“Lord Outer, you’ll take me with you, right?”
“Dielka. This isn’t a sightseeing trip.”
Iselin said firmly.
+ Interest
“I know that! What do you think of me?”
“A lazy family head who’s always looking for a chance to sneak off and play.”
“I work so hard! Just supporting the Dark Elf settlement and coordinating the knights’ training is enough to kill me. Look at this. See where my hair is falling out?”
Dielka pushed back her hair to show the crown of her head.
The bald spot was about the size of a 500-won coin.
“That’s your duty. Your obligation. You can’t just abandon your subordinates.”
Dielka pouted.
“Complete hair removal and metallic skin grafting can liberate you from alopecia issues.”
“Shave it all off and become a tin can like you? I’d rather die!”
“Metallic skin is superior to protein-based skin. Superior in strength, lifespan, insulation, maintenance, all aspects.”
“It’s ugly!”
“Transcending the concepts of beauty and ugliness is also possible.”
“I don’t want to transcend. I love my face just the way it is.”
Dielka lifted her chin high.
Her beauty rivaled Iselin’s.
But here, there were no beings particularly interested in appearances.
To Metralin Serad, Iselin, Dielka, and Choi Kangjoong were all the same.
They were all creatures with two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, two arms, two legs, and one head.
For Choi Kangjoong and the small Lutal, what mattered was not looks, but how much nutrient and Evolution Points they could provide.
“Your appearance is also conspicuous. So, stay here.”
“Being too beautiful is a problem too, you know.”
Dielka took Iselin’s words as a compliment and quickly cheered up.
“Comprehension of appearance praise impossible.”
“How would a tin can understand such things!”
“No reason to comprehend. Functionality is more important than beauty.”
“That’s why everything the Metra make is so bland.”
“Elven objects contain many unnecessary decorations. Functionality greatly reduced.”
Dielka and Serad bickered.
Iselin frowned and told them to stop.
“But if they’re Beastmen, haven’t they already all fallen to the Demons?”
Dielka said.
Beastmen were a race with strong instincts, making them weak to demonic energy.
Many became Demons outright, turned into Magic Beasts, or were corrupted by demonic energy to become entirely different races.
An example was Gratis.
Rat Beastmen whose entire race was permeated with demonic energy.
Choi Kangjoong had also fought them in the Ma Woo Sea.
“According to the informant’s last report, they possess a resistance to demonic energy that is unusual for Beastmen. And as a hardy warrior race, they could be a great help to the Union.”
There were several reasons Iselin wanted to help them.
First, goodwill.
It was hard to stand by and watch a perfectly good world be destroyed by Demons.
They also had the capacity.
Thanks to the Mana Stones obtained from the Demon Realm, the expedition fleet’s maintenance costs were more than covered.
Even if all two billion Beastmen became refugees, they could support them for a while.
“Well, they do look big and tough. They’d be perfect to have standing in front of us.”
“Dielka, be especially careful what you say in front of Bartang.”
“Ah. They’re so insensitive, they probably won’t understand what I’m saying anyway.”
Iselin shot a laser glare with her eyes.
Dielka subtly turned her head away.
“Would you like to meet with Bartang’s envoy?”
“Of course.”
Iselin called for Bartang’s envoy.
A moment later, Elf knights opened the door.
A Beastman entered.
His face resembled a wolf’s, and his entire body was covered in coarse, dark fur.
The muscles beneath the fur were brimming with power, giving an overall impression of wildness coexisting with reason.
It was a feeling both distant from and close to the atmosphere of the pristine office at the forefront of Marsala civilization.
“I, I am Forchanda.”
“Envoy Forchanda, I told you, you don’t have to force yourself to use archaic speech.”
“Sniff! Bartang history books say we fought the Marsala Elves over speech. We must be especially careful with the Queen……”
“That’s a story from long ago. We are different now.”
“Th, thank you!”
“Please, sit there.”
Iselin pointed to the seat next to Serad.
When Forchanda sat, the sofa creaked as if it might break.
He was over six feet two inches tall, and with his high body density, his weight exceeded three hundred and thirty pounds.
Iselin introduced everyone one by one.
In her introduction, Dielka was a High Dark Elf, the best archer, swordsman, and Spirit Master among the Dark Elves. Serad was a Master Metra, comparable to a Grandmaster.
For Choi Kangjoong, she added a long string of accolades: unique in the Dimensional Sea, the strongest in the Union, Derrael’s Savior, and so on.
“So this is Lord Outer!”
Forchanda’s eyes sparkled.
Choi Kangjoong learned for the first time that it was possible for a wolf’s eyes to look at someone like a domesticated dog familiar with a human’s touch.
“The Union’s strongest warrior! Demon Slayer! A hero who has slain countless Magic Beasts!”
Choi Kangjoong gave an awkward smile.
Forchanda proceeded to explain Bartang’s situation in detail.
The Demon invasion began a year ago.
In that not-so-long period, over a hundred million Bartang Beastmen had died, and several times that number had turned traitor, he said.
“The one who sent me is Elder Pofish. He said Bartang absolutely needs the power of the Enterprise Union to escape this crisis.”
“The Elders are those who assist Akila, the king of the Bartang Beastmen.”
Iselin added an explanation.
“That is correct. The Chieftain listens well to the Elders.”
“But I heard Akila is against Bartang joining the Union?”
Dielka asked.
“Th, that’s right……. He said other races cannot be trusted.”
“Your Chieftain has to decide for Bartang to join the Union, right?”
“Elder Pofish said he will persuade him.”
“Shouldn’t you have gotten your own house in order first?”
“My apologies……. The Chieftain is not completely stubborn, and we were also in a hurry.”
Choi Kangjoong could tell that Bartang’s desire to join the Union was Elder Pofish’s idea, and King Akila was not keen on it.
Forchanda explained more about Bartang for about thirty minutes.
Due to lack of supplies, many Beastmen starved to death before battles even began, and some fought bare-handed, he said.
“They toyed with us using meat. They made family members fight over a single piece of meat. Some treated us like meat ourselves.”
Forchanda growled as he recalled that unavoidable time.
His broken teeth, from holding back his anger then, were visible.
“To Demons, other races are just toys or food.”
Dielka said, having seen all sorts of things, good and bad, while drifting through the Dimensional Sea.
“That’s why I’m even angrier. I want revenge. I want to chew through ten thousand Demon skulls.”
Thud!
Forchanda knelt.
“I heard this is the posture for begging. I implore you. Please help us.”
“Stand up. Support has already been decided.”
“Thank you! We will never forget this debt!”
Iselin sent the grateful Forchanda out.
“M2721 can provide surplus material support.”
“We also have a lot of food left over.”
The sight of the wolf-like Beastman pleading stirred sympathy in both Serad and Dielka.
“Blindly sending aid could end up supporting the Demons’ minions. That’s why I wanted to ask Lord Outer.”
“So I go, check it out, and either help them or wipe them out?”
“Correct. Fighting Demons there does not violate the Truce Agreement.”
“Then I’m all for it.”
Choi Kangjoong, of course, also wanted to help a race suffering under Demons.
And he could also breed Apocalids there, so it was killing two birds with one stone.
“It’s a long journey, so I’ll leave this guy here.”
Choi Kangjoong summoned a Central Stealth Scout.
“With this unit here, we can communicate with Lord Outer in Bartang in real time.”
“Lord Outer! Me too! Leave one in my room too!”
“This unit also requests custody of one such unit.”
“Alright. I’ll send one each.”
“Thank you!”
“Hotline connection with Lord Outer established. Satisfactory.”
Choi Kangjoong ate together, played a bit, and then returned home.
He unfolded the Black Market Map Iselin had given him on the desk.
North of the expedition fleet and the Demon Eater Fleet, an area labeled Bartang was drawn.
“If I move to Kuongi and head straight north, that should do it.”
Choi Kangjoong opened a Gate and moved onto Kuongi’s back.
Kuongi was firing a Mana Cannon towards a dimension teeming with Magic Beasts.
With Super Titans nearby, the dimension was instantly turned to ash.
The expedition fleet was cheering on the Apocalids from afar.
“Doing well. Kai, did you find the Doomsburgs?”
“Keeek!”
“In the IANT Colony? How many?”
“Keeek!”
“Over a thousand? Catch a hundred of them and put them in the Soil Pit.”
“Keeek!”
With Kai, who could use Stealth Blink, he could catch Doomsburgs from the heart of an IANT Colony without being detected.
Done.
“Looking through Kai’s eyes, that colony looks tempting too.”
The massive colony had a truly staggering number of IANTs.
Even a rough glance made it clear there were over a hundred million.
“I should deal with Bartang and Silvius first, then come take a look.”
Choi Kangjoong opened several Gates to move to Bartang.
South of Bartang, a swarm of Demon Dimensional Ships was gathered.
There was also a Bluestone Fortress.
It was clear the Demons intended to devour Bartang.
“Doesn’t look like they’ve broken through yet.”
Choi Kangjoong hid a Titan in the western part of Bartang.
It was for Gate travel.
Then he moved to the capital.
The capital of Bartang was filled with stone buildings.
At its center was a castle where the king and elders lived.
“First, let’s make contact with the informants.”
If the informants Iselin sent were alive, he could get more information.
“She said to turn on the radio there.”
Ten kilometers west of the royal castle, there was a tunnel dug by an Elf informant using an Earth Spirit.
Inside were a radio and signs of habitation.
“Hasn’t been used in a long time.”
He could barely smell the Elf’s scent.
Choi Kangjoong turned on the radio as Iselin had instructed.
It was a device that, for security, couldn’t be turned on unless you knew the method.
Static.
“Oh! It works.”
Choi Kangjoong felt like a secret agent from a movie.
Swelling with anticipation, he waited for the Elf informant’s contact.
–Tap tuduk tap tuduk taptaptap.
“They’re alive!”
The Morse code continued.
It said they would come here, to wait.
Just in case, Choi Kangjoong went outside, deployed the Source Space Severance, and waited for the Elf informant.
Not long after, an Elf approached.
He kept looking around constantly, appearing highly vigilant.
The Elf used an Earth Spirit to open the tunnel entrance and went inside.
Finding no one inside, he looked around with a panicked expression.
‘No Demons followed.’
Choi Kangjoong released the Source Space Severance.
The sudden expansion of his presence made the Elf whirl around sharply.
A knife was in his hand.
Seeing Choi Kangjoong’s face, the Elf hurriedly hid the knife and knelt.
“L, Lord Outer……! You’ve come all this way……! Thank you! All praise to the Queen…….”
The Elf, bearing clear signs of hardship, spoke rapidly with a face on the verge of tears.