CH 275

Laputa was a floating island in the sky that appeared in the book Gulliver’s Travels, written by novelist Jonathan Swift. Later, an anime was made in Japan based on it, and it was a huge hit.

‘I really loved that anime. I especially like the robot. But… Isn’t that thing bigger and grander than Laputa?’

«It is about 7.1 kilometers tall and 32 kilometers in diameter. This tremendously large object is floating through the sky. Sources say that it is from the Kunlun Mountains.»

“Wait… the secret society, Mount Kunlun, is actually from the Kunlun Mountains?”

Standing in the factory in the depths of the ocean, Cheok-Liang showed him the image taken by the satellite. It was literally a part of the mountain range with multiple peaks floating in the sky. It was round and looked like an island floating in the sky.

‘What the hell… Are we inside the anime or something? That looks like Laputa. By the way, the size of that thing is insane! 32 kilometers in diameter? That is almost the size of Seoul!’

“What a bunch of assholes. They could be using that kind of power to protect the world!”

«To them, humans other than themselves are just a resource.»

“What you’re saying is I shouldn’t feel bad for killing them, right? Let’s give them what they’re asking for. Drop the orbital bombardment.”

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«Launching spiral spears for orbital bombardment.»

When Ji-Cheok sent satellites up, he did not just launch satellites. They were equipped with five spiral spears each.

Ji-Cheok called this Project Staff of God.

The spears were also infused with the power of his magic and skills.

However, what he saw on the screen was something he had never imagined.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The Four Great Sages of Mount Kunlun.

The elderly man known as the South Pole Sage was floating in the air, with his legs crossed in the lotus position. With his eyes closed, he spoke.

“I sense spears of destruction are falling from the sky.”

“In that case, I will unfold the Heaven Reversal Taiji Array.”

The young man, named Cloud Child, was also floating in the air with his legs crossed. He clasped his hands together, then stretched them out to the side, forming the Taiji symbol.

“Taiji! Be infinite and boundless!”

With his chant, an enormous Taiji symbol appeared beyond the space they were in, above the entirety of Kunlun Mountain, which they had lifted into the sky. This was a special barrier created using formation techniques.

From far above it, Ji-Cheok’s spiral spears fell.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The spears of destruction fell from the sky, met the barrier, and vanished. It was the same kind of barrier spell that Ji-Cheok had seen his enemies using when the dungeon Gate in Antarctica had opened the other day!

‘They’re pretty strong!’

«I have confirmed that it is a spatial distortion barrier. It cannot be broken by your spiral spears. If we do not find out its exact nature, we will not be able to cross it.»

“So, do you know what type of barrier that is?”

«It is impossible to tell from a distance.»

‘I guess they are using their brain. I mean, they know about my orbital bombardment, so they must have thought of a way to counter that.’’

That was only one problem, however. The greater issue was that there was a huge mountain in the sky and it was clearly moving toward Korea.

«Master! Breaking news! You need to check this out!»

‘What is it?’

Next to the image of Kunlun Mountain moving, another screen appeared. On that screen, there was the President of China.

‘If I’m remembering correctly, his name was Xiao Bai’

⌜We officially declare war on the insolent nation of Korea. This is…⌟

“These assholes are crossing the line so hard right now…”

‘Are we really going to have a war between nations?’

«It seems like the entire country of China has been taken over by Mount Kunlun. They are more powerful than we thought, Master.»

“Contact A/B, and Ji-Han, too.”

«Yes, Master.»

‘A war… I can’t believe this is happening… A war… In retrospect, maybe I underestimated them. I am trying to save the world from a doomed future, whereas they are trying to burn it down and use that energy for their own ascension. I should have known they would do things like this.’

“Okay. At least, now I know for sure that they do not want to have a civil conversation.”

‘Well then. If you want war, I’ll give you war!’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

South Korea’s President was stunned by China’s sudden declaration of war.

Since the opening of the Dungeon Gates, China had not been a superpower like it once was. Despite its large population, China had such a large territory that it could not fully control everything that was going on. With the dungeons opening and monsters pouring out because of the Dungeon Break, China’s vast territory had become its greatest weakness, and its national power slowly deteriorated.

However, somehow, China managed to survive, even though it meant sacrificing half of its population. There were many areas of China that were still geographically part of the country but were now occupied by the monsters—Manaforming Forests, for the most part. In the past, no one had any idea how to destroy dungeons, so the country had abandoned those areas, for economic and political reasons.

The knowledge of dungeon destruction had only been made public very recently, and the country had only just begun the process of destroying the Manaformed areas around its capital city, Beijing. Even to this day, China was having a hard time trying to deal with the dungeons and the Manaforming Forests that were slowly killing the country like tumors.

‘And now they want to go to war? With us?’

Even with the world in the shape it was in, wars had been fought, but they had been fought by smaller nations. Countries in the developed world, with large populations and territories, did not go to war.

They knew that more wars meant more losses.

And the losses were not small. A single war was enough to cause a nation to collapse.

There were many possible scenarios where a war and a dungeon could produce an explosive mix, such as a high-level dungeon appearing in a country while it was at war, or a Dungeon Break happening right in the middle of a war zone.

This was why China’s declaration of war made the Korean President think that his Chinese counterpart had simply gone mad.

“Hey! Chief of Staff! Do you have any more information?”

“The National Intelligence Service is still trying to figure out why.”

“What the hell is going on… Wait, are they trying to go across the Manaforming Forest up North?”

The President was fuming in his Office, and next to him, his Chief of Staff was holding a tablet and looking perplexed.

Even though most of the Manaforming Forests in North Korea had recently been cleared, the area north of the Yalu River, which marked the border with China, was still covered by the Manaforming Forests. The South Korean government had quickly built fortresses along the Yalu River and was doing its best to keep the monsters north of the river from crossing over.

This meant that the Chinese were either going to go around that territory using their navy, or they were going to come by breaking through the Forest…

‘Is that even possible?’

There were monsters in the sea as well. The Chinese navy could secure a sea route by using equipment that emitted sound waves that monsters did not like, but even that had its limits. If a large number of ships were to move around too much, the monsters would rush in, no matter how much they hated the sound waves, and the ships would be doomed.

‘The Chinese can’t fight a proper war to begin with… What the hell are they trying to do?’

Just then, a report came into the Chief of Staff’s earpiece.

“Mr. President, I have found out why. Here.”

He held up the ten-inch tablet. The screen showed only one thing: a mountain floating in the sky.

“What’s this? Why the hell are you showing me a movie in the middle of…wait…you’re not telling me that…”

“Unfortunately, this is a live video. That is an actual mountain flying in the sky.”

The President’s expression shifted from disbelief to utter horror. The Chief of Staff, who was also trying to compose himself, continued his report.

“That is a part of the Kunlun Mountain Range. One hour and twenty-one minutes ago, a portion of the mountain rose into the sky. It is currently flying at a speed of about one hundred kilometers per hour.”

“When will that thing be in Korean territory?” the President asked, recovering his complexion and becoming more serious.

“Judging from its speed and course, in forty-six hours, it will be in the Yellow Sea, above Yeongjong Island, where Incheon Airport is. Also, the report says that there is some movement north of the Yalu River. I think they are also trying to pass through the Manaforming Forest.”

“Bastards… Those Mount Kunlun people are also crazy!”

Being the President, he knew a little bit about secret societies, and he knew that Mount Kunlun was controlling the Chinese government.

“So that thing is from the Kunlun Mountains, right?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Sigh. Don’t we have something like that? I know there are some underground organizations like that in Korea.”

The Chief of Staff had no answer for him. The President stared at the video for a while, then spoke up.

“This footage is very high quality. Who took it?”

“It was taken by a civilian Hunter. He recently became a world-class Hunter—”

“Um Ji-Cheok? That guy with the funny name?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Okay. Tell the Secretary of Defense to come here first. I also need the Director of the National Intelligence Service. We’re implementing DEFCON 1.”

“Mr. President, that’s politically—”

“Politically shut the hell up! In forty-six hours, that mountain is going to hit Yeongjong Island! If we don’t move now—”

“Mr. President! It’s urgent!”

Another staff member from the secretary’s office came in.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Hello everyone. This is Um Ji-Cheok. I apologize for not being as cheerful as usual today.”

Ji-Cheok had started his livestream, but something was a little different. Ji-Cheok was on the air in a suit and with a serious demeanor.

-Wait, China has declared war on us, but you’re still livestreaming? This is going to be interesting.

↳Definitely. Something is going to happen.

-What is this? We’re literally going to war with China, and you’re livestreaming? Read the room, Ji-Cheok!

↳He’s reading the room far better than you, pal.

“First of all, I am here to tell you what I know about this Chinese declaration of war, and if you are a subscriber, you may remember that I talked about a secret society called Mount Kunlun in one of my videos,” Ji-Cheok said with a serious face and with no smiles.

It was definitely a new look for the viewers.

“So now, I have turned on this livestream to tell my subscribers the truth. Mount Kunlun is real, and they have manipulated the Chinese government into declaring war on us. This is the unequivocal truth and I have also prepared a proof video for you to watch.”

-What? What’s with the conspiracy theories?

-I’m confused. So he’s saying that a secret society controls the government of a country?

-That’s a little far-fetched, don’t you think?

-Hahaha. We’re talking about wars. How could a secret society be related to…

Ji-Cheok showed a video of a portion of the Kunlun Mountains rising from the ground into the sky, along with a chart showing how long it would take for the floating mountain to reach Yeongjong Island and Incheon.