Chapter 30
Chapter 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Aftermath
-----------------------------------------------------------------
KRAAAANG!
A tremor that seemed to shatter space itself and a cascade of broken light filled the plaza.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
More than half of the weapons that had flown with such vigor fell to the ground.
Thud!
Gregory, having squeezed out his last ounce of strength, collapsed to the ground and looked up.
“Damn it…”
The sword was still there.
Its once-stable dark energy was severely distorted, and though it had tilted sideways, it remained in place.
Just as he thought his life-or-death strike had failed, hundreds of roars erupted.
When he strenuously turned his gaze, he saw the Awakened pouring out of the passage in unison, unleashing an all-out assault.
‘Right. We were a team.’
No one needed to lead the charge. As if they had forgotten their fear, the Awakened rushed forward, unleashing a barrage of skills.
Fwoosh!
A chain wrapped around Gregory's body.
“You’re in the way over there.”
Bae Wang-sik pulled Gregory, who had fallen beneath the golem, toward him.
“You should have shouted ‘universal peace’.”
“If I’d done that, I would’ve died of embarrassment first.”
Gregory couldn't even stand on his own two feet.
To think he made that final leap in such a state.
Wang-sik draped Gregory's arm over his shoulder to support him. Fortunately, Sarah, having assessed the situation, was rushing over.
“Gregory!”
“Haha. I survived thanks to your love.”
“Shut up, you crazy bastard.”
Sarah took Gregory from Wang-sik and began to heal him. Only then did Wang-sik turn his attention to the golem, which was under the full assault of the Awakened.
‘We’ve won.’
The weapons protecting the golem's core were almost all gone.
The few remaining weapons had also lost much of their power. Despite being certain of victory, Wang-sik approached the other Awakened.
You never know what unexpected situations might arise at the very end.
He raised his shield and moved to the front.
Vroooom!
The golem's core vibrated as if in a final, desperate struggle. But that was all.
Clink.
With an anticlimactic sound unfitting of the bloody battle, the demonic sword fell to the ground.
Simultaneously, the light from the magic circle that had illuminated the entire plaza also vanished.
The Awakened, who had poured all their strength into the fight, panted for breath, waiting for the change that was sure to come.
Vwip!
At the end of the plaza.
An oval of blue light appeared.
The exit.
Wang-sik looked at Gregory.
Gregory, being treated by Sarah, was helped to his feet and shouted to everyone.
“Battle over!”
The S-rank Gate raid was over.
Outside the Gate, the atmosphere was grim.
An unexpected variable—the entrance being blocked—had occurred, and the Gate's mana levels had been steadily rising.
—A new record for the highest mana level has been set.
Thanks to swift media reports, the eyes of the world were focused on this location.
Just as anxiety reached its peak, the Gate changed.
“Gate cleared!”
At the declaration everyone had been waiting for, Bureau Director Doyev unknowingly threw his hands in the air. That was the signal, and everyone began hugging those around them and cheering wildly.
And then, at last, the heroes emerged from the Gate.
“As expected!”
The Chinese Bureau Director, Zhang Tianpan, clenched his fist as he saw the Chinese hunters emerging first.
But something was strange.
The expressions on the Chinese hunters' faces were like those of defeated soldiers.
Moreover, the two S-rank hunters, who were always so confident, ignored all of Zhang Tianpan's questions and simply left the area.
Their actions, ignoring even Doyev, the person in charge of the Gate, made people intuit that something had happened inside.
About a minute later, another group emerged from the Gate.
The first to come out were the injured.
Medics and healers rushed toward the injured who came out with support, and once the situation was under control, Gregory finally appeared.
Gregory wasn't in good shape either.
Supported by Russian hunters, Gregory looked completely battered.
“I told you, you should just go to the emergency room.”
“And just throw away this golden opportunity? The whole world will be watching me.”
“Is that more important than your life?”
“I'm sure I won't die. I've got you, after all.”
Sarah, who was supporting him, pinched his side where no one could see.
“Aargh! Are you trying to kill me?”
“If it weren't for the cameras, I really would kill you.”
In the end, Gregory stood before Doyev in his injured state.
It was to give his report as the commander.
“Gate raid complete. 102 casualties. Please ensure they rest in peace.”
“Anything unusual to report?”
Doyev asked the simplest question to get him to the hospital quickly.
“Wang Jin-chun and E Suo-lin of China have been expelled from the subjugation force for insubordination and reckless conduct. The Chinese hunters followed them and voluntarily abandoned the raid.”
“What?”
Doyev raised his voice involuntarily at the completely unexpected news.
“Get treatment first. You've worked hard.”
Doyev took a step back and saluted first.
At that, Gregory straightened his body and returned the salute.
Simultaneously, a barrage of camera flashes went off. This image would likely become the main headline for media outlets worldwide.
“Ugh. Now I really feel like I'm going to die. Let's go, quickly.”
As soon as he lowered his hand, Gregory let out a groan and headed for the waiting ambulance.
Just before getting into the vehicle, he looked at the Awakened standing in front of the Gate.
They were describing their conditions to the doctors and healers invited by Russia.
“He's a truly amazing friend.”
“A true hero.”
Among the many Awakened stood Wang-sik.
He wasn't at the front, nor was he boasting about his accomplishments.
—Hey, friend. How about getting some proper recognition this time?
—I'm a secret agent. Have you forgotten?
—Look behind you. There are over eight hundred witnesses who saw the Super Tanker. Everyone who needs to know already knows.
—That's just the right amount.
—I feel bad, like I'm stealing your glory.
—Then shout it one more time. ‘Universal peace…’
—Stop! As you can see, I'm an injured man.
In the end, Wang-sik chose the path of being famous only among the Awakened, as he always did.
It would eventually become known through the many witnesses anyway, but he had no intention of reacting sensitively to that either.
‘It'll all come out someday. For now, I need time.’
He still had many secrets. Secrets too dangerous to have his every move scrutinized.
“Mr. Wang-sik, Ms. Ha-na. You've worked hard.”
The chief of staff, who had approached them at some point, spoke with a strained smile. Though he didn't show it, he must have been worried, as dark circles reached down below his eyes.
“I'd like to get some rest.”
Min Ha-na replied with a weary smile.
“Your training is insufficient. To be tired after just that.”
“Let's save the feedback for the hotel.”
The chief of staff led Wang-sik and Min Ha-na away from the area.
Thanks to the chief of staff's consideration, they were able to get plenty of rest until the next morning.
9:00 AM.
As the two were having a late breakfast, the chief of staff approached them, his expression much more relaxed than the day before.
“The funeral is at noon.”
The day after a dungeon raid concludes, a funeral is held for the hunters who were sacrificed.
As volunteers who had come to help them had died, the Russian authorities designated today as a day of mourning and were busy preparing to receive condolences from other countries starting tomorrow.
Behind these preparations for the mourners, there was also a party to celebrate the successful raid, a party also known as the ‘handshake party’.
This was because it was where official negotiations to divide the merits gained from the Gate raid took place, and unofficially, a recruitment war was waged to lure Awakened from other nations.
“Here is the raid report.”
The chief of staff handed a document to the two hunters, who were refreshed after a deep sleep and a shower.
As it had been a joint operation, a document summarizing the raid results was given to all hunters.
“Three S-rank items and five A-rank items. This Gate was certainly a heavy investment.”
This was a historic haul of spoils.
“102 dead. 350 injured.”
Fortunately, it didn't seem like there would be any more fatalities among the injured.
However, after reading through the document, Wang-sik's expression soured.
“The part about the Chinese hunters is missing.”
“They're probably in negotiations right now.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“They'll either accept enormous losses to resolve it, or they'll lie and face global condemnation. It'll be one of the two.”
“There are too many witnesses for them to lie.”
“That's right. So it'll likely be the former. Seeing as that part is missing from this report, it seems things have already been settled in that direction.”
Seeing that Wang-sik was not pleased with the outcome, the chief of staff said,
“Russia won't let this slide easily. They'll get far more out of it than you expect, so take comfort in that.”
“That won't bring back the dead.”
102 dead.
Most of them were the ones who died in the Royal Blood's room.
“Well then, please prepare to leave. We've blocked all articles about the Super Tanker, so things won't be much different than before.”
They changed into clothes for the funeral.
* * *
The funeral was held without incident, and that evening, they learned the results of the negotiations with China from Doyev.
“I thought you should know.”
It was unusual to inform a hunter from another country about negotiations between nations.
“Did Gregory throw a tantrum or something?”
“Not a tantrum, a warning. He told me to explain everything accurately and seek your understanding if I didn't want to lose a friend.”
With Russia showing this much consideration, it became difficult for Wang-sik to say any more about the outcome.
In conclusion, China suffered immense losses from this expedition.
The fact that 53 of the deceased were Chinese hunters was a major blow, and they also agreed to bear the full cost of compensation and pensions for the families of the 49 casualties from other countries.
China also shouldered all costs associated with the Gate raid and was naturally excluded from the success rewards. Furthermore, to smooth over the fact that they had obstructed the raid, they forfeited their rights to the railway and port projects in Vladivostok, a point of conflict with the Russian government.
It didn't stop there; they also agreed to transfer the funds deposited in a Russian bank for the construction to the Russian government.
In short, they paid all the money and gave up all the rights.
That's how severe the situation was.
“They obstructed an S-rank Gate raid that the whole world was watching, and most of the casualties came from their team. If the fact that they were expelled gets out, China stands to lose even more in the future.”
China is a leader not only in the power of its Awakened but also in the Gate industry.
For China, which already has a reputation for being selfish, a full exposé of this incident could provide the decisive trigger for the formation of an anti-China Gate alliance.
“It was lucky for China that only Eurasian nations participated in this raid.”
“Indeed. In any case, China won't be able to treat Russia lightly from now on.”
They had them by the throat, so to speak.
“And regarding the compensation and pensions for the deceased, in addition to what China is covering, the Russian government will also be making separate payments.”
“So is everything going to be covered up?”
Wang-sik had little interest in political negotiations or compensation.
“We can't do that. If we did, Russia would face criticism as well.”
With so many witnesses, it's impossible to hide everything.
“There will be an announcement that the casualties only occurred in Wang Jin-chun's team and that there was a difference of opinion. However, we've agreed not to release any detailed information.”
Criticism of the leader's competence is something the Chinese government can handle, and for Russia, it's enough to absolve them of responsibility for what happened.
“I understand.”
Wang-sik decided not to think about this matter any longer.
“Thank you. Without you, this raid would not have succeeded. On behalf of the Russian people, I thank you once again.”
“I gratefully accept your thanks.”
“Then, I'll see you at the party tomorrow. The president has requested a private meeting with you. Would that be all right?”
“Of course, I'll meet him.”
It was such a simple acceptance that Doyev, who had asked cautiously, felt a bit embarrassed.
‘The time has come.’
This was the moment Wang-sik had been waiting for.
‘A president never comes empty-handed.’
Especially not the Russian president, who was known for being bold.