Chapter 374

Chapter 374

Eat The World Tree.

Episode 374: Cornus Subjugation (2)

-Clang.

The fork slipped from Shiba’s hand, hit the table, and rolled onto the floor.

“Beep…”

“Shiba? What’s wrong?”

Jin Dallae hurriedly entered the kitchen and patted Shiba’s back.

“Mom!”

Shiba stretched out her arms to Dallae, who was wearing an apron. Dallae hugged Shiba and picked up the fork from the floor.

Why was Shiba so anxious and trying to cry today?

Watching Shiba constantly burrow into her arms, Dallae couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Shiba. Are you worried something might happen to Dad?”

“Bee-ee.”

Shiba’s whining is a reaction she often shows when her dad gets caught up in something.

It was the same when Lee Shiheon went to the Cradle under the pretext of the Forester Selection Competition.

Jin Dallae remembered Flower’s attack a few days later when Shiba was anxious.

‘He’s not doing anything dangerous, is he? No, he’s definitely up to something again.’

She had seen him come home injured countless times.

Even when he returned from the Cradle, he looked fine on the outside, but inside he was empty.

And now, just like then, he was out of contact.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

Her own heart was burning.

Why did that man always get unintentionally caught up in incidents?

Was it because he’s a candidate for the World Tree’s husband?

There’s something more… something that bothered her.

Shiba buried her face in Dallae’s chest and began to cry.

Looking at her cell phone, Dallae hugged Shiba even tighter.

‘…At least answer the phone. The world is already so chaotic these days.’

The heresy label on the Cornus family was already an open secret among high-ranking officials.

There were even rumors that the military had been mobilized to destroy the Cornus family.

The experts on TV explained to the public that the execution date would take quite a while, but Dallae wasn’t one to believe that.

Now that they were facing significant issues both corporately and as a family, the Jinmok Group was also severely impacted by the downfall of the Cornus family.

It was only natural, given that one of the families supporting the world had collapsed. They were a family that upheld the world with numerous companies and branch families.

The situation was now so dire that they were racing to minimize their losses.

Even if the company went bankrupt, it wouldn’t be surprising. Suddenly, Dallae remembered.

‘…Cornus.’

The Cornus family.

Starting from that small thought and gradually expanding her reflections, she recalled the blonde woman from the academy.

‘Could it be?’

Probably, from much earlier than her.

Maybe even more than Lee Seyeong, those two had been together at the academy.

Would she risk her life for such a brief friendship?

‘…If it’s you.’

If it were him, he would do it without hesitation.

He was the kind of person who would risk his life for someone he had just met.

If he was planning to help Sansuyu by refusing the World Tree’s heresy judgment while being a candidate for the World Tree’s husband, then it made sense why he wasn’t answering the phone now.

He had cut off all means of communication and gone into hiding. What on earth was he trying to do?

Dallae immediately picked up her cell phone, held Shiba, and contacted someone.

It was just a guess, but it was probably correct.

[Hello.]

“Sister.”

A tired voice came from the other end of the phone.

Dallae asked, sensing Lee Seyeong’s tone, which sounded like she hadn’t slept for several nights.

“…Is something wrong?”

[Dallae? Ah… well. Something’s up. A lot. Aren’t you busy too? Because of the family problem.]

Family problem…

Dallae nodded.

Lee Seyeong’s Oak family’s main branch had been taken over by Flower. She had to prove that she, as a branch family member, had nothing to do with Flower.

To make matters worse, with the Cornus family collapsing, there was a huge problem for the company as well.

Many trading companies were declaring bankruptcy, and her family was also in great danger.

[…Huh? Ah, it’s not because of that.]

However, Lee Seyeong was lukewarm.

[That’s a problem too… Ah, damn it. I don’t know. I don’t understand how it’s going at all.]

That’s right.

There probably weren’t many people who could predict the future in the current situation.

Seyeong and Dallae were silent for a while.

And soon, Seyeong’s voice rang out.

[Cornus family.]

Dallae thought that Lee Seyeong might have had the same thought as her.

[Sansuyu’s there, right?]

“We will execute tonight.”

Hundreds and thousands of soldiers armed with artifacts.

Each one was a military force that had invested the national budget to the extent that they were called ‘walking mechs.’

Even though helping the Cornus family was labeled as heresy, it was an undeniable fact that countless private military companies had cooperated with the Cornus family.

The Cornus family, which had perfectly prepared for battle by adjusting the inside and outside of the bunker using ancient artifacts that had not yet been unraveled.

“I believe everyone is aware of the risks.”

It wouldn’t be surprising who died how.

Heroes who have led guilds by clearing many dungeons, and veteran hunters who have grown by eliminating countless traitors so far, are reduced to mere soldiers at this moment.

War artifacts that encompass the mysterious power of magic and science hold the danger of swallowing not only large cities but also entire countries.

Only two people in this place could be free from such shelling.

Hunters and Order soldiers gathered together and stared at one point.

Inside the basement, an old man with snake-like eyes and a woman wearing a black dragon robe were there.

“Aren’t you asking too much of an old-fashioned person?”

With a half-mocking voice, Mugung chuckled.

Some hunters trembled at the sight of his white-faded hair and hoarse voice, as if he had swallowed molten iron.

The surrounding hunters began to murmur.

“…Are those people the ones who have transcended boundaries?”

“One of them is too young.”

“I don’t feel anything… is the difference that big?”

Their gazes were filled with awe and fear.

Just being in the same place as them aroused the interest of many.

“Hieeek…”

Next to Mugung, who was receiving all those gazes, stood a blonde girl.

Byeol was trembling and forcing a smile.

“Why are you trembling so much?”

“…Ah, it’s nothing, Chairman. Byeol will work hard~”

“Tsk. How boring.”

Unlike Mugung, who was muttering, Baekdo, who was sitting, was just leaning on her chin with a sullen face.

Rolling her unique red eyes, her face was deeply lost in thought.

Mugung, who glanced at her, let out a nasty laugh again.

“Heh heh. Isn’t your body’s owner coming out?”

A sentence conscious of Cheondo inside Baekdo.

Baekdo’s face moved for the first time.

She looked up at Mugung from below and growled at him without any hesitation.

“She’s not someone who would show up in a place like this.”

Her eyebrows twisted aggressively compared to her tone. Mugung sneered at her.

“You and I are both tigers with our teeth pulled out. Keuheuheu.”

One of the three great stars. The Great Tree.

Although he was called that, Mugung had almost reached the end of his life, and Cheondo had lost some of her power.

Baekdo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at Mugung’s words, who knew this.

“Did you pass it on to your disciple? I don’t know if he even knows how to use it properly, but is it that kid named Lee Shiheon?”

“Don’t put my disciple’s name out of your rotten mouth. Unless you want your neck to be cut off right here.”

“Scary words. Keuheuheu.”

It was a quiet conversation, but the weight was different.

The place for discussion about tactics and strategies froze in an instant.

Byeol, Mugung’s direct subordinate and vice chairman, was at a loss.

Byeol, who was holding documents in her arms, didn’t know what to do during the staring contest between Baekdo and Mugung.

“Th-then, can we move on to the next topic?”

The voice brought a brief lull.

Just when the hunters were about to heave a sigh of relief, thinking that Baekdo and Mugung were looking away from each other and would finally move on to the next topic.

“We won’t need strategies.”

Mugung muttered something incomprehensible again.

“…Yes?”

Even Baekdo opened her mouth this time.

A place where many S-class and most world-class experts gathered.

Only the two of them could feel it.

“No, that’s not it.”

Mugung corrected himself.

“To be precise, I mean we don’t need the strategies we’ve made so far.”

As soon as Mugung finished speaking, the ground began to shake.

Many hunters belatedly noticed this and looked around.

-Woo woong!

A huge wave of magic power. A storm was blowing.

Hail fell on the ground where not a single drop of rain had fallen, and all the artifacts hiding their presence were shattered.

A hunter who went out of the tent shouted urgently.

-They’re coming!

Even if it wasn’t panic, a look of bewilderment flashed across the faces of the hunters.

Even Byeol, who was there, put her hands together and recited a prayer for a long time.

Baekdo and Mugung did not move an inch from their seats and only spread out subtle magic power.

“I wonder what will happen if your disciple becomes a heretic.”

At Mugung’s meaningful words, Baekdo raised her eyelids.

“The former Cheonma was strong. Much stronger than you. At least at that point. There was no one who could defeat him.”

“……”

“That disciple became Cheonma, and now she’s making disciples… Heh heh. I can feel that I’ve lived a long time.”

Mugung glared at Baekdo.

“You haven’t been too lazy since you came back to life and reached the top, have you?”

“If I have time to listen to a senile old man, I guess not.”

Three souls sank into a body that had nothing.

At one time, she was a being who had the power to surpass even Mugung or the top executives of Flower.

This was only in the past, and now she was a white peach with her teeth pulled out.

A hoarse smile appeared on Mugung’s lips.

“I look forward to when I can kill you.”

-Kwaaaang!

With those words, a huge bombardment struck the tent.

Byeol, who was there, was startled and shouted.

“Hieeek!”

“Hyung.”

“I know.”

My body creaked.

But my body wasn’t so clueless; it knew when to move and started to warm up slowly.

-Thump.

My heart sank. I took a breath at the tight pain.

Perfect preparation.

Muscle strength, stamina, and magic power.

I raised it to the level where I could exert the maximum force at the right time.

It was a sword made of barely sharpened glass.

“King.”

Aori massaged my shoulders.

I gently pushed away Aori’s favor with my hand and equipped the mistletoe on my right hand.

-Zrrr.

The mistletoe transforms into the form of a gauntlet.

For some reason, it seemed to be shining more red than before.

Maybe… it seemed to be getting redder every time I kill someone.

When I saw this weapon in the status window before, I wondered if it wasn’t named properly because it was incomplete.

Well, it was useless to think about it now.

I got up and staggered forward.

The extremely compressed magic power, which had been tightly packed in my dantian, slowly flowed out of my body.

-Click.

I opened the door and went outside.

As the jet-black ash swallowed the darkness and spread, Taeyang and Aori, who followed me outside, stood on both sides of my body.

-Kwaaaang!

The bombardment was pouring towards one point.

The chaotic magic powers flew to this place and gave me goosebumps.

As the magic powers of others spread out in dreamy colors and thickly spread in the sky, a scene like an aurora popped out in front of me.

A kind of magic phenomenon…

A flower that could only be seen on the battlefield. A flower that appeared just before death.

Gazing at the thermal scars etched in the sky, resembling a comb, Aori, who had spread magic power and grasped the space, surged forward first.

“…I’ll guide you, King.”

It was our turn to move.