WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 118: 118
──────
The famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said,
“He who fights with monsters should be careful not to become a monster himself in the process.”
“And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
He was right.
I fought the Chinks, and in the end, I became a Chink myself.
Just like the Chinks who developed their industries through environmental pollution, I too had become a magic Chink, destroying the environment to obtain mana...
Still, it couldn't be helped.
This was the only way to beat China.
You know what they say.
“If you can't beat them, join them.”
-Iing?
“I just can't beat the Chinks, so I have no choice. I have no choice but to become a Chink too...!”
-Iing...?!
Iing Iing looked horrified.
But my resolve didn't waver.
I would become a Chink!
Even if I had to destroy the environment, I would replenish my mana!
-Thud!
I drove my staff into the ground and shouted.
“Sorry, Earth!!!”
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you!!!
I drew out the Blue Motes within me.
I changed the phase of the Blue Motes and converted them into black mana.
Then I cast a large-scale spell.
-Rumbleeeeeee...!
A vast amount of black mana spread across an enormous area and began spinning violently clockwise.
Then, the surrounding landscape gradually began to change.
It was the beginning of Earth Drilling Magic.
* * *
At that moment, aboard Air Force One above the Pacific Ocean.
“Great, great... Absolutely great.”
Inside the presidential office, Donald Torumph looked into a hand mirror with a satisfied smile.
Swish.
His shoulder-length blond hair swayed as he moved his head.
It was a sight he couldn't have imagined just a few hours ago.
His formerly bare crown was now thick with hair.
“The return of Freedom Blonde. America will be great again.”
“...Yes, Mr. President.”
The aide beside him replied with a tired expression.
He'd already heard it dozens of times since they left Seoul.
Torumph lowered the mirror and spoke.
“Jiho, that fellow is truly great. I knew it from the moment I met him. I have an eye for people.”
“...”
“Tariffs, currency swap, I don't mind any of it. Having a fellow like that as America's friend is more than worth it. As expected, I'm the best! And the best people have the best friends, don't they?”
Just as Torumph was praising himself...
Bang.
The office door flew open.
“Mr. President.”
The person who entered was none other than the president's aide.
But he looked anything but normal.
His breathing was ragged, and the fingers gripping his device had turned white.
“What is it?”
“The Shandong Peninsula.”
“Shandong? Ah. Is Jiho still wrecking the place? Ha ha! That fellow really is...”
“It's not that.”
Torumph's laughter stopped.
The aide's expression was grim.
“What do you mean, it's not that?”
“It would be faster for you to see it yourself.”
Click.
The aide operated the screen in the office.
A live satellite feed appeared.
The coast of the Shandong Peninsula at night appeared on the screen.
And beyond the screen...
He saw it.
“...”
A vast stretch of land was turning black.
The green terrain turned gray.
Then the gray turned black.
It spread like ink bleeding across a sheet of white paper.
Torumph tilted his head and asked,
“...What is this?”
“We're analyzing it.”
“Analyzing it? Didn't you say our satellites were the best in the world? Yet you can't identify it?”
“...”
The aide couldn't answer.
Instead, the intelligence analyst standing behind him spoke up.
“There is no heat signature.”
“So?”
“No explosions, fires, or chemical reactions have been detected. But...”
The analyst pulled out several printed photographs.
“The vegetation is disappearing.”
“Vegetation?”
“Trees, grass, crops. Every plant in that area... they're all dying.”
The prints showed vegetation along the Shandong Peninsula coast, photographed by a high-magnification reconnaissance satellite.
Every visible plant was dead.
Over black, muddy ground, purple haze rippled.
All the grass and trees that had grown there had lost their vitality, dried up, twisted, and died.
It looked like a scene from a cheap environmental apocalypse movie.
Torumph asked,
“The range?”
“Currently a radius of three kilometers. No... four kilometers. It's still expanding.”
“The time?”
“...”
“I asked how long it took.”
The analyst checked his watch.
Then he answered quietly.
“Two minutes.”
“...”
The plane fell silent.
Only the low vibration of the engines filled the space.
No one could speak.
Torumph stared at the screen without a word.
A black circle was slowly expanding from the center of the display.
At last, he asked quietly,
“Chemical weapons?”
“No. No known chemical agents have been detected.”
“Radiation?”
“Normal levels.”
“Then what the hell is that?”
“...”
No one could answer.
There were no explosions, gas, or radiation, yet the earth was blackening and dying.
What could they even call such a phenomenon?
There had never been anything like it.
“...”
Torumph continued watching the screen.
At the center of the black circle, a tiny dot floated.
A rainbow-colored dot.
Everyone in the room knew what it was.
Just a few hours earlier, they'd taken photos together at the Blue House.
The great friend who had saved his hair.
Torumph murmured,
“...Jiho. My friend.”
There was an odd emotion in his voice, neither admiration nor shock.
“What on earth are you doing?”
* * *
Right after the magic manifested, I stared blankly at my surroundings.
Then the devastation I had caused came into view.
The lush green grass had withered.
The trees had lost their vitality and dried out.
The ground had rotted into black, muddy sludge.
The air had turned a murky purple.
It was similar to what I'd seen on Floor 39.
The difference was that this wasn't a world inside the Tower. This was the real Earth, and it had happened over a much wider area.
I muttered,
“What... what have I done?!”
Only then did the full weight of my actions hit me.
Just now, I had destroyed the environment.
Within a five-kilometer radius along this coast, I released and rotated massive amounts of black mana, creating a powerful spiritual force of attraction.
I had polluted the environment and plundered its mana.
That's right.
I had polluted the environment!
Like the Chinks who prioritized their country's development through every kind of pollution and contamination, I'd given in to impulse and anger, desperate to secure mana, and harmed the environment.
I despaired.
“N-no...! I, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Eco-Friendly Hunter who must make our Earth greener and greener... destroying the environment? What the hell have I done?!”
-Iing Iing...
“No. I can't! At this rate, the Arctic will melt, and all the poor polar bears will die! We have to protect the polar bears!”
Only now did I realize the karma of what I had done.
An environmental activist like me, destroying the environment.
How horrifying...!
But then, I instinctively gauged the mana in my heart.
And I was shocked.
‘Oh? My mana pool is full?’
Amazingly, in just a few minutes, my mana pool had returned to its completely stuffed state.
The mana that had been completely drained was fully restored!
I muttered,
“Hmm... Environmental destruction. This might be worth doing?”
Gasp!
I jolted and shook my head.
I gripped my staff tightly.
‘Don't give in to temptation, Baek Jiho!’
One day, you will save not only King Korea but the entire Earth as the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.
You mustn't damage the Earth just because you crave mana!
But then again...
This Earth Drilling Magic was absurdly efficient.
If I used it continuously, wouldn't that mean I practically had infinite mana?
I'd become a Hunter with unlimited mana.
Wasn't that incredibly tempting?
If I only trashed the environment a little...
I could gain virtually infinite mana.
I could freely cast all kinds of large-scale magic.
The Earth's landmass was enormous anyway.
Would it really hurt to pollute just a little?
‘No. Don't fall for temptation! I have to preserve the environment! If I become obsessed with black magic and crave power, Earth will become as completely screwed as the High Floors!’
But if I scraped all the mana from the entire Earth with black mana...
I could use all the magic I wanted without any mana limits.
Did I really need to refrain from black magic for the sake of ordinary people?
They were pathetic things who couldn't even use magic anyway.
Creatures of a lower order than me.
Wouldn't it be fine to take out a nice fat mana loan with black magic and flex it?
Don't you think?
‘...Huh?’
Suddenly, something felt wrong.
What had I just been thinking?
Was I really the kind of guy who thought like that?
‘Begone! Do you think I, the Serial Savior Demon, would become obsessed with some magic that grinds up the environment for fuel?!’
As I wrestled internally between temptation and conscience, Iing Iing suddenly swung her cute little hands and repeatedly slapped my cheeks.
-Iing! Iing!
Smack! Smack!
Her face was full of concern.
I snapped back to my senses.
‘Huh? What was that just now?’
I felt like I'd been thinking about something pretty important.
For some reason, though, the memory was hazy.
Well, it probably wasn't a big deal!
Anyway.
“So my mana's fully recovered now?”
I gauged the mana in my heart.
My mana pool, which held 4,000 units and had been completely empty, was full.
Sir, fill it to the brim!
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. I can fight again now. But...”
Glance.
I turned my gaze toward the northwestern night sky.
I could see them in the distance.
-Kwaaaaaaah!
-Screeeeech!
Numerous trails sliced through the night sky toward me.
It was a barrage of cruise missiles fired by China.
Those tiresome Chinese bastards were still firing missiles at me without getting sick of it!
I clicked my tongue.
“Those damn Chinks. This is really never going to end.”
I raised my staff.
Railgun, multiple manifestation.
-Kwakakakakaboom!
Blue flashes pierced the night sky in every direction.
They struck every missile rushing toward me.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The night sky lit up with explosions.
I'd lost count of how many fireworks displays this had been.
I muttered,
“It seems China has no intention of letting me go.”
The Chinese were way too persistent.
All I'd done was come here to cause a little trouble out of revenge because my sister had nearly died.
Yet they were responding far too aggressively.
It wasn't a reasonable response.
They'd lost a fleet, fighter jets, and hundreds of armored units just to catch one person.
And they still wouldn't back down, continuing to gnaw at me this relentlessly?
I couldn't understand it.
Couldn't they just give up at some point?
Why were they so obsessed with targeting me?
‘Or is it because of that uniquely Chinese pride of theirs? Do they absolutely refuse to let me go?’
From my perspective, this was just revenge and a way to vent my anger.
To them, though, it was an invasion by a single Hunter.
Still, this was troublesome.
I wanted to wrap things up around here and go home.
But they wouldn't let me go.
I guess I had no choice.
“Iing Iing, since we're already in China, shouldn't we at least visit the capital once?”
-Iing?
“No. The Chinese are acting like some regretful, pathetic ex who's obsessed with me. I really did plan to make a quick show of force and go home. But seeing how obsessively they're acting, it's obvious they'll pull some stupid stunt even after I return to Korea.”
I could see how this would go.
If I withdrew now, they would never let me go and would keep trying all kinds of tricks.
So I made up my mind.
“I think they'll finally come to their senses if I go all the way to Beijing and show them some real force.”
I would fly to Beijing myself.
And show them what I was truly capable of.
If they learned my real strength...
They wouldn't try any more stupid tricks, right?
“Iing Iing, ascend! This time, we're going to Beijing, China's capital!”
-Iing Iing!
Poof.
Iing Iing's telekinetic flight began.
We flew northwest through the night sky.
Beijing drew closer.
＊ ＊ ＊
Beijing, China.
Zhongnanhai.
“He is approaching Beijing!”
“...”
“We can't stop him!”
A soldier in uniform shouted.
They were the Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, assisting Xi Jinping with military operations.
They cried out.
“Even after expending dozens of cruise missiles and hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, we cannot stop him at all!”
“...”
“Chairman Xi Jinping, we have no further means of responding! What should we do?! We should use nuclear weapons...”
“Enough!”
As the Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission mentioned nuclear weapons, Cui Qiu, Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, stepped forward.
Cui Qiu spoke quietly.
“Nuclear weapons are absolutely out of the question. We did not use them even in the Indian War or the Southeast Asian War. If we use them now, the Western world, including America, could unite. We have barely managed to split Europe from America. We cannot let them unite again now.”
“Then what are we supposed to do...? We have no way to stop him. Cruise missiles and anti-aircraft weapons don't work. How are we supposed to stop a flying, invisible mad monster like that?!”
“That is...”
Cui Qiu fell silent.
As the Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission had said, Cui Qiu couldn't think of any countermeasure.
Baek Jiho.
He was a monster.
Alone, he had obliterated an entire fleet, shot down dozens of fighter jets, and destroyed hundreds of armored vehicles.
He had wiped out thirty percent of the Northern Theater Command's defensive forces by himself.
A mad monster who could literally wage war against a nation-level enemy alone.
And now...
“He is coming here, to Beijing!”
The Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission pointed at the screen.
A figure appeared there.
-Poof.
Amid an endless barrage of missiles and anti-aircraft fire, a rainbow-colored dot leisurely crossed the sky above the night sea.
Baek Jiho.
“Are we supposed to just watch that monster stand over Beijing and unleash that insane attack on us?!”
He had left the Shandong Peninsula and was coming straight toward Beijing.
They had used every possible method, yet they couldn't stop him.
The Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission couldn't think of a response other than nuclear weapons.
Then, at that moment.
“...We will not use nuclear weapons. As Cui Qiu said, we stand to lose too much if we use them now.”
“Chairman!”
Xi Jinping, who had been deep in thought in his chair, spoke quietly.
“But that doesn't mean we have another way to stop him...”
Hoo.
Xi Jinping let out a quiet sigh.
Then, as if making a decision, he gave an order.
“Activate the City Defense Barrier Artifact.”
“...!”
“Chairman! That is...!”
Everyone present stared at Xi Jinping in horror.
Their reaction was only natural.
Activating the barrier artifact was that serious a matter.
“Activating the barrier artifact consumes 100 million Points! Isn't that far too excessive a response...?!”
One of China's Unique-grade artifacts.
The City Defense Barrier Artifact.
As its name implied, it created a barrier large enough to cover an entire massive city.
It was a gigantic barrier that protected an entire city.
An absolute wall believed capable of blocking even American nuclear weapons.
But the cost was by no means low.
Since it provided absolute protection over such an immense area, it was expected to consume as much as 100 million Points per hour.
And he wanted to activate that City Defense Barrier Artifact.
Wasn't that far too costly?
But they had no other choice.
“Do we have any means left to stop him?”
“...”
“The military and missiles don't work, and nuclear weapons are strategically impossible to use... Then, to protect Beijing, isn't the City Defense Barrier Artifact our only option?”
An enemy with incomprehensible abilities that they couldn't stop.
They had deployed countless conventional weapons and suffered nothing but losses.
Nuclear weapons were the last resort among last resorts.
They had to avoid them unless they wanted to reunite America and Europe, whom they had worked so hard to divide, and start the final great war.
In the end, the Unique-grade artifact was all they could rely on.
Therefore...
“Activate the barrier artifact! Immediately!”
“...Chairman.”
“Immediately! Activate it!”
As Xi Jinping ordered the activation of the barrier artifact, the chairman's desperate shout rang out. Cui Qiu groaned and raised a smartphone.
A moment later.
-Woooooooom...!
With a majestic roar, a massive blue curtain spread across all of Beijing.
China's Unique-grade artifact.
It was the moment the City Defense Barrier Artifact activated.
Xi Jinping stood and walked to the window.
The gardens of Zhongnanhai stretched outside.
Above them, a blue curtain covered the entire night sky, rippling softly.
One hundred million Points per hour.
Nearly 30,000 Points per second were turning to ash and disappearing.
The Points gathered through the sweat and blood of 1.4 billion people were vanishing.
Xi Jinping's heart ached.
‘One hundred million an hour.’
Still, he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
Under that barrier, at least Beijing would be safe.
Wasn't it an absolute wall that could block even American nuclear weapons?
“...This will do.”
Xi Jinping muttered.
For a brief moment, he savored his relief.
But that relief didn't last long.
* * *
I charged toward Beijing with Iing Iing.
Of course, there were plenty of interruptions along the way.
-Whoooosh!
-Screeeeech!
Missiles and rockets came flying at us from everywhere!
But who was I?
Someone with enough ability to use magic!
Extreme Lunatic Hell Marisa!
Those little missiles weren't much of a threat to me.
-Kwakakakakakaboom!
I only had to sweep through the barrage of missiles with Railgun.
No matter what got in my way, I steadily advanced northwest.
After flying for some time...
“Oh. Is that Beijing?”
At last, we could see Beijing.
The night view of an immensely huge, sprawling city.
As expected of the capital of the continent, it was an enormous city.
It wasn't quite as large as Seoul, the future capital of King Korea that I would develop, but it was still pretty big and grand...
But there was something even more eye-catching than the beautiful night view of that huge, glittering city.
“But what's that?”
I noticed a massive blue curtain surrounding Beijing.
An absurdly large barrier made of blue light.
Perhaps it was built on a highly advanced system, because the arrangement was so dense that even I couldn't decipher it.
I stared at the barrier.
Then I realized what it was.
A laugh of disbelief escaped me.
“No way, did those Chinese bastards use a City Defense Barrier Artifact?!”
That thing must take an absolutely ridiculous amount of Points to use.
I never thought they'd actually activate it.
Did they get scared because I approached Beijing?
I smacked my lips.
“I feel... a little sorry now. I only meant to scare them a little. I didn't think they'd activate a Unique-grade artifact...”
China had used a Unique-grade artifact at the cost of an enormous number of Points.
It was like they thought I might destroy Beijing.
I hadn't intended to make them spend so many Points.
Still, it seemed I had accomplished my goal.
They got so scared of me that they even used Sincere Guard, the Unique-grade City Defense Barrier Artifact!
They had half surrendered to me!
At this point, they probably wouldn't try any weird tricks on me anymore, right?
“Iing Iing, it looks like the Chinese have finally realized my greatness. Should we end our little walk and go home?”
The Unique-grade artifact, the City Defense Barrier Artifact.
There wasn't much chance I could break through it anyway.
And if I tried and failed, there was even a risk that my dignity would take a hit.
I was preparing to end this long night walk and return home.
But then.
-Iing! Iing! Iing! Iing!
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
Iing Iing repeatedly pounded on my shoulder.
I looked at her in confusion.
“Iing Iing, what's wrong all of a sudden?”
-Iing!
“Look over there?”
I shifted my gaze and looked where Iing Iing pointed.
Then I found it.
On the outskirts of Beijing.
A massive facility located inside the barrier's boundary.
Tall walls and barbed wire.
Watchtowers and searchlights monitoring every corner.
Gray buildings packed tightly together within.
And in that bleak space...
“...”
Hundreds of people sat in rows.
Every one of them looked shabby.
Their clothes were old and tattered, and their limbs were gaunt.
They only stared at the ground with unfocused eyes.
Their skin colors and facial features varied.
They weren't Chinese.
I knew what that facility was.
It had been reported on several Western media outlets before.
“Isn't that... a Point Farm?”
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
