Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 139

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

 

 

 

The Broken Ranker

Devours Myths

 

Chapter 139

Operation ‘Crevasse’ (9)

 

 

 

Direction of the command post.

 

The sudden weather anomaly came without warning.

Like a strange phenomenon.

Crack!!

“……!?”

Tian Hengwei’s head suddenly shattered. But what leaked from his neck wasn’t blood.

It was frost.

Crackle!!

A corpse instantly covered in frost and ice.

Seo Yoon-ah was pondering how to deal with Eom Gi-seon who was butchering the mob giant, when she hastily distanced herself from Tian Hengwei.

The strange phenomenon wasn’t happening to Tian Hengwei alone.

“Aaaaah!”

“What is this……!”

“Yan! Why are you suddenly…… Gack!!”

The heads of the entire leadership who were with Tian Hengwei shattered and were covered in ice.

Those who weren’t affected suffered fatal wounds from blades suddenly thrust by nearby comrades and died.

And then,

Clatter-

The ice instantly transformed into armor, changing them into medieval knights or guards.

At that moment,

 

[Dungeon, is slowly beginning to open!]

[Warning! Erosion phenomenon is occurring. A narrative is being overlaid, so escape from this area.]

[Warning! Dimensional rifts are occurring. The narrative is beginning to distort reality…….]

[Warning! The dungeon is…….]

……

 

Layer upon layer of red warning messages appeared.

“Senior!”

“Combat ends here! Everyone form retreat formation!!”

Seo Yoon-ah instinctively realized that the shadow of conspiracy lurked deep behind this battle.

And there was only one person here who could do such a thing.

‘Seo Chang-woo! This crazy bastard finally……!!’

When she saw him yesterday, she had gotten a chilling feeling from him.

That’s why she had told them to prepare for any possible situation just in case.

But who would have thought he was preparing dungeonization!

Dungeonization. Also called ‘Overlap’, this strange phenomenon meant dungeons overlapping with reality.

It produced different damage than the Break phenomenon where dungeons went berserk.

If Break was an explosion, Overlap was contamination.

Gradually making that area unusable and turning it into a deadly zone difficult to operate in.

‘And the of all things……! What does he plan to do by opening a 4-star dungeon!’

Seo Yoon-ah was urgent. She felt they needed to get out of here quickly somehow.

She didn’t know what method he used to perform the miracle of dungeonization, but fortunately she hadn’t trusted Xu Changyou from the beginning.

Because she knew him too well.

“Sister, leaving already? I’d be a bit disappointed if you left like this?”

Watching them form a retreat formation, an ice knight grinned.

It was Xu Changyou’s voice.

“Crazy bastard.”

“Haha. We’re comrades who pointed guns at our juniors together, so don’t act all clean by yourself?”

“But I don’t touch the comrades I’m with like you do.”

Even though they were siblings who shared blood, Seo Yoon-ah really hated him.

The only reason they had worked together until now was because their direction was the same.

“Really? Then you’ll have to keep staying with me?”

The ice knight containing Xu Changyou’s consciousness moved. The other soldiers followed suit.

Right at that moment,

Grooooar!!

The massive shadow of the mob giant came crashing toward them.

Though it was nearly half destroyed by Eom Gi-seon and Kim Min-jeong, it was enough to secure time for Seo Yoon-ah’s group to escape.

“How annoying. Tsk.”

Thud!

As the ice knight and guards were crushed by the mob giant,

“Break through!!”

With Seo Yoon-ah’s command, the group simultaneously attempted to break through to escape the operation zone.

But escaping wouldn’t be easy.

Too many knights and guards stood before them.

The blizzard that had started blowing at some point was also…… getting fiercer.

It was a snowstorm and cold wave that came in May as summer approached.

 

* * *

 

Direction of the communication station.

 

‘……A blizzard? Suddenly?’

Kim Min-jeong was observing the situation through her scope when she hastily switched to binoculars.

Static.

『Sister, what should we do? Something’s going weird. Should we chase that?』

Eom Gi-seon’s panicked voice was also heard.

『This is Bolt 1, Overlap has been observed. Requesting orders.』

『Storm 3, enemies have suddenly stopped moving. Need to confirm what’s happening.』

『Cloud 2, Overlap message confirmed. Something is approaching from the central area. Investigating further…….』

Static.

『Damn it! Ice Palace! It’s the Ice Palace! Cloud 1! Request immediate orders! Cloud 1! Request orders!』

Kim Min-jeong’s spine chilled at the sudden flood of communications.

The scene visible through the binocular item.

Where the blizzard was starting…… a mirage was occurring.

A mountain covered in white eternal snow was revealed, with an ice citadel standing proudly at its center.

A sight that anyone from Blue Thunder could never forget.

“……Ice Palace.”

Nearly 80% of the unit members had to sacrifice themselves before it could finally be closed,

It could only be conquered after Lee Hyeon threw away his eyes and life,

The hell from 4 years ago was trying to appear again.

And this time, not as a dungeon but as reality.

Crackle.

『All of Ping Xin are turning into ice knights and guards! It seems they’re being used as sacrifices!』

『Seo Chang-woo, that fucking bastard! He did this 4 years ago too, and now again!』

『Cloud 1, what should we do? Orders!』

Voices filled with panic and rage echoed through.

The battlefield had suddenly changed.

A decision was needed.

Kim Min-jeong clenched her teeth tightly.

And,

“…….”

After much deliberation, she brought her mouth toward the radio brooch.

 

* * *

 

It was right then that the Snow Queen noticed something strange.

 

[The narrative of suddenly raises its head from the throne!]

[The narrative of shouts that a closed dungeon seems to be opening anew.]

 

Lee Hyeon furrowed his brow.

Dungeon?

There was no need to ask what that meant.

He could figure it out immediately.

Patsutsutsutsu…….

Suddenly, the temperature of the cold air dominating the battlefield changed.

A sensation that seemed like it could freeze even Dueoksini’s fury that Lee Hyeon was so proud of.

Absolute Zero.

And…….

Bang! Kwang!

Artyom’s legion, which had been thought to be gone, began kicking off the ground in unison.

Shriiiiek-

They had all become ice knights or guards.

The same appearance as seen during the Ulleungdo operation.

‘No. They’re much stronger than back then!’

 

[The narrative of bites its lower lip tightly while watching its vassals still being used as slaves.]

 

Spirit summoning using the bodies of hunters who were originally rankers or had received special training to become elites.

Naturally, they had to be strong.

Charrrrrk-

Lee Hyeon pulled hard inward on the Ruyi Chain he was gripping in his left hand.

Then, like a giant dragon twisting its body outward, the Ruyi Chain also curved greatly and swept the ground.

Kwakwakwa-

The ones approaching were instantly swept away,

Thud! Thuthuthud! Thud!

Additionally, Ruyi Chains that shot up from the ground like arrows pierced through the heads and chests of the remaining ones.

It was a scene close to one-sided massacre, but,

 

[Combat Sense (S+) warns of the cold air covering the battlefield!]

 

The eerie sensation that made Lee Hyeon shudder showed no signs of diminishing.

 

[The summoned ice knights and guards are regenerating.]

 

Crackcrackcrack!

Pat- Paat-

A fierce blizzard raged. When arms were broken, they restored arms, when legs were destroyed, they regenerated legs while desperately charging forward.

The number of ice legions that kept appearing continued to grow.

Not only the ones Artyom had revived, but even those Lee Hyeon had already defeated at the central base.

However,

What actually concerned Lee Hyeon wasn’t this.

‘That gem he bit in his mouth earlier. The air completely changed from that moment.’

The range of the blizzard kept expanding.

It seemed like it would soon cover the entire base.

‘Is he trying to open the similar to back then? But he can’t not know that won’t work on me anymore?’

He also knew that Lee Hyeon possessed cold resistance.

Ice knight order? Guard order?

No matter how many he brought, they were useless against him now.

Whiiiiing!!

The Golden Headband rotated more fiercely.

It expanded the range of the cognitive domain even larger.

It seemed like he was attempting something across this entire base.

At the same time,

 

[Golden Eyes of Truth enhances eyesight to maximum! Tracking hidden secrets!]

 

He attempted to identify what the gem in the guy’s mouth really was.

And,

‘……Yu Wang?’

 

[■■■■ ■■■’s demonic energy is detected. It possesses attributes with properties close to ■■■■■.]

 

He could tell it was an essence made by squeezing the shell of a dead god.

Lee Hyeon’s action was immediate.

An intuition that he shouldn’t let the guy do as he pleased any longer.

 

[Activating Dueoksini’s Swift Thunder!]

 

Bang!

Shriiiiek-

Lee Hyeon raced along the diagonal rail track that the Ruyi Chain had extended to catch Xu Changyou.

A trail of light rushed straight to Xu Changyou’s face,

“Curious about what I’m trying to do?”

Kwarrrrrng!!

Fury Strike slammed into the guy’s face.

His face contorted.

But the sensation in the hand gripping the axe wasn’t good.

Crackle!

Crash—

The creature’s body shattered like glass.

Instead, it appeared anew in a distant location.

Standing tall on frozen steps in mid-air as before.

“It’s a ritual.”

But the clothes it wore were different from before.

If it had been wearing a white suit at first, now it seemed to be changing into something like ancient Chinese clothing…

At the same time,

Whoosh!

A mirage flickered behind the creature, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.

A sight familiar to Lee Hyeon as well.

 

[The narrative of bursts forth with fury!]

 

An ice fortress.

It was the Ice Palace.

“A ritual?”

The back of his hand, marked with the emblem of bitter cold, stung.

When Lee Hyeon frowned and asked, Xu Changyou grinned wickedly.

“Finally reacting? I’m a bit disappointed. You didn’t respond at all when I was talking to you earlier.”

“……”

“No word from your juniors? It should be about time to hear something.”

The moment Lee Hyeon’s Golden Eyes of Truth shone,

Static.

『Se… this is …oud 1. Can you… me? Senior Ja… Senior…!』

An urgent voice came through the radio.

It was Kim Min-jeong.

But the noise was too severe.

Magic interference.

It was proof that a strong magic storm was raging throughout the entire base.

At the same time,

Whoosh!

His perception field, spread as wide as possible, captured the entire base like a photograph in his mind.

The base was being covered entirely in pure white—no, transparent.

『Sud… base… avalanche… over… order… to…!』

Throughout the transparent base, ice knights and guards were rising up all at once.

Kim Min-jeong was trying to report this strange phenomenon.

“This is Jet. Cloud 1, hold your position. I repeat. This is Jet. Cloud 1, hold your position. If the overlap expands further, it could cause damage to distant civilian areas. So hold your position.”

Lee Hyeon brought the brooch to his mouth.

“If there are any enemy forces trying to retreat from the base, don’t interfere and provide cover. We’re changing our operation to maximum cooperation with each other for now. Over.”

Static.

『…Confirmed.』

“What? You’re not withdrawing in this situation and leaving troops behind? You’ve become quite ruthless, haven’t you?”

Xu Changyou’s outfit, as he grinned wickedly, gradually turned black, and a dragon insignia appeared on his back.

“A clever guy like you couldn’t possibly not know what this ritual is… But you’ll still keep fighting?”

“No matter how discharged we are, we’re still Blue Thunder. Protecting civilians is our first principle and iron rule as Blue Thunder. Turning our backs in a situation like this would be shameful for us.”

“But aren’t they the enemy forces and enemy nation that have been tormenting you all this time?”

“There’s no distinction between friend and foe when it comes to civilians. That’s how we were taught.”

A tone that said ‘what would a bastard like you know.’

At Lee Hyeon’s cold response, Xu Changyou’s lips twisted.

It looked like sneering, but also like self-mockery.

Lee Hyeon continued speaking.

“And what you’re trying to do? Obviously you’re planning to perform a Fengshan ritual, right?”

The mirage was growing thicker.

The burning base gradually disappeared, replaced slowly by an Ice Palace filled with eternal snow and blizzards.

Reality erosion.

It was proof that the overlap was accelerating.

And,

In the center of that blizzard, Xu Changyou’s clothes were also taking the form of dragon robes and ceremonial garments worn by ancient Chinese emperors.

Dark shadows also fell over his head.

‘This bastard intended to use Ping Xin as a tool from the very beginning.’

Xu Changyou was trying to use all of Ping Xin and the civilians in the military base’s jurisdiction as sacrifices.

Just like how he had awakened the Jade Emperor’s divine authority by sacrificing Lee Hyeon and Blue Thunder in the .

This time he was trying to reach an even higher place.

The Fengshan ritual.

A ceremony that ancient Chinese emperors performed for the heavenly Jade Emperor.

Once this ritual was completed, the emperor could be reborn as the true ruler of the Lower Realm, the Son of Heaven.

Xu Changyou was trying to become a top ranker through this.

 

[The Jade Emperor quietly watches his apostle from the jade throne.]

 

Xu Changyou was now even wearing a crown with tassels hanging down over his head.

The ceremonial dress said to be worn by ancient Sons of Heaven.

“You’re insane. What’s so important about those principles? Will you drive your comrades to death again like four years ago?”

Xu Changyou’s eyes were somehow desolate.

As if trying to find something in Lee Hyeon. As if trying to confirm that he too was no different from himself.

“Who says anyone’s going to die? I trust my comrades. It’s different from back then. And… I won’t let them die either.”

Four years ago, he lost his eyes and his life. He also lost his brother Moon Su-chan.

But not anymore.

He was Jet.

He had nothing left to lose.

Now he only had things to gain.

“So,”

Lee Hyeon twisted his lips while gripping the axe.

“Let’s end this now. I’m sick and tired of it.”

Flash!

Whirrrrr!!

The Golden Headband on Lee Hyeon’s head spun more fiercely. The Ruyi chains were also surrounding Lee Hyeon protectively.

 

[The legend ‘■■ Great ■’s Successor’ reveals its majesty!]

 

Son Wukong’s most cherished title was Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

This was an honor earned by destroying the heavenly palace led by the Jade Emperor.

Lee Hyeon planned to follow that great Achievement and destroy the Jade Emperor’s heavenly palace that had appeared on earth as well.

Crackle!!

 

[The Jade Emperor narrows his eyes at a sense of déjà vu from somewhere.]

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————