Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 49

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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 49.
Lee Ha-gyeong couldn’t help but be bewildered.
He was just a twenty-five-year-old unaffiliated close-range dealer, after all.
He’d gained some notoriety recently, but this was a different matter entirely.
He’d never properly issued an Order before.
That’s why he hadn’t taken it on himself this time, wasn’t it?
Lee Ha-gyeong posed another question.
“How many personnel are in the defense force?”
―According to the records, three hundred personnel.
“There must be many far more accomplished than I am, so why——”
―Because we selected only those who’ve led raids of Unknown Grade Ultra-Large Scale or higher.
“Hmm?”
Coincidentally, Lee Ha-gyeong fit the criteria perfectly.
When he thought about it, there couldn’t be many people like that.
Ultra-Large Scale dungeons were extremely rare.
Moreover, you needed a certain level of renown to assemble a raid party.
Gathering people was harder than one might imagine.
In the end, Lee Ha-gyeong nodded.
“Understood. When and where should I go?”
―I’ll send you a separate message with the assembly location and time.
“Yes.”
―Then I’ll wish you luck.
Click.
After hanging up, John approached with a half-hearted expression.
He glanced at his phone and spoke bluntly.
“Man, why do they all lack finesse? Are all Korean bureaucrats like this?”
“Like what?”
“They tell you to join the Western Defense Force, and the moment they’re done talking, they hang up.”
“They must be busy—they probably said all they needed to say.”
“Still, that’s no way to treat someone!”
“What was it like when you were in America?”
“Florida was painfully slow. Shoreline’s hot sunshine, slow paper——. Come to think of it, Korea’s better. I’ve already become a hurry-hurry person myself.”
John spread his arms wide and nodded his head.
Reminiscing about home, American gestures came out naturally.
Oddly awkward though.
Lee Ha-gyeong could only laugh helplessly.
‘But this guy’s forgotten all his English.’
Absurd as it was, what mattered now was the Gate Break.
Lee Ha-gyeong quickly began gathering his things.
A catastrophe with no end in sight.
It was best to bring as much as possible.
John seemed reluctant to go empty-handed either.
He decided to go home and fetch his car.
So Lee Ha-gyeong found himself alone again.
‘Feels a bit lonely, actually.’
He was already missing John’s glib, noisy chatter.
* * *
Lee Ha-gyeong parked at the Association branch
and walked toward his destination.
The Gate Break hadn’t begun in full yet.
Still, a thick layer of Abyss Energy permeated everywhere.
“Cough! Cough!”
People continuously coughed and evacuated beyond the perimeter.
As Lee Ha-gyeong alone moved against the current, a police officer in a gas mask gestured to him.
“Hey! Get out of here right now!”
“It’s fine. I’m an Awakener.”
There wasn’t really any identification to show.
Just displaying armor and weapons was enough.
This wasn’t the Middle Ages.
How many people walked around like this in the twenty-first century?
But the officer had a duty to verify.
There were more unhinged people in the world than one might think.
So Lee Ha-gyeong demonstrated Abyss Tempering.
Whoosh——!
Pale-gray flames blazed from the Kalambit.
The officer immediately understood.
“Ah——. Please do your best.”
“Thanks, then.”
Lee Ha-gyeong disappeared into the mist with a faint smile.
The concentration of Abyss Energy increased as he walked deeper in.
Other Awakeners walking alongside him murmured anxiously.
“This seems denser than an average Abyss dungeon.”
“I agree. It’s easily surpassing your typical Unknown Grade.”
“Just what kind of massive thing broke through?”
Gate Breaks occur for various reasons.
The most basic type is dungeon saturation.
It happens when Awakener activity beyond the gate has declined.
But what is the defining trait of Koreans?
Aren’t they the nation of hustle-bustle?
Lee Ha-gyeong tilted his head.
‘If anything, there should be a dungeon shortage, not saturation.’
There seemed to be an undisclosed cause.
As he ventured further in, the destination finally appeared.
A thick reinforced concrete structure twenty-five meters high.
Lee Ha-gyeong immediately climbed atop the rampart.
Presently, someone who spotted him abruptly posed a question.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Lee Ha-gyeong, appointed as the Eastern Defense Commander. How far along are we with assembly?”
“…….”
But the other person gave no answer.
Lee Ha-gyeong was puzzled.
Why wasn’t he responding?
Of course, he could make an educated guess.
He stared at the man steadily.
‘It’s the age difference.’
The hazy vision caused by Abyss Energy grew clearer.
The man standing before Lee Ha-gyeong appeared to be in his early forties.
Given that he was an Awakener, he was likely older than he looked.
But if a commander who arrived was a mere twenty-five-year-old kid?
Just as expected.
The man made no effort to hide his displeasure.
“I’m Park Jun-ho, deputy commander. Assembly is nearly complete, and the Gate Break hasn’t commenced yet.”
His voice was curt.
Park Jun-ho turned away without even listening to Lee Ha-gyeong’s response.
Then the Awakeners around him rushed after him en masse.
It was a scene Lee Ha-gyeong couldn’t comprehend.
‘Even if he’s in a bad mood, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?’
After the Gate Break ended, they wouldn’t even see each other again anyway.
Why was he acting like his life depended on this temporary posting?
But right then, someone approached and spoke to him.
“Lee Ha-gyeong?”
“Oh—— long time.”
It was Seo Jun-hyeok, a promising healer from Blackwater.
They had quite a history together.
In the Abyss of Collapse, when everyone was kicked out of the dungeon.
Lee Ha-gyeong had saved him from danger.
Afterward, he’d received much help from him in the Abyss of Hatred as well.
Perhaps because of that, Seo Jun-hyeok’s manner was quite warm.
Seo Jun-hyeok frowned, watching Park Jun-ho’s group.
“They’re acting like that because they know who you are.”
“Hmm? I don’t know who they are.”
“There’s no way you would. They’re not particularly famous, and you’ve never directly clashed with them.”
“Ah, so we’ve crossed paths indirectly?”
“Exactly. They’re from the Raiders Guild.”
“Ah——”
Lee Ha-gyeong nodded.
So that’s why their attitude was like that.
They were thieves’ guild thugs.
Choi Hyeon-gi, the master of the Raiders Guild, and Lee Ha-gyeong were enemies.
Though it was only one-sided hatred on their part.
Regardless, what mattered was separating personal feelings from business.
Lee Ha-gyeong stared at the gate that had turned pitch-black.
‘I need to keep public and private matters separate. Resolving the crisis comes first.’
He began walking around on top of the rampart.
He was simply following the Association’s manual.
But even that seemed to offend the Raiders Guild members.
“This is your first Gate Break, right? What does he think he’s doing, moving around like he knows something?”
“Please. No matter how much you’ve flown and crawled around in dungeons, you’re still just a kid.”
“Watch. When this really kicks off, his inexperience will show real fast.”
“We should get some humiliation clips for the community.”
“Don’t worry. When this guy screws up, we’ll make an AI breakdown video out of it.”
The whispers kept spreading to the sides.
Park Jun-ho and the Raiders Guild members numbered ten in total.
A small number, but enough to cause trouble.
Seo Jun-hyeok, standing by Lee Ha-gyeong’s side, bristled.
“Geez! Come on. You’re all too much. If you can’t help, at least don’t get in the way.”
“Leave it. Let it go.”
Lee Ha-gyeong stopped Seo Jun-hyeok, who was about to go confront them.
He appreciated it, though.
Right now, stirring things up would only make matters worse.
Lee Ha-gyeong felt the increasingly thick Abyss Energy.
‘It’ll start soon.’
He gazed at the gate, now pitch-black.
Then came that moment.
Boom——!
A heavy shockwave erupted from the center.
At first, it seemed like a light impact wave.
The sound was faint and the force minimal.
But as it spread, its size grew larger and larger.
Moreover, the momentum that seemed to bind his entire body was ominous.
Yet the other Awakeners appeared unconcerned.
Lee Ha-gyeong grabbed his Whisper Device and instinctively shouted.
“Everyone get behind cover and hold your positions!”
―Huh?
“That’s an order from the defense commander. Everyone, take cover!”
Everyone looked bewildered, but they made some attempt to move.
The rampart had large protruding sections anyway, so even a brief walk was sufficient.
However, there were those who wouldn’t listen.
Park Jun-ho and his Raiders Guild members.
And some other Awakeners who sided with them.
Lee Ha-gyeong issued the order again.
“What are you doing? Take cover, I said!”
Only then did a few Awakeners start moving.
But Park Jun-ho’s faction didn’t budge.
Faces shrugging and snickering.
“No need to be scared. It’s just a sign that things are getting started.”
“Tch! Coward. You’d have to have experienced a Break to understand.”
“This is why you don’t put rookies in command positions.”
“What was the Association thinking? Or not thinking?”
The other Awakeners’ expressions grew uncertain.
What if they were right and this really wasn’t a big deal?
Then only those who heeded Lee Ha-gyeong’s order would look foolish.
Then came that moment.
BOOM——!
A suddenly accelerated shockwave slammed into the rampart.
Even behind the protruding sections, the force was so tremendous that it was hard to keep one’s footing.
Predictably, all those who’d mocked Lee Ha-gyeong were swept away.
Soon, massive forms began to emerge with terrible cries.
[Field Boss, Grave Howler has appeared.]
[Field Boss, Blight River has appeared.]
[Field Boss, Void Mauler has appeared.]
[Field Boss, Night Stalker has appeared.]
Four Field Bosses from the Abyss.
The aura they gave off seemed to far exceed Unknown Grade.
At the ominous system messages, Seo Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue.
“Huh! What the——. Huh? Commander?”
He let out a nervous laugh and glanced to the side.
Lee Ha-gyeong, who’d been sheltering with him, was gone.
Seo Jun-hyeok was left in shock.
The deputy commander was swept away by the shockwave.
The commander had left his post.
Next in the chain of command would be the healer with the most seniority.
But they hadn’t even properly introduced themselves yet, had they?
Seo Jun-hyeok quickly grabbed his Whisper Device.
“Command structure compromised! Command structure down!”
―Damn it! There are Field Bosses right in front of us, what do you expect us to do? Who’s next in command?
“We haven’t determined that yet.”
―Who’s speaking on the radio right now?
“This is Seo Jun-hyeok, healer from Blackwater.”
―A healer? Well, that works. You issue the orders then.
“What?”
―We need to grab aggro right now, so handle the rest.
The voices of the tank-class warriors coming through the Whisper Device were all alpha male.
Seo Jun-hyeok’s eyes were shaking significantly.
“Why is this happening to me of all people——”
But he couldn’t refuse.
With a large-scale battle imminent.
What excuse could there possibly be?
While Seo Jun-hyeok was consumed by despair.
Lee Ha-gyeong was struggling at the rampart’s edge.
“Rrnngh——!”
Grasping bundles of pale-gray tempered rope.
Lee Ha-gyeong braced his feet against the protruding section, holding firm.
Dozens of Awakeners hung suspended below the rampart.
They were the people who’d ignored his command and been swept away by the shockwave.
Then he adjusted his grip on the tempered rope with his left hand.
And began hauling them up one by one.
By coincidence, the first person to be pulled up was Park Jun-ho.
The Raiders Guild ranged dealer who’d led the opposition.
Just before being pulled onto the rampart.
Suddenly their eyes met.
Park Jun-ho directed a question at Lee Ha-gyeong.
“Why in the world——”
There was nothing but ill will between them.
So why had he saved them?
Lee Ha-gyeong answered with a deeply furrowed brow.
“If you’re dead, who’s going to stop them?”
It was a statement laden with meaning.
Gate Break
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Moare Tob
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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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