Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense
189 – Incineration
Determined to waste an enormous amount of points, Myung-jun forcibly summoned Knights and furiously tore up the ground within the quarantine area, as if to vent his anger over the points he had lost.
The most efficient way to locate the Prime monster hidden tens of meters underground was to forcibly inject the energy of the Knights’ unique equipment, the <Nemesis Force Blade>, into the ground, which destroyed the very molecular structure of the material.
Of course, if Myung-jun had brought Deki, who could move underground with her awakener ability, it would have been easier to find the Prime monster without summoning the Knights. Unfortunately, Myung-jun had not brought Deki for this subjugation operation.
“Commencing forced energy injection.”
[Confirmed. Forcibly injecting the energy of the Nemesis Force Blade into the ground.]
As another powerful energy wave rippled out from the center of the Knights’ greatsword, the ground around the Knights shook and trembled as if waves were crashing.
In an instant, the solidly packed soil and rocks within a radius of several hundred meters, including underground, lost their cohesion and turned into fine particles.
Considering the solid state of the ground being attacked, the range was astonishingly wide, but Myung-jun was not satisfied.
Even assuming that nearly 1 km of area was turned into powder at once, the vastness of the quarantine area suggested a significant energy consumption.
However, Myung-jun continued the search without hesitation, replacing the Knights’ power cartridges, which cost hundreds of millions of won each time.
The purpose of the search was singular: to force the Prime monster, hidden deep underground and synchronized with the surrounding terrain, to break synchronization and move.
To capture that moment, Kei, who had joined Myung-jun on the scene, was wearing a special suit and fully activating his awakening ability to track all the scents within the area Myung-jun was searching in real-time.
Finally, when Myung-jun had used up three cartridges and started on the fourth, Kei detected a completely new scent from within the ground and contacted Myung-jun.
[Hyung. Three o’clock direction, 2 km point. Something is moving 15 meters underground.]
[Could it be the Prime?]
[At the very least, it’s not a scent that can be detected on Earth.]
Upon receiving Kei’s message, Myung-jun swiftly moved the Knights. Estimating the speed of the target conveyed by Kei, he determined the central point of the ground where the main body was likely moving and thrust the greatsword into it.
“Commence forced energy injection! Maximum output!”
[Confirmed. Forcibly injecting the energy of the Nemesis Force Blade at maximum output.]
The place where Myung-jun landed the Knights was in the middle of a civilian village within the quarantine area, but he operated the Force Blade at maximum output without hesitation.
Then, an energy field of incomparable strength to the previous search spread out from the greatsword embedded by the Knights.
-BOOM!-
The shockwave was so powerful that it not only pulverized the ground but also turned the surrounding civilian houses into dust. The Untwart, moving underground, was left in shock.
‘Have they discovered my location?!’
Untwart hastily tried to maximize the durability of the tissues composing its body, but it was a futile struggle.
The Nemesis Force Blade, the Knights’ exclusive weapon, had the ability to cut through even the hardest tissues of a 9th-grade monster like tofu.
In front of that powerful weapon, which could even cut the bones of Banara, a member of the Twelve Heavenly Lords, there was no way for Untwart, who was far from reaching the level of a Heavenly Lord, to withstand.
-SHHRRRK!-
“KWEEEKK!”
The scream Untwart let out from 15 meters underground was absorbed by the sponge-like ground turned to dust by the energy field of the Force Blade, failing to reach Myung-jun’s ears.
However, Myung-jun, who had turned everything within a 1 km radius into dust, was confident that his attack had succeeded.
Unlike previous attacks where there was no response despite thrusting the greatsword, this time he felt a giant monster writhing deep underground.
Seeing the ground writhing like water in a heated kettle, Myung-jun immediately pulled out the greatsword and jumped the Knights into the air.
At that moment, numerous tentacles extended from the ground, covering the spot where Myung-jun’s Knights had been.
[Alright. Let’s capture it alive.]
[How are we supposed to capture something moving 15 meters underground?]
[Can you pinpoint its exact depth and location?]
[How precise do you need it?]
[Down to the centimeter.]
[I’ll try.]
Listening to Myung-jun’s communication, Kei expanded his senses to the maximum. He went beyond merely detecting scent particles to a level where he could grasp the essence of all objects surrounding the “scent.”
This attempt was far beyond Kei’s usual capability range, but the special suit designed by Sujeong helped him exert his abilities beyond his limits.
Finally, opening his eyes, Kei informed Myung-jun of Untwart’s exact location.
[Found it.]
[Mark the coordinates and wait nearby.]
Realizing what Myung-jun intended to do, Kei shouted in shock.
[You don’t mean to tell me to capture the monster in the split ground using the freezing capture device, do you?]
[Exactly.]
[Hyung, are you out of your mind? If you miss even a little, the monster will either turn to dust or I’ll be cut in half by the sword strike from the Knights. Even with the special suit made by Sujeong noona, if I get hit by the Nemesis Blade, I’m dead in one shot!]
[Trust me. I’ll take it down in one blow.]
Despite grumbling, Kei moved to the expected path of the parasite, trusting Myung-jun’s words to believe in him.
When Kei arrived at the scene and marked Untwart’s exact movement path through the communication device on his wrist, Myung-jun maneuvered the Knights and raised the Nemesis Blade. He then delivered a powerful strike, capable of splitting the earth, right in front of Untwart’s moving path.
In an instant, a blue sword energy shot out from the greatsword swung by the Knights in mid-air, splitting the ground right in front of Kei’s feet. Despite being startled by the ensuing explosion, Kei closely observed the ground that Myung-jun had split open.
Seeing the monster fly into the air from the impact of the explosion, Kei shouted loudly.
“Got it! You worm-like creature!”
Untwart, who had been flung into the air from the safety of the underground, was utterly shocked. The enemy, who should have been desperately fighting his main body, had precisely attacked his escape route.
However, Untwart’s thoughts did not continue further. Before he could even regain his composure in mid-air, the freezing capture device thrown by Kei froze him alive.
‘What the hell?!’
Thus, Untwart, a high-ranking parasite of the notorious parasitic species “Unity,” which had spread terror by infecting countless species, met his end with a curse-filled final cry.
Simultaneously, the main body, which had lost its connection to the protected Untwart, ceased its attack and began to melt away. Shortly after, as the green liquid from the melting tentacles dissolved the ground and thick clouds of a terrible stench rose, Myung-jun’s Knights emerged through the dense green clouds.
Holding the frozen Untwart, Myung-jun spoke to Kei, who was watching him.
“We need to contact the EDA. For now, this infection incident has been successfully resolved.”
“Does that mean we can lift the quarantine?”
“It should be fine. We’ve completely eradicated all infection sources within the operation area.”
Hearing Myung-jun’s words, Kei asked,
“This operation was incredibly tough. I hope we never have to fight something like this again. It’s easier to deal with strong opponents; these cunning types are too troublesome.”
“I agree, but this isn’t the end. What’s certain is that the one we eliminated this time wasn’t a Twelve Heavenly Lord-level monster. That means this might just be the beginning.”
“Are you saying there could be more of these things?”
“We’ll have to torture ‘that one’ in your hand to find out. Hopefully, its durability is higher than I think. If it dies before we get all the information, it’ll be a hassle.”
In Myung-jun’s eyes, a fierce determination burned brightly, reflecting his resolve to reclaim the points he had spent, even if it meant torturing the creature.
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