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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 29
Lee Eunwoo, living up to his reputation as an S-Rank, drove away all the monsters with his strength.
Ri Baejeong, on behalf of the nation, expressed his gratitude.
However, neither of their expressions were particularly bright.
"Thank you."
"It was my duty."
"Are the Iron Blood Legion hunters not coming to assist?"
"I was passing by this area by chance and entered after seeing the alert. I informed the guild of the situation before entering, but as you know, there's no guarantee of landing in the same location after the initial absorption. Even if my unit arrives, I'm not sure if they'll be of immediate help."
"Then... I suppose the situation hasn't improved much."
As a Regressor, he had a grudge, but...
"I told Baekya that today wasn't the day he would die. And yet, here he is, in danger once again."
'As expected, Hong Ilha was Hong Baekya all along. Could this guy even be involved in his own resurrection? Traitor. Yes, that's what he is!'
Although Lee Eunwoo had driven away the monsters, it was only a temporary solution.
The blizzard was still raging, and they still hadn't found any clues.
For Baekya, the situation could be considered even worse.
'...Screwed.'
Lee Eunwoo assumed Baekya was deliberately ignoring the fact that he was being monitored.
He thought Baekya had seen through his efficiency-focused mindset and was using the surveillance on him as a sort of pseudo-bodyguard.
However, from the moment he returned until now, Baekya had never once considered the possibility that he was being watched.
'Completely screwed.'
This was because he had been a celebrity since he was very young and was used to the attention of others.
Therefore, Baekya couldn't even fathom the idea that Lee Eunwoo had come to save him.
Judging by the glances exchanged between Lee Eunwoo and Ri Baejeong, he suspected they might be waiting for the right moment to strike him down.
If Lee Eunwoo, who had come prepared to fight Ri Baejeong, knew this, he would have been truly indignant.
Lee Eunwoo and Ri Baejeong put their emotions aside for the moment and devised a strategy.
"It would be most efficient to select some Awakeners and send them on reconnaissance towards the direction the monsters came from. We need to know something before we can do anything."
"I agree. But let's take a short break before we set off. We need time to treat the wounded."
From Baekya's perspective, even that seemed like a ploy to hunt him down.
【Your constellation 'Sunny' tells you to stay sharp.】
'Yes. There's no one here I can trust.'
He deliberately distanced himself from the people.
It was the direction from which the monsters had come.
In case of emergency, he planned to escape towards the monsters.
Of course, to those unaware of the situation, it looked like he was scouting in the most dangerous area.
"Look over there."
"Oh my."
"You guys should go help him instead of standing here!"
"Wasn't he the one who got hit by the ice arrow earlier? Is he alright?"
"Chief. I have some potions left."
Not only the civilians but also the agents from the Awakened Support Agency thought so.
Ri Baejeong approached Baekya with the remaining potions.
White snow had piled up on his shoulders.
"Are you injured? I don't have many left, but I do have some potions."
"I wasn't even grazed."
Baekya deliberately took a step back.
The people's gratitude was heartwarming, but Baekya couldn't accept anything that had passed through Ri Baejeong's hands.
He wouldn't take it even if this squinty-eyed bastard offered him an elixir instead of a potion.
Ri Baejeong tried to light another cigarette but then shook his head and asked.
"As a pyromancer, you must have admired 'Sun' Baekya, right?"
Baekya replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"Which Awakened wouldn't?"
"Wouldn't even Baekya have been flustered in a situation like this? With the blizzard raging, allies scarce, and countless people to protect."
"Well, I suppose there might have been some dramatization in the movies, but I heard that was everyday life for the first generation. There were only a handful of Awakened, and the entire nation needed protection. Hmm. He might have been flustered. But he would have found a way."
"Is it good that people believe he'll find a way? Aren't people relying on him too much?"
"Humanity would go extinct without the sun, but the sun doesn't rise for the sake of people, does it? If it were him... if you want to rely on me, go ahead. I think that's what he would have said."
Ri Baejeong's narrow eyes curved downwards.
Snowflakes fell on his long eyelashes.
"That's... an interesting perspective."
"I don't think he was conscious of the entire human race, the entire nation, 24/7. I think he just kept defeating the monsters in front of him, saving the people in front of him, countless times. And in doing so, he ended up saving the country."
Baekya answered casually.
It was part of a line spoken by the observational protagonist in the movie.
He couldn't remember what his thoughts were… 15 years ago.
His thoughts weren't particularly consistent, and he didn't want to remember them anyway.
Baekya said coldly.
"Let's just prepare for the raid."
A plan was slowly forming in his mind.
A plan that might allow him to gather a massive amount of mana once again.
* * *
"I'll go on the reconnaissance alone. The Awakened Support Agency’s agents, please protect the civilians here. Hunter Lee Eunwoo, if you could stay here and provide artillery support if I fire a signal flare, I would be grateful."
Baekya spoke loudly enough for both the civilians and the Awakeners to hear.
"You're going alone?"
"It's dangerous!"
"You should at least form a two-person team."
Everyone objected, but Baekya was unfazed.
"Dullahan's Gaze."
Whoosh!
He used his skill to conjure a flaming sphere.
Upon closer inspection, it was a skull, not a sphere, but the flames were so intense that it was hard to tell.
"This is my skill. If I send this ahead, there's no need for anyone else to come. I'll keep a distance of at least 100 meters from it, so you don't have to worry."
"Ah."
"Not to mention the protection of the civilians, isn't Mr. Lee Eunwoo here the world's best gunner? If I take the minimal risk, everyone will be safe. There's no need to hesitate. We can't stay here forever, can we?"
One by one, expressions of agreement appeared in people's eyes.
【"As expected, you're good at psychological warfare too."】
"If I don't return or a signal flare isn't fired within an hour, assume I'm dead and send a team in the original formation as planned."
Lee Eunwoo and Ri Baejeong seemed reluctant, but they eventually nodded.
'It would be troublesome if we send him alone and he dies.'
'It would be troublesome if I let him go alone and he actually clears the gate.'
Baekya smiled like the sun and stepped into the blizzard.
Swoosh.
"Then, I'll see you all outside the Gate."
A voice echoed in his mind.
【"So, what kind of psychological warfare was that?"】
'I gained favor with the people from the start using my skills. Thanks to that, I was able to partially tie down the hands of the agents from the Awakened Support Agency, who represent public authority. They're merciless towards Awakened due to the nature of their organization, but they're endlessly soft towards ordinary people.'
【"Then why isn't Lee Eunwoo stepping up? Wasn't he also trying to kill you?"】
'He's a top-tier Gunner who uses X-ray vision. Whether he can kill me or not depends on his power, not distance. A blizzard like this won't be any hindrance to him. And... this is half wishful thinking, but if Ryu Haneul was right— Lee Eunwoo is a moderate. He might try to kill me someday, but maybe not today.'
Baekya replied and held up the 'Praetorian Guard's Articulated Ring'.
'Thanks to the skill you gave me, I can now hide Law of Light without this ring.'
【"No. I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner. It seems we're both still caught up in our past glory— being the best we once were."】
'Let's get back to those days quickly. What I want to say is not that, but that this ring is no longer that important.'
Baekya looked up at the sky.
The blizzard was now so strong that he could barely see in front of him.
He could see the back of his hand reaching out, but the tip of his sword was blurry.
Even Baekya would have had trouble finding his way if he hadn't used 'Dullahan's Gaze' and 'Insight.'
'A blizzard of this magnitude is a magical phenomenon. And my Law of Light... burns and absorbs mana.'
Baekya poured mana into the ring.
【Law of Light】
Instead of 'gathering' mana in the normal direction, he 'scattered' it in the reverse direction.
It was an act that drastically reduced the lifespan of the artifact, but that wasn't important right now.
Fwooosh—!
Law of Light expanded spherically, becoming an infinitely faint flame.
Its power was weakened to tens of thousands of times due to being dispersed, but it was enough to erase snowflakes.
【Mana has increases by '1'.】
【Mana has....】
The mana that was causing the snowstorm flowed into Baekya.
It couldn't be compared to the Ghost Princess' castle or the tower's rapid leveling zone, but it was a decent side income.
【"That's a brilliant idea."】
【Your constellation 'Sunny' gives you a standing ovation.】
The true effect was securing visibility by removing the snowflakes.
The air within a hemisphere with a diameter of 1.5km and a height of 750m became clear.
The humanoid monsters that were ambushing here and there were startled and fled.
Baekya used 'Insight' on them.
Flash!
【Snow Ghost (C+ ‣ D+)】
【The Winter Duke's scouts become stronger in winter and weaker outside of winter.】
A notification window popped up in front of him along with a clean success.
Now all he had to do was find the core.
It was like a lie that he had trouble seeing because of the blizzard; now that the blizzard had lifted, a wide-open plain unfolded before him.
It was a piece of cake for Baekya, who also possessed 'Dullahan's Gaze', to find something different.
'Found it.'
In the distance, on a low hill, there was a half-frozen cavalryman.
Both the horse and the rider were half skeletal, but a bluish flame blazed between the bones.
Baekya approached it and used 'Insight' once more.
【Snow Ghost Cavalryman (A ‣ B+)】
【The Snow Ghost Cavalryman expands the territory of the Winter Duke according to his orders. Where the flag is planted becomes the territory of the Winter Duke.】
【Story Artifact: Winter Vanguard (B+)】
It seemed that the cavalryman's core was the gate's core.
If he killed the cavalryman, the gate would be cleared.
Baekya's current rank was B-.
It seemed like there wasn't a big difference between him and the B+ ranked cavalryman, but the gap within a rank widened as the rank increased.
Even C+ and C were practically different species, so B- and B+ was an insurmountable gap.
Even with all the titles and traits Baekya possessed, the cavalryman was a wall.
Of course, the reward would be just as great.
The large flag it was holding also seemed to be at least a Heroic-grade artifact.
'The spirit core must be amazing too.'
If he could absorb that Spirit Core with Law of Light, it wouldn't be a dream to remove the ‘-’ and reach a solid B-Rank.
Baekya felt his heart leaning towards one side and ignited a flame in his hand.
'I've made up my mind.'
【"You'll need mana assistance?"】
'Yes. But not now.'
A slightly mischievous smile appeared on his face.
'I'm going to use that guy Lee Eunwoo just once.'
* * *
"It's been 50 minutes. I think it’s good to assume he's dead."
"No!"
"Send a rescue team quickly!"
"Are you crazy? We're about to die ourselves, what rescue team?"
"You're alive and not frozen to death thanks to Ilha. He and his brother struggled so much, and now you're going to let him die just when he's about to have a good life?"
The place where the people remained was filled with chaos.
The worsening blizzard carried worries and anxieties with each snowflake.
Thanks to Ri Baejeong reversing the sealing barrier to provide only shielding, they didn't have to worry about freezing to death, but people always fight more fiercely over issues other than survival.
Just before a fistfight broke out between those who wanted to send a rescue team for Ilha and those who didn't.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several fire arrows soared fiercely from afar.
It was a clear Mana Light that could pierce through this fierce blizzard.
They didn't know it, but it was a technique derived from the Incineration Ray.
"Hmph."
Lee Eunwoo sneered at Ri Baejeong.
Ri Baejeong, who secretly wished for Baekya to die at the hands of the Snow Ghosts, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Click, clack!
Lee Eunwoo transformed his pistol into a sniper rifle and stepped forward.
With three signal flares marking the coordinates, there was no need to overuse his X-ray vision.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out loudly.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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