Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Resolved to Create the Jiangshi Hundred-Man Unit
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"Thank you, Leader Geon-woo."
"It's just mercenaries looking out for each other. No need for thanks."
Geon-woo waved off the greeting from the leader of the native mercenary group.
The native mercenaries all wore weary expressions, having suffered greatly in the Queen's nest cave.
In truth, without the jiangshi Geon-woo had sent, most of them wouldn't have survived.
But Geon-woo wasn't accustomed to itchy words like gratitude or indebtedness.
He did most things for fair compensation, so greetings beyond that felt unfamiliar.
"Thanks to you, we survived."
"Your squad members were incredibly skilled."
Users from other routes approached Geon-woo next to offer their thanks.
They had taken heavier losses than the natives.
He had sent four jiangshi to the natives, but only two each to the user groups.
Still, knowing they would have been wiped out without the jiangshi, the survivors were in high spirits just to be alive.
"But didn't your side get completely wiped out?"
At that moment, one of the users stepped forward and asked.
= Wow, stepping up so boldly here? He's going to get killed before logout anyway, and he has no idea.
'No, having one survivor actually works in our favor.'
Geon-woo felt genuine pleasure upon seeing the user who had stepped forward.
But his outward expression remained cold and sharp.
"We took down the Bug Queen. Some casualties in the process were unavoidable."
"But isn't it strange that only two made it back alive?"
"Strange? What are you implying? Didn't you face attacks from the King? That centipede-like thing?"
"Something like that did show up toward the end."
Another user cautiously answered Geon-woo's question.
"That was just a protrusion sprouting from the King's body. Can you even imagine fighting something that massive underground? The two of us barely survived ourselves, and you're nitpicking because we couldn't save the others?"
Geon-woo glared at the lone surviving demon-possessed user and demanded in a rough tone.
"No, that's not what I—"
"Then what is it? Should we have died too? Oh, no. You mean the others should have survived instead of us?"
Geon-woo relentlessly pressed the user, who couldn't mount a proper response.
"I-I'm sorry. I got hasty because I knew some of the people who went that way."
"They're just users anyway. No need to fuss over a single avatar death."
"R-Right. It's just an avatar's death, nothing more."
The demon-possessed user could only agree half-heartedly.
For demon-possessed users, death in Onbiroad differed from regular users.
But from a pure user's perspective, survival and death in Onbiroad were mere matters of loss and gain.
In the end, the demon-possessed user found no retort, lowered his head, and backed off.
= My apologies, my lord. I should have seized the chance to handle him, but he blended in with the other users, and I couldn't create a natural opportunity.
Ilryeong bowed her head apologetically.
'It's fine. As I said earlier, it's a relief one survived.'
= Could it be you plan to turn him into a jiangshi spirit?
Ilryeong asked, as if reading Geon-woo's thoughts.
'Exactly. If we get the same result as with that Gremix-possessed guy, we might gain a useful ability. And above all, if it works, any possessed user crossing into Onbiroad becomes a literal skill jukebox, right?'
= Hearing you say that makes him look different now. A valuable catch, indeed?
Ilryeong retreated with a bright smile, glancing at the possessed user glaring at Geon-woo from amid the group.
* * *
"Struck it big in Onbiroad, only to find Earth in total chaos?"
After returning to Veloca, Geon-woo immediately used the sanctuary to head back to Earth.
Naturally, his Earth avatar was still logged in.
His main body lay in the Ark Capsule within the safe underground capsule room on the island.
But that wasn't the point.
The screen Geon-woo was watching now showed news of China's civil war.
The Chinese Communist Party had declared a state of emergency due to national fragmentation.
The cause: several regional warlords had allied to declare independence, with demon-possessed users backing them.
Their claims:
- We seek peace and coexistence, yet humanity creates abominations like D-Catchers to oppress us.
- Thus, under the banner of peace and coexistence, we establish an independent nation.
- What reason is there to form hostile relations and shed blood?
- Let's live together.
They rallied possessed forces with these arguments.
Interestingly, many people—surprisingly—flocked to them.
Even pure humans joined the demon-possessed factions, and for good reason:
- We offer the chance to awaken.
- Earn merits, and we'll awaken you.
- Awaken regardless of the Ark Capsule's 400 million concurrent user limit.
- Even existing users can gain greater power.
And so on.
The possessed factions dangled enticing carrots.
On top of that, demon-possessed from around the world were flooding into China.
"I just can't figure out why they let possessed users leave the country unchecked."
Paeng grumbled while watching the broadcast.
Neuron Age had distributed plenty of catchers.
Enough to detect possessed users at most borders.
Yet, aside from a few nations, many turned a blind eye to demon-possessed departures.
This fueled the rapid growth of China's independence-declaring warlords.
Paeng was displeased.
"It's because politicians hesitate to arrest their own citizens. And if the possessed is an awakener, subduing them risks heavy casualties."
Ilryeong, in her manifested physical form, joined the conversation.
Paeng still believed she had guarded the island while he and Geon-woo were in Onbiroad.
"Fair enough. Even possessed, killing or imprisoning them outright is tough. But they're demons—shouldn't they restrict them anyway?"
"That's why they're only allowing travel to China. Round them up in one place, then figure out a solution."
"Still rubs me the wrong way. Really!"
Paeng scowled.
"Though, there is a bit of a problem."
Geon-woo muttered indifferently amid the talk.
"A problem? What?"
"What problem, Geon-woo-nim?"
Paeng and Ilryeong turned to him.
"The possessed users gathering in China."
"What about them?"
"What's the issue with them?"
"What if they try to retrieve the Queen's egg again?"
With multiple possessed users banding together, the chance of another attempt was high.
"They won't give up easily, right?"
"Yeah, Paeng's spot on."
Paeng and Ilryeong shared Geon-woo's concern.
"But we can't just let that slide."
"So, what's the plan?"
Paeng asked.
"Block it as best we can. First, take out anyone on Earth who could bring the Queen's egg over, and in Onbiroad, take out the Queen."
"The Queen? Ah! You mean hunt down Queens accessible to users?"
"Exactly."
"And taking out those who could bring the egg?"
Ilryeong asked.
"Users with 50,000+ souls, obviously."
"Ah, right—only those with 50,000+ souls can bring items from Onbiroad to Earth, so hunt down possessed users above that threshold?"
"Yep. But it's not just possessed we need to watch. Among 50,000-soul fusion users, lunatics might side with them without being possessed."
"Ugh, having to worry about that too is frustrating. Onbiroad feels cleaner by comparison."
Ilryeong sighed.
"That's why we'll have to deploy jiangshi in earnest."
Geon-woo gazed at Ilryeong with a steely resolve in his eyes.
"So, we're forming the jiangshi hundred-man unit?"
Ilryeong's eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
"Yeah."
"The optimal setup is one superior jiangshi per ten privates forming a squad, then ten squads. Shall we go with that?"
"Have to. Fill ninety privates first, and make the superiors separately."
"Got it. We'll rush jiangshi production. But superiors need demons..."
"That's created a reason to hunt possessed users in Onbiroad—time to tighten up."
Geon-woo had confirmed that turning demon-possessed users in Onbiroad into jiangshi spirits granted the demons' original abilities as skills.
Moreover, those skills could be passed to subordinate jiangshi.
Efficiency and numbers varied by the recipients' aptitude.
But acquiring skills with minimal effort alone justified hunting possessed users in Onbiroad.
And enhancing jiangshi via skill transfer was icing on the cake.
No wonder his motivation to hunt them surged.
"What's that about? Jiangshi hundred-man unit? Explain."
Paeng, having listened in, demanded angrily.
Living together yet excluded from the conversation.
"Remember Yultren's treasure?"
Geon-woo asked Paeng.
"Of course."
Ziiing!
Paeng summoned armor on one arm to show off.
He liked it so much a smile naturally formed.
"Back then, I got something too."
Geon-woo came clean while watching Paeng.
"Oh? Gonna share what?"
Paeng perked up.
Sharing secrets meant growing closer.
"The Yultren race specialized in soul development and utilization. So they devised more efficient soul usage methods."
"And?"
"You know I command jiangshi like limbs."
"Yeah."
"But there was a limit to the number."
"Ah! Your mercenary squad size. I saw it increase when you leveled up."
"Right. Honestly, improving jiangshi control further from here seems tough. It's basically maxed."
"But Yultren changed that?"
Paeng anticipated, jumping ahead.
"Yeah. Independent of prior methods, I used Yultren tech to create a hundred soul terminals."
"Soul terminals?"
"Just terminology. Link one jiangshi per terminal. Now I can command a hundred more."
"Whoa, insane. A hundred Dark Phoenix-level? That's world-conquest tier."
"What's the point? Just need to crush the demons thoroughly."
"If you say so. To each their own."
Paeng nodded coolly.
Then he turned serious again.
"So, making a hundred jiangshi. But why only ten superiors? Why not all superiors? Aren't they stronger?"
Geon-woo nodded at Paeng's natural question.
"It's not materials or cost. It's the soul terminals from Yultren tech. Ten are sturdy and robust; the rest are flimsier. Superiors link to the sturdy ones, privates to the weak."
Ilryeong answered for Geon-woo.
And.
"Not just that. Dividing the hundred into ten squads with superiors as leaders lets superiors handle subordinate control. Aside from my direct jiangshi, micromanaging a hundred myself is tough."
"Can't micromanage?"
"Can issue orders, but not control a hundred at once."
"And current Phoenix mercenary jiangshi can?"
"Barely, if pushed."
"But the Yultren hundred-man unit can't, so squads operate independently? Whoa, that's like instantly adding ten more Dark Phoenix mercenary units? Insane."
Paeng alternated stunned glances between Geon-woo and Ilryeong.