Chapter 282: Episode 282

Aboard the Sky Castle, Yusin passed through Gangwon Province and entered Gyeonggi Province.

“Yerin, how much mana is left?”

“Just enough for one more shot! But if we fire it, I think we’ll have problems with the power supply.”

“Okay, then let’s head straight to Paju.”

They had put out the most urgent fires among the Cataclysms. The remaining areas could be handled by hunter teams, including Garam. The problem now was the Red Gate. If they couldn’t stop it, all their success with the Cataclysms would be for nothing. Hong Yeon was pushing herself to the limit to hold the line. He had to get there and help her.

’My condition isn’t bad.’

Thanks to Ha Yerin piloting the Sky Castle and his administrators fighting so well, he had conserved more than enough mana. Now it was time to pour all of it into the Red Gate.

Yusin turned on his earpiece. “I’m going to enter the Red Gate myself now. Please report to hunter Im Namjin in advance and ask him to handle the entry procedures.”

“Understood!”

After finishing the report, Yusin turned around. Jeong Seojin, Jin Bora, and Eunsol were talking and laughing cheerfully. Just like old times. At first, he had felt a sense of loneliness, being dropped into the world five years later, but he was relieved to find that the important things hadn’t changed.

Jin Bora noticed his gaze and waved. Jeong Seojin and Eunsol also smiled at him.

“You’re heading to the Red Gate now, I presume,” Seojin said.

“Yeah.”

“If we won’t be a hindrance, we’d like to accompany you.”

“I appreciate the thought, but the situation is complicated. It seems they fired a nuke into the Red Gate.”

The three of them exchanged surprised glances. Yusin shrugged.

“You need a radiation suit to go inside, and they don’t have any spares. I’m borrowing hunter Im Namjin’s. You three wait outside the gate and stop any monsters that come out. They said the defense team is severely short on hunters right now.”

Jeong Seojin and Jin Bora exchanged a subtle look.

“Yes? What is it?” Yusin asked.

“Actually, on our way here, we were trying to figure out how to keep you from running off,” Jin Bora said, hands on her hips. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened five years ago.”

Yusin gave a bitter smile. He couldn’t argue with their concern. “I won’t do anything that reckless again. I’ve gotten strong enough that I don’t have to. But, I’ll promise you one thing.”

He gave a thumbs-up and pointed it at himself. “I’ll come back this time, too. You waited five years, you can wait one more day, right?”

Jin Bora let out a long sigh. “I told you. He wouldn’t listen to a word we say.”

“Oppa!” Eunsol came over and attached something to Yusin’s shoulder.

“Oh, is this a Wing Golem?”

“Yep! It’s a present.” She grinned. “Honestly, you’re the only one who can properly handle a Wing Golem, so I haven’t been developing them. I had to make this in a hurry, so it’s not fully charged. It won’t last long.”

“Wow, thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed.”

Once the Wing Golem was attached, Yusin sent his mana into it, unfurling the wings. A pair of sleek, blue wings spread out.

“I’ll put it to good use, Sol.”

“Okay! Make sure you come back safely!” Eunsol came closer and gave him a tight hug, acting cute. As Yusin patted her head, she giggled.

“Hmm.”

Watching them, Jeong Seojin stroked his chin with a serious expression. Jin Bora playfully nudged him in the side.

“What are you so serious about?”

“I was just wondering if he enjoys being patted more than patting others.”

“…Ah, you’ve really lost it.”

* * *

A fierce battle was raging in front of the Red Gate. Monsters immune to radiation were the first to pour out, followed by those who had been infected, their bodies breaking apart as they emerged.

“Open fire!”

The military unleashed another barrage of firepower, but rank-5 monsters charged through the thick smoke of the explosions and slammed into the defensive line. Im Namjin, watching from the front, brought his radio to his mouth.

“Hunter Team B-35, engage.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hunters wielding mana swords dashed out, cutting down the high-rank monsters. Their massive bodies were instantly reduced to chunks of meat that littered the ground.

“Vice Commander! The enemy numbers are increasing!”

“Our remaining ammunition is at thirty percent! Please authorize the use of the next tactical nuke!”

Im Namjin gritted his teeth. “Hold your position a little longer.”

There was one hunter who was supposed to enter the Red Gate. A person who might just be the hidden card that could turn this situation around. But he couldn’t wait much longer. The defensive line was weakening.

“When on earth is he…”

“Were you looking for me?”

At the voice behind him, Im Namjin turned. His face instantly brightened. “You!”

He strode forward and pulled Yusin into a fierce hug. Yusin stood awkwardly and managed a smile.

“I’ve been waiting.”

“It seems like you’ve been waiting a long time. What’s the situation?”

Im Namjin’s expression immediately turned serious. “Inside the Red Gate, it’s a mess. Everyone has reached their physical limit, but they haven’t even found the boss. It wouldn’t be strange if they were wiped out at any moment.”

“What about Hong Yeon?”

“She’s safe. If it weren’t for the Association President, we would have been pushed back long ago.”

Yusin nodded. “I’ll go in right away.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“But don’t get your hopes up too high. Just one person going in isn’t going to change the tide of the war.”

Im Namjin gave a strange smile. “If I hadn’t experienced the Labyrinth Dungeon, I might have thought so too.”

“…Haha.”

“The radiation protection suit is over there. It’s my size, so it might be a little big on you.”

Yusin put on the green suit and looked ahead. Countless monsters were continuously pouring out of the gate.

“Wow, getting in won’t be easy.”

“Then we’ll just have to make it easy, won’t we?” Im Namjin said, getting to his feet. “I’ll see you off.”

He walked forward. The mere sight of Im Namjin on the field drew cheers from all around. He, too, had been one of the hunters representing Korea back in Hong Yul’s era. Of course, he still was. It was no exaggeration to say that thirty percent of the defensive team’s strength came from Im Namjin alone.

“I will open a path.”

“Should I stick close behind you?”

“You’ll get caught up in it if you do. Keep some distance.”

With those words, Im Namjin strode forward, his thick coat fluttering.

Crack! Craaack!

With every step he took, the ground hardened and split like a drought-stricken field. The monsters, seeing him, shrieked and charged.

An ogre-type monster swung its hammer-like arm.

Crack!

But the moment it touched Im Namjin’s body, its claws shattered, and its arm turned to stone from fingertips to elbow. The monster clutched its arm in agony.

Kireek!

Keeeeek!

The monsters charged relentlessly, but it was useless. A monster that tried to bite his neck had its head turn to stone and crumble. Another that swung a steel axe had the weapon shatter like a cookie from blade to handle.

He walked silently through the enemy ranks. The attacking monsters were the ones who fell back in pain. No attack could touch him. Wherever Im Namjin’s body passed, monsters turned to stone, cracked, and crumbled. Monsters of rank-5 or lower turned to dust just by getting close. It was an overwhelming performance. He wasn’t fast, but he steadily walked closer to the Red Gate. The wave of monsters was endless, and soon, Im Namjin was buried under a pile of monster flesh and lost from sight.

“All units, open fire,” Im Namjin’s voice came over every radio in the army.

“S-Sir? But the Vice Commander is…!”

“Open fire.”

The cannons surrounding the Red Gate all fired at once. The indiscriminate punishment of fire swept over Im Namjin and the monsters together.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

Surging flames and a mountain of smoke billowed up. Yusin, who had stepped back, hardened his expression. ’Even for Im Namjin, isn’t this a little too risky?’

Just then, his voice came through the earpiece.

“Now. Get in.”

Without hesitation, Yusin stomped on his boots and dashed forward. At the edge of the smoky world, he saw countless monsters turned to stone and scattered about, and Im Namjin, holding down a building-sized monster with one hand. He gestured toward the gate.

“Take care of the Association President.”

Yusin grinned. The world was full of incredible people.

“I’ll be back.”

Thanks to the escort of a certified rank-2 hunter, Yusin succeeded in entering the Red Gate with almost no mana expenditure.

* * *

He was inside the Red Gate. From the entrance where Yusin had come in, for hundreds of meters, the corpses of irradiated monsters formed mountains. Even so, a few monsters were still moving, and high-rank monsters resistant to radiation were striding toward the exit.

’I hope this suit actually works.’

Like the defensive field of a hunter suit, when he switched the radiation suit on, a green film-like barrier enveloped his body. It also had an internal purification function, so breathing was not an issue.

’First, let’s get out of here.’

Yusin activated the Wing Golem and took to the sky. A few monsters spotted him and launched ranged attacks, but by pushing the Wing Golem to maximum speed, he easily evaded them. Escaping the irradiated zone wasn’t difficult, but he had no idea where to go. The dungeon, seen from the sky, stretched endlessly beyond the horizon. And from every corner of this vast space, monsters were flocking toward the Red Gate’s exit. The sight of them kicking up clouds of dust as they raced across the wide wasteland was enough to give him chills.

He needed a clue, however small. Yusin expanded the function of Deva’s Eye and carefully scanned his surroundings. He soon spotted a group of people heading toward the Red Gate.

’Why are they coming back to the entrance? Deserters?’

Yusin flew quickly toward them.

“Huh? Uh?”

“Someone’s coming!”

The hunters were on high alert, aiming their weapons at Yusin. He held up both arms.

“I’m a hunter from the communications team, sent by the Vice Commander.” He said, shaking the Vice Commander’s badge he had received from Im Namjin. Only then did the people let out a sigh of relief.

“A-Are those official orders to retreat?”

“It’s top secret, so I can’t say, but it’s not a retreat.”

The hunters’ faces stiffened.

“And where are all of you headed?”

There were about fifteen vehicles and fifty escorting hunters. They answered in voices that were barely audible.

“We have many seriously wounded, so we’re returning for treatment.”

So they were a defeated unit. Yusin gave a simple nod.

“I’d like to help, but I have a mission. Could you tell me the location of the main force?”

Yusin received a device from a communications specialist that displayed coordinates within the dungeon.

“Please be careful.”

“Thank you. But there are a lot of monsters near the exit, so getting out won’t be easy. Wouldn’t it be safer to stick with the Association President?”

At Yusin’s question, a few hunters exchanged glances before one spoke up. “The situation has gotten much worse.”

“Worse?”

“This dungeon is impossible to clear. There’s no doubting the Association President’s power, but her stamina isn’t infinite.”

With that, the hunters departed.

’An impossible dungeon, huh?’

It was understandable they would feel that way. They had to fight an endless stream of monsters in a place this vast while searching for a boss whose location was unknown. But she wasn’t one to give up. Knowing Hong Yeon’s personality, she was probably pushing herself to the brink, determined to find it no matter what.

“E-Excuse me…”

Just then, an unfamiliar female hunter leaned her head out of a vehicle.

“Are you talking to me?”

She nodded and got out of the car. Her entire body was wrapped in bandages, and she limped heavily, her injuries appearing severe.

“Hunter Kim Yusin. It’s you, right?”

Yusin blinked in surprise. He had been focused on the Wing Golem and had turned off his Water Veil, pulling his hood down, but he never expected someone to recognize him in this situation. There was no point in hiding it anymore, so he answered honestly.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Yeon is…” The woman started to speak, then bit her lip. “She’s definitely planning to die here.”

She was silent for a moment.

“I think she’s reached her mental limit. Please, I’m begging you. Save Yeon!”

Calling the Association President “Yeon” meant she was likely a close aide. Seeing her desperate expression, Yusin realized there was a high probability that Hong Yeon’s condition was far from normal.

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Yusin nodded once, then activated the Wing Golem and ascended into the air. He had to hurry before it was too late.

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep