NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
Episode 34
100,000.
When that number was announced in the conference room, the guild representatives each let out a sigh.
Their reaction was somewhat understandable because even for me, who had already dealt with countless orcs in Eden, 100,000 was a number that was quite concerning.
100,000 is by no means a number that can be ignored.
Especially in the case of orcs.
“As you know, orcs tattoo their tribe’s symbol on their arms. However, just the types of tattoos our informants have identified this time exceed 7.”
On the screen were photos that seemed to have been taken from quite a distance using a high-performance camera, and as Minister Yoo Seon-ho said, 7 different tattoos were clearly organized.
Judging by the fact that I don’t recall them, they don’t seem to be the orc tribes I knew in Eden.
However, those orcs also didn’t seem to have very different habits from the orcs in Eden.
“Orcs are basically classified as a sub-race that lives in tribes. Even if they are of the same kin, if they belong to different tribes, they have the habit of thoroughly antagonizing each other. After the Dimension Opening, they have shown quite consistent behavior. However, for some reason, 7 tribes have united this time. It’s an extremely unusual occurrence.”
As Minister Yoo said, orcs are a sub-race that possesses extreme exclusivity and belligerence.
So they are a sub-race that doesn’t easily unite, but there was one case where orcs unite as one.
“According to confirmed information, a special individual that seems to be leading the orcs has appeared.”
“A special individual?”
“Hmm.”
Judging by the representatives’ reactions, it seems it hasn’t appeared on Earth yet, but I knew what that special individual was.
I’ve faced it a few times in Eden.
A being born with the power to dominate orcs.
A monster that gathers the reckless fighting spirit of orcs and creates the tragedy called war.
“In the world I came from, that individual was called the Great Monarch.”
Great Monarch.
I spoke with a furrowed brow, and then all the gazes that had been focused on the screen turned towards me.
“It overwhelmingly surpasses other orcs in all aspects and breaks down the distinction of tribes. The moment a Great Monarch appears, orcs instinctively pledge loyalty to that individual.”
I didn’t expect to encounter an orc Great Monarch again on Earth.
Compared to the four orc Great Monarchs that had appeared back then, it seems fortunate that there is only one on Earth.
“Mr. Shi Yu. Could you briefly explain about that, if possible?”
At Minister Yoo’s request, I shrugged my shoulders slightly and continued,
“Well, there’s nothing particularly unusual. It possesses overwhelmingly superior strength compared to other orcs and has the ability to gather orcs just by existing, that’s about it.”
Minister Yoo tried to listen to my answer, but Representative Lee, who had fought with Representative Choi earlier, turned on his microphone and said,
“This is Earth. The orcs that the awakener Kim Shi Yu encountered in his world may exist, but they could be a completely different species from the orcs on Earth.”
He’s basically picking a fight with me.
I looked at him, smiled, then lightly clasped my hands and replied,
“That could be the case. But I said that because the habits they are showing didn’t seem very different.”
“In preparation for situations like this, major guilds have established their own research institutes to support research on monsters. I understand you have not returned to Earth for long, but it’s best to leave such matters to experts.”
In other words, this is their area of expertise, so don’t butt in as a returnee and get lost.
It was quite an interesting thing to say, so I decided to play along with that tune.
“You seem to like leaving things to experts, so I guess you left it to the experts in Ground Zero as well? But the experts’ skills were really poor.”
“…What are you talking about now?”
“I’m beating around the bush to tell you to know your place and shut up, do you not understand?”
If this wasn’t the Ministry of Ability Management and Minister Yoo wasn’t here, I would have broken things off long ago.
“While it’s good to have personal conversations, please focus on the monster wave first.”
I obediently nodded at Minister Yoo’s interjection.
Despite how I may seem, I am someone who knows how to separate public and private matters. There will be plenty of time to continue our bad relationship with them, so let’s put it aside for now.
“Mr. Shi Yu seems to know a lot about that special individual, so do you perhaps also know a solution?”
“It’s simple. We just need to kill that Great Monarch individual.”
If the Great Monarch, who serves as the center, is killed, the forces under the Great Monarch will naturally split apart.
Dealing with an orc army is quite a troublesome task. They are fellows who boast overwhelming strength and combat power compared to other races, so if you clash head-on, you have no choice but to struggle.
It was also a strategy we had chosen in Eden because we were in a situation where even one soldier was precious, and it was more effective than we thought.
The moment the Great Monarch’s head was smashed, the orcs went berserk and started killing each other.
“Hmm.”
Minister Yoo swallowed his breath at my words.
“That special individual is positioned at the center of the 100,000 orcs. Even if killing that special individual ends the monster wave, don’t we have no choice but to break through to reach the center?”
“That’s the case if we approach by land, but there’s no need to approach only by land.”
Advancing while turning the orcs into a pulp was quite an exhausting task, even for me.
“We can use the sky. Conveniently, there is a very good means called helicopters on Earth.”
“Are you saying you will form a special forces team and carry out an aerial assault operation using helicopters?”
“Exactly.”
At those words, a man who had been silent until now looked at me and asked,
“There is no certainty that killing the special individual will stop the monster wave, so can I take it to mean that you want to deploy our hunters for a possibility that cannot be confirmed?”
Judging by how the conference room, which had been buzzing, became solemn at the man’s words, he seemed to be the person with the strongest voice in this gathering.
A man who looked to be in his early 30s at most.
However, just by looking at the tiger-shaped badge on his suit, I could roughly guess his identity.
The representative of the Daeho Guild, ranked 1st among guilds in South Korea.
While engraving that man’s face in my eyes, which I felt I would be seeing for a very long time, I firmly answered,
“When did I say I would deploy your hunters?”
“Due to the simultaneous outbreak situations, the government will likely not have the capacity. That’s why Minister Yoo arranged this meeting…”
“I’m going alone.”
Was it an unexpected development?
Silence fell upon the conference room once again, and I smiled at the guild representatives with dumbfounded expressions and concluded,
“I heard that my power was deliberately exaggerated or manipulated. I plan to clearly prove it this time. If anyone has any objections, please speak now. I would appreciate it.”
I can’t miss the business opportunity that has come all at once.
Two plans were established through the meeting.
“Plan A. Under the leadership of the awakener Kim Shi Yu, an aerial assault operation will be carried out to eliminate the special individual, the Great Monarch, and break up the monster wave.”
“Plan B. In case Plan A fails, major guilds led by the Daeho Guild will form a defensive line in the area of the former ceasefire line and cooperate with the reorganized 30th Mechanized Infantry Division to block the monster wave.”
If I hadn’t been there, the situation would have likely proceeded according to Plan B.
In the past, that Mechanized Infantry Division alone would have been reassuring, but most of South Korea’s modern weapons were destroyed during the
Moreover, the matchup wasn’t very favorable either.
The reason was that the monsters that had appeared through the gates had an unknown resistance to Earth’s modern firearms.
To that extent, there was a high possibility that the dimension’s system was involved in some way.
Otherwise, such a thing couldn’t have happened.
Anyway.
Because the situation was so urgent, I headed straight to an aviation battalion located in Paju as soon as the meeting ended.
All preparations were already completed on site.
The helicopter I would be riding was already fueled, and the pilots, with tense expressions, were also ready.
“Will you really be okay alone?”
“You don’t need to worry. I’m in a good mood thinking about getting some fresh air up high after a long time.”
By the way, in Eden, I rode griffons trained by dwarves instead of helicopters.
They were quite rough, so the ride wasn’t very comfortable, but compared to that, helicopters are a blessing.
I lightly nodded and brought my hand to the helicopter’s fuselage.
Then, pure white flames that rose from my hand instantly enveloped the fuselage.
Woong-!
[Active Skill
[A powerful blessing is imbued in the object for a certain period of time.]
“Can that really drive away flying monsters?”
“The effect will be quite good. No matter how starved a monster is, it won’t come looking for a place to die.”
The reason the pilots are so nervous is surprisingly simple.
It was because various flying monsters, including wyverns, were running rampant beyond the former ceasefire line, the lost land.
“Mr. Shi Yu. This old man shamelessly makes another request to you. Please, by all means, stop the monster wave.”
Although abnormal phenomena were occurring nationwide, the Ministry of Ability Management considered the monster wave as the top priority threat.
It meant that if I quickly resolved the situation here, the major guilds waiting in the back could also be distributed to other areas.
I feel like quite a burden has been placed on my shoulders, but this level of pressure is fine.
“I’ll be back soon.”
At least it’s lighter than bearing the fate of a dimension.
I lightly said to Minister Yoo, then looked at today’s cameraman who was waiting behind me with a flushed face.
“Brother Se-myeong. Are you ready?”
“Yes, yes! Your Holiness! I will definitely capture it on camera!”
Seol Se-myeong, a member of Min-soo’s filming crew.
The lucky ordinary person I first encountered in the Yeoju Abyss Dungeon before, who had a natural resistance to magic power.
In the case of
It’s because it became a barren land due to monsters that flowed out from the gate, not due to the mana of the gate.
So I just brought Seol Se-myeong.
There’s no need to give up on filming when it’s possible.
Promotion is very important when a competition is about to start.
How can I resist provocative titles like , ?
I casually spoke to Se-myeong, who was trembling.
“You don’t need to worry too much.”
“I know that the safest place is by Your Holiness’s side!”
“But why are you trembling so much?”
“That’s because I’m trembling with the honor of participating in this glorious ministry! I can’t contain my excitement. Thank you so much for this opportunity! Even if I have to dedicate this body to Limen…”
…Was he trembling for a different reason?
There must be a reason why even Min-soo, who had a slight taste since the Yeoju Abyss Dungeon, expressed it as ‘Se-myeong is not in his right mind right now’.
“Limen will also greatly rejoice at Brother Se-myeong’s voluntary service. Now, shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Like that, I boarded the helicopter with Se-myeong.
A helicopter that had appeared a few times in movies and dramas I had seen before.
Earlier, the battalion commander here told me the name UH-60 or something, but to me, it was more familiar with the name
The inside of the helicopter was much more spacious than I thought.
Maybe it’s because there are only two people sitting in the cockpit.
Let me think, I exchanged names with those pilots earlier… What were their names?
Ah, right.
“Captain Han Seung-woo? Captain Shin Gyeong-seok?”
“…Yes.”
“Yes.”
Somehow, the atmosphere feels like someone walking into their own death.
Proper tension is fine, but excessive tension always invites trouble. So, to relieve their tension, I casually asked a question.
“Do you both have children?”
Then the two nodded simultaneously.
“I have a son in elementary school.”
“I have a daughter who just entered kindergarten…”
It seems the saying that soldiers marry quickly is true.
I slowly nodded at their answers, then slightly raised the corners of my mouth and said,
“Contact them in advance and tell them daddy is coming home early today. 20 minutes to get there, 3 minutes to handle it, 20 minutes to come back. Even overestimating, 1 hour is enough. You’re people who work hard for the country, so you should have some comfortable times too.”