Chapter 51

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While on his way to meet with the Taesan Guild, Lee Hyun-wook communicated with Kim Gang-seok via mana.

"…Commander, then I'll leave it to you."

He had urgently requested a few matters from the battalion for the next battle.

– Got it, I'll prepare as quickly as possible and fly over when you contact me, so don't worry.

"Thank you."

– And… please be careful. As you know, every wave has become exponentially stronger over time, so today will be much stronger than yesterday.

"Yes, I understand."

That was true.

There were countless reasons why the waves were called the worst disasters, but the biggest reason was that the 'raid difficulty' increased over time.

In simpler terms, the monsters that appeared during the waves gradually 'evolved' into forms that were harder to deal with.

For example, the number of 'Hell Rats' encountered yesterday increased exponentially.

A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, hundreds of thousands, eventually reaching a million…

And when a certain number was exceeded, they 'evolved' and gained a kind of passive skill,

where they emitted 'gas' from their bodies, creating a 'poison fog' special option.

'The Hell Rats that appeared with the green fog, devouring everything, were truly the worst.'

Yesterday, the Hell Rats were eaten by the Steel Battalion, but by this afternoon, they would have grown to an unmanageable number—thus, Lee Hyun-wook targeted them first.

Otherwise, more than half of the shelters in the wave zone would have been destroyed by the Hell Rats.

'The next most dangerous is the Multiracial Black Magic Guild.'

While the Hell Rats swept through Seoul, causing the most civilian casualties,

the Multiracial Black Magic Guild caused the most player casualties.

They kidnapped humans and offered them as sacrifices to evil deities.

Thus, they gradually gained more powerful black magic spells,

and by the fourth day of the wave, they created a black magic creature called 'Chimera.'

'…It was a top-tier monster, comparable to a dragon hatchling.'

Many players were mobilized to eliminate it, but they repeatedly failed.

Ultimately, the number of player casualties in that operation reached 1,855.

'Today, I will eliminate it before it grows any further.'

At that moment, the vehicle stopped.

"We've arrived. We're about 500 meters from the agreed location."

Lee Hyun-wook looked out the window at the driver's words.

It was an apartment complex in Apgujeong-dong.

"Good. From now on, we'll move on foot."

At his command, 15 troops got out of a transport truck.

The rest were waiting at the O Elementary School shelter.

"Maintain vigilance around the area and move slowly."

The Taesan Guild might have set a trap, so they couldn't afford to be complacent.

"…Hey! Is that the Steel Battalion?"

As they approached the rendezvous area, a voice was heard.

"Here! Up here! Come in!"

A man was waving from the third-floor window of a commercial building.

"Split into three teams and maintain distance as you go up."

Lee Hyun-wook remained vigilant, but fortunately, nothing happened.

On the third floor of a large commercial building, inside a gym, over twenty players were gathered.

They seemed to have just finished a battle and were resting, exhausted.

Among them, a man with glasses approached Lee Hyun-wook.

"Ah! You're here!"

Who is he? Lee Hyun-wook scanned his face. If he was a villain, he might recognize him.

But since he didn't immediately come to mind, he wasn't a particularly significant figure…

"Hello, I'm Choi Min-sung from the Taesan Guild."

The moment he heard the name, it clicked.

'Choi Min-sung… so that means Choo Gyo-yong, that guy, is here too.'

Choi Min-sung himself wasn't a particularly important name.

'Choo Gyo-yong is important.'

Monster Tamer Choo Gyo-yong, the leader of the strategy team Choi Min-sung belonged to, was a player with the unique ability to control monsters.

Lee Hyun-wook shook Choi Min-sung's hand and looked around again.

'Just the visible number is 24 in total, more than I expected.'

If they all attacked at once… honestly, it would be difficult to handle.

Well-trained elite players were on a different level from dealing with monsters…

"Are all the people here… members of the Taesan Guild?"

"No, not all. They're players from the elementary school shelter who joined forces to save citizens. They belong to different guilds like Cheonghwa and Goryeo."

"…I see."

"Well, we are the main group, but there are only six of us."

Six… Lee Hyun-wook didn't believe that.

They must have hidden people at the shelter to confirm the Steel Battalion's arrival,

and there could be others here pretending to be third parties.

However, there was something strange.

'Choi Min-sung is here, but the team leader Choo Gyo-yong isn't.'

Perhaps he was hiding somewhere, but there was no real reason for that.

'…They split the team.'

For the fourth wave, Gi Baek-jun had prepared three 'player cards.'

The Five Butchers / Apostate Gong Hyun-jun / Choo Gyo-yong Strategy Team

'But I've already burned two of those cards.'

With one erosion factor eliminated, they must be in a hurry,

and the remaining card, the 'Choo Gyo-yong Strategy Team,' had to split up.

The leader, Choo Gyo-yong, was likely with another erosion factor.

'This means their forces are divided, which is good.'

Lee Hyun-wook hid his thoughts and looked at Choi Min-sung.

"Do you know where the people are being held?"

"Yes, it's visible from here. Right there."

Choi Min-sung approached the window and pointed somewhere.

Among the many apartment complexes, there was a department store.

However… its appearance was very strange.

"The 'erosion' has already progressed quite a bit."

"Yes, it looks like a devil's castle…"

The massive department store building was covered with what looked like the roots of centuries-old trees.

Even the rooftop garden had grown with trees resembling baobabs,

and black birds, which were not crows, flew above them.

Yes, it had transformed into something like a legendary demon's castle and was still changing.

By this afternoon, the entire area would be covered in such a landscape.

"…I heard you attempted an attack to rescue the civilians but failed?"

At that question, Choi Min-sung showed a bitter expression.

"Yes. We tried an attack… but, those bastards… when we approached, they started dropping the civilians from the rooftop to kill them. As if they knew what we wanted."

As he listened to Choi Min-sung, Lee Hyun-wook felt a wave of nausea.

That expression, those words, were all full of fake acting.

While he was the one guiding the civilians to their deaths, pretending to be sad…

"In the end, to prevent those meaningless sacrifices, we had to return without success. And the entire department store is surrounded by a 'barrier,' so it's impossible to snipe from the rooftops of the apartments."

Barrier… looking at it again, it was covered in a purple shimmer.

It was a device that could block magic from the outside.

"Hmm, I have a method."

At Lee Hyun-wook's words, Choi Min-sung's eyebrows twitched.

"…A method?"

"Yes, I'll explain it. Gather the people."

Choi Min-sung immediately gathered the players.

"Hey! The commander of the Steel Battalion has a plan! Let's listen."

Lee Hyun-wook looked around at the players and began.

"The pattern they've shown so far is one. They use an unknown black smoke to make people unconscious, then kidnap them to their base without killing them. They don't distinguish between civilians and players."

The players nodded.

"Then, the easiest way to get inside is… to be kidnapped."

At the word 'kidnapped,' almost all the faces twisted.

"…What?"

"What do you mean, you're going to deliberately inhale that smoke and get kidnapped?"

"Yes."

"Hey, first, look at those guys over there."

Someone blew a raspberry and pointed somewhere.

There, two men were lying down.

"Those two inhaled the black smoke. See, not only did they pass out, but all their skills were 'deactivated' for a full 8 hours. In other words, they're no different from ordinary people."

In other words, if kidnapped, their combat ability would be zero.

"Yes, I know. But we're fine. We have resistance."

At that, everyone showed a puzzled expression.

Resistance, that wasn't something that could easily be acquired.

Lee Hyun-wook provided additional explanation.

"Luckily, we received a blessing that makes our entire force immune to curses. In other words, we'll pretend to be unconscious and enter with our abilities intact."

At that, exclamations of admiration broke out.

"Oh— there's such a thing?"

"Indeed, destroying the erosion factor wasn't for nothing…"

But then Choi Min-sung raised his hand.

"Hmm… actually, I and these three friends also have 'curse resistance.'"

…What, suddenly?

Lee Hyun-wook wondered what his intention was.

"Oh…"

"Wow— Taesan really lives up to its name."

"Hmm, it's nothing. We built it up while tackling undead-related gates for a while."

Amid the cheers, Choi Min-sung nodded seriously and continued.

"Anyway, we've considered such a plan. But it's… suicidal. Yes, the moment we're kidnapped, our weapons will be taken, and we'll be restrained."

Lee Hyun-wook immediately countered.

"That's where my ability comes in."

Choi Min-sung tilted his head.

Meanwhile, his eyes sparkled with an unknown glint.

"…Can you tell me what that ability is?"

That glint was his dirty intention to uncover Lee Hyun-wook's ability.

Lee Hyun-wook took out a metal ball and levitated