Thumbs Up, Level Up - Chapter 297

“That’s a lot of monsters. They’re basically flooding the world.”

“At least they are also fighting amongst themselves, so we got that going for us.”

Seong Kwang had originally intended to stay in Paju. His orphanage was there, so it made perfect sense, but Ji-Cheok asked him to defend another location.

Ji-Cheok could slaughter monsters single-handedly, so Seong Kwang did as he was asked and waited on the roof of the tallest building in Goyang City.

Beside him was Ji-Cheok’s younger brother, Mu-Cheok. Right now, Mu-Cheok was riding on something that looked completely foreign to this world.

“Shall we begin, then?”

“Yes, Brother Mu-Cheok.”

Mu-Cheok was standing on a…thing. It was made of metal, perhaps fifteen meters long and just as wide. It did not have wings, but underneath it were two hovercraft-like engines that kept it afloat. It had a seat in the middle, with a long, massive barrel attached on the left side and a Gatling gun on the right. Above, six hexagonal metal boxes were attached together to form something that looked like a roof.

Ji-Cheok’s brother now stood in front of what appeared like an inverted triangle, from a distance. He did not look the slightest bit out of place riding this mechanical weirdness, because he was pretty mechanical himself—right now, he looked more like a cyborg rather than a human.

However, Seong Kwang was not surprised by his transformation.

Whatever Mu-Cheok’s appearance was, his actual abilities were in a class of their own, and his combat prowess had now reached a level that allowed him to compete with the best in the world. His true ability as a Chronicler, combined with his current transformation, gave him a terrifying destructive power!

Whirr~

At the center of the hexagonal metal box parts, a handle and a footrest appeared. Seong Kwang jumped up and put his feet on the footrest.

Click!

His shoes were not secured, as they would have been on Ji-Cheok’s motorcycle, so he grabbed his staff with one hand and the handle with the other.

“Let’s go!”

Vroom!

The two engines revved up, spewing out mana, and an instant later, they were soaring in the sky. They could see the Spirits fighting in Paju. However, they knew those Spirits would never leave the World Tree’s side.

As the duo turned their attention away from the Spirits, they saw dungeon Gates opening in the sky, with more and more monsters pouring out. “Grrrr!”

“Keeiieeek!”

There were monsters that looked like insects, pterodactyls, ghosts, and plenty of beings that could not be sufficiently described using words. More monsters than anyone could count leapt out of the Gates and began to bite and tear at each other from all directions.

Of course, the monsters were not just fighting each other. They attacked everything in sight!

A vortex of ghosts was rushing straight at Mu-Cheok at Seong Kwang. Like a waterfall, the torrent of Evil Spirits would eat away at their vitality and crush them into paste.

However, before they could reach the duo, a holy light appeared in the sky, as bright as the sun.

Flash!

“As the earthly representative of the Great One, I command thee! Let holiness burn wickedness to ashes!”

At the shout of Seong Kwang, who was the saint and the apostle of his God, a holy sun appeared, tens of meters in diameter. Steel-melting temperatures scorched the surroundings.

Evil Spirits were instantly reduced to ashes, and all other monsters that belonged to some evil species began to burn as well.

However, they were not the only monsters present.

“Kieeak!”

A two-headed monster flew into the air. The electric sparks around its mouth indicated that it had some kind of lightning-related ability!

Mu-Cheok moved immediately. The hexagonal boxes opened up, revealing many weapons.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thousands of Mana Bullets tore through the sky. The bird monsters, giant flies, and cannibalistic scarabs were instantly punctured and plummeted to the ground.

However, in the meantime, other monsters were charging down at breakneck speed.

Woosh.

A gigantic swarm of wasps, each the size of a man’s head, darted toward Mu-Cheok’s contraption, dodging the bullets as they flew around it at high speed.

“Chronicle enforcement: Speed Reduction!”

Whoever saw this excessive weaponry was bound to believe that this was Mu-Cheok’s Hunter ability, but that was not actually the case. As he used his Words of Power, the hornets’ speed was instantly reduced to a tenth of what it was before.

The muzzles of the guns spat fire at them.

Brrrrrr!

All of the monsters peppering the sky, including the wasp monsters, were shot down.

At the same time, the lightning of the Great Generals of Protection stretched out from the ground, taking out the remaining monsters one by one.

Yet, no matter how many monsters died, there were still countless others pouring out of the Gates. More and more monsters popped up, filling the ground and the sky.

“It’s just like what my brother said! There are too many monsters! Damn it!”

“It’s okay, Brother Mu-Cheok! We will get through this together!”

“I know we will!”

Mu-Cheok gritted his teeth. He knew the fight was just beginning. He used his Chronicler’s ability to draw out additional weapons he had prepared.

“Space Distortion! Armament Collection!”

Several metal arms appeared out of thin air, followed by dozens of drones. Seong Kwang raised his staff and chanted what sounded like a scripture, and the heavens opened to reveal the minions of his God.

On the ground, other Hunters used their abilities to fight the monsters. In addition to the Great Generals of Protection, weapons set up by Hunters or by the owners of the buildings synergized with the Hunters’ power to tear the monsters apart.

Corpses piled up like mountains, and the blood and bodily fluids of the monsters formed rivers on the ground.

This was truly a World War, a Great War.

However, so far, the Hunters had not suffered much damage. For every Hunter killed, who knew how many monsters died.

After watching what his younger brother and Seong Kwang were doing for a few moments, Ji-Cheok turned his gaze elsewhere.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Rumble.

Buildings, houses, and villas had been turned into a giant Golem.

All the people had already been evacuated, so there was no one bothered by the fact that the empty buildings had somehow turned into a monster of nondescript shape. The giant Golem was over one hundred meters tall and was trampling and killing the medium- and large-size monsters on the ground.

Furthermore, this Golem was covered with the Great Generals of Protection previously set up on the buildings that made up its body, so it was shooting out thousands of lightning bolts from all over, killing all the monsters in the vicinity.

From the head of this giant Golem, an archer shot arrows infused with starlight.

She looked like the mythical Goddess of the hunt. The meteors she summoned were falling from the sky like a downpour during the rainy season. They easily cracked the skulls of muscular Ogres over four meters tall and tore holes in the body of flying demonic Griffins.

Surprisingly, the meteors did not do any damage to the Hunters.

The fierce battle had already destroyed the city center, leaving only rubble. It was a good thing that people had been evacuated, or there would have been a lot of casualties. Thanks to Ji-Byeok and Ha-Na’s efforts, in concert with the efforts of the other hunters, the monsters were dwindling fast. Surprisingly, some of the dungeon Gates spewing out monsters closed by themselves as the monsters that left them were obliterated.

Of course, a new Gate would open as another one closed, but it was giving people hope that there was an end to this war.

“Ah… Please….”

They knew they would live if they endured the war.

They knew peaceful times would come.

Just like what Ji-Cheok said!

Everyone fought in unison.

Then, Ji-Cheok’s gaze went elsewhere.

From a distance, Ji-Cheok checked on Adam Bronze, who was destroying monsters with his SKy Warlord.

From a distance, Ji-Cheok saw Macaw the White Charcoal destroying monsters in the Philippines.

From a distance, Ji-Cheok saw Bi-Ga’s drones and robots slaughtering the monsters coming out of a giant Gate, using sheer numerical superiority.

Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do.

However, there was a problem in the Philippines.

No…there was a problem in pretty much all countries other than Korea.

Monsters like the purple jellyfish that had appeared in Seoul were appearing in every capital city, one by one, and while their strength was a problem in and of itself, Ji-Cheok could see that their individual power was actually not the only issue.

They were taking direct control of the monsters that were busy fighting each other and forcing them to target only humans.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“The System seems hell-bent on destroying humanity.”

«That might be possible, Master.»

“It feels like the System is telling me to give up on this already-doomed dimension… If not, why the hell are they here?”

He clicked his tongue and deactivated his Clairvoyance skill.

The United States, being one of the strongest countries in the world, was fighting back somehow, despite the damage.

The large monster that appeared in the United States was a boiling mass of flesh, a monster that continuously multiplied and grew in volume.

It did not seem to have any intelligence, but it absorbed both the inorganic and the organic matter around it. In addition, it also appeared to control the monsters around it and made them focus their attacks on humans.

“By the way, isn’t there an evacuation order in the United States? I feel like there are a lot more civilian deaths than in other countries.”

«That is because the United States is the land of the free.»

“Oh my god… Really…?”

‘I know they are supposed to be the land of the free and hate government control, but they shouldn’t stick to that bullshit in times like this…’

«There will be damage, but the United States will be fine. They are the strongest country in the world after all. And their Iron Shield is a formidable tactical weapon.»

“Okay. Then, where should I go first? I feel like Korea is in good hands, with my team members and other Korean Hunters…”

Ji-Cheok recalled the damage he had seen with his Clairvoyance skill.

‘Let’s see.’

Beijing, the capital of China, was being torn apart by a dragon-like monster. China’s Hunters were outnumbered and the chaos was spreading. At least they had evacuated the city, and there weren’t too many civilian casualties.

The same went for Japan. In Tokyo, a three-headed Oni, a Japanese version of an Ogre, had smashed the Tokyo Tower to pieces and was destroying the neighborhood.

‘Is Britain doing as well as the United States?’

They were battling a monster that looked like a mass of snakes, and the men in knightly armor were doing a great job defending their country.

‘They must be the Knights of the Round Table.’

In France, monks were battling flame-covered Demons.

The United States, Britain, and France were the only ones holding out. The rest of the world was in bad shape.

“I need to go to the United States first.”

«I believe they will be able to handle the monsters by themselves. Why are we going there?»

“If I go there first and take out the boss monster quickly, then the United States can support the neighboring countries. Canada and the South American countries need help.”