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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 29
Lee Eunwoo drove away the monsters with firepower befitting his S-rank status.
Lee Baejeong, on behalf of the nation, expressed his gratitude.
But neither of their expressions were bright.
"Thank you."
"It was my duty."
"Are the Iron Blood Legion Hunters not coming to provide support?"
"I was passing by this area by chance and entered the Gate after seeing the alert. I did inform the guild about the situation before entering, but as you know, there's no guarantee of ending up in the same location after the initial absorption. Even if my squad arrives, I'm not sure how much help they'll be."
"Then... I suppose the situation hasn't improved much."
Aside from the grudge as a Regressor...
'I told Baekya that day, that this time, he doesn’t have to die. He didn't listen after all.'
'So Hong Ilha was Baekya. Could he have been involved in the resurrection itself? A traitor. Yes, he's a traitor!'
Even though Lee Eunwoo had driven away the monsters, it was only a temporary solution.
The blizzard was still raging, and they hadn't found any clues.
From Baekya's perspective, the situation had even worsened.
'This is bad.'
Lee Eunwoo assumed that Baekya was deliberately ignoring the fact that he was being monitored.
He thought Baekya had seen through his utilitarian mindset and was using the surveillance as a sort of security.
But Baekya, since his return, had never once considered that he might be under surveillance.
'This is really bad.'
Having been a celebrity since he was very young, he was used to being watched.
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 Lee Baejeong, Baekya thought they might be waiting for the right moment to take him out.
If Lee Eunwoo, who had come prepared to fight Lee Baejeong, knew this, he would be truly indignant.
Lee Eunwoo and Lee Baejeong put their emotions aside for the moment and devised a strategy.
"The most efficient course of action would be to select a few Awakened and send them to scout in the direction the monsters came from. We need to gather some information before we do something."
"I agree. But let's take a short break before we set off. We need time to treat the injured."
From Baekya's perspective, even that seemed like a ploy to hunt him down.
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' tells you to be on high alert.】
'Yes, Constellation. There's no one I can trust here.'
He deliberately distanced himself from the people.
He moved towards the direction from which the monsters had come.
Of course, to those who didn't know the situation, it looked like he was scouting the most dangerous area.
"Look over there."
"Oh my..."
"Instead of just standing there, why don't you go help him!"
"He got hit by an ice arrow earlier, is he okay?"
"Director, I have some potions left."
Not just the civilians, but even the Awakened agents from the Management Bureau thought the same.
Lee Baejeong approached Baekya with the remaining potions.
White snow had piled up on his shoulders.
"Are you injured? I don't have many, but I have some potions."
"I wasn't even scratched."
Baekya deliberately took a step back.
The people's gratitude was appreciated, but he couldn't accept anything that had passed through Baejeong's hands.
Even if this narrow-eyed man offered him an elixir instead of a potion, he wouldn't take it.
Lee Baejeong tried to light another cigarette but then shook his head and asked—
"As a Pyromancer, you must have admired 'The Sun' Baekya, right?"
Baekya replied with a hint of sharpness in his voice.
"Which Awakened wouldn't?"
"Wouldn't even Baekya be flustered in a situation like this? A blizzard raging, allies scarce, and countless people to protect."
"Well, the movies might’ve exaggerated a bit, but I heard that was everyday life for the first generation. Just a handful of Awakened to protect the entire nation. Hmm, I'm sure he felt the pressure. But he would have found a way, somehow."
"Is it good that people believe he would always find a way? Aren't they 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... he would probably say, 'If you want to rely on me, go ahead.' That's what I think he would have said."
Lee Baejeong's narrowed eyes curved downwards.
Snowflakes fell on his long eyelashes.
"That's... an interesting perspective."
"I don't think he was constantly thinking about all of humanity or the entire nation 24/7. I think he just kept hunting the monsters in front of him and 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 from a movie where the writer spoke through an observant protagonist.
He no longer remembered what he had thought in South Korea 15 years ago.
His thoughts weren't even consistent, and he didn't particularly want to remember them.
Baekya spoke coldly.
"Let's 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.
* * *
"I will go alone. The rest of you, please protect the civilians here. Hunter Lee Eunwoo, if I fire a signal flare, I would appreciate it if you could provide artillery support at that location."
Baekya spoke loudly enough for both the civilians and the Awakened to hear.
"You're going alone?"
"It's dangerous!"
"You should at least form a two-person team."
Everyone protested, but Baekya was unfazed.
"Dullahan's Gaze."
Whoosh!
He used the skill to summon a burning orb.
Upon closer inspection, it was a skull rather than an orb, but the flames were so intense that it was hard to tell.
"This is my skill. With this leading the way, 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 at all."
"Ah."
"Not to mention the protection of the civilians… Isn't Mr. Lee Eunwoo here the world's greatest Gunner? Everyone will be safe if I take on the minimal risk, so there's no need to hesitate. We can't stay here forever, can we?"
Expressions of agreement gradually appeared on people's faces.
【"You're skilled at psychological warfare too, aren't you?"】
"If I don't return or fire a signal flare within an hour, assume I'm dead and send a team in formation as originally planned."
Lee Eunwoo and Lee Baejeong seemed reluctant, but they eventually nodded.
'It would be troublesome if we let him go alone and he dies.'
'It would be troublesome if we let him go alone and he clears the Gate.'
Swish.
"Then I'll see you all outside the Gate."
His Constellation's voice echoed in his mind.
【"But what kind of psychological warfare was that?"】
'I gained their favor from the start with the warming spell. Thanks to that, I could partially restrain the Awakened agents from the Management Bureau, who represent public authority. They're ruthless towards Awakened, but they're endlessly soft towards civilians, due to the nature of their organization.'
【"Then why didn't Lee Eunwoo step up? Wasn't he trying to kill you too?"】
'He's a top-tier Gunner with ‘See-Through’. Whether he can kill me or not depends on his firepower, not the distance. A blizzard like this won't be any obstacle for him. And... this is partly wishful thinking, but if what Ryu Haneul said is true, Lee Eunwoo is a moderate. He might try to kill me someday, but maybe not today.'
Baekya answered that way and then looked at the 'Praetorian Guard's Articulated Ring.'
'Thanks to the skill my Constellation gave me, I can now hide Law of Light even without this ring.'
【"No, I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner. I guess both of us, having been at the top, are still stuck in our past glory."】
'Let's get back to those days quickly. But that's not the main point I wanted to make. What I'm saying is, this ring isn't that crucial anymore.'
Baekya looked up at the sky.
The blizzard was now so fierce that he could barely see ahead.
He could see his outstretched hand, but the tip of his sword was blurry.
Even Baekya would have had trouble navigating if he hadn't used 'Dullahan's Gaze' and 'Appraisal.'
'A blizzard this strong is a magical phenomenon. And my Law of Light... burns and absorbs mana.'
Baekya channeled mana into the ring.
【Law of Light】
Baekya channeled his mana in the opposite direction, not to 'gather' it, but to 'disperse' it.
It was an act that drastically reduced the artifact's lifespan, but that wasn't important right now.
Fwaaaaaah!
Law of Light expanded spherically, becoming an infinitely faint flame.
Its power was weakened to a fraction due to the dispersion, but it was enough to erase snowflakes.
【Mana has increased by '1'.】
【Mana has...】
The mana that had been creating the blizzard flowed into Baekya.
It wasn't comparable to the Ghost Princess's Castle or the Tower's power-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 1.5 km and a height of 750 m became clear.
The humanoid monsters that had been hiding here and there were startled and fled.
Baekya used 'Appraisal' on them.
【Snow Ghost (C+ → D+)】
【The scouts of the Winter Operation become stronger in the winter and weaker outside of it.】
A notification window appeared before his eyes, along with a clean success.
Now all he had to do was find the core.
The blizzard vanished as if it had never existed, revealing a seemingly endless expanse of flat terrain.
With 'Dullahan's Gaze' and 'Appraisal,' it was a piece of cake for Baekya to find something different.
'Found it.'
There was a half-frozen standard-bearer on a low hill in the distance.
Both the horse and the rider were half skeletal, but a bright blue flame blazed between the bones.
Baekya approached it and used 'Appraisal' once more.
【Snow Ghost Standard-Bearer (A → B+)】
【The Snow Ghost Standard-Bearer expands the territory of the Winter Operation according to its commands. The place where the flag is planted becomes the territory of the Winter Operation.】
【Story Artifact: Winter Vanguard (B+)】
It seemed that the standard-bearer's core was the core of this Gate.
If he killed the standard-bearer, the raid would be over.
Baekya's current rank was B-.
It might not seem like a big difference from the B+ Rank standard-bearer, but the gap within a rank widened as the rank increased.
Even between C+ and C, it was no exaggeration to say they were completely different species, so the gap between B- and B+ was insurmountable.
Even with all the titles and traits Baekya possessed, it was an opponent worthy of being called a wall.
Of course, the reward would be equally great.
The large flag it was holding also looked 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, reaching B-Rank without the minus wasn't a dream.
Baekya felt himself being swayed by a certain impulse and ignited flames in his hand.
'I've made up my mind.'
【"You'll need mana support, won't you?"】
'Yes. But not now.'
A slightly playful smile appeared on his lips.
'I think I'll use that Lee Eunwoo guy just once.'
* * *
"It's been 50 minutes. We have to assume he's dead."
"No!"
"Send a rescue team quickly!"
"Are you kidding me? We're about to die ourselves, and you're talking about a rescue team?"
"You're only alive and not freezing to death because of Ilha. Those two brothers have been through so much, how can you just let him die when he's finally trying to live a better life?"
The remaining people were filled with turmoil.
The intensifying blizzard seemed to mirror their growing worries and anxieties.
Thanks to Lee Baejeong reversing the sealing barrier to provide shelter, they didn't have to worry about freezing to death, but people always fought more fiercely over issues beyond survival.
Just before a fistfight broke out between those who wanted to send a rescue team for Il-ha and those who didn't...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several Flame Arrows soared fiercely from afar.
It was a clear mana light, strong enough to pierce through this heavy blizzard.
They didn't know it, but it was a technique derived from Incineration Ray.
"Heh."
Lee Eunwoo scoffed at Lee Baejeong.
Lee Baejeong, who had been inwardly hoping for Baekya's death 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 intersecting and providing the coordinates, there was no need to overuse his See-Through ability.
Bang!
A single gunshot echoed loudly.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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