Chapter 258: Chapter 257. Orden’s Territory (1)

A total of 1,000 Heroes gathered for the Orden Campaign. Most of them were ranked higher than high-intermediate rank, and many were above high-rank.

With the Middle East and Europe under attack, there was no time for them to waste. The Hero Alliance Team verified the internal structure of Orden’s kingdom, divided 1000 Heroes into different teams, and identified the most efficient way to infiltrate the enemy base.

“Let’s see….”

And currently, in a limousine bound for the military portal, Aileen, who was appointed as the captain of the ‘Special Task Force’, was looking into her magic pocket.

‘High-grade External Injury Healing Potion’

‘High-grade Internal Injury Healing Potion’

‘High-grade Magic Power Recovery Potion’

‘High-grade Vitality Recovery Potion’

‘Promised Return Scroll’

‘Magic Scroll’

‘Magic Tent’

‘Beef Jerky and other provisions’

In it was a package of top notch potions and return scrolls made by Essence Pharmacy, tents and provisions in case the operation was prolonged. The items prepared by the governments of each country and the Association were truly excellent.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about~”

Aileen grinned in satisfaction. But she quickly regained her composure as the captain of the Special Task Force and glanced over the members of her team.

“Did everyone finish checking their supplies?”

Jin Seyeon, Yi Yongha, Shin Jonghak, and the new high-rank Hero, Seo Youngji. The four members of Aileen’s team examined their supplies.

“Yes, I've checked. Everything is here.”

“I have everything.”

“Me too~”

Aileen nodded sternly.

“Okay. Good. Your captain is satisfied.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the smartwatch distributed by the Association outlining their operation.

[First, travel to the underground portal in Egypt, which is the closest portal to Orden’s Kingdom. Once you arrive, you will enter immediately using Aileen’s skill ‘Teleport’. It shouldn’t be difficult as we have already figured out the internal structure using the drones.]

Tiriring—

Aileen received a text message while she was going over the details of the operation in her head.

The sender was Yoon Seung-Ah, the leader of the Third Attack Team.

—Unni, which way are you going?

Youn Seung-Ah was participating in the operation as the leader of Creator’s Sacred Grace. She wasn’t in a Special Task Force like Aileen but a regular team, along with about a dozen Heroes from Creator’s Sacred Grace.

—This operation is classified. I can’t tell you.

—…Look at you acting like a captain.

Aileen smiled contentedly. Then she typed the reply, letter by letter, with all her efforts.

—I’ve always been captain material.

"We've arrived."

At that moment, the limousine stopped. Aileen threw a glance out of the window and saw that they were right in front of the military portal. She looked around the faces of her team members and ordered them in a heavy voice.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

“Okay, everybody get off.”

“All right.”

The task force, comprised of five elite Heroes, got out of the limousine.

Aileen stretched her legs out of the limousine. They weren’t very long, but she stretched them nonetheless.

Clack. Clack

The click-clack of her high heels resonated gracefully. Aileen walked as if she was on a runway and time had slowed down for her.

A polished, grandiose music rang in her ear. She could feel the glances of the soldiers standing nearby fall on her. Even in the face of an imminent battle, she was not afraid. Rather, she walked with delight. This would only mark the beginning of Spirit Speech Master Aileen’s legend….

“…Hm.”

“Kuhum.”

“Ah. Weather, the weather is nice.”

The team desperately held back their laughter. The tiny and absolutely serious Aileen was cute but also funny.

Fortunately, they were able to arrive in front of the portal without bursting into laughter.

“Salutations! It’s an honor!”

The soldier in charge saluted. Aileen nodded with a serious look.

“Sure. Is this the portal?”

“Yes, this portal is linked to the underground tunnel in Egypt. Last time, the Egyptian VIPs used it to evacuate. However, as you already know, the distance between Cairo and Orden’s Kingdom is very far.”

Although Africa had become the land of monsters, not every single region was crawling with monsters. The monsters in Africa fought among themselves and ate each other, thus leaving a few regions entirely devoid of both humans and monsters.

“…Most Heroes will use such regions as routes to enter Orden’s Kingdom.”

“But we don’t have to.”

But not Aileen.

“In the first place, the reason this task force was formed was so that we could infiltrate Orden’s Kingdom before everybody else, deliver inside information, and blow up key locations.”

Aileen deliberately dropped her voice low. But of course, the change wasn’t very noticeable.

“We’ll enter the portal, then travel to Orden’s Kingdom using my skill ‘Teleport’.”

“…Will it be alright?”

The distance between Egypt and Orden’s territory at the center of Africa was over 10,000 km.

Still, Aileen gave a leisurely smile to the worried soldier.

“I, Aileen, am the captain of the Hero Alliance’s First Special Task Force. If I wasn’t qualified, I couldn’t have become the captain.”

“…Ah, yes, of course. You’re amazing.”

Aileen and the soldier somehow seemed to click, with the soldier looking at Aileen with respect and awe.

Aileen nodded contentedly.

“Let’s start the portal.”

“Yes.”

OOOONG— With the sound of magic power and electricity resonating together, the portal was linked to the faraway underground tunnel in Egypt. Before stepping into the portal, Aileen gave a small nod to the soldier. It was an expression of courtesy. The soldier responded with a courteous salute.

“Salutations! Miss Aileen, Captain of the Hero Alliance’s First Special Task Force, I pray for your victory!”

“…Of course. And I’d like to know your name as well.”

“I’m Colonel Kim Wangho.”

“Colonel Wangho…. That is a sturdy sounding name.”

Suddenly Aileen’s expression became resolute. Colonel Wangho looked at Aileen, and Aileen said again in a low voice, “If we send a signal, shut this portal down immediately. We cannot allow the enemy forces to make use of it if the operation happens to fail somehow.”

“Pardon?”

“Do as I say. I am Aileen, Captain of the Hero Alliance’s First Special Task Force….”

The new member, Seo Youngji, seemed slightly confused as she listened in on their conversation.

“She’s more mature than she appears.”

“…No. No.”

Jin Seyeon gave her vehement dissent.

“She’s just engrossed in her title right now. She’s surpsingly into such things.”

Yi Yongha also nodded.

“She’s gonna make a lot of fuss over this captain thing….”

Their small talk went on aimlessly, when, suddenly, Aileen called them from a distance after she finished speaking to the colonel.

“Hey, team!”

“Yes, yes.”

“We’ll be starting our mission now. Is everyone ready—!?”

“…Uh, yeah.”

“Your answer sucks—! Again—!”

Aileen kept shouting.

‘…Guess we’ll just have to play along,’ thought the four members as they straightened up, following Jin Seyeon’s signal.

“““Yes! We’re ready!”””

“Good. Now I’ll do the last minute roll call.”

“…Huh? But there’s only four of us.”

“Shush. They did this in the movies I watched. So you’ll do it, too.”

“…”

And so, the roll call began.

High-intermediate-rank Grade-1 Shin Jonghak.

High-rank Grade-7 Seo Youngji.

Master-rank Jin Seyeon.

Temple of Justice Yi Yongha.

“All set. Now, we enter the portal.”

Only after she finished the roll call did Aileen finally lead the team across the portal.

**

[Orden’s Territory]

The Hero Alliance’s First Special Task Force arrived in Central Africa—where Orden’s Territory was—in an instant through Aileen’s Teleport.

“Uaaa….”

Teleport covered an extremely long distance. Aileen, who had used up a great deal of magic power at once, trembled with dizziness.

Yi Yongha caught her as she fell down, and only then did Aileen finally look around.

"…Huh? What the. Where are we?”

“…”

Aileen, like the others, became confused. Orden’s Territory seemed nothing like what they had imagined.

“Why is there asphalt in Africa?”

Shin Jonghak muttered in a daze. He had expected a desert, but instead the road was covered with asphalt just like in a human city. There were no signs of nature such as grass or trees. The scenery in front of them was completely different from what the allied team had captured with satellites and drones.

“Chief, are the coordinates correct?”

Jin Seyeon asked, and Aileen nodded without a moment of hesitation.

“What, of course. Do you really think I’d make such an elementary mistake?”

Aileen looked at her smartwatch again to make sure. The coordinates were certainly correct. They were at the right place.

“…First of all, I do think we’re at the right place. Uh, I mean… we have arrived at the correct destination. Oh, look over there—!”

Suddenly Aileen pointed into the distance. What looked like a castle could be seen in the corner of the sky. Although it could just be a mirage, it really did look like a huge castle.

“Ah, you’re right. I see something over there.”

“Yes. We’ll head that way for now!”

Aileen led the squad like the brave captain she knew she was.

**

[Tower of Heroes]

The Tower of Heroes was a huge 77-story tower artificially built by the Association.

Compared to its great height, however, its ‘width’ was relatively short, at least on the outside. The inside was, in fact, much bigger than how the Tower appeared on the outside. The Tower of Heroes was an iconic building constructed with a magic engineering technique called ‘Expansion Architecture’.

That was why one floor of the Tower was large enough to hold four to five houses. There were actually separate housing spaces for employees.

"Professor, where did magic power come from?"

Among them, a house on the 33rd floor was designated as the residence of a certain child. It was the home of Yi Yuri, the child with the Authority of Healing, also called the ‘Girl of Authority’.

“It’s widely accepted that it came about after Outcall….”

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The 15-year-old, under the strict protection of the Association, was now taking private lessons from a Cube professor.

“But I reckon such an answer won’t be enough to satisfy you.”

The professor handed her a copy of the research paper that he had prepared beforehand.

“Please take a look at this.”

“Oh, is this one of ‘his’ papers again?”

The professor nodded to Yi Yuri.

“Yes. It’s incredibly sophisticated, clear, and detailed. I still cannot believe that a mere 17-year-old student wrote such a masterpiece.”

“Ah…. I see.”

Yi Yuri gladly received the paper.

Indeed, there was a familiar name written across the top.

[Birth of Magic Power and Precursor to Outcall] - [Cube Class 1, Rank 934, Kim Hajin]

His name was 'Kim Hajin', a genius whose achievements in magical theory were recorded in textbooks. Yi Yuri had already read five papers written by him. They were all on different subjects but equally perfect.

“‘Kim Hajin’, I run across this name a lot while studying.”

The professor smiled softly. “It’s likewise for students at Cube. He submitted a total of 23 exam papers and 8 essays, but all of them were published in major academic journals. There are a total of eight studies currently underway based on Hajin’s papers.”

“Wow…. That’s amazing.”

“He was by far the brightest student I’ve ever taught.”

The professor smiled as he reminisced about the distant past. As a scholar who pursued the profound truth, he considered Kim Hajin a stimulus. Kim Hajin was intelligent and brilliant, gifted and creative….

Tiriring.

Suddenly, his smartwatch beeped. The professor glanced at the message.

“Ah, it seems something came up. I’ll be out for a while, so please read the paper in the meantime. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, Professor.”

The professor left, and Yi Yuri read the paper.

“Oah….”

The more she read Kim Hajin’s paper, the more she admired it. Academic papers were not meant to be entertaining, yet his papers easily drew her in as though they had been enchanted with magic.

Kiik—

The door opened again not long afterwards, and Yi Yuri glanced up over the paper. The professor was back. He wore a warm smile on his face.

“Yuri-ssi, there’s good news.”

“…Yes?”

“Your parents have come to visit you. You’ll be able to spend the rest of the day with them.”

At that moment, a big smile spread across Yi Yuri’s face. Normally she saw them once every two months at most.

“Real— Really?”

“Yes, but you’ll be strictly guarded. Would you like to go?”

“Yes! O-Of course.”

Yuri got up in a hurry and packed her things, including the papers. Then she even changed into her favorite clothes and returned.

“Please follow me.”

The professor led Yuri with a smile. Excited, Yuri followed the professor, who switched on the tightly locked elevator on the 55th floor.

“Come, let’s go.”

“Yes…?”

Only after arriving in front of the elevator did Yuri notice something was wrong. Her intuition warned her.

She stopped and looked around.

Usually this floor crawled with guards on duty. But for some reason, none of them were here today.

“Excuse me, Professor, but— Ah!”

The professor caught Yuri by the wrist as she tried to step back. Pulling her, he said, “You should follow me if you want to live.”

“Wha, what? P-Please wait.”

The elevator door closed and they quickly descended to the first floor. The professor almost dragged Yuri out of the elevator. Though the Tower of Heroes was located in Gwanghwamun, what greeted them outside was an empty lot.

“Professor, where are we?”

“Don’t be afraid and follow me. We’re going to see your parents.”

The professor’s—Jain’s—grip tightened around Yi Yuri’s wrists, who was now sobbing. Jain tried to take Yuri to their hiding place.

However.

“Where are you going~?”

A figure silently appeared and stopped her tracks.

Jain’s eyebrows narrowed to a frown at the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest.

“Hi. Long time no see. You’re Jain, right?”

The man who casually greeted Jain was Kim Junwoo, a hunter from the Vast Expanse.

Jain glared at him. Kim Junwoo’s eyes still formed a straight line, and his narrow fox-like eyes were just as intimidating as they were in anime.

But right now, there was an even more powerful and destructive being by Jain’s side.

“Yeah, long time no see, you dog of Vast Expanse.”

Cheok Jungyeong muttered as he stepped forward from behind Jain. Kim Junwoo smiled at him. The pair of straight lines on his face arched to form two curves.

“You’re right, it’s been awhile, pig.”

“…Oh? I’ll take care of this bastard, so you take the kid and buzz off.”

Jain tried to do as she was told.

…But just how many people were hiding in this empty lot?

“You won’t be able to leave.”

Suddenly, a low, aged voice rang out, and from somewhere an old man in uniform sprang out.

Both Cheok Jungyeong and Jain froze at the sight of the old man.

“That child is my hope.”

Vast Expanse, who was considered the strongest in his field of work, had appeared in front of them. Cheok Jungyeong stared at Vast Expanse, trying to make sure he was real.

A few minutes passed in silence.

Jain asked carefully.

“…It’s just you two?”

Kim Junwoo nodded without words. He thought numbers were insignificant with Vast Expanse himself present.

“Phew…. That’s good.”

Jain breathed a sigh of relief.

Her confidence was well-grounded. Soon, just as Vast Expanse did, the Chameleon Troupe appeared from the darkness. One by one, shadows came into view. There were many, but at the same time, there was only one.

Seat of Silver, Kaita.

Seat of Indigo, Yoo Kyunghwan.

Seat of Brown, Hirano.

Seat of Green, Jin Yohan.

Seat of Turquoise, Setryn.

Seat of Blue, Khalifa.

And lastly, the Seat of White, Boss.

All but two members of the Chameleon Troupe gathered and surrounded the two men.

“Hahahaha….”

Was this the confidence of the man considered to be the strongest of all?

“You must be the Chameleon Troupe. It’s been a long time since I’ve been entertained.”

Even as he was surrounded by a number of strong foes, Vast Expanse only smiled tenderly.

**

[Orden’s Territory]

Meanwhile, I arrived at the heart of Africa with Spartan. I could see Orden’s territory in the distance. I studied the territory from afar.

“…What?”

At first, I wondered if I came to the right place. Things were very different from my original setting.

I imagined a single castle standing in the middle of nowhere. Yet, before my eyes was a vast land full of traps and barriers surrounding a splendidly decorated castle.

“It sure did change a lot.”

I muttered in despair.

The ‘original story’ was no more.

I only had my eyes and ears to rely on from now.

“Huu….”

I took a deep breath and gathered Stigma's magic power around my eyes. With grade-2 Master Sharpshooter, its Thousand-Mile Eyes showed me the full view of Orden’s territory.

‘The most likely place to find Aileen’s party is…’ Just as I was thinking, a single barrier came into my sight.

[Time Barrier]

—A week inside this barrier is equivalent to an hour outside. However, it is impossible to train inside because the flow of magic power and air is stagnant.

—Entrance is free, but exiting is not.

—To break up this barrier, a power equivalent to the grand magic Dispel or an ‘Authority’ is needed.

This was the most suspicious trap out of all the traps that swarmed Orden’s territory.

Of course, I didn’t really care what the trap was about. I had brought the [Mysterious Key] with me from the Tower to prepare for such things.

“Let’s see….”

My vision easily penetrated through the Time Barrier, and I looked inside.

‘Is there anything in there?’ I scrutinized closely.

“…Oh?”

I discovered three people.

Their faces were dirty, their clothes were torn, and from their protruding bones I could assume they hadn’t eaten for a long time.

Aileen, Shin Jonghak, and Jin Seyeon. They were all there.

—I’m starving….

Aileen muttered pitifully. Jin Seyeon would always comfort Aileen at times like this, but right now even she seemed to be on edge.

—…I’m starving as well.

—Ah….

All three Heroes were virtually skeletons on the verge of starvation. Wondering why, I looked around the vast area within the barrier. It didn’t take me long to understand.

“…There’s nothing.”

There was nothing inside.

No grass, no beasts, no water, no monsters, nothing.

—Water, water, ahhhh…. Waterrr….

Orden knew how to deal with Aileen. Aileen was strong, but the way to deal with someone as strong as her was surprisingly simple.

You just had to avoid fighting her.

Fighting by not fighting. It was that simple.

And thanks to the betrayer, it would have been easy for him to set them up.

Anyways, if this dragged on, they could actually die.

“Spartan, go get some food bags from home.”

—Pieeek.

I sent Spartan and waited.

He returned about 3 minutes later with bags full of food and water. I grabbed them and ran towards the barrier.

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