Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 261
Chapter Title: A Prudent Decision
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‘Good call.’
Seo Woojin noticed that his comrades and the Blue Shield Knights had come to a halt and gave a small nod.
“Good judgment.”
Van Slaine voiced the same sentiment as Seo Woojin.
“Yeah. As expected from Massive Guardian’s knights—they’re so experienced, they don’t act rashly.”
To be precise, it had been Kyesooji’s call, but Seo Woojin, unaware of that, assumed it was the Blue Shield Knights’ decision.
“Ha ha—if they’d charged ahead without thinking, I was planning to toy with them more, but this is fortunate.”
As Van Slaine chuckled, Seo Woojin gave an awkward smile.
‘This guy’s determined to mess with them no matter what.’
Seo Woojin knew better than anyone how the monster before him toyed with people.
But...
‘Whatever, not my problem.’
The thought of that smug Testron getting thoroughly thrashed made him want to laugh.
“Let’s hurry. They’re probably on high alert, not knowing who might show up.”
Maintaining combat readiness in this cold while anxiously waiting indefinitely was tough.
The heroes might be less affected by the weather, but the knights were different.
No matter how superior their bodies, the northern chill was far too harsh for any living being to endure.
“Indeed.”
The two picked up speed.
The snow that had settled lightly was unable to withstand the wind pressure and exploded outward.
Whoooosh—!
How long had they run like that?
Up ahead, the figures of those fully prepared came into view.
‘They must’ve rushed here without proper rest.’
His comrades looked exactly as they had when Seo Woojin left—grimy, as if they hadn’t washed properly.
‘Pitiful and heartbreaking.’
Thinking of his comrades who had dashed here in haste to help him filled him with gratitude.
‘Still, I need to tell them not to do this again next time.’
It had been far too dangerous.
What if Cratos had been an enemy even he couldn’t handle?
What if the one who took them out came gunning for the heroes next?
Not only the knights, but his comrades wouldn’t have survived either.
‘I appreciate their worry, but I still need to give them a stern talking-to.’
That way, they wouldn’t end up in danger in a similar situation.
“Uncle!”
They’d spotted him too.
Lee Ji-ah’s voice rang out, brimming with joy.
“That girl never changes.”
Van Slaine had seen Lee Ji-ah a few times at the academy and Massive Guardian.
He’d quite liked her bright personality back then.
Thanks to that, Van Slaine’s face lit up with a delighted smile.
“That’s her charm.”
Even if she could be excessively chatty at times.
The two reached them before the conversation could even finish.
“Uncle! Are you okay? Who the heck did you fight? Cratos! It was Cratos, right? That monster!”
As expected, Lee Ji-ah unleashed a barrage of questions.
Her naturally strong curiosity, combined with relief at seeing Seo Woojin safe, made her words pour out like machine-gun fire.
“You won, right? We were so worried! Not just me—Dahye was too. Right? That muscle knight uncle and Donghwan uncle were worried, and also...”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks for worrying.”
If left alone, who knew how long she’d go on, so Seo Woojin cut in at an opportune moment.
Then, smiling at his comrades,
“As you can see, I’m fine. It’s not exactly a win, but I made it back in one piece.”
At his words, they all shrugged.
“Knew it.”
“See? Told you he’d be done fighting and on his way back by the time we got here.”
Kang Byung-gyu and Goo Dong-hwan grumbled at Seo Woojin.
But they’d been worried too, furtively checking his condition.
“The enemy was Cratos?”
Kyesooji asked.
“Yeah. Though there were others too.”
“Others?”
“The lion guy who showed up at the academy before, and...”
Seo Woojin hesitated briefly before continuing.
“Baek Siwoo.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“No way, why’s that name popping up here?”
The utterly unexpected name left them baffled.
“I don’t know the details either.”
But Seo Woojin didn’t elaborate.
It wasn’t the right place or time for a long talk.
He figured it could wait until they got back to Massive Guardian.
“Still, glad you made it back safe.”
“Agreed.”
While the mood there was warm, things were a bit more serious nearby.
“...Please forgive our sin of deciding to sortie without orders.”
Testron and James bowed their heads, pleading guilty.
“Looks like you know you were wrong.”
At Van Slaine’s words, their heads drooped further.
“That was too rash.”
“We’re sorry.”
Did they not know such actions were unacceptable?
But they couldn’t just sit idle.
Their liege was Massive Guardian’s supreme commander and Sion’s greatest shield.
If anything happened to Van Slaine, this barren kingdom would collapse.
The knights could never allow that.
“Please forgive us.”
Eileen too sought Van Slaine’s pardon.
“Sigh—”
He let out a sigh and shook his head.
“I understand your feelings well. And I’m grateful for them.”
It wasn’t empty words like he’d said to Seo Woojin.
Van Slaine was genuinely pleased inside.
“However, we can’t just let it slide.”
“We accept any punishment.”
Eileen nodded as if it were only natural.
“Upon return, the entire knight order will undergo sparring training with me. For one week.”
Everyone paled at his words.
“M-my liege.”
Even Testron stammered as he addressed Van Slaine.
“Please, just punish us instead...”
“You acted out of care for me—how could I impose formal discipline? Sparring training will suffice.”
Seeing Van Slaine speak with a hearty laugh, the knights resigned themselves.
“Looking forward to it.”
Massive Guardian’s alert level was heightened further.
They feared Cratos, who bore a grudge against Van Slaine, might attack.
“So we should probably take turns standing watch too.”
Seo Woojin said to his comrades.
“Was Cratos that strong?”
Lee Ji-ah asked curiously.
“Hmm, pretty strong.”
At least, strong enough that his current comrades couldn’t stand a chance even in death.
“That serious, huh? Better stand watch like you said. Can’t afford to get careless.”
Kang Byung-gyu nodded, and the other comrades agreed.
“Alright. We’ll stay here until we judge it safe for a while, so let’s set the rotation first.”
Fortunately, most of the guys had military experience, so scheduling didn’t take long.
In under ten minutes, they’d sorted it out. Then Seo Woojin opened his mouth with a serious expression toward his comrades.
“There’s something I didn’t mention earlier.”
Seo Woojin told them about Baek Siwoo.
“...A Demon King?”
Kyesooji’s expression turned grave upon hearing it.
“It’s not confirmed yet. But from what Cratos said, it seems there’s a good chance he’ll become a Demon King or something equivalent.”
“So there’ll be two Demon Kings?”
Goo Dong-hwan let out a hollow laugh as he asked.
‘To be exact, three including me.’
Seo Woojin thought to himself but nodded.
“Isn’t that a huge problem? We can’t even beat Demon King minions, and now another one?”
If Baek Siwoo truly became a Demon King, it would be a catastrophe like no other.
“Big problem.”
“Then what do we...”
“There’s only one way, right?”
Seo Woojin replied matter-of-factly.
“Level up fast. Get strong enough to take on two—or three—Demon Kings, no matter what.”
In the end, the best option was to max out their levels as much as possible.
Goo Dong-hwan groaned at Seo Woojin’s words.
“So obvious, I’ve got nothing to say.”
“How strong exactly?”
This time, Kyesooji asked.
“Hmm...”
Seo Woojin pondered for a moment.
Just what level would it take to not get pushed around in a fight with a Demon King.
‘Around 130 maybe?’
A level even he hadn’t reached yet.
That would surpass Van Slaine for sure, if not the Sword Sage.
But against a Demon King? He couldn’t be certain.
‘No matter how I think about it, 130 doesn’t seem enough to handle me in ‘Demon King Transformation’.’
He couldn’t measure the exact level, but Seo Woojin as a ‘Demon King’ was probably around 150-160.
If Baek Siwoo reached that, 130 wouldn’t cut it.
“150 levels. That might do it...”
Seo Woojin said uncertainly, and Kyesooji looked incredulous.
“You think we can reach that?”
They’d only just hit the 90s.
The required EXP was skyrocketing as a result.
And they needed to gain another 60 levels?
“Previous summoned heroes might’ve managed, but us? Doubtful.”
The total support available was fixed, and there were 98 heroes to aid.
Support would naturally be spread thin.
“Let’s think it over. We’ve still got some time.”
Short as one year, long as two.
How much they could grow in that span was unknown.
But Seo Woojin didn’t despair.
‘I’ll handle one, and swarm Baek Siwoo.’
The idiom “overwhelmed by numbers” existed for a reason.
Even if levels were a bit short, what if there were ten, twenty of them?
Not even Baek Siwoo could hold out.
Of course, that’d require everyone at 130+.
“Whew, no time to celebrate a little rest, huh.”
Everyone sighed.
They’d been thrilled at staying in Massive Guardian for a few days, but no such leisure now.
“Don’t overthink it. Rest is important too. Besides, we’re not resting—we’re just avoiding danger for now.”
Just a few days.
Until they deemed Cratos no longer a threat.
“And we can grow plenty here too.”
“How, here?”
Lee Ji-ah tilted her head.
There wasn’t a monster shadow in Massive Guardian.
“Guess you forgot, but growth isn’t just about leveling. We did it plenty at the academy, right?”
“Oh, sparring training!”
Even though it wasn’t long ago, she’d completely forgotten.
“Yeah. And the knights are doing sparring training too—perfect timing. We can join them.”
Seo Woojin’s expression somehow looked full of mischief as he spoke.