Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 123

Episode 123 [ Absolute Firepower – 3 ]

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“Ugh—what do you think? It’s absolutely amazing, right?”

After the [Warbox] test was over, Kang Hee-seol asked with a proud expression.

“Hey, tell me quickly! “Honestly, you were really surprised, right?”

Yes, I had no choice but to admit Hyunwook Lee in this part. No, I couldn’t hide my admiration.

“Yeah, it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever seen… no, it’s probably the best manufactured item in history.”

Hearing those words, Kang Hee-seol clenched his fist.

“K-I guess I was a talented person after all!”

Lee Hyun-wook had been investing almost everything in the development of magic engineering for several months now.

However, the speed of development was much faster than Lee Hyun-wook expected.

He felt this clearly while testing the orbital drop device [Warbox] made from the core of the solar chariot.

‘…I never thought it would have already reached this level.’

I had no doubt about the abilities of the two blacksmiths, Kang Jeong-du and Kang Hee-seol.

However, because Lee Hyun-wook generously provided nutrients, they were literally growing rapidly.

Add to that the synergy of the ‘Laputa’ and ‘Grey Dwarf’ races…

‘In a little while, even Laputa. They’re going to copy it.

That’s an exaggeration that’s gone too far, but Lee Hyun-wook was that excited right now.

“You guys, that’s expensive, so handle it carefully!”

At the place where Kang Hui-seol’s shout reached, the blacksmiths were covering the landed [War Box] with a waterproof cloth.

In fact, the ‘core of the solar carriage’ that moves that huge mechanical device was permanently powered, so it could be kept afloat in the sky. However, as it was a ‘prototype’, there was a risk of damage to the rest of the parts.

‘I guess I’ll have to take out a large airship and carry it around.’

It seemed that a fairly large airship would be needed to store a whopping 15 cubic meter cube.

And that wasn’t all the blacksmiths had prepared.

Kang Jeong-du brought a steel box with a bloody warning message stuck on its surface.

“The ‘explosive metal window’ that President Lee was talking about has also been completed. Would you like to see it?”

– Explosive warning (!)

“Yes, let’s test it right now.”

Clang—

inside was an iron bar about 50 cm long.

[Item Information]

– Name: Fire Spear (General)

– Effect: Causes a ‘flame explosion’ when infusing mana.

“This explosion effect is actually a one-time use item, so we made it a standard grade.” As this area turned into a ‘sanctuary of fire’ and the ‘Tower of Eternal Fire’ was added, flame magic enchantments became easier. In other words

, it became possible to mass-produce this type of ‘explosive metal weapon.’

I threw it toward the vacant lot that was being used as a testing ground.

The moment it flew like a normal spear and got stuck—Lee Hyun-wook gave it mana.

Then the entire spear turned red-hot and flashed yellow for an instant.

Pfft—!

It was like a grenade had landed. An explosion occurred.

Now that it was just one shot, the destructive power seems to be just that.

‘But if you drop hundreds or thousands of shots… it becomes what is commonly called a carpet bombardment.’

Lee Hyun-wook nodded with satisfaction.

“Good. “Please take as many pictures of this as possible.”

“Yes, I think we can currently produce about 50 units per day.”

“And if you don’t have enough workers, don’t overwork yourself and hire more employees.”

“Yes, I will. Do you have any more instructions than that?”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded and took out an AD-1 and took out two items.

“Oh, and… can I apply this orb to this item?”

One of them was none other than Mjolnir.

“Huh—isn’t this a legendary item?”

Even the best blacksmith, Kang Jeong-du, couldn’t hide his surprise at the appearance of a legendary grade weapon.

Even the other one was a legendary grade item, but that was….

[Item information]

– Name: Fragment of the Sun (Legendary)

– Effect: ‘ on the item Grants the ‘Power of Helios.’

“Huh—!”

Previously, by giving ‘Salamander’s Orb (Hero)’ to Morglay, he gained a powerful skill.

However, if you give a legendary grade orb to Mjolnir, which is a legendary grade…

‘I have no idea what kind of monster this will be. come.’

***

War is coming. That is a self-evident fact.

But there was no way to avoid it. Even

though we knew the storm was coming, we ended up being swept away…

So, at the moment, we had the biggest worry in Korea. Who is that person?

It was definitely Woo Seong-moon, the head of the National Gate Response Strategy Office.

He was looking at downtown Seoul from the back seat of a moving car.

The skyscrapers that had already overcome several near-collapses and stood tall

… The strength of this country seemed to be evident in the sturdiness of the forest of buildings.

But…

‘A big wave will come soon. If we don’t meet it properly, this country will be submerged like a ferry boat.’

At this moment, an army of Black Orcs is gathering in the Black Orc Kingdom of Shanghai.

‘The number of Black Orcs measured this morning… has already exceeded 10,000.’

Even the number of ‘wyverns’, which seem to be intended to carry such a huge army, reaches 391. Has there ever

been such a large number of monsters gathered in one place in history?

It is doubtful that the Black Orc Kingdom has become stronger than during the last ‘Shanghai Restoration War’. ‘If they land on this land, Korea may face a second era of colonial rule.

‘

Meanwhile, this fact was witnessed through most artificial satellites and was already known to the public.

– [Breaking News] War preparations of the Shanghai Oak Kingdom captured (2nd report)

– Military movements captured about two months after the Black Oak Kingdom’s declaration of war ‘Why’ ‘Now?’

– Public anxiety is deepening due to the ‘visibility’ of a war with the Black Orc Kingdom that even China could not win… What are the countermeasures?

– Gate response experts “[War Cloud Event] has not occurred, so we may not be the target.”

The fear of war was rising once again in this country.

‘This will be a disaster worse than the 4th wave. We must gather all the strength we can.’

Woo Seong-moon was busy even before this uproar broke out. He maintained contact with his allies and requested a joint response, and also asked the civilian guilds to do their best in the event of an emergency. Then, they all said that they would do their best if war broke out

. They said they would help… That’s what they said.

But strangely, not everyone believed them.

“They say they are allies on the face of it, but they all have dark intentions, so they won’t…”

In the past, there was a nationwide response to the gate. There was a time when humanity was united by a human mission.

However, humanity, which has fully adapted to this hellish era… has begun selfish politics again.

All the countries that said they would dispatch troops in the event of a war all mentioned ‘Laputa’.

To put it simply, it was a blatant plan to obtain permission to use Laputa in return for sending troops.

‘…It’s not that I don’t understand, but it’s obnoxious.’

Laputa, a transcendental object, is a being capable of shaking up the international situation, so it is only natural that it be coveted.

However, the South Korean government has not yet made any decisions and there is no war. However, the way they gathered together and discussed things like ‘joint operation of Laputa’ was… insulting.

In other words, the moment they borrowed the power of their allies, Laputa had no choice but to be taken hostage. Furthermore, if a war actually breaks out and the national power of the Republic of Korea weakens, they will try to rip off much more.

‘And the civilian guilds will all be busy fending for themselves if a war breaks out…’

It was a fact that when the 4th wave broke out, the foundation had already been revealed. In an era when individuals have too much power, solidarity fades dramatically. It was also a new social problem.

Seongmoon Woo met one strong player after another that he could trust as his last hope.

Among them was Lee Seong-yoon, the country’s No. 1 person who had not set foot on the Korean Peninsula in the past year.

The ‘Zmunnarae Attack Team 1’ commanded by him is evaluated as having more strength than a normal AMT division.

Therefore, the day I met him, I naturally asked him to join me in the upcoming war.

But the answer that came back was…

“Um… Manager, I’m sorry, but I can’t stop this ‘quest’ right now.”

His voice was firm.

What quest on earth could be more important than the existence of the country?…

Woo Seong-moon couldn’t criticize Lee Seong-yoon’s indifferent attitude.

‘I know, too. How important the work of Lee Seong-yoon and his group is… ..’

For the past three years, he has been concentrating on a certain quest, targeting high-ranking gates all over the world.

The reason was to prevent the worst ‘event’, which is grandiosely called ‘the end of humanity.

‘ “Don’t you know very well, Mr. ? The final event of this game will ultimately be the ‘apocalypse’. And our team has now succeeded in discovering a clue to one of those [doomsday scenarios].”

He went on to say that even a little distraction could make or break the quest.

“Hmm, Titanomachiara….”

“Yes? What did the director say?”

As Woo Seong-moon mumbled, team leader Lee Gyo-jun turned his head from the front passenger seat.

“No, it’s nothing.”

The invasion of Titanomachia giants will begin someday.

That was the last prophecy of the ‘Prophet’ player who died three years ago.

Several top players, including Lee Seong-yoon, were secretly struggling to prevent that day.

But before that happened, this country was about to be trampled by the Black Orc Kingdom.

“Ha……”

Woo Seong-moon felt uncharacteristically impatient.

No matter how much I thought about it, the power was noticeably insufficient.

It was then.

“Chief, this is news from Laputa. Lee Hyun-wook… has finally returned.”

Just hearing the news seemed to relieve some of the lump in Woo Seong-moon’s heart.

Finally, the most reliable and powerful firepower at the moment has returned.

“And he says he is urgently looking for the director.”

“Well why?”

“I think I have something to tell you about the upcoming war.”

Woo Seong-moon was once again relieved. As expected, Lee Hyun-wook had not forgotten the war.

‘And maybe he was preparing more thoroughly than anyone else.’

Seongmoon Woo knew it or not but had expectations.

“Team leader Lee is going to Laputa right now.”

***

From the moment Lee Hyun-wook returned, the situation began to change rapidly.

First, the sky began to turn somewhat yellow, like a sign of the apocalypse.

It was not a familiar pollution phenomenon like yellow dust or fine dust.

It was similar to how the sky in Seoul turned purple during the 4th wave.

– [Breaking News] The phenomenon of the sky turning yellow across the Korean Peninsula is presumed to be a war cloud event (1st report)

– The start of a war cloud event… Is war inevitable?

As a phenomenon commonly referred to as a ‘war cloud event’, it was like a preview right before the war event.

At this time, the production capacity of all manufacturing players is improved and the experience point increase event begins. This could be interpreted as the system itself urging people to prepare for the coming war.

The Ministry of National Defense took the phenomenon seriously and issued a ‘defense readiness posture’ to all AMT units. Additionally, a player mobilization order was issued, and even private guilds stopped all strategy activities and began preparing for war.

Since the enemy had not yet moved, no evacuation order was issued.

However, virtually all functions in Korea have been completely stopped.

The huge city center of Seoul was once again immersed in silence.

And now a helicopter is crossing between those buildings.

Dudududu——

“How many of these team leader Black Orcs have gathered now?”

In response to Woo Seong-moon’s question inside the helicopter, team leader Lee Gyo-jun held out a tablet PC.

– 13551

– 511

At the moment, there are 13,551 Black Orc soldiers and 511 Wyverns… and the number is continuing to increase.

“And if you look at the next picture, you can see what they are . “They say they are preparing a lot of ‘totems’.”

“…Um, I see? What is this?”

“It can’t just be a totem for religious reasons, and it’s obvious that it contains magic. It is said that Black Orcs were often seen installing such totems during the Shanghai Restoration War.”

Presumably, the moment they were dropped on the Korean Peninsula, all kinds of strange spells would spread.

But then another disturbing news came in.

“Um… Director, you need to take a look at this too.”

Team leader Kyojun Lee presented another tablet PC. What a video it was.

Press the play button—

– Hello, subscribers! Do you know where this is?

“This man is Chinese ranker Liu Yuan, and he is also a famous internet broadcaster in China.”

Woo Seong-moon looked at Lee Kyo-jun with an expression asking why he was showing such a frivolous thing.

“Okay, but the place in that video is… the Black Oak gathering place in Shanghai.”

Only then did Woo Seong-moon open his eyes wide and look at the background behind the man in the video.

I could actually see a wyvern flying between the half-collapsed buildings.

And the orcs’ cries were heard loudly here and there.

– I’m sure you’re all surprised as to why and how I could be here, right? Me too!

“The man himself said that he went there at the invitation of the Orc Kingdom. He also said that a Chinese public broadcasting station would soon arrive and report the Black Orc side’s position. Although the information has not yet been confirmed… over there. “If you look at him standing there, it doesn’t look like he’s talking in vain.”

That means that the Black Orc Kingdom has now invited media representatives from human society.

– Can you see it over there? Wow… it looks like there are well over 100,000 orcs gathered here! And soon one of the leading figures of the Black Orc Kingdom will be on that podium! hahaha! From my perspective, this looks like the worst event of all time. Honestly… it would be fun, right?

“Oh my…”

This was an astonishing situation in many ways. Ahead of the war, the monster side’s position is conveyed through human media… When did the world become so bizarre?

“…The end times have finally come.”

It was a scene he could not easily understand.

And then the helicopter arrived at its destination, Laputa.

What greeted them was the huge bronze giant Talos.

Boom – Boom –

「(^_^) Welcome! “The Master is waiting.”

To have such a monster greet guests… It seemed like visitors to Laputa would not be able to make a fuss.

They were guided to the Order Tower, where they encountered Lee Hyun-wook.

“Director Woo, I was going to visit you, but thank you for coming all the way here yourself.”

After saying that, Lee Hyun-wook turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window.

“Anyway, it’s faster than I thought. Now that the war cloud event has started, the war will begin soon, right?”

Lee Gyo-jun answered that question.

“Based on satellite observation, the gathering procession is still continuing, so we have at least four days.”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded and floated a metal pen in the air.

“Four days…”

He seemed to think for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“…But their invasion operation has probably already begun. “No, for quite some time.”

“Do you remember the first raid? They disguised themselves as human polymorphs and tried to assassinate me. As I recall, through some strange spell, a large number of orcs were summoned. That means, somehow, they were already all over the Korean peninsula. “They will infiltrate… and prepare for war.”

Even a small country surrounded by the sea on three sides could not prevent foreigners from smuggling.

But if a large organization tries to infiltrate using strange magic, how can you stop it?

“So this war… will begin after the other side has as many advantageous moves as possible.”

But all of that was something that Woo Seong-moon was also aware of.

“Hmm… I guess that’s not the reason you asked to meet me about this war, right?”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded and put the coffee cup he was holding down on the table.

“This war cannot be avoided, and the enemy’s situation is much better. We cannot fight like this.”

It was an undeniable fact.

“That’s right… Even if we win, there is a high possibility that our country will suffer enormous damage and fall.”

China’s national power also weakened after the war with the Black Orcs. Even though it was just an ‘attack’.

“Yes, so we need to somehow change the situation to our advantage before the war begins.”

Woo Seong-moon and Lee Kyo-jun couldn’t hide their puzzled expressions at Lee Hyun-wook’s words.

If such a thing were possible, they should have tried it right away.

“So, what I’m saying is, like I said before, let’s launch a preemptive strike.”

“Huh? Could it be that something like a magic missile was developed?”

However, only a few weeks had passed since that conversation, and unexpectedly, the Black Orcs’ war preparations were much faster. In reality, there was no time to develop new missiles. As expected, Lee Hyun-wook shook his head. “Unfortunately, that is not the case

.

”

Woo Seong-moon, who had been hopeful for a moment, lost his appetite.

At that time, Hyunwook Lee shook his head and began to quickly rotate the ballpoint pen in his hand.

Whoosh—whoosh—

“But it has overwhelming firepower that can wipe out everything gathered at the troop concentration area.”

It was Lee Hyun-wook, who spoke in a confident and powerful tone. However, no matter how much the two thought about it, they could not think of a way to take the risk of crossing the West Sea and inflict effective damage on the enemy’s main force. In order to wipe out that enormous force, General Choi Jeong-cheol, the ‘Archmage’, was needed

. Even if there were 10 people, it was impossible.

And even if there were 10 people, they weren’t stupid and there was no way they would allow infiltration.

“In the end, instead of the magic missiles I told you about last time…”

Lee Hyun-wook said and said , The metal control was released from the floating ballpoint pen.

Phong—

a free-falling ballpoint pen. The chunk of metal fell into the stainless steel cup and splattered all over the coffee.

“…I will fall on their heads.”

He was the overwhelming firepower itself.