Chapter 1580: A New Normal (35) |
“The front gate… the front gate has been breached!” the retainer shouted.
‘Wh-What kind of insane bullshit is that?’
“???”
“???”
Naturally, neither of us could hide our confusion.
“Their numbers are estimated to be around ten thousand…” the retainer reported.
“???”
“All of the estate’s retainers, including Wanggang and Lady Yongwol, are heading to the front gate to defend the estate,” they added.
‘Is this… some kind of hidden camera prank?’
Naturally, I turned to look at Commander Jin, but I saw him staring right back at me, and I instantly realized that this wasn’t something he had arranged. If anything, he looked suspicious of me instead.
More specifically, he had the exact face of someone asking, "Lee Ki-Young, you son of a bitch, what the hell did you do this time?" Of course, I immediately shook my head as hard as I could.
It was my desperate attempt to make it clear that I had absolutely nothing to do with this situation. Sure, I was technically the one who brought the anti-peace treaty protesters to Commander Jin’s estate, but I swore on Benigoa herself that I never wanted things to escalate this far.
Before long, Commander Jin turned to the retainer who had come to report the situation and asked, “Is this serious enough for me to be concerned?”
“Pardon?”
“Answer me clearly. Is this serious enough that I personally need to step in?” Commander Jin asked.
“…”
“…”
‘I mean… damn, Commander, that sounds cool and all, but if you phrase it like that, of course, the retainers are going to say no.’
“N-No, it’s not,” the retainer answered.
“Mobilize the estate’s full strength. I’ll request reinforcements from the central command. Surely, they’re not incompetent enough to fail at simply holding the line,” he ordered.
“Y-yes, sir!”
Soon after, Commander Jin dismissed the retainer with a wave of his hand. Naturally, the next target of his attention was me.
“…”
“…”
“You’re certain this isn’t another scheme of yours?” Commander Jin questioned.
“D-Do you really think I’m crazy enough to send those protesters to your estate?” I argued.
“Then that’s enough,” he said.
“Huh?”
“There’s no reason for us to concern ourselves with it any further,” he added.
“...”
‘I mean… sure, I was the one who gathered the protesters, but…’
“I seriously never imagined something like this would happen… Are you really okay just sitting around here? I’m telling you, I have no idea what the hell is even going on right now
"More importantly, shouldn’t we be heading outside? No matter how I think about it, this really doesn’t feel like the time to just sit around here… If one or two people end up dying out there, you know people are going to start talking, right?” I questioned.
“...”
“Of course, unless they’re running around with swords, nobody is going to die that easily while priests are around, but—actually, before all that, they said the estate is under attack!
"Wouldn’t it be better to step in and settle things before rumors start spreading? Ha-Yan is here… and Hyun-Sung’s here as well,” I continued.
“Enough,” Commander Jin said.
“What?”
“I have no intention of dragging those two into this matter. You, of all people, should understand the reason why,” he said.
‘W-Well, that’s true…’
One wouldn't use a blade meant for slaughtering oxen to kill a chicken. Sending Kim Hyun-Sung and Jung Ha-Yan out over something like this had to be avoided. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even a war. A protest had simply spiraled into a violent riot.
“Besides, I can’t very well burden guests of this estate with such trivial matters. How could I commit such discourtesy? More importantly, it seems our schedule has been delayed quite a bit… The meal should now be served,” he added.
“I mean… obviously I’m hungry. I’m really hungry, but—” I paused.
The way he was acting right now felt absurdly fitting for someone in power, and it was to the point that Commander Jin suddenly seemed strangely dependable. I couldn’t help but nod. He looked completely unfazed, like nothing happening outside could possibly stop him. Honestly, he really didn’t seem concerned at all.
‘This feels weird as hell.’
It was like he genuinely believed a crowd gathering outside could never accomplish anything. If anything, I was starting to feel stupid for being the only one taking this situation seriously. Of course, it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand where Commander Jin’s mysterious confidence was coming from.
Considering the forces stationed within this estate, there was no reason they would fear a mere group of protesters in the first place. That little brat aside, even Wanggang and Yongwol were strong enough to make most mid-sized adventurer groups look pathetic.
As for Old Man Han, it was honestly hard to understand why someone so absurdly skilled was wasting away inside this estate at all. Even if he were to join the Blue Guild, he looked like the type who would immediately secure himself a major position.
His stats and traits were already strong enough for him to become a frontline combatant at any moment. He was the very definition of a hidden master living in seclusion, and those four figures weren’t even the end of it.
More than ninety percent of the retainers in the estate could fight, and there was a high chance that a secret armed force existed as well. Was that all? Commander Jin’s magic formations and defensive arrays protecting the estate were being maintained at all times, too. Honestly, it felt harder to conquer than most dungeons.
If Commander Jin were acting as a dungeon boss, nobody would question calling this place the Mythic-rank dungeon, Hero of Shadows’ Estate. The problem was that the dungeon’s difficulty would plummet the moment Commander Jin decided to stop acting as the boss.
Even then, it would still qualify as a Legendary-rank dungeon, but it was hard not to feel uneasy anyway.
‘There’s no way the Park-Ki-Ri siblings are personally behind this, right?’
Those idiots were stupid, but they probably wouldn’t orchestrate something like this themselves. Well, they could do this if Park Deok-Gu and Kim Ye-Ri were alone, but Ahn Ki-Mo was there, so they were probably smart enough to draw the line.
“...”
“...”
The moment Commander Jin and I stepped outside, acting as though nothing was happening.
Kim Hyun-Sung rushed over in a panic. “Mr. Ki-Young, did you hear?”
“Hear what?” I asked.
“The anti-peace treaty protesters are breaking into the estate. I think you should evacuate. At this rate—”
“Enough,” Commander Jin said, interrupting him.
“???”
“There’s no need to panic. The preparations to defend the estate are already complete,” Commander Jin said, reassuring him.
‘No, that's a flag. According to history, he will always end up embarrassing himself whenever he says something like that.'
“No, Commander, I agree with Mr. Hyun-Sung. I think we really should prepare for the worst here,” I said.
“…”
Now that I pushed the issue this far, even he seemed slightly uneasy. Of course, there was basically zero chance anything would actually happen to me. On my left stood Hyun-Sung, and Ha-Yan stood on my right. Even Jin Cheong and Han Sora were here.
Honestly, this lineup felt safe enough that I could leisurely drink tea in the middle of a battlefield without worrying about myself. What I was worried about right now wasn’t my own safety, but the safety of the precious Shadow Estate.
‘Th-This place is basically mine now…’
Naturally, I pulled out the telescope, and just as I had expected…
Wh-what are we supposed to do now…? Mr. P-Park Deok-Gu?
— I told you, it’s Barkdeku! Also, who the hell are you?
— Ah, that’s Priest Benet… Mr. Deok-Gu. The Sub Guild Master left him here with us for a bit, but… haa… honestly, I think we should retreat soon. At this rate, we’re going to end up taking all the blame. The Sub Guild Master is definitely going to give us an earful.
— No, if we back out now, what will happen to all these people here? Somebody’s gotta protect them! If you start something, you gotta see it through to the end like a real man!
— Even so, storming the Hero of Shadows’ estate is a little…
— Wake up! Wake up!
- Forget that and block the stuff flying at us first! I can’t just stand by and watch people get hurt here, even if it kills me! Don’t let the buffs drop either! There are weak people mixed in here, too! We gotta make sure nobody gets caught up in this! Aaah! Just cast more healing spells, man!
— Th-This feels really bad… Miss Ye-Ri, you think the same thing too, right?
— No. People. Here. Getting hurt. Uncle. Wouldn’t. Want that either. First. We calm the crowd down little by little… more importantly… those people over there. Aren’t they Uncle Ki-Mo’s girlfriends?
— WAKE UP! HERO OF SHADOWS, WAKE UP!
— WE ABSOLUTELY OPPOSE THE PEACE TREATY! ABSOLUTELY OPPOSE IT! THE DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY WILL NEVER BOW!
— Wake up!
— No… what the hell are they even doing… this is really bad…
‘D-Damn it…’
“…”
“…”
The furious crowd came into view, and right in the middle of it all, I could see the Park-Ki-Ri siblings. They seemed to be stuck in the middle of the crowd.
‘Damn it!’
It seemed they had never expected things to spiral this far out of control. Ahn Ki-Mo looked completely flustered. He had the face of someone trapped in a lose-lose situation.
Well, they knew that they were the ones who lit the fuse, so there was no way they could just slip away now.
If things were to keep escalating, innocent people caught in the middle would end up seriously hurt, and if there was one person who would never abandon people like that, it would be Park Deok-Gu.
It seemed like their plan was to slowly mediate things while making sure the protesters wouldn't get hurt. They were trying to cool things down little by little. Hypnosis Guy was there, too, so it felt like they ought to be able to stop things before they got completely out of hand, but…
— YOOOU BASTAAAAARDS! HOW DARE YOU STEP FOOT INTO THIS SACRED ESTATE? DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW?!
I heard a furious roar, and I realized that this situation wasn’t going to end peacefully after all. It had come from Old Man Han. With his robes billowing dramatically behind him, Old Man Han charged in and tossed the protesters into the sky left and right.
People literally flew everywhere as soon as he charged in.
— They’re the Shadow Estate’s retainers!
— Stop them! Don’t let those vermin enter the estate grounds! It’s the Commander’s direct order! The Commander commanded us to protect Mr. Lee Ki-Young even at the cost of our lives! This time, we must protect him! This time, there must be no mistakes!
— Yes, sir!
— Yes, sir!
— Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!
— H-Hey! Mr. Ki-Mo!
— A-Alright! Damn it!
BOOOOOOOOM!
— Not bad for an insolent brat! What’s your name?!
— Barkdeku! It’s Barkdeku!
— You’re worthy of facing this old master himself!
‘Where the hell did this old master even come from, jeez…’
In the end, Old Man Han and Barkdeku finally clashed head-on. As if that was not enough, Yongwol ended up tangled in a fight with Kim Ye-Ri, too.
— You will not take a single step closer to my masters, girl!
— You’re pretty good, Shorty.
— You’re short, too!
It looked like Wanggang, the little brat, and several other fighters grouped together against Ahn Ki-Mo. Thanks to their numbers, they were steadily overwhelming him.
— Ki-Mo oppa really can’t do anything without us.
— Yeah, seriously.
— Let’s go help him.
— Okay.
Even the twins now stood beside Ahn Ki-Mo. The matchups themselves were pretty interesting, but the situation as a whole was absolutely not, especially because Park Deok-Gu and Old Man Han looked like they were about to fight to the death.
— Hoooo!! You’re stronger than I thought!
— Y-Your attacks are way too strong! Take it easy already! Or I’m seriously gonna get mad! Watch the lower back there!
— From this moment onward, I shall show no mercy! Don’t resent me for it!
Whether it was a good thing or not, thanks to that clash, the protesters’ reckless charge stalled out. At this rate, if they could just buy time until reinforcements from the Republic got here, they would probably be able to restrain the chaos.
Right then, a familiar figure slipped out from the middle of the crowd and sprinted toward the estate at full speed.
“…”
“…”
— Now’s our chance, noona!
— Huh? Huh?
— Hurry up and get inside! They’re buying time for us!
Sung Ji-Hoon was charging toward the estate with the face of a hero storming the Demon King’s Castle.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’
I had never expected to see him here.
— For Goddess BENIGOAAA!
‘Damn it. My mansion…’
