Chapter 713 - Earth (9)
Thomas Lee was looking through his binoculars with his men, the ‘Hell Hound’ raiding squad members, beside him. He viewed the home and its surrounding area, which had been designated as their target area.
On the surface, Thomas saw a normal detached house with a vast front yard. The home was situated in a very wealthy area of Gangnam, Seoul. Thomas knew the truth… The home designated as the target area was a high-risk zone which rivaled an S-class unclosing gate.
Perhaps today, a disaster comparable to the unprecedented ‘complete chaos’, which happened in South America, might occur in Korea. Therefore, the emergency evacuation of local residents in the surrounding area was quickly being carried out. Any confusion or protests from the residents in the process of their evacuation were all ignored.
Furthermore, armored units, such as tanks, were constantly coming in and filling the empty spaces along the road, forming a dense encirclement around the target area. Moreover, with the start of the ‘operation’, the air force was on standby to mobilize as soon as it was needed. All of these preparations were done to support Hell Hound in catching one Untouchable.
‘For me to be in this position after practically running away from Korea with my tail between my legs… Hahaha. I’m not sure if I should call myself an overnight hero or a betrayer of my homeland.’
Thomas Lee could not help but reflect on his past, when he made business mistakes during his youth in Korea and had to leave the country without paying back large sums of debt. At that time, he had to run away at night to avoid his debtors. Thomas had constantly avoided people and constantly avoided being discovered until he eventually crossed over to the United States. However, the ‘day of the beginning’ ten years ago had completely changed Thomas’ fortunes.
‘Everything changed because of what happened at the time.’
While there were many people who lost their families, lost their fortunes, or became homeless overnight because of the appearance of the gates, there were also many people who lived life at the bottom and turned their fortunes around overnight.
Thomas Lee was such a case. Because so many people died in the early days, there were a lot of missing people, so it was easy to secretly buy their identities. Thanks to that, Thomas abandoned his birth name ‘Lee Seon-woong’ and recreated a new identity as a third-generation Korean American named ‘Thomas Lee’.
In addition, Thomas’ life changed overnight when he later found that he also possessed outstanding awakening qualities. He had caught Joshua’s attention, and in turn, Joshua helped Thomas Lee become a legal citizen even though Joshua knew Thomas was an illegal immigrant. Also, Joshua arranged for Thomas to become Ares’ Apostle… Ares, one of the great gods of Olympus!
Though Ares was not at the level of Athena, who Joshua served, Ares was still considered one of the main gods of war. Thus, based on his apostleship and skill level, Thomas Lee was classified as an SSS-class player.
After the day of the beginning, in a world where all the hierarchical systems were turned upside down, Thomas Lee was able to dramatically rise to the top of the food chain. Hence, it was only natural that he would become Joshua’s faithful ‘dog’.
‘A dog of a dog. It’s an entertaining expression. Since I can enjoy a life that I couldn’t have even dreamed of before, why not serve as a faithful dog?’ Thomas was satisfied with being a loyal dog of another loyal dog. Even under the present predicament, Thomas felt the same. Though he was expected to attack an unreasonably difficult Untouchable, he was not too concerned. ‘Aggro pullers, damage dealers, healers, buffers… There’s nothing we lack.’
Hell Hounds was a group of professional ‘hunters’ under the overarching banner of the association, hounds that never let off those that they bit onto. Also, it did not matter to them that they were facing off against another human being. In fact, the Hell Hounds had secretly completed several missions eliminating S-class players who were hostile to the association, making those eliminations seem like accidents or justified deaths. Moreover, not long ago, the Hell Hounds had successfully eliminated a being that had exuviated.
‘The humiliating expression and appearance he made in the end after acting so high and mighty at the start… Hahaha!’
Originally, catching a demigod was something that would have been risky even if all the Hell Hound members gave up their lives, but it was made possible because of the new weapon they had recently acquired. Therefore, Thomas Lee was confident that they would not fail in this current operation.
‘More than anything…we also have Olympus.’ This was another reason why Thomas Lee, a rebel by birth, remained attached to the association and remained loyal to Joshua for over ten years. It was because Thomas was sure that no matter what power he went up against, the opposing power would be no match for the firepower that Olympus possessed. The gods were behind them, and societies around the world protected them, so what group could go up against the association!
In the future, Thomas Lee planned to roundly stomp on those weaker than him and watch their distorted faces. Under the pretext of ‘correcting’ society and with the assistance and support of the association, Thomas Lee had his sights on taking full advantage of his power. It was like a drug that one could not stop taking once one was addicted to it.
‘I wonder how arrogant the Untouchable here will be, and how distorted his expression will be when caught. Hahaha!’
Sss! Sss! While Thomas was having these thoughts, the radio transmitter on Thomas Lee’s side made a few static noises before conveying a message.
[Operation shall begin.]
[I approve. First unit, move in.]
Upon receiving Thomas Lee’s permission, the Buffer Corps, which had been in the vicinity of the main target site, moved forward.
Originally, the Buffer Corps was a support group placed at the rear of their formation, along with the healers, but for this operation, they were being used differently. Before their enemy could even think about moving around, they had to root him or her in place.
“[Swamp of Silence]!”
“[Swamp of Silence]!”
“[Swamp of Silence]!”
At once, the buffers cast their spells and a huge magic circle soon appeared above the target area. Countless de-buffing curse spells poured down.
The Swamp of Silence was a special spell given to the association by Dionysus, one of Olympus’ great gods. To prevent damage to the target area’s surroundings as much as possible, the Hell Hounds were planning on separating the space where the target was located and locking down the area with a temporarily constructed Illusory Barrier. Additionally, by forcibly applying a lot of de-buffs, the target’s power would be drained to the maximum.
Of course, as the spell was given to them by a high-ranking god in Olympus, which was considered to be one of the most prominent godly societies, even gods would have trouble moving freely within this de-buff area. The demigod that they had captured before was captured in this matter.
Bam! After establishing their restricted area, the Hell Hound members moved into separate areas.
[Second unit, move in.]
The second unit, which had been waiting in the back, came forward. It was mainly composed of tankers, who were normally in charge of pulling aggro in boss raids, so they possessed a different skill set than the general attack units.
Every member of the second unit held long chains in each of their hands. The chain links were much larger and thicker than a normal adult’s human body. Even though all the tankers had physical strength that ordinary individuals could not even fathom, they still struggled to move under the heavy burden of the chains.
Divine Iron was a material that even gods and demons could not escape from. Again, the chains were a new item that was provided to them by Olympus. The association, after conducting numerous experiments and research, had succeeded in creating a type of weapon from the Divine Iron. These Divine Iron chains, along with the Swamp of Silence de-buff spell, played the largest role in the Hell Hound’s successful raid on the demigod.
Sss! As the tankers moved forward in unison, the Divine Iron chains were very tightly woven around the target site. From a distance, it looked like giant threads were being woven around a specific area. It looked like they were setting traps to catch fast-moving rats. These Divine Iron chains would become the trap to catch the Untouchable the moment Thomas Lee gave the order.
[Next. Third unit, move in.]
Among the damage dealers, who were divided into two rows, the first row moved forward. These dealers were strengthened with the assistance of two Olympus great gods: Apollo and Artemis. These two gods were said to rule the sun and the moon, respectively.
“[Sun’s Judgment]!”
“[Sun’s Judgment]!”
As they chanted their spells, a huge sun with blazing hot flames soon rose from the sky.
“[Moon’s Cruelty]!”
“[Moon’s Cruelty ]!”
On the other side, icy arrows packed with cold air formed in piles, encircling the target area. Once the orders were given, the sun would immediately fall and turn the entire target area into a sea of fire in one breath. Those who tried to escape that sea of fire would be hunted down by the piercing ice arrows one by one.
[Fourth unit, standby until the target appears.]
According to their standard protocol, the main damage dealers who possessed the greatest firepower would now make their appearance. All of them had confident expressions on their faces. They seemed to have no doubt that this attack would bring absolute success.
Actually, everyone in the operation was already looking forward to the increased reputation and bonus they would receive after successfully hunting the Untouchable.
Indeed, they were all Apostles of the great and lesser gods of Olympus. All the weapons they had adorned themselves with were newly created artifacts imported from all over the world. Even the association, which was seemingly omnipotent, had difficulty procuring all these artifacts. Hence, with all this in mind, the concept of ‘losing’ had never entered into their minds.
“Let’s hurry up, finish, and go home.”
“Right. Also, if today’s hunt ends successfully, that means there’s still a chance to turn things around in South America as well.”
“We’ve done all this, but how come the Untouchable hasn’t yet made his appearance?”
“Maybe he’s scared of the Divine Iron?”
While they were busy conversing, chuckling, and joking around, the door of the target house opened, and a woman slowly walked out. At that moment, the chatter of the damage dealers immediately ceased. They recognized the face of their opponent.
Sesha passed the dealers with a firm expression on her face, and looked at Thomas Lee, who was located further away. “What the hell is this, Thomas?”
“It’s been a while, Miss Cha. I received a report that you had escaped from the gate break alone and returned home. I didn’t know that we would meet like this.” Thomas Lee’s words were filled with snickering undertones. His words alluded to Sesha having run away from the gate alone at the first sign of the unprecedented situation of a gate break, leaving all her colleagues behind.
Naturally, Sesha’s expression hardened. “The reason Olympus has lent you strength is to remedy the chaos that occurs on Earth and to maintain order and peace. Aren’t you abusing this power for your own benefit right now?”
“We have never abused it.”
“Then what the hell are you doing right now?”
“It’s just a preparation operation to contain a potential source of risk that might become a threat. We came here in peace. We’re willing to discuss what would be best for Earthlings, as the presence of an exuviated being is troublesome for humankind.”
“Is it for the sake of peace that you come with raised swords?”
“Haven’t I already explained? These are just defensive precautions that we’re taking in case of an emergency. If the Untouchable acts uncooperatively, we don’t have the means to react immediately.”
Sesha gritted her teeth. She became annoyed at Thomas Lee’s casual yet sarcastic attitude, because Thomas was speaking with the pretense that all these acts were done for humanity’s self-defense.
“I have a question for you. Miss Cha, what relationship do you have with the Untouchable, the one known as Cain? Is it true that the missing family member that Ms. Cha spoke about publicly is ‘Cain’?”
Sesha never responded to questions that she did not have to answer. She just quietly smiled. “You know what?”
“What?”
“You’re really stupid. You don’t even know who you’re pointing your sword at right now, do you?”
“What…!”
“If Athena unnie found out about this, she would be horrified. Oh wait, Thomas, you’re Ares oppa’s Apostle, so he’d be the one who would be horrified by your current actions, right?”
Thomas Lee frowned. ‘Unnie? Oppa?’ He just heard Sesha referring to the gods they served as if she was related to them, perhaps like a close cousin… He wondered if this made any sense. ‘Since the media supported her and put her on a pedestal by calling her an idol, it seems like she really thinks she’s something special. Does she have Ripley Syndrome? Has she lost her marbles?’
Thomas Lee no longer felt the need to converse with Sesha. In his eyes, Sesha was just a public face that the association needed to present to the press. Because of this, Thomas never once thought of or considered Sesha as a decent player. To him, Sesha was a puppet that could be cast aside when no longer deemed as useful. She was nothing more and nothing less. “It doesn’t seem like we can communicate. Everyone, including the fourth unit, move forward. Constrict the area until the Untouchable is forced to come out.”
Whoosh!
[What should we do if the idol gets in our way?]
“If there’s an obstruction, the obstruction shall be designated as an enemy of the association. The obstruction should be eliminated on the spot.”
Even as the dealers moved slowly forward and increased the pressure on an increasingly smaller, focused area, Sesha did not stop laughing. Instead, she laughed even louder. She had no intention of using her powers.
Seeing this, Thomas Lee thought something was strange, so he was about to issue additional orders…
Click! The front door of the house opened, and a man slowly walked out. The man’s facial expression was filled with annoyance.
“Uncle! Those people…!” Sesha hurriedly turned around and sprinted towards Yeon-woo like a child running to a parent for help.
On the other hand, Thomas Lee was internally shouting with joy and glee. It was because the man’s face was the same as the face he had seen in the montages he received when given the order to conduct the operation. ‘I knew it…! The commander’s guess was correct!’ The identity of Untouchable was really Cain.
“Cain! We are from WPCFF…!” While Thomas was speaking…
Yeon-woo coldly cut Thomas off. “Ares, I’ll give you three seconds. Get your ass down here right now.”