"The binding that dominated my mind... it was never something ordinary."
Well, of course it wasn’t.
They had shoved monsters into every military installation.
And then ordered those monsters to guard the bases.
There’s no way such a binding would be something ordinary.
"On the other hand, those humans we just met looked ordinary. Even if a hundred of those types swarmed in, breaking the binding would be impossible."
Just take this one for example.
It was a monster commanding hundreds of subordinates.
If breaking the binding that way were possible, it would have long since shattered it on its own and gained freedom.
But.
Impossible? Yet... in the end, this one’s binding did get broken.
Strictly speaking.
Because the [System] made it my vassal, it feels like the binding that had been controlling it disappeared.
Vassal.
As far as I know, the only ones with vassals right now are me and Minjae.
In Minjae’s case, he used [Lowest-Grade Electric Dominion] to put an electricity-made monster under his control.
Thinking back now, that method of his might have been the most orthodox way to acquire a vassal.
In my case it was a little different.
To put it plainly, I used a loophole.
I lured it into yielding to me through cooking.
And in that process, something Ariella had once said came to mind.
"Words of the demon race carry compulsion."
The reason she became my vassal with nothing more than a single word.
That must have been because of that very compulsion.
And as for those ones we just encountered.
They were called Demon Contractors.
Dealing with demons themselves.
If Ariella’s binding was broken because the words of her race carried compulsion, then a demon being could certainly do something similar.
No—
It wouldn’t even be strange if that demon was the very one who imposed the bindings in the first place.
Either way.
It’s not that bindings have never been undone before.
And assuming that I alone could accomplish such things would be arrogance.
"They came to this unit for exactly that reason you mentioned."
"To undo the bindings on the monsters?"
"Yes."
Most of the army bases were annihilated fighting monsters.
The only exception is this unit.
Because we clawed and scraped just to survive.
We managed to exterminate the Lizards and take the mountains as our own.
On the flip side.
If we had been wiped out here, it would have been the Lizards occupying this base.
I was able to analyze their weak points with [Chef’s Eyes].
We had the advantage of a highland position.
We realized the method of Awakening quickly.
There were no zombies here.
Thanks to all of those advantages, we somehow managed to eradicate the Lizards.
Even now, looking back, they were never weak enemies.
This very combat uniform I’m wearing is proof enough.
It’s been quite some time since we came down from the mountains.
Every time Jung Sua’s skill improved, new uniforms were made and distributed.
But the main material has always remained Lizard byproducts.
That’s how solid their scales and hides were, so difficult to pierce.
If you knew their weak points, they weren’t hard to deal with. But without that knowledge, even our current soldiers wouldn’t have dispatched them easily.
And there were hundreds of them.
Any one of those reasons I recalled just now—if even one had been missing, it wouldn’t have been strange for us to be annihilated.
"If we had been wiped out, the Lizards occupying this base..."
"They would have been unleashed upon the world."
The only reason we were lucky is because those monsters stupidly targeted our unit alone.
If they had spread out into the world at large, the damage would have been catastrophic.
No—that doesn’t matter. We managed to stop that, and that’s what counts.
What matters now is something else.
Those ones acted as though they had comrades elsewhere...
"Sergeant Park Taejun. Was this the only place they were trying to release monsters? Just the 423rd Battalion?"
"...No."
"Goddamn it."
Monsters locked into bases by binding.
Humans who can undo those bindings.
And if those Demon Contractors had comrades, the odds are high they are heading to other bases as well.
"How many bases do you think they’ve already reached?"
"I couldn’t give you a number. The only thing I can say is... it’ll be the units that belonged to 12th Corps. That’s what they’ll target."
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
By now they’ve likely already arrived at some of those bases. Monsters there will be breaking free of their bindings.
As for why they would want to unleash them—
The result is easy enough to guess.
This whole area is within our unit’s sphere of influence.
They must have freed the monsters... to send them against us.
Just like Taejun said earlier.
It all goes back to that radio broadcast we put out.
That, apparently, is what provoked them to attack us.
I don’t regret broadcasting it.
The information in it must have saved countless lives.
But at the same time, it also exposed us to our enemies.
...Our unit will be fine.
The core bases of the Legion.
The Ammunition Battalion and the Vimana are unshakably fortified.
Both of those places are defended by forces of overwhelming strength.
The [Dragon Fang Troopers] patrol Vimana.
The [Alraune] has rooted itself in the Ammunition Battalion.
The Dragon Fang Troopers are creatures specialized in territory defense.
The Vimana they guard is impenetrable—even our own Legion could never breach it head-on.
Alraune is the same.
Plant-type monsters that put down roots cannot roam freely, true.
But in the place where they are rooted, they exert tremendous power.
Our Legion has always been specialized for defense.
Even now, long since coming down from the mountains, that hasn’t changed.
The Legion’s true strength lay not in attack, but in defense.
So no matter which monsters had been occupying army bases, they would not easily break our strongholds.
The problem is not our unit.
It’s elsewhere.
"It hasn’t been long since we turned on the radio."
And in that broadcast...
We had included information about our strongholds.
Survivors and Awakened scattered across the land.
People scraping ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) by on their own.
We wanted them to know there were safer places.
That if they came to our Legion, they could be protected.
By now, there’s a high chance they’re already on their way to us.
But if these Demon Contractors aimed to target us, then...
The army bases around our strongholds.
The monsters of 12th Corps would already have been unleashed there.
And those survivors making their way toward us—
They’ll be completely exposed to attacks from freed monsters.
And some of those monsters are special kinds.
The prime example is Ariella.
The eye monster that occupied the Armored Battalion as well.
Monsters like them, able to dominate others and rapidly expand their forces—
If unleashed, they could become catastrophes so strong even our Legion would struggle against them.
"Taejun, you..."
That’s why I had to ask.
"Why did you let me come here?"
Sergeant Park Taejun.
He had known, at least in part, that things would unfold this way.
If he already knew, shouldn’t he have stopped me from coming up here?
I’m the Legion’s strongest buffer.
And even in battle I’m not lacking.
In a crisis like this, I’m one of the most indispensable.
If I joined in containing the situation, casualties might be reduced.
But instead—here I am.
In the most isolated unit, an hour’s drive from the ground, even in a vehicle.
If the monsters are already spreading out, no matter how fast I move I’ll still be late.
"I told you earlier, didn’t I? I almost did stop you."
"Sergeant Park Taejun."
"Hm? What is it, Youngjun?"
"That answer’s wrong."
There’s no time to waste.
Sorry, but I don’t have the luxury for riddles.
"State your rank and name."
"...Yes. Sergeant, Park Taejun."
Right now, I am the Legion’s commander.
And he is a soldier of the Legion.
"This isn’t the time to play at being a shaman. Don’t twist your words. Answer me directly."
"...That’s some terrifying pressure you’re giving off."
I glared at him with full intent.
And as though crushed by that force, Taejun squinted his eyes and flinched in surprise.
"A few months out of sight and... you’ve grown enormously, Youngjun."
"And you—you really do sound like a shaman. Listening to you talk pisses me off."
"Heh. Maybe the job rubbed off on me more than I thought."
Maybe my pressure was what got through.
He straightened his posture and continued.
"You’re right. If the monsters are freed, it’ll be an immense threat."
"Exactly. Which is why I should be out there joining as quickly as possible."
"The problem is, Youngjun, we don’t know anything."
He muttered while gazing at the stars.
"We don’t know which bases they targeted. Which of the freed monsters are dangerous. Which ones will move to attack people first. Or what weaknesses they’ll have. We... don’t know a thing."
The bases of 12th Corps—
They weren’t just a handful.
Gangwon Province is so full of military bases you could say it’s littered with them.
We can’t possibly send people to them all.
So even knowing that they intend to release “the monsters of the bases,” we still can’t know which ones will be freed.
Nor, beyond that, which ones we must prioritize and strike down first.
No—wait.
There is exactly one exception.
"Youngjun, you haven’t forgotten my class, have you?"
"Radar Section..."
Radar.
A system for detecting incoming threats and providing information needed to intercept them.
Coincidence or inevitability—
Taejun, veteran of the Radar Section.
"I would know."
His trait is... very similar to radar.
"Of course, my ability isn’t all-powerful."
Despite his confident words, he immediately backpedaled.
"If anything, the penalties are so severe they’re almost crippling."
"The limits of astrology?"
"Yes. I tried to uncover that information. I meant to deliver it to you the moment I could. But..."
"You failed, then."
"My ability alone wasn’t enough. No matter what I tried, with my stats and level, I hit the ceiling."
Sitting in his wheelchair, my fellow conscript.
Sergeant Park Taejun.
His class is [Astrologer].
A stargazer’s profession.
And in our Legion, without question—
The strongest information specialist.
So this was why he hadn’t stopped me from climbing up here.
Why he had instead waited for me.
This place is the closest point to the stars in the whole region.
Because of all the effort he’s put in, it’s also the environment that amplifies his ability to its maximum.
Even this Radar Section is an element that multiplies his power.
"This was all we and the Radar Section soldiers could do. And still, the limits were too clear."
"Which is why... you didn’t block my visit."
He maximized his ability by using every environmental factor.
And still, he hit a wall.
"But not anymore."
Now, because I came here to meet him—
A few new factors had been added.
"These pieces of gear... I really like them."
The equipment supply.
"Their effects are hard to believe even while I’m wearing them..."
"Well, our production specialists are no joke."
"That woman, Lee Sanga, wasn’t it? The one who was acting as leader back then. She seemed so uneasy at the time. But she must have grown enormously in the time I haven’t seen her."
The pride of our Legion—our equipment sets.
Now that he’s wearing the full set, Taejun’s stats have shot up to a level incomparable to even an hour ago.
"But it’s still not enough."
He lowered his gaze from the sky.
And looked straight at me.
"There’s one more critical factor needed."
"...Ah."
Since I’d arrived at this base, quite a long time had passed.
"I may not play the shaman like you, but I know what you’re hinting at."
"Do you?"
I glanced up at the sky.
It was painted orange.
The sun was setting.
And soon, the stars would rise.
A sentence that might sound sentimental to some.
But to me, a chef, it meant something else.
"It’s dinner time."
Besides—
There was still one objective I hadn’t fulfilled in coming here.
I’d come to this base after a long time.
I’d reunited with an old comrade after a long time.
Wouldn’t it be right to treat him to a proper dinner?
And right now, by his side—
The Legion’s strongest buffer was seated.
