Chapter 394: Owner of the crystal (2)
—booooom!—
"Ahhhh!"
"Damn! Buy time! John Stone will be here soon!"
While the three Transcendents were battling Hansoo—
—the memories surrounding the crystal entered through Kiriel's hand and into her head.
'What the hell is going on?'
Kiriel gulped.
This darkness did not exist until Clementine's forces had found this place.
But the moment the Abyss fell, and the elevator appeared, things had changed.
The mysterious creature that came out from the elevator.
With appearances that resembled bears and lions.
Strange creatures continued to flood out.
Towards this crystal.
And Kiriel knew what had happened from that point.
Kill or be killed.
The people of Reyunion, who couldn't even defend against basic monsters, were simply massacred, and the powerful forces of Clementine died as well.
'I wonder where they went…?'
The powerful forces that Erunheim had seen in her memories had all disappeared.
Kiriel had thought that Clementine and Sangjin had succeeded in killing off all the Abyssal monsters but that was not the case.
'They… didn't succeed.'
It wasn't that they had succeeded in killing them off.
The Transcendents had all disappeared because they had failed.
The monsters that came out from the elevator had long accomplished their goals.
Clementine's forces had fallen back, and so they had given this place up, leaving it for Sangjin and the others.
—ssss—
Kiriel stopped reading the memories and looked around.
Pure darkness.
The countless strands of darkness that reached out and tied down the crystal.
Kiriel gulped as she extended her hands into the darkness.
—pff—
She felt an obstruction.
It felt just like a wall, a black wall.
A wall with strange strands extending out from it.
But to Kiriel, who could read memories, it was different.
She knew what was going on in here.
'The ones alive are… seven.'
—ssss—
The memories within the darkness started to enter her mind.
The ones that had survived the journey up to this point were only seven.
Of course, despite their low numbers, they were extremely strong.
After all, they had charged through all the Transcendents that had stood in their way.
But after reaching this place, they seemed to be quite tired from their efforts.
After smelling the crystal a few times, they smiled contentedly and touched the nearby walls.
But at that moment, the walls started to get dyed with a dark color.
And with that as the beginning, the area surrounding the crystal turned dark.
A color that one couldn't simply describe with the word 'dark'.
'But… this isn't the original color.'
Kiriel thought of the colors of the walls as they descended down here.
In any case, the memory continued.
As the walls turned dark—
—rumble—
—the beings suddenly entered the wall.
Like a human entering a body of water.
With a carefree attitude.
And then—
—shshshshshshsh!—
—thousands of strands of shadows extended out and secured the crystal.
And as she saw up to this point—
—she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"What happened here?"
"Mmm…"
As she turned around, she saw Hansoo who had already cleaned up the area.
It seems he had finished up while she was reading the memories.
The cracks on the blue armor showed it.
Kiriel looked at the blue armor in a daze and then woke up to reply to Hansoo.
'But… what do I tell him?'
Kiriel wondered whether Hansoo even knew about the mysterious creatures, but in the end she told him everything she had seen.
She believed in his mystical 'psychic abilities'.
"…So they entered the darkness and the strands extended out onto the crystals. The issue here is that most of them have been cut off."
As Kiriel finished her words—
—Hansoo's expression froze.
And he quickly made a decision.
"Give up the crystal. Leave immediately."
"Huh? Wasn't this extremely important?"
Hansoo shook his head.
"It is. But we can't touch it anymore."
'We need to go somewhere else first. I now know why Clementine's forces and Sanjin gave this up.'
It was a wise choice to do so.
Unlike the stupid actions of John Stone.
'I need to clean this place up before we leave…'
Hansoo looked at the remaining strands and the crystal as he spoke.
"Kiriel, stay and protect this place. We cannot let anyone take the crystal."
"Huh? What about you?"
Hansoo looked up and muttered:
"The ones who might cause a catastrophe… I need to pull them out by the roots."
—boooom!—
With a loud bang, Hansoo's body quickly ascended through the hole.
.............
"Ugh… Hurry! We need to stop them before they get the crystal!"
John Stone gritted his teeth.
Such horrible timing for a thief to appear.
He'd worked too hard.
If he'd been slightly more laid back in dealing with the strands, he wouldn't feel so pressured to rush over there.
But sadly, he and his underlings had taken turns day and night and had almost cut off all the strands from the crystal.
The remainder was more than enough for Hansoo to cut off by himself.
'No… That thief! I was so close!'
All his hard work…
He couldn't let anyone take it.
"Hurry! Hurry up! All of you!".
John Stone continued to scream.
Not only towards his underlings but to the people of Reyunion as well, who'd armed themselves with their mechanical weapons.
And everyone frowned at these shouts.
John Stone saw this, but he didn't have time to care what they thought.
He didn't usually act this way.
No matter how strong he was, if he pushed them too hard, then he was bound to end up backstabbed.
Although he acted arrogantly, they wouldn't act out of place as long as he treated them well.
But this situation was different.
Because of his towering rage, his Trait—Berserk Mode—was continuously active.
But then—
—boooom!—
—something rose up from the depths like a meteor and landed before them.
"Ugh…"
"Damn! Prepare for battle!"
Everyone's expressions turned grim at the terrifying aura of the being currently approaching them.
But John Stone's expression brightened up.
'Kang Hansoo!'
John Stone was extremely glad that Hansoo wasn't by the crystal anymore and was here instead.
Due to this to his rage died down a bit, his sanity returning as he shouted at the man.
Of course, he wasn't entirely sane just yet.
"You bastard! How dare you?! Trying to take what's rightfully mine…"
"This is why I came here."
"Huh?'
John Stone flinched at Hansoo's words.
Hansoo ignored him as he continued to speak.
"It should be fine to leave you guys alone, but… you'll probably cause a huge ruckus if I do."
The people of Reyunion couldn't cut the strands even if they wanted to.
Only Transcendents could manage it, although just barely.
Without the Flame, they were as good as usual.
But John Stone was different.
He would do whatever he could to cut off the strands and take the crystal.
And he could not let that happen.
It was better to let those things stay asleep.
'I'll just drag them all away.'
—whooosh!—
Red clouds started to seep out from Hansoo's body.
.........….
—rumble!—
—boom! boom!—
Kiriel listened to the noises echoing from the far distance and looked around the darkness in curiosity.
'…So, we can't take the crystal.'
There was only one reason she could think of for why they couldn't.
In case they might awaken the sleeping beings inside it.
Although it was weird that those beings had worked so hard to reach here just to sleep, but since that crystal was the sole reason for their slumber, it made a lot of sense not to touch it.
Of course, she had another question.
'Can't we just ignore them and take it?'
Kiriel thought as she looked around.
She knew that these things were strong.
Since they had gone through countless Transcendents to reach this place.
And they should've already recovered their strength after their long period of rest.
If that crystal was that amazing, couldn't they just take it and use its strength to kill off those beings?
Even if the crystal didn't help them in battle, it didn't seem like it was impossible to go up against those beings.
But she only questioned this for a moment.
'There's probably a reason.'
Kiriel decided to stop questioning Hansoo's choices and sat in front of the crystal.
There was probably a reason why everyone else had given up on the crystal as well.
'I don't think anyone's going to come here anyway… Should I just go up and help?'
The sounds of explosions were lessening as well.
But as she was thinking—
"Huh? We meet again!"
—a familiar voice rang out from behind her.
'What? There was another entrance in the back?'
Opposite to where she and Hansoo had entered, somebody was walking through the darkness and approaching her.
And as she turned to the familiar voice—
—her expression changed to a frown.
"You…?"
"Hmm, I didn't expect to see you here. Well, thanks for what happened last time."
"Why are you here?"
Kiriel looked with displeasure at N-Aroel who had walked out from the darkness.
N-Aroel, the Nerpa, shrugged his shoulders and answered.
"Mmm, I've come to find something I need."
The Nerpa pointed towards the crystal that was floating in the darkness.
Chapter 395: Owner of the crystal (3)
—rumble—
The Pompeion Empire.
In a terrace high up in the clouds.
The emperor spoke to Sangjin with a worried expression.
"Is…Is the crystal inside that place really impossible to acquire?"
The emperor looked towards the territory of Reyunion with a frown.
Of course.
The Pompeion Empire had taken over half of the planet with only one relic.
The same for the Neropa Union as well.
If they didn't have the relic as well, then they would've long been defeated.
But how sad was it that such a relic was lying around in some wasteland?
Although they couldn't use the
There were countless other methods to acquire it if they wanted.
For example, if he asked this man, Sangjin, then he would easily sweep that place up in a single day and bring it back.
'What a pity… Such a pity…'
If he could acquire that, his plans would come to fruition much quicker.
Sanjin replied:
"Acquiring it isn't hard."
"Hmm. Then—"
"But."
Before the emperor could finish his words—
—Sangjin cut him off and spoke as he stared into the emperor's eyes.
"I guarantee you this: you will lose more than you could even dare to imagine if you take that crystal out."
"…You're saying this despite knowing of my strength?'
The Emperor glanced below his terrace and mumbled.
The thousands of ships and his swarm of Dragon God Soldiers.
A force large enough to flip the entire world upside down a couple of times.
There were only a few people who could threaten him.
The Neropa Union?
Although they were going against him now, they were a joke.
They could not make him feel fear.
Sangjin continued to speak as he looked at the confident expression of the emperor.
"I know very clearly."
'About the things inside there as well.'
Sangjin thought of the crystal he had to give up.
............…
Kiriel frowned as she listened to N-Aroel's words.
'He came to take the crystal?'
N-Aroel, the Nerpa, ignored her reaction and looked at the crystal.
It was one of the controllers that the overseer had left so they could control the
'It seems this will be easier than I expected.'
The Nerpa smiled as he thought of the scene he'd witnessed from above.
The other two crystals had so many forces around it that even he wouldn't dare to approach it.
But this crystal only had one alien protecting it.
'Time to finish this up.'
The Nerpa ignored Kiriel as he walked towards the Crystal.
And as he did this—
—oooooooong—
—as if it were resonating with the Nerpa, the crystal started to make a strange noise.
Just as if it had found its missing half.
"Yes, yes. It has been a while."
But as the Nerpa was about to touch the crystal—
—pakakakakak!—
—a huge crevice appeared between the Nerpa and the crystal.
If the Nerpa hadn't pulled back his arm, then he would've lost his fingers.
"Hmm… Why are you interfering? When I'm just here to take back my own belongings?"
Kiriel, who had swung her fang to attack the Nerpa, smiled as she said:
"Well, we need that as well."
'I'm also getting the strong feeling that the crystal should not be touched.'
Kiriel felt shivers running down her back.
She had protected this place because of Hansoo's words.
But the moment N-Aroel tried to touch the crystal, tremors wracked her entire body.
And she instinctively knew that she had to protect the crystal.
It was the key to holding down the mysterious beings inside the shadows.
The Nerpa sighed as he looked at Kiriel.
"I really didn't want to fight since you helped me out once…"
His race did not enjoy fighting.
But they couldn't ignore those who messed with them, right?
'Although I don't have my body…'
The Nerpa looked down at the body that his soul was now occupying.
A feeble body.
His powerful body that could even survive in space didn't exist anymore.
But it didn't matter.
Their powerful bodies were their pride but…
Their true pride was their souls that had a special and terrifying ability.
'I'll leave you alive.'
—rumble—
The Nerpa's Soul situated within N-Aroel's body started shaking intensely.
............…..
"You f***ing baastaaard!"
The berserk John Stone swung his axe towards Hansoo.
—whooosh!—
The bright red axe continued to fly towards Hansoo.
And as Hansoo's armor turned bright—
—boooom!—
—the axe and armor collided, making a huge noise.
—crackle!—
The axe's attack was so powerful that the blue armor cracked apart.
'Damn!'
But John Stone didn't look pleased.
He frowned as he watched the armor regenerate, shouting:
"You bastards! Hurry and attack him while I hold him down! Unless you wish to die!"
At those words—
—the other Transcendents who had been hesitating looked around them.
At the Transcendents rolling around the floor while surrounded by red clouds.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Uaaaaahhh!"
Countless Transcendents rolled around on the floor, screaming in pain.
Some were silent and trembled vigorously.
Some clutched at their necks as if they had drunk poison.
Every single person who had tried to fight Hansoo had turned out like this.
'Dammit!… Dammit!'
John Stone freaked out as he looked at the people rolling around on the ground.
Feeling so terrified it suppressed his berserk mode to a degree.
But John Stone clenched his teeth and charged forward.
"Bastards! That's a skill as well! Do you think he can use it forever?! There's a time limit! Charge and kill him!"
John Stone shouted as he swung his axe.
And just like he said.
As red clouds enveloped his body—
—the surrounding area had turned into hell, but the reinforcements around Hansoo's body had awakened.
The fact that he could actually damage Hansoo proved this.
If Hansoo had shrouded himself tightly and only focused on fighting him, then he wouldn't even be able to stand right now.
Which meant that the area next to Hansoo was the safest place.
As John Stone charged in, the surrounding 3-Star Transcendents nodded and followed suit.
Although John Stone's personality was nasty, he was their leader because he always fought on the frontlines.
Although his personality was nasty and he was arrogant, the fact that he fought on the frontlines was more than enough to make him their leader.
Since he always dove into the most dangerous place by himself.
But sadly.
Their current situation really wasn't great.
—booom!—
"Uaaaaah!"
John Stone screamed as he looked at Hansoo smash the charging 3-Star Transcendents down onto the ground.
'This—this monster!'
Every time he let out more clouds, the other Transcendents rolled around in pain, and with every swing of his dragon-enforced hammer, the 3-Star Transcendents turned into pulps of flesh.
Weak points?
None.
He also had a terrifying amount of experience and battle sense.
Dodge when needed and charge when there's a gap.
He attacked when he had to and gave up bits of his flesh when he needed to.
Possessing tremendous power and terrifying skills.
Alongside his insanely overpowered armor, he had that mysterious but insanely powerful weapon.
'Th—This damned bastard!'
John Stone seethed in rage as he stared at Hansoo who seemed to have learned how to massacre people from his mother's womb.
"You bastard! That crystal is our only hope! Who are you to stop us from taking it?! Ahhh!"
—boooom!—
John Stone cried out in rage as he continued to attack.
He'd learned many things as he climbed up.
He was strong.
But there were countless monsters in the world.
And those monsters had an appetite that was befitting of their power.
John Stone had felt this as he looked at Clementine's forces who treated everyone's lives as if they were nothing.
To not be killed by them, he needed to become strong as well.
At least to keep his underlings alive, he needed strength.
Strength to retaliate when attacked.
And the crystal was the only method he had to catch up to those running far ahead of him.
But who was Hansoo to come out of nowhere and stop him from taking this?
And he wasn't even trying to take it for himself either.
'Y—You bastard! If you won't let us take it, then at least take it yourself!"
John Stone mourned.
Just like in the past.
If Hansoo could stand before them with this strength.
If he was stopping them because he was going to do that.
He could understand.
But what was this?
John Stone cried out tears of blood as he looked at his underlings dying around him.
And Hansoo, who had turned everyone around him immobile, suddenly stopped.
"So, you had a hidden card, right?"
"…?"
As everyone looked at Hansoo mumbling strange words—
—booom!—
—Hansoo disappeared towards the hole in the distance.
'Huh…Huh?'
John Stone was in disbelief.
He'd basically won the battle, why did he leave?
But as everyone was making confused expressions—
—booooom!—
—alongside a terrifyingly loud sound of explosion—
—a tremendous earthquake resonated out from where the crystal lay beneath the hole.
Chapter 396: Owner of the crystal (4)
—rumble—
"Seriously…cough…"
Kiriel, embedded on the wall, coughed up blood with a groan.
'This damned world…'
The world was large, yes.
But strange beings continued to pop out one after another.
Even an ordinary-looking researcher was this powerful.
—crackle—
Kiriel stood herself up and checked her body.
'I can still go on.'
Kiriel readied her fang again.
Towards the Nerpa approaching the crystal in the distance.
"Time for round two, right?"
—swooosh!—
"…I see."
The Nerpa dodged another of Kiriel's attacks and shook his head.
She should know the strength difference between them by now.
But she was still willing to fight him.
'It looks like… I'll need to deal with her properly to stop her from interfering.'
The Nerpa turned away from the crystal and faced Kiriel after deciding to deal with her completely.
And the Nerpa's appearance was a bit different from the past.
Blazing light now spewed out of those ordinary eyes.
As if there was a body of light sitting inside N-Aroel.
The Nerpa smiled as he looked at Kiriel.
"Is this your first time seeing someone who has received the Flame's blessings?"
As the Nerpa smiled—
—kiiiiing!—
—the bright eyes suddenly exploded with light and lit up their entire surroundings.
And with that, a powerful aura was released from the Nerpa's body and flew towards Kiriel.
'Damn!'
Kiriel clenched her teeth as she looked at the formless waves rushing towards her and then used
Although she couldn't use it to run away, she could still use it to continue fighting.
Cloudy Movement simply allowed the user to jump through space.
And as the white clouds seeped out from Kiriel's body and covered her image—
—rumble!—
—the waves released by the Nerpa rushed past where Kiriel had just been standing at.
Although everything near the white cloud had disappeared, the Nerpa shrugged his shoulders as he looked at this scene.
'Nimble.'
Kiriel's body had long disappeared.
But the Nerpa merely refocused on the area behind himself.
The tremendous amount of energy inside the Nerpa's body solidified according to the Nerpa's will.
—booom!—
And a colorless wall appeared behind the Nerpa and blocked the fang slashing behind him.
"Eeeek!".
And then, Kiriel was flung away onto a distant wall.
Like a leaf blown away in a storm.
The Nerpa chuckled as he looked at her.
"Absolute strength is enough on its own."
It was just as he said.
There were no tricks or techniques that could go against absolute strength.
Such things were only reserved for weaklings.
Of course, the amount of energy Kiriel could control was far beyond what a normal creature could handle, but it was nowhere near enough to deal with himself.
The strength he wielded was the strength that supported this planet.
'Well, it's only a small part, but still.'
This feeble body could not fully withstand his powerful soul.
So he needed to limit his strength to a large degree.
The Nerpa made an annoyed expression at his current body as he continued to walk towards the crystal.
Kiriel clenched her teeth as she looked at him.
She did not have the strength to stop him anymore.
The Nerpa didn't seem to be willing to kill Kiriel as he spoke with a smile.
"Don't blame me so much. You're also doing it for your own race, right? I'm in a similar situation so… please understand."
Then—
—tktktktktk!—
—the Nerpa grasped the crystal and pulled on it.
—kachak!—
—kakakak!—
The powerful energy within N-Aroel's body ripped off the countless strands of shadow.
Of course, the Nerpa should not have been able to rip it off this easily no matter how strong he was.
But the few remaining strands that had been almost cut off could not withstand the power of the planet that the Nerpa was controlling.
'Good.'
The Nerpa looked at the crystal in his hand and then turned to Kiriel.
"Both our plans are important so… I wish for your success. I hope you wish for mine as well. Good luck."
"Wh—What the hell do y—"
Leaving Kiriel behind, the Nerpa used the power of the Flame and quickly started moving outside.
Roaaaaaar!
And from the darkness—
—a terrifying scream resounded.
'F***!'
The enraged screams started to fill up the space.
And Kiriel felt chills running down her entire back as she heard this.
She knew they were strong but not to this extent.
Kiriel had barely managed to stand herself up—
—rumble!—
—when the shadowy walls began to collapse as something started crawling out from the inside.
'Damn…'
Kiriel breathed in and activated her Cloudy Movement to escape.
...........
Roaaaaar!
The moment these screams echoed out—
"Ahhhh!"
"Kuahhk!"
—booom!—
—all the fleeing adventurers fell to the ground as the members of Reyunion that were on their respective vehicles lost consciousness and crashed into the others and onto nearby obstacles.
The Transcendents weren't fine as well.
"Huk!"
The running Transcendents started to sway.
The vicious aura hidden behind the screams blurred their sanity and consciousness.
The only ones who had been able to withstand it were higher level 2-Star or 3-Star Transcendents.
But even they could not fully suppress their instincts' autonomous reactions.
Their entire bodies started shivering, and they couldn't take another step forward.
They could not approach the location of the screams while still maintaining their sanity.
But as the other Transcendents stopped—
—there was only one person who maintained his speed.
John Stone.
'What… the hell!?'
John Stone was at a loss as he chased after Hansoo.
It had been over a year since he had started living here.
But he had never seen or even heard about an existence that could make such a terrifying roar.
At that moment—
—someone appeared before his eyes.
Kang Hansoo.
And the woman who stood by his side.
He had come here to kill Hansoo.
But the moment he heard that scream, he could only ask questions.
"Wh—What is this? What the hell is going on?"
Hansoo replied as he maintained his gaze towards the hole.
"The sleeping beast has awoken."
"Huh? Why so suddenly?"
Hansoo looked at John Stone and said:
"Because its food has been stolen."
........
There were a lot of strange monsters in the Abyss.
But there was one creature that was stranger than most.
It looked like the Haetae that resembled both a bear and a lion, so they had named themselves so.
There was one strange thing about this race.
That they didn't really care about devouring other organisms.
Most Abyssal races devoured other races to survive, reproduce, or evolve.
This meant that conflicts, killings, and devouring were very important actions to continue the prosperity of their own race.
The humans weren't any different.
They had to eat other races to continue surviving in the Abyss, and they could only become stronger by killing them.
But the Haetara were different.
They didn't care so much about eating other organisms.
There was a reason for this, of course.
For them to survive, reproduce or grow stronger, eating other races was not very important.
There was something else that was important to them.
Powerful energy.
Pure and powerful energy was the source that maintained their survival and allowed them to grow stronger.
The Haetara that could not find a proper source of energy would become toys of other races and get killed off.
This was why they had developed the ability to create a space within the shadows to hide in.
Once they found a proper source of energy…
The Haetara could grow indefinitely.
Becoming as large as an entire mountain range.
With a strength that terrified the world, they could flip the world upside down.
In search of more food.
"And there… it is."
Kuoooooongg!
Hansoo muttered as he looked at the giant lion/elephant/bear-looking creature several kilometers tall that had risen out from the ground.
And John Stone looked at this scene in a daze.
'What… the…'
A mountain range.
Mountains were rising out from the ground and were stretching.
While releasing the rage they felt for losing their food.
With an aura that declared their intent to destroy everything.
Kiriel looked at the seven mountains—the Haetara—that had risen out from the ground and said:
"…Were they devouring the energy of the crystal all this time to become that strong?"
Hansoo nodded.
The controller.
Named, External Flame Divine Tool.
The object that controlled the power of the flame and turned this giant area into the Flameless Land.
The reason why one couldn't use the power of the Flame within the area of the controller wasn't because it suppressed the power of the Flame.
Rather, it absorbed it all.
The crystal that had devoured the power of the Flame up until this point.
Of course, the Haetara, who devoured energy, were drawn to it in a frenzy.
The strands of shadows worked as tubes to suck the energy out from the crystal.
They were like caterpillars inside cocoons preparing to become butterflies.
But if their source of food disappeared—
—they would go berserk.
Until they found a new source of energy…
They would crush everything in their path.
Kiriel bit her fingernails as she mumbled:
"If they find a source, it'll be a problem… If they don't, it'll still be a problem…"
Hansoo nodded.
These things had eaten the energy of the Flame; it was clear where they would towards next.
'If they find the source of the Flame…'
It would all be over.
Roaaaar!
Hansoo spoke to Kiriel:
"I…I'll be back. Move away, so you don't get swept by this."
"Where are you going?"
Hansoo mumbled as he gazed into the distance:
"I… need to retrieve something stolen."
............….
"Ha… What a scene."
The Nerpa looked at the giant creatures in the distance and muttered.
Since such things had risen, this giant planet would now go through a cleansing.
In a very fair manner.
'But… what to do?'
He really needed this crystal.
It was now time to head to the next location.
'Back to the Kalkuroun Fleet.'
But as the Nerpa was about to go aboard his transportational device—
—whooosh!—
—the sound of something cutting through the air reverberated behind him.
And as the Nerpa frowned and dodged to the side—
—booom!—
—the Mjolnir, that had grazed his side, smashed apart his transportational device.
"Ha… You just won't leave me alone, huh?"
"You're planning to run away after causing such a scene?"
Hansoo chuckled coldly as he looked at the Nerpa.
Chapter 397: Continental War (1)
Roaaarr!
Erunheim clenched her teeth as she looked at the giant monsters in the distance.
'How… what…'
Chaos.
—boom!—
—boooom!—
Each step destroyed countless structures below as the earth shook.
In a single day, the cities that the people of Reyunion had worked so hard to build had all been crushed.
Countless screams of people could be heard from all around.
"Ahhh!"
"Move away from its path! Move!"
"…What about our homes? Our weaponry?"
One of the men evacuating the people shouted out in rage.
"Is that really important?! Focus on saving your life!"
'Damn… If only we could use the power of the Flame!'
Although they could usually live with just their mechanical tools…
They started to really miss the power of the Flame after being struck with a catastrophe like this.
The one leading the evacuation was wearing Dragon God Armor, and he stomped the ground in rage.
"Ahhh!"
But then—
—something unexpected happened.
—boom!—
With a huge sound, the land beneath him cracked apart.
"Wha… Huh?"
As he looked at this in a daze—
—kiiiiing!—
—the Dragon God Armor let out bright red lights alongside vents of steam.
The Dragon God Armor's engine, which used the power of the Flame, reactivated.
'Could it be…?!'
Erunheim and the man looked at the armor in shock.
'We can use the power of the Flame.'
The strange energy that protected and suppressed them had disappeared.
But the first thing to appear in Erunheim's head was fear.
The fence that protected them from the outside had disappeared.
There was no longer a place where they could hide from the Neropa Union or the Pompeion Empire.
But Erunheim decided to push back these thoughts for this moment.
'I don't have time to worry about such a thing.'
Even if the Empire or the Union didn't do anything, this was no longer a place where people could live in.
And even at this exact moment—
—kuoooo!—
—seven giant mountain-sized monsters were crushing apart the territory of Reyunion and heading out in multiple directions.
They didn't know what their goals were.
But there was only one thing they needed to do right now.
Getting as far away as they could from those things.
"Run towards the ships in the outskirts!"
"Hurry! Everybody evacuate!"
The man and Erunheim started to shout.
............….
—oooooong!—
The Nerpa smiled as he looked at the ships floating up all around him.
"They can use them since the controller isn't there anymore."
The Nerpa muttered as he looked at the ships using the Flame's power to fly.
Since he had taken the controller away, those ships were usable again.
Although most of them had been damaged or destroyed, they could still escape this place with them.
'The issue is this place.'
The Nerpa thought as he looked at Hansoo standing before him, equipped with his own blue armor and wielding a strange hammer.
"I don't know what your thoughts are, but… I truly need this. To revive my race."
Out there in the vast space.
Even he didn't know what had happened to his race that called multiple planets their home.
His race might have even moved on to other unknown planets.
But since he had now lost the Nelkipa.
He had to assume that his race had been annihilated and had to start anew in this place.
And to do that…
He needed enough strength that could then become the seed of their race's revival.
'Reviving one's race… Quite similar.'
Hansoo smirked.
"Sorry, but I also need that."
Hansoo looked at the ships rising up in the distance as he spoke.
The giant ships that were visible to an average person's eyes despite being thousands of kilometers away.
Despite the distance, one could still feel the vibrations within the air from their movements.
But whether they had noticed the change in this place and started to move…
Or were moving to kill the now awakened monsters…
He didn't know why they were all rising up into the air, but he knew one thing for sure.
That he needed the crystal to go against them.
The Nerpa pondered for a moment and suggested:
"How about this—let's form an alliance for now. We do not need to fight each other. Our opponents are the Pompeion Empire and the Neropa Union, right? If we fight together, then we can deal with them with much more ease."
He needed to gather three controllers.
Even if Hansoo didn't exist, there were countless other obstacles.
And it was hard to use the crystal's full strength at this moment as well.
There was no point in fighting each other.
Hansoo thought for a moment but then nodded.
"Not a bad plan."
"Good. Then…"
But as the Nerpa spoke with a bright expression—
—Hansoo added a few extra words.
"But I will look after the crystal."
The Nerpa frowned at this.
"Can you not trust me?"
Their race held promises and honor very highly.
His words were basically saying that he did not trust him, so he wanted to hold onto the item of importance.
Hansoo smirked as he replied:
"Can you trust me?"
"…"
"What will you do if I decide to betray you at a crucial moment while holding onto that?"
The Nerpa pondered for a moment and shook his head.
"You won't."
He could actually see another person's soul to a degree.
This man's soul was rough, cracked in multiple places, and distorted in one place.
But it was still letting out a pure light.
It was a soul that only someone who still retained themselves could have, despite receiving and giving countless injuries.
Someone like this did not lie or betray easily.
Since they worked for the greater picture and not for their own benefit.
Hansoo chuckled.
"What if I have to betray you to save my race? What do you think I will do?"
"…"
"In another way, what if you had to betray me to achieve your goals… What will you do?"
The Nerpa's expression turned sour, and Hansoo continued to speak.
"We have too much on our shoulders to put our trust in each other, right?"
They were in a situation where they had to work for the survivability of their respective races.
They were just like each other.
Friendships and trust were nothing before the weight they bore on their shoulders.
The worst-case scenario.
If they had to give up their allies to achieve their goals.
If they had to betray their allies and attack them from the back to save their race.
What would he and the Nerpa choose?
And they knew that such a situation would come sooner or later.
'The Nerpa's race… Their scale is too large.'
They would have a goal that would fit their scale.
Which meant that the
At least, not for both races.
The Nerpa grinded his teeth as he shouted:
"Extreme… you are too extreme! You are planning to make an enemy out of me because of an unknown future? Me that could be of great strength to you? I thought you were a great person, but you're just a coward!"
Hansoo spoke coldly:
"That's the issue."
People who can greatly contribute to one's strength…
They would become great enemies the moment one's back was turned.
"Maybe if you and I both had a few things to lose, but… we have nothing to lose".
They only had their bodies.
They had no race to save, no hostages to rescue.
Nothing.
Hansoo thought of Keldian's words and tightly clenched his hammer.
'Maybe… I am a coward.'
His enemy was too great.
He could not allow the item that could become the largest variable remain in the hands of the person that could become the largest variable.
He needed to kill the Nerpa when he was still weak.
And as if the Nerpa had read Hansoo's thoughts, his expression turned cold.
"It seems you are underestimating me, but… sure. Let's have a go at it."
His choice to fight Hansoo wasn't because Hansoo was going against him.
There was always the choice of running away.
But as he heard Hansoo's words…
He had to admit the feeling he'd been burying inside him.
If both races were after the Flame's strength, they would collide sooner or later.
And to prevent that collision, he needed to get rid of Hansoo.
He had clearly seen the alien race's terrifying potential for growth.
And the man before him was a person at the epitome of that race.
'I… will uproot you here.'
If not then he would return in the future with much more power.
And then—
—rumble!—
—with its limitations removed, the power of the Flame started to rise up from the Nerpa's soul, who had the rights to control such power.
—oooong!—
Buried deep within the planet, the Flame's core trembled as it supplied the Nerpa with a large amount of power.
And the strength that crushed Kiriel started to surround the Nerpa's body.
Then—
—booooom!—
—a huge collision exploded between Hansoo and the Nerpa.
.........…
—rumble—
Inside Erunheim's ship.
Somebody was standing next to Erunheim with a blade.
"Ugh…"
Erunheim gritted her teeth.
Although the power of the Flame had returned, she could not deal with this woman.
After all, this woman was a monster that the Dragon God Armor couldn't deal with.
'We should've… stopped her before she got on the ship.'
Then with the ship's strength, they could've stopped her to some degree.
But Kiriel did not care for her thoughts, mumbling while looking at the scene of the collision.
"It really seems that… Hansoo cannot trust anybody."
Erunheim replied as she stared at the fight in the far distance.
"…Don't you feel uneasy at all? You could also end up thrown to the side."
Kiriel replied to the smirking Erunheim:
"I… don't like a leader who can trust everyone."
Even more so if their stakes were this high.
A person suspicious of everyone was much better than a person who trusted everyone.
"And there's nothing about me that would make him throw me away. Look how hardworking I am."
Kiriel shrugged as she said:
"So hurry and fire. Quickly."
Kiriel pointed towards the Nerpa radiating a powerful aura in the distance, a cold smile on her face.
Chapter 398: Continental War (2)
—booooom!—
Hansoo whistled as he looked at the power of the Flames.
'Amazing.'
A power that the natives of Angkara had to pour every bit of their effort to use.
But this man was covered from head to toe with this power.
In a much more efficient manner too.
—boooom!—
Hansoo blocked the energy charging towards him with his armor and swung his hammer towards the opponent.
And as the Nerpa saw this, he twisted his fingers in a weird angle.
Then—
—a giant barrier made of condensed mana appeared next to him.
—boooooom!—
The collision between the hammer and the barrier created a tremendous shockwave.
Hansoo, who had been flung away from the rebound force, stood up and shrugged his shoulders.
'His control over mana is something else.'
The Nerpa didn't seem that proficient in a battle.
But he had an absurd amount of strength that could easily fill up his lack of combat proficiency.
It was like attacking a mountain.
Of course, for Hansoo, who could easily blow away a mountain, the Nerpa really was very strong.
Hansoo touched his tingly wrists.
—boooom!—
The forces of Reyunion.
The ship led by the nation of , led by Eruinheim, the Arkreim.
The Nerpa scoffed at the attack beam which could easily wipe away an entire city.
"Pieces of scum."
—kuoooooo!—
The attack beam suddenly trembled intensely and soon dispersed into countless tiny rays.
And by the time the attack reached the Nerpa, it had lost all its strength and breezed past him and Hansoo.
The Nerpa looked at Hansoo with a cold gaze.
"I'll make you regret it. All of it."
—booooom!—
A huge sound reverberated from beneath the Nerpa's feet.
A sound so loud that even those in the middle of running away turned to look at the source.
"Oh my god…"
"Run! Run away!"
Everybody freaked out when they saw a giant pillar of flames that resembled a volcano's eruption.
It was like a giant red dragon ascending into the heavens.
—rumble—
The Nerpa grasped onto the power of the Flame that had risen from the ground beneath and smiled at Hansoo.
"Catch."
—whoooosh!—
The Nerpa's hands had created a red orb.
Seven beams of light exploded out from the orb and shot towards Hansoo.
Like a burst of light from a sun.
Despite being made from one's hands, its strength was countless times stronger than the attack made from the Arkreim.
Hansoo started to prepare himself when he saw this.
—kudududuk—
He exerted pressure on his entire body.
The survival instincts he squeezed out from this turned into a destructive force and then gathered around his hammer.
Hansoo felt the raised mastery level of the Nine Dragons Strike and then smashed his hammer towards the beams of light that were flying towards him.
—booom!—
The two powers collided and shook the heavens and earth around them.
—whoooosh!—
The blue armor tried its best to resist the surrounding flames as it sucked Hansoo's energy at a quickened rate.
But despite this—
—kakakakak!—
—countless cracks appeared on the blue armor as flames entered through those gaps and melted his skin.
'It seems I'll reach the 4th level soon. They really given me no time to take a break…'
The Nerpa looked at Hansoo with a cold gaze and said:
"Are you regretting it yet?"
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders and pointed behind the Nerpa.
"Behind you."
"What a petty tric—"
Why would he fall for such a dumb trick?
As the Nerpa scoffed—
—whooosh!—
—the sound of something huge cutting through the air whistled behind him.
The sound of a giant piece of metal flying at a tremendous speed.
The Nerpa frowned and turned around.
"…You really have all sorts of tricks up your sleeves, huh?"
The Nerpa's frown deepened.
The Arkreim.
The ship was now charging straight towards the Nerpa.
'Since the Flame doesn't work… How unsophisticated.'
It was stupid, but effective.
Even he couldn't easily stop an engine that ran on the Flame's power.
But he could just dodge it.
As the Nerpa was about to move—
"It really seems like you aren't used to fights."
—booom!—
—Hansoo spoke a few brief words as he charged towards the Nerpa.
'Tsk.'
The Nerpa looked at Hansoo who was trying to corner him in place.
"You dumb bastard… You'll get swept away too!"
The giant ship would not be able to discern between friend and foe due to its size.
But Hansoo smiled and swung his right arm.
"Whatever."
The Nerpa breathed in as he saw the hammer approaching him and then blew up the red orb in his hand.
—boooooom!—
A red light extended out with his body as the center, as if he was creating a miniature sun around his body.
And behind this explosion, a giant ship was flying towards him while Hansoo was charging at him from the front.
"Haaaaap!"
As the Nerpa shouted—
—boooom!—
—the giant ship, Hansoom and the Nerpa were all swept away by a miniature supernova.
"Ahhhh!"
"Kuaaaa!'
Everyone above the ship started to scream.
This giant ship had smashed into two small beings.
But they were the ones screaming, the people above the Arkreim.
—kakakakakaka!—
The shields shattered in an instant as the engines overloaded.
The immensely powerful alloy walls of the ship broke apart in an instant as the flames of the explosion melted everything within.
'What in the world…'
Erunheim was at a loss at this scene.
She thought that she would be able to solve this issue as long as she started up the ship.
But the scene before her eyes was far beyond anything she could imagine.
Taking into account the ship's mass, they should easily be able to run over two tiny humans no matter how strong they were.
But as if the ship had crashed into a giant mountain, it had ended up ripped apart by the two beings in front of it.
'To die like this…'
As Erunheim closed her eyes at the flames approaching her.
"Hey, now. I'm not THAT petty, you know."
"Wha…"
—sssss—
Someone appeared by Erunheim and covered her body with a mass of white clouds.
Erunheim opened her eyes…
And saw the ship, which she had just been standing on, crashing down in the far distance.
'When did we…'
As she looked around, she could see all the passengers above the ship, all of them gasping for breath.
'…I really cannot see through them.'
Everything from their abilities to their goals.
As Erunheim looked at Kiriel with a strange expression—
"Damn… He really is a cockroach."
—Kiriel frowned as she looked at the scene through the rubble of the falling ship.
.........…..
—rumble—
Through the half-melted and crushed apart rubble of the ship.
The Nerpa, who was flying in the air , cracked his fingers and smiled.
"This is nothing…"
But unlike his words, the Nerpa's condition wasn't at its greatest.
Countless parts of his body had melted and his right arm was broken.
But there was a reason why he was smiling.
Because his opponent had suffered more.
The blue armor that was barely maintaining its shape, and the body of Hansoo burning inside it.
"So… have your thoughts changed?"
While listening to the mocking tone of the Nerpa, Hansoo replied:
"Why aren't you using the crystal?"
"Huh?'
Hansoo looked at the Nerpa and repeated himself.
"The crystal in your hand, why aren't you using it?"
The Nerpa scoffed.
"That's because I don't nee—"
"Not yet?"
As Hansoo asked…
The Nerpa's expression froze.
It was if Hansoo knew about the controller more than himself.
And at that moment, a line of thought appeared inside his mind.
'Right… why didn't I use it?'
The Nerpa thought as he looked at the Crystal in his left hand.
He wasn't in the greatest of conditions anyway.
If his strength had been slightly lacking then he'd be the one falling to the ground and not the ship.
But then—
'Ugh…'
—the Nerpa suddenly had a headache.
And a dull voice called out.
"So you're a fake…"
"What?"
As the Nerpa looked at Hansoo—
'Shit…'
—chills ran down his entire back.
His opponent, who was dying before his eyes, had disappeared in that small time frame he was looking at the crystal.
Then—
—booom!—
—the Nerpa felt a tremendous aura behind him.
—chop—
"Aaahhh!"
The Nerpa was flung away as he grasped onto his left wrist.
One strike.
His weak body had been turned into trash from one attack.
'This is not an item a fake should be holding.'
Hansoo grabbed the crystal that had been released from the Nerpa's hand, looking at the Nerpa embedded in the ground beneath him.
Chapter 399: Continental War (3)
—rummmblee—
The Haetara made a strange expression as it moved.
Just up until this exact moment, there was the aura of a delicious meal in the location it was heading to.
An aura of a meal that would allow it to far surpass its siblings.
But the aura had suddenly disappeared.
—rummble—
The Haetara pondered for a moment and then stopped heading forward and turned around instead.
—boom! boom!—
Because of its sheer mountainous size, just a simple turn caused giant dust clouds to form around it.
And there was a very dissatisfied expression on the Haetara's face.
It had almost reached it, but for it to suddenly disappear…
But there was no time to sulk over this matter.
Since its siblings were already far ahead of itself, moving toward other sources of food.
Although there were a few flies clad in steel armor that also aroused their hunger, these little things were nowhere close to being able to satisfy them.
Instead of wasting time on these little things, they needed to move.
In search for that one large chunk of meat that could fill up its stomach.
—boom! boom!—
The Haetara turned around and then started to proceed towards the far distance that radiated another delicious aura.
And in the location the Haetara had previously headed to…
'Good, I've stopped it before things got more annoying.'
Hansoo mumbled in annoyance and then started to descend.
Towards the Nerpa who had attracted the Haetara with its tremendous energy but was now laid out on the floor, powerless.
...............
"Ughhh… Kuhuk."
The Nerpa puked out blood.
One strike.
It only took one strike to destroy this weak body currently under its control.
Even if the body had the power of his soul, it was useless.
Since the moment he started using it, what was left of his weak body would start to disintegrate.
'Damn…'
The Nerpa looked despairingly at Hansoo who was descending from the sky and then glanced at the crystal in Hansoo's hand.
And at that moment, Hansoo's words flashed by.
'I'm… a fake?'
This being the reason why he could not use the controller.
But the Nerpa denied this.
'No. How can I be fake?'
Then, what were these memories in his head?
From waking up from the crystal to having his body stolen by Melchizedek.
And stealing the body of N-Aroel who was nearby.
It remembered everything.
Even his goal of saving his race and achieving glory.
But at that moment—
—pain.
The Neropa's expression turned grim.
And it wasn't from a headache or the pain from the injuries on his body.
But because of one thing.
'…I can't remember.'
When it tried to think of its past memories, the clear memories started to blur and he started to slowly forget them one by one.
As if he was someone who had simply passed by, picking up things other people had talked about.
If those memories were truly his, then something like this shouldn't be happening.
'What the hell… What's going on?'
While the Nerpa was raking through his memories—
—he heard a very familiar voice inside his head.
And the moment he heard this…
Chills ran down the Nerpa's entire back.
He knew this voice.
This voice.
It was his own.
Of course, he couldn't think for long.
The moment he heard this voice, his consciousness quickly came to a halt.
Every thought process stopped and his memories were erased.
The Nerpa understood what was happening as he fell into despair.
'Damn…'
And with this word as his final thought.
—thud—
The body of N-Aroel that the Nerpa had controlled weakly slumped down onto the ground.
.............
—rummble—
His body stopped moving.
—ssss—
Overloaded from the Flame's powers, N-Aroel's body could not withstand the energy coursing through it uncontrollably and soon disintegrated.
—tatak!—
Kiriel landed next to Hansoo and then looked at N-Aroel with a frown.
"Damn…"
'I can't read anything like this…'
She needed at least a small remainder to read a body's memories.
But since there was nothing left, there was no way she could read any memories.
—kiiiing!—
She placed her hand on the ground to test it out, but couldn't read anything.
'He looked like he had a lot of information we could dig out… Damn.'
Although she hadn't participated in the battle, she had witnessed it from afar.
The moment Hansoo said he was fake.
The Nerpa had flinched and Hansoo used that opening to send a fatal strike.
She had run over because of her curiosity, but for the Nerpa to have become like this…
'Shall I ask?'
As Kiriel was about to ask—
—Hansoo turned to her and spoke first.
"Let's move."
"Huh? Where?"
Hansoo glanced at the crystal in his hand and then said:
"Towards the location of the second object."
The closest location was the Neropa Union.
It wouldn't be hard to go there.
Within Erunheim's memories that Kiriel read, there were clear memories of the Neropa union.
"Where?"
Hansoo replied.
Neoreim.
Neropa Union's capital city.
A core city inhabited by a hundred million civilians.
Kiriel raked through her memories relating this giant city and then muttered:
"…It won't be easy."
The Neoreim existed within Erunheim's memories.
Since everyone under the Neropa Union would have been to the capital city, Neoreim.
But there were two reasons she said this.
First.
Neoreim was too far for them to reach with her Cloudy Movement.
Of course, this wasn't such a huge issue.
Since they could reach the city by using her skill multiple times or just run over there.
They were Transcendents after all.
But the main issue was the second problem.
'Damn.'
Kiriel's expression turned pale as she thought of the Neoreim.
Countless mechanical soldiers and Dragon God Soldiers.
Thousands of ships flying through the sky.
She had realized it on the Arkreim just a moment ago but the power of these ships was far above that of the Dragon God Soldiers.
According to Erunheim's memories, the ships that were either at K-Level or above were especially hard to deal with.
And hundreds of such powerful ships were in the air, so of course things would not be easy for them.
Of course, the ships wouldn't turn their own city into a sea of flames.
'And it seems like they know about us now too.'
Kiriel looked towards the distance at the ships that had stopped approaching them.
The giant ships that were clearly visible despite being hundreds of kilometers away.
Of course with their technology, they would've seen what had just happened here.
If they started to set up their defenses, it would be almost impossible to breach them.
But Hansoo shook his head.
"It won't be that bad."
"…How?"
Hansoo continued.
"They… won't have the time to care about us anymore."
—boooom!—
—boom!—
The slowly moving mountain-sized creatures.
The Haetara that continuously searched for food.
They had already moved far out.
'They would be of help, at least for now.'
Their strength was not something that even he could deal with, at least not yet.
Although he would need to deal with the Haetara eventually, they would help him out for now.
Because if those things went berserk… his opponents were the ones that would lose much more than himself.
Hansoo thought as he watched the giant creatures that had already moved past the Flameless Land and were proceeding further.
.........…..
—boooooom!—
"F***! Block it! Blow it apart!"
In the distance.
The commander of the Akaroun Fleet, R-Aeuran Ron, shouted as he watched the giant beasts wreaking havoc beneath him.
And the Technorat, N-Kadiak, made a hesitant expression at these commands.
"But… beneath us…"
He couldn't finish.
The location that giant creature was stomping on was one of the Neropa's Union three main defensive cities.
It was the largest city out of the ones that the Ron family controlled, a city located at the very outskirts of the Neropa Union, the first line of defense that guarded against the Pompeion Empire.
If they attacked, it would sweep away their entire city as well.
R-Aeuran Ron shouted with rage.
"Do you think I don't know about that? Just blast it! It'll all be over once they're dead! Fire!"
R-Aeuran Ron pointed to the location the beasts were heading to.
A structure that was only built on giant or defensive cities that held the power of the Flame. The structure drew out this power from inside the planet and used it to supply their soldiers and weapons.
The Alpha and Omega that fueled the Neropa Union.
They were only nine of these in the entire Neropa Union as well.
This meant that if at least one of them ended up smashed apart, a large chunk of the Union's strength would be lost.
Sadly, R-Aeuran Ron's shouts were in vain.
Guooooo!
—chomp!—
—chompchomp!—
The beast ignored their attacks as it headed straight into the Great Furnace, slammed its head inside and started to devour it.
—kiiiiing—
The attacks from the surrounding ships and the city's defensive weapons weakened at a visible rate.
With the severing of the Flame's power, the army that moved using this power began to stop as well.
And it was the same for R-Aeuran Ron's fleet.
—kiiiing—
Amidst the sounds of the engines weakening—
—R-Aeuran Ron wasn't looking at the beast but rather in the opposite direction.
"Damn… Report it. They've started their attack."
The beast wasn't the only issue.
This next opponent was an existence that they'd despised for so long.
The reason for this city's existence.
'War… This is war. Damn. So sudden.'
As the strength behind the city came to a halt.
—rummble!—
The Pompeion Empire's great fleets that were scouting in the distance started to head towards this city.
R-Aeuran Ron gritted his teeth.
Chapter 400: Guerrilla Warfare (1)
'Where did these monsters jump out from…?'
A woman frowned as she received a report from a ship.
But she wasn't actually frowning at the monsters but rather at the ones that went to war the moment a chance sprang up.
"Pompeion, that crazy bastard."
Inside a decorative office, surrounded by twenty Dragon God Soldiers guarding her, a woman sat in a chair as she gritted her teeth.
K-Adelaia Ron.
A title that only one person in a family can hold.
The woman with the 'K' title, held only by three people within the entire Neropa Union, frowned as she read through the endless reports that were being sent her way.
The seven monsters that popped out from the land where the defeated had gathered at.
They were the spark that caused the sea of flames that was raging through the lands right now.
A hologram in front of K-Adelaia Ron spoke with an amused expression.
K-Ukatan Pael.
The patriarch of the Pael family that ruled over the giant territory in the west.
K-Adelaia Ron frowned at his words.
Of course, he didn't care so much since he didn't need to defend from his side.
The monsters hadn't gone towards Ukatan's city but rather the Pompeion Empire's.
His fleet was probably planning to demolish the Pompeion city that was currently being crushed under the monster's feet.
Another hologram next to K-Ukatan Pael chuckled as he spoke.
K-Ukatan Pael shrugged his shoulders at the negative tone that was coming out from the mouth of K-Merrow Nell, the patriarch of the Nell family.
K-Merrow Nell continued to frown but soon sighed.
It was not a wrong decision.
They needed to destroy at least one city to have some breathing room against Pompeion.
K-Adelaia Ron then said:
"That's not the main issue, we need to deal with the most basic problem first."
Kuoooo!
K-Adelaia Ron thought as she looked towards the mythical creatures.
'Where in the world…'
Of course, the monsters weren't the only things on the screen.
Around the monsters themselves…
—booom!—
—boooooom!—
A fleet of warships was attacking the giant creature in front of it.
Sadly, their efforts seemed futile.
Kuooo!
It looked like the attacks had damaged the monster but the rate it was healing at was much faster than the rate of damage.
Healing with the energy from the Great Furnace.
No, it wasn't just healing.
'It's even getting bigger.'
K-Ukatan Pael looked at K-Adelaia Ron who was staring at the monster that was becoming larger and larger, saying:
K-Adelaia Ron felt a headache.
Catastrophes were flying over in bulk quantities.
The Neropa Union, who should've only had a bright future of expanding their territory, was suddenly faced with countless dangers.
But K-Adelaia Ron knew.
That all these incidents were linked.
The alien that took over a relic.
The giant monsters that appeared out of thin air and were now shaking the entire planet.
The Pompeion Empire's invasion.
These were all caused by those aliens.
And the person who caused all of this was…
'This man.'
—tirik!—
K-Adelaia Ron looked at the changed image in the screen before her.
A couple who was standing right in the center of their highly advanced satellite camera.
K-Adelaia Ron saw the blue-armored man holding a hammer, and the woman who was standing very close to him.
Of course, the issue with these two was miniscule when compared to what was going to happen in a bit.
But she didn't feel comfortable leaving these two alone.
K-Adelaia Ron smiled as she said:
"Well, we know who'll be able to deal with them. Family matters should stay within the family, right?"
K-Adelaia Ron switched off the communication panel.
She didn't know where that man was heading to.
But it didn't matter.
Maybe if they were hiding inside the trash dump where the power of the Flame was sealed, they would be safe, but…
The moment they came out, they won't be able to escape her eyes.
'Do you think you'll be able to escape?'
K-Adelaia Ron chuckled as she looked at the face of Hansoo on the screen.
.........
—rumble—
In the land where the monsters have stomped through.
Thousands of people had gathered.
'Haa… We have to move.'
Erunheim, who had gathered all the remaining survivors, looked towards Hansoo in the distance.
The relic wasn't here and the fence that was protecting them had disappeared as well.
Although they could use the power of the Flame…
She could feel her confidence shredding apart as she looked at the battle between the Pompeion Empire and the Neropa Union.
The sky was collapsing as the earth was flipped upside down.
The ship that they were on seemed nothing more than a small cargo ship in comparison to the ships in the distance.
She was in disbelief.
'No way… Their technology has advanced this far already?'
She was at a loss.
It had only been two years.
The level of technology between them hadn't been that different back then.
They were just much weaker in terms of the number of resources they had.
But those ships in the distance.
They were at least a whole generation ahead of them.
And it had only been two years.
'…What happened? Weird.'
Erunheim gritted her teeth as she looked towards the ships in the distance.
A whole generation of differences meant that at least 90% of their weapons were nothing more than scrap metal.
Their opponent would be able to attack normally but their own gear wouldn't allow them to attack their enemies as freely.
It would be a massacre.
And as she thought up to this point—
—Erunheim stood up and walked towards Hansoo who was talking in the distance.
'He… He might know something.'
He was acting so confidently while everyone else was crying in despair.
This was more than enough to stand out in this crowd
"Do you have a plan? Or anything we can do to help…"
John Stone spoke out from nearby.
"Damn… What can we do? Our amazing Kang Hansoo will solve everything! Killing monsters! Crushing ships!"
John Stone lay down on the floor while yelling sarcastically.
'F*** it. F*** everything. I'm just going to go up.'
His original plan of trying to go against monsters like Hansoo was flawed from the get-go.
He should have just gone up to work under somebody right from the beginning.
Hansoo, who had been looking up into the sky, turned towards John Stone and smiled coldly.
"No, there is a lot you can do. A lot."
"…?"
John Stone felt shivers run down his back as he saw both Hansoo's cold smile and Kiriel's look of pity.
...............….
"We've caught them"
"Good."
R-Eronia Nell, who had been assigned to the rats, smiled.
He had long felt pissed off due to the fact that he was assigned to dealing with rats instead of fighting the Pompeion Empire.
Even more so since he, an R-level, was being watched over like the rats he was trying to catch.
'Damn…'
If he could deal with them himself then at least he wouldn't be this pissed.
R-Eronia Nell decided to hurry and finish this mission, and he asked the Technorats:
"Where is it?"
One of the Technorats scanning the entire planet with the satellites replied:
"The 14th City. Etoreim."
—chiiiing!—
A scene appeared on the panel before them that displayed an area near the factories on the outskirts of Etoreim.
Showing the alien pair who were covered in a dark cloth.
'Amazing… How did they activate the Quantum Transmission with just their bodies?'
R-Eronia Nell shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the pair who were walking out from a cloud of white smoke.
He didn't have to deal with them anyway.
'Not a bad choice but… still.'
R-Eronia Nell chuckled.
Although this was the original territory of the Kalkata tribe who eventually ran off to the trash dump, it was still one of the four cities that was protecting a Great Furnace.
If they took that city down then it would be a huge blow as well.
They had expected those two to do something great but for them to be aiming for such a small goal…
R-Eronia Nell scoffed at the Nell family's leader who had ordered him to watch over these two.
'Well, it's good for me since my job is done.'
"Send the report, tell them to activate the Quantum Transmission towards Etoreim as well."
But then—
—countless voices started to speak out.
"…12th City outskirts, three aliens have been located."
"The Capital, Neoreim. Aliens have appeared in seven locations all at the same time."
"A total of 181 aliens are heading towards the nearby 54 cities within the Reyunion territory."
"Damn… This location. 2nd City. Three aliens are heading towards this location! Hurry and prepare the Dragon God Soldiers!"
Dozens of panels started to appear before them.
Hundreds of aliens covered in dark clothes and powerful auras appeared.
No, they hadn't just appeared.
—boooom!—
—boom!—
As he watched them begin their attack—
—R-Eronia Nell felt something snap inside his head.
"These rats… Wait. What about that guy? The guy with the blue armor?"
"He cannot be scanned. Due to the countless auras exploding out…"
As he heard the flustered Technorat's report—
"Ahhhh!"
—booom!—
—R-Eronia Nell stood up and slammed his fists on the panels and roared towards the countless aliens on the screens.
Chapter 401: Guerrilla Warfare (2)
—boooom!—
'It's a bit noisy outside…'
K-Adelaia Ron flinched at the sudden noise but soon refocused her attention.
There were much more important tasks to consider
'What… is his goal?'
The aliens.
They had come as visitors and didn't have that much of an effect in the beginning, but the moment a strange elevator descended from the sky, they started to grow stronger at an extreme pace.
And now they had grown to the point of fighting on the same level as the Dragon God Soldiers and their ships.
Some had even grown to the point that they couldn't be ignored anymore.
Existences that can rip apart ships with their bare bodies.
If those beings didn't exist then they would've long wiped out the rest of the other aliens.
Although this newly appeared man wasn't as strong as those freaks…
But from what he has done so far, he was far worse than the rest of them.
'…For a single man to be able to cause an entire war.'
Although they had pushed it aside, some high-ranking members within the family actually believed that the problem they'd had with the Nelkipa was somehow related to these guys as well.
'That's not what's important.'
They didn't need to care about the Nelkipa anymore anyway.
They had to deal with the two problems they had at hand first.
K-Adelaia Ron pondered for a moment and then spoke to the other family leaders.
"The task of defending against the Pompeion Empire will be spread out around the three families. The Nell family will watch over zones 114 to 272. The Pael family and Ron family should watch over their own respective areas."
The other two leaders nodded.
Although it was sudden, they all had the same goal.
After all, those stupid monsters couldn't seem to discern between the sides.
This might actually be a good chance.
Dealing with the giant opponent they'd been fighting against all this time and acquiring the chance to take over this entire planet.
'Well, we three will probably fight amongst ourselves after that, but…'
K-Ukatan Pael nodded and asked:
K-Adelaia Ron looked at the screen K-Ukatan Pael had pointed to, observing the monsters devouring the energy from the Great Furnace. She then replied:
"You two just need to agree. Using the relic during a most dangerous time… Do you two agree?"
K-Ukatan Pael's and K-Merrow Nell's expressions stiffened up at this talk of the relic, but they soon loosened up.
They nodded.
They both knew that the current situation was really dire.
Even they themselves might need to head to the frontlines to aid them.
Although they disliked the thought of having to act, but that bastard Pompeion might come as well.
They needed to prepare themselves in order to defend against him at all times.
Preparation against Pompeion directly entering the battle and destroying the ships on his own.
'That monster..'
As if all three had thought of Pompeion at the same time, all their expressions had stiffened up.
K-Adelaia Ron quickly erased Pompeion from her mind and spoke towards the two other leaders before her.
"Good, then it's settled. Let's focus on our own territory."
At that moment—
—tiririririk—
—K-Adelaia Ron received a message.
'I told them that I was in a meeting and that they shouldn't send any reports up…'
K-Adelaia Ron frowned and started to open up the message.
But then—
—tiririirk—
—tiririk—
—the other two leaders received messages as well.
'…?'
K-Adelaia Ron was shocked at this scene.
And K-Merrow Nell, who had an impatient personality and had read the message first, frowned as he spoke out.
"…?"
K-Adelaia Ron frowned as she quickly opened up the message she received.
She felt like the three messages they'd received separately had similar contents.
Although they were thousands of kilometers away and it was unlikely that they would simultaneously receive a similar message, her intuition was telling her something else.
And soon—
"…Those bastards."
—K-Adelaia Ron's expression turned into that of rage.
............…..
—boooooom!—
—booom!—
Cities blew apart alongside the sounds of explosions.
"Waaaahhh!"
"What the hell! Where's the army?!"
The citizens of the 14th City, Etoreim, ran away while roaring in rage.
For N-Levels like them to receive such a lack of protection…
N-Zairon cursed as he continued to flee.
"How dare they allow these trashy aliens to come all the way up here and cause a scene! Dammit!"
At that moment—
—a man walked out from a nearby street with a frown.
"Trash?"
As soon as those words ended—
—paaaaaak!—
"Kuaaaaah!"
—N-Zairon, who had been kicked in the abdomen, felt as if his stomach had been ripped off as he started to roll on the ground.
John Stone, the man who had walked out from the nearby street, spat at N-Zairon and mumbled:
"You bastard… I'm really not in a good mood."
But as he was about to crush the man's head with his feet—
—a woman who had followed John Stone from behind, stopped him and said:
"Hurry and continue. If you want to kill each and every single person like him then all 423 days of the year wouldn't be enough."
"…F***.'
John Stone swung the axe in his hand as if to vent out his anger.
—boooom!—
He looked in satisfaction at the building that had been cut into two as the woman continued to talk to him.
"We have no time."
"Damn… Let's go."
The woman who was wearing the Dragon God Armor started to dash away as John Stone quickly followed after her.
—whoooosh!—
While dashing through the air at a very quick pace—
—John Stone continued to curse inwardly.
'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!!!'
He should've quickly run away and headed up.
For him to have been forced into this war…
—rumble—
He could feel the ships aiming towards his location.
If the city's worth was much lower than their own expectations then those ships would've long blown this place to pieces.
Since those things were originally designed to cruise through space and destroy stars.
Although he could deal with one or two ships, any more than that and even he'd be forced to run.
But it was too late.
'Damned bastard. Damned bastard. Damned bastard.'
As John Stone frowned at the red energy that was squirming around inside his body—
—the woman who was running alongside him pointed towards a structure.
"We need to break that."
"…God dammit."
"Hurry."
John Stone exhaled deeply and then tightly gripped his axe.
—kacha—
—booooooom!—
The reinforcement placed around the blade of his axe exploded out and slammed into the building the woman had pointed at.
—whoooosh!—
As if it was an important building, a few bright pillars appeared and covered the building with a bright shield but it didn't last long.
—clank!—
John Stone's attack smashed right through the shield with ease and started to cut the entire building into two.
"Aahhhhhh! What the hell?!"
"Run!"
A building that was easily hundreds of meters tall had been cut into two and had started to crumble as the people beneath it began to freak out and run away.
Although they had set up defensive structures so that even a Dragon God Soldier could not get through this place.
John Stone, who could even destroy entire ships, could easily break this place apart.
Since this building had been designed to defend against Dragon God Soldiers who were similar to level 2-Star Transcendents, it could not defend against John Stone who was at the 3-Star Transcendent level.
As John Stone looked at the crumbling building in satisfaction—
"Let's hurry and continue. Since we destroyed the communications tower, there should be a huge delay in their communications. We need to destroy as many important structures as we can while they fix it."
—Metionell, a woman from the Kalkata tribe, pointed towards the other building as John Stone frowned.
But he soon sighed and nodded.
"Haa… Fine. Fine."
He just wanted to watch his handiwork for a moment, but for her to speak out right away…
But her words weren't wrong at all.
The faster they disarmed this city and left, the higher the chances of their survival.
John Stone started to run with Metionell as a question appeared inside his mind.
"Anyway, you know this city very well. Do you have a map or something similar?"
The city was extremely large and the buildings were all very similar to each other so it was basically a maze.
But for her to be able to find the important structures this easily…
Metionell replied to John Stone:
"It was originally the city of my tribe."
"…This was your land?"
Metionell nodded.
"That's why Kiriel moved us here."
How could she forget?
Her homeland which she had lived in for decades and had been driven away from.
She had never forgotten it and had always thought about it.
'But now… We have to break it.'
It wasn't theirs anymore so there was no need to hold back either.
At that moment—
—boooom!—
—boom!—
—a few beings appeared before John Stone and Metionell.
—chiiiiik—
Dragon God Soldiers clad in their armor.
The person who had been standing at the very front spoke out in a cold voice.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, Metionell."
At that moment—
—Metionell's eyelids shook.
"…Karass. You filthy traitor."
Karass welcomed Metionell's disgusted expression as he tapped the Dragon God Armor surrounding his body and said:
"I've been able to wear this because of that betrayal, and I've even been promoted. But for you to run away to that trash dump and now to join hands with the aliens… I don't know how far you can fall. Let me finish you off here today."
"Ha…"
John Stone yawned while watching the two converse, thinking:
'It's good to have a rest, but… why are they acting so confident?'
For them to be so confident in their Dragon God Armor.
It was something he'd fought against when he was a 2-Star Transcendent—it was nothing more than scrap metal to him now.
He could easily cut apart those beings with a single slash of his axe, and for them to act this confident…
Karass made a strange smile at John Stone's expression.
...........
—rummmble!—
'It seems like everyone is doing well…'
Hansoo, who had been looking at Neoreim from the top of a skyscraper, turned to look behind him.
And he saw seven people who were conversing behind him with excitement.
"I wish they choose us."
"Well, we'll know soon enough when they take off their capes."
The seven Dragon God Soldiers who had arrived beside them.
Kiriel frowned at their conversation.
'There's no way that they're this stupid.'
There was no way they didn't know their level of strength since they'd observed Hansoo and her from the sky all this time.
They should know that the Dragon God Armor wasn't nearly enough to deal with the two of them.
But then—
—boooom!—
—a tremendous aura exploded out from around the Dragon God Soldiers.
And the Dragon God Soldier who had been standing at the very front spoke excitedly.
"This is your first time seeing the Flame's Blessing, right?"
"…Wait, I've heard this line before."
As Kiriel mumbled at the words of the Dragon God Soldiers—
—Hansoo looked at the red marks on their necks.
'Hmm… There's someone helping them out in using the relic.'
There was no time to be lazy anymore.
Hansoo thought of the Nerpa and then felt the newly found seed near his heart.
Chapter 402: The Fifth Seed (1)
Hansoo frowned as he looked at the people exuding a powerful aura before his eyes.
'…They successfully used the technology of the relic.'
Relic, Controller, or External Flame Divine Tool.
It had various names but its role was all the same.
It allowed one to use the power of the Flame.
A Dragon God Soldier who had been standing on the top of a building pointed towards Hansoo, Kiriel, and Erunheim.
"It's my first time using it as well, but… it'll be amazing. I think."
At the same time—
—kiiiiing!—
—a terrifying amount of energy started to gather on his fingertip.
A pure white light.
And the moment the white light on his fingertip exploded—
—boooom!—
—a white wave of light swept past the location Hansoo and Kiriel had been standing at.
—rummble—
Everything between Hansoo's position to the citizen's building behind him…
Whatever the white light passed by—all had turned into ashes.
"Haa… hahahaha!"
The Dragon God Soldier who had caused this, R-Kelkadian Ron, laughed out loud.
'I'm sorry! I've had my doubts about it all this time!'
He'd heard that the upper echelons of the Ron family were working on a new weapon.
Their goal was one thing.
How to allow the Dragon God Soldiers to become stronger than the aliens.
When the aliens weren't here in the past, the Dragon God Soldiers were more than enough.
Since the armor allowed them to achieve a strength that normal humans couldn't even imagine achieving.
And things that a Dragon God Soldier couldn't deal with could just be dealt with their ships.
But with the appearance of the aliens, everything had changed.
Not all of them, but instead the rare few that had the strength to rival their ships.
Although they and the ships had similar strengths, the difference in their effectiveness was dimensions apart.
If such beings secretly invaded their territory with the goal of assassination, then it would be a nightmare.
But he had been doubtful even while hearing about the research.
Although he knew that they needed a change, he believed that there was a limit to how far technology could take them.
Although these aliens existed, they only looked similar.
They were a different race after all.
'Amazing.'
R-Kelkadian looked at his hands in shock.
The tremendous power that was flooding out from inside him.
It felt like the ship's engine had replaced his heart, and he had the ship's proud Bardian Cannons in lieu of his hands.
The power to turn an entire city into dust, enough to massacre hundreds of thousands of people—this power wiggled inside him.
But R-Kelkadian soon frowned.
Through the dispersing smoke.
He could see the couple that didn't have a single scratch on their bodies.
—chiiijijik—
R-Kelkadian Ron smiled as he looked at Hansoo who was clad in the blue armor.
"It seems we hit the jackpot."
"Haa… Good."
The entire Neropa Union was raking their entire territory to find these two people, and for them to appear before his eyes…
He would have been trembling in fear if he was still at his former state.
Since the power that he'd seen through the video was nothing close to what a Dragon God Soldier could handle.
But not anymore.
They now had a new skill, a new strength.
'Danger… is an opportunity.'
If he could deal with these two with his own hands.
His position within the family would skyrocket.
And Hansoo looked at the greed-filled eyes of these people and thought:
'Weaker than the Nerpa, but… there's quite a lot of them.'
They seemed much weaker than the Nerpa but there were seven of them.
They weren't a force that he could ignore.
And it didn't seem like it would stop at seven people.
And behind Hansoo and Kiriel…
"Ahhh…"
"Please help us! We're stuck under the rubble!"
They could hear the countless screams of the citizens resounding from the destruction of their city.
Kiriel frowned at the citizens screaming beneath her and then asked the Dragon God Soldiers.
"Aren't those your citizens?"
They had chosen the city as their stage for the battle to limit the attacks of their opponents, but it seemed like they didn't care about them at all.
One of the Dragon God Soldiers who had been drunk with power chuckled.
"They're our citizens, so we can do whatever we want with them, right? If you guys hadn't barged in then this wouldn't have happened in the first place."
—boooooom!—
—booom!—
R-Kelkadian Ron made a content expression as he listened to the explosions around him.
A power that allowed him to do anything was overflowing inside him.
Kiriel frowned at this.
'This is more annoying.'
Although their individual strength was far weaker than the Nerpa, their resistance to damage was much higher.
And there was a lot of them too.
'And these guys… They look like they're mass-produced. It seems like there's a ruckus going on all around.'
This plan had started out with the idea that there wasn't much that could threaten them outside the ships.
Since if the Neropa Union's fleet was busy dealing with the Pompeion Empire, they wouldn't be able to defend them with just the remaining Dragon God Soldiers.
But what was this?
Kiriel frowned as she looked at the Dragon God Soldiers approaching her and Hansoo with confidence.
............
—boooom!—
14th City, Etoreim.
The city that Metionell and John Stone had gone to had been turned into a sea of flames.
"Hahaha! Why did you come here, Metionell?"
—rumble!—
As a red mark shone from Karass' neck.
A tremendous amount of energy sprang up from beneath and started convening towards the Dragon God Armor's core.
It then flowed towards the subatomic cannon on his right arm.
The Nerpa was strong enough to control this power with his own strength, but Karass wasn't.
Instead, he had a powerful body and the Dragon God Armor.
Soon—
—booom!—
—the subatomic cannon, which was on par with the ship's cannons, split through the air and flew past the melted buildings within the city.
'Eeeeek!'
Metionell clenched her teeth as she watched this scene.
She was also a high-ranking member of the tribe.
Although she was wearing the Dragon God Armor that could use the power of the Flame, it wasn't strong enough to defend against an attack on the scale of a warship.
And as Metionell fell into despair—
Whooosh!
"It'll become annoying to navigate if you die, stand behind me."
"Huh?"
—someone grabbed her by her neck, flung her backward and stood where she had been standing at.
—booooooom!—
As the bright red axe slammed down, it split the attack in half.
'This barbarian… You can split that as well?'
As Karass flinched at this scene—
"Kuaaaaap!"
—John Stone shouted and started to charge ahead.
Earthquakes occurred around his feet and shook the surrounding area.
As Karass hurriedly activated his defensive mechanism—
—booom!—
—the bloody axe slammed onto the forcefield around Karass's body.
—craackackack!—
Although the forcefield ended up slightly cracked, it was still intact.
The blood-colored axe had failed at penetrating the shield that continued to regenerate.
"This…You bastard!"
—booom!—
And as if he was venting his anger with his newly found strength…
The tremendous energy from the Flame started converging around him.
And not only Karass but the two other Dragon God Soldiers as well.
"No!"
As Metionell let out a shout from behind—
—ssssss!—
—three beams of white light shot forward and swept past John Stone, who had been standing in front of Karass.
"Hahahaha! Did you barge in here by trusting in this weak alien? At least bring a ship, Metionell!"
Karass laughed out loud.
Thinking that the betrayal of his tribe in the past was the right choice after all.
What use was there in trying to hold onto the flag of a damned tribe?
Preparing for revenge after falling far, far down was something only found within a story.
Always strive for survival, for profit.
Winners only grew stronger and losers only fell weaker and weaker.
While they were crawling around the ground in search of revenge.
He and the Neropa Union he had chosen were rising into the sky.
K-Adelaia Ron.
The person who had given him, an outsider, a set of Dragon God Armor and even the Flame's Blessing.
As long as one had the ability, they were treated well.
If it wasn't for this, they wouldn't have been able to unite thousands of tribes, clans, and families under her feet.
Since she would've had to kill them all.
But as Karass was smirking at Metionell—
"Bastard… Who are you calling weak?"
—a voice full of rage rang out from the dust.
Then—
—booooom!—
—something cut through the dust and flew towards Karass.
'Uhuk!'
Karass barely managed to dodge it with luck.
He'd never thought that John Stone would be able to survive the strike.
Since the attack from before was an ambush.
Sadly, the two Dragon God Soldiers behind him weren't as lucky.
—pakakaka!—
—crunch!—
"Khuaaak!"
"Kuhuk!"
The bloody axe flew through the air and cut through the necks of the two people standing behind him.
The attack was so swift that they couldn't react on time to activate their defense mechanisms.
'What in the world?!'
Karass clenched his teeth at the man who walked out from the dust.
But his calculations hadn't been wrong.
The man had been destroyed to the point of being unable to fight.
Except… he was much more tenacious than he'd expected.
"Some damned bastard inserted some things inside me… Although it's a bit annoying, it's still very helpful."
—thud—
John Stone muttered, grabbing the axe that flew back towards him.
—whooosh—
The red aura leaking out from his destroyed body was somehow maintaining his body.
It was forcibly suppressing the nerves that relayed the feeling of pain to his body, forcibly moving his destroyed muscles.
Karass looked at John Stone, who was standing tall like a zombie, and he couldn't help freaking out.
Although he was about to fall.
It felt like his own neck would fly off if he approached him.
'Monsters…'
But Karass then realized he didn't need to worry so much.
"Hahaha! There will be reinforcements! Dumbasses! Countless Dragon God Soldiers are receiving the Flame's Blessing even now!"
Karass touched the communication device by his ear.
Just one.
If just one Dragon God Soldier came then he could easily deal with the two before his eyes.
But the moment he touched it.
'Support… denied? Why?'
There should be more than enough Dragon God Soldiers.
Did something bad happen somewhere else?
Something that prevented them from sending a single Dragon God Soldier this way?
'No… We should've already calculated their strengths with total accuracy!'
Then Karass heard a cold voice that caused chills to run down his entire back
"Keke… It seems things aren't turning out the way you want? Listen, let's have a fight. Man to man."
The expression on Karass's face turned gruesome.
...............…
"Originally… I didn't want to cause a ruckus here."
Hansoo muttered, swinging his hammer.
It wasn't good to cause too much damage to one side.
Only when the Neropa Union and the Pompeion Empire had similar strengths and gnawed away at each other would he take over the Pompeion Empire with much more ease in the future.
But if these guys wanted to act out like this, he didn't have the time to hold back either.
'Come.'
"Kuhuk…"
"Kuaa…"
The seven Dragon God Soldiers rolled around the floor, their entire bodies utterly destroyed.
And as for the countless extra Dragon God Soldiers rushing towards him from afar.
—rummble!—
A black aura started to flow out from Hansoo.
Chapter 403: The Fifth Seed (2)
"…What is that? I've never seen that before."
R-Eronia Nell, who had been looking at the alien man from her office, stared into the screen in a daze.
Darkness covered the man's body.
And his battle prowess suddenly skyrocketed.
So strong that even the seven Dragon God Soldiers, who had received the Flame's Blessing, had been reduced to a pulp in an instant.
The Technorat nearby was also watching the screen, and in confusion, N-Magaroan voiced her opinion.
"It's a brand new form he has never shown before. If you give me enough time I can analyze—"
But even before she could finish her words—
—booom!—
—R-Eronia Nell slammed her fists onto the table and screamed.
"More time?! He's about to breach through our defenses!"
The defensive line of the capital city, Neoreim.
Every ship had gone out to the battlefield against Pompeion while many of the Dragon God Soldiers had been spread around the continent.
The capital was very close to that man.
If he got through that line of defense, he was basically at the capital already.
"Damn! Dispatch everyone who received the Flame's Blessing into that place!"
"But… the side effects!"
"You dumb b****!"
—thud!—
"Ahh!"
N-Magaroan collapsed onto the floor after receiving R-Eronia Nell's enraged kick.
R-Eronia Nell then picked N-Magaroan up, brought her face close to her own and whispered:
"I order you. Make… as many blessed ones as you can and dump them there. No matter what you do… He cannot come into the capital."
The fairytale stories of the prince who came to save the princess or the hero saving his comrades.
If that man's goal was that valiant then it would be good for both sides, but it was clear how far his true goals were from such fantasies.
The Relic.
An object that they and the Pompeion Empire had each taken.
The treasure of all treasures that allowed their technology to soar so much.
He wasn't a man in love or a warrior who had lost his friends.
He'd come here to steal their treasure.
'You bandit… This is as far as you go!'
The family leaders shouldn't bother themselves with such a job as this.
Their true opponent was far away in the distance, the Emperor Pompeion.
Not these bugs crawling around on the ground.
'Thief… I will bury you here.'
At this moment, R-Eronia Nell thought of the ones receiving the Flame's Blessings and smiled coldly.
............
—rumble—
Kiriel looked at the Dragon God Soldiers continuing to fly their way and asked Hansoo:
"Uh… Aren't we going to use that Relic?"
Although the power of that skill Hansoo had just used was powerful, the power of the Relic that their opponents were using was tempting as well.
Even more so since they had a Relic as well.
'We're terribly outnumbered…'
As Kiriel made a bitter expression at the sheer number of people swarming towards them—
—rumble—
—Hansoo, who had rid himself of the dark light, shook his head and spoke:
"We might end up luring those things."
—guoooo!—
Hansoo looked towards the giant monsters in the far distance.
The giant moving mountains that were ignoring the countless attacks from the ships and were searching for more Great Furnaces.
He knew how to use this Relic and had the physical power to withstand it as well.
But the moment he used this…
All those mountains would converge onto him.
The strength hidden inside this thing was far greater and purer than the Great Furnace.
It was the origin of those giant mountain-sized monsters after all.
If he used it now, then unlike the Neropa Union's current indirect method, there would be a huge shockwave that would only serve to attract their attention.
Those mountains were hard to deal with even for beings who had already reached the 4th Star.
Since even the warship fleets couldn't handle that thing.
'Too strong. And it's getting more and more annoying.'
Hansoo thought, looking at the Haetara in the distance.
As it passed by a city, the Haetara seemed like it needed a snack and was now eating up the Great Furnace within.
—crunch!—
—crackle!—
But strangely, the giant mountain was slowly decreasing in size as it ate the furnace.
It was an extremely minute change so most people hadn't noticed it yet.
But this wasn't the right time to agitate it yet.
If all seven of those monsters came here then they would easily crush apart the defensive line, causing the Pompeion Empire to rush over instantly.
Hansoo did not want that to happen yet.
Those things and the fleets needed to stay where they were.
While he dealt with the issue here.
—rumble!—
—whoosh!—
Hansoo laughed as he looked at the mass of Dragon God Soldiers coming his way.
'It seems they scrounged up every last bit they could.'
Hansoo felt the squirming seed of the Nine Dragons Strike inside him and refocused his attention onto another seed.
The skill he obtained after beating Melchizedek in the 5th Zone.
Although it hadn't been long since he planted it inside him, the seed that was glowing in a natural multicolored light was letting out an aura that didn't lose out to the Nine Dragons Strike.
Hansoo took a glance at the soldiers before his eyes and then probed the seed in the center of his chest.
And at that moment—
—rumble!—
—a giant shockwave rang out inside his head.
—booom!—
His vision quickly darkened.
Darkness covered the entire sky and not a single ray of light pierced through, causing the land to fall into shadow.
Lightning strikes struck down from the dark clouds and his surroundings could no longer be seen.
But Hansoo knew.
That this was only occurring inside his mind.
A phenomenon caused after he activated this skill and entered the other dimension.
—rumble!—
The land around Hansoo broke down and a giant hole appeared.
—thud!—
A giant hand rose up, grabbed Hansoo and dragged him down.
A tremendous strength that no existence could resist.
But Hansoo did not resist as he let it drag him down.
And soon—
—Hansoo arrived at a dark space.
Like an underground cave but with a spacious area.
It was clear.
That this wasn't Angkara's underground area.
No creature like this had lived under Angkara.
—rumble—
Behind the giant hand that dragged Hansoo down.
The existence belonging to that hand could be seen.
An existence so large that it treated those giant Haetaras as nothing more than bugs.
A spider-like body with eight arms and eight legs.
The thousands of eyes on its head glowed with a red light as it watched Hansoo in the darkness.
And it wasn't just one spider next to Hansoo.
—whooosh!—
It was dark but because there were flames emitting a little bit of light, it told Hansoo that there were many more of them.
Thirteen existences that had completely different auras.
Of course, they all had different appearances as well.
Some were even larger than the spider and some were only as big as Hansoo.
One glowing with a white light and one had a horn embedded in its forehead.
But they all had some similarities as well.
One had a terrifying amount of rage surrounding its body.
While another was unfathomably powerful.
As Hansoo descended from the spider's hand.
The thirteen existences started to argue with each other.
The one who started it was the spider that had dragged Hansoo down.
But even before the spider finished its words…
Countless angry voices filled the area.
Hansoo frowned at the arguments of the thirteen existences but then pointed towards one of them.
Two horns and thirteen pairs of wings.
Although its size was similar to Hansoo's, its aura didn't lose out to the giant creatures at all.
"Shut up. You. You're coming with me."
The existence that was covered from head to toe in darkness and was laying around in a lazy manner.
It was the most useful one in this situation.
The moment his words rang out—
<…>
<…>
—the loud area suddenly turned deathly quiet.
The one who broke it was the man who Hansoo had chosen.
There were thirteen in all.
All of them had the strength to rip the world apart but this kid before their eyes could not withstand such a strength.
It only made sense for him to choose someone who was the most suitable for the situation outside.
As Hansoo stayed silent, the man shrugged his shoulders and said:
At the man's words—
—Hansoo replied.
"I know too well. Don't worry."
He knew way too well.
As to what these things were.
How much strength they had.
What kind of ability and personality as well.
How could he not?
These were beings he had shed countless drops of tears and blood to defeat in his previous life.
'Allowing me to experience my old memories, that damned fairy.'
A skill that entrapped the most powerful thirteen demons within the Abyss.
In his previous life, he had to put his life on the line multiple times to defeat these things despite being countless times stronger than he was right now.
The difference between his strength and theirs was no joke.
Although there were side effects…
That meant the strength he received was just that great.
—thud!—
The demon who grabbed Hansoo's hand, Barmamunt, quickly shot up into the sky with Hansoo.
............
—rumble—
"…What the hell is that? It's making me feel uneasy."
As the Dragon God Soldiers looked at the darkness-covered Hansoo—
—crunch—
"Kuhaa…"
—Hansoo's eyes, which had turned completely black including his whites, looked around with a cold gaze.
And at that moment—
'What the f***… What?'
—the Dragon God Soldiers flinched as they backed up.
Those weren't the eyes that looked at an enemy.
He was looking at them with joy, with love.
And as they looked at those eyes…
Chills ran down the backs of every single Dragon God Soldier watching him.