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The rocket landed in the forest with its characteristic high-pitched whine.

With a sound that seemed like it was going to burst my eardrums, the rocket obliterated the forest, uprooting the ground and shattering trees into pieces. However, the force was not incomprehensible, but it was certainly not powerful enough to live up to its name of ‘rocket’.

Was that maybe just the power of a grenade?

Looking at the rumbling ground and exploding trees, it looked quite spectacular, but it had me raising an eyebrow at its suitability for the name ‘rocket’.

This was because this rocket was not designed primarily for explosive force, but rather for a ‘special purpose’.

Wooooooosh—

Smoke billowed out from the rocket that had detonated.

What had appeared to be a loud explosion was, in fact, merely a smokescreen meant to spread smoke everywhere, blanketing the entire forest in a blue haze and shrouding the sinister-looking woods under a veil of blue clouds.

Woooooosh—

3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate.

A cloud mixed with the incapacitating gas commonly known as BZ began to buzz lightly, swallowing the searchlights, and the red light was soon entirely buried beneath the blue haze. The smoke, as if it were a ghost made of mist, drifted to the location of the altar, creating a fog-blanketed forest.

A middle-aged man watching this asked,

“What kind of energy is that?”

“Based on the vibration readings…. SN-13! Yang Qi!”

“Is that so? Then prepare the frozen grenades!”

Following the man’s command, soldiers started loading grenades into the launcher, firing in unison.

With a series of pops, the grenades filled the sky, spinning their way towards the spot where the altar had stood, eventually bursting one by one and spilling their liquid contents.

The grenades that dropped to the ground burst like water balloons and sprayed liquid everywhere, while those that exploded in the sky rained down. And thus, the splattered liquid froze everything it touched.

The moment the liquid hit the trees, they froze instantly, and the ground transformed into a block of ice. The grass turned into icy shards that shattered with even the slightest impact, and the lotus floating in a puddle of blood became a piece of art.

Icicles formed everywhere, and the water that had been splashed from the impact froze into spikes jutting out like thorns.

Yet strangely enough, even with the frozen grenades unleashed, the middle-aged man frowned.

“The smoke’s fine, but we can’t see inside.”

He grumbled while drawing the sabre he had strapped to his waist.

The smoothly curved blade seemed to stretch out long, with a red energy flickering and wrapping around it like flames.

The sabre began to blaze as if it had been doused in oil and set alight, reminiscent of a flaming sword wielded by an angel.

With sharp eyes, he moved the blade.

From left to right.

The sword traced a crimson line through the air, darting as if it was destined to slice through everything it touched.

The trees in the path of the flying sword energy were cut down and clattered to the ground with a thunderous noise. The frozen parts shattered upon impact while the unfrozen pieces lay still on the ground, growing cold from the chill.

As if one slash wasn’t enough, he kept moving the blade.

The sword drew a diagonal.

The sword swung horizontally again.

From below to above, then diagonally to the ground.

And once more horizontally.

The blade moved through the air like a deadly dance, scattering sword energies throughout the forest, and it wasn’t until the sound of the sword strikes ceased that he finally stopped unleashing the energy indiscriminately.

“Clear the smoke.”

The sword dance was over.

Hearing the order, the soldiers moved in perfect sync to operate their equipment, activating the suction device on a vehicle resembling a tank truck to gulp down all the thick smoke that shrouded the forest.

Like a powerful vacuum cleaner, the blue haze was sucked into the machine, revealing the devastating scene of the forest bit by bit.

The revealed landscape of the forest was truly horrific.

The territory that had once housed wild animals was shattered as if it had gone through a war, with what had once been trees reduced to splinters or blocks of ice strewn across the ground. What was left behind was sharp enough to stab and pierce through the bodies of the animals, sealing their fate for good.

And then.

“Hmm.”

The altar, the mastermind behind this destruction, remained unscathed.

Though it appeared to be frozen from the impact of the frozen grenades, its original shape was intact.

However, there were no signs of the two individuals who should have been lying on it, only traces of blood.

Moreover, the shaman had vanished without a trace.

“Clear the obstacles and check!”

Upon receiving the command, two wizards clad with strange machines stepped forward.

They used their equipment to infuse it with magical energy and created a triangle shape with their hands as they stretched them out forward. The psychic energy amplified by the machines erupted forth, lifting the obstacles hovering in front of them little by little.

The floating pieces of wood and rocks were shoved aside to create a clear path.

With the path formed, a wizard wearing a specialized helmet stepped in.

He scanned the debris-free route with his helmet and transmitted the data to the AI loaded onto the vehicle he came with.

“Nothing unusual!”

The AI quickly analyzed the scanned data and returned the results.

“Advance!”

Assured that it was safe, the soldiers moved in unison.

Perhaps driven by the thought of capturing the shaman, they readied their equipment and charged forward, a hint of tension palpable on their faces.

Yet, whether by misfortune or fortune, they would never need to use that equipment.

What they saw was neither the shaman preparing a siege nor threatening anyone while holding hostages.

It was a deep hole that seemed to lead down to the depths of the earth.

“He escaped.”

The middle-aged man declared decisively.

And as if agreeing with his statement, the aide beside him nodded in agreement, gesturing the soldier behind him to fetch the equipment.

As soon as he received the equipment, he fired a laser into the hole for measurement.

Beep—

“The depth is about 10m straight down.”

“Quite deep indeed. Track him with drones!”

At the command of the middle-aged man, a sharp-featured man infused magical energy into a drone.

The tiny drone, no bigger than a baby’s palm, floated silently in midair after receiving the magic, then darted into the hole at the man’s gesture.

The ultra-small camera mounted on the drone began transmitting video of the interior of the hole.

“The walls aren’t rough. He dug it with a special ability.”

“He used a method to compress the dirt. An artifact? Or he might be someone using psychic spells.”

“I don’t sense any magical residue on the footage. He didn’t use an artifact.”

“But there are traces of the earth being melted by heat.”

“I’m not sure about this. But we should remain cautious.”

The middle-aged man and his aide analyzed the footage together.

The texture of the soil, its shape, the hole’s dimensions, and signs of movement.

All of these elements provided crucial clues about the techniques and physique of the shaman.

But such analysis did not last long.

Noise began to interfere with the footage.

“There’s noise interference from a spiritual entity!”

“With such noise interference, could it be an evil spirit? No need to worry. We received a blessing from the clergy, so excessive interference shouldn’t—what?!”

Crack!

Did something interrupt the middle-aged man’s bravado?

Before he could finish his sentence, a sound erupted, and the video feed cut out.

This was no mere noise causing a glitch; it was a sign that the drone itself was malfunctioning.

“Damn it.”

The middle-aged man muttered under his breath.

He then spat on the ground and pulled out a grenade.

“Do they think they can break my expensive drone, filthy spirits?!”

He pulled the pin and hurled a napalm grenade into the hole.

* * *

Pooom!

Jinseong chuckled at the thunderous blast echoing in the distance.

“He’s always been this reckless.”

Jinseong knew that man who was trying to capture him with such a violent method.

A leader at the forefront of the war against neighboring countries during World War III, and a man who would eventually rise to the presidency.

Viktor Alexandrovich Smirnov.

His nickname was Victor of the Nuclear Shower.

A man who contaminated half of Eastern Europe with radiation.

 

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