Demon God's Armor (2)
After binding the 15 surviving Judas guild members with restraints and posting sentries around the perimeter, the Salvatore Guild members gathered inside the barracks.
The barracks held the entire Salvatore Guild roster, along with Yoo Tae-sik, Kim Chan-hyeong, and Park Eun-young, all wearing grim, hardened expressions.
"The Northern Borderline has fallen... Why now, of all times..."
Kim Chan-hyeong let out a deep sigh, his face etched with disbelief. Beyond his personal debt to Tiriya, he harbored a deep grudge against the Elnot Kingdom itself. The sudden disruption to their plans felt unbearably frustrating from his perspective.
"We've investigated from every angle, and it seems the report about the Northern Borderline collapsing is accurate. A horde led by an S-rank boss monster is marching straight for this place—Leopold."
"Hasn't Leviathan Guild returned from the dungeon yet?"
Yoo Tae-sik, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.
"No, not yet."
"Heh."
A heavy silence descended over the barracks.
Yeong-sik turned to Han-seong and asked, "What kind of monster is this S-rank boss?"
"It's called a Dragonian."
"A Dragonian... Even a single Dragonian is a monster on par with orcs, and if one's the boss..."
Park Cheol-tae, hearing Han-seong's words, stiffened his expression. Dragonians were elite-level monsters, one and all. The idea of such powerful foes—ones that required groups of level 90+ summoners to take down—appearing as bosses was dizzying.
"And there are at least 30 of them."
"Thirty?!"
Gasps escaped the guild members' lips at Han-seong's follow-up. It made perfect sense now why the Northern Borderline—fortified by multiple major guilds—had been breached so suddenly.
"What are the other guilds doing?"
"They're forming a coalition to confront the monster horde. The kingdom is preparing a subjugation force as well."
"Hmm?"
Silence fell again at his words.
Yeong-sik, who had been listening intently, spoke up slowly. "In that case, doesn't that make now the perfect opportunity to strike the royal castle?"
"...Ah."
Exclamations rippled through the guild members.
The kingdom was indeed in chaos, scrambling to defend the capital against the advancing horde. If they planned to assault the castle anyway, there wouldn't be a better chance than this.
"But..."
Tiriya hesitated at Yeong-sik's suggestion, her face clouded with doubt.
Attacking the castle now was like sparking a civil war in the midst of an invasion—like inviting foreign troops while fighting an internal revolt. One misstep, and it wouldn't end with just rescuing the hostages. The entire Elnot Kingdom could collapse, dragging the eastern region into a maelstrom of war. The mere thought of how many lives that would claim was harrowing.
"...I agree with Mr. Yeong-sik. But it's a dangerous gamble that could lead to mutual destruction."
Han-seong spoke calmly.
Yeong-sik nodded with a neutral expression. "Still, it's the best opportunity we have."
He turned to Tiriya. "This might be our only chance to save the family members held captive by the kingdom."
Tiriya pressed her lips together tightly. Deep hesitation flickered across her face. Thinking of her parents, who had raised her, and her precious little brother made her chest ache.
But...
The terror of dooming the entire kingdom to save her family weighed heavily on her shoulders. She wasn't the type who could shrug off thousands—tens of thousands—of deaths for her own goals.
"How about this, then?"
Yeong-sik addressed Tiriya, who was wavering. All eyes in the barracks turned to him once more.
"We raid the castle, rescue the hostages and reclaim our treasure. Then we join the Dragonian subjugation force."
"You mean..."
"Yes. Our actions could indeed put the kingdom at risk. So, in exchange, we join the Dragonian subjugation and take responsibility."
Tiriya's eyes lit up at his words. If it worked out as he described, they could save her family and protect the kingdom's people.
In truth, we don't even need to go that far...
Yeong-sik thought coldly to himself, his eyes glinting.
Honestly, he believed it would be better to strike amid the chaos, grab what they needed, and vanish cleanly, kingdom be damned. The root cause of Salvatore Guild's castle raid plan lay with Elnot Kingdom. If they hadn't kidnapped Tiriya's family and used them as leverage, there'd be no reason for this assault in the first place. Whatever fallout occurred was the kingdom's to bear.
Yet Yeong-sik made this proposal because he wanted to join the subjugation force. And there was only one thing he was after.
An S-rank Memory Cube.
To him, it was a treasure that massively boosted his all-important Structure Analysis skill proficiency, while granting stats, skills, and even breaking level caps. Useless junk to others, but invaluable to him.
Frankly, that makes it even better.
Because it held no value to anyone, acquiring it wouldn't be difficult. If it were an S-rank rare like Grace of the Archangel, even participating in the subjugation might not guarantee it. But a Black Cube? Worthless to summoners.
As long as they joined the subjugation, snagging one should be straightforward.
That's why I have to participate.
Skip it, and the odds of obtaining a Black Cube plummeted. That was why he'd pitched this to Tiriya.
"That does sound like a solid plan."
Tiriya nodded after a long deliberation. It was a way to rescue her family and slay the monstrous horde threatening the kingdom.
"As I said before, the choice is yours, Ms. Tiriya. I'll follow your lead."
Yeong-sik said with a faint smile. Tiriya's cheeks flushed slightly.
"A-hem. Thank you."
For some reason, this man she'd only recently met felt utterly reliable. He had an inexplicable aura that made her believe things would work out if she just followed his words.
What if...?
She gazed at Yeong-sik, wondering what might have been if he'd been Salvatore's guild master.
That tragedy probably never would have happened.
Tiriya gave a wry smile at the thought. Past events had brutally taught her how deficient she was as a leader.
But.
She clenched her fist. She had a goal: fulfilling the promise with her irreplaceable friend, now gone. That drive kept her as Salvatore's leader.
"Understood. Then, as Mr. Yeong-sik suggests, we'll strike the castle amid the chaos."
Tension rippled across the guild members' faces. Chaotic or not, infiltrating a kingdom's royal castle was no small feat.
"...Very well. Allow me to brief the primary objectives of this operation."
Han-seong, taking Tiriya's cue, launched into the raid plan without further objection.
"Before that."
Yeong-sik interrupted, turning to Tiriya. "What do you plan to do with the captured Judas guild members?"
Tiriya, who had pushed the decision aside amid the sudden news, clamped her mouth shut. She squeezed her eyes closed. Yeong-sik's ultimatum echoed in her mind—if she didn't choose, he'd leave the guild.
I have to decide.
Biting her lip, she slowly raised her head.
"...I can't forgive those who turned their blades on fellow guild members. Even if my own failings drove them to it."
She knew her incompetence had provided the spark for Jeong Yong-chan's betrayal. But that didn't justify forgiving treason just because the provocation was "understandable." Selfish as it was for the one who'd lit the fuse, she couldn't let it slide.
"...Understood."
Yeong-sik nodded with a faint smile.
"Then let's resume the operation briefing."
Han-seong spoke gravely. "The top priority is rescuing the guild master's family. Second is recovering the Grace of the Archangel from the royal treasury."
He passed out sheets of paper as he continued calmly. "This is a cross-section map of the castle. The underground prison holding the Erman Duke's family and the palace treasury are marked."
"Whoa... Where did you get something like this?"
Yoo Tae-sik stared in admiration at the castle diagram—a document of the highest secrecy.
"We planned the palace raid back when Salvatore still wielded massive influence."
When Tiriya's family was first taken hostage, her loyal faction had plotted a castle assault to free them. The plan had reached near-final stages before Jeong Yong-chan and the traitors' coup turned it to dust.
"The palace treasury... You can't just waltz in there, right?"
Yeong-sik frowned at Han-seong.
"Correct. The entrance is sealed by powerful magical barriers."
"Then how?"
At Yeong-sik's question, Han-seong glanced at Yu-jin. "But we have a space mage who can bypass space itself."
"...Hmph."
Yu-jin snorted and looked away at Han-seong's words.
"Even so, it's the royal treasury. Surely they have wards against teleportation?"
Yeong-sik tilted his head, puzzled. On a continent teeming with magic users—summoners and natives alike—it defied logic not to account for spatial jumps.
Yu-jin answered. "Of course there's a spatial lockdown barrier. But my hidden class lets me ignore a certain degree of it for teleportation. I've seen the treasury once before. If it hasn't changed, I can breach it."
"Ho?"
Yeong-sik looked impressed.
"So we're using your magic to infiltrate the castle too?"
He realized he hadn't heard how they'd breach the castle itself.
Han-seong gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Even Yu-jin can't warp a group this size at once."
"Then?"
"The castle has a secret passage to the Sirenchium Mountains for royal evacuations in emergencies. We'll use that."
"Ah."
Now Yeong-sik understood why Han-seong and the others had positioned atop the Sirenchium Mountains. This was the gateway to the castle.
"How on earth did you find a secret passage like that?"
"Haha... I've been planning this raid for a very long time. A very long time."
Bitter regret tinged Han-seong's expression. Yeong-sik didn't pry into the heavy emotions there.
"When do we move?"
Yeong-sik turned to Tiriya.
She pondered briefly before replying. "According to Han-seong, the castle will dispatch forces for the Dragonian subjugation. We'll strike then."
The guild members nodded.
Back in his own barracks after the meeting, Yeong-sik lay on the makeshift cot, lost in thought.
The palace treasury...
He recalled raiding Han Cheol-ho's warehouse. Even a mere guild master's stash had brimmed with valuables—and that was scaled to one guild. A whole kingdom's? The mind boggled.
No Black Cubes, though.
He sighed wistfully. More precious than any rare item to him, but surely not stored in the treasury.
Still, it'd be nice to snag something useful besides Grace of the Archangel.
With that, Yeong-sik closed his eyes.