Meteor Sword — Part 1
They arrived along with the scorching midday sun.
Figures, one by one, solidified as they pierced through the shimmering heat haze.
Men equipped with bulletproof vests, helmets, and rifles.
The two emblems caught my eye.
[Cleaner Association]
[External Relations Department]
It was just past noon.
Already the beginning of July.
The blazing sunlight scorched the vast Geonwoobong Gold Region, a once-small peak now distorted into a flat plain.
Through the bugging device, I heard their conversation.
“What the hell happened here?”
“Where did everyone go?”
“Shit. It’s all been torched.”
The Geonwoobong Gold Region used to be home to a massive drug field.
But I burned it all to the ground.
Naturally, right?
Depending on the variety, poppy plants can grow up to 1.5 meters tall. If I left them as they were, they’d block my line of sight.
“Advance! Move forward!”
A ragged-looking man in a suit shouted.
The Cleaner Association members advanced.
Their bodies low and tense as they moved past the scorched field, clearly on edge.
But that was it.
They weren’t using any detection abilities or sending out recon drones. They were just walking forward.
Along the entrance route.
Right to the spot where I’d planted the Claymores.
“Hmph.”
Just as the vanguard passed the Claymore’s position.
Click. I pressed the red button.
A metallic sound rang from beneath my hand, and a red flame erupted on the monitor.
Boom.
Then a tremor.
A cloud of dust exploded into the air, and chaos broke loose.
“Aaaah!”
“Ughhhh!”
“What… what’s happening?!”
“It’s a bomb! There’s a bomb!”
On the monitor, I watched as people scattered like grasshoppers.
Some writhed as they fell, as if dancing. Some clutched their chests, spitting blood. Others, collapsing in fear, fired their rifles aimlessly.
I coolly watched the monitor, gripping the remote detonator.
After slightly adjusting the aim, I pulled the trigger.
A streak of light crossed the monitor.
Then, an explosion!
And the rhythmic burst of gunfire echoed—ratatatatata!
Rockets and machine gun fire rained down.
Just past the entrance, where the poppy and cannabis fields would’ve started.
The concentrated fire poured down on the very spot where the Cleaner Association members had gathered.
“Retreat! Fall back!”
“Pull back!”
“Get out of the Gold Region!”
“Run!”
The pre-set firepower was immense.
Dozens of rockets and several machine guns were unleashed simultaneously on barely a few dozen people.
The only downside was that some of the superhumans managed to raise shields in time.
The Claymores wiped out the vanguard completely, and the following attacks caused damage, but it wasn’t lethal.
‘They’re almost all superhumans.’
Most were level 1, with a few level 2s sprinkled among them, but they were definitely superhuman.
As I smacked my lips in frustration, a few figures passed through the shimmering heat haze.
“Huh?”
Shwoooosh!
The woman at the front fired a portable missile.
Though it looked like a random shot, the missile twisted mid-air and plunged straight toward the machine guns I had set up.
Did they already get the coordinates?
Or was it a psychic ability?
On closer inspection, it seemed to be both. A reinforced superhuman with a prosthetic arm had embedded their arm into the missile, inputting the coordinates, while the woman used her mechanical eye to adjust the missile’s trajectory before launching it.
In an instant, the machine guns and rocket launchers I had used earlier were neutralized.
Only then did the Cleaner Association begin moving forward again.
They were hauling sandbags.
They even set up fortifications, installed shield generators, and established a blue force field before taking up position.
“Wow, damn…”
They came this prepared?
I knew the Chairman of the Association was like a boar, but this was no joke.
The ragged man in the suit from earlier picked up a loudspeaker and stepped forward.
“Warrior Kim! Hear me!”
Seems like they figured out I was here.
“If you surrender now, our gracious Chairman has promised leniency! Surrender immediately! If you do not surrender, I assure you, we will kill you in the most agonizing way possible, and resurrect you as an undead to burn for eternity!”
Scary stuff.
I didn’t respond.
Instead, I reviewed the traps I’d set in areas other than the entrance.
The man in the suit rambled on for a while.
But he didn’t last long.
The heat haze at the entrance rippled as the main force of the Cleaner Association entered.
“What are you doing?”
One man stood out in particular.
Middle-aged. Massive build.
His suit barely contained his bulging muscles, threatening to rip at the seams.
One of his eyes was a magic eye, and he wore steel gloves on both hands.
Park Daeyeop.
Chairman of the Cleaner Association.
A level 4 superhuman of the Warrior type.
Following behind him was a man with a long sword, a woman resembling a black panther, and a lanky guy with a bucket hat. But they barely registered in my mind.
Park Daeyeop’s presence was overwhelming.
“C-Chairman!”
The man in the suit bowed deeply.
“We were preparing for the attack!”
“Get on with it.”
“Yes! We’ll start right away! Deploy the mortars!”
Mortars? Really?
What the hell…
The Cleaner Association members started stacking plastic boxes.
From the boxes, they pulled out dark cylinders, supports, and discs, which they began assembling step by step.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Mortars?
The curses slipped out of my mouth.
Though their movements weren’t exactly skilled, and they kept consulting the instruction manual, I couldn’t ignore them.
I grabbed the joystick-type remote detonator and then released it.
‘This won’t work.’
Even if I fire rockets, they’ll be blocked by the shield.
If I had armor-piercing rounds, I could penetrate the shield and hit the interior, but all I had prepared were high-explosive rounds.
There was only one option.
I picked up a sniper rifle, frowning.
This anti-materiel rifle should be able to pierce the shield.
At least, I could take one of them down for sure.
But the Cleaner Association wouldn’t just sit there and take it.
They’d dig trenches and stack more shields, or do something similar.
Once they had triple shields, a sniper shot would be pointless.
What should I do?
What can I do?
While I hesitated, the Cleaner Association steadily progressed.
“Mortar positions are set!”
“Begin the bombardment! Focus on the entrance, and if there are shells left, hit the fields and buildings too!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Rocket launchers! Anyone who knows how to use them, fire at every visible window! There are probably traps inside too!”
“Yes, understood!”
The man giving orders wasn’t the Chairman, nor the Vice Chairman, nor the two directors. It was the ragged man in the suit.
As I unconsciously tightened my grip on the sniper rifle, the bombardment began.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull sound of mortars firing came through the bugging device.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Along with the whistling of rocket launchers.
Though the firing sounds were staggered, the explosions occurred simultaneously.
Bang! Boom! Ba-boom! Ka-boom!
It was like the world was collapsing.
The triple-layered sounds of explosions outside, vibrations reverberating through the building, and the deafening noise pounded my ears and bones all at once.
Rumble.
The deepest part of the building—my control room.
It would be safe unless hit directly by a bunker buster.
But even so, the walls and ceiling shook ominously.
Dust rained down from above.
The power cables must’ve been damaged, as several screens flickered off and then back on.
Flash! Ba-boom!
Even after one wave had passed, flashes of light exploded outside.
It was the traps I had set, going off in response to the bombardment.
The Claymores, landmines, tripwire grenades—money was flying into the air.
Despite the pang of regret, I felt relieved.
‘The bombardment isn’t precise.’
The standard tactic is to neutralize the defensive line with bombardment and then charge.
However, if you looked closely, the shell impacts were scattered all over the place.
Instead of methodically disabling each area, they were just firing randomly.
This proved that while the man in the suit might be a capable commander, the artillerymen had a poor understanding of tactics.
That settled it.
I grabbed the sniper rifle and left the control room.
Explosions and rocket fire continued outside as I made my way to the rooftop.
The rooftop was still clean.
I mounted the sniper rifle on the railing and pulled the bolt.
Beeeeep!
A sharp alarm blared from the red pillar set up behind the defensive line.
Oh, they even brought a danger detector?
“Chairman!”
“It’s dangerous!”
“Protect the Chairman!”
Through my earpiece, I could hear the voices picked up by the bugging device.
The massive Park Daeyeop was surrounded by other large figures.
But it was just for show.
Park Daeyeop was a head taller than his bodyguards.
Was it a coincidence?
Our eyes met.
Tiger-like, or perhaps lion-like, his eyes were piercing.
From behind the crosshairs of my scope, Park Daeyeop lifted his head arrogantly.
His gaze locked onto mine, his lips twisted into a mocking smile, as if daring me to take the shot.
‘You think I’ll just do as you wish?’
I hesitated for only a second before shifting my aim slightly.
[Aim][Shoot][Focus]
[Bright Eyes][Sensitivity][Stealth]
A different face appeared in the crosshairs.
An ordinary, unremarkable-looking man with a vague, shadowy expression.
He wore the same ragged gray suit as before—the man who had been leading the Cleaner Association’s forces and had just shouted for Park Daeyeop’s protection.
I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A heavy yet sharp report echoed as the bullet was unleashed.
The man in the suit jolted back violently, and a fine mist of blood sprayed out.
By the time his limp body crumpled to the ground, his head was already gone.
Direct hit.
I quickly dismounted the sniper rifle and moved to leave the rooftop.
As I closed the steel door behind me and bolted it, an explosion erupted from behind.
Boom!
“Impatient bastards.”
I lowered the blast door, sealing off their approach before heading back to the control room.
On the monitor, chaos had erupted.
Park Daeyeop was furious, throwing punches into the air, while the rest of the Cleaner Association members looked terrified.
One by one, they raised their rifles and began advancing again.
Taking out the man in the suit had been the perfect move.
“Good.”
I purposely brought my eye back to the sniper scope.
Time seemed to slow down, and the crosshairs glowed with clarity.
The sense of heightened focus enveloped me as I activated the [Sniper] trait.
I wanted to make use of this enhanced precision, but there wouldn’t be another opportunity to fire safely.
It didn’t matter.
All that mattered was surviving this mess.
Boom!
“Aaahhh!”
“Urgh!”
“It’s a mine!”
They’d triggered one of the landmines I had set in the fields.
It wasn’t a typical ankle-biter either—it was a bounding mine, designed to launch into the air and spray shrapnel over a large radius.
At least ten of them were caught in its deadly arc.
No detection equipment? No sweeping for mines?
Of course, they’d get shredded.
“Damn it! That sneaky rat!”
“Chairman! We need to regroup!”
“You idiots! Just throw grenades and blast through the path! You saw how Lee cleared the traps with mortar fire earlier, didn’t you?!”
“Yes, Chairman!”
The Cleaner Association members started tossing grenades indiscriminately.
They threw them towards any spot that seemed suspicious, one after another.
As a result, two of my hidden Claymores exploded, and a stash of tripwire grenades I’d set up was obliterated, but that was just fine.
I had something even better waiting for them.
I activated the remote detonator for the heavy weapon I had prepared at the front gate.
Drrrraatatatatata!
A hidden 20mm autocannon roared to life, its muzzle flashing as it spewed hot lead towards the Cleaner Association members advancing in single file toward the entrance.
Though the autocannon was considered small in its class, it was still an autocannon.
The Cleaner Association members, advancing like a train, were torn apart with brutal efficiency.
“Aaaagh!”
“Urk!”
“Help!”
“Please, spare me!”
The carnage was unspeakable, their bodies shredded beyond recognition by the relentless barrage.
For a brief moment, a cold silence fell over the battlefield as fear gripped the survivors.
And then—
“Dammit!”
Park Daeyeop, standing far back, picked up a rocket-propelled grenade with his bare hands and hurled it toward the autocannon.
Something impossible happened.
The rocket flew in a perfect straight line, hitting the autocannon dead-on, its fuse detonating with pinpoint accuracy. The weapon was destroyed in an instant.
“Oooooh!”
“As expected of the Chairman!”
“Chairman Park is our hope!”
“Only the Chairman can lead us!”
The survivors cheered, rejuvenated by Park Daeyeop’s superhuman feat.
Park Daeyeop grimaced, his eyes scanning the battlefield. His gaze landed on the exact spot where the man in the suit had been earlier, where his brains had been blown out just minutes ago.
The man in the suit had been the real brain behind their operation, it seemed.
In his absence, Park Daeyeop glanced at his Vice Chairman, the man with the long sword who had entered the Geonwoobong Gold Region with him earlier.
The Vice Chairman stepped forward, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“Let’s send everyone in now, Chairman.”
“Hmm. Won’t the casualties be too high?”
“There are fewer traps inside the building. We can just toss grenades and flashbangs into every room as we enter. Mr. Lee prepared plenty of those.”
“That smart kid from Seoul University… Tch! Fine, do it.”
The Cleaner Association members gathered, their numbers now halved.
Even so, there were still more than a hundred left.
I holstered my sniper rifle and picked up an automatic shotgun.
Clack.
I checked the chamber, preparing for the next phase.
On the monitor, I saw the Cleaner Association members busy with their preparations.
But two familiar faces were missing.
Ebony and Viper.
The two directors who had entered the Geonwoobong Gold Region with Park Daeyeop.
‘So that’s how it is.’
The rowdy explosions and advancing forces were just a diversion.
A feint.
Ebony and Viper were experts in stealth and infiltration, no doubt planning a sneak attack from another angle.
I walked out of the control room and headed to the battlefield I had chosen—right in front of the elevator.
It was the largest open area on the fifth floor.
I lowered the shotgun to my side, letting it hang at an angle.
My left hand rested on the hilt of the Holy Sword strapped to my left hip.
The Magic Pistol concealed inside my chest pocket reassured me with its solid weight.
Boom… Boom…
The explosions outside never stopped.
But in the hallway where I stood, and in the corridor surrounding me, there was an eerie silence.
Tick, tock.
The sound of a grandfather clock ticking faintly from the end of the hall echoed in the stillness.
Sweat trickled down my chin, and my mouth felt parched.
Finally, my expected guests arrived.
From around the corner, and out from the shadows, stepped two figures.
Ebony and Viper.
“Oh my, were you waiting for us?”
Ebony’s eyes glinted like those of a black panther, gleaming dangerously.
Click.
Meanwhile, Viper silently loaded a poisonous bolt into the crossbow mounted on his forearm.
There was no need for words.
I opened fire with the shotgun.
–TL Notes–
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