Chapter 493: The Twist Of The Twist Of The Twist (1) |
‘What’s going on?’
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so shocking that I still couldn’t believe it despite seeing it for myself inside the situation room that Belial had prepared for me. I was doubting myself. I looked at the magic hologram again, but the scene was still the same. Donovan charged at the wall like a crazy dog with rabies. He was currently suffering a stat penalty, but he was still a Semi-Mythic being.
The humans on the wall shot magic and arrows out of fear, which kickstarted the siege warfare. If the humans joined forces, I was certain they would be able to defeat Donovan.
I thought the reinforcements from the Four Nation Alliance and the Republic would arrive on time before more damage was done to the Federation forces.
It would be a beautiful sight to behold seeing Kim Hyun-Sung cutting Donovan’s head off once the latter was exhausted after destroying the wall. I was a hundred percent sure that it would happen.
However, I couldn’t find Kim Hyun-Sung anywhere using the magic hologram. What actually caught my attention was the Sacred Democratic Country’s main force abandoning the base and heading deeper into Belial’s territory toward Amera.
While Donovan was running rampant at the 41st base, the main force broke through the 43rd base’s siege warfare. At first, I thought he had just deliberately placed the soldiers behind him as bait, but that wasn’t the case.
He had really decided to abandon the Federation.
‘What’s with him all of a sudden?’
Kim Hyung-Sung wasn’t interested in politics, but I was sure that he knew how much blame he would receive throughout the continent, and he definitely knew the scale of conflict such a decision would bring.
I could have never imagined that the regressor who was trying to unify mankind would create such a large-scale conflict.
‘Did he not think of an escape route? What is he going to do if he gets sandwiched by Donovan?’
He was basically advancing with no retreat. He didn’t care about anything; he only cared about arriving in time. The troop formation and camp were perfect, but the existence of an army whose sole purpose was to break through enemy lines was odd.
‘There really is no retreat…’
I realized right there and then that my plan had gone to the dogs. I thought that Kim Hyun-Sung would secure a base, take over a region, and then perform enough reconnaissance until they were well-equipped with enough information to wage war.
I also thought of the possibility of guerilla warfare using those forward operating bases, but I was mistaken all along. Kim Hyun-Sung’s plan was to arrive at Amera as soon as possible while carrying the minimum amount of supplies.
It wasn’t even a strategy because he was just pushing through enemy lines without much thought. It seemed like he didn’t even consider the possibility that he would run out of supplies and get captured by the enemies. I couldn’t understand why Lee Ji-Hye even agreed to this crazy strategy.
Of course, I couldn’t help but smile when I thought that perhaps the reason he was running rampant was that a comrade of his was suffering at the hands of the demons.
However, I felt anxious as well.
‘How do I deal with this?’
Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t actually kill every demon running toward him.
If this were an actual war, the demons would have gathered and created a shield to block Kim Hyun-Sung’s spear. Afterward, they would surround and kill him.
However, I couldn’t let my precious party members die.
I had told the demons about the description of the people who shouldn’t die no matter what, so the demons were naturally wary about blocking Kim Hyun-Sung’s spear.
‘Will they be able to increase their worth without doing that?’
There were gift boxes everywhere, but Kim Hyun-Sung charged like a burning bus charging toward the Blue House.
I was sure they had a plan because the heroes of the Republic and the troops of the other nations were participating in the event we had prepared, but I wasn’t satisfied with that.
‘Why is Donovan…’
- You dirty, pesky humans.
- Ahhhhhhhhhh! R-Run… Ruuuuuuuun!
- The Sacred Democratic Country has abandoned us. The Continental Union has abandoned us. Shit… Shit!
- You Republican bastards! The heavens won’t forgive you!
- Don’t retreat. Don’t retreat! Don’t let them come up here! Stop them! Don’t give up! Resist until the end! We’re defending the wall, so we still have the advantage!
- God won’t forgive you, you bastards!
- Shoot! Shooooot!
- R-Retreat…!
It was absurd, but the Federation soldiers were already running around.
However, it was clear that they knew their roles well because they were attacking within the limits of their roles.
I wasn’t sure if he was just unlucky, but I saw Gellahan of Hellfire being torn apart by Donovan.
- You call this fire hellfire?
- Aaaaahhh! S-Save me…! Save…
- How dare a maggot like you call yourself Hellfire when you haven’t had a taste of true Hellfire! You’re really disgusting.
I also saw Jamila writhing in pain.
- Please, please save me. Please. Please…!
They were going to die from the start, but I had to say goodbye to them at the very least since we did spend quite a lot of time together. I would have preferred to give them at least a scar before they were killed, but it seemed that I wouldn’t be able to do that.
They died an awful death despite their Epic and Legendary jobs.
‘There really is no hope for the Federation…’
The giant scar on the continent was worthy of a nod, but…
‘I can’t let it end like this.’
At this rate, this part would be considered a failure. Donovan was working hard to get results, but he wasn’t doing any acting at all. He was just doing what a hard-liner would do.
How could he improve his worth when he killed those humans before instilling fear in them? His method was impactful, so it wasn’t that bad, but I still got nervous because he was killing every person he saw.
‘Crazy bastard… That’s why I told him not to overdo it. Damn it.’
Thankfully, it seemed like he hadn’t forgotten his mission because he showed an opening and cornered the humans into Belial Land. However, the number of cornered humans was smaller than I had envisioned.
It was like a rollercoaster with fifty seats, but only twenty people were riding it.
‘What should I do?’
The ones who had to go to heaven after fighting for a while were trolling, and Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t playing along with the demons.
‘How do we kill Donovan and stop those guys?’
I thought hard and long about it, but I couldn’t find the answer.
‘Should I change sides?’
For a moment, I thought about taking the side of mankind and killing the demons, but it was an unlikely endeavor. I could have done it if Belial were Benigoa.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t courageous enough to backstab Belial.
In addition, the demons would be my insurance in two thousand years, so I obviously had to maintain a good relationship with them.
Cutting ties with them just because things weren’t working out was a dumb move that would create more problems down the road.
‘I have to maintain a good relationship with Belial until the end...’
We basically shared a common destiny.
My frustration had to have unknowingly leaked because a demon in the situation room with me started talking.
- Are you okay, Mr. Lee Ki-Young? You don’t look so good.
“Ah, I’m fine. The food I ate is making me feel a bit queasy. Anyway, it seems like everything is going according to plan. Not bad,” I replied.
- As expected…
“If it continues like this, I believe the project will end successfully. Ah, if you find anything unusual, please tell me right away,” I requested.
- Oh, there is something.
“What?”
- The enemy force that came out of the 43rd base is channeling a spell. They have been doing it for quite a while now…
‘So why did you just tell me that?’
“S-Show it on the screen,” I said.
- Okay.
The main force of the Sacred Democratic Country that had been running like wild animals had stopped at some point.
“Can’t they go closer to them?” I asked.
- There’s a human with keen senses among them… If the familiar spirit goes any closer, that human will probably notice them. This is the limit.
“Zoom in a bit,” I ordered.
- Sure.
Jung Ha-Yan was the one channeling the spell. I wasn’t sure what spell it was, but the size of the pulsating mana made it obvious that it was extremely powerful.
I was worried that she would cast that spell and send it flying here, but…
‘There’s no way she’ll do something like that...’
I was sure that she wouldn’t cast Meteor because she knew that I was in Amera. In addition, a powerful spell alone wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory in this war.
We had enough defenses to withstand Semi-Mythic spells, so there shouldn’t be an issue, even if we were to take the brunt of that spell.
I thought that perhaps she was channeling that spell out of desperation, but the looks on everyone’s faces made it clear that it wasn’t the case.
It had been a while since I saw the party members. The familiar spirit couldn’t get closer, so I couldn’t make out the fine details, but I could see their haggard faces.
For some reason, Sun Hee-Young was radiating this murderous air, just like the Sun Hee-Young of the Dark World.
Meanwhile, Park Deok-Gu’s eyes were swollen.
I also saw Cha Hee-Ra, Kasugano Yuno, and Elena. They didn’t look any better than the others.
Cha Hee-Ra looked worse than the others, and I couldn’t have imagined that a day would come when she would look that haggard.
However, our lovely regressor, Kim Hyun-Sung, captured my attention.
‘Geez, you look thin.’
He looked like he had been crippled. He looked so bad that I actually couldn’t find a word to describe him. He looked as if he was really troubled and was regretting everything that had happened recently.
He looked just as troubled as Jung Ha-Yan, who was currently channeling a spell. In addition, he looked like he was going to make the confession of a lifetime once this was over, but that wasn’t the only emotion I could make out on his face.
‘What… are they trying to do? What’s wrong with all of you guys?’
Everyone looked determined, as if they were about to put their lives on the line.
I could understand why they felt that way because they had basically embarked on a mission that was no different from suicide.
However, the determination on their faces wasn’t the type of determination one would have when facing certain death.
In the end, I could only say that they were either saying goodbye to their lives or they simply looked resolute.
I was sure that their determination drove them to channel the spell that Jung Ha-Yan was channeling, and I became curious about just what kind of spell it was that it made them look like they were walking toward the gallows.
To make things worse, Jung Ha-Yan looked nervous, which was unlike her.
‘I have to stop her.’
However, it was too late to send reinforcements. Jung Ha-Yan’s nervous expression eventually turned gloomy. Priests like Elena and Sun Hee-Young clasped their hands, and even Park Deok-Gu was doing the same thing.
Kim Hyun-Sung nodded to signal that he had decided.
Jung Ha-Yan’s mouth moved slightly, casting the spell.
I was about to inform the others to be careful about the incoming meteor, but…
- They’re gone.
‘I have eyes, too, so I can see it, you bastard…’
The troops disappeared right in front of my eyes.
The only thing that remained was the massive magic circle beneath their feet earlier.
‘What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with you guys? Seriously?’
I started panicking, but a voice from outside interrupted me.
- Mr. Lee Ki-Young. The enemy’s main force h-have arrived at the main attack point. They’ve arrived at R-Rimoura’s nest.
I instantly recognized the spell that Jung Ha-Yan had cast.
‘Teleportation...’
It was a spell that was only known in theory.
Comments 2