Chapter 39
Hawk Eye was a Psycher Agent who represented not only America but all of Humanity.
There was an overflow of legendary anecdotes attached to that name, and humanity was fascinated by those stories.
It was no exaggeration; Hawk Eye's biography had already been adapted into webtoons and even video media.
The Space Marines fighting in the field felt the same.
To them, Hawk Eye was a hero and a savior.
Kim Seojun had thought so too.
The reason it was in the past tense was that his thoughts had changed.
That is, Kim Seojun clearly realized it after breathing the same air as Hawk Eye on the same battlefield.
Psycher Agents like Hawk Eye shared the same fate as Space Marines, in which it wouldn't be strange if they died at any moment.
So Kim Seojun wasn't surprised when he heard from Jo I-Hyeon that Hawk Eye seemed to have died.
‘There is no way a human who goes around hunting only things like Behemoths could live a long life.’
The only thing someone who constantly sought out deadly situations would face at the end was their own grave.
And he also knew this wasn't the time to be surprised.
"Ms. Jo I-Hyeon, can you send me the entirety of Hawk Eye's message?"
- Pardon?
"I want to know the full contents of Hawk Eye's last message. I don't think Hawk Eye would die just because of a Queen."
Hawk Eye, who caught Tank Beetles as easily as catching Mogdogs and even hunted down Behemoths, died?
The Queen's power was said to be terrifying, but the Queen Kim Seojun knew didn't have that level of capability.
To be precise, the Queen's own strength was only about the level of a Ghost Bat, and couldn't possibly be compared to something like a Behemoth.
"There must definitely be a reason beyond that."
This meant a danger beyond common sense existed!
- Ah, yes!
At Kim Seojun's request, Jo I-Hyeon immediately sent the additional message.
- Well, you see.
Biiiiip!
The radio suddenly cut off there.
It wasn't a strange occurrence.
On Planet Amotia, radios cutting out were a common occurrence, and the distance between Kim Seojun's group and the Poland Headquarters is quite far right now.
It was actually a miracle that the previous transmission had reached them at all.
And knowing the situation right away wouldn't change what Kim Seojun's group had to do.
There was only one thing to do.
"Private First Class Park Boseop, start the engine."
"Pardon?"
"We are moving to the Headquarters as fast as possible."
Soon, Kim Seojun took out a military truck from his inventory, and everyone got in it and moved at full speed.
- Ah, ah!
"It's connected."
- I'll relay it quickly!
After they had been moving for about two hours, the radio connected again, and Jo I-Hyeon read the message directly to them.
- This message is automatically transmitted if I take no action for a week after starting the operation.
- I am now planning to enter the Queen's Nest to hunt the Queen.
- I heard the rescue request from the American Headquarters. The reason I couldn't provide support despite that is that I cannot miss this opportunity.
- I am standing in front of the Queen's Nest, and the Champion Sensor is fluctuating like crazy.
And the moment they heard the following words, Kim Seojun and everyone else riding in the military truck let out the same sound.
"Ah."
Everyone realized.
Why had the psycher agent named Hawk Eye, a being who became a hunter even in front of a Behemoth, lost contact?
- It is judged to be at least a Lightweight. I cannot determine which species is the Lightweight.
Of course, just as Hawk Eye said, there was no guarantee anywhere that the Special Individual was the Queen.
The Queen, true to the expression, gathered and commanded the Mogs as the Queen of Mogs.
Naturally, the Special Individuals that existed on Planet Amotia also tended to gather at the Queen's Nest.
The possibility that the sensor reacted to them was much higher than the possibility of the Queen being a Special Individual.
Just as the number of Queens born was extremely rare, the possibility of a Special Individual emerging among them was also extremely rare.
Without substantial evidence, thinking the Queen was a Special Individual was too much of a leap.
- If I return alive, it will just be nothing significant, but if this message is delivered, you will have to consider the possibility that the Queen is a Special Individual.
However, this message left by Hawk Eye was more than enough to serve as that substantial evidence.
- I will end the story here. May blessings be upon the survivors on Planet Amotia.
With that, Hawk Eye's message ended, and the moment it ended, a heavy silence fell over Kim Seojun's group in the military truck.
In that silence, Kim Seojun spoke.
"Let's discuss the details after we arrive at the Polish Headquarters."
Whatever they talked about here would only complicate their minds without yielding an answer anyway.
Knowing the intention behind those words, everyone no longer spoke out loud about the matter regarding Hawk Eye.
Meanwhile, they arrived at the Poland Headquarters, and the moment they arrived, they had to face it.
"We will begin the strategy meeting."
Kim Seojun gathered Major Jan Zabłocki, Jo I-Hyeon, Private First Class Park Boseop, and Major Lee Hyena.
Major Jan Zabłocki was the first to open his mouth at the gathering.
"What should we do in this situation?"
The face of Major Jan Zabłocki as he asked the question was filled with desperation and despair.
It was understandable, as this was the first time that he had faced such a nonsensical situation in Major Jan Zabłocki's life as a Soldier, so he couldn't even dare to gauge anything.
"It's not the exact same situation, but I have experienced a crisis of a similar level."
In contrast, Kim Seojun had his own experience with such nonsensical situations.
"In those situations, there was always only one option."
At Kim Seojun's words, everyone's eyes changed.
Could he really be giving us an answer here? A sense of expectation settled in.
"All the survivors on the planet board rescue ships and go to space within the deadline, and a space battleship drops nuclear bombs on the location of the Queen's Nest until there are no life signs left on the planet."
However, the moment they heard the following words, everyone's eyes changed again.
Seeing their eyes, Kim Seojun answered.
"As I said, in this situation, carrying out any further operations on this planet is meaningless."
The current situation was the worst, in and of itself.
That was no exaggeration.
"A Lightweight Queen... I don't even want to imagine it."
Even a regular Mogdog, if it became a Lightweight, would tear apart a battle tank as if it were chewing on a dog bone.
But a Queen having that kind of power?
Furthermore, the entity known as a Queen wasn't simply a being that was individually strong.
It was a being that could change the very presence of the Mog species.
Right away, abilities that provided buffs to strengthen the Mog species or drove any human who faced them insane came to Kim Seojun's mind.
And these abilities were not limited to a single planet.
If a Lightweight Queen truly existed, its capabilities could extend beyond the planet and affect things on a galactic level.
"But the problem is that we cannot receive space support right now."
Even more fatally, humanity currently lacked the capability to stop such a Lightweight Queen from expanding its influence.
This meant that the moment a Lightweight Queen left Planet Amotia, the prologue to a cosmic catastrophe might begin!
At that point, Kim Seojun could understand why Hawk Eye had set out on a queen hunt even while the American Headquarters was collapsing.
At the same time, he had a question.
"Ms. Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"Can't you communicate with America's space battleships either?"
Why was there still no communication with space?
Honestly, apart from the Gate stopping, the number of battleships on standby in space outside Planet Amotia was substantial.
Especially the number of American battleships was by no means small.
So why had there been no action taken until now?
"Well... I keep sending transmissions, but there's no response."
The answer to that was unknown.
"I'm sorry."
Jo I-Hyeon apologized for that fact.
She sincerely apologized for not being able to do much, despite having spoken as if she would immediately go to the Gate and fix it if they saved her.
"It's not something you need to apologize for. We just need to assess the situation clearly."
Of course, Kim Seojun didn't say this to scold Jo I-Hyeon.
"We currently cannot guarantee that anyone from space will come to save us. Also, it's not within our capabilities to make it happen. Therefore, in order for us to survive, there are only three methods we can employ on our own."
As he spoke, Kim Seojun soon unfolded his fingers one by one.
"Either we build a spaceship on Planet Amotia, or we find a spaceship."
The moment they heard that explanation, everyone's faces turned pale.
Naturally, that was as nonsensical as using superpowers in space to win a lottery on Earth.
"Yes, that's right. It's absurd."
Kim Seojun knew it too.
But the reason he brought this up despite that was simple.
"So the most viable option right now is the third method, which is nothing but eliminating the Lightweight Queen."
The final method was even more absurd.
"Excuse me, Staff Sergeant Kim."
At that point, Private First Class Park Boseop spoke up.
"No matter what happens, I will follow you to the end, Staff Sergeant Kim."
And then he voiced his resolve.
It wasn't just him.
The moment Private First Class Park Boseop said those words, the rest of them also began to show resolve on their faces.
"I will trust and follow you, Staff Sergeant Kim. Even if we go to hell."
Everyone placed their trust in Kim Seojun, and to that trust, Kim Seojun replied.
"Thank you. But this situation isn't something I can handle with my capabilities alone."
He was grateful for their trust, but he had no intention of handling this matter alone.
"We are dealing with a Queen. Everyone on Planet Amotia must gather."
Furthermore, facing an issue of this magnitude, it was reckless to think of doing something alone.
"Above all, at this point, rescue operations come first."
"Rescue?"
"Yes."
Crucially, Kim Seojun knew.
"First, we must clearly confirm whether Hawk Eye is alive or dead."
If Hawk Eye were alive, the probability of successfully raiding the Queen would increase significantly.
Putting everything else aside, her ability to ignore the defense of any being was something that couldn't be replaced by anything else.
"And if she is alive, she must be in a very critical condition, so we need to initiate a rapid rescue."
There were no objections to that explanation.
They only felt a sense of daunting distance.
Because searching for Hawk Eye in or around the Queen's Nest, which was swarming with Mogs, was like jumping into a tank full of starving sharks to find a single shrimp.
Kim Seojun felt the same.
So he asked.
"Ms. Jo I-Hyeon."
"Yes?"
"By any chance, can you also modify reconnaissance drones?"
At that question, Jo I-Hyeon looked puzzled.
"There's no reason I couldn't."
Her doubt wasn't about the modification itself.
"But are there many reconnaissance drones at the Poland Headquarters?"
Operating reconnaissance drones on Planet Amotia was difficult in many ways, and because of that, the Poland Headquarters didn't operate a large number of them.
"...We have about three. We originally operated over thirty, but we lost many during the last battle with the Mogs."
Even those were mostly destroyed.
This was another reason why reconnaissance drones were precious.
When a battle broke out, naturally, the Mogs wouldn't tolerate reconnaissance drones blatantly filming them.
In other words, once a battle with the Mogs began, reconnaissance drones were practically reduced to being disposable.
At that point, Kim Seojun spoke.
"I have secured China's reconnaissance drones."
"China's?"
The moment they heard that, everyone was surprised and simultaneously rejoiced.
Whatever else could be said about China, its drone manufacturing technology was excellent enough that it lacked nothing compared to America's.
He had secured such reconnaissance drones.
"If you give them to me right now, I'll do the setting up for you immediately!"
Furthermore, they currently have the all-around mechanic, Jo I-Hyeon, with them.
Given that fact, Kim Seojun nodded and then said.
"Then let's first move to a location. I will take them out there."
At those words, a sense of anticipation appeared on everyone's faces.
That is, everyone felt it.
‘As expected of Staff Sergeant Kim, he's on a different level. To think he fished for the Chinese reconnaissance drones of all things!’
The expectation existed that Kim Seojun, who accomplished such nonsensical things, would bring about a miracle in this despair.
To everyone harboring such expectations, Kim Seojun showed it.
"Here they are."
"...Excuse me, Staff Sergeant Kim."
"Yes."
"...How many are there?"
"There are 39."
A whopping 39 Chinese reconnaissance drones.
At that point, no one asked Kim Seojun, "How did you do it?" anymore.
Kim Seojun didn't bother explaining either.
"Ms. Jo I-Hyeon, please do the setting up for the reconnaissance drones."
"Pardon? Ah, yes!"
"I have something to test separately."
"A test?"
He had one more thing he needed to do.
"Major Jan, please open the shooting range."
"The shooting range, you say?"
When he heard those words, Major Jan Zabłocki felt doubtful.
Kim Seojun's shooting skills had already reached God's realm.
To someone like him, a training ground seemed completely meaningless.
"Understood."
Of course, apart from his doubts, Major Jan Zabłocki provided the Shooting Range immediately.
And a short while later, Kim Seojun, who went to the Shooting Range, prepared his gun and aimed it at the target.
Then, Kim Seojun could see a Red Line emitting from the end of the muzzle, and the moment he saw it, he was startled.
He couldn't help but be so.
‘...The Skill Effect is applied even when moving it with Telekinesis?’
The moment he confirmed that, Kim Seojun's eyes changed.
From then on, Kim Seojun began his shooting training.
Without rest.
And the next day, Jo I-Hyeon spoke.
"Excuse me, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun! I've removed all the Location Tracking Devices for now! And I've connected them to the Controller too!"
She had finished the work surprisingly fast this time as well.
However, her expression was not good.
The rest of them were the same.
The reason was simple.
"But who is going to pilot them?"
One very crucial task remained.
That was quite a big problem.
Operating drones on a Space Planet was a much harder task than one might think.
It was because it was full of the worst elements for Drone Control, such as Radio Interference and Vision Obstruction caused by Sandstorms.
It was a place where even highly skilled Drone Pilots repeatedly made mistakes, and right now, there isn't a single skilled pilot at the Poland Headquarters.
This is a bad situation in many ways.
In that situation, Kim Seojun gave an answer.
"I will do it."
"Pardon?"
Everyone was surprised by those words, and they could all soon see it.
"...Excuse me, Ms. Jo I-Hyeon, how do you do the tuning on a drone so that it can drop at a right angle while moving?"
"I've never done anything like that."
Kim Seojun's nonsensical Drone Control.
And the moment that control ended, the moment the test ended, Kim Seojun spoke.
"Tomorrow, we depart for the location where Hawk Eye's message was left."