Chapter 186
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: EP.186 Baranoras's Forward Base
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The Imperial Guard, having lost their raid leader to the monster's clutches, immediately retreated from Baranoras's forward base.
Celes, toyed with by the multi-headed monster, was also able to resurrect outside the temporary dungeon via a revival stone.
In a cruel twist, the multi-headed monster had corrupted Celes only to discard her immediately afterward. It was an action that made its true intentions crystal clear.
"If... if only I'd acted a little faster..."
"No need to blame yourself, Chloe. You know as well as I do—it was an impossible situation. And do you have any idea how many buffs were stacked on me? Even if you'd moved quicker, it would've been too much."
"Still!"
Chloe bowed her head deeply at Celes's resolute voice, speaking calmly as if nothing had happened despite being defiled by the monster.
'My mistake.'
She should have trusted that anxiety she felt when Celes was first seized by the monster and acted a step sooner.
But the monster had laid its plans with meticulous care, and they had fallen right into its trap. As a result, they lost their raid leader, the guardian of France.
"Guess we can't join any more tries now, huh?"
"......"
"I know, I was just asking. Ha. This is a real mess. If I sit this out, how the hell are we supposed to take that bastard down?"
The Imperial Guard members all lowered their gazes at Celes's mutterings. Her question already had an obvious answer.
Heroes corrupted by monsters stood no chance against the forces of darkness, especially humanoid ones.
No matter how veteran a hero Celes was, with her mana essence corrupted, she clearly couldn't bring her full strength to bear. History proved it. At best, they could hope her body wouldn't turn against her allies.
And the terrifying monster at the forward base was the very one that had corrupted her directly.
They had to prevent Celes from facing it at all costs. In that monster's presence, she was nothing more than its slave.
"Sigh. If word gets out that I've been corrupted, David won't just sit idly by."
"He'll dump you on the spot, no doubt. Guy was never that loyal anyway."
"Damn it. I was really hoping to get married this year..."
"Aim for someone packing a bigger one. Your body's gonna be burning up every night now."
"Know any good guys? Hook me up?"
The Imperial Guard heroes squeezed their eyes shut at Chloe and Celes bantering playfully. The younger ones trembled pitifully, as if they couldn't believe what was happening.
"For now..."
Chloe continued in a low voice.
"Let's head back to Hoabin. And Celes, you..."
"I know. And if you can, tie me up good and tight."
Celes nodded at her comrade's pitying gaze and pressed on.
"At least it's a relief I'm a healer. If I were a tank or dealer, watching me would be a nightmare."
Corrupted by the monster's mana, she'd soon go berserk craving its essence—like a junkie jonesing for a fix.
"...What?"
Han Minguk felt like he'd been clubbed over the head with a hammer upon hearing the Imperial Guard's story en route to Garai's dungeon.
They rerouted the escort bus from Garai's dungeon to Hoabin. With the Imperial Guard retreating after losing their raid leader, there was nothing left for them to do there anyway.
The raid party's other heroes wore shell-shocked expressions at the disastrous news. Especially since Celes was the veteran raid leader steering the Imperial Guard.
Her fall wasn't just losing one seasoned hero—it was far worse. Yet amid the gloom, one woman remained composed.
"I know a good method."
Shiranui Mai spoke calmly.
No sooner had she finished than several people let out short gasps.
"But it requires the raid leader's sacrifice as a prerequisite. If the raid leader uses a method similar to mine on Celes..."
"Ah! Then the Imperial Guard's raid leader could return to normal, right?"
"Sounds crazy, but there's living proof right in front of us."
The others chimed in, agreeing with Shiranui.
Hyun-ah looked displeased with her suggestion but accepted it given the dire circumstances.
Minguk, however, was skeptical of Mai's idea.
'Could it work?'
Restoring Shiranui Mai's mind hadn't been his power alone. Behind it lurked Ppuu's quest.
'Ppuu, you there? What do you think?'
《In conclusion, it's impossible right now.》
Ppuu materialized before Minguk's eyes, already apprised of the situation like the voyeur it was.
Minguk spotted an odd nuance in the message right away.
'Right now?'
《Yes. The one who corrupted France's human hero is Garai, as you know.》
Minguk nodded inwardly. As far as he knew, only that bastard could corrupt the Imperial Guard's veteran raid leader.
《To restore a corrupted hero with your power, you'd need to purge every trace of Garai's mana from her body.》
'And?' Explain it so I can understand.
《Simply put: defeat Garai to revert the human hero.》
Just as Ppuu said—impossible for now. His current specs couldn't handle Garai. The situation was as bad as it got.
The monster at the forward base where the Imperial Guard had tried was estimated at rank 8 to 9.
Its overall specs, attack power included, leaned toward rank 8, but its tricky patterns and scheming made the Hero Association lean toward ranking Garai as 9.
'The problem isn't rank 8 or 9. No raid party in Vietnam can face Garai.'
France's mightiest, the Imperial Guard, had failed and lost their raid leader.
Asking others for help? All parties capable of tackling an 【S】-rank dungeon were tied up in China.
'Time to bail for real?'
Garai's emergence left Hoabin's raids with scant time too. Per the Imperial Guard, the temporary dungeon's timer had less than ten days left.
Fail to down Garai in that window, and another dungeon break would unleash catastrophe.
"Raid Leader Han Minguk, we request your attendance at the emergency meeting."
"Yeah, be right there."
An immediate raid leader summit convened to discuss handling the monster the Imperial Guard faced.
Minguk joined as GGW raid party's leader—the sole man among them.
"We must assemble a united raid from each party's aces to take down the monster!"
"I oppose. Will pooling aces change anything? A hastily formed raid risks poor synergy."
"We can't just leave that temporary dungeon alone!"
"Request aid from China's White House. We can't handle it ourselves."
Opinions flew as the meeting kicked off.
Those advocating a fight were the moderates. Plenty called to abandon Vietnam and retreat before another break.
"Haa. I'd love to, but..."
Chloe Castel, ace of the Imperial Guard—Hoabin's strongest party and the meeting's de facto head—scratched her head and spoke up.
"Retreat's off the table, for now."
"Why?"
"You want us to stop a monster that crushed the Imperial Guard? With our lives?"
"Easy, no one's excited. Look, if another break happens, Vietnam's done for—irrecoverably. And the fallout hits China too."
Silence blanketed the room at Chloe's words.
"China's friends get screwed then. And if China falls..."
Humanity's future would drown in darkness.
Korea, Russia, India, Thailand would suffer most. Japan wasn't safe either. It'd spark all-out war with the darkness monsters, and without China, humanity's end was doom.
"I asked White House, Tencent, and Red Tank for help. All said no."
"Why...?!"
The raid leaders paled at Chloe's bombshell.
'Whoa... this is bad.'
Minguk was no exception.
He'd figured only 9-star heroes could turn this around. No help from anyone?
If GGW had time to grow, maybe. But Garai's dungeon blew in ten days. No path to victory there.
Tsssk.
Frustrated, Chloe lit a cigarette.
Others followed, turning the meeting room into a raccoon den smoky haze.
"Raid Leader Han Minguk doesn't smoke?"
A woman asked cautiously, perhaps self-conscious around the man. She led an American clan, of Native descent—her smooth brown skin striking.
"Oh, used to, but quit."
"...Wow."
She gaped in admiration. Others mirrored her shock. Quitting cigarettes that big a deal?
Anyway, the gloom made Minguk crave one too.
France's Imperial Guard, sans raid leader, couldn't field full strength. No other party matched a presumed rank 9 monster.
They seemed deflated just knowing the Guard fell. Even prior hawks now clammed up.
"Anyway, we have to raid that temporary dungeon. And starting tomorrow, we're heading back in against that monster."
Chloe declared.
Raid leader lost, but she knew the Imperial Guard was Hoabin's only shot against the forward base horror.
"This isn't just me—whole Guard agrees. Fail, and tens of millions die at least."
And Chloe wasn't done.
"So, we need a brain to help us."
"A brain?"
"What do you mean?"
All heads tilted at her curveball.
But the heroes quickly got it. She meant a raid leader to join their tries.
"Hmm."
"If we're capable, sure, but..."
Even Celes couldn't handle it. Volunteers? None—save one.
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