Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 88

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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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Chapter 88.
Ha Gyeong posed the question as calmly as possible.
“Don’t tell me this is a countdown?”
―No, roughly two days left.
“You bastard. Playing games with people?”
―Aaaah! It was work to increase precision.
“Why’d you let me hear all that? You did it on purpose, didn’t you? Want to get hit even after doing the job right?”
―Kyieeeek!
Rokan shot away in desperate fluttering flight.
Still, he remained well within Ha Gyeong’s palm.
Only—Ha Gyeong didn’t grab him right away.
There was something more pressing to do first.
Ha Gyeong called for Eden Han immediately.
“Tell the Association Headquarters.”
“Tell them what?”
“Two days left. Have them summon the Awakened Ones.”
……
At his declaration, Eden Han—who had been reaching for his phone—went rigid.
A moment later, a rough voice erupted from behind him.
“What the hell did you just say!”
He didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Bradley Turner.
Had to be him.
Ha Gyeong didn’t spare the man a glance as he approached.
But a savage hand seized his shoulder.
So this one was an Awakened One too.
His grip was of considerable strength.
Of course, to Ha Gyeong, it was nothing more than a trivial gesture.
“You bastard?”
Ha Gyeong lowered his stance and retreated swiftly backward.
This drove his back into the man’s embrace.
Using his hips as a pivot, he instantly bent his body forward.
A perfect One-Arm Throw.
Whoosh! Thud!
“Guhk—!”
Bradley wheezed out a strangled breath.
The impact to his torso must have been tremendous.
Startled by the heavy sound, Eden Han rushed over in a panic.
“W-what? What just happened? Why did you—!”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“But the Inspection Department staff is in this state…”
“He reached for my shoulder, so I just let him and the ground get a little acquainted. I didn’t hit him, absolutely not.”
“Eh? What do you mean by that?”
At Ha Gyeong’s composed reply, Eden Han’s face went pale.
His expression suggested he found this whole situation rather problematic.
But Ha Gyeong paid him no mind, keeping his gaze fixed on Bradley.
“If you’re going to lay hands on someone, you’d better be ready to take a hit. Consider it poetic justice.”
However, Bradley had nothing to say about being thrown.
Instead, he seized only on Ha Gyeong’s words.
“C-cough! Th-that last thing you said better be true. If it turns out to be a lie, I’ll put a Mana Bullet through your skull.”
True to a gun-loving nation, even his threats were merciless.
But Ha Gyeong wasn’t the least bit afraid.
“Help or don’t, I don’t care. Forget it. Just get out of here. You’re annoying me.”
He had already pinpointed the location of the Gate Break.
All that remained was to wait.
The Inspection Department had no reason to linger.
Ha Gyeong gestured to Eden Han and turned to leave.
“Let’s go. Since you offered to provide security, you’ll have arranged a hotel for us, yes?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll look into it right away.”
While waiting in the car that had been pulled around earlier,
John, who had been following Ha Gyeong, struck up a conversation.
“Hey, bro.”
“What is it?”
“I saw you rattling off English with Bradley earlier. How’d you get so good at it?”
“I studied abroad in different places growing up.”
“Still, it’s gotta be what—ten years since you last used it?”
“Probably about that. I finished high school back in Korea.”
“So how haven’t you forgotten it?”
“It just… stayed.”
“Wow… I didn’t understand more than half of it. Plus there are so many foreigners here that it’s a pain. Nothing but English everywhere.”
So that’s why he’d seemed so down lately.
Now that they were right in the middle of New York, it made sense.
Ha Gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
“Seriously? A native-born American getting English anxiety?”
“Don’t mock me, bro.”
“Besides, now that you’re calling me ‘bro’ it sounds weird. Aren’t you from Florida?”
“Hey! Hey! Hey! You’ve gotten real mouthy, you know that?”
While he and John were bickering,
Eden Han took his place in the driver’s seat.
He must have already booked the hotel.
The type who worked efficiently, like Jung Tae Won.
Ha Gyeong’s gaze alternated between Eden Han and Bradley, sprawled on the ground.
‘I wonder what his real intentions are?’
* * *
The US Eastern Association was thrown into chaos at Ha Gyeong’s announcement.
There was no choice but to be.
A catastrophe might be about to unfold in the heart of New York.
The Gate Break affects dozens of kilometers in all directions.
Of course, if it’s stopped, that wasn’t a problem.
But the moment it fails,
this entire area would become uninhabitable.
As if a nuclear bomb had been dropped.
For decades to come.
The US Eastern Association was consumed by turmoil.
Meanwhile, Ha Gyeong was enjoying a leisurely vacation.
‘This is nice. The view is spectacular.’
Ha Gyeong was staying at a large business hotel in Brooklyn.
For the next two days, he had nothing in particular to do.
So he devoted himself to studying the Liquid Core Control Method.
Since he’d obtained this Artifact, shouldn’t he learn how to use it?
But it was a task of extreme difficulty.
Ha Gyeong lay stretched out alongside the Liquid Core, letting out a long sigh.
“Damn. No matter what I try, nothing works. Why’s it like this?”
“I dug around the internet just in case, but Summoning Type—there’s really hardly any information on it.”
“Probably because there are so few of them.”
“In that case, I should just use it like the shadow that fights alongside me, right? At least it copies bro’s movements just fine.”
Ha Gyeong nodded at John’s advice.
Awakened Ones often found themselves in battles against massive monsters anyway.
Even if it only mimicked his actions, damage would still get dealt.
There was no need to agonize over fine control.
Besides, he wouldn’t have the mental bandwidth to focus on that during combat.
Ha Gyeong decided to lighten his burden.
“You’re right. Doing it your way is better for my peace of mind.”
“Yeah. Close combat fighters just need good physicality.”
“Mm… yes, that’s true.”
“Why do you sound so half-hearted?”
“Just a feeling. Besides, I never said I had to be stupid just because I fight up close.”
“Tch! Can’t I just smack you once? Bro?”
“And how would that happen exactly?”
“When did you get so annoying? I learned all this from you anyway. Thanks, sensei.”
“Holy freaking hell! I’ve corrupted an innocent person.”
While he was talking with John,
someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Who is it?”
When he opened the door, Eden Han appeared before him.
And behind him, several other people as well.
Eden smiled awkwardly and spoke.
“I wanted to call ahead, but you didn’t pick up. And since it’s such an urgent matter, I’m afraid I had to come uninvited.”
“You’re from the Eastern Association, I take it?”
“Yes. These are the executives.”
“Come in.”
Ha Gyeong naturally stepped aside.
A diverse group of people shuffled in nervously.
Among them, a solidly built Black man spoke first.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Curtis Bennett, Vice-President of the Operations Headquarters of the US Eastern Association.”
Unlike the carefree John, his tone was quite formal.
He didn’t seem to be like Bradley Turner at all.
So Ha Gyeong responded with equal courtesy.
“Ha Gyeong.”
“I happened to see your profile data as part of the contract terms, and you’re quite remarkable. You’ve successfully cleared Limit Grade dungeons in the Abyss Dungeon.”
“You’re too kind. In America, I’m sure that’s fairly common?”
“Ha ha! The industry may be larger here, but the skill level of top-tier Awakened Ones is mostly equivalent.”
Vice-President Bennett showed unexpected humility for an American.
Though, to be fair, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Even in America, which had a large number of Awakened Ones, Limit Grade clearers were rare.
Especially in the Abyss Dungeon, which was rated a step higher in difficulty.
In any case, the pleasantries ended there.
Ha Gyeong posed a question to Vice-President Bennett.
“But why are you here? Aren’t you busy with the guard unit mobilization?”
“That’s exactly why I came. Do you remember the conditions we set?”
“There was something about fighting together.”
In truth, the contract terms weren’t particularly important to him.
They’d given him the location of the Gate Break itself.
What right did they have to ask for military support on top of that?
As far as Ha Gyeong was concerned, he just needed to participate formally.
But the US Eastern Association clearly had other plans.
Vice-President Bennett’s expression turned serious.
“Currently, due to combat with the DRC, a significant portion of the Eastern Association’s main forces are deployed elsewhere.”
“What? They came to North America too?”
“They did. The scale of their dispatch is enormous. So we’ve mobilized over 5,000 Awakened Ones.”
Ha Gyeong’s jaw dropped.
America’s number of Gates exceeded Korea’s by over 140 times.
But the number of Awakened Ones differed by roughly 15 times.
It was an absolute shortage of personnel, making defense harder than in Korea.
And on top of that, the DRC was attacking.
Ha Gyeong suddenly understood why Vice-President Bennett had come.
“You’re looking for active support.”
“We heard you made remarkable achievements during Korea’s Gate Break incident. That you even discovered the existence of the Abyss Core.”
“I did.”
“Please extend your aid to America’s plight as well.”
The monsters pouring from the Gate were nothing.
With American military firepower, they could be obliterated in moments.
But that was only possible after the Gate Break ended.
Once New York was already devastated, it would be a hollow victory.
And there simply wasn’t enough physical time to evacuate the citizens.
So they’d come seeking Ha Gyeong’s help, like borrowing a cat’s paw in desperation.
There was no need to think long.
He nodded readily.
“Of course. We agreed to fight, so I’ll help.”
“Really? Thank you!”
“But I have a condition as well.”
“Whatever you ask, we’ll meet it.”
“Give me a list of Artifacts held by the US Eastern Association. I’ll choose my compensation from there.”
……
Vice-President Bennett fell silent, at a loss for words.
This deployment contract stipulated two Incomprehensible Grade Artifacts as compensation.
Naturally, the US Eastern Association would prepare ones with lower utility.
That way, they could get Ha Gyeong’s services at a bargain rate.
But Vice-President Bennett couldn’t refuse.
He couldn’t risk a major crisis for a few dollars.
“Understood. We’ll arrange that.”
“I’m sure you won’t play tricks. The US Eastern Association isn’t petty enough for that.”
“O-of course not.”
Vice-President Bennett bowed respectfully.
It was a Korean-style bow, offered as a sign of respect toward Ha Gyeong.
Soon, the Eastern Association people began to withdraw.
But Vice-President Bennett suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Oh, there’s one more thing I forgot to mention.”
“What’s that?”
“Ha Gyeong, you will be taking part as an emergency special commander.”
“……Pardon?”
Gate Ripping
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Moraetop
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Samyang C&C
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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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