Chapter 45 (1/2)
Episode 3: Age of Ghosts / Chapter 45: Colonize (2)
TL: emptycube
Editor: Obelisk
Why did so many people have to die? Why did we all have to receive a Consumables (Deferred) Judgment?
“It might be because we didn’t save the kids.”
Lee Jinhee said in a gloomy voice.
“Will the kids even still be alive?”
She was walking as she looked up at the sky. It was a spring sky with no clouds, clear and dry.
“Maybe. Didn’t Jung Minji say that? That there must be a reason. Maybe the ones above saw everything. ‘Oh, they gave up on their race’s future. Good. You’ll be Consumables.’”
Baek Seoin weighed in on her gloominess. However, when she heard those words, her eyes sharpened.
“Who the h.e.l.l are they to judge us on our actions? Arghh… Just outrageous!”
“Yeah, that’s more like you.”
Baek Seoin grinned and turned his head towards Choi Hyuk.
Choi Hyuk was standing in front of an enormous...o...b.. The orb that looked to be almost 3 stories tall was dark and blue.
‘Portal.’
It was a portal leading to the new lands they had to colonize.
The first to attempt an exploration in the new lands was China, who went two days ago. 15,000 people were recruited and they were promptly annihilated. The new lands were simply too risky. Everyone tried to stop him until there was more information, however, he wouldn’t listen. He thought that even going now was too late.
5,000 people were gathered in Yeoido Park, a mixture of resolution and despair amongst them. The ones gathered here were of two categories, either they possessed a firm will and conviction, or they had already given up on the world. Both sides were half-crazy. If they weren’t crazy, they wouldn’t have come to attempt this reckless challenge.
When Choi Hyuk told them that he was going to challenge the new lands and asked others to lend him their strength, everyone showed their disapproval. Most of the Leaders of Ten Thousand and Leaders of Hundred refused.
Choi Hyuk reminded them of the words the Giant Orc Karik had said to the sovereigns. Karik’s words had already been leaked by various sources and were even printed in newspapers.
[You have two missions. Get stronger. And colonize. You have a 5-year grace period.]
Choi Hyuk used Karik’s announcement and said.
“We have to do this as fast as possible. We need to shed our fate as Consumables. If we don’t, we’ll have to keep doing these d.a.m.n missions with ¼ return rates.”
Leader Cha Taes.h.i.+k replied with a sound argument.
“You’re right. But, isn’t there a saying, ‘more haste, less speed[1]’? It’ll become more severe if we meet the same fate as China and are annihilated. Going in now is too dangerous.”
Choi Hyuk simply nodded at Leader Cha Taes.h.i.+k’s words. He was right. However, if they started to push it back, there would be no end to it.
‘It’s dangerous?’
It was already dangerous. Earth was already facing a crisis. His reasonable argument was the correct method in a stable environment. However, great achievements were needed in crises.
Sovereigns and their followers were the only ones who could partake in the first colonization. So, in the case where there was no support, Choi Hyuk had already planned on going by himself. There were, however, forces that reacted when he acted with that resolve. They were Bae Jinman and Ryu Hyunsung.
“This is nerve-wracking.”
Bae Jinman, who was a Leader of Ten Thousand and a Guardian, became chatty next to Choi Hyuk.
“I couldn’t even sleep last night.”
Ryu Hyunsung, whose t.i.tle had changed from Knight Captain to Leader of Ten Thousand, replied while rubbing his eye.
Bae Jinman and Ryu Hyunsung brought their forces and defected to Choi Hyuk’s side. Both were influential leaders who had filled all ten thousand members. After the last mission, Bae Jinman and Ryu Hyunsung returned with four thousand and three thousand members respectively. Considering that the average return rate was below ¼, it was quite considerable. Even still, they were both broken-hearted. The losses they endured were too large to be consoled by the fact that their return rate was relatively high. To them it was as if two out of every three people they knew died.
Although everyone was experiencing similar circ.u.mstances, the only ones who reacted when Choi Hyuk moved were those two. They said that their hearts started pumping when they heard, ‘we need to quickly shed our fate as Consumables’.
When they revealed they were planning on defecting to Choi Hyuk’s side, half the members under their command opposed and left. That was how around 3,400 people joined Choi Hyuk’s side.
Besides them, 1,600 lunatics, who were suffering from the aftereffects of the last mission and wanted to die, personally came to Choi Hyuk saying they admired him, resulting in a combined total of 5,000.
Choi Hyuk’s followers had sharply increased from 3 to 5,000 people. Of course, they were followers recruited for a limited time. It was highly likely that they would separate as soon as they finished colonizing.
Also, as there weren’t any mental or physical constraints on the relations.h.i.+ps between sovereigns and their followers, the only way he could move these people was purely through leaders.h.i.+p. This was an area Choi Hyuk was not very confident in.
Choi Hyuk looked around at his troops. He left Bae Jinman and Ryu Hyunsung in complete command over the soldiers. Bae Jinman would coordinate the battlefield from the rear while Ryu Hyunsung, who possessed a high fighting ability as a national sabre athlete, would lead the charge. Baek Seoin and his other followers were also a.s.signed to Ryu Hyunsung’s command as it was easier for Choi Hyuk to move alone.
“Then, let’s go.”
Choi Hyuk entered the blue orb with not even the slightest hesitation.
[Using the portal. 100 Mission Points were deducted.]
The base reward for completing a mission, 100 points, disappeared as an entrance fee.
The sensation of pa.s.sing through the portal was much more comfortable than the dimensional teleportation from last time. Though he still felt a bit nauseous, it wasn’t too bad.
The blue light from the portal that clung to eyes didn’t fade away easily. Only after shaking his head and blinking his eyes a few times was he able to see the white sky above. Underneath the white sky, which swirled like stirred milk, a hilly region stretched out in front of his eyes. Besides only a few trees, bleak, sharp, red rocks covered various places.
Soon a message appeared.
——————–
[Colonizing Lands – Spartoi[2] Post]
The ‘Dragonic’ died off due to the invasion of the monsters. Using the corpses of the Dragonic, the once ruling race, as a host, a new monster, spartoi, came into existence. This region was once known as ‘Barhaloleun’ in the past, and the place where the high dragon was killed was called Barhaloleun Hill.
Clear the spartoi group inhabiting Barhaloleun Hill.
If you are unable to detect the spartoi after a particular scope, a portal will be activated.
——————–
There was absolutely no need to be curious as to where the spartoi were as this was their territory and Choi Hyuk’s troops were the invaders.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Even before all the troops were able to pa.s.s through the portal, a magical bombardment rained down upon them. Red ma.s.ses flew towards them and exploded in the middle of their troops. The strong energy contained within them shredded their surroundings and soldiers either died on the spot or their arms and legs were ripped off. More than ten soldiers would be caught up in each explosion.
“Ahck!”
“My arm… My arm…!”
The strong attack they faced as soon as they pa.s.sed through brought people into a state of panic.
They now understood how the Chinese troops were annihilated. If it wasn’t for Bae Jinman, they too would have taken an overwhelming blow.
[Get up!]
An area-of-effect buff that increased their courage and sense of solidarity. Bae Jinman’s especially warm karma calmed them down and boosted their will.
“Over there!”
Due to the people having woken up from their stupor, they were able to quickly figure out the location of the enemy. The spartoi were gathered on top of a hill that stood between their portal location and the start of the hilly region.
They stood upright with swords in one hand, s.h.i.+elds in the other, and tails coming from their rears. Their bodies were angled like robots and appeared glossy like ceramics with a slightly red hue.
There were around 200 in total. Among them, 180 were heavily armed, standing as they faced them. The 180 in front looked different from the 20 in the back. If the former had round heads like Lego figurines, and the latter had elongated heads similar to that of dragons’. They shot red b.a.l.l.s of karma from their mouths which flew down at Choi Hyuk’s troops.