Several military vehicles appeared at the ruined dimensional Warp Zone.
People in armor got out of the vehicles one after another. They were Hunters.
And finally, a woman with long hair stepped out. She was the woman who had captured the Dimensional Beast in New Berlin City.
She took the lead and entered the building. She frowned as she inspected the wrecked structure.
“Search the area.”
At her words, a young man standing beside her gestured backward, and one of the Awakened following behind carefully scanned the surroundings with Dimensional Power.
After a moment, he spoke.
“Two people are buried under the debris 20 meters ahead, and one of them appears to be Brigadier General Mitterrand.”
The place he pointed to was completely covered with rubble.
“Shall we remove it?”
A man who appeared to be an adjutant asked her. She nodded.
At her permission, a woman who looked to be in her thirties stood in front of the rubble.
As the woman focused her Dimensional Power, the debris piled on the ground began to soar upwards. With a wave of her hand, the floating debris shifted to one side.
The corpses buried beneath the rubble were revealed.
The Hunters approached the pit. At the adjutant’s signal, several men entered the pit.
They were Awakened capable of clairvoyance.
After carefully examining the corpses, they reported to the woman.
“Both Brigadier General Mitterrand and Colonel Gilbert were buried after death. Colonel Gilbert seems to have rampaged before dying. Aside from the wound where the Dimensional Core was extracted, there were no other injuries, but it appears he died from excessive bleeding caused by the rampage wounds.”
She nodded at the report.
“Brigadier General Mitterrand had injuries on his limbs, but none were fatal. The cause of death was a sword that pierced his heart.”
“A sword? Are you saying Brigadier General Mitterrand allowed a sword to strike him head-on? Does that mean there’s a rebel force capable of taking on both A-rank and B+-rank personal guards and destroying a dimensional Warp Zone?”
Her voice rang out sharply.
“Even the B-rank personal guards were taken down. Also, the Warp Zone manager who seemed to be moving with them has gone missing.”
The adjutant added.
“Wasn’t there a report of an Awakened infiltrating the dimensional Warp Zone the day before?”
“Yes, it was reported to be a Linker with spatial abilities around C-rank and defensive abilities beyond that. Spatial movement was blocked by the barrier, but their defense was unexpectedly strong, and they escaped. After hearing that, Brigadier General Mitterrand led his team to the dimensional Warp Zone.”
Listening to the adjutant’s words, she fell into thought.
“A group with a Linker possessing C-rank spatial abilities and someone capable of killing A-rank and B+-rank simultaneously… There hasn’t been such a force before, right?”
“Neither among the rebel forces nor among enemies from other dimensions has there been a group with such powerful Awakened.”
She nodded.
“This attack on the C dimension has too many problems. The dimensional wall opening five years after the advance party entered, the loss of contact with the advance party and Arthur, and now the incidents of yesterday and today.”
“Are you suggesting this incident is related to the C dimension?”
“We need to verify it. Contact the intelligence department. From now on, all matters regarding the C dimension and this incident will be handled by me, Eunseo Lee.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
At her words, the personal guards responded in unison.
She, who had been watching the corpses, turned her body.
Her long, black hair swayed, revealing the beautiful face of Eunseo beneath it.
“Can I really use this?”
Eunseo’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the Relic shield placed before her. She tried to maintain a composed appearance, but her sparkling eyes betrayed her.
“Yes, you no longer have to alternate its use with team leader Han.”
Eunseo’s face brightened.
Yonghoon decided to handle the newly obtained shield in the same way as the previous Relics. He would lend the Relics to the team, and the team members would borrow them while Yonghoon collected rental fees.
Fortunately, the economy had not yet shifted to a rationing system. After Jeju Island was devastated, the government had seriously considered martial law, forced conscription, and rationing but ultimately did not implement them.
This was because the enemy was not an army, and it was difficult to control the Awakened. Moreover, the economy, activated by Dimensional Cores, was somehow maintaining itself despite the monsters running rampant.
Declaring martial law in this situation could collapse the economy and cause the Awakened to turn away. It was not yet the right time. The government decided to hold on a little longer.
Thanks to that, all the members of Team Crazy were extremely wealthy, and Yonghoon was unimaginably rich.
Considering the money earned from selling Dimensional Cores after hunting monsters and the income from overseas activities, the amount was overwhelming. However, Yonghoon simply handed over his wealth to the asset management team and didn’t pay much attention to it.
It was money that was hard to use anyway. Moreover, if they were ever pushed back by monsters, it would be meaningless.
Thus, this shield rental was no different. It was almost a formality, just like before.
Eunseo began polishing the shield with a happy expression at her seat.
Yonghoon and the members of Team Crazy were currently heading to the United Kingdom on a special flight. Team Crazy had departed for the United Kingdom at dawn the day after Yonghoon returned. There was not much time.
Fortunately, Yonghoon’s Dimensional Power was recovering rapidly. After one night, more than half had been restored. By the time they arrived in the United Kingdom, it would be fully replenished.
It was the first time the entire team had gone overseas for a hunt. Previously, overseas hunts were for high-level monsters, so only Sunhee and Eunseo had accompanied him, but facing Dimensional Beasts required a larger team.
It seemed like Yonghoon alone could handle it, as he did in the United States, but if he wasn’t around, it would be difficult to defend Korea against a Dimensional Beast. It was necessary to further strengthen the team members’ skills.
Except for the mishap where Grace tried to follow them and got caught and scolded by Representative Seo, the flight went smoothly.
After a 12-hour flight, the group arrived at Birmingham International Airport. Thanks to the time difference, it was lunchtime in the United Kingdom.
Birmingham International Airport was in chaos with refugees.
People who realized the Dimensional Beast was approaching were desperately fleeing elsewhere.
Some people risked death to drive toward other cities, while the wealthy and high-ranking individuals flocked to the airport.
To avoid such people, their plane parked in a corner of the runway.
Seeing the group disembark from the plane, Samantha’s eyes filled with tears.
She had almost given up.
So far, the United States had completely refused, and Korea had kept delaying. Meanwhile, the Dimensional Beast kept approaching, and people in nearby small cities became contaminated and moved with the beast.
Samantha had resolved to die here in Birmingham.
Then, a call had come from Korea.
She could only keep grasping the hands of the members of Team Crazy and repeatedly say thank you.
But there was no time. Yonghoon asked Samantha about the situation, and she snapped back to attention.
“It’s about 30 kilometers west of Birmingham. We’re trying to block its advance with bombardment outside the contaminated area, but it’s barely effective.”
Yonghoon turned his head west at her words. The western sky was burning with explosions.
“Please halt the bombardment. I’ll scout first and call you.”
After saying that, Yonghoon disappeared from the spot.
Samantha and the officers who had come with her were greatly shocked by Yonghoon’s sudden disappearance. It was their first time seeing a spatial movement user. Samantha quickly spoke.
“You heard him, right? Please stop the bombardment quickly.”
Only then did the officers start giving orders.
After a moment, the bombardment ceased, and soon Yonghoon reappeared.
“There are four Grade-3 mantis monsters and dragonfly-shaped flying monsters that seem to be Grade-3 as well. Also, thousands of contaminated humans are widely spread and advancing. We must defeat the Dimensional Beasts before the contaminated humans approach again.”
At Yonghoon’s words, the team members all tensed up. Memories of Jeju Island came to mind.
Yonghoon looked around at the team members. It seemed everyone was ready.
Yonghoon nodded.
“Let’s begin the hunt. First, take your positions, and I’ll call you one by one.”
As soon as Yonghoon finished speaking, Eunseo and Sunhee approached him. Yonghoon grabbed their shoulders and leapt through space.
They appeared in a wide plain overgrown with weeds. Nearby, contaminated humans were slowly moving, and ahead, the massive figure of a Dimensional Beast could be seen.
As soon as Yonghoon and the women appeared, dozens of contaminated humans nearby rushed at them.
But Yonghoon ignored the charging people and moved forward. Handling the approaching contaminated humans was Sunhee’s task.
As the humans got closer, Sunhee raised and then lowered her hand. Her ability activated, and the rushing contaminated humans collapsed to the ground. They couldn’t regain consciousness.
The group drew closer to the Dimensional Beast. The monsters beside the Dimensional Beast spotted Yonghoon and his group.
The mantis monsters guarding the Dimensional Beast charged forward and swung their scythes. The shockwaves from their swings surged toward the group, cutting down the weeds and trees between them.
This time, Eunseo raised her shield. Her Dimensional Power surged into the shield, and a green barrier spread out.
The attack launched by the mantis monster collided with the barrier and dissipated in vain.
At that moment, Yonghoon checked the surrounding Dimensional Power. It had stabilized. He reached into the air and pulled out the team members.
Soon, all the team members were positioned inside the green shield. Team leader Han and Eunseo were at the front with shields, Yonghoon, Jimin, and Hyangseol were behind them, and at the very rear, Sunhee and Dohyeon advanced forward.
The mantis monsters’ attacks were thoroughly blocked by the barrier created by Eunseo, and the contaminated humans charging at them either fainted from Eunseo’s ability or were flung away by Dohyeon’s telekinesis.
Yonghoon drew his spear. It was the spear Kangwoo had given him the day before. Apparently, there hadn’t been enough time. Kangwoo had thrown him just one spear and repeatedly urged him to use it sparingly.
But Yonghoon couldn’t heed his words. To even scratch a Dimensional Beast, he had no choice but to detonate the spear.
It was then.
Someone tried to stop Yonghoon as he prepared to detonate the spear.
It was Sunhee.
“I’ll try to contaminate it.”
“It’s too bulky, so it’s difficult. Even in Jeju Island, we only succeeded after creating a hole and getting as close as possible.”
“Please let me do it. I’m begging you.”
Yonghoon tilted his head at her stubbornness. He looked at the team members. They didn’t oppose her request either. Feeling a bit puzzled, Yonghoon accepted her plea.
He grabbed Sunhee and teleported toward the Dimensional Beast.
“Then shall we move too?”
Jimin said that and dashed toward the mantis monster. Hyangseol was running alongside her.
Sunhee and Yonghoon appeared on the Dimensional Beast’s back.
As soon as they landed on its back, giant dragonflies swooped down from the sky, and Yonghoon swung his spear into the air.
The dragonflies’ wings were cut down mercilessly. As he knocked them down one after another, Yonghoon could feel the Dimensional Beast’s body trembling violently.
Yonghoon turned his head to look at Sunhee.
Sunhee’s Dimensional Power was continuously flooding into the Dimensional Beast’s body. Dimensional Power kept flowing out from Sunhee’s body.
Yonghoon’s eyes widened.
He saw a faint light leaking out from between Sunhee’s armor. It was the light of a Dimensional Core.
A few days ago, Sunhee had volunteered for Kangwoo’s experiment. It was an experiment to implant a Dimensional Core. Fortunately, the experiment succeeded, and she had the Dimensional Core that Yonghoon had given to Kangwoo implanted near her chest.
Moments later, Sunhee’s Dimensional Power wrapped around the Dimensional Beast’s Dimensional Core.