Chapter 148
Chapter 148. Call to Arms (2)
As all the guilds in Korea buzzed with the call to arms.
At Korean airports, numerous domestic flights were being canceled one after another.
In particular, airports near areas where IUPC activity had been observed received recommendations to completely suspend operations.
However, due to communication issues and various circumstances, the recommendations were delayed.
Several flights had already departed.
One of them was a flight from Gimpo International Airport arriving at Gimhae International Airport.
By the time the recommendation was issued, it was too far gone to turn back to Gimpo.
The plane was hastily preparing to land at Gimhae.
But then…
“Caw!”
“Caw!”
“Caw!”
Huge birds with black feathers flocked around the swiftly flying airplane.
Seeing those, the pilot was greatly alarmed and quickly informed the control tower of the emergency situation.
“Mayday! Mayday! Monsters have appeared near the aircraft!”
The heroes aboard the plane recognized the identity of the birds through the windows.
They were grotesque crow monsters that had transformed from regular crows.
However, the size of those grotesque crows was astonishing, even to the heroes.
“Caw, caw!”
The grotesque crows flew around the plane, using their sharp, magic-infused beaks to peck at its body.
It seemed like the thick layer of magic coating the plane could withstand the attacks, but…
The areas under intensive attack gradually began to crack the coating.
“Caw—!”
Just after the expertly applied magic coating had broken by more than half.
The engine of the vulnerable plane was completely exposed to the grotesque crows.
At the same time, they dove toward the engine as if they had coordinated their attack.
Kaga—kaga—kaga—kagak!
Bird Strike.
The rapidly rotating fan was severely damaged by the crow monsters’ assault.
The plane, losing its power, began to sink slowly, unable to maintain its balance.
“Argh!”
The pilot tried everything to minimize the damage.
But the cockpit window was covered in the black feathers spewed forth by the crow monsters, rendering visibility zero.
And just like that, the plane with 182 passengers…
Crashed into a nearby shopping complex without being able to take any proper measures.
*
[Anonymous 33: This is really bad.]
[Anonymous 25: Is this how Korea is going down?]
[Anonymous 7: One hour until the fall of Korea.]
[Anonymous 8: The large guild will manage somehow.]
[Anonymous 2: All those guild masters are out of the picture.]
……
……
The news of the plane crash quickly spread through social media and the press.
The aircraft was horrendously mangled, and the five-story shopping complex had its structure exposed after the collision.
Out of the 182 passengers on the plane, 152 had died, and the surviving 30 were all heroes and the business class crew and passengers.
‘Over a hundred people died.’
Yoo Ji-han furrowed his brow as he watched the news.
There had been instances of monsters appearing near planes in the past, but this was the first time a real crash had occurred in Korea due to monsters.
Kim Si-hu, who was watching the news with him, muttered.
“Those guys.”
From chasing the plane to breaking the solid magic coating and bringing down the engine.
The heroes who saw the giant crow monsters with their own eyes said they displayed very organized movements.
Actions that ordinary monsters would never be capable of.
It suggested someone was deliberately controlling the monsters.
‘All flights have been completely halted.’
Due to this incident, domestic flights, as well as all other flights in Korea, were temporarily suspended.
To prevent any further accidents from occurring.
“Knowing there are winged monsters out there… Everyone was too complacent!”
“Chirp!!”
Min Yu-ri raised her voice in rare anger.
Perhaps influenced by her emotions, Chilla also glared sharply.
[Anonymous 77: A friend living in Haenam says there are monsters wandering outside his house.]
[Anonymous 9: My family is trapped in Mokpo.]
In areas where evacuation was ongoing, the appearance of monsters led to more people unable to venture outside.
Many individuals found themselves trapped in their residences.
“With the fire on our heels, we should hear news soon.”
The monsters that had crawled out of the barrier caused great chaos in Korea.
By now, loud voices must have been echoing here and there.
Vwoooong!
Just then, Yoo Ji-han’s phone rang.
The caller was Park Jae-kyung.
“This is Yoo Ji-han.”
— Ji-han, the gathering time has been set.
“I was waiting for this.”
— Tomorrow at 8 AM. The Dice guild will move down to Yeosu alongside Red Hole. Please join us.
In Yeosu, Baek Kang-cheon and Yoon Do-ha had vanished simultaneously.
The two guilds planned to move back to their previous locality.
— The other eight guilds among the top ten guilds are also moving to regions where they’ve lost their guild masters.
“Understood.”
— We will prioritize joining forces with the heroes who were left behind in Yeosu for regional stabilization.
“What about the means of transportation?”
— We will be using a train to avoid traffic jams due to the evacuations.
“As you know, Chilla is with us, so we need spacious entrances.”
— Don’t worry about that.
“What about the support teams, including the blacksmith?”
After several questions exchanged, the call with Park Jae-kyung concluded.
Yoo Ji-han set down the phone and looked at his party members.
“Let’s pack our things by tomorrow.”
*
The next day.
Yoo Ji-han’s party checked the cameras delivered by Ha Seong-tae via quick service.
Yoo Ji-han attached a body cam and asked.
“Min Yu-ri, how’s the drone?”
“It seems a bit different from the one we used before.”
“Is it going to be fine?”
“No problem.”
Min Yu-ri infused magic into the new filming drone.
The drones responded to her magic and began to hover in mid-air.
She had even looked into drone filming techniques at Ha Seong-tae’s suggestion.
“Are you feeling okay, Nam Ho-yeol?”
“Ugh! I’ve been tense all this time…”
Nam Ho-yeol had voluntarily decided to join this expedition.
He just wanted to contribute a bit to the party and express his wish to gain field experience as a blacksmith.
‘It’s surprising that his wife encouraged him so actively.’
What was quite surprising was that Nam Ho-yeol’s wife had encouraged him to join this expedition.
In most cases, family members would have strongly objected to going into a dangerous situation.
He was as unique a person as someone who had changed careers from game designer to blacksmith.
“Si-hu, if you have any calming pills, give one to Ho-yeol.”
“Here!”
Thanks to the protection of numerous heroes from Dice and Red Hole, the support teams, including the blacksmiths, had no worries about being directly caught in a fight.
Unlike the blacksmiths who harbored jealousy towards Nam Ho-yeol in the alleyways of the open market, those who participated in the expedition were well-verified talents with above-average skills.
It would benefit Nam Ho-yeol to build camaraderie with proper blacksmiths through this opportunity.
“If we’re ready, let’s go.”
With simple packs on their backs, Yoo Ji-han’s party boarded Min Yu-ri’s vehicle.
Their destination was Yongsan Station, where they were set to board the train.
“There are a lot of cars.”
The parking lot near Yongsan Station was filled with vehicles that appeared to belong to heroes.
The trucks that heroes used to transport various equipment were easily distinguishable from regular vehicles.
Once they got off in the parking lot, they moved to the square inside Yongsan Station.
Numerous heroes were already waiting there.
Heroes who spotted the large Chilla from a distance realized that this was Yoo Ji-han’s party, which had recently gained fame.
‘Is that Yoo Ji-han’s party?’
‘What are they doing here?’
‘A remarkable newcomer is following them.’
‘That chinchilla is cute.’
Not only the Rank 3 heroes but also those above, the Rank 2 heroes, were recognizing Yoo Ji-han’s party.
“The Spirit Master of Fire.”
“There are quite a few famous faces here.”
“Chirp, chirp…”
The water spirit, composed of transparent liquid, and the fire spirit, ablaze and flickering in real-time.
A walking sunflower, a muscular rabbit, and even a sparrow about half the size of Chilla.
In the bustling square filled with various beings, Yoo Ji-han’s party looked around curiously.
Most of them were heroes belonging to the top ten guilds.
However, perhaps due to their guild leaders being MIA.
Even though many had gathered in one place, hardly anyone was making loud noises.
The atmosphere was more solemn than Yoo Ji-han had anticipated.
The only people chattering were citizens in the distance filming the heroes on their phones.
“Young-wook!”
“Hello, Ji-han!”
Yoo Ji-han’s party approached the group of Jung Young-wook, whom they were familiar with.
It was a gathering place for the heroes from Dice and Red Hole.
And while they were catching up for a moment…
Two figures walked out in front of them.
One was Park Jae-kyung, the Vice Guild Master of Dice.
The other was Jung Gi-jun, the Vice Guild Master of Red Hole.
In the absence of the guild masters of Dice and Red Hole, they were the power figures leading the guilds.
“This is Jung Gi-jun from Red Hole.”
His low and heavy voice resounded within Yongsan Station.
With a very thick neck and a body as solid as a rock.
He was one of the top tanks in Korea, second only to the leader of Red Hole.
“First, I would like to apologize to all of you gathered here.”
“……!”
“……?”
“……?”
Jung Gi-jun deeply bowed to the hundreds of heroes present.
Beside him, Park Jae-kyung pressed his lips into a straight line.
Others looked at Jung Gi-jun with expressions filled with questions.
He straightened his waist and spoke.
“Despite being by the sides of Baek Kang-cheon and Yoon Do-ha, I couldn’t protect them. Therefore, the previous incident was entirely my negligence.”
“That’s not on you, Gi-jun!”
Though a voice supporting him piped up from somewhere, Jung Gi-jun shook his head.
Even though Baek Kang-cheon and Yoon Do-ha were not typically in a position to be protected by tanks.
The tank, who should have defended the party members at the front, had failed to react and lost them.
He believed the responsibility for this situation lay solely with himself.
“However, there is still hope.”
“Hope?”
“We have succeeded in acquiring information regarding the missing Rank 1 heroes.”
“Oh!”
“What information are we talking about?”
“Well…”
Looking around, Park Jae-kyung spotted Chilla among those gathered.
She then turned to Yoo Ji-han, who had provided the most crucial information regarding this incident.
“For security reasons, I’ll skip the details, but the missing individuals are very likely still alive, and it has been confirmed that people from another world are involved in this incident.”
“Is it true that people from another world have come to Korea?”
“Yes. Furthermore, there’s suspicion that the IUPC is behind this as well…”
The acknowledgment of the existence of beings from another world changed the heroes’ expressions.
It made them realize that the Hero Department wasn’t just spouting nonsense.
“Our goal is to stabilize the Yeosu region and search for the missing heroes.”
“After taking the train down to Suncheon Station, we plan to split into multiple parties and move…”
A brief explanation of the operation was provided to the heroes.
Turning his head to check the clock on the wall, Park Jae-kyung announced.
“The advance team will depart in 30 minutes. Everyone, please prepare.”
Thus began the provincial expedition.
