《The First Hunter》Chapter 137: Lightning Spear, Part III
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7.
In mid-January, Lake Baikal, which was again bathed in severe cold, was as beautiful as the surface of a planet made of crystal.
Looking at the beautiful background, drinking a cup of coffee that had just been made, with the night view of Lake Baikal where the stars were shining, was so romantic!
"Hoo-oo!"
How wonderful this was!
"For this taste, the Boss is drinking coffee."
Jang Sung-hoon, who could feel the smell of coffee engraved deeply on the breath he was exhaling through a nose as red as a strawberry in the cold of the frozen Lake Baikal, seemed to understand a little why Kim Tae-hoon was so crazy about coffee.
A man started walking on Lake Baikal toward Jang Sung Hoon. The man who appeared sat down on a fisherman's patio chair that Jang had prepared in advance. That alone could tell the identity of the man.
"Boss, did you finish your work well?"
The face of Kim was not so bright because of his calm expression.
"Not yet."
"He must have a heavy mouth."
Jang did not urge Kim. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" It was Jang's frank feeling that he wanted to stop Kim for a while, who had been running without stopping, somehow.
"No."
"What? Does the Boss refuse coffee?"
"Your coffee doesn't taste good."
Whether he knew the intention of Jang or not, Kim rejected Jang's consideration and prepared his coffee using the tools Jang had prepared to make coffee, which was exactly Kim's.
"No, I used the same beans and the same tool, it would be the same. How can it be different…?" Jang complained at Kim's words.
"Different." Kim cut off the complaints of Jang coldly. Jang shook his head.
While Kim was making coffee, Jang threw out, "So, what does he say?"
'He' was Sergei, who had been captured by Kim. Of course, Kim did not kill Sergei. Sergei had a lot of information to tell them, as long as he was surely one of the Six Snakes and Mao's closest aide. He could also be a tool of intimidation and a subject of negotiation. Lastly, if he killed Sergei, Mao would be likely to find out immediately.
There was no need to have a broad prospect. Japan had confirmed the life and death of the ninjas using Shikigami, and if a relic and an Awakener that made it possible were next to Mao, he could grasp the life and death of his aides no matter how far away they were.
Even if not, it was the Six Snakes, with more mysterious relics than anyone else, including Okjo. It was not necessary to kill Sergei and give Mao a signal; it was a signal that Kim Tae-hoon was carrying a sword to kill Mao now.
"He said about belief."
It was not easy, of course, to get information from Sergei. He did not give any major information in front of Kim's torture.
"Belief?"
Instead, Sergei only told Kim why he followed Mao and acted as a member of the Six Snakes.
"Isn't their belief to become kings in a world that has been ruined by monsters?"
"That's a purpose, not a belief."
"This and that, that's all bad anyway."
"If it had not been for the Six Snakes, someone else would have done it, and it is what anyone would do. In fact, all who have survived now are new leaders who have new power in an era where the existing order has been collapsed by monsters."
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"That doesn't mean that a bastard is not a bastard, right?"
"That's right."
"Really?"
"So it doesn't really matter if such people die. As you say, man is a god-damned race."
Then Jang was able to know the intention of Kim, and the belief of the Six Snake members, including Sergei.
"Since a human is a god-damned race, it doesn't matter if they die? Wouldn't they rather be the order of a new era, and lead the world?"
Instead of answering, Kim took a half-full mug, brought it to his mouth, and drank.
"The bad guys became the enemies. Since they're the bad guys that much, they have harassed you. If they were nothing, the boss would have killed them. Now I am curious to know how much more they are going to do."
Taking advantage of Kim's silence that started like that, Jang laid out his complaints without hesitation. But Kim did not hear the complaints. Instead, what Sergei had said hovered in his ear for a moment: Let's check out whether the night sky before the monsters appeared was beautiful, or the night sky after the monsters appeared was beautiful.
Kim, who remembered the words, looked up at the sky.
Jang, who looked up after Kim, looked at the night sky and said, "The night sky is so cool."
8.
Major General Vladimir made a decision to leave his destiny to Kim Tae-hoon. As soon as the decision was made, he no longer hid his cards. He finally pulled out the card of Avia Zavod.
"The biggest reason the Tiger Unit is located in Ulan-Ude is because of the Avia Zavod."
Avia Zavod was not a very special name. It was just a factory name. The special thing was the factory's production.
"I had to protect the Avia Zavod factory that produces the Mi and Su fighters in Russia."
The aircraft was produced by a factory named Avia Zavod. Of course, since the advent of monsters, wireless communication, including radar, was not possible. It meant that it was virtually impossible to operate a fighter or an aircraft, which was a high-tech product.
Therefore, Jang was surprised and asked, "Didn't Russia have radar or wireless communication technology?"
"We're working on it, but we haven't got radar or the right wireless communication technology yet." Maria shook her head at the question.
"Then how are you going to operate the aircraft?"
"Rather, the opposite."
"The opposite?"
"The Wright brothers didn't build a plane with wireless communication technology and radar, did they?"
At that moment, Jang and Kim's expressions were firm.
Maria stepped up and continued to talk. "At first, Russia was in a panic because the latest Russian fighter jets and aircrafts became useless. The pilots were concerned right away. No one calmly said that they would take off and land in a situation where they couldn't communicate with the control tower."
It was Kim Tae-hoon who received her words. "The rapid development of fighter aircraft was around World War I, but radar was used in World War II." Speaking out the words, Kim's face was not good. It was evidence of reflection and regret. 'Why didn't I think of it?' It was a reflection and regret that he did not think of what Russia had prepared.
Jang, on the other hand, cocked his head. He understood the words of Maria and Kim, but he did not understand all of them. "No, to state in a brief way, did they build a plane without radar and wireless communication? No, they can make it float. Even a hot air balloon can float in the sky. The problem is if they can run it or not."
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For ordinary people with common sense, an airplane did not just end up flying in the sky. Rather, it was the opposite, and it is the most dangerous thing to fly in the sky.
Among those who cannot get on planes, there are not many people who cannot get on the plane because of fear of heights. Most are afraid of the planes because it might fall.
But on the contrary, those who participated in war know. An airplane is not an object that falls more easily than you think. And considering those who die in a plane crash, there were far more survivors on the plane.
Of course, the important thing now was not to persuade Jang. She didn't have to try to persuade Jang.
"What shape?"
"It is based on the propeller engines used in World War I."
"What's the speed of flight?"
"We're still developing it, but the prototype we're working on is up to three hundred kilometers per hour, but the average speed should be around two hundred kilometers per hour for safety and other problems."
"What is the distance with one load of fuel?"
"About two thousand kilometers."
"The driving route is… the Trans-Siberian Railway Network."
"There will be no better guide in this age."
If they persuaded Kim Tae-hoon, everything would be solved. And he was willing to be persuaded.
"What's the number who can board?"
"Six people, including the pilot."
"That's a good number."
"There's a problem, instead."
Kim cocked his head at the word "problem."
"What we're developing is a transporter, not a fighter, and combat capability is virtually eliminated. It's impossible to have a fancy air show at high altitudes, like a fighter. Of course, there's no way to respond to exposure to flying monsters."
Kim answered briefly at the issue. "Fill up the fuel."
Maria warned Kim again, "It's dangerous, is that okay?"
Jang answered at her warning, "Is it us that's dangerous, or the poor monsters that will attack our boss?"
"… I'll fill up the fuel."
9.
The Red Square was beautiful. Especially when the snow fell from the gray sky, the Red Square turned into the reddest square.
It was so now. The snow, calmly falling from the sky, was making the Red Square glow.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Mao."
Two men were talking in front of the beautiful sight. They were Mao and Lieutenant General Dmitry with the thick fur coat and mustache, who had driven Mao out earlier.
"I don't think we need to talk about anything uncomfortable to each other. Tell me why you called me today."
"I need your help."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"I won't hide it, we are currently disconnected from the troops that were sent to collect the warheads, and I need a search party to identify their situation and a rescue team to rescue them."
"Didn't you ask the Vatican for help?"
"I have asked the Vatican for help, but I cannot leave my country's fate to the Vatican alone."
"Are you going to make me compete with the Vatican?"
"I don't mean to make you feel bad, I just made a choice that would help our country's interests."
Mao paused for a moment, then looked at the red wall where the snow had begun to build.
"I don't have much time, and I want you to answer me here today."
Dmitry looked at Mao and urged him to answer.
At his appearance, Mao said, "I'm sorry."
At the apology, the eyes of Dmitry had cooled more rapidly than the falling snow.
"Is it about the other day?"
"It's not irrelevant."
"I don't think you are one to make up your mind because of regret."
"No, it's not. The reason why I declined your offer is not what you think."
"What is different?"
At that moment, the crazy explosion began to emit a huge roar. Bang!
Rumbling! The explosion was accompanied by an earthquake and a powerful storm that could not be described.
In the explosion, Dmitri's body and Mao's body staggered like a sailboat on a raging wave. But the two equally tottering faces were not the same at all.
The expression on Dmitry's face was beyond surprise, and it was a shock. 'Oh, my God!' It was a natural expression in front of the scene where the Red Square collapsed under a repeated explosion.
Mao's expression was different. He was smiling at the explosion.
'No way!'
The smile was evidence. It was the evidence that the main culprit of this crazy explosion in Red Square was Mao, not just anyone.
"You bastard!" Dmitry, who had noticed it, reached out his arms as if to grab Mao's neck.
Swish! A single Bronze Sword cut his stretched arms off as they were.
"Haha!" A pleasant laugh came from near the hilt. There was a beautiful Asian woman there with a lively smile.
"Ugh!" On the other hand, Dmitry, who had lost his arms, fell to the ground with his balance lost.
Bang! Bang! In the meantime, the explosions were repeated and became a series of explosions, and the explosive sound gradually began to get closer to Mao and Dmitry. In that situation, Mao looked at Dmitry.
"As always, humans need an example to know their place."
Of course, it was impossible for Dmitry to hear Mao properly in the repeated explosions. Mao himself did not care whether Dmitry was listening to him or not. Anyway, Dmitri would die soon regardless.
"That's the difference between dogs and humans. Once a dog is mad there is nothing we can do about it, but if humans see an example, they can figure out what's going on and adapt."
Mao, who had finished his talk, chopped his neck with his hand, and the woman with the sword struck the neck of Dmitry with her Bronze Sword.
Swish! The golden letters on the Bronze Sword that cut off the head of Dmitry were shining: Yue Wang Goujian Self-use Sword. The glittering letters were gone as soon as the woman put the sword into the sheath.
Mao turned to the woman. The woman smiled a little. Behind that smile, Major Chinshan showed up. The face of Chinshan was full of red spots. They were blood-spatter marks.
"We have removed most of the VIPs, but we couldn't remove them all. I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter, because a survivor is a real example," Mao spoke and gave a short sigh. "Now we can talk to the people in the Vatican."
"Then we'll take you to the Vatican."
"No, the next destination…"
Bang! At that moment, an explosion exploded closer, and Mao swallowed what he was about to say. When the explosive sound stopped for a moment, Mao spoke again, "We're going to Finland."
"You really mean Finland?"
"We will wake up the Huge Giant Hrungnir there, and make it advance to Europe."
As soon as the monster Hrungnir was mentioned, the twin sisters behind him, as well as Chinshan, looked surprised. They had to.
Hrungnir, the dark blue-grade monster, was as crazy as the color of its eyes. It was a monster of the monsters who would be willing to compete with the Dragon, called the strongest monster of the dark blue grade! Furthermore, there was one difference between Hrungnir and the dragon.
"If Hrungnir moves, the Giants will move with it."
The giants were the monsters who made Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway a land of death that humans could not live in! Hrungnir was the head of the giants. In a sense, it was a more threatening nightmare than a Dragon for humans. Of course, it was clear what the most threatening nightmare was.
"With that much, the Vatican will lower its position and reach out to us. There is no such thing as Korea's crazy monster, though the legendary relics are overflowing there."
There would be no greater threat than forcing that nightmare to happen for his benefit!
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Sword System Academia
2/17 NOTICE: I'm putting this on hiatus, possibly permanently. I didn't want to spam with an "update chapter", so hopefully here and in the story blurb will get enough eyeballs. There are a couple reasons for ending SSA for now. 1) I wrote the next chapter but wasn't happy with it. I've been less and less satisfied with SSA's quality the more I thought about it. Part of the reason is... 2) I am seriously thinking about trying to publish some novels to help pay the bills, since I don't have my other source of income anymore. I have never asked for anything from SSA readers, no money, not even a review or rating. SSA is written for fun to amuse myself, primarily, and I would kind of feel bad actually charging someone money for something as unserious as that. I don't think it is good enough to ask anything in return. To use an analogy from music, SSA is more like a jam session with a bunch of friends. You're just chiling and having fun playing some music. I mean, if you are Mozart or even Eminem, your jam session is good enough to sell, but for an amateur beginner like myself, haha, no. If I want to publish something, I feel like I need to go the proper route of practice and rehearsals, which might be more similar to a classical concert performance. With SSA, I work from worldbuilding notes and a loose outline, but what you are essentially getting is the first draft with lots of so-called pantsing. Pushing out a web novel like this also means it is very difficult to go back and improve things without breaking everything else downstream. I wanted to try this "jamming" approach, as it was a good way to teach me about another aspect of writing, but to move forward, I think I need to hone my "classical" techniques, which emphasize rewriting, or at least, revising outlines. 3) While I intend to try to make $$$, my actual current goal is to "get gud". I've spent a lot of time recently trying to understand the self-publishing industry, and I'm pretty sure I can make some money by using short-term strategies with my current amateur skill level. But I've seen too many authors come and go/burnout, and really, the only way that I think I can enjoy writing and still make money on a long-term basis is to become a better writer. And the next step for me, which I haven't done much before, is to spend more time on rewriting and outlines. That is pretty much antithetical to the way SSA is developing. I've always been kind of 20/80 plotting/pantsing, but I want to spend a lot more time outlining before I even start writing. SSA jam sessions don't really fit my goal anymore. If you're curious about what's next, read on... Among other regrets, I regret not finishing SSA. It's the first story I've dropped, but then again, it's the first web novel I've attempted, so I suppose that's not a surprise. I don't think traditional web novel formats suit me that well. The whole SSA story I had loosely planned (beyond a first book or major arc) is way too large as well. Big story = good for neverending webnovel with Patreons, bad for penniless and fickle writer like me. I am currently outlining a complete trilogy to another story in great detail. I want the story to end concisely, and I also want the chance to really spend a lot of time on the full outline to spot pacing problems, character issues, lost themes, and so on. I'll still share this story on RR. What I intend to do is finish book 1, flash-publish the whole thing here for a few weeks, then publish on the big Zon. Repeat for books 2 and 3. The upcoming story will be about crafting heroes. The backdrop is an isekai-like setting, where elves will summon humans to their world as heroes, but the whole hero crafting business is still in its infancy. The elven mage researchers are figuring out how to imbue heroes with power, while the heroes are trying to figure out how to use the powers that they gain. Humans are the best hero templates because they are blank and have no intrinsic magic. Or at least that what the elves thought. The human MC has his own secrets... There will be some similarities with litrpgs, but I would call it more a progression fantasy or gamelit story. For example, the stats are very low, at least initially. Say we have a stat called Str. Going from Str = 1 to Str = 2 is a huge deal. Also, going from Dex = 0 to Dex = 1 is an even bigger deal. I guess you could call it a "low-stat litrpg", haha. Also, the heroes won't be gaining stats simply by killing things or leveling up. You can't increase stats arbitrarily, either. There will be rules to how stats can increase, and how they work with each other. The elven mages will be figuring out these rules in order to craft stronger and stronger heroes. Some inspiration will be from cultivation magic systems, but there won't be overt cultivation, at least for now. A theme I really want to explore is the idea of interactions. That includes things like hero crafter vs hero, tactics vs strategy, skill synergies, racial interactions (dwarves, elves, etc), and son. Yeah, so hero crafting. I'm super excited about this project and venturing into publishing. If you want to check out the upcoming story, you can follow my RR author profile to see when it drops here. Finally... THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! I'm very sorry that SSA is stopping, but I hope at least some of you will find the next story at least as enjoyable, if not more. Thanks to all the readers who gave SSA a shot. Big hug or solid fistbump to all of you, whichever you prefer! I hope this message is not a downer but an upper, because I am psyched!! -purlcray -------------- BLURB: Talen, youngest Master of the Koroi, makes his way to the Empire's capital to salvage his clan's fate. But the bustling city has few opportunities for the traditionalist. For the old sword clans are fading. With the rise of alchemy, gold can purchase strength that ordinarily took years of training to cultivate. Sword artists, once rare and accomplished, are quickly growing in number, especially among the wealthy noble class. Even with such alchemy, though, no one has advanced to the rank of Grandmaster in countless years. Talen's true dream is to walk the path of a sword artist to the very end while fulfilling his clan duties. And then the Swordgeists return, fabled founders of all sword arts, gods who had touched the world long ago and vanished. These myths turned into reality warn of a coming threat. Alongside this warning, they issue an invitation to the Sword System Academy, a path to power beyond the mortal realm. But first, they will hold an entrance exam... Story notes:Sword System Academia blends elements of western and asian fantasy such as xianxia and litrpg. I took parts from different genres I enjoyed and twisted them into my own creation. There will be an explicit system, both of the litrpg kind and the hard(ish) magic kind, but it is embedded within an academic structure that will develop over the course of the story. This is my attempt to design a unique type of system, the System Academia.
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