Chapter 148

The Second Cataclysm (4)

The battlefield was engulfed in a sudden silence.

Tssss!

The smell of dust and animal protein burning together filled the vicinity.

Surviving Ogatu troops had to spend seconds trying to figure out what just happened. Most of them were sick and frightened to the point where they couldn’t breathe properly.

The rain of flash with brutal power just wiped out more than half of Ogatu’s soldiers in one shot.

“Ah, ah…!”

The brain that had been frozen by fear began moving again. Their trembling eyes stared at the Tactical Fortress in the sky.

It launched a frighteningly precise interception. None of those hit by the rain of the slaughter survived. Considering that all of those killed were above S-Class in Earth’s standard, it had a tremendous killing power.

“C-command! Requesting a response! Command!”

The soldiers rang the communication, waiting for instructions on how to respond to the situation, but no answer returned.

The Ogatu individuals, who were in charge of the advance team, had also been killed by the airstrikes.

The traces around them were more vain than disastrous. Most of the bodies were oxidized in an instant.

The only thing that proved their presence in the dome was small amounts of flesh and blood that spread around where they stood.

“N-no way… I’ve never seen anything like that!”

The spectrum of items usually classified as EX-class was vast.

Those with high knowledge among the Ogatu quickly realized that the Fortress, which suddenly appeared in the sky, was one of the rarest of the EX-Class tier.

“No way!”

With the sound of electrification, a wave of blue light started to waver from the lower portion of the artificial island.

Like a fountain show waiting for the next climax, they blazed low and built up strength.

As such, for the next show, the blue flash would be heading down, not up.

“R-retreat!”

Terrible fear spread faster than the scent of death, entering our noses.

It went viral in an instant.

“Uhh… huh-!”

Still, the numerical superiority was evidently with the Ogatu species.

Nevertheless, they had no will to fight left in them.

What was fortunate for them was that the weapon of destruction in the air, the precision interceptor laser guns mounted on floating islands, seemed unable to fire in succession.

As proof of that, even after turning about half of the Ogatu unit into ashes swiftly, it recharged the energy without attacking immediately.

But when the second bombardment started, if it were of a scale similar to the first, the remaining half would also be killed instantly.

“Ahhh… Arghhh!”

Slave poachers fled in terror.

There was only one hole to escape from.

The Gate that they passed through when they came over to Earth.

Adam distorted his lips when he saw them running away, scared to death.

“At least they’re quick to judge.”

He sent a signal using the communication device in his ear to Euclid, who was in the control room.

The moment he murmured something, the reaction immediately arrived.

Whomp!

Prisoners wrapped in dark red blood film floated into the air, escaping from the bondage of gravity.

The Tactical Fort quickly and safely stored the blood-membrane bundle by inhaling them into the base.

Adam had confirmed that and transformed his body once again.

At that point, there was nothing left for him to protect, and the only thing left to do was to sweep the enemy forces as he wished.

Blam!

The sound of the air bursting echoed.

“Guuuuh!”

Screams followed.

“S-spare me!”

Adam’s arms turned into hundreds of red tentacles and pierced the backs of the fleeing Ogatu species.

The aliens screamed and collapsed as the hunters became the hunted.

It was a complete reversal of the situation.

Meanwhile, those lucky enough to escape his attacks rushed to the Gate, but-

– K-hahahahah!

There was an impenetrable wall, standing its ground, giving out a bizarre, twisted laugh.

Darkness clad with golden armor shed telepathy.

– You’re the kind that brings me satisfaction in slaughtering after a long while!

Genograche was genuinely delighted, rattling inside the helmet.

Unlike the monsters in the Tower, which rushed in a crazed state, the species in front of him knew fear.

Intelligent beings were his favorite preys to hunt.

He swung his sword.

Shhhhhh!

The leading Ogatu determinedly charged.

The expression on his face disappeared.

“!”

A red fissure formed in the middle of the pale face, and it split slanted.

The brutal sword energy penetrated through the pouring brain water, and blood then pierced through the air. After that, about a dozen soldiers who were running were deflected away, causing them to roll on the ground. None of them could stand up again.

Those whom the sword hadn’t yet touched stopped on their tracks. They exchanged glances, then-

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

In unison, they rushed in with the most potent skill they could invoke.

Genograche stood motionless until their attacks touched the armor.

However, just because he didn’t move, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t doing anything.

Zaaaap!

A faint current flashed.

Simultaneously, the blade of the sword he was holding, [Storm Breaker], trembled.

The lightning that lit up the darkness as it crept on the blade was fused with Genograche’s Mana.

The power that was about to explode was concentrated to its limits, then-

Boom!

It finally burst.

The sound of a blast followed, and lightning poured in.

Following a single sword path created by the golden armor, their broken bodies and charred limbs fluttered. Their intestines fell out, and a cruel hell unfolded.

Crushed and fragmented pieces of corpses were raining across the vicinity, like fallout or hail.

– K-hahaha!

As the devil watched the scene satisfactorily, he mumbled on the communication device. The transmission was shared with everyone. Genograche sent it to the Tactical Fort’s cockpit.

– Hey, battery! Charge!

A retort came right back from far above.

– I told you to be frugal!

Euclid, who remained in the Fort’s cockpit, looked at the view below, which emerged as a hologram.

The positions of the Awakened marked as allies were depicted there.

[Mana Legacy!]

The Fortress decorating the dark blue night sky once again drilled a hole in the dome’s wall.

Whoong!

Mana was sent through the gap. The dragon’s skill re-filled the Core of the devil.

– Alright!

The devil, who had slowed down after a while, started hunting even faster.

Seeing that, the aliens had no choice but to give up their hope of retreating.

“S-Surrender!”

They knelt down one after the other.

It was a gesture similar to the universal standard language among human-like bodied species.

It was the abandonment of resistance, the plea for one’s life.

The devil then tried to read Seo Jin-Wook’s thoughts.

“Okay, let’s take the rest of them as prisoners.”

– Tsk!

The devil mumbled as if it was a shame that he couldn’t kill more.

The hunt was over.

*

When the dome disappeared, Taiwanese troops surrounding the external perimeter entered the domain quickly.

There was a distance, but there were many ways to observe what was happening inside.

Furthermore, the powerful object that could best explain the event’s whole story had appeared outside the dome from the start.

“Oh, my days… what the hell is that?”

“It’s even scarier to see it up close.”

The things that caught their attention were not only at the sky.

At the place where their glances converged, there were four hunters from the Celestial Dragon guild and a golden armor whose identity they couldn’t guess.

“They suppressed the invasion with only the five of them?!”

“I know him. He’s head of the Celestial Dragon Guild in Korea, right? I’ve seen all the hunters next to him on TV as well. They’re all SSS-Class!”

“Then what’s that armor next to him? An unknown SSS-Class Awakened or a summon called by one of them with special powers?”

Since the situation was contained, several soldiers exchanged small chatters as if they could finally relax, but they quickly shut up after being noticed by their superiors.

Soldiers quickly dispersed throughout the quarantined areas, reassuring citizens and signaling the end of the situation. The citizens that would have been kidnapped while paralyzed if they were a little late carefully looked outside with a sigh of relief.

The prisoners, who had already been paralyzed, were sent back to the ground by the floating Fortress. The Taiwanese army was also in charge of their recovery.

While people were busy coming and going, the Celestial Dragon party quietly organized themselves, preparing to return. Soldiers only sometimes cast a look of fear and awe but didn’t dare approach them.

‘It should be about time.’

When Seo Jin-Wook thought so, someone approached him.

“Are you the Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook?”

‘He finally came.’

He was the commander of the Taiwanese military who was in charge of the troops and one of the Provisional Command members who asked governments such as the U.S. and South Korea for help.

He was also put in charge of negotiating for Seo Jin-Wook to allow the Fortress to enter Taipei airspace.

“Before I say anything else, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you all.”

Until the situation was resolved, all the Taiwanese military did was to keep a close eye on the case outside the dome.

If the Celestial Dragon hadn’t stepped up, they would have had to let the citizens be kidnapped helplessly.

The commander bowed his head deeply with courtesy. He had no qualms even though he was in front of other soldiers.

He had a thought.

‘There’s a mountain of things I want to ask, but I’m not in the situation to do so.’

Golded armor with deep darkness instead of a person inside, and floating islands… They were all beyond common sense.

However, he kept his mouth shut.

He couldn’t expect them to answer back just because he asked.

The commander and Seo Jin-Wook quickly exchanged conversations about the treatment of prisoners.

Although the two governments would coordinate on the details, he decided he should inform them about the characteristics of those called Ogatu and things they had to watch out for.

Seo Jin-Wook planned to leave the management of the disabled prisoner to the Taiwanese military.

There was nothing complicated for them to do if they were bound by an artifact that completely blocked Mana.

“The Ogatu will surely send an envoy to retrieve the hostages.”

It was one of the species’ traits that Adam described.

In a way, it was ironic that the slave traders, who consumed and abused other species by treating them poorer than livestock, cared terribly for their people.

However, it was understandable to hear that considering the Ogatu’s values wherein they considered themselves the most precious and noble of all races, eventually led to the act of killing and using other intellectuals too easily.

“To avoid a useless second round, send some of the prisoners back to the Gate. If they hear that there’s ‘that’ on Earth, they’ll give up their invasion.”

“… Indeed.”

Of course, what Seo Jin-Wook was pointing to by saying the word ‘that’ was the Tactical Fortress.

“They started the invasion without imagining that the level of civilization on Earth couldn’t operate such a Fortress in the first place. If they know that the ‘Dome,’ which plays a key role in the stability of supplying the slaves, can be nullified, they will give up the invasion without hesitation.”

He continued.

“Of course, we don’t have to hand them over easily. We would have to rip off a lot of compensation. I heard that in this case, they usually exchange ‘core,’ which is the universal currency among all dimensions. Well, the government will take care of how much they’re going to settle for.”

The Korean government would also participate in the negotiation process. Instead of Jin-Wook, they would coordinate the negotiations and take his share and bring it to him.

It was clear wordings and instructions, but the commander’s head became filled with questions when he heard it.

‘How on Earth does Seo Jin-Wook know all that?’

However, he was not in a position to question or suspect the source.

After the commander greeted him and stepped down, Seo Jin-Wook became lost in thought.

‘That’s done for the Ogatu.’

He turned his eyes up and looked at the Fortress in the sky.

There were two reasons for mobilizing that object that day and revealing it to everyone.

The first was to intimidate the Ogatu and, at the same time, warn the species that covet the Earth for similar purposes.

Although it was a problem to be solved after joining the Union anyway, it was desirable to prevent another unnecessary armed conflict before then.

He was planting in their minds that Earth was a dimension that shouldn’t be underestimated.

And the second was to give a similar message to Earth, not to the alien species.

‘Then next is China….’

Those who tried to launch missiles at the capital of Taiwan in the name of defending themselves after they threw a monkey wrench to the world failed.

In order to deal with China, they had to carry out matters that had been discussed with governments.

‘Then, shall we go ahead and make some threats?’

*

At that time…

The Chinese military command was in a state of panic with their souls about to escape.

“W-what the hell was that just now?!”

It started when dozens of ballistic missiles suddenly evaporated above the sea.

The tracking results were quickly shared.

The surveillance satellite followed the energy trajectory that shot down the missiles, and simulation results were derived that the source was from international waters between Korea and China.

Something unidentified that was fired from that point followed and shot down the missiles with pin-point accuracy.

That alone was already shocking, but what made them boil even more was the event that took place shortly after.

A giant object appeared over Taipei.

“According to our analysis, a similar wave occurred when the object struck the Taipei ground!”

The situation seemed to imply only one thing.

An army general asked out loud with a distorted face.

“What, so “they’ are operating at least two weapons similar to that?!”

The fact that the weapon that shot down the missiles in the West Sea moved to Taiwan the next moment was beyond their common sense, so they had jumped to that conclusion.

“A-alert!”

A creepy voice was heard in the command and control room, where the situation’s analysis and reporting had been busily happening.

“What?!”

What happened next made the command feel as if their lungs were freezing.

“T-there are reports of sporadic sightings of the ‘floating island’ in all parts of our territory!”

Of course, it didn’t just end with an appearance.