Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 207

207. New Orders (4)

“We must bomb them immediately!”

China, as expected, reacted the most hysterically to Kazath’s appearance.

It wasn’t just the sight of Kazath carrying Xiao Jie’s head on his staff that was annoying; the fact that a country bordering them was a kingdom of monsters and possessed nuclear weapons was even more infuriating.

To deflect internal opposition, China had to show some kind of reaction.

“He threatened to endanger and annihilate humanity! Of course, everyone should step up and wipe them out right now!”

The UN Special Oversight Department first met with the countries bordering Pyongyang: China and Russia.

In truth, what was happening in Pyongyang was something that not only these countries but the entire world should be watching. However, this urgent summons was to appease China.

“Please, calm down, General.”

Hans Kruger, the representative of the UN Special Oversight Department, spoke soothingly to the Chinese representative.

Normally, the Special Oversight Department’s main task is to oversee and monitor issues arising from dungeons or ability users in the international community, and it doesn’t usually get involved in diplomatic relations. However, when the diplomatic counterpart is a monster, the issue becomes somewhat delicate.

“The monster Kazath did threaten humanity, but there has been no subsequent movement. We don’t know if Hunter Kang Hyun-woo’s containment is working properly or if he’s simply biding his time, but acting rashly could provoke him.”

“So, you’re saying we should just stand still? Against a monster? Isn’t it the job of you ability users to beat up monsters?”

“General.”

Kruger, maintaining his patience, whispered to the Chinese representative, inwardly cursing China for sending a soldier to a diplomatic meeting.

“The Special Oversight Department’s role is not to catch monsters, but to monitor and oversee ability users. Monster subjugation is merely an extension of that.”

“If you had done your job properly, our young people wouldn’t have been sacrificed in vain.”

When the Chinese representative spoke sarcastically, Kruger felt the urge to flip the table.

From the start, there was suspicion that China had shared information that allowed Xiao Jie to find and acquire the location of the hidden nuclear weapons.

In other words, China was also responsible for the nuclear explosion. Yet, now they were shamelessly acting like this.

As the discussion threatened to escalate, the Russian representative, who had been silent, leaned forward.

“Let’s think back to about 10 years ago.”

“10 years?”

“Back then, there was still a human-controlled regime in North Korea, and I remember it being quite a troublesome country. A real headache, in fact. Having a country nestled between major powers playing around with nuclear weapons.”

“……So? You’re saying we should think of the monsters that way?”

“I mean we should be careful in how we handle them.”

The Russian representative leaned back leisurely in his chair.

“Seeing that Kazath is grandstanding so ostentatiously reminds me of the old days. A barking dog is never scary.”

The Russian representative offered a faint smile.

“I felt much more threatened when they were huddled quietly in Pyongyang. We didn’t even know what was there then. If it’s a scale that can be controlled by a mere clan like the Almighty Union, wouldn’t it be unnecessary to threaten them?”

“They have nuclear weapons!”

“Looks like you’re bitter about getting hit once. Then you shouldn’t have acted up in front of a madman.”

The Chinese representative trembled and glared at the Russian representative.

Kruger watched the Russian representative closely. His name was Maxim Petrovich, a diplomat.

“Do you think you’ll be safe once something happens?”

Kruger still advocated for a cautious approach.

“I agree that we need to crush them, General. But we need to approach this gradually. He is a formidable enemy that even hunters have never faced before. We need to find out what abilities he has and how intelligent he is.”

“They’re just monsters, aren’t they? The only reason we’ve left them alone until now is because they were holed up in dungeons, right? If we pour bombs on them and turn them into ashes, they’ll come to their senses!”

“General.”

However, the Chinese representative didn’t say anything more after that. Kruger couldn’t think of any more words to persuade him.

The fact that they had sent a soldier to this meeting from the start was to convey China’s unilateral claims.

And two hours after the meeting adjourned.

Thirty bombers and twelve missiles were launched simultaneously from the Shanghai base in China.

***

[I doubt many monsters will die from bombing.]

“They must think the monsters will get angry after turning Pyongyang into a desolate ruin,” Hyun-woo muttered, looking northwest from the rooftop of the Juche Palace. Yoo-min’s voice came through the phone.

[It’s a shame they believe attacking from the air will be effective.]

“If they learn their lesson after getting hit once, that’s a decent outcome. World War had to happen twice before it didn’t happen again, right?”

If they can learn a lesson with just a few bombers, it’s a cheap price to pay.

The bombers and missiles launched from China were also detected by South Korea’s air defense network.

It was a confidence that they didn’t need secrecy since they were dealing with monsters anyway. Of course, there was no process of seeking understanding from South Korea in the process.

“Looks like they’ll arrive in about 5 minutes. Yoo-min, I’ll contact you again when it’s over.”

[Okay.]

Hyun-woo got up from his seat. The surroundings were filled with yellowish-brown fine dust.

The difficulty Hyun-woo had raised once did not go down afterward. It seemed impossible to adjust it downward.

However, the fine dust that covered Pyongyang acted as a curtain, concealing satellite surveillance after the fog disappeared.

“Kazath.”

“Yes, Great One.”

Kazath scurried over and prostrated himself at Hyun-woo’s feet. Anyone who had seen him acting arrogantly toward Hyun-woo, vowing revenge, would be dumbfounded.

“Your role is more important than anyone else’s. You know that, right?”

“Of course, Great One. I am simply grateful for the overwhelming glory you have bestowed upon me.”

He was playing the role of his master’s adversary.

Kazath suddenly realized that fact and wondered if it was really a good role.

But if the Great One said it was an important role, then it was. Hyun-woo valued Kazath’s servile attitude and appointed him as the Governor-General of Pyongyang.

“But to be honest, it’s true that you look a bit… rat-like, so you don’t seem very dignified.”

“That is true, Great One.”

“If my adversary looks weak, will my face be saved or not?”

“I apologize for my lack of dignity, Great One.”

Still, compared to the other familiars, Kazath was perfect as the ‘evil black magician’ that one would encounter first.

He was suitable as a mid-boss.

Hyun-woo patted Kazath on the shoulder and concluded.

“So, think of the power being given to you now not as you getting bigger, but as you riding on the shoulders of a giant.”

Kazath nodded nervously. He knew what Hyun-woo was going to do. He had already experienced it in Difficulty: Hell.

“You can make the same thing you made before, right?”

“Of course, Great One. But here… I think you can look forward to it.”

That meant he was confident.

Hyun-woo estimated the time the missiles would arrive. At what he felt was the right timing, Hyun-woo drew up the black mass deeply suppressed within his body.

Ultimate: Beast of the Apocalypse.

Black smoke billowed from Hyun-woo’s entire body, covering the surroundings in pitch-black darkness.

But this time, it was slightly different from before. Hyun-woo suppressed his body, trying not to move as much as possible.

In the darkness, the size of the beast is immeasurable. It can grow infinitely large or infinitely small. It meant that it had no fixed size.

Perhaps this black smoke itself was the beast.

As a result of suppressing it from growing in size, the consciousness still felt like it was floating on something, but the size didn’t seem to be much different from when he was human.

Unlike when he had completely separated consciousness before, he didn’t feel a great drain on mana.

‘If I fight in this state… it might be more efficient.’

The growth of crystal moss on his body, like frost, was also reduced compared to when he actually became a beast.

At the same time, whispering voices were heard.

“What is it? I smell a mass slaughter, Butler?”

“Idiot, this is the smell of destruction. The smell of war, death, famine, and plague is vibrating!”

The voices of the Lenians were heard whispering in his ear. But the Lenians’ figures were not visible, as if they were dissolved in the smoke.

The same thing had happened when he stopped the Chepesh case before.

The Lenians had said that they couldn’t show themselves in the current difficulty, but it seemed different in this smoke.

“What should we do now? Should we burn all the food and make them eat each other?”

“No! Let’s plunder the food and make them voluntary slaves through a minimum rationing system!”

“Be quiet.”

Hyun-woo silenced the Lenians and turned to look at Kazath.

Even in the black smoke, Kazath, as a familiar, was clearly visible as if he had been drawn separately. Kazath was looking at Hyun-woo with eyes mixed with awe, respect, and fear.

“Great Being…….”

“Begin.”

Hyun-woo spoke in a voice that didn’t seem like his own. Kazath quickly came to his senses and began the sorcery ritual.

Xiao Jie, hanging at the end of his staff, wailed silently.

What Kazath was doing was basically similar to the sorcery Xiao Jie had done.

Xiao Jie could only use undead resurrection through his ultimate, but Kazath, who had an understanding of magic, was different.

With the right catalyst, sacrifice, and materials, he could use plausible undead resurrection. And now, Kazath was feeling several times more powerful than usual.

“It is an honor to be able to receive even this much of the Great One’s power……!”

A black aura enveloped Kazath.

Kazath held out Xiao Jie at the end of his staff and chanted a spell.

The black aura and tar that crawled up from his body mixed together and went up the staff.

Instantly, the tar masses that enveloped Xiao Jie began to take shape, gradually forming the body as if taking root based on the head.

At the same time, Xiao Jie’s head fell off, and the skin melted away, revealing a white skull.

Kazath was filled with amazement as he watched the monster being created before his eyes.

But Hyun-woo frowned. Something completely different from what he had experimented with in Difficulty: Hell was being created.

“My God, I can’t believe I could create something like this……!”

“What, is it not a Lich [an undead creature, often a powerful sorcerer, who has achieved immortality by magical means]?”

What was growing black bones based on Xiao Jie’s skull was a form he had never seen before.

Hyun-woo had expected Kazath to create a Lich, but it was something completely different.

“Lich? Those things floating around here are not Liches. They are only good enough to be the footstool of a real Lich. But even so, this is… one step above a real Lich. Great Being. How could I…….”

Kazath was flustered and surprised.

‘It could be because of the ultimate.’

Using the ultimate greatly increases the abilities of the familiars. Especially when they are in the black smoke.

The reason why Kazath could use high-level undead resurrection and other luxurious sorceries was also because of that. He thought it would be effective, but it was beyond his expectations.

‘Or maybe the difficulty difference was added.’

It seemed that if an existence from Difficulty: Hell summoned something, it could summon an existence of a much higher grade.

Of course, if he returned to Difficulty: Hell, the level would be lowered or weakened, but for now, it was proportional to Kazath’s ability.

Hyun-woo didn’t care how surprised Kazath was. The important thing was whether it could fly or not.

But then Hyun-woo closed his mouth when he saw wings sprouting from the back of the bizarre monster in front of him.

‘If that’s not just decoration, it can fly.’

And confirming whether this bizarre monster was useful or not was only a minute away.

***

Meanwhile, in the skies over the West Sea.

The Chinese military pilots flying towards Pyongyang heard an unbelievable report.

The report stated that the twelve missiles that should have bombed Pyongyang before them had exploded in the air for an unknown reason.

Around that time, Pyongyang began to appear in the pilots’ eyes as well.

Smoke, seemingly from the aftermath of the explosion, was still thickly gathered like clouds in the sky over Pyongyang. The pilots felt uneasy about the smoke and repeatedly asked for instructions from their superiors.

The superiors ordered them to bypass Pyongyang for now, as they were still assessing the situation.

The pilots spoke cautiously.

[I have a bad feeling about this.]

[No way, does the monster have a missile defense system or something?]

[Maybe they accidentally pressed the self-destruct button up there. Or the orders got mixed up.]

It was surprisingly common in war. There were many inconveniences and obstacles to actually waging war, so there were cases where attacks were canceled right before they happened.

During the Falklands War, British SAS [Special Air Service] soldiers were caught in a confusing chain of command, suffered unnecessary damage, and retreated.

[For now, we’ll just take aerial photos and return north. If there are no orders by the set time, we’ll return to base for refueling…….]

It was at that moment. Something suddenly popped out of the smoke cloud on the right wing of the formation.

As if the smoke was grabbing it with its hands, the bomber instantly exploded and shattered into pieces.

[What? What’s going on?]

[Monster! It’s a monster!]

[No! It’s a bird strike! A flock of crows……!]

Bang. The second bomber exploded and disappeared.

Reports and screams were frantically mixed on the radio, and the pilots were flustered. The squadron leader, who was leading the formation at the front, quickly turned the control stick north to avoid the smoke.

Then, something black flew right in front of him and collided with a bang.

At that moment, the front of the windshield was stained black with a sound like ink exploding.

‘A crow?’

The squadron leader couldn’t understand what he had seen for a moment. It wasn’t an altitude where crows could fly.

But the squadron leader withdrew his judgment when he looked at the side window. A flock of crows was rushing in like a wave, following the bomber.

It was a speed that was hard to believe they were crows.

[Headquarters, the situation is strange. The crows are…….]

Crack. Once again, the bomber disappeared with a roar. The squadron leader gasped and tried to escape from this hell somehow.

Thanks to his quick judgment, he was barely able to survive even though several explosions echoed. The squadron leader realized that he was the only one left in the squadron.

It was then. Suddenly, a thudding sound echoed and the aircraft shook violently.

The squadron leader turned to the side.

This time it wasn’t a crow.

A woman with a pale face was outside the bomber’s window.

She was a woman with a disproportionately small face compared to her huge, long neck.

The woman was staring at the squadron leader, dripping black liquid from her tar-filled eyes and mouth.

The figure was a giant harpy [a mythical creature with the body of a bird and the face of a woman].

The woman opened her mouth wide and screamed at the squadron leader.