Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

067 – All or Nothing

The clan master, Luis Pereira, of the Floresta Clan, meaning ‘Lords of the Forest’, had the confidence that, although he might not be the strongest in the world, at least in the forest, he would not yield to anyone. In the Amazon jungle, where his ability ‘Master of the Forest’ was maximized, he had the certainty that he would never die, no matter who he fought against.

However, in a situation where the jungle, spanning thousands of meters in radius, was being erased in a lump with each attack from the opponent, even he, who considered himself invincible in the forest, found it difficult to guarantee victory.

– Quaaang! –

With another resounding explosion, the right leg of the tree giant exploded. Pereira absorbed the surrounding trees once again and regenerated his leg when the leg was torn off. Each absorption caused hundreds of meters of giant trees to disappear, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury to examine the state of the forest.

Instead, he swallowed a seed he held in his hand and threw his reliance on the forest, which was fighting alongside him.

‘Seed of Steel.’

When he swallowed a seed of a tree known for being so hard that it could shatter the blade of a chainsaw and used by indigenous people instead of axes, countless sprouts sprang up in the vacant lot created in the blink of an eye, growing to tens of meters in size in less than two minutes, reminiscent of a time-lapse video.

As Banara’s fierce attacks were blocked, Pereira swallowed a second seed, and numerous vines adorned with violet flowers wrapped around the newly grown giant tree, surrounding the area where the giant tree had just grown.

“I wrapped deadly poisonous vines around the harder-than-steel wooden fist. Try stopping this if you can, you bastard!”

Unlike the previous giant, which was simply a collection of gathered trees, the newly created giant’s arm, regenerated by Pereira, had a dark brown color close to black. And that new arm splendidly blocked Banara’s next attack to Pereira’s delight.

However, instead of the entire arm flying off, Banara’s eyes sparkled with interest as only a few fingers broke.

“It’s tough.”

Just as Banara was about to attack more seriously, Sven, who had been thrown hundreds of meters away a while ago after receiving a blow from Banara, jumped in.

“Ice Pick!!”

This time, not from the ground but from the jumping Sven’s swinging axe, dozens of thick ice pillars shot up. Banara casually waved his hand to shatter the ice pillars and tried to send Sven, whose body was thrown by the shattered pillars, flying, but the ice pillars that seemed like they would break just by touching them completely blocked Banara’s attack.

Unyielding.

Due to the blessing of the aura that guarded Sven’s fate, he had a unique trait that increased defense and attack power as the gap between his opponent’s strength and his own increased.

However, despite the fact that the unique trait Unyielding was in full effect, Sven’s condition was far from good.

‘Three ribs are out, and the bleeding is making my vision dizzy. Nevertheless, I’m overflowing with more strength than ever.’

It was not a good sign.

The fact that, despite his body being in a state as worn out as a rag, he was overflowing with strength all over his body meant that the trait he possessed was telling him that now was the most critical situation.

Sven gathered all his strength and tightly grasped the axe in his hand.

“Come on! You hairy bastard around your ass!”

Though it was an insult based on Sven’s logical(?) assumption that if the entire body is covered with hair, there must be hair around the ass, Banara, upon hearing those words, erupted in anger and charged at Sven.

“You will die in the most gruesome way!!”

“Bring it on, you monkey bastard!”

At the moment when Banara’s unimaginable strength and abilities clashed with Sven’s ice pillars, an enormous steam explosion occurred due to the intense heat generated by the compressed air.

And…

“Viens! torrent qui tout coupe! (Come! Stream that cuts through everything!)”

As Orléans finished speaking, sharp blades of water coalesced through the dense steam surrounding them. The rotating blades flew in a circular motion, slicing through Sven’s ice pillars that Banara couldn’t completely destroy.

Despite the overwhelming power of the attack felt even from a distance, as the monsters sensed their master’s danger and tried to rush forward, the monsters stopped in their tracks as soon as the gorilla with a chicken head raised its hand.

“Cease commotion, master. Safe. Intervene death.”

Then, Banara’s will echoed into the minds of all the monsters.

‘Smart move. If they intervened, they would have killed subordinates and everything.’

Within the fierce determination hidden in Banara’s will, the monsters trembled. The gorilla spoke.

“3rd transcendents intervention, vacuum control, exclude additional variables.”

‘Exclude additional variables?’

“Stronger transcendents added for joint participation.”

‘Here? Is it possible?’

Upon Banara’s inquiry, the gorilla looked at the bone fragments it was holding in its hand.

“Flow of stars. Not good.”

‘I see.’

Even in the forest considered invincible by Pereira, Sven, who became stronger as the enemy became stronger, and Orléans, known as the strongest on water, now had to face three transcendents launching a joint attack.

Even amidst this, Banara had the luxury to contemplate the ‘additional variable’.

‘Surely. In the current state, I won’t support it, but winning is also difficult. How much time until the next erosion?’

“Current universal time, 3 minutes 27 seconds needed.”

‘Alright. I’ll make the time. Increase my summoning rate as the erosion progresses.’

“The purpose of this erosion is different. Increase in monsters participating in erosion is the goal.”

‘What should I do, then?’

“Prevent additional strong forces from intervening, guide attention, large-scale destruction and slaughter are effective.”

‘Alright. Let’s do that.’

After concluding the strategy meeting, Banara turned from a defensive stance to an offensive one, completely changing the flow of the battle.

At the same time, about half of the many monsters focused on the gorilla-shaped monster began to rush northeast together.

It was a monstrous tidal wave of monsters that, with just their movement, created vibrations resembling an earthquake, making it seem impossible to resist.

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***

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– Big trouble! –

Arin, who had expended tremendous mental strength during the hide-and-seek with Banara, did not leave the battlefield for rest.

Instead, she dedicated herself to her scouting duties in place of clan members who were focusing on the battle against Banara.

Despite the bitter taste in her mouth and the burning sensation in her throat, Arin felt compelled to fulfill her role as a scout to the end. What she discovered was a massive monster onslaught, numbering in the thousands, converging in a specific direction.

Amidst the jungle, she spotted waves of monsters, creating a path as wide as 12 lanes, rushing back and forth. As soon as she witnessed this monster onslaught, she immediately relayed the information to Orléans.

“What’s going on? Can’t you see it’s tough just to stop that thing?”

– Monsters ranging from Rank 3 to Rank 6, a mixed-Rank group is rapidly moving northeast. –

“A group? How many are there?”

– Two Rank 6, 54 Rank 5, 1,432 Rank 4, and 1,928 Rank 3. In total, 3,416 monsters. –

“This…! Northeast? What could be there?”

While remotely controlling a drone from the boat, she moved to the map placed on one side of the boat in response to Orléans’ question. Using her finger, she began drawing a small straight line from the operation area to the northeast.

Seeing the urgency in her expression, a Brazilian government official approached and inquired.

“What’s happening?”

“What’s happening is that about 3,400 monsters are rapidly converging in the northeast direction from the operation area.”

“In the northeast direction from the operation area…?”

“The target is probably here.”

The government official’s face turned pale as he looked at where her finger had stopped.

“Is it true?!”

“What’s here? Like a city?”

“Manaus. A major city in the Amazon rainforest basin.”

“The population?”

“…Over two million.”

“And the defense forces? Since it’s a major city near the operation area, they must have secured at least a defensive line, right?”

“We’ve established something, but… facing an attack from over three thousand monsters, even the U.S. military would find it difficult to fend them off. This operation was initiated because the regular Brazilian army failed in the restoration of the Amazon.”

“Are you saying…”

“Over two million citizens will be massacred. If their goal is that, of course.”

“Did you hear that?”

Arin, who was conveying the man’s words to Orléans via the microphone attached to her glasses, spoke, and Orléans’ voice echoed.

– … Unfortunately, I can’t leave from here right now. As you can see, among the three restraining that monkey, if even one leaves, the other two will die soon after. –

“What should we do?”

– Seo Arin, it’s up to you. –

“Me?!”

Restraining Banara while trying to convince Arin was a difficult task for Orléans as well. However, manipulating dozens of rotating water rings simultaneously, she created an opening and explained as much as possible to Arin.

– While basic disaster preparedness systems in the city should be in place, unfortunately, once the monsters approach, all wired and wireless communication networks will be paralyzed. That means… –

“The entire city will lose communication. I get it.”

– Your drone, which can move faster than sound, can send a warning to the entire population if necessary. –

“But even if we give a warning, evacuating all citizens before the swarm of monsters approaches is impossible.”

– Still, it’s better than doing nothing. –

Although Orléans’ words held some logic, Arin, who wanted to minimize sacrifices, voiced her inner thoughts.

“How about seeking help from the Liberal Clan?”

– What?! –

“Perhaps, since we will be waiting at the point we departed from, it might be difficult to request support from this communication-disabled area. However, using my drone, I can somehow deliver the message. Regardless, if Mr. Myung-jun, who is known as the strongest awakener in the world, participates in the battle…”

Her suggestion, thrown as a judgment that seemed to be able to prevent civilian casualties as much as possible, was flatly rejected by Orléans with a voice tinged with discomfort.

– That won’t work. –

“Why not?”

– The conditions set by the Liberal Clan are absurd. If the Liberal Clan intervenes in this situation, they will take everything obtained from this operation. Not only the materials from thousands of monsters swept away by my wrath but also all the materials hunted by the Floresta Clan, all of it. –

“That’s unreasonable…”

– It is. That’s why, you know what Mr. Myung-jun said? –

“What did he say?”

– All or Nothing. –

Even though Myung-jun presented such conditions, there was a reason. Initially, the Liberal Clan only claimed rights to the materials of monsters they directly captured. However, as other clans began to exclude the Liberal Clan from most of the hunting process, delegating only the most dangerous boss hunting to the Liberal Clan, Myung-jun presented such conditions.

If the Liberal Clan had participated in this operation from the beginning, Myung-jun would not have presented such conditions. However, both the Floresta and Servihum Clans excluded the Liberal Clan from participating in the operation, and this condition was Myung-jun’s response.

“But our clan was going to donate all the materials to the Brazilian government for recovery purposes anyway, right? So, the only one at a loss would be the Floresta Clan, wouldn’t it?”

Having heard Arin’s question, Orléans sighed. Then she revealed to her the clan’s hidden secret.

– Not all. –

“What?!”

– Not all. If we originally planned to give everything to the Brazilian government, we wouldn’t have bothered to bring a separate resource recovery contract. We’re pretending to donate everything on the surface, but we were planning to take about 30% for our clan. –

“Is that really true?!”

– Ha… Arin, dear. Hero activities cost an immense amount of money. Also, our sponsors aren’t supporting the clan solely for the promotional effect. –

“So, you should have said that from the beginning…”

– If I did, we wouldn’t have asked countries all over the world to conquer gates, and we wouldn’t have been treated like a state guest each time we went to another country to conquer a gate. I’d like to explain more, but unfortunately, now is not a good time. So, as the clan leader, I’ll give instructions now. Move to Manaus City immediately and deliver evacuation orders to the residents. –

“But!”

– Didn’t you hear the word ‘order’? –

Faced with Orléans’ cold demeanor, Arin had no choice but to step back. However, she devised another way to preserve her beliefs and the clan’s interests.

“Then, is it okay for EDF to help?”

– EDF? –

“Those are members of the U.S. government-affiliated special punitive force with Mr. Myung-jun. Since they may have participated in this operation for backup, would it be alright to ask them for help?”

– The direction is opposite. The point where they are waiting is too far from Manaus City. If evacuation orders are delayed, the damage to citizens will be greater. –

“I will move faster!”

Arin said,

“I will broadcast evacuation instructions to the entire city and move as quickly as possible to deliver requests for assistance!”

Knowing well that Arin had expended tremendous mental energy during the pursuit game with Banara, Orléans tried to dissuade her. However, the strong determination in her voice vividly demonstrated that her thoughts could not be swayed.

In the end, Orléans permitted her to do her best within her capabilities. Even if there was a drone with extraordinary performance, the task of providing evacuation guidance to the entire city with a population of 2 million was deemed impossible. Orléans thought Arin would eventually give up on the request for assistance, understanding the impossibility.

However, that was a misconception on Orléans’ part regarding Arin. The moment Orléans granted permission, Arin’s drone, Night Stella, vanished from sight at a speed beyond the limits of human perception, accompanied by the massive sonic boom produced when an object enters hypersonic state.

Arin genuinely intended to evacuate every citizen of the city with a population of 2 million.

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