Chapter 678
Chapter 678
Zeon returned to Neo Seoul with Brielle through the portal.
The slum where the portal was located was pure chaos.
The Awakeneds of the slums were overwhelmed as they evacuated the residents.
Zeon's eyes found Yoo Se-hee, who was busily issuing orders to her subordinates.
“Shelter No. 8 is full. Redirect the residents to Shelter No. 9.”
“Shelter No. 9 can’t take any more people either.”
“Open Shelter No. 10.”
“But that's where we store the emergency supplies—”
“Are supplies the problem right now? Stop arguing and open Shelter No. 10. Get the people inside.”
“Understood.”
At Yoo Se-hee’s sharp rebuke, her subordinate answered and immediately ran off.
Zeon and Brielle approached Yoo Se-hee.
“You're opening the shelters?”
“Ah, Zeon. When did you get back?”
“Just now.”
“Whew! It's complete chaos. We prepared quite a lot of shelters, but most of them are already full.”
Yoo Se-hee said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
People thought of her, the owner of the Goblin Market, as nothing more than a money-crazed ghost.
They were half right and half wrong.
She was certainly obsessed with money, but she hardly spent any of the fortune she earned on herself.
Yoo Se-hee poured the enormous wealth she earned through the Goblin Market into building safe shelters.
It was all in preparation for the day Neo Seoul’s anti-magic energy completely disappeared.
That was why she had welcomed the sand hardener more enthusiastically than anyone else.
With the sand hardener, safe underground shelters could be built.
That was how Yoo Se-hee and the Goblin Market managed to construct twelve shelters.
But twelve shelters were nowhere near enough to accommodate everyone in the slums.
At best, they could hold only tens of thousands of people.
Even those were now almost completely full and could barely accept any more.
“In the worst-case scenario, we'll have to open the Underground City as well.”
“Will that be alright?”
“I doubt Remura would object. With her personality, she'll try to take in as many people as possible, right up to the limit.”
“Probably.”
Zeon agreed with Yoo Se-hee.
The Remura he knew would force herself to accept even more people if necessary.
That was something even Zeon could not stop.
After all, the ones truly leading the Underground City now were Jetoya and Remura.
The decision of whether to open the Underground City rested entirely in their hands.
Zeon believed that, in the worst-case scenario, they would open the Underground City without the slightest hesitation.
Just then—
Waaaaaah!
Suddenly, warning sirens announcing an emergency echoed throughout Neo Seoul.
“The monsters! They're in front of us!”
“Damn it!”
“Everyone, move out!”
The urgent voices of the Awakeneds rang out from all over the streets.
Zeon lifted his head and looked toward the desert.
A massive cloud of dust was rising in the distance.
The army of monsters had reached the outskirts of Neo Seoul.
—ROOOAAAR!
—KAAOO!
The roars of the monsters could be faintly heard.
It was obvious that they would arrive any moment now.
Yoo Se-hee bit her lip.
“The monsters are here already... Don't tell me the Mana Stone Mine has fallen?”
“The Mana Stone Mine is still holding.”
“Then they came straight past the mine?”
“Yes.”
“Shit. I'll go ahead. I need to double-check that we haven't missed anything.”
“Please do.”
“See you later, kid.”
After saying goodbye to Brielle as well, Yoo Se-hee hurried away.
Watching her retreating figure, Brielle muttered,
“She looks so cold, but she's actually soft-hearted... You're going to the Diamond Wall, right?”
“I am.”
“Then I'll head to the Underground City. I'll explain the situation to Remura and have them prepare to open it in advance.”
“Do that.”
“See you later.”
“Yeah.”
After Brielle left, Zeon headed straight for the Diamond Wall.
Countless Awakeneds and weapons were lined up atop the massive Diamond Wall he had created using all of his Authority.
“Hyung!”
The one who greeted Zeon warmly was Levin.
He had been standing atop the Diamond Wall with the other Awakeneds when he spotted Zeon.
“Levin! So you're here too.”
“We have to prepare for attacks from the sky as well.”
“You've got your work cut out for you.”
If flying-type monsters attacked, only a handful of Awakeneds, including Zeon and Levin, could deal with them.
“It can't be helped. Someone has to defend the skies.”
A determined expression rested on Levin’s face.
No one had forced him onto this wall.
He had climbed onto the Diamond Wall Zeon created of his own will to protect Neo Seoul and the slums.
Most of the Awakeneds here felt exactly the same way.
Having forged deep bonds during the battle against El Harun, the Awakeneds had volunteered to defend their home.
Because they had already fought together at the Steel Fortress, every Awakener knew their assigned role.
The Mechanization-type Awakeneds and Martial-type Awakeneds formed the first line of defense, while the Magic-type Awakeneds and weapons such as Mana Particle Cannons would support them from atop the Diamond Wall and from long range.
“Whew...”
“Shit...”
The Awakeneds stared at the advancing army of monsters with tense expressions.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The closer the horde came, the stronger the vibrations that traveled through the wall.
The earth was black with monsters, while clouds of dust rose high enough to blanket the sky.
—KROOOAAAR!
The howls of the monsters shook the very air.
It looked as though the end of the world had arrived.
“Damn! Did every monster in the world come here? Just how many are there?”
Levin muttered in disbelief.
It was something completely beyond his understanding.
He could understand the monsters attacking after sensing that Neo Seoul’s anti-demonic energy had disappeared.
But for this many monsters to gather and charge in like mad...
That was beyond anything he could comprehend.
As everyone knew, monsters were creatures that absolutely hated sharing territory.
Each had its own hunting grounds, and they never tolerated another monster trespassing into them.
For creatures like that to gather into an army of this size was abnormal in itself.
But Zeon thought he knew the reason.
‘It's because of Divine Judgement.’
The satellite Jin Geum-ho was constructing by mobilizing all of City Hall and Neo Seoul’s resources.
If they could just launch it into space, it would undoubtedly become a calamity for the monsters.
It would not be enough to wipe out every monster on Earth, but it would be more than sufficient to protect Neo Seoul and the Primordial Forest.
The monsters had probably instinctively sensed just how dangerous Divine Judgement was.
Their survival instincts were beyond imagination.
Especially among B-rank and higher monsters, some possessed intelligence that surpassed humans.
Their senses and thought processes were mysteries beyond human understanding.
If creatures like that had detected the presence of Divine Judgement, then the current situation made perfect sense.
Just then—
—KWAAANG!
The small monsters at the front reached the first line of defense.
Flame Wolves, Great-Horn Hyenas, and other monsters charged at the Awakeneds stationed on the front line, their eyes rolled back with madness.
“Hold them back!”
“We have to buy time!”
The Mechanization-type Awakeneds and Martial-type Awakeneds swung their weapons as they confronted the smaller monsters.
Boom!
Crunch!
The monsters and the Awakeneds collided.
The Mechanization-type Awakeneds blocked the beasts’ charges with their metallic bodies while firing bullets or swinging chainsaws and ultra-vibration blades.
With screams, the monsters were crushed or sliced apart.
Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching the Awakeneds from head to toe.
Crack! Snap!
The sounds of dented armor and breaking bones echoed from every direction.
The expressions of the Awakeneds standing at the front twisted with pain as they bore the monsters' attacks head-on.
They had to withstand the beasts' fangs, claws, and overwhelming force with their own bodies.
Even so, they gritted their teeth and endured the relentless onslaught.
“Ghk!”
“Hold the line even if you die! We cannot fall back!”
Just then—
Whoooosh!
Countless streaks of light flew in from the rear.
At last, the Mana Particle Cannons had begun supporting them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Keeeegh!
—Yelp!
Countless monsters exploded with shrill screams.
But the expressions of the Awakeneds holding the front line did not brighten.
Because the number that had died was insignificant.
“How many of these bastards are there?”
“Damn it!”
“Stop talking and swing your sword one more time!”
The Awakeneds held the line with every ounce of strength they possessed.
But as time passed, the battle increasingly turned against them.
The monsters kept pouring in without end.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Mana Particle Cannons tore through countless monsters.
But the ones dying were only the smaller creatures.
Against medium-sized monsters and above, whose bodies were vastly stronger, the Mana Particle Cannons were far less effective.
Instead, the cannon fire only enraged them.
—ROOOAAAR!
—URRRGH!
With furious roars, bipedal monsters such as Ogres and Cyclopes crushed the smaller beasts beneath their feet as they advanced.
Standing over seven meters tall, these bipedal monsters were a tremendous threat to the Awakeneds.
The Ogres and Cyclopes at the front overwhelmed the Awakeneds with their immense strength.
“Aaagh!”
“Argh!”
Before long, casualties began mounting everywhere.
With overwhelming strength, they smashed apart the bodies of the Mechanization-type Awakeneds and tore the arms and legs from the Martial-type Awakeneds.
“Damn you monsters!”
“Uwaaaah!”
Witnessing the deaths of their comrades, the Awakeneds attacked the monsters in a fury.
Just then—
A voice suddenly echoed inside the mind of the commander leading the Mechanization-type Awakeneds at the front.
—Maintain formation and retreat to the second defensive line. We'll activate the traps between the first and second lines.
It was the voice of a little girl.
It was Eun Soo-young, one of the twin sisters, relaying Kim Mu-young’s orders through telepathy.
The commander’s face brightened.
“Everyone, maintain formation and fall back!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Ghk! Understood!”
The Mechanization-type and Martial-type Awakeneds slowly retreated without allowing their formation to collapse.
The Magic-type Awakeneds and various heavy weapons covered their withdrawal.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—KRAAAAH!
“Ugh!”
The thunderous explosions, the roars of the monsters, and the screams of the Awakeneds all blended together.
The commander watched the entire scene with tears of blood in his eyes.
He saw an Awakener nearby swallowed whole by an Ogre.
He saw a Martial-type Awakener crushed into bloody pulp beneath a Cyclops’ club.
He engraved every horrific sight into his memory.
And he swore revenge.
He would kill every monster that had invaded this place.
After paying such a terrible price, the moment the Awakeneds reached the second defensive line—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The anti-monster bombs buried between the first and second defensive lines detonated all at once.
The monsters that had pursued the Awakeneds too closely were caught in the explosions and blown to pieces.
The commander in charge of the second defensive line shouted,
“Now! Concentrate all firepower!”
The attacks of the Magic-type Awakeneds poured down like rain upon the surviving monsters.
And thus, the great war between humanity and the monsters truly began.