Chương 102: THE FINAL EVALUATION (5)

At the heavily fortified border near Paju. Everyone had gathered just outside the massive metal border wall, a fortress built to withstand the monsters beyond it. Heavy metal barricades blocked the main path. Behind them, rows of automated mana turrets hummed with stored mana, alongside massive mana cannons aimed toward the barren northern plains. Everything was primed, loaded, and waiting. Around a thousand professional Rifters had gathered there.

Flanking them was an equal number of Awakened military personnel, whose impression contrasted sharply with the loose gathering of Rifters. If the Rifters were a mess, they exuded pure discipline. Yet, all were in this together for only one goal. To stop the wave and protect their country. At least… It was the case for the army. More than half of them were actually local, run-of-the-mill hunters. Most of whom had never faced a monster wave. But they joined.

Because despite the sheer danger of the monster wave, it also meant an unparalleled opportunity. A single outstanding performance could yield massive experience points, bounties, or even a direct scouting offer from a top guild. So, everyone looked in high spirits, as the excitement had suppressed their nervousness and fear of death.

"Hey, don't you dare steal my kills today," a rugged Rifter in mismatched gear shouted. He spat onto the dirt, his eyes locked on the horizon.

"If I pull this off, I might finally be eligible to apply for a better guild."

"Dream on, rookie," a scar-faced veteran beside him snorted, checking the edge of a glowing, blue-tinted greatsword.

"With the Crimson Tower and Heavenly Dragon guilds sitting right behind us, we'll be lucky if we get to clean up the scraps. Just make sure you don't freeze when the big ones show up." The area was basically a fish market.

"Hey, did you guys see? That's really the Heavenly Dragon there!"

"Oh! The Flame Queen… Burn me!"

"I just hope someone from the Iron Blood Guild notices my barrier uptime." Right then-"Focus, you fools," a grim-faced military squad leader snapped from behind a nearby barricade. He didn't even look at the chatty hunters, keeping his eyes firmly on the northern plains.

"This isn't a festival or a talent show. Secure your perimeter and prepare to hold the line. If a single A-rank breakthrough happens on your flank, you won't live long enough to collect a bounty." The casual chatter died down instantly, replaced by a tense, heavy silence as the Rifters started dispersing. But then suddenly- BEEP! BEEP! The base-wide sirens wailed. A sharp voice boomed over the speakers, echoing across the entire military base.

"Emergency threat detected. The monster wave is within one kilometer range. All forces, prepare for immediate engagement." The battlefield exploded into motion at the warning.

"Everyone, fall into defensive lines!" Commander Park roared through the speakers.

"Assume standard combat formation!" The hundreds of military personnel moved like a well-oiled machine. The vanguards took position at the frontlines alongside Rifters from the guilds, especially from the Iron Blood Guild, the defense specialists. Behind them, the mages from the Crimson Tower guild and the local Rifters immediately formed a tight rear-guard circle as rows of mana turrets and mana cannons hummed to maximum capacity from the top of the wall.

At the very front of this formation, the three S-Ranks stood waiting. Their mere presence was enough to give everyone confidence. Han Ji-won glanced at Sang-hoon with a calm, mischievous smile. This is gonna be fun.

"Look at that, your vanguards shaking like nervous rookies, Guild Leader Baek," he said, his voice laced with a hint of snark.

"If your Iron Blood guild is going to freeze before the fight even starts, stay behind my back. The Heavenly Dragon guild will handle the front."

"Shut your damn mouth, Han Ji-won!" Sang-hoon barked back, his veins bulging.

"My vanguards are way better than yours." Ji-won let out a chuckle, while Sang-hoon adjusted his heavy shield and tightened his grip on his massive hammer, fuming with visible rage. Just you wait, you bootleg dragon. We'll see who gets to laugh soon.

"If you're going to complain, do it while swinging your hammer, Guild Leader Baek," Yoo Hwa-rin said coldly, a strand of flame burning over her fingers. Her sleek silken robes fluttered in the violent wind, her expression entirely unbothered.

"Just don't get in the way of my flames this time. Unless you like getting burned."

"You-" Sang-hoon's face contorted with rage, but before he could snap back, a faint, sudden tremor forced him and everyone else to focus ahead. Far beyond the horizon, a massive storm of sand and dust was rushing toward the wall. It wasn't a natural phenomenon, rather it was a tempest kicked up by the frantic, crushing strides of thousands of charging monsters. Then came the sound, rapidly growing from a low rumble into a thunderous roar that shook the very air.

As the horde finally drew closer, the ground began to tremble violently, making pebbles on the ground bounce wildly. Through the blinding dust storm, the true scale of the nightmare became visible. An endless sea of monsters stretched across the horizon, countless black shapes surging forward in an unstoppable tide. These weren't small fry low-rank packs of goblins.

Rushing through the front were muscular High Orcs clad in rough iron armor, swinging massive battleaxes with brutal force, alongside Trolls with bloodshot eyes. Darting between their legs were Direwolves and Hellhounds with jaws dripping with saliva. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But what truly turned the hunters' faces pale was the small group leading the very center of the horde- towering, winged Drakes, S-rank monsters.

They roared, launching themselves into the air with massive wingspans, radiating a suffocating pressure. This was a gathering of monsters capable of wiping out entire cities. The casual excitement among the local Rifters instantly vanished, replaced by a suffocating weight of fear. Everyone stood completely frozen, utterly astonished by the sheer scale and size of the incoming horde. Even the veterans who had survived years of dungeon clearing felt their breath hitch.

This was, without a doubt, the biggest and most terrifying wave any of them had ever witnessed in their entire lives. Seeing the terrifying monsters finally break through the dust, Baek Sang-hoon's jaw clenched as sweat formed on his neck. Why is it this massive? A drop of sweat slid down his temple. They should have at least given me a heads-up.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. Whatever… There's no going back now. I just need to drag this out and survive with my guild. But Han Ji-won didn't look back at the panic behind him. His sharp eyes locked onto the sea of monsters, especially the flying drakes. Now that the enemies were in sight, a blinding golden light radiated from his body. Heavily scaled armguards wrapped around his forearms, while thick armor plates encased his legs.

The golden mana swirled upward, solidifying into a draconic helmet that completely covered his face and head. While sharp golden armor and claws fully manifested over his hands and chest, the sight was enough to boost the surrounding Rifters' morales.

"Don't blink," Ji-won shouted, a grin spreading across his face.

"You're about to see how a dragon hunts."

"Open fire!" Commander Park screamed. The magic cannons erupted in unison, painting the sky in blinding streaks of destructive energy as Han Ji-won charged at the monster wave. Baek Sang-hoon followed right behind him, while Yoo Hwa-rin effortlessly glided forward. Behind the top rankers, the local Rifters and half of the military forces launched into a full-scale charge, leaving the remaining half behind the barricades to secure the defensive line.

Closing the distance within seconds, Ji-won reached the front line of the wave. He locked eyes with the incoming wall of meat and flexed his heavy claws. Let's clear the path... Dragon Cleave. He swung his claws twice, once to the left and once to the right. Golden mana erupted from each strike, sending three claw-shaped slashes tearing through the horde. The concentrated mana tore through the frontline, slicing a dozen trolls and high orcs into clean pieces before they could even scream.

At a distance, Sang-hoon leaped high into the air holding his shield and hammer, quickly summoning a massive magic anchor double his size. With a rough shout, he launched it downward. The anchor crashed into a dense cluster of monsters, crushing everything beneath its massive weight. Immediately after, the planted anchor released violent shockwaves that rippled through the air.

The charging beasts stumbled, screaming in pain as a heavy downward force slowed their movements to a crawl, while the shockwaves ruptured their innards. Screaming with brash excitement, "Titan Hammer…!" A massive projection of a mana hammer exploded outward from his hammer. Sang-hoon dropped from the sky, slamming it into the earth, crushing every monster nearby. From the left flank, Hwa-rin made her move. Raising both hands forward, she unleashed a condensed beam of intense flame.

The piercing line of fire tore straight through the wave, incinerating monsters in a perfect, straight trajectory, leaving nothing but burning ash in its path. Then, the heavy projectiles from the magic cannons finally arced over the S-Ranks, slamming into the deeper sections of the wave, detonating in a series of bluish explosions that wiped out entire pockets of the horde in a massive radius. Following the S-ranks' devastating opening play, the rest of the charging forces slammed into the wounded wave.

Volleys of arrows and diverse magic spells rained down from above, while the infantry engaged the disoriented monsters in a brutal melee. The frontline had transformed into a raging vortex of blood, metal, and explosions- the official beginning of the Monster wave of Paju.

Meanwhile, news about the monster wave was being broadcast nationwide. All over the country, people stood glued to their screens, watching the live drone footage of the flashing golden lights and massive explosions lighting up the battlefield.

"Breaking news," the anchor spoke rapidly.

"A massive monster wave has finally reached the Paju border. The three S-Ranks, the Heavenly Dragon Han Ji-won, the Flame Queen Yoo Hwa-rin and the Iron Anchor Baek Sang-hoon are currently on the scene leading the defense. All citizens…" People watched with bated breath, praying for the front lines to hold, completely unaware of a new danger that was about to emerge closer to home.

Deep within the heart of Seoul, inside an abandoned warehouse in Yong-san- A crimson Rift glowed silently in the darkness, casting an eerie light across the dusty room. With a sudden bone-chilling growl, a massive black wolf slowly stepped through the portal. Its eyes burned with a bloodshot red glow and thick saliva dripped from its bare fangs. Its nostrils flared, catching the scent of the city outside. As the beast bared its teeth, dozens of dark silhouettes began emerging from it.

Their glowing crimson eyes multiplied rapidly, waiting to be unleashed onto the city.

Inside the Corrupted Rift- Just after disabling a trap, the party continued marching forward. Most of the members were looking visibly worn out by this point, except for Jimin. Walking at a steady pace, he was quietly meditating, using this brief gap between encounters to recover some of his psychic energy. He opened his status screen to check his reserves.

HP: 487/500 STA: 173/315 MP: 214/480 PE: 337/765 My PE is just below half. Thanks to 'Meditation', I'm still managing to sustain. Or I would be in a complete mess right now. But the constant battles hadn't only drained his resources. His skills had also grown rapidly through continuous use.

'Overtime' and 'Weight Distortion' had already reached Level 11, while 'Meditation', 'Pierce', 'Detection' and 'Hawkeye' had respectively jumped to Levels 13, 10, 8, and 5. Also, his current LP was sitting at 3, 158. Moreover, the rest of the party had managed to level up from the recent hordes. Every single one of them was officially at Level 7 now. At this point, Jimin finally felt confident that they had a path to survival. Right then-"Warning, Master. Monsters detected ahead.

Within 160 meters," Mimi warned suddenly. Activating 'Hawkeye', Jimin saw a group of twenty goblins was rushing their way, but this time, they had three shamans with them. Without wasting any time, Jimin grabbed his temple.

"Ugh… There are goblins ahead… Three shamans this time." Hearing the warning, the group didn't waste any time. Everyone quickly assumed their positions, as they waited for the monsters to appear. However-"Don't push yourself too hard, Jimin," Yuna called out from the back, her eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah," Yu-jun chimed in from the front line.

"Sorry for making you use that skill so much… Thanks for everything."

"No need to mention it… It's nothing like-" Jimin was about to wave off their worries, but something stopped him mid-sentence. A thin, crackling golden line had suddenly appeared on the ground, rapidly circling around Jimin's feet. He and the others instantly noticed the anomaly. His survival instincts screamed that something was wrong, so he tried to dash away from the spot immediately. But he didn't even have time to move. The ground disappeared beneath him, as the blazing ring of golden light shot upward.

It swallowed him whole in a single flash before vanishing into thin air.