Chapter 440 |
“Instead of wasting time talking about trivial matters, why don’t you tell me about the plans of the evil god constellations?”
-Hey, I might’ve broken my contract with the Beast of Swords and Spears, but do you think I’ll just tell you everything I know without any trust between us?
“So you won’t tell me?”
-Maybe… Alright, I’ll tell you.
Barigos didn’t think for a second before speaking.
The goddess of sloth shook her head at this.
‘That’s why everyone in the Abyss hates demons…’
A race with its own unique logic!
In the eyes of other races, the demons were a lowly race who cunningly grabbed at words and always found a way to do as they pleased.
-We’ve offered you three hundred fire stones in exchange for attacking the fortress of the enemy on the date we’ve agreed on! The enemy’s fortress is still intact!
-Hahaha! Well, we’ve come to attack the fortress, haven’t we? Isn’t throwing rocks a form of attack?
-...
After being deceived like that a few times, any kind of Abyssal race, no matter how patient, would tremble in anger and say something like “I’ll die before I ever make a deal with a demon!”
The Beast of Swords and Spears was probably gritting its teeth and cursing the entire demon race.
-You can probably guess that the evil god constellations have gathered to prepare an invasion.From what I’ve heard, the constellation called the Expert of Twisted Hallucinations is providing support.
“!”
Choi Yeonseung and the other constellations who were listening were surprised. The evil god constellations that were currently rampaging were relatively young, but the Expert of Twisted Hallucinations had been around since the early days of the gate.
He was an evil god constellation who had participated in the first invasion and became the master of a country.
Even decades after that, the hallucination constellation still had an enormous influence in Latin America, his name carrying a lot of weight.
But more than anything else...
‘Hasn’t he sworn a truce though?’
-He probably found a clever loophole. After all, he’s not directly involved in the invasion.
‘Ugh, this constellation is no better than demons…’
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. The hallucination constellation was always arrogant and acted almighty, and yet, at a time like this, he was cowardly using loopholes to break the truce.
Of course, Choi Yeonseung was in no position to rebuke him, since he himself was pretending to be a mere mortal in order to find an opening, but…
“The Expert of Twisted Hallucinations has revealed that he’s providing support? If he gets caught, the other constellations won’t stay still.”
-He hasn’t revealed it himself.
“Huh?”
-A few demons in my tribe snuck into the constellation’s palace and eavesdropped on him.
“...”
Choi Yeonseung was stunned once again. These demons were something else!
No matter how vulnerable or weak the evil god constellations seemed at the moment, they were still powerful beings, so to think that Barigos’ demons had snuck into the palace of the hallucination constellation…
It would take a lot of courage for a mortal to do something like that.
“Thank you.”
-So, what does your master, the Undefeated Incarnation of Training, plan to do?We need to make a move at once and wipe out the other evil god constellations!
Barigos was fired up and ready for more carnage. If anyone else had heard him, they would’ve assumed that he hadn’t actually made a deal with the Beast of Swords and Spears and that he was actually the household member of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training.
“No, I can’t just take action whenever and however I want. This isn’t the Abyss.”
Barigos had just arrived on Earth, so he naturally wasn’t familiar with how countries worked and with the rules of humans. Just because monsters had appeared and gone on a rampage in another country didn’t mean that they could help at will.
They had to make a formal request and check with the other side, go through the formalities to enter the country, and share the loot after the raid…
It was a complicated process with tons of paperwork that the Abyssal races couldn’t possibly understand, but there was a reason humanity had created such a process.
There had been a great deal of discord and fighting among humans in the early days of the gate, when there hadn’t been any rules regarding raids.
-These Chinese bastards barely helped, but they took the core?!
-What nonsense are you saying?You Japanese bastards must’ve counted more cores than there actually were.There were only twenty of them in the first place!
-You’re talking as though you’re in your country! You think you can just leave after what you’ve done?We will formally protest!
-Go ahead!Our government stopped caring about international reproach a long time ago.
-You bastards...
‘Ugh, it’s annoying just thinking about it.’
Choi Yeonseung frowned as he recalled the scuffles between the first-generation hunters. In fact, he felt more reluctant about the work before and after the raid than the actual process of killing the monsters.
The problems also weren’t just related to profit; there were also security concerns.
-An S-grade monster has appeared in New Orleans.We, the Chinese government, will send our most elite hunters to provide humanitarian aid.
-(I don’t know why you’re doing this all of a sudden, but for now…) Thank you. Given the shortage of manpower, your support will be of great help… Wait, haven’t you sent more hunters than you said you would? What is this?
-Haha, it seems that there was a mistake.
-What are you talking about…? Have you taken advantage of the fact that our security systems at the airport are frozen to secretly send more hunters to infiltrate our country? What are you trying to pull off in the midst of all this chaos?
-It’s just a misunderstanding. Are you really refusing humanitarian aid in this situation?
-We will deport every single one of your hunters!
-No!Your people are suffering!This is why the US is...!
Strangely enough, China had been involved in many scandals back then, but even so, every single country had engaged in some form of scheming.
Over the years, the industry of hunters and raids had become the main power of a country.
During such a crisis, security concerns were a massive issue because countries were constantly trying to secretly send spies to each other, and household members of evil god constellations could be among those spies. That was the worst-case scenario, but no government could afford to disregard that risk.
A government could quickly detect any spies among its citizens, but it would be quite challenging to determine whether foreign hunters were colluding with evil god constellations.
“Besides, in this situation, no hunter will come forward to provide help in other countries. A dungeon could explode behind their house.”
-They are cowardly bastards, but you’re different! Besides, what does it matter if your house is destroyed?All you have to do is destroy more of your enemy’s houses and then burn the enemies themselves to ash!
“...”
Barigos misunderstood most of his explanation, but Choi Yeonseung didn’t bother pointing it out.
“In any case, it’s impossible to take action right now. We’ll be able to help each other only after some of the confusion and chaos is cleared up. In addition, Barigos, don’t worry that much. Humans are stronger than you think.”
-Is that so?
Choi Yeonseung nodded confidently. He was currently in South Korea, but Dragon Industry had factories all over the world, including the United States.
Naturally, his people were prepared to defend those places as well.
‘I won’t be able to face Gyeongryong hyung if they don’t manage to defend the factories.’
Choi Yeonseung believed in other countries as well, including the United States. Of course, those countries had also wasted time by arguing about whether this invasion was fake or not, but the mere topic of the invasion had played a great effect.
The politicians and clans with a brain wouldn’t leave anything to chance, so they had to have prepared just in case. Thus, even if monsters targeted those countries as well, the hunters would be able to respond well.
***
“The Mojave Desert is almost like hell right now!”
“Is it possible to attempt to take it back? Clearly, the clans are united...”
“They said they already tried and failed. The clans hadn’t agreed on the attack routes, so the whole operation was a mess. The military units that were on standby have also retreated…”
“Should we mobilize more hunters to go there? Should we call them?”
Los Angeles was home to Dragon Industry, and the atmosphere within the city was chaotic.
The forces of an evil constellation occupied the Mojave Desert not far away, so fear was naturally spreading among the citizens of Los Angeles.
It was said that other clans in the vicinity had teamed up with the military to reclaim the desert area, but to everyone’s surprise, they had failed miserably.
“Summon...”
“That won’t do.”
“Adaquaniel!”
Just as everyone was starting to panic, Adaquaniel, the right-hand of the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead, came to help. Choi Yeonseung had left her in the United States to assist Aine.
“We’ll only show our weak spots if we attack now. Fortify our defenses and calm the masses like we’ve prepared beforehand.”
“B-but won’t people complain?”
“That’s right. If we stay still while other clans manage to defeat the evil god constellations, our reputation will take a hit even if we’re from Dragon Industry.”
It was said that large American companies and clans were infinitely more powerful than the law, but they weren’t actually invincible. They had power as long as they could stop monsters and clear dungeons.
On that note, what if a company like Dragon Industry stood by while other companies and clans were trying to subjugate the enemy?
Given the reputation of Dragon Industry, its competitors would certainly take this opportunity to gain the upper hand.
This could end terribly for Dragon Industry.
“But believe me, now is the time to defend, not rush in and attack blindly.”
“A-alright! I’ll trust you with this, Adaquaniel.”
“If you believe this is the right call, we’ll back you up!”
Choi Yeonseung would’ve been baffled if he had been there.
Some of the brightest minds in the United States, and perhaps in the entire world, had come together to deal with the crisis, and yet they didn’t make their own decisions. Instead, they just believed in Adaquaniel’s words and blindly followed her.
Their faith verged on fanaticism, but still, it couldn’t be helped.
In uncertain situations, Adaquaniel could use Future Sight to predict the future and make the right call. She was essentially an angel of wisdom to the frail humans.
“Refuse any requests! The primary goal of the clan is the safety of its citizens.”
“Hunters, hold your ground until the chaos abates!”
After issuing the order, Aine contacted other large clans and companies and instructed them to be as careful as possible and exchange information just in case.
-Don’t worry.We’re almost done in New Orleans.
-No, that’s precisely why you have to be careful and not let your guard down.
-Miss Lawrence, I understand what you’re saying, but wouldn’t it be counterproductive to be overly cautious in a situation like this? Right now, our country is completely frozen because of the invasion. If we keep going like this, our companies will go bankrupt before the monsters have a chance to kill us. We’ve almost taken care of everything in New Orleans. We’re about to wrap it up and officially declare the operation finished.
-...Alright, just be careful.
Of course, some people were incapable of acting prudently, but Aine believed in the other clans and companies, just like Choi Yeonseung.
No matter how greedy they were, their lives were in danger, so there was no way they would make premature and rash decisions.
...But perhaps Aine had too much faith in them.
***
-Ooh!I generally don’t really like cooked food, and I don’t eat anything that isn’t meat, but...Just like last time, you cooked something really delicious!
Barigos was delighted to eat Choi Yeonseung’s luxurious meal made from the crops grown in his own farm in the Abyss.
The demons who followed Barigos also sat together and admired the food as they were chewing it.
-This tastes even better than the hearts of the imperial heroes that I received as an offering last time.
-It really is fantastic. Do the subordinates of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training always eat like this?It’s absolutely amazing!
There was only one reason Choi Yeonseung was being so kind to these demons.
He needed more power.
Barigos harbored goodwill toward Choi Yeonseung, but what about his subordinates?
Choi Yeonseung had to get the other demons to like him so that he could use their power in the upcoming battles.
Seeing that the atmosphere was nice and jovial, Choi Yeonseung said jokingly, “Then how about serving the Undefeated Incarnation of Training? You could have food like this all the time.”
-Oh...That’s not a bad idea
-What do you think, Barigos?
“?!?”
Choi Yeonseung was stunned, and he couldn’t believe his ears.
The goddess of sloth shook her head as though she found it pitiful.
-Why are you so surprised when you’re the one who asked them?
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