Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The rules of all-out war are simple: you fight with everything you've got.
Number of people? Doesn't matter. Equipment? Doesn't matter.
It's just an event that pits clubs against each other at full strength.
[Before the Familia vs. Ranger battle begins, members of each club must be escorted onto the field by their respective leaders]
And because it's such a big event, inevitably, other students will gather, but.......the club leaders have agreed not to have any spectators, so this duel will happen without them.
There was a woman in the corner who claimed to be a club advisor and said something like, "Let's kill each other from now on," but I decided to ignore her because I thought it would be stressful to pay attention to every single one of them.......
The outside field of the Academy can only be described as massive.
The field was the size of a soccer stadium, if not bigger.
When the field was activated and the spatial magic was triggered, it would be at least ten times its current size.
"Wow, boss, look at that. I didn't realize it before, but it looks like they've managed to squeeze in all the new students this time."
Jin-woo muttered as he looked at the members of the Ranger Club.
"That's right, I can recognize the faces of the kids who were interns when I infiltrated them."
If what Young-jae said was true, it meant that the kids they had been using as interns had all been recruited to fight against us.
Only members of the club could participate in an all-out war.
"What's the big deal? If Young-jae is right, they've only joined them as interns without proper training, and considering what we've trained for......Ugh, there's no way we can lose."
Se-ah said as she recalled the training she had gone through.
I nodded in agreement with her and asked her how the training had changed her, and she said that it was a big change because she could now catch a bug with her bare hands.
[The field is randomly selected and the all-out battle begins at the same time as the change].
[Okay, let's start the field draw].
At the same time, a huge electronic board appears on the ceiling of the field, and the letters begin to move rapidly until they are unrecognizable, accompanied by cheerful music.
[~♬ ~♪]
Se-ah mumbles in disbelief at the sight.
"What kind of field lottery is this?"
I agree with her.
Just then, the writing on the electronic board, which had been spinning along with the song, began to slow down and the words appeared.
[Incheon Port]
[The field for this all-out war has been selected as Incheon Port]
It was an eerily familiar place to me, having dealt with the Triads there not too long ago.
I'm lucky in this area, really.
The arena was bathed in a pure white light and began to change as a familiar smell of salt and dampness was felt.
When the glow disappeared completely, the Incheon harbor, with its rows of containers and warehouses, was revealed.
"Thank goodness we got a place with a lot of obstacles."
"Yeah. Let's stick to the original plan."
Before we were transported to our respective camps, the guy who had been glaring at us from earlier spoke up.
"It'll be over in the blink of an eye, so what's the point of planning for so long?"
A member of the Ranger Club giggled and sneered at us.
Judging by his equipment, he must be a mage from the Ranger Club.
"Yeah, a guy like you is squinting his eyes to save his own ass, and I'm a nice, handsome guy, so why don't you do me a favor......and wait for me, because I'm going to drive a knife through your forehead before you can even blink."
Then, Jin-woo makes a throat-slashing gesture with his thumb, and the guy breaks his smirk and stares at him blankly.
"You're joking, I hope you're joking, because I'll find you in no time."
"Tsk."
He spits once on the ground and turns away, unable to resist Jin-woo's taunts.
At the same time, the landscape around us shifted as a pure white glow surrounded us.
Seo Yeon-soo's voice came from the loudspeaker as soon as both sides were sent.
[The victory condition is the elimination of all the opponents or the elimination of the leader, and if the leader is eliminated, all the remaining members will also be eliminated]
[Then let's start the all-out war]
Finally, the all-out war began.
First up is Se-ah, who looks around and smiles approvingly, then puts her hand on the ground.
"Is there any problem with the detection?"
"No, I just need to detect anything that moves."
At the same time, a map made of violet magic materializes in front of us.
We use spatial magic to recognize the shapes and coordinates of objects around us. By making them visible to the eye, the magic reveals where we and our opponents are in real time.
This is the kind of magic that most spatial mages in the field can use, and it's where the elixirs and training I've been giving Se-ah over the past few days to maximize her ability to manipulate her magic pays off.
"Here's the map I scanned of the surroundings and the location of the opponents."
The distance between us and the opponents was about a kilometer. If I ran at full speed, I could get there in less than a minute.
However, there was no point in running at full speed and becoming a target.
"Good, then we'll stick to our original plan, with Se-ah and Young-jae sniping the other side, and Jin-woo assassinating their freshmen and key figures. If anything unusual happens, let me know immediately, even if it means giving away your position."
After listening to my briefing, they all nodded and began to move according to the plan.
Memorizing the map of the area through my smart lenses, I climbed onto the roof of the warehouse in front of me and scanned the area.
There was no enemy in sight and with no spatial wizards on the other side, it would have been normal for me to run around and check out the terrain, but not being able to see them meant they were still clustered together.
Then.......
"We'll have to scatter them."
I pulled out the [Al Capone's Tommy] from my cube and pointed its muzzle at the sky.
"Now, do what you're most confident in."
It was time to fire the signal that would mark the beginning of the real war.
──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!/──!
The sound of my proud typewriter echoes throughout Incheon Harbor.
I continue to pull the trigger, flaunting my presence across the field until they all hear it and pay attention to me.
"This should be enough."
I took my finger off the trigger and looked back towards the warehouse where they were last detected.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see them poking their heads out to look this way.
'I know, they're probably wondering why I'm giving away my location so openly.'
The reason was simple.
'To force them to do the obvious.'
In a game that ends when you catch the boss, if the boss reveals himself no matter how much you suspect it's a trap, no matter how much you think it's geeky, you're still going to go after him.
And the way the Rangers hunted their prey was pretty obvious.
"A circle."
After capturing me, they would spread 20 men across Incheon Harbor and slowly tighten in from the perimeter.
They would attack me from all sides, trying to drain my strength, and when they thought I was finally weak, they would charge in at once to finish the job.
This, then, was the typical Ranger's way of fighting.
The oldest, surest, and most effective.
The downside to this method was that you had to know exactly where your opponent was, but it was extremely effective.
Breaking through by one point? Your opponent is no fool. If you move forward to break the encirclement, they will move back and continue their attack.
If I charged forward to try and break through it somehow, I'd have a bunch of guys coming at me from all sides, ready to stab me right in the back.
But the reason I was willing to be the bait in this operation was simple.
[Trait: [Enforcer] is activated]
[Bloodline: [Corleone] is activated]
I'm the only one who can handle it.
"Clearly, 'Familia' has fallen under the Corleone umbrella."
[Trait: Enforcer]
A deceptive skill that inflates your physical abilities by 1.5 times when dealing with organized enemies.
I've never forgotten the message that came to mind when I ascended the ranks of Corleone, making Famiglia my family and the Academy my domain.
[New content is open!]
[Family system is open!]
[Name: 'Familia' (Corleone)]
[Rating: Bronze]
[Members: 4 / 5 (needs to be upgraded!)]
[Affiliated Organizations: 3]
[Environment: Very Good]
[Club members are very satisfied!]
The system window looks like something straight out of a game and the moment I saw it, I knew that I would be able to use [Talent: [Enforcer]] in the Academy from now on.
The moment I saw it, I knew that I would be able to use [Talent: [Enforcer]] in the Academy, because having a "Familia" under the umbrella of Corleone as an enemy would be tantamount to having Corleone as an enemy.
[Bloodline: Corleone] The auras in your body begin to grow thicker and thicker.
It was evidence that they were getting closer. However, the distance is not yet obvious.
The members of the Ranger Circle were not yet afraid of me.
"But I'll have to make them feel it."
I muttered to myself and pulled the trigger once more, pointing at the sky.
──!/──!/──!
I fired exactly three shots.
This was my signal to begin the operation and as promised.
[Kaaaaaaaah!!!]
At the same time, a container box exploded in the distance and flew high into the air.
It meant that Se-ah and Young-jae, who had taken cover, had begun bombing them.
Of course, they must have seen this coming. After all, this was a many-on-many battle, not a one-on-one battle. But they must have decided that getting my head was worth the losses, so they couldn't abandon the operation.
Well, that's a fair point.
"Against any other club, it would have worked."
But they're dealing with a "Familia" that has me as its president.
It was a club that could never be called ordinary.
The explosion doesn't end with one shot.
[Boom!]
[Kung! Kugugugung! Kwagwagwang!!!!]
One by one, the screams of the members of the Ranger Club, who had been holding their breath as the chain of explosions ripped through the harbor, began to be heard.
'Where the hell are they coming from?'
'It's not flying, it's exploding in the ground!'
'Booby trap? It's exploding out of nothing!'
Yeah, that's a legitimate reaction.
"Don't be stupid, assholes! Find the mage now!"
"We're not going to find......."
By now, Se-ah and Young-jae were probably completely hidden in a corner, working their magic.
It would be nearly impossible to find them unless there was a mage on the other side. Of course, even if the other side would have mages, they would need to have the ability to detect them.......
'Rudra's dead──!'
'Stupid bastard, why is he dying in the field!'
'There's a dagger in his forehead, what can he do!'
That was something our assassin has done.
A pandemonium ensued at the start of the battle and finally satisfied that everything was in place, I stepped down from the warehouse roof and looked at the forest of containers where the guys would be.
"Let's go."
It was time to show them a real "Corleone" battle.