Chapter 1338: The Monsters They Chose

Inside Seor City’s compound, there was a massive palace.

In its main hall, a pack of green-skinned monsters lounged on couches like they owned the place, lazily eating fruit. Off to the side, a group of girls stood there trembling, waiting on them with stiff hands and forced smiles.

All at once, one of the green-skinned humanoids bared his teeth in a grin. He grabbed a girl, yanked her over, shoved her down—and forced himself into her right there on the spot.

Seeing that, the other green-skins grinned too. One after another, they dragged the women beside them closer. They ignored the crying and started "going to war" with them, like it was some kind of game.

The hall filled with sobbing—mixed with wet, obscene sounds that made it hard to breathe.

Outside the palace, Seorin Republic guards stood posted. Their faces were twisted with humiliation and rage... but they didn’t move.

They couldn’t.

Elsewhere, Seorin Republic’s current leader,

Choi Tae-jun

, was in a meeting with the top brass, discussing what to do next.

If a group of women was all it took to make those monsters stop killing, then to them it was a bargain.

Right now, they were even debating whether they could convince the green-skins to stay in the compound long-term.

Those things were terrifyingly strong. If they stayed in Seor City, who cared about a few million zombies?

Hell—if they could use those monsters to wipe out all the zombies in the country, wouldn’t that mean the apocalypse was basically... solved?

Choi Tae-jun looked around the table. "What do you all think of my proposal?"

One man nodded immediately. "I think it works. It’s just letting them ’sacrifice’ a little beauty. Nobody’s dying. And don’t women worship strong men? These are the real strong ones. As for their looks... I don’t think it matters that much."

"Exactly," another chimed in. "If we can stabilize this group of powerhouses, those women will be heroes of the Seorin Republic. We could even use them to expand our territory."

Choi Tae-jun smiled, satisfied. "Good. If there are no objections, we’ll proceed. For the next period of time, do whatever it takes to keep these powerhouses calm."

"Yes!"

They talked excitedly about a shining future, not sparing a thought for the women being violated at that very moment.

For the girls, it was like their minds were shattering.

Is this seriously about looks?

they wanted to scream.

They’re not even the same species!

But nobody was coming to save them. Not anymore. The monsters had picked them, and that was that.

Only after a long time did the green-skins finally stroll out of the main hall, faces slack with satisfaction.

A few guards hurried up at once, forcing smiles so hard their cheeks trembled.

"Gentlemen... do you need anything else?"

The green-skins glanced at them, then one of them patted his belly.

"Got it," the guard said quickly, practically bowing. "Right away—right away!"

Not long after, people came hurrying over with trays piled high with all kinds of delicious food.

The green-skins broke into smiles and dug in, devouring everything like starving kings.

They were enjoying this life more and more—grateful they hadn’t killed all the humans.

Back in their original world, they’d never lived like emperors.

They’d been irritated at first, trapped here with no way back... but now? The thought of returning had long since flown out of their heads.

They were eating with gusto when—

Outside the compound, a cluster of red figures cut across the sky at blistering speed.

The guards on the walls spotted them and jolted like they’d been struck. Someone immediately yanked the alarm.

A harsh warning blared.

In seconds, countless Enhanced poured out from inside the compound and climbed onto the walls, staring hard into the distance.

The red figures slowed and stopped about a thousand feet from the compound.

"Looks like Seorin Republic only has this one compound left," Ethan said, studying it.

They’d already made a full pass through Seorin territory. Most of the other compounds were gone—ruined, dead, erased. This place was the last one still standing.

"Figures," someone muttered. "Seorin people love talking big, but their real strength is garbage."

"Captain," another asked, "should we wipe this compound out?"

Ethan shook his head. "No point. With how things look, they’re barely hanging on as it is. Let them live—let them kill a few more zombies. Later, they might even help absorb some pressure from the Void Realm."

He paused, eyes narrowing a fraction.

"But since we’re here, we’re not leaving empty-handed."

A few people laughed under their breath, already getting the idea.

"Let’s rob them," Ethan said. "And while we’re at it, look for Awakened. That’s the real rare resource."

"Got it."

The Fallen Star Guard didn’t hesitate.

They urged their Flamebirds forward and flew straight toward the compound.

Up on the wall, the Seorin guards finally noticed there were people riding on the Flamebirds’ backs. They immediately started shouting at the incoming formation.

"Ya! Geogi seora!" they barked in Seorin.

"...Huh?" Ethan blinked, completely lost, then turned to Skinny Pete. "What’d they say?"

"Sounds like they’re asking who we are."

Ethan’s eyes lit up. "Tell them we’re bandits. We’re here to rob them."

Skinny Pete spread his hands, helpless. "Captain... I don’t speak Seorin."

"Oh." Ethan sighed. "Right. Forgot. Whatever—then we won’t say anything. Just rob them."

He shook his head and activated

True Sight

, scanning the crowd below, searching for any

Awakened

.

He swept the whole area once.

Nothing.

Meanwhile, down on the walls, the Enhanced saw the newcomers ignore them and keep flying straight in. They stopped waiting for an answer.

They opened fire.

Boom—boom—boom!

Skills slammed into the Flamebirds midair. It barely did any damage... but it pissed the birds off.

The Flamebirds shrieked, then unleashed waves of fire down onto the compound like a living bombardment.

Screams tore through the air.

People on the wall didn’t even have time to run—one after another, they were swallowed by flame and turned to ash.

"—!"

The rest of the defenders freaked out and scrambled backward, retreating as fast as they could.

At the compound’s center, Choi Tae-jun and the Seorin Republic’s leadership received the news almost immediately. They were already gathered in front of a screen, watching the live feed from outside.

"From their appearance and the direction they came from," one senior official said, "they look like Atlas Federation people."

Choi narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. That’s the Atlas Federation. Why are they here?"

"They have flying mounts," someone else said. "Coming from Atlas Federation wouldn’t be difficult."

The room filled with irritated voices.

"How the hell are Atlas Federation people this strong?"

"We don’t even have flying mounts in Seorin Republic—how do

they

get them?"

Their faces were dark with envy and resentment.

"We need to find a way to seize those mounts," one of them said harshly. "Something like that should only belong to the Seorin Republic."

"But those birds are powerful," another person said, more cautious. "We’re probably not their match."

Choi Tae-jun chuckled, like he’d been waiting for someone to say it. "Who said we’d fight them ourselves?"

The others blinked... then their expressions shifted.

"Right. We still have our trump card."

"Get someone over there and bring them in," a man said quickly. "With their strength, they can definitely deal with those red birds."

"Do it," Choi said, satisfied.

Out in the palace hall, more than a dozen green-skins were still eating, messy and content.

A soldier rushed in, bowed low, then pointed outside—then pointed at the green-skins—doing an urgent little pantomime until he got their attention.

His meaning was obvious:

Enemies are outside. They’re coming to kill you.

The green-skins had been here for a few days now. They couldn’t speak the language, but they’d learned to understand basic gestures.

The moment they got it, their faces twisted with anger.

A few days of living like emperors had made them arrogant. And ever since they’d arrived in this world, everything they’d run into—mutant beasts, zombies, humans—had been far weaker than them.

They’d started looking down on the entire planet.

So hearing that someone dared to come for them?

That was unforgivable.

They shoved food aside and stood up, barking something guttural. Then they gestured for the soldier to lead the way.

Someone wanted to challenge them?

Fine.

They’d make the attackers pay for it.