Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Regional Conflict (3)
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"Not bad. Then do it that way."
"Pardon?"
"What, you thought I'd tell you to stop everything here and pull back?"
*Of course you always interfere with my work every time we meet!* Xiao Mei wanted to say, but she wasn't the type to let her tongue slip and invite trouble in a situation like this. She clasped her hands together and put on a grateful expression.
"Thank you! To show such mercy, as expected of a mage—you're so magnanimous and tolerant.... I've actually admired you for a long time...."
"Cut the flattery."
"Yes."
"Admired me? Yeah, right. You were probably cursing me out."
*Gasp.*
Xiao Mei flinched. Could this guy read minds?
"From now on, you'll have to do me all sorts of favors, so I can't have your superiors grilling you, right? We all have to help each other out. Don't you think?"
"Uh... yes...."
His words were light, but their meaning was heavy. It was telling her to become a double agent.
*This... if I screw up, my life's over....*
If she got caught in China, Kim Suhyun wouldn't step in to help, and she'd have to deal with it alone. Xiao Mei felt her future growing dark. How was she supposed to walk this tightrope again?
"Then get up. If we talk too long, your subordinates might get suspicious. You don't want to get reported from the inside, do you?"
"That won't happen."
"Are they people you can trust that much?"
"Well... not exactly...."
"Better to be careful, then. There's always someone looking to drag down anyone higher up who shows weakness and climb over them."
"My position isn't...."
"...nothing special, but there's still someone who covets it."
Suhyun cut in right before Xiao Mei could finish, at a speed impossible unless he knew exactly what she was going to say. Xiao Mei blinked in surprise.
"You're pretty interesting. Way more talented and appealing than Wu Xiangkai. If you weren't in a place like that, you could've lived a lot more comfortably. Just watch out—your actions are too easy to read."
When they stepped outside, Xiao Mei's subordinates were waiting with confused looks, unsure how to proceed. Suhyun walked up to the man he'd struck earlier.
"From now on, make a habit of checking who someone is before rushing in."
"Ah, uh. Yes, sir."
Xiao Mei sighed at him in pity. These guys were the same ones who'd said, *Let's give it a shot anyway! Why chicken out first thing?* when they heard Kim Suhyun was coming not long ago.
They'd been so fearless back then, but now that they'd actually met Suhyun, they were frozen solid. It was pathetic. She knew they were idiots, but....
Even though Suhyun was moving around inside without permission, no one there dared speak to him.
He'd completely taken control of the room's atmosphere.
"Oh, almost forgot. You said you could handle the orcs, right? Keep them out of the elves' territory. If clashes keep happening, we'll have to flex our muscles here."
"Pardon? Th-that... the orcs are in a bit of a bind waiting around like this...."
Xiao Mei panicked and tried to grab Suhyun. The orcs had entered the elves' territory out of desperation for survival. Resources were scarce around here for them to hold out, and support from the Chinese side was lacking.
Of course, China wasn't going to provide generous aid. There was no need to fill the orcs' bellies to tame them.
In the end, the orcs had moved for survival, and China had tacitly allowed it. It was actually better for China that way. Isolated tribes were easier to handle.
"Buy supplies and send them over. Then they won't come, obviously."
*You think those supplies just sprout from the ground?!*
But Suhyun wasn't just talk. He pulled a chip from his pocket and tossed it over. An untraceable cash chip.
Kwak Hyun-tae, watching from afar, muttered.
"Does that guy carry cash chips around by the handful? Is tossing them his hobby?"
"Buy plenty and feed and clothe the orcs a bit. They all look skin and bones from starvation."
"Uh... I don't even know what to say."
"Thank you?"
"Thank you...? But didn't you just tell her to watch out for her subordinates getting leverage on her?"
"?"
Suhyun looked at Xiao Mei quizzically. Was she too flustered to think straight?
"You're not seriously going to tell them you just took this from me, are you? Spin something for your subordinates. Like, I threatened her life, and Kim Suhyun got scared and backed off. In exchange for not sending the orcs, he'll cover the feeding costs. Something like that."
"You think... that'll work?"
Suhyun realized Xiao Mei's emotions were bleeding into her speech. When calm, she spoke with a bit of formality, but when flustered, it crumbled.
"They're your subordinates—you know them better. From what I've seen, it'll fly. If you don't want suspicion, figure out how to sell the lie."
*No matter how dumb my subordinates are, they're not *that* dumb...!*
"Right. One last thing—when you get back, pass a message to Wu Xiangkai."
"What?"
"If he doesn't keep his promise, I'll make him a star."
"??"
"Just say that, and he'll move on his own. It'll work even better if you say it with a slight smirk."
"???"
Suhyun said no more. He gestured to the clansmen in front of him.
"Let's head back!"
* * *
It felt like a storm had swept through. Once Kim Suhyun stepped out and vanished with his clansmen for real, the people inside collapsed in heaps.
It felt like ten years had been shaved off their lifespans.
"Captain, what happened? Why'd that demon just leave?"
"What was that thing you got earlier?"
"Yeah, exactly...."
Even in their fear, their faces brimmed with curiosity as they asked her. Xiao Mei hesitated slightly. No matter how dumb they were, would they buy a lie like this?
"We talked about the elves' territory issue inside. Looks like Kim Suhyun's side is buddy-buddy with the elves in that forest. He came because of the disputes with the orcs, to settle it."
"Should we pull back?!"
One subordinate's face went pale. Another failure. Who knew what the higher-ups would say.
"No, it's handled fine."
"Huh? Really??"
"How?"
"They said they'd rather commit total suicide here than retreat with the orcs, so they got fed up and backed off first. We agreed—no more orcs into elf territory, and they foot the bill."
As she spoke, Xiao Mei scanned her subordinates. Buy it?
"Ooh...!"
"Amazing, Captain!"
"You made Kim Suhyun retreat!"
"Even Liu couldn't!"
*These dumbasses....*
It was a relief they bought it, but Xiao Mei had to hold back a sigh. To have to drag around idiots like this.
"You lot, memorize faces from now on. What are you even doing if you can't even scout properly?"
"Sorry."
The subordinate who'd been subdued by Suhyun bowed his head deeply. Now that he'd met him in person, he realized how reckless it'd been to talk about fighting.
A superpower user at that level was on another plane. Sure, they'd trained to fight superpowered foes, but that was only in prepared ambushes with traps set.
And Kim Suhyun was a cut above even those elite users. Meeting him face-to-face, the pressure was no joke.
* * *
"Oh right. I forgot to ask."
"Ask what?"
"Why the orcs came here—I spaced on that."
"So what did you talk about inside?"
"Other stuff."
"If orcs are pushing in this far, it's gotta be monsters, right? Happens all the time."
On Cameron, if a monster too strong for a clan alone showed up, that clan had to move. Common story. Nomad clans like that were easy to find.
"But that's just it.... Never mind."
Suhyun was puzzled because he already knew about this region. The Anes area was where he'd spent a lot of time before returning to the past.
Initially, people flocked to Anes because it was newly opened territory. Other places were already fiercely competitive for newcomers.
But over time, Anes drew crowds for another reason.
Compared to its resource value, the monster population in Anes was strikingly low. The other races' term, "blessed land," wasn't an exaggeration.
Of course, that drew all sorts of scum to fight over it, so whether it was truly blessed became questionable....
There were plenty of other races, and humans would increase too, but it all hinged on low monster numbers around here. He couldn't imagine monsters strong enough to just chase out a single orc clan.
*No way the future changed again? It's just one region, though....*
Suhyun thought as he walked on.
* * *
"You met Kim Suhyun?!"
Wu Xiangkai dropped his cup in shock. Dark tea splashed across the floor.
*But how's she still alive?*
*Your thoughts are showing, you idiot.*
After hearing the truth about Wu Xiangkai from Suhyun, Xiao Mei found him utterly pathetic. Getting treated like dirt compared to her, and all he did was spy.
Of course, that didn't mean she planned to defy him. Xiao Mei clasped her hands politely and spoke.
"Yes. I was surprised too."
"How... did you get away?"
"Luckily, it wasn't a hostile mission against Korea, so no real suspicion."
Xiao Mei explained what happened. He'd come on the elves' request due to the orc disputes, and when she threatened him with her life, Suhyun surprisingly backed down easily.
"????"
Wu Xiangkai's face twisted in utter confusion.
"What?"
"We negotiated: they'll fund the orcs' living costs in exchange for keeping them out of elf territory from now on."
"You really met Kim Suhyun?"
"Yes."
Wu Xiangkai suspected Xiao Mei was lying to him.
*No, she wouldn't dare trick me unless she's crazy. Is Kim Suhyun nuts? Back down to that threat? What the hell? Fake Suhyun? Off his game? Weak to women? What is it?*
"And... he said to pass a message to you from the China base."
"What?"
"If you don't keep your promise, he'll make you a star. What does that even mean?"
"!"
Now he got it. Kim Suhyun had caught on. That Xiao Mei's unit wasn't just mercenaries but tied to the Chinese government. Maybe even linked to Wu Xiangkai himself.
*No, why the hell is this bitch spilling my secrets everywhere?!*
Wu Xiangkai glanced at Xiao Mei. She had the faintest smirk on her lips. Not overt, as Suhyun said, but effective enough.
*No, no way?!*
What if Kim Suhyun had told her his secret and turned her? Recruiting Xiao Mei to watch him was plenty plausible. She wasn't exactly loyal.
Suddenly, enemies seemed to lurk everywhere.
"What about the orcs?"
Normally, she'd have pocketed the money from an enemy offer and wiped her hands clean, but the opponent was Suhyun. No way she could pull that.
The favor he'd shown Xiao Mei was probably because he had Wu Xiangkai firmly leashed.
He could reclaim that favor anytime through Wu Xiangkai!
*Damn, that devil....*
"You got the money, right? Use it to feed and clothe them. Make sure they stay out of elf territory...."
"Yes!"
"By the way, you...."
"?"
"Never mind. Get out."
He couldn't ask. Saying *Do you know my weakness?* would be suicide.
"Ughaaah! Kim Suhyun! Jin Luo-gong! Li Hejun! I swear, if I never have to see those bastards again, it'll be too soon!!"
He yelled so loud that even in the fully soundproofed room, Xiao Mei could hear his meltdown outside.
*Why's that guy freaking out?*
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