Chapter 269: Excursion Part II

Translator: HunterW

Editor: RED

Back at my home in Center D, I was lounging on my sofa while sipping on some tea. I put down my cup, looked at the space in front of me, and whispered, “Call: Zulova!”

In a matter of seconds, Zulova appeared before me. Confused, he whipped his head left and right to check his surroundings.

“What are you, a meerkat? Why are you so on edge? It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.”

“Why, you…!”

“Sorry. Were you in the middle of dinner? What were you eating? I like anything with meat, personally,” I said nonchalantly when I noticed that Zulova was still holding a knife and a fork in his hands. “So, why haven’t I heard from you these days? Don’t you want to go up to Diamond Class? You really should. I told you before; if you bring any one of the other Monarchs or anyone just as strong, I’ll bump you all the way up to Diamond Class. You won’t get another chance like this.”

“What… you were serious?” Zulova asked without a trace of his anger.

“Then what, did you think I was joking after I was being so sincere about it?” I replied with a straight face. “And I’m thinking about going on an excursion to the enemy territory pretty soon. If I find a lot of prey over there, I’ll even summon you over. You remember the one million enemy soldiers from last time, right? It’s not easy to find that many in one place.”

“…”

“You can hunt however much prey you want; I won’t butt in. I won’t even care if you bite off more than you can chew and end up getting overrun. So you better bring some friends. I’m serious; don’t make me say any more. That last battle should have been enough to convince you.”

Call was so useful these days. I was pretty sure that it wasn’t meant to be used this way, but I didn’t care now that I basically had Zulova at my beck and call. I did have many others registered in Call now, like Madun Yatekin, Lagus Aman, and Arthur Lucas, but I needed to look out for them to the end if I did ever summon them. There was no way I could let important members of the Empire die on my watch, and I was always too busy looking out for myself in battle. That was why I needed someone as strong as Zulova, but just as expendable. I had to admit, I was as bad as street thugs in this aspect, but I didn’t care. If I had maybe five more Zulovas, I could use them to get out of any hairy situation.

-Ah!-

I had just realized something so simple that I almost shouted out loud. I could also register a Warp Mage to help me get to places quickly. I smiled to myself as I turned back to Zulova. “This is your last chance to skip Gold and Emerald and jump all the way to Diamond Class. If you lose out on this chance, I’m going to offer it to someone else. Don’t make that expression. You’re making me look like a bad guy. All Korean pyramid schemes are like this. Once you’re in, you can’t get out.”

Zulova kept silent for a moment with his lips sealed shut before speaking again. “…Are you serious about this?”

“Huh? About what?”

“If I really bring others to you…you’ll bump me up to Diamond Class?”

“Of course I am. If you get up to Diamond Class, that means I’ll summon others to use as meat shields in dangerous situations, and I’ll summon you first if I find any good hunting spots. I’ll even split the golden rings the lower Classes bring in with you. So it’s in your best interest to bring in as many as you can.”

“Ha…fine. Just wait a few days. I’ll contact you soon.”

“Sure, I’ll wait. Do your best!” After sharing a few more words, I sent Zulova on his way with his fork and knife.

“Oh, Master Zulova! I see you came to see the young master.”

“You two really must be good friends!”

“Thank you for fighting by the young master’s side that day, even though it was dangerous. Please, eat with us before you go.”

On his way out, Zulova was stopped by a few members of my clan who thanked him profusely.

I cackled at the sight as Zulova grimaced, trying to push his way out.

——

The next day…

I didn’t need to go far since there were some Warp Mages among my three hundred clan members on the Continent. They were weaker than the Warp Mages of the Messenger Guild, but they were strong enough to be allowed to run a Teleporter Zone here at Section 35. That was enough for me to rely on.

“Register,” I said as I held the mage’s hand for a minute.

==[You have successfully registered your target into Call.

Yang Kitae: Deva]==

“Did it work, sir?”

“Yes, it did. I do hope I don’t ever have to resort to it.”

“Don’t worry about it, sir. Call me anytime you need me.”

“Thanks.”

That completed my preparations for today. I headed over to one of the many Teleporter Zones here at Section 35 to head to Section 3.

——

Section 3…

Since I had already told the Empire’s officers that I would be going on an excursion into the enemy’s territory, Song Daechul, Song Haechang, and Song Haein were already by Section 3’s Teleporter Zone waiting for me. I saw Song Daechul often during meetings, and Song Haechang had fought with me in just about almost all of the battles on the Continent. On the other hand, it had been a while since I had last seen Haein.

“Be careful out there, oppa.”

“I will. Thanks.” I felt a little awkward. I knew about Haein’s feelings by now, especially after the events in the King-Emperor’s Tomb and during the whole fiasco with Song Haechang. I wasn’t a dense male character of some cheesy K-drama, so I caught on pretty quickly, but I had also never dated before. I couldn’t help putting my guard up when I was around her, and all I had cared about then was getting stronger. It wasn’t like I could start dating or think about love here on the Judge’s Continent of all places.

After saying an awkward goodbye to Haein, I turned around and headed for the enemy’s territory.

——

Standing alone atop Section 3’s ramparts, Song Haein watched Lee Jiwon head to the enemy’s territory alone. The sight reminded Song Haein of the first time she had met Lee Jiwon at Seoul’s Store 72. He exuded confidence even though something unbelievable had happened to Earth. He had left such an impression on her that she was fully intent on keeping tabs on him even before her grandfather had ordered her to.

Then, after Lee Jiwon had helped her and her family out, he had suddenly fallen into a deep, mysterious sleep. Song Haein worried about him. She thought that maybe Lee Jiwon was being punished for helping when he wasn’t supposed to. And so, Song Haein had taken it upon herself to look after him, especially after the Sunbin Guild had become one of the world’s most famous guilds using the information Lee Jiwon had given them.

After looking after Lee Jiwon every day for four years, it was only natural for Song Haein to develop feelings for him. After Lee Jiwon awoke from his sleep, Song Haein began to hear so many great stories about his heroics, and she constantly hoped that he would continue to succeed. She always wanted to meet him again, but when they finally did, she knew right away just how disappointed and hurt Lee Jiwon had felt towards the Sunbin Guild.

Song Haein had felt so guilty about what her family had done to him that she decided to help him as much as she could. Song Haein was the one who told Song Daechul to give Lee Jiwon the King-Emperor’s Helm and the King-Emperor’s Mantle. She had even half-threatened her grandfather that if he didn’t, she would stop leveling up and avoid all Sunbin Guild activities. She wanted to be the sacrifice of the Tomb instead, and it was her idea to provide Lee Jiwon with the location of the hidden dungeon in India.

That was all she could do for him. Then, when Lee Jiwon had risen to the point that she could no longer help him, she hoped that Lee Jiwon would continue to rise up because that was what he wanted to do.

-Be careful, oppa…-

Song Haein remained in that spot on the ramparts long after Lee Jiwon had disappeared into the horizon.

——

“Hmm…where should I go?” Ever since the first time we had crossed into enemy lines, we had scouts and small infiltration teams perform reconnaissance of the enemy’s territory. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to map out eight of the closest of the enemy’s Sections.

“Should I start with the outermost Sections?” Section 81 to the right caught my eye so I decided to hit that place first. I didn’t plan on doing much during this little excursion in the first place. I just didn’t want to have to spend the next two months on mere monsters, and I was curious about what my new skills and Rank 10 spear could do.

“Blink 1. Blink 2.”

——

Ten days later, I could finally see Section 81. I came to a spot where I could see the paths that led into the Section.

“Did that guy stop caring about me or something?” After I had killed that red-eyed stranger, I no longer received any more questions about me. I knew he was still alive, though.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much to me.” It wasn’t like I could do anything about him, so I decided to not think about it. I waited for night to come and used both Blinks to get on top of the fifty-meter tall walls, then scanned the insides. At a glance, I could tell that it was quiet. It was like with us; the Empire only controlled Sections 3, 6, and 7 and abandoned the rest of the frontline Sections. The enemy did still have a lot more manpower, so this Section was still manned, but I could easily tell that there weren’t as much compared to Section 79.

“Did Angel’s loss hurt them that much?” I secretly moved through the Section’s Centers in case there were any hidden soldiers. It was pretty easy to move undetected thanks to the increase to Blinks’ range and my heightened AGI.

In about three days, I had a complete tally of Section 81. There were two deities and about three hundred thousand soldiers. That was definitely a lot to handle alone, since there was not a single rookie deva among the soldiers. But I couldn’t say that they were all veterans or elites.

“Should I or should I not?” The numbers made me hesitate, but only for a moment. I had already made my decision to attack before coming here. It was the whole point of my excursion, anyway!

I carefully made my way to Center B for now. My first targets were the two deities. Not only did they yield the most EXP and golden rings, they also posed the biggest threat.

“Mana Conversion – Ice. Warrior’s Brave Spirit. Howl of the Wolf.” I activated my basic buffs first.

“Activate: Ripped Advance.”

==[Ripped Advance has been activated.

All Stats are now doubled for the next 24 hours. (Only base Stat points will be increased.)

Once this skill deactivates, you will lose 0-100 Stat points.]==

I did think that I could take both deities on without Ripped Advance, but I activated it anyway. It was only a loss of 100 Stat points at most. It didn’t cost much to make it up and it was a small price to pay to bring out the most of the Harrier, Scorched Rage, and Titan Stomp.

Soon, I could see the two deities off in the distance. One of them wielded a bow and the other had a shield on his back. My first target was obviously the deity with the bow. I could definitely kill an archer in a single blow.

“Judge’s Gavel. Blink 1. Blink 2.” I crossed the two kilometers between us in an instant and revealed myself to the deities. They just stood there when they saw me, unable to believe that I was actually there, and I took that chance to stab the archer with my spear.

“Gah!” he cried out the same time the Judge’s Gavel slammed down on his head. Just as I had predicted, the single attack killed him.

==[You have gained a level.]==

It was only one level up, but I wasn’t disappointed thanks to Bortega’s Blessing.

==[You have obtained 41,000,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==

The golden rings message appeared, but I was already turning towards the shield deity who was still standing there in shock. I stabbed him twice, both attacks flashing yellow.

“Gah!” The deity didn’t even have time to grab his shield on his back or activate any skills. I didn’t say anything to him, either. I was just grateful he stood there, letting me get more EXP and golden rings easily. I stabbed him twice more, killing him.

==[You have gained a level.]==

==[You have gained 3 additional levels from Bortega’s Blessing.]==

==[You have obtained 38,500,000 golden rings for defeating a powerful enemy.]==

I had gained a total of eight levels and about eighty million golden rings just from killing two deities. I still needed twenty million more golden rings to make up for the 100 Stat points I could possibly lose for activating Ripped Advance.

“Hey there!” I greeted the enemy soldiers staring at me like deer caught in the headlights, and I charged at them. This was just the beginning!

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