Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense - Chapter 94

094 – Whether You Say It or Not

While the Chinese government decided on the Gate Overflow to foster the transcendence of the Awakener, other countries were also taking their own measures.

In the EU, for the efficient utilization of Awakener power spread across each country, institutions like Germany’s ‘Hunter Support Department’, France’s ‘Special Ability Management Department’, and the UK’s ‘Great Britain Transcendent Management Division’ were integrated into the ‘European Awakener Integrated Management Office’.

In the United States, the government separated the previously DARPA-affiliated hybrid organism special research country into an independent institution, establishing the Crystal Research Projects Agency (CARPA) for advanced research plans.

Of course, such movements in each country were transmitted to the Liberal Clan through hacking programs implanted in government networks and agencies secretly dispatched.

“Looking at it this way, it seems like each country is moving according to its own agenda.”

Seo-jeong, who brought well-organized data for Myung-jun to see easily, spoke next to Myung-jun, who was reading the data.

Myung-jun then asked with an expression of interest, “Is that so?”

“Yes. Somehow, in Japan, the government actively supports the activities of civilian clans, taking the success of the Liberal Clan as a role model, right? In Europe, they are trying to integrate institutions from various countries, just like when they created the EU. And in China, it seems like they are literally replacing the people?”

“And the United States is trying to solve it with money?”

Smiling at Myung-jun’s words, Seo-jeong nodded.

“That’s right. According to the information I’ve found, the U.S. government reportedly bought a significant portion of the last equipment we delivered at an exorbitant price. Moreover, CARPA is openly scouting high-ranking Awakener of the production class.”

“If it’s about money, the United States has plenty of it. Probably, this calculation is something like this, the shortcomings in the quality of Awakener can be compensated with the quality and technological advancement of equipment.”

“Is that possible?”

Myung-jun shook his head.

“It will depend on the level of what they want, but it won’t be easy. If the U.S. government is aiming to produce equipment at the level produced by the Liberal Clan, then they would need at least an Awakener blacksmith of Rank 9 or higher.”

“But you’re not a blacksmith class, and you make equipment well, don’t you?”

“Well, my class, mechanic, is a higher class than the blacksmith class. It’s like a second-class advancement. I can do most of the tasks that a former blacksmith class Awakener can do, but conversely, a blacksmith class Awakener cannot do what I can do.”

Myung-jun said to Seo-jeong. If Awakener of various production classes join forces, it’s possible to catch up with the performance of the material itself to some extent. If a high-level blacksmith class Awakener collaborates with an equally high-level alchemist class Awakener to process materials, it is possible to somewhat catch up with Myung-jun’s unique trait of Attribute Transformation, according to Myung-jun’s explanation.

“Adding an enchanter, sacrificer, and even a shaman class Awakener, the item’s performance based solely on material characteristics can be better than what I’ve changed.”

“Enchanter seems to be a concept like a magic enchanter, but what about a sacrificer and a shaman?”

“Sacrificer is a production class that pay specific price and obtains desired effects. If you can secure enough materials that can be sacrificed, it’s an incredibly powerful job. Shaman, on the other hand, is literally a sorcerer.”

“There are a lot of unique class.”

“Actually, I don’t know everything myself. If you search well, there could be class much stronger than my mechanic. The class of an Awakener can vary greatly depending on the individual’s cultivation method or style, even within the same category of class.”

“Don’t confine the abilities of Awakener within the limits of imagination,” Myung-jun said, nodding with a smile.

Listening to Myung-jun, Seo-jeong asked, “Wait a moment, if, as you said, an Awakener with high-level blacksmith class can create better equipment with the help of other production class Awakener, wouldn’t it be good for us to secure such Awakener? Even now, we are already strong enough, but with the addition of other Awakener, we could potentially create even stronger equipment, right?”

“It might be a good idea to secure an alchemist. Although my abilities include a chemical material manufacturing facility, with a high-level alchemist, we could create equipment with more diverse and powerful functions than now.”

“What about enchanter or sacrificer?”

“Enchanters and sacrificers may not go well with my abilities. ‘Science scorns magic, and magic ridicules science’ is one of the basic principles among Awakener in the production class.”

“Considering it’s a basic principle, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it?”

“That’s because there are no high-level magic-based production class yet. The items they produce are barely able to compete with lower-rank monsters, so, as producers dealing with top-tier equipment and materials, we don’t even need to pay attention to them.”

“Well, at our current level, there’s no problem with hunting.”

In her mention of ‘hunting,’ it naturally included the ‘Tidal Wave’ monster, which was currently the main target of the Liberal Clan and deemed ‘impossible to defeat’ by numerous Awakener affiliated with governments worldwide. From the perspective of the Liberal Clan, these monsters in the depths, which other Awakener could not freely hunt, were excellent prey.

This was thanks to the 10-meter-sized deep-sea combat-oriented medium-sized knight, [ABYSS] designed by Seo-jeong based on the foundation blueprint released by Myung-jun. Myung-jun thought about the crew members who were still diligently collecting real-world combat data outside the flagship.

“By the way, how are the test results for the new equipment?”

“It’s combat-ready, but we might need more quantity. Looking at the data from the monster that devoured the San Dong-class ship, the firepower is currently absurdly insufficient.”

In the face of a colossal living monster capable of easily overpowering a massive aircraft carrier with sheer brute force, even Abyss’s special armors, designed to withstand pressures up to 10,000 meters in the deep sea, seemed like paper.

‘Maybe the armors of the Liberator could be dangerous too.’

Facing an opponent for which there was currently no visible solution, Seo-jeong ignited the spirit of challenge. With Myung-jun’s mysterious ability, the countless high-rank materials continuously brought by the crew on board Abyss, and the versatile multi-functional submarine Liberator, classified as a relic-rank equipment with the ability to create any equipment, Seo-jeong was confident that there was no opponent they couldn’t overcome. Instead of succumbing to fear, she filled herself with ideas on how to strategically defeat the opponent.

“I think the key to defeating the Leviathan is likely to be Mr. Edward Taylor.”

Myung-jun agreed with Seo-jeong’s opinion.

To capture the Leviathan, considered the pinnacle of water attributes, dealing the most significant damage would be Taylor’s fire attribute, which is the opposite attribute. The problem was that Taylor’s powerful ability was entirely useless in the depths.

Similarly, Hell Blaster, Myung-jun’s most powerful fire-attribute turret, was also entirely useless in the deep sea. Although the output of Hell Blaster boasted the power to instantly melt even thick concrete buildings, it couldn’t make the vast waters of the ocean boil with its overwhelming output.

In a situation where they needed to use fire attribute attacks but couldn’t rely solely on them, Seo-jeong had to find a way to penetrate the Leviathan’s skin, which could deflect almost all existing attacks.

And she had to do it as quickly as possible.

Myung-jun mentioned that the longer they delayed, the stronger the Leviathan’s abilities would become. Just like in the past when Banara said that, without closing the overflowed gate, it would continuously receive energy from the gate.

After confirming the information about the Leviathan, which annihilated the San Dong-class ship, Myung-jun concluded that they couldn’t afford to delay for more than two weeks.

If they exceeded that time, the current power of the Liberal Clan would be unable to contend with the Leviathan.

“Banara in the Amazon was not actually summoned in its full power. If it had descended on Earth with its full power, even if I fought with the Knight, it would have turned into scrap metal in just one round.”

“Then, compared to Banara at that time, how strong is the Leviathan?”

“It’s stronger. Its rank is probably one step higher.”

Even at that time, the opponent was stronger. However, back then, Myung-jun had enough points to release the first seal of Cain’s Legacy, and they were in a superior position in terms of attributes.

It was a battle against Banara in the Amazon, where the superiority of abilities led to a straightforward victory in a battle between opponents of the same rank. However, the current situation was entirely different.

The Leviathan could freely use the stage called ‘deep sea’, which nullified almost all of their abilities. Moreover, it was a being that could nullify all the weapons with favorable attributes that they possessed.

In the current situation, where there were not enough points to unlock new abilities, all Myung-jun could do was strategically utilize what he currently had to capture the opponent.

But even that was not something they could attempt multiple times, it was a single attempt, a ‘hunt’.

Myung-jun held the tablet in his hand and began to plan the operation once again, reviewing all the equipment and personnel on board the Liberator, including the equipment that Seo-jeong was currently developing or could complete in the near future.

However, among the combat equipment currently possessed, there was no means of dealing effective damage to the Leviathan. Myung-jun closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

“At least among the weapons currently possessed by the Liberal Clan, there is no equipment capable of capturing the Leviathan. Maybe there was a means that could deliver Taylor’s firepower without loss… deliver… delivery?!”

Myung-jun suddenly stood up, looked at the tablet screen, and then frantically swiped through the equipment list inside.

Not in the ‘weapons’ category but in the ‘support’ category, equipment that was not primarily for combat.

After flipping through the pages for a while, Myung-jun’s finger stopped on a page describing one piece of equipment. Seo-jeong bowed her head and looked at Myung-jun’s tablet.

“Senior. It’s this equipment.”

There was no need for further explanation.

Understanding Myung-jun’s thought process that often diverged from common sense better than anyone else, Seo-jeong immediately grasped the audacious plan Myung-jun was contemplating the moment he unfolded the page. With an amused smile, she spoke to Myung-jun.

“If what you’re thinking matches what I’m thinking, it might just work.”

“Will it function normally in the deep sea?”

“Unfortunately, the original design was not intended for use in the deep sea. Although it’s equipment designed to be usable in a submerged state, it was made to cover depths only up to 1,000 meters. At that depth, it should be able to perform its intended purpose without being exposed to the outside.”

The ‘equipment’ she referred to was the super-accelerated catapult rail system (SACRS), a high-speed, long-range ejection device installed on the Liberator to deliver crew members or completed equipment to the destination without damage.

And Myung-jun, true to the original purpose, was planning to use this equipment, normally created to swiftly deploy crew members to distant operational areas, to ‘deliver’ Edward Taylor’s ‘Blazing Spear,’ the Liberal Clan’s most powerful weapon, to the remote location.

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