Chapter 30 - Joint Operation (3)

Joint Operation (3)

– Monster horde building up in the H3 sector.

Jeong Jin-sung informed Lee Soo-yeon through the communication device.

She glanced at the GPS device on her wrist to check the location.

“Okay, I’ll take it,” she responded.

The GPS shows the location of all the Aegis team members on the site, as well as real-time information from the analysis team about monsters.

The map showed the precise location of monsters captured via satellites, with the expected paths indicated by arrows.

Lee Soo-yeon changed the channel of the communication device and spoke with the members of Team A.

The two teams are communicating through three different channels, in order to lessen confusion.

“Jin-sung’s group is heading in the opposite direction. Ghost, go down to the R2 area,” she instructed.

– Yes, I’m going right away

She looked at the red dot on the map, which represented Ghost’s location. The dot quickly moved down.

It was a situation where they could not predict where the monsters will appear.

The size of some of the groups forming was also too large, at over a thousand units.

In this case, they have to be patient.

The paths and locations of the monsters are continuously generated, and the routes and battle areas have to be carefully calculated.

The priority is that the monsters are kept within the city.

They have to attack at optimum areas, and skillfully defeat the monsters.

Lee Soo-yeon leaped and alighted upon the top of a 4-meter-high brick fence.

Suddenly, hundreds of monsters turned to look at her.

They were all over the buildings and roads. It was like a scene from hell, with no hope for the future.

She quickly glanced around.

I can see ten Craigs from here.

The gate occurrence is not over yet, but there have faced over 70 ace monsters already.

It was a gate with a B0 rank.

Threung!

Lee Soo-yeon pulled out her sword, and black energy infused her right arm.

Soon, the energy covered even the sword, and she came flying towards the monsters.

Against such a powerful attack, the monsters’ ratings and their numbers didn’t matter.

Every monster that was within her sword’s range dissolved the instant they came in contact with her.

In one attack, more than thirty monsters, including both Creeps and Craigs fell to the ground, most with the upper half of their bodies gone.

Upon seeing her power, the Creeps started to run away.

Her whole body is covered with rising black energy.

She started to chase the fleeing monsters, then stopped abruptly.

Someone is here, she thought.

A man is on the roof of the building across from her.

He jumped down at the monsters running away from Lee Soo-yeon, and the moment he hit the ground –

Saaaaak!

Shadows popped out from the ground and swallowed up the monsters.

Hundreds of forked shadows extending like thorns penetrated every Creep’s body and engulfed it.

The Creeps’ bodies shook violently as if it were being smashed in all directions before they fell to the ground lifelessly.

The man walked casually towards Lee Soo-yeon as bodies of monsters piled up behind him.

Lee Su-yeon folded her arms as he approached.

“I could have taken care of it. Why did you come?” she asked.

The man turned to look at the dead bodies before returning her gaze.

“It borders my sector,” the man shrugged.

The man is Cho Yoon, Aegis Team B leader.

He overwhelmed the monsters with his abilities: A-Sharp [Shadow] and D-Sharp [Sharp].

Cho Yoon slowly pushed his sword into a nearby corpse’s head. It writhed upon being penetrated.

The more Cho Yoon pushed the sword, the less the body writhed until it finally stopped.

“I have been wondering about you,” he asked, still looking at the corpse.

“Why?”

“Kang Il-hyun, whom you brought in a while ago…”

“Aha, what about him?” Lee Soo-yeon laughed a little.

Cho Yoon looked at her eyes directly before speaking.

“Weren’t you opposed to bringing rookies to the company before?” he asked.

Which is better, patiently training a prospect, or getting a powerful but inexperienced rookie to immediately join the team?

It wasn’t a controversial issue elsewhere, but within Aegis, opinions were divided, and the majority are bent towards training prospects.

All of Aegis’s jobs were linked to enormous wealth and the lives of thousands of people.

If they fail an operation, or if someone died on the job, they are irreplaceable.

There are no other companies with as much power as them.

So, for an Aegis member, failure is unacceptable, and they always had to be the best in the world.

So, instead of scouting and cultivating prospects, why would anyone bring an inexperienced rookie who could bring the team to its downfall?

The recruitment of team members was entirely at the hands of the team leader.

In the past, there was a case of a Team C leader who brought in two rookies, and it was a huge controversy within Aegis.

However, the team leader was successful as he led them to be as strong as any Aegis member.

This resulted into further division of opinion among team leaders as to how they would recruit.

Among the opposition was Lee Soo-yeon… until she saw Kang Il-hyun, with unknown potential.

“Hmm… That’s right. But I changed my mind,” Lee Soo-yeon replied as if it was not that important.

“Is that all you’re going to say?” Cho Yoon asked.

“Yes.”

Cho Yun looked at her with a strange expression, then started to walk away while checking his GPS.

“Anyway,” he added as he left. “I don’t want to take care of weaklings, so make sure you handle it.”

“Ha, you don’t have to worry about it,” she replied.

* * *

Keeeeeek!

BANG!

An explosion flared up with red flames, and the Craig fell.

Its body was burnt black all over, and there were also several sword wounds on it.

“Huh!” Il-hyun signed with relief and exhaustion.

The B-ranked monster was also strong and quite tough.

“What – did I just catch my sixth B-ranked monster today?”

The monsters kept appearing.

It was hard to keep his stamina even if Il-hyun followed the route of monsters with only moderate size and ability.

Still, aside from getting his defense coat damaged from the monsters’ poison attacks, he was able to get through six B-ranked monsters without injury.

A bird covered in burning flames flew to Il-hyun as he stood proudly.

It was a Phoenix.

He wanted to summon it ever since, but he only succeeded in calling it out recently.

At first, I thought I would name it Jujak, but it was redundant.

“Well done!” he told it as it perched on his left arm.

Its wings, when spread out, is almost the same length as an average person’s height.

Each of its feathers was sparkling as if it had been carved out of jewelry.

Il-hyun spoke to his communicator.

“G4 area, done.”

-OK, I’ll give you the next coordinates right away.

He heard Jeong Jin-sung’s voice; then, he quickly received the next location.

Il-hyun was surprised.

“What? So soon?” This seems endless.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath.

Suddenly, he saw a man.

The man moved awkwardly as he got out of a half-smashed building.

I thought all civilians had been evacuated… wait, he isn’t an ordinary citizen if he’s wearing a defense coat

It looks like the man wasn’t even Korean. Il-hyun shouted at the man who seems suspicious.

“Who are you?”

The man’s looked shocked upon hearing Il-hyun and swore with a strange pronunciation.

Then, his whole body became transparent in an instant.

Reacting quickly, Il-hyun used his Transformation ability to wind a vine around the man.

The vine only caught air.

‘Crazy, he’s gone?!’ Il-hyun looked around, panicking.

It was hard enough to fight an invisible opponent, and harder still because Il-hyun was exhausted.

In a physical battle, the stronger one always wins.

However, in a battle between Awakeners, their kind of abilities is the main variable.

Even a lower-ranked Awakener can defeat a higher-ranked one if his ability can neutralize the other’s.

‘Damn it…’

He didn’t know if anyone would be willing to attack an Aegis team member fearlessly, but if the opponent intends to hurt him in his current state, he is in danger.

Il-hyun hurriedly used his Summoning ability.

The ground and rocks around him were transformed, and the golems and wolves appeared.

The summons alertly looked around and protected him.

Il-hyun noticed something strange.

The summons were all staring at one place.

Their heads turned in synch as if following a moving object.

“What… can you see him?” he asked.

The summons nodded all at once.

At the question of Ilhyun, the summoners nodded all at once.

Il-hyun quickly reached out in the direction, and the Phoenix on his arms flew straight into it at a terrifying speed.

It swung both claws mightily and –

Paak!

There was a loud noise, and the invisible man reappeared and crashed to the ground.

“Well, that’s embarrassing,” Il-hyun laughed with relief, as he looked at the man, who is now unconscious.