“Have you ever seen a text like this?” San asked.

“I’ve seen something similar in the Clan’s storage warehouse,” Gibin answered.

“Is that right?”

San’s eyes s.h.i.+fted to the buildings that could be seen through the gate. As the scorching afternoon sun heated the ground, a mirage refraction gave the buildings a hazy look, giving the illusion that they were moving.

The road that stretched past the gate was well paved, and huge pyramid-shaped buildings with flat tops were lined up along the road.

A breeze of dust gently swept past them.

The group advanced carefully, following San’s lead.

***

[Please be careful.] Biyeon, who had already climbed up the gate, warned.

[Any updates on changes?]

[The wind direction, wind speed, and horizontal airflow are somewhat awkward and irregular. The haze caused by mirage refraction is distorting vision, so I’m not able to get a clear picture of the buildings. Also, the dust is blowing from the left to right.]

[Probable cause?]

[There are optical illusions and atmospheric instability due to temperature differences. Overall, there seem to be some forces at work to conceal something.]

[That’s interesting… Should we give it a shot?]

[That would be… a good decision.]

San stood in the middle of the road after striding forward, ahead of the group, at a brisk pace. He looked around his surroundings for a moment.

Thud-

He stomped his feet relentlessly on the ground. It sounded like a majestic declaration of war.

San thought that he was already exposed, so a warning message would be the most direct way to get the attention of their opponent. With a loud, rolling sound, the granite tiled road began to shatter, and pieces of stone shot up into the sky. A plume of dust also rose up into the surrounding air.

San grabbed something the size of his fist and threw it straight at a building.

Sh-Sh-Bam-

The wall on his right exploded. White dust rose up from the spot.

Sh-Sh-Bam-

He threw another stone straight away. This time, he threw it at the building on his left.

“…” 

“Eh?”

The stone disappeared silently into s.p.a.ce. The building seemingly just swallowed it up.

“Oh! Unbelievable!” Someone groaned aloud. 

The stone disappeared like magic. Fear spread rapidly within the group at the incomprehensible sight. The unknown always begets fear. However, knowledge mainly produces a sense of emptiness.

[Hmm… The left is a hologram.] Biyeon conveyed.

[These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, it’s always from the same silly playbook. They’ve already learned how to control time and s.p.a.ce, but they’re still resorting to these illusions…]

[Yeah… We should be getting a response soon.]

Rumble-

A heavy sound rang out from afar. The sound’s source seemed as if it was coming from the depths of the earth, reverberating through the ground and causing everyone’s hearts to tremble with fear and awe.

The feeling of vibrations being transmitted from the ground to their feet, like an earthquake, felt very ominous and unsettling.

Rumble-

A second sound and vibration immediately followed. The group members clenched the weapons in their arms and looked ahead with fear in their eyes.

Most of the group members could hear their hearts pounding in their ears. It sounded like their hearts were going to explode in their chest. Their legs shook violently, half from the vibrations and half from fright.

A huge wall of flames was slowly rising like a folding screen from behind the main, pentagonal building. After that, red flames and fireb.a.l.l.s began to erupt and shoot out in all directions like a volcanic eruption.

The level of fear in the group was palpable. Though they knew that they’d be entering into a dangerous area, they didn’t think that trouble would find them so soon.

Then, from behind the building in the distance, huge monsters started rising one after another. As the white and grayish dust started scattering in the distance, the outline of the monsters started to take shape.

Many of the monsters were taller than 30 meters in height, and a few dozen or so ‘lesser’ monsters reached a height of around 10 meters. The group of monsters slowly approached the group, shaking their bodies as if kicking off the rust. What was unusual about the monsters was that the lower part of their bodies was not made of flesh but of metal.

“What the h.e.l.l are those…?!” 

“Where did they come from?!”

A frenzy of madness and bewilderment spread amongst the group members. On top of the internal chaos, scorching heat and sulfuric stench emanated from the monsters, causing the group members’ faces and bodies to rise in temperature. Many felt that they were boiling from the inside. The group members reactively raised their hands and covered their faces.

A constant roaring sound made their hearts pound. The ground shook so violently that it was difficult for many of the members to hold their center of gravity. The warriors within the group had already lost their will to fight and succ.u.mbed to a state of panic.

How does one deal with such an oppressive atmosphere? Only one person, Gibin, was tilting his head as if confused by something.

The sound of San and Biyeon’s words penetrated their minds, allowing everyone in the group to clearly hear their captains’ speaking. San and Biyeon had made their private channel open to their group members, allowing everyone to listen in on their conversation.

Even when they listened to San and Biyeon’s conversation, the group members couldn’t understand much, but the relaxed conversation the two were having instantly brought the group members out of their maddened state.

[Hmm… it seems very rude to treat guests in this manner…] 

[It’s pretty sophisticated, isn’t it?]

[Optical illusions? Or large-scale animation?] 

[It’s half and half. It’s just a B-grade monster movie…]

[What about special effects? It’s not too bad…]

[You think so? The stereo surround sound is using 8 sources to transmit sound waves. A vibration effect was also added to the ground to cause the center of gravity disruption. The effect of stimulating the five senses, such as the sense of smell and touch, has been developed fairly well. It’s fairly realistic, I guess.]

[Does it present any danger?]

[There is a hidden weapon behind the monster projections. If it’s used, it’ll probably be dangerous.]

[Where’s the Access Point?]

[Not clear.]

[I’ll find out. Cover me!]

[Received.]

San raised his hand. A few hand signals followed quickly. The Essen crew members who had recovered their minds while listening to their captains’ conversation quickly dispersed.

The Essen crew members carried s.h.i.+elds, which they had prepared in advance, and wore masks to cover their noses and mouths.

The rest of the group followed the Essen crew members’ lead.

San and Biyeon’s resolute response and unenc.u.mbered dialogue snapped many of the group members back to reality. The captains’ voices became a natural authority for them as well.

Only Gibin prepared for battle alongside San. Seyum and Segyum, the Awakened warriors of the Han-Sung Clan, stood in front of Gun and Rain.

“You have some courage, I see,” San said as he gave Gibin a nudge.

“Hey, my senses are fairly developed too, you know? I mean, I already realized that everything we sensed once stepping into this area was like a scam…” Gibin answered briefly. He then tried to move forward, but San raised his hand and blocked him.

“Don’t be so urgent… wait a minute. We’ll have to gauge what we’re up against first.”

San held a sword in one hand and a strange piece of equipment in the other.

It was the toy the crew members had used during their training session. Gibin tilted his head and lowered his posture. He wanted to maintain a level of tension in his body.

A warm wind brought a heated cloud of sand dust towards the group. Their exposed skin stung as if touched by fire.

The cloud of dust seemed to have other elements mixed in, causing many to feel dizzy. Perhaps it was a hallucinogenic component to maximize the illusion effects.

The multi-legged iron-clad monsters at the front stopped about 50 meters ahead of San. Up close, they looked much more daunting and formidable.

Huge composite eyes were densely embedded in their foreheads, antennlike instruments jutted out from their bodies, and terrifying metal blades gleamed in the places where their hands should have been.

The sight of them exposing their sharp teeth and mechanical roaring was truly terrifying. Biyeon announced her preparations.

[One-shot one-kill!]

“Okay!”

San moved. Gibin moved alongside San almost at the same time. Gibin followed San two steps behind and one step to San’s right.

As a Ki-Jang clansman, Gibin was well versed in pincer attack formations and organized attack techniques, so he chose the most appropriate two-man battle formation.

His position would complement San’s frontal attacks and cover San’s blind spot, since San was right-handed. Gibin would be able to maximize their joint fighting power and sh.o.r.e up the lead attacker’s main weakness.

Pff-

The first arrow flew towards the monster from the sky. The arrow had a blunt head. After firing one shot, Biyeon calmly loaded another arrow.

The group members turned to the source of the shooter and discovered Biyeon standing atop the huge gate.

Seyum and Segyum tilted their heads as if they didn’t understand something. ‘What are you trying to do with that fragile arrow? It doesn’t even have a sharp head… Especially against that giant monster!’

The first arrow drew a parabolic trajectory and hit a monster’s body. However, rather than bouncing off the monster, the arrow pa.s.sed through its body and seemed as though it was swallowed up.

The monster raised its head and slowly searched in the direction the arrow came from. It didn’t take any damage. It also seemed like it was laughing.

San advanced rapidly. He moved 30 meters in the blink of an eye and stopped 20 meters away from one of the monsters.

Gibin grit his teeth.

His senses were clearly warning him of the monsters’ dangerous presence.

Gibin clearly saw the monsters’ appearances, fine wrinkles on their faces, the faint stench of their breath, the smell of burning oil from their lower halves, the sound waves emanating from their growls… However, his other senses, those developed as an Awakened warrior, were insisting that nothing really existed ahead.

San moved forward once more. He was moving at a much faster pace than before.

‘Is he daring? Is he reckless?’ Gibin followed closely behind, but he was troubled by the incongruity of his senses and his inability to make sense of the situation.

The second and third arrows flew at the monster one after another. Biyeon’s shots didn’t seem to be focused on a singular target. She seemed to be shooting at a general area.

Arrows were scattered here and there, randomly landing in different areas.

All the arrows pa.s.sed through the monsters seemingly in vain as the monsters didn’t seem to sustain any damage.

‘What’s their intention?’ Gibin thought as he frowned. 

However, soon…

Bang- Bang- Bang-

Gibin’s eyes widened. Suddenly, the bodies of the monsters scattered into the air, clearly showing what was stationed in the back.

The monsters’ bodies were fading like a hazy mist that was slowly clearing up. The body seemed to regenerate at different times, but as the dust started spreading out, the monsters’ appearance crumbled and dissipated like the dust.

The scattering dust wasn’t able to properly reflect the light and refract a clear image of the monsters. However, for those who didn’t understand the science of light projected holograms, it probably appeared as though some kind of magic was preventing the monster from regenerating.

Pff-

Biyeon’s last arrow took flight. This time, the beginning and the end of the trajectory were clearly caught in the eyes of everyone.

The arrow pierced through the already blurred image of the monster and exploded once it hit the ground.

The blunt tip had been fitted with sodium (Na), which reacted with the water that was pooled on the ground, causing a violent explosion.

The dust caught fire immediately, and the flames spread in all directions.

Eventually, the reality of monster holograms created with optics was uncovered, revealing the reality to everyone.

Even in the frenzied dust that swirled about, the shapes of the monsters were being restored, but now no felt fear from the illusion.

“It was all just an illusion… there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Biyeon’s brief explanation resonated in everyone’s ears.

“Ah-”

The group members’ mouths were wide open in shock. They couldn’t understand how the monsters were created, but it seemed clear that the monsters were just illusions.

“Sprint forward 10 steps-!” Biyeon’s urgent and sharp order rang out. 

She saw something familiar, a cylindrical object, moving towards her Essen crew members.

As soon as her order was issued, the crew members rushed forward without hesitation. It was one of the movements that the Essen crew members had practiced during their training session.