Moon's Labyrinths

Chapter 314

Chapter 314


Chapter 314


The fight to recapture Armstrong city could be the pivotal point in defying the fate of Earth .


Some people wanted to give up on the city, hole up on Earth, and fight a defensive battle . However, the majority dismissed such opinions . Without a presence on the Moon, humanity could not know what Grenoid was up to . Moreover, they needed the supply of moonstones and Mana Knight . It was also brought up that the Mage city had to be protected even after erecting the force field .


Since everyone had agreed to reclaim Armstrong city, they could now discuss how to do that .


“We won’t be recapturing Armstrong city first . ”


The Mayor sounded a bit depressed .


“First, we have to recapture the sites containing Mana Knight . The people above me all think that this is the time to bolster our fighting power . Once we start manufacturing Mana Knight ammo, our fighting power will go up for sure . ”


“This plan was suggested before, but we determined that it was an inefficient use of resources . What has changed now?”


Someone asked .


The only ones who could open a portal between Earth and the Moon were Sungyoon and Plu-El . Even if they focused on only maintaining the portal, they could only open portals to two mines .


However, the Mayor proudly pointed at Sungyoon as if he had a plan .


“Mr . Sungyoon will solve that problem . ”


Everyone turned their gaze toward Sungyoon .


“The Royal Gem has awakened further, and he can now use a new ability . ”


“What"s the new ability?”


“He can maintain a portal . ”


A buzz of excitement appeared in the place . The man who had asked the question continued to ask more questions .


“Currently, the portal closes once the Knight moves away from it . If it"s as you said, the portal can be kept open, regardless of his proximity to it . Do I have it right?”


“Correct . ”


“That changes everything . ”


Everyone’s eyes twinkled .


“How many portals can he maintain and for how long?”


Someone else asked the question .


“He can maintain two or three portals between Earth and the Moon . ”


The answer disappointed everyone .


“Doesn’t that mean we are in the same situation? I don’t think that"s enough to increase our efficiency . ”


“No . It"s more than enough . ”


The Mayor was resolute .


“We’ll connect the portal from Earth to the Moon through the capital city . ”


“Capital city?”


“Yes . The capital city is one of the four special cities on the Moon . We’ll open a portal connecting the Moon and Earth in the capital city . From there, we can connect the portals to the labyrinths that we desire . ”


Basically, the capital city would be used as a command center .


“Does that mean he can open and maintain numerous portals around the Moon? Am I correct in making that a.s.sumption?”


“You are . ”


Sungyoon answered the man . The man nodded and gestured at the Mayor to continue .


“The excavation of Mana Knight won’t be limited to the previous mining sites . In the past, we had discovered a lot of labyrinths with Mana Knight, but we hadn’t excavated there for many reasons; the main reason being we didn’t want to destroy the Golems . This time, we’ll get rid of all the Golems and attempt to gather as much Mana Knight as we can . ”


“Wouldn’t that adversely affect Grenoid’s seal? Are you sure that"s wise?”


“According to Ms . Plu-El, the seal is already unraveling . It"s inevitable . Therefore, we decided it would be best to gather whatever amount of Mana Knight we can excavate and bolster our strength . ”


The Mayor looked at all the Connectors gathered in the room .


“Well, let’s do this! Let’s carry out the first stage of our plan!”


***


The Golems guarding the labyrinth started to attack . They were extremely powerful beings that only the highest ranked Connectors could defeat . However, Sungyoon cut them down too easily .


“That’s the last one . ”


Sungyoon unsummoned his sword .


“Good job . ”


His party members had been on standby behind him in case things went sideways . They approached him as he nudged the broken pieces of the Golems with his foot .


“What"s this power of yours, Mr . Sungyoon? Do Ms . Plu-El and the descendants of Planote know the reason you can do this?”


“They have a theory . ”


Sungyoon recalled the explanation given to him before .


“It isn’t an exaggeration to say Grenoid and the source of magical energy are one and the same . First Gen Connectors are beings closely connected to the source of magical energy . That was why when I came into contact with Kevil, who overflows with Grenoid"s power, I could use the source of magical energy as my own . This is also true for the Golems, who are connected to the source of magical energy . The stench of Grenoid is also stronger on the monsters of the Great Labyrinths, so I can perform similar feats against them too . ”


“Wouldn"t our fights get much easier if we mobilized the 1st Gen Connectors?”


Tim excitedly yelled . It sounded like a pretty good idea . However, Sungyoon shook his head from side to side .


“Did you forget why 1st Gen Connectors can"t enter the Great Labyrinth?”


“ . . . The fear?”


“Yes . As someone who had experienced it before, that fear isn"t something that could be overcome with the mind . ”


Sungyoon"s body shook a little bit . Just the thought of it made him s.h.i.+ver . Ever since he had become an adult, he had never wanted to go crying into his mother’s arms until he faced the fear .


“First Gens being closely connected to the source of magical energy also means that we feel the presence of Grenoid more strongly . ”


The beating heart and the overwhelming presence were all from Grenoid .


“The 1st Gens are exposed to it unfiltered . Of course, they can’t fight back . ”


They were like a frozen mouse standing in front of a cat .


The fear experienced by 1st Gen Connectors felt as if someone had been exposed to the sun instead of a fire .


“According to my mother-in-law, only the most talented 1st Gens can somewhat overcome the stench of Grenoid that emanates from the monsters of the Great Labyrinth and the Golems who guard the labyrinths . It was a problem for me too when I fought monsters like Kevil, but this s.h.i.+elds me from the presence of Grenoid . ”


Sungyoon pointed at his Royal Gem .


“In the end, Mr . Sungyoon, you"re the only one capable of easily defeating the Golems . ”


“Correct . ”


At that moment, someone exited the portal .


It was a Connector who had been on standby on the other side of the portal .


“Are you done?”


“Yes . I destroyed all the Golems in this labyrinth . We also cleared all the nearby monsters . ”


The Connector re-entered the portal and came back with an object . The object was rather large . It had a long barrel, and it shone with a black light that contained subdued killing intent as if it were waiting to shed the blood of its enemies .


It was a large cannon .


The cannon wasn’t the end of the procession . Following it, a considerable number of people poured out of the portal . They were all dressed in the same uniform, and their movements were crisp and in perfect order .


One could tell that they weren’t Connectors with just a glance . If Connectors were wild beasts, these men were well-oiled machines .


They were soldiers .


In a flash, the soldiers made an encampment . They created barriers in the tunnel and set up machine guns in either direction .


“Thank you for your effort . ”


The commander saluted Sungyoon . In the past, Sungyoon had been enlisted in the army too, so he knew to respond with a salute .


“Thankfully, the suppressor is holding up pretty well . ”


Sungyoon looked at the magical energy suppressor the commander had worn . The magical energy suppressors were crucial if regular soldiers were to work in the labyrinth .


“Yes! It"s an improved model, so it’ll work even if a Mana Stream occurs within a normal labyrinth . We’ll have no problem killing these monsters!”


The commander"s voice was full of the desire to fight .


It was the duty of soldiers to protect their country and its citizens, but they had been powerless against monsters . However, it was different now . The effectiveness of the weapons was limited, but the soldiers could contend with monsters with these weapons .


“Once we start to excavate Mana Knight, it"s predicted that it’ll give us a lot of breathing room in terms of supply . I’ll leave it to you . ”


“We won’t disappoint you!”


Sungyoon returned through the portal . A small number of Connectors were left behind with the soldiers who used Mana Knight bullets .


***


Puh-uhg!


The large cannon belched out flames .


The cannon was specially designed for the enclosed environment of the cave they were in, but the distinct sound of a cannon couldn’t be changed . However, the cannon was so effective that no one minded the deafening noise .


Kwah-jeek!


The attack blew off the head of the monster charging forward, obliterated the shoulder of the one behind it, and left a hole in the stomach of the monster third in the line .


Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!


The machine guns followed up after the cannon . A wave of black bullets flew toward the monsters and honeycombed them .


“Stop firing!”


When the order came down, the loud noises from the guns suddenly stopped .


“What do you think?”


The commander"s voice contained pride, and his eyes shone as if he were a dog begging for a compliment .


“It’s amazing . ”


Sungyoon wasn"t exaggerating . This sight had surprised him quite a bit . He had somewhat expected it, but the effectiveness of the weapons using Mana Knight went beyond those expectations .


After receiving information that monsters had appeared at one of the mining sites, Sungyoon had come as backup just in case . However, it seemed his presence was unnecessary .


‘Of course, it’ll be ineffective against the officers of Grenoid or other powerful monsters . ’


The soldiers also knew this, but they had taken up this mission despite the risks . They wanted to bolster their fighting power .


***


Haphazard .


It was the word that best described the current situation .


The Mayor had set up encampments in all the labyrinths known to have Mana Knight . On top of that, new labyrinths were explored in order to find more Mana Knight . Then, the excavated Mana Knight was processed and made into ammo and magical energy suppressors . This helped the group set up more Mana Knight mining operations in turn .


“A couple of mining sites were destroyed . ”


The Mayor sounded depressed .


“Of course, a lot of people died . ”


Even though they had made preparations, there was a limit on what they could defend against .


“Thankfully, I believe our enemies are still unaware of our plan . We saw no signs of them intending to attack our mining operations en ma.s.se . ”


“We are barely using any Mana Knight in defending Earth for this very reason . ”


Grace spoke in a subdued voice .


After the mission to find the Mage city came to an end, most of the Connectors had returned to Earth . The ma.s.sive civilian casualties had reduced . Nevertheless, they could shrink the number of casualties even further if they used Mana Knight in earnest . However, they needed to keep their operation a secret, so all countries had refrained from using Mana Knight weapons .


“Do you have a complaint?”


The Mayor asked Grace .


“No . I know and I understand why we are doing this . Still, I mourn the loss of lives . ”


Silence descended into the room .


Sungyoon placed a hand on Grace"s shoulder . She put on a faint smile, but there was no strength behind it .


“That’ll be at an end soon . Once we erect the force field, monsters won’t be able to approach Earth . We’ll eradicate all the monsters and turn Armstrong city into a safety zone!”


Boom!


The Mayor slammed his hand down on the table . His eyes were burning with pa.s.sion .


“We’ll take a step toward victory . ”


They would"ve completely secured their rear by then and could transition to offense .


“However, you do have a point . We’ve secured enough reserves of Mana Knight . ”


The Mayor’s voice rose in excitement .


“We no longer have to wait . We’ll start recapturing Armstrong city!”