The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 118
118fury.
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Arrived in Djibouti, a country located on the west side of the African continent between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea..
It wasn't that difficult to get through customs there..
It was effectively a free pass thanks to the help of the Ndoz Federation, the original owner of this container ship..
But the problem was deceiving the 'transportation agents' of the Ndoz Federation who were waiting for the ship..
“Captain, you remember what happens if you do something stupid.?”
The captain, who was about to go out of the ship, stopped at Lee Hyun-wook’s words..
"Anyway, since I ended up like this, I'll die even if I end up back on the other side, so what... … I'm going to give up on this now.”
He was an Indian smuggler who was quite famous in the Eurasian black market.,
For about two years now, it has been attached to the Ndoz Alliance and has been in charge of transporting war materials..
"There's no way those bastards will save me after I've completely ruined this important matter, right? I got into this dangerous job because I like the money, but I won't do anything stupid because I need my life to make money..”
“Yes, I thought about it well, but looking at your friends' faces can suddenly give you courage that you didn't have before.?”
“……At those times, I think back to your words while touching this damn dog collar. amen—”
He said while touching the 'restraint' on his neck..
"By the way, who are you? I keep covering my face... … That mysterious power……."
"why? Do you want to know before you betray me? Just remember that he's the one holding your life.”
After a while, transport ships appeared at the dockside and the captain contacted them..
Lee Hyun-wook watched it all through Hugin..
- Hey, did you get a necklace? But what kind of design is so clunky? You look just like a prisoner?
- ha ha ha… … This is also a popular dog collar style in Chennai, but I don't know what it is.?
The captain smiles slyly and answers a man’s question..
- hmm… … There have been a lot of faces on your boat that you haven't seen in months.?
- Well, you can't stop kids who want to go back to their hometown. So I picked some new recruits, well.
So, after the captain gave a good explanation, the transportation department didn't seem to have any doubts..
Meanwhile, HPA members were disguising themselves as Black Factory crew members and unloading doll weapons..
However, I had to stay close to the transporters throughout the process of loading the doll weapons onto the truck..
"Hey you! It's a face I've never seen before, where did it come from??”
"No, these newbies, why are they so blunt??”
If I spoke incorrectly, my identity could be revealed, so I kept silent as much as possible..
And about three hours later, a convoy of 15 trucks filled with doll weapons left the port of Djibouti..
"—Well then, good luck, you helpless sea bastards.!”
Lee Hyun-wook and the HPA members had no choice but to remain in the port and watch..
In the first place, sea transport and land transport were completely different areas, so there was no way to join that procession..
“……Now, let's get ready to follow along..”
Therefore, it was planned to precede the transport procession with several vehicles prepared in advance..
***
The time when the sun sets and turns the grasslands of Africa scarlet.…….
"You, you… … Who are you??”
On a mountain road in the Amar Mountains of Ethiopia, the transport leader was kneeling on the dirt ground..
Lee Hyun-wook and HPA took a detour on a mountainous road, overtook the truck convoy, and then made a surprise attack..
The operation was successful and 15 trucks and the entire dummy arsenal were secured intact..
"Can't you tell who it is just by looking at it? They are the ones who have come to put an end to your evil deeds..”
HPA team leader Alberto Pirlo grabbed the transport leader by the hair..
Although HPA advocated ‘humanitarianism’, it was not a no-kill policy..
"Wow, no way... … Well, are they rebels??”
After listening to that, he cut off the man's neck with a dagger..
Okay—!
“Chief, I have taken over the truck..”
"Okay, I'm leaving this place as quickly as possible..”
After giving the command, he took a look at the scenery on this mountainous road..
The only thing hanging everywhere are the corpses of enemies... … It was a perfect surprise operation with no mistakes..
And in the distance, a man standing with Sophie came into his sight..
“……Really, it went according to that guy's plan.?”
Alberto opposed this operation. This was crazy. It is important to suppress the expansion of the Puppeteer's power, so he would be so greedy that he would walk into the middle of enemy territory and steal it outright.…….
But it really happened.
It also succeeded very clearly..
However, as things go well like this, one question becomes more serious..
‘Who on earth is that guy??’
I heard earlier that it was that man who controlled the Living Armor and recaptured the Black Factory..
But the battle he showed just now was far from that kind of control ability..
‘If you just look at that scene, you have to think of it as a warrior type..’
Immediately after the raid began, he jumped in before anyone else and cut down five people with his sword..
‘And that in just a few seconds…….'
Immediately after that, he was struck by magic, but his body was not scorched at all..
‘That guy is a tank, no, a bruiser. It also has to be grade A or higher..’
On top of that, he even has the ability to control Living Armor... … It was an incomprehensible combination of characteristics..
'……I don't know where this guy came from, but I'm sure he's not normal..’
While Alberto acknowledged the man's skills, he did not suppress his caution..
Talent like that doesn't suddenly fall from the sky. It was clear that I came here on my own..
In other words, he thought, there was a high possibility that the author was hiding something..
‘And since he doesn't reveal his identity until the end, there's definitely something there..’
In countries where the situation is this bad, businessmen are lured in with a knack for getting a share of the profits..
He ordered two of his henchmen to keep a close eye on that man..
Immediately after, the truck whose owner changed hands changed direction and entered a completely different road..
This road is also the same road to CAR, but it has a high possibility of avoiding censorship by the Ndoz Federation..
Lee Hyun-wook boarded Choi Do-do’s wagon..
“after… … But it's too early to relax, as we'll still have to run for a few more days..”
said Sophie from the passenger seat..
Central African Republic, as its name suggests, is located in the very center of the inland region of Africa..
Besides the fact that the African continent is large, the roads are not properly maintained..
I had no idea what would happen as I passed through that lawless wilderness..
"We'll have to run for another four days. But I… … Are you in any pain??”
She tilted her head as she examined Lee Hyun-wook’s face..
There was no way this man was in pain, but it looked like it was..
"Actually, I was going to ask you yesterday, but you've been looking bad for the past few days..”
Over the past eight days of sailing, Lee Hyun-wook's complexion looked noticeably gaunt..
The reason was simply because the ‘internal furnace’ was being turned too hard..
"Oh, it's okay. I'm just a little tired because the tropical climate doesn't suit me..”
But it is true that my head is more complicated than ever..
‘I think this is the first time since I returned to the past that my head has been this complicated..’
The reason was, of course, the ‘main quest’..
Lee Hyun-wook thought over the contents several times whenever he had time..
[main quest]
- Second chance at life, duty, destiny…….
congratulations! You are doing great with your second life opportunity. Thus, we were given the destiny to advance to the ‘end’..
Witness the key elements of this world and take a step closer to the truth!
1) Track down the 'Black Gate' that is open somewhere in the world..
2) Past Life—Defeat the 'Dimension Shifters' who will come from the first world..
3) Encounter ‘■■■’ who knows the truth of this world..
‘Ending, Black Gate, Dimension Shifter, Truth… … What is that block again??’
It was all like a mystery..
Among them, the most annoying one was item number 2..
‘In my past life, someone came to visit me from the first world.…….'
Lee Hyun-wook's first life, it meant that someone from that world would come to visit..
Unlike Lee Hyun-wook, who 'returned' to his past body, he jumped across the dimension to his original body........
'……This is not good at all. If you have the power 8 years later, it will be on a different level..’
I didn't know who it would be, but I was sure it would be the worst..
'And just in case, it's a necromancer…….'
Lee Hyun-wook slowly closed his eyes while considering all the possibilities..
‘Anyway, I learned that there is an end to this disaster..’
It is a world that has been completely distorted by a game that suddenly started one day..
‘So, what on earth is this game??’
That was a question that everyone in this world had at least once and a question that still hasn't been resolved..
In this way, games and systems were still uncharted territory..
‘But people... … Before I knew it, I had fully adapted..’
‘Survival’ was more important than tracking down the truth that could not be resolved.,
As a result of this struggle for survival, mankind succeeded in adapting..
In other words, now we just take this game for granted as a new order of things..
'……In other words, I gave up..’
At this moment, Lee Hyun-wook's goal has been revised..
‘I see the end of this game.’
***
At dawn on the third day after crossing Africa, we finally arrived at the ‘appointed location’..
It was under a rocky mountain in the grasslands on the border between Central African Republic and South Sudan..
There were four wagons waiting there..
"Sophie, are they the resistance fighters??”
"that's right. Probably an elite unit would come out to meet us..”
As I approached, a black man opened his arms and showed hospitality..
"—ah! Sophie Green, our ally is back!!”
"Liango, I'm glad we can meet again safely.!”
The two people hugged each other happily, as if they had known each other for a long time..
"Oh, but Bowie didn't come? You two always go together?”
"That's because he's not in a good mood right now.……."
The man named Liango said that and pointed somewhere..
Over there, a large black man got out of a wagon, took off his sunglasses, and lightly raised his hand..
He seemed to be Bowie, but unlike Liango, he didn't seem to be very happy with Sophie and the others..
“ah… … They're doing this because we failed to secure the terms of the contract with?”
“Ha - I'm sorry, Sophie. That's the kind of attitude you have towards those of you who risk your lives to help us, foreigners.……."
"No, I understand. I made a fuss and took money that could have been used for something else..”
As the sun began to set before we knew it, the group prepared to camp there..
And during dinner, Sophie sat next to Hyunwook Lee and explained the situation..
"Those two, the Bertrand brothers, are the nephews of the resistance commander and are in fact second in command. And his older brother Bowie insisted on a deal with the Old Peace Guild, so he contacted them through us..”
After a while, Bowie approached..
"Sophie, thank you for your kindness in coming back to this dangerous place..”
"Bowie, I'm sorry I wasn't able to secure the last key fragment. I made a rant……."
He was silent for a while at that point, then slowly opened his mouth..
“……Still, it's okay because we bought some time by intercepting the main weapon of the Ndoz Alliance..”
There was a bone in those words. Still, buying time means just buying time..
The guild's reinforcements are the fundamental solution to end this civil war... … Lee Hyun-wook, a third party, could also feel that he was resentful of not being able to obtain it..
If I revealed Lee Hyun-wook's identity here, I might be able to alleviate that resentment..
But I couldn't do that right now.
The reason is that……
‘There is a traitor among the resistance forces here..’
- Yes, since you didn't explain the details of the operation, I'm finally finding out what's going on and contacting you..
The sound of some kind of Mana messenger was coming into his ears..
- All of those doll weapons are here. This is why the Bertrand brothers moved..
- Good job. Your family will be well fed for the rest of your life..
- under… … thank you!
- The 11th Cavalry will be heading there soon, so please report back as soon as they move..
‘Ah, if this continues, I will have to continue wearing a mask for a while.…….'
But others didn't seem to notice the inside story at all..
"I'm defending the last fortress, 'Northern Fortress', but I don't know if I can hold out for a month..”
"oh my god… … Things have gotten worse since we were in India.?”
"There were three major battles in the meantime, and all of them were lost, so this is the worst situation..”
The resistance seemed to be at a dead end..
Then Bowie pointed to 15 trucks—doll weapons..
“By the way, Sophie, it's great that you intercepted that, but you'd better just destroy it..”
The reason was in the same vein as Alberto's earlier suggestion to bury the doll weapons..
I was concerned that if I carried it around with me, it would one day be taken away by the puppeteer..
"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you..”
She said that and pointed to Lee Hyun-wook..
"This person we met in Chennai is someone who can control Living Armor. The usurpation of doll weapons was possible thanks to this person. And thankfully they decided to help us..”
Sophie subtly informed Bowie of Lee Hyun-wook's existence, but did not even mention his name..
Then he looked at Lee Hyun-wook… … I turned my head without saying a typical greeting..
"Sophie, no fire mage or fire elementalist can show off fire in front of Inferno. Rather, the fire they created only further increases the power of Inferno..”
To put it simply, no matter how hard you try, you can't deal with a puppet master..
"And Living Armor alone cannot deal with the cavalry of the ‘Enchantress Twins’..”
He said that and let out a deep sigh..
“……148This is the number of 'Enchant Tanks' that appeared during the last battle..”
The current enemies, the Ndoz Alliance, had two powerful weapons..
The first of them was the war mercenary 'Puppet Master' who was sick of it..
The second were wizard twins called the Enchantress Twins..
And for the resistance, this would probably be a much more difficult opponent than the puppeteer..
‘They are a duo of wizard players specializing in enchantments..’
It was a similar ability to the Anyang Duo. If the Anyang Duo applied high-quality overlapping enchantments to their weapons, they had the style of competing with quantity by applying enchantments to large-scale weapons..
'In other words, it is a type of wide-area enchantment magic..’
The target of its application was mankind's gunpowder weapons and even armored weapons such as tanks..
Soon, negative comments about the enchantment tank began popping up here and there..
"Those magic-shielded tanks are truly unstoppable monsters..”
"I used all my mana to fire a shot of conversion, but it ended with the infinite orbit being cut off..”
"under… … However, if you fire an anti-tank gun, it will bounce off the magic shield.……."
Armor with magic shield, enchanted machine gun, main gun warhead made of dungeon steel.…….
They were quite difficult to deal with unless you were a very strong player..
"And according to intelligence that came in not long ago, there are 269 tanks in the central hangar alone..”
“The moment the enchantment ends and you go out, even the northern fortress will collapse..”
As such, the resistance's morale was already completely broken. Their last hope would have been the guild's reinforcements. But even that went away, so I had no choice but to be frustrated..
‘Furthermore, there will be many cases where you go over to the other side in order to survive..’
As can be seen from this atmosphere, the resistance movement was destined to fail in the end..
So, 'Sudarsana' also fell into the hands of the villain after being taken over by the Ndoz League..
However, a variable named Lee Hyun-wook entered the flow..
'I think it's time for this boring conversation to end.?’
Lee Hyun-wook was not listening to their conversation properly..
His senses were now touching the 'hugin' of the high sky..
That moment—
"—It's a raid!”
Everyone jumped out of their seats at the sharp shout that rang out from somewhere..
"huh? what does that mean!”
When Liango asked that question, the guard pointed somewhere..
"Tanks are approaching from about 9 km from the northwest plain.!”
"No, I didn't know until I got that close.?”
"Well, it looks like it was enchanted with a wide-area hiding spell.!"
"Those kids... … He took out a hidden card as if he had been waiting for it.?”
At that moment, Bowie pulled a pistol from his waist..
“……How on earth did they know we were here??”
The muzzle of his gun was pointed at none other than Lee Hyun-wook..
"brother! What are you doing now?……."
"Liango, you stay still.!”
I guess I got this wrong..
“……Unidentified third party there, take off your mask.!”
“Bowie! This is a person you can trust! I guarantee it!”
Sophie stood between them..
"This man saved us by killing William Tell.!”
“……William Tell? Are you saying the eye removed person is dead??”
"is it so! And this person stole the doll weapon by himself.!”
Despite her defense, Bowie's expression did not change..
“Well, I don't know because I haven't seen it with my own eyes.……."
"what? I'm saying you don't trust me now.?”
"You've believed it for a long time, but it didn't help at all.?”
“……Bowie, we fought for you!”
When the situation was intensifying, HPA team leader Alberto intervened..
"under… … Hey, the tank is coming, what are you doing! If you want to shoot, shoot quickly!”
He was annoyed for another reason..
"Holy shit, I knew this would happen! I should have just packed everything away........"
He was angry that his wishes were ignored and so many doll weapons were eventually taken away..
‘This is Won, it's very bean powder.…….'
Everyone here has good intentions, but they are not of one mind..
"Green, this country is finished! I'm going to call the governor and tell him to get out, so pack your bags.!”
HPA members hastily prepared to flee, and the resistance fighters were unable to do anything..
coo coo coo coo coo coo coo——
Before I knew it, a ground rumble was approaching from the north..
Dozens of tanks, especially enchanted tanks, were coming..
Their searchlights illuminated the northern mound in pure white..
Soon, chunks of magic-covered steel would emerge beyond the mound..
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook opened his mouth..
"Did you say Bowie??”
"I'll prove that I'm not a traitor……."
Hyunwook Lee raised his left hand..
And with his index finger, he pointed at someone..
He was a man in the resistance group..
“If that's proven, dispose of that man..”
"What does that mean? Tell me so you can understand!”
Lee Hyun-wook smiled while looking at Bowie, who was feverish..
"People are surprisingly hard to understand. instead……."
At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook’s body began to rise into the air..
tick!
Bowie pulled the trigger without realizing it, but the bullet was not fired..
yes——
“……If you show it with your eyes, it's much easier to believe it..”
It was then.
bang——!
“Damn it, it's bombardment.!”
Hehehe——!
The sound of a ray of whistling across the quiet meadow becomes increasingly clearer..
High explosive bomb, it contained enchanted dungeon shrapnel..
In other words, it was a magic weapon that destroyed the surrounding area as soon as it exploded..
“—blood, damage!”
But then, didn't the cannonball bend at a right angle in the air and land in an odd place??
Boom——!
"uh?”
Bang—bang—bang—bang——!
Enchant tanks that continue to fire without any time to guess the reason.,
However, they all bounce off in all directions as if hit by an invisible wall..
“……That guy is deflecting the cannonball.?”
Soon everyone's eyes turned to Lee Hyun-wook floating in the sky..
“……What is it??”
The Ndoz Alliance's Enchanted Tank Corps was a source of fear for the resistance..
‘But for me…….'
Lee Hyun-wook raised his left hand while facing 24 tanks..
'……It's just a little big piece of metal..’
The moment he slowly turns his left hand—
'shredding!’
Empty! Empty! Empty! Empty! Empty! Tongue!
A series of loud noises ring out from ahead..
That was the sound of ‘caterpillar’ breaking up..
24All of the enchanted tanks stopped at once..
Fitting device——!
Then, the sound of something being twisted rings out..
This time, the gun barrel melted and became bent..
And the next moment…….
'Inside the tank, the shell explodes by hitting it..’
Qua—and—and—and—and—gwang——!
In an instant, the northern mound turned red..
With that gorgeous background behind him, Lee Hyun-wook’s body slowly sank down..
"Now, has this much been proven??”
Bowie looking up at Lee Hyun-wook with a bright face,
Towards him, Lee Hyun-wook spoke softly..
“……I can end this war.”
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