Chapter 42: Resource War
The motorboat shot forward, cutting through the waves.
There was a reason I could act so recklessly.
"You made the right decision, CEO Choi."
Because I had someone who believed in me and supported me.
Anyway, when we got close enough to see the East Sea drilling facility with the naked eye, I saw dozens of Korean Hunters retreating from the upper levels of the platform and falling into the sea.
"Aaaagh! Somebody save me! I can't swim! Gurgle, gurgle!"
They would revive if they drowned, but respawning in an area already surrounded by Japanese Hunters meant they'd be eliminated again in 0.1 seconds.
"Knight Commander's Wings."
Golden wings unfolded behind my back.
FWOOOSH!
I kicked off the motorboat and soared into the sky.
When I glanced down, I saw Lucky Charm, who had been driving the boat, staring up at me in a daze.
Finally...
The time had come to use the Tower Knights Knight Commander's Wings in an actual battle.
Click!
Holding Laser No. 1 firmly in my arms, I flew straight over the drilling facility.
Below me, Japanese Hunters were gathering to seize control of the platform.
There had to be at least several hundred of them.
Including those on the platform's different levels, stairways, and every corner, there were probably close to ten thousand.
"Huh? What's that?"
"It's so bright!"
"Why does it look like someone's flying?"
"It doesn't just look like it! Someone really is flying!"
I immediately pulled the trigger, aiming at the astonished Japanese Hunters.
PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!
Dozens of red beams rained down like a torrential downpour.
The Japanese Hunters gathered on the drilling platform were reduced to white ashes before they could even react.
"Aaaaaagh!"
A few managed to scream.
Most couldn't even do that.
Within seconds, more than half the people standing on the enormous deck had disappeared.
"...!"
Korean and Japanese alike, everyone on the battlefield froze.
It was as though time itself had stopped for a moment.
A cold thrill ran down my spine.
Even when I first used Laser No. 1 for PvP, it wasn't this powerful...!
This was the power of the PvP damage bonus granted by a Hunter who had obtained the Tower Knights Knight Commander's Wings!
It was truly incredible.
Then one Hunter pointed at me and shouted.
"O-One... One-Star General...!"
My rank tag had appeared above my head because I'd entered PvP mode!
Korean and Japanese Hunters alike stared at me in utter disbelief.
"One-Star General? You're lying!"
"This is ridiculous!"
"Impossible!"
Those were the Japanese Hunters' reactions.
They already knew that the appearance of a One-Star General in Korea had triggered the Resource War.
But actually witnessing what that One-Star General could do was probably difficult to believe.
No.
They probably didn't want to believe it.
The Korean Hunters, on the other hand...
"G-GENERAAAAAAL!"
"THE GENERAL HAS ARRIIIIIIVED!"
"So this... is the power of a One-Star General...!"
They gazed up at me in awe.
"Now's our chance! Charge!"
At one Hunter's shout, the Korean Hunters roared and surged toward the Japanese formation.
Their previously shattered morale had completely recovered.
Filled with fighting spirit, they swept through the Japanese Hunters.
"Having the General behind us is so reassuring! I feel like I'm getting strength I didn't even know I had!"
"No, it's not just a feeling! We're actually getting stronger!"
"It's true!"
And they were right.
Because...
[The General's Majesty has been activated.]
[Allies within a certain radius receive increased damage dealt and reduced damage received.]
The Korean Hunters all shuddered.
Immediately after the message appeared, they must have felt an overwhelming surge of energy throughout their bodies.
[Tactical Command]
-Grade: B [General-Exclusive Skill]
-Increases damage dealt by allies within a 25-meter radius by 10% and reduces damage received by 10%.
An area-of-effect buff that increased allied damage and damage reduction by 10% within a 25-meter radius, covering an area 50 meters across!
And it's not even an active skill. It's passive.
Simply staying near me made an ally roughly 20% stronger by a straightforward calculation.
What if hundreds of people around me received that buff simultaneously?
The combined effect would be beyond imagination!
I grinned and shouted.
"Let's kick away the ladder for these Japanese Hunters! Those arrogant bastards aren't getting any more Contribution Points!"
"The General has ordered us to kick away their ladder!"
"Let's take back every Contribution Point the Japanese Hunters have!"
"WAAAAAAAAAH!"
Before long, the Japanese Hunters revived and returned as a group.
"Chikusho!"
"He won't be able to use an attack like that again!"
"It was just a temporary show! Keep pushing!"
"We must take back the East Sea oil field, no, the Japan Sea oil field, from those Koreans! Those resources are wasted on them!"
PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!
Before the Gatling Laser, all people were equal.
[Low-Rank Soldier defeated...]
[Mid-Rank Soldier defeated...]
[High-Rank Soldier defeated...]
[First-Class NCO defeated...]
[Contribution Points x286,000 acquired.]
Each time I fired the laser, hundreds of thousands of Contribution Points poured in!
Jackpot.
After that last attack...
[Korea: 5,141 vs. Japan: 9,800]
The gap between the two countries' scores, which had previously been more than double, was rapidly shrinking.
Meanwhile, the live chat on a Korean Hunter's livestream looked like this.
- Whoa, I heard the One-Star General appeared and came straight here. What the hell is happening???
- Is that real? LMAO. The screen looks insane.
- Seriously, lol. I saw the lasers coming toward us, and my entire field of vision was filled with red beams.
- IT'S CRIMSON RAIN!!!! THE FIRST-CLASS OFFICER!!!!
- No, he's not just Crimson Rain! That's the General, you lunatic!
- Holy shit, I got goosebumps.
- Can a human actually do something like that?
