Chapter 348 |
The 16,000 users were divided into four units, with the divisions drawn along clan lines. This arrangement revealed a careful consideration for the chain of command. Rather than mixing everyone up haphazardly, they grouped together users who had lived and coordinated with each other as much as possible.
And the unit to which the Mercenary Clan was assigned was none other than the ‘main force,’ tasked with assaulting the west gate.
There were two reasons the west gate assault force was called the ‘main force.’
The first was the presence of the Goryeo Lord, who was, for all intents and purposes, the commander-in-chief of this war.
And the second reason was that the skill and number of users assigned to the west gate unit far surpassed those of the other units.
The reason for differentiating the west gate unit from the others was simple. Lee Hyo-eul believed that if the enemy were to breach the city walls and flee (assuming they had secured a Warp Gate to another city), they would most likely exit through the west gate.
As such, the roster of the ‘main force’ was indeed impressive enough to make one’s jaw drop.
First, the total number of personnel was 4,782. Picking out the most prominent clans and renowned users, one could single out eight clans and eleven individuals.
Goryeo Clan: Seo Jin-woo (Normal, Ten Strong)
Haemil Clan: Kim Yu-hyeon (Secret, Thunder Emperor)
Hospital Clan: Son Si-hyeok (Rare, Doctor), Kang Ye-bin (Normal, Nurse)
Cheondun Clan: Nam Da-eun (Secret, Queen of Swords)
Magic Tower Clan: Seon-yul (Secret, Tarot Card Magician), Kang Tae-wook (Rare, Curse Caster)
Assassin Clan: Lee Chan-hee (Secret, Assassin of Requiem)
Mercenary Clan: Kim Soohyun (Secret, Sword Expert), Go Yeon-ju (Secret, Shadow Queen)
In terms of reputation alone, they had gathered the top names from the Central, Western, and Eastern continents. This was the result of a selection based purely on ‘fame,’ setting aside simple class or skill.
But this couldn’t be all of them. The Mercenary Clan alone had skilled individuals like Jung Ha-yeon and Vivian, who were not widely known. In other words, there were undoubtedly other users who were skilled but lacked fame, or who deliberately hid their abilities.
I had a clear goal I wanted to achieve in this war. But I believed it would be foolish to just charge straight toward that goal. As long as I had the capacity, wouldn’t it be better to secure everything I could along the way?
With that in mind, I planned to actively use ‘The Third Eye’ during the war. The very fact that these users were participating guaranteed a certain level of skill, which meant the burden of nurturing them would be low.
Time flew by.
Thanks to Lee Hyo-eul’s swift work, the Mercenary Clan was assigned to the west gate unit on the very day we arrived in Princica, but that wasn’t the end of it.
The division into four units was only a broad stroke. Naturally, there were more detailed formations within each unit, and the members of the Mercenary Clan needed to move quickly to adapt and blend in.
As we continued to adapt to the East, the date of our deployment to Barbara steadily approached.
Some time had passed since our arrival in Princica, and now, the deployment date was just around the corner.
Although I had been busy, I was currently making time I didn’t have to visit the units, which were divided by class. Even though I had no authority over the formations, I couldn’t help but feel I’d be a bit too indifferent to my clan members as their Lord.
On the day of deployment, the users in each unit wouldn’t be casually gathering with their clanmates, but would begin their march in a strict formation befitting a large-scale expedition. And the marching formation was divided by the standard roles of each ‘class.’
Of course, it wasn’t as if they would never see each other again. But they were likely starting to feel the atmosphere of war, and with some of them scattered about, I felt the need to visit and offer some comfort at least once.
And right now, I was meeting separately with our archer, Im Han-na. This was because she was the only archer-class user in the Mercenary Clan. Perhaps for that reason, Im Han-na hadn’t been placed with any of her fellow clan members.
“You’re not lonely, being separated from everyone?”
“I’d be lying if I said no. You should have recruited just one more archer.”
“Well, I never really had the chance to recruit an archer. And I wouldn’t have met you either if it weren’t for Go Yeon-ju’s introduction.”
“Oh, my. I’m just kidding, just kidding. I know it can’t be helped. I just felt like complaining a little. Hehe.”
When I spoke in a heavy tone, Im Han-na gently shook her head and offered a kind smile that reached her eyes. I returned a faint smile at her joke.
“Complaining? Why all of a sudden? It feels a little strange coming from you.”
“Oh, my. Why? I’m a woman, too, you know. When things get tough, I want to vent to someone and feel like complaining.”
“Hm? Tough?”
“Ah.”
I didn’t miss the word she’d let slip and pressed her on it. For a moment, she looked as if she’d made a mistake, then she covered her lovely lips with a slender hand.
“Why? Is there some kind of problem?”
“Um… well…”
Im Han-na didn’t open her mouth easily. It seemed she didn’t want to tell me, but we were in a wartime situation. If mishandled, even a seemingly small problem could blow up into something huge, so I was determined to hear her out.
“It’s, ah, not that big of a deal…
“Han-na. Then just tell me. Why? What’s so tough?”
Im Han-na tried to awkwardly change the subject, but I cut her off sharply. She watched my face for a long moment. But she must have sensed from my tone that I was determined to get an answer, because I saw her lips slowly begin to part.
“Well… since we’re deploying soon… the archer classes from each unit often gather together. But…”
“That makes sense. So what’s the problem?”
At my urging, Im Han-na pouted slightly and suddenly bowed her head low. She looked incredibly embarrassed. Then, in a tiny voice completely unlike her usual self, she muttered.
“Every time we gather like that… I get so many stares, it’s… burdensome. Especially from the men… And after the meetings, a lot of them try to hit on me…”
Her words were a bit disjointed, and for a moment, I didn’t understand what she was saying. Just as I tilted my head, still confused, her outfit came into view.
Im Han-na was wearing the ‘Northern Winter Tights’ as her base top and bottom, which covered her entire body. Being tights, they clung to her form, revealing every curve of her figure.
The volume of her chest looked as if it might burst with the slightest pressure. Below, the tights revealed the shape of her firm, elastic-looking buttocks in stark detail. Moreover, I had once severed Baek Seo-yeon’s right arm, the part of the tights covering the right arm was now completely gone. As a result, Im Han-na’s exposed skin was so fair it was almost dazzling.
In that moment, I began to understand what she meant. I had thought the tights looked a bit snug even on the relatively(?) slender Baek Seo-yeon; I could only imagine how they looked on her.
A blessing in disguise… no, a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune was that the tights were pitch-black, and she wore the clothes made of Yggdrasil’s leaves over them. If the tights had been a brighter, more revealing color… perhaps the protrusions on her chest, or even the vertical line of her form below (?), might have been starkly visible.
If Go Yeon-ju had worn something like this, I would have just accepted it, but Im Han-na’s case was a little different. Her face was that of a gentle beauty, and she exuded an aura of refined elegance. And yet, her body gave off that of a somewhat erotic feeling. It was certainly an unbalanced kind of beauty, but I found a surprisingly fresh charm in it.
And so, I found myself swallowing hard without even realizing it.
It was then. As my gaze traveled back up her body, my eyes met hers. She was staring right at me.
For a split second, the thought ‘I’m caught’ flashed through my mind. I was slightly flustered, but I was already trying to calculate how to handle the situation.
“N-No.”
“H-Huh?”
Then, with her face completely flushed, Im Han-na slowly wrapped her arms around herself as if to cover her chest. Her shy gaze fell to the floor as she mumbled, her face beet red.
“P-Please don’t stare so intently… I don’t like it…”
“Ahem, ahem.”
I coughed reflexively. Quickly averting my gaze, I spoke as if nothing had happened.
“You should… probably buy a robe to cover up.”
“...Yes.”
A quiet reply followed my low-voiced suggestion.
But the air between Im Han-na and me remained unnatural and awkward.
*
“Heehee~?”
I was on my way to the Goryeo Clan House when a familiar, nasal hum drifted into my ear from the side.
I had been feeling a sharp gaze poking at my cheek for a while now. Unable to bear it any longer, I shot a glance to my side and saw Go Yeon-ju following me, her eyes narrowed. I quickly looked away like a guilty man, but it was an undeniable fact that our eyes had met for an instant.
“Hee-hee-?”
This time, the nasal hum sounded even deeper.
“Strange. So very strange.”
“……”
“I wonder why the atmosphere between my darling and Han-na was so steamy- steamy-?”
“User Go Yeon-ju.”
Unable to stand her continued muttering—a monologue clearly meant for her to hear—I finally couldn’t help but call out her name.
In fact, the person who had saved me from that crisis (?) was none other than Go Yeon-ju. Just as the awkward atmosphere between Han-na and me had reached its peak, with both of us avoiding eye contact, she had appeared out of nowhere. She had relayed the message that the Goryeo Lord was summoning me, and I had used it as an excuse to escape.
Of course, there was no way in hell that the ever-perceptive Go Yeon-ju would witness that scene and simply let it slide.
After passing a simple verification to enter the main building, I tried to change the subject, speaking in the most nonchalant voice I could manage.
“I heard a little earlier, but you said the Goryeo Lord summoned me?”
“Yes! That’s right!”
Her reply was so exaggeratedly cheerful it was blatant. I called her name again in a low voice and turned to look at her, only to find her smiling innocently, as if nothing had happened.
“Tsk. Anyway, do you happen to know why I was summoned? It’s so sudden, I have no idea what it could be about.”
“Hmm… I wonder? I heard it was a general summons for all the commanders of the west gate unit… but he did mention it as if he had a favor to ask. I think it’s probably related to the imminent deployment.”
I nodded slowly. Pushing aside the frivolous thoughts that had been occupying my mind just moments before, I sank into deep contemplation.
While I couldn’t say we had perfectly integrated, the additional assignments for the Mercenary Clan were almost complete. I had also heard a while ago that the final preparations were finished. Not just nearing completion, but completely finished.
If that was the case, the only thing left was to leave the city soon, so Go Yeon-ju’s words sounded entirely plausible.
“Speaking of which, I heard they’re planning to hold some kind of event for the departure ceremony…”
“A departure ceremony?”
“Yes. Ah, we’re here. Just a moment. I’ll get the door for you.”
I hadn’t realized when we’d arrived, but the door to a meeting room now stood before us. A sign at the top center read ‘Command and Control Center,’ but that was just a fancy name; it was no different from a meeting room, aside from the restricted access.
The moment the door opened and I stepped inside, the first thing I saw were eight users scattered around the room. Sensing my entrance, most of them turned to look toward the door.
“Oh, you’re here. It’s been a while! Mercenary Lord!”
“Yo! Kim Soohyun!”
Just then, two familiar users stood up and called out to me warmly. I glanced over to see ‘Ten Strong’ Seo Jin-woo of the Goryeo Clan and ‘Butcher of Vagrants’ Kim Deok-pil of the Reverse Clan waving in my direction.
“It’s been a while.”
I had gotten quite close to them during my time as an instructor at the User Academy, so acknowledging their greeting wasn’t particularly awkward.
“Man, it’s really been a long time. I heard you arrived three days ago?”
“Yes.”
“So how come it’s so hard to even see your face? All you did was send a quick message saying you’d been assigned.”
Kim Deok-pil started walking toward me with a beaming face that didn’t quite match his title. I suddenly felt a pang of worry that he might try to bum some cigarettes off me again.
It was then. Among the remaining six users who had been watching quietly, three slowly rose to their feet.
I had already met Seo Jin-woo and Kim Deok-pil in this second playthrough. The other six were users I was seeing for the first time in this life, but for some reason, they didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar. No, they were familiar. They were people from my memories.
“A favor of ask of me… and a summons for the commanders, she said?”
This meant there was a high probability that the other six people here were some of the highly renowned users I had noted when I first reviewed the roster for the west gate unit.
Just as I had that thought, two men and one woman, all exuding an extraordinary aura, began to walk forward calmly. Soon, the three of them stood before Go Yeon-ju, bowed respectfully, and spoke.
“We missed you, Shadow Queen.”
“It has been a while, User Go Yeon-ju.”
“It’s been a long time, Yeonju.”
Their greetings were all different, but I could feel that each one was tinged with reverence or genuine gladness.
I watched them for a moment, then activated The Third Eye.