Even though the ambush on the Orc Battle Commander was kept strictly secret, news of him becoming one-armed spread throughout the shelter the next day.
“Who keeps leaking confidential information?”
Yeon-su asked while staring intently at the leader of the K-Barrier Mage. The man jumped in surprise, hastily defending himself that he wasn’t the culprit.
“It wasn’t me… I really couldn’t have done it. Why would I brag about something I couldn’t even finish off?”
“Hmm… You’re the only one here with a shifty look.”
“How on earth did you judge my appearance?!”
Yesterday, after clashing with the Orc Battle Commander, Yeon-su surprisingly appeared unharmed less than half a day later.
‘What recovery power…’
When Yeon-su and Cha Mu-yeol were kidnapped tied together by Shadow Strings, they looked barely alive, so it was shocking he was now okay.
Just looking at Cha Mu-yeol still unconscious showed how serious the situation was.
Growing stronger isn’t just about combat power, it seems.
“It seems like it’ll take some time for Mu-yeol to recover. It’s not just a matter of low stamina,” an A-rank healer, who was a former surgeon, said as he came out from a makeshift infirmary.
“I told you he was weaker than he looks, senpai.”
“No… with full body fractures and damage to internal organs, it’s a miracle he’s alive right now.”
“So what about me?”
“Well… in my judgment, you’re just too much of a mysterious existence, haha.”
Yeon-su shrugged her shoulders under the healer’s amazed gaze.
Anyway, with the Orc Battle Commander joining three days ago, the initial tension in the shelter faded slightly with the good news that a top-tier hunter had managed to cut off one of his arms, allowing everyone to embrace the sunny weather.
After leaving the meeting room, I looked around outside.
Construction was booming since early morning.
The expressions of the workers showed that anxiety was fading away and hope was starting to fill the air.
Contributing to the community kept them alive.
Elderly folks watching the house being built, children waving frantically at the lower-ranked hunters and Orc Skeletons heading towards the dungeon.
I saw high-ranked hunters checking their equipment and lower-ranked hunters swapping shifts while rubbing their sleepy eyes.
Looking up, I could just make out the Sword Dragon and the White Dragon soaring in the sky, exhaling their breath over the Orc camp.
Those terrifying attacks were miraculously being held off by the Orc mages with a barrier.
‘The level of the mages is unexpectedly high…’
Among the Orcs summoned by Yeon-hee, there were some who were born with magical talent.
I remember one had decent sand manipulation skills. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them as they’ve now reached Alpha level.
The injuries sustained by the Orc Battle Commander had clearly dampened the Orcs’ momentum.
The Orc Warriors, Chimeras, and the Orc Battle Commander— all their proud forces had suffered consecutive defeats.
I bet they were busy with their own emergency strategy meeting.
I’d prefer if they just retreated, but they’re not that type; they have no way out.
‘Should I call this peaceful… it feels kind of bizarre.’
Of course, I’m not one to talk being one of the most peculiar beings in this area.
“Yawn— did Il-wol wake up?”
Yeon-hee stretched lazily as she walked out of the ‘White Alliance’ dormitory.
She ran over and cuddled me comfortably, closing her eyes right away.
The violent cleavage revealed between her white T-shirt shook my heart, but I desperately averted my eyes to maintain composure.
Sniff sniff—
“The smell of wood… how about Rainy?”
I’ve been going into the Dark Space at dawn to widen the cracks with Rainy too.
For some reason, I felt compelled to avoid Yeon-hee’s gaze that sniffed Rainy.
(It’s said it’s possible to summon Rainy within a month!)
‘Ran’ landed on my head while dutifully translating.
It’d grown so heavy that my neck tilted under its weight.
The [Acceleration] skill that draws out ‘Ran’s potential was exceptional among the summoned creatures.
Maybe that’s why I’ve been finding this little creature increasingly cute lately.
A fat white bird with a belly that jiggles. How could that not be cute?
(Don’t touch the belly. Skeleton. Before I peck you hard with my beak.)
‘It’s too soft to resist touching.’
(This brat dares touch the belly of a spirit… fools like you would be beaten in the spirit realm—)
I shut ‘Ran’s mouth and tossed it into the sky.
(Ho ho ho ho!)
‘Ran’ actually enjoys being thrown into the air.
Watching it flap its wings joyfully makes me smile involuntarily.
It’s a win-win situation.
“It’ll still be a month until I can see Rainy… so far away.”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
“Somehow, I feel like Rainy will become our trump card. Don’t you think?”
‘Oh…’
I was a bit surprised that we were thinking alike.
In fact, just Rainy’s cleansing ability would surely provide immense help.
As the creeping area expands, it inherently influences people nearby negatively.
“Yeon-hee~”
“Yes, sister!”
Yeon-hee was called upon by Yeon-su before she could shake off her sleepiness and ran towards her.
‘The Dark Space… I need to absorb the traces left by Jo Gi-man too.’
When I think of absorbing the traces he left behind, I instinctively feel uncomfortable, so I keep postponing it.
But since the shelter seems to be managing well and things are stabilizing against the Orcs, I must make a decision soon.
‘Should I take a quick look at the situation in other countries?’
Stepping far away from the shelter, I activated [Mimicry] and pulled out my phone for the first time in a while.
I’ve been so absorbed in my own troubles that I neglected other matters.
Of course, I’ve received various information from Cha Jin-hyuk, but he’s been busy lately, so his contact has been sparse.
When I turned on my phone and entered a portal site, several eye-catching headlines popped up.
One was an article about someone I know well.
“Oh… that crazy Inessa?!”
“Nederland, Belgium, and now France have been overtaken by ‘DOH’. Will it swallow Europe?”
“They attacked Europe? Even invaded?!”
Considering the Awakener levels of the nations being taken over, this was truly shocking news.
Scrolling down, I continued reading the article.
“A relentless advance by ‘DOH’, with multiple Orc Battle Commanders appearing. Cornered Germany and Spain’s transcendent beings are silent.”
“[Breaking News] Invasion of the UK and Denmark. Analysts say it’s part of an escape plan—”
“Is the leader of ‘DOH’ seeing the future? The European Union’s major operations have all been thwarted with no room to counter.”
“‘DOH’, surpassing the number of possessed transcendents, has gone on a rampage— unexpectedly, the countermeasure is an Orc legion?”
‘…Is this possible in just a month?’
It seems Inessa is trying to construct her own world centered around Europe.
Given her foresight ability and the human resources she possesses, it’s not impossible, but the speed is astonishing.
Inessa, who wanted to be the god of Earth.
The mysterious orb obtained from Necrosquall must have granted her incredible power, especially as she’s overcoming the Orc legions we’re struggling with and expanding her influence.
‘It makes it feel like it’s lucky we’re allies. That’s a scary woman…’
I think it might be time to raise her rank a bit more than the one under Jo Gi-man.
The foreign news tab had countless other interesting articles.
“World’s Eight Great Dungeons ‘Sky Gardens’: Will the dungeon break finally happen? The Argentine provincial government unprecedentedly issues evacuation warnings, sending South America into a panic.”
“China rapidly stabilizing the situation. Global attention focuses on the secrets.”
“Protector of the Middle Kingdom ‘Liu Xiao-Wo’ – The cruel empress, what is her next target?”
“Japan is collapsing Part 3— the Great Beasts Izanagi and Izanami edition.”
The internet had been temporarily down, but media functions had returned quickly.
In a world where news from around the globe was shared in real time.
Though the sea and sky routes had been blocked, it was easy to see that the whole world was in a dire situation at once.
‘China has already overcome the crisis… Did Liu Xiao-Wo use a release? It seems the cat folks have regained their strength. Then China should be fine. Rather, Japan is the problem.’
If Japan collapses, our country would be in jeopardy.
It had been the same in my previous life.
Japan ultimately could not fend off the Orc Legion Commander ‘Char’, and only a few islands like Tsushima fell under Orc control.
It was odd considering Japan’s potential, but it was later revealed that they had uniquely powerful Great Beasts causing the problem.
Those fellows probably obstructed any focus on countering the Orcs.
Among them, a certain Great Beast was well-known in Korea— the twin monsters known as Izanagi and Izanami.
The Orcs who conquered Japan didn’t kill all the humans.
Instead, those humans became quite useful as slaves for the Orcs.
To use humans as meat shields, the Orcs invaded Jeju Island.
Of course, that was just a cliché role of an extra, as Jo Gi-man saved it at the last minute to become a hero, but thinking of those who suffered and died, that bastard Jo Gi-man shouldn’t be let off so easily.
“Anyway, it’s clear that our country isn’t in total chaos.”
Nodding to myself as I prepared to launch a [Meteor] toward the Orc camp, just then—
– The Goddess of Water Irmana issues a quest!
“?! Huh? Suddenly? No, I need to guard this place—”
– Protect the Goddess of Water ‘Ryun’ from the forces of evil!
– You will be immediately transported to the quest area!
“No, wait!!”
* * *
“Huh?!”
As I restored my senses, I found myself dropped in the middle of a field taller than me.
A place filled with nameless flowers so densely that their sweet scent tortured my sense of smell.
“I said no, Goddess Irmana!!”
I was too furious to enjoy such sensations.
Taking off into the sky, I strongly protested to the goddess who had recklessly sent me here.
“If the Orc Legion Commander comes, our shelter will be in danger—”
Then, a message popped up in front of me.
It was the first time seeing this kind of prompt respond so quickly.
– Goddess of Water Irmana informs that the arrival of the ‘Mad Orc Commander Por’ is not imminent!
“…Really?”
– Goddess of Water Irmana expresses her frustration by beating her chest!
“Um… Okay, I understand.”
Seeing Irmana, who normally kept to herself, clearly convey her thoughts indicated a highly urgent situation.
It’s just my personal thought, but it must be harder than it looks for a divine being to send messages expressing intent. But I guess it’s not the time to think about that.
‘Oh, I can’t keep drifting away from Yeon-hee.’
For the time being, I expanded my sense waves to detect living forces.
I could pinpoint a direction filled with mysterious energies.
‘Is it there… it’s a bit far.’
Quickly moving with [High-Speed Travel], I concentrated to follow Yeon-hee’s signal.
Fortunately, the signal was faintly connected, and I could feel that her emotional state was very stable.
“Let’s finish this quickly and head back.”
Flying through, I could easily tell that this place was extraordinary.
“Is the mana density this thick?”
I had traveled through several dimensions, but this one had an overwhelmingly high mana level.
The magic recovery rate was more than twenty times that of my usual levels; at this rate, I could unleash spells without getting tired.
I stopped mid-fly as I sensed an increasing number of people.
‘What are they doing? What’s up with that wall?’
Endless massive walls spread out before my eyes.
When I analyzed the situation through my senses, it was a size combining several soccer fields, and its surface had holes 3-4 meters wide packed closely together, inside which were dozens of life forms infused with mana.
They all gazed anxiously in one direction, and judging by the massive mana they seemed to be gathering, they were clearly in a battle-ready posture.
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