Chapter 55
Their march was peaceful.
Even monsters have instincts, and few would dare to challenge such a large-scale march.
However, it was not something to be completely at ease about.
Flying monsters in the vicinity were circling, keeping a certain distance. It seemed to be a display of vigilance.
There was no reason to attack first… but there was no reason to leave them alone either.
“The main force will handle it.”
Mason looked at Masika.
“Is sniping possible?”
“It’s possible.”
“Good.”
Masika and other ranged dealers took their positions on top of the trailers.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Beams rained down like a downpour, and the shot-down flying monsters plummeted like flies.
With a satisfied expression, Mason spoke into the walkie-talkie.
“Clear.”
As long as there were no monster interferences, the road to Yongsan District wasn’t far.
Soon, a building came into view.
Reinforced with steel and concrete, various structures, the building, unlike the surrounding ruins, had traces of human presence.
Mason picked up the walkie-talkie.
“This is Mason, Raid Leader of Revengers, in charge of the Yongsan District Player Fortress Recovery Operation. Requesting entry to
A moment later, with a thud, the heavy iron gate of Castle began to open.
In front of it stood a man.
A middle-aged white man in heavy armor made of dragon bones, equipped with a two-handed greatsword made of dragon wing bones, it was Ronan MacLeod.
He signaled to enter by clearing the path.
The trailers entered Castle and took their respective positions.
Simultaneously, engineers dispatched from the military began their work.
And, the players also began to disembark.
Mason spoke to Liza, Sung Kijun, and Masika.
“I don’t think there will be any trouble, but let’s be on guard just in case. While the engineers are working.”
The engineers’ work included reinforcing the detection and alarm systems. Until that was done, manpower was needed.
All three, experienced commanders, agreed.
As the players were deployed on the walls, Captain Oh Junghee approached Mason.
“Raid Leader.”
“Captain.”
Mason nodded.
The next thing to do was set.
“Let’s go greet the Lord of the Castle.”
Ronan, the Lord of the Castle, was up on the watchtower, looking out.
As Mason and Oh Junghee approached, he turned to look at them.
“Mason Park, and Captain Oh Junghee.”
Mason looked at Oh Junghee.
“Did you know each other?”
“Yes, I’ve been the liaison since the early days of the Player System.”
Oh Junghee said in a calm voice.
“I was also the one… who delivered the Ministry of National Defense’s order to abandon Castle and withdraw.”
“…Ah, right.”
Ronan said in a calm voice.
“Have you decided to use Castle again?”
“Yes.”
As confirmed by the blood of many, Castle was useless as a defensive and troop training base. But as a bridgehead for attack and a logistics base, it would surely do its part.
The problem was that Castle wasn’t an empty base.
“You abandoned this place.”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t you apologize?”
Mason frowned.
‘What an arrogant and fussy man.’
Oh Junghee said in a calm voice.
“If my apology is enough, I’ll apologize as many times as you want, Lord Ronan.”
“You’re wrong.”
After curtly saying that, Ronan moved without a word.
Oh Junghee followed him silently, and Mason shrugged and followed behind them.
The place Ronan arrived at was an empty lot in the corner of Castle.
Numerous spears, swords, guns, even staffs. Player equipment was stuck upside down.
“Apologize.”
And looking closely, something was hanging from the equipment.
‘Necklaces?’
Thin chain necklaces, dog tags.
Only then did Mason realize. This was a graveyard, and those weapons were tombstones for those who died in Castle.
“Apologize for abandoning them.”
At Ronan’s words, Oh Junghee saluted instead of answering.
Towards the graves.
Ronan’s stern face relaxed a little.
“They died on the battlefield at the command of the country, so promise that you will treat them as war heroes with respect. If you fulfill your duty by doing so…”
He looked at Mason.
“…I will also return the ownership of Castle to the South Korean government.”
Oh Junghee answered.
“I promise.”
“Good. Castle is now yours.”
Ronan nodded solemnly.
“And, I formally request the owner of Castle. Will you allow me to continue fighting as a member of Castle?”
Oh Junghee looked at Mason, and Mason nodded.
“Sure.”
“I, Ronan MacLeod, accept your command and swear to fulfill my duty.”
Mason nodded.
“Alright.”
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It was dinner time that day when everyone gathered in one place.
Someone plopped down in front of Deroa, who had covered her tray with snacks and chocolates, and Seo Yeonhee, who had brought a nutritionally balanced meal.
It was Mason, with two trays piled high with food.
Seo Yeonhee looked back and forth between the tray and Mason with sad eyes. It wasn’t just the amount of food; it was full of high-calorie foods like chicken and pizza.
“Don’t you gain weight even if you eat like that?”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t…”
She chewed on her broccoli with a gloomy face.
Mason, instead of devouring the food, asked cautiously.
“There’s something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“About Ronan. Could he be a problem?”
Ronan was sworn brothers with Sebastian, Seo Yeonhee’s lover, and believed that Seo Yeonhee was largely responsible for his death.
The problem was, he was the type to settle right and wrong with his sword.
“As long as we have his promise, there won’t be any problems. He’s the kind of person who always keeps his promises.”
“Is that so.”
Mason scratched his head.
“Is he always that stiff?”
“Why?”
“I spent a little time with him, and he doesn’t seem like the type to be friends with.”
Deroa, munching on potato chips, chuckled and said.
“Probably only our oppa, who was an influencer king, could be friends with that old geezer.”
“…Ugh.”
Mason grumbled, and Deroa giggled.
Then Seo Yeonhee asked.
“What do you think of Castle?”
“It seems like a pretty decent defensive facility. It’ll be good if we repair it well.”
“It was built with that in mind from the beginning.”
Seo Yeonhee said calmly.
“We need to reduce the numbers here as much as possible to be comfortable in the winter. Let’s work hard.”
“Winter? What happens in winter?”
“Yes.”
Seo Yeonhee said.
“But that’s something to think about later, let’s focus on this now.”
“…The next step.”
The first step of Castle Defense, reoccupation, was successfully completed. Reorganization would also be finished soon. Then what would be the next step?
“Reducing the number of monsters.”
Until now, the Player System had been operating in a k*ll team manner, clearing specific areas or raiding specific monsters.
Then it was time for the next step.
It was time to move on to reducing the overall number of monsters.
It meant switching from guerrilla warfare to regular warfare, and the purpose of Castle Defense was to fight as efficiently as possible if they were going to fight anyway.
“The biggest problem at this point is that there are too many monsters in Seoul.”
Seoul was a well-urbanized metropolitan city, with many high-rise buildings. The environment was too unfavorable for high-tech weapons like tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets to exert their full combat power.
Not only was the matchup bad because of the monsters’ barriers, but the environment was also unfavorable. That was why they were only sending players into Seoul.
“Seoul has to be handled by players. Or… even with regular infantry.”
“Deploying regular infantry in anti-monster combat would result in too many casualties.”
“Yes, that’s why we have to use players, and since we’re using players, we’re restarting Castle to use them more efficiently.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Mason thumped his chest with his fist.
“Then, what should I do?”
“What do you mean?”
Seo Yeonhee stared at Mason.
“Just watch.”
“…Huh?”
He realized the meaning of those words after their first battle at Castle.
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Wheeeeiiiing…
A strange sound wave pierced Mason’s ears. It was the afternoon of the next day.
“What’s that?”
As a surprised Mason covered his ears, Seo Yeonhee said with a surprised expression.
“You can hear that?”
“What is it?”
“It’s a monster-attracting sound wave. They say it’s adjusted to a frequency that ordinary people can’t hear…”
“Well, I’m not an ordinary person…”
Mason, who had spoken absentmindedly, was startled.
“…Wait, but what kind of sound wave is it?”
“A monster-attracting sound wave.”
“What?!”
Mason hurriedly grabbed his two-handed hammer.
“What are you doing?”
“What else? Getting ready to fight.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“…Huh?”
“Because there won’t be anything for us to do.”
Seo Yeonhee pointed to the top of the wall.
Players were already deployed there. Ranged dealers and mages from each raid team.
Masika was exchanging communications with other raid teams with sharp eyes. Each time their conversation went back and forth, the players’ positions shifted slightly.
When Mason approached, Masika made a puzzled expression.
“Raid Leader, what’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter? I should be asking you that.”
Mason grumbled.
“You’re going to fight and you didn’t even tell me?”
“Well… because there’s no need for you.”
“Huh?”
It was then.
Monsters began to approach from afar.
Perhaps due to the attracting sound wave, they all seemed full of killing intent.
Masika signaled into the walkie-talkie.
“Engagement will be timed with the Holy Knights’ ranged team. Contact us when they’re within effective range.”
The three raid teams had a significant difference in levels. Especially the Holy Knights, where everyone except the tanker was below level 50. They were barely considered a complete raid team.
This was especially true for ranged dealers.
Compared to Revengers, which specialized in ranged dealers, the other two raid teams lacked both the number and damage output of their ranged dealers.
Then they had no choice but to adjust to them.
While Mason watched quietly, a signal came from the Holy Knights.
“Open fire!”
At that moment, dozens of beams covered the monsters.
“Queek!”
“Kyaaak!”
A group of monsters collapsed on the spot, and realizing the situation was serious, the monsters turned their backs to flee.
That’s when the mages stepped forward.
“Fire Wall!”
“Ice Sheet!”
Various magic spells blocked the monsters’ path or bound their feet. Meanwhile, the beams steadily increased the number of monster corpses.
If the beams were the monsters’ death, it was the mages’ magic that drove them to their deaths.
Different magic spells, in different ways, bound the monsters within a specific area. It was the optimal distance for the mixed ranged dealers to fire.
