Chapter 240

Chapter 240. Scheme (2)

“I’m glad the rope I caught seems sturdy.”

I chuckled at the silly joke, letting out a sound like air escaping a balloon.

“How’s the situation?”

“It seems to be over for now, but they’ll keep coming. It’s a method they often use. They exhaust you with numbers, then send strong ones to finish you off.”

Just then, a high-pitched whistling sound came from above.

I looked up, but a high cliff obscured my view.

However, seeing the blue dot moving on the map, it seemed there were Beastfolk who could fly.

That sound must have been the signal they sent.

Sure enough, Horfe, who looked up to the sky, said, “Looks like they’re coming again.”

Again came the high-pitched whistle.

“They say there’s a bit of respite… How about it?”

Horfe interpreted the second signal and asked.

I shrugged and replied, “For now, I should join my companions.”

Messages started coming in urgently as soon as I got out of the lake, so I had to get to them.

“I’ll guide you. You lot take care of the corpses. If they pile up, we’re the ones who suffer.”

“Yes!”

Horfe instructed the surrounding Beastfolk to take care of the task and led the way.

I followed him while checking the chat window occupying a side of my vision.

– Kj: I’ll leave a message for now. I haven’t found out why they’re gathering divinity or where it’s stored, but I saw a record of a player’s back among the monsters. Definitely a player, with the Earth insignia and Palao symbol.

– K: Keep investigating. I’m heading there now.

– Pudding: Yul is using authority now. There’s no rush, so take your time.

I had already suspected that there might be a traitor among the players.

‘There’s nothing particularly caught by the intelligence network though.’

I saw the possibility when I went to kill Zhang Tianyu.

So, I wasn’t too surprised when I read the news from Kim Yul.

But the fact that the traitor was aligned with Palao.

And that they had stayed in the same space as a general-rank enemy that had come for the divinity.

Those two facts nagged at me.

‘Finelpenia’s authority is certainly useful.’

But extracting desired information from a vast record is a different matter.

That’s why I requested Horfe to capture monsters with intelligence at the general-rank or higher.

Interrogations need to be conducted alongside reading records.

Fortunately, when I emerged from the trial, a few more pieces of information were in hand.

‘A traitor could be…’

I didn’t care about why a player sided with the enemy.

It could be a mere psychopath.

A delusional person who resents the world.

Perhaps a demon created by society itself.

‘Whatever the reason doesn’t matter.’

Those who sided with monsters were just enemies of mine.

I held no interest in their reasons for turning back on Earth or humanity.

I was always ready to eliminate any threats to the world where my family lived.

However, I was curious about why a player appeared in the records Kim Yul mentioned.

‘It couldn’t have been a chance encounter.’

A traitor, a presumed player who joined Palao.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the person remained in the record of monsters that came here for the divinity.

With this in mind, I reached the place where my party was gathered.

“Woof!”

The first to greet me was Rice Cake, who came running with ears perked up.

The creature had grown to twice the size it was in Santorna, about as big as a medium-sized dog.

I spread mana to it and looked around.

Unlike the narrow passage we came through, this area was a bit wider, like an open space.

And on one side, I saw Kim Yul holding the corpse of a general-rank monster.

“K, over here!”

Yang Taeho, who was next to Kim Yul, welcomed me.

He was interrogating living monsters, with three general-rank monsters sitting dejectedly, drooling, and muttering.

“Mage, mage… human mage…”

I wondered why they kept repeating the same word.

“They just keep saying this when asked about the divinity.”

Did they mean to give the divinity to a human mage?

‘The fragments of divinity in the corrupted area were most likely taken by those creatures.’

I had to take it back somehow.

‘To do that, I need to know where they stored it.’

Until I found out, I had to gather information without sparing any means.

“They remain silent on where they took it, but they seem genuinely ignorant.”

“In that case, there’s no need to keep them alive. Let’s extract the attribute Mana Stones and hand them over to Yul.”

Yang Taeho nodded, lifting his hammer high.

Then, in a clean strike, he handled the general-rank monsters without any unnecessary moves.

Thud, thud, thud.

For each head that burst, corrupted mana and attribute Mana Stones fell as spoils.

‘Two 2nd-grade attribute Mana Stones, one 3rd-grade.’

I picked up the fist-sized orbs and turned to Horfe.

“These would fetch a great price if sold to outsiders. Will you take them?”

Horfe, who had been quietly observing me and Yang Taeho from a few steps away, wagged his tail and answered, “I do not need wealth. Since these seem precious to you, take them.”

Instead, he asked for good land when they crossed over to Earth.

I answered candidly while gathering the Mana Stones, “I can’t decide on your place of residence.”

“Hmm…”

“I promise to do my utmost to help you settle.”

“If so, it cannot be helped.”

Though his slightly drooped tail seemed to show disappointment.

Horfe didn’t express any particular dissatisfaction and agreed.

“That…”

The conversation concluded when Yang Taeho, who had been watching, spoke.

He hesitated, his lips moving several times like someone finding it difficult to speak.

– Pudding: Those folks…

Instead of speaking directly, he sent a message.

– Pudding: They’re helping us in return for coming to Earth, right? But can they really come with us? Didn’t they say the gods bound them so they couldn’t cross?

Despite his roundabout way of expressing it.

Yang Taeho’s question essentially boiled down to,

‘Are you lying about taking them over and just using them?’

I could roughly see how much he must have wrestled with this question.

He didn’t want to doubt me, but didn’t want to mistreat the other side either.

After considering it several times, he had finally asked.

‘Indeed, I haven’t explained this part before…’

Suppressing a wry smile, I replied.

– K: There’s not no way.

The system clearly stated.

If they’re necessary for Earth, it’d take them, even if it meant taking risks.

Upon confirming my explanation, Yang Taeho made a complicated expression.

Then he added a few words.

– Pudding: But would it be alright? There would be lots of problems if they came… You know, no ordinary person has seen folks that look like them.

‘I’ve worried about that part too.’

Considering human nature to reject differences, noise would inevitably arise once they mingled.

Yet, after several discussions with Lily, we concluded bringing them along was better.

– K: We should be prepared to endure that.

More than any societal issues that might arise from incorporating demihumans, we valued the force enhancement they would bring.

– K: For now, with just players and Order troops, we can maintain the Biharin frontline.

The stage named Biharin is not that wide after all.

– K: But once the war shifts to Earth, many things would change.

Earth is 14 times larger than the land the Biharin demihumans use.

‘Plus, there’s an overwhelming number of countries.’

Even just the leading countries wielding some influence, a club consisting of 249.

That’s merely the officially registered countries.

If you count governments that separated through unilateral declarations of independence, the number would increase.

In a completely different setting from Biharin, relying solely on players to protect Earth would be difficult.

– K: During their help, we must secure more players and make them grow.

By continuous additional recruitment, securing at least 80 million players was the target to reach before full-scale warfare began.

Seeing the exact numbers made Yang Taeho’s eyes widen in surprise.

– Pudding: Isn’t that an awfully large number?

I watched Yang Taeho’s reaction with a bitter smile.

80,000,000.

When written as an absolute number, it seems large, but.

– K: It’s just 1% of the 8 billion population.

In relative terms, one could hardly call it plenty.

To complete that relatively small figure, over 75 million more players needed to be selected.

Just thinking about the divinity it would require made the path ahead seem daunting.

But it had to be done.

‘Even the system agreed.’

The system, too, judged that readiness for war could be managed only at that level.

However, how much help would millions of Bronze-rank people be in the war?

Earth urgently needed high-grade players.

Yet, over a year since the game began, there was still no Platinum-rank player.

‘Even if they do emerge, it won’t be many.’

But if there already were combat-capable individuals at the caliber of Gold or Platinum rank?

‘They need to be brought over.’

In what way or persuasion was necessary to convince them.

– K: We’ve already negotiated with the government.

A special autonomous region meant for immigrants would be created in Gyeonggi Province.

Though not everyone would be going to Korea.

‘Originally, we planned to take everyone.’

But Squad Leader Yang Jochul’s advice, was taken into account.

There would certainly be external pressure if Korea monopolized the Dwarves and Beastfolk.

So, we decided to include some major powers and distribute them suitably.

Korea, under their protection, would secure major figures and forces.

‘One way or another, the Beastfolk were mercenaries even on Earth.’

Upon hearing the news, Yang Taeho’s face became more complex.

It seemed as though he had something more to say but found it hard to bring up.

‘He seems uneasy about bringing demihumans to Earth.’

It was awkward to just leave it, so I decided to explain.

– K: They’re initially a race born with physical prowess equal to Silver and Gold-rank players.

While there might be individuals who shy away from combat.

There are hardly any inherently weak beings among them.

If the entire population is combat-capable, they are clearly needed on Earth.

– K: Unless they’re insistent about not going, it’s better to bring them over.

Fortuitously, the Beastfolk showed initial interest in immigration.

‘Apparently, Horfe, who returned from the frontline, first initiated contact with the association.’

I heard the news through Lily.

It had been about two weeks, time-wise.

Their interest in immigrating had a simple reason.

‘They’re utterly fed up with the Order too.’

Around the time Berta had invaded our base unannounced.

Horfe and Ramon moved to the frontline, as I had predicted.

Reportedly, they went to stop a massive army led by a legion commander-level.

Unlike the marshal-level who often moves independently, a legion commander leads millions of monsters.

It implies carrying around a number of monsters comparable to a country’s population.

It couldn’t have been easy to engage in battles with those types.

‘They didn’t even go there voluntarily.’

The Order Headquarters compelled the Beastfolk to fight.

‘Wasn’t there a threat to play their proper role after referring to the massacre that happened in Viceta?’

A threat was made, demanding them to do their part as if they had caused all the trouble themselves.

When I heard about it from Horfe, I was genuinely astounded.

‘Shameless fools.’

They didn’t directly punish the slave traders but just watched as the Beastfolk killed them, only to demand a price thereafter.

Leaving them behind on this land was truly a relief.

Just as I was thinking that, Yang Taeho finally broke the long silence and spoke again.