Thumbs Up, Level Up - Chapter 279

«The second attack has begun, Master.»

‘What a waste of taxpayer money… Wait a minute.’

The moment Ji-Cheok saw this attack, confirmed by the satellite imagery, his senses were strangely altered.

‘That might actually work.’

The shells that flew at supersonic speeds were precisely sucked into the spatial distortion of Kunlun Mountain.

What happened next was quite interesting.

The invisible space around the mountain warped and twisted, as if caught in some kind of tornado. The resulting explosion actually blasted apart a portion of the mountain. However, the explosive force itself was rather meager in comparison. The sheer size of the mountain was overwhelming, and even a bombing of that magnitude only affected a small portion of it.

Yet, the important thing to take note of here was that it actually worked.

«Those artillery shells are called Space Shattering Shells. But I believe they used them all for that single attack.»

‘If they had more, they might’ve even taken care of the mountain.’

«It seems like the Korean army has created something incredible.»

‘It seems so. By the way, I think the mountain should be close enough for us to see with the naked eye.’

Indeed, somewhere in the distance, a very small dot had appeared in the sky.

Mount Kunlun had come to the area of operation.

‘Alright. Shall we wait and see the power of the Tama Clan?’

Ji-Cheok trusted them, so he just stood and waited.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Sitting in the center of the shamanic circle, Macaw the White Charcoal realized that it was time.

“Daniel.”

“Yes, Mr. Macaw.”

“Are you ready to sacrifice yourself?”

“Of course.”

“Good. But you will not be the only one sacrificed. [Bird_that_tricked_the_sky_and_the_sea] will also be pleased.”

“If my Lord is pleased, that is an honor.”

“Then let’s begin the ritual, shall we?”

Macaw raised his hands, which burned and turned to ashes. They scattered in the winds, and the flames grew stronger, consuming both of his arms.

The fire didn’t stop there.

Macaw’s legs began to burn as well, becoming one with the flames.

Daniel Enzo, who was standing close to Macaw, reached out and grabbed Macaw’s arms.

Roar!

The flames of sacrifice caught Daniel’s arms. Even as his arms burned, however, he did not lose his smile for a single moment.

He, too, raised his arms in praise.

“O Great [Brid_that_tricked_the_sky_and_the_sea]! Here and now thy servant calls upon thy power! Once again, deceive the sky and bring it down upon the sea!”

At the time when the world began, there was no Earth—only the Sea and the Sky. In that world of creation, a great and mighty bird of unknown origin soared through the sky and delighted in singing, and its name was Kite. Because it had to fly without rest, Kite’s tired and weary brain came up with a plan.

It was planning on deceiving the Sky and the Sea to fight each other.

It told a cunning lie to the Sky.

[Hey! I heard the Sea is going to pick you up and fling you back down again!]

The Sky was furious.

[That stupid Sea! I am going to smash a rock into you and pin you down!]

Of course, Kite took this message back to the Sea.

Kite succeeded in deceiving them both, and the Sky and the Sea ended up fighting for eternity.

Countless islands and lands were created in the world, and Kite, satisfied, descended to earth to rest.

And now, the power of a God of an old tale started to unfold.

The Sky turned upside down.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

‘What is the sky?’

It was a philosophical question, but Ji-Cheok could not help but think about it. He felt a strange sensation that the sky was turning upside down. Really, what was the sky?

It seemed as if the entire sky was warped.

A distorted sky.

At the same time, the giant Kunlun Mountain suddenly plummeted from the sky toward the sea. The air heated up like crazy, and a whirlwind rose from the sea to the sky, dancing in all directions.

‘Wow. Is that the power of a God? That’s crazy!’

It looked like some kind of invisible force was pushing down on the gigantic mountain.

Even the space distortion barrier was no match for that power. It was coming down from the sky toward the surface of the ocean, and it was coming down very fast.

‘I have never seen a shamanic ritual this powerful…’

As a result of this ritual, Daniel had lost his arms, and Macaw had lost both his arms and a leg. Everyone who had participated in the ritual had also given one of their arms in exchange.

However, they did not look like they were in pain. Instead, tree branches grew from the stubs of their missing limbs, turning into new arms that looked very much like the old ones. They still retained some of the power they had in the mutated dungeon.

‘I guess that is why they could perform this ritual.’

Rumble!

The huge island fell from the sky, and a giant tree grew out of the sea at the same time, reaching for it. It snatched the island right up.

Boom!

Part of the tree broke off from the impact, but it still managed to catch the mountain. The branches touched the rocky base of Mount Kunlun and immediately began to grow countless new branches, stretching out across the entirety of the mountain.

Mount Kunlun unleashed its mana in an attempt to soar back to the sky, but the sky itself seemed to be crushing it and holding it in place.

What a legendary sight!

Everyone who saw this felt absolutely overwhelmed.

Next thing Ji-Cheok knew, the mountain stood completely still in midair. Vines, trunks, and branches grew to cover the entire mountain.

“Mr. Ji-Cheok, we are ready to go, but the spatial distortion barrier is still up and running, so any ranged attacks will not work on them,” Daniel said as he approached Ji-Cheok.

“What you’re saying is that we have to climb that tree and smash it to bits ourselves, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Then let’s get started.”

Ji-Cheok glanced back. His teammates were already waiting for him.

“You guys heard him, right?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“We heard him loud and clear!”

“I’m so tired of waiting!”

“Brother Ji-Cheok, do not worry. We are all ready.”

Apart from Mu-Cheok, everyone replied in earnest.

‘I guess our only problem is that Reable is still not here. He said he was going to come when the battle started. Where the hell is he?’

“Alright! Let’s roll!”

Ji-Cheok summoned his Mono Bike G. He had modified it for this battle, doubling the extra seat on the back and adding two more seats on the left and right!

Mu-Cheok sat behind him, while Ha-Na and Seong Kwang sat on the left and right, respectively. Ji-Byeok sat behind Mu-Cheok.

“Okay!”

Mono Bike G dashed away at a tremendous speed. At the same time, the other Hunters took their own means of transportation to Mount Kunlun, whether that meant flying, climbing, or whatever else.

The assault on Mount Kunlun had begun!

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Hm… I never thought they would use such a method…” Cloud Child said with a puzzled face.

“It’s a shame that the mountain fell,” South Pole Sage said.

“Well, I guess we can’t do anything about it. Let’s start again from here.”

The woman of bewitching beauty, Fortune Dragon Princess, clasped her hands together.

“Very well. Let’s start with the troops.”

The Four Great Sages looked perplexed, but there was no panic or sense of crisis reflected on their faces.

One of them pulled out a compass with a Taiji symbol on it and began to spin it.

“Terracotta Soldiers, protect your masters!”

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Vroom!

Whereas in the past Ji-Cheok used to carve a path in the sky with ectoplasm, the Mono Bike G, which had been modified to be able to drive in the air, simply flew vertically this time to reach Mount Kunlun.

Upon arrival, he saw a huge pagoda on the highest peak. There were several other pagodas on the other peaks, but it was the highest one that had the most powerful mana.

“Hyung! Over there!”

Mu-Cheok pointed at the pagoda on the highest peak.

‘My brother’s detection and navigation skills are so good!’

While Ji-Cheok was praising his little brother in his mind, the forests and the mountain shook.

Woon!

At the same time, a magic circle resembling a star appeared above their heads.

‘Is this one of Ha-Na’s skills?’

“Enemy spotted!”

Just as expected, he heard Ha-Na’s warning right away.

‘But enemies? Where?’

Rumble~

One moment of confusion later, the ground cracked and a number of things leaped out and flew toward them. They were all dressed in ancient Chinese garb and clad in metallic armor.

‘Those… look like the Terracotta Soldiers that were buried with Qin Shi Huang.’

There seemed to be an endless number of them.

‘I guess they had a plan B in mind.’

“Hyung! Just keep going! Seong Kwang! Ji-Byeok!”

“I’m almost ready, Brother Mu-Cheok!”

“I’m ready!”

“Okay! Battle mode, activate!”

The sound of iron clashing against iron rang out from behind Ji-Cheok’s back. He did not have eyes on his back, so he could not see it, but his transcendent senses picked up on the changes that happened to Mu-Cheok.

Ten mechanical limbs protruded from his back. Machine guns were attached to each of them, and they pointed in all directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Mu-Cheok had two weapons in each of his hands, and ten protruding from his back. A total of twelve guns started shooting, sending bullets flying everywhere. The Mana Bullets traveled at supersonic speeds, instantly shredding everyone and everything around them.

However, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.

Just then…

“O, Great Cow, Sheep, and Pig! I will honor thy sacrifices! Dust shalt return to dust, and those without life shalt return to nature!”

Sacred light burst out from Seong Kwang. The light covered the entire team, extending out in all directions. The Terracotta Soldiers exposed to it were instantly crushed, turned to dust, and scattered to bits.

‘What is that?’

“It is the divine power to restore the non-living, but it is not permanent, so we must move quickly.”

“Rise, Mother Earth! Shake, Mother Earth! Erupt, Mother Earth!”

Ji-Byeok, who was behind Mu-Cheok, cast her skill next. She slammed her two metal gauntleted fits together with a loud bang.

Ji-Cheok felt the laws of the universe shaking. It was his Divine Intuition that made him aware of it.

Rumble!

The ground started to shake. The earthquake’s aftermath had crushed the bursting Terracotta Soldiers, preventing them from soaring to the sky properly.

‘This is amazing! Let’s keep going! To their base, #Letsgo!’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

While Ji-Cheok and his team members drove forward at breakneck speed, the other Hunters on their side had also come up the mountain by flying or climbing. And it was not just the Terracotta Soldiers that greeted them—there were also Hunters from Mount Kunlun!

“Feel the wrath of the Five-Tiger Gate-Breaking Saber!”

“Twist the heaven and shake the earth!”

They started to use cultivation skills, Daoist magic, and even witchcraft!

Along with the Terracotta Soldiers, the skills used by Chinese Hunters came raining down on the Korean Hunters.

However, the Korean Hunters that were facing them were just as strong.