Half a day had passed since the Nivalis air raid began. The three cities closest to the westermost Tallinn—Amsterdam, Dakar, and Hakodate—had been razed by the dragons. The army then commenced its march to the seven adjacent cities: Jericho, Sheffield, Umbria, Muchinga, Coimbra, Darmstadt, and Adapazari.
Thanks to that, each third of their forces had been divided into seven, facing the defense line formed by the Union, which had more or less taken control of the pandemonium.
***
Coimbra, formerly a city in Portugal, was a beautiful city of white buildings with orange roofs. The civilians had already evacuated to the east, leaving a tense atmosphere to fill the city. Just then, screeching wyverns came into view from the west after they destroyed Amsterdam.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” said a wrinkly, white-haired old man, wearing a green military uniform, surrounded by an army of fifty thousand humans making up Coimbra’s defense line. His sharp gaze shone as he remarked, “We must show them that we are not to be trifled with. I did my best to avoid a war, but I had forgotten that freedom can only be secured through war.”
He was Lee Bong-Seong, the Immortal Marine. He enlisted in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps on April 5th, 1949, and was one of the three hundred among twelve hundred Marines selected to join the 1st Marine Division.
The Korean War broke out the following year, and Bong-Seong fought for his country in the Battle of Jindong District, the Tongyeong Landing Operation, the Battle of Incheon, the Battle of Seoul, the Battle of the Punchbowl, the Battle of the Samichon River, and many more.
Bong-Seong had pushed through multiple battles and had witnessed countless deaths. Hence, he knew the horrors of war better than anyone. Perhaps it was due to his experience that he formed the conservative faction after being Lost to the Mirror World as a first-generation human.
He successfully made the conservative faction the largest among the other factions, and its success was attributed not to himself, but to the faction’s simple yet powerful ideology to protect fellow humans, their families, friends, assets, and honor.
“I am not old-fashioned. I’m just an old man with many things I wish to protect!” Bong-Seong shouted as his D Weapon, Red Name Tape, appeared on his chest, engraved with the letters Lee Bong-Seong in gold. “Help me, my late brothers in arms!”
[Activating Unique Skill: Ghost Killers.][1]
The Red Name Tape shone, and 299 young Marines made of red mana were generated around Bong-Seong, each armed with a Type 99 rifle. The same gun also appeared in Bong-Seong’s hands.
“Anti-aircraft fire!” Bong-Seong shouted as he and the Ghost Killers simultaneously got down on one knee and aimed their rifles up. “Come at us! We’ll turn you into Swiss cheese!”
This was the power of Lee Bong-Seong, the Immortal Marine, third in the human ranking. He was the main cannon of humanity, adept at dealing damage over time, and his attacks rivaled those of nukers.
“I’m still in my prime!”
***
Seong-Hwi dropped Melody and the children of Windmill Orphanage off at an underground evacuation shelter before immediately flying to the Fence Hotel to be briefed on the current situation by Jurie.
“Are you saying both Ferrum and Viridis are under attack?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“No, they’re just being kept in check. Only the Capital is under attack,” Jurie replied.
Seong-Hwi’s expression grew more serious as Jurie continued to speak.
“That must mean Lord Bafor won’t be coming,” he remarked.
“Neither will the elves.”
“What about Elementum?”
“The Union did send a request for reinforcement, but she’s deep in Forestis. By the time she comes...” Jurie trailed off.
Seong-Hwi felt something odd poking at his instinct. He thought, There isn’t a single Underground World Ranker in the Capital right now. They made sure of it.
Humanity had been caught off guard. No one could have expected Nivalis, who had been at war against Cadaver, to wage a frontal assault on the Capital out of nowhere.
Is it out of pride? No way. Nivalis is under Echion’s banner. Such an operation would have been impossible without the Third Lord turning a blind eye to it!
Back when Kang-San had acquired Mitasra, the head of Clan Trophy’s collection unit, he had chosen to hand him over to Gula over Biphatogenes. It was only natural for it to put Biphatogenes in a bad mood, but it wouldn’t have been enough to make him attack the Capital.
Echion and Orbis voted against Underground’s establishment. Is it the work of the Third and Second Lords?
They had likely found it displeasing that a new power, beyond their control, had formed in the outer zones.
And now... I get it. I now understand the war of stars that only the chosen can see! Seong-Hwi thought as Kang-San’s words replayed in his head.
“The power of one’s causality depends on how many feats they have accomplished that have been recorded in the Akasha, and how rare and impressive those feats are. That’s why unique caliber holders do their best to make history.”
Biphatogenes had attacked the Capital to record a new history in the Akashic Records as well.
In that case, where is he? Why did he just disappear after destroying the Walls of Tallinn?
There was no way that the man who intended to massacre the humans and have that feat recorded in the Akashic Records to earn causality would be so quiet. Something was off. Seong-Hwi’s heart pounded as an unsettling thought flashed in his head.
“Could it... be?” he mumbled, recalling the uneasiness he had felt as he helped Melody and the children of Windmill Orphanage evacuate.
“H-head east!”
“Get as far east as you can!”
“To the east!”
Every single person was heading east. On top of that, there was one anomaly about the extensive dragon air raid.
Far too many people survived!
The dragons’ encircling net was so loose that it allowed even small and weak children to get through it. The people who saw the sorry states of those who had escaped from the west would probably be running to the eastern cities in fear by now. The dragons would then destroy city after city, falling like dominoes.
“They’re herding us!” Seong-Hwi shouted.
***
A middle-aged man rested his chin on one hand, seated on an ice throne high up in the air, as he looked down at the ground. He was Biphatogenes, and beside him, standing at attention, were ten people with the same sapphire hair and eyes, and blue horns as him. They were all royals born with the blood of the ice dragon.
“They’re gathering,” Biphatogenes said.
“They are, Father.”
“Hehe, stupid humans!”
“Mmm. I wanna go home.”
“Stop whining, Sessegnon. You’re in our father’s presence.”
“Hmph, you’re such a stickler, Brother Seringer. Are you sure you’re not an elf?”
“Kekek! Are you saying Brother Seringer is like an intermediate race?”
“Hehe, Sessegnon sure is filling the youngest role well after that half-baked Illechebra dropped dead.”
Biphatogenes’s kin acted as if they were on a stroll.
“The fry will soon gather in the east. Be ready,” Biphatogenes said.
“Is there anything to even be ready for, Father?”
“Hehe, he has a point, Father. Just one stomp and it would be done.”
“Mmm, I don’t wanna go back into my true form... I’m too fat!”
Biphatogenes did not scold them for their attitude. Dragons having worries about facing inferior races was humiliating in its own right. It was also why a crack had formed in Biphatogenes’s iceberg-like pride.
Lee Kang-San! Biphatogenes shouted inwardly.
He refused to admit that Kang-San had garnered more attention than him. He read the Akasha Messages that he had already read countless times.
[The Readers have lost interest in your story.]
[Consuming enormous amounts of causality to ascertain why the Readers have lost interest in the Seed of the Dragon-Demon War.]
[The Readers wish for their causality to be used for the Underground Story that Lee Kang-San will write instead.]
...
“So, they think that the plot of my war isn’t as good as the struggles of an inferior race?” Biphatogenes mumbled, releasing an immense aura that shook the surroundings and froze his kin due to the pressure.
“Urgh!”
“Father?”
“W-what is the matter, Father?”
“Sessegnon! Apologize this instant! It’s disrespectful to Father to say that you don’t like your true form!”
“H-hurgh... I-I’m sorry... Please forgive me...”
Biphatogenes remained silent for a while, then asked his eldest son, Seringer, ninety-fifth in the dragon ranking. “I presume you have already warned those snakes?”
“Yes. They have relinquished control over the Snake’s Den.”
“The arrogance. They may both be members of the Ten Lords and Fiends, but do they think the likes of Vipera Anguis are on par with Lord Regnator? How laughable.” Biphatogenes smiled mockingly and asked Seringer, “What about Gabriel?”
“He went down to the surface after saying he had something to do, and has not shown himself for hours since.”
“I’m sure he has another scheme he’s carrying out in secret. The angels always do.”
Biphatogenes had joined forces with Archangel Gabriel of Orbis, but he did not fully trust him. Even the terms of their cooperation were that Nivalis would solely handle the attack on the Capital while the angels kept the dwarves and elves in check. It was highly likely that Orbis would dump the full responsibility onto Nivalis if the Sēmen raised issues regarding the incident.
But it doesn’t matter. As long as I secure the causality, Lord Regnator will handle the rest! Biphatogenes thought.
He then said to Seringer, “Tell Gabriel to perform his role faithfully, at the very least.”
“Yes, Father.”
Biphatogenes looked down at the fry quickly gathering and mumbled, “I will make it so things go back to how they once were. Your race was born to worship us.”
He was furious with Kang-San, but was also dissatisfied with the current situation. Only a few years ago, Nivalis alone could have easily wiped out the human race. However, not only did they have to join forces with Orbis, but they had to resort to a herding tactic.
“It is time for you to realize that dragons are the most superior of races, worms.”
***
“Are you sure?” Jurie asked.
“I’m sure,” Seong-Hwi replied with a serious expression.
“Are you really, really sure? If this is a feint operation, we should definitely post it on the Network. But what if it isn’t?”
Gerard, standing behind Jurie, added, “It would be a disaster. The western defense line could collapse.”
“But if it is a feint operation, it will lead to an even greater disaster. The casualties could reach... hundreds of millions,” Seong-Hwi said.
Jurie’s face paled.
Seong-Hwi continued, “The Capital is vast. If people are scattered across it, Nivalis’s forces couldn’t commit mass slaughter in a short time. That’s why they came up with a strategy.”
“Herding... to the east.”
“Yeah, they purposefully began their advance from the west and dispersed radially so that the North and South Earths wouldn’t be safe either.”
Seong-Hwi had suspected Nivalis’s feint operation based on what he had felt from the scenes of the attack.
“I have to make... the right choice. This one choice... could determine whether we win or lose,” Jurie mumbled.
She had already written the announcement to spread throughout the Network; all that remained was to press the send button. Her hand, holding the smartphone, trembled. Even Seong-Hwi doubted his suspicions over and over again, believing the choice would change everything.
He wondered, Is this really the right choice?
His instincts continued to whisper to him that this was undoubtedly a feint operation.
But Keter almost captured Lee Kang-San because of my incorrect choice last time.
Back then, Seong-Hwi had been certain that his judgment would succeed without question because it had been formed based on the culmination of information from his past life, but it had almost led to a serious mistake.
To make matters worse, the Nivalis attack on the Capital had never happened in his past life. Underground never existed in his past life either, so it could be considered a butterfly effect. Hence, his experience of the future, his most powerful weapon, was useless. Since he lacked objective data, he had no choice but to make a subjective judgment.
Am I sure? Seong-Hwi wondered.
“Let’s bet it on a game of craps. If you get a six, you’re sure.”
Am I sure?
“Help them now! Can’t you hear the screams of our neighbors?”
Am I sure?
“Ohhh! The system is being destroyed! Everything is returning to nature!”
Am I sure?
“What are you doing?! Get out there and kill as many as you can! There are prey all around us!”
He asked himself again and again, and various voices echoed inside his head.
Am I sure that I’m right? Lina went down to the basement with Leo. Should I confide in her wisdom? Or...
Seong-Hwi’s brain felt like it was about to explode from overload. The destiny of humankind weighed down on his shoulders. The cowardly feeling of wanting to share this responsibility with others filled his heart. He thought about Kang-San, the First Son of humanity.
Have you been shouldering this responsibility... all by yourself for a decade?
Seong-Hwi recalled the conversation he had with him at a pub in Ferrum.
“Let me ask you something, junior. Are you sure you planned all of this for humankind? Or was it for yourself?”
“I don’t believe they are different.”
“Hah! You sure are confident. Are you saying you are the future of humankind? That... isn’t easy. I would know.”
Seong-Hwi realized at last the weight of their conversation, which seemed insignificant at the time. He had reached a position where he could understand what Kang-San had meant.
I... will choose! I will become the future of humankind!
Once Seong-Hwi resolved himself, Jurie shouted, her voice mixed with joy and relief. “Seong-Hwi! Look at the sky!”
Seong-Hwi sprinted to the window where Jurie was and looked up. A giant shadow in the form of a tortoise and a snake head for a tail loomed over the sky.
“The Black Tortoise! Lee Kang-San has returned!” Jurie shouted.
Delightful and passionate cheers of the people throughout the Capital roared.
“YEAAAAAHHHHH!”
“THE TORTOISE EMPEROR IS BACK!”
“WE’RE SAVED!”
Lee Kang-San is back! As long as he’s here, we can protect both the east and the west! In that case... Seong-Hwi trailed off in his thoughts, formulating a new plan once the puzzle piece that was Lee Kang-San appeared in his head.
He turned to Jurie and said, “Forget the mass announcement, Jurie! Switch it to individual announcements that will go directly to Rankers and High Rankers. Also, contact Clans Taxi, Quick Service, and Container to...”
1. Ghost Killers (귀신 잡는 해병대) is a nickname given to the ROK Marine Corps during the Korean War due to their fierce fighting against the North Korean forces. ☜
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