As the group approached Hyde Park, the number of destroyed buildings increased. It seemed to be the traces left by the rampaging B-Rank monster.
According to the briefing, it appeared that more than half of the people who had lived in London had not yet evacuated. If so, there were surely countless corpses not only on the streets but also buried within the ruins.
The Awakened hardened their faces at the sight of corpses scattered everywhere and ran toward Hyde Park.
The sight of forty high-level Awakened sprinting down the boulevard was a spectacle.
Strike-type Awakened leapt over ten meters in a single bound, assassin-types advanced by slipping past obstacles like flowing water, and defense-types brutishly cleared obstacles with sheer force.
Yonghoon’s team, temporarily formed here, was running at the very rear of the group. They were in charge of the rear guard.
Right in front of Yonghoon’s team, Robert and several white Awakened with lower levels were running together.
The Awakened were running with large backpacks strapped to their backs. The backpacks seemed quite heavy, making their movements noticeably sluggish.
“They are Awakened from our country. After the high-level Awakened died, the most combat-capable among the D-Rank Awakened participated. They joined this hunt under Director Robert’s protection.”
As Yonghoon looked at Robert’s team with interest, Samantha, running beside him, explained.
Yonghoon raised his hand and pointed at the backpacks they were carrying.
“Do you know what those backpacks are? They don’t look like weapons.”
“Ah, it seems to be the company’s electronic equipment. I heard it’s a machine to collect combat data.”
Yonghoon nodded at her answer. However, his eyes remained fixed on the backpacks.
The group passed by Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace, the pride and landmark of the United Kingdom, had been completely destroyed, leaving only ruins behind.
Feeling sorrow at the sight of the ruined Buckingham Palace, the group quickened their pace. Hyde Park appeared ahead of them.
Hyde Park was a mess.
The park’s grass was riddled with countless massive craters, and most of the trees had fallen. Many surrounding buildings were also heavily damaged.
Seeing this, Samantha’s face darkened.
“These are the traces of the last Raid. The monster’s attacks were too powerful.”
Samantha spoke about that day with a somber face, and the team members who heard her couldn’t help but show pity.
The group stopped at the entrance of the park.
Dennis stepped forward. He slammed his giant spear into the ground and looked around at the Awakened.
“We will now begin the operation. Regular Awakened, please form an encirclement. Surround the park as much as possible to prevent other monsters from entering and to restrain the B-Rank monster from escaping. Once the regular Awakened complete the encirclement, the Linkers assigned to the combat team will begin the hunt.”
Dennis’s words seemed to emphasize the importance of the regular Awakened, but in reality, it was a different story.
The regular Awakened were tasked with monitoring the surroundings while the Linkers engaged the monster.
In other places, the target might flee during battle or other monsters might intrude, but here, where a B-Rank monster was present, the chances were almost nonexistent.
Due to the B-Rank monster’s Dimensional Power, other monsters found it difficult to approach, and the Linkers’ abilities were so superior that the likelihood of losing the monster was nearly zero.
As Dennis finished speaking, Robert raised his hand.
“I will ascend to the rooftop of that hotel with my team to collect combat data.”
He pointed to a tall building near the park’s main gate. It seemed untouched by the monster’s attacks, with only some broken windows and soot stains on the walls.
Dennis nodded at Robert’s words. This had been agreed upon before they arrived.
For Dennis, it was a relief that Robert, who was unfit for combat, would stay in a safe place.
Robert moved toward the hotel, followed by the British Awakened who sighed under the weight of their backpacks.
Next, it was time for the regular Awakened to move.
Yonghoon, who had been unanimously chosen as the temporary team leader, decided that his team would guard the entrance.
Since they were already assigned to the rear, it seemed best to guard this spot for a potential retreat.
The other teams ran along the road beside the park.
Soon after, reports of the Awakened teams reaching their designated points came through Robert’s earpiece one after another.
Once the deployment of the regular Awakened was complete, Dennis looked around at the remaining Awakened.
About twenty Awakened remained here. Except for Yonghoon’s team, all were Linkers.
“Since the battle in the other world–this is the first time……”
Dennis, perhaps excited to be reunited with his old comrades after a long time, made a slip of the tongue.
He glanced at Yonghoon and his team members and then resumed speaking. The Linkers gathered before him chuckled quietly at Dennis’s behavior.
“It’s the first time Linkers have gathered in such numbers for a hunt. But we have ample experience. As long as we don’t make mistakes, we should be able to hunt successfully. I will be giving the operation orders. Let’s move out.”
As he finished speaking, the Linkers released their Dimensional Power. An immense force spread out around them, lifting dust and making the leaves flutter.
Eunseo felt a strange sensation brushing over her body.
“Wow, that’s amazing. It feels like my body’s tingling. Is this what Dimensional Power feels like?”
She spoke while looking at the Linkers.
She definitely had talent. At this rate, she would soon be able to sense and conceal Dimensional Power.
“That’s impressive. To feel it without any prior information even though you’re C-Rank.”
Since no one had trouble with English, all conversations among the group were conducted in English. Thanks to that, Samantha could hear Eunseo’s words and was very surprised.
“There’s someone even more amazing, but he never says anything.”
Eunseo stared intently at Yonghoon.
The Dimensional Power even affected the B-Rank monster in the center of the park.
A head suddenly popped up above the trees in the distance.
It was an orangutan monster.
The monster stared intently at the Awakened and then let out a monstrous roar toward the sky.
“Kraaaah!”
The monster’s voice echoed throughout the entire city, but none of the Linkers showed any signs of tension.
“Move out!”
At Dennis’s command, the Awakened charged toward the monster. Instructor Seo and Grace also nodded at Yonghoon and rushed forward.
The battle was one-sided.
Even a B-Rank monster could not handle twenty Linkers of C-Rank or higher.
The monster’s punches were blocked one after another by the defense-type Awakened’s shields, while the strike-types and assassin-types easily dodged its attacks.
Moreover, the strike-type Awakened’s attacks were enough to wound the monster. With even two B-Rank Awakened among them, the monster quickly became covered in blood.
The monster’s energy orb attacks were neutralized by the defensive formations created by groups of defense-types. A few gathered together were enough to block the energy orbs.
Awakened wielding shields and spears switched between offense and defense as needed.
Occasionally, when someone failed to dodge the monster’s attacks, assassin-types with Dimensional Core interference abilities disrupted the monster’s movements.
At this rate, it wouldn’t take long to contaminate the monster’s Dimensional Core. Judging by the situation, they might even be able to kill it without contaminating the core.
Standing on the hotel rooftop, Robert watched the battle with a calm expression.
From the rooftop, eighty meters high, he had a clear view far into the distance.
Robert could observe the Linkers’ battle in detail.
“Cough, what… what are you doing?”
Robert turned his head at the voice coming from behind him.
There lay an Awakened, bleeding profusely. Beside him were other Awakened, dead with their limbs severed.
It seemed the British Awakened who had come up to the rooftop with him had been attacked and defeated.
“You’ve got strong willpower. With wounds like that, you should have died from shock. You’re hanging on well.”
Robert looked curiously at the young male Awakened who was glaring at him through gritted teeth.
“Maybe you’ll survive another ten minutes? I don’t want to bother with you anymore. Just watch from there. If you watch, you’ll understand some things.”
Ignoring the Awakened staring at him, Robert walked toward one side of the rooftop. There stood a human-sized electronic device, powered off.
This device had been assembled from the equipment the British Awakened had carried in their backpacks. Once the assembly was complete, Robert had immediately attacked and taken them down.
“Damn it, weren’t you a Special Ability User?”
Glancing at the bleeding Awakened, Robert flipped the switch on the device. The electronic equipment began to awaken.
“I’m a Linker. One of my abilities just happens to be a special ability.”
Robert answered him while pressing the buttons on the device one by one.
“Why the hell are you doing this! Weren’t you supposed to be humanity’s hope?”
The fallen Awakened seemed more bewildered by the betrayal of the Link System’s director than by his impending death.
Robert turned his head to look at the Awakened.
It seemed the other could barely speak now. The Awakened was gasping for breath.
Robert whispered to the Awakened.
“They are humanity’s hope. Your thinking is not wrong.”
Robert placed his hand on a blinking button on the device.
“It’s just that I am humanity’s enemy.”
He pressed the button.
A strange Dimensional Power surged skyward from the device.
Its movement resembled the Dimensional Power emitted by Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices. The spreading Dimensional Power made the air heavy and even darkened the sky.
A loud noise blared from Robert’s arm. He glanced indifferently at the smart watch on his wrist and turned down the volume. However, the warnings from the fallen Awakened’s wrists continued to sound.
The Awakened forced himself to look down at his smart watch. Numerous Dimensional Movement markers had appeared on the smart watch.
“It seems no one thought that if Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices are possible, the opposite must be possible too. This is a Singularity generator. Aren’t you curious how long humanity’s hopes will last?”
Robert spoke kindly to the Awakened, whose face was frozen in shock.
Countless holes began to appear on the ground. And from within those holes, monsters started emerging one after another.
“What you’ve done will end in failure! The Linkers aren’t that weak!”
With those final words, his head slumped backward. His life had ended.
Robert clicked his tongue at the sight.
“He died before I could show him the rest. Well, it can’t be helped.”
Robert looked down again. The monsters that had emerged from the holes were rampaging in all directions.
Robert muttered to himself.
“The Linkers are strong. We made them that way. But this side is stronger.”
Robert raised his arm upward. A strange Dimensional Power began to surge from his body. That Dimensional Power spread far and wide.
As the Dimensional Power swept through, the rampaging monsters all stopped moving and began charging systematically toward the surrounding Awakened.
“Now it’s time to devour the hunting dogs after the hunt is over.”
Robert’s smiling eyes had turned a shade of gray.