Chapter 44

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At Gyeryongdae in Daejeon Metropolitan City, the people who held sway over the Republic of Korea were gathered.

They were representatives of giant guilds and high-ranking government officials.

However, most of them were holograms projected by mana crystals, making it essentially a remote meeting. The agenda, of course, was the closure and erosion of the 10km radius around Seoul Station—namely, the 4th Wave.

"Hmm, this is just a theoretical discussion, isn't it?"

Despite the gathering of the best minds in the Republic of Korea, the response to the current situation was vague.

"You're right. What can change by wasting time like this?"

"Ah, honestly, we have to admit it... there's nothing we can do."

The words sounded irresponsibly incompetent, but they were true.

Really, there was nothing they could do.

The Wave Zone, unlike the Seoul Station Unlucky Event, had no 'entry conditions.'

Complete entry prohibition—no one could go in or out.

"Even the internal situation can't be properly communicated... how frustrating."

While communication was possible through 'mental links' between high-level mages, it was quite limited, and communication only occurred once every 30 minutes.

"...So, what we need to do is quickly prepare for the world after the Wave!"

Even more radical, there was a suggestion to completely abandon active response.

Since there was no way to exert influence from outside the Wave Zone, they proposed to ignore whatever happened inside and focus on 'post-Wave measures' until the entry restrictions were lifted in five days.

"Wait a moment..."

Of course, not everyone was so indifferent.

A woman in a white shirt stepped forward to raise a counterargument.

"Are you saying that we're just going to abandon over a million citizens in the Wave Zone?"

She was Gang Se-yoon, ranked 4th among Korean players.

"And preparing for the aftermath of the erosion... Ha! Do you know what happened to the eroded cities? This is an unprecedented situation where we could lose not just Seoul, but the entire capital region! Shouldn't we focus on preventing the erosion first?"

It was a very obvious point, but the reaction from the audience was lukewarm.

"Look, Gang, who doesn't want to save Seoul? But we need a method."

"You're right. Not only is it impossible to deploy troops, but it's also difficult to communicate with the troops inside."

"Indeed. The only time we can intervene is in five days, and preparing for that is a much more rational strategy. To save this country, we need to focus and make choices."

In response to these individual objections, Gang Se-yoon held her head.

"Damn, it's easy to rationalize... but is it right to just give up...?"

"-What, what did you say!"

Gang Se-yoon abruptly stood up.

She was actually in the meeting room, not a hologram.

"Let me say one more thing."

"..."

"Everyone, don't you have guild members inside the Wave Zone who can be contacted? If they unite and act as one, they can form a significant force. Isn't that right?"

"..."

"Is there any guild master who has grasped the number of guild members inside the Wave Zone and given them instructions?"

"..."

"...No, I guess not. But it's a bit much to say there's not a single one."

"..."

"Guilds have been so focused on their own interests and competing with each other that they can't even cooperate in a situation like this. It's not too late to instruct the guild members to unite and respond!"

Despite her passionate plea, the reaction remained lukewarm.

"Ha, Gang, the Wave is no ordinary event. Do you really think they'll just say 'yes' and go out to die just because we tell them to? I don't understand how you don't know this after running a guild."

"You're right. Some might step up out of a sense of justice, but most will hide quietly."

In this era, players were the elite and, in a sense, freelancers.

They might belong to a guild, but if they had nothing to lose, they didn't have to obediently follow the guild's orders. With high enough rank, they could easily move to another guild and live well.

How many would actually follow an order to go out and die gloriously?

Gang Se-yoon slammed her hand on the table.

"If they won't step up as human beings, damn it, we have to make them step up, even if it means forcing them!"

"..."

"Alright, our Jumeunnae guild will offer items as rewards."

Everyone looked at her with confusion.

"For every erosion factor eliminated by a player inside the Wave Zone, we will give one 'Heroic Tier' item, and the player who performs the best will receive one 'Legendary Tier' item."

She intended to make them respond actively by offering rewards.

But 'Legendary'...

When that word left her lips, many in the audience raised their heads.

"...Yes, you're right, aren't you? Please, spread this news to your guild members."

"..."

But perhaps they thought it was a reasonable response, as guild masters began to join her plan one by one.

"Then our Oh Sang Group will offer 30 million dollars to the group that eliminates the erosion factors."

"Good, our Haetae guild will add 20 million dollars!"

Thus, a total of 50 million dollars, or about 550 billion won, was added as a reward. While the won had started to plummet after the 4th Wave began, it was still an enormous sum.

Gang Se-yoon watched the situation and clicked her tongue.

"Really, it's ridiculous that we have to buy solutions to a national crisis with money..."

Indeed, it was a flawed era.

***

Thud— Thud—

The Undead Elite Monster, Zombie Troll, was a very unique monster.

A troll with the highest regenerative ability, it had been cursed by dark magic and became a servant of death.

Thus, it felt no pain, and no matter how much damage it took, it would recover instantly.

Even damage from 'holy power,' the weakness of the undead, would be recovered.

For those facing it, it was truly... an indescribably difficult opponent.

Crash—

Such a terrifying monster was now shattered and sprawled on the road.

"It's... impossible..."

Lee Jung-jun, who had blocked the path for AMT, couldn't believe what he saw.

Eating hundreds of zombies for experience was surprising, but this was really...

'How is this possible?'

He couldn't understand even after seeing it.

So, Lee Jung-jun recalled the scene before the Zombie Troll fell.

'...First, the cargo beds of two trucks opened.'

Inside were an enormous number of weapons.

When the unknown AMT commander, Lee Hyun-wook, raised his hand, the weapons floated up—

Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—!

Like missiles, hundreds of spears flew and began to pierce the Zombie Troll's body.

Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—!

But mere physical damage could never stop such a large troll.

No, it didn't even give a moment's pause.

The troll, with spears dangling all over its body, continued to advance—

Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—

Its steps even quickened.

Now, only about 200 meters remained before it would trample them.

Until then, Lee Jung-jun...

"Hey! Don't you see it's useless? If you want to save your men, you should retreat now!"

...was shouting at the top of his lungs, his mind in a daze.

He wanted to run away, but if he had that kind of personality, he wouldn't have decided to save the evacuees from the Jangchung-dong Community Center.

He didn't want to see these brave soldiers die in vain.

However, Lee Hyun-wook only frowned slightly for a moment and continued to do his job.

There was not a hint of fear in his eyes. It was as if victory was a given...

Even the soldiers under his command, though sweating, remained focused on their tasks.

"An Min-tae, is the freezing magic ready?"

"Yes! A total of 21 shots are prepared."

At his gesture, the mages rushed forward and fired freezing magic.

Zzzzzzz—

All of them hit the troll's upper body, forming a solid 'ice restraint.'

But once again, it was useless.

With dozens of spears in its body and half of it frozen, the troll did not stop.

Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—

It was now very close, only about 50 meters away.

The stench of decay from its body began to assault their nostrils.

'There's nothing we can do. We have to run, even if it means leaving them behind.'

As Lee Jung-jun turned to signal his comrades to go, a single word from Lee Hyun-wook stopped them in their tracks.

"Shatter—"

Boom—!

"..."

With a loud explosion, a significant portion of the Zombie Troll's upper body was blown away.

Especially its left arm was completely severed, spinning in the air and spraying blood in all directions,

Crash—!

before breaking through the window of a shop and entering.

"What... what is this?"

It was a scene that defied logic.

He had seen metal balls explode to sever a zombie's ankle, but the destructive power was not enough to affect a troll. The skin and flesh of a Zombie Troll were far tougher and more resilient than a regular zombie.

So, how...

'...Ah! It's because of the freezing magic!'

Yes, that's why it was possible.

First, the spears were embedded, and then freezing magic was cast to rapidly cool them.

This caused the troll's blood to coagulate and firmly adhere to the spear tips.

Like a tongue sticking to cold ice cream—

In this state, if the metal exploded—exactly like that, a terrifying and destructive phenomenon occurred.

A simple but ingenious move that dealt massive damage.

'Wow, it's an incredibly powerful attack. They are using everything for the raid.'

However, even then, Lee Jung-jun couldn't relax.

Grrrr—

Despite the massive attack, the Zombie Troll did not fall.

It paused for a moment and then took another step forward.

Thud—

'Of course, it's an undead! Losing an arm doesn't mean it can be stopped!'