169. Moscowman
Inside the Holy Kingdom.
“Ah, ahahahahat!”
Holy King Arkelion welcomed Baek Jinwoo with a bright smile.
“Come in! The hero of our kingdom has arrived!”
“……All of a sudden?”
“Why so cold! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you?”
The Holy King’s attitude had changed overnight.
It couldn’t be helped.
All his subordinates were clinging to him and telling him to descend into the Demon Realm, so what choice did he have?
He had to find the strongest guy.
“Hahaha, you were saying since last time that we should head down to the Demon Realm, weren’t you?”
“Me?”
But Baek Jinwoo was not easy to handle.
No way.
Of course, it was true that he himself had caused this whole mess, but... when he thought about how the Holy King had turned him away every single time he had come before, resentment welled up inside him.
That guy deserves to suffer a little!
“Huh? Weren’t you definitely the one who said it! Even two days ago!”
“I don’t remember that very well. Ah, but I do remember this.”
Baek Jinwoo said, placing two fingers against his forehead.
“Didn’t you say there had been no oracle from God?”
“T, there was an oracle!”
“Can you swear it before God?”
“Th, that.....”
Wham!
How dare he tell such an obvious lie.
“Your Holiness, I didn’t take you for this sort of person. I’m disappointed. You did it last time too, and now again..... Just how many times have you lied to me now?”
“.......”
“Hoo, this won’t do.”
Baek Jinwoo shook his head and turned his back.
“I won’t be participating in the war after all. I’ll be leaving the kingdom as well. Now that I think about it, the continent has already been purified, so there was no real reason for me to stay here anyway.”
“W, wait!”
The flustered Holy King hurriedly grabbed Baek Jinwoo.
“How can you just leave like this!”
Even if he looked foolish, he understood the situation.
The dreadful Demon King Asmodeus lived in the Demon Realm.
If they went down there by themselves?
Their chance of victory was 0%.
There was no way they could win.
That was why, even when Baek Jinwoo had said they should invade as soon as possible, he had dodged and stalled as much as he could!
And now he was just going to leave like this?
“Just let it slide this once. My subordinates.... Even the Commander and the Champion are insisting we invade..... How can I possibly stop them?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Huh?”
“That’s Your Holiness’ problem, not mine, isn’t it?”
When he also gestured to Rachel with his eyes, she turned her back as well.
“We’ll just be on our way. We’re going to stop fighting now and go back to living leisurely like before, hunting wild beasts and eating them. That’s life’s true pleasure. Right?”
“Uh, uh. That’s right.”
When Rachel nodded in agreement,
“Fine!”
In the end, the Holy King surrendered completely.
“I’ll give it to you.”
Whirl.
Baek Jinwoo immediately turned back around.
“Give me what?”
“Apostle’s Sacred Mark! Isn’t that what all this is about?! Did you think I wouldn’t know?!”
Oh.
Ohohoh.
Holy King!
So he wasn’t stupid after all?
“How many?”
“...Two?”
“I’ll be going now.”
“Fine! Fine! The remaining four! I’ll give you all of them! I said I’ll give you all of them!”
Kyaaaak!
The Holy King let out a silent roar.
As expected.
That man definitely wasn’t human. He was a devil, a devil.
A devilish bastard so wicked that even Asmodeus would weep before him!
“Heh-heh.”
Baek Jinwoo smiled.
“If that’s the case, then the affairs of the continent aren’t just Your Holiness’ affairs anymore. This is the land where we live and plant our feet. Of course we should help. Right?”
“...Uh, right.”
The way Rachel looked at Baek Jinwoo became strange.
This bastard.
His push-and-pull game was no joke.
* * *
Thus, he obtained the remaining four!
True Apostle’s Sacred Mark!
Rachel did not bother taking any.
She said it was enough to apply it only to her S-grade summons, the Yellow Dragon, White Tiger, and the Archmage.
She seemed to think anything beyond that would be a waste.
‘Nice.’
Baek Jinwoo readily accepted that suggestion.
He had already applied it to HunGyo, Explosive Dragon, and Aso so far.
He decided to apply it to Gale Slayer and Jaggeo, and keep the remaining two in reserve.
There was no need to apply it to Dampir or Lamba.
They had no combat ability.
‘Those two will go to...’
Magic Cat, Ruination Dragon.......
If he obtained them later on...
He would apply them to those two.
Then.
Now that preparations for battle seemed finished, shall we start climbing in earnest?
The journey up to Floor 60 was almost at an end now.
* * *
Buuuuuuuu!
The trumpet of the battlefield resounded across the lands of the kingdom.
Another campaign had begun.
The number of troops was the same as when they had occupied the major cities before.
But their fighting spirit was on an entirely different level from before.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Kill them all!”
“Tear them apart! Those demon bastards! Gouge out their eyes and rip out their guts!”
Whether such words were truly fitting for the holy citizens of the Holy Kingdom to utter...
Well, who knows.
In any case, it was good.
Their eyes were different, and the atmosphere was savage as well.
With this much momentum, even the Great War on the 59th floor seemed worth attempting.
The ritual to open the Demon Realm was simple.
The gigantic Holy Grails placed above the three cities they had occupied.
The moment they were filled with monster blood, holy magic would unfold.
Gooooooo....!
The vast land at the center of the continent cracked, and with a rumble, split apart.
The gates of hell were opening!
This was the only passage leading to the Demon Realm.
“I’ll take the lead.”
The road descending into the Demon Realm was not easy.
It was not a place where you could simply throw yourself in. Various traps were laid throughout it... You had to find the way carefully.
If you went even slightly the wrong way, you would either be trapped forever or lose your life.
That was also why the ‘path’ itself had been the 58th floor of the Tower of Trials.
Of course.
That path was engraved perfectly in the minds of Baek Jinwoo and Rachel.
“Aila.”
“Yes.”
Even the Champion now followed Baek Jinwoo with full respect.
Through the three wars, she had come to understand his power well.
“Keep everyone under control. Unless you want to lose valuable troops.”
“..Understood.”
Indeed.
Would they be able to make it down safely?
If nothing else.
It would probably take quite a while.
The paths here were pretty ridiculously complicated.
* * *
While Baek Jinwoo and Rachel were steadily climbing the Tower of Trials, Earth too was undergoing considerable upheaval.
One day.
The Director himself came all the way to Yoobaek City.
Clunk!
Stepping out of a luxury limousine, he headed toward Yoobaek’s CEO office under the escort of security players.
“What brings you here?”
When Yoo Jia, dressed neatly in a suit and in the middle of work, came out to greet him,
Swish.
The Director gave a signal to his escort.
The guards stopped following him any farther and remained at their posts.
The Director went straight into the CEO office.
“There’s no chance this place is being wiretapped or anything, is there?”
“……That’s true, but still.”
Yoo Jia frowned.
He had not even given her a rough explanation of the matter, only informed her over the phone that he would be visiting, and then abruptly started talking about wiretapping?
“Please understand. It’s quite a serious matter.”
“……?”
“It concerns Baek Jinwoo.”
“....!”
Strength returned to Yoo Jia’s previously listless eyes.
It had already been well over three months since he had last returned.
People had already started talking internally.
Everyone was curious, and there were opinions saying it would be better to reveal it now.
But the British side had refused so stubbornly that they were stuck, unable to do anything either way.
And.
Personally, Yoo Jia did not want it revealed either.
‘Jinwoo will definitely come back.’
It was simply one-sided faith.
And yet she was certain.
He who had once been called God Ji-nu...
He who had supposedly cleared all the way to the 100th floor!
It made no sense that someone like him would fail to return alive from a mere 51st floor.
Could there be some kind of news about him?
“A message came from Headquarters. They want the alliance leaders to hold a meeting.”
“A meeting? Who’s hosting it?”
“Veskov of Russia.”
“......”
“He officially invited Korea’s Baek Jinwoo. Because of that, there’s been a huge uproar. The British side also sent a classified message asking what we planned to do.”
“Can’t we just say we can’t attend?”
“That’s the problem. Look at this official letter.”
Swish.
The Director pulled out a printed sheet from inside his coat and handed it over.
[To the Korean Player Headquarters,
The Russian Federation government intends to convene an alliance summit attended by the heads of the Player Headquarters of six nations, including One Heaven, Five Emperors. The summit is scheduled to take place at the Kremlin Palace, and we request your attendance without fail.
We intend to discuss the matter of the recent lack of regular communication, and we hereby inform you that this is a serious issue that must be resolved. If your nation fails to attend the summit, please be advised that we will have no choice but to disclose the matter concerning Baek Jinwoo of your nation and Rachel of Britain.
Russian Player Headquarters.]
“Ha.”
Yoo Jia let out a hollow laugh.
‘Would you look at these bastards?’
They could easily have sent something like this to Yoobaek or SKY.
But instead they boldly sent it to the state?
And on top of that, they clearly wrote it right there in the official letter.
Baek Jinwoo, and Rachel’s lack of contact.
“So they are clearly aware of the situation.”
“That certainly seems to be the case.”
There were only a few people in the country who knew of Baek Jinwoo’s absence.
Yoo Jia, the SKY guild members, the Director, a few assembly members, and a few senior staff.
That was all.
If this fact were revealed?
Wouldn’t the whole Republic of Korea be thrown into chaos?
“What should we do?”
“Hmm, if we don’t participate... They say they’ll officially announce it, so have you contacted them?”
“The Russian side?”
“Yes.”
“I have. I told them we were too busy to participate, and they said that in that case, we should at least send proxies.”
“Proxies?”
“They summoned you and Hong Ari on the Korean side, and Olivia on the British side.”
“Ha, me?”
Why me, all of a sudden?
Yoo Jia tilted her head.
“The whole world already knows. That you are the de facto owner of Yoobaek and the one leading SKY.”
“.......”
Yoo Jia frowned.
This...
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
* * *
“Absolutely not!”
Bang!
Hwang Juwon slammed his fist onto the table.
“Veskov, that bastard’s a real joke. What, does he think he can act like a king just because Rachel hasn’t returned? Who does he think he is, ordering people around like that?”
“……Exactly.”
Song Yeonhee agreed.
“If we’re busy, then we don’t go. But demanding that we send proxies... And two of them at that.”
“Then should we all just go together?”
Gi Jaehyuk stepped forward, but—
“That probably won’t work.”
Hong Ari shook her head.
“They sent a reply. They said they’ll only allow the proxies themselves to enter the country. Only me and Sister Jia.”
“Wow, what the...”
“What exactly are they plotting?”
“That really gives me a bad feeling.”
The guild members had made it all the way to the finals in this World League.
They had met countless big-name rankers, and among them, they had judged Veskov to have the worst impression.
“Do you remember his face? He looked completely sinister...”
“His eyes were kind of creepy.”
“Can’t we just not go? Setting Ari aside, CEO Yoo Jia... she’s not even a Player.”
The guild members tried to stop it, and Hong Ari also nodded with a serious expression.
“The CEO has a lot on her mind too.”
The original Yoo Jia?
Of course she would not have gone.
She would have ignored them outright, saying, Who the hell are you to summon us?
But.
If they did that, those people would mention Baek Jinwoo’s absence.
That was Yoo Jia’s dilemma.
Deep down, she hated the thought of Director Baek Ajin and his parents becoming worried.
‘No matter what, though.’
There was no guild member who would let their CEO go alone into a dangerous situation.
“No matter how you look at it, wrong is wrong.”
Hwang Juwon made it clear.
“Even if Guild Master’s absence ends up becoming known to the world, it doesn’t matter. An alliance? What’s so important about that? To begin with, without Guild Master, it wouldn’t have been an alliance at all, would it?”
“That’s right!”
“Hear, hear!”
Everyone’s opinion united.
Don’t go.
Don’t send them.
“Hong Ari.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go tell the CEO. Tell her she absolutely must not go. And tell her to steel herself from this moment on.”
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