a battle for an hour in extreme tension.
It was like charging at full speed for an hour - and a life-risking charge with a wild beast right behind him at that.
If he expected his physical condition to be perfectly fine, that would be the strange thing.
Of course, it wasn’t to the point of fainting.
Now, Kim Seojun prepared.
He opened the inventory and spoke inside to his comrades.
“Let’s go back.”
A short while later, a helicopter flew across the sea toward Busan Port.
All of Kim Seojun’s Group riding inside that helicopter looked exhausted.
“Ah, right.”
At that moment, Noah Winston spoke as if she had remembered something.
“This is earth.”
And then she promptly took off her helmet.
She faced the sea breeze and the scent of the sea.
Only then did everyone finally realize.
That they were currently on earth, the only planet where humans could breathe freely.
Everyone took off their helmets and gladly tasted the air.
Kim Seojun likewise took off his helmet.
“I really don’t think I’ll ever forget the taste of this air for the rest of my life.”
“I feel the same.”
Everyone enjoyed this moment, the peace that had found them just like that.
And everyone had the right to do so.
They had hunted the Sky Whale, of all things.
They had brought down that distant existence, which humanity had never once managed to hunt before.
Above all, everyone had heard.
There was no damage to the Busan Port shelter.
This meant there was absolutely no reason to be sad.
Kim Seojun was the same.
He too enjoyed the peace.
However, he didn’t just blindly enjoy it.
“I need to settle the rewards.”
He would use the settlement he had acquired this time.
In other words, Kim Seojun was already preparing for the next war.
He had no choice but to do so.
“Earth is dangerous.”
The Mogs that had occupied earth have now shown a new, never-before-seen evolution.
On top of that, even a Sky Whale had appeared.
To take back an earth like this, they needed far more troops than they have now.
And right now, the place they could bring those troops from wasn’t earth, but beyond the gate, in another space.
This meant they had to leave for space once again!
“Fortunately, the results are huge.”
The one thing that comforted Kim Seojun was that three incredible things had come out of this Sky Whale Hunt.
First, using warp became possible one more time.
On top of that, he could now use one blessing permanently.
Of course, there was no hesitation.
'I’ll use the Blessing Ticket on Hera’s Blessing.'
Because among the blessings Kim Seojun possessed, the most valuable one, no matter what anyone said, was Hera’s Blessing, which made the inventory SS-Rank and raised all stats by 30 percent.
And the moment this blessing exerted a permanent effect, the merit Kim Seojun would gain was indescribable.
It meant he could now truly fill up the inventory to his heart’s content and carry it around!
That wasn’t all.
“Use a Random Legion Skill Ticket.”
Kim Seojun immediately used the new ticket, and soon he could hear it.
[Blessing of Hestia (55 days) has appeared!]
[Those belonging to the legion can now communicate with each other via telepathy.]
[Those belonging to the legion will share the list of movable planets when using the warp skill.]
[You can grant skills to those belonging to the legion. The Skill Rank of the granted skill is fixed at C-Rank.]
The moment he heard that, Kim Seojun blinked his surprised eyes.
He couldn’t help it.
“My god.”
The value of the blessing that came out here was beyond what Kim Seojun had imagined.
First of all, the fact that telepathy became possible was incredible in itself.
Although they used wireless communication, this wireless communication could become useless at any time, depending on the planet and the environment.
Even more so in space, an extreme environment!
But that restriction was disappearing?
“Is telepathy possible even inside the inventory?”
If that domain extended to the inventory, this was a truly tremendous merit.
“No, more than that.”
Of course, what was even more surprising naturally was that last effect.
“To think I can apply my skills.”
Kim Seojun used the skills he possessed on the members of the legion.
In other words, Kim Seojun could use the Haste Skill or the stealth skill on a Comrade.
There was a limit to the Skill Rank, but its value was indescribable.
Here, Kim Seojun let out a short sigh.
And then he went ahead and used the rest.
“Purchase 21 platinum tickets.”
He purchased the tickets with all his remaining points, and a notification was immediately heard.
[Strength has increased by 6 points.]
[Stamina has increased by 7 points.]
[Magic power has increased by 7 points.]
[Congratulations!]
And at the end, a joyful notification was heard, and Kim Seojun listened closely.
[A very special grade reward has appeared!]
[A 1-time use ticket for the warp skill has appeared!]
At a reward he hadn’t even dared to imagine, Kim Seojun now let out a hollow laugh rather than one of surprise.
That hollow laugh soon turned into a smile.
'I’m lucky.'
Because one way or another, from Kim Seojun’s perspective, it was a result he had absolutely no reason to refuse.
At that point, Kim Seojun tried it.
However, that smile of Kim Seojun’s did not last long.
[Kim Seojun.]
When everyone arrived at Busan Port, Kasaknat, who had come out of the inventory, spoke.
[The time to part ways has come.]
Kasaknat suddenly offered a farewell greeting, and at that remark, Kim Seojun asked in surprise.
“Is something wrong?”
At that question, Kasaknat spoke with a compass in his hand.
[My home has been attacked by the Mogs.]