My Catastrophic‑Level Summon Devours Gates - Chapter 269

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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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Episode 269
We arrived at Incheon Port, our first assembly point.
“President, please return to work.”
“I’ll just confirm the ship’s departure and leave.”
I knew full well how busy he was, yet he insisted.
I urged him several more times, but he refused adamantly.
Whirrrr—
The moment I stepped out through the automatically opening rear door.
“….”
Everyone around us turned to stare at us.
It wasn’t the first time I’d experienced this.
But this time felt different.
“Is there a drama shoot today?”
The looks I’d seen before were the kind of surprise one gets seeing a celebrity.
“They look like celebrities. Their faces seem familiar.”
“But I can’t figure out who they are.”
“That’s strange.”
Now they were watching us the way one watches celebrities.
Usually, Sir Isra and Ingrid monopolized this kind of attention.
Recently, Zaugg had been trying to appeal to people a bit.
But because of his thief position, his appeal fell short compared to my two familiars.
“Hehe. My styling skills are paying off, aren’t they?”
Is that so?
I wore a casual gray jacket over a white shirt.
The pants matched the same color.
Wasn’t this just my usual clothes with a jacket thrown on?
The slim fit made it tight, so it only added +1 to my discomfort.
“That’s not quite right, sir.”
“Master. Cool.”
Ugh.
I couldn’t find words to respond to such a blunt assessment.
“Hmm. I’m not entirely pleased with such light attire.”
Sir Isra also grumbled while examining his outfit.
“No. You look great.”
What are you saying, Sir Isra?
It looks far better than the armor you usually wear.
A white shirt from the same brand I typically wore.
Instead, his lower half was ripped jeans with tears here and there.
Wearing them slim-fit made his physique distinctly visible.
“Wow.”
Why didn’t you dress like that all the time?
If you’d posted photos in this outfit on Star, wouldn’t your followers have multiplied several times over?
Even I found myself stealing glances—the look was genuinely captivating.
“Master. When you keep staring at Iron Head like that, I get jealous.”
“You’re the one who set this up for me.”
“Ah, that’s right! Hehe.”
Ingrid was equally radiant.
She understood exactly how to make herself stand out.
Roan wore prescription-free glasses to project a model student vibe.
Zaugg dressed entirely in black with a necktie, cultivating an image of melting into darkness itself.
Even in combat, this outfit would definitely draw aggro well.
“Wow. Younger Sibling. Since when did you dress so well?”
Yang Seo-yeon, the Master of the Phoenix Guild, approached with a hearty laugh.
“Guild Leader, are you going personally?”
“Hey, I told you to speak comfortably. Call me Unnie. Unnie.”
That might be pushing it a bit, I thought.
Yang Seo-yeon, the Guild Leader, spoke with the same refreshing directness as at the last meeting.
This wasn’t an act of boldness—it was genuine.
“If inexperienced kids go, I tell them to die out there. When I go, it’s certain.”
“You have so much guild work, though.”
“That’s exactly why it’s better. When I’m in the field, I don’t have to do paperwork.”
Ah.
You’re quite honest.
The Giant Man standing beside Yang Seo-yeon stepped forward.
“I’m Jo Yeong-hwan, Vice Guild Leader. I’ve heard much about you.”
“Hello.”
“It’s an honor to meet the Conqueror of the Tower of Chaos in person.”
His posture was disciplined.
Completely opposite to Yang Seo-yeon’s demeanor.
I lightly clasped his large hand.
“Since we’ve become comrades-in-arms who will trust each other’s backs in this dimensional rift operation, I look forward to working with you.”
“The honor is mine.”
“Hey, Vice Guild Leader. Why are you being so formal?”
“This is an official setting. Hunter Park Min-ho isn’t one of our guild members, so naturally we should be respectful.”
“I said we’re eating as siblings now.”
Well, you did say to speak comfortably, but calling me Unnie was quite a stretch.
President Baek, who had gone to park the car, arrived late and gave a slight bow.
“Ah, CEO Baek. It’s been a while.”
“The elite of the Phoenix Guild are all being dispatched.”
“You know our full strength?”
“You all know these faces, don’t you?”
The Phoenix Guild contingent consisted of five members.
Among the Domestic Big Five, they had selected their absolute strongest force—an elite unit from a guild that prided itself on quality over quantity.
“If things go south, we need to be able to pull back, after all.”
“The battlefield is quite expansive, though.”
“Well, my younger sibling seems like they’ll handle it just fine on their own.”
“Ha, haha. You’ve become quite the trusted individual.”
“You cleared the entire Tower of Chaos. I’ve never made it past the 40th floor myself.”
“I watched the conquest video. The way you subdued the Death Knight and Lich so effortlessly—truly remarkable.”
Jo Yeong-hwan, the Phoenix Guild’s vice leader, was gilding my reputation.
Ugh.
This is embarrassing.
While I exchanged pleasantries with the Phoenix Guild Master, Hunters from the other Domestic Big Five guilds began arriving in succession.
Seventy-one in total.
Excluding the Phoenix Guild, each had mobilized more than ten Hunters.
The last to arrive were the Rift Bureau Hunters.
Department Head Jeon Hye-yeon from the Response Department’s First Division bowed lightly.
“Thank you for your dedication to our nation.”
She wore full combat gear.
Blood stains that hadn’t been fully wiped away remained distinctly visible on her shoulder plates.
There had been another dispatch.
No one reproached her for being late, given the evidence of recent combat still clinging to her.
“Let’s depart immediately.”
The elite forces of the Domestic Big Five moved toward the ferry waiting at the dock.
I followed slowly behind them.
Toward Sinuiju, the front line of the Korean Peninsula standing against the threat of the Great Rift.
* * *
Whoooosh!
The ferry passenger ship cut through the waves, surging forward.
The government-chartered vessel advanced northward at high speed.
“What is that ship?”
“A naval escort vessel.”
A warship flying the fluttering Taegeuk flag.
A so-called Chungnam-class frigate maintained a proper distance behind the passenger ship.
It was a precaution against unforeseen circumstances, and seeing the warship up close felt oddly novel.
“I remember seeing a ghost fleet once.”
“Wow. Ghost ships actually exist?”
“It was a navy raised by Necromancers. We broke a sweat exterminating that one, let me tell you.”
“….”
I regret asking.
I passed the time on deck, watching the sea and the warships.
“It’s been a while.”
I turned at the voice from behind me.
Department Head Jeon Hye-yeon of the Response Department 1st Division.
She was considered a promising Hunter to succeed Director Jeong, and the last time I’d seen her was when we entered the Cross Gate.
“Congratulations on your S-rank promotion.”
“It feels good to receive congratulations from Hunter Park.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“You cleared the Tower of Chaos completely. You’re essentially an S-rank Hunter already.”
“Ah, come on. I didn’t do anything. The kids did it all.”
“Your Summoned Creatures’ strength is your ability too.”
That was a fair point.
Ah.
Even humility isn’t easy.
“I’m counting on you for this operation.”
“Likewise, I’m counting on you.”
“I brought only the elite from the 1st Division. You won’t have to worry about anyone dragging their feet.”
The eleventh in our country.
No, wait—when Yong Cheon-woo of the Mir Guild defected, I became the tenth S-rank Hunter, and I bowed my head.
After that, Department Head Jeon Hye-yeon briefly explained the specialties of the 1st Division team members deployed for this operation.
“The port is coming into view.”
A harbor nestled beside a river as wide as the Han River.
Compared to Incheon Port, it had only the bare minimum facilities.
Barbed wire was strung up everywhere, giving it the feel of a military installation.
“It is a military facility.”
“A port?”
“Sinuiju was developed to block Monster Waves from the Great Rift.”
The city itself was a military city.
Fascinating.
The atmosphere of Sinuiju, a city cradling the proudly flowing Yalu River, was sharp and tense.
“Stop daydreaming and get out of the way!”
“The transport vehicles still haven’t arrived?”
Loud voices echoing from all directions.
Solid steel trucks loaded with war supplies were being driven out.
The voices of soldiers conversing reached my ears without filter.
“It certainly feels more like a military base than a city.”
“A place like this would be hard to do business in.”
“Why are you already thinking about setting up a Thief Guild?”
“It’s a habit.”
He’d completely abandoned the archaeologist concept and wasn’t even trying to hide that he was a thief anymore.
“Then I wish you good fortune.”
The Hunters from the Domestic Big Five began moving to their respective assigned positions.
“Oh, before you go, please take one of these radios with you.”
“Do communication devices function near the Great Rift?”
“It’s a specially crafted item by the Rift Bureau. It’s designed to read frequencies even in areas with dense magical concentration, so we’d appreciate your cooperation in sharing situational updates.”
At Department Head Jeon Hye-yeon’s explanation of the item, each Guild Leader nodded in acknowledgment.
So this is truly the beginning.
My hands trembled slightly from the tension.
The otherworldly nightmare that persisted even after the Great Catastrophe.
I had to endure against the monsters that kept pouring out from beyond the dimensional rift.
“Master. Trust us.”
“We won’t let a single one slip through.”
“Should things go awry, don’t hesitate to ride on Schne’s back?”
“Master. Protect.”
【Tsk tsk tsk. Our full power is more than sufficient. I guarantee we’ll complete this mission.】
【I-I’ll do my best!】
My Familiars cheering in their own ways.
My cheeks twitched slightly.
“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”
Monster Waves or whatever—they won’t easily cross beyond the Yalu River.
* * *
There were five predicted advance routes for the monsters emerging from the Great Rift.
The core of this emergency plan was for the Domestic Big Five to each take one route and conduct a delaying operation.
I muttered to myself while surveying my surroundings.
“I didn’t fully understand it from just the briefing, but now I see.”
What image comes to mind when you think of Manchuria?
An endless plain stretching to the horizon.
There was even a genre called “Manchurian Western” among old films.
It was named that way because it resembled the desolate western regions of America during the frontier era.
But the terrain north of the Yalu River was far from a plain.
Mountains.
And more mountains.
Mountainous terrain densely covered with coniferous trees filled my entire field of vision.
“The battlefield won’t expand indefinitely then.”
“Right. In the end, it’s a test of stamina.”
The scale of the Monster Wave was estimated at tens of millions.
We would block the paths cutting through the mountains.
Hold our ground until our stamina ran dry, then fall back from the front line, recover, and hold again at the secondary defensive position.
Simple and crude, but effective tactics.
Now I understood why the Rift Bureau had dispatched a small elite force first.
“Department Head Jeon Hye-yeon.”
“Yes. Ranger Park Min-ho.”
Ranger.
A title I hadn’t heard in quite some time.
The designation for outsourced personnel under the Rift Bureau.
I was the illustrious Ranger Number One.
Thanks to that, I was enjoying quite a few perks like tax deductions.
“You folks from the Rift Bureau should take a breather.”
“Pardon?”
“I think our people alone will be sufficient to establish the defensive line.”
Monsters pouring in from across the way.
The Monster Wave hadn’t actually started yet.
There were simply many monsters released from proximity to the Great Rift.
[Death Space]
Lich Juan Carlos.
“Show me your power.”
Why exhaust ourselves swinging weapons around?
Everyone should rest and conserve their stamina.

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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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