Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 141

Episode 141 [Disaster prediction, preparation for hunting – 3]

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A dragon… an adult dragon was scheduled to appear in this land of Korea.

The first to find out about this fact was Hyunwook Lee.

This is because the manager of the World Tree only told him about it.

Therefore, only he was preparing for that disaster.

however…

– [Breaking News] Unidentified objects in the form of tombstones appear after ‘cracks’ occur in various parts of southern Gyeonggi Province

– ‘It’s been so long since the war ended…’ A foreshadowing of another disaster? Increased public anxiety

When nine days had passed since the prophecy, the signs appeared one by one in the world.

A temporary ‘crack’ in the dimensional gate occurred in the Suwon area, and huge monuments appeared. Lee Hyun-wook had an intuition that this was a foreshadowing of the appearance of the Angra Mainyu Corps and Aji Dahaka.

“…Is this it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hyunwook Lee also went to that location in person.

A 9.9m tall black monument stood tall in an empty lot in a residential area.

Tsutsutsutsu——

The dark red symbols engraved on the surface wriggle like living creatures.

Tsutsutsutsu——

And a very small, strange crying sound was coming from inside the tombstone, and it felt like an invitation to come closer and lay a hand on it. It wasn’t just a whim, it contained magic that controlled the mind.

Of course, the intensity was so mild that a player as good as Lee Hyeon-wook could easily shake it off.

“It is understood that many of these tombstones were found within 5km of here.”

Team leader Kyo-Jun Lee said that and when Hyun-Wook Lee placed his hand on the monument…

yes–

– caution! You have come into contact with Angra Mainyu’s ‘Message.’

For an instant, my eyes were filled with darkness, as if I had been sucked into another world.

Then, the projector started working and the field of view was slowly secured as if light was passing through a lens.

Grrrr——

The first thing I saw was a red shimmer.

‘fire?’

Yes, it was burning everywhere. That place is none other than….

‘…It is Suwon.’

Everywhere was covered with magma, as if we were at the site of a volcanic eruption.

Hyunwook Lee raised his head and saw it flying above Suwon Station.

A pair of black curtains that covered the entire world… Those were wings.

‘Pfft!’

A mighty force exists beyond the giant red eyes and the vertically slit pupils…

‘…It’s a black dragon.’

Just making eye contact gives me a feeling of pressure, as if my whole body is being torn apart.

“My luggage will come to you soon…”

It wasn’t a sound or a language, but the meaning forced its way into my mind.

And it felt like an instinctive fear was being brought out from deep within my heart.

thud-

The video ended with the entire Suwon Station building collapsing.

– (!) You have come across Angra Mainyu’s ‘Warning’.

* An unbearable disaster will come to the area.

Is this the city center reduced to ashes that Donald Harry saw?

“Hmm? Have you seen everything?”

“yes….”

“I saw it too and it was really shitty.”

There is usually a foreshadowing for a big event. It was a kind of warning.

Before the appearance of Aji Dahaka, Lee Hyun-wook was overseas, so I forgot about him.

I heard that this guy’s appearance was also announced with such a large scale.

“This… should be seen as some kind of opening, right?”

Hyunwook Lee nodded his head at Team Leader Kyojun Lee’s words.

Yes, it’s like a cutscene being inserted before a big event starts in a game.

“Team Leader Lee, you said that about a dozen of these have been created throughout southern Gyeonggi-do, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. “It seems like it was spread here and there as if it were some kind of marketing campaign.”

First of all, in the southern part of Gyeonggi-do, it seemed like he was about to appear in Suwon, just like in his previous life.

“Then this information will soon spread all over the world?”

“Ha—I guess it has to be that way. We won’t be able to control everything.”

That’s how it became known to the world that a dragon would appear.

It was a natural reaction for the whole world to be turned upside down.

– Is Korea the stage for disaster again this time? Fear spreads over the announcement of the appearance of a black dragon

– The world’s first adult dragon is expected to appear. Will the Korean Peninsula once again become the stage for fierce battles?

– EU Guild Alliance emphasizes the need for joint operations as it will be a disaster that no single country can handle.

Dragon… It was both a terrible disaster and the name of the most valuable treasure.

Therefore, the people were terrified, but the top players from each country were appreciative.

‘Even if you get just one dragon byproduct, you can make it into the best equipment…’

The next day, Hyunwook Lee, who was absorbing metal, received a call from Director Seongmoon Woo.

– …Things got complicated. It looks like Dragon Slayer will be coming to Korea.

“That’s what happened in the end.”

Lee Hyun-wook was opposed to borrowing external power, and Woo Seong-moon also followed his opinion.

But the opinions of this country were not limited to just two people.

– The Guild Cooperation Support Office made a strong claim, and the VIP eventually approved it. And public opinion also leaned towards the fact that if a dragon was to appear, a dragon slayer would of course be needed.

When I think about it, it was the first time Director Woo Seong-moon said such a disappointing thing.

Although he said the case was the worst, he didn’t say he couldn’t help.

Several key figures in the government were strongly advocating the use of ‘Dragon Slayer’.

Although Woo Seong-moon had unrivaled power in this country, he was not omnipotent.

‘And slowly, Director Woo’s enormous power is starting to be checked.’

He has been the government’s best player and has been at the helm of the country for quite some time.

It’s not that there weren’t forces opposing him, but all powers ultimately needed him.

This is because his firm beliefs and the know-how he had accumulated were not something that could be easily abandoned.

However, as time passed, cards that could replace him began to appear.

‘After Woo Seong-moon died, the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period began in this country and the villains began to take over…’

At that time, politicians who overthrew all kinds of large guilds ran amok, causing confusion.

But now, since both this country and Woo Seong-moon are fine, such a problem has not occurred.

However, the culprits are not going away and are spreading their roots in other forms…

Compared to my previous life, the risks may not have been that big of a deal, but it was still a problem that was holding me back.

“…We can’t stop the Dragon Slayer from coming to this land.”

Lee Hyun-wook asked cautiously.

– If I come out too strong here… honestly, I could end up in a difficult situation.

Even without that, Woo Seong-moon was being ridiculed for being swayed by Lee Hyun-wook. Although this is nothing more than a rumor, if the chisel became more ridiculous, it could lose its influence in the political world.

Even in the wild world, the moment the authority of the ‘alpha male’ disappears, he is bound to be eliminated from the group.

In other words, it was very difficult this time to keep external support in check and insist that Lee Hyun-wook would go as a one-man show.

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

Surprisingly, Lee Hyun-wook agreed very easily. It was a voice that showed no particular concern.

‘It’s annoying to have a competitor, but no matter who comes, they can’t do it better than me.’

Because… to him, the black dragon was a prey he had already caught once.

‘Okay, rather, I can prove it clearly and get rid of the troublesome things.’

Laputa, the world’s sense of competition for Lee Hyeon-wook, and a pack of wolves aiming for a new weapon….

The moment had come to give them one more proper warning.

Soon after, Edward Woods officially declared his participation in Dragon Raid.

– Edward Woods’ [Slayers] takes the lead in the dragon attack operation at the request of the Korean government.

Then, as if they had been waiting, various forces began to join Edward Woods’ line.

No matter how you look at it, there didn’t seem to be a more solid line in this event than Dragon Slayer.

On the one hand, it could be interpreted that those who were against Lee Hyun-wook were beginning to gather.

– Kodo Koshiro’s [AN] guild also helps [Slayers].

– Led by Cheonghwa Guild, major Korean guilds also start boarding the [Slayers] bus?

– Why did he become a thorn in the side of guilds at home and abroad?

He is a new player who dominates everything on his own and grows in size….

Such a being is bound to be unpopular in the player world.

And that day, Edwards Woods appeared on the British news and sent a message to Hyunwook Lee.

– …Steelane, there’s no way he wouldn’t take part in this matter. We have already decided to cooperate with several guilds in Korea. They already knew that my dragon hunting experience would be my greatest weapon, and we had a hopeful conversation. All that remains now is Stillane’s cooperation. I’ll be waiting. He will be a good weapon for the operation I lead.

That was a blatant attempt to force him to come under his command.

To this, Hyunwook Lee did not give any answer and it was his intention to refuse.

Then, as if they had been waiting, domestic and foreign forces began to voice criticism.

– Is this Dragon Raid alliance actually an anti-Steelrain alliance? Is the strategy competition about to begin?

Lee Hyun-wook, who became a big name overnight, those who want to defeat him…

Somehow, a match between the two forces began.

***

click! click! click! click!

A group appeared at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport.

A spotlight was shining on them.

“—Dragon Slayer!”

“Wow, you’re really handsome….”

A man in a neat suit with pomade-style blonde hair lightly waved his hand.

He was Edward Woods, the master of the [Slayers] guild.

“Wow, that’s the weapon made from dragon subadult by-products, right?”

“But isn’t it a waste to make weapon boxes out of dragon skin?”

Come to think of it, he was carrying a long red leather case on his shoulder.

“But I heard it’s all for a good reason?”

“That’s right, the window in there is emitting so much heat that we have to block it?”

“Ah, you mean the spear made from the dragon’s bones and teeth?”

Then questions started pouring in from all over.

Edward Woods slowly nodded his head and then opened his mouth.

“…I can say without a doubt that dragons are more dangerous monsters than anything else. After I killed the dragon in London, I said that if another dragon appeared, I would raise it like an iguana. “It was such a stupid thing to say.”

As his voice rang out quietly, everyone fell silent.

“This is not a game. “It’s a terrible war.”

Click—click—

“We must stand in solidarity.”

Those words were clearly aimed at Hyunwook Lee.

“The strength of humanity is proven when we stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder.”

His message was not to try to fight alone, but to come under his command.

“……I hope those in power will take this disaster seriously.”

The intention was to make the character Lee Hyun-wook into someone who dogmatically pursues his own gain.

Because these were the words of Edwards Woods, who had the image of a good gentleman, they had a huge impact.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook, who was watching the scene on TV, unconsciously felt cynicism.

“If this happens… I guess I’ll have to scratch my pride as a noble and proud gentleman, right?”

***

After a while, the Slayers’ strategy team gathered in a hotel suite provided by the Cheonghwa Guild.

Among the group, there was one boy who was only 13 years old.

“wow-”

However, as always, a player’s ability should not be evaluated at face value.

This kid was Eric Ramos, a grade A wizard type player.

“Wow—that’s amazing….”

He looked out the window and was constantly amazed by the sight of the floating city of Laputa in the distance.

“You mean this city almost collapsed several times? In the 4th wave, Abaddon was summoned, the Black Orcs invaded… Steele Lane must have been a truly amazing person to have been able to stop them all!”

There was no particular reaction from the Slayers guild members despite the words praising their rival Lee Hyun-wook.

To be honest, the performances that Steele Lane showed were all great things that had to be acknowledged.

But what he said next was enough to make a few people feel uncomfortable.

“Isn’t it true that Steelaine is really going to take down the dragon by himself this time?”

Eventually, a woman took off her sunglasses and hit the boy in the back of the head.

“Ah! Amanda, what are you doing all of a sudden?”

Amanda Anderson She was the main tank of the Slayers Guild.

“This little guy, say things that break the mood in moderation!”

“I was just saying this just in case….”

“No matter how much of a Steele fan you were, look at the atmosphere!”

“No, really, I was just wondering….”

Then Amanda Anderson repeatedly shook her head as if there was no such thing as ‘just in case’.

“No, Steele Lane will never—never— succeed alone this time!”

She let out a sigh and began to explain hesitantly.

“Everything that proud Steele Rain has caught so far has been achieved with some degree of strategy.”

According to her, the monsters that Lee Hyun-wook had faced so far had known strategies for defeating them, regardless of their form, so Lee Hyun-wook did not hit the ‘wall of the unknown.’

“Uh… an unknown wall? What is that again?”

“In the first place, all strategies are achieved by breaking through an unknown wall.”

“Ah! So it’s like trial and error…?”

“Okay, someone tried it first and I’m giving out the tip.”

To put it simply, it meant that there was a ‘wall’ that was difficult to attack when the first monster appeared.

And the Slayers Guild has not shared how to attack dragons until now.

In other words, since the tips had not yet been shared, there was no way for others to overcome the ‘wall of the unknown.’

“Do you know what you should pay attention to first when encountering a dragon?”

In response to that question, Eric Ramos shook his head as if he had no idea.

At that moment she pretended to stab her eyes with her index fingers.

“Ugh! “What is it all of a sudden?”

“That’s… lowering the snow.”

“…Huh? Close your eyes?”

“okay! “Remember, if you don’t, you will die right away!”

Then Stipe Marin, a large middle-aged man who was sitting next to him and playing on his cell phone, nodded.

“So-called dragon fear, that’s something most creatures can’t handle.”

Eric Ramos flinched involuntarily at his heavy voice.

Dragon Fear refers to the fundamental fear emitted by dragons.

It has an intimidating feeling that other beings cannot even dare to look up at.

“The moment you encounter that existence, you fall into a swamp of unbearable fear.”

“Yes? But brave people like Boss rarely feel fear, right?”

“No, it’s not fear as an emotion… it’s fear as a law.”

There is virtually no player who can endure that. Even those who are called the strongest freeze in front of him. And all abilities are greatly reduced, making it impossible to use them to their full potential.

“The moment we all get caught… we just have to be hunted in general.”

Stipe Marin His words were heavy. This was because he was also a member of the London Dragon incident.

“If the boss hadn’t saved me at that time, I would have died on the spot.”

“Luckily, I had an item that could block my mind…”

This time, Dragon Slayer Edward Woods came forward in person.

He distributed his own coffee and cocoa to his team members.

“Thanks to being so lucky to survive, we were able to plan a second attack.”

“Ah… is that what you said?”

“But that’s not all. The battlefield it uses is on a different ‘dimension’ from ours.”

Humans mostly move in two-dimensional space. In other words, he cannot escape from the ground.

However, Dragon deals with three-dimensional space. Simply put, he flies freely.

That simple and clear difference created a tactical gap that could not be easily bridged.

“If we cannot bring that monster to the ground, our fighting methods will be of no use.”

That meant that the dragon had to be brought down to the ground somehow.

“ah! That’s why the boss somehow got on his back in London!”

Edward Woods was lucky enough to ride on the back of an adult dragon during the second attack.

By hanging on and holding on like that, he succeeded in tearing off the skin on the dragon’s wings and causing it to fall.

“…But it was almost suicidal, and honestly, I think I was just lucky.”

If I had lost my balance or lost strength in my hands at that moment and fallen off the dragon’s back… would I have had a chance to get back on? No, I was lucky to get on first in the first place.

“Gasp! Then… how on earth do I drop a dragon bigger than the one in London?”

In response, Edwards Woods took a sip of his coffee and opened his mouth.

“A wind dragon’s flight ultimately uses the lift force of the wind. Of course, it does so through the enormous amount of flight stones present in its body, but if the movement of its wings is blocked, its flight ability will decline, right?”

“ah!”

“That’s why my old friend, S-rank wind controller Kodo Koshiro, decided to help us.”

As he listened to the step-by-step explanation, a strange sense of excitement appeared on Eric Ramos’ face.

He felt once again how great the people gathered here were trying to do.

Meanwhile, he secretly waited for his next turn to be told.

Edward Wood seemed to have sensed that feeling and smiled and stroked his head.

“Then… the moment he casts a wide-area skill seal— I need your power at that very moment.”

“Don’t worry about that! That’s what I’m best at! I’ll never let you down!”

Eric Ramos was a player skilled in dismantling magic.

He clenched his fists with an expression of great triumph.

“Yes, I only trust you.”

“Hehe—thank you.”

“Quickly drink the cocoa before it gets cold.”

From the perspective of the young boy on the team, it felt absolutely perfect.

Whoop—

“But at this rate, it won’t be that difficult for us to catch that enormous dragon, right?”

I asked with a face full of hope… but Edwards Woods shook his head resolutely.

“Well… at the last moment, the dragon will activate the ultimate technique called ‘Unique Territory’.”

A technology that causes environmental changes by spreading the unique power of a unique territory throughout the area… It was assumed that each dragon had completely different properties and forms depending on the name ‘unique’.

in other words-

“It’s unpredictable. You have to fight, check, then retreat and prepare for a counterattack.”

“…yes? “Are you saying I should run away?”

“Yes, in my opinion, dragons are not targets that can be attacked in the first round due to their design.”

In other words, it was an opponent that was bound to be defeated at least once.

However, if you were aware of the moment of defeat, you could minimize the damage and prepare for a counterattack.

“Steelrain may be able to predict things ahead, but it will never know its own territory…

And above all, this information was known only to Edwards Woods’ team.

“I’m sorry, but Steele Rain will fail completely. He will die if he continues to be as stubborn as he is now.”

He shook his head as if he was sorry, and Eric Ramos looked slightly surprised.

“Eric, I know you’re a Steellane fan, but if you try to help him, we’ll all be in danger.”

He added in a low voice.

“…In the end, all of the dragon’s skin, bone, and heart will be ours.”

But then someone came rushing into the hotel room. He was an employee of the Slayers Guild.

“Boss, you should watch some TV.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Steelane… held a press conference.”

Then, ridicule rose from all over the room.

“Are you sure you’re trying to give in even if it’s too late… isn’t it any fun if you do this?”

“Well, you probably realized that there was nothing even Steele Rain could do.”

Over the past two days, Edward Woods has completely changed public opinion in Korea with just a few words. A national hero named Stillane was portrayed as a snob who only cares about his own interests in a crisis.

Soon the TV turned on and showed Lee Hyun-wook standing in front of reporters.

He slowly opened his mouth.

– …Actually, I’m a little puzzled. I have never once said that we would not join forces.

His expression was grave, but he seemed quite upset.

Well, he didn’t react at all, but he deserved it since he was being criticized by public opinion.

– So, are you saying that you will join the Slase Alliance?

– That doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to join forces.

He paused for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

– In order to lead an attack strategy, you must have the qualifications to do so.

– Uh… then can I interpret this to mean that he is more qualified than a dragon slayer?

– Oh, the experience of catching a subadult dragon a few years ago was quite an experience. Anyway.

At that point, the expressions of the Slayers guild members hardened.

– I have more certain information than that.

At that moment, the spotlights exploded all at once.

“No, what does that mean!”

Amanda Anderson stood up and screamed.

– What is that information? Is this really a strategy?

Then Hyunwook Lee nodded with a relaxed smile.

– Hyunwook Lee So what is that? Can you tell me?

– That’s… of course, but I’m sure you’ll understand that I can’t say it carelessly.

His eyes looked directly at the camera.

As if looking at Edward Woods beyond…

– If the Slayers want to follow my command, I can let you know. As Dragon Slayer said earlier, this is not a game, but a terrible war, so we must stand in solidarity. That’s a cool thing to say. But… Rather than blindly joining forces, it would be better to form a proper team.

Now those words were Edward Uzbogo’s declaration to come under him.

And he claimed that was the ‘proper way’.

That’s before anything else but the Dragon Raid.

“…….”

The Slayers’ guild members who were listening to this looked at Edwards Woods.

Surprisingly, the boss they knew did not tolerate such provocations leniently.

“…Steelane doesn’t know how to look at the situation calmly.”

He was still savoring his coffee with a calm expression.

Then Stillane spoke for the last time.

– I said clearly. I mean, I have a way.

Edward Woods was sarcastic at that point.

“Tsk—that’s such sloppy press play….”