Chapter 39 Find It (2)

Kwang Hwi issued a new order to his men.

“Find Armata or the facility that is mass producing the Golems.”

Immediately after, the men deployed the Heron. It was one of the most treasured assets of the Kwang Hwi Faction as it was the only equipment suited for a large scale reconnaissance.

A few gathered at the Situation Room to keep a close eye on the screen. If they found anything strange, they shared their opinions on the matter. Their efforts paid off as they were able to find suspicious areas in less than a day.

“Boss. We found it!”

Soo Min dashed into the office, prompting Kwang Hwi and his subordinates to turn their heads.

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“We found two suspicious locations. The Cheonbosan Peak and Mt. Mangwolsa.”

“Mark them on the monitor.”

Soo Min tapped on his smartpad to transfer the images into the large screen. Soon after, they were displayed on the map.

“Did you find Armata?”

“No, sir. We don’t think it’s Armata. We presume it’s the facility that is mass producing the Golems.”

A video taken from Cheonbosan Peak was displayed on the screen. Cheonbosan was a relatively small mountain with a height of 335 meters. However, it’s rocky cliffs made it difficult to climb over it.

While the summit was relatively flat and unnoteworthy, there were unidentified symbols drawn all over it. The symbols looked like they would disappear from a slight disturbance. A few people tried to analyze the symbols, but they couldn’t make any sense out of them.

“We have confirmed that whenever the symbols shine brightly, newly made Mud Golems appeared at the base of the mountain.”

“So it’s essentially a production facility.”

“Yes, it appears to be so.”

Soo Min displayed the next image.

“The next target is Mt. Mangwolsa located at Dongbansan.”

“…It looks like it’s even more difficult to approach than Cheongbosan.”

The mid section of the mountain was a vertical cliff, which looked dangerous. It was going to be difficult to deploy a large-scale operation, not to mention vehicles, to such a place.

“After finding the symbols at Cheonbosan, we focused on searching nearby mountains. By chance, we spotted the same light coming out of Mt. Mangwolsa.”

“Nice. We’ll attack immediately.”

Fortunately, they didn’t have to go in person. They were really lucky to have SPGs that could fire projectiles a few dozens kilometers away.

Outside, the SPGs were waiting orders. Their turrets were already raised up high as they had received the firing data beforehand. They were ready to be fired with the push of a button. Kwang Hwi gave them a simple order.

“Fire.”

A deafening sound reverberated through Dongducheon and the windows of buildings near the SPG shook violently. Citizens of Dongducheon momentarily stopped what they were doing, but quickly went back to their daily tasks. It was not unusual for the Kwang Hwi Faction to fire guns without giving any notice.

A shell flew high into the sky, only to lose its momentum and strength. After a momentary pause, it started to fall back down. Under the downward pressure of gravity, the speed sharply increased.

When it contacted the ground, a large explosion occurred. As if it were trying to swallow everything, intense flames burst out. The shockwave swept across 50 meters, sending thick clouds of dust into the air. The symbols were removed as they could not withstand the external shock.

— “Hit confirmed!”

As soon as the symbols were erased, Mud Golems scattered around Uijeongbu dispersed.

[You have defeated 100 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 3000 MP.]

[You have defeated 200 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 4000 MP.]

[You have defeated 300 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 5000 MP.]

A single shell shaved off half of the Mud Golem population. As the kill count increased, Kwang Hwi’s MP reserve shot up. Compared to other monsters, Mud Golems gave twice the Merit Points. Confirming the kills, Kwang Hwi pressed on for more points.

“Next target.”

— “Target confirmed. Firing!”

Two SPGs fired at the same time. In MRSI mode, the SPGs fired a total of six rounds right above Mangwolsa. The mountain which enjoyed peace until now was unable to avoid the incoming projectiles. None missed and they all landed perfectly on top of Mangwolsa. The pagoda for a respectable Buddhist teacher that’s considered a cultural asset for Gyeonggi-do was destroyed by boulders that came tumbling down. Nearby buildings couldn’t withstand the destructive force of the SPG and shattered into pieces. In a matter of seconds, the oldest pagoda of Uijeongbu was turned into ruins.

At the same time, the explosion swallowed symbols hidden inside Mangwolsa. The flickering symbols lost their light, drawing on their last breath. Soon after, the remaining Golems lost their form and returned to a pile of dirt.

[You have defeated 400 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 6000 MP.]

[You have defeated 500 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 7000 MP.]

[You have defeated 600 Mud Golems faster than anybody else in the world.] [You have obtained 8000 MP.]

— “A-all Mud Golems have been incapacitated!”

Everyone inside the Situation Room had their eyes glued to the screen after hearing the report. They couldn’t believe it until they saw that there weren’t any Mud Golems roaming the streets.

[Gyeonggi Province’s Uijeongbu was added to the Controlling Area category.]

[It is strongly suggested to deploy troops in the area. If troops are not deployed, other forces may take over the territory.]

While they had faced some trouble, Kwang Hwi Faction was able to safely secure Uijeongbu.

***

The blue eyed Keku exchanged glances with each other. Their leader pointed towards the white walls and cried out to rally his troops. Others nodded and raised a metal pole so large that multiple Keku, known for their strength, had trouble carrying it.

The monsters rammed the pole into the wall, leaving a small mark. They did not rest and kept swinging their siege weapon. As they continued, the visible mark grew in size.

The men who were watching the scene through the camera bit on their lips. They were wondering what happened to the Keku that had gone silent for the past month. Never did they think they would return after finding the weakest point of the bunker.

As the wall shook, one of the security guards asked his buddy.

“What should we do?”

“Report it to the Chief.”

The man nodded and dialed the phone.

“Chief, it’s the security team. Monsters are attacking the wall.”

— “Wait a bit. I’ll be there.”

Hearing an urgent sound of footsteps from behind, the men turned around and immediately stood upright to greet the Chief.

“Chief, you’re finally here.”

“You said they’re destroying our wall?”

The middle-aged man looked towards the wall that was visibly shaking.

“Since when?”

“Yesterday, all they did was knock on the walls. It wasn’t until 10 minutes ago they started their siege. You can see them on the screen.”

His eyes twitched after watching what was going on.

‘Why now?’

He didn’t think for too long as they had to reinforce the walls immediately.

“First, reinforce the wall as much as possible. The two of you will go to the storage room and bring anything we aren’t using. We need to slow them down with a barricade incase they breach our walls. Also, bring fire extinguishers and shields as well.”

“Understood!”

The men rushed to the storage room.

“As for you, I need you to stay here and report every hour. Make sure to report immediately in case of emergency. Got that?”

“Yes! Understood.”

“I’ll be back after visiting the president.”

The Chief Security Officer hurried along the corridor. After walking past the empty corridor for few minutes, new scenery entered his vision. There were men in black suits guarding the entrance to a room across the corridor. When the guards saw the Chief, they greeted him with a respectful bow.

“Hello, Chief.”

“Good work.”

Immediately after entering the room, a blue logo stamped on the floor welcomed him.

[Republic of Korea, Blue House]

After passing by few more corridors and security doors, the Chief Security Officer finally reached the temporarily Situation Room. As the facility was still under construction, the room was quite empty.

‘Why here.’

If their weapons were not broken, they would have relocated the president to other bunkers that were completed. However, hundreds of monsters attacked them at once, slaughtering the security guards that were unarmed. Eventually, the Chief was forced to evacuate the president and his staff to the nearest bunker.

Perhaps they would of had a better chance if the enemies were human, but they faced monsters who surpassed humans’ physical strength. Without firearms, all they had left were tactical batons that didn’t help much.

They had thought about breaking past other buildings, but decided not to as they couldn’t ensure the safety of the president and others. While they were able to save their lives by escaping here, they couldn’t be at ease. Because the construction of Sangchunjae Underground Bunker was incomplete, their food reserve was low as it wasn’t properly stocked and they didn’t have any escape route if the monsters broke past their defense.

“Hahaha.”

“Things turned out to be great.”

“Who’s laughing?”

He turned his head around to the place he heard the laughter. Representatives of major political parties who took refuge with the president were talking with a bright face. The Chief had never seen them make such a bright face in years.

‘What’s going on?’

The leader of the Liberty Korea Party spotted the Chief Security Officer and waved his hand.

“Chief! Where have you been?”

“I went to check on the wall. Did something good happen?”

“Something good? Hahaha! Take a look here. There was an armed force still left!”

“Eh?”

At first, the Chief thought he had misheard.

‘An armed force?’

“You look like you don’t believe me.”

“Of course he can’t. Now, Chief come here and take a look at this.”

Representatives from each party, who had gathered in front of the screen, moved out of the way. The Chief walked close to the screen. A familiar staff bowed to greet him.

“We spotted them through the satellite.”

“This is…”

On the screen, APCs and Tanks were moving in a line. He didn’t expect to see anymore. On top of that, there were perfectly fine autocannons mounted on top of the APCs. The Chief blinked his eyes. Seeing his reaction, the politicians laughed.

“I told you so.”

The Chief Security Officer hurried to check the details of the photo. The location and time were visibly marked.

[Gyeonggi Province’s Uijeongbu, 20180520. 1123]

It was taken today at 11:23AM, not too long ago.

“Oh, Chief you’re here too?”

“President!”

Respective party leaders greeted the President and so did the Chief Security Officer.

“Did you see the photo? We’re truly fortunate. To think that there was still an armed force.”

“God must be truly looking out for our country.”

“Contact them immediately and bring them here. There’s no need to worry about the monsters outside.”

While the president and political party leaders were happily discussing about the weapons, the chief security officer bit on his lips. In a low voice, he spoke carefully.

“Excuse me.”

“What’s wrong, Chief?”

The President looked at the Chief Security Officer. After a momentary silence, the Chief closed his eyes and spoke.

“Those people in the satellite images are not from our country.”