🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 219
Just before entering the Bell Temple,
Lee Hyun had already given Michael a few instructions.
“Michael.”
“What is it?”
“Still no communication with the base camp?”
“…That’s right. The signal operators have tried every trick they know, but it’s not working.”
Michael sighed heavily, as if embarrassed.
But Lee Hyun calmly explained,
“It’s probably because of a magic interference device installed inside the Bell Temple.”
“Magic… interference device?”
Michael’s eyes widened — it was clear that Lee Hyun had figured something out.
“Yes. It’s one of the results they achieved while researching U.C.O. They’ve been placing those devices all over — from the ruins to the desert — to continuously disrupt the flow of mana. They used the same method when they attacked our transport aircraft.”
“…”
“Meanwhile, they amplify their own mana.”
“What are you saying? The Sama Association researched U.C.O.? Are you telling me there’s some connection between the two!?”
Michael’s expression begged for more information, but
Lee Hyun just stared at him in silence.
“Michael.”
“…Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Let’s agree that there will be no more secrets between us.”
“…Jet.”
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
Lee Hyun’s eyes darkened.
“The relationship between the Sama Association and U.C.O.”
A brief silence fell between them.
“Haa… As expected, Jet’s eyes can’t be fooled.”
Michael exhaled deeply.
“How did you find out? Even the main headquarters in Astra only learned of it recently…”
“I heard it from the Director.”
“…You’ve gotten that close with the Director already!?”
“I’m joking. I found out after taking down some of their pursuit squads.”
Michael let out a dry laugh.
“Those bastards are so stubborn they won’t open their mouths even under torture. But in front of Jet, I guess they turned into mice before a cat.”
He clearly didn’t fully believe Lee Hyun’s explanation.
‘He probably thinks I have some secret hotline to Jeo Palgye… Well, he’s not exactly wrong, so whatever.’
It seemed Michael now viewed Lee Hyun as Jeo Palgye’s hidden trump card —
or perhaps a secret agent planted by Astra itself.
Lee Hyun didn’t bother correcting the misunderstanding.
“How much do you know?”
“That the Sama Association has been conducting secret experiments here for a long time. There’s a research lab inside the Bell Temple, right?”
Lee Hyun nodded.
“That’s why the homeland suddenly launched a ground operation on the Middle Eastern front.”
“Do you also know what they were researching?”
“The Elixir of Immortality… or simply, the Divine Medicine, as they call it.”
“The Divine Medicine?”
Lee Hyun’s eyes glimmered.
“I heard its purpose is to liberate one from death — to make one transcend even beyond that, into 脱殼 and transcendence.”
“…Is such a thing even possible?”
탈각 (脱殼 — “shedding the shell”) refers to transcending the limits of humanity —
a realm of superhuman existence, or “demigodhood.”
Only the top rankers could approach such a level.
‘Transcendence goes beyond that — becoming a Logos. But that’s only theoretical. No one on Earth has ever achieved it.’
Well, maybe one person had —
the Mountain God, Mo Jung-gyeon.
“Who knows? I can’t say for sure. Anyway, we were running operations to seize that research. But enough about that — tell me what you found out about the interference device.”
“I think I’ve found a way to break through it and contact the base.”
At that, Michael’s eyes flared.
“Is that true!?”
If they could send their coordinates to HQ even once, everything would change.
“I’ll act the moment we enter the dungeon.”
“…!!”
“When that happens, establish communication with HQ. And then…”
Michael’s face shifted from surprise to disbelief,
and then to shock.
“Wait—you can really do that!?”
He was so stunned he even stuttered — something utterly out of character for the usually composed man.
Lee Hyun just smirked.
“Well, we’ll see. If it works, great. If not, we’ll just do things the usual way. Nothing to lose, right?”
“R-right. I’ll prepare immediately.”
* * *
Lee Hyun’s additional instruction to Michael was simple:
“Once the interference device is neutralized, if I give you coordinates, request bomber support on that location.
There’s a high chance the Sama Association’s main base — including Onma — is stationed there.”
Ever since he had fallen into the Palmyra Desert,
Lee Hyun had been using Ginkgoa and the Snow Sapphire to hack the interference field.
‘When I first made contact with Onma, even catching a fraction of their frequency paid off.’
After fighting Shaying and Swaeyoung-ki, and later finishing his exchange with Onma, the hacking was complete.
He immediately sent the decoded coordinates to Michael.
And while Lee Hyun was busy provoking Onma,
Michael successfully established communication with headquarters.
“Requesting support—repeat, requesting B-52 bomber support.”
Moments later—
Fwooooosh—
The B-52 Stratofortress, often called the “Carpet Bomber of Hell” or “Hammer of God,”
appeared in the desert sky.
Compared to the Su-24 bombers that had targeted Lee Hyun’s group earlier,
these were incomparably massive.
And it wasn’t just one plane—
it was a formation of four.
Since the 1950s, those bombers had been called the Terror of the Desert,
and now they rained down tons of bombs like a monsoon of fire.
Not just ordinary bombs, either.
“This payload contains magical bombs infused with the mana of that Logan himself.
The explosion carries the power of the Nine Heavens — even the strongest barrier won’t hold easily.”
Nothing was meant to survive at those coordinates.
The earlier precision strikes from AGM-158 air-to-ground missiles were just the prelude.
Now came utter annihilation.
Sand, rocks, and twisted machinery were torn apart in a storm.
The horizon turned into a blazing wall of fire.
KRRRUMBLE—
BOOM! BOOOM!
RUMBLE…
“So that’s why we couldn’t detect anything before — the barrier masked everything. Impressive… Using U.C.O.’s camouflage tech, huh? I’ll admit it, they’re good. But even after all that bombing, it’s only half-destroyed? Ha. Guess the rest will have to be handled… ‘afterwards.’”
Chhk.
“Formation reporting — all bombs dropped, zero damage. Requesting return route.”
“Base acknowledging. Return route authorized — anchor point northeast 320. Welcome home.”
As the B-52s slowly ascended into the night sky,
the explosions raged on below.
And then, from the half-destroyed base,
someone staggered out — limping, burned, and furious.
Step. Step.
“…Jet. You dare mock us? You dare! YOU DAAARE!!”
It was Onma,
one of the Four Demons of the Sama Association.
But now, he was a pitiful sight.
One arm torn clean off, his face melted by burns.
He might be classified as a High-Ranker—
but before the wrath of the U.S. military,
he was nothing but a paper tiger.
No — the only reason he was even alive was because he was a High-Ranker.
The rest of his troops? Probably obliterated.
Even if some survived, how many were in any condition to fight?
He couldn’t drag the wounded straight into another battle.
But what frightened Onma the most wasn’t that.
It was Peng Jinghao.
After his encounter with Son Oh-gong, the man’s personality had completely changed.
Would someone like that ever forgive him for this disaster?
“I… I have to… kill him… somehow…! I must reclaim the research facility…!”
Onma clenched his teeth, searching desperately for a way to make up for his failure.
“The lab… Yes, as long as I find the lab! If I can just get the ‘collar’—!”
“‘Collar’? That’s a new term. Care to explain it to me in detail?”
A voice suddenly cut through his muttering.
Onma stiffened, instantly channeling his full mana output.
Brilliant effects began to flare as his inheritance skill activated—
“Who—”
Thud!
A huge hand suddenly burst through space and clamped over his face.
It was a rough, calloused hand — the kind of hand that belonged to a man who’d done hard labor for years.
Between the fingers, Onma’s wide, terrified eyes darted frantically.
And he recognized that hand’s owner.
He had to.
From the war with Astra — a face impossible to forget.
Sun-darkened bronze skin.
A brightly colored headscarf.
A mischievous yet predatory smile.
One of America’s two Top Rankers.
The Sacred Wolf — Logan Redsky.
And in fluent Chinese, Logan spoke:
“You and I have a lot to talk about. Don’t we?”
“…!!!”
For the first time, true despair filled Onma’s eyes.
* * *
“What… in the world is happening outside the city?”
Within the dungeon <Ancient Desert City>,
the only remaining city — Bell —
had become a gathering place for survivors from all sides.
For weeks now, people from countless factions had huddled together here.
Supplies were dwindling, and tension filled the air like static.
Conflict could erupt at any moment,
and the only thing holding them together was their common enemy outside the walls — Shaying.
But patience was running thin.
Even their meager one-meal-a-day ration was nearly gone.
Rumors whispered that some groups had already begun
cannibalizing the wounded.
The only consolation was the wells scattered throughout the city —
at least drinking water wasn’t scarce.
But then—
For several hours now, distant sounds echoed from the desert outside.
Thunderous explosions.
The distinctive rumble of powerful skills or legendary inheritances activating.
“Is Shaying fighting someone…?”
“Could it be reinforcements!? Maybe the outside world finally found us!”
“Signalman! The communicator!”
“Still dead, sir…!”
“What? Then what’s going on out there!?”
The survivors were from different groups —
Astra’s Desert Eagle,
Babel Tower’s Language of the Gods unit,
the 13th Legion’s Scarab,
and even mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion.
All of them desperately cycled through their private frequencies—
but nothing came through.
Until—
Chzzk.
“He…llo… th… is… De… can… hear… me? Repea…”
“…!?”
“T-that’s—!”
The communicator held by Desert Eagle’s team finally reacted.
Since entering the dungeon, it had been utterly silent—
but now, though filled with static, a voice came through clearly enough to understand.
“C-captain!”
“Quiet! I need to listen!”
Reed Ashen, the leader of Desert Eagle, pressed the device to his mouth,
his heart pounding.
“This is Desert Eagle. Repeat — this is Desert Eagle. Do you copy?”
『……』
No answer.
Their hopes faltered—
until—
Chhhk.
“This is Over Zero. Repeat, this is Over Zero. Desert Eagle, do you hear me?”
This time, the voice was clear.
Every member of Desert Eagle clenched their fists.
Some even covered their mouths to stifle cries of relief.
The callsign Over Zero belonged to only one man in Astra.
“This is Desert Eagle. Yes… we hear you.”
“That voice… Hawk, is that you? I’m glad you’re alive. You’ve done well.”
Hearing his callsign — Hawk — in that familiar voice,
Ashen’s heart thudded.
“I didn’t do much. I survived thanks to my team.”
“Good teamwork. I like it. We’ll be entering the city soon. Shaying and Swaeyoung-ki have both been wiped out, so you can relax. Just make sure things are stable when we arrive.”
“Roger… that.”
Ashen barely kept his voice steady.
But just before the transmission ended, he blurted out:
“And… thank you. Colonel.”
『……』
A short pause.
Then—
Chzzk.
“I’m not the one you should thank. There’s someone else.”
“Who?”
Michael — the man known for being cold, inflexible,
and all business — was smiling as he spoke.
“Jet.”
He said the name with weight.
“Our hero.”
The transmission ended.
But the silence that followed was filled
with pounding hearts.
Thump-thump-thump—
Ashen and his team sat frozen,
their chests burning,
their hearts racing with pride and awe
for the man who had saved them all.
