Regression Sword Apocalypse Reconquest - Chapter 88
Only Noblemtl
Episode 88
Se-hyeok turned the pages of the document that Lee Myeong-cheol had picked up and handed over to him in front of the door.
As the name of the lab suggests, the document was a report.
Sehyuk slowly read the title of the report.
“Experimental study on the ultrasonic response of monsters inside the mine. I see. So they were trying to utilize the monsters living nearby.”
“Yes. The plan was to use them as livestock or biological weapons.”
I heard that the deserted engineers first attempted to control the monsters in the tunnels through research at the military base they had taken over, and that the engineers took over the research after taking over the military base.
“The research was almost done, and a prototype was ready.”
I have a feeling.
I have a feeling it will play an important role.
“Where were you keeping that unfinished ultrasound device?”
“There was one in the women’s lab, one in the armory, and one in the headquarters.”
“Is this it?”
Choi Sung-hyun, who had gone in first and was examining the research materials, held out something that looked like a broken radar device toward the two.
Lee Myeong-cheol made a subtle expression when he saw that sight.
“That’s right. Normally, it would be kept securely in a safe.”
Lee Myeong-cheol walked inside with his feet firmly planted on the floor, caressing the wide-open safe.
“There’s no sign that the safe was forcibly broken open, and it’s wide open, and the radar inside was damaged…”
“It’s highly likely that there is already a traitor within.”
Sehyuk looked around the room, which was now a mess.
If you think about it, the room was strewn with papers and the desks and cabinets were in disarray, but surprisingly, the desks and chairs inside weren’t that dented.
Unlike the outside, which was completely destroyed.
It felt like someone much weaker had touched it than the damage from outside.
Perhaps, it may be the manipulation of traitors.
“It’s possible that they stole one radar to control the monsters, and then destroyed the rest of the radars to take control for themselves.”
Lee Myeong-cheol nods.
“The documents that fell at the entrance are most likely documents that were dropped while trying to take them out. That’s why there’s a high chance that they’re the documents they’re looking for.”
To test our hypothesis, we decided to look for devices stored elsewhere.
And that guess turned out to be true.
I looked around the armory and found some slightly damaged equipment lying around.
“If this is the case, I guess I’ll have to go to the mine.”
Lee Myeong-cheol runs out of the back door of the fortress in a hurry.
The mountain behind the base.
A mountain covered in fog, creating a strange atmosphere between dead, black trees without a single leaf like trees in winter.
In between, you can see the entrance to a tunnel made of wooden pillars to prevent the soil from collapsing.
It’s a mine.
There was one last radar in front of the mine.
It was completely destroyed.
And in front of it was a corpse, its head smashed in by a wall.
The rebels and Sehyuk’s group, who witnessed the disaster, came to a conclusion.
“They opened the mine and everyone died.”
“I think so.”
Se-hyeok felt sorry for the innocent victims.
Suddenly, he realized that Lee Myeong-cheol’s face was frozen coldly.
“Your face is stiff.”
“Huh? Oh. I thought it looked good.”
He glanced at the fortress with contempt,
“The people who planned the rebellion here were all just looking out for themselves.”
He takes a cigarette out of his pocket, takes one out, and puts it back in.
“If they’re in a position where they can steal the radar, then it’s obvious. Humans really are. Don’t they say that people change when they gain power?”
Lee Myeong-cheol, who was saying those words, had an expression on his face that seemed to indicate that he had something to say.
While I was debating whether to ask or not.
“Haha. Everyone seems curious when I say it like this. Sehyuk-nim, you don’t seem to have that kind of feeling. But I still want to say it, so I’ll say it.”
Lee Myeong-cheol speaks first.
“My brother passed away from this military absurdity. Do you know the news about the military abuse that happened more than ten years ago? That’s it.”
“That’s too bad. I’m sure he went to a better place.”
Se-hyeok offered his condolences to Lee Myeong-cheol.
“As with any other place, a closed and hierarchical place like the military needs a more capable leader. An iron man who can hold on tight and command everyone.”
A bitter look appears on his face.
And after throwing out his words in passing, he walked towards the mine with a thumping pace.
“It is simply unacceptable that such a talented and valuable human resource should be wasted because of personal desires.”
Hearing those words, Se-hyeok seemed to understand what Lee Myeong-cheol was trying to do.
Lee Myeong-cheol is a person who does not believe in humans. He only believes in human desires.
Lee Myeong-cheol continues to look at the past.
And, by destroying the corrupt upper echelons and taking control of the remaining personnel, he tried to prevent such incidents from happening again.
I could empathize to some extent.
That was the same for Sehyuk too.
However, Sehyuk felt a little uncomfortable with his last words.
As to whether this person is truly mourning his brother’s death.
* * *
Lee Myeong-cheol leads his men into the mine.
Sehyuk followed suit.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the monster that swept through the fortress has died.
Lee Myung-chul wanted to eliminate that threat for sure.
Wouldn’t everyone want to eliminate the threat that is right under their noses?
We continue deeper into the mine.
As you enter a certain area, the mine becomes a very wide and deep cave that you cannot see down below.
It was a huge and deep cave that could be compared to the Grand Canyon, not only in Korea but also overseas.
The walking path is cut off, leaving only a crude wooden signpost, a pile of lumber, a pile of rocks, and an old rail cutting through the air.
“From here on, you have to take a mining cart.”
Lee Myeong-cheol pointed to the tracks.
At those words, Choi Sung-hyun made a bewildered expression.
“I have to ride this? It looks so surreal.”
Although Choi Sung-hyun was relatively timid among his colleagues, this time Se-hyeok was able to understand his feelings.
Because those tracks look so dangerous.
The old tracks were literally hanging precariously in the air, connected here and there, without any support.
It also curves like a roller coaster and extends underground.
“Aside from the fact that the tracks look like they could break at any moment, the mine cars look like they could break at any moment too.”
Seonghyeon Choi shakes the mining cart with a bewildered expression.
As if to repay that trust, the mining car creaked with age.
“It’s a track that’s been there since we discovered the mine. There have been no safety accidents so far.”
Choi Sung-hyun’s expression becomes worse.
“Did you try burning this?”
“It can’t be helped.”
Choi Sung-hyun still makes a face that doesn’t look good.
Sehyuk came forward and tried to appease her.
I had heard of it to some extent before the regression.
“I think this is a similar case to the steel fortress in our neighborhood, though it may have been built a little earlier.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Lee Myeong-cheol, you used this mine cart when you came up, right? Those monsters must have been down there.”
“Yes.”
A surreal phenomenon that occurred after the destruction and cannot be explained by science.
All of these surreal phenomena had certain intentions and rules.
‘And there was never a case where that rule changed suddenly.’
What if they had applied unreasonable rules from the start?
So, this time too, it will be safe.
“Since Sehyuk says so, we have to listen to him.”
We split up into mining carts and set off.
All sorts of scenes pass by below and to the side.
The polluted and rotten water that stinks also passes by,
I also saw monsters like emaciated corpses reaching out towards the mine tracks.
We also walked over lava.
And then, the incident happened.
thud!
A narrow cave area. The minecart is blocked by a large brown rock wall.
Lee Myeong-cheol expresses doubt at that appearance.
“That’s strange. We should have gone a bit further from here.”
As soon as Sehyuk heard those words, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Because I realized right away what was going on.
“We have to go back up now!”
“yes?”
However, Lee Myeong-cheol’s reaction was slow.
Knock knock. Knock knock knock.
Lee Myeong-cheol asks questions again in a bewildered manner.
And before Lee Myung-cheol could take action, the brown walls began to move to the sides first.
Sehyuk clenched his teeth as he looked at the wall.
‘Thinking about piloting this? You fucking engineers, you’ve got some serious work to do.’
The mine after the disaster is a kind of dragon vein through which magical power flows.
Inevitably, monsters will gather, and these monsters will become even stronger with the power of magic.
‘A monster is okay if it’s a weak monster. But this isn’t right.’
Any humanoid monsters like goblins or orcs are fine.
The humanoid monsters only become stronger towards the end when they have a proper foundation.
But as you can see, the monster here is not a weak, humanoid monster that pushes forward with numbers.
Things are going from bad to worse.
Boom!
“Bow down!”
Enormous chunks of rock fly out.
Several of Lee Myeong-cheol’s men stumble and fall down after being hit by a piece of rock.
And Sehyuk watched the phenomenon occurring among the stone fragments.
It’s a phenomenon I knew about.
What appears to be a huge brown rock wall slowly moves, and the head of a giant monster emerges from within.
Burrowing beetle, sand worm.
Cylindrical insects with mouths full of sharp teeth.
There are no eyes, and drool flows from the mouth.
“Eww!”
Choi Sung-hyun screams when he sees the face of the bizarre giant insect.
Kyaaaaah!
The face of the insect, with no lips and round teeth, gapes open and wiggles.
There is blood in its mouth, and the feeding pouch visible inside its mouth contains flesh and bone.
Sehyuk sighed at the sight.
‘Why the sandworm?’
Sandworm.
Regardless of the time, it is a monster close to the strongest under the ground.
It is a monster that can move freely through the ground and control various minerals.
In fact, it can be seen as a monster that rules over the underground world where there is dirt and rock.
In other words, it is the most powerful monster that can come out of the mine.
‘Oh my, I can’t believe I got caught by that guy.’
And, there was one more problem.
“What, what! Is the bug that big?”
Choi Sung-hyun is shocked.
True to its name, the insects were large enough to swallow a grown man in one bite.
Although they are smaller than the hordes of ghost beasts and disaster dragons we’ve seen so far, they were originally huge creatures from the start.
‘The original size should have been about the size of an adult male.’
This is a bug.
It’s the kind that’s only about as big as your index finger.
That species has grown to the size of one that can swallow an adult male in one bite.
‘From their appearance to their appearance, they don’t seem to be normal creatures.’
Besides their size, there was one more thing unusual about them.
Their bodies, which resembled yellow maggots, had soft, rainbow-colored minerals growing on them.
At first glance, its appearance seems mysterious.
Sehyuk knew what this phenomenon was.
‘Elite Monster.’
In academic circles, a form that is slightly more evolved than the monsters that usually appear is defined as an ‘elite monster’.
This huge size could only be an elite monster.
“I’ll go back right now!”
Fortunately, Lee Myeong-cheol took action before it was too late.
Kagagagagagak!
The wheels of the mining car roll backwards, sparks flying.
To get out of here and head towards the surface.
And as if not to be missed, a burrower chases the mining cart.
“If you just get to the lava area, you’ll be able to shake them off! It’s open ground over there!!”
A deep cliff with no end in sight.
The moment you are caught, death is certain.
The chase to death has begun.