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Chapter 72
072 – The Man Devoting Himself to Defense
“Is that the second in command?”
As Orléans, watching the epic battle between the two beings, where a giant mountain crumbled with a single punch, and a massive volcano formed with a shield strike, sighed with a mix of frustration, Pereira, sitting next to him, agreed.
“I used to boast of being the strongest in the forest, but I can’t say that anymore. I don’t have the confidence to defeat those two even if I fight with all my strength.”
“You’ve already been defeated. So, those two are fighting now.”
Watching the two awkwardly converse in English for communication, Sven chimed in.
“That overwhelming defense, is it due to equipment?”
“Well, I’m sure abilities are involved. Blocking attacks of that size and power in place is impossible without some kind of mass.”
“Mass? Is it just ridiculously tough?”
“Being tough and having high defense are different. For example, the ice pillars you summon are powerful on their own, but to my wooden giant, it’s just a ticklish level. Because the difference in mass is too great, even if the object is tough, if it’s light, it will be hit and sent flying.”
“But that human isn’t flying away, right? It’s an attack that shatters that huge grass hat in one go, so how isn’t he pushed back?”
“Try saying ‘grass hat’ one more time. I’ll smash it with my axe for you.”
“Do it.”
“Stop both of you. And Sven, no matter how easygoing your personality is, the other is the Clan Leader. Don’t be disrespectful to another Clan leader.”
“I got it.”
“But your observation was accurate. No matter how tough an object is, if the force exerted exceeds its weight, it should fly backward. How much weight is involved in withstanding that attack in place?”
In fact, the weight of the power suit worn by Ho-chang wasn’t that much.
Of course, compared to other Armor suits developed by the Liberal Clan, it was relatively heavy, but it wasn’t an object so heavy that it could withstand a blow that could blow away a mountain in place.
However, thanks to the ‘Gravity Anchor’ that Soo-jeong developed and attached to Ho-chang’s suit, it had a special ability to forcibly fix the coordinates of the object in a specific position relative to Earth’s gravity. Thus, it was designed to withstand even powerful attacks without being pushed back.
As a result, in the face of the absurd defense, Banara, who felt the strange phenomenon that the more he hit, the more his own arms and legs hurt, stopped his attack and shouted at Ho-chang unjustly.
“Hey! Lump of iron!”
“Why?”
“Even if I’ve become weaker, the feeling of hitting you is like hitting a whole star. Are you really a human?”
“If I were the strongest, you would already be rolling on the ground covered in blood. Unfortunately, I have nothing to boast about except for endurance. So, serving as a buying time role is optimal.”
“Buying time, huh.”
Ho-chang’s words seemed to touch his pride, and golden energy began to emanate from Banara’s body as if responding.
“How dare you say such arrogant words in front of me!!!”
‘He’s getting stronger now?!’
Although Ho-chang didn’t show it, in fact, his defense was teetering on the precarious edge.
Soo-jeong had put all her efforts into durability when creating the new suit, and if it weren’t for Ho-chang, it would have instantly shattered even with the new suit on. Ho-chang, who had evolved the ‘Guardian’ class specialized in defense, could endure this much.
However, with the opponent gaining momentum, Ho-chang was now thinking, for the first time since gaining his abilities, that he might not be able to ‘block the attack of another being’ other than Myung-jun.
‘Hurry, Captain.’
Praying in his mind that the opponent wouldn’t notice, Ho-chang once again raised his shield.
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While Ho-chang pray earnestly, Myung-jun wasn’t just standing idly by. Although he was hundreds of kilometers away from Ho-chang, he was making every effort to get to Ho-chang’s location as quickly as possible.
At the moment when Ho-chang was engaged in a durability showdown with Banara, Myung-jun, riding a boat brought by Arin, was moving towards the combat zone at maximum speed, traversing the Amazon River.
“So damn slow.”
Even at the boat’s maximum speed, Myung-jun felt uneasy about the speed and grumbled, prompting Arin, who was sitting next to him, to speak.
“This is the maximum speed.”
“That maximum speed is slow.”
“If it’s that slow, can’t you teleport like you did in Manaus?”
“If I could, I would have done it already. But there are conditions to that ability. Immediate teleportation is impossible around too powerful enemies.”
“That means…”
“The guy in the area we’re going to right now is much stronger than the guy who invaded the city. Strong enough to nullify my unique ability.”
“Like teleportation could be nullified, like how it interferes with communication signals?”
“That’s right.”
“Then if I had used the teleport beacon near such a strong enemy…”
“Then I wouldn’t have been able to appear grandly and help like I did earlier. But I didn’t think such a thing would happen, so I gave you the drone for that reason. After all, the Seeker profession itself is more for exploration than direct confrontation.”
“I never imagined such a function existed. Why didn’t you mention it when you gave me the drone?”
“Because I didn’t know either.”
Seeing Arin making a baffled expression at Myung-jun’s absurd answer, he explained himself.
“Originally, senior Soo-jeong made that drone, and I just delivered the message. She said it was some kind of rescue signal transmitter, so I thought it would be something like a rescue signal device. I never imagined it would have a teleport beacon.”
“Is it valuable?”
“It’s a disposable item, and it takes a whole Rank 6 Crystal Stone to make one. It’s a super rare item even in the guild, but I never thought she would put it in equipment given to someone who isn’t even a guild member.”
“Si… Rank 6?!”
Shaking the hand holding the drone, Arin asked Myung-jun.
“Then the price…?”
“The value of the item itself?”
“Yes.”
“To be precise, it’s difficult to say because it depends on interpretation. Just using it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll respond to teleportation, and furthermore, at the current moment, there are only four possible targets can be summoned.”
“Well, if you just consider the material cost…”
“I mentioned earlier that the combat cost for today was equivalent to 1.2 trillion won, right?”
“Yes.”
“That beacon alone costs that much. Now, if we talk about Rank 6 Crystal Stones, there’s no place in the world outside of the Liberal Clan that has them. Calling it expensive is an understatement.”
Saying so, Myung-jun got up from his seat, walked to the back of the boat, and opened the cover to where the engine room was. He then placed his hand on the boat’s engine that was running.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Anything is fine, just hold on as tight as you can.”
With a puzzled expression, Arin grabbed the boat’s railing, and the moment she did, the sound of the boat’s engine, which was going “thump thump thump,” changed into a thunderous “boom boom boom!” The boat’s rear erupted with an enormous water storm.
Simultaneously, the speed of the boat Arin and Myung-jun were on began to skyrocket, climbing up the river like mad. Witnessing this absurd performance, Arin shouted at Myung-jun, asking what he had done, but her outcry was drowned out by the roaring noise from the engine and the splashing water.
If Myung-jun had been looking in her direction, he could have guessed that she wanted to ask something, but instead, Myung-jun was concentrating on manipulating the engine’s performance.
It wasn’t until the boat they were on, almost at a speed faster than a high-speed train, arrived near the target area that Myung-jun let go of the engine.
As soon as he released his hand, the boat, which had been racing like crazy, returned to its original speed with a roar. Finally, Arin got a chance to talk to Myung-jun.
“What on earth did you do!?”
“Didn’t you see? I just manipulated the engine’s performance.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Well, for most types of machinery, performance control is possible. However, it’s not originally designed to withstand that level of output, so it can’t be used for a long time.”
To prevent herself from being thrown out of the boat, Arin was holding onto the railing tightly, her arm throbbing. She asked again.
“Is Orléans alive?”
“He should be alive. Even if teleportation is blocked, I sent the most trusted person in the Liberal Clan. If it’s him, he won’t abandon his defense, no matter how strong the opponent is.”
“If he’s the second in command of the Liberal Clan… Mr. Ho-chang? Did Mr. Ho-chang also participate in this operation? He wasn’t visible when we were planning the operation.”
“You know Ho-chang?”
“Wouldn’t most Awakener know him? He’s famous enough as one of the four major members of the Liberal Clan.”
“Well, when we were planning the operation on the ground, Ho-chang was already flying to the operation area.”
“Flying!?”
Her surprise was natural. Originally, there was no support from the Brazilian Air Force in this operation, and most flight equipment stops working the moment it approaches the target area.
Knowing the reason for Arin’s surprise, Myung-jun added an explanation to resolve her questions.
“Ordinary transport aircraft wouldn’t be able to get close. But this time, we used a different type of aircraft. Most of its materials are made of monster materials, and it’s a special-purpose transport ship that uses Crystal Stone as a power source. It’s designed to move freely within the influence range of monsters, just like your drone can move freely near monsters.”
“But there were a lot of flying-type monsters in the operation area. Moreover, there were hundreds of them shooting long-range anti-aircraft attacks. Because of that, I had a hard time controlling the drone, and if that large transport ship had been near the operation radius, how could it have avoided being noticed?”
“Well, about that… Senior?”
As Myung-jun sought help, Soo-jeong’s voice rang in Arin’s ears.
– A device that jams perception, a photon penetration device, an exhaust gas cooling system, noise cancellation equipment. I have put everything in there. So, if Arin’s drone is focused on maneuverability, the Liberal Clan’s operational transport, ‘Shadow Hawk’, is designed for stealth and transportation.”
“Let’s summarize for a moment. So, the Liberal Clan waits in the airspace above the operational area with an invisible aircraft, and in times of crisis, they either jump down in Armor Suits from the operational airspace, or, like Myung-jun just now, they appear in the operational area through teleportation. And right now, the second in command in the clan, Ho-chang, is dropping from the sky to confront that monkey monster, right?”
– Well, that’s right. –
‘They claim not to be a hero clan but look at what they’re doing, just like in a superhero comic!!’
Moreover, the Liberal Clan even had a clan headquarters that couldn’t be compared to other clans, resembling a headquarters in a comic.
Thinking all the way there, Arin, with a hint of suspicion, asked Soo-jeong.
“So, does this Shadow Hawk usually…”
Understanding Arin’s intent in her question, Soo-jeong, with a voice filled with laughter, replied.
– It’s a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, so it usually waits right below the Liberal Clan headquarters’ roof. When needed, it quietly deploys in stealth mode as the ceiling opens without making any sound. –
“I don’t want to admit it, but honestly, it looks interesting. It’s enviable. If the Liberal Clan weren’t a civilian clan but a hero clan, I might have begged to join.”
Hearing her honest opinion, Soo-jeong, with a cute voice, laughed.
– And why not? You’ll be riding that amazing aircraft soon. –
At that moment, Arin realized that the boat she was on had stopped without her noticing.
And right next to her, in the ‘invisible’ space, she could feel the presence of something enormous, creating a water storm on the surface.
Then, Soo-jeong’s voice echoed in Arin’s ears, not through the communication device she was wearing but through the speaker on the invisible aircraft.
“Deactivate stealth process.”
With a flash of light, a massive transport ship began to reveal its form from the previously nonexistent space.
The aircraft, designed in a charming black and red exterior resembling something out of a sci-fi hero movie, floated silently about 30cm above the water surface, creating gentle waves as if defying gravity.
On the open side gate of the transport ship, an incredibly beautiful woman with fantastic goggles stood.
“Let’s go. It will be faster to move with this from here.”
Taking Soo-jeong’s offered hand, Arin boarded the Shadow Hawk with an expression that seemed to flow naturally.
Inside the hangar, countless Armor Suits and weapons hanging on the walls came into her view.
Faced with this overwhelming sight, there was only one thing she could say.
“I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“Well, think what you want. Even if it might be a dream for someone else, for us, it’s life itself.”
Saying so, Soo-jeong, pressing the side of her goggles with her fingers, conveyed her will.
“Initiate stealth process. Autopilot to the designated coordinates for kinetic movement.”
Arin, through the seat she was sitting in, felt the sensation of the aircraft rising and couldn’t help but exclaim.
Although she had experienced riding an airplane several times, riding such an aircraft for the first time was a different experience.
The movements of Shadow Hawk were filled with a ‘romance’ that involuntarily made the heart of the rider pound.
Just flying with this aircraft towards the operational area felt like a surge of combat will, a ‘romance’.
Seeing Arin fidgeting with the cushion of the chair fixed to the wall, Soo-jeong flashed a beautiful smile.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
“…. Yes.”
“If you really think so, stop sitting there and come with me. That place is where the members waiting for deployment are. Oh, Myung-jun, you prepare here.”
Nodding, Myung-jun, who was getting up from his seat, looked at Arin and asked Soo-jeong.
“Where are we going?”
“The cockpit.”
“The cockpit? Why there?”
“Why? Because it’s time to put the protagonist in action. We need to watch the action on as large a screen as possible. The monitors in the preparation room are decent, but they’re much smaller than the ones in the cockpit.”
Following Soo-jeong, who was pulling her hand, Arin looked back at Myung-jun.
There, Myung-jun was wearing a specially prepared Armor suit with the help of numerous mechanical arms, ready for deployment to the operational area.
Seeing that, Arin unintentionally repeated the words she had muttered to herself several times.
“… Cool…”
It was a 100% honest expression that anyone who had gone through what she had experienced would say, a phrase filled with genuine emotion.
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