Free Web NovelChapter 21: Coalition of Vultures and the War Council
The sixty-foot Behemoth Titan never got to complete its downward strike. Before its mountain-sized stone fist could touch the reinforced base pillars of the Lotte World Tower, Han Ye-rin’s fingers tapped the Sovereign Battle Map console.
"Dread-Mechs 01 through 06, suppress the primary joints. Seo-yoon, take the eye," Ye-rin commanded with razor-sharp precision.
Rat-rat...!
Six Void-Ember Dread-Mechs phase-dropped directly onto the Titan’s shoulders and knees, their thrusters burning with intense purple stellar fire. Simultaneously, a blinding three-foot arrow of silver starlight hissed from the 123rd-floor spire, piercing the beast’s central void core eye with a catastrophic cosmic implosion.
The Titan reeled backward, roaring in agony as its stone structure began to fracture under the sudden, coordinated onslaught. On its shoulder, Chairman Han Jin-hyuk let out a desperate, bloody shriek as the reflected True Damage from the mechs’ absolute immunity fields caved his remaining ribs inward. He fell from the giant beast, dissolving into experience particles before his body even hit the pavement.
[Ding! Your team has eliminated the Daesung Corporate Vanguard!]
[Gained 5,000 EXP! You have leveled up! You are now Level 9!]
Min-jae stood on the open observation deck, his hands casually stuffed inside his pockets, his obsidian eyes completely deadpan as the system notifications scrolled down his vision. He didn’t celebrate the fall of the Daesung Corporation. To him, Han Jin-hyuk was merely a local regional bug.
The real problem was already manifesting on the newly unlocked Sovereign Battle Map behind him.
"Min-jae, look at the global radar grid," Ye-rin said, her steel-gray eyes narrowing as the holographic projection of the Seoul Sector suddenly flared with three massive, interconnected crimson triangles. "The destruction of the Daesung faction didn’t clear the zone. It just triggered the automated response protocol of the upper-tier syndicates."
Min-jae walked back into the command lounge. Hovering over the holographic map were three new data profiles, flashing with high-intensity threat indicators that made the previous Calamity bosses look like minor speed bumps. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
[Sovereign Battle Map Warning: Global Coalition Faction Mobilisation Detected!]
1. Faction 1: The Iron Blood Vanguard (Military Renegades) — Led by Commander Kang Tae-shik (Level 18). An S-Rank Awakened brute who executed his own superiors to seize control of the Southern Nuclear Silos. Talent: Ares’s Iron Domain (Grants 400% physical damage multiplication to all allied troops within a 1-mile radius).
2. Faction 2: The Silent Orchid Syndicate (Underground Assassins) — Led by Lady Crimson/Park Ha-eun (Level 22). A ruthless, beautiful psycho-assassin who monopolized the capital’s shadow network. Talent: Phantom Void-Stalker (Grants absolute invisibility and 100% armor-penetration on initial strikes).
3. Faction 3: The Holy Light Sector (Religious Extremists) — Led by High Priest Samuel (Level 25). A fanatical tyrant who views the World Descent as a divine purging mechanism. Talent: Judgment of the Seven Heavens (A high-tier holy magic caster capable of summoning localized light-elemental meteors).
"They’ve formed a tri-faction coalition," Ye-rin analyzed rapidly, her tactical mind mapping out the structural layout of the city. "They realize the Lotte World Tower holds an un-breachable core. Commander Tae-shik is already mobilizing regular heavy artillery divisions, Lady Crimson has deployed her stealth infiltrators into our sub-levels, and High Priest Samuel is channeling a localized holy meteor spell from the northern cathedral. They aren’t raiding us one by one. They are preparing for a full-scale, synchronized siege within the next twenty-four hours."
"A military brute, a shadow psycho, and a religious fanatic," Yoo Ji-a purred, her Void-Valkyrie’s Crescent Fang humming with a volatile, violent purple static. Her violet eyes flashed with an intense, intoxicating battle-hunger. "This is getting interesting. Min-jae, let me handle the shadow assassins in the sub-levels. My spear is itching to drain some high-level blood."
"No," Min-jae said smoothly, his voice carrying an icy calm that instantly silenced the room. He stepped up to the central pedestal, his bottomless obsidian eyes looking at the red dots closing in on their boundaries. "We don’t wait for a siege to land on our doorstep. If they want a war, we give them an absolute massacre."
He turned toward Han Chae-won. "Chae-won, how many mana crystals do we have left after the mech upgrades?"
"We still have 25,000 units stored in the absolute time-stasis inventory, boss!" Chae-won reported eagerly, her fingers ready to unleash the vault’s resources.
"Good. It’s time to fully spec-up the team parameters before the main collision," Min-jae commanded, his eyes locking onto Ye-rin and Ji-a. His system cheat instantly flared to life, revealing the hidden evolution paths for his remaining team members.
[Citadel Forge Protocol Active! Initiating Team Evolution Upgrades...]
1. Target: Shin Ye-rin — Force-Evolve Talent from S-Rank Sovereign’s Tactical Fortress to Rank-SSS ’Goddess of the Iron Strategy’. (Cost: 10,000 Mana Crystals). Effect: Grants the team passive skill Citadel Link — 50% of Min-jae’s absolute physical immunity is temporarily shared with all active team members within her tactical radar grid.
2. Target: Yoo Ji-a — Force-Evolve Talent from S-Rank Valkyrie’s Judgment to Rank-SSS ’Goddess of the Eternal Twilight’. (Cost: 15,000 Mana Crystals). Effect: Unlocks the active skill Void-Crescent Execution — A 360-degree sweeping strike that instantly executes any target below Level 30 if their health drops beneath 30%.
Min-jae’s lips curved into a cold, dark, and predatory expression. With Ye-rin sharing 50% of his absolute physical immunity talent, his entire team would become an unkillable vanguard line. And with Ji-a’s SSS-Rank twilight execution protocol unlocked, any army that marched into their territory would simply be harvested like ripe wheat.
"Chae-won. Empty the remaining 25,000 crystals straight into the core matrix," Min-jae ordered, his voice vibrating with absolute dominance.
"Right away, Min-jae!" Chae-won giggled with pure fanatical thrill, unleashing a massive, glowing mountain of blue crystals that completely covered the obsidian table.
Min-jae placed his hands flat against the core, his eyes flashing with a commanding, god-like golden light as the evolutionary plasma began to swirl around the room, enveloping Ye-rin and Ji-a in a blinding pillar of silver, purple, and crimson energy.
"The coalition thinks they are preparing a siege," Min-jae murmured, looking out at the bleeding crimson sky through the glass. "They don’t realize they are just marching straight into their own slaughterhouse."
