Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense - Chapter 98

098 – Legendary Fisherman

“Gooooo-!!”

Just like Myung-jun, Byung-tae, who was nervously watching the operation, began pressing buttons with a trembling heart as soon as Myung-jun’s awaited command came.

“Main and sub propulsion device stop! Front propulsion device to maximum output! Cable towing equipment operation initiated!”

“All crew members, brace for impact!”

Instantly, the massive hull of the Liberator, which had been rising upwards with the movement of the Leviathan, churned up tremendous foam and came to a stop in its place.

Then, gradually increasing speed, it began to reverse.

<Cable towing equipment activated.>

At the same time, the giant winch that had just been releasing the cable at a terrifying speed came to a halt and began to rotate in the opposite direction.

The Leviathan, the largest creature in human history, one of the Twelve Heavenly Lords, and the first of its kind to appear on Earth.

For the purpose of catching the Ocean King Leviathan.

Even with all the capabilities of the Liberator, which had a larger hull than the supercarriers known as the Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, it was by no means an easy task.

<23rd cable tension exceeded. Additional power supply for tension maintenance. Current spare power of the main Crystal route 35%,>

<42nd hull damage risk. Injection of hardening solution. Current spare power of the main Crystal route 22%>

<Hull damage risk. Emergency closure of sections 42, 85, and 126. Crew members in those locations, please move immediately.>

<Main Crystal route load increase. Additional power supply required.>

“Activate auxiliary Crystal routes 1 through 12 simultaneously! Spare no Crystal stones!”

Soo-jeong meticulously checked the condition of the Liberator as if caring for a patient under anesthesia, issuing necessary instructions.

Sending power where needed and dispatching repair robots where repairs were necessary.

Thanks to her efforts, the giant ocean Leviathan, surpassing the size imaginable by humans, was slowly being pulled towards the direction of the Liberator, feeling tremendous pain.

“What’s the current distance?!”

“Current depth 2000, distance to target 4500! We need to pull it closer! Wait! Current depth 2200! 2400! Is it being pulled downwards?!”

“Add ballast tank drainage and adjust hull angle! We need to align with the Leviathan’s position to receive maximum force!”

“Towing equipment durability at 15% of its limit! If pulled any harder, the winch could be torn off completely!”

“Hmm. Even though we made it so sturdy…….”

She felt a surge of anger.

The situation, where the opponent’s power far exceeded the specifications of the equipment she thought had been completed beyond the level required for the operation, made her feel powerless again, just like she did at the Battle of Banara.

An opponent unaffected even by the firepower of a turret she had helped Myung-jun create.

In the end, what subdued Banara was not the equipment she had made, but the power of the Knight summoned by Myung-jun’s abilities.

Soo-jeong was not pleased with this fact.

‘Fool! Idiot! You promised you wouldn’t create the same situation again!’

There was also an injustice from her perspective.

If the fight had taken place on land rather than in the depths, they could have diverted all the output of the Liberator to reinforce the cables.

But doing so now would risk damaging the sturdy external armor of the Liberator under the overwhelming pressure of the depths.

If only they had designed it from the beginning for submersion, but the Liberator she had designed was not a ship specialized for submersion but rather a ship where submersion was ‘possible’.

It was the fatal limit of ‘universal equipment’ designed to be capable of anything.

“Towing equipment durability down to 3%!”

Just as Soo-jeong was about to panic in the urgent situation, a tender voice, seemingly rescuing her, echoed through the situation room speakers.

<Emergency Deck hatch opening.>

“Myung-jun?”

[Senior, leave the towing equipment durability issue to me. You, just focus on power distribution.]

Having opened the emergency deck hatch and entered the hold, Myung-jun, once the pressure adjustment task was complete, leaped into the location of the towing equipment, clad in Abyss.

Then, standing before the massive winch emitting an eerie sound as if metal were screaming, he slowly raised his hand.

‘Activate Attribute Transformation.’

As Myung-jun’s ability, which could alter the physical properties of matter itself, imbued the equipment, the vibrations of the winch, which had been violently shaking just moments ago, subsided in an instant.

Upon this, Taylor, who had been concentrating with a spear in hand right next to the winch, shouted towards Myung-jun.

“What impeccable timing! If you had been a little later, I thought I’d be crushed under the broken winch!”

“The real hero always appears with impeccable timing.”

“I agree with that opinion, but the hero of this operation is me!”

“I agree too. So, isn’t that why you came to watch from the VIP seats?”

Watching Myung-jun speak with a tender voice, as if comforting himself, Taylor shouted.

“What if it fails?!”

“What?!”

“What if it fails?!”

He was afraid.

The success of this entire operation rested solely on his shoulders.

It was a burden he had never felt, even after participating in numerous gate conquests.

Fundamentally, his method of attacking gates had always fallen within the realm of ‘safety’.

And his role in gate conquests was always to focus on opening his window and wait for the appearance of the gate boss to deliver the ‘final blow’.

However, even if his attack failed, it did not immediately mean the conquest would fail.

Because there were party members by his side who would cover for his failures while he retreated momentarily to recharge.

But this time, the situation was different.

A single operation gathered all the resources within the clan, an operation that could only be attempted once.

An operation where all clan members put their lives on the line and gave their best efforts from their respective positions.

Taking on the role of finishing the operation was like feeling more pressure than a closer in a Major League Baseball final, having to throw the last pitch in a 2-out, bases-loaded situation.

Therefore, Taylor could not help but ask a heartfelt question to his leader, who suddenly appeared to rectify the situation and was maintaining the winch.

What would he do if he failed?

What would he do if all this effort turned into failure because of him?

In response, Myung-jun spoke to Taylor in a tone that seemed to imply the question was too obvious.

“Then we run.”

“What?!”

“You seem to be mistaken about something. When your attack fails, I’ll recover Mr. Ho-chang and retreat at full speed. Of course, it’s important not to let the ocean fall into the hands of this monster, but more importantly, it’s ensuring that all clan members complete the operation safely.”

“But then won’t humanity lose the ocean?”

“We’ll find another route.”

Myung-jun said.

“Thinking that everything ends if we retreat here, or refusing to back down even if it means risking our lives, those are things heroes in comics do. Of course, running away itself may bruise one’s pride, but pride doesn’t put food on the table. If needed, we run, if needed, we kneel. Whatever we do, as long as we hold one thing in our hearts.”

“What is that?”

“Belief that, no matter what we go through, in the end, I’ll be the one laughing. Don’t fear failure. Whether you lose a hundred times or two hundred times, as long as you can win in the end, all of it is just part of the process towards victory. Isn’t that our fight too? Challenging me every time to date Senior Soo-jeong, despite being defeated.”

“That’s…”

“All those countless defeats, aren’t they just part of your process of achieving victory in the end?”

As Taylor watched the man known as the strongest in the world casually mention hundreds of defeats, he felt the heavy pressure pressing down on his shoulders suddenly lift away.

Taylor, with eyes devoid of any hesitation, stared at the gate in the hold and declared.

“We’re truly ready now! Come at us anytime!”

Then, supported by Myung-jun, Soo-jeong’s voice came through Taylor’s earpiece, announcing the successful ‘capture’ of the Leviathan to an appropriate distance.

[Then let’s go! Catapult gate open! Dimension coating process initiated!]

<Opening catapult gate. Confirming open environment. Deploying gate barrier to prevent seawater influx.>

With the system message, the massive hatches in front opened sideways, and a translucent shield formed to prevent seawater from entering.

On the other side of that barrier, the abyssal monster, resembling a giant catfish, twisted its body madly, tethered to the cables.

It seemed to be several times the size of the Liberator Taylor was riding, but Taylor maintained a steady gaze without any sign of wavering in front of the gigantic creature.

As Myung-jun had said, even if they failed, they could simply ‘run away’.

However, while Taylor thought so in his head, in his heart blazed a fervent determination to bring down the opponent with this strike.

Not to let all their efforts go to waste, but solely to prove his own abilities.

As the spear in his hand gradually glowed with a brilliant light, Taylor raised the spear onto his shoulder.

Facing the Leviathan, which opened its enormous mouth in rage, seemingly intending to swallow the entire Liberator and his precious comrades whole, Taylor stared back with eyes filled with determination.

And at that moment, a system message announcing the commencement of the attack resounded in Taylor’s ear.

<Dimension coating process complete.>

“Take care.”

Taylor’s final words were muttered almost like a whisper, as if to himself.

And simultaneously with that murmur, Taylor hurled the spear with all his might forward and then fell forward.

At that moment, numerous rockets behind the spear ignited simultaneously, propelling the spear thrown by Taylor to accelerate like mad.

Thus, the spear released from Taylor’s hand, in less than 0.1 second after launch, shot forward at a speed fifteen times the speed of sound in a straight line toward the Leviathan like a shooting star.

It was as if a single meteor were plummeting from the sky into the abyss.

‘Did it fail?’

For a moment, Taylor anxiously raised his head, wondering if the absence of any sound meant the operation had failed.

And then, as he looked at the result of his creation, his expression turned astonished.

‘What in the world is that!?’

The absence of sound might have been an expected result.

Just as there was no sound when slicing through tofu with a knife, the spear thrown by Taylor pierced through the head of the giant Leviathan as if encountering no resistance at all.

If one were to judge by sound alone, the quietness could make it seem as if nothing had happened, despite the fact that the spear had penetrated the head of the gigantic Leviathan in an instant.

However, the result created by that silence was so astonishing that it was hardly believable that it was caused by a single small spear.

A hole.

No, it would be more appropriate to call it a giant ‘passage’ stretching from the Leviathan’s snout to its tail.

And that hole, under the 120,000-degree heat that could even vaporize tungsten, was melting down mercilessly like styrofoam hitting a soldering iron.

Flesh, bones, all sorts of muscles and organs.

The sight of a creature of such immense size that it could easily withstand a direct hit from a nuclear bomb, dying from a single blow, conveyed an unimaginable wonder even to those who witnessed it.

“This… This… Did I…?”

At that moment, Myung-jun, who had released his hand from the winch due to lack of pulling force, opened the hatch of the Abyss and came out.

Upon seeing the sight before him, he spoke with a worried voice.

“If that’s the case, even Mr. Ho-chang wouldn’t be able to block it with a shield, it would just evaporate, right?”

Only then did Taylor, who had finally come to his senses, shout desperately.

“Right! Ho-chang! Are you alright?!”

As he could not even imagine that his attack would have such power, Taylor’s cry was filled with concern for Ho-chang’s well-being.

However, Ho-chang, in a strong voice as if to reassure him that his concern was unnecessary, answered Taylor’s question.

“Damn it, I almost died for real! If anyone asks whether the spear is stronger or the shield is stronger, always answer that it’s the spear! This isn’t something a shield can block!!?”

Thus, the battle with the giant creature, which may have completely taken the ocean away from humanity, was neatly concluded with a single blow from the strongest spear of humanity.

Or so they thought.

Until, that is, the moment when Myung-jun and Taylor simultaneously looked up upon hearing the urgent call from Soo-jeong, who performed a wide-ranging scan to recover the materials.

“There’s a massive life response at the enemy’s location! It’s still alive!”

The moment Soo-jeong’s cry reached them, both Myung-jun and Taylor lifted their heads simultaneously.

What they saw with their eyes were the furious, bloodshot eyes of the Leviathan, aiming at the Liberator with immense tunnels pierced through its entire body, despite its massive size, radiating a fearsome crimson glow.

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