Chapter 87
Episode 87 - Chaos and Hero (5)
"This is..."
Cha Jiyeon, who was at the forefront, bit her lip. She already instinctively sensed it.
The storm now raging would be rougher and harder than the strike just before.
"The ground..."
"The ground is shaking!"
The Allied Forces, who could not have imagined such a situation, fell into panic.
From the beginning, the enemies they had assumed were Gnolls and Kobolds.
People who had no idea what the Demon Realm was like or its history could not have anticipated such a situation.
"Hold on tight!"
[The player has manifested their ability. Offer the price, gain strength, and fight.]
At the end of vibrations reminiscent of an earthquake, the ground where Cha Jiyeon and Chris's vehicle was located burst open with a bang.
At the same time as Cha Jiyeon was flung into the air, she pulled out a dagger from her bosom and slashed her hand.
One of the functions possessed by the player, which she frequently used in the early and mid stages. Receiving the blood, her power was enhanced.
"Ugh..."
Ignoring Chris, who was falling to the ground, she enveloped her entire body in electrokinesis, broke the vehicle, and flew into the air.
With her blue eyes glinting, she sent a flashing thunderbolt toward the monster that emerged from the ground.
An ancient creature of this land that lived underground, ambushing the main unit alongside the Demonic Mole Crickets.
Struck by her electrokinesis, the creature twisted its body, which was dozens of meters thick, and opened its mouth toward her.
This Deathworm, which had only a mouth on its face, opened its massive jaws wide enough to swallow a giant tank or self-propelled artillery in one bite and roared.
'Is it possible?'
Cha Jiyeon broke out in a cold sweat. Those dense and enormous teeth.
Even if she unleashed her maximum output, she couldn't guarantee she could handle it.
[Use it. The player has decided to save the Assassination Authority.]
"Tsk..."
Barely dodging its bite, she looked at the potion bottle she pulled out. Chris, who was fighting on the surface, did the same.
A bestowed item they had received in the past, a potion that momentarily maximizes the string.
She drank it in one gulp.
[The essence of the Heavenly Soul Technique is one's own soul. And now, your soul is strongly connected to your 121 companions. That is your strength, so fight.]
Staggering momentarily, she opened her eyes, which sparkled with electrokinesis.
And she unleashed a storm of lightning that surged around her.
The massive lightning split into thousands and tens of thousands of branches, piercing the air and the ground. Hundreds of enemies, regardless of their size, were electrocuted, exploded, and burned to death.
On the ground, Chris, who had also enhanced his abilities, shook the ground with his earthquake, toppling and crushing the surviving enemies.
[Soul Resonance. While it grants immense power... ultimately, the connected souls merge into one mass, losing their ego.]
[Of course, that is not a consideration.]
[An enemy has survived.]
An empty voice echoed repeatedly in the minds of Cha Jiyeon and Chris, who had lost consciousness.
The Deathworm, though its external carapace was half-destroyed and it was leaking bodily fluids everywhere, had survived the storm of lightning and the earthquake.
The Deathworm opened its mouth again, aiming at Cha Jiyeon.
"Get a hold of yourself."
At that moment, crimson flames burst out.
The Deathworm's massive neck slowly fell to the surface, and Ji Changhyun, who had unleashed a slash, ignored the electrokinesis and returned to the surface with Cha Jiyeon.
"People need you."
"I-I'm conscious now, so let go of my hand."
Ji Changhyun grabbed her by the collar and shook her until she regained her senses. Soon, as the connection was severed, she gasped for breath and pushed his hand away.
"You're strong. Thanks to you two, we avoided the worst."
"...Honestly, I never want to do this again."
Although she didn't know the full truth of the Soul Resonance due to losing consciousness, she knew it wasn't a pleasant experience.
"But we must keep fighting."
Ji Changhyun raised his sword and stepped forward. The Deathworm was dead, but something stronger and faster descended before them.
"Death to the humans!"
The Lord of Beasts, Gartin. He roared in a language humans couldn't understand, then swung the spear in his hand, unleashing a flood of monsters.
The main unit, whose formation had already collapsed due to the sudden underground ambush, couldn't mount proper resistance, let alone bombardment.
"You look like the strongest one."
"...A unit?"
Ji Changhyun and Gartin faced each other.
Of course, they couldn't understand each other's words. They could only feel the killing intent aimed at each other.
"Spirit of the Demon Realm..."
Gartin kicked the ground and swung his magic-infused spear at Ji Changhyun.
However, the spear didn't even reach the tip of his foot, which was raised to block it with his sword.
Gartin, still charging, crashed into the ground and rolled awkwardly. He remained motionless in that state.
"Could this be..."
"The player used it. The Assassination Authority."
Chris, who was supporting Cha Jiyeon, smirked.
Ji Changhyun, who had been about to swing his sword, was also surprised. He widened his eyes and only stared at Gartin's corpse lying on the ground.
But he quickly regained his composure and looked around.
"It's not over yet. If we're to salvage anything, we must hurry to save the people..."
"Watch out!"
As Ji Changhyun turned his body to move again.
Cha Jiyeon, pale-faced, fired a thunderbolt behind him.
"Hah, haha... Glory to the Demon Realm."
A white beak clicked, and the glow in the skull's eye sockets gleamed blue.
Gartin, now a white skeleton, rose and swung his spear at Ji Changhyun once more.
*
"Hey, this isn't good. This time, it's the real deal."
Robert muttered blankly.
Even a seasoned veteran mercenary couldn't come up with a solution in this dire situation.
The frontline had collapsed. The frontline that Cha Jiyeon, Chris, and Ji Changhyun, three powerful individuals, had been holding.
The creatures of the Demon Realm rushing in now were only assault types. The monsters charging through the barrage of bullets became fear itself, demoralizing the soldiers and plunging them into despair.
I had seen similar scenes like this many times.
If one were to view the Legion from the perspective of those fighting against it, it might feel like this.
"Huff... Retreat! Retreat!!"
A hasty retreat command, so rushed it made one question whether it was properly conveyed by the commander, was issued through the radio.
But in the midst of everything being overrun, there was no such thing as an orderly retreat. It was just fleeing.
Amidst it all, I filmed a monstrous bird trying to attack a machine gunner with my phone. Only nine samples remained.
Since there was no sign of leveling up, only nine chances were left.
"Get in! Just run for now!"
Robert, who had been shooting his gun, grabbed my arm and pulled me along. The command structure had completely collapsed. Evolution Affiliates, as well as Allied Forces soldiers, began deserting their positions and fleeing.
Panting, I looked back. There were fewer than thirty vehicles heading in the same direction as us.
It was a devastating loss, no, annihilation.
I had only heard of annihilation in reports, but now I was experiencing it firsthand. No, more importantly, how on earth had the creatures of the Demon Realm, which had been acting like ordinary flora and fauna until now, suddenly attacked us?
"There's a canyon over there. We'll take shelter in that canyon and head to the encampment."
Robert held the radio and communicated with others to decide on the direction.
The destination was a narrow canyon made of strange rock formations visible ahead.
[Can we escape?]
But I looked up at the sky through the sunroof.
The sky was already the domain of those monsters. Whether there was an Allied Forces recon unit or not, it was clear we couldn't escape their sight.
"Damn it... Those bastards are chasing us!"
"Just head to the canyon. Do whatever it takes to defend or fight back there. We can't win in the open field!"
At Cox's shout, Robert, irritated, gave rougher orders. The Allied Forces' high command, seemingly paralyzed in panic, and the fleeing Allied Forces vehicles followed us in a line, tailing each other as they sped away.
"W-What do we do now? We can't hold out for long!"
"Why are you asking me?! I'm just a PMC!"
Even after reaching the canyon, no brilliant solution emerged.
Using the narrow entrance, we poured all the firearms we had to repel the pursuing enemies successfully. But it was only for a moment. When their main unit arrived, we would inevitably be caught.
Neither the officers of the Allied Forces nor Robert could provide an answer now.
"Mr. Antonif, what is that?"
"Take a look at this, Mr. Shin-Woo."
While the panicked voices of people grew louder.
I got out of the vehicle and approached Researcher Antonif, who was investigating the canyon.
"It looks like... a stone tablet."
"That's right. Look at this uniform wall. This must have been a site of some ruins. I'm incredibly excited right now. These are definitely relics. Come to think of it, Mr. Shin-Woo, wasn't this also a world where someone once lived? Even the demonic creatures must have been part of a community once."
He carefully collected, investigated, and photographed the stone tablets with his companions, gathering data. Then, he loaded them onto the vehicle with care.
"These are clues. By researching these, we can learn more about this place we considered nothing more than a dreadful monster nest. Then, incidents like today won't happen again."
Even in this situation, he was looking toward the future. In a situation where dying right now wouldn't be surprising, he acted only for hope and victory. After all, he was one of those who had volunteered for this.
But for his foresight to come to fruition, we had to overcome this crisis first.
To survive here is to have a tomorrow.
That's why I resolved to act here.
"Everyone, get in the vehicles immediately."
"...What?"
"What kind of crazy nonsense are you spouting now?"
I approached those still angry and quietly conveyed my intentions.
Naturally, they reacted with disbelief.
"I'll try to hold this place. In the meantime, escape the canyon and return to the encampment."
"Are you seriously insane?"
Robert put his finger to his temple and shook it.
There was nothing more to say about his reaction. I drew my sword and headed for the canyon entrance.
"I acknowledge your skills! That swordsmanship thing you learned made you a bit stronger! But still..."
"Leave all the remaining explosives and shells behind."
Luckily, the ammunition truck that came along provided a good excuse for me, who couldn't reveal the truth.
Of course, what I intended to do wasn't to collapse the canyon with explosives when the enemies arrived, but to trust in the only trump card I had.
[The Legion awaits you. It wishes to be with you.]
Faint letters overlapped with the thick, enormous dust clouds approaching this place.