Chapter 96

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"Are they the kind of people who usually declare war and all that?"

In the Hope Guild office, Kim Sehee asked while watching the news bulletin.

"Uh, well…."

Park Cheolsu, who met her eyes, scratched his head, unsure about this issue, and Lee Hyun-wook, sitting on the sofa, answered instead.

"At least in the last war, they never did anything like that."

"If you mean the last war… Ah, the Shanghai Reclamation War, right?"

Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

"Yes, China mobilized all its forces to wage war against the Black Oak Kingdom. The entire period is divided into four major wars, and neither side ever declared war; all were surprise attacks without prior notice."

It was only natural. Humans also don't declare war when attacking monsters. In other words, it's natural that they don't recognize each other as states and don't treat each other 'humanely.'

"Hmm… But why did they declare war this time?"

…Well, Lee Hyun-wook was also pondering this point.

Meanwhile, on the TV news, the anchor and an expert were having a conversation.

— ……Is it the military power of the Black Oak Kingdom, or the difficulty level of the campaign? In any case, it's said to be quite significant. If they invade our country, can we stop them?

— Well, it would probably require the mobilization of all AMT forces and all civilian guild forces to barely hold them off.

— That means, this isn't just a fight against the monsters we know, but it could escalate to a full-scale war between nations?

— Yes, didn't China already fail in the last Shanghai Reclamation 'War'? Many see it not as a failure but as a defeat. And since then, it has been predicted that a large-scale war would break out again. The target, strangely, is us.

— But the reason for the declaration of war is 'Laputa'?

— Yes. The orc side claims that Laputa contains items belonging to the Black Oak 'ancestors,' but it's not clear what those items are. The government has remained silent on Laputa so far…

'Hmm, weapons of the Black Oak ancestors…'

At that point, Lee Hyun-wook thought he should ask Talos.

Such a story wouldn't just appear out of nowhere; there must be something to it.

— But wasn't China much stronger before the second wave? It's said that they had about five times the military power of our country…

— Yes, with a large population, they had many players, but they lost a significant number of them during the second wave and the Shanghai Reclamation War.

— Then, our chances of winning are almost zero. Hmm… Is there any possibility of a diplomatic solution with the Black Oak Kingdom? For example, if we give them the ancestral relics they want…

This was the only kind of hopeful talk that could come out, and naturally, the entire Republic of Korea fell into shock and fear. The Korean stock market plummeted, and foreigners began to flee.

'…So, their first goal is to spread fear.'

One of the intentions behind this sudden declaration of war was that.

This kind of situation had occurred a few times in his previous life, where the villain forces used the Black Oak Kingdom to stir up tensions in East Asia.

'It's like North Korea launching missiles all the time.'

By spreading fear, an economic recession was inevitable, and further, chaos and internal strife would occur, making it easier for the villains to achieve their goals.

Then, what was their 'goal' now?

'They must be planning something…'

But that evening, he received a call from Woo Sung-moon.

And the content was… as expected, but utterly absurd.

— A person in China claims to have the administrator rights to Laputa. And it's… a fairly well-known ranker.

The 'Chinese Laputa key holder theory' that had been circulating in China for some time was now being claimed by a certain faction in China as true.

— The Chinese guild is called . About 40 minutes ago, they contacted us, saying that since they are the administrators of Laputa, we should transfer the access rights to them. Ha ha… They say that if the Black Oak Kingdom invades the Korean Peninsula, they can easily stop them.

He sounded utterly bewildered.

"Yes, but if this story spreads, it will cause various problems. We haven't released any information about Laputa, so our citizens will inevitably worry that China might have such rights, increasing their anxiety."

That was obvious. If voices in China claim that Laputa truly belongs to China and should be taken from Korea, the Korean public would demand that the government reveal the truth—

— Yes, it will probably go that way. But there's something strange… The Chinese side also made the rather absurd demand that if there is another Laputa administrator in Korea, they should meet and discuss it.

'…Huh? What does that mean?'

At that point, Lee Hyun-wook could sense their true intentions.

'So, they are targeting the theft of the administrator?'

By creating a situation where the Laputa administrator must reveal themselves, they are trying to identify a target for assassination.

Of course, Lee Hyun-wook had no intention of playing along with their scenario.

"There must be another purpose if they are making such a claim."

— Yes, I won't be swayed by such transparent tactics.

There's a saying that you shouldn't feed the insane. The best response to such absurd political maneuvers is to ignore them.

'If I bite on this bait, it will complicate things by drawing attention to the world.'

Then, Woo Sung-moon mentioned that they were monitoring Shanghai with military satellites, and there was no movement of the main Black Oak forces yet.

'So, the declaration of war was just a typical fear-mongering tactic.'

Thus, the government, while preparing for any possible infiltration, focused on the idea that this incident was a 'show' with another purpose.

But…

'…That doesn't mean the Black Oak invasion is a lie.'

In fact, a few years later, the Black Oak army invaded the Korean Peninsula.

A ragtag fleet covered the sky and sea, simultaneously striking the west coast, installing totems that caused erosion, and ultimately turning Jeju Island into a Black Oak colony.

'But this time, the timing will be advanced.'

Given that Lee Hyun-wook had thwarted all the villains' schemes, it was likely that they would play the Black Oak card earlier.

'The only way to deal with them is… overwhelming firepower.'

The power to prevent any invasion of this land and the destructive force to make them reconsider their ambitions were necessary.

For example, a giant cannon that could destroy the fleet before it even lands…

At that moment, he received a call from Yeo Sang-min, who was waiting in Laputa.

— …This dwarf uncle says he successfully communicated with his people and that they need to start preparing for relocation.

The skilled craftsmen who would create that powerful cannon were about to arrive.

***

— Encounter with a Dimensional Traveler — 3

You have designated the relocation site for the Gray Mountain Dwarves.

They are scheduled to appear through a 'rift' in 8 days.

Be prepared for any unexpected 'accidents' at that moment.

* Quest Reward: Varies based on performance.

And today was the 8th day.

Soon, a portal would open in the sky, and the dwarf race would appear.

'And among them… wyverns will also fall.'

Therefore, Laputa was currently preparing for a 'siege.'

"Alright, Team 3, move to the external railing of B43!"

"Over here, gather the ice mages around the center!"

Recently, a new department called the 'New City Planning Department' was established within the Special Secret Police, and they were leading the effort, with support from a secret department that had helped stop the summoning of Abaddon.

In total, about a hundred players were mobilized.

"Set up magic turrets on Tower 8!"

To deal with the powerful flying monster, the wyvern, they were installing anti-aircraft items throughout Laputa.

Among them was a 'Master' level weapon that had swept away the ironclad bugs on Blue Dragon Mountain during the wave.

'But lightning attacks aren't very effective against wyverns.'

Lee Hyun-wook thought as he watched the scene.

After all, wyverns, which fly at high altitudes, are likely to be struck by lightning, so their bodies are designed to conduct electricity and they have considerable resistance to it.

So, what is the best way to subdue a wyvern?

Lee Hyun-wook knew the answer very well.

"Yeo Sang-min, bring all the boxes from the Chad Republic."

"Ah, are you going to install them here?"

Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

Then, from far away, another Yeo Sang-min ran out of the Order Tower, got on a Friedwyn at the non-standard port, and brought it over.

Woo—

"How are we going to land them here?"

"No, don't land. Just move them a little to the left."

As if recognizing his voice, the Friedwyn moved immediately.

'As expected, using Yeo Sang-min eliminates any delay in task execution.'

Yeo Sang-min's presence significantly boosts work efficiency.

'By the way, I need to tell him how to grow his abilities soon.'

Yeo Sang-min also had a growth mechanism where his 'clones' increased in number each time he consumed a specific item. Although the item was rare, it could be obtained from the black market.

Click—

Lee Hyun-wook pulled out four metal boxes from the Friedwyn.

Inside, there were things that looked like wooden vines, but they emitted a brilliant light, proving they were far from ordinary.

"Wow…"

It was… once again… the vines of the World Tree.

'The World Tree is really a cheat.'

It's not for nothing that the Chad Republic lives off a single World Tree.

'In that sense, Laputa, if well maintained, could be just as good.'

As a 'Transcendent Object,' Laputa would shower benefits as it developed—today, the Gray Mountain Dwarves would be the first step in that process.

"By the way, how did you get these precious items? They don't circulate much even in the black market…"

This was naturally provided by Emilia Mueller and processed for a special purpose at the Gang Jeong-doo workshop.

The resulting manufactured item was…

— Name: World Tree's Hook (Proficient)

— Effect: By hooking the 'hook' at the end of the vine to something and infusing it with mana, it can easily pull it with a mysterious force.

This would be the perfect 'weapon' to deal with the wyverns.

And a moment later…

"Great! The preparations to open the dimensional gate are complete!"

In the central square of the upper city of Laputa, Soiler shouted.

Behind him stood the junk airship he had ridden, with a pointed mechanical device attached to its bumper. According to Soiler, this was the device to open the dimensional gate.

"Can we start right now?"

Soiler asked, and Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

"Yes, we're ready, so let's invite the family."

Then, the team leader, Lee Gyo-jun, standing next to him, ordered the troops scattered throughout Laputa to prepare for battle via the mana messenger.

"Yahahaha! I never thought such a happy day would come—!"

Soiler cheered and pressed a button on the remote control.

A beam of light shot out from the pointed part of the device and gathered in the sky about 100 meters above. After a moment… the space at that point began to wrinkle like a thin plastic sheet.

Goo—oo—oo—oo—!

Thus, a purple gate opened in the sky above Laputa.

Gulp—

Behind him, someone swallowed dry. The members of the Bi-hyeong-rang team, all seasoned elites, were visibly tense.

After all… the appearance of 'wyverns' was announced. If you know even a little about these creatures, you can't help but be tense