Chapter 273: Chapter 273
Chapter 273: Shanghai (1)
GateNet, the essential community for Awakened from all over the world.
The server, which would normally be filled with item trades, party recruitment, or small talk, was on the verge of exploding.
The login queue alone numbered in the tens of thousands.
The main screen, which one barely managed to break through to enter, was plastered entirely with red ‘HOT’ tags.
There was no need to even scroll down.
The topic of every bulletin board converged into a single one. It was precisely the situation in Shanghai, China.
Kim Minwoo clicked on the hottest post on the Best Board.
[Title: Hey, honestly, with that lineup, wouldn't they block even aliens invading?]
Author: AmericanSniper
―20,000 S-rank Hunters.
―World Rank 27 Thunder Emperor.
―Immovable Wisdom King, Sword Emperor, and even Zhang Wei... isn't this a lineup that would make the Avengers cry? SS-rank or whatever, it seems like they'll just crush it with power. Accepting refutations.
The comment section was truly a battlefield.
Languages from all over the world were being auto-translated and updated in real-time.
[NoodleLover (Hong Kong)]: Irrefutable. With that volume, they could erase a continent, not just a gate. China is scary when they set their mind to it.
[KimchiWarrior (Korea)]: Real. Was scared since it's a neighboring country, but relieved seeing the lineup. Expecting Thunder Emperor hyung-nim's lightning show.
[SushiMaster (Japan)]: Are they idiots? The opponent is SS-rank. Data is nonexistent. It's not a problem solved by merely filling numbers with S-ranks!
└ [PandaBear (China)]: Shut up, Jap. Are you jealous of the great power of China? Our heroes are enough!
└ [VodkaShot (Russia)]: I acknowledge the Chinese bastards' confidence, but aren't they being too arrogant? If that place gets breached, it seems like not only you guys die, but neighboring countries will also get smashed?
Optimism and pessimism were standing in a tense standoff.
However, the majority atmosphere was one of sticking their tongues out in awe at the overwhelming demonstration of force shown by China.
Especially the appearance of Thunder Emperor Chen captured by the on-site broadcast camera was circulating as a capture, heating up public opinion.
[Title: Real-time Shanghai On-site GIF]
(GIF of Thunder Emperor Chen floating in the air, wrapped in lightning and laughing)
[LightningGod]: Wow, the presence is sick. Is he human or god?
[Hunter123]: Is that the dignity of World Rank 27? He's just a walking nuke.
[NoName]: But why is the Chinese government refusing support? Are they going to die while upholding pride?
└ [RedDragon]: Because our power is enough! Do you think we don't know the Western bastards' ploy to try and spoon in?
└ [PizzaMall]: China gets sworn at because of that kind of blocked mind. Sigh;;
Kim Minwoo turned the screen with a serious face.
‘Public opinion is close to China clearing it.’
Most were admiring China's military force and harboring the complacent hope of ‘Surely it won't be breached?’.
Because the number of 20,000 S-rank Hunters visible before their eyes would look more trustworthy than the fear of the unknown called an SS-rank Gate.
However, among them, there was a sharp point.
[Title: Isn't something strange? (This post has been blinded)]
Content: Even for China, that kind of response is too artificial. Like it's a show for show's sake? The Chairman isn't showing even a glimpse of his nose, and only pushing Hunters into a death trap... Isn't something happening internally?
Kim Minwoo applauded inwardly.
A minority of people making rational judgments existed. However, their voices were quickly disappearing, buried under the fanatic comments shouting ‘China Number One’.
The chaotic landscape of GateNet was showing nakedly the situation Earth was currently facing. Absence of information, vague fear, and blind faith.
What the Shadows were aiming for might be exactly this kind of chaos.
―That guy, he's noisy.
Cedric, glancing at the screen from the side, clattered his jawbone.
―I haven't seen a guy who fights properly among those with long tongues before a war. That guy called ‘Thunder Emperor’, his expression is too light. It's not the look of someone standing on a battlefield risking his life.
Kim Minwoo turned off the smartphone screen.
His cold pupils were reflected on the black screen.
While the community was arguing noisily, the hole pierced in Shanghai's sky was gradually increasing in size.
As Shanghai was encroached by mana, the landscape inside the city began to change.
Sticky mucus poured down like rain between Shanghai's skyscrapers. The gray city transformed into a grotesque jungle in an instant. Thick roots surging through the asphalt wrapped around the waists of buildings, and a dense forest swallowed the roads.
The most horrific thing was the white spider webs covering the sky. The Oriental Pearl Tower, the symbol of Shanghai, had turned hideously into something like a massive cocoon. Shadows as large as houses squirmed between those sticky nets.
Poisonous spiders the size of buses came down riding the outer walls of buildings and snatched people.
The city became a hunting ground of pandemonium in an instant.
Civilization was encroached upon, and primal fear was filling that place.
If the Chinese Awakened block it, there is no problem.
If he interfered, he would only get sworn at generously.
After all, international law existed stating that loot from gates in each country belonged to that country.
However, if they fail to block it…….
“Let’s go. To China.”
“Yeah. Have to go quickly.”
A real disaster was not something that could be blocked by a majority vote.
Inside the Shanghai Gate.
What they faced after crossing dimensions was a Demonic Realm that had changed hideously.
[You have entered ?????'s territory!]
[Warning! The mana concentration of the area exceeds lethal levels.]
A red warning window blocking the view.
However, ‘Thunder Emperor’ Chen, standing at the forefront, snorted.
“Hmph, making a fuss. The mana concentration is just a bit thick.”
Blue electricity jumping from his body burned away the murky surrounding air.
Other rankers also wore expressions where competitive spirit was ahead of tension.
Even if mana concentration increased, it was only difficult for ordinary people to endure.
They were all forces worthy of being called high-ranking Awakened.
Enduring this level of mana was not that difficult.
Plus, they had 20,000 reliable allies standing behind them.
It wasn't strange for them to be confident.
At that moment, monsters poured out riding the spider webs strung between the massive skyscrapers.
Poisonous spiders as large as houses. Monsters with fangs harboring deadly poison that melts even steel, and shells harder than tank armor plates surged in like a tsunami.
“Bugs are attacking in a swarm.”
The battle was one-sided.
No matter if they were SS-rank gate monsters, they were like fallen leaves in the autumn wind before the firepower concentrated with humanity's strongest forces.
Every time the Sword Emperor's sword energy sliced through space, dozens of spiders were chopped up, and when the Thunder Emperor's lightning fell, that area turned into ashes.
“Kuhahaha! It's nothing special!”
“At this speed, we'll be eating dinner in Beijing today?”
The Awakened, plastered with buffs, had nothing to fear.
If poison mist flew in, healers purified it, and if spider webs flew in, fire mages burned them away.
They advanced laughing and chatting like people out on a picnic.
It was around when that arrogance reached its peak.
Sweet yet acrid smoke covered the battlefield from somewhere.
“Huh? What is this smell…… Kuaaaak!”
The scream of an S-rank Hunter who had been swinging his sword spiritedly at the front tore the silence.
That was the signal flare.
The skin of Hunters touched by the smoke began to melt down like candle wax.
“Heal! What are the healers doing! Kuaaaa!”
“It's not working! Recovery isn't working!”
The hard armor melted down mushily, and the flesh inside turned into pulp and poured onto the floor.
Hundreds of Awakened turned into blood and evaporated in an instant.
The army of 20,000, drunk on victory, froze in an instant.
Above their heads, the massive spider web strung on top of the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Someone was sitting on top of it.
A woman in human form.
Her pitch-black hair, pale skin, and red lips were creepily beautiful. But the eight sharp spider legs sprouting from behind her back proved she was not human.
She took the pipe out of her mouth and exhaled purple smoke.
“Why is Father so interested in such a trivial land?”
As if she didn't even care about the pandemonium unfolding beneath her feet, she looked down at the Hunters with bored eyes.
“When every single one of them is weak.”
The moment that arrogant yet languid voice rang through the battlefield, a red system message appeared before the eyes of the rankers including Chen.
[You have encountered the territory's Manager, ‘Spider Queen’ Magenta!]
But what caught the rankers' eyes was not the ‘Warning’.
It was the word ‘Manager’.
“It's the boss! That bitch is the boss!”
“If we just catch that, it’s over!”
Fear turned into greed in an instant.
More than the horrific sight of their colleagues melting away, the massive reward and honor the woman in front of them would provide blinded their eyes.
And it made sense, as it was a gate that not only poured out monsters with an explosion but possessed immense power enough to change the surrounding terrain.
If it was a boss of such a gate, the reward must also be tremendous.
The first one to react was Thunder Emperor Chen.
“Arrogant monster bitch! I’ll tear that mouth apart!”
Shanghai's sky split open, and hundreds of lightning bolts rushed toward Magenta.
At the same time, the Sword Emperor, Immovable Wisdom King, and even Zhang Wei. China's strongest forces poured out their ultimate skills in unison.
A storm of mana overturning the earth.
But Magenta did not dodge.
She merely held a strange smile on her lips, watching the approaching destruction as if it were interesting.
The world was erased in white.
Thunder Emperor Chen's million-volt lightning strike, Sword Emperor Wang Xiao's spatial severance, and the pressure struck down by the Immovable Wisdom King's giant were concentrated on a single point.
A flash and explosion sound like a nuclear bomb going off.
The shockwave, seeming to tear apart Shanghai's sky, was to the extent that even the Hunters in the rear couldn't keep their balance.
“Did, did we get her?”
“There’s no way she survived getting hit by that……!”
A thick dust cloud rose.
S-rank Hunters swallowed dry saliva and watched the front. It was an ultimate skill collaborated on by monsters within the World Top 20. Power enough to turn even a mountain range into powder and then some.
They were certain that even a boss monster wouldn't have even a shape left.
The place where the dust cloud cleared.
Magenta was still sitting on the spider web.
Wounds? None. Soot? Not even stained.
She was merely waving her left hand as if shooing away annoying flies. With that single light gesture, the storm of mana fired by the world rankers grinding their souls scattered futilely.
“She blocked it? That, with one hand?”
Chen’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
Magenta propped her chin and yawned widely.
“Is the talent show over? Humans are really noisy. Being noisy while weak.”
“Th-This monster bitch!”
To erase the fear, Chen drew up mana once again. It was because of the instinctive judgment that if the momentum broke here, it would be the end.
“Attack again! Don't give her a break! She must have accumulated damage too!”
The Sword Emperor’s twin swords danced again, and thousands of mages poured out firepower.
But Magenta did not dodge.
She walked down the empty air as if taking a stroll, getting hit by the pouring rain of magic.
Flames died down as soon as they touched her skin, and sword energy bounced off without even cutting the hem of her clothes.
Overwhelming, trembling strength.
Only then did the rankers realize.
This is not something like SS-rank.
“Wh-Why…… the attacks…….”
“Because they are shoddy.”
Magenta smiled brightly.
That smile was creepily beautiful, and at the same time, desperate.
“It’s my turn now, right?”
She raised her hand elegantly.
Her slender thumb and middle finger met.
A cheerful rupture sound rang through the battlefield.
At that moment, a purple wave spread out from her as the center as if exploding.
No time to dodge, no time to block. The wave swept past the Hunters in the front at the speed of light.
The bodies of S-rank Hunters touched by the wave swelled up like balloons, then burst, pop, pop.
It wasn't poison mist or spider webs.
Just with the compressed energy of deadly poison, over a thousand Awakened turned into blood in an instant.
“R-Run! We can't win this!”
The battle line collapsed.
The army of 20,000 turned into a terrified rabble and backed away.
In that pandemonium, China's number one Tanker Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and raised his shield.
“I, the Great Wall, Zhang Wei will block it! Everyone hold on!”
His shield, which is said to be absolutely impenetrable, emitted light.
“Where are you looking?”
A cool whisper was heard from behind Zhang Wei’s back.
It was before he could even turn his head.
Zhang Wei’s thick breastplate was pierced like a sheet of paper.
What protruded through the center of his chest was Magenta’s pale hand.
In her grasp, Zhang Wei’s heart, still beating, was held.
“Called yourself the Great Wall, but you are quite soft.”
Magenta clenched her hand.
The man called the Guardian Deity of China fell to the floor as a lump of meat without even being able to scream.
Amidst the fear where not even the sound of breathing could be heard, Magenta, shaking off her bloodied hand, whispered while looking at the frozen Chen.
Her pupils flashed red.