Ubermensch – Chapter 84

Chapter 84

“…”

Romance was just romance; reality was reality.

Documents, documents, documents…

Mason was drowning in a sea of paperwork.

“No, why are there so many things to review and approve?”

Masika nonchalantly responded to Mason’s grumbling.

“Didn’t you know? This much paperwork is standard after every raid.”

“But why do I have to do it…”

“Because it’s the raid leader’s job.”

“I didn’t do it before?”

“Seo Yeonhee took care of it for you.”

“Ha…”

Mason went to Deroa and asked.

“Hey, when is Seo Yeonhee coming back?”

“She’ll be back when she’s done…”

“Tell her to come back already. We need to go catch the Great Eater.”

“I can’t reach her. No, not even reach her…”

Deroa wore a gloomy expression.

“I don’t even know if she’s alive…”

“…Something happened?”

“It’s just… there were some things. Anyway, it seems like we’ll have to go catch the Great Eater ourselves.”

Mason scratched his head.

“Whatever it is, you should have told me. Maybe I could have helped.”

“You? Why?”

“We’re friends.”

Deroa blinked.

“…Why are you staring at me?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone who calls Seo Yeonhee a friend.”

“You know.”

“Silly, I’m family.”

“That’s true too.”

Deroa gave a wry smile.

“You’re a good guy.”

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Time passed smoothly even as Mason struggled with unfamiliar non-combat duties such as paperwork and research guidance.

“Mason, we have a call from the Ministry of National Defense.”

“A summons?”

“Yes.”

Many people were already gathered at the Ministry of National Defense.

Liza’s Forest Guard, Han Areum’s Engineering Engineering Engineering, and Simon Magus’ Mage Corps.

“Your Majesty.”

Liza no longer hid her respect and bowed. It was an old-fashioned gesture, like a subject would show to their monarch.

“That damn ‘Your Majesty’…”

Mason grumbled.

But now he had to accept this cumbersome crown.

Mason was now the undisputed warrior king of the sub-races.

Simon Magus stroked his beard and acknowledged him.

“Raid Leader Mason.”

“Simon.”

They had become somewhat acquainted through the winter defense. Mason shook his hand.

They moved to the teleportation magic circle.

When everyone gathered, Oh Junghee spoke to the raid leaders.

“Are you ready to depart?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then… good luck.”

As Oh Junghee saluted, the players teleported.

They arrived in an unfamiliar plain.

However, it was clear at a glance that they had come to the right place. Trailers covered the horizon, and beyond them, a gigantic mass of flesh rose up as if to fill the heavens and earth.

“The Great Eater…”

He had heard the name many times and seen the data many times. But this was the first time he had seen it in person.

The pillar of flesh pulsated and throbbed. Despite being a vast grassland, the land near its roots was parched, and everything around it was darkened and desaturated.

People often used the phrase”full of life”in a positive sense. But the Great Eater showed a horrifying version of that phrase.

Like a nightmare made of flesh, the Great Eater occupied the horizon.

“…Horrifying.”

Simon Magus’ murmur likely resonated with everyone present.

And even now, countless beams were pouring down on that mass of flesh like a torrential rain.

As if pushing that fleshy nightmare away from humanity…

At that moment, a group of people approached the Korean raid party.

The man at the front was middle-aged and wearing a military uniform. He was tall and thin, with sharp eyes that gleamed in his gaunt, weathered face. He had the impression of a hawk at first glance.

“Batkhishig, Batkhishig Mangyanbayar.”

He was Batkhishig Mangyanbayar, the commander of Keshig, Mongolia’s player special forces, and the Mongolian champion.

Mason stepped forward and shook his hand.

“Mason, Mason Park.”

“Korean warriors. Welcome. My men. Guide to lodging.”

His Korean was awkward and clumsy. Korean was the common language of players, but considering his age, learning a new language wouldn’t have been easy.

“Alright.”

“Interpreter Orkhon Ulzii. I will attend you.”

In contrast, the girl standing next to Batkhishig spoke perfect Korean.

Mason asked with a subtle expression.

“How old are you?”

Orkhon still had a childish look on her face. No, she wasn’t just childish, she was literally a minor who had just shed her childhood. She wasn’t a small adult like Deroa or Olga, but a genuinely young girl.

“I am 13 years old.”

“…13 years old and a soldier?”

“Under the wartime special law, minors are allowed to volunteer for some non-combat special forces. I studied Korean to enlist.”

“…You studied Korean to join the army?”

“Yes.”

Orkhon glared at the Great Eater with hatred in her eyes.

“I can do anything to see that Great Eater fall with my own eyes.”

Her hatred was pure and refined. It was the hatred of someone who had become accustomed to something infinitely hateful, yet not numbed to it.

Even though it wasn’t directed at him, Mason felt a chill run down his spine.

“But still, 13 years old is too…”

Mason trailed off, about to say something, but fell silent.

Hatred was personal. It should not be interfered with.

“…Let’s go to the lodging.”

“Yes.”

Their lodging was a large trailer. It wasn’t that they were being mistreated. It was just that thousands of trailers were arranged in a circle around the Great Eater.

“If we get lost, we’ll never find our way back…”

Orkhon answered Han Areum’s grumbling half-jokingly.

“If you tell us your trailer number, someone will come get you.”

“…Have people actually gotten lost?”

“Quite a few.”

Orkhon assigned a trailer to each person and gave a brief briefing.

“Only beam attacks are effective against the Great Eater. Core energy converted into magic has reduced efficiency, and melee combatants risk being absorbed. That’s why only ranged dealers are deployed for the Great Eater elimination operation.”

“What about the rest of us?”

“Basically, we support the ranged dealers. Except during ‘Lunch Bell’ time.”

“Lunch Bell? What’s that?”

At that moment.

Groooooooooooo-

A bizarre howl resonated from the Great Eater.

It wasn’t just a sound, it was a resonance that seemed to shake their very souls.

Whee- Whee-

Emergency sirens followed.

“That’s the Lunch Bell.”

Orkhon climbed onto the trailer and gestured for the others to follow.

She pointed to the horizon opposite the Great Eater.

Dust clouds were rising. Even from a distance, it was clear that a horde of monsters numbering in the thousands was approaching.

At that moment, modern firearms and magic were unleashed.

Boom… Boom… Rat-a-tat-tat!

The barrage of shells and magic reduced the number of monsters by more than half, but the momentum of their charge was still fierce.

“At this rate, they’ll crash into us!”

Just as Mason frowned, Orkhon shook her head and pointed to the trailer formation.

The trailers that had been in the path of the monsters had cleared a path.

“They’re not stopping them?”

“No.”

Orkhon nodded as if it were nothing new.

“There’s no need to stop them.”

Rat-a-tat-tat!

The horde of monsters swept past the trailers. Neither the players nor the Mongolian soldiers even blinked.

They charged straight towards the Great Eater with unstoppable momentum…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They exploded one after another, scattering blood, flesh, bone, and viscera.

And the Great Eater absorbed it all, growing larger.

“…”

Mason realized why they hadn’t stopped the monsters.

There was no need to risk casualties to stop them.

They were going to be eaten by the Great Eater anyway…

“It’s like a slaughterhouse.”

Mason muttered.

It was a sentiment everyone shared.

Orkhon said with an indifferent expression.

“Ranged dealers, please fire from any position you find comfortable. And everyone else… please stand by for emergencies.”

“Alright, we will.”

The stench of blood filled the air.

A familiar smell, yet one that seemed destined to become even more familiar.

Mason looked at the Great Eater.

The monstrous pillar of flesh pulsated with a life force that was almost repulsive.

Mason thought.

‘This is going to be a long battle.’

A long and arduous battle.

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That evening, after sunset, a strategy meeting was held.

Orkhon, after receiving instructions via radio, spoke up.

“Raid Leader Mason-nim, you have been requested to attend the strategy meeting.”

“Me?”

The raid, organized by the UN, was divided into four main groups.

The US Forces, which included the United States, Canada, and South America.

The Asian Forces, which included China and other Asian countries.

The NATO Forces, which included NATO member states and other European countries.

And the UN Direct Forces, which included third-world countries not belonging to the other three groups.

The Korean Forces, led by Mason, were part of the Asian Forces.

The representative nation of the Asian Forces was China. Chong Daolong, the Chinese champion, was attending the meeting as their representative.

“Yes, it’s Brigadier General Chong Daolong’s request.”

“…Well, if he calls, I have to go.”

Mason walked towards the command vehicle.

From the outside, the command vehicle didn’t look much different from the other trailers. But inside, it was filled with advanced equipment and operational maps, a true war room.

Countless people were bustling about.

And at the round table in the center, five people were standing.

Three were familiar faces, and the other two were strangers.

Mason greeted the person he was closest to.

“Chong Daolong.”

“Brother Park.”

Chong Daolong smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.

“You’ve already met Brigadier General Batkhishig, do you know the other two?”

“I don’t think so.”

The tall, thin black man spoke in a gentle voice.

“I am Jean Bosung, Raid Leader Mason Park.”

“Ah.”

‘Jihadist’ Jean Bosung.

He was the only mage in the world who could use ‘Jihad’, a unique army-scale buff spell that granted barrier penetration to conventional weapons.

The spell formula for Jihad itself was public knowledge, but only its developer, Jean Bosung, could actually cast it.

He was the French champion, but he was more famous for his activities in the third world than in France, a major power.

Jean Bosung and the Jihad International Brigade he led were renowned volunteers who fought monsters in the harsh environments of third-world countries that didn’t even have proper players.

‘He’s like a mage version of Sung Kijun.’

The other person was a Middle Eastern man with black eyes and black hair. He offered Mason a handshake and said.

“I am Ahmad Massoud of the Afghan United States.”

Mason was startled.