A campfire set up in the middle of the snowy plains.
Momo, who had been roasting sweet potatoes, wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Her chubby face was covered in soot.
"What kind of endless-eating pig is this?!"
She hadn't counted them all, but there were at least over a hundred.
The roasted sweet potatoes that had gone into Nia's mouth as she lay sprawled out.
"This sleepyhead friend eats like it's nobody's business, huh?"
Elia swallowed dryly.
She had watched from the side for a while because Nia ate so much.
The speed at which she chewed and swallowed was incredible.
It wasn't for nothing that she was called the Sin of Gluttony.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
While the sweet potato feast continued by the campfire, gunfire rang out from one side.
Momo's eyes widened as she looked over.
"What kind of lazy Yordle is that, shooting while lying down?!"
Normally, she would have kindly explained to foolish little Momo that this was anti-aircraft fire.
But right now, there was no time for that.
She was too busy shooting down the attack helicopters that kept swarming in from somewhere.
"Huh?!"
Khancho jumped up, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Hundreds of small aircraft flying in from afar.
Drones, which he had seen introduced as the latest military technology on NewTube.
"That's a problem, ma'am!"
They had received some from the Black Wings, but the assault rifle's bullets weren't infinite.
Besides, they were small and hard to hit.
He doubted they could shoot them all down before they passed through the barrier.
"If they get through the barrier, we'll be discovered, ma'am!"
From the outside, no matter how much they filmed, it would just look like an empty snowy plain.
But if even one got through, they might be broadcast in real-time.
Khancho ran toward the campfire and lunged.
"Oh, hey."
Elia flinched and jumped up from her seat.
She barely dodged the Yordle's finishing dropkick.
"Hey, you old hag who could kick the bucket any day now! Come help before I confiscate those sweet potatoes! Do you want us to get caught?!"
"I was going to do it if you got any closer!"
Fearing she might grab her slingshot and charge, Elia quickly calmed Khancho down.
Meanwhile, one lifeform was moving slowly beside them.
Khancho and Elia's gazes shifted to that spot.
"Hey, hey. The sleepyhead friend got up on her own, huh?"
"What the?! Why is she suddenly getting up? Is this a rebellion?!"
Nia, who had taken an eternity to get up, clenched her tiny fist.
"I'm full, so I can fight!"
Her speech was as slow as her movements, and Khancho and Elia looked at each other's faces.
Their expressions were full of disbelief.
"I'll go destroy those."
Nia walked toward the approaching drones.
Her legs were short, and her steps were so slow that even a turtle would weep.
"Can't we just push her from behind?"
"Hey, Satan, hold on. Considering this sleepyhead friend's usual laziness, even this is a huge step."
Finally reaching her destination, Nia lifted her head.
With her half-open, fierce eyes, she stared at the sky.
She slowly raised her hand.
A pitch-black, sticky liquid flowed from it.
As the liquid gathered to form a sphere, Nia thrust her hand into it.
[Darkness Conversion]
After completing the desired shape, she sent the sphere up into the sky.
And the moment the drones entered its range.
[Release]
She scattered the thousands of shuriken she had just created.
In an instant, the jet-black shuriken covered the drone unit.
They were placed so densely that even though the operators reacted quickly, they failed to evade.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak!!
Hundreds of drones exploded, brightening the sky.
After watching for a while, Nia nodded.
Her expression said this was enough.
She turned around and walked back to the campfire, as slowly as she had come.
Khancho, Momo, and Elia, who had been watching, all gave her a thumbs-up at the same time.
This sleepyhead friend, they thought she was just a sleeping, pooping brat, but she could do it when she needed to.
"Hmm."
As if thinking she should respond, Nia also held up her stubby thumb.
Then she went back to her original spot and lay down again.
Khancho approached and placed a Yordle badge on Nia's rising and falling belly.
"I hereby appoint you an honorary Yordle Ranger."
"Uh-huh. But I'm hungry."
"Hey, Private Momo! Serve a roasted sweet potato to the new ranger! We have to treat the newbie well!"
"Got it!! I'll roast some now!"
Momo put on her gloves, which she had taken off, and returned to her original duty as a sweet potato vendor.
Elia nodded with a satisfied expression.
She was very pleased with the performance of her short friends.
Thanks to them, she didn't have to do anything, which was nice, but anyway.
She set up a chair by the campfire and sat down.
Now, let's wait leisurely.
For the return of the master who had gone to uproot this place.
* * *
"783rd Unit, status report."
"All personnel, no abnormalities."
Unit commander Ivan nodded.
Thanks to being far from the bombing site, the 783rd Unit had suffered virtually no losses.
"Gear up. We have guests to welcome."
"Yes, sir!"
The unit members grabbed their swords.
The 783rd Unit was composed of only the most elite sword-related classes.
It was a unit that boasted such outstanding combat power that it always ranked first in the annual close-combat evaluations.
"Without a trace of fear, how dare they."
Ivan gritted his molars.
Even high-ranking Russian officials couldn't touch the Spetsotrad Brigade carelessly.
To launch an attack on this unimaginable scale was an unprecedented incident.
"783rd Unit, combat ready."
"Our top priority now is the protection of the Brigade Commander and the client. We're heading to headquarters."
"Do we take prisoners?"
"What nonsense about taking prisoners."
Ivan's lips curled up.
"Kill them as painfully as possible."
"Yes, sir!"
He didn't know who the attackers were.
But he could roughly guess their train of thought.
The entire Spetsotrad had become a sea of fire.
To those who didn't know, it would look like they had seized the advantage.
But that was a ridiculous misconception.
The core strength of Spetsotrad wasn't fighter jets or tanks.
Those were just for show; the real power lay in the special forces dispersed throughout the brigade.
Each unit, like the 783rd, was composed of individuals who were at the peak in their respective fields.
He couldn't contact them right now, but they too would have survived the bombing in their own ways.
As long as these units were intact, Spetsotrad would never fall.
Thud.
"Hm?"
Ivan looked up at the sound of footsteps.
The first thing he saw was silver hair reflecting the moonlight.
It was hair so radiant that, for a brief moment, it made him lose his composure.
'What's that now?'
Honestly, he was dumbfounded.
Thin slacks and a single functional turtleneck in a snowy plain battered by a blizzard.
As if trying to hide her face, the turtleneck was pulled up to just below her eyes.
"Who are you?"
No answer came.
She stopped walking, then bent down to pick up a blunt piece of scrap metal.
Ivan let out a hollow laugh.
"You're not thinking of taking us on with that, are you?"
Ivan wasn't unaware that fundamental skill was the most important thing.
But this was the 21st century, an era of cutting-edge science driven by awakened abilities.
It was a world where insufficient skill could be overturned by equipment, yet she dared to face the 783rd Unit with just a piece of scrap metal.
It was arrogance so absurd it wasn't even funny.
"I'll handle this."
A unit member wearing lightweight armor stepped forward.
He drew a sharp smallsword from his waist.
He was Sergei, famous in the 783rd Unit for his invisible, swift swordsmanship.
He spoke as he walked forward.
"Such a shame to kill a face like that."
Even though half of it was covered, he recognized it instantly.
That it was an impossibly beautiful face.
"Too bad. It would have been nice to meet somewhere else. I'd like to let you live, but I can't leave alive someone who attacked Spetsotrad. Instead, I'll show you mercy."
Smirking, Sergei pointed his smallsword at Seira's nape.
"I'll send you off without pain. If you want a different spot, just say the word. I'll hit that exact spot..."
Bam!!!
Unit commander Ivan and the other soldiers' eyes went wide.
Sergei had vanished from their sight in an instant.
Shifting their gaze slightly, they saw Sergei embedded in the wall.
No one present wondered whether he was alive or dead.
Because his body, armor and all, had been split in half from the force of the blow.
Sreung!
Sensing something was wrong, the 783rd Unit charged at Seira all at once.
But they couldn't reach her.
None of the dozens of swords could.
How many minutes had passed since the one-sided massacre began?
All the soldiers who had been standing were now embedded in the walls around them, flattened like pancakes.
Thud!
Ivan, his face pale, fell hard on his backside.
It wasn't a matter of being a little stronger or weaker.
It was a difference in class like an adult and a child... no, like a tiger and a mouse.
A gap so vast that he couldn't even imagine closing it, no matter what he brought to bear.
"What a mess."
Seira, standing before Ivan, spoke in a low voice.
"If I could turn back time."
Seira raised the blood-soaked scrap metal.
"I'd tell you to master the basics before putting on airs."
Crunch!
A dull, cracking sound marked the end.
The end of the 783rd Unit's arrogance, their delusion that they were second to none in the world.
* * *
"783! You bastards! Why aren't you answering?!"
Brigade Commander Vasilov was sweating coldly.
The units that had been answering fine until a moment ago were starting to go silent one by one.
It wasn't a communication problem.
Gulp.
They were being hunted.
One by one, in order.
"Da, damn it."
As Vasilov groaned, the client sighed.
"Calm down, Brigade Commander. We're almost at the bunker."
Vasilov, the client, and Alexei sped up.
An underground bunker that could withstand even a nuclear bomb.
No matter what power the enemy had, if they holed up here, they would eventually have to retreat.
Because Russia, having noticed the attack on Spetsotrad, would be sending corps-level reinforcements.
Koo-ung!!!
A sound echoed through the steel corridor, and the three of them turned their heads.
It came from the far end, so they couldn't tell what had caused it.
But one thing was certain.
Something was coming.
"Qui, quickly, let's go!"
Almost running, the three arrived in front of the bunker.
As Vasilov scanned his iris, the tightly locked door opened.
Vasilov went straight in and raised his voice.
"Close it! Now!"
"Brigade Commander. We're inside, aren't we? Calm down. Calm."
"I'm, I'm sorry."
As Vasilov caught his breath and sat down.
Alexei, who had entered last, closed the door.
To be more precise, he tried to close it.
Click!
Just before the door closed, someone's hand slipped through the gap.
Alexei tried to push it shut with force, but it was useless.
Kwang!!
The door was kicked wide open, and Alexei, who had been standing, was sent flying.
He crashed into the wall and tumbled to the ground.
"How could you close the door when not everyone is inside yet?"
Jinhyuk said nonchalantly as he lifted his head.
"You, who the hell are you?!"
Beside the shouting Vasilov.
The client, standing next to him, widened his eyes.
He knew because he had seen it through Ryu Jinsu's eyes of Jaewoong Construction.
That the man who had just appeared was a Korean Runner.
And Jinhyuk didn't miss the client's reaction.
"What should I call you? The owner of Crown Jackpot? Or just the client?"
He asked quietly as he stepped into the bunker.
"I told you back then, didn't I? To hide well. That the moment I saw a strand of your hair, I'd come to hunt you down and kill you."
Meeting the client's eyes.
"It's not polite to say this when we've just met, but I saw your hair."
He stretched his lips into a long grin.
"So I've come to hunt you down and kill you."
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T/N:
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