The woman once called a pillar of Tanzania lay on the floor, prostrate with despair. How terrible is the sense of loss that comes from losing something you once had? If that something was the Unique Ability that symbolized a hunter's worth, the pain would be many times greater. On top of that, she could no longer even walk properly.

"…You said your name was Kim Yusin." She lifted her head. "I have a request. I want you to end my life, right here and now."

Yusin remained silent for a moment.

"Report that when you went to the prison, Black Wing was already dead."

With those words, she lowered her head. The light had vanished from her eyes, and she was flailing in a pit of profound helplessness.

"Get up, Hunter Samia." But it was too soon for her to exit the stage.

"I can no longer…"

"Commander Julian is dead."

Her pupils wavered.

"At the hands of that man called White Wing. Tanzania has already surrendered most of its territory to the legion commander. Only Mutwara is barely holding on. The situation couldn't possibly be worse."

Samia was too stunned to speak.

"The fate of Tanzania hangs on this operation. And you are the key to it. Do you have any idea what we paid to get in here and rescue you?"

In truth, we hadn't paid much of a price at all.

"So I can't grant your request. You still have a job to do."

Hearing my words, she let out a sigh like a lament.

"Julian is… dead."

"Yes."

"He was a true warrior. Sick, old, and abandoned by his own country, he came to this foreign land and devoted himself more than anyone to a people with whom he shared no blood." She slowly pushed herself up. "Fine. This body isn't much, but tell me what I can do."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Dropping Hong Yeon into the heart of the garrison was now impossible, but I had another plan, so it didn't matter.

'Ea. Tell Hong Yeon to send her current coordinates.'

-Understood.

Using a radio in the middle of enemy territory risked being overheard. Sending a message through Ea was secure. I immediately received Hong Yeon's reply and relayed the coordinates to Samia.

"Can you make it?"

"Not in one jump, but if I do it consecutively, I think I can make it."

I nodded. "Go to Hong Yeon and receive the item. After that, follow her instructions."

"Understood."

With only those words, she vanished from the prison.

Having cleared the optional mission, I first went upstairs and freed the captured regular soldiers and civilians.

"Do not go outside, no matter what. If you try to break out, you'll be massacred."

Fortunately, my performance of smashing the guards must have been impressive, as everyone followed my orders without question. Everywhere I went, prisoners bowed their heads deeply in gratitude.

"Are there any hunters here?"

At my question, a few people raised their hands. Nine rank-5s, one rank-4.

"Leave it to us! We don't have gear, but we can fight!"

"What should we do?"

"Prepare for the coming shock, protect the civilians here, and deal with any rebels who try to enter the prison."

"Is that all? Then you're…"

I pulled the hood of my suit over my head and replied, "I have to go fight."

Alone, I climbed the stairs leading to the surface, opened the still-firmly-shut iron door, and stepped outside. A cool breeze blew in through an open window. Even after entering the mess hall, nothing seemed to have changed.

Then, I opened the mess hall door and went out.

'Fsh! Fsh!'

Blinding lights poured in from all directions. The glare was so bright I reflexively raised an arm to shield my eyes.

"You're surrounded, intruder! Don't try anything foolish. Surrender now."

Rebel soldiers armed with mana rifles were spread out everywhere, aiming their guns at me. Of course, it wasn't just infantry. Having been informed that I was a rank-3 hunter, countless tanks had their cannons pointed this way. There seemed to be snipers, too. Several red dots were aimed at my head. A clear message that they would blow my head off if I tried anything.

'Hmm. Well, they don't plan on shooting right away?'

They must have deduced that I was a certified rank-3 hunter dispatched from Korea. The ideal scenario for them would be to capture me and use me as a hostage. That would halt the movements of not only Hong Yeon, the other rank-3 hunter, but also the entire Korean dispatch force in Tanzania. They could also extort a hefty ransom from Garam and the government.

"Don't resist! Drop your weapon! And put your hands behind your head."

My eyes adjusted to the lights. I smiled and said, "No thanks."

'Click! Clack!'

Countless gun muzzles and cannons were aimed at me alone. Every rebel here was targeting me.

It wasn't an unpleasant tension. A tremor ran through my body, waking my dormant cells and stirring my mana. Standing alone against such a massive threat made my blood boil and my engine roar to life.

"This is your last warning. Surrender. Drop your weapon and suit—"

I'd heard enough. I stomped my foot on the ground.

<Gaia>

The Magic Circle beneath my feet activated, and simultaneously, the four Magic Circles I had laid out near the prison began to glow.

<Gaia> ×4

There was no warning. The rebels' guns immediately opened fire. But the ground in front of me rose up like a wall, blocking the bullets as if it were a cushion.

"Gunfire isn't working!"

"Tank division! Open fire!"

I had prepared five layers of Gaia. The entire terrain in this area was under my control.

I stomped my foot once more.

'Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!'

The ground beneath the tanks sank, tilting their hulls. Cannons that had been pointing forward were now aimed at the sky or the ground.

"What is this!"

Dozens of tanks were neutralized in an instant.

'Screeeech!'

Just then, a tank closest to me, stuck in a moderately deep pit, tried to raise its turret as high as possible to aim at me.

'Nice try.'

I manipulated the ground, turning its chassis sideways. A shell was fired, and it struck an allied tank. Curses erupted over the radio in real-time.

'This is fun.'

I played around with a few more tanks like this. Friendly fire incidents occurred one after another, and the chaos only intensified. I chugged a Blue Elixir and continued to sink the tanks into deeper pits. In that state, no matter how much they revved their engines, their treads would just spin uselessly. Surrounding me so tightly with old-fashioned tanks and conventional troops was a fatal mistake from the start.

-Tower Master! The rebels have abandoned their firepower assault and are sending in their hunter units!

'They are?'

Hunters, on the other hand, were scary. I went back inside the mess hall.

'I'll run to the iron door and aim for a one-on-one…'

With a brilliant flash, a man in a military uniform appeared before me. He immediately lunged with a sword device.

"Whoa there."

I leaned my head back to dodge and retreated.

"Aiming for the neck. Weren't your orders to capture me alive?"

He was too stunned to speak.

'Crack!'

A sound came from directly behind me. A pale, desiccated arm, like that of a demon, shot up from the floor and swung at me. I hastily rolled away to dodge, and this time a hunter in heavy armor burst through the wall and swung a hammer.

'Whoooosh!'

I kicked off a shield I conjured in mid-air and backflipped away.

-Ranged attack detected. I will guard.

A shield unfurled to my side, and bullets slammed into it one after another. I looked up and saw a hunter approaching with six mana rifles floating in the air.

'Already surrounded.'

I quickly scanned my opponents. Two physical types: a swordsman and a hammer wielder. One holding-type who could summon strange arms. One telekinetic. Among them, only the swordsman was rank-4; the rest were rank-5.

"This is insulting."

I lifted my foot and touched the sole of my shoe.

The massive, heavily armored warrior charged and brought his hammer down. I spun in place and extended my leg.

'CRUUUUNCH!'

As my leg and the hammer collided, a jet-black skull effect erupted, and the hammer device shattered on impact. The man's eyes looked like they were about to pop out.

"You really thought you could catch me with this lineup?"

"Keuk!"

Stopping my spin and returning to my stance, I coated my right foot with Devastar again.

"Don't look down on me!"

The heavily armored man, his hammer shattered, swung a bare fist, while the mana arm from the holding-type user rose up behind me.

<Ice Field>

I lowered my stance and spread a sheet of ice across the floor. The big guy's right foot slipped, and his fist swung through empty air. Ducking under it, I closed in and unleashed Devastar on his abdomen.

'Thwack!'

The man's body, bent into an L-shape, smashed through the mess hall wall and flew into the holding-type user who had been hiding behind it. A satisfying strike.

'Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!'

From the side, the rifles floated by the telekinesis user opened fire, but Ea deployed a shield to block them.

<Ice Javelin>

I gladly returned fire with a ranged attack of my own. As the spear of ice flew, scattering cold air, the telekinesis user dropped his guns and used his power to raise four device shields he had on standby. The ice spears crashed against the shields and froze to them.

"Keep it up."

<Ice Javelin> ×20

Dozens of ice spears flew one after another in a long chain. The shields held. But as the ice spears continued to freeze to the shields, they began to resemble a porcupine, and eventually, the telekinesis user couldn't bear the added weight of the ice. The shields finally fell to the floor, and the spears of frost slammed into the telekinetic's body one after another.

"You bastard!"

'Whoooooosh!'

The last remaining rank-4 swordsman closed in on me and swung his sword. I extended my right arm directly, deploying a high-strength shield.

'Scraaaape!'

The hunter and I were locked in a stalemate, his sword against my shield.

"This is an internal Tanzanian matter! Stay out of it, foreigner!"

"I just wanted to fight monsters, too."

The sword device shone with a brilliant light. My shield was starting to crack.

"But what can I do when you guys get in the way?"

A gust of wind flowed past and wrapped around the hunter's neck. Startled, he jumped back.

'Slice.'

He gasped.

His feet slipped on the ice field I had laid down earlier. At the same time, I made a sharp earth sword rise up from his side.

"Keuh!"

Even as he fell, the hunter swung his sword and cut down the Earth Claymore. His reactions were good for a rank-4. I immediately fired an Ice Javelin at his side, and he used a blast of wind to deflect its trajectory.

While his torso and arm were turned, I unleashed the Fire Cannon I'd prepared as a finisher from behind him.

"This is…!"

He forced his sword to change direction, swinging it in a long arc the other way. The Fire Cannon was split apart, but he couldn't stop the explosion. His body was thrown back by the shockwave, and he rolled across the floor.

"Damn it! Are you toying with me!" he shouted as he shot back to his feet.

"Oh, you noticed."

"If you have any pride as a warrior, then fight me properly!"

"Really? Sure, why not."

I immediately lifted my right foot, activated Devastar, and lowered myself into a charging stance.

"…Hk!"

The swordsman flinched and took a fighting stance. The moment I shot forward, the swordsman swung his sword in a full arc.

'Shing!'

My charging body was split in two. The expression on his face as he held his swinging pose was one of grim resignation.

"To the very end, you…"

'Thud! Crunch!'

The hunter couldn't finish his sentence. Four Earth Claymores shot up from four directions and pierced his body.

Hiding behind the iron door, I leisurely raised my fingers.

'Ea. What about Hong Yeon and the regular army?'

-A message has arrived from Commander Hong. They will be arriving shortly.

'Okay.'

I looked at my watch. It was about time.

-The EMP device will detonate in 10 seconds.

Oh, I should probably prepare for that. I closed my eyes and covered my ears.

A moment passed.

Nothing happened.

When I opened my eyes and expanded my Deva's Eye, the rebel garrison was already shrouded in darkness. All communications were cut, and all electronic equipment was dead.

'The effect is undeniable.' Unlike what you see in the movies, the EMP device didn't produce any particularly noticeable sensation. They say it's hard for humans to perceive electromagnetic pulses.

And then.

'BOOM!'

'CRASH!'

The all-out assault by the regular army, led by Hong Yeon, had finally begun.

* * *

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