Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: A Single Step Forward
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It was just one step forward.
Yet an entirely different world unfolded before them.
“…What the hell.”
The first words out of Goo Dong-hwan’s mouth after crossing the gate were a curse.
“Shit’s falling from the sky—shit’s falling. It’s like explosive diarrhea up there.”
Snow was falling.
Such a massive blizzard that visibility was completely obscured.
“It’s cold! What is this? Why is it so damn cold!”
This time it was Lee Ji-ah.
She had been delighted at first by the snow blanketing the world, but soon shrieked in terror as the biting cold engulfed her entire body.
“To think we’re feeling this chill. How do the people here even survive?”
Gyesooji looked equally stunned.
“Put on the coats we brought.”
At Seo Woojin’s words, everyone started pulling out their coats and slipping them on.
“Oh, it’s warm right away.”
“This has magic on it, right?”
“Amazing. If they sold these on Earth, you’d be a billionaire overnight.”
The coats, enchanted with temperature regulation magic, were items prepared by the emperor.
He knew exactly what the northern weather was like and had provided them in advance.
Seo Woojin also donned the one he had received previously.
‘Feels even colder than before?’
It had only been about a year since he left Massive Guardian.
Yet in that time, the northern temperatures had plummeted far lower than before.
‘Guess the Demon King’s descent really isn’t far off.’
Clicking his tongue, Seo Woojin turned to look back.
His comrades had all crossed the gate safely.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
Martes had crossed the gate as well.
“Do you have business in the North?”
This was undeveloped land beyond Massive Guardian.
Lacking precise coordinates, he had opened the gate here.
Seo Woojin cautiously asked, wondering if she might have business in the area.
“No, not at all. I simply wished to take this chance to see the place again after so long. Nothing more.”
As if to prove her words, she took in the surrounding scenery before turning away.
“I already know what you intend to do here.”
It would be stranger if she didn’t.
“However, you should be cautious.”
“…Of what?”
Seo Woojin narrowed his eyes as he asked.
Was there some danger here he didn’t know about?
“When the moons have fully tilted. The masked king will come.”
‘King?’
Seo Woojin’s unease amplified at Martes’s words.
“Could you elaborate?”
“…I cannot.”
She shook her head with a bitter smile.
“Be careful. Ever so careful.”
Martes issued one final warning before crossing back through the gate.
Whoosh—!
At the same moment, the stably maintained gate vanished.
“What was that serious talk about?”
Kang Byung-gyu approached and asked.
He hadn’t heard the conversation, but Seo Woojin’s expression alone made it clear it was no light matter.
“It’s nothing.”
But Seo Woojin didn’t answer.
No, he couldn’t.
He didn’t even know what Martes’s words meant himself.
‘I’ll just have to stay on guard.’
In this world, there were virtually no beings that could threaten Seo Woojin.
Unless time passed and the Demon King and his kin descended, he was nigh invincible.
Of course, there were outliers like the Sword Sage, but even she couldn’t handle him if he underwent Demon King Transformation.
‘Hope it’s just needless worry.’
Anyone else, and he’d have brushed it off.
But those words came from the Sword Sage herself.
He couldn’t take them lightly.
‘Better safe than sorry.’
Vowing never to let his guard down, Seo Woojin turned to his comrades.
“Then let’s get moving. Massive Guardian is close from here—we’ll arrive soon.”
The ten heroes, Seo Woojin included, began traversing the snowfield.
* * *
Ailin stood guard with a rigid expression.
‘The Aier army is marching north?’
The rumor had spread out of nowhere.
But it couldn’t be dismissed as mere gossip—the Sion royal family had obtained the same intelligence.
Thanks to that, Sion was on high alert.
Still, few worried that an army of 120,000 might draw swords against them.
Two kingdoms lay between Aier and Sion.
Even Aier lacked the capacity to take on the empire, two vassal states, and Sion all at once.
Doing so would leave their homeland in ruins.
So they remained vigilant but not overly concerned.
‘Hope nothing comes of it.’
Ailin pulled her collar tighter against the chill creeping up her neck.
That was when it happened.
“Multiple giants spotted ahead!”
The urgent cry came from one of the soldiers on watch.
‘Ahead?’
Ailin’s expression grew grave.
Beyond this point lay the demon realm, devoid of civilization.
Nothing lived there but monsters.
Thus, approaching giants meant monsters.
“Prepare for battle!”
Ailin first ordered the soldiers to ready themselves, then hurried to the forward wall.
Through the raging blizzard, she spotted a few black dots.
‘Ten of them?’
Counting them, Ailin gestured to the side.
“You called?”
“Ten in number. Type unknown. Contact nearby outposts and confirm if there are more giants.”
“Understood!”
The soldier saluted and vanished.
‘What could they be?’
Recently, the number of monsters approaching Massive Guardian had increased.
Whether fleeing the cold southward or going berserk as the Demon King’s descent neared.
But they shared one trait.
They never came in small numbers.
At least dozens, sometimes over a hundred, swarming in packs.
Ten approaching alone was unprecedented.
“Stragglers?”
“Must be, right?”
A soldier responded to Ailin’s mutter.
“But they’re approaching too boldly for that.”
They usually struck under cover of night.
Marching openly into view was suicidal.
‘They don’t care if they’re spotted?’
If so, it was dangerous.
The stronger the foe, the more likely.
“Steel yourselves. These aren’t ordinary ones.”
“Yes!”
The soldiers gripped their weapons tightly.
They too understood Ailin’s concern.
“Fifty meters!”
They were now close enough to make out.
The swirling snow made it difficult, but for Ailin—who had recently reached advanced knight level—it was easy.
“Nock arrows.”
At Ailin’s raised hand, soldiers raised their bows and took aim.
“Fire on my signal.”
The archers nodded, drawing their bowstrings as taut as possible.
“Fire… Hold! Cease attack!”
Just as Ailin thought they were in range and prepared to order the volley, she suddenly shouted to stop.
The soldiers hastily lowered their bows and secured their arrows.
They stared at her, wondering what was going on.
But Ailin had no time to meet their gazes.
“Open the gates! It’s the heroes!”
* * *
“Wow…….”
Lee Ji-ah couldn’t close her mouth at the majesty of Massive Guardian rising before them.
It resembled a cliff made of ice.
Originally built of stone, it had been transformed by accumulating snow and ice.
This gave Massive Guardian a mystical appearance unlike anything in the empire or other kingdoms.
“It really feels like a fantasy.”
“…Does it?”
His former self had had no time for such impressions.
At Massive Guardian, he’d been shunned by the soldiers and holed up in his room; afterward, he’d been too busy struggling to survive.
But now, seeing it anew, it truly felt alien compared to Earth.
“You lived in a place like this?”
“Not for long. I joined the subjugation soon after arriving.”
“That’s how you got so strong?”
Seo Woojin smiled at Gyesooji’s question.
“It helped.”
He would have grown strong anywhere.
He bore the ‘Immeasurable’ grade ‘Demon King’ aptitude, after all.
But Sion’s unique training methods and Ban Slane’s teachings had been a huge boon.
Without their emphasis on real combat experience, Seo Woojin might have fixated solely on levels.
He’d still have grown stronger, but not to his current extent.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Gyesooji and the others wore similar expressions.
Anticipation at possibly uncovering the secret to Seo Woojin’s strength.
“You’ll see once you experience it.”
‘The more you roll in the dirt, the stronger you get.’
Influenced by Ban Slane’s teachings, Seo Woojin had come to share that philosophy.
“They’ve spotted us.”
The walls of Massive Guardian grew commotion above.
“What do we do?”
The rising hostility suggested they mistook them for monsters.
“They’ll figure it out soon.”
The soldiers here were the elite of elites.
Despite the blizzard, they wouldn’t confuse humans for monsters.
A commander-level knight was on watch too—they wouldn’t attack rashly.
“Keep approaching slowly, and they’ll come out to greet us.”
As they drew nearer to the walls, the creeping killing intent suddenly vanished.
“See?”
Just as Seo Woojin smiled and spoke, a very familiar shout rang out from atop the walls.
“Cease attack! Open the gates! It’s the heroes!”
A voice he could never forget.
Seo Woojin’s eyes widened at the sound.
“Ailin?”
He knew she had gone to Sion with Ban Slane.
To train, feeling her own inadequacies keenly.
But he hadn’t expected to meet her here.
Sensing the mix of surprise and joy in her cold tone, Seo Woojin smiled.
‘How long has it been?’
Not that much time had passed, but her voice filled him with joy.
Rumble—!
The firmly shut gates of Massive Guardian opened.
The sight was spectacular.
Chunks of solidly frozen ice shattered and fell, like jewels breaking apart.
And through the gap rushed a group of people.
Leading them, naturally, was Ailin in her blue armor.
“Woojin!”
Gliding across the snow like she was flying, Seo Woojin spoke as he watched her approach.
“Long time no see, Ailin.”
A delighted smile adorned his lips.