Chapter 47
When the nuclear umbrella was mentioned to he, Major Jan Zabłocki also raised that question.
"I will try, but I don't think other nations will believe the offer of a nuclear umbrella. Even if they do believe it, their full support is out of the question."
To that, Kim Seojun replied.
"Yes, I know. The goal of this matter anyway is to make the Chinese Headquarters make a move."
"The Chinese Headquarters?"
"They will move the Mogs. And they will think they need a very large number of Mogs to deal with the Polish Headquarters, which has nuclear weapons."
"A very large number? Huh? D-don't tell me?"
At that point, Major Jan Zabłocki also caught on.
"At this point in time, the only place with that large a scale of Mogs is the Queen's Nest. That is the objective. If the Mog Legion there heads for the Poland Headquarters, we will attack the Queen's Nest then."
This was what the big picture Kim Seojun had drawn.
‘My god.’
When he heard that fact, Major Jan Zabłocki felt goosebumps rising.
To think he would draw such a big picture?
To Major Jan Zabłocki, Kim Seojun said.
"Therefore, the Poland Headquarters must abandon its current location and move as quickly as possible."
Kim Seojun's expression as he spoke was not good.
"If their operation succeeds, the Poland Headquarters will be destroyed."
Abandoning a Headquarters on Planet Amotia, that meant becoming wanderers for whom death would not be strange at any moment.
Because it was like losing one's country.
However, at Kim Seojun's words, Major Jan Zabłocki smiled and said.
"It is a Headquarters that wouldn't have been strange to have been destroyed a long time ago. I am rather glad that such a Headquarters is being used at such an important time."
I was telling him not to worry.
Anyway, afterward, the Poland Headquarters abandoned the Headquarters as soon as Kim Seojun's Group made their move.
Afterward, they stood by.
Waiting for the Mogs to swarm in.
And they came.
"The Mog Legion is swarming in!"
"The numbers?"
"T-that is, we absolutely cannot tell!"
A distant number of the Mog Legion swarmed in, and the moment he saw it, what came to Major Jan Zabłocki's mind was not nostalgia for the Poland Headquarters Base that would soon be devastated, nor worry about having to live on Planet Amotia without a Headquarters Base.
Rather, he worried about Kim Seojun's Group.
He had no choice but to do so.
Hundreds of thousands of the Mog Legion coming here meant that Kim Seojun's operation had succeeded.
And that soon meant that Kim Seojun's Group was entering the Queen's Nest.
At that part, Major Jan Zabłocki had one question.
‘But how is he planning to catch it?’
"How are you planning to catch it?"
The moment the Mog Legion disappeared, Noah Winston asked a question.
In fact, that was a question that had already been answered a long time ago.
Although Kim Seojun sometimes showed nonsensical operations, those were usually cases where he had no choice but to exercise improvisation, and he did not just keep the operation in his head for such an important matter.
"For now, we will choose one of the operations I explained."
Kim Seojun had revealed all the prepared operations to everyone.
In fact, there was nothing much to call an operation.
"Currently, the most certain method is to go inside the Rocky Mountains."
Inside the Rocky Mountain, there were tunnels like an ant nest, and the Queen was somewhere in those Labyrinth-like tunnels.
So going inside those tunnels, placing the nuclear weapon near the Queen, and setting the timer was the entirety of the operation.
"Good."
Hearing that story, Noah Winston nodded his head.
"Then please take good care of the support. So that I can neatly place the nuclear weapon next to the Queen and come back. Well, since most of the Mogs have left, it won't be that difficult a task. We just have to shoot and kill the remaining ones."
And then she spoke as if it was nothing special.
It was around then.
Kim Seojun looked at Noah Winston.
"Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"
"Please tell me what you are hiding."
"What am I hiding?"
At that question, Noah Winston shrugged her shoulders and said,
"How am I supposed to know if you say it like that? Do you know how many things I go around hiding? You probably can't even imagine."
"Please tell me about the Queen's ability."
At that question from Kim Seojun, Noah Winston shrugged her shoulders once more.
"I told you, didn't I, that I don't really know either."
"By any chance, are we not supposed to look at the Queen?"
And at the following question, Noah Winston's eyes narrowed.
"……You're really quick to catch on."
At her words, the three people nearby were surprised.
To think that Noah Winston had been hiding something about the Queen's Ability?
"Why on earth did you do that?"
The answer to the following question from Private First Class Park Boseop was given by Kim Seojun.
"She intended to take responsibility alone."
"Pardon?"
"It's like a movie. A meteorite is about to collide with Earth and needs to be blown up with a nuclear weapon, but of all things, the Remote Detonation Device breaks down, so someone has to stay behind on the meteorite and detonate the nuclear weapon."
When they heard those words, the three were surprised.
"That's right, my dad passed away like that."
"Pardon?"
And at the following words from Noah Winston, the three were astonished.
"A meteorite almost collided with Earth?"
To the surprised words of Private First Class Park Boseop, Kim Seojun replied.
"It's a movie story. Ms. Noah Winston's debut role was the Protagonist's daughter in that movie."
"Ah!"
Only after hearing that answer did the three let out hollow laughs, and Noah Winston, who was looking at those three, smiled and said.
"To think I only have one fan. I'm less popular than I thought. I should shoot some more movies when I return to Earth. More importantly, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun seems to have watched my movies? Should I sign your suit?"
She gave words full of playfulness.
However, Kim Seojun, facing that playfulness, was not smiling at all.
He could not smile.
Because right now, Noah Winston has finished preparing herself for death.
Of course, he knew Noah Winston's resolve.
Setting other things aside, Noah Winston was a Psycher Agent who had set out on the Queen Hunt risking death.
It wasn't just this time.
Hawk Eye, the reason that name could become a legend was her unbelievable dedication.
Naturally, Kim Seojun was certain that she would not leave the dedication to herself in this Queen Hunt either.
Especially when she said she didn't know the Queen's Ability, he had an Intuition then.
That she knew the Queen's Ability very well, and was hiding it.
"Hawk Eye, I have never seen you fail. So when you failed this time, I was certain it wouldn't be an ordinary matter."
Setting other things aside, Hawk Eye was not someone weak enough to fail a mission without even reaching the Queen.
"Really? That's fascinating. You've seen me before? It wasn't our first time meeting?"
"Yes."
"That's even more mind-boggling. You've seen me before and you're still doing military service? Don't people usually get discharged?"
"Usually, they get discharged."
At Kim Seojun's following words, Noah Winston now also knew.
Kim Seojun had no intention of clumsily leaving the baton named dedication to her.
"All right, I'll give you a briefing."
There, she finally spoke.
"This Queen, as you know, is a Special Individual. And she also has a Special Ability, which is Fear (Ability)."
"If it's Fear (Ability)?"
"The moment you look at the Queen, your mind collapses."
The moment they heard those words, everyone's expressions changed.
"M-mental collapse, you say?"
"Yeah."
That was a more terrible ability than they thought.
"Even I half-lost my mind the moment I saw her. I actually almost died, but maybe thanks to the experience I've built up over the years, I didn't faint. I felt the reward of diligently catching those damn Mog bastards."
If it was enough for Hawk Eye to almost faint, it meant that ordinary Space Marines, not to mention skilled Psycher Agents, would simply faint the moment they saw her.
It was a much more serious ability than expected.
And that was the reason Noah Winston has hidden that fact until now.
"Of course, don't worry. Since I've seen her once, the second time will be manageable. In reality, the more you experience Fear (Ability), the more resistance you build up."
Even if she had said she would tell them this in advance, in the end, she was the only one who could deliver the nuclear weapon to the Queen's side.
"And you know, right? My ability? I have Penetration, Penetration. I don't even need to look. I just have to figure out the Queen's location, and then from beyond the wall, smoothly push the nuclear weapon in with Penetration. It's a very safe job."
Also, she had an ability suited for this kind of situation.
Above all, she thought.
"And we have three chances, don't we?"
If she couldn't do it, Kim Seojun could step up next.
There was no need to worry about the order.
When they heard the story up to there, no one answered.
They could not refute Noah Winston's logic.
And they could not say anything about her dedication.
Except for one person.
"No."
Only Kim Seojun rejected her choice.
"Oh, really? Then are you going to give up?"
"There are a few problems with your plan. First of all, there is a limit to your Penetration Ability. Using a nuclear weapon by passing it through a wall is practically impossible."
"Then who else is going to go in besides me? Is there anyone who can be exposed to Fear (Ability) and not wet themselves?"
To the following question, Kim Seojun replied.
"I can do it."
"Really?"
At Kim Seojun's confidence, Noah Winston gave a cold smile and said.
"Then shall we look at your resume? How experienced are you?"
"I have seen a Behemoth."
"I've seen that guy too. He is scary, indeed. But he's a guy you can see clearly even from 100 kilometers away."
"I saw it a bit closer than that."
"Really? How close?"
At that question, Kim Seojun briefly recalled his memories and began to gauge the distance.
Eventually, Kim Seojun said.
"10……"
"10 kilometers?"
And at the number that came out, Noah Winston laughed.
It was not a sneer.
"Well, it's enough to have confidence."
The distant presence of a Behemoth was more than enough to collapse the mind of a Human looking from afar.
Of course, it was not at a level worth discussing here.
Kim Seojun knew well too.
So he said.
"Meters."
"Meters?"
"Yes."
"The meters that I know?"
"Yes."
"Uh……"
When she heard those words, his words had no choice but to come out of Noah Winston's mouth.
"You're bullshitting, right?"
"There is no proof. But I definitely have the experience of being in close proximity to a Behemoth. To be exact, I fled riding a Military Truck with a Behemoth behind me."
"Hey, where is there such a crazy bas……"
It was that moment.
"Huh?"
Noah Winston pulled out a memory, and soon pointed his finger at Kim Seojun.
"You?"
At that word, Kim Seojun replied.
"I drank the cola you gave me back then well."
The moment she heard that explanation, Noah Winston no longer had any doubts about Kim Seojun's Fear Immunity.
If he were at the level of driving a Military Truck with a Behemoth behind his back, it had to be seen that he had no fear of Mogs.
And the other Comrades were the same.
Everyone made surprised expressions.
Of course, it was not a surprise at the ability Kim Seojun possessed.
‘He saw a Behemoth from 10 meters away?’
They were astonished at Kim Seojun's experience.
Anyway, it was certain now.
Kim Seojun had the qualifications to face the Queen.
Then there was only one thing left.
"All right, then you can deliver it."
Now, just going in.
"Then shall we go in right away?"
"Please give me a moment to think."
There, Kim Seojun pondered.
The reason for his pondering was simple.
‘I didn't know it would be Fear (Ability).’
That the Queen's Ability Noah Winston had been hiding was Fear (Ability).
‘I can face it.’
And that was a very positive thing from Kim Seojun's perspective.
Because there was a high possibility that the Queen's Ability would not work on Kim Seojun right now.
Of course, it didn't mean he could truly face her head-on.
Fear (Ability) was like a flame.
A flame that became hotter and more threatening the closer you got!
In Kim Seojun's case, it was just that he could approach a little closer than others.
Still, it was better than the Worst-case Scenario Kim Seojun had thought of.
So he revised the plan again, and soon Kim Seojun raised his head.
"Major Lee Hyena."
At that call, Major Lee Hyena flinched in surprise and looked at Kim Seojun.
"I have a favor to ask."
However, at the following word 'favor', Major Lee Hyena's eyes changed.
"I will do anything."
Because of the fact that she could help with something, she showed a stronger resolve and will than ever before.
To her, Kim Seojun said.
"Could you engage in a head-on fight against the Mogs at the Rocky Mountains?"
A Head-on Fight!
When those words came out, everyone, including Major Lee Hyena, showed a dumbfounded reaction.
To them, Kim Seojun said.
"Currently, the number of Mogs in the Rocky Mountains is in a greatly reduced state. However, not all of them have moved. The forces escorting the Queen will certainly be standing by inside that Queen's Nest. How many of those guys we draw out determines the Operation Success Probability."
The Queen's Guards had to draw out the Mogs inside the tunnels in the Rocky Mountain, that is, inside the Queen's Nest.
"What's important here is that if we pound them with Powerful Firepower, those guys would rather hide. So a provocation is needed. Major Lee Hyena will climb the Rocky Mountain alone."
For that, Major Lee Hyena had to request a head-on fight.
"Of course, Hawk Eye will provide rear support."
To be exact, it was meant to play a Decoy Role.
When they heard the explanation up to there, there were no questions.
"Then what about Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun?"
"I will go in alone."
Instead, they expressed concern.
"Alone into there? Knowing what might be inside? And knowing how complicated it is inside there?"
It was understandable, because even if the Queen's Guards came outside, there was no way to know how many were left inside.
It was like walking through a minefield with closed eyes.
"There is no problem."
However, Kim Seojun said so.
And he did not take any more questions.
"So please follow my orders."
This place was a battlefield, and the commander was Kim Seojun.
Since Kim Seojun had given the order, all the remaining people had to do was to execute orders.
"Understood."
And the operation began immediately.
Major Lee Hyena picked up her axe and began to climb the Rocky Mountains.
Eventually, finding the largest rock and climbing up, she shouted.
"Bring it on, you Mog bastards!"
Then, Mogdogs began to pop out from the holes located all over the Rocky Mountains.
It wasn't that the Mogs reacted to Major Lee Hyena's voice.
Mogs did not know Human language, and right now Major Lee Hyena is wearing a helmet.
Because that sound merely lingered inside the helmet.
Even so, the reason the Mogdogs came out was to protect the Queen.
Kkieee!
As such, the Mogs that came out rushed in more aggressively than ever, and Major Lee Hyena, standing on the rock, swung her axe toward the rushing Mogs.
Crunch!
The heads of the Mogdogs began to split in half in a single breath.
Around then, the thorn snakes that had been hiding inside the tunnels also came out and immediately planted their tails into the ground.
They prepared to spew thorns toward the target standing on the rock.
Pshoo!
And toward those thorn snakes, Noah Winston spewed out bullets.
Dudududu!
From then on, the resonance of the Rocky Mountains changed.
The moment they recognized the fact that the existence aiming for the Queen was not ordinary, the Mogs began to run even more wildly.
From the perspective of those facing it, it was something that could make them lose their minds.
However, at this moment, Major Lee Hyena and Noah Winston did not worry about their situation.
‘Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, please come back alive.’
They only worried about Kim Seojun, who had to go inside that Queen's Nest where no one knew what might be from then on!
It was 10 minutes after that.
"All Evacuate!"
Kim Seojun urgently sent a radio transmission to them.
"All Evacuate! Get out of this place!"
The moment they heard that radio transmission, naturally everyone thought.
‘It's a failure!’
Kim Seojun had failed to find the Queen and had given up.
"It's all right, Staff Sergeant Kim!"
"Staff Sergeant Kim, good work!"
"See, I told you to leave it to me! Now, let's do a Baton Touch!"
In response to that fact, everyone offered comfort, and Kim Seojun said to such Comrades.
"The nuclear weapon is going to detonate soon!"