Chapter 50 Part2 (1/2)
<chapter 50.=”” the=”” battle=”” against=”” seagald=”” -=”” 2=””>
[Seagaldddddddddd! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d tricked me!]
The Emperor seemed p.i.s.sed; it was only natural. After all, all of the Vampires he'd dispatched had been killed, including the level 8 Steel Armor General. Even Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hadn't thought that the level 8 general would be killed so easily!
Once he'd finished cleaning up, he led his Pauls in a quick retreat. Seagald had accepted his subordinates' summons at each base, and the Vampires were unable to withstand his a.s.sault and died.
[I apologize, Your Majesty. If I hadn't divided our forces, then...!]
There was some good news though. Through his and the Vampires' attacks on their bases, Anti-Skull's forces had been cut down by a good 1/3. However, that wouldn't be enough to cause the Emperor's anger to abate.
[Raise your head, Arema. That won't solve anything! We have to kill him!]
[But Your Majesty...!]
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo trailed off. The Emperor should already know. That entrusting the Metal G.o.d General alone with eliminating Seagald, who could suddenly appear and disappear anytime he wanted and had even killed a level 8 Vampire, was too much to ask for.
[I've completely destroyed all of his forces on the surface, so he won't be able to return. He won't be able to fool the golem network anymore either. ...So Arema, I need to trouble you for just a little while longer.]
[...Of course. I am ready to give my life for you, Your Majesty.]
[No, I'm sorry for giving you such a difficult task. But my friend, I won't let you die in vain. I'll send you as many reinforcements as I can.]
Ultimately, the cowardly Emperor chose the second best plan instead of the very best.
The Emperor was under the a.s.sumption that 'Arema' had no choice but to obey him, as he held his strings (his physical body), but to the current Arema... or Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, it was the best possible outcome!
[I'll send all the forces I have available. So remember, you have to stop him. Don't let those filthy undead covet the surface. Understand?]
[...Understood! I promise to do as you ask!]
The line went dead. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo briefly pondered and soon extended his hand towards the communication device. Then, the device made a 'crunching' noise, turned to bone, and was absorbed by Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.
[Magic has increased by 10.]
[Through your mastery of the Darkness Element, you were able to trace this darkness back to its source. The coordinates have been added to the Heaven Door's Key.]
From here on out, he wouldn't communicate with the Emperor anymore. He was probably sending all of his forces underground, aside from a small handful that he needed to protect himself. Since he was sending such a large force, there was no need to contact him anymore.
'I had no choice but to use my own darkness to dispose of the communication device; otherwise, he would've known that it was tampered with. And...'
'Would it really work out?' Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had thought, but he had achieved his secondary objective: trace the darkness back to its source and figure out where the Emperor was hiding.
When would the Emperor figure this out? ...He would probably never figure it out. By that time, he'd have a sword slicing through his throat.
”Now, let's make a dummy and put it over here...”
Darkness radiated from his fingertips and formed into a solid shape. This dummy device was created so that the Emperor wouldn't realize that the original communication device was damaged, and would act as a receiver that only 'received' his signals.
”Thanks, Arema Steelworker. You really did a lot for me.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo put away the device, returned to his original form, and muttered in satisfaction. Then, he left the room and locked it. He saw Kratia right in front of him. It might've been just him, but she seemed pretty impatient.
”Let's hurry up and improve the t.i.tan.”
”I have to go once the surface sends reinforcements. Can we really do it before then?”
”We have to. Seagald's dangerous, the capital even more so. The more unknowns there are, the more you have to prepare, s.h.i.+n Woo.”
”You're right, but...”
Honestly, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's side was a force to be reckoned with. He had five level 8s, which included himself, Jin, Chi Paul, Seira, and Dana, along with several level 7 Giants, which had exceptionally high physical stats; he couldn't even count how many he had with both hands.
Ye Jin Jin (she had recently hit level 7) wore a level 9 artifact and was accompanied by the level 8 spirit, Zenon, so she was probably more powerful than most level 8s as well.
'Even though both sides have a level 9 boss, I think I can take them on with these forces.'
Despite that, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was still busy setting up the board. Why else would he be doing this? Because something unexpected could pop up out of nowhere.
After all, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo himself was an unknown that hadn't existed just two years ago. The Underground Empire had changed this much with his sudden appearance, so it would be foolish to a.s.sume that his enemies were exactly the same. Seagald was a clear example of this.
”Where's Seagald going?”
”He's going around the bases and collecting all the surviving troops. He's almost done... When he's finished, he'll probably go straight to the capital.”
”As I thought.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought as much. When Seagald had come for Bayran, he thought that the battle was coming to an end. The Emperor probably thought the same; several of the 12 Generals had been killed and the capital had sustained a blast of light from the cannon.
”s.h.i.+n Woo.”
Kratia stared right at Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, who was organizing his thoughts. He felt like he knew what she was going to say.
”I'm going too.”
”You can't.”
”Jin's going.”
”She's level 8... No, I just can't go without her.”
”...”
If Jin were here, she would've smiled in delight, despite knowing that that wasn't what he meant.
Of course, Jin wasn't the one in front of him, but Kratia. She was puffing up her cheeks. Kratia was being quite expressive for such a cold magician.
”But Seira's going too.”