Chapter 338

It was a large tower.

At a glance, it looked like the stake. The only difference was that this tower wasn’t flipped over and embedded in the ground. Moreover, there was no foundation on the top like the stake.

It looked like a normal tower. That was all.

If it wasn’t on the moon, the tower merely looked like a beautiful tourist attraction.

It looked like a tower that only archaeologists and historians would be interested in.

However, it was on the moon, and the foundation supporting the tower told a different story. It wasn’t a normal tower.

“It is as if someone had cast an anthill.”

Sungyoon had seen it on some TV program in the past. Someone had poured molten aluminum into an anthill to create a cast.

“I believe it is the Great Labyrinth.”

When the mayor mentioned this, everyone took a closer look at the picture.

“That is where one of the other Great Labyrinths was located at. Did the Great Labyrinth push out of the ground?”

There was a map next to the picture, and the location of the tower was marked there. Russell asked as he looked at it.

“The probability is high. Also, we received a report that the blood net, which surrounds the stake, has dug down far enough to reach the Great Labyrinth. It seems those bastards are using the magical energy of the Great Labyrinths.”

The mayor worked the remote control in his hand.

The picture on the screen went away, and another picture took its place.

“It is theorized that the blood net reacted with this to change the trajectory of the moon.”

“What is that?”

“I think that’s earth. I never knew earth had such a place.”

The Connectors noisily spoke to each other.

Unlike the others, Sungyoon knew the location in the picture. He could never forget it.

“It is where I fought Kevil.”

Everyone turned to look at Sungyoon.

“Correct. That is where Mr. Sungyoon and Kevil fought for the last time. It is also the place where Kevil had met his end.”

“However, that didn’t exist when I fought against Kevil...”

The battleground had been demolished when Sungyoon and Kevil fought there. It was especially desolate because the entire region was razed by Kevil’s fire. It was burnt black.

However, there was an eye-catching sight in this region filled with black soot.

It was as if flames had swirled in on themselves to create a tornado. The red burning energy spun as it danced.

“We received a report that it appeared after the blood net surrounded the stake. I believe it is part of the ritual that changed the trajectory of the moon.”

“Is it gathering magical energy?”

Sungyoon pointed towards a particular spot in the picture. The light was flowing through the air into the red tornado.

It was like watching a tornado suck in nearby items. The red tornado slowly ate the light.

“That is correct. A portion of the magical energy being sent to earth by the stake isn’t dispersing into the surrounding. It is being dragged into that tornado.”

“It is as if they are using the magical energy to power the connection between the moon and earth. They are connecting the rituals from both locations.”

“We believe that is what is happening. We think that the two rituals make the moon and earth pull at each other. We believe it caused the moon to change its trajectory.”

“Udocus said he used the death of Kevil and Glaia to bring this about. This is what he meant.”

There was a bitter taste in his mouth. Everything was going the way Udocus intended.

“Are we unable to destroy it?”

“Our government tried to get rid of it numerous times. However, it is like the blood net. Nothing works against it.”

As expected of a phenomenon made through Kevil’s death, it couldn’t be destroyed easily.

“I guess we have no choice. We have to go to that tower.”

When the mayor heard Russell’s mumbled words, he switched the picture back to the tower.

“I think so too. It is as Ms. Plu-El had said. If they can stop the collision between earth and the moon, I believe the method is located in this tower. The probability is high. In truth, we have no other candidates. Still, I believe something is here.”

The mayor zoomed in on the picture. The Great Labyrinth, which supported the tower, was surrounded by a great number of monsters.

“We killed so much, yet they were able to gather that many monsters already?”

Bruce was sick and tired of the numerical superiority displayed by their foes. He yelled out in frustration.

It was like being faced with a mountain after having crossed a mountain. Everyone let out a sigh when they saw the great number of monsters.

Some even pulled at their hairs in frustration.

‘Yes. It is understandable.’

The mayor understood why they reacted that way. Even he felt like he was going crazy.

The fight to defend Armstrong city had been arduous, but they had won. However, they found out that it had been a trap of their enemy, and that the fall of humanity was right around the corner.

Moreover, it was unknown if there was a way to save humanity. In fact, they had to go through the tedious act of fighting the monsters again for something that wasn’t a certainty.

It was understandable that some Connector lamented in despair.

However, Sugnyoon felt differently from them. He felt a sense of relief.

‘Yes. They are defending it since there’s something important in there.’

It was a very thin sliver of hope. However, if there was hope, Sungyoon wouldn't look backward. He would charge forward.

He would do it for his family.

“When will we be mobilized?”

The mayor looked at Sungyoon for a brief moment. Sungyoon didn’t have a good expression on his face, but he wasn’t like the others, who were wallowing in their despair.

“You are very motivated, Mr. Sungyoon.”

“If there is a way, I’ll walk down that path. This is true especially at times like this.”

He had experienced despair in the past until he was sick of it.

In terms of intensity, he felt more despair when Miyun and Jaeho stabbed him in the back.

At the time, there had been no hope for him.

“As expected of the knight, I like that you are motivated for this fight.”

In this gloomy reality, hope was very hard to come by. When Sungyoon showed his desire to fight, it started to liven up the mood by a little bit.

‘He really is an amazing person. He hadn’t lost his will to fight even now.’

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that everyone gathered here was veteran fighters.

They were Connectors, who navigated the labyrinths to hunt down monsters. They were the best of the best in their profession.

However, they showed vulnerabilities as humans when faced with the possibility of humanity’s extinction.

A thick sense of despair had permeated within this room.

Morale was important on the battlefield. Fighting spirit was a real thing.

In history, there were many cases where the loss of morale had led to defeat.

‘I was wondering how I should raise their morale.’

They were the defenders of earth’s future. This was why their morale had to be high. This was why the mayor had been racking his brain to come up with a way to uplift their mood.

However, the mayor’s morale was low too, so he had been stumped.

Thankfully, Sungyoon was able to change the atmosphere with few words.

‘This is the result of his achievements and their trust in him.’

Sungyoon had been a Connector for a very short time compared to the other veteran Connectors. However, he had achieved much in a very short amount of time. This was why the other Connectors put a lot of faith in Sungyoon’s actions.

‘Of course, his title helps too.’

Knight.

The mayor and the other higher-ups had used Sungyoon’s title to enhance the image of Connectors in the eyes of civilians.

However, his image as the Knight had moved past the civilians, and it held influence with the Connectors too.

It wasn’t a bad thing.

The mayor watched the fighting spirit rise in the room as the Connectors talked with Sungyoon.

The sight almost brought a smile to the mayor’s lips. It was a great sight to see, but it was also time for the mayor to speak.

“Hmmph! Hmmph!”

The mayor cleared his throat to gather the attention of others.

“We’ll mobilize after we make some preparations. Connectors and the soldiers will rest for a little bit longer. We also have to replenish the ammo that we used.”

“Isn’t it more dangerous for us if we take too long?”

“You are correct, sir Russell. Even if the moon doesn’t collide with earth, large scale disasters will start to occur as the moon approaches earth.”

“Is it possible to predict when the Grenoid will be revived?”

Bruce asked the question.

However, the mayor’s face darkened as he shook his head from side to side.

“We have no idea when it’ll happen.”

Since they didn’t know the exact mechanism behind the seal, it was impossible to predict when the seal would break.

“Since it’ll take around two months for the moon to collide with earth, I would think the Grenoid would revive before that period. Of course, this isn’t an exact science. It is only a guess.”

“It’ll be best if we finish our work before the Grenoid awakens.”

“We know that. That is why we’ll enter the tower as soon as possible. We’ll do so after we make our preparations.”

“How long will that take?”

“One week. We’ll rush the tower in a week.”

The mayor gave the declaration.

***

After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed in groups.

Sungyoon’s party moved with Russell, Bruce, Plu-El, Aruwen, and the mayor.

Of course, it wasn’t a coincidence that they were all gathered in one place. The mayor had called on them.

“Why did you bring us here?”

Bruce asked the question as he entered the president’s office.

“Please sit.”

The mayor insisted everyone take a seat on the sofa first. Of course, it wasn’t a good sofa.

After taking back Armstrong city, they had focused on increasing the defense of Armstrong city. This was why good furniture hadn’t been brought up.

The mayor had merely picked up a couple of sofas that looked to be abandoned and in decent shape.

They were very shabby pieces of furniture that were unbefitting of the mayor’s office. However, this fact made everyone trust the mayor even more.

“As you probably know, we killed an enormous amount of monsters in the last battle.”

“Of course. We were the ones that killed them.”

Tim was puzzled when the mayor made the incredibly obvious statement.

“That is correct. You guys killed the monsters, and we were able to gather the moonstones, Devices, and Gems left behind by those monsters.”

“Ah!”

Emily let out an exclamation in a low voice.

The others felt the same way as Emily.

“Oh yeah. I completely forgot about that.”

“Tell me about it. In the first place, we are working as Connectors to make money.”

It was as Russell and Bruce had said. They had been so focused on the war that they had forgotten why they had become Connectors in the first place.

“Did anything special come out? We are sending the moonstones to earth in case of emergency. The Devices and Gems were supposed to be distributed to the Connectors defending Armstrong city to boost their power.”

All the Devices and Gems acquired in the recapturing of Armstrong city had been distributed to the Connectors.

The high rank Connectors gave up on their rights to the Devices and Gems, so humanity could come out on top in victory.

Of course, the fact that the high rank Connectors possessed the highest ranked Gems also factored into their decision.

Even if they had killed an enormous number of monsters, there were very few Devices and Gems that would be an upgrade for the high rank Connectors.

“Did something really good come out?”

“That is correct, Ms. Plu-El.”

The mayor took out something from the desk drawer.

“That is…!”

Grace gasped in surprise.

Despite gathering all kinds of Gems through many hardsh.i.p.s, the eyes of Russell and Bruce widened too.

The mayor spoke as everyone became surprised by the shock.

“This is the Diamond rank Gem that appeared in the last battle.”

It was the highest Jewel rank Gem.

Moreover, it wasn’t just one. There were a total of three glittering on the mayor’s desk.