Chapter 1463: Charging In (3) |
“Geez. This is no joke, sir.”
While saying that, Lee Hyeon-Su presented a tablet PC to Kang Jin-Ho.
The images displayed on the tablet’s screen, which depicted the enemy camp, made Kang Jin-Ho frown deeply.
“These… How did you get these images?”
“From a drone, sir. I bought one. I figured it might come in handy today.”
“…?”
Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at Lee Hyeon-Su.
Moments like this made Lee Hyeon-Su look like an unbridled genius, but at other times, he acted like the dumbest moron alive. As if to match that, the work he did could be incredibly useful or utterly useless, depending on how one viewed it.
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Won’t they notice the drone?”
“…?”
The technical expertise necessary to evade the American military’s radar? If Lee Hyeon-Su decided he’d like to become a terrorist one day, wouldn’t he become the world’s most wanted man in no time at all?
No, wait. Kang Jin-Ho paused just then. Let’s be honest here, Lee Hyeon-Su has always been like that.
Even back when he was the second-in-command of the Yeongnam Group, Lee Hyeon-Su’s conduct was not all that different from a bona fide terrorist, wasn’t it? For some reason, Kang Jin-Ho kept forgetting about that.
He ruefully shook his head. “Whatever it is, you did something ama…”
“That’s not how it is, my lord,” said Wiggins with a smirk. “The Americans should know about the drone already. And they simply elected not to shoot it down.”
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Why?”
“I’m not sure myself. Maybe it’s the arrogance of the strong. Or it could be the rules of engagement forbidding them from firing first. Whatever the case may be, the other side wouldn’t have missed a nearby flying object visible to naked eyes.”
Kang Jin-Ho shifted his less-than-impressed gaze to Lee Hyeon-Su next.
However, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t even paying attention to his boss, his focus solely devoted to the images on the tablet’s screen.
He excitedly pointed at something on the screen. “Look, sir! Look at all these tanks! Wow!”
“…”
“Holy cow! These bastards actually showed up with self-propelled artillery?! Do they think we’re waging a war or something? It’s like an entire mechanized division has shown up, sir!”
Lee Hyeon-Su slowly turned his head and stared weirdly at William Reese.
The American’s expression cramped up in awkwardness. “I’m sorry, the other side has the right to decide on the scale of their combat force, so…”
“Wow. Pretty useless, aren’t you?”
“B-but, uh, we are now facing fewer enemy combatants, which is a good thing, wouldn’t you say?”
“Sure, sure. It’s fewer, alright. You must be so happy.”
Reese could only smile awkwardly.
Whether they were facing one or two divisions seemed irrelevant at this point. A human being made of flesh and blood was about to pounce on mechanical monsters of reinforced steel soon, after all! In that kind of situation, the number of divisions wouldn’t matter at all.
Sure, dealing with one tank wouldn’t be the same as fighting against ten tanks. But no one would care much about the difference between ten tanks and twenty tanks.
Reese pulled out his phone when it buzzed. He read the text message, then asked Kang Jin-Ho. “I just received word that the other side has finished their preparations. What will you do, Assembly Master?”
Reese was asking if Kang Jin-Ho wanted to change his mind now that he had seen the army waiting for him.
Some might think he was trying to mock Kang Jin-Ho by saying that, even though he was one of the people responsible for this situation, but…
Doesn’t look like that’s his intention, though, thought Lee Hyeon-Su.
He could see how pale Reese’s complexion was. It seemed he was also unsure about what to make of a division-level combat force now that he had seen one in reality. This spectacle must’ve been vastly different from what he had in mind all this time, after all.
Human beings charging in at such an army boasting an incredible level of firepower?
Reese and Lee Hyeon-Su both thought, Yup, this is definitely not a joke.
The gap between merely imagining this spectacle and physically looking at it was shockingly vast, to say the least! And then, there was another difference to consider here.
Instead of a division-level combat force being separated into individual bases, they had gathered in one place and formed a protective encampment. The visual impact of that was quite incredible, as well.
What about Kang Jin-Ho, then?
No matter how strong he was, he was still a human being at the end of the day. Could a creature of flesh and blood even withstand the firepower of an army?
Reese’s grimace deepened. Maybe this was a fool’s errand all along?
Even though all the calculations had been completed by now, the sight of this imposing army instilled so much doubt in Reese’s heart.
Whether he knew about Reese’s worries or not, Kang Jin-Ho remained unperturbed as he casually mouthed a cigarette and lit it up.
“Fuu…” He exhaled a small cloud of cigarette smoke, his gaze now locked on the formation of the American military in the distance. He furrowed his brow slightly while asking Reese. “So? Can I start now?”
Reese cautiously replied, “We agreed that this demonstration will commence as soon as the other side has finished getting ready, sir. Since that’s the case, our side doesn’t have to let them know we’re coming. You can start whenever you want, Assembly Master.”
“I see…” Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded. “Well, then. I’m off.”
“I’m… sorry?”
Kang Jin-Ho casually stepped forward, but this scene only made Reese’s eyes open wider.
Was Kang Jin-Ho going on a Sunday stroll here?
Even though Reese wasn’t the one fighting that army, he still felt his family jewels tighten at the sight of the enemy camp. But Kang Jin-Ho, he… He didn’t seem all that concerned about what he was about to do.
That was the impression he gave off while leisurely walking toward his destination with a cigarette dangling between his lips.
Wiggins suddenly called out. “Please wait, my lord.”
“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho stopped and glanced back at Wiggins. “What now?”
“The way I see it, the other side must be thinking that this is a fight between them and us, not them versus you, my lord.”
Wiggins said that while looking at Reese, as if he wanted the American to back him up on this one.
Reese nodded, although he looked a bit dazed just then. “W-well, yes. Technically, that’s what this is. Even if this is supposed to be an unofficial training exercise, there will still be records of today’s events. And it’d reflect poorly on the officials involved if the records say the army fought against a lone individual, so…”
There were other reasons, too, but none of them mattered right now.
Wiggins smirked. “Doesn’t that mean we should also do something to contribute, then?”
“Hmm?” Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow and stared at Wiggins quizzically. “Do you have to?”
“My lord, this is not about the necessity of our participation, but more like seizing the opportunity that has presented itself. There is something we can only attempt in situations like this, you see? Today is their first time facing off against martial artists, but isn’t that the same for us? We have never fought against an army of such a scale before, after all.”
Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply. “You could’ve just said that you wanted to unleash a torrent of magic on those people.”
“Yes, I could have,” said Wiggins with a bright smile, not even bothering to deny anything.
Kang Jin-Ho helplessly shook his head. Was this a mage’s hunger for research flaring up? Or was it nothing more than Wiggins wanting to satisfy his curiosity? Either way, it couldn’t be a bad thing, no?
Experience was a great helper and a teacher, after all. Since that was the case, it would be better to go all out when one got the chance to do so.
“Sure, why not? Do what you want,” said Kang Jin-Ho.
“Thank you, my lord. Then, please excuse me.”
Wiggins took out his phone, then sent a text message.
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. What was that about?
Thankfully, his confusion was soon answered by the appearance of a large van speedily approaching his position from the rear.
“…?”
The van stopped before Kang Jin-Ho’s group, and Wiggins roared at it. “Everyone, exit the vehicle, now!”
Faces rather familiar to Kang Jin-Ho flooded out from the side door of the van before lining up before their boss. They were members of the Martial Assembly’s mage unit who had accompanied Wiggins and Kang Jin-Ho to the United States of America.
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head a little. “Huh. You had them on standby?”
Wiggins nodded. “Yes, my lord. It wouldn’t hurt to make preparations ahead of time, after all. I had them on standby somewhere near us, just in case.”
Kang Jin-Ho nodded in a slight stupefaction. For sure, Wiggins was also not someone to be trifled with, now was he!
“Well, then…”
Wiggins muttered while scanning the distant American troops.
We must be well within their striking range.
If the Americans wanted to, they could’ve easily blown this place up into smithereens. But they didn’t and instead, chose to wait. It probably meant they didn’t want to end this exercise in the blink of an eye with artillery fire, since that would be too anti-climatic.
Such arrogance was, well… Wiggins was quite glad, actually. Thanks to their arrogance, he now had the chance to try something he had been dying to try out for a while.
Wiggins asked Lee Hyeon-Su. “What’s the effective range of cannons like that?”
Lee Hyeon-Su promptly replied, “It depends on the ammunition, but the base range is around twenty kilometers. With special ammo, they can hit targets over forty kilometers away.”
“That… is remarkable, isn’t it?”
“In terms of base range, that’s the distance between Seoul and Anyang. And the special ammo can reach Yongin. In other words… We’re close enough to be visible to the naked eye. That means they can wipe us out at any given moment.”
Lee Hyeon-Su theatrically spread his arms open.
“Bang! Just like that.”
“…”
Wiggins gained a renewed appreciation on how absurd modern weaponry’s firepower was.
Now then. That means in an open terrain… No, I should be more honest about this. We won’t have a way to fight and win in a long-range confrontation.
Not having eyes on the target wouldn’t matter to the modern military. They could simply rely on satellites to get real-time updates on the enemy position, after all.
Artillery would rain down bombardments on the enemy in the distance. And once the enemy combatants took the whole day to close the distance of forty kilometers, they would receive a hostile welcome by squadrons of tanks.
“So, simply put… An army of mages is inferior to a mechanized division. Is that right?”
Considering that mages needed visual confirmation of their targets first before they could plot the path of their spells, they would only serve as a wonderful target practice for a modern military’s artillery. Of course, the odds of the two sides getting into a conflict were slim, but still.
Hence, I can’t afford to miss this chance.
Maybe this could be the one and only chance Wiggins would ever get to cast magic against an armored division!
The corners of Wiggins’ lips subtly curled up. “Mages! Get into formation!”
“Yes, sir!”
Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su took a step back and observed the proceedings curiously.
Once the mages lined up behind Wiggins, he turned to look at Lee Hyeon-Su. “What are you doing over there?”
Lee Hyeon-Su pointed at himself. “…? You want me to join you, too?”
“Of course. Why? Do you have anything better to do right now?”
“…”
Wiggins cocked his head to the side. “You learned magic because it suited you, but now, you stick close to my lord’s side and act like an officer worker just because you can’t be arsed? What a crafty little fox you are.”
“Eiii~! My job is to analyze the unfolding situation, you know? Who will write up an in-depth report later if I exhaust myself to the point of blacking out?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…!”
Wiggins slowly shook his head, as if that reply displeased him somewhat.
Reese, who had been silently listening to this conversation from the back, slowly looked up at the sky, a forlorn expression filling up his face.
Do… Do they think they are here on a field trip or something?
These people were about to fight against the United States army, reputedly the strongest army on Earth! They obviously knew that, yet not an ounce of tension could be felt from their conduct or speech.
Wiggins furrowed his brow. “That report? I’m looking forward to reading it, my dear disciple.”
Lee Hyeon-Su smirked. “Don’t worry, sir. It’ll be as perfect as it can get. Don’t forget, I’m also recording the whole thing right now.”
Wiggins spat out a deep groan. What did he do to deserve such a disciple so late into his life?
After resigning himself to his fate, Wiggins turned around to face the distant enemy. Lee Hyeon-Su joining the mages wouldn’t have made much difference, anyway. It was just that Wiggins didn’t want to see his “cute” disciple lounging around sucking on his thumb while doing nothing, that was all!
“Alright. Let’s get started.”
Wiggins’ eyes sharply gleamed. Mages behind him immediately started chanting when he gave them the order. All the mana leaving their bodies glowed brightly before transferring into Wiggins next.
“Hmm?”
Kang Jin-Ho watched this scene with some interest.
Lee Hyeon-Su noticed that and said, “Ah, that’s right. This is your first time seeing this, isn’t it, sir?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know something like this was possible.”
“Yes, sir. These specific mages were trained for this purpose, you see? As long as you can match the mana wavelength, you can transfer your mana to someone else.”
Kang Jin-Ho nodded. Wasn’t this concept similar to cultivators from the same sect sharing their qi?
Something like that was quite difficult with demonic cultivators, since demonic qi differed a lot between individual cultivators. But sharing of qi was not as rare among the orthodox cultivators. What surprised Kang Jin-Ho was that this concept also existed among magic users.
“Still… Can magic even damage the army, though?”
Kang Jin-Ho was genuinely curious about this. Attack magic spells were basically a manipulation of natural elements. For instance, magic could ignite flames, cause lightning strikes, or rouse up intense storm winds.
However, Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t sure such attacks would work against those heavy lumps of metal. Unless the flames kept burning for a long time to the point of heating up the metal, the operators inside those tanks probably wouldn’t feel a thing. And it’d be even worse for winds or lightning strikes.
That seemed so obvious to Kang Jin-Ho the more he thought about it.
I’m sure Wiggins knows what he’s doing, though.
Wiggins received the flood of mana coming from his behind and began his measured chanting. His hands swished and whooshed in the air, leaving behind arcs and lines of light.
His hands stopped moving only when he had completed a huge magic circle with incredibly complicated and bizarre runes in the air.
“Now, then… Shall we find out if they can handle this?”
The magic circle glowed brilliantly while gradually falling toward the ground. And then, as it melted into the dirt below…
Wiggins whispered tenderly to it.
“Go shake them up.”