Chapter 61-63: 15 Day War (1/2)

Chapter 61-63: 15 Day War

Rock Creek Park, Washington, United States.

A large number of creatures poured from the entrance of the dungeon that covered 3.65 square kilometres.

Hundreds of intermediate 2Lv spider like creatures called arachne and the advanced 3Lv arachne queen that governed them.

Their size was different from general spiders. One of them was two metres while the arachne queen was more than double the size.

The arachne moved on their 8 legs and started to surround the soldiers.

South Korea had an unprecedented strong monster wave so the United States had committed a massive force to surround the dungeon.

In other words, they were well prepared.

“Start the attack!”

The soldiers simultaneously attacked the arachne. Thousands of bullets bounced off the outer shells of the arachne.

Although they had faced general lower grade creatures, the arachne were intermediate grade. The solid outer shell easily stopped the bullets.

Kwarurung!

The ground shook as a claymore mine buried in the ground burst.

But unlike the bullets, it was effective.

Kieeek!

A surprise blast. A few of the arachne lost their legs and torso. This was followed by snipers firing at the eyes of the arachne. On top of that, there was an outpouring of attacks from the tanks.

It became a scene of carnage. It was expected since they had inferior strength to the creatures.

The queen moved through the battlefield and woke up all their senses.

The queen soon scattered an intangible, odorless hormone around her. The arachne responded to their queen through their sense organs and soon moved to specific positions.

This allowed the giant spiders to march while avoiding the mines. They were followed by a pile of light, silver coloured thread.

“Kuaaaaak!”

“F-flesh! My flesh!”

The threads melted down anything that it touched.

The strong acids of the spider webs melted the human bodies and even the armoured tanks.

The arachne moved rapidly at 80 km/hr and rapidly covered the humans. The strong jaws then bit off the heads or limbs of the humans.

The legs were also a formidable weapon. The soft bodies of the humans were slashed by legs that were as sharp as a knife.

“Fire support request, Alpha Charlie 221 Bravo Delta 445. We are engaged with at least 200 creatures. Requesting close air support.”

Soon after the radio request, several hundred jet flights flew over.

The time it took the jet fighters to reach the dungeon was 3 minutes.

Tung! Tung! Dududududu!

The fighters flew low and commenced machine gun fire. The bullets that could even pierce the thickest iron alloy directly hit the arachne.

Dozens of arachne responded quickly by aiming their web but it didn’t reach.

The queen with eight legs looked at the sky filled with jet fighters with her eight eyes.

Kiik! Kiiik. A command was released with her hormones and the arachne legs started looking like a spring.

Then they jumped up in the blink of an eye. A formidable jumping power that allowed them to reach 100 times their body length!

Kwaching!

The arachne sat on top of the fighters and teased it with their sharp, front legs. The lives of the pilots were instantly claimed the moment the window was gone.

***

London, United Kingdom.

It was late evening and people were sleeping.

No one noticed when the monster wave began.

Rattle. Rattle.

The advanced 3Lv creatures called ‘Shadow Sinners’ moved with the chains on the leg sweeping the ground.

Kuoooooh.

Hundreds of creatures were moving in the moonlight.

***

Bern, Switzerland.

Hundreds of beasts were gathered in the centre of the city.

Pant pant pant pant…

With a wolf’s legs and the body of a lion, the intermediate 3Lv creature Chimera!

Over 300 chimeras were located in the burning city.

The chimeras seemed to be having dinner by eating the corpses.

***

Greece, Athens, Copenhagen, Denmark, Peru, Lima, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Ankara…

Monster waves started all over the world and it was called a disaster.

The creatures brutally trampled on the humans and their dignity.

The strength and damage of the monster wave varied from country to country.

The powerful army and firepower were helpless but the Awakened were on the rise.

Facing this disaster, the people prayed for Heroes. The Awakened started to move in accordance with that hope.

***

The 2nd monster wave in South Korea had been evaluated as the most powerful.

As a result, people often brought up the name Devil Hunters. In particular, there was a lot of interest in the mysterious leader.

This story wasn’t just confined to South Korea. All the world leaders were watching South Korea. The Dungeon Master’s appearance and unprecedented events afterwards meant it made the history books.

After multiple monster waves broke out, their interest changed to desperation as they asked Devil Hunters for support.

No, to be exact they asked for help from the leader of Devil Hunters.

He took down an advanced golem almost by himself…the army couldn’t take care of advanced creatures so it was natural to ask him to handle it.

In addition, the Awakened were sensitive about who was strong and they all said ‘the leader of Devil Hunters is a powerhouse.’

But…the guild master Kim Yong-woo who received the requests for support was forced to worry.

They would pay for the support of Devil Hunters so that wasn’t Kim Yong-woo’s problem.

The problem was the main character.

‘There is no time to delay. The pressure coming from the government isn’t a joke.’

These days, Kim Yong-woo’s phone was disconnected.

If he didn’t then his phone would receive millions of calls! There was no way he could answer all the calls.

But Kim Yong-woo was under intense stress because he couldn’t accept the proposal of the important figures. He already had a few premature grey hairs.

His lips were bloody and his nails were chewed down.

‘This decision is too big to make alone. What do we do if there is a number of advanced creatures?’

The problem was the advanced creatures.

The army could only respond to general and intermediate creatures. Of course, it was difficult when there were a high number of them but the attacks of the advanced creatures were greater in quality.

They were impossible to fight against without nuclear weapons. However, many dungeons were in the country’s capital so it was ridiculous to drop a nuclear weapon on it.

But the Awakened also weren’t prepared. Especially if they needed to face 200 advanced creatures.

There was a limit to the power of Heaven’s Will. There was only a 50% chance of winning.

Naturally Kim Yong-woo had a deeply furrowed forehead.

Just as he was about to get on his feet.

Snap! The door opened and his dream appeared.

Kim Yong-woo felt like passing out as he saw the face.

He hesitated before lifting both hands.

“Oh…Master!”

I raised an eyebrow at Kim Yong-woo’s reaction.

It felt like bugs were crawling over my body.

“Tell me where the support requests are coming from.”

Kim Yong-woo’s eyes started shining at my words.

His mind was going back and forth but he quickly understood me.

Anyway, he had no complaints since he had past experience with me. I wasn’t someone who would waste time on words.

Kim Yong-woo instantly stood up.

“Hmm hmm. The United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, requests have just come from these three places.”

“The United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland…”

“Accepting the United States’ request will give us the most benefits.”

“I shall choose.”

My tone was firm.

Kim Yong-woo closed his mouth.

‘All three places have dukes stationed there.’

The United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland were places that contained the dungeons of dukes. It meant they were determined to produce monster waves.

2 years was enough to gain information about the human’s firepower and build up sufficient creatures to win.

‘Now isn’t a situation where I can comfortably beat Ariel.’

The Duke that created the monster wave in the United States followed Grand Duke Ariel.

In my previous life, Ariel had sticky ties with the other demons. In addition, the demons that followed Ariel were extremely tenacious.

If I touched that monster wave then they might search until they discovered my identity.

If the dukes noticed then Grand Duke Ariel would definitely know. I needed to act in restraint. If I didn’t then the past might repeat.

It wouldn’t be good.

I decided to leave Grand Duke Ariel and her associated demons alone.

‘Duke Suguph is stationed in the United Kingdom. Duke Suguph. A demon belonging to Grand Duke Upa’s faction.’

Grand Duke Upa.

In many ways, I had a twisted fate with that demon.

I was puzzled for a moment.

‘Weren’t Upa and his demons forbidden from attending the Demon World Auction? Then there is no need to cause a monster wave at this time.’

I worried about it for a moment before an answer popped up.

‘He must have put everything on Pakan Griolli. Upa made a promise.’

I could understand the series of events after Pakan Griolli left the Demon World Auction. Duke Pakan wouldn’t have confronted me of his own accord. Pakan Griolli blocked me according to a command.

But Upa didn’t have any compassion for his followers.

I opened my mouth after clearing up my thoughts.

“Devil Hunters will go to the United Kingdom. So prepare it right now.”

Grand Duke Upa and the followers in his faction like Pakan Griolli. I would tear out Upa’s wings.

I would cut away his remaining wings.

If I made a mess of the flagship dungeons then it would take a considerable time for them to recover. And those with damage was bound to lag behind for a while.

At the same time, I was intensely curious.

Could Upa fly around with only one wing?

***

The Devil Hunters rode on a private plane.

After accepting the United Kingdom’s request, a plane was immediately prepared for us.

It was urgent so they prepared the plane in advance despite not knowing if we would accept the request.

It took exactly 8 hours and 30 minutes to reach London’s Heathrow Airport. We arrived 4 hours quicker than the usual flying time.

The dungeon was about 20 km away.

After arriving at Heathrow Airport, Devil Hunters emerged from the plane wearing black skull masks.

“Welcome. South Korea’s Heroes.”

The British ambassador greeted them after they left the plane.

I got to the point instead of shaking hands.

“Where are the creatures that we need to handle?”

***

The cries of pain and despair spread throughout the city.

People had gone insane from the shades and held knives, causing the terrible tragedy of them killing each other.

“Kuahaha!”

“Die! Drop dead!”

The adults and children were going crazy.

One child stabbed an old man in the leg while an adult male bashed a child’s head in with a pipe. A woman was breaking a man’s neck.

A massacre.

Was this hell?

The shades were parasitic shadow creatures that gnawed away at the human spirit. It was an intermediate creature and could be called the natural enemy of humans.

“W-why? Why is everybody suddenly acting like this?”

But not everyone was controlled by the shades. The Awakened with a strong mentality or a certain level of intelligence could oppose it.

Then the shadow sinners ventured out.

The sound of iron could be heard in the distance. The shadow sinners were evolved forms of the shades.

But the shadow sinners could deal a strong physical blow to the ones who shook off the mind control.

The iron sphere they swung would destroy everything they touched. A greatly confused man was looking around the streets.

The shadow sinners could aim accurately despite being hundreds of metres away.

The iron spheres connected to iron chains were thrown…and kung! The man was crushed into an unrecognizable shape.

Kwang! Kwa kwang!

This seemed to be the starting point as dozens of jet fighters appeared in the sky with missiles. However, the shadow sinners technically only had half a body. Attacks without magic power wouldn’t work.

Hwiririk!

The shadow sinners had another big feature. They could see what would happen in the next 1 second with a very high probability.

They abused this move to swing their iron spheres at the jet fighters. The advanced shadow sinners weren’t threatened at all by the fighter jets. Their perception was far from common.

“These monsters!”

It was the last flurry of the fighter pilots.

The fight looked violent at first glance.

The shadow sinners could see for 1 second with high probability but there was no guarantee the iron spheres would hit. And the distance of the iron chains was only 500 metres. The shadow sinners couldn’t respond easily to attacks outside that range.

A few fighter pilots determined the distance. But it was difficult to escape outside the range.

The shadow sinners and shades were the best combination to deal with the firepower of humans.

The shades would affect the pilots trying to escape the range of the shadow sinners. After their madness mind control was used, the infected pilots started to attack their allies.

It quickly turned into an air battle.

The flow couldn’t be reversed once it changed.

The chaotic pilots flying in the sky were smashed by the iron spheres.

Their numbers declined sharply over time. In the end, the fighter pilots just became food. The ground troops were committed but were caught by the shades.

“Ah…god willing!”

Those who had their spirit broken fell to their knees and prayed for God.

They closed their eyes and hoped it was a dream.

However, it didn’t take them long to realize that the creatures were the reality. ‘Intense pain’ was used to bring the humans back to reality.

Everyone cried out as they were forced back to reality.

Then a group wearing black skull masks appeared.

A place blooming with madness, anger and despair.

I admired the sight.

Duke Suguph from Upa’s faction knew the exact weaknesses of humans.

He had the idea to use the shades.

The shades were definitely efficient among normal humans. Intermediate creatures were expensive to breed but Suguph considered it a luxury purchase.

‘Shadow sinners…’

The advanced creatures were even sent out to handle the Awakened.

Expensive advanced 3Lv creatures that cost 150,000 pt.

I could tell by this configuration that he used more than 500,000 points for the monster wave.

He purchased it while thinking of gaining points from the Awakened in the long term. This type of firepower against normal humans could also be a type of investment.

The shades and shadow sinners could be used to pull points from this place for a few more years.

But if Suguph’s plan collapsed in the beginning then the damage would be enormous. In that sense, Suguph had no luck.

“The shades are parasitic shadows. They will cause confusion to people with less than 30 intelligence. People with less than that should maintain a distance.”

“What about the ones throwing iron spheres?”

I shook my head.

“I will take care of them.”

“Will you be okay?”

The two types of creatures seemed powerful.

The higher ranked creatures would be unpredictable.

“Shouldn’t we trust in Captain-nim? Ahyu! This is why you are new hires.”

Yoo Eun-hye clicked her tongue.

After the current flowing in her body disappeared, Yoo Eun-hye displayed a more straightforward personality.

I looked at the area that was like hell.

“Stop them before there is more damage. Get moving!”

***

The 10 year old Edward was lying underneath a pile of ruins.

His parents started showing delirium symptoms out of the blue. He had grabbed his newborn baby brother and locked them in a room when the building had collapsed.

The dust settled. But he woke up with intense pain.

“Rooney? Rooney, where are you?”

He called out for his brother Rooney but couldn’t even hear a whine. Edward’s lips were cracked as he tried to move his body.

However, he couldn’t move. His legs. They didn’t hurt. He was still terrified. A crushing fear. Edward moved his head and tried to find the whereabouts of his brother Rooney.

“Please. Rooney…are you hiding because you are afraid of mother and father? They are originally good people. It is just difficult because they have to work hard. So please…”

Edward had raised Rooney.

His parents were always busy so Edward gave him formula, changed the diapers and comforted him when he cried.

In addition, there were times when Edward stayed home alone with Rooney. Someone else might feel annoyed at taking care of a child but Edward didn’t. Rooney felt like a reward.

Then he discovered small hands among a pile of shattered buildings.

“Oh…Rooney!”

But he couldn’t move his body. Edward didn’t lose hope and opened his mouth.

“Wait a bit. People will be coming to rescue us.”

Edward hurriedly turned his head. He could see people fighting each other. Monsters wielding iron spheres. Buildings were crumbling and there were corpses everywhere.

Edward was young so he still didn’t have a firm concept of death. He thought they were just ill and lying down.

‘Everybody isn’t sane.’

But he could tell that people were in an abnormal state.