Chapter 196 - Trahnet (1)

“Won’t it be dangerous?”

“That is why I’m going to preemptively get rid of them.”

He had to protect Sooah. If he wanted to do that, he had to eliminate his enemies. Kahng-woojin made up his mind.

“Let’s go to Seoul.”

“Understood.”

Minchan gave his assent, and the course was set.

Koo-ooh-oohng.

Bibi’s castle tilted before it righted itself.

“I guess they are back.”

It was an impact that shook the large fortress. This could only mean that Yong Yong had landed on the flying fortress.

When Woojin came out to the deck, he was greeted by his Undead army. They had returned after defeating the Dimensional lords trying to form Colonies in Taiwan.

“Master！”

“Get ready, Bibi. We are going to go catch Iello.”

“Oh-ho. He’s a great lord..”

Even amongst the Dimensional lords, the 72 great lords were powerful beings. Bibi brought up the information regarding Iello, and she furrowed her brows.

“He’s a troublesome one.”

“Lee-sahngho glommed onto that batard. We have to eliminate them before they become a bigger problem.”

Lee-sahngho had died once, so he had lost the Code to earth. He was basically a Dimensional refugee now.

The only thing going for him was the fact that he was the ex-guild master of the Hwarang guild. This was why he had a high profile amongst the people of earth, and he had stepped forward to endorse Iello.

In such chaotic times, how would the people of earth react to a friendly Dimensional lord?

Moreover, the fact that Lee-sahngho was helping Iello by his side would lower the hostility of the people by a significant amount.

Moreover, the existence of Kahng-woojin also worked in the favor of Iello.

He commanded the Undead army.

Kahng-woojin’s subordinates were basically monsters to the people of earth, but the only reason why they were accepted was the fact that a person from earth was the leader. He had control over his subordinates, and he was able to use them to fight against the monsters considered to be enemies.

If Iello was aiming for a similar role....

“It’ll be troublesome.”

If the people, who already made a pact with Iello, got in Woojin’s way....

He might have to war against a bloc of humans, who had the support of a Dimensional lord.

Still, the situation wasn’t all too bad.

The Undead army had raised a significant amount of Achievement Points through their diligent hunting. Moreover, he also gained a good amount of Points through the Dimensional Battles.

He used both his Achievement Store and Dimensional Store to purchase the Ingredient Items needed to forge the Thrash’s Set.

“I was barely able to make one more.”

Woojin put on the black gloves.

〈Thrash’s Punishment〉

The god of Fertility Lecia’s treasure was now imbued with the power of the god of Destruction.

The Holy Item had the power to sprout any seed, but now it had changed into an Item of calamity. It allowed Woojin to extract souls from all beings.

Now he just needed the helm for his defensive set Item.

However, he had already regained four of his equipments, so he felt his confidence buoy.

Jaemin was doing very good work as he continued to fight the Dimensional Battles, and soon he’ll be able to equip all his gears.

He will have gathered the five keys that’ll allow him to gain the Executioner.

It wouldn’t be too long before Thrash’s power descended upon him.

“I’ll be back before we arrive at our destination, so wait for my return.”

“Yes, master.”

“If something happens, contact me.”

“I will！”

Woojin ruffled Bibi’s head once, and he used his portal to head towards his Dimensional Domain.

He had to use every minute and every second to gather Points. He might be able to gain the last set Item called Thrash’s Glory before he arrived at his destination.

***

Bam island, Hahn River.

The Thorn Tree had grown atop the island, and ice covered the entire tree. A palace made out of ice was built atop the tree like a bird’s nest. Iello was within and he was incensed.

“Shit!”

"......."

His anger made the palace shake, and Lee-sahngho was prostrated on the floor as he waited for Iello’s anger to subside.

“Kahng-woojin is coming here?”

“Yes. However, I don’t think he’ll be able attack us without cause.”

“Why?”

“The official statement has not been released yet, but we’ve finalized the defense treaty with Japan. This will greatly limit his options.”

It hadn’t be announced yet, but Iello and Japan had already finalized the defense treaty.

Japan had always been jealous of Korea for being allied to the newly formed country of Alandal. This was why it had been unexpectedly easy to achieve alliance with Japan.

“We are also hearing favorable words from Korea, so we just need to wait a little bit more.”

Kahng-woojin’s Alandal was impossible to control, so there were some within the Korea government, who looked favorably at the appearance of Iello. Lee-sahngho was saying all the right words to the leading members of the Korean government.

However, there was a problem. He had put in a lot of work to bring all of this about, but it had no effect in easing the rage of Iello.

The source of the problem was Kahng-woojin.

“Do you really think that bastard will think in those terms?”

“That’s....”

Lee-sahngho had been mercilessly assaulted by Kahng-woojin when all the cameras were on him. Kahng-woojin was the worst type of terrorist, and he didn’t need much provocation to start a war.

He was that kind of a person....

Lee-sahngho’s expression darkened, and this sight stressed out Iello mightily.

Iello’s plan had gone off the rail, and he didn’t think it could be righted.

He should have waited a little bit longer. He would have never expected Ibrit to be so powerless against Kahng-woojin. Moreover, he had appeared in plain sight after Kahng-woojin had left Seoul....

Lee-sahngho had done a good job bringing order to a chaotic situation when a new Dimensional lord had made his appearance.

However, this was also the crux of their troubles right now.

Iello had awkwardly thrown his hat into the ring, and now he couldn’t go back into hiding.

To make matters worse, Kahng-woojin was heading straight for them.

“W...we have to put up barriers.”

“Speak.”

“There are several groups within Korea, who look at us in a positive light. If we bring them into the fold as allies, Kahng-woojin wouldn’t dare to attack.....”

“Shut up！”

Pah-ahh-ahng!

His yell created a shockwave, and Lee-sahngho was embedded within the wall of ice.

“Useless bastard.”

The usefulness of having a vassal, who originated from earth, seemed to have come to an end.

His opponent was too terrible to use conventional wisdom to predict his moves.

Should he find a peaceful solution?

However, the fight with the bastard couldn’t be avoided.

His only regret was the fact that this was supposed to be an easy fight on earth. However, things kept getting more complicated, and now a direct conflict was inevitable.

He had waited for others to cook the meat, so he’ll be able to just pick up and eat it.

Now he had to roast it himself.

“If I’m going to do this, I’ll do it for certain.”

Great lord Iello.

He was able to gather only 25 Dimensional Codes, but he possessed something that the high rank great lords didn’t have.

He had gathered numerous low rank Dimensional lords as subordinates under the a guise of an alliance.

“I’ll gather all of them.”

Iello started gathering all his warriors. He’ll be in a war to gain the most important Dimensional Code.

There was Rajakui of the Yellow Lizard Alliance from Planet Jaku, Iseural alliance of the Planet Litan, the alliance from the Planet Joojooro.....

Then there was the Dimensional lord Nakamura from earth, who pledged his loyalty to him....

It didn’t matter what level of power they had. Iello summoned all the Dimensional lords.

New National Assembly Building, Sejong City.

“W...what should we do?”

The chief secretary whispered into Kim-byungmahn’s ears. One could clearly hear the worry in his voice, so Kim-byungmahn swallowed his groan.

Was he the last president of Korea, who will share the final fate with Korea?

Currently, the situation in Korea was akin to walking a tight rope above an endless abyss. It was a very tenuous situation.

“Shouldn’t we at least agree to discuss the terms given by Iello? The civilians are very nervous right now.”

“No way. He suddenly appeared without warning, and he is trying to coerce us into accepting a deal. We shouldn’t listen to his words.”

Several members of the legislative body raised their voice to give their opinions.

When the Black Undying Crow Ibrit made its appearance on earth, Seoul was swept up by a widespread Dungeon Break. However, Kahng-woojin had appeared out of nowhere to succeed in defending Seoul.

However, after Kahng-woojin left, Iello had appeared immediately.

Iello was a unique Dimensional lord in that he used the ex-Hwarang guild master Lee-sahngho as a go between. It was possible to communicate with Iello.

The National Assembly squabbled in regards to the proposed alliance.....

Both sides refused to compromise on the issue when the monsters suddenly appearing again.

The Dragon Rajakui, who had invaded Seoul before, appeared once again...

Moreover, Dimensional lords were setting up Colonies all over Seoul... If those Synchronized....

“We lost Seoul overnight. We have to make a decision.”

“They offered the alliance first, and we fell for their trick. While we were discussing the issue, they took advantage of our indecisiveness. They already made their camps.”

Some suspected that the request for an alliance was a ruse. It bought them time to start building their Colonies.

“Since events have turned out like this, we should ally with Iello.”

Events were already stacked against them, so some members were pushing for an alliance.

“How can we trust his offer? He isn’t human. He is just a chunk of ice.”

“Japan has already allied themselves with him! If we decide to fight Iello, we become enemies with Japan.”

“Iello was probably afraid of attacking Japan, so he is trying to take over Seoul. How can we let this be?”

The members of the legislative body were shouting at the top of their lungs as they fought. The president’s worries deepened when he saw this. Iello had appeared suddenly out of nowhere to propose an alliance, and now he was basically occupying the main room of the house by residing within Seoul.

Iello had basically invaded Korea, yet they had to ally with him... Now he was expanding his forces, so his actions weren’t trustworthy.

When one of the senators caught sight of the silent president, he spoke barbed words towards the president.

“At the very least, give us some measures we can take.”

“The status of our alliance doesn’t matter, since Seoul has already fallen.”

The president immediately shot back with his words.

“Is this your official stance? Are you declaring the Dimensional lord Iello as an enemy?”

“Please lower your voice. I’m just speaking the truth.”

The president increased his voice as he spoke about the current situation.

Currently, it didn’t matter if this was an attempt at an alliance or an invasion. The other side held all the cards. In such an uncertain situation, Iello’s talk of an alliance were sweet nothings.

“We are already allied with Alandal. What will you all do if there is bad blood between Alandal and Iello?”

At the president’s question, a senator, who had been antagonistic from the start, yelled out as if it was a no brainer.

“The king of Alandal does whatever the hell he wants. Wouldn’t it be better to trust Iello? At the very least, he isn’t out of control.”

President Kim-byungmahn let out a bitter laugh.

“As I’ve said before, we hold no bargaining chips that can be used in negotiations.”

It brought him to tears, but it was the truth.

“Alandal’s flying fortress is approaching.”

The flying fortress had turned its nose at Taiwan, and it had headed northward. The Korean government sent an inquiry, but Alandal hadn’t given their official reply yet.

This was only a guess, but everyone assumed the flying fortress was returning to start up a big fight.

“It is a war between Alandal and Iello...”

It would be a war fought on Korean soil, yet their thoughts were elsewhere.

The Korean government didn’t have the power to stop the fight. They weren’t even united enough to choose sides, so there weren’t a lot they could do.

“We have to focus on evacuating civilians from Seoul.”

The president’s words set off the members of the legislative body.

“Are you saying we should abandon Seoul?”

“Should you be saying this as the president?”

Kim-byungmahn stood up as he looked at them. A vein was popping out on his neck.

“Where are we at right now?”

"......."

They had left their old National Assembly building. The only ones that were left behind in Seoul were the people, who didn’t have the resources to leave. The elites and the leaders of the country had already pull out all their families from Seoul. They were long gone from Seoul.

“I’m not saying we should abandon Seoul.”

The tears he had been holding back fell from Kim-byungmahn’s eyes.

“I’m saying let’s save our citizens.”