Chapter 792

“…What’s that?”

Xiao Shen turned at the words but saw nothing unusual. The Skeleton King did.

Even though Magic Johnson’s illusion magic had given him a human appearance, he was fundamentally a monster.

And not just any monster—one of the highest-ranking undead.

The sensation gripping the Skeleton King at that moment was something connected to the very source of his power.

Damn it. This is…

There was no doubt.

The feeling was faint, but unmistakable.

Beneath a dark sky that swallowed even the moonlight, he sensed the energy of death scattering across the endless desert.

There wasn’t a single drop of blood or a corpse in sight, but the Skeleton King recognized the energy stirring his instincts from beyond the darkness: death qi.

He knew, too, what had happened to the search squad that had suddenly gone silent about an hour ago.

“Young human brat.”

“Yes?”

“Contact the main force. Tell them we found the search squad.”

“…!”

The desert was still, without a trace of anyone. But the Skeleton King’s words were the opposite of reassuring.

Xiao Shen finally understood what was happening. His face stiffened as he nodded, and the Skeleton King started walking, following his instincts.

Crunch. Crunch.

His feet left prints in the sand, grains crumbling beneath each step.

After about ten paces, he stopped and muttered, “Whoever did this buried them deep.”

The next moment—

Fwoosh!

A section of the desert, stretching out like an endless sea, surged into the air.

With a single gesture, the Skeleton King sent out a vast surge of magical power that held the sand aloft. Beneath it lay twenty bodies. At the sight of them, he froze.

“…!”

A recent memory flashed through his mind, bringing an ominous premonition with it.

Wait. Then could it be…

His thoughts went no further. They couldn’t.

Whoosh.

A chill wind blew in from somewhere, sweeping sand through the air.

Something else was carried in it.

The Skeleton King stared into a distant stretch of pitch-black desert, then turned to Xiao Shen, who had noticed nothing yet.

“Have you contacted the main force?”

“Yes. They said they’re sending the support team stationed nearby right away…”

“How long?”

“Thirty minutes at most.”

“Thirty minutes. That’s awkward.”

He clicked his tongue.

“I’m not sure I can protect anyone.”

“…?”

“Hmm.”

He looked Xiao Shen up and down. Then, with a sigh, he said, “Listen, young human brat. I’m giving you two missions.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll do anything you ask, Teacher King.”

“Good attitude. First, take out that damned special radio of yours and contact the main force again.”

“What should I tell them?”

“Send the most capable humans they have, as fast as they can. Not some weak support team riding in on turtles. Got it?”

Xiao Shen didn’t know why recovering the bodies called for such speed or so many capable people, but he nodded without hesitation. The person he respected most in the world was Jin Taekyung, and the Skeleton King was Jin Taekyung’s friend.

“Understood. What’s the second mission?”

Even Xiao Shen had to ask again when he heard the answer.

“Pick up a weapon.”

“What?”

“And protect yourself. If you don’t think you can, you can run.”

“W-wait a second.”

What was that supposed to mean?

Xiao Shen blinked at the baffling order. He understood soon enough.

Rrrumble. Rrrumble.

An unfamiliar tremor traveled through the ground. It grew stronger, sending countless grains of sand bouncing into the air all around them.

Then the Skeleton King spoke, turning Xiao Shen’s suspicion into certainty.

“Quite a crowd.”

“…!”

Xiao Shen didn’t answer. He stood with his mouth open, staring at the distant horizon. In his eyes, the darkness writhed like a living thing.

No. Those were monsters, too many to count.

Monster Wave…!

At the moment the words that had become humanity’s nightmare struck Xiao Shen’s mind—

Crunch.

The Skeleton King walked toward the rapidly approaching tide of monsters.

There was no fear or hesitation in his steps. Mighty magical power surged from him, reaching farther and farther across the desert.

“In the name of the King, I command you.”

His low voice echoed across the desert. It pierced the thick darkness and roused the spirits crushed beneath the weight of ages and countless grains of sand.

“Answer the call.”

Rrrumble!

A tremor like an earthquake swept through the desert.

At their king’s call, steeped in the energy of death, spirits that had lain in deep slumber burst through the sand and rose to the surface.

Crackle!

Pale sand scattered. White bones gleamed in the darkness.

Grrr.

An Arabian leopard, its beautiful hide lost in death, stretched. Above wolves and hyenas whose eyes shone green, dozens of eagles spread wings stripped down to bone and soared into the air.

Eeeee!

Their sharp cries split the night. With wings spanning several meters,¹ the eagles glided high overhead.

They flew past the monster army charging across the ground in a storm of sand, then scattered over the vast desert and woods. They had only one mission:

Find a certain being who wasn’t here, by the King’s command.

“Somewhere in this desert, there’s something with the scent of humans on it. Find it. Without fail.”

The eagles beat their wings vigorously.

They had magical power to carry them on the wind instead of feathers, and though they’d lost the life within them, their vitality would never run dry.

Whoosh!

Far below, the King watched the flock disappear into the distance. He thought of the human bodies he had uncovered moments ago, then walked toward the monster army bearing down on him.

What kind of trace was it?

Whoosh—BOOM!

A vast surge of magical power burst from his outstretched fist and swallowed the monsters at the front. A hundred or so beasts rushed into the gap it left, tearing into the enemy.

Yowww!

Smack!

A swipe of the leopard’s forepaw sent an Orc’s upper body flying. A pack of hyenas nimbly dodged a club falling toward their heads, then sank their teeth into a Troll’s body.

Crunch!

The living monsters outnumbered them beyond comparison.

But as soon as the battle began, the Skeleton King understood. Absorbing part of Michael Silbert’s magical power had strengthened his powers enough to let even these spirits, once mere wild animals, crush ordinary monsters in an instant.

Splatter! Crunch!

Graaaah!

Blood and flesh flew. The living screamed.

The enemy formation began to crumble in moments.

With a single strike, the Skeleton King knocked the heads off three ogres. Then he looked toward a dark stretch of desert.

He couldn’t see anything, but he knew. Whatever had killed the search squad had already left and vanished somewhere out there.

What the hell are you?

The question he asked himself went unanswered. The Skeleton King stared into the darkness with sunken eyes, then raised an ogre lying like a rotten log from the dead.

No—not just the ogre. Everything around him.

“Answer the call.”

Fwoosh.

A dazzling golden radiance spread in every direction, so bright it was hard to believe it was magical power.

The undying army, now twice its former size, fell upon the living.

BOOM!

Grrrrr!

The desert was gradually buried beneath countless screams and death.

Xiao Shen stared blankly at the scene before remembering the mission he’d forgotten.

“Base. Base, respond.”

Chhh.

Static hissed from the radio enchanted with communication magic as it sent out a mana-laced signal. The signal pushed through the unstable magical power permeating the air, traveling farther and farther.

And when Xiao Shen’s urgent transmission finally reached the main force—

“Company, halt!”

An aircraft carrying someone landed smoothly on the runway, between ranks of soldiers and Hunters standing in flawless formation.

This operation involved a hundred thousand Hunters and a coalition of nations from across the world. It was massive—less an operation than a war.

Plenty of Hunters remained at the main base, and there were so many soldiers you could hardly take a step without running into one. An army of different nations and races.

The World Hunter Federation had to choose its commander at the base carefully, in case the chain of command broke down. Team Leader Choi, an excellent adviser, recommended someone.

A man with extraordinary strength and a distinguished record as a Hunter, along with the strategy and knowledge to command a large army.

A Hunter and a soldier. The only man to have reached the top of both professions.

Chuck Hagel—an S-rank Hunter active since the Great Cataclysm and the former Secretary of Defense of the good ol’ U.S. of A.

“Oh. Sleeping Beauty finally showed up. Or were you hibernating?”

Chuck Hagel’s idea of a greeting drew quiet laughter from the people lined up on either side of me.

It vanished without a trace the next moment.

“You’re laughing? Does this fucked-up wartime situation look like a joke to you?”

“…”

“You lunatics. From now on, anyone who laughs in front of me is getting their ass kicked, rank be damned. I don’t care if you’re some pasty Yankee dumbass who thinks white skin is your greatest achievement in life, a darkie spouting bullshit about political correctness, or a yellow monkey who can’t stop staring at his smartphone. I’ll beat every last one of you half to death. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Goddamn it. I can’t hear you!”

“Yes!! Sir!!”

Only after everyone shouted at the top of their lungs did Chuck Hagel nod and take a drag from his cigar.

“Okay, ladies.”

“…”

Holy shit. The man had presence.

He really was a living legend. Even Senior Kim Soodan would have to concede he had a thing or two to learn from Hagel about taking over a stage.

Of course, those thick arms like a bear’s and the violence he was born with had a lot to do with creating this brisk atmosphere.

He’s definitely the right man for the job.

Just as I thought that, a military jeep came tearing across the runway and screeched to a stop in front of us. A soldier in dress uniform hurriedly called out.

“Monster Wave! We’ve received an emergency request for support. It’s a Monster Wave!”

If I’d been an ordinary traveler, I would’ve taken a day to recover from jet lag.

But my life had parted ways with the word ordinary a long time ago, and there was no chance of them ever getting back together.

“Where is it?”