Chapter 212: Fifty-Three Men (2)

"The Black Kingdom will strike..." Krayvan murmured, lost in thought like the others.

"There is a possibility that the Black Kingdom will attack the Continental Alliance," Kim Ki-Rok agreed. "Neither attacking our food supply nor cutting off our routes would work against us, so the most likely method to force our retreat would be to attack the Continental Alliance."

"In other words, the invasion can only happen with the Continental Alliance's permission," Krayvan concluded, to which Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Then... as the Continental Alliance, we have no choice but to refuse this plan for the sake of the one who proposed this bet."

"Even if it means wasting the power given by God?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

"Yes."

"Even though the fifty-three who can face the demons could kill countless monsters, Undead, and Black Wizards if they invade the Black Kingdom?"

"Of course."

"Even though, if everything goes as planned, the Hunters would eliminate the demon and end the long war?" Kim Ki-Rok continued to press.

Krayvan's heart faltered at the thought of ending the war with the demons and Black Wizards. In the end, he managed to say, "That's only if everything goes according to plan."

Kim Ki-Rok shrugged and smiled. "Well, I can't argue with that."

His plan would only work if there were no deaths among the fifty-three, if the demons responded to their messages, and if everything proceeded as expected.

"Rather, how about giving up the invasion and sending a challenge to the demons, as I suggested earlier?" Krayvan said.

However, Kim Ki-Rok opposed the suggestion. "As I said before, we want to grow as much as possible to increase our chances of winning and reduce the risk."

Second Prince Themos, representing the Edwin Kingdom, grew annoyed as Kim Ki-Rok continued to object despite there being a clear alternative. He wondered why they couldn't just challenge the demons directly instead of invading the Black Kingdom.

"Really, this is too—"

Prince Themos began to rise, clenching his fist, but his aide pressed a firm hand to his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat.

"Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok is not from Yuashiel," the aide warned.

Prince Themos frowned at his aide's whisper. "What do you mean?"

"Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok made the proposal because he has a chance against the demons with his power from a god and Patera arms. But he is not a son of Yuashiel."

After some reconsideration, he asked, "You're saying he made the proposal simply because he found an opportunity to deal with the demons?"

"Yes. It goes without saying, but Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok and the Hunters who borrowed power from the gods have no reason to risk their lives."

"Because they're from another world..." Themos realized.

"Correct."

It was hard to risk one's life for another world, a place where they had no family or friends and where they had neither been born nor raised.

"Therefore, does that mean there will be no modifications to the operation proposed by Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok?"

"Yes."

Prince Themos fell into thought again. Frankly, if they kept nitpicking the plan, he could just walk away.

Judging from Pilarin and Krayvan's reactions, they seemed to believe the Hunters had a chance in the duel against the demon, even if the duel didn't happen immediately,

the prince thought.

The Continental Alliance wanted to remove the invasion of the fifty-three from the plan to avoid unforeseen complications, namely the challenger dying before the duel. However, Kim Ki-Rok and the Hunters taking part in the operation wanted to proceed to further their growth and slightly improve their chances of winning the duel against the demon.

After weighing both these perspectives and recalling what he knew of Earth, he raised his hand. "Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Themos looked at Kim Ki-Rok with some wonder, amazed that he already knew his face and name despite this being their first meeting, then quickly shook his head.

"Can't you do it somewhere else?" Themos asked.

"What do you mean?"

"My understanding is that Gates allowing travel to other dimensions appear on Earth. And just like Yuashiel and Patera, the dimensions you've entered through these Gates are facing crises."

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Correct."

"Then wouldn't it be better to fortify yourselves in another dimension where they don't know your name or face, and then contact the demon to challenge him?"

The Black Kingdom knew Kim Ki-Rok was the one who proposed the bet to the demon, but that wasn't common knowledge in any other dimension except for Yuashiel.

"Challenge the demon after growing in another dimension?" Kim Ki-Rok repeated.

Prince Themos smiled. "Yes."

Kim Ki-Rok gave an awkward smile in return. "At first, I did consider proposing a duel to the demon after taking time to grow in another dimension..."

"But those Gates haven't appeared, have they?" Pilarin interjected.

"Exactly. For now, the only dimension where A-Class and S-Class Hunters can rapidly grow is Yuashiel."

"So that's why you have to invade the Black Kingdom, even though it's obvious the Black Wizards will target you," the prince said, furrowing his brow.

"Yes..." Kim Ki-Rok affirmed. "Though, we might be able to grow in a short period. We might not reach the capital and contact the demon, and in that case, the duel could fall through. But if we had to retreat for that reason, we could just try again next time."

Try again?

the attendees thought, turning to Kim Ki-Rok.

Pilarin raised his hand. "Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok. By any chance..."

"Yes?"

"Is there another opportunity to borrow power from the gods?" Pilarin asked.

"There is."

"What?"

Some in the meeting were too stunned to speak, while others could only stare.

"Ah, I haven't mentioned this yet." Kim Ki-Rok bowed his head in apology for the oversight, then continued. "The reason we were able to borrow power from a god was because we successfully brought salvation to another dimension."

"Salvation?"

"Yes. The Patera Dimension."

"So, that means, if you save another dimension..."

"We can borrow the power of that god," Kim Ki-Rok answered.

***

There were eighty days left until the temporary stat increase reward was nullified.

Kim Ki-Rok moved to a new border city in the northwest of the Continental Alliance, waiting for the Hunters while defending the city from attacks by monsters, Undead, and the occasional Black Wizard.

To minimize risk, the Continental Alliance chose not to review and revise the operation's details jointly. As planned, the fifty-three Hunters would invade the Black Kingdom and advance toward its capital, while the Continental Alliance blocked the enemy army, giving the Hunters a chance to retreat if needed.

Despite the grand name of the operation, the plan itself was simple. Once the Continental Alliance accepted the operation, Kim Ki-Rok moved to the assembly point and spent time working at the Gate.

"First, we will keep our trump card hidden," he said.

At the castle in the northwestern border city, the Hunters followed Kim Ki-Rok's instructions and stowed their Pastera weapons and equipped mithril ones.

"Now, let's do a final check. Have all the Hunters from each country participating in this operation arrived at the border city?"

S-Class Hunter Lin Chao raised his hand and reported, "I've been told our people need a little more time."

Given that the Yuashiel Dimension's reward wasn't guaranteed, the hesitation made sense,

Kim Ki-Rok thought.

Amid debates involving Kim Ki-Rok's guild, the government, and the Association, Lin Chao deliberated until the last day. After much agonizing, he finally chose the temporary stat increase reward.

"The Black Kingdom won't attack the Continental Alliance immediately when we invade. However, Hunters who want to participate must arrive at the border within a month. Yuashiel is not like the Patera Dimension, where even a C-Class Hunter could fight monsters as long as they had Patera equipment. Please relay this to them again," Kim Ki-Rok said.

Lin Chao nodded. "Understood." He stood and moved to the corner.

"Currently, most A-Class Gates have been destroyed and no S-Class Gates have appeared, creating a shortage that prevents Hunters from participating in Gate activities," Kim Ki-Rok explained. "Please tell them that even if the Black Kingdom doesn't attack to force our retreat, the border cities of the Continental Alliance are always under threat from the Black Kingdom. Hunters won't be penalized for arriving early."

The Hunters representing each nation relayed his message, then returned the radios to their belts.

"Now, I'll tell you our goal."

The Hunters looked confused, since all of them already knew what the goal was: the capital of the Black Kingdom.

Kim Ki-Rok simply smiled and said, "We have a pit stop planned along the way. We need to reach our destination, Eutense, within thirty days."

"Eutense?" Yoo Seh-Eun looked up in the middle of her blade inspection.

"Yes."

"What borders Eutense?"

"It's located right next to the capital of the Black Kingdom," Kim Ki-Rok answered. "For reference, I heard it takes about a week to get from Eutense to the capital."

"What's the reason for this forced march?" Yoo Seh-Eun asked again.

"We'll only summon the demon once we judge we won't be able to reach the capital. And when we do, there's a possibility our request for a duel will be denied."

The invasion was primarily about gaining strength as they advanced toward the Black Kingdom's capital. Upon arrival, a duel with the demon would take place. Although the Hunters were aware of that, they didn't understand the timing and distance aspects of Kim Ki-Rok's plan.

"So..."

"Yes?" Kim Ki-Rok prompted.

"You're saying it takes sixty days to get from Eutense to the Black Kingdom's capital? But doesn't it only take thirty days to travel from the southeastern tip to the northwestern tip of the continent?"

"Yes. More accurately, it's about forty days, not sixty."

They planned to summon the demon with ten days left, possibly risking rejection. So they set the time limit to seventy days, rather than eighty.

Yoo Seh-Eun blinked at Kim Ki-Rok. "In other words..."

"Yes, in other words?" Kim Ki-Rok said encouragingly.

"The Black Wizards will start interfering once we reach Eutense?"

"That's right. They'll probably be spread out everywhere. The Black Wizards might be confused at first because they don't know our destination, but once we arrive at Eutense, they'll realize where we're headed."

Yoo Seh-Eun tilted her head. "Just because of that?"

"They're bound to notice fifty-three people with powerful abilities arriving at Eutense, including the proposer of the bet, Kim Ki-Rok."

As everyone was still considering the implications of a forced march, Kim Ki-Rok smiled and clapped his hands.

"Then, we'll depart in ten minutes."