Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 35: A Tumultuous War (3)

The Selected Ones’ power was to thoroughly identify the talents of all the humans on the planet with a nearly obsessive lens. Furthermore, owing to the merit of one-sided benefits, it had led to most Earth\'s ability users joining the system. In fact, almost all the ability users that existed on Earth had Stats and Skills!

However, the fact that almost all the ability users on Earth belonged to the Great Wizard\'s System also indicated that not all ability users on Earth belonged to that one system. Two percent of the 10.5 million ability users on Earth meant that about 200,000 ability users existed outside the system\'s area of jurisdiction. This was not due to reasons such as the Selected Ones discriminating against people. Rather, there were those who had given up the benefits of the system because they had a special goal.

"They probably thought they were smart. Since something of this extent isn’t even foul play, they would have thought that their preparation was a wise choice. They just…” Min-kyung spoke with a voice that dripped with chilliness. "They just didn\'t know that they are underhanded fools."

Standing on the wall, the commander who heard Min-kyung’s voice shouted at the top of his lungs, "Shoot! Keep shooting!"

Thuck! Thuck thuck! Thuck!

"Hiiikkk!! These damned small country bastards!!"

"Get back! Back off, you idiots!!!"

Under the pouring rain of arrows, the Chinese people surrounding Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun Gate were dying in heaps. This was originally an impossible feat, since the Lee Family was in the middle of carrying out the Captain\'s War. Those belonging to the system were banned from fighting while the Captain\'s War was underway, after all.

This is what it means to mark the unqualified ones. The Chinese people with arrow-marks above their heads did not belong to Earth\'s system, so they\'re beings who exist outside of the system\'s protection.

It was impossible for both the Lee Family and the Zhu Family to engage in combat during the Captain\'s War. The moment Zhou Hongyi lost, the Zhu Family led all their forces to barge into and destroy the Lee Family. The only reason they were still in the Captain’s War was because they could not void it, not because they were honorable beings.

However, if the target was an outsider who did not belong to the system, then the story would be completely different. The situation was even worse because that wasn’t the only problem.

"Keukkk!! W-Why, how?! I am the Selected One\'s... Kreuukkk!" As blood bubbled out of his mouth, a warrior of the Zhu Family died. His neck had been struck by an archer\'s arrow shot from the wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

He didn\'t shoot because he saw the firing path. This is simply an unfortunate outcome of the unqualified one avoiding the arrow.

\'I was wondering on what basis they had the confidence to disregard the difference in number… Do they have a method to do so?’ I asked. The system\'s prohibition of combat was not in the form of preventing arrows from flying towards the protected parties by somehow messing with the laws of physics, but restraining the player\'s will in attacking other players. To distinguish between the systems, it was basically a Mental-type Great Magic that coerced the awareness of those who belonged to the system.

\'A loophole in the system,\' I murmured. The archers on the walls only aimed for the unqualified ones, who were all marked with an arrow-mark above the head. There was no need to think about whether the person was an unqualified one or not. However, there was a minor problem here. It was the fact that the arrows fired by the Lee Family\'s archers might pierce through other enemies owing to unavoidable circumstances. \'If they don\'t stop the arrows, then someone would definitely get hit.\'

If the unqualified ones avoided the flying arrows, the other warriors behind them would get hit instead. What if even the warrior behind the first evaded? Then the warrior behind him would be shot. Since the archers were controlling the firing trajectory, casualties were simply inevitable.

\'Genie, what\'s the difference between the forces of the Lee Family and the Zhu Family? What is the ratio of unqualified ones and the Selected Ones?\'

The Zhu Family\'s combatants went from 150,000...to 148,411 people. The number of combatants on the Lee Family side is 27,000.

\'What about the number of unqualified ones?\'

There are 53,000 unqualified ones mixed within the Zhu Family\'s side and 1,500 unqualified ones on the Lee Family\'s side.

\'That\'s a huge difference,\' I muttered. 30,000 against 150,000. If a fight between 3 against 15 was hopeless, then a war between 30,000 against 150,000 was literally the epitome of despair. If one were to look through the history of human warfare, there were times when a force could win against enemies with five times more troops. However, there would naturally be other problems to overcome, such as supply or the extreme difference in the quality of weapons. The involvement of a special terrain could change the circumstance of war as well. Unfortunately, the current situation was a typical one with enemies who were in high spirits right in front of their eyes.

Why would Napoleon say, "A great army has no need for military tactics?" Even if there was a war, the Zhu Family’s side would not suffer from this many deaths. Without bringing about Lanchester\'s law[1], violence on a scale of a war was bound to have overwhelming consequences as the difference widened.

Perhaps because they knew that, the Zhu Family landed in Korea just before the Captain\'s War with an enormous force that exceeded the members of the Lee Family. Even if the Lee Family won the Captain\'s War and gained the authority of the Forbidden City, the forces they gathered in this place would threaten to destroy the Lee Family. There was an absolute barrier of entry restriction, but the whole world knowing of its performance and characteristics rendered it useless. They obviously came prepared.

\'The entry restriction is a powerful protective barrier made by ultimate magic, but the entrance to the front should not and cannot be blocked.\' The entry restriction limited the battlefield and was a barrier that blocked enemies who remained hidden, but it was not an absolute wall that prevented enemies from coming through the front. As long as Sejong and Sun-shin, who perfectly managed the entry restriction, did not operate when going against humans, the Lee Family who was losing out in the quantity and quality of their military forces would have no chance of winning…

\'But they initiated the fight even in such a situation.\' I turned my head slightly and looked at Min-kyung, who was a girl facing an overwhelming 150,000 troops. She had a mature appearance and air around her, but she was only still a high school student.

It\'s a good start for now. There are already more than 3,000 deaths on the Zhu Family\'s side.

\'Even if we get rid of 3,000 people, there are still 147,000 left. And I\'m sure those from the Zhu Family are not all idiots, so they won\'t let themselves be treated like this with no end in sight.\' I approached the railing and looked down at Gwanghwamun Square. I could feel the high-spirited ability users of the Zhu Family being shaken.

Even if they were ability users who lived in an extremely dangerous world, it would be difficult for them to have nerves of steel in the face of the pouring rain of arrows. Also, no normal arrows were used. Those were arrows fully imbued with neigong which could pierce through a specialized armor… However, as much as they were shaken, their carelessness also disappeared quickly. They felt a sense of crisis and began to come up with desperate measures.

"Attack!!!"

"Kill them!"

The Chinese warriors at the front, who were being hit by the arrow rain, began to charge towards Gwanghwamun Gate all at once. It was impossible to retreat, because of the Chinese people who crowded the roads as well as Gwanghwamun Square! With those considerations, their first target was quickly decided upon.

"Help the Blade Emperor-nim!"

"Surround them!! Stop them from getting away!"\'

Dozens of warriors charged at Hyung, who was facing off against an old man holding a huge blade. Of course, arrows poured out from above the wall to target them, but the warriors of the Zhu Family instantly adapted to a desperate measure. The Selected Ones blocked the members who weren\'t selected.

"Uckk...!"

"This!!"

The archers on the wall expressed their confusion. It seemed that the archers could not muster up the will to fire the arrows as the Zhu Family\'s Selected Ones were blocking the front. It seemed that they were self-conscious in which they could only target the members who weren\'t selected, so they couldn\'t attack as long as the Selected Ones evidently stood around at the forefront.

However, Hyung, who was avoiding the attack of the old man called Blade Emperor, was not perplexed at all. He just took a step forward and swung the cutter knife.

Krraccckkk! Blood splattered. Eight warriors were on their knees in just one slash. The Sword Qi which was filled with killing intent couldn\'t be endured, so their necks were swiftly slashed despite their superhuman-like physical abilities. "Keukkkk!! This greenhorn brat!!"

It was an extremely dangerous attack from the perspective of a third party like me. Hyung\'s sword style was literally, completely unprotected from any attack. However, the enemies as well as the Blade Emperor old man could not attack Hyung at all.

"You used us as shields!!"

That\'s right. Hyung stayed close to the Selected Ones who stood in front of the members who weren\'t selected. It was as if he was hugging them. Then, he sent a few waves of Sword Qi from behind them. It was not allowed to clash with the selected members, but it seemed that standing close to them didn\'t pose a problem. Of course, he could \'only stand close by and never come into contact\' as an absolute assurance that his plan would work.

"I declare to resume!" Hyung shouted out of the blue. Although it was an incomprehensible shout, Blade Emperor, who was facing off against Hyung, distorted his face. He seemingly knew the meaning behind hyung\'s words.

"Don\'t be ridiculous and surrender! It seems that you have made some preparations, but don\'t you know that if you harm our Zhu Family, the iron club of punishment that comes would only become more severe?! I accept it!"

However, despite his warning, Hyung did not bat an eyelid. "Resume it!"

"I accept it!"

"Resume it!"

"You stupid fool!!!"

Boom!

"Argh! Avoid it!"

"Keukkk! Turn around and surround them!"

"But the arrows!!!"

The battle resumed once again. A bloodthirsty shower of arrows flew, killing and piercing through the warriors who charged in. Then, there was hyung, who continued to fight for survival while his whole body was soaked in the blood of the enemies.

"Hyung..." I stood still and looked down at the scene of chaos. In the brutal battlefield, where blood and flesh were scattered everywhere, Hyung\'s figure was radiating in black. "What the, what the hell is this?" I let out a sigh. Was this really a stage for a Korean high school student to stand on? However, if that was Hyung\'s choice, I couldn\'t force him to do things my way. But if there was something I could do for him… "Ares."

Chwareukkk!! In the empty air, a mass of magnetic sand appeared and transformed into an armored man. I have summoned Ares as a Metal Spirit.

"This... What is this? A Metal Spirit was summoned out of thin air?” One of the senior members of the Lee Family, who was rendered helpless by the rapidly changing situation, had a look of disbelief on his face.

In order to summon a Metal Spirit, a metallic substance or a steel-like metal was obviously needed. So it would, of course, seem strange if it naturally appeared out of thin air like some sort of Wind Spirit or Fire Spirit. However, I only used the simple method of digging up magnetic sands from the Unique World.

I ignored their flustered reactions and reached out my hand. It was also interesting to know that I could bring forth a lot more than just magnetic sand, which was a raw material from the Unique World. Whooshhhh! In the air, a pair of heavy-looking steel gloves appeared with the title Fusion-type P-1 Gloves above. Clang clackk! Just like that, I put on the steel gloves that came flying in. Of course, the gloves were just the beginning.

Fusion-type P-1 Top Piece

Fusion-type P-1 Bottom Piece

Fusion-type P-1 Shoes

Fusion-type P-1 Helmet

Kigik! Kigigik! Clang clack! The parts that appeared through space were equipped on my body along with a metallic sound. Finally, as the helmet was worn, a complete suit that covered my entire body appeared.

Needless to say, this was not some sort of ability in itself. Just based on the process up to this point, I had only worn heavy full-body armor. It might be something notable if this was the Middle Ages, but in the parallel world where monsters that could avoid bullets and slice up tanks from the front lived in, what use would there be for such a full-body armor? It was not imbued with magic or a special energy, since it was just a Mechanical Equipment. Because of that, while feeling the weight of steel all over my body, I said, "I\'ll leave it to you."

You may have guessed, but… Along with a \'Clinkkk!\' sound, Ares turned back into magnetic sand powder to seep through the gaps in the metal suit. He then connected the parts to one another. It\'s made in such a simple way that it wouldn\'t even be at the level of a Power Armor, let alone a Gigas.

\'You just have to put on a show.\'

Chwareukkk! Cling clankkk! Cling clankkk! Eventually, the steel armor that was completely assembled revealed itself to the world. It was the maiden work that I produced in the Unique World with all my heart and soul. ‘P-1!’ Feeling proud, I stuck out my chest proudly.

However, Ares showed neither astonishment or admiration. It\'s a primitive form of a Gigas. It\'s almost a cultural heritage, you know? Do you see the core storage section on the chest? It\'s not even an Iron Heart but a nuclear fusion core. It\'s giving me goosebumps.

"..."

1. Lanchester\'s laws are mathematical formulae for calculating the relative strengths of military forces. The Lanchester equations are differential equations describing the time dependence of two armies\' strengths A and B as a function of time, with the function depending only on A and B. For more information, please check https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Lanchester%27s_laws.