Chapter 35
Mason had his eye on two people among the melee agents: Jeon Woohyeop and Jin Uiun.
The two, at levels 51 and 53 respectively, not only had excellent stats but were also skilled in combat techniques.
Jeon Woohyeop was a heavily armored warrior who used a mace and tower shield. A former riot police officer, he was proficient with a shield and had even served as a sub-tanker in his previous attack team.
Jin Uiun, on the other hand, was a light and agile melee dealer who wielded dual swords in light armor.
“Didn’t I ask the agent for defense-oriented personnel? Did you mess up?”
“No, I brought the right people.”
If Jeon Woohyeop was a slow and heavy damage-tank, Jin Uiun was a light and agile, high-speed warrior. Having mastered Chinese martial arts, both his sword and foot speed surpassed that of ordinary people.
“Would you be convinced if I said he was a former KPC High Level Champion?”
While others would block or take hits while standing their ground, he possessed the skill to move swiftly and dodge enemy attacks.
He’s a superior version of Eric.
It was true that focusing on evasion instead of defense felt unreliable, but it was also a fact that he had made it this far using that combat style.
He had to respect, or acknowledge that.
As the interviews and recruitment of dealers were coming to an end, Andrei approached Mason.
“Boss.”
“Hmm?”
“The Heavenly King-nim wants you to contact her soon. She wants to know how many healers to send.”
“Hmm…”
It was a difficult question.
Should he increase the number of melee dealers to improve the attack team’s adaptability, or should he increase the number of healers to enhance the team’s recovery capabilities?
The optimal balance would only become clear through actual combat, but right now, everything was new.
“Tell her to send five.”
Expecting smooth teamwork in their first battle was unrealistic.
Therefore, prioritizing adaptability was better.
Even if it meant… casualties.
“Alright.”
After deciding on the members, the next task was tactical practice.
Ranged dealers also had their own tactics, and the melee agents had to learn tactics to protect them.
“Unlike other attack teams, our ranged dealers don’t move during raids,”Seo Yeonhee explained to the melee agents during the briefing in the tactical meeting room.
“In other words… we have to deal with every other contingency.”
Seo Yeonhee was a veteran who had been active since the Eliminate Empire, the very first attack team.
In particular, she was exceptional at reading the battlefield and had the ability to operate a unique tactic called”Problem Solver”.
It involved separating a certain number of members from the attack team and having them address urgent situations.
The reason Seo Yeonhee, who was weak in conventional warfare, was appointed as the melee team leader was because of her situational awareness and leadership skills.
The tankers had the least to do.
They were the most important, but what they did was very simple.
Suppress and pressure the monsters.
The center of the attack team was the tanker.
The tanker didn’t need to study tactical movements.
Because everyone else had to move according to his movements…
Clang!
Mason and Andrei spent their time sparring with each other.
Or, more accurately, Andrei was teaching Mason.
Mason was bare-bodied, holding only a round shield, while Andrei was fully equipped with a battle axe, kite shield, and armor.
Despite that, whenever Mason unconsciously put strength into his shield, Andrei’s body would be thrown back.
“You’re too strong.”
Andrei shook his head.
“Hitting the enemy is good, but don’t push them away, Boss. If you push them away, you give them distance, and if you give them distance, you give them time.”
“…Hmm, sorry.”
Andrei tapped Mason’s round shield with his axe.
“A tanker has to keep the monsters from moving. Whether it’s forward, sideways, or backward. Even knocking them down is not good. The monsters need to be fixed in one place so the others can deal damage comfortably.”
“Hmm…”
Mason swallowed a groan.
His main tactic was to charge and push through, relying on his monstrous strength and physical abilities.
Being told to hold his ground and endure was like being told to abandon his ingrained combat style.
Andrei looked at Mason with his axe resting on his shoulder.
“Well, being the main tanker of an attack team is a tiring and boring job, one way or another.”
“That’s true.”
Andrei was a top-class tanker.
While Sung Kijun, a tanker of similar level, specialized in enduring and mitigating damage to lessen the burden on healers, Andrei specialized in pinning down monsters to prevent them from taking other actions, making it easier for dealers to deal damage.
Offensive tanking and defensive tanking are actually different.
It was probably the difference between the Heavenly King’s rich attack team leader, confident in her healing capacity, and the poor Holy Knights who couldn’t rely heavily on healing.
Even the composition of the attack team had a significant impact on the tanking strategy.
Mason was lost in thought.
Then how should I tank?
He couldn’t easily grasp a definitive form.
Focusing on defense diminished his offensive power, while focusing on offense disrupted the team’s cohesion.
This isn’t easy…
He discussed various things with Andrei.
And time passed.
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The raid began in the basement parking lot of the attack team building, where their camp vehicle was parked.
The destination was Nowon District. Specifically, the area around Nowon Station, the habitat of the Horned Gorgon.
“I think it’s better to take a detour towards Gyeonggi Province rather than going straight up from Gangnam.”
“Alright.”
Seo Yeonhee had planned the driving route using pre-acquired road information and satellite images.
The camp vehicle moved along that route.
A strange atmosphere filled the air, a mixture of anticipation and tension.
Half of it was the expectations for Mason, and the other half was the fact that this was the first time this group was working together.
The camp vehicle stopped at the Nowon Station intersection.
They moved quickly according to their pre-arranged plan.
“Seo Yeonhee, you monitor the Horned Gorgon. Tankers, stand by at the main base. The rest of you, begin clearing the surroundings.”
“Yes.”
Their objective was to eliminate monster colonies in the vicinity that might be under the influence of the Horned Gorgon or were highly aggressive, to prevent them from interfering during the raid.
All the attack team members were max level. Even if they split into parties, wiping out a single colony wouldn’t be a problem.
Meanwhile, monitoring the Horned Gorgon’s movements was Seo Yeonhee’s task. She was observing the Horned Gorgon’s situation while remaining concealed.
Only Mason and Andrei remained in the camp vehicle.
Their mission was simply to wait. To wait and respond if the Horned Gorgon or other monsters showed any unusual behavior.
Andrei was lightly moving his body, warming up, while Mason sat chewing on a calorie bar.
Then Andrei spoke.
“Boss.”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s better to tell you beforehand, just in case… I have a secret order from the Heavenly King-nim.”
“What is it?”
“To keep you alive, even if it means the attack team is wiped out.”
“…”
It was something Yekaterina would order.
Mason nodded.
“Thanks for telling me. But, didn’t you say it was a secret order?”
“Just keep it a secret from everyone else.”
Mason chuckled.
Andrei, a typical tough guy, was indeed different from Yekaterina, the Red Knight, Liza, and the others.
If the rest seemed like the type to scheme or plot something, he gave off a straightforward and magnanimous impression.
“Do you think this raid will go well?”
“It has to. I think it will… But…”
Andrei grinned, showing his teeth.
“You never know with a fight until it’s over.”
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As the surrounding cleanup was finished, people started returning to their positions one by one.
Masika Karembe and her ranged dealers had taken positions inside nearby abandoned buildings and apartments.
Deroa spoke curtly.
Seo Yeonhee and her melee team were lined up in front of Mason and Andrei.
Now it was Mason’s turn.
“Mason, move.”
Mason slowly started walking.
From between the forest of buildings, he could feel the gaze of the Horned Gorgon in the distance.
They say that if we stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at us.
Naturally, it would have sensed their presence. Just as the humans were watching the Horned Gorgon.
Humans and monsters. They were aware of each other and maintained a vigilant standoff.
Mason’s job, his first job as the main tanker, was… to break that standoff.
“Come on…!”
Into battle stance.
A man approaching, weapon in hand. Was there a better way to express the will to fight?
The Horned Gorgon also began to emerge from the forest of buildings.
“Hoo…”
At first, its silhouette in the shadows looked like a four-legged ox.
But that illusion lasted only for a fleeting moment.
It possessed a ferocious appearance, far removed from any peaceful creature like an ox.
Its sturdy, muscular body was covered in metallic scales, and flames flickered around its hooves. Behind its massive horns, its eyes glowed fiercely like burning coals.
It was a true monster, a true beast.
The superhuman and the monster stared at each other.
For a fleeting moment, their gazes met without any emotion.
However, the moment they acknowledged each other’s existence…
A fierce fighting spirit and murderous intent filled both Mason’s and the Horned Gorgon’s eyes.
“Kuwooooooooo!”
With a deafening roar, the Horned Gorgon charged straight towards Mason.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled with every step its hooves took, and shards of glass rained down like hail.
Masika’s shout reached him.
The k*ll zone, the firepower projection point they had established, was far behind. Her order to retreat and lure it in was reasonable.
The problem was, the Horned Gorgon.
If he retreated even a single step, he would be gored by its horns or crushed under its hooves.
This is not the time to retreat.
With a fighter’s instinctive intuition, Mason was certain.
The moment he showed any intention of retreating, he would be crushed.
He leaned forward and planted his feet firmly.
“Hoo…”
Emptying his lungs, he tightened his joints. Bones hardened, muscles tensed. Mason launched himself forward from his lowered stance.
Deroa screamed.
At that moment, the Horned Gorgon and Mason collided.
Crash!
“Ugh…!”
It was an inevitable outcome.
As Mason’s upper body armor shattered, his entire right upper body was blown away, turning into a spray of blood.
It was an inevitable outcome.
The only consolation was that one of the Horned Gorgon’s horns had also cracked with a loud snap.
“That idiot…!”
As Deroa was about to prepare a spell, Seo Yeonhee stopped her with a look.
It wasn’t over yet.
At that moment, gritting his teeth, Mason reached out with his left arm and grabbed the Horned Gorgon’s horn.
Grip. Grip.
Mason’s feet dug into the ground.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Screeeeeech!
His boots tore into the asphalt. Shredded metal and burning sparks flew like fireworks.
“Eeeeeek…!”
At that moment, Mason’s right upper body regenerated.
Thud.
Mason’s revived right arm wrapped around the Horned Gorgon’s other horn.
How should I fight?
From the moment he took charge of the attack team, Mason had been agonizing over this question. Up until now, he hadn’t been a main tanker. He had fought battles where he supported someone else, battles where he wasn’t the main protagonist.
But not anymore.
What should I do with my enemy?
Sung Kijun protected his team members by standing between them and the enemy, and Andrei pinned down the enemy by pushing them back.
Imitating them was easy.
But… that wouldn’t make him better than them.
Fight.
Mason pondered and finally came to a conclusion.
In a way that only I can.
