Chapter 58

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"Wh-What's that?!"

Three men stood on the rooftop of a building in Gwanak District.

They were staring at the massive flaming sphere, 'Semi Armageddon,' floating in the sky.

"Oh my God…."

Suddenly, it plunged into Cheongryongsan, the breeding ground of the steel-armored bugs.

In the next moment, the entire mountain was obliterated.

Kwa——a——a——!

An immense heat wave swept through, and the men on the rooftop had no choice but to flatten themselves on the ground.

Dirt rained down on their heads like a shower.

"Damn, what the hell is happening all of a sudden…."

"Ugh! Chief, are you okay?"

"Ugh, but… is the erosion factor still intact?"

One of the men wiped the dirt from his mouth and asked.

"Fortunately, it seems so. We haven't received a quest failure notification yet."

"Madness, where the hell did that come from?"

These were the subordinates of Choo Gyoyong, the villains.

After confirming the approach of the Steel Battalion, they had planned to lure the steel-armored bugs and eliminate them.

This was possible due to a special item given to the villains for this wave. Everything seemed to be going according to plan… until someone unexpected appeared and ruined everything.

"Ah, this is a serious problem…."

– Click— Hey! Hey!

At that moment, a roar came from the mana messenger on the ground.

"Ah! Chief… T, Team Leader seems to be contacting us."

The man called Chief picked up the mana messenger, hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the button.

"Yes, Team Leader, it's me!"

– Click— Damn, what was that just now? An explosion, right? What kind of explosion was that so huge—!

An angry voice shouted.

It was Team Leader, Choo Gyoyong.

"That was probably… the Archmage, it seems he has appeared."

The Archmage, the highest-ranked player in the current wave zone.

– What? ……Are you sure?

"That, if there's any player who can teleport and cast a spell with that level of destruction, it must be the Archmage."

– Damn, I knew that guy would be a stumbling block! We should have somehow gotten him out of here….

Before the wave began, the villains had tried to move any powerful players who might interfere to outside the wave zone. As a result, Seoul was emptier than ever.

By creating this power vacuum and striking the remaining forces early on, they aimed to neutralize them.

This was the villains' wave strategy.

However, a few, like Choi Jungcheol and Kim Gangseok, did not fall for the bait.

– Tsk— But… this… well, it might be for the better!

For some reason, Choo Gyoyong started to chuckle.

"…What?"

– Choi Jungcheol will be incapacitated for 12 hours after that one hit.

Choi Jungcheol, known as the Archmage, was not versatile in all magic. His magic was focused solely on vast areas and immense destruction.

And such a skill typically had an extremely long cooldown period after use.

Twelve hours, to be exact.

– So, without him, we'll have to break through the swarm of bugs to eliminate the erosion factor… I'll join forces with them, pretend to lead the charge, and then….

"O…."

– ……We'll take them all out in one go.

The reason the villains' plan had a high chance of success was that no one knew their true intentions.

"Team Leader, but… shouldn't we be careful about the Steel Battalion…?"

Strangely, every villain who encountered the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Antimagic Brigade, especially the Steel Battalion, disappeared.

They had no detailed information about this, as not a single one returned….

But Choo Gyoyong snorted.

– Hey, Oh Taekjin, do you think I'm the same as them?

"Ah! Of course not. I apologize."

Yes, A-rank players were indeed in a different league.

The Demon Trainer, Choo Gyoyong, his monsters never died.

***

Three days had passed since the fourth wave began to erode Seoul.

Important events in the wave zone were relayed to the world through various channels, and for the past three days, the world had only talked about the fourth wave.

And the most frequently mentioned in these stories was undoubtedly the 'Steel Battalion.'

'Probably almost every news headline has our name on it.'

So, from outside the wave zone, it might seem like the Steel Battalion was fighting alone.

Until the news of the Anyang Duo's success, only the Steel Battalion had shown any results.

However, that was far from the truth.

Many players were fighting to protect Seoul in different areas.

'While there are many selfish individuals, there are also many players with a sense of justice and duty.'

Seo Eunha and Choi Youngjun, for instance, had attacked two gates in the Namsan area, and elsewhere, players were active, and about twenty improved gates had been captured across Seoul.

In other words, the number of players fighting against the wave was not small at all.

'And right now, we need to gather the strength of those who have been fighting and focus it in one place.'

The last erosion factor was not a problem that the Steel Battalion could solve alone.

'To attack this erosion factor, we need to break through the endless swarm of steel-armored bugs, and there is only one way… we need powerful and sustained firepower.'

Although it was only one shot, Choi Jungcheol's 'Semi Armageddon' bought them some time.

'During this time, we need to gather as many players as possible, especially those with as many lightning skill items as we can.'

Enough to eliminate the swarm of steel-armored bugs as if they were pests….

This was the plan proposed by Lee Hyunwook, and Choi Jungcheol supported it.

"Ah— Requesting support from all players in the wave zone! Currently…"

Thus, the communication soldiers gathered and sent mana communications in all directions, and those outside the wave zone also helped spread the message.

Soon, players in the wave zone began to appear one after another.

"From the west, three vehicles are coming from Euncheon-dong!"

"Eleven players from Heukseok-dong are joining us."

In less than 20 minutes, over 200 people gathered at the assembly point, a primary school playground.

Of course, not all of them were useful forces.

"Tsk— It seems even the riffraff are gathering…."

On the command stand overlooking the playground, Go Jinhan scanned the players and grumbled.

He clicked his tongue at a group of young players.

They had smooth, unblemished skin and were dressed in unnecessary fashion, clearly lacking any combat experience.

Go Jinhan pointed at them with his chin and looked at Lee Hyunwook.

"Captain, were these guys really fighting against the wave until now?"

"…I don't think so."

They probably emerged from some shelter, hoping to get a piece of the action. Everyone knew that hero-grade items and large sums of money were at stake with the erosion factor….

"Tsk, tsk, the situation has completely changed. With news of erosion factors being cleared every day, people are starting to become complacent… Damn, these clueless guys…."

There were also a few people who looked like journalists. They held mana messengers and were spreading the situation here to outside the wave zone.

While there were many such elements….

'…But still, more useful people will gather than troublemakers.'

Lee Hyunwook stood on the command stand and turned his head towards the erosion factor, Cheongryongsan.

Black smoke was rising. This time, it was real smoke, not a swarm of bugs.

Since the Semi Armageddon, Cheongryongsan was still burning.

'But that level of heat won't harm the steel-armored bugs at all.'

They were probably still emerging from the gate, increasing their numbers.

'Breaking through is still impossible. The firepower is woefully inadequate, and Choo Gyoyong is here.'

Just then, someone came running over.

It was the brigade's adjutant.

"—Brigade Leader!"

Choi Jungcheol and Kim Gangseok, who were talking on one side of the command stand, turned their heads.

"Huff— Huff— Just now, a huge reinforcement is expected to arrive."

"…What? The Anyang Duo is already here?"

The magnificent reinforcements, everyone thought of them.

But the adjutant shook his head.

"No, they are delayed by about 30 minutes due to various circumstances."

"Hmm, then who is it?"

The adjutant swallowed and spoke.

"The Demon Trainer, Choo Gyoyong, has arrived!"

The Demon Trainer, Choo Gyoyong, was the 68th-ranked player in South Korea.

Excluding Choi Jungcheol—ranked 38th—here, he would be the strongest.

However, no one was particularly cheering at his arrival.

"Massive reinforcements, but he's a problem because he acts on his own…."

Choo Gyoyong's image was not good.

Especially, Kim Gangseok frowned openly.

Choo Gyoyong, fitting his nickname as the Demon Trainer, tamed monsters with cruel binding magic.

He had appeared in various media, mocking and criticizing players who showed affection to their minions as fools.

As a druid who communicated with his beasts, Kim Gangseok could not be pleased.

In any case, Lee Hyunwook understood why Choo Gyoyong was here.

'He's trying to blend in and manipulate things to his advantage.'

This was the villains' specialty. Since no one knew their true intentions, it was easy for them to blend in and control things as they pleased.

'But they don't know that I know about the villains…'

They might find it strange that the Steel Battalion has been repeatedly targeted by villains, but they wouldn't think their identity has been exposed.

The villains' organization was shrouded in secrecy, and they firmly believed their identity and purpose would never be revealed.

Beep— Beep—

Soon, a large truck carrying a trailer entered the primary school playground.

Inside, there were likely many of his 'zombie monsters.'

'And somewhere in there is the heart box.'

Choo Gyoyong's undead minions,

A secret box containing their hearts….

Lee Hyunwook actually knew their location.

'I know it better than anyone because I subdued him.'

However, he tortured Choo Gyoyong's subordinates because the storage location might have changed in the past.

"Ugh, the stench is already overwhelming. It's not a zoo, what is this…."

Go Jinhan muttered.

It was natural for the stench to arise from cramming decaying monsters into such a small space. The players gathered in the playground frowned and stepped back.

Whoosh—

The sound of the truck's air pressure stopping was heard, and the men who got out of the truck opened the trailer's door.

Red eyes began to glow from inside the trailer.

Thud—

The first to emerge was a muscular giant with a bull's head, a Minotaur.

He was at least 3 meters tall, and it was a mystery how he fit inside the trailer.

"Oh, damn…."

"Wow, I've never seen anything that big."

"…Is this really safe?"

The players murmured like spectators.

The Minotaur was a high-tier monster, more powerful than a troll and comparable to an ogre.

To see one in real life, you'd need to be at least C-rank 1st tier, and to attempt to hunt one, you'd need to be B-rank or higher.

There were four such Minotaurs.

Two double-bladed axes were attached to each of their backs.

At first glance, they seemed to be made of adamant.

A monster that could pull out these two axes and charge, being undead….

'Those four could turn 20 trolls into minced meat. And those weapons… I should give them to my Living Armors.'

Lee Hyunwook couldn't help but swallow.

Next, orcs emerged. There were 12 in total.

Their skin was black, and blue tattoos were etched on it.

Black Orcs, the highest-tier orcs from the orc kingdom of Shanghai, China.

They were so powerful that they couldn't be considered the same species as regular orcs.

'And they are enhanced with various spells, making them even stronger than they appear.'

A monster tamer didn't just control monsters.

They could grow or strengthen them.

'I remember these.'

These 12 were known as the 'Black Orc Assault Team.'

After extracting their hearts, a 'mana generator' made of orihalcum was inserted in their place.

These were a kind of mana engine, supplying about 25,000 mana.

Thus, they maintained an unextinguished 'aura' throughout their bodies, forming a powerful assault team. That was their true identity.

'I don't need the axes, but I'll take these.'

Swallow—

He swallowed again.

Thud— Thud— Thud— Thud—

"Uh…."

When they lined up in the playground, the players began to feel an instinctive fear.

Naturally.

Even if a tiger or lion is on a leash, the sense of intimidation doesn't disappear. And the fear of the leash being broken and them charging at you is the same.

However….

"Uh…."

A real problem occurred.

Bang—!

A few Minotaurs crushed the vehicles the players had arrived in.

"What, what are they doing…."

Among them was an AMT armored search vehicle.

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

One of them was smashing an SUV repeatedly, as if venting frustration.

Since they lacked reason, they often acted impulsively like this.

However, the men who got out of the trailer truck ignored it and continued with their tasks.

"…Why, why are they doing this!"

"Damn, why aren't you stopping them?"

Some players couldn't stand it and began to protest.

"Damn, if you knew they were like this, you shouldn't have let them loose!"

"Right! Put them back in!"

At that moment,

"Ah, shut up, really—!"

The one who shouted was a large man who looked like a puffed-up toad.

He was the Black Monster Tamer, Choo Gyoyong.

He got out of a black sedan that followed the trailer and walked towards the players.

"Hey, it's just a mistake! What's the big deal about a few cars, I'll pay for them all!"

When Choo Gyoyong shouted, the protesting players had no choice but to shut their mouths.

Because the Minotaurs and orcs were approaching behind him.

"Can't you see those dull eyes? Huh? These are just mindless beasts that only know how to kill. It's not strange that they break things, and you're all making a fuss over nothing?"

"…."

"Right, yelling in front of beasts is pointless, and they might really make a mistake."

No one argued, and he snorted and turned around.

But at that moment, someone muttered.

"Idiot, looking like a puffed-up toad…."

It was soft, but audible to good ears.

Choo Gyoyong turned sharply.

And glared at the players.

"…Hey! You!"

"Me? Me?"

It was a young-looking man.

"Right, you, come here! You thought I wouldn't hear…."

"…That's enough."

The one who interrupted was Kim Gangseok.

"What?"

"We didn't gather here to fight."

Thus, the two giants faced each other.

"Ah— Kim Gangseok? Long time no see."

The Minotaurs snorted and glared at Kim Gangseok.

Seemingly reading Choo Gyoyong's emotions, they were ready to draw their double-bladed axes.

And behind Kim Gangseok, blue eyes began to glow.

On the school's rooftop,

a white tiger, black lion, and great condor stood on the railing, looking down at Choo Gyoyong.

The beasts on both sides were ready to clash at any moment.