Ubermensch – Chapter 88

Chapter 88

No matter how perfect a theory may be, it was still just a theory.

Even if it could draw out a vast amount of energy, the conduit through which that energy flowed was a single player.

To say that it was absorbing the energy of tens of thousands of players meant that it was receiving the energy of tens of thousands of players through its own body.

Deroa’s robe was tattered, and so was her body.

“I’m going to die like this!”

But Deroa didn’t let go of the staff she was holding. Even though it felt more like she was hanging onto the staff now rather than standing while holding it.

“Tsk!”

Unable to watch any longer, Mason forcibly snatched the staff away.

At the same time, Deroa collapsed.

Holding her in his arms, Mason shouted urgently.

“Healer! Healer!”

Deroa, unable to even open her eyes properly, said with parched lips.

“Those brats… what kind of war is this…?”

“Deroa…”

“Don’t you think so…?”

Deroa smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Her pulse was noticeably weak. It was a situation where they had to worry about her life, not just the aftereffects.

“…”

Mason gritted his teeth and held Deroa’s small body tightly.

“Raid leader! Let her go!”

“Your Majesty! We need to move her to the infirmary!”

Healers rushed over and took Deroa away… Mason gritted his teeth and glared at the Great Eater.

“Great Eater…!”

At that moment, as if responding to Mason’s hatred, the Great Eater began to roar.

Guooooooooo-

It wasn’t the lunch bell. It was something else.

“Abnormal behavior! The Great Eater! It’s showing abnormal behavior!”

Phase 2, or emergency mode. The Great Eater, struck by the energy drain, felt a sense of crisis for the first time and was reacting to its ‘enemies.’

Dddddddddd…

The ground was shaking.

Just the Great Eater, rooted in the ground, twisting its body was causing the ground to split and earthquakes to occur.

However, that was just a byproduct of its actions.

The Great Eater’s body trembled briefly before it began to spew out bizarre monstrous creatures.

Spiders? Or ants? The mud-molded, insect-like monsters had vicious jaws and sharp claws.

At that moment, Mason clenched his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound.

He couldn’t attack the Great Eater. He couldn’t get close to it because of the risk of being absorbed. But…

“You guys…!”

Thump!

Mason threw himself into the enemy ranks.

He reached out, summoning his hammer, and swung it without hesitation.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

Kwaaang!

Mason’s strike was like venting his pent-up frustration.

With a fierce roar, dozens of Mud Ants were smashed and scattered. At the same time, others began to prepare for battle, albeit a step behind.

“All artillery units, turn! Shift your fire to the newly spawned monsters!”

Chong Daolong, after quickly issuing instructions to the Sweep Brigade’s artillery, shouted to Mason.

“Park-hyung! Fall back! You’re in the way of the bombardment!”

“Doesn’t matter!”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it and just fire!”

Chong Daolong frowned for a moment, but only for a moment.

“Fire!”

As soon as Chong Daolong gave the order, the Sweep Brigade’s artillery unleashed a barrage. Following their bombardment, the Mongolian army’s mortars and heavy machine guns also started raining down bullets.

Clank! Clank!

Chong Daolong equipped Dragon Head Gauntlets on both hands.

“Hong Long, take over fire control.”

“Yes, Brigade Commander.”

He walked forward without looking back.

“Sweep Brigade infantry! Charge!”

Steve Queen also gave instructions to his subordinates.

“Linemen! Form the line!”

If Korean players’ tactics were to infiltrate enemy ranks and eliminate specific monsters, American players specialized in tactics based on localized battles between lines.

The mission of the American players was not fire support, but line formation. It was a battle predicated on the military’s fire support.

Unlike Korea, where raid teams had to have their own firepower, line formation itself was their mission. They used six or seven Linemen, unlike Korea where one main tanker was the standard.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Don’t retreat! Forward! Forward!”

Led by Mason, the Allied forces’ tankers and melee combatants began forming a line. It was a blunt and straightforward power struggle, as if bone was clashing against bone.

Meanwhile, other classes took their positions and started unleashing gunfire and magic.

Jean Bosung clasped his hands together and chanted a prayer.

“May the blessing of the angels be with the righteous warriors who go to holy war!”

At the same time, a faint light began to shimmer on ordinary and heavy firearms. They were imbued with core energy through the Jihad spell.

A fierce battle where power clashed against power.

The horizon was filled with the backs of warriors and the jaws of monsters.

It was a bloody battle where anger, resentment, and the yearning for life clashed against a tide of malice and flesh.

But the most immense rage belonged to Mason.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

Kwaaang!

Every time Mason struck, there was a roar, and dozens of Mud Ants were smashed and scattered. Mason pushed forward with each strike, unleashing another wave of destruction.

“How dare you! You dare to attack people!”

Enraged Mason’s roar was like a lion’s. It was truly the spirit of the Lion Avatar.

“And Deroa!”

Batkhishig’s Keshig also made a wide detour around the battlefield, distributing their destructive power to each point where they were outnumbered.

“Now is the time! This is our only chance to reclaim our land!”

Batkhishig encouraged the Mongolians as he unleashed beams.

<Enemy core energy reduced by 4%! Currently at 90% >

Operators were sending good news.

No matter how powerful a monster the Great Eater was, it couldn’t escape the laws of physics. It had to use core energy to create and send out its subordinates, and when those subordinates were destroyed, that energy was lost.

The only reason it was engaging in a full-fledged battle like this was because it felt fear.

‘It’s because of the energy drain.’

The Great Eater was driven by the judgment that it had to eliminate the players rather than sit idly and get hit by another energy drain.

Then the situation became clear.

“Smash them all!”

The stored core energy and the Allied forces. It was a battle of who could last longer!

The fight continued, with blood and mud flying everywhere. The wounded retreated to the rear for healing and returned, and the places of the dead Mud Ants were filled by newly born ones.

It was a war of attrition where quantity clashed against quantity.

Batkhishig radioed the command center.

“What’s the current situation?”

<Great Eater core energy at 85%. It’s being chipped away smoothly.>

“Good!”

A real fight was taking place. This was the first time this had happened.

Moreover, the players had the upper hand.

The front lines were evenly matched, but fire support and healing were steadily coming from the rear.

“We can do this!”

However, to say that the human side had the advantage meant that the Great Eater was at a disadvantage.

Guooooooooo-

A strange vibration emanated from the Great Eater’s body, and the type of troops it was spewing out began to change.

From agile and light ant-like mud structures the size of humans to massive and heavy rhinoceros beetle-like mud structures the size of houses.

“They’re strong…!”

Each Mud Rhinoceros Beetle was a monster on the level of a low-level raid boss. They were impossible to deal with alone, except perhaps for Mason. It took several people to fight one.

‘What is it?’

Thanks to the elite monsters being sent out instead of just sheer numbers, the front lines were no longer being pushed back. However, with the decrease in numbers, the overall combat power inevitably decreased.

‘It’s aiming for something.’

Mason instinctively felt a sense of foreboding and tried to figure out the reason for it.

‘What is it aiming for?’

If the Mud Ants’ objective was to eliminate individual players, the Mud Rhinoceros Beetles’ objective wasn’t to eliminate players.

Their purpose was to hold the line. They were like anvils.

‘Anvils?’

Then when are anvils needed?

“…!”

Mason swung Lion’s Great Hammer widely, creating an empty space, and retreated as he made a call.

“This is Mason! Command! Anyone, respond!”

<This is Command. Raid Leader Mason, please speak.>

“Rear! Send reconnaissance to the rear immediately!”

<The rear… which direction are you referring to?>

“The Great Eater has set up its anvils!”

Mason shouted.

“The Great Eater’s hammer is coming!”

And anvils… are meaningless on their own.

Until the hammer strikes!

“We need to prepare for the lunch bell!”

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

Beyond the horizon.

Kwadududu…

Thousands of monsters were sprinting madly.

Towards the Great Eater.

No, towards the rear of the human Allied forces!

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

The lunch bell is coming…

That fact was quickly relayed to each command center, and a rapid exchange of opinions took place among the commanders.

“The lunch bell? In this situation?”

Steve Queen assessed the situation.

“If we open the path like we usually do…”

<The Great Eater’s anvils will push through our lines.>

The reason the human side currently had the upper hand was because of their well-organized formation. If they were to be breached and their formation collapsed, they would be easily overwhelmed by the Great Eater’s sheer numbers.

This time, unlike before, they had to completely block the lunch bell. And they had to do it before it even reached the anti-Great Eater formation!

Mason, smashing Mud Rhinoceros Beetles, said.

“I’ll go! Pull out as many people as possible!”

Batkhishig said coldly.

<Impossible. Even if you are superhuman.>

“Then what are we going to do!”

<Our land. Our war. We’ll die.>

Batkhishig ordered the Mongolian army.

“All those with motorbikes, equip yourselves with any available weapons and follow me!”

Chong Daolong frowned.

<Brigadier General Batkhishig. What are you thinking?>

“Cavalry charge.”

<That’s insane.>

“Did we look sane?”

Batkhishig laughed.

“We, who had our families, our land, our future taken away by the Great Eater?”

Steve Queen, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

<We have no choice but to send them. The Keshig are the only ones with enough mobility to get there in time.>

“But isn’t their firepower insufficient?”

To Chong Daolong, who was objecting, Steve Queen said.

<Chong Daolong, contact the highest-ranking military official you can directly reach.>

“A People’s Liberation Army official? Why?”

<Tell them you want to discuss Operation ‘Thousand Autumns’ and they’ll understand.>

Chong Daolong looked puzzled, but only for a moment. With no time to waste, he gave instructions to Hong Long.

Then, after hearing the response a while later, Chong Daolong frowned.

“How do they even know about an operation I’m not aware of?”

<That’s not important. Is it possible, or not?>

“…They say it’s ready.”

Mason, who had been listening quietly, asked.

“What is Operation Thousand Autumns?”

<It’s China’s nuclear launch plan. In case the UN Allied forces fail and monsters overflow from Mongolia.>

Batkhishig was stunned.