Chapter 144: Expansion Protocol

A photo bundle lay on the table.

Choi Kangjoong pulled one out from inside.

About a dozen people were fighting.

The other photos were similar.

Photos of fighting, warzones, military marches, weapon demonstrations, etc.

“Why did you collect only these kinds of things?”

“The whole society is like that, so only such photos got collected.”

“Can that really be?”

“The informants’ reports are all consistent.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Then after talking with Lagan, I thought it might actually be possible.”

Arthil brought refreshments.

Choi Kangjoong summoned the small Lutal.

As the Lutal shook its head looking for food, Arthil held out the meat she had prepared in advance.

It was well-dried so it wouldn’t smell.

“How?”

“Even if the Crystal resolved the space overlap, the space is still not flat. Some places drain sewage well, but others don’t.”

“So if it pools up completely, it becomes a Demon Realm, and if it drains poorly, it becomes like the places in these photos?”

“That’s right.”

“So the Barents Beastmen are the opposite?”

“Correct. Areas around the Demon Realm will probably be similar. Because the sewage will be drawn toward the Demon Realm.”

“The greater the spatial imbalance, the stronger the Demon Realm becomes.”

“The Demon Realm near us is a good example.”

Lagan said that among the Demon Realms he had observed, the one facing the Enterprise Union was the largest.

He said the others were only the size of one legion from that Demon Realm, or at most two.

“The Demon King must be incredibly strong too.”

“Since he commands those Legion Commanders, he’s not an opponent to take lightly.”

“Have you seen him?”

“No. I tried sending informants to figure out even his appearance, but all failed. They say almost no demon has seen the Demon King’s form.”

“So does he even exist?”

“He might be like a Spirit without a physical form. He could be the Demon Realm itself.”

“We’ll find out once we destroy the Demon Realm.”

The Demon Realm was still being repaired, but once that was done, they would surely launch into war preparations.

Since they were a race that couldn’t stand not fighting.

Clatter, clatter.

The Lutal’s scythe claws hit the bowl as it ate the meat.

Arthil was watching the Lutal, then realized Iselin and Choi Kangjoong were staring at her and was startled.

“Oh my. I’m sorry.”

“The Brutal Lord must be to your liking.”

“Well… it’s cute.”

“Cute?”

Iselin’s voice rose sharply.

She was an Elf closest to an Apocalid, but she had never once thought a Lutal was cute.

That was understandable, since she knew better than anyone the monstrous power of a Lutal.

“To think you have a taste for an entity that can single-handedly endanger Marsala.”

“It’s not that. After watching it for a while, I got used to it, and since it eats well, it became cute.”

Arthil stroked the Lutal’s scythe claws.

The Lutal bit her finger, then let go.

“Do you know what that meant?”

“Wasn’t it playing around?”

“There’s no concept of play to a Brutal Lord. It just didn’t eat your finger because keeping it is more efficient.”

“Why is that more efficient?”

“Because with your finger, more food will come.”

“Kreuk.”

The Lutal opened its mouth wide.

One might expect her to feel fear, but Arthil fed it the dried meat.

“As long as I have food, it won’t eat me.”

“That’s not wrong either.”

Meat kept coming out of Arthil’s pocket.

The Lutal kept eating it.

“Is it consuming that much nutrients even in that state?”

“It probably needs more energy than ten people use.”

“So I’d need to feed it ten portions to break even.”

Arthil pulled out all the meat from her pocket.

The small Lutal’s special bowl was piled high with meat.

Still, it was far short of ten portions.

“I’ll bring more.”

Arthil left the office.

“So shall we leave that be for now?”

“Yes. You don’t need to go yourself this time. The informant who went to Barents left grinding his teeth.”

“The Elf named Mate?”

“That’s right.”

“But he hasn’t been gone long to Barents.”

“He volunteered to make up for his failure on the Barents mission. They say he swore never to trouble Lord Outer again.”

“Wasn’t that oath meant to be broken?”

“I suppose so.”

“Tell him not to feel pressured and to call me if needed.”

“If such a situation arises, I’ll ask for your help.”

“I’ll get going.”

Choi Kangjoong returned to his room.

He left the small Lutal in the office for Arthil’s hobby and joy.

“It’ll eat well and be fine.”

He immediately entered the Chamber of Evolution.

It was time to use the nutrients gained from fighting Silvius.

The reason he did it after a month was to measure the nutrient consumption of an Apocalid when it did nothing.

“I didn’t use that much. Probably thanks to Source Energy.”

A month had passed, but only one-fiftieth of the stored nutrients had been consumed.

It was similar to eating one Hive Class.

So even if he stayed still, he could last four years.

“That’s almost the consumption of a Titan Class or higher Apocalid. If I put them in hibernation, they could last over ten years. I won’t have to ask the Union for food.”

Choi Kangjoong worried about a situation where the Apocalids increased too much, causing nutrient consumption to exceed absorption or storage.

In that case, he would have no choice but to use a few as food for the whole.

A horrible thought for him, whose maximum goal was proliferation—reducing the size of the Apocalid force.

But if the Enterprise Union functioned normally, such a situation wouldn’t occur.

Thanks to the farming method developed jointly by Humans, Elves, and Metra, food production had increased enormously.

The large-scale farming done in one dimension was so vast it made the Green Dragons pale in comparison.

So when the Apocalids grew hungry, he could just ask for food.

He had plenty of money to buy food, and many countries would provide it for free.

If Iselin stepped in, food would come from the Elf Great Council or the Union level.

“Since I’ve confirmed nutrient consumption, I’ll expand the scale quickly. What should I increase more?”

This time, he planned to focus on Titans and Super Titans.

“I’ll double the Walkers, Scouts, and Warriors, produce 1,500 Titans and 100 Super Titans. Then Ku-eong and Dark Eater can split them half and half.”

With this, Walkers would be 20 million, Scouts 2 million, Warriors 100,000, Titans 2,500, and Super Titans 100.

Everything except Giants had more than doubled.

Thanks to Silvius bringing plenty of Gratis.

[Apocalid Mass Production Complete in 1667:00:00]

Two months and ten days remained until the Apocalids doubled.

“I’ll evolve the Psionic Chitin Blade and Psionic Biological Weapon, and also unlock the Colony Class.”

He consumed about 3 billion Evolution Points, leaving around 7 billion.

“Good. Nice.”

As Choi Kangjoong felt satisfied and lay down on the bed, his phone rang.

Several times.

[Choi Yunseo: Broooooooong!]

[Choi Yunseo: What did you talk about with the Crystal?]

[Choi Yunseo: They said you were together all night!]

[Choi Yunseo: Tell me quickly.]

[Choi Yunseo: Hurry hurry hurry hurry.]

[Choi Yunseo: Sister Junghwa is curious too.]

[Choi Yunseo: If you don’t tell me fast, she says she’ll bring friends over to your place.]

It was a threat that drained energy just imagining it.

[Joo Eun-jong: Captain! Captain!]

[Joo Eun-jong: What did you talk about with the Crystal?]

[Joo Eun-jong: Please just give me a hint!]

[Joo Eun-jong: Was it about the Enterprise Union’s future trends, resolution of racial conflicts, or countermeasures against the Demon Realm?]

[Joo Eun-jong: Are you busy?]

“These two, both… since I don’t want to say it twice, should I call them all?”

It seemed like a good idea.

Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa talked a lot, so they could absorb Joo Eun-jong’s words.

“It’ll be a powerful anti-conversation shell.”

Choi Kangjoong praised himself for having a really good idea.

Since they’d likely not show up if he said all four together, he decided to call them first.

[Choi Kangjoong: Come to the house.]

[Choi Yunseo: Today?]

[Choi Kangjoong: Doesn’t matter. But aren’t you and Han Junghwa working?]

[Choi Yunseo: It’s only been a while since we got back from the expedition! We’re still on vacation. Going today?]

[Choi Kangjoong: k]

[Choi Yunseo: Open the gate?]

[Choi Kangjoong: Fly here.]

[Choi Yunseo: If I fly, my hair will be ruined!]

[Choi Kangjoong: No one here to see your hair.]

[Choi Yunseo: o]

Choi Kangjoong also called Joo Eun-jong.

Joo Eun-jong said he was free and would come right away.

“Perfect.”

Choi Kangjoong waited for the three people while watching TV in the living room.

The first to arrive was Joo Eun-jong.

He came in a sports car with a rough engine roar, so Choi Kangjoong opened the garage door.

Crash!

“What’s that noise?”

Choi Kangjoong went to the garage.

The right rear part of the car Joo Eun-jong had arrived in was smashed.

“Did you hit a wall?”

“No, Captain! I’m an excellent driver!”

“Then what’s this?”

“When I was parking, the car suddenly shook! There’s something here! I can’t detect it with mana, and it’s invisible, but I’m sure something’s there!”

Joo Eun-jong pointed to a corner of the garage.

That was where the Central Stealth Scout was hibernating.

If it were another entity, he would have known just from its presence, but since it was a Central Stealth Scout—a master of stealth—he couldn’t even see it with his eyes.

“There’s something hiding there. I forgot to mention it. Sorry.”

“No, that’s understandable.”

“I’ll compensate you.”

“It’s fine. It was a car I cherished, but…”

“Can’t you just fix it?”

“The engine room is in the back, so if you crash from behind, it’s game over. See that engine sticking out? That’s like the heart popping out of the ribs. I need to scrap it.”

Choi Kangjoong scratched his cheek.

“I’ll grant you one favor later.”

“Really?”

Joo Eun-jong’s face lit up.

Given Choi Kangjoong’s connections and abilities, it was like obtaining a token that could do anything.

“Something reasonable.”

“Of course! I’m not stupid enough to ask you to join the Carrier Guild, am I?”

“Right. Let’s go in.”

“Wait a moment.”

Joo Eun-jong opened the trunk in front.

Inside, there was beer, soju, and also wine and whiskey aplenty.

“I didn’t say we’d drink.”

“When meeting people, of course, it’s alcohol!”

Choi Kangjoong nodded.

Come to think of it, Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa would probably bring booze in armfuls too.

“We’ll drink the soju and beer; the rest are gifts. I deliberately prepared high-proof ones.”

“That’s nice.”

From an Outer Mind’s perspective, higher alcohol content meant more stored energy, so it was good.

Choi Kangjoong moved the alcohol and put the smashed car in the backyard.

“What snacks should we order? Like before?”

“Wait. More people are coming.”

“Who?”

“Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa.”

Joo Eun-jong, who always became a fan in front of those two, stiffened.

“Why that face? Have you met them?”

“No. Those two use me as a fan every time they see me! Does that make sense? In battle, the norm is to conserve even a single grain of mana. But they keep calling me to use magic! If I run out of mana and get hurt or die, will they take responsibility?”

Joo Eun-jong, full of grievances, poured out words like a machine gun.

“It would be nice to be with an ice mage to save mana. Then you’d be a complete battlefield air conditioner.”

“Captain…!”

Not long after, Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa arrived.

Choi Kangjoong had informed them of the Central Stealth Scout’s presence, so the same disaster as Joo Eun-jong’s car didn’t happen.

As expected, Han Junghwa’s car trunk had boxes of alcohol and plenty of meat.

“Bro, why is Joo Eun-jong here… huh? Should I kick him out?”

“I called him. I didn’t want to say it twice.”

“When there’s an air conditioner, there’s no need for a fan.”