WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 116: 116

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I approached the Chinese coast aboard Iing Iing's telekinetic flight.

The lights on land drew closer and closer.

I was just about to make landfall.

But.

It looked like the enemy had no intention of letting me land that easily.

-Kurururur...

Chinese armored forces deployed along the shore, kicking up clouds of sand. They formed a line along the coast, while self-propelled artillery inside the bunkers raised their barrels.

They were probably the coastal defense forces stationed along the Shandong Peninsula.

And that wasn't all.

-Wiiiiiiing-!

Part of the steep cliff slid down like a panel, revealing missile launch tubes inside.

There were coastal surface-to-ship missiles and multiple rocket launchers.

On top of that, perhaps because they knew I was coming by air, they'd brought out an absurd number of anti-air weapons too.

-Kurururur...!

Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, wheeled anti-aircraft missile systems and anti-aircraft cannons, even surface-to-air missile launch vehicles.

Dozens of them were packed tightly behind the formation.

I let out a hollow laugh.

"Now I get why amphibious landings are supposed to be so difficult."

The pressure was immense as countless armored vehicles and missile systems aimed at us.

I think I get why Marines are always so pumped up.

They have to take on what are basically suicide missions during wartime, so I guess they need all the hype they can get.

I should treat Marines well if I ever meet any.

Lai lai cha cha cha.

Hey, ppapparippa.

Just as I was having those pointless thoughts, the enemy attack began.

-Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

-Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!

-Kwakwakwakwakwa-boom⸻!

The enemy forces gathered along the coast unleashed their firepower all at once.

A barrage of rockets and missiles tore through the air.

Artillery shells from self-propelled guns rained down.

Clusters of shells fired by armored vehicles sliced through the sky.

Tracer rounds glittered across the night.

Missile smoke trails crossed my vision, while thick gun smoke rose along the shore amid flashes of red.

Military firepower really was no joke.

Even for me, blocking all of that would be a huge pain.

But...

'Then I can just dodge.'

Why bother blocking them when I could dodge?

Seriously, I didn't get it.

"Iing Iing! Stealth Longbow Apache Mode!"

-Iing Iing!

Ppororong!

Iing Iing climbed higher, and I pulled the pocket watch from my pocket.

It was the invisibility artifact I'd swiped from Reimu before.

Click.

I activated the invisibility artifact.

A strange sense of dissonance wrapped around me.

Then.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 40)]

[813,900 Points]

[813,899 Points]

[813,898 Points]...

It began consuming one Point per second.

It was wasteful, but worth it.

-Swoooooosh!

-Sheeeew!

Infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles lost their target and streaked past me.

-Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Anti-aircraft shells fired with delayed fuses exploded wildly nearby.

But I felt no impact.

That was because I was already protected by Water Protective Aura.

-Swoosh! Swoosh! Squeee!

-Pababababak!

Shells rushed in from every direction, but they couldn't hit me either.

Iing Iing's flying skills weren't so pathetic that I'd get hit by blind shots fired from kilometers away.

Our Iing Iing was an ace pilot.

Of course, that didn't mean the invisibility artifact made us completely invincible.

-Swoooooosh!

Some of the launched surface-to-air missiles curved to follow our flight path.

They weren't infrared-guided missiles, but radar-guided ones.

The invisibility artifact hid my appearance, blocked my presence and noise, and even concealed my scent and body heat.

Still, since I physically existed there, I could supposedly be detected by radar.

Unfortunately for them.

-Swoooooosh⸻!

-Sheeeew⸻!

Even radar-guided missiles couldn't properly follow us.

They'd forcibly cranked up the sensitivity of missiles meant to hit fighter jets just to target a person.

They couldn't help losing their lock and flying off somewhere else.

That was why things were turning out this way.

"Damn it! It's an invisibility artifact! We can't see the target!"

"Where did he go?!"

"We're searching with radar, but... huh? He's only 200 meters ahead...?"

It was only when I reached right in front of them in Stealth Longbow Apache Mode that they finally noticed my approach.

"R-run away!"

"He's right in front of us!"

"Crazy...!"

After that came a one-sided bombardment.

It was time for the attack helicopter to get to work.

-Kwaaaaaang⸻!

-Kwaaaaaang⸻!

-Kwakwakwakwa-boom⸻!

I fired Fireballs at every armored vehicle I saw.

Red trails poured down in droves.

They smashed apart the equipment lined up along the shore.

"W-we can't respond!"

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Fall back! Fall back! Fall back!"

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa-boom⸻!

Anti-aircraft guns exploded, the self-propelled artillery in the bunkers was smashed apart, and radar equipment melted down.

The enemy soldiers fled in a panic.

Boom⸻!

Maybe the ammunition inside had detonated, because the turret of a Chinese armored vehicle flew high into the air.

I clicked my tongue.

"Chinese-made weapons really are... just as expected of Made in China. If that had been a King Korea armored vehicle, there wouldn't have been an internal detonation like that!"

-Iing Iing!

"Today's the day I really live up to the attack helicopter name. An attack helicopter should be able to peel the tops off tanks and armored vehicles, at the very least."

I ground down the coastal forces in an instant.

Every Chinese armored vehicle I saw went boom boom boom, bang bang bang.

Naturally, I didn't forget the weapons in the coastal fortress positions. I destroyed every one I spotted.

-Kwaaaaaang⸻!

The multiple rocket launchers and surface-to-ship missiles stationed at the fortresses were all smashed to pieces.

As I scattered countless Fireballs, I turned the coastal forces into scorched earth.

Smoke rose, and explosions erupted one after another.

After some time had passed.

"Mm."

I slowly looked around.

A horrific battlefield spread before my eyes.

Fragments of every kind of armored vehicle lay scattered everywhere.

Flames and smoke rose from all around.

The smell of gunpowder and oil tickled my nose.

There was even the faint scent of blood...

I nodded.

"I've successfully landed in Shandong Province. Good work, Pilot Iing Iing. Your contribution was truly great. I'll award you a medal later."

-Iing!

Snap!

Iing Iing, the ace pilot, saluted.

The landing operation had succeeded.

Like MacArthur after the successful Incheon Landing, I had now joined the ranks of great commanders with successful landing operations under their belts!

Before long, they might build a statue of me in Gwanghwamun Square, and I might brutally suppress the Bonus Army.

All of a sudden, I wanted to put on sunglasses and clamp a pipe between my teeth...!

Anyway.

"So what do I do now?"

I scratched my head.

Going to China.

Honestly, it had been an impulsive decision.

The moment I learned Noona had almost died, I lost my mind and rushed out immediately.

And somehow, I'd ended up fighting a large-scale battle.

I had ground up a fleet blocking the Yellow Sea.

I'd shot down twelve fighter jets.

I'd even completely destroyed hundreds of armored units stationed along the coast.

Honestly, I still wasn't over my anger.

They were the bastards who had threatened Noona's life.

One hour of rampaging didn't feel like proper payback.

But I didn't want any more casualties.

Killing wasn't exactly pleasant, either.

Maybe I'd done enough...

After thinking for a moment, I spoke quietly.

"Iing Iing. Should we head home soon?"

-Iing?!

"I think the Chinese have learned their lesson by now. They won't target me or Noona again."

-Iing...

"Let's head back soon, Iing Iing."

-Iing... iing... iing...

Iing Iing made no attempt to hide her disappointment at my suggestion that we go home.

It was her first trip abroad, and she seemed disappointed that it was ending so quickly.

I felt bad for her.

'It's a rare outing in the real world. Of course she's disappointed to go back so soon.'

Iing Iing had lived her life trying not to be seen by other people.

She always stayed inside the house, and whenever outsiders came over, she had to hide in a handbag or something.

It had been a stifling life.

Now that she could finally fly around freely like this, she probably didn't want to go home yet.

I made up my mind.

"Iing Iing. Once I reach the Highest Floors, I'll make sure you and Hyeji can live proudly."

-Iing?

"I mean I'll let you walk around freely in the real world without avoiding people's eyes. Honestly, we have enough power to take on an army, so we can easily defeat anyone who tries to target you or Hyeji. Just wait a little longer. Before long, I'll let you go wherever you want."

-Iing!!!

Pporong!

Iing Iing jumped up in delight.

She seemed literally overjoyed at the thought of walking around in public without worrying about what others thought.

I chuckled.

"Are you happy, Iing Iing?"

-Iing iing iing!

"Then let's go home, Iing Iing. Hyeji will be worried."

-Iing!

And so, we rose into the sky to return to Korea.

But at that very moment.

-Kurururur...

A sight came into view from above.

A swarm of armored vehicles poured out from the direction of the city beyond the coast.

Attack helicopters flew in at low altitude as well.

I muttered quietly.

"Mm. Should we take care of those before we go home, Iing Iing? If we leave now that the army's shown up, it'll feel like we ran away scared. That'd hurt my image."

-Iing!

"Good. Let's deal with them quickly and go home!"

As the Extreme Lunatic Hell Stealth Attack Helicopter, I couldn't just leave with the enemy right in front of me!

I was only going home because it felt like I'd done enough. If people thought I'd run away scared, it would hurt my image.

So first, I decided to clear out the enemies in sight before leaving.

-Crack! Crackle crackle! Crack!

I prepared Railgun and muttered quietly.

"I want to deal with just those guys quickly, go home, eat the soybean paste soup Noona makes, and tell Hunter Gallery all about what I did today..."

I fired a projectile.

-Kwaaaaaaaang⸻!

A blue trail shot forward.

The approaching armored vehicle was pierced through and detonated from within.

-Kwakwakwakwa-boom!

Its turret soared high into the sky.

The real ground battle had begun.

* * *

Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

Northern Theater Command Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army.

The place was engulfed in shock and confusion.

"The Naval Coastal Defense Brigade and the 334th Coastal Defense Brigade have both been wiped out..."

"Twenty-four YJ-62 surface-to-ship missile launch vehicles destroyed. Twelve PHL-191 large-caliber multiple rocket launcher vehicles destroyed. Eighteen PLZ-07 122 mm self-propelled howitzers destroyed..."

"We have also lost a combined total of 121 ZTD-05 amphibious assault vehicles and ZBD-05 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles."

"The anti-aircraft units have suffered heavy losses as well. More than thirty PGZ-09 35 mm twin-barrel self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and wheeled close-in weapon system (CIWS) units-"

"...Unbelievable losses."

It was because of the battle that had just taken place.

The Northern Theater Command's coastal defense forces stationed along the shore had been ground to nothing.

Their losses were beyond imagination.

Hundreds of armored vehicles destroyed.

Hundreds, perhaps even a thousand, dead.

The damage looked as though a full-scale war had taken place.

But what was even more shocking was this.

"You're saying all this damage was caused by one Hunter?"

"That's... impossible. Even for a Hunter."

"How can one person possess this much firepower...?"

All that damage had been caused not by a massive military force from Russia or the United States, but by a single Hunter.

"..."

The staff officers turned toward a screen in one corner of the conference room.

Footage was playing on it.

It had been taken by a Chinese reconnaissance satellite only several dozen minutes earlier.

-Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!

-Pop pop pop pop pop!

Red trails rained down in droves.

The coastal armored forces were helplessly torn apart by the explosions and shockwaves.

One by one, the staff officers began to speak.

"...Was an invisibility artifact really that dangerous?"

"There's no way to counter a Hunter capable of aerial movement using an invisibility artifact. Damn it."

"No, more than that, that mobility-"

"This is insane. How many Unique-grade artifacts does he even have?!"

The staff officers stared at the screen with hollow expressions.

The enemy was absurdly unfair.

-Flash!

A blue trail pierced through armored equipment from kilometers away.

-Kwakwakwakwakwakwa-boom!

A barrage of explosions swept away densely packed troops all at once.

And on top of that.

-Ppororong.

There was the mobility to move freely through the sky and across the ground.

The enemy even possessed an invisibility artifact.

An enemy who flew freely through the sky while invisible and poured out overwhelming firepower.

Then, one staff officer looked at the screen and muttered quietly.

"We aren't at war right now."

"..."

"We're facing a disaster. A natural disaster beyond human control, like an earthquake or a tsunami."

Footnotes:

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