Users of Pure White Magic (2)
Manila, late at night.
A gentle wind blew, and the city was as quiet as ever.
But this place had already become a target of China’s Pure White magic user, Liu Qian.
With his wind-leap ability, Liu Qian suddenly appeared out of the darkness as if melting into the sky itself.
Looking down over the central district where the Philippine government’s key institutions were gathered, he calmly surveyed his target. Dozens of branded magic users accompanying him waited only for his signal.
“Now it begins.”
Liu Qian gave the command in a low voice, and with a single gesture, dozens of branded users scattered toward Manila’s key locations. Slicing through the air, Liu Qian activated his wind leap, summoning a massive vortex.
The distortion of air caused by his ability swept over the government complex in an instant.
Like a massive storm crashing in, windows shattered into pieces and were swept away. Security forces, completely unprepared, were thrown down, and the buildings began to be torn apart by the storm. It was an attack that left no room to evade.
At that moment, the branded magic users under his command infiltrated the buildings and began igniting flames inside. Liu Qian’s eyes glowed coldly.
“This is true power. There is no longer any place to retreat.”
He murmured. Before his eyes, Manila’s streets were already engulfed in flames, and government buildings were collapsing.
***
At the same time, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Zhang Peng, who had received the Pure White Brand, infiltrated the urban safe zone where Vietnam’s defense headquarters and top military officials were located, wrapped in his immortal flames.
Hundreds of branded magic users stood by his side, awaiting his signal.
“Today, this city will be completely burned.”
He quietly declared, gazing at the flames flickering at his fingertips.
With a wave of his hand, fire began spreading throughout the city.
These were not ordinary flames.
Anything touched by them burned, and even with time, they would not extinguish—immortal flames. Freely controlling the fire, he turned Vietnam’s defense headquarters into a sea of flames in an instant.
The blaze plunged those inside into terror and chaos, while the branded users beside him began attacking indiscriminately.
Zhang Peng’s flames left behind pain and despair as they swallowed Hanoi’s downtown.
Looking down at the city, he smiled.
To him, these flames were not merely destruction, but a symbol of victory.
“Hanoi no longer exists.”
As he spoke, his flames dyed the night sky red.
***
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — city center.
Tatiana infiltrated the city like a shadow, unleashing her mental ability, Master of Illusions.
What she wanted was not simple destruction.
She planned to manipulate Mongolia’s military leaders, forcing them to attack one another and drive chaos to its peak.
Hundreds of branded magic users stood by her side, assisting in her mental domination.
“Fall into chaos.”
She whispered as she seized control of the military leaders’ minds.
In an instant, their vision twisted, and they could no longer distinguish friend from foe.
Trapped within Tatiana’s illusions, they began to suspect and attack one another.
Under her control, Ulaanbaatar’s military base collapsed from within. Tatiana watched the scene with a smile.
“They’re like puppets moving at my will.”
Under her manipulation, the Mongolian military leadership was steadily annihilated.
Faced with these sudden invasions, each nation could do nothing but be caught off guard.
The Pure White magic users shattered defensive lines and reduced cities to ruins in an instant, spreading fear and chaos beyond control.
***
[In the end… China and Russia have started something insane.]
Cha Seong Hyeon urgently contacted Seon Yul and explained the events unfolding at that very moment.
China and Russia had launched surprise attacks on the Philippines, Vietnam, and Mongolia.
This wasn’t a mere localized conflict… it was an outright act of war, so blatant that it seemed as if World War III could break out at any moment.
Of course, given the current state of Earth–104, a full-scale global war was unlikely, but at the very least, a war using magical forces was entirely possible.
“…So it’s finally happening.”
Seon Yul frowned slightly as he muttered after receiving the call.
The situation they had feared had finally come to pass.
And one thing had become clear: China and Russia must have acquired extremely powerful magic users with the Empire’s help.
Looking at what was happening in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Mongolia, it was obvious just how powerful these magic users were.
Even the so-called Seven Stars, once considered the strongest magic users on Earth–104, could no longer guarantee victory against these new forces.
These were clearly beings created with the Empire’s assistance.
“What’s the response from other countries?”
[Everyone is on high alert. They’re mobilizing all available magical forces to respond to China and Russia’s attacks, but countries with weaker magical power are essentially helpless.]
“…I see.”
[We’re also preparing for China’s provocation, but… given all the restrictions we’re under, it’s difficult to mount a proper response.]
If Earth–104 had been in a normal state, China and Russia would never have acted so recklessly.
But now, every nation was operating under emergency conditions that limited its ability to respond.
That was precisely why China and Russia’s actions were even more threatening.
“Understood. I’ll move on my end as well.”
After ending the call, Seon Yul began thinking about what he could do in this situation.
The simplest option would be to strike China and Russia preemptively, forcing them into defense instead of attack.
As the saying goes, the best defense is offense. Doing so would likely prevent them from launching further attacks, at least temporarily.
‘But that would only be a temporary fix… It might be faster to deal with the root of the problem.’
China and Russia’s main forces couldn’t escape anyway… he could strike them whenever he wanted.
‘Let’s eliminate the biggest threat right now.’
Thus, Seon Yul concluded that targeting the special magic users of China and Russia, directly those currently invading other nations, would be more efficient.
After reaching a rough conclusion, he began gathering information from the community.
His targets were the special magic users leading the invasions.
He decided to identify and eliminate one of them.
Reading through countless real-time posts, Seon Yul began narrowing down his target.
***
After burning Hanoi and effectively taking control of Vietnam, Zhang Peng began working to turn the country into a colony, as ordered.
China and Russia planned to completely crush surrounding nations and reduce them to colonies that would supply magic stones and labor.
Just as European powers once built vast colonial empires, China and Russia intended to grow their magical forces this way and eventually dominate all of Earth–104.
Vietnam, lacking sufficient magical strength, would effectively fall once its safe zones in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were seized.
Thus, after securing Hanoi, Zhang Peng planned to move immediately to Ho Chi Minh City.
Of course, Hanoi was not yet completely under control.
Vietnam still had magic users. Though they had suffered devastating losses from Zhang Peng and his artificial magic-user army, some survivors continued resisting.
These few Vietnamese magic users kept posting on the community, asking for help, allowing Seon Yul to track Zhang Peng’s location.
Even if not in real time, Seon Yul was able to determine his approximate position.
He immediately headed to Hanoi with Cheon Li Yu.
Seon Yul’s target: Zhang Peng.
Of course, Zhang Peng was surrounded by thousands of artificial magic users, making a confrontation impossible.
The cleanest method would be assassination… but the problem was that Seon Yul didn’t know the exact limits of Zhang Peng’s abilities.
From community information, he knew Zhang Peng had fire-related powers… but that alone wasn’t enough to fully understand them.
“You see him? That’s probably Zhang Peng.”
With Cheon Li Yu’s help, Seon Yul confirmed Zhang Peng from over 10 kilometers away using Divine Eye.
“…Hmm.”
Seon Yul began considering how to eliminate him.
The simplest method would be a long-range railgun shot.
Calling it a “snipe” was generous; it was closer to bombardment… but with Cheon Li Yu’s assistance, ultra-precision targeting was possible.
“So, like usual, you’re going with the railgun, right?”
Cheon Li Yu assumed as much.
But Seon Yul hesitated slightly.
The reason was simple: he still didn’t fully understand Zhang Peng’s abilities.
The railgun was incredibly powerful, but top-tier magic users could potentially withstand or evade its destructive force.
If Zhang Peng survived or dodged the first strike, a second assassination attempt would become extremely difficult.
So the first strike had to be decisive.
“…Let’s try the railgun first.”
After some thought, Seon Yul made his decision.
At this moment, nothing was better than an ultra-long-range railgun strike.
But he didn’t intend to rely on that alone.
He began preparing a second plan in case the first attempt failed.
If he was going to act, he intended to ensure results, considering every possible variable to form a perfect plan.
By the time Seon Yul finished, Cheon Li Yu had already completed charging the railgun.
“Alright, charge complete.”
“…Let’s begin.”
At Seon Yul’s signal, Cheon Li Yu designated Zhang Peng as the target using Divine Eye — Target Lock.
Then…
“Fire!”
Without hesitation, she activated the railgun.
Wiiiiing—BOOM!
A tungsten projectile, shaped like a dart, burst out from the entrance of absolute space and tore through the air at a speed of 2 km per second.
Since the target was already locked, the firing angle didn’t matter.
What mattered was that the projectile would definitely hit Zhang Peng.
Swoooooosh!
The tungsten round struck Zhang Peng precisely as he was issuing orders inside a building in Hanoi.
KABOOOOOM!
A massive explosion followed.
It was an explosion so powerful that an ordinary person would have absolutely no chance of survival.
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