Chapter 146
Inside the urban district of Gasan Digital Complex, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. 22 hours since the Gate Break occurred.
ㅡKikikikikikikik..!!!
Thud ㅡ !
“Kahahaha..!”
The giant monocular monster, standing 41.8 meters tall in total, was classified as a single-entity threat of A+ rank and given the new designation of “Cyclops.”
Its entire body was covered in magic that deflected attacks, so even powerful ranged strikes could not inflict any damage. The Hunter Association believed its weakness to be its eye. At the moment, it was tightly shut beneath a thick eyelid.
Since its first manifestation 22 hours ago, it had kept its eyelid closed and stood motionless in place, serving as a ladder for the monsters coming out of the gate opened vertically toward the ground at an altitude of 50 meters.
The main monster population consisted of giant humanoid monsters with combat intelligence, including trolls, minotaurs, ogres, and the like.
ㅡThoom!!
Galahad rushed in swiftly and slammed the edge of his shield, held horizontally, into the monsters’ heads; with a thunderous crash, their skulls shattered and blood burst out.
ㅡThud!
“They just keep coming..! Good! Come at me, then ㅡ !!”
The three other major guilds in Korea—Nova, Union, and Mujin—had each dispatched 3, 3, and 2 assault teams respectively, quickly preventing the Gate Break’s effects from spreading beyond Gasan Digital Complex.
In addition, small and mid-sized guilds of all sizes had sent one assault team each, or party-sized groups of hunters. A total of 152 hunters were now engaged in battle.
ㅡKkudeudeudeuk..!
“Bloom..!”
Huge plant stems covered the half-destroyed building in profusion. The plants summoned by Korea’s S-rank hunter Yoo Chaerin bloomed all at once from those stems, scattering powerful toxic spores.
Because Yoo Chaerin displayed world-class ability when it came to fortification and base defense.
“Hup..!”
ㅡSwaaak!!
Thorny brambles burst up through the asphalt paving and in an instant subdued and bound more than a dozen monsters, providing solid support by keeping the ranged-DPS hunters safe.
ㅡTukwaaaaang!!
Thanks to the Eve Project forces arriving swiftly at the scene, the roads and area that needed to be sealed off had been greatly reduced. It was practically the same as having more than 30 armed hunters of B-rank or higher arrive without any delay.
ㅡClack!
ㅡNod-nod
Minium and the 25-soldier unit under Minium’s command, along with Bradamante and five cavalry golems, were each performing admirably in place.
* * * * *
“...Please respond as quickly as possible.”
At that moment, Tennoji Utaha was still unable to properly join the battle, having run into conflict with her agency in Japan. If a gate appeared and was wreaking havoc in a city, it was only right for a hunter to step forward, but...
From the agency’s perspective, which had to preserve the value of its highly paid professional hunters, it might be better not to send her into an overseas S-rank gate where the losses would clearly outweigh the gains.
Even though 22 hours had passed and it was already 10 a.m. the next morning, the only response from the agency was that they were still assessing the situation.
ㅡClick
After putting down the phone, Eve, who had been standing beside her, timidly came over and asked. Since Tennoji Utaha’s expression had not been very pleasant, Eve had been reading the room.
“U-unnie.... Are you okay..?”
“Yeah. Eve, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine too! Hehe….”
Eve, whose physical durability was no different from that of an unawakened person, briefly lost consciousness from the huge shock right after Cyclops manifested. High-ranked Tennoji Utaha had watched that happen right beside her.
‘How did she create that many golems...'
There were quite a few golem crafters in Japan as well. Not only A-rank ones, but occasionally even golem crafters capable of S-rank output, given sufficient financial and technical support.
But even a golem crafter nurtured professionally like that shouldn’t be able to command so much power all at once.
The battle situation was being broadcast in real time through camera drones flying through the city streets. At present, the A-class students of Seoul Aegis, along with the two exchange students who had been accompanying them, had been ordered to go straight home, and hospital visits had been scheduled to report any physical injuries.
Fortunately, because the evacuation had been swift, the hospital was not very crowded, and all the students were able to be discharged in good health without any serious injuries.
ㅡDrrring, drrring....
“H-hello..?”
“Eve, how are you feeling? What did Utaha unnie say?”
“Ah, Choa. We’re both fine. What about you?”
“I’ve got self-healing, remember? You even lost consciousness.”
“R-right... But I’m really okay. Nothing’s wrong.”
“If anything happens, call me. I’ll get my mom to heal you.”
“Yeah, thanks.... Are you home now?”
“No, I’m at the Union Guild side.”
Yoo Choa’s mother, Yoo Sunyoung, demonstrates the strongest single-target healing in Korea. It was true that Yoo Choa had called because she was worried about her friend, but...
“See? I told you. Eve doesn’t have to do anything—the golems handle everything on their own.”
“So it seems to be true...”
Inside the Union Guild office. They were eager to know whether the Eve Project golems active in Gasan Digital Complex were really carrying out their mission autonomously without orders from the golem crafter.
That was also why they wanted to get phone confirmation through their acquaintance Yoo Choa.
“Has anything like this happened before? A golem carrying out its mission autonomously without orders?”
“There is in America—they’re an AI powerhouse, after all. Of course, not to the point of being that smart, meticulous, and strategic. Just enough to deal with the monsters right in front of them.”
“Hmm....”
At present, all of the 1st through 3rd assault teams, including Kim Hyukseon and Yoo Sunyoung, were out in Gasan Digital Complex. Reports on the Eve Project’s achievements kept coming in from the hunters on site.
“This... isn’t this S-rank..?”
“At the very least, yes, it’s S-rank.”
Inside the Union Guild, Eve’s assessed investment value kept rising.
* * * * *
ㅡScreeeech, thud!
ㅡScreeech, thud!
Inside the Eve Project’s Galahad forge on the outskirts, repetitive metal-clanging sounds and ringing metallic noises echoed.
“Claire. Please escort the princess here. The preparations are complete.”
“Understood.”
Maid Anna and Tessa were currently inside the forge with Ophelia, while Claire, Sophie, and Flora were supporting Tennoji Utaha and Eve inside the residence where they were staying.
The reason Ophelia had deliberately left Eve behind and come into the forge was none other than this.
“It’s also called blitz scaling. You could call it an opportunity.”
“An opportunity...?”
“That’s right.”
There were already many companies around the world that had signed steel trade contracts with the Eve Project. But what was needed right now was not to sell metal for profit, but to mobilize all the metal they had and produce new troops.
That said, turning all of the metal earmarked to be shipped out into golems while simply ignoring the contracts would cause problems. There would be penalty fees, and it would also affect the company’s credibility.
“Exclude the companies that need delivery by a set deadline, such as those using it for construction or factories. Send text messages to all contractors.”
-“Yes, Head Maid.”-
Rather than a product with fixed specifications, texts were sent out in bulk to companies that required better performance.
In summary, the Eve Project had developed a new alloy that was 3.4 percent better than the existing synthetic rare metal, so this was a preemptive notice to the contracting companies.
They were encouraged to receive a sample and sign a contract for the new material instead of postponing the delivery date. This allowed them to preserve roughly 20 percent of the rare metal that would otherwise have had to leave the company.
Thus, the preserved rare metal was immediately resynthesized into a rare-metal alloy suited for producing soldiers, and they even received large quantities of magic stones that had been left in stock by the Korean Hunter Association, completing the material preparations.
ㅡMoo!
“Yes, good work.”
With the head forge spirit’s completion signal, the total prepared rare metal weighed 7.9 tons, along with about 30 kg of mid-grade magic stones.
20 heavy infantry golems, each requiring 200 kg of lightweight rare metal and 420 g of mid-grade magic stone.
20 cavalry golems, each requiring 120 kg of high-strength rare metal and 640 g of mid-grade magic stone.
Up to 30 soldier golems, each requiring 50 kg of commercial-grade rare metal and 420 g of mid-grade magic stone.
Because the amount used per unit had increased dramatically compared to before, each unit’s combat power had risen noticeably.
Since the average combat power of the golems currently fighting inside Gasan Digital Complex was low, they had not been able to show the kind of active combat that could cause damage.
So they had chosen to reduce the number of units they could make and instead increase the combat power of each individual unit.
And there was one more ingredient that was most important.
ㅡKikikikikikik..!!
The two wheels installed in the milling machine meshed and spun powerfully, drawing the newly developed rare metal into thin string-like strands.
ㅡClang!
The metal strands that fell to the floor were immediately seized by the blacksmith golems and drawn thinner once more.
The string rare metal drawn out like thread was sent back into another machine for yet another process, where eight thin strands twisted into a spiral and were completed as a single new strand.
ㅡThud!
“Head Maid, the princess has arrived.”
“Understood.”
The muffled impact heard from outside the forge was the sound of Eve arriving, having rushed over to the forge on one of the cavalry golems’ griffons.
“Ophelia!”
“Princess, you have arrived.”
* * * * *
“We’re still assessing the extent of the damage and the difficulty-”
“That’s enough. I’m hanging up.”
Tennoji Utaha grew sick of her agency repeating the same thing over and over, and hung up. The battlefield conditions kept coming in as breaking news through the screen. Even though she herself possessed the rare and powerful strength of an S-rank hunter, the fact that she could not go to the battlefield made her feel as if her insides were festering and rotting away.
Eve, who had been beside her with a silly grin and trying to cheer her up, was gone too. She had gone out about two hours earlier and still hadn’t returned, and when she asked the maid, she was told she was working.
Even such a young girl was trying to step forward and fight in a crisis.
“...Claire.”
“Did you call, Miss Utaha?”
“I’m going outside. Could you guide me there?”
“Are you sure? Fighting without agreement from your agency—”
“I’m fine.”
“Understood. Please speak to me again once you’ve changed.”
After changing clothes at once, Utaha took up the cherished sword Kurenai that had been mounted on one side of the dressing room and headed for the Gasan Digital Complex with Claire.
There was virtually no traffic congestion on the surrounding roads, and thanks to Claire’s skilled driving, they reached the outskirts of Gasan Digital Complex in about 35 minutes.
It was the situation room, where they treated injured hunters inside nearby buildings and watched the city conditions through drone cameras to decide troop movements.
ㅡScreeeek....
“Y-you are..!”
“Where should I go?”
“A-are you stating your intention to enter the battle..?”
Tennoji Utaha was in Korea as an exchange student, not as an expedition mercenary. In this situation, having her participate in a battle that had not been agreed upon in advance would be an excellent way to create conflict with her agency in Japan.
“That’s right. It’s my own choice.”
“T-then...”
But if Tennoji Utaha herself said she would join the battle, there was no major problem. In the situation room, they quickly found a route that needed reinforcement and explained it to Tennoji Utaha in detail, and she headed for the battlefield at once.
23 hours since the gate’s emergence.
ㅡSwish..!
“Huh, Utaha?”
“Teacher Baek, so you were here.”
“Hah, seriously. Did your agency give you permission?”
“No, I came out because I judged it myself.”
“Hey, this’ll cause trouble. Go back home.”
“I’m fine.”
Even while showing how troubled he was, Baek Sangjun was already breathing hard and looked exhausted. His combat stint was about to reach six hours, and replacement time was approaching, so she had been assigned to the same line to prepare for the fallout from losing Hunter Baek Sangjun, a major combat asset.
ㅡKwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!
Baek Sangjun swept across the battlefield, leading a gigantic stream of reinforced concrete like a serpent. He was regarded as a hunter with powerful offense and defense alike, but a human was still a human.
He couldn’t keep up combat requiring such high concentration for several hours on end.
ㅡHup..!
With Tennoji Utaha’s participation, the front line advanced meaningfully, and the other routes began to breathe easier as well. Nearby, the area encroached upon by Yoo Chaerin’s plant stems kept expanding, and before long Cyclops was starting to become visible to the naked eye.
“I can see it..!”
On Route A, the Eve Project’s golem soldiers were fiercely exchanging attacks.
Routes B and C were advancing under wide-area support, with Hunter Yoo Chaerin positioned between the two routes, while the Nova Guild assault team on one side and hunters including Tennoji Utaha and Baek Sangjun on the other kept pushing forward.
On Route D, the Union Guild hunters, including Kim Hyukseon and Yoo Choa’s mother, Yoo Sunyoung, were blocking a narrow main road with their speed and high healing output.
On Route E, two assault teams from Mujin Guild, one of the four major guilds, were mixed together with civilian hunters, maintaining the line.
ㅡBeeeep!!
The surrounding mana saturation level surged sharply. Fierce warning alarms began to ring out over the devices of hunters around the already destroyed gate.
“What?! Another gate is coming out?!”
Even amid the confusion, the battle continued.
“L-look over there ㅡ !! That bastard ㅡ !!!”
1:13 p.m., 24 hours since the gate’s emergence.
After 24 hours, Cyclops once again opened its enormous eye and began searching for a target to fire its destructive magic at.
ㅡGrrrr....
The bloodshot violet pupil came to rest in the direction of Routes B-C-D.
The front line at dead center, densely packed with powerful hunters including Yoo Chaerin, Utaha, Baek Sangjun, and Kim Hyukseon.
“No fucking way...”
As a thick curse, filled with his worst fears, slipped from Baek Sangjun’s mouth, Cyclops, as if to confirm it, began drawing a magic circle in front of its pupil once more.
“Move ㅡ !! Utaha ㅡ !!!!”
A hoarse shout. A soft stream of water swept over Utaha and shoved her against the wall of a building that had been half-destroyed in an instant.
“Teacher Baek..!”
There were about 80 hunters spread broadly across Routes B-C-D in total. With Baek Sangjun’s ability, he could not protect them all.
Just as the enormous magic circle finished its outermost ring and was about to use the destructive spell that had half-destroyed Gasan Digital Complex once more.
ㅡPazzzzt..!
BOOOOM ㅡ !!!!!
“What..!?”
It looked like blue lightning was striking the ground at an angle. A blue flash tore straight through the monster’s pupil.
Under the tremendous impact, Cyclops’s massive body tilted and collided with the building beside it, crashing down in a roar, and the magic circle left alone in the air dissolved into a purple glow as if it had lost its master.
ㅡRuuuumble..!!!
The gigantic building collapsed, burying hundreds of nearby monsters in the rubble, and the aftershock raised a massive cloud of dust that swallowed the city center in an instant.
“Where the hell did that come from..?”
Utaha, who had already taken shelter inside the building thanks to Baek Sangjun’s ability, quickly climbed the wall and made her way to the rooftop.
The superhuman vision of an S-rank hunter searched for the source of the flash.
“Meow~”