Vol 2. Chapter 383: It Must Not Have Been Enough (8)

“Ha, haha—”

Alberu was laughing.

“Cough.”

Cale’s expression stayed indifferent as he wiped away the blood still running from the corner of his mouth, though it had lessened considerably.

“......”

Virtual reality New World.

King Tamahi of the Lan Kingdom, counted as one of the three great powers of this vast world, could not say a single word.

She could only stare blankly at the two of them.

“Haha, Cale—”

“What?”

Under normal circumstances, Alberu would have paid attention to the eyes around him.

But for some reason, Alberu was in a very good mood, and in this game he had always behaved a bit more casually to begin with.

“You really haven’t changed.”

With those words, he spread both arms and walked forward.

The first time.

Yes, just like the first time the Indestructible Shield had appeared in the capital of the Roan Kingdom and protected everyone from the magic bomb of despair.

What Alberu had done to Cale afterward, he tried again for the first time in a long while.

‘What is wrong with him?’

Seeing Alberu approach with both arms open, Cale’s stomach turned sour on its own.

Why?

‘Why is he smiling like that?’

Because Alberu was grinning as if he were genuinely delighted.

Feeling deeply suspicious, Cale tried to step back, but unfortunately, after the Silver Shield Young Master first appeared, Cale’s physical ability had declined, whereas Alberu’s physical ability had grown even further.

“...What are you doing?”

“Hahaha!”

In the end, Alberu and Cale shared a brief hug.

Pat, pat.

Alberu’s hand, patting Cale on the back, was trembling in small shakes.

‘Mm.’

Because he noticed that, Cale could not push Alberu away.

‘Well, he did overdo it.’

Alberu’s magic was excellent, yes, but it would be a problem to measure him by Raon—or even Rosalyn.

Alberu was simply outstanding by ordinary standards.

He had not crossed beyond his limits.

Yet someone like that had done his utmost and tried to pour out mana the way Raon did, so of course it would have strained his body.

That aftereffect was probably why his hand was shaking.

‘Tsk.’

Letting out a sigh, Cale pulled back from the hug, then spoke with a bit of consideration for Alberu.

“Want me to support you?”

At that moment, Cale saw Alberu’s face instantly turn sour.

“You? Support me?”

That look of utter disbelief put Cale in a worse mood too.

And King Tamahi, who had been watching all this—

“Your Majesty—”

She refused the hands of the warriors approaching to support her and slowly rose to her feet.

Her gaze was still fixed on Cale and Alberu.

“......”

She could not hear what they were saying to each other.

She could have if she used internal energy, but she did not want to.

All she saw was the two of them sharing a warm embrace and then speaking quietly together.

The light like sunlight and the silver light were both gone.

Duke Hinpa was gone too.

The shore was empty.

Only those two figures standing there entered her sight.

Without realizing it, the King’s lips parted.

“...A hero—”

Cale had told her.

‘We are with the sun’s hero, the one who will save New World! And the Dark Kingdom has also stepped forward to protect this world! Hahaha!’

Of course, he had also said he would explain the details calmly after meeting Duke Hinpa, the royal consort.

But at this moment, King Tamahi realized it.

‘One of them—’

One of those two was clearly a hero.

And in stories, beside such a hero there was always—

“...A companion.”

An outstanding and righteous companion.

The three great powers.

That title referred to the Lan Kingdom together with the Eastern and Western Empires.

At some point, Tamahi had begun to feel ashamed of that title and to hate it.

The Wanderers.

When they appeared, she realized there were truly powerful beings out there.

She realized there were strong forces in this world that had never been revealed, and that those powers were trying to devour this land.

“...Even darkness can only be perceived where there is light—”

Yes.

If the Wanderers were the darkness of this land, then would there not also be light?

How could the principles of the world lean only to one side?

‘No.’

The King soon shook her head.

‘The Dark Kingdom?’

A kingdom she had never even heard of before.

‘I came from the Dark Kingdom.’

‘And this gentleman is someone who will become the king of another land.’

One of them had said that the other was someone who would soon become a king. That meant there was yet another kingdom in existence.

Two kingdoms never once recorded anywhere in the history of this land were now trying to fight a vast force tied not only to the Wanderers, but even to gods.

To save this world.

“Ha—”

Without realizing it, a breath escaped her.

There was a faint joy and swelling emotion in it.

“...So this is not the end, but the beginning.”

King Tamahi looked at Cale and Alberu, standing face-to-face and conversing calmly, and thought:

“It was lacking.”

The words Cale had spoken to Duke Hinpa when Hinpa cried out, asking whether his faith had been lacking, asking why he had been abandoned.

To Tamahi, those words were being reinterpreted now in a slightly different way.

The Lan Kingdom had been toyed with by the Wanderer forces.

Because they were weak.

Because defeating them would be difficult.

For so many years they had kept their heads down, finally seeking a chance to turn things around through the martial arts tournament to choose the successor.

How much resentment had built up in all that time?

She had constantly worried that the matters inside the Lan royal palace might become known to the people of the kingdom, or to foreign nations.

She could not allow the weakness of the Lan Kingdom, one of the three great powers, to be exposed.

But she changed her thinking.

The Lan Kingdom is insufficient to stand against the Wanderers.

“It simply really was lacking.”

It was only weak.

And that weakness—

“We can fill it.”

Today she had seen a reliable shield capable of doing exactly that.

Slowly, she walked toward Cale and Alberu.

She had not yet heard the full story from Cale, but as far as she was concerned, the broad picture was already clear.

At the very least, she could distinguish ally from enemy.

And it was obvious who would benefit them, and who held a good heart.

“Ah. Are you alright?”

Cale, blood still at the corner of his mouth, was asking whether she was alright.

Looking at him, King Tamahi opened her mouth.

“May we join as well?”

“...Excuse me?”

To the puzzled Cale, she said what she had to say.

Today, the Lan Kingdom—

“That alliance, the one you said includes the Dark Kingdom.”

—had to seize the opportunity to walk a new path.

“The Lan Kingdom would like to join as {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} well.”

With that opportunity, the Lan Kingdom would become stronger still.

“We will make up for what we lack. So please, give us too the chance to become stronger—to fight back.”

And this Lan Kingdom would be able to protect itself.

Knowing full well that she was one of the weak, the King of Lan still spoke proudly.

“Can you give us that chance?”

And Cale—

‘Oh.’

What a windfall.

“Opportunity comes to those who seek it.”

With a calm face, he spoke those words as he took King Tamahi’s outstretched hand.

Then he added,

“If our side and the Lan Kingdom can stand together, it will be a great source of strength.”

Grin.

Cale showed a warm smile.

Smile.

Alberu matched the mood perfectly and wore a bright smile as well.

‘As I thought.’

And King Tamahi became certain.

‘These two were extraordinary people.’

A kingdom wished to enter an alliance.

And the two people before her made that decision immediately, without the slightest hesitation.

What did that mean?

‘The leader.’

The leader of the alliance was here, and that leader—

‘must hold absolute decision-making authority.’

And that person was—

‘the black-haired man.’

Cale Henituse.

‘Then this blond man—’

probably—

‘is the hero.’

The sun’s hero.

‘He is definitely connected to the Sun God.’

King Tamahi’s eyes deepened.

She realized that she had finally escaped the dark swamp of the Wanderers and the God of Chaos, and at last was facing the clear sky above the surface.

Grin.

Tamahi smiled too.

And Cale and Alberu still wore those easy, pleasant smiles.

—Cale.

The Ancient Tree quietly spoke to Cale.

—But that king doesn’t know the Dark Kingdom is made up of the Eight Evils, does she?

—And the crown prince doesn’t even have any land to rule right now. We just said he’s someone who’ll become a king in the future.

—So doesn’t that make us an alliance with no actual substance?

Be quiet.

Cale ignored the Ancient Tree’s words.

Then he glanced at Alberu.

The look in Alberu’s eyes, behind that gentle smile, was saying:

‘We keep this going for now.’

Why?

Because one of the three great powers becoming their ally was a very good thing.

“Haha—”

Cale laughed too.

“Hahaha!”

Alberu laughed as well.

“Ha, ha—”

King Tamahi laughed too.

And so, the Silver Shield that had appeared in the Lan Kingdom was remembered only in the minds of the close inner circle around the King who had been present there.

But the impact it had on the Lan Kingdom was perhaps even greater than the aftermath of the battle between the Wanderer So Hee and the Heavenly Demon.

A few days later.

===================

<Crazy! Breaking news on top of breaking news!>

===================

One piece of information spread through every NaSoJeol user community, throwing them all into chaos.

===================

<They say the Lan Kingdom is shutting down?>

It’s exactly what the title says.

—The kingdom is shutting down? What does that even mean?

—All diplomatic activity suspended.

The King is entering secluded training.

Successor selection halted.

—Huh? Diplomacy suspended?

—The King’s going into secluded training? Out of nowhere? What is going on with the Lan Kingdom these days?

===================

In terms of the Central Plains of murim, it was like saying an entire sect was closing its gates.

And not for a fixed period, but indefinitely.

But that was not all.

===================

—It’s not just the royal palace closing. Right now the Sky Sword, the Dark Vein, and all the other Five Great Powers except the Cooperative Alliance are all entering gate closure too.

—Holy shit. They’re all shutting down? Then doesn’t that mean users won’t be able to do anything in the Lan Kingdom anymore?

—No, no. Not that.

The Five Great Powers are apparently recruiting a large number of martial artists. Doesn’t matter whether you’re an outsider, a user, or from another nation, whether you’re experienced or brand-new—anyone can apply as a martial artist. They’re saying all training will be fully supported.

—Oh. Then should I switch careers and become a martial artist too? I’m totally broke, so if it’s free, doesn’t this sound worth trying?

—Hey, hey, but if they’re doing that, then the four groups aren’t really in gate closure, are they?

—No idea. They said outside activities are suspended.

===================

The users were confused.

But even amid that confusion, some of them tried to figure out the real intention.

===================

—So basically.

The royal palace itself is shut right now.

The four groups say they’re entering gate closure, but they’re also taking in new martial artists and covering their full growth process?

—If they’re in gate closure, then outside activity is stopped, so there shouldn’t even be any money coming in. And they still want to train a huge number of new martial artists?

===================

And they figured out the intent.

===================

—This is definitely not the plan of the four groups.

—Yeah. This is 100% the kingdom’s idea.

===================

The Lan Kingdom was moving with a very clear goal in mind.

And there was some massive objective behind it, one important enough that even the four groups would follow it without complaint.

===================

—So this means the Lan Kingdom is trying to train martial artists on a huge scale, right? Using royal funds.

—That’s exactly what it sounds like.

===================

And the conclusion people usually reached was only one.

===================

—...Isn’t the Lan Kingdom preparing for war?

===================

War.

One of New World’s three great powers was preparing for war.

That alone was enough to throw the entire NaSoJeol user community into an uproar.

===================

—Looks like war, yeah.

They say they’re shutting down on the surface, but that’s what it really looks like. If they openly increased troop numbers at the kingdom level, other nations might pick a fight over it, so this is probably how they’re handling it.

—...Holy shit. So is war finally happening?

===================

People cheered, saying that with the update Great First Step, huge changes were happening all across NaSoJeol.

After all, there had never been war between kingdoms before.

But among them, a few users raised another question.

===================

—But who exactly is the Lan Kingdom planning to fight?

===================

No one could identify the Lan Kingdom’s enemy.

And most users answered that question the same way.

===================

—No clue. We’ll find out later.

===================

That they would know once time passed.

And so, while the incident in the Lan Kingdom drew the attention of everyone within the NaSoJeol virtual reality world, users included—

“So you’re saying the holy land of the God of Chaos, Primordial Night, is in the Demon Realm?”

At Alberu’s question, Cale nodded.

He was currently staying in a hideout prepared deep within the Lan royal palace.

Guide Hinpa. The map to Primordial Night, the holy land, found in his memories.

That path led toward the Demon Realm.

“Yes. Your Highness, you were in the Demon Realm, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you must know it well. Please show us the way.”

At Cale’s brazen request, Alberu was briefly left speechless.

“But what kind of place is the Demon Realm?”

At the question Choi Han asked, Rosalyn, standing nearby, answered.

She repeated exactly the answer Alberu had once given.

“A place where weak, trashy things gather.”

When Choi Han’s brow twisted ever so slightly—

Rosalyn continued.

“Not in my eyes, though.”

When a strange light flickered in Choi Han’s eyes, she pointed at Alberu.

“And it’s also the place where our prince plans to build an empire.”

“Oh?”

The Heavenly Demon showed interest, looked once at Alberu, then asked Cale,

“When are we going?”

To him, Cale answered with a serious expression for the time being.

“Well. I’m thinking as soon as possible.”

Then he asked Rosalyn,

“Did you hear from Raon?”

Eruhaben Miru.

No news had come about that brat’s hatching.

“I guess we need to go.”

Primordial Night or the God of Chaos.

Either way, it seemed they first had to go see Eruhaben Miru, the average ten-year-old and dragon hybrid.