Chapter 179 – Hardeon (11)

“We need time to think.”

That was the answer the two mages gave to my threat.

Just a moment ago, they had been asking me to just kill them. This level of attitude change was considerable progress.

“Alright. I’ll give you exactly five minutes.”

I stepped away for a moment to give the fiends time to talk.

Of course, by expanding my senses, I could hear everything they were saying.

Could it really be K?

From the circumstances, it’s certain that he’s K! And if he wasn’t K, it would be natural to ask who he is.

Come to think of it, that guy seemed to know about K!

Of course. Because it’s him.

Besides, as soon as we mentioned K, he hastily changed the subject. Just by looking at that, it’s suspicious.

But why is he hiding it? If he is K, the conversation would be much easier.

The warrior from the Gwangun Sword Family who had used the alias K.

It seemed his contribution to this organization was much greater than I had expected.

A hidden achievement not included in the report. He had clearly done something bigger than the quest and left.

Even if that person isn’t K, as he said, we can’t go back to the organization now.

If we both die here, we’ll be misunderstood as traitors who betrayed the organization, and the truth will never be clarified.

That’s certainly unfair.

That person is K…

…Shouldn’t we open up a little?

Just as I had intended, the fiends were reaching a very good conclusion.

Before they changed their minds again, I walked towards them.

“Have you thought enough?”

“We have decided to trust you. And also that you are not a soldier of the empire, and that you will assassinate the legion commander.”

“Wise.”

“But there’s a condition. As you said, we are in a position where we can’t return to the organization. So you have to explain this whole situation for us. So that we can become members of the organization.”

A request they could make because they were convinced I was K.

Their thinking was wrong, but it was also true that it was something I could try to do.

I was also in a position of cooperating with the organization for the sake of a quest.

“I’ll try. But not right now.”

“…Then?”

“In the more distant future. But I promise I will definitely explain it for you.”

While carrying out the quest, there was no need to stir up trouble by bringing up unnecessary things.

Clearing up their misunderstanding was something I could do even after I had solved all the quests in Hardeon.

“Alright. Since we’ve decided to trust you, we have no choice but to trust you.”

“Then it’s your turn to answer. Zombies, how are they made? You must answer everything you know.”

“Seeing as you know the word ‘zombie,’ you seem to know roughly about zombies as well.”

I nodded.

“A monster that is dead but moves as if alive. I also know that it has the characteristic of infecting other living beings and turning them into new zombies.”

“As expected of K.”

I ignored that comment and continued to speak.

“What I’m curious about is how to create the original zombie! The first zombie horse that suddenly went berserk in the supply unit today was clearly an original zombie, not one that was infected.”

At my words, the two men nodded in affirmation.

“To put it simply, if you take a Zombie Rune, you become a zombie.”

“A Zombie Rune?”

“It’s made by casting a specific magic on a cursed volcanic rock. Of course, we at our level don’t know what that magic is.”

To this, the fiends added a few more things.

“Even if you take a Zombie Rune, you don’t become a zombie right away.”

“Then?”

“You need another substance to act as a catalyst. It’s not hard to obtain, though. It’s a Mana Stone, which is common in Hardeon.”

“A Mana Stone?”

“Yes. If you bring a good quality Mana Stone close to the dantian, the Zombie Rune sleeping inside the body will awaken.”

The role of the catalyst was also a way to control the timing of becoming a zombie.

“In the end, the key to making a Zombie Rune is the magic cast on the volcanic rock.”

“Magic is one thing, but obtaining the cursed volcanic rock is also difficult. It’s not a common stone like a Mana Stone.”

“Then is this by any chance that cursed volcanic rock?”

I took out the volcanic rock I had received in exchange for teaching the boy swordsmanship a while ago.

“Huh?”

Seeing their eyes widen, it seemed I was right.

“Where did you get such a large volcanic rock?”

I had not thought it was large, but seeing their reaction, it seemed the boy had given me quite a significant item.

“K. Were you by any chance on a mission to obtain volcanic rocks?”

“…”

“And yet you ask if this is a volcanic rock. Your acting is clumsy.”

The fiends were now convinced that I was K.

It was not a bad situation.

Thanks to that, their wariness had almost completely dissipated.

“Right, a large amount of volcanic rock is needed for the great undertaking. We’re counting on you, K.”

A great undertaking…

A large amount of volcanic rock would ultimately mean producing a large number of zombies.

It was not difficult to guess the reason.

What the mages had yearned for over many years was the destruction of the empire.

And zombies were certainly an exquisite way to destroy the world.

‘If it’s not suppressed in the early stages, it will spread uncontrollably.’

Moreover, in a densely populated area, the speed would be enormous.

With each new zombie, the speed of its spread would increase exponentially.

No matter how much the current Hardeon was the ‘age of the sword,’ they would have no choice but to fight a tough battle against an overwhelming number of them.

The mages who had been oppressed for a long time had finally created a monstrous magic.

‘By the way, Hardeon is one thing, but…’

I could not be entirely at ease about Earth either.

Zombies had already appeared near the entrance of the Abyss.

It was fortunate that it was inside the Abyss; if it had been in the middle of Seoul, a terrible outcome would likely have occurred.

‘What on earth was the Gwangun Sword Family thinking!’

I still did not know their intentions or what they were planning.

I reviewed the information I knew.

The Gwangun Sword Family was deeply involved with this zombie issue in some way.

The zombie I had killed had the Gwangun Sword Family’s identification card, and I had also felt a faint zombie aura in the Gwangun Sword Family’s headquarters.

And the only group that had conquered Hardeon was also the Gwangun Sword Family.

But there was one important question.

‘They shouldn’t be able to take the Zombie Rune to Earth, right?’

All items except for quest rewards would be destroyed the moment they left Hardeon.

In the end, it meant that zombies could not be created on Earth.

If so, there was only one conclusion.

‘They must have taken the Zombie Rune here before going to Earth.’

They had taken advantage of the fact that taking a Zombie Rune did not immediately turn one into a zombie.

Mana Stones were common items on Earth, so awakening a sleeping zombie was entirely possible on Earth as well.

‘The problem is, they wouldn’t have eaten it knowing they would become a monster.’

If so, there was a high probability that the fiend who had become a zombie was an experimental subject.

He had done what he was ordered to do from above without knowing anything.

As expected, what I needed to pay attention to was K’s footsteps.

K had accidentally discovered the incredible thing called zombies here in Hardeon.

The warriors (experimental subjects) who came from the Gwangun Sword Family as a follow-up team had taken the ‘Zombie Rune’ that K had left here and returned to Earth.

That was the story.

It was just my delusion, but it was difficult to think of a more plausible inference.

For now, while carrying out the quest, it seemed I would also need to look for traces of K.

If my inference was correct, then somewhere in Hardeon, there would be a Zombie Rune left by K.

‘I’ll need to gain the organization’s trust as much as K did.’

Since Hardeon was a place you could never enter again after clearing the quest once, I would have to solve as much as possible here before leaving.

“Then I’ll ask one last thing.”

“Speak.”

“Who was the fiend who infiltrated our transport convoy and fed the Zombie Rune to the horse?”

Their answer was surprisingly simple.

“Is that important? He probably ran away by now.”

“I suppose so.”

In any case, it did not matter.

Thanks to these guys, the parts I was curious about had been somewhat resolved.

What was important now was to assassinate the legion commander, the subject of the organization’s request, as soon as possible.

I needed to prove to the organization that I was more useful than K.

***

The smile never left the company commander’s face.

It seemed he was quite pleased with the reward he received for killing the mages.

In his hand was a famous sword that looked extraordinary at a glance.

Although he would never fight with this sword in the war, he attached a lot of meaning to this single blade.

“This sword is a symbol of the strong bond between the Legion Commander and me.”

He said he had also heard some pleasant words during his audience with the legion commander this time.

The story that he would now be on his line, although there was a high probability that it was just empty words.

“Congratulations once again.”

“This is all thanks to you, S.”

“No, sir. All the merit belongs to you, Company Commander.”

“We are together for life from now on.”

“Thank you.”

I was sorry, but it would not be for life; today would be our last.

Also, the legion commander he was so happy to be on the line with would become a rotten rope as of today.

Because after today, he would no longer be a person of this world.

“There’s something I’d like to ask of you, Company Commander.”

“Speak, anything.”

“It’s about the letter that is to be sent to the legion headquarters today. I will go alone to deliver it.”

A report containing the testimonies of the soldiers about the battle situation with the mages.

That letter was scheduled to be delivered to the headquarters today.

“Why you? I was thinking of having another soldier do such a chore.”

But it was a perfect opportunity for me.

Delivering a letter was a mission that could be done alone. I could secretly carry out everything from the assassination to the escape without anyone’s interference.

Moreover, the assassin would not be specified, so it would not cause any harm to the supply unit here.

“You never know if something like last time will happen again, right? I think it would be better for security if I go.”

The company commander nodded after hearing my words.

“I suppose so. Those mage bastards could appear again.”

“Just in case, please allow me to take my comrade with me.”

“You mean that female soldier with outstanding martial arts?”

“That’s right.”

“She will surely be needed in an emergency, so take her with you.”

“Thank you.”

Now, buttering up one company commander was nothing.

Having received permission for Shin Ah-yeon to go with me, all preparations were complete.

I had written a letter and left.

So that the company commander could find it around the time I completed the assassination and disappeared like the wind.

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