Volume 9 / Chapter 261
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Hungry Panda
[Level S mission: Ruler of Bones] - Goal: Attainment
- Description: One of the six Disasters that are veiled in mystery. Somewhere deep in the Amazon, Bon Load was first revealed through Evil Queen. No Lifer nor mutant other than she has seen him. There"s no way of knowing what he looks like or what his abilities are. He is an opaque presence, but there is no doubt that he exists. All of the mutants born between Evil Queen and Bon Load were level 8s, and it is impossible for Evil Queen to conceive 7 level 8s on her own. This is indirect evidence that Bon Load has the same ability she does. There were originally 6 level S missions, but there are now 5 due to an unidentified phenomenon. Take on this challenge if you are ready to test your luck at the 5 opportunities.
- Reward: 190,000,000,000 points, dream box.
Strategist looked over the level S mission on his PDA, and went back to the screen.
Ruler of Bones.
The description alone shows what the difficulty will be.
"Move here."
"Summon to one place."
100,000 members entering, World Federation"s Lifers move in unison. It is a wide open s.p.a.ce that can"t be found in the Amazon.
It is an artificial base camp that Lifers had created while investigating the Amazon. There are a few other places as well.
Woong!
Hundreds of planes are summoned to a spot on the field.
They are basically armed, but Lifers supplement what is lacking. They are battle weapon sentinels that are capable of vertical takeoff and landing like helicopters.
They had wanted to bring tens of thousands if they could, but they could only bring 300 into a level S mission and each was worth 10 billion points.
They have combat ability that would allow 3 or 4 of them to fight like a mutant. It can transport 1 force, 100 people.
In the case of supplies, there wasn"t enough even after filling each Lifer"s own levels S through B s.p.a.ce compression bag, so they filled a few more. Even a level B s.p.a.ce compression bag is approximately the size of a 1400 square foot apartment. There"s no need to even mention the upper level s.p.a.ce compression bags. There is a lot of supplies.
It would be enough for one person to survive inside a mission for over 3 years.
They invested all of their personal points and World Federation gave enormous support as well.
Top level Lifers who had more than enough points brought in multiple times that.
On top of that, they released the owner recognition systems so that others could use it if they die. That is the extent to which they put their survival on the line.
Boom boom!
An iron wall was built up in case of attacks from mutants near the base camp.
The linemen were 100,000 top level special cyborgs.
It is easier to think of each Lifer being in charge of one cyborg. They are 200,000 all together - a force in which all of World Federation"s abilities are focused.
"b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom entered as well."
"If they complete their mission and we fail ours, it"ll be an embarra.s.sment for us and our influence will crumble. This isn"t a simple mission. It"s an invisible war."
Strategist voices his thoughts in response to Weapon Master talking to himself.
Level S mission fail.
That would mean this place becomes a grave for 100,000 people.
If they fail, going back alive is unimaginable.
If b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom succeeds, they will ride that momentum to swallow Mechanic City. Entering at the same time means they are using their missions as an excuse to wage war.
If World Federation takes over Mechanic City while World Federation is in a state of failure, the world they know will be flipped inside out. Even level B Lifers boast the abilities of an army division or corps alone. It might be too much with frontal confrontation, but there"s no solution for regular citizens.
The chances of success and failure are similar for the two powers.
World Federation"s points are as high as their power and b.l.o.o.d.y Kingdom"s are as low as their standing.
"Africa is wide. It"s easier to be active in than this damp ground."
Though they are wearing battlesuits, humans are land creatures. Africa"s wide land is a positive factor for Lifers because they walk on land.
It is a favorable environment for several reasons but the Amazon on the other hand, is extremely unfriendly.
Even without mutants, humans can"t live here for many days.
Weapon Master looks at the giant forest in the distance. Other Lifers looked over as well.
"There"s no use in complaining since we"ve already entered."
"Right."
If they were going to consider who had the advantage, they should have discussed that before entering.
It"s stupid to quibble over that after entering.
This is the only chance they"ll get to quit the mission, but they have no thoughts of doing that. They only have one a.s.signment from now on - advancing.
Dozens of sentinel cross the Amazon sky. The role of the sentinel spread out east and west with headquarters at the center is to search the area.
Bang bang bang!
The moving sentinel maintain heat and fire weapons like attached cannons.
Their opponents are flying mutants that are approaching from everywhere.
There are thousands of them, but they hit the ground without leaving even a scratch because they are only level 3 and 4.
Mutants swarmed in a frenzy following the smell of flesh and blood, trying to get a bit of the chunks of flesh.
Since there are a lot of dying mutants, a lot of mutants come in. The sentinel wandered the sky and opened the door after watching the atmosphere.
Bang bang bang bang!
Several missiles with the power to flatten a 4 to 5 floor building land in the middle of mutants that are eating. They might run away if they fire a machine gun. They were gifted with power from the beginning. The ground is different from the sky. There is no end to hiding places.
After the sentinel sent a few more bombs, they spread out here and there. Then the force level Lifers on board were sent to the ground. They halted battle only after completely sweeping the area.
[Zone D, Area 29 attack completed.] [Zone D, Area 29 attack completed.] [This is the core leader. Currently, we have completed the full attack on zone D.] Strategist divided the Amazon like Mechanic City and cla.s.sified zones to create a map.
The initial summons area is always a safe place. They arrived at the base camp they created here, and went up one by one.
In the entire Amazon area, they marked the places they attacked in blue and the places they hadn"t in red. There were still more places marked in red.
It took 15 days to attack to zone D.
They could finish to zone Z with this calculation in three or four months, but that"s impossible. There are few strong mutants in the beginning. The quant.i.ty and quality get better over time.
They are in the process of sweeping through the Amazon. They could encounter level 7 and 8s.
[This is zone E area 1. We have found a species we suspect to be level 7. It isn"t recorded in the pictorial book and predict it is a mutant that hasn"t been discovered yet. [What is the environment and mutant distribution like?] [There are hundreds of underlings near the mutant, but there is nothing special other than that. We will send in force if you give the order.] [Go in after three forces have gathered.] [Roger!]
They need to be cautious starting from level 7.
Even level B Lifer have to go in in dozens, and they need multiple times that if there are underlings as well.
Each sentinel has one party of level A Lifers. But they can"t forget that they"re in a level S mission. They need to be careful. The search was carried out only by the sentinel. They could only search by foot after there was primary confirmation from the sentinel.
300 sentinels.
The capacity is for 100 people excluding two cyborgs in the c.o.c.kpit, so 30,000 people are being dispatched at the same time.
World Federation acted in three teams.
That means 90,000 people. The other 10,000 either guarded headquarters or took on support duty. Rankers and top level A Lifers with 8 to 9 combination battlesuits or above, did nothing but wait at headquarters.
It will create a difficult situation if they follow out into ordinary missions and someone dies. Their mission is to fight Bon Load.
They"ll move only if a level 8 or beyond is found.
The 90,000 people need to handle up to level 7.
It can look like some people are working and some are resting.
But their duties were a.s.signed by ability. A level S Lifer could do a level A Lifer"s job, but the reverse is not true.
They were in the process of thoroughly dissecting the Amazon. Many of them will die. Before they come face to face with their final goal Bon Load or even after they meet him, it"s unknown how many of them will have survived once the mission is complete.
All they can do is their best. They hope and hope for positive results.
/ /
Volume 9 / Chapter 262
TL: LightNovelCafe
Editor: Isleidir
10 sentinels float in a rectangular form. They are in proper arrangement so that they can go into battle at any time.
Right now, the sentinels are empty. Excluding the cyborgs sitting in the c.o.c.kpits, all personnel have gone down to the ground.
They can only clear large areas with bombs. They need to go in themselves and dig in if they want to take care of the smaller parts more carefully.
1 raid was dispatched in this area.
A 1000 person force unit was scattered out to carry out their mission to annihilate mutants.
In other words, 10 forces.
"Hyper Kick!"
Boom!
A level 6 mutant Ghost Deer"s back is destroyed under one Lifer"s kick.
Disgusting chunks of flesh fly with that impact. The advantages for insect series mutants are powerful force, health, and defense. Of those, defense is the best but it is over once that collapses.
Boom!
A grenade goes into the caved in back.
An explosion inside.
The Ghost Deer stretches helplessly. Its organs are crushed. Similar things happen nearby. Lifers grouped in forces bomb straggling mutants and are overwhelmingly on offense.
"Alright alright. Hurry up and clear this, then rest."
The force leader speaks as he brushes traces of the Ghost Deer from his leg.
His battlesuit"s lower body, under the knee to be precise, is abnormally developed.
He had modeled it with more focus on one area. His may not be like that of Rankers, but his battlesuit is a 7 combination that is on a similar level to that of most large guild masters. He is actually the master of a large guild with roots in the Netherlands.
The force he brought in is made up of elite guild members. The 100,000 that entered together are ranked by ability in World Federation as well.
"As expected from master"s Hyper Kick! It"s one hit for a man."
"If you can get past 9 combination, you won"t fall behind Rankers either."
The force leader felt lifted by the members" compliments. If only there wasn"t a difference in the combination numbers, he would pack a hit that wouldn"t fall behind any other battlesuit.
Even if the combination count is the same, the types of combination considering factors like whether it is specialized for battle or support make a huge difference in power and ability.
The force leader was sure.
If the Hyper Kick reaches 9 combination, not just his lower body but his entire body would be strengthened.
"We"re done here. It looks like the other forces are finishing up as well."
One by one they reported that they had completed their duty via their radio channel.
There are several radio channels. It gets messy if 100,000 use a single channel. They have force channels that at least 100 people use. Only Strategist got integrated management of all of the channels in the communications sector at headquarters, and everyone else acted within the channels they were allowed.
[Raid 85, respond.] [Raid 85 responding.] [Forces are coming in over the radio in order, but we"ve been disconnected from forces 841 and 846. 8 forces get together immediately and find what happened to them.] The force leader"s face dropped at the new mission. This was the same for the force members. They lost contact with 2 forces. This is a bad sign.
"The raid channel was quiet."
A tranquil jungle.
They heard several explosions in sequence because they were fighting mutants, but losing connection with 2 forces is a separate matter.
If something had happened to them physically, they would have ignored channels and yelled "Help!" into the radio. But there had been nothing.
"This is worrisome."
"d.a.m.n it!"
The mission experience of the 100 people here combined reaches over tens of thousands.
Veterans among veterans. They thought of the worst case scenario first.
"It would be nice if they were just being lazy, but there"s no way that"s the case. In this kind of situation, there"s a high chance that they were killed without a sound. It"s 200 people."
They could understand with level E, level D, and level C Lifers with battlesuits.
But for that to happen to level A and B Lifers?
[Force 849, go to the location I call out.] [Yes.] The coordinates sent over raid 85 leader"s radio enters the direction they need to go in, and it gets marked in the battlesuit helmet.
"Alright, let"s go."
"Huh? Fo - force leader, over there…"
"What?"
Right before the force leader moved in the direction marked. A few force members discovered something and pointed.
Then at that moment…
Black shadows flew violently through the air at the force members" heads. They were thin cloth-like fluttering tentacles.
It penetrated exactly 90.
Level A Lifers reacted and avoided the attack, but all level B Lifers were killed.
"What - what on earth is this!"
"Ugh! They got away again. Huh? 10 lived again? This is really funny."
The place that the few dead force members had pointed, where the sound was coming from. The surviving level A Lifers turned their heads.
"They"ve advanced a lot when they used to die on contact. They avoided my surprise attack?"
Sunlight reflects off the white hair that falls to her waist. Her skin that looks soft like silk distracts them.
The nude Evil Queen walks out from the jungle. The 10 people are unable to move. A heavy pressure crushed them.
The force leader beat that pressure and took steps backward.
His experience until now tells him.
That woman isn"t a human. She is a level 8 mutant at the least.
He can understand why they lost connection with 2 forces. Level B Lifers got swept away like sand in a wave with one surprise attack. Of course there"s no way they would be able to get in contact with them.
On top of that…
Their minds became heavy like their bodies, and their mouths felt heavy too. For it to be this difficult for pioneer like level A LIfers to get a word out.
Evil Queen rolls her eyes. They roll around like toys. It isn"t fitting for someone with such a pretty face, like something out of a horror movie.
Only a couple seconds had pa.s.sed since she appeared, but it felt like a thousand years to the Lifers that had been reduced from a force to a party.
Papat!
Evil Queen made the first movement. She looks like a weak female human, but she was so fast that not even a level A battlesuit could detect her.
"Hurry up and report!"
No one could get to their senses.
The force leader"s realization was when they finally got a grasp on the situation and flew everywhere like grenade fragments. All he has to do is open his mouth.
Huh?
The sight of the force members tilts. It is strange. The world reverses.
"How?"
The force leader looked at themselves and hardened like plaster.
He wants to ask. Why is she looking at them like that. To tell him since they can"t see.
The 9 people other than the force leader are divided into dozens of pieces as her tentacle is brandished like whip. Their battlesuit outer armor rips like paper.
"It"s the same pattern. 90 die in the first round, 9 in the second, and 1 survives in the end. So this is how 100 people are put together."
"This is crazy! You crazy b.i.t.c.h!"
Boom!
The force leader aimed a Hyper Kick at Evil Queen"s neck. It is a frantic struggle for survival with dozens of tons of power behind it.
Bang!
Evil Queen lifts her arm. Her thin straw-like arm blocks the attack of a 7 combination battlesuit that is thicker than a woman"s waist.
Very lightly.
It wasn"t actually light. The surface that Evil Queen is standing on is unable to withstand the Hyper Kick, and collapses. The impact had gone through her.
"You aren"t weak. It would have taken some time if there had been 100 people like you."
There"s no need for her to awaken. Being in her human state is plenty.
It"s just that they become bothersome like flies if there are a lot of them.
[Save me!] Evil Queen"s hand goes through the battlesuit"s chest.
The force leader"s chest is also penetrated.
He spoke over the radio right before he died unlike the others. It is because he was able to compare the similarities that existed when Evil Queen ma.s.sacred the first and second forces and then the third force.
Not even a level A Lifer would have been able to withstand it without having gone through the 7th stage of body modifications and a 7 combination battlesuit.
The force leader who had been so proud of his Hyper Kick had only been half level A Lifer. That means he was weak.
A level A Ranker could easily take on one party.
"The path is fun. I get to warm up. Let"s see. There are still a lot."
Evil Queen"s senses transcended even those of level 9.
They are so developed that she could hear a needle falling from several kilometers away.
She can feel it.
There are a lot of Lifers like this nearby. Much more than she"s killed already.
"They"re coming on their own."
Until now, Evil Queen went looking for them herself.
But this time, they came to her from all different directions. Is it because she killed them later than she normally did?
Evil Queen used to be human, so she knows a lot about machines. This kind of armor will have a means for communication inside.
700 Lifers heard their fellow Lifer"s scream and surround Evil Queen. A few already began reporting. Soon, they will see Evil Queen"s appearance.
But they won"t be able to determine species or ident.i.ty with just that.
"I think it"ll be fun this time."
Bang!
Evil Queen ran toward the encirclement.
It might take longer than when she killed 100 people, but it"ll still be easy if they have similar abilities.
/ /