Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: The Demon Tree's Guardian
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“Long time no see?”
Briani greeted Seo Woo-jin with a smile.
The place she was staying wasn’t far from the academy—an inn, surprisingly.
Of course, the prices there were outrageously expensive, beyond imagination.
“Long time no see.”
Seo Woo-jin bowed his head in greeting toward Briani.
“What’s with all the formality between us?”
She waved her hand as if to say cut it out and pointed to the sofa.
“Sit down first. We can’t talk while you’re standing. Meigers?”
Then she called for her knight.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Could you fetch some tea?”
Having her knight run tea errands.
Meigers’s eyebrow twitched, but he let out a sigh and turned around.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Something tasty, please.”
Once Meigers had left, Briani’s expression turned serious.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
She was asking about his ascension to the Transcendent Realm.
Seo Woo-jin sighed inwardly.
Ban Slanein, Martes, and now this—the third time already.
The thought of having to give the same explanation to everyone he met was already wearing him out.
Seo Woo-jin repeated the same story once more, and Briani nodded in understanding.
“You’re so lucky, aren’t you? Or is it bad luck?”
She tilted her head, looking quite innocent.
“Anyway, congrats. Now you can really cut loose.”
It was hard to believe those words came from one of the Guardians, but Seo Woo-jin just accepted it without a second thought.
That’s just who she was.
“But why are you staying in a place like this? I figured you’d be at the imperial palace.”
Briani was imperial royalty.
Pure-blooded, with fewer than ten such individuals in the entire empire.
And as a powerhouse who had reached the Transcendent Realm, the imperial family surely wanted her at the palace.
“It’s stuffy there.”
The reason was simple.
“All the etiquette and protocols. How am I supposed to follow every single one? Better to stay out here than in that suffocating place.”
It made sense, given her usual personality.
“So, what brings you here? You didn’t come without a reason.”
Briani asked with a curious look.
Seo Woo-jin hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I was hoping to ask if you knew the locations of the other Apostles.”
“…Why?”
Briani narrowed her eyes slightly.
Information on the Apostles was top-secret, even within the empire.
She couldn’t just share it because he showed up out of the blue and asked.
On top of that, with the strange rumors she’d heard about Seo Woo-jin, she couldn’t help feeling a bit wary.
But Seo Woo-jin answered casually, as if it were no big deal.
“I want to level up a bit.”
“What?”
“Hunting regular monsters or demonic beasts won’t cut it anymore. To really gain levels, I need something on the level of an Apostle.”
In other words, he planned to hunt Apostles for levels.
Briani couldn’t help letting out a hollow laugh.
“Aren’t you getting a bit arrogant? Even if you’ve reached the Transcendent Realm, Apostles aren’t pushovers.”
It wasn’t like the empire was too stupid to deal with them.
They were genuinely strong, and their numbers overwhelmed the Guardians.
Sure, three Apostles had been killed, but ten more remained.
Who knew how many other monsters were still hiding out there.
“Of course, I know that. I’ve fought them plenty of times.”
Gerald, Reina, Luonbali, and the Lion.
Seo Woo-jin knew better than anyone just how strong Apostles were.
That’s why he was confident.
Confident he could handle them.
“Hmm…….”
Briani eyed Seo Woo-jin’s expression with a strange glint in her eyes.
“You seemed like such a kid not long ago. When did you grow up so much?”
Seo Woo-jin’s face flushed bright red.
Being called a kid in his late twenties.
Briani burst into laughter at the sight.
“Just kidding, kidding. Is that how all heroes are?”
“I’m a bit ahead of the curve. I’ve been through a lot lately.”
“Come to think of it, you’ve had quite the adventures. Does the level still go up even if you don’t kill them yourself?”
“As long as you contribute to killing the enemy, yes.”
The only Apostle Seo Woo-jin had killed personally was Luonbali.
Gerald and Reina had been finished off by others.
Even so, Seo Woo-jin had gained massive levels.
“Hmm, so that’s how busing works?”
These days they threw monsters at them for real combat experience, but at first, they provided ones barely clinging to life.
“Alright. So you need enemies strong enough for leveling up?”
Seo Woo-jin nodded.
“Then it doesn’t have to be Apostles specifically?”
“Well, that’s true, but…….”
Were there any other foes that gave as much experience as Apostles?
“There’s just the perfect one. Interested?”
Seo Woo-jin’s eyes lit up at Briani’s words.
She might joke around a lot, but she wasn’t one to speak nonsense, so there really was such a target.
“Who is it?”
When Seo Woo-jin asked, Briani’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Remember that Dark Elf from before?”
Dark Elf……
He’d encountered a few, but only one came to mind that Briani would bring up like this.
“That kid we saw at the Grand Duke’s Castle?”
The young Dark Elf, bound head to toe and locked in an iron cage, being transported to the Sky Tower.
Things had gone sideways mid-mission, so he hadn’t completed it, and he’d been too busy to care—completely forgotten until now.
“You said there was something odd about that kid, right?”
“Exactly.”
Briani nodded and continued.
“During the interrogation, I heard an interesting story.”
Curiosity sparked in Seo Woo-jin’s eyes.
“What was it?”
“The Demon Tree Tribue. A tree with properties completely opposite to the elves’ World Tree.”
He vaguely knew the World Tree held immense power sustaining the world.
That’s why the elves revered it like a mother.
The complete opposite of that.
“Like a tree infused with demonic energy?”
“Something like that. But that’s not the important part right now.”
Briani pulled something from her bosom.
A map marked with an X.
“We’ve pinpointed Tribue’s location. That young Dark Elf was a shrine maiden tending its branches.”
“…And?”
“I’ve been tasked with destroying it.”
Briani added that the Demon Tree Tribue was being cared for by a Dark Elf tribe in the heart of Demon Realm Heldein.
“And there’s a powerful guardian right beside it.”
Briani looked at Seo Woo-jin as if to say, what do you think?
“How strong is it?”
“No idea exactly—I’ve never faced it myself. But from what the kid said, it’s no slouch compared to an Apostle.”
Seo Woo-jin nodded without hesitation.
What he wanted right now was an enemy that could provide enough experience for levels.
An Apostle would be ideal, but this would do just fine.
And with Briani coming along, it was perfect.
“When do we leave?”
Seo Woo-jin smiled and asked, and Briani replied.
“Tonight.”
Wooong—
With the odd sensation of passing through a mana barrier, Seo Woo-jin stepped through the gate.
The scenery around him changed in an instant.
A dank, unpleasant forest filled with foreboding.
Demon Realm Heldein.
“Haven’t been here in a while.”
Briani, who had followed through the gate behind him, looked around and said.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Of course. Before becoming Grand Duke, I practically lived here.”
For subjugation and training.
“Then you must know the terrain well.”
When Seo Woo-jin asked, Briani thumped her chest confidently.
“Trust me. I’ll guide you perfectly.”
Heh—
She might be full of mischief, but she was reliable.
After all, she was one of the empire’s five Guardians.
“This way.”
Briani scanned the surroundings briefly before pointing in one direction.
“The path to Heldein’s center.”
She set off with confident strides.
Seo Woo-jin followed, then suddenly grew curious and asked.
“But why does the empire leave this place alone?”
Countless monsters and demonic beasts.
Even Dark Elves.
It was called the Demon Realm for its dangers, but it didn’t seem beyond the empire’s capabilities.
With at least five in the Transcendent Realm.
If just two or three led the knights?
They could sweep this foul forest with ease.
“The sacrifices would be too great.”
Briani answered calmly.
“You’re right—the empire could subjugate Heldein without much trouble. But the cost in lives would be enormous.”
At least hundreds, if not more.
“What if all the Guardians stepped in?”
“Then we could minimize casualties. But…….”
Briani gave a bitter smile at Seo Woo-jin’s words and continued.
“That would leave the empire defenseless.”
Seo Woo-jin understood immediately.
The Demon King’s followers were still eyeing the empire’s heart.
If all its defenders left at once?
The Apostles wouldn’t miss that chance.
“Well, there are other reasons too. But that’s not what matters.”
She deftly changed the subject, hinting at reasons Seo Woo-jin didn’t know.
Since she didn’t seem eager to share, he didn’t press.
Instead, he asked something else.
“What kind of guy is the guardian protecting the Demon Tree?”
“From what the Sky Tower said, it’s probably a kin of the Demon King without a name.”
“…Kin?”
“Ever seen one?”
“A while back, here. I ran into one called Rosie Ruby.”
Briani frowned at Seo Woo-jin’s words.
“That filthy toad bastard. Countless knights died because of him…….”
She recalled old memories for a moment, shook her head, and continued.
“Anyway, like Rosie Ruby. But the difference in caliber is vaster than heaven and earth. There’s one in the north too, right?”
Her words jogged a memory in Seo Woo-jin.
“…Kratoss.”
During his first subjugation.
The one Ailin had mentioned.
Kin of the Sixth Demon King, the strongest demonic beast on land.
A monster even Ban Slanein in the Transcendent Realm wouldn’t bother subjugating.
“There’s one like that here too?”
“So they say. Don’t know which Demon King’s kin or its name.”
It wouldn’t be weak, that’s for sure.
“So stay sharp. I like your confidence, but I don’t want you dying pointlessly.”
Briani gazed at Seo Woo-jin with heavy, somber eyes as she spoke.