Chapter 107 – Unexpected Danger

“It’s not even a fuss…”

Meeting room on the rooftop of the Awakened Association building. Lee Man-seong, the president of the association, laughed at the sight through the glass.

“What the hell does that mean…?”

A golden tree sprang up as it tore through the sea, pierced the sky, and pushed away the clouds.

The sight of a fallen tree emitting light that could be felt even from a distance of several tens of kilometers and a size that ignored perspective was enough to overwhelm Lee Man-seong, who had seen many things in the central world.

“We have completed the evacuation of the association president, lawmakers, and bureaucrats.”

“Is it? You suffered. You must have been tired from dealing with the obedient old bastards.”

“No.”

Currently, he serves as Lee Man-seong’s escort and secretary, but he is the team leader of Karun, a combat group that is no different from his personal enlisted soldier in the past.

Even though he had been thoroughly educated, he could not stop the trembling of his eyes in fear at the transcendent unknown outside the window.

“Are you afraid?”
“…Sorry.”
“No. Is it natural?”

Rather, he would have been disappointed if he had replied that he was not afraid. It must have been that the person who assisted by his side spoke lies.

“You go out and control the citizens.”
“Then…The president of the association and the two of you…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.”
“Yes then.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”

Having served Lee Man-seong for a long time, she read her determination not to interfere in this matter any longer in her benevolent tone, and then quietly stepped back and opened the door to her meeting room.

“Now…Then…”

Lee Man-seong, who watched her for a while, turned her head and opened her mouth to the two beautiful women who were silently watching out of her window like him.

“What will the head of DCD and the head of the guardian guild do?”

Alice Parcell and Yang Ha-yeon gathered at the association meeting to talk about the relationship between Korea and the United States and Balto and Dragonia. The two women recited their thoughts in response to Lee Man-seong’s question.

“First of all, I am glad that the sluggish and dirty story is over. The eyes and snouts of the old ones were disgusting.”

“Certainly… His personality was different from America’s…?”

“What can I do? That’s what peace is.”

“I’ve considered the nature of peace… But it’s kind of… Annoying to think that the products of chance and luck are just because they’re great.”

Before considering the relationship between Dragonia and Balto, the alliance between Korea and the United States, which had been severed since the appearance of the monsters and the Awakeners, was not simply resolved by the association’s will alone.

Whatever the dynamics of power, as long as this country stands for democracy, it needed help from high-ranking government officials and the National Assembly.

Advocating for democracy is proof that it has never experienced a crisis. Coincidence and luck combine to enjoy a breathtaking stability, and the upper class try to make their own self-interest in it. That was the reality of Korea.

Yang Ha-yeon and Alice Parcel knew that, so they frowned in disgust but did not directly use force.

“Well…But it doesn’t seem like it will take long…Since those people seem to have taken a step into the Emperor’s Kingdom and the China League…”

“They are fools who can’t read the current situation. They will be cut off in one way or another, so the chief of Balto and the head of DCD, let go of your worries.”

Whether it will be political or physical will depend on the opponent.

“Yes. However…”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you suddenly polite? As long as the meeting is ruined, this is no longer an official place. You can let go.”

“How can I?”

At Yang Ha-yeon’s statement that he didn’t understand, Lee Man-seong smiled bitterly and turned his head toward the golden tree that collapsed majestically.

“Couldn’t that be the case with the head of a group where there are men who can choose between the ruin and revival of this country?”

“Do you think that is what he did?”

“Existences capable of such miracles are extremely rare, even in the central world. He must be involved in some way.”

“Surely… You were amazing…”

“What are you talking about quietly? Alice Parcel.”

Yang Ha-yeon narrowed her eyes and glared at Alice, who was smiling like she didn’t know anything.

“Except for me, the guardian guild leader, who entered this country on my own, I am curious about how I met him.”

“…That’s not me, he…”

“No matter what, you were thinking of excluding me and having a conversation.”

There was no way Alice Parcel didn’t know about Yang Ha-yeon. If so, he must have entered the country secretly and wanted to find out about him, Yuchun. She didn’t like it

“I also have my own standards…”

“Did you like it?”

“Yes, that’s more than enough…Otherwise, would I bet everything like this…? Even for me, it is very burdensome for me to be hostile to the faction that has Pango behind me…”

“Could you tell me what the conversation was about?”

“It’s unfortunate… But it’s a secret… Between me and him.”

“…Does that word really bother you?”

“You didn’t say anything wrong…?”

It was not wrong as long as Yoochun kept the story about Yang Ha-yeon’s enemy secret from Alice. However, Yang Ha-yeon’s expression gradually hardened with her provocative tone.

“Kuhm! It’s different from what they vaguely imagined, but it’s true that real peace has fallen on this country.”

As the atmosphere between the two women began to escalate, Lee Man-seong looked up at the barrier surrounding the country, dimly above the tree, to divert his attention to prevent his voice from getting louder.

“Whatever it is, I am not dissatisfied with him, so please don’t misunderstand. It was a big accident, but at the same time, isn’t it thanks to the revival he gifted to this country that we are having this conversation?”

“Certainly… I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

A translucent circular dome covering the sky.

Even though there is a tree that sows abnormal miracles, the reason why no one directly suffered a sacrifice was because that thing that covered the inland of the Korean Peninsula was clearing out all the damage.

“I never thought that Korea had that level of magic technology… Even if it wasn’t for him, it would be a country worth being with…”

“What. It’s nothing great.”

“Are you saying that isn’t that great…?”

It has faded now, but when the tree was in full swing, a firestorm accompanied by a huge tsunami raged inland.

Questions rose in Alice’s eyes as she did not understand that the barriers that prevented such violent fluctuations of mana that even American technology could not stop were not great.

“Technology isn’t that great.”
“Then…?”
“The materials Balto provided to this country are of the highest quality. I can’t tell you. It’s because it’s B.M.”

Several expensive materials were used in the ‘Hexagon Tablet’, a defense barrier secretly produced between the Association and Balto, but two of them.

The nucleus of the beongyeong spider and the Tripitaka Koreana, which served as the center of the barrier, were things that could not be valued with money.

It defines the realm of blood that the Tripitaka Koreana must protect, and isolates that area from the dimension through the core of the spider that creates the mirror world.

Although the Tripitaka Koreana does not unfold without the will, and the energy that goes into it is enormous, it is a level of barrier that cannot be dared to be imagined in this outer dimension. I couldn’t just inform the other party of the alliance relationship.

Even so, Yang Ha-yeon’s proud expression, as if she was going to take revenge, was enough to upset Alice’s mood. However, he soon put on a grinning expression again.

“Then I’ll ask him later…”

“…What confidence do you think he’ll tell you all about?”

“Can you tell me…? We are a community of destiny…”

“…”

Yang Ha-yeon desperately suppressed the urge to rip off the corner of her mouth, thinking about what to do with it.

‘What the hell was that Yuchun doing…’

Watching the second fight between the two women, he cursed Yoochun and sighed.

Lee Man-seong, realizing that the gradually warming indoor air was not his fault, skillfully hid the tension that he would really fight and fight, and the sadness that he had to play this role even at his age, and laughed heartily and clapped.

“Haha! It would be quite difficult to control the media and settle public sentiment, but if you think positively, wouldn’t it be a good thing since this incident clearly highlighted the significance of Balto’s existence? Ha Yeon-yang. Miss Ellis.”

“Yeah…What.”
“That’s right…”

What did Balto do? Why did he have to join hands with the far-away United States when we need to strengthen our alliance with neighboring countries? Those who said we should also build a bridge to Bango and those who are neither here nor there.

This incident must have been imprinted on the heads of such handymen and citizens outside.

That Balto has the ability to defend Korea, there is no need to reach out to other countries and powers that are close to the enemy, and that it is more advantageous to join hands with powerful forces that are far away.

With the exception of a few who ate too much rice cakes, the rest will reconsider their relationship with Balto and the United States, with which Balto wants to ally.

“By the way… President of the association? I have a personal question, can I ask you?”

“Huh? Why do you do that again?”

“Something… You seem to have a more positive attitude toward me than before… Do you have any changes in your mind?”

Until Balto first settled down in Korea, Lee Man-seong’s attitude was that he recognized the necessity. In this way, he did not actively defend Balto beyond the position of the head of the association of a national institution.

“Hmm…If it’s special, it might be special…But there’s nothing special about saying that.”

“What do you mean?”

“It just reminded me of what I already knew. On the day the golden bird died.”

A transcendent is needed. And the transcendent should make this country count as its own power. If you don’t want to be swayed by the tastes of the great powers in the central world, standing at the crossroads of destruction and survival.

“In a world where everything is limited, wealth can only be achieved by eating other people’s property. If it’s not a high-risk high-return, you can’t get out of the situation of a deer being eaten by predators when they want.”

Most people did not know much and only saw the fragment, but Korea went through various chaos with the appearance of Yuchun. However, one of the things I got at the end was the ‘Hexagon Tablet’.

I don’t know what the end will be, but if I survive, this country will be able to rise to the fate of ‘the one who chooses’ rather than ‘the one who is chosen’.

“And I personally owed him a favor I couldn’t repay…”

“Grace? Ah…!”

Dilution of holy water.

A rare treasure that Yoochun put out after learning that Manseong Lee’s granddaughter was ill. Thanks to that, he remembered the news that his granddaughter, who had been hospitalized due to innate magic addiction, had entered the academy, and glanced at Ellis.

“Ummm…?”

I know he’s keeping something secret, but he doesn’t know what it is, so Yang Ha-yeon shuts her mouth with a slight nod.

‘I’ll have to be careful…’

The Holy Spirit Tree is a rare and noble sacred object that is more than a fair number of artifacts. Like the Tripitaka Koreana, it was not something to be talked about carelessly. And Lee Man-seong thought the same.

“Hmmmm…Why don’t we stop talking about this? This old man has a hot face.”

“Hmm…Why do you have to hide so much…?”

“Haha! It’s not information I’m going to share, so I think you’d better ask him directly later.”

“Umm…Yes, I’ll do that…”

Ellis, who was staring at Yang Ha-yeon and Lee Man-seong with her eyes sharply open, readily admitted that she had a point. Even if she was Ellis, if her subordinates were to spread unauthorized information, she would have been beaten.

“Thank you. Anyway, I think it’s largely resolved… Miss Ha Yeon?”

“Yes?”

“Shouldn’t you check it anyway?”

The air still seemed to roar with extreme heat, but the golden trees were no longer visible. It was a problem that would get better soon, and there was deep conviction about the cause, but even so, as the association and guardian guild, 1% of anxiety shouldn’t be left.

“Yes, so I sent the two most suitable people for this job.”

“Um…Do you know who you sent?”

“The person who is needed first for this task should be someone who has the highest level of force and at the same time is able to get out of the seat quickly after obtaining information.”

A being with high ranker-level strength capable of coping with any danger, and at the same time being able to quickly escape the scene. Of Balto’s current available staff, only two were able to achieve that.

“Since Daegu has sent a man who is quietly working hard to manage the organization and two women who only know about fighting, you can rest assured.”

“Hmm…”

She turned around because Elise was there, but Lee Man-seong nodded her head in satisfaction, having figured out who the two people she was talking to were.

However, Lee Man-seong and Yang Ha-yeon did not know.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine with those two…”

The evil and hatred that awaits them there.