Episode 7: Tidal Wave of Monsters / Chapter 115: Pre-emptive Attack (5)
TL: emptycube / ED: Obelisk
There was a gaping hole in Kim Saehyun"s chest. His blood was gushing out, and unknown chunks were mixed in with his blood as they dripped to the ground.
While dying, Kim Saehyun worried about his twin brother, Kim Honghyun.
Like pouring water into a broken jug, every time his heart struggled, more blood would pour out. It was at this moment that Kim Saehyun instinctively knew what he had to do.
Although the karma within his body was dissipating, the karma that was embedded deep within his soul still remained strong. Kim Saehyun carefully took that karma out.
"Older brother{1}."
Although Kim Saehyun called him "older brother", due to the air escaping his lungs, what came out of his mouth was "older brosher". He wheezed as air escaped his lungs.
Still, Kim Honghyun understood him. Even though he was only born a few minutes before him, Kim Saehyun always called him older brother.
"Yeah, buddy. Keep your head together. You"re okay, right?"
Kim Honghyun furrowed his eyes.
"Drink…"
With slurred speech, Kim Saehyun placed his powerlessly dangling arm on his chest and scrubbed the blood gushing from his chest with his palm.
"What?"
Kim Honghyun looked to be in shock. He didn"t understand what Kim Saehyun was saying.
"Drink it…"
Kim Saehyun urged Kim Honghyun to drink his blood once more.
"What are you saying?"
Slap.
Kim Saehyun slapped the dazed Kim Honghyun"s cheek. Rather than saying he slapped him, it was more like he placed his hand on his cheek.
(Wheeze) (Wheeze)
"Drink…"
(Wheeze)
It seemed it was becoming hard for him to speak as the sounds of air escaping became more and more mixed in with his speech.
Their eyes met.
"I"m sane so drink it. Shut up and drink it."
Even while blood spilled from his mouth and while he couldn"t speak properly, Kim Saehyun"s gaze was clear. Kim Honghyun felt that he could read his thoughts through his gaze.
Although he couldn"t understand the reason, Kim Saehyun was serious.
"Haa… Haha…"
As he laughed with a stunned expression, Kim Honghyun"s two hands stuck to Kim Saehyun"s chest. Then he scooped some blood and drank it. The blood dripped and wet his lips, hands, and forearm. Once in contact with his skin, the slippery blood gradually became stickier.
"Are you happy? Are you?"
Although his tone was provocative, Kim Honghyun"s eyes were trembling slightly in worry for Kim Saehyun. Kim Saehyun"s hand rose up and ruffled Kim Honghyun"s head.
"You did well… I definitely… (Wheeze) pa.s.sed it over to you…"
Then his hand listlessly fell to the ground with a thud. His karma, which had still faintly been present just now, had scattered, disappearing for eternity.
"Saehyun! Saehyun!!"
Kim Honghyun shouted at the top of his lungs, but there was no way a person who had already died would come back.
"Shaehyuna! Ssaehyuna!"
A distressing voice imitated Kim Honghyun"s wails. It had black, viscous skin that was hard and lumpy like mud, and numerous eyes on the top of its head.
It was the monster that had killed Kim Saehyun. It imitated Kim Honghyun"s cries.
As if it had a tic, it did so repeatedly while tilting its head.
"Ssaehyunahh! Ssaehyunahkakak!"
Then it laughed. Kim Honghyun shot up.
"Endure it!"
The Great Warrior Lantz attempted to hold him back-
Whoosh!
But Kim Honghyun had already arrived in front of the monster.
Without holding the axe"s handle, he swung the head of the ax in his hand at the monster"s head. The monster twisted its body slightly and dodged his attack.
"Wheak?"
At the same time, it swung its right arm.
Pssscht!
The monster"s right arm pierced through Kim Honghyun"s side and was about to slice Kim Honghyun in two.
"Haah."
Kim Honghyun took a deep breath. Even while receiving its attack, he didn"t back down. Instead, he flexed his body.
The monster"s arm pierced deep into Kim Honghyun"s body, but it couldn"t slice him in half. Kim Honghyun"s muscles squirmed. His contracted muscled tightly clenched onto the monster"s arm.
"Die, a.s.shole."
Kim Honghyun pushed the blade of his axe into the monster"s face.
"Kiyaaah!"
The monster screamed while looking at Kim Honghyun. It closed all the eyes on the top of its head at once and the monster"s black forehead b.u.t.ted Kim Honghyun"s nose.
Bang!
Kim Honghyun"s body was pushed back a distance. He had a nosebleed. However, Kim Honghyun quickly regained his balance and wielded his axe.
"Eeck!"
But the monster"s movements were much more refined than Kim Honghyun"s. It dodged Kim Honghyun"s attack and pulled out its arm that was embedded in his side.
Clang!
Kim Honghyun narrowly blocked its attack and rolled on the ground.
Kim Honghyun"s Endurance couldn"t completely block the monster"s attack, and he wasn"t a match for the finesse of its attacks and techniques.
The Great Warrior Lantz attempted to help Kim Honghyun, who was in danger, but he couldn"t as he had to deal with the other elite monsters that were rushing towards him at that moment.
Fortunately, the monster didn"t kill Kim Honghyun right away. It brandished its right arm as it approached him leisurely. As strong as it was, its actions were also different from the other monsters". Because of this, Kim Honghyun was able to slowly get back up.
A mess of blood and dirt, he stood up and spun the axe in his hand. His hand movements were somehow much lighter. The atmosphere seemed different somewhat.
Kim Honghyun wiped his lips with his hand. He felt Kim Saehyun"s wet blood still on his lips.
Looking at his brother"s blood, Kim Honghyun slightly trembled. He shuddered, filled with sadness.
"Son of a b.i.t.c.h… Is this why you did that?"
Kim Honghyun only now realized the unfamiliar power that had entered his body. As if he had opened his closed eyes, the world suddenly felt new.
"This… Is this the world you saw?"
Kim Honghyun mumbled to himself, and the monster watched him in interest.
Kim Honghyun adjusted his grip on the ax. Then he whispered quietly,
"Sharpness."
{Innate Skill Sharpness has been pa.s.sed down to you.}
Sharpness. This was definitely Kim Saehyun"s innate skill.
Kiing!
Kim Honghyun"s previously sluggish axe accelerated. It shot towards the monster, drawing a line smoother than ever before. His movements had become more refined. Yet, the monster still reacted to his sudden movements. It attempted to dodge his attack as it took a step back. That moment, Kim Honghyun"s axe became a level faster. His axe landed on it just before it could dodge.
Baam!
Black blood splattered.
They had destroyed Kahur Kabkuns 1, 2 and 3. Choi Hyuk fully demonstrated that he was humanity"s greatest weapon this time as well.
Even in a situation where Bilu and Tangka had left, the reason why they could still destroy the three Kahur Kabkuns as planned was because of Choi Hyuk and the Berserkers. There was no one who suspected this fact.
Also, a new hero had appeared.
Kim Honghyun.
The first human to possess two innate skills.
Although he had received help from the Great Warrior Lantz and other troop members in the end, he accomplished the splendid achievement of killing a monster at the 5-star level. Excluding Choi Hyuk, it was a result accomplished by no one else.
With this, they had destroyed 3 out of the 13 Kahur Kabkuns.
Even though they had only accomplished half of their original goal of destroying 6 Kahur Kabkuns, the value of their accomplishment was by no means small. The Kahur Kabkuns they had destroyed this time had been estimated to be the trickiest to deal with. The fact that they were able to destroy them before the monsters properly began to pour out was quite encouraging.
Although humanity couldn"t stop the anger that arose due to the alliance"s irresponsibility, they felt pride at the fact they had somehow been able to st.i.tch up this disastrous situation.
The monsters" counterattack from the 10 remaining Kahur Kabkuns began.
While the warriors of the attack troops, who had become exhausted after destroying the 3 Kahur Kabkuns, rested, Richard led the defense troops to block the outpour of monsters.
To reduce damages to the cities and to gain a strategic position to target additional Kahur Kabkuns, Richard chose to launch an intercepting attack rather than to be besieged.
The fight between the defense troops and the monsters became a topic of conversation day after day. The video Naro filmed was widely spread, and there were so many monsters that it seemed like Dragonic itself had become a monster rushing towards them. Compared to the attack troops, there were more lower leveled warriors in the defense troops. That was why there were more casualties. Although there were many people going crazy, stricken with fear, Richard did whatever he could to unite them and send them to the battlefield.
Looking at them, the warriors of the attack troops reignited their fighting spirit. This was a fight that wouldn"t end by defending. Someone would have to wade through that tidal wave of monsters and destroy the Kahur Kabkuns. Only then could humanity defend their new homeland, Dragonic. This mission, which was the most dangerous and honorable, lay in the attack troops" hands. The faster they destroyed them, the more people they could protect.
The warriors ended their short break and prepared for their second expedition. This time, their goal was to destroy three Kaher Kabkuns that were considered weak compared to other low-ranked ones. The leader of the defense troops, Richard, and the leader of the attack troops, Choi Hyuk, exchanged their thoughts and set their schedule and route. Even though it was hard, everyone believed that, like the other crises they had experienced in the past, they would be able to quickly recover from this.
However, there was a variable that even Choi Hyuk and Richard didn"t expect.
This variable was precisely the difference in perspective between the alliance and earthlings.
Humans thought something like this.
"What has the alliance done for us up until now? I mean, they suddenly appeared and made Rings of Rebirth and stuff, making people partic.i.p.ate in a horrifying game and kill each other… Yeah, that"s all fine. We became war machines like you wanted and survived. Then you talked about Consumables and stuff. You also used our homeland, Earth, as a resource and brought it to extinction… Okay, that"s fine too. We still survived and took the advancement evaluation. We finally became alliance members that could be treated as people. But then you royally screwed us over with that doppelganger mission, didn"t you? And now you suddenly made the support troops, who had come to help protect our second base, Dragonic, retreat? Just what have you done for us? You said, as alliance members, we were equals, yet all you do is use us and backstab us. But what? What do you want us to do now?! It"s already hard enough protecting our base, yet you want us to send support troops to defend Dark City? f.u.c.k, are we really alliance members? Aren"t we va.s.sals?"
That was right. Earthlings thought that they had been strongly backstabbed by the alliance. Yet the alliance didn"t think that in the slightest. Instead, they told them to fulfill their duty as alliance members.
"The situation in Dark City is very bad. With Overseer Choi Hyuk or Richard as the leader, dispatch reinforcements of at least 5,000 low-ranked warriors and 100,000 lowest-ranked warriors within two days."
They gave this absurd order.
Since Commander Mack resisted, saying that she couldn"t give such an order, a bureaucrat of the Laniakea Supercl.u.s.ter personally gave the order.
It was an absurd order. Calling them 5,000 low-ranked warriors and 100,000 lowest-ranked warriors was putting it mildly. Low-ranked warriors were experts at the 4-star level, and lowest-ranked warriors were veteran warriors at the 3-star level. To be honest, it was the same as telling them to send all the elites on Earth.
Of course, there was an opposition.
"I mean, don"t you know our situation? How are we to provide support when our base is about to be taken from us? No matter how important Dark City is to the alliance… We need to save ourselves first!"
Overseer Diana"s face flushed with anger. Still, it seemed she tried her best to withhold her agitation and to not become hated by the bureaucrat from the supercl.u.s.ter.
However, the way the alliance bureaucrat saw things was very different from the earthlings.
{Although I understand the situation earthlings are dealing with, Dark City is registered as a vital strongpoint for the alliance. It has priority over Dragonic. Mark my words. If a species loses their base, they can find a new one, but if the alliance collapses, all karmalings will become extinct. In a critical situation like now, don"t let your own species" selfishness take precedence.}
Earthlings suddenly became a selfish species that let their own selfishness take precedence.
Eventually, Diana burst in anger.
"Ha! That"s funny. It just so happens that over 70% of the population in Dark City, a city registered as a vital strongpoint for the alliance, are Dark Tribe members, isn"t it? They are a species strong enough to be considered in the top 4 of the alliance. What a funny coincidence. The city the Dark Tribe inhabits has been registered as a vital strongpoint and obviously needs to be protected with the united strength of the alliance, while the alliance doesn"t care whether Dragonic, where we earthlings live in, falls into ruin or not?"
"Stop it…"
Overseer Yohan tried to hold the agitated Diana back. Diana flinched and looked like she regretted it, but she simply kept her mouth tightly shut with a venomous expression that indicated her anger hadn"t been fully relieved.
The alliance bureaucrat replied with a stern expression.
{I understand you are angry. I also understand your hostility towards the so-called top 4 species. However, the alliance exists because of them, and you were able to receive benefits from this. Don"t the earthlings owe the alliance a huge debt? Just think that it is now time you paid that debt.}
Yes. "Debt". That was the decisive point that divided their perspectives. While the earthlings inwardly asked, "What debt?"… The perspective the bureaucrat from the alliance had was firm.
{If the alliance hadn"t carried out the warrior training system and awakened earthlings" karma and made you into warriors… Earthlings would have already become extinct a long time ago due to the monsters. The alliance didn"t simply give you the power to survive extinction, it also prepared you a base to continue to live on. As members of the alliance, it is now time for you to fulfill your duty.}
It was at this moment the overseers realized that their words would have no effect.
Strictly speaking, his words weren"t wrong.
They had been able to awaken karma because of the alliance.
They had been able to survive until now as well as continue to survive and prepare plans to preserve humanity because of the alliance.
However… There was no one who wanted to say thank you.
That gap.
Their misery.
There was no way they could make them understand through words.
While a deathly silence hung in the air, Choi Hyuk took action.
"Understood. I will lead an army and provide support within two days. However, after we overcome this mess, I want to be promised support for Earth as well."
{You will clearly be paid the price for your contributions and errors.}
"… Understood."
{It"s good that I can get through to you. Then, let"s see each other next time.}
The call ended.
Choi Hyuk smiled faintly. In a light manner, he said to the overseers who had grave expressions,
"Why the sad looks? Is this our first time experiencing this?"
With the spirit he was going to war right away, Choi Hyuk unsheathed his sword and said,
"We don"t have time. We need to destroy at least 4 Kahur Kabkuns within two days."
Grit.
Choi Hyuk walked out without any lingering feelings. When he turned his back on them, they could hear him grind his teeth, which didn"t suit his cheerful tone from moments ago.
However, when he turned his head around once more, he still had a cheerful expression. He even grinned as he said,
"We need to survive. Let"s think about it after we survive."
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