Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  “That is…..”

  –That’s okay. You don’t need to say it. Obviously it is because of that hamster. That damn hamster, I knew this day would come eventually.

  “But why did the federation dispatch the mercenaries?”

  –Ah, of course you wouldn’t know.

  Ark was then told what happened on the federation base. The garrison commander Haman found out the location of the Rama base and asked for reinforcements from the central government of Istana. However, they don’t have enough regular troops and decided to dispatch mercenaries to Beltana.

  “Then the Carrier MR-II that I sent arrived.”

  -What? What does that mean?

  “I found the location of the Rama base. And sent the information.”

  Ark explained how he managed to find the Rama’s base before sending the information with the Carrier MR-II he found on the snowy mountain. Then Clem continued in a puzzled voice.

  –I never heard anything like that. I asked the Beltana soldiers about you and didn’t hear anything about that. I heard that you’ve been missing for a fortnight and was labelled as a deserter. The garrison commander announced that a soldier called Valencia was the one who found the location of the Rama base.

  “V-Valencia?”

  Ark felt like a bomb had exploded in his head. What happened…..it wasn’t necessary to think hard about it. It was impossible for Valencia to find the Rama base while there was a snow storm. Then the answer was simple. The Carrier MR-II that Ark sent. Valencia must’ve obtained it before it reached the headquarters of the federation base. And he downloaded the information from the Carrier MR-II before disposing of it. It wasn’t surprising when considering that the soldier was Valencia.

  ‘Valencia of all people…….’

  –Something smells dirty.

  Clem murmured in a suspicious voice.

  –If it is true then he can’t get away with it.

  Of course Ark wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He was going to do everything possible to smear Valencia.

  –If you die then there is no way but if you return alive then you can reveal the truth. The contents will be stored on your Nymphe so an investigation will clearly show the truth. But that is only if you return alive. Fortunately you’re only 50 km away so you can join us quickly. That is the most imperative thing.

  ‘I have to return alive. That is definitely the most imperative thing right now but…..’

  Over the past fortnight, that was Ark’s foremost goal when wandering through the storm. However, his objective wasn’t to simply ‘survive.’ Ark was eating bugs to stay alive so he wouldn’t lose the experience and Rune Carving skill he obtained from the pyramid. In other words, he needed to survive to register with the Fairy. However, the federation had mobilized all their troops and were advancing towards the Rama base. It was likely that the Fairy at the federation base wasn’t working anymore.

  ‘Although I have to join up with them……’

  Valencia was currently holding all the power among the main body. Valencia had intercepted the Carrier MR-II that Ark sent then his return would be the most dangerous threat to him. He would use any excuse to kill Ark. On the battlefield, there were no soldiers who wouldn’t kill while obeying the commander’s order. And he was just a mere prisoner.

  ‘If I join then I will die!’

  The Carrier MR-II could lead to his death. However, that only applied if Ark joined up with the main force. His Steel Stomach meant he could survive on Beltana alone. But he couldn’t let Valencia be seen as a hero.

  ‘If the federation wins the war then Valencia will be hailed as a hero. The investigation might not proceed if I protest afterwards. I need to find some way to reveal Valencia’s injustice. I need to find some way before Valencia becomes a hero.’

  Then something popped into Ark’s head. Ark was lost in thought for a while.

  ‘I have no choice but to try it!’

  “Captain Clem-nim, I have a request.”

  –Say it.

  “There are 10 prisoners who follow me like I’m their Hyung-nim.”

  –Yes I heard that as well. Valencia and his platoon members have been bothering 10 prisoners.

  That bastard. That guy called Valencia. His actions were expected. He felt sorry because he had forgotten about the Royal Guards for a while.

  “Can you somehow separate my younger brothers from the group and lead them here?”

  –Separate? But an appropriate excuse……

  “I have an idea.”

  That was to have the Silver Hand’s truck fall into the pitfall. It would be impossible for the Silver Hand to advance with the main army. Then Clem requested additional help while the other soldiers continued marching. And the prisoner unit were the useless soldiers. Valencia had been bothering the Royal Guards for a while. The situation proceeded like Ark planned. And finally……

  ————————————————————————————

  “Hyung-nim!”

  The 10 Royal Guards stampeded towards him.

  “Hyung-nim, you’re alive!”

  “We thought Hyung-nim was dead.”

  “So we waited day and night in front of the Fairy!”

  “What happened? Where have you been in the meantime?”

  The Royal Guard members surrounded Ark and fired questions at him.

  “Stop, stop, I can’t answer all your questions at once. You see……”

  Ark who was surveying the depressed face of the members flinched and closed his mouth. Hegel was standing behind the other members while dripped tears.

  “Huk, I…..I really thought Hyung-nim had deserted us and wasn’t returning……”

  “You brat, is such a thing possible?”

  Ark patted Hegel’s head and looked at the other members of the Royal Guards. It was obviously with one glance that they had no energy and looked like zombies. Ark didn’t bother to ask how much they suffered while he was away.

  Korururu. Korururu. Korururu.

  The stomach of 10 people started growling.

  “It’s no joke. We’ll talk later so fill your stomach for now.”

  Ark handed out the Space Food he obtained from the Rama’s bunker. The famished members shoved the food inside their mouths. Seeing the members looking so happy also eased Ark’s mind. And he placed a bug in his mouth without thinking. Hegel gawked at Ark with surprise and asked.

  “Hyung-nim, what are you eating?”

  “Huh? Oh, this? It’s a bug. Why, you should know. It is a bug often found when extracting Iridium.”

  “Hik! W-why are you doing something like that……?”

  “In fact, I ran out of food while coming here.”

  Ark laughed and tried to explain the process he went through to obtain Steel Stomach.

  Muff-!

  Hegel’s mouth dropped open while chewing the Space Food. It wasn’t just Hegel. The other members were also looking at Ark with shock.

  ‘What? Is seeing me eat a bug so shocking?’

  Ark became embarrassed and scratched his head.

  “Ohhh! Ohhh! Ohhhh…..!”

  Hegel moaned and started crying even more.

  “Eh? What happened? Is eating a worm so terrible?”

  “Horrible….that’s not it. Ohhh! Hyung-nim ate bugs despite having food…..it is because of us. You knew we would be starving if you met us again and ate the bugs while leaving the food for us…..ohhh!”

  ‘Eh? What are they saying?’

  “Ohhh! We didn’t even know…..Valencia kept on saying that Hyung-nim deserted us and I blamed you….I, I……”

  They had completely misunderstood Ark. Of course, it was true that he worried about the Royal Guards. His heart actually hurt when he saw the shabby forms of the members. But…..Ark wasn’t the type to sacrifice himself and starve for other people. However, there was no need to talk so bluntly. It was wiser to leave their innocent dreams intact.

  “Thes
e children, I’m fine. I told you. We are comrades.”

  “Hyung-nim….waaaaah! Hyung-nim!”

  Hegel embraced Ark and shed heavy tears. The other members also shed tears like a fountain and flocked around Ark.

  “I won’t doubt Hyung-nim at all now!”

  “If Hyung-nim commands me to jump into water or fire then I will do it without hesitation!”

  “I would give up the rest of my life for you!”

  -Mellin’s loyalty has increased by 200.

  -Hegel’s loyalty has increased by 200.

  -Berad’s loyalty has increased by 200……

  The loyalty of all the Royal Guards increased at the same time! It wasn’t just the Royal Guards

  “That Ark, he really is a good person.”

  Clem smoked his cigar with moist eyes. Heksu also looked at Ark with admiration and murmured.

  “That big fellow. What would it be like if he was my successor…..?”

  “He also willingly did all the dirty tasks.”

  “It is good that we came here to help.”

  -Intimacy with Clem has increased by 100.

  -Intimacy with Heksu has increased by 100.

  His intimacy with Clem and the Silver Hand also rose. The atmosphere increased thanks to the excited feelings from the Royal Guards and the Silver Hand.

  “What will you do now Ark? We managed to sneak away but if we don’t return soon then we’ll be punished. Did you have an idea when you told us to leave the main force?”

  Clem asked once the atmosphere was calm.

  “Of course.”

  Ark smiled and replied.

  “From now on, we’ll become a detached force.”

  ————————————————————————————

  “Leader-nim, I have an urgent report!”

  At the headquarters of the Rama’s main base. A warrior shouted with an urgent expression.

  “The scouting unit that we sent out to investigate the incident at the base has returned. While trying to capture the federation soldier that escaped, they found the federation army moving along the border. They number approximately 600~700. There are 5 Memeods and dozens of bikes and vehicles. It is a lot more troops then we previously judged was on Beltana. It is clearly an all-out attack by the federation army.”

  “What, what the?”

  The Rama commander jumped out and exclaimed.

  “Dammit, was that fire really caused by a federation scouting unit?”

  The federation had rallied all their troops and advanced. The region around the mountain was 100 km. If they rallied all the troops to bypass the border then they clearly knew the location of the main base. If they’ve already started to bypass the border then there wasn’t a lot of time to prepare.

  “To happen at this time……if it was a few more days then Beltana would be ours…..”

  “Perhaps our plan was leaked to them?”

  “It is still unknown……”

  The Rama commander raised his head and shouted.

  “It is clear that our base will be attacked. We have to stop those guys before their heavy weapons close in on the base. Adjutants, quickly gather all the troops in front of headquarters. Wake up anyone in hibernation mode! All necessary troops except for the engineers will gather to prevent the advance of the federation army. The limit is 10 km away in area T-23. No matter what kind of sacrifices we make, we have to stop them for 3 days until our plan is complete!”

  “I understand!”

  Wiiiiiiing!

  Sirens rang across the Rama main base.

  Space 7

  Unauthorized Attack

  Tu tu tu tung-!

  Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng!

  Hundreds of metres were covered in smoke.

  “Multiple smoke bombs!”

  “The smoke screen contains a component to stop photoelectric light. The infrared scopes are jammed!”

  “The influence of the magnetic waves won’t even allow biometric scanning!”

  Shouting came from everywhere. Valencia bit his lip and exclaimed.

  “Put away any vision correction devices! The enemy are the Rama, not space monsters. It will be difficult to survive while depending on mechanical devices on the battlefield. Remove all vision correction equipment except for the optical filter and wait for the command to attack. Their offensive will start soon.”

  Then the smoke screen flickered simultaneously and hundreds of shadows appeared within it. Monsters while sharp arms like knives approached through the snow field. They were the biological weapon of the Rama, the Carack.

  “Shoot!”

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  Hundreds of guns fired at once. Hundreds of bullets, grenades and warheads fired, causing swirls of smoke and flames. The Carack became full of holes like a honeycomb and collapsed. However there were no signs of the Carack decreasing. And they moved on battle instinct so they didn’t feel fear.

  Karararara! Kararararak!

  The Carack just climbed over the stacked corpses. Once the Carack started their assault, the federation army became wrapped in confusion. Several soldiers were hacked and mangled by the Carack’s sharp arms. But Valencia’s face was still confident.

  “Those guys intend to push forward. They want to overwhelm us with their numbers. But impatience will being misfortune on a battlefield. Pedro!”

  “Yes, Leader-nim. Start!”

  At the same time, dozens of smoke trails were fired.The smoke reached dozens of metres into the sky! They simultaneously exploded and hundreds of splinters flew from the sky like rain.

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa, kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  An area several hundred metres wide shook and dust flew up. It was the aerial attack weapon Claymore that fired hundreds of metal splinters! Unlike ordinary bombs, this once exploded in the sky so it was difficult to avoid. Thus it was known as the Devil’s rain! The Claymore showed overwhelming destructive power.

  Kara…..kararara…..

  Once the swirling smoke and dust settle down, hundreds of Carack were smears on the ground. The blood of the Carack were also mixed with the bodies of the Rama warriors.

  “Now I’m slowly starting to see the end.”

  Valencia smiled slyly and murmured. It had been two days since the federation had rallied their entire army and set forth towards the Rama base. They crossed the snowy mountain border and reached 15 km of their destination. The Rama had installed barricades there and had already arranged their defensive lines.

  ‘Sheesh, I deliberately bypassed the border for security…..’

  The advancing troops must’ve been detected by a Rama scouting unit. Initially the federation’s plan had been to advance to a distance where they could bombard the Rama base with their heavy weapons. If their tanks switched to Siege mode then the damage and range of their bombardment would rise explosively. If they switched to this mode within range of the base then they would have a chance to win.

  ‘But they became aware faster than I expected.’

  He guessed that the Rama had large numbers of defense facilities in this area so they would be detected eventually. The problem was that it was faster than expected so the Rama’s defences were solid. So far the military situation on Beltana was 6:4, with the federation being inferior. The federation was losing so they didn’t get enough reinforcements and supplies from the galactic federation. The Rama also used the Carack while the federation had a limited number of androids. Thus the federation started to dispatch prisoners towards the Bellin constellation. However, things were different now. 200 mercenaries were dispatched once the location of the Rama base was discovered. They were also supplied with advanced weapons. Therefore their combat power had jumped! The effect was clearly proven in battle. Since the battle started 2 days ago, the federation had managed to march within 5 km of the Rama base.

  ‘Now it is almost finished!’

  “Armoured squadrons 1,2 and 3, go! We will reach
their base after this battle!”

  100 soldiers shouted after hearing Valencia’s words.

  “Armour armament!”

  Their bags opened and a large capsule like object flew out. The capsules floated in the air and revolved like a puzzle before changing into armour. They fell like lightning and enveloped the bodies of the soldiers.

  Tong-! Tong-! Tong-! Tong-!

  The metal encircled the arms and legs and closed up. The parts around the head and upper body tightened and gave out steam. Once the combination of all parts were complete, the soldiers turned into robots 2 metres large. This was the federation’s battle suit. It was the original form of the armoured platoon.

  “Rush!”

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  The 100 people of the armoured platoon rushed towards the Rama army. The battle suits also fired various rounds of ammunition. Valencia looked at the heat wave it caused and took out his Beam Sword.

  ‘No one can stop me! This is my battlefield!’

  ————————————————————————————

  “I arrived just in time.”

  Ark smiled and muttered. Flames and smoke soared on the horizon. And the sound of gunshots was audible. It was several kilometre away but he didn’t need to see it with his own eyes. There was a battle going on between the federation and the Rama.

  “That Valencia, he seems to be making quite an effort.”

  The battle was taking place 5 km away from the Rama base. The Rama weren’t blind so they would know that the federation was approaching. Clearly they would form a defense line further away from the base. Yet the federation managed to push it back to 5 km from the base. And one of the leaders of the allied forces was Valencia! Valencia was fighting extremely hard.

  ‘It is natural. He knows the location of the Rama base and even received command of the federation army. If he shattered the Rama base with this strategy then he will monopolize all the achievements. He will become a hero and receive colossal bonuses. But……’

  Ark lowered his eyes and winced. Ark was currently hiding on a hill near a military garrison. There was a large dome in the middle of the garrison and were surrounded by many buildings and tents. The scale made it clear that it was the Rama central base.