Chapter 118: Mercenary (2)

Yeon-woo tightly held onto the Skill Tomes and saw Edora when he went outside. Once she saw Yeon-woo, her gloomy face turned bright.

And she frowned when she saw Yeon-woo's face.

"Oraboni, your head?"

"Hm?"

He reflexively touched his head and grinned. There was a slight bump.

"It's nothing, so don't worry about it."

Yeon-woo avoided her question and looked at her.

"That aside, what about your thoughts? They didn't change?"

"Yes. I'm going to follow you. Don't try to stop me."

Yeon-woo also thought that he wasn't going to be able to stop Edora, since she had never once listened to him. It was quite Edora-like.

In the end, she was a member of the One-horned tribe. No one could prevent them from doing something once they put their minds to it. But he still wanted to confirm one last time.

"Even if you might meet your tribe as enemies?"

"I'm prepared for that. I'll just be suffering because of a certain someone."

Yeon-woo shook his head.

"....Alright. You're not gonna listen to me anyway. Do whatever you want."

"Hehe."

Edora smiled like she had won.

Yeon-woo couldn't help but laugh.

***

Yeon-woo wanted to quietly leave Kuram. He didn't need to publicly announce that he was switching sides, and he didn't need to get on the Sword God's bad side either. And so when they were about to pass Kuram's wells.

"You?"

An unexpected person was standing outside the walls with an irritated expression, arms crossed. It was Phante.

"Wow. Are you happy leaving your little brother behind? Is this something like a nighttime runaway? Oh, since it's during the day it's a daytime getaway I guess."

Phante glared at Edora, who was stuck right by Yeon-woo's side like a leech. He was annoyed that no one told him anything. Edora looked away.

"Why. Are you gonna come with me?"

"Do you think I'm standing here to get some tanning here then?"

"Do you even know where I'm going?"

"I know it'll be more fun than here. And, hehe. Wherever you go, something big happens, eh?"

"...."

Yeon-woo couldn't find the words to say. It was true that big incidents followed him.

"And I don't like being here anymore. The old geezers keep on ordering me around to do this and that. They keep on getting in my business. I feel like I'm going crazy. Anywhere is fine, so take me with you."

Yeon-woo laughed. He understood why Phante was annoyed. He was always in conferences and couldn't fight because it was 'dangerous.' And whenever he wanted to protest, the Martial King was always there.

When he found out that Edora and Yeon-woo were about to leave Kuram, he thought this was his chance.

But Phante and Edora were different. Since Phante was most likely to be the next king, he couldn't just come along. So he slightly hinted that they might be going to the Red Dragon.

"Hm? So you planned on going to do some fun things without even telling me? All this time?"

But Phante actually had a smile.

Yeon-woo realized his mistake. Phante was the Martial King's son to the bone.

"Haha! I thought I was gonna barf from seeing all those Cheonghwado bastards the entire time. Now I can see them crumble."

Yeon-woo eventually had to wave the white flag of surrender at the siblings. He let out a sigh of exasperation for the first time.

"...Do whatever you want/"

But he still had a smile on his face and had a thought. That he had met a good teacher. And a good pair of little siblings.

***

They left Kuram and arrived at the northern part of the stage called Veges.

"Currently, Red Dragon is centered at Veges, planning on expanding their territory, and Cheonghwado is attacking there."

Edora explained what she had heard at the tribe's conference. With the aid of the One-horned tribe, Cheonghwado was spread almost entirely across the 11th stage. But not at Veges.

"Is there a reason?"

"Because Bahal is leading them."

Yeon-woo's eyes sparkled.

"Bahal?"

"Yes. They say he was put in charge of the 11th floor. And other rankers participated too. Since our One-horned tribe joined, they'll have to be that much warier."

Yeon-woo nodded his head. If the Red Dragon wasn't going to give up the 11th floor, they were going to have to put more of their forces on there.

No, the fact that they had lost was probably more painful to them. They lived by the 'rule of the Dragon.'

'Also, not only do Cheonghwado have the Martial King, but also the Saber God and the Sword God....they're not gonna stay still. Seems like the war on the 11th floor will get bigger.'

Yeon-woo thought it was just as well. Since as the gameboard got bigger, the more Saber God and Sword God would be stuck on this floor.

'It would be nice if Leonte came too.'

Yeon-woo wet his dry lips. It was a predator's smile.

And Phante tried to change the subject.

"But how are you planning on joining Red Dragon's side? They're probably grinding their teeth at the thought of you."

He was talking about how he fought Shanon. The Red Dragon was definitely on their guard against Yeon-woo.

"If we're talking about danger, it's probably you guys that are in more danger?"

The prince and princess of the One-horned tribe. There wasn't any better hostage than them. If they knew they were coming, they would gladly welcome them with open arms.

However.

"Actually, they're probably not going to care much about us. Since there's a bunch of people like us."

".....?"

Yeon-woo tilted his head in confusion, and Edora responded with a smile.

"As you know, our tribe members quite self-centered, right? So a bunch of us have probably participated on their side as mercenaries."

"Oh."

Yeon-woo understood what she meant. There were a lot of players in the tribe's village, but there were also a lot of tribe members climbing the Tower. They frequently participated as mercenaries as well.

"So what if you come face to face...."

"We would try to kill each other I suppose? Of course, we would try to avoid that as much as possible."

Edora shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't much.

"But even if we meet as enemies, we don't hate each other. Rather, we get offended if we don't fight using our full power."

Yeon-woo nodded his head. It was expected of the One-horned tribe. This was them. And Phante and Edora didn't put too much meaning on fighting with Red Dragon either.

"Well, they could be interested since we're the Martial King's children. But they won't care knowing our father's personality."

Phante shrugged.

The Martial King wouldn't be too upset that his children were held as hostages.

'Rather, he'll try to return whatever harm is done to his children by twice as much.'

Yeon-woo laughed thinking of the Martial King's character.

"Anyway. How are you going to join forces with Red Dragon?"

Yeon-woo answered indifferently.

"Didn't you guys already say the answer?"

"What we said?"

"You must be speaking about Bahal."

Yeon-woo nodded at what Edora said.

"Right. Bahal will want me. And other pressures will protect me as well."

Phante and Edora nodded their heads like what Yeon-woo said made sense. Bahal seemed extremely interested in Yeon-woo.

'Participating with the One-horned tribe will have given me some credibility. And from their viewpoint, they wouldn't want to leave me, who defeated a semi ranker, alone.'

Yeon-woo knew his name was spread far and wide. Setting records for clearing floors or the tutorial only garnered interest. Because they only had potential. They couldn't actually fight.

But a novice that had defeated a semi ranker was different.

Not only were they a help to the war, but they could surely be grown to a more skilled player. And he had information about the tribe and Cheonghwado, and if Bahal supported him, they won't be able to let me go.

'And if I give them this.'

Yeon-woo touched the object that Bahal would kill to have. With this, the fire would be set to the war. And Yeon-woo's predictions were correct.

***

"Stop there. Reveal your identity."

When they arrived at Veges, players of Red Dragon came out to stop them. Because two One-horned tribe members had come, their faces were tense with anxiety.

They suspected that the tribe had left Kuram.

And Yeon-woo revealed his identity. That he was the Hoarder, and the two One-horned tribe members with him were going to participate in the war as the Red Dragon's mercenaries.

"And please give Bahal this. He'll like it since it's from me."

The players all had surprised faces. They were seeing the Hoarder from the rumors in person. A few of them glared at him. They were friends of the players that had died because of Yeon-woo.

Also, the One-horned tribe members with him were the children of the Martial King. But they soon had indifferent faces. After deciding it wasn't something they needed to take care of, they let them in. Yeon-woo's item was inspected and delivered to Bahal upon discovering there was nothing wrong with it. A reply soon came.

"Bahal has ordered for the three of you to be treated with respect. Please follow me."

Yeon-woo's company nodded and followed the players.

***

Veges had a different atmosphere then Kuram, where everything was destroyed. Rankers of Red Dragon and their subsidiaries were all bustling around with busy steps, and there were various security checks everywhere.

Overall, there was a dark and stiff vibe. But that was how organized and ordered this place was.

Players' eyes sparkled at Yeon-woo's company, but they didn't talk about it. It was obvious how well controlled this city was. And when they arrived at the center of Veges.

"Haha! Who's this? Isn't this Cain? Do you know how much I waited for you to come?"

Bahal came out with bare feet and tightly hugged Yeon-woo. Like he was welcoming a beloved subordinate. He was genuinely happy that Yeon-woo had come to him.

Also.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Yeon-woo's fists were tightly clenched while in Bahal's arms.

'If only you had liked Jeong-woo this much.'

The veins on the back of his hands popped out.