Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 301
Chapter Title: God's Atlantis
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Zone 601, the Red Mist Castle, was located relatively close to Zone 2, the City of Today.
The size of the zone was somewhere between a village and a city. The zone's territory consisted of a small forest near the village at the base of the castle.
Even though it was close to the Starting City, there were three reasons why the Red Mist Castle had yet to be conquered.
The first was the entry condition. To enter Zone 601, certain conditions had to be met, but no one knew what they were.
The active legions judged that conquering other nearby zones would be more profitable than investigating and attacking Zone 601's entry conditions.
The second was the high difficulty. A mid-sized legion with some renown had coincidentally met Zone 601's entry conditions and attempted to conquer it but failed. They were completely wiped out, so no information about the entry conditions leaked out.
As a result, rumors spread that once you entered Zone 601, you couldn't come back out, and even confident legions avoided it due to the total lack of information.
The third was that nowadays, there wasn't much merit. Back in the early days of Atlantis, the City of Today had been a key base, but now with over 2,000 zones secured, it was just a starting point. Famous legions had established bases far away and were operating from there.
'If they knew what could be gained from conquering this place, they'd be rushing to do it...'
However, the legions had decided to leave it alone. They probably planned to conquer it later once they grew stronger, but now it was largely forgotten.
"Eek, this gives me the chills..."
Lee Min-jeong muttered while clutching Kang Myung-jin's clothes. She was wearing leather armor and equipped with four or more short swords.
Lee Min-jeong had an introverted and timid personality. But sometimes, she had a creepy side. And her chest was flat, an A-cup.
"Everyone, move as we discussed."
Kang Myung-jin said, gripping his bangcheon hwageuk tightly.
Our gazes turned to the front, where Kang Myung-jin was looking.
Ahead lay the castle and the village. A large, quiet village sprawled beneath a massive castle. Red mist shrouded the castle, making it hard to discern its detailed structure from afar.
"Don't worry. We've rehearsed the plan several times."
All the legion members except me nodded.
Kang Myung-jin stepped forward. But his foot didn't advance. An invisible wall blocked his path.
Kang Myung-jin pulled out a pouch. From the fist-sized pouch, he took out green caterpillars. Six of them wriggled on his palm.
He counted them with his eyes, then dropped them to the ground. Without a hint of hesitation, he crushed them underfoot.
Six lives.
That was the condition for entering Zone 601, Blood Mist Castle.
Of course, they didn't have to be caterpillars. Any six lives near this zone—human or beast—would do. As long as you extinguished six lives within a set time, the condition was met.
"This is a dangerous place. Absolutely no reckless actions."
Kang Myung-jin warned us once more before stepping inside.
???
"Welcome! We sincerely welcome you to Low Moon Village!"
Not long after entering the village, people gathered around. There were nearly 200 of them, all emaciated with hollow eyes. They looked unwell at first glance.
'Similar to Zone 406, Mountain of Fallen Grace. This zone doesn't open until it's conquered, so the villagers are hoping we'll do it for them.'
This was the typical reaction of residents in unconquered zones. Of course, there were exceptions.
"We've come to conquer this zone. If possible, we'd appreciate any information about it."
Kang Myung-jin said politely. We stayed behind him, vigilant of our surroundings.
A woman stepped forward from the crowd. Like the others, she had pale skin and was skin and bones.
'Pretty face... but skinny as a twig.'
Too skinny. Not even my dick would get hard for her. A shame—if she'd had a bit more meat on her, my little buddy would've loved it. I smacked my lips in regret.
"We've been waiting for our saviors for so long. We'll spare no cooperation. So please... save us."
The people dropped to their knees and bowed. Sudden as it was, none of us panicked. Kang Myung-jin had warned us not to, no matter what, and to stay alert.
"Please stand. We don't need that—we'll do our best to conquer regardless. Rise."
Kang Myung-jin said, and they began to stand one by one.
Afterward, we followed the woman to the largest house in the village.
???
The owner of the village's largest house, a pale-skinned woman with light brown hair named Jenny, treated us extravagantly.
Steaks enough for at least twenty people, lavish dishes, an attitude that didn't offend, fine wine so fragrant it could make you drunk just from the smell.
We ate warily. After the meal, we got information about the zone from Jenny.
In the middle of the conversation, Jenny glanced out the window and froze.
"Ah... It's already this late..."
The sun was beginning to set.
"A-Plan Legion, I recommend staying here tonight and starting the conquest tomorrow during the day. Those in the Red Mist Castle are all vampires... They grow stronger at night without sunlight."
"We'll impose on you tonight."
"Impose? You're the ones who'll save us and become this zone's rulers... It's only natural for us to serve you."
We had dinner, then gathered in one room. Kang Myung-jin and Yoo In-ha sat in chairs, Joo Seo-hyun and Lee Min-jeong on the left bed, me and Yoo Seo-hee on the right bed, all looking at Kang Myung-jin in the center.
"What do you think of the information she gave us?"
Kang Myung-jin asked, armed with knowledge of the original story. I knew his goal was to let us organize the info and plan, gaining experience.
Later, he wouldn't be able to handle everything alone. This was to train the legion members for that time.
Kang Myung-jin looked at Lee Min-jeong. She stammered but gave her opinion.
"Um... Th-then... since they're vampires, we go during the day when the sun's out and stake them... right?"
"Lee Min-jeong. As I said before, don't blindly trust modern knowledge. The vampires here aren't likely the same as those in modern lore."
"...Sorry, Myung-jin oppa."
"I'm not blaming you. Just don't forget this world differs from the modern one."
Next, his gaze turned to Joo Seo-hyun.
"......She said the vampires don't come out of the castle. So we pick them off one by one slowly and run if needed."
"Hit and run. Good tactic. But we know nothing of the castle's layout. She said they don't come out, not that they can't."
"......"
Joo Seo-hyun shut her mouth. Kang Myung-jin asked Yoo In-ha beside him.
"Yoo In-ha. You?"
Yoo In-ha had witnessed me ravaging and training Yoo Seo-hee from start to finish. It made him hate and avoid women, even mildly despise them.
"......We can't trust that woman. Her kindness is excessive and suspicious. She served us lots of food and meat at dinner. But the villagers are all emaciated. They have plenty of food, yet the people are starving... It's too suspicious. Everything she says might be lies."
"Yoo In-ha, you're right. Part of her info is false. Above all, we can't trust her because... she's not human."
"......!"
No one doubted Kang Myung-jin's words.
He'd recently revealed to us that he had a skill revealing information. His demeanor and actions left no choice but to believe.
Kang Myung-jin shared Jenny's false info, then asked Yoo Seo-hee.
"Yoo Seo-hee. What do you think?"
"Uh... With Myung-jin and Yu-jin here, it'll work out somehow, right?"
"......Yeah."
Kang Myung-jin just nodded. The others reacted similarly. No real expectations from Yoo Seo-hee.
She had little interest in combat or conquests. Her abilities were the lowest among us. But her Silence and Seduction skills helped in battle.
I subtly stroked Yoo Seo-hee's ass. Out of Kang Myung-jin's sight. Lee Min-jeong was focused on him, and Joo Seo-hyun and I were already that way, so getting caught was fine.
"Sung Yu-jin. Your thoughts?"
"The red mist around the castle. Doesn't look ordinary. Bothers me. Could be poison... or maybe a curse. She glossed right over it."
I spoke without hesitation. Not my own thoughts—I was voicing what Kang Myung-jin knew from the original story.
"...And if she's not human as you say... high chance she's a vampire. I looked closely earlier; she seemed human. But you could be right. So my guess is the villagers here... are human by day, vampires by night."
"As expected... Sung Yu-jin. Matches what I know perfectly."
Admiration gleamed in Kang Myung-jin's eyes.
"As Sung Yu-jin said, the villagers turn into vampires at night. They'll become our enemies."
Joo Seo-hyun frowned.
"Why didn't you say that sooner? If they're vampires, better to kill them while weak during the day."
"They're human during the day. They begged us to save them—that much is true. The curse turning them at night comes from the castle's lord. Kill the lord and conquer the zone, and they'll return to normal humans. So I'll say it now: try not to kill the villagers."
"Got it."
Joo Seo-hyun answered first, followed by the others.
'Kang Myung-jin isn't sparing them out of pity. He doesn't abandon allies but discards outsiders easily.'
Conquering and gaining control turns the residents into assets.
'More residents mean more taxes. In a pinch, conscript them as soldiers.'
Kang Myung-jin began explaining the detailed plan. It was the same one from before coming here, but parts hadn't made sense without context. Now, it all clicked.
"Wait. Then wouldn't it be easier to hold out here till tomorrow and attack during the day? They're weaker then."
Joo Seo-hyun's point was valid. But Kang Myung-jin shook his head.
"Even fighting during the day inside the sunless castle is no different from night. Plus, conquering at night gives extra rewards."
Before he could explain the rewards, the sun fully set.
Villagers began gathering around the house.
Yoo In-ha looked out the window and paled.
Far more than expected. Probably zombie movies playing in his head right now.
"Master, too many."
"Within expectations. Follow the plan."