Chapter 124 – A New Category (2)
“A still immature planet on the verge of developing a space civilization. However, its potential may hold an importance comparable to two or three reasonably significant planets within the Alliance. In other words, we must have it.”
The Alliance, or more precisely, Eres, one of its forces, made this assessment based on the investigations they conducted on Earth.
Earth itself was an ordinary planet, but the potential of its inhabitants, who held a subtle sense of chosen-ness, was surprisingly impressive.
Particularly, the hunters using abilities were at the point where they debated whether to regard them as part of humanity or not.
Sharing such an extraordinary combat power with other forces within the Alliance, which are potential competitors, seemed utterly nonsensical from their perspective.
“We’ve seen results..! Have our Eres learned what they call ‘inner power’!”
Finally, some of those deemed talented succeeded in demonstrating results according to the training methods presented by the Guardian Alliance.
Both the captain and the upper command watching through the screen clearly witnessed a sight where an ordinary soldier surpassed human capabilities with bare hands, transcending conventional wisdom.
There were no exoskeletons, no suits. They had trained their own bodies without any assistance.
“Do you see, Captain? Energy scan results show that when he uses his power, a considerable amount of energy is observed in his body. Leaving everything aside, this is an achievement that no force in the Alliance possesses. A chance for our humanity to leap once again!”
“Surely, the nature of future warfare might change! If—if such individuals infiltrate in small numbers and wreak havoc inside the spaceship.”
Researchers were interpreting it from their viewpoint, soldiers from theirs, and politicians from theirs. Regardless, their objective remained the same.
A power that must not be missed, that must be made their own.
“Upper command has granted us active support. Captain! Everything must proceed in utmost secrecy, and to that end, we will contact Earth’s forces more closely, especially the Guardian Alliance.”
The upper command bestowed great authority upon the captain, who was leading the flagship on deployment, and commanded him to ensure the mission’s success.
The proactive expansion of collaboration with the Guardian Alliance, which was fighting against the demon tribes, and the Earth Alliance forces was a strategic move.
Its importance exceeded the mere level of usability.
*
“Anyway, everyone, please prepare well.”
Commander Jason concluded the announcement and disbanded the hunters.
The hunters departed, leaving behind an uneasy atmosphere.
For them, the talk of the Alliance was intriguing but did not seem particularly helpful on the battlefield.
“What do you think?”
However, we were a bit different. As I observed Pyles, the researcher from the Alliance, leaving with Jason, I approached Eve who was still standing there with a serious expression.
“It’s strange. Although I haven’t seen results yet.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s not formancy. But there were many oddities within their bodies, similar to my cells.”
Eve muttered as she looked down at her palm.
Just a moment ago, Eve had shaken hands with Pyles.
While she had done this with all the hunters, expressing hopes for future cooperation, to be honest, it was unlikely that Eve would allow anyone to touch her body without a purpose.
“…What a pity. We could have accelerated our plans drastically.”
“Something was within his body?”
“Yes. Something as small as a cell. But I’m sure, it wasn’t a living organism. As soon as I injected the bacteria, they swarmed, bit, tore, and killed it.”
Now shaking her head, Eve had just made a tiny wound on Pyles’ palm during their handshake and injected the infection bacteria there.
Of course, the defenseless bacteria were weak enough to die with a mere heartbeat’s wave if their opponent possessed any formancy, like when attempting against past mages.
But since she injected directly into the bloodstream, and no one among the Alliance could handle formancy without machine equipment, I was confident that Eve’s plan would succeed.
“Maybe it’s something like nanomachines.”
To be honest, I also didn’t know much. I was just taking a guess based on Eve’s testimony and assumptions.
In any case, the planned method not being disrupted didn’t seem too important to me.
“Let’s just calmly stick to the plan, Eve. Coincidentally, the Alliance is showing great interest in the hunters. By making achievements and elevating their status, we can naturally approach them. Then, we can obtain information without the need for torture or devouring.”
“Honestly, it’s frustrating. Hiding is no fun, and being surrounded by humans makes me feel uncomfortable. I just want to kill them all and seize it by force.”
“But we won’t do that. There’s no need to take risks.”
I smiled softly. Eve naturally nodded.
With a more efficient path available, and since I was also in favor of this route, Eve would surely have no reason to go another way.
“And don’t hate it too much. How about shifting your perspective or feelings a little?”
Moreover, I had other aspirations. If Eve could just change her perspective on humans and the current situation a little.
I thought that looking down arrogantly was better than loathing and wanting to kill them.
“They can’t possibly be unaware of our movements. An attack will undoubtedly come before they settle down.”
“Then it would be meaningless if the battered main force sustains damage.”
“So, we’ll strike their stronghold first.”
In the afternoon’s operational meeting, a female hunter’s words darkened Jason’s face, and he slowly opened his mouth.
Instantly, everyone’s mood stiffened. It couldn’t be helped. To fight meant facing death.
Especially this battlefield, where one had to confront the Overlord, known for specializing in close combat among the demon tribes, was hellish with a fatal survival rate in every battle.
“We…are to strike them first?”
Someone’s voice trembled.
Moreover, there was a significant difference between a defensive and an offensive operation. While it was conceivable to fight with gritted teeth in defense, it was hard to boost morale in an attacking role.
“This was a mission approved by the upper command. We will not be alone; a special forces unit responsible for thorough disruption will join us.”
Even though Jason understood the mood, he did not backtrack on the content. The atmosphere grew heavy.
“Is there anyone willing to volunteer for the vanguard?”
After a moment, gathering himself again, he looked up with a solemn voice to the gathered crowd.
And, I raised my hand. Along with Eve. Our eyes met. The surprised expressions of those around us were the same.
“There’s no reason not to.”
In contrast, we remained calm without a hint of turmoil. In fact, the purpose of our fight was to make achievements, so it was the obvious choice.
“Truly impressive. I’m Max Bittman, just recently graduated from the apprenticeship.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Bittman.”
“Seeing the two of you, I have steadied my resolve. My fighting is not solely about trembling in fear and thinking about surviving day by day.”
Max, a muscular middle-aged black man, chased after me and Eve as we returned to the barracks, speaking with palpable excitement.
He was indeed one of those who volunteered for the vanguard at the last moment. From his words to his expression, it seemed he was quite impressed by us.
“This time, we’re not just on defense. We’re going to directly retaliate against them.”
“Please don’t overdo it. Our mission is to throw them into chaos, just like they did in their guerrilla tactics until now.”
“Right, of course. I got too excited.”
I revealed a smirk, desperately hiding Eve, who was baring her teeth, while conversing with him.
Fortunately, in his excited state, he seemed unaware that his approach was making Eve very uncomfortable.
In any case, hearing such words didn’t make me feel bad. Even though we had a different objective, if we could help others in the process, that would be good.
“But I also feel a bit disappointed. They say the Alliance will assist, but it doesn’t seem like much help. I thought they would provide bombardment from that massive spaceship.”
“…They mentioned having enemies among the demon tribes.”
As he slightly calmed his excitement, he turned his body to look at the sky and muttered as if regretting it.
Eve’s emotions also turned cold at the mention of the spaceship.
Indeed, even in our database, which has been gathering information across various worlds, the most powerful element remained the space fleet, and currently, Eve’s objectives were entirely focused on catching up to that power.
What if that power were to come here now? I had heard that the Alliance’s strength was even greater than that of the rebels.
No matter how sly the demon tribes tried to scheme, I couldn’t imagine they could withstand that power.
Yet, the Alliance had kept quiet about the demon realm until now. Even if they jumped at mere ability of a nonexistent hunter and jumped for joy at so-called historical discoveries, they wouldn’t just let it go.
“Something must be wrong. The gate isn’t all-powerful. Their technology must inherently have some issue.”
“Otherwise, they could be engaging in a form of psychological warfare. Regardless, it’s a fact that a player with units belonging to the rebel alliance currently holds a stake in the demon realm.”
I agreed with Eve’s words that the gate wasn’t infallible.
It might be a surprisingly simple problem. It could be that their technology simply cannot warp a battleship into the sky of the demon realm, or there might be some kind of interference.
Are there a few wildcards in this game—players and units each?
“If an outlandish weapon like a battleship isn’t used by just one side, it doesn’t matter.”
Of course, what was important now wasn’t the invisible spaceship in this demon realm.
Rather, Eve was also finding this battle itself interesting.
She considered this an opportunity to apply the strategy data collected by Kang Do-yeon against humans back in the other world effectively against the demon tribes of the demon realm now.
