The Reincarnation of Fusion Punk - Chapter 270



Only Noblemtl

#270. The King of Water’s Message

#Episode 270.

“On the first day of my term, the barriers opened.”

A man on crutches came to the podium and spoke with a determined look on his face.

“Even in these times when monsters are falling from the sky and the sound of cannon fire is shaking the city, I solemnly swear here that I will faithfully fulfill my duties as a member of the National Assembly more than anyone else.”

Ragnarok City Council.

A new sensation who has taken one of the 30 seats currently assigned to Ragnarok. Independent member Pyo-hu took the oath in front of the city council members.

After the announcement of urban expansion by Dylan, co-CEO of Ban Company······

Today is the fifth day since the Ragnarok barrier opened.

Before we knew it, it was time to wrap things up.

* * *

—Ragnarok expansion plans.

The western outskirts of Ragnarok are where the Federation forces detonated nuclear weapons during the recapture battle. Due to the lingering danger of radiation, any plans to expand west were ruled out from the start.

The north is blocked by a large power plant site. So the meaning of urban expansion is reduced. If the land is expanded to the north, the original city center and the new city center will be divided in two, and the north will likely remain a large slum and a den of criminals.

The North is also building additional power plants, so that’s an exception.

Therefore, the directions in which the city can be expanded efficiently are south and east.

As soon as the expansion operation began, the Van Company pushed the corpses out from outside the southern and eastern walls. With the support of the Federation forces and the power of Megacorp Van Company, countless corpses were killed and disposed of. It was a city expansion by dismantling the barriers protecting the southern and eastern lines and reconnecting them to the places where the corpses had been pushed.

Gulp—

Dylan asked casually, taking a sip of the essence that gave off a brilliant light. He was on his way back from burning and cleaning up the remains of the corpses that had piled up like a mountain.

“How much have we pushed back until today?”

“We’ve pushed the corpses back more than 10km from the east to the south, and set up a base camp. But the corpses are still coming in endlessly from the dark land… I don’t know where they’re coming from. Our progress is slowing down significantly.”

“Still, you pushed really hard.”

It’s a great achievement.

There’s a world of difference between simply hunting corpses and pushing the front line forward more than 10km while clearing out the endless waves of enemies coming from a wide radius.

The corpses that smelled of human blood just kept coming in endlessly.

If you’re really unlucky, you might encounter a corpse with supernatural powers, far outside the barrier.

Soon, Lena continued speaking.

“We are currently investigating whether the radioactive contamination zone west of Ragnarok can be developed, so we may be able to expand the western and northern walls later. At that time, the city will expand in a circular shape centered around the central district of Ragnarok. Our company headquarters building.”

The expansion of the city walls has been going quite smoothly and is actually nearing completion. After five hellish days, the plan is on the verge of success.

Dylan said, his breath coming out hotly.

“Later, I’ll die even more than this time.”

“······Yes, I guess so.”

Ragnarok central district in the process.

The names of the selectors engraved on the giant iron towers have increased. Casualties are bound to occur somehow. In such a large-scale operation, a complete victory in battle is not something to be expected.

“Heh heh, but there’s no need to be gloomy. We killed thousands of times more people.”

Rumor has it that Revan and Dylan personally went to the pylon to carve the names of the dead, and that this seemingly insignificant task had quite a large impact. The Twelve and Megacorp representatives were personally taking care of the last of the nameless selectors.

Thanks to that, Lena shook her head lightly and spoke again in a hopeful tone.

“Anyway! The land near the wall will be an outpost, and if you connect the rest with transportation infrastructure like city trams, the expanded land will become a great bedroom town for Ragnarok. It’s important to manage it well so that it doesn’t turn into a slum.”

Dylan nodded and asked.

“Can you afford more? Like military funds.”

“It’s not easy. We’ve used up more than half of the supplies we prepared. The astronomical amount of credits are leaking out like water every day… But the biggest problem isn’t money. As we enter the fifth day of the battle, everyone is complaining of fatigue. I heard that even Mr. Dylan hasn’t slept for five days….”

“Yeah, I can’t fight in perfect condition anymore.”

As you deal with corpses endlessly, your combat experience accumulates, but fatigue also accumulates.

And fatigue accumulation is something that can never be ignored.

Yesterday was the day with the most casualties in the past five days. It was reasonable to assume that the concentration maintained by stimulants and boosters had reached its limit.

Dylan took another sip of the essence and opened his mouth.

“If we build a barrier along the line we have secured so far, how much area can we expand?”

“Eventually, we will be able to obtain about half of Baldur’s lands.”

Although it is the smallest city, it is half the size of Baldur City.

At least several million people. If you build tall buildings, the land can easily accommodate more than that.

“Then there is no need to be more greedy here.”

“I think so too.”

We should avoid expanding the area indiscriminately. If the battle continues, casualties will increase rapidly. In addition, the front line that needs to be managed and defended will be wide, and the period of construction of the wall will be longer. In fact, even this much is considered a great success.

Soon, Dylan, who had been seriously discussing with Lena, made a decision.

“Let’s quickly build a wall before any more idiots outside die. We also need to think about the morale of those who are already rolling around in pain.”

“Then······A 200-meter-tall barrier that has been dismantled along the southeastern city wall boundary. All of the large heavy equipment can move there. I’ll send it there.”

Dylan nodded coolly as Lena answered.

“Good. Let’s stop fighting and start construction.”

Five days.

Finally, the decision to start building the wall was unanimously reached by the mouths of the Ban Company executives. As soon as Lena contacted someone, the ground shook with the noise of the large heavy equipment moving around the city.

Saaa …

A moment later, Dylan, whose overheated circuits had cooled down, laughed and said,

“But it’s funny that even if we add up all the lands we’ve acquired this time, it’s still far behind Surtr or Al Heimdall.”

“But expansion isn’t something that happens in one go.”

“Ha ha, that’s true.”

First, we will use the wall torn from the destroyed Loki for expansion. While we are purifying the newly acquired land and installing infrastructure, we will also prepare for the next expansion, and then we will increase the city area again. It will probably be much larger than it is now.

“It’ll take more than half a year to prepare the new land. It’ll also cost a lot of credits. Can you cover it by selling nanomachines or something?”

“There is the Essence as a side income. The Essence earned from this five-day expansion is more than the total amount earned by the Federation’s blood collection megacorp in a year.”

“Well, that’s fortunate. If this were the crippled Loki, there would have been a war to the death over that essence.”

“······.”

Expansion does not end with simply widening the barrier.

Not only will all the infrastructure need to be newly laid, including basic wide-area protection shields, but the work of cleaning up polluted land will also need to begin.

In addition, moles lurking underground in the expanded area must also be driven out. Moles have poor eyesight but are particularly sensitive to hearing, so special equipment must be installed that inserts poles deep into the ground and connects them to the surface to drive them away with noise and energy.

It’s a piece of equipment developed by the Federation Army at one point, and it’s famous for consuming a huge amount of credits just by operating it.

Even after the city expansion is complete, there are still many things that require money.

It was at that moment that Lena sighed in worry.

“There were some dead guys, but it ended more blandly than I expected, so I have a strange feeling. Has there ever been a battle with that guy that ended so easily? They all flowed like idiots.”

“yes?”

“Revan, I’ve never seen anything go easily when that guy is involved. It can’t end this easily.”

“······.”

Lena couldn’t answer, because in fact Dylan was right.

I don’t remember anything being easy so far. Expanding the wall is a large-scale civil engineering project that is on a different level from building a few high-rise buildings. The executives of Ban Company have reached the point where they are suspicious of Revan even when things are going well as expected.

and.

······Kwarrrrrrrrrr—!!!

In fact, those signs of misfortune were rarely wrong.

“······.”

“Ha ha, right? I guess I’ll have to go out again. It’s not at all what I expected.”

Soon, Dylan, smoking a cigarette, jumped down from the headquarters building.

Lena, with her face pressed against the office window, looked out beyond the eastern wall.

Okay then.

Creepy—

“······.”

Even Lenado, who had been learning magic and taking essences to become a level 5 wizard, felt a horrifying aura tickling her skin.

Lena muttered to herself, biting her fingernails without realizing it.

“Nothing much······will happen, right?”

* * *

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa——

A truly gigantic yogi.

A simmering aura of death dominates the air around them. A figure emerges from the pitch-black darkness, its ugly teeth bared.

Except for the abnormally large teeth and eyes, a snow-white exoskeleton covered its entire 3-meter-tall body. At first glance, it was a formidable foe that was completely different from a normal corpse.

I’ve seen the corpses of the Federation’s powerful men who died during the past Ragnarok Restoration War, but that guy was far stronger than them.

Woojijik-

“······.”

The remains of humans torn apart by the incredible force of the bite fell down. Something seemed to flicker in the pitch-black darkness, and three level 6 selectors who had been fighting the corpses at close range died in an instant. Their bodies were being eaten in real time and erased from the world.

The survivors at the raid site are three level 7 first-round selectors.

And Streak, a third-tier selector and a level 5 wizard. There were only four of them. The rest had just collapsed on the ground, unable to withstand the bastard’s magic.

“This, this damn······.”

[Lure him towards the mine! Five steps to the right!]

“!”

Streak, who had been frozen in fear, jumped forward in an instant when he heard the sound. It was an instinctive movement. The ominous glare seemed to reach Streak’s eyes, and then a large explosion occurred right in front of him.

Quagwagwagwang—

Streak’s body was blown far away by the force of the explosion.

however.

【 Hiya······. 】

The guy was unscathed, even after stepping on a landmine that the Federation had laid down for him. Even a normal corpse would have been blown to pieces, leaving no trace of flesh or anything. The sight of the guy being unharmed made my legs lose their strength.

“Damn it… I think it’s level 9.”

“Why does Representative Dylan have to leave now!”

The first-tier selectors, who had seemed so high in Streak’s eyes, were also trembling with fear. The mobility that could easily leap over a level 8 corpse, the strongest corpse he had ever seen, and the defense that was impervious to any attack. It was nothing short of a disaster for the selectors.

Now no one dared attack. The fear was even greater because a powerful corpse had appeared on the other front line and the anti-company forces were focused on that side.

The white exoskeleton corpse was waiting for a gap in the power supply. The lights of the base camp made it possible to see at least 500 meters ahead, but it was waiting outside that area, hiding its true colors, and then it attacked in a matter of seconds, so there was no way to detect it.

Knock- knock-

It seemed as if it was planning to quickly eat and escape from this place, and saliva dripped from its mouth mixed with blood. The whole place was covered in human blood, and the corpse was agitated just by looking at it.

That’s the instinct of a corpse. It can’t ignore the smell of blood and pass by.

No matter how strong a corpse is, most are controlled by cannibalistic instincts. Even humans of legendary fame in the past could not last more than a few weeks or months before being consumed by the corpse’s instincts.

—······.

11km east of Ragnarok. The eyes of the selectors who were frozen and watching the cannibalism of the thing were filled with despair. Streak, who had been blown away by the explosion, was frozen in the murderous aura and couldn’t move. His beating heart felt like it was going to be pulled out of his mouth.

‘Fuck, fuck······.’

Streak screamed inwardly hundreds of times.

Dylan, the co-CEO of Ban Company. If that distant 9th level giant were to come back, he would definitely be able to fight. However, even Dylan, the overwhelming wizard, would not be able to guarantee victory if he fought that monster?

Such doubts soon turned to fear. Streak’s heart tightened and his breathing became labored.

But at that time.

Blink-

“······?”

Suddenly, a strange look crossed Streak’s face as he sat down.

Beyond the dark vision of the streak thrown behind the body.

Blink-

I caught a glimpse of something moving in the pitch-black ground. But I must have seen it wrong, because when I looked again, there was only darkness there.

If there’s anything, it’s probably a corpse.

thud!

At that moment, a white exoskeleton corpse kicked the ground hard.

The corpse’s aura swelled as if it would burst out like a volcano at any moment. The bastard’s next target was the three Level 7 first-round selectors. With one jump, the distance of tens of meters narrowed in an instant, and Streak could see the space distorted by the heavy rush. When the bastard opened its mouth wide, he felt a hallucination as a terrible stench pierced his nostrils.

‘Fuck, it’s all over······.’

The desperate Streak finally lowered his head.

······however.

【 Squeak! 】

Phew!

The white exoskeleton corpse that was about to attack the selectors suddenly turned around and swung its fist. As if in a panic. A scream like a radio wave stretched to the sky, and the power that instantly crushed three level 6 selectors exploded into the air.

‘···why?’

Streak, who was puzzled at first, rubbed his eyes.

He opened his eyes wide as a feeling of pressure weighed down his entire body.

In front of the feet of the first-round selectors, who were frozen stiff in a state of unbearable pain.

“······.”

Oh, someone with a black sword appeared and was blocking the corpse.

Kkeuk-

Even the hands of the corpse covered in a white exoskeleton were trembling. Soon, the energy of the demon and the intruder collided in the air, scattering winds in all directions. Even though his ears were deafened by the enormous shockwave, Streak’s gaze remained fixed on one spot as if he was possessed.

And then.

“······!?”

I realized that the intruder was Revan.

The face of Chairman Revan of the Van Company, whom even the selectors had only seen a few times.

Even if you don’t know about co-CEO Dylan, the selectors don’t often see the real face of Chairman Revan. Usually, you only hear about his activities in other cities through the media.

Of course, I knew he wielded a black sword. Upon closer inspection, I could clearly see that it was Revan, one of the Twelve and the chairman of the Van Company.

‘The Twelve Mad Horses. The real owner of Ban Company······.’

While Streak was amazed, the black sword drew a trajectory.

The trajectory of the sword scattered like a painting in the air.

The corpse, covered in exoskeletons, screamed and amplified its massive qi to fight back. The ground rose up as the monstrous beings clashed. A wide-ranging wind pressure swept through the area, and a formidable shockwave blew away everything nearby.

Kkieeeeeek—

A duel between a level 12 monster and a level 9 monster unfolded before my eyes.

Slurp—

Seconds later, a red lump of flesh fell before Streak’s eyes.

“···uh?”

Raise your head.

The exoskeleton corpse that had been trampling on humans with its sinister eyes was nowhere to be found, and instead, chunks of meat and white keratin were scattered messily on the floor, cut by a knife. Between the squelching flesh, a radiantly colored essence was scattered haphazardly on the floor.

I sent three level 6 selectors screaming, and the corpse that was impervious to the attacks of three level 7 selectors······was killed in a matter of seconds.

My mind went blank at the sight of Revan’s indifferent expression.

Are you really a human like me?

“ah······.”

Streak couldn’t even be astonished at the overwhelming sight. It was a completely different story. A tired breath escaped from the corners of his mouth. The other first-round selectors were the same.

The soulless selectors stand there, helpless and bewildered.

Clank-

“Are you a third-round selector?”

“!”

Revan approached and asked, his eyes lightly drawn. Even though he was trying to gather momentum for the selectors, the pressure of being a Twelve was immense. Even though he was not asking anything important, no one in the room dared to look Revan in the eye.

A shaky breath. Streak lowered his head, unable to look at him. Looking closely, Revan’s clothes were nothing more than rags.

“Already level 5.”

“······That, that’s right.”

Streak answered, grumbling.

It felt like a blade had been thrust into the back of my neck. It felt like walking on thin ice.

Twelve Knights. The strongest force in Ragnarok, above even the giant Dylan.

Soon, Revan stared blankly at the corpses of the selectors who had been ambushed and killed.

And then.

Unlike the Twelve Knights, who were known for their bold words and reckless actions, he quietly closed his eyes and ordered the remains of the selectors to be collected and sent to Ragnarok.

A little later.

Phuong—

Revan’s new form, which had disposed of the body, disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Beyond that vast land where the light shot by humans cannot reach.

Streak, the third selector of the Ban Company, looked up at the distant, fluctuating sky and remembered what he had been missing.

Come to think of it—

“Why not inside the barrier or on another front line, but over that horizon······?”

* * *

Another week passed.

Extending the barrier. To cut to the chase, it was a huge success.

『 Ragnarok City Wall, Expansion Success! 』

It didn’t take long for the news to spread throughout the Federation.

Ragnarok has secured enough land to accommodate the influx of residents from the other six cities.

The Ban Company expanded and widened to the southeast. It was an area that had increased by about 10km in width and 11km in length from the previous barrier. The land that had been created as a huge rectangle was named Ragnarok’s ‘Second City’ and divided into ten sections, from District 1 to District 10.

Areas 9 and 10, located close to the newly pushed-out wall, were set up as forward bases for the next expansion, while Areas 1 to 8 were decided to be used as land for residents by constructing buildings and laying infrastructure. The Federation and Anti-Company immediately began working together to turn the land upside down and drive out any remaining moles.

As soon as the expansion was complete, the company immediately put out an advertisement for recruiting combatants.

The fire that had once been kindled by the expansion of the Ragnarok Wall would not go out. The fact that Megacorp Van Company was selecting selectors became a reason to attract residents even faster.

The only megacorp in the city gives chips that can make you at least first-class if you just plug them into the link port. There is no such sweet temptation or motivation to immigrate. With even the existence of Rocky City, the biggest threat, erased, the influx will only accelerate in the future.

The city’s population is growing explosively. Construction will continue to pour money into Ragnarok for the time being.

[ Even if the madness is like that, is the anti-company force that strong? ]

[ Could it be that some other force was at work? ]

Of course, there were some question marks about its success, but they were soon buried by other loud voices. The astronomical value of the essence obtained during the city expansion process. Business negotiators from other cities came flooding in to buy it.

As the expansion began to be met with skepticism, Ragnarok quickly became the most active city in the entire Federation. In addition, the reputation of the Van Company automatically soared, and pressure from the Federation also began to come in through the Federation Stock Exchange.

“Once you list your company on the stock exchange, you can assume that the federal government will always be watching you.”

“Is there any benefit to doing it?”

“There are many. Investors will flock to the IPO, and astronomical amounts of money will be generated. The recognition of the company and the city will increase, and it will be easier to establish contacts with the Federal Reserve, so a lot of money can be moved. There are various benefits and less tax.”

“If you don’t do it.”

“They probably don’t look too kindly on the Van Company. They’re seeing the faces of federal marshals and Supreme Court justices more and more often, they’re meddling in our business dealings with other cities and companies, and they sometimes send a bunch of Odin’s corporate accountants to do due diligence······.”

“You’re saying that I’m annoying you.”

“For your information, in the martial arts world, shamans are listed, but in Shaolin, they are not listed.”

“What about Shaolin? Where would the Chinese have the reputation to raise it?”

In exchange for having the eyes of the Federation and the eyes of the world attached to you, there are various benefits.

Even the federal government cannot control all the powerful companies, so they use the stock exchange as a tool to keep them within their sight. Shin Seung, the former head of Shaolin, could quietly grow his power outside the eyes of the federation, but······.

“It’s not like we’re going to hide under Sungsan Mountain, and if we don’t do that, we’ll never be able to expand the city again.”

“I agree.”

In the end, Ban Company decided to list on the stock exchange as the only mega corporation in Ragnarok.

As time went by, Ragnarok became more and more noisy. The number of residents who wanted to support the anti-company also increased exponentially.

One day.

As Revan was looking down on the Second City, which was under construction, from the rooftop of Ban Company, a sudden breeze came.

“Director, you are here.”

“Are you here?”

Revan, Cheongpung, Byuetang, and the Seven Seated Neunggwanggaek.

Two Twelves, a Castra Vuetan, and a Seven Seat. The four mighty men went beyond the Selectors’ front lines and fought against the corpses. In the vast and vast corpse area, they were slaughtering corpses with a power that neither the Selectors nor the Federation could possibly handle for five days.

This was one of the biggest reasons why this Ragnarok expansion was able to succeed without any problems.

Soon, Cheongpung came up to me and asked with a curious look.

“By the way, have you sorted out your enlightenment?”

“What an epiphany.”

“You must have watched the exquisite Taoist techniques of the Seven-Sided Neunggwanggaek for five days straight, but are you really trying to say that the greatest Taoist of all time didn’t say a word? Even I could see that the executioner was suffering from not being able to sort out his thoughts.”

Whoooooooooooo—

At that moment, the aura that flowed through Revan’s entire body was instantly sucked into his body and disappeared. As the aura that could not be ignored boiled, the eyes of Cheongpung, who was glancing at Revan, shone with light. Revan soon returned to his normal state.

To him.

“It happened again!”

Cheongpung now spoke casually and looked down at the city of Ragnarok. While looking down at the city, Revan snickered and answered.

“What the hell is going on?”

The energy flowing from Cheongpung’s eyes, which were strained to look into the distance, disturbed Revan’s sense of energy.

The harvest from the Ragnarok expansion was by no means small.

Revan was currently facing a large wall of realm, and Cheongpung was ready to leap towards the huge wall at the end of level 9.

“Hyeongjang’s disciple is a genius that no one in the martial arts world will ever see again.”

“know.”

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s been surprisingly helpful to my ignorance.”

“I see.”

“And not only have you mastered the art of ignorance to the extreme, you have also reached the level of reinterpreting it, showing the temperament of a great master.”

Instead of bragging about his own accomplishments, Cheongpung, who had been praising Meng Yu-baek, suddenly spoke in a casual tone as if he was flirting with him.

“Honestly, I would believe it if you said that guy was a descendant of Samjon Maengwoogak. It’s the first time I’ve learned so much from seeing a lower-level martial artist. Hahaha!”

“It seems right to me.”

“Chief.”

“uh.

“What do you want me to do if you answer so blandly? I thought about it a lot and said it too···.”

“I’m jealous because my disciple is doing well under the name of Hwasan.”

“May the executioner be held in the arms of the volcano. The arms of the volcano are wide.”

“I have bad memories of volcanoes in my past life······.”

The two men talked while looking at Ragnarok.

The city below is now full of hope and energy.

Ragnarok is full of all sorts of good fortune. It’s like a festival every day, and the lively atmosphere can be felt even in the tall buildings of Ban Company. For the time being, Lena will have to suffer.

Now I feel like it’s just the beginning.

And then, a few days later, one day.

While I was sitting cross-legged and organizing my thoughts, I heard some news from Al Heimdall.

For some reason, through the sad-looking postman.

“Hey, would you like to try it? Lena said it was okay for me to go up!”

A messenger sent directly to Twelfth Revan, not to Lena, who is in charge of the external paperwork of the company.

Swish-

Revan took out a magically processed document that no one else could read and read it.

How much of the content did you read like that?

“······.”

Beyond Revan’s eyes, which had been sunken as he tried to organize his thoughts, a violent wave crashed down like a tidal wave.

— The Seven Seats of Al-Heimdall, Brahman Karnuy, has died.

— During the large-scale reconnaissance, a large corpse suddenly appeared and killed Chiljwa, who was showing interest in the recently discovered relics.

— The mighty corpse claims itself as the master of the ruins, Chestal Asparoff.

— Except for the deceased Seven-Sided Brahmin Karnuyi, those who were attacked by corpses near the ruins survived.

— Among the survivors who returned with injuries from the corpse attack.

— There is not a single infected person.

It was a message sent by King Ureuk Bagal.