Chapter 188   – Breakeven Point (2)

Haesol flinched, and her body shook.

Her instincts were warning her.

Her senses were trying to speak to her.

Nakamura had a bright smile on his face, but there was something very wrong about it.

“If you have something to say, you can talk to me from there.”

Nakamura stopped walking at Haesol’s slightly sharp words.

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“Well, I guess this should be good enough.  Thankfully, the sun casts long shadows here.”

She didn’t know what he was trying to say, and as she furrowed her brows, she winced when she felt a change come over her body.

“W…what did you do?”

She tried to move, but she wasn’t able to move.  She couldn’t move to an unnatural degree.

Nakamura grinned.

“I just touched your shadow.”

Nakamura’s long shadow was connected with Haesol’s shadow.

“Eeeek.”

Nakamura was a master of a large guild, and he was in competition to be the top Roused in Japan.  She new his Rank and ability was famous, and she berated herself for only remembering it now.

No, she never imagined he would attack her.  In the end, the result was inevitable.

He was the prized Roused of Japan.  He was Daken guild’s master.

Shadow Ninja Nakamura.

“Ooh-ooh-oohk.”

Haesol gritted her teeth as she tried to move her body.  She might have been taken unawares, but she was a Rank A Roused, who went through the hellish training of Alandal.

When she used all of her strength, her body started to shake, and she started to move a little bit.

“This….”

Nakamura could hold a high Rank Roused like Haesol for only 20 seconds.

However, it was enough to subdue her.

“Ooh-oohk.”

The members of the Daken guild had already surround Haesol.  One of them injected a drug using a needle.  Haesol’s eyes flipped up as her body fell over.

“W…what are you doing?”

“You are pretty slow at assessing a situation.”

Nakamura laughed when he saw Tauric, who was taken aback.

“Alphen is moaning in pain, and the Daken guild will help you.”

“I’m not talking about that.  Aren’t you both from earth?  Why did you attack her?”

“I’m disappointed you called it an attack…  The Daken guild is merely inheriting the job of Alandal.  We will protect you all.”

Tauric looked at his surrounding.

Dwarf King Raul was shaking his head from side to side.  The great Orc Chieftain Krooger was letting out steam from his nose in anger.

Kontz, who was the young king of the Honshoo kingdom, had a red face.  The Archmage Graham had his two eyes shut.

Holy Maiden Melody… She looked as if her soul had exited her body.  She just stared into the empty air.

Even if Nakamura hadn’t answered the question, they were already well aware of the answer.

Tauric looked at Nakamura as he raised both fists.

“We need an ally.  We do not need a protector.”

“Jeez.”

Nakamura let out a sigh as if he couldn’t believe their answers.  He had already assessed the abilities of all the heroes.  The people from the Daken guild had made a perimeter, and they started tightening the perimeter.

These were the elite members of the guild.

These men made up 1/3 of the high Ranked Roused of Japan.

“Do you really think you can hold us off with these men?  If the battle starts, people will gather towards us.”

Tauric calmly berated Nakamura as he saw the members of the Daken guild gathering around them.

If he could stop a internal conflict, that would be the better option.  He didn’t know what prior friction existed between Alandal and the Daken guild.  Since he didn’t know the history behind their conflict, Tauric thought it was better to prevent a fight.

The Immortal hadn’t returned yet.

Nakamura was beaming.

“Koo-kook.  I see you don’t know the reason why I tried to buy some time.  ”

He opened his two arms wide.

It was time.

〈The capture of the Colony has been completed.〉

An ownerless Colony greeted its new owner.  Nakamura’s eyes turned wide when he saw the Points he gained by the capture.  He hadn’t done much, yet he had gained an incredible treasure.

He already possessed a Dimensional Domain through a subway station in Tokyo.  Therefore, he knew about the benefits of having a Colony.

“I’ll be able replenish new troops.”

The list of what he could purchase in the Store was limited.  He decided to purchase several thousand goblins.  A black portal formed in front of the World Tree, and countless small green colored monsters started pouring out.

“C…crazy.”

Kontz’s voice expressed what everyone was feeling at that moment.

Why did they never think about the possibility of other Dimensional lords existing on earth?

Nakamura was basically a god in the Colony.  Kontz tried to turn back when large walls appeared to surround his group.

Koo-koo-koohng!

A ground that held nothing suddenly pushed out castle walls, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this phenomena as a miracle performed by a god.

“Koo-haha.  Capture everyone.”

When Nakamura gave his order, the goblin soldiers started moving in perfect order.

The castle walls that had erupted from the ground became their prison.

Kahng.  Kahng.

“Shit!”

Dwarf King Raul, who had been pounding on the wall, threw down his hammer.

He had hit it several hundred times, yet it was showing no signs of breaking.

“We fell in such a futile manner.”

His dejected voice expressed what everyone was feeling.

“It is my fault…”

She buried her head in her knees as Melody answered with a weak voice.  Tauric tried to console her.

“There is no way this this could be your fault, Holy Maiden.”

“I went against the word of the goddess….”

She should have listened.

She shouldn’t have doubted…

Still, nothing would come from her belated regret.

The oracle had come true.  The Immortal lost his Gate, and she had lost her power.

She was no longer a Holy Maiden.  She was just a powerless woman.

“Please don’t punish yourself.  Since the goddess of Prophecy said it’ll happen, wouldn’t this have happened either way?”

Melody kept her head low even after hearing Tauric’s words.

“Anyways, Dame Haesol isn’t doing so well.  It has been 3 days yet she isn’t waking up.”

“I’m pretty sure they used poison on her.”

“Since we don’t know what kind of poison….”

If they had Haesol’s telepathic ability, they would be able to communicate to those outside.  However, she wasn’t showing any signs of waking up, so they could only look on in frustration.

***

Forest below the Saurus mountain.

Kim-joonyong had climbed to the top of the tree to observe the state of the Colony.  The goblin soldiers had ballooned into 20,000, and they were dispatched along the castle walls.

One could see some of the Coalition troops between the goblins.  Kim-joonyong wondered what lie the Daken guild had told to get the people of Coalition on their side.  He was frustrated by the situation.

“Those Japanese bastards….”

A rolling rock had dislodged the stone in place.

The Daken guild had started a rumor that the Immortal had betrayed everyone.  The Phantom Unit quickly escaped, but Haesol, who was the leader of the Phantom unit, couldn’t be contacted.

It was clear that she was either killed or she was taken hostage.

Joonyong ended his scouting of the Colony, and he descended the tree.

“Unit commander Blanka.”

“So how was it, Joonyong?  Do you see Haesol?”

“No.  I didn’t see her anywhere.”

“This is a disaster.  Haesol is in danger.”

Blanka’s face was full of worry.   It was the same for the rag tag group of the Phantom Unit.

“The president has to come back.  Or, we have to try to turn back the Skeleton Army.”

It wouldn’t be easy for the members of the Phantom Unit to rescue Haesol. Their surplus troops were being lead by Jaenis, and Kahng-woojin had gone looking for Heres’ Temple.

It would be great if either one of them were here, but there had heard no news from both of them.

“Shit.”

Joonyong let out a curse.

He had risen to Rank A, but nothing had changed.

Whether he was a low Rank Roused or a high Rank Roused, he was an insignificant human.  He still couldn’t be of much help.

A mere Roused like him couldn’t challenge a Dimensional lord, who possessed a Colony.  His opponent was too strong.

At that moment, the foliage above them shook as something heavy fell from the sky.  The Phantom Unit, who had momentarily let their guards down, nervously vigilant against this object.  All of their eyes widened.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“King!”

Woojin jumped off the Phantom Steed, and he grinned at the people, who were excitedly greeting him.

“Hoo-hook.  We are in a bad spot, president.”

Blanka felt overwhelmed with joy at seeing Woojin, so he started crying.

Why did  he have to be so late in showing up….

“Stop crying.  Gather around me.”

Woojin asked a question when all the members of the Phantom Unit gathered in front of him.

“So who did this to us?”

“Uh?  You knew about it?”

Of course, he knew.  His Status Window gave him an alert when his Colony was stolen.

“Tell me who.”

“It was Nakamura from the Daken guild.”

“Hmmm.”

Woojin frowned.

When he received the alert that said he had lost his Saurus Colony, he had assumed it was one of Trahnet’s great lords.  That wasn’t the case.

His Colony had been taken away without suffering from any attack.

An person from earth had taken it.

“This is ridiculous.”

Woojin had never thought about this possibility, so he let out a big sigh.

“All right.  Let’s get it back.”

Kim-joonyong became surprised, and he got up from his seat.

“W…we have to make plans.”

“That’s right!  Haesol was taken hostage.  It’ll be dangerous.”

At Blanka’s words, Woojin nodded his head.

“All right.  Let’s hurry up and get there.”

“So the plan….”

Joonyong let his words of incredulity leak out, but Woojin was already striding well in front of them.

“I…I’ll follow you.”

It wasn’t easy to be so confident in oneself.  Joonyong found it fascinating that Woojin was able to be so dependable under hardship.

Kahng-woojin didn’t have his Undead army, but none of the men thought Kahng-woojin would lose a fight.

***

Top of the Saurus Colony.

A large palace had been built in front of the World Tree.

“Kahng-woojin is here, master.”

“Hooo hoo hoo.  Kahng-woojin?”

Nakamura, who had been sitting on the throne, stood up.

He now knew why Kahng-woojin was so strong.  He now knew why he possessed overwhelming power despite being human.  He understood it.

Dimensional lord.

That bastard had put one foot into the realm of the gods.

How unfair was it for everyone else?

He acted all superior because of this fact….

“I’ll go.  Of course.  I have to go greet him.”

Nakamura laughed as he got up from the throne.

He was also a Dimensional lord.

The Points wasn’t just used to recharge one’s troops.  It also allowed one to increase one’s ability.

Fifth Rank Roused?

His power was now on a different level, and he was brimming with confidence now.  He was in the same position as Kahng-woojin.

King of Alandal?

Arrogant….

He’ll kill the bastard to become the new king.

After Nakamura exited the palace, his eyebrows twitched.

“Are you the one?”

Nakamura had decorated the large front yard of the palace in a Japanese style.  The garden  was completely devastated, and Kahng-woojin was standing in the middle.

The imprisoned heroes of Alphen had been freed, and they stood around Kahng-woojin with gaunt expressions on their faces.

“How….”

It had been only several minutes since he had received the report.  How was Kahng-woojin able to come here so fast?

Before he could  solve this mystery, Kahng-woojin walked towards Nakamura.  Each step made his heart beat fast, but Nakamura tried his best to harden his heart.

There was no gap between him and that bastard.

He would be able to fight him on even grounds as a Dimensional lord.

Even he could clear out the the scrubs in couple minutes if he wanted to.

Nakamura’s face once again held a relaxed smile on his face.

“Hue hue.  It would be best if you don’t get any closer to me, King of Alandal.”

“…….”

Woojin didn’t stop walking.

Nakamura also didn’t retreat, and when they were about two meters apart, Woojin stopped walking.

Nakamura let out a laugh full of delight.

“Koo-haha.  You touched it.”

“What?”

Woojin tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Your shadow touched my shadow.”

“…….”

Woojin furrowed his brows as he looked at Nakamura.  The people from afar held their breath as they watched the two confront each other.

Nakamura’s Shadow Bind was powerful.

Even Haesol was ensnared without being able to do anything.

“What about it?”

Woojin once again took a step forward.

“Uh uh?”

Nakamura instinctively took a step back.

“How are you able to move?”

His face showed how flustered he was.  As he was taking steps backward, something surprising occurred.

“H…how come I can’t move?”

He couldn’t move his body.

It was as if his shadow was bound….

“Are you really this weak?”

“…….”

Woojin grinned as he place his hand on top of Nakamura’s head.

He possessed a Shadow Imp, yet this bastard had tried to bind his shadow….

“Who gave it to you?  Who gave you the Dimensional Proof?”

It would be impossible for the Daken Guild could have gathered 3 Dimensional Fragments.  If they could gather that many, it meant several dozen Dimensional Fragments were already gathered by people of earth.

“I…I won’t say anything.”

“Then don’t do it.”

Woojin grasped Nakamura’’s head as he started to squeeze.