Chapter 40
"We are heading to the location where Hawk Eye's last message came from."
When Kim Seojun said that, there were no objections.
Kim Seojun had already clearly explained the justification and necessity of Hawk Eye's rescue.
All that was needed was resolve, and with that resolve, Kim Seojun's group left the Poland Headquarters and began to run.
There were no major issues on the way.
That is to say, there was not a single battle with the Mogs.
It wasn't particularly strange for Kim Seojun's Group.
Until now, Kim Seojun's Group hadn't encountered any Mogs thanks to Kim Seojun's vision and Private First Class Park Boseop's hearing.
However, the context was different from before.
"It's quiet, sir."
At Private First Class Park Boseop's words, both Kim Seojun and Major Lee Hyena felt a chill run down their spines.
"It's really quiet. No matter how hard I listen, I can't hear the sounds of Mogs."
Because they knew.
"Staff Sergeant Kim, this is definitely not a good sign, is it?"
"It's proof that the Queen's influence is growing."
Hearing that, Private First Class Park Boseop also felt a chill run down his spine.
It meant that the Mogs were currently gathering at the Queen's Nest.
"It's also proof that we are getting closer to the Queen's Nest."
When he said that, Private First Class Park Boseop didn't say anything more.
In that silence, Kim Seojun's Group arrived at its destination.
"This is the last trace."
There was a small box, a box that only had a radio function, where they arrived.
"It's definitely something Hawk Eye left behind."
And on top of that box sat an empty cola can.
"Now we find the Nest."
After confirming that, their objective was to find the Queen's Nest, and they found it quickly.
"Staff Sergeant Kim."
Private First Class Park Boseop turned his head and said.
"Over there is, over there..."
That was it.
Private First Class Park Boseop couldn't continue speaking about what he had heard.
Kim Seojun didn't ask Private First Class Park Boseop what was wrong.
He could tell right away.
Private First Class Park Boseop's ears were currently hearing the sounds of an unfathomable number of Mogs.
And that anyone who heard those sounds, they would inevitably lose their minds.
Kim Seojun had also experienced it several times.
Thanks to that.
Kim Seojun didn't stop walking in the face of that overwhelming situation.
But he didn't rush either.
Kim Seojun's Group slowly walked in the direction of the sounds, and soon the three of them could see it.
"That mountain over there."
An incredibly massive rocky mountain.
"That mountain is the Nest."
And the countless Mogs completely filled that Rocky Mountain.
In front of that staggering number, Private First Class Park Boseop lost his words.
Major Lee Hyena was the same. Even she, who had charged without hesitation in front of any Mog until now, couldn't help but tremble in front of this unfathomable number, a number that seemed to exceed a hundred thousand and approach a million.
Kim Seojun was no different.
He also froze.
However, the reason Kim Seojun froze was different from the other two.
He wasn't intimidated by this overwhelming scale.
For Kim Seojun, this wasn't the first time he had faced this sight.
That was the reason.
“I swore I would never do something like entering a Queen”s Nest again, but I ended up going in again.'
He was clearly seeing this sight again.
However, Kim Seojun didn't fall into past reminiscences here.
"We don't have time."
The fact was, if they spent one more minute thinking, Hawk Eye might die.
Therefore, Kim Seojun immediately opened his Inventory and took it out.
"Then we begin the search."
Whiiir!
The Reconnaissance Drone began to move.
In the Space Age, drones were useful in many ways.
However, against Mogs, a Reconnaissance Drone wasn't a very effective means.
The reason was simple.
"Operating a Reconnaissance Drone against Mogs is like playing a game with a very crappy computer. Even if a pro gamer is playing, if it lags even once in the middle, there's nothing they can do."
The remote control cutting off at any moment was a concern.
Kim Seojun also knew that fact.
He had experienced it several times.
drone pilots who confidently said that there was no need for reconnaissance, that they should be trusted, and that they had won medals in drone competitions on Earth, would turn pale less than ten minutes into the reconnaissance and say, “Excuse me, could you please retrieve the drone.”
Furthermore, in Kim Seojun's case, he could pilot a drone, but his skill level wasn't anything amazing.
Even so, the reason Kim Seojun brought a Reconnaissance Drone in front of the Queen's Nest was simple.
“If I use telekinesis, I can increase the reconnaissance time.”
Kim Seojun had the Psychokinetic Ability, and through its use, drone flight ignoring physical laws was possible.
The testing was already finished.
Now only one thing remained to verify it in actual combat!
And now Kim Seojun began the verification.
Whiiir!
The Reconnaissance Drone picked up speed and moved toward the Rocky Mountain that appeared to be the Queen's Nest.
Kieeeek!
The Mogs gathered on the rocky mountain reacted immediately to the sound of the drone.
Kieeeeeeeek!
That reaction was on a different level from the reactions shown by the Mogs that Kim Seojun's Group had faced until now.
It was a terrifying aggressiveness that could not be compared to anything else, shown by beings meant to protect the Queen.
The attacks on the Reconnaissance Drone also began immediately.
Thwack!
The Thorn Snakes Context: was a terrifying aggressiveness that could not be compared to anything else, shown by beings meant to protect the Queen.
The attacks toward the Reconnaissance Drone also began immediately.
Thwack!
The Thorn Snakes immediately planted their tails into the ground and began to spew thorns toward the Reconnaissance Drone.
The thorns spewing toward the Reconnaissance Drone didn't look like thorns, but like a pouri planted its tails immediately into the ground and began to spew thorns toward the Reconnaissance Drone.
The thorns spewing toward the Reconnaissance Drone didn't look like thorns, but like a pouring rain shower.
It was at that moment.
The Reconnaissance Drone suddenly stopped in place and then began to dive sharply.
That was a movement a Reconnaissance Drone couldn't show.
It wasn't that it couldn't dive sharply, but when doing so, most drones would lose balance.
However, this drone was different.
It dove sharply and then suddenly began to fly backward. At the same time, it moved while drawing a rapid zigzag up and down.
At that nonsensical movement, the Thorn Snakes that had been endlessly spewing thorns temporarily stopped their attacks.
Kiek?
No matter how much the situation called for indiscriminate attacks, shooting something at a Reconnaissance Drone showing this kind of movement was impossible.
While the Thorn Snakes hesitated like that, the Reconnaissance Drone moved quickly again and began its reconnaissance.
It was an astonishing movement.
That was the reason Kim Seojun was confident in the reconnaissance.
And there was one more thing behind his confidence.
“Find it, anything that could be a clue.”
That is, Kim Seojun was watching the video sent by the Reconnaissance Drone properly, a video that would make ordinary people dizzy.
That wasn't all.
Kim Seojun was perfectly analyzing it without missing even a fleeting moment.
Private First Class Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena watched Kim Seojun by his side with bated breath.
“Even if it”s Staff Sergeant Kim, I don't think this will work.'
Of course, the two of them didn't think Kim Seojun would discover any good results.
The given situation was far too terrible for that.
Furthermore, a circus show always has an ending.
Bzzzzzt!
No matter how much Kim Seojun used Telekinesis to make the Reconnaissance Drone perform aerobatics, it was bound to explode at some point.
"Sending the second drone."
Whiiiir!
After that, Kim Seojun took out an additional Reconnaissance Drone from his Inventory and resumed reconnaissance.
The Inventory was still overflowing with drones, but Private First Class Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena couldn't find comfort in that fact.
And that expectation gradually seemed to become reality.
Bzzzt!
Kim Seojun's Reconnaissance Drones began to break down one after another, and the number of crashed Reconnaissance Drones soon easily surpassed ten.
Around that time, Kim Seojun also caught his breath.
'I'm lacking mana.'
He stopped the reconnaissance temporarily and took a rest.
No one told Kim Seojun to stop now.
Because at this moment, Kim Seojun himself was more desperate than anyone else.
Because Kim Seojun was the one who had shown the greatest resolve to come this far.
Furthermore, losing any more Reconnaissance Drones here was a massive blow at a time when supplies were more precious than ever.
So Kim Seojun drew a clear line here.
Kim Seojun said.
"If we deploy up to thirty Reconnaissance Drones and still cannot find traces of Hawk Eye, we will halt any further rescue operations."
The moment they reached that line, they would leave the area without any lingering attachment.
Whiiiir!
After taking a rest like that, Kim Seojun sent out a Reconnaissance Drone again.
And the moment Kim Seojun sent out the seventeenth Reconnaissance Drone, that was the moment.
"...Found him."
"Pardon?"
An entirely unexpected remark came from Kim Seojun's mouth, and at those words, Private First Class Park Boseop and Major Lee Hyena were startled.
Kim Seojun didn't waste words on the two of them.
After urgently extracting the Reconnaissance Drone, he immediately captured the scene he had seen and showed it to them.
"Huh? Is this by any chance?"
"That's right."
Thus, the two could see it.
"It's a canned cola."
There was a bright red cola can in one spot on the Rocky Mountain.
"Unopened."
Even the tab of that cola can was completely untouched.
In that state, it was embedded in one of the rocks situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
The moment he saw that, Kim Seojun was certain.
"Hawk Eye is still alive."
What is the greatest virtue of a sniper?
The answer to that question was always one thing.
Concealment and stealth are, in other words, hiding oneself.
That was exactly why Hawk Eye was able to become one of the snipers representing Humanity.
Hawk Eye hid better than anyone else.
He is doing so even now.
In the Rocky Mountain where the Queen had made her nest, countless rocks existed. Those rocks created a labyrinth, and Hawk Eye was hiding his presence within that labyrinth.
Of course, simply hiding behind a rock didn't mean he could deceive hundreds of thousands of Mogs with something like that.
That was out of the question.
Therefore, Hawk Eye was inside a rock.
He had entered the rock using his Penetration Ability.
“To think I”d end up using my last resort.'
Of course, this wasn't a method he could use just because he wanted to.
There were various restrictions to using it.
First of all, once he used this ability, Hawk Eye would be in a state where he couldn't use his abilities for at least ten days.
In other words, Hawk Eye was reduced to being trapped inside the rock like a fossil, unable to do anything, until he received someone's help.
Even if he somehow got out on his own, Hawk Eye's condition couldn't be the same as usual.
Even if he received oxygen and a certain amount of nutrients with the help of the Agent Suit, if he didn't move for ten days, his body would break down more easily than imagined.
Crucially, outside of here, there were currently hundreds of thousands of Mogs.
This meant that the moment he went out was practically no different from a death sentence!
It went without saying, but this situation wasn't one Hawk Eye had created because he wanted to.
“Of all things, to the Queen...”
The moment he encountered the Queen, Hawk Eye could tell.
“To think she would have fear.”
The Queen was a special individual, and she possessed the Fear Ability.
That was a very troublesome matter.
Fundamentally, humans did feel terror in front of Mogs, but the Fear Ability was a separate matter.
Just as there was a difference between being scared when seeing a lion from afar and being scared when a lion roared.
Furthermore, the terror exuded by the Queen wasn't simply at the level of making one wet themselves in fright.
It was practically at the level of a weapon, more than enough to burst the target's brain and heart.
And in front of such Fear, ordinary countermeasures were useless.
Hawk Eye was the proof.
The moment Hawk Eye was slightly exposed to the Queen's Fear, he began to tremble like an aspen leaf, and he then fled with all his might, ultimately ending up in this state.
He hid inside a rock.
In addition, it had been eleven days since he entered the rock.
Honestly, Hawk Eye also knew.
He was no longer a living man.
“The day to die does really come.”
And he didn't fear death itself.
If he had been afraid of death in the first place, he wouldn't have been able to wander Space alone hunting Mogs.
“Since I set up a tombstone.”
On the contrary, Hawk Eye felt proud of having set up a cool tombstone on the rock before entering it with his Penetration Ability.
Therefore, the canned cola embedded in the rock Hawk Eye was currently in wasn't placed there for rescue.
Hawk Eye didn't have the slightest expectation that someone would save him.
That was an impossible task.
Would someone find the rock he was in, quietly pierce through the Mogs, rescue him, and get out, in this Rocky Mountain, in the Queen's Nest, in a place with hundreds of thousands of Mogs?
There was no way anyone possessed such an ability.
“Unless it”s some crazy lunatic bastard, there's no way anyone would come here.'
And even if there were, unless that Human was a crazy lunatic, they would have no reason to come.
It was then.
Thump!
'Huh?'
The rock Hawk Eye was in suddenly began to make sounds.
At that fact, Hawk Eye tensed up.
“Could the Mogs have...?”
That is, he thought the Mogs had discovered he was hiding inside the rock.
That was a reasonable thought.
Thump!
*Meanwhile, the sounds were heard repeatedly, and the moment he heard them, Hawk Eye now prepared himself.*
“Yeah, remaining as a fossil in a rock is a bit much. What the hell, I”ll go out with a spectacular bang!'
He prepared to fight his final battle after going outside.
It was then.
Thump! Tap tap! Thump!
“This is...?”
The sound of tapping on the rock began to show some regularity, and from that, Hawk Eye could immediately notice it.
This was currently Space Morse Code.
There, Hawk Eye listened closely, and soon he could tell.
“Came to rescue you?”