All the Connectors gathered there were tense . However, their minds were resolute . They had left behind a small elite force to defend the stake and Armstrong city, while the rest moved as per the plan . Following the orders, the Connectors got into their Moon Surface Vehicles .

  But, the high rank Connectors, including Sungyoon, didn’t go to their vehicles as the Mayor had called them .

  “Please take these . ”


  The Mayor gave each of them a black box that had no engravings . The box was as large as someone’s palm, and its appearance was solemn as if it were an urn .

  “What’s this?”


  Sungyoon opened the box, and his gaze fell on several Gems lined up in a row .

  ‘Gems?’


  They weren’t normal Gems . Sungyoon’s eyes widened when he realized what they were .

  “Mayor! These are . . . ”


  “You guessed correctly, Mr . Sungyoon . ”


  The Mayor spoke in a solemn voice .

  “They are Corpse Gems . ”


  Corpse Gems were Gems made out of Connector corpses . Everyone’s face stiffened as they looked down at the Gems they held .

  “.…… You guys completed it . ”


  “We completed it?”


  Before the war, the Mayor had handed out a release form to all the Connectors who were participating in the battle . The form stipulated that their body would be donated to the cause if they died in the battle . Their bodies would be used as ingredients for Corpse Gems .

  “Many signed the release form, and they passed away bravely fighting in the war . We followed their will to make the Corpse Gems . ”


  The Mayor spoke with a heavy voice .

  Sungyoon raised one of the Corpse Gems . The Gem felt cold and metallic, and he could feel the coldness permeate into his skin . The surprising sensation made Sungyoon wonder how could a Connector’s body be processed to create such an item .

  “A lot of you here also signed the release form . Despite signing the same agreement, you might feel guilty or terrible about using these Gems . However, I want you to remember the sense of duty you felt when you signed that form . These people felt the same way, and they still would’ve willingly given up their bodies if they had been given the choice again . ”


  “We’ll accept them with thanks . ”


  Russell closed his eyes, then made a cross on his chest . His sense of righteousness was much stronger than that of the others, and so, the sacrifices of the dead Connectors had deeply moved him .

  Everyone followed his action . Those who believed in a religion made gestures to pray for the dead, who had sacrificed themselves to bring peace to humanity . Those who followed no religion paid respect to these heroes .

  Since they were about to start their mission, they didn’t have much time to pay their respects . So when everyone finished giving their respects, the Mayor spoke in a solemn tone .

  “The creation process of Corpse Gems has a high failure rate . These are all the Corpse Gems we were able to make . Corpse Gems have five different types . ”


  The Mayor took the box of the Connector nearest to him . He started to raise each Gem as he explained . The first Gem he raised was red, but it wasn’t a Red Gem or a Ruby Gem .

  “This is called the Blood Gem . It’s made from the blood of a Connector . ”


  Everyone looked down at the Blood Gem in their own boxes .

  “It increases the abilities of a Connector . It’ll allow you to use Gems that you normally can’t use and push past your limits as a Connector . ”


  A few Connectors in the place possessed and used Diamond rank Gems, the highest rank Gems . They wouldn’t have much need for the Blood Gem . However, some Connectors here had hit their ceiling . The Blood Gem would allow them to use higher rank Gems that they previously couldn’t use .

  “The next one is the Heart Gem . ”


  The Mayor picked up a pink Gem . Since there were no pink Gems amongst the normal Gems, it was easy to identify that this Gem was different .

  “It’s made from the heart of a Connector, and it increases the performance of the Gems you possess . ”


  Sungyoon had a Gold Gem with an ability similar to the Heart Gem’s . One of Jungbum’s keepsakes, the Gold Gem had saved his life several times in the past .

  “The next one is called a Brave Gem . ”


  It was a gray-colored Gem .

  “It’s made from a Connector’s brain . Since Corpse Gems are unlike normal Gems, they can escape their users’ control . Connectors might get harmed instead . This Gem acts as a control . In some ways, this is the most important Gem . Please take this to heart . Do not use the other Corpse Gems without activating this one . ”


  When they heard about the dangers associated with using these Gems, a serious expression appeared on everyone’s face .

  “This is the Bone Gem . It’s made out of the bones of a Connector . In a place with very little magical energy like Earth, with this, you can use the full power of a Connector . This Gem is the reason the descendants of Planote could operate with no restriction on Earth . ”


  “Doesn’t that mean we have no need of this Gem here?”


  One of the Connectors asked the question .

  “We’ll be fighting this battle on the Moon . Even if a lot of the magical energy here has been transferred to Earth, it isn’t enough to decrease our power . ”


  “Correct . That’s why we thought about excluding this Gem . However, we changed our minds in the end . A lot of unpredictable events are happening in succession right now, so we want you to have it as a precaution . ”


  After getting the answer to his question, the Connector nodded . He thought that the Mayor’s words made sense . They had no idea what would occur in the future, so they had to be prepared for everything .

  The Mayor carefully put the Bone Gem back into the box .

  “The last is the Flesh Gem . ”


  It was a yellow Gem . No, it was better to call it a brownish-yellow Gem .

  “It’s made from the skin of a Connector . Unlike other Corpse Gems, multiple Flesh Gems can be created from one body . ”


  That was why, unlike the other types of Corpse Gems, there were multiple Flesh Gems in the box .

  “A Flesh Gem is a disposable Gem . Its rank doesn’t matter . It’s capable of copying the ability of any Gem once . ”


  “Can it be used on a Diamond Gem?”


  “It can be used on Diamond Gems and also on special Gems like the Royal Gem . Of course, each of the special Gems has multiple abilities, and you can copy only one of them . ”


  The Connector who had asked the question let out a whistle . From the Mayor’s words, he could tell that Flesh Gems could turn the tide of a battle .

  “Let me call upon you for a favor later, Mr . Russell . ”


  “I’ll have to ask Mr . Bruce for his Gem . ”


  “What about the Princess’s Diamond rank Gem? What ability does it have?”


  “Now that I think about it, the Knight’s party members received Diamond rank Gems . ”


  “He said it’s possible to replicate the abilities of the special Gems . We should work to get those abilities first . ”


  The Connectors crowded around Sungyoon’s party for access to their Gems .

  “It’s good to copy the abilities of our Gems, but you should get a variety of abilities . You never know what might occur in the battle . ”


  Russell made the Connectors get in a line .

  “Flesh Gems don’t care about ranks . Therefore, we also brought low rank Devices where you can slot in the Flesh Gems . You can use one of these Devices if you’re out of space for your Gems . ”


  After the chaotic atmosphere cooled down, everyone acquired the abilities that they wanted to have .

  “Are you all done?”


  At the Mayor’s question, all the Connectors nodded . After a moment of hesitation, the Mayor looked at each Connector in front of him as if he wanted to remember their faces .

  “I wish you Godspeed . ”


  The Mayor then gave the order, and the Connectors started heading out and into the battle .

  ***

  The heavy wheels moved . The Moon Surface Vehicles carrying the Connectors moved like a caravan as they sped across the Moon’s surface . The great number of vehicles and the number of high-rank Connectors inside each vehicle was enough to show how powerful the procession was .

  It didn’t just end at that . Combat vehicles containing Mana Knight Cannons also traveled alongside the Moon Surface Vehicles . A prototype of a Mana Knight Cannon had been created before Armstrong city fell . Since then, a lot of research and money had been sunk into improving the weapon . All the effort paid off, and the cannons were far more reliable now .

  The Connectors within the Moon Surface Vehicles did their best to pass the time . Some read books, some slept, some prayed, and some listened to music . They all had their own ways of passing their time .

  Sungyoon was in the same boat, and it was obvious as to how he would pass his time . As always, he stared at a picture of Shinhae . He could look at the picture for days without getting tired of looking at his cute daughter . However, this picture also contained Jimin, who had become a new family member .

  The smiling faces of his wife and daughter in the picture were a magical talisman that gave him strength .

  Puh-uhng!

  Suddenly, he heard cannon fire . It seemed another monster had tried to approach the caravan . However, it wasn’t a monster worthy of the Connectors’ attention . The Connectors had also become used to this now . They didn’t even look out the window as the cannons took care of the monster .

  It was the same for Sungyoon . He continued to stare at his picture .

  However, he soon raised his head as if he had remembered something .

  ‘We should be getting there soon now . ’


  Their destination was on the other side of the Moon . The stake existed in front of Armstrong city, and the tower they were going to existed in the exact opposite location of the stake . It was located at the backside of the Moon .

  The Moon’s surface was slightly larger than Africa . Therefore, their journey wasn’t a long one . However, this was the case only If one went straight toward their destination . In reality, the Moon had many craters, which were the results of asteroids’ collision with the Moon’s surface . The front surface of the Moon was clean, but the backside was peppered with craters . It drastically slowed down the Connectors’ progress .

  Sungyoon calculated the date .

  ‘I hope we get there soon . ’


  The Moon was getting fairly close to Earth . He had no idea what kinds of calamities Earth was facing right now .

  ‘It would have been great if we could have used the space ships . ’


  The risk of doing that was too high . In the past, they had used the platform on the stake as a landing spot, and Armstrong city had been under the control of humanity . Even then, there had been errors . Some Connectors had landed amongst the monsters and died . If he thought about what could go wrong, the approach from space was too dangerous .

  ‘I’ve never been there, so the portal is useless . ’


  In the end, they had to travel through the land route . This was why Sungyoon’s party members were on edge . They didn’t openly express their worries . However, they had gone through life and death situations together; they could tell how each other felt .

  Geeek!

  At that moment, the Moon Surface Vehicles came to a stop, and everyone paused as well -

  We’ve arrived at our destination .

  They heard the words they had been desperately waiting for . Everyone quickly exited their Moon Surface Vehicle . When they got off, they saw a tower standing on top of a structure that looked like an anthill .

  For some reason, the structure looked ominous . All of them wanted to dash into the tower and find out if there really was a way to stop the Moon’s advances toward Earth .

  However, there were too many monsters around the tower, so they couldn’t access the tower so easily .

  “There are so many!”


  Tim let out a sigh .

  Everyone had the same thought, but they soon firmed their resolve once again .

  At Russell’s signal, the Connectors got into a battleline .

  “Is everyone ready?”


  Russell yelled . The Connectors either raised their hands or nodded .

  “Good . You guys already know the basic plan . Do not do more than what was planned . Do not do less than what was planned . Just follow the plan to the tee . Do you understand?”


  “We already know that!”


  “I am confident in you all . As you probably know, we don’t have much time . We wasted way too much time in getting here . That’s why I will speak no further . ”


  Russell turned his body around and looked at the tall tower .

  The monsters had also noticed the Connectors and started rushing toward them .

  Russell summoned his weapon, and the other Connectors followed suit . Raising his sword high in the air, Russell yelled .

  “Let’s fight those bastards! Kill all the fucking monsters!”


  [Ooh-wahhhhhhhhhhh!]

  Like a movie scene, the Connectors charged toward the massive army of monsters .

  The battle for the fate of Earth had started .