D.I.O

Chapter 214

Ping!

A disk-like oval object was approaching from afar. Then, as if it was deflected by something, it suddenly changed its trajectory and crashed into a bridge.

Bam!

“Oh, no! The bridge is collapsing!”

“Reverse! Reverse! Hurry up and go in reverse… ack!”

Yongyu Island, where Incheon International Airport was located, had an area of 13.603 square kilometers and belonged to the greater Incheon Metropolitan area. The island had various public transportation methods that allowed residents to access the Korean mainland, such as bus routes and train lines. However, the mainland was only connected by the Yeongjong and Incheon Bridges, and if both were severed simultaneously….

“Argh! Help me!”

“Please help! I want to live!”

The evacuating residents’ retreat path was entirely blocked. There was no way to escape aside from swimming across the sea.

[Block the aliens! Don’t let them leave the designated battle zone!]

[Boom!]

[The battleship, Gyebaek, has been sunk! Repeat, Gyebaek has been sunk!]

Yongno was listening to the situation unfolding on the battlefield in real-time inside his speeding van. Of course, such eavesdropping was illegal under the Military Security Act, but Yongno felt it was fine as long as he didn’t get caught.

“The enemy forces are mobilizing and operating much faster than usual. Their flying ability has improved, and they’re even using some sort of stealth concealment tech….”

While Yongno muttered to himself, Youngmin asked a question.

“Has the enemy’s armaments been upgraded?”

“Yes, it seems so. From the start, their civilization is ahead of ours, so it’s natural that they use more advanced tech, but… it’s a bit strange. Why are they unveiling this technology so slowly? If they’re one of the Union’s main enemies, they should be able to fire antimatter bullets. Otherwise, if their civilization level restricted them, then they would’ve used the same level of weapons from beginning to end.”

Yongno was lost in thought. His intuition warned him that the current situation was dangerous, but he didn’t have enough evidence and information to properly understand why he felt this way. Yongno concluded that he needed to observe the situation further.

“Connect me to Oh Hyeon-Jo.”

“Oh Hyeon-Jo? Oh, the fat, greedy bastard?”

“Well, he’s still the Minister of Defense….”

Like a salmon swimming against the current, the driver sweated profusely as he weaved across the lanes to get to the battlefield zone; however, Yongno didn’t pay any attention to this as he grabbed the smartphone that Youngmin handed over.

“Ah, yes, it’s me, Minister. I’m nearby. Shall I engage the enemy?”

Yongno didn’t waste time with any greetings and brought up the main point as soon as the call connected, but the Minister reacted unexpectedly.

[Stand by. Do not engage.]

“Huh?”

Yongno’s eyebrows furrowed. The Legion’s forces were currently fighting the stationed Korean troops, and this was the most formidable force that the military had faced yet. In such a situation, why was the Minister delaying Yongno’s assistance?

‘Is he trying to utilize other Masters?’

However, with his nearly-perfected internal spiritual pathways, Yongno couldn’t sense any sign of other powerful beings in the vicinity. It was possible that there were users who hadn’t manifested, but at the very least, Yongno was sure that there were no other Masters in the area.

[I have nothing more to say. You can enter the battlefield and join the fight if you like, but I am not requesting it. Actually, let me rephrase that. Don’t meddle. If you enter the operation area, I will classify you as an enemy.]

Click.

Then, the Minister hung up. Youngmin was listening in on the conversation next to Yongno and made an exasperated expression.

“What the hell? Is that greedy man trying to save money?”

Yongno received 20 billion won worth of jewels or gold bars every time he moved, so it would be strange if his services weren’t a financial burden. However, sometimes, instead of accepting the government’s payment, which Yongno used for his research, he often took the remains of the [enemy] instead, that is, parts of the Legion and Grotesque. In any case, Yongno was momentarily puzzled as to why the Minister was declining his participation.

“He might be sensitive to money issues… but there’s no way he’d resort to such a stupid decision without going crazy, right? Even if one adds up the cost of the destroyed fighter jets and battleships, it would be over 100 billion won.”

Property damage from alien attacks often exceeded billions and even trillions of won. Of course, it was not impossible for other Masters to face the Legion forces, but if Merlin, the manifestation of Yongno, appeared and subdued the enemy in the shortest amount of time, there would be minimal loss and damage to life and property.

“Let me connect to DIO for a moment. I have something I need to [check out].”

“Something to check out? Alright.”

Youngmin handed Yongno a CD player. The movement was so natural and quick that it seemed like Youngmin had been waiting for Yongno’s request. Unsurprisingly, the CD player was the device that connected a user to the world of DIO.

‘Now that I think about it, Cruze mentioned there was a way to connect without being noticed by the Noblesse.’

Yet, this was something that Yongno had to check on later. Yongno closed his eyes. Though he was going through this elaborate process, Yongno wasn’t truly connected to DIO.

He was only pretending to log in to avoid being caught using his superpowers.

‘Reveal vision.’

When the spiritual pathways in his body started utilizing mana, magic power formed, and soon, Yongno completed a prepared spell, a far-sighted magic spell. While sitting in his van, Yongno surveyed the battlefield.

[This is the Minister of Defense. Have the preparations for the Turtle Ship and the Heavenly Bow been completed? Launch the attack when ready.]

“This is Turtle Ship. Both the Turtle Ship and Heavenly Bow are prepped and ready. Commencing attack.”

In Yongno’s field of vision, he saw a battleship rushing toward the battlefield. Inside the vessel, a captain was observing a 3D battlefield that utilized external cameras and other advanced equipment. This captain was the one conversing with Minister Oh Hyeon-Jo.

Whirl!

After answering the Minister, the battleship’s deck opened, and a T-shaped gun barrel soon appeared. The barrel was so massive that it seemed to cover the entire top of the battleship.

Crackle! Crackle!

Vast amounts of energy began to crackle and emerged from the power generated inside the ship.

The generated power passed through the gun barrel and became a ray of light, which soon shot through the air toward dozens of flying objects.

Flash!

Basically, the main difficulty in downing the Legion’s air forces was their maneuverability; modern human weapons had little to no chance of keeping up with their target’s agility. Since the Legion’s air forces immediately intercepted and deflected any impending attacks, the Korean military units could not deliver a proper blow.

In the end, one had to hit the enemy’s air forces at close range to down them, but standard machine guns couldn’t penetrate their armor, and missiles were all intercepted by the beams fired by the Legion’s fighters. Tanks couldn’t even get in close range of the flying forces and were rendered essentially useless in this type of battlefield.

Rumble!

However, when the emitted beam seemed to scatter, a thick column of lightning crackled and appeared in the air. Nearby objects were sucked in as everything within the column was obliterated. Plasma had been created. That one colossal blow destroyed the Legion’s air forces all at once.

‘Oh, my god! Isn’t that a plasma cannon?’

As he disabled his farsightedness spell, Yongno internally exclaimed. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen a plasma cannon. He’d seen this weapon many times when he went on missions to Noah. Even if a plasma cannon attacked Yongno head-on, he could easily nullify it.josei

Nevertheless, the plasma cannon was a futuristic weapon that shouldn’t exist in [modern] times.

The plasma cannon generated ultra-high-frequency radiation from the inside of a barrel-shaped tube, expanded that radiation into a wave-shaped laser, and shot the resulting laser to create a wide-area explosion. The plasma cannon required a high level of technology, so it was difficult to reproduce and even more challenging to control properly.

Furthermore, based on the current level of modern tech, it should have taken decades to develop the technology to heat and fire beams and form plasma within a controlled laboratory setting, let alone for military use in the field.

‘He told me not to come because he believed in his new weapon.’

With a plasma cannon that could exert destructive power at this scale, the Legion’s air forces were no match.

The plasma cannon couldn’t be deployed against land-based Legion or Grotesque forces. It could only be used as a prevention measure, but for nations like Japan and Korea, where the alien forces had to approach by air, the plasma cannon was extraordinarily useful.

‘Earth’s technology is catching up to the level of the mech robots.’

It went without saying that Earth could not catch up to the Legion’s scientific power and overall level, even with tens or hundreds of years of scientific development. After all, the Legion resisted and contended against the colossal Union that traversed and dominated the universe. Yet, earthlings could still compete against the mech robots, who were bound by a civilization level restriction.

Moreover, as long as earthlings had an [answer] to combat the Legion forces, Earth’s science and technology development would constantly accelerate and increase.

“Hmm. What’s going on? It appears they can defend themselves now?”

Yongno opened his eyes after hearing Youngmin. The plasma cannon was a flashy weapon, so its ray could be seen from Yongno’s vehicle on the other side of Incheon Bridge.

“Yeah. Their reaction and performance went beyond my expectations. It’s as if someone is helping them….”

Yongno had always believed that humanity’s defense system should be stronger. He thought that a system could be created which dealt with enemies below Level 7, avoiding the situation where Masters wasted their gem points to defeat lower-level enemies.

Firearms like rifles and machine guns were enough to take care of enemies between Levels 5 and 6. Heavy weapons, such as rockets and mortars, could kill stronger enemies up to Level 9. Unless they suffered a surprise attack, humankind could handle most of the aliens’ attacks.

However, when an enemy’s level exceeded Level 10, modern weapons were no longer effective. Starting from Level 10, on top of possessing greater strength, existences crossed a certain [line] and had a unique special ability.

For example, when a user, especially an internal energy user, exceeded Level 10, the materialization of mana became possible, so it was possible to cut through composite armor with a single blow using sword qi. In addition, this user could also protect themself from small firearms by wrapping mana over their entire body.

In addition, at Level 10 and higher, beings could move at speeds faster than what a human’s vision could recognize. As such, opponents could be annihilated without receiving any injuries, even if fighting against an entire mech robot corps alone.

Undoubtedly, a nuclear bomb could annihilate hundreds of Level 10 beings, but using nuclear weapons at will and destroying everything in the surrounding area wasn’t something that could be done often.

Therefore, earthlings would have been in a difficult situation if humankind’s technology didn’t advance.

‘Nonetheless, this is not a normal pace of development. They skipped over the whole middle part.’

When Yongno’s frown deepened, Youngmin made a puzzled expression as he sat beside Yongno.

“What’s wrong with your expression? Isn’t it good that the military can stop the aliens on their own?”

“That’s true, but not like this. One must prepare a solid foundation and build up slowly. Getting one’s hands on a high-level tech or skill all at once is rather dangerous.”

Flash! Rumble!

Once again, the plasma cannon’s beam cut through the air, and the resulting plasma force field overturned the enemy forces. The Korean Air Force and Navy personnel were putting the finishing touches on the fallen enemies.

It was the best result that humanity had achieved without the use of a single Master. Yet, Yongno’s frown deepened.