Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 257
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 257
Uprising(1)
Screeeeeeeech———————!
A thunderous roar as if the sky was being torn apart. Artillery shells pour down from the sky. The impact shakes the earth’s axis, and scorching fragments shoot out in all directions. Thick clouds of dust rise like fog.
Hissssssss….
Technologies invented solely to destroy human bodies, mixing magic power, gunpowder, and steel.
In the midst of death being dropped from above, the explorers scattered in unison.
“Ji-woo! Take Unit 2 and go!”
Unit 2 rushed toward Seo Ji-woo.
“Thanks!”
Seo Ji-woo climbed onto Unit 2, while Im Hae-jun and Lee Jong-soo clung to Yoon Hwa-rim’s Unit 1.
Kang Hyeon, Lee Jun-ho, and Kate had apparently fled and disappeared from sight.
Kwaaaaaaang———-!
“…Ugh, damn.”
Seo Ji-woo pressed the accelerator while calming her pounding heart.
Boom—————!
An air strike hit right next to them. Wave-like sparks surged toward them.
“Ugh!”
Startled, Seo Ji-woo quickly steered the cart into the forest.
Kwaaaaaaaaaak—————!
She couldn’t tell where the attacks were coming from. She couldn’t tell where they would fall. Therefore, she couldn’t resist or counterattack.
“This is driving me crazy….”
Seo Ji-woo swallowed. Sweat beads had formed on her palms before she knew it.
Explorers are certainly not ordinary people. They are much tougher and more powerful than average people. However, modern firearms arriving at unexpected moments are equally lethal to them.
Even world-famous high-rankers are nothing more than a single cog in such a massive war.
Vrooooooom—-!
She stomped on the accelerator. Running along the mountain ridge, between the trees, she escaped the bombardment range.
Had she been running like that for several dozen minutes?
Whiiiiiii….
Finally, the air strikes subsided. Seo Ji-woo wiped away her cold sweat and stopped Unit 2.
“Wow, look at my heart racing.”
Thump thump thump thump thump.
The sound echoes from within. My ribs might break.
Rustle.
Just then, there was a sign of people in the thicket.
The moment she looked in that direction.
“…Hands up!”
Uniformed soldiers pointed their guns at her. Seo Ji-woo looked at them silently.
“What are you doing! Hands up! Wh-what is that thing you’re riding!”
There were four of them. All Labyrinth People, but they all looked quite hurt. The fingers gripping the triggers were trembling, and above all, they were young.
At least they seem to be around my age.
Grrrrrrowl-
The rumbling sound from their stomachs.
“…Are you perhaps hungry?”
“I said hands up! Hands—!”
“Whether I put my hands up or not doesn’t matter.”
Seo Ji-woo took out emergency rations from Unit 2’s cargo compartment and threw them to the soldiers. They were combat rations.
“Please eat.”
“….”
Then the four soldiers looked at each other. After cautiously exchanging glances, three kept their guns aimed while one came to get the combat rations.
“You don’t need to be on guard. Do I look like a bad person? My brother was also a soldier.”
After checking the rations, they swallowed and nodded.
“…What do you do?”
The man who appeared to be the squad leader asked, lowering his gun.
“Ah. I sell alcohol.”
“Su-surely you’re reinforcements?!”
“Uh….”
No, but ultimately the goal would be the same – escape. If we can cooperate, it wouldn’t be bad.
“Well. Something like that.”
“Ah, finally from headquarters…!”
“Finally!”
They hugged each other in joy. I feel a bit sorry for deceiving them.
“So please guide me anywhere.”
“Ah, yes! Please follow us.”
Seo Ji-woo followed them from inside Unit 2.
Whoooosh—-
The place they arrived at together was some kind of trench. There were dozens of soldiers, but most were wounded.
“Please explain the situation.”
“…As you can see, we’re surrounded on this coast. The enemy’s main force is advancing from the ground. If they reach this place….”
He stopped speaking. Seo Ji-woo didn’t ask until the end either.
“The only escape route would be the coastline.”
“Yes. But the problem is the air strikes. Those bastards are pouring artillery shells from the sky, so even headquarters seems to be… having a hard time.”
“Hmm…. Then we’ll have to build a ship here.”
“Oh. Is that possible?! As expected!”
Their eyes sparkled. Seo Ji-woo cleared her throat and asked back.
“Ahem. How many people in total?”
“Probably… it seems like more than 100,000.”
“Ah, then- What?”
The scale of the number was somehow different. Beyond expectations, a number hard to even imagine.
Surprised, she asked again.
“One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand people?”
Kang Hyeon stood on a cliff near the coastline.
Endless debris of unknown origin floats on the vast sea, and the sky is murky as if soaked in gunpowder smoke.
“….”
Kang Hyeon quietly thought.
Escape. Where and how should he escape? He still couldn’t get a grasp on it.
I still lack experience.
Rustle.
There was a presence beside him.
“Damn, you’re fast. I barely caught up~?”
It was Lee Jun-ho. He chuckled and crouched down on one knee next to Kang Hyeon.
Thunk!
He stabbed his sword into the road surface and muttered.
“Hey. I can walk on water a bit. Look over there.”
He pointed his finger. There was a small island near the sea.
“You see the island? I can get that far. If there are a few more islands like that, I might be able to escape alone.”
Lee Jun-ho is close to being a Murim warrior. That’s his nature from birth.
Magic power specially refined in the human body is called ‘internal energy’, but not many people are born with a body capable of such refinement.
“Give it a try.”
“Yeah. I’ll try going to that visible island. Let’s at least set up an outpost. But….”
Kang Hyeon looked down at Lee Jun-ho.
“That guy didn’t get eliminated, did he?”
“…I can’t pick up his scent. No traces either. He might have been scattered due to the air strike.”
“Really? But the train staff seemed unaware of whether he’s alive or dead too.”
The sea breeze blew. Both men’s clothes fluttered. Kang Hyeon fell silent for a moment, and Lee Jun-ho gave a bitter smile.
“Who goes there!”
With the sudden shout, presences rushed toward them.
They were probably soldiers in uniform.
“Hands up!”
“Swords, they’re carrying swords!”
“What?!”
They’re carrying swords.
At someone’s words, the unit pulled their triggers first.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat——!
It was the right response. Ordinary people with guns shouldn’t give time to a swordsman.
In fact, they shouldn’t have shouted “Who goes there!” either.
They should have shot first before asking.
Kang Hyeon drew his sword and moved briefly.
Clang clang clang clang clang!
Hundreds of bullets fired by the soldiers in unison hit the sword blade and all deflected away.
Hisssss….
Steam rose from the gun barrels.
“Oh my~”
Lee Jun-ho grinned and stood up. It was clearly a very dangerous movement.
The soldiers quickly lowered their guns.
“…We’re sorry! We didn’t recognize you!”
They even knelt down.
“Huh.”
Lee Jun-ho let out a hollow laugh, and Kang Hyeon nodded understandingly and asked them.
“By any chance, have you seen someone with a walking stick?”
“Ah… well… there are so many people with walking sticks here….”
“Long hair. Long hair.”
Lee Jun-ho tugged at his own hair.
“He’s a man but his hair comes down below his shoulder blades.”
“Uh….”
They seemed unaware. Kang Hyeon changed his question.
“Then by any chance, is there a way to escape from here?”
“…You’re not enemies. We apologize once again.”
The soldiers slowly stood up.
“Actually, we’re also looking for an escape method. They say a rescue request was sent to headquarters, but… as you can see the situation, it’s hopeless.”
Kang Hyeon looked at the rank insignia on his chest.
Sergeant. The same rank as Seol Ha-woon.
“Yes. Then… Jun-ho?”
“Yeah, what.”
“Let’s follow these people for now.”
“What about the island?”
“After we get at least a radio.”
Lee Jun-ho thought for a moment and nodded.
“Alright. Let’s go. Um, please guide us to your base.”
Inside the cave where they fled to avoid the air strike. Yoon Hwa-rim parked the cart.
“Phew… Done. We’re inside.”
“Whoa… wow… what was that just now. It feels like a dream.”
“Really, what was that.”
Lee Jong-soo and Im Hae-jun in the back seat let out sighs of relief.
“No, I can’t hear. I’m still dazed.”
Im Hae-jun repeatedly covered and uncovered his ears.
“Sis, what do we do now?”
“What do you mean what do we do. Let’s wait and see.”
Yoon Hwa-rim put on goggles. She also picked up a controller from the dashboard.
Click.
When she pressed some button, a small object rose from above the cart.
“What’s that?”
“A drone.”
“…This cart has everything.”
Whirrrr.
The drone flew out of the cave into the sky. Yoon Hwa-rim borrowed the drone’s vision to survey the terrain.
“It’s roughly extremely rough. Visibility is poor due to the gunpowder smoke too.”
“Visibility? Why visibility all of a sudden? Is time important?”
“…No. Visibility is similar to field of vision.”
“Then just say field of vision. Acting all smart.”
“Ugh, shut up! Never mind. It’s aviation terminology.”
Whoooosh!
Just then, a gust of wind blew and an aircraft appeared. It was a blunt-looking bomber.
“…So this was it, the thing firing shells. It looks menacing too.”
Fwoosh-!
The connection was cut.
It was shot down by another fighter escorting the bomber.
“Ah shit, this was expensive.”
Yoon Hwa-rim took off her goggles.
“For now, we…”
—Hwa-rim! Can you hear me?
The radio crackled from Unit 1. It was communication from Unit 2.
“Yeah! Ji-woo, what’s up?”
─I’m at a military barracks right now. The only way to escape is by boat, but support may or may not come.
“…May or may not come? What do you mean?”
─I don’t know. They say headquarters has to make the decision, but more importantly, the people we need to rescue are insane.
“Rescue? Us?”
─Yeah. There are 100,000 people who need to escape from here!
“…Huh?”
“100,000 people?”
Yoon Hwa-rim frowned. Lee Jong-soo and Im Hae-jun’s faces also hardened.
“Ji-woo, is it really 100,000? That’s more than enough to fill a World Cup stadium and then some?”
─I kept asking too, but they say it’s right. I think this Zone 6 setting is just like that, but what do we do about this?
Meanwhile, Kate had somehow procured a ferry-like boat and put it on the water.
“If I float this…”
Bob. Bob.
When she infused magic power into the damaged parts of the floating wooden boat, crack!
Sparks flew and it was completely destroyed.
“…”
Kate suppressed a deep sigh. She swallowed her rising anger.
This is quite, no, extremely stressful. My talent is indeed focused only on destruction.
Screeeeeeeech───!
Suddenly, a tremendous engine sound echoed loudly.
“So noisy.”
Kate’s temples throbbed. She glared at the fighter jet fuselage in the sky and formed a spear.
Immediately after, she activated her sequence.
Whooooooo-
Her nervous system amplified and time slowed for a moment. Her five senses were heightened.
She calculated all variables including the fighter’s speed, altitude, and wind direction, drew out one perfect trajectory, and─
Threw the spear.
Kwaaaaaaaak─!
Successful shootdown.
Dusting off her hands, she moved again to find transportation.
Whiiiiiii───
…This place is a port where desolate western winds blow.
From very far away, faint sounds of artillery shells echo, and fog mixed with gunpowder rolls in.
Tap tap. Tap tap.
Uniformed soldiers busily moving back and forth on the wharf. On the deck of the moored giant warship are people wearing quite splendid military uniforms with many medals.
However, they only hold meetings with each other. Occasionally they say words like ‘rescue’ and ‘escape’, but show no actual action toward those goals.
Tap tap tap tap tap—!
A soldier runs so hard that dust rises. His direction is opposite to the warship. A small dock quite far from the moored port, where only a few fishing boats barely bob.
He roughly throws open the door of an old shack used as a fishermen’s shelter and enters.
“The air strikes are starting again!”
The soldier cried out desperately as he looked inside.
On the wall of the shack was a huge map panel. A coastline marked complexly with red lines. Only one person was staring at it.
“…Are you really sure this is possible?”
The soldier asked him. The soldier’s brother was trapped there. He had that much desperation, but couldn’t shake his doubts about the unrealistic plan.
“I told you. It’s better than just sitting still on a ship.”
Suddenly he turned around.
Sunlight seeping through the window illuminated and scattered his long hair. His eyes were calm like the sea, but within them was a sharpness that seemed to see through the battlefield.
At least that’s how it felt to the soldier.
“Let’s prepare.”
His name was Seol Ha-woon.
A limping mage who appeared suddenly, spoke of salvation, and said he would build a ship.
“Soon, we’ll meet.”
Seol Ha-woon looked at the text that appeared before his eyes.
Zone 6: Battlefield
Safely return the soldiers who could not come back home.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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