Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 258

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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258
The moment Amy and Marbas burst forward, a blue line and the black line trailing behind it streaked across Earth.
[F-fast! I thought we couldn’t make up the gap that had already opened, but at this rate, we’ll catch up in no time!]
[Aside from Ji-seok, Amy is one of humanity’s strongest, and Marbas is the Demon King!]
[Ah! The moment I speak, Mei-ling and Baldri in the lead have just passed through the US West Checkpoint!]
[That was the last checkpoint on the ground, wasn’t it?]
The competition on Earth was entering its final stretch, and now it was time to leave Earth behind and head for the Moon.
[Correct. The next checkpoint is 10 kilometers above ground, and after that are checkpoints at 20, 40, 80, and 160 kilometers above ground.]
[We’re really going to the Moon! But without cheering, oxygen deprivation will hit immediately! Everyone, please cheer for your country’s athletes!]
“Up! Up! Up!”
“Go! Go! Go!”
Heave! Heave!
Go!
People shouted in their own languages and chants.
In this moment, the athletes didn’t interfere with each other and focused solely on ascending. The warrior-class athletes who had never flown before had to concentrate on leaping upward using this new power.
The background of the footage sent from the broadcast drones following the athletes grew progressively darker.
[Current first place, Mei-ling! She’s entered space!]
Mei-ling’s face was zoomed in, with Baldri and athletes from various nations following behind her.
[It looks like Yang Sang-heon and Alex are quite far back?]
[The Chinese athletes seem to have come with firm resolve. Just as Yang Sang-heon and Alex try to move forward, several athletes are staying behind to obstruct them.]
[That won’t matter. Yang Sang-heon isn’t an ordinary person. He’ll catch up soon. And Alex goes without saying. Oh, Amy’s coming up too.]
[Amy! She’s caught up to the rear in an instant! Incredibly fast!]
“Nooolza~!”
Amy could have simply passed by, but instead she electrocuted each of the trailing athletes one by one as she ascended into space. It was as if she herself had become chain lightning incarnate.
[But she shouldn’t be making so many enemies like that!]
Most of the fallen national representatives were from smaller nations, but the problem was that Amy had touched far too many people.
The jeers from a single nation might not have been heavy, but the jeers pouring in from a dozen countries were converted into force that pressed down on Amy.
“H-heavy~!”
“Krahaha! I’ll go first!”
Marbas overtook the slowing Amy, plowing through other athletes with his body as he passed.
[Has the Demon King finally understood the true nature of this race? He picks fights, but without actually battling, he’s heading toward the next checkpoint!]
[That Demon King… he just seems to be going with the flow.]
Jang Mi was right. Once Marbas began his charge, he simply rode the momentum like inertia, pressing forward.
[What does it matter?! As long as it’s fun! Now we must traverse the vast cosmos to reach the next checkpoint! Survival itself is impossible in space without a protective barrier created by cheering boosters! Please gather everyone’s strength!]
There were people who simply hoped their country’s athletes would win, but there had never been a gambling opportunity as good as this race.
“Next checkpoint odds on Mei-ling: 1 to 1.01! Betting closes in one minute!”
“One percent?! Is that even gambling?! I’m going all-in on Marbas!”
Online gambling was prohibited at home because it was difficult to gather willpower, so casinos and private gambling establishments were set up, and gamblers flocked to them.
There were games to predict the race’s ultimate winner, but money was wagered at hundreds of checkpoints.
“Director! The willpower coming from the gambling establishment has the highest density!”
“Everyone’s betting their entire fortunes on this.”
“…Can I just leave it alone?”
“Normally, no…”
Jae-in glanced at the total amount of willpower flowing from the gambling hall.
“But this is an emergency.”
She then pressed a switch to cut the camera feed broadcasting the gambling hall.
[While Alex is making a move from behind, Baldri is closing the distance with Mei-ling in first place!]
The cheering situation in Luna City appeared on the screen.
Numerous species of Luna City were visible, cheering while drinking the city’s signature slow loris delicacy and special fermented liquor.
[You can almost hear the cheers from here!]
Since everyone was too busy surviving and the Olympics hadn’t been held in ages, inter-regional competitions were the only form of national rivalry, so it was only natural that people were getting excited.
[It’s a long journey to the Moon. Now let’s take a look at today’s sponsor advertisement!]
Rigen’s product advertisement flowed across the screen first.
Most of the money earned so far had been consumed to provide beverages, meals, and cheering venues across the entire world.
Of course, advertisements were placed throughout, but it wasn’t a profitable investment. This was possible because Rigen’s purpose was ultimately survival. It was a structurally deformed corporation that could ignore profits and pour all its money into survival, and ironically, it had grown day by day because of it.
And Mei-ling flew so close that she was visible even from Luna City.
“Kyaaaaa!!”
However, a blinding light struck Mei-ling’s eyes, causing her to veer to the side instead of passing through the Checkpoint.
[Ah! What’s happening?!]
The broadcast drone’s camera turned toward where the light came from. Someone on the Lunar Surface had set up a reflector and was bouncing sunlight into Mei-ling’s eyes while fleeing.
“Foul! That’s a foul!”
“That bastard! You son of a—!”
“Kill them! Forget the race, kill that bastard first!”
As Mei-ling surged into an overwhelming lead, China’s cheering had been somewhat subdued, but when hit with the eye-blinding attack, they united in hurling curses.
Since the target wasn’t a competitor, the willpower couldn’t form a debuff, but the willpower flowed into the Control Center where Jae-in was.
“Ah, delicious.”
Jae-in felt good just watching the gauge rise.
“Is this why you wanted a game without fouls?”
Alice asked, watching Jae-in smile with satisfaction.
“Yeah. Either way, as long as we gather power, it doesn’t matter, right?”
“Don’t tell me that person is also your subordinate?”
“I didn’t order them. With the race structure as it is, people like that are bound to appear naturally without me having to do anything.”
“How ruthless of you.”
“Thanks.”
[Isn’t that a foul?!]
Despite their earlier display of hostility, when interference came from outside the race, Jang Mi also jumped to her feet.
[Jang Mi, there are no fouls in this competition. Didn’t China already take sides earlier and not stop Yang Sang-heon? In this race, as long as you don’t take lives, everything is permitted.]
Fouls are hard the first time, but easy the second time. And no penalty? Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage.
“I don’t know who those idiots are, but now that it’s started, we don’t need to hold back! Fleet, launch!”
The US Space Fleet, which had been hiding behind the Moon, emerged from the lunar shadow and headed toward the competitors.
“Spirit Mage Corps! Deploy formation!”
Hundreds of Spirit Mages gathered from Luna City to the Lunar Surface.
“Fire!”
“Attack!”
The competitors had to evade not only attacks from other participants, but also incoming strikes from outside.
[Aren’t they going to die like this?!]
Jang Mi gasped at the elemental barrage unleashed by hundreds of Spirit Mages.
[Normally, yes. However, the cheering boosters sent by citizens of each nation also function as protective barriers for the competitors’ bodies. Thanks to this, they suffer no injuries. The trade-off, though, is that the power needed for speed is diverted to the shield, so they must accept the resulting deceleration.]
[Ah! They reached the Moon quickly, but they’ll slow down even more from here on!]
[And here awaits another fascinating mechanism for our competitors! The next Checkpoint is a Gate! However, to pass through this Gate, they must solve a rather… difficult problem. Alternatively, they may fly directly.]
[How could anyone fly directly all the way to Mars?]
While no one knew the exact distance to Mars, everyone understood that humans could not simply fly there.
[Didn’t Ji-seok’s uncle take several days?]
[That’s correct. However, if there were no interference, Hunters accelerating at hundreds of kilometers per second with cheering boosters should have no problem reaching it.]
The race toward Mars burned with intensity, yet Gaia and I could not afford to relax our vigilance.
“It’s here.”
Gaia spoke while gazing into empty space.
“What? What is?”
“The Manager’s avatar. I’m holding it back now, but… I won’t last more than a few seconds.”
[Chairman!]
“Going now!”
I hurled myself through the spatial rift Jae-in opened, where the Manager’s avatar was forcing its way through the Gate.
“Too late.”
It fired a psychic blast toward the Ground. Since this was a densely populated region, tens of millions would perish the instant it struck.
“Argh!”
I expanded my domain widely to intercept the attack. Now that I could sense intent, the assault no longer passed through as it once had.
But the Manager was a monstrosity—tens of thousands of souls that had shed their flesh, accumulating knowledge and multiplying across eons of time.
The psychic blast it fired merely slowed within my domain.
I moved toward the attack’s trajectory while maintaining my expanded domain, blocking the strikes, but ultimately the Manager’s assault pierced through my domain.
[Thank you for your effort!]
Jae-in’s drones positioned themselves perfectly on the Ground, connecting to form a magic circle.
From the Gate that opened at the center of the magic circle, all the gathered intent activated a massive defensive magic circle.
“…Parlor tricks…”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I blocked the Manager’s descent toward the Ground, its expression darkening.
“You think you can stop me?”
“Try getting past.”
The Manager descended toward the Ground with contemptuous ease.
Mechanical devices would be destroyed by excessive data injection the moment they touched its body. If it destroyed even a few drones, the defensive magic below would become useless, and flying to another region to avoid them posed the same problem.
It passed through my body more difficultly than before, yet still with ease.
“Damn it… Still not working.”
“Watch your own kind die right there.”
The Manager laughed coldly and turned his body toward the ground.
[Chairman! Don’t hold back!]
“Hold back?”
The Manager flinched upon hearing my aide’s voice through the radio.
“This is it!”
A magic circle materialized from the bracelet on my wrist, and a white aura of willpower coiled around my fist.
“Ugh…!”
My fist drove directly into the Manager’s spectral face.
Countless character fragments scattered like shards across his visage.
“…Ah, exhilarating.”
It was an attack born from the willpower I had gathered to erect a barrier on Earth. However, this method consumed willpower at an alarming rate. I had hoped to save it for the final moment, but circumstances left me no choice.
“Let’s have some real fun, shall we?”
“W-Wait! How can an absolute being like me be overwhelmed so pathetically?!”
I charged at the screaming creature, both fists wreathed in the power of willpower.

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