Chapter 331: What’s This? Then I Won’t Do It.
Chapter 331: What’s This? Then I Won’t Do It.
The Western Continent was a region fundamentally different from the others. While the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Continents were steadily preparing to obtain the Zero Code for their own purposes, the Western Continent was a place where civil war never ceased, and all sorts of heinous acts like murder, robbery, and rape were an everyday occurrence.
In short, it was a continent that had reached rock bottom—so much so that it was known as the ‘lawless zone.’
That was why Baek Seoyeon’s phrase, “the Westernization of the Northern Continent,” carried such grave weight.
As expected, the moment Baek Seoyeon finished speaking, the meeting hall grew chaotic. A loud clamor erupted, and they glanced at each other's faces, looking utterly bewildered.
“Enough! You all heard her, so why the commotion?”
And in that moment, Lee Hyoeul's sharp cry burst out. From the moment I entered the hall, she had been showing a completely different side of herself than when I'd seen her before. Then again, she had served as the Guardian for seven years. Unless she'd gained that experience by playing games, it would have been disappointing if she couldn't command this much authority.
“There are still questions to be answered and much more to tell you. We haven't even reached the climax yet, so it's a problem if you're already this shocked.”
“Ha. If this isn't the climax, then what in the world is, Lee Hyoeul?”
Just then, one of the figures seated at the head table, who had been silent until now, spoke up. He looked to be in his mid-to-late forties. He was a handsome man with friendly eyes and strong features.
In response to his slightly overbearing tone, Lee Hyoeul raised an eyebrow and replied.
“You'll see if you wait, Goryeo Lord.”
Then she turned to Ko Yeonju, who was standing there blankly, and spoke again.
“Shadow Queen? Will you please continue?”
Ko Yeonju slowly nodded. Then she spoke to Baek Seoyeon once more.
“The Westernization of the Northern Continent. Could you elaborate on that?”
A new question was asked. In an instant, the hall fell silent again. Everyone present tensed up, their full attention fixed on Baek Seoyeon. Under the gaze of everyone, her lips calmly parted.
“Yes. The first step toward the Westernization of the Northern Continent was to assassinate the Guardian of the Northern Continent. And this has already been accomplished by killing the Matriarch.”
“What? Those Vagabond bastards killed the Matriarch?!”
The bombshell statements continued. Even though they had already heard some of it from Lee Hyoeul, there was a world of difference between simply being told and seeing and hearing it for themselves. This was especially true in front of Eyes of Temptation, which completely eliminated the possibility of lies.
“Then does this mean Do Youngrok wasn't responsible?”
“What in the world is going on…! Ha, honestly.”
The room grew rowdy, settled down, grew rowdy again, settled down again, and then erupted once more.
Amid this amusingly repetitive situation, Lee Hyoeul took a step forward. She began to walk leisurely along the center aisle. It seemed she was deliberately showing her composure amidst the chaos.
“That's right. The culprit wasn't the Golden Lion, nor was it us. But with the true culprits, the Vagabonds, remaining hidden, we were just fighting amongst ourselves, weren't we?”
“You mean...”
“Come to think of it, some of you may know and some may not... You're probably all curious. Why the Matriarch was called the Guardian. And why the Vagabonds tried to kill her.”
I had a slight inkling from my previous conversation with Lee Hyoeul, but this was something I didn't know in detail either. Thinking it was worth hearing out, I listened closely to her words.
“First of all, let me make it clear that I am the true Guardian of the Northern Continent. I have held this role for seven long years. You all should know that, right?”
“Then what do you make of what Baek Seoyeon just said? Are you claiming she lied?”
“The Matriarch... Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if I say it. To be precise, she did take on the role of Guardian once. But she quit after just one year and named me as her successor. That is the truth.”
Gasps could be heard from all around. Lee Hyoeul circled the meeting hall once before returning to my side. She looked around at everyone and continued in a louder voice than before.
“Which means, it wasn't a lie, but that the Vagabonds were mistaken from the start, wouldn't you say? No. Should I say they fell into a trap? In any case, their original plan was likely to kill me, but they targeted the wrong person. The Matriarch was sacrificed in my place.”
She mentioned a trap. A question suddenly arose in my mind about that part, but seeing as she immediately changed the subject, it seemed she had no intention of explaining the details.
As if they no longer had the energy to be surprised, the breaths they had been holding were released here and there. But the people gathered here were second to none in the Hall Plain. Their shock was brief. They quickly composed themselves, and every one of them began to show a serious expression. It was proof that they weren't dismissing the situation as absurd but were facing it head-on.
“There's one thing I don't understand.”
Just then, the Goryeo Lord's voice was heard again. He was staring at Lee Hyoeul with a dignified gaze, his hands clasped together. Receiving his gaze, she nodded once or twice, and the Goryeo Lord spoke immediately.
“Baek Seoyeon said they intended to turn the Northern Continent into the Western Continent, and that the first step was to assassinate the Guardian of the Northern Continent.”
“That's correct.”
“Of course, they may have targeted the wrong person, but it's possible their plan could have succeeded anyway. If that young man... ahem, pardon me. If the Mercenary Lord hadn't shown up in time, you would have ended up dead too, wouldn't you? Am I wrong?”
Murmurs spread through the hall.
He was right. Even setting aside the Vagabonds’ machinations, Lee Hyoeul had unquestionably been on the verge of death. If I had not healed her, she would certainly have died. In fact, I had assumed that Lee Hyoeul died during the first playthrough.
“Yes. But what is it that you don't understand?”
“...Let me say this first. I acknowledge your role, your abilities, and the contributions you've made so far. I don't deny any of that.”
It was a sudden remark, but the Goryeo Lord was not a man in a position to speak carelessly. As if she knew this, Lee Hyoeul showed no change in expression and gestured for him to continue.
“I considered the hypothetical of your death. The Northern Continent would have lost its Guardian. A successor is none of my business, but... it's hard to accept that losing just one person would cause the Northern Continent to become like the Western Continent.”
“...Hmm.”
“Even though the Golden Lion made a foolish move, I still believe the Northern Continent's military power is the strongest. The Western Continent and 15,000 Vagabonds? If we gathered all the combat Users from the East and South right now, we could muster twice that number. And it's not like we're lacking in quality either. Given the circumstances, they think they can turn the North into a lawless zone just by killing a single Guardian?”
Thinking about it calmly, the Goryeo Lord's words pointed out a blind spot. Moreover, the people gathered here had each built their own power base in the Hall Plain. Most of them began to show signs of agreement, as if they thought he was right.
Eventually, all eyes turned to Lee Hyoeul. And she was wearing a deep smile, one I had never seen before.
“Certainly, what the Goryeo Lord says is correct. He's not wrong. However, there is one thing you've overlooked.”
“Something I've overlooked?”
“Baek Seoyeon called the Guardian's assassination the first step. Doesn't that imply there's a second and a third step as well?”
“......”
The Goryeo Lord fell silent, as if he had no response to this. When Lee Hyoeul glanced at Ko Yeonju, she reflexively looked at her records and immediately spoke to Baek Seoyeon.
“Then what was the plan after killing the Matriarch?”
“Yes... First, after occupying Barbara, we were to pretend to put up a moderate fight before retreating to a western city using a Warp Gate, with the intention of withdrawing from the Northern Continent.”
“And then?”
“Once our initial objective was achieved, we planned to establish a base in the Western Continent for the time being and wait. During that waiting period, the spies and agents who had infiltrated each clan planned to instigate as much conflict as possible between the East and the South. First, they would create problems over the rights to the now-vacant Barbara, and then the ensuing conflict would be expanded to the West and North...”
Baek Seoyeon seemed to have a great deal to say on the matter, and her account went on at length. The Users listening to her no longer murmured. The Vagabonds’ plan—and the revelation that spies and infiltrators were embedded within their clans—had clearly turned their stomachs.
“Sp...ies?”
“Wh-what...”
Lifting my head to observe their reactions, I saw they all wore expressions of such shock that they seemed at a loss for words. Among them were some who looked as if they were about to ask what kind of nonsense this was, but unfortunately, Baek Seoyeon's words were the truth.
After the Western Continent's Users withdrew, the conflict between the East and South, which began over the ownership of Barbara, would later expand again and again. And eventually, the Northern Continent would enter a Spring and Autumn Warring States Period. That was the flow of the first playthrough. It wouldn't become a complete ruin like the Western Continent, but it would be made into something similar.
“Baek Seoyeon’s account gave me a great deal to think about.”
It was the moment the endlessly talking Baek Seoyeon finally finished. Lee Hyoeul spoke in a quiet voice. And the Users listening to her mostly wore grave expressions.
Knowing about an event beforehand was completely different from facing it after it had already begun. Once such a crisis actually struck, could it truly be resolved peacefully?
As someone who had already experienced the first playthrough, I could confidently answer no. And on top of that, they didn't even know the identities of the spies and agents Baek Seoyeon had mentioned.
“It's fine to have pride, to think you're the best. But as the Goryeo Lord said, don't you find it strange? If we put our minds to it, we can definitely defeat 15,000 people. At the very least, we wouldn't lose. So why did they come here, knowing that?”
“That's because...”
“Ultimately, it means someone must have told the Vagabonds about our circumstances. An agent. Or a spy. Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“......!”
Someone opened their mouth with a strained voice, but they shut it immediately upon seeing me. I already had an idea of what decision they had made, but it seemed they were assuming I still didn't know.
“Anyway, that's all for that topic for now. There's one final confirmation process left.”
“Haha... Are you saying there's more?”
“Of course. Baek Seoyeon is a Vagabond who could be considered part of their leadership. She may not know every name, but she should have a rough idea who the spies and infiltrators are. No—even one name would be enough. We could follow the trail from there.”
And the moment Lee Hyoeul finished speaking, I could see a glint flash across everyone's faces.
“......”
“......”
A rather long silence followed. Just as everyone was swallowing nervously, saying nothing...
Unlike before, the Goryeo Lord's voice, now tinged with a hint of fatigue, echoed softly through the hall.
“First, we'll confirm her words, and if they're true... we'll need to prepare the Crystal of Truth.”
*
“What? Kim Seunghyeon is a Vagabond? Isn't that the bastard the Golden Lion took in a while back?”
“That's right. I remember he was there when they announced their withdrawal from the Academy.”
The Call to Arms was over. After Baek Seoyeon revealed the names of the Vagabonds she knew, Lee Hyoeul declared the gathering concluded. Even so, no one left the meeting hall. Everyone crowded around Ko Yeonju and Baek Seoyeon, checking the list of names once more.
“Mercenary Lord.”
Just then, a familiar voice called out to me. When I turned my head, I saw Han Soyoung standing calmly a short distance behind me, having approached at some point. She seemed to study my face for a moment before her lovely lips parted.
“You've been through a lot.”
“Not at all. I didn't really do much.”
“No one thinks that. If it weren't for you, Mercenary Lord... perhaps things really would have turned out just as that Vagabond said.”
Hearing her say ‘perhaps,’ it seemed Han Soyoung was still uncertain. After all, these were Vagabonds who had been operating brazenly within the clans, hidden from the eyes of other Users. They hadn't even known that much, so for even someone like Han Soyoung to predict what those bastards would do next was out of the question.
I nodded, smiling bitterly to myself.
“I see. From what I heard earlier, it seems the Vagabonds couldn't infiltrate Istantel Low Clan.”
“Yes. It's a silver lining. Though it seems the situation is different for other clans...”
Han Soyoung crossed her arms under her chest, further accentuating her full figure, and let out a light sigh as she lowered her gaze. Then she spoke quietly.
“Mercenary Lord. If you have a moment, could we talk for a bit...?”
“Soohyun.”
Just then, another voice drifted to my ears from behind me—this time, it was my brother.