In the past, I hadn’t heard of Jung Euichang entering a nearby forest, especially in Legius to hunt down a murderer clan. It might be because the security was very thorough, or that the future has somewhat changed.
The possibility of the latter was a bit higher. Since it is one of the main factors which could promote a clan or guild, if it was supposed to have happened, then it is appropriate to say that at least I would have known.
The reason why the future had changed is also simple. Since the current Legius was much more prosperous than the Legius of the past, it was also subject to added prey by murderer clans who also moved over in search of targets.
I remember the small, but infamous Spider Clan, consisting of small, but powerful elites. All of them were around the intermediate level, similar to Black Spear in terms of power and strength. Although they were mostly hunted down and killed by the Queen of the North, their clan clearly survived until I died.
And the other one was the Hound Clan, where those guys were elites as well. If the Spider Clan consisted of a few elites, then these guys had a lot of decent players.
Other than them, I don’t know of any others, but with their ident.i.ties not being revealed just yet, if we had to choose which Jung Euichang was hunting down, narrowing it down to these two basic a.s.sumptions, it was more likely that he was pursuing the Hound Clan. The reason was because of their base being located in the West, and above all, the current Jung Euichang would not be able to deal with the Spider Clan.
Unless the Holy Order were fools, they would never send Jung Euichang against the Spider Clan.
As a right-hand man of the Saint Sword, he would become a powerhouse in the Continent as the Righteous Knight. Though I did not have any personal grudges against him, the fact that I had the opportunity to get rid of him now was truly pleasing.
I had already killed off some of the beginners who would grow their way into being an Elite. Not just me, but Seulgi would have also done this before heading to the North.
She would’ve done whatever she could to destroy the potential of the Red Cross Clan from growing. If I were to capture the current Righteous Knight, who was under protection for three years, then the Holy Order I knew of would’ve had their total power reduced by over half. Of course, it wasn’t like I had not thought of the possibility of reducing the power of the Holy Order to deliver them to the Queen of the North…
The Saint Sword, who pretended to be kind, was someone who could never bend her knees. First of all, even if a war were to not have occurred, Seulgi would definitely ignite the flames of war herself. Whether it’s her or myself, we both have the same purpose.
After roughly organizing my thoughts, I began to sense a presence from outside. I told her to enter, and Mev soon walked in.
She had an ambiguous face, implying that things had not proceeded smoothly as antic.i.p.ated.
“Found it?”
“No, I’m not sure if I’m supposed to report that I have found it or that I’m not sure… anyhow, our mission was to locate the place that Hakajin narrowed down for us first, and trace the tracks of the humans from the city second.”
“Yeah.”
“To be honest, I could not find the traces of those humans from the city at all… but I did find a place where they could be staying… Of course I haven’t confirmed yet, but the possibility is high.”
The fact that Mev could not find any traces of the Holy Order meant that the competence and standards of those humans were very high. It wasn’t like Mev had awakened her Unique Ability yet, but her ability to track and trace down humans was exceptionally competent. Although it is a bit far before they can fly, they definitely live up to their name as the Holy Order. I bit my lip as I spoke to Mev.
“Where is the place you tracked them to?”
It’s the Earthworm den which is far away in this direction.”
“Are they underground?”
“I’m not sure. It felt like it was too burdensome to enter inside, so I just scoured the outskirts.”
I nodded to Mev, knowing that she had gone for the safe and appropriate decision.
“It definitely looked like a Earthworm den, but I couldn’t find any hints of Earthworms there… No, rather, their traces have completely disappeared since a few months ago. I had doubted that it could be another location, but after finding this place, it has the highest probability. That’s our conclusion.”
Naturally, it was a credible speculation, and also one that was highly probable with Hakajin and Ragia already speculating about normal murderers having set up base in abandoned monster tribes and dens.
Amongst them, an Earthworm den would be perfect to set up a base in. Since when they penetrate earth, they create quite a decent-sized path. As such, for the enemies, hiding in a den like this was extremely good, which is also already known to many thieves as well.
The reason being that it was easy to install traps. With quite a lot of people possibly tracking him down, it was also great at erasing one’s own tracks as well.
Though, the fact exists that one’s sight will be limited due to the dark, but for monsters like our clan, it was rather an extremely nice advantage. Mev began to brightly smile after noticing my satisfied expression. Then, after stroking Mev by the hair, I spoke.
“Good job. It’ll be of great help!”
“Heh!”
Feeling great, Mev’s wings unfolded as they trembled quickly. As expected, Mev does not disappoint. It was such a blessing have a very talented archer in the clan, but the fact that she’d always had that antic.i.p.ated look on her face was a bit burdensome. It was a bit heartbreaking, betraying her expectations, but I had no choice but to speak to her.
“Gather the executives. We’re immediately starting a meeting.”
“Uh…okay! Captain!”
With the Holy Order moving cautiously like they are now, we also had quite a lot to prepare ourselves. It was extremely ambiguous to try and attempt a sneak attack against them like the previous time within the dungeon, since I’m sure they were being mobilized while fully prepared.
Unlike the previous group, they weren’t heading for a specific goal, but an expedition that required awareness and tracking. The number of forces will definitely be large, with quite a lot of talented individuals. I had to use all that was available to me.
Soon, the executives gathered, and all of them raised their hands to their chests in salute before sitting in their a.s.signed seats. Everyone was waiting for me to speak.
“It’s not accurate yet, but Mev has found where they are. It’s a Earthworm den, and, I too, believe that this kind of place would be one where they’re most likely to hide in. No, I’m almost certain that this is true.”
After elaborating, the guys began to talk about the possibilities. Hakajin and Ragia nodded, with the Loyal Five Siblings following along.
“Certainly if it’s a den of Earthworms, then they can safely hide. With various tunnels, it’s a great place for anyone to avoid and hide. Not necessarily the West, but I have heard of some Green Skins who live inside abandoned Earthworm dens.”
Hayeon continued once Hakajin finished.
“But… is it possible that the tunnels can collapse if the walls and grounds become weaker?”
“When Earthworms move, they release a special fluid that prevents the tunnels and ground from collapsing easily… but it is possible. However, I would not necessarily recommend such an option.”
Just like Hakajin had said, when Earthworms move, the special fluid that emits from them causes the ground to harden and solidify. The purpose is probably because they want to reuse the roads they pave anyways, but since I did not have a great interest in monster ecology, I was unable to check if it was true.
If you focus on firepower, you can certainly break a part of it down.
But in the perspective of the Holy Order, and for us as well, this was not a recommended option. It was because the murderers might be able to escape through another exit. As if Hakajin was in the same thought as me, it was decided that this was not a viable option in the end.
“Those guys are strong. So we must prepare readily to have a winning fight.”
“If that’s so… what do you think of entering by digging tunnels through another side?”
Ragia had broached this suggestion.
They are probably just preparing for their fight against the humans, and would definitely not antic.i.p.ate us at all. Although it needs to be planned a bit further, I thought that entering through a different direction was a plausible option.
“It was an option I was thinking as well. We must prepare to fight. After reducing their force and strength, entering the cave is right. The problem is where we can standby. Since the location of our trip and the den is far away, we need to first prioritize a place where we can hide our bodies. But it’s not a bad suggestion.
In other words, it wasn’t a bad idea if, we too. were on standby underground, as well as creating new tunnels, that the Earthworms didn’t dig, ourselves.
“It’s a great idea. The problem is the timing.”
Even though the expedition site had not been set, we can depart as soon as tomorrow. The expedition at Ahyeon’s city might be a bit late, but if we were not able to complete our preparations in time, then all our current actions would become meaningless.
We had to wait anyways.
With everyone concurring that it was a good idea, I slowly looked around.
“We depart now.”
With having no time at all, we began to mobilize immediately.
“I will follow your order.”
“For Blood Dagger.”
“Let’s go! Ggirik! Let’s make a new hideout!”
“Start preparing immediately, and we will leave the moment we are ready. Gark and Hark, prepare the equipment. Hakajin and Goblin Sisters! While we are creating the tunnels, you will wait on standby at a dependable food source that Mev, Ragia and the archers will find for you.”
“For Blood Dagger!”
“For Blood Dagger!”
“Other than pregnant women, everyone will be mobilized! You have all endured well waiting this long. It’s the beginning of the battle we’ve been waiting for!”
TL Afterword
Calvis: Finally, we’re going to see some action
TL Notice: We have finally finished setting up our new Discord Server and Patreon in replacement of sponsored chapters. I have also started translating I am the Monarch, so please look forward to that project along with Dragon Poor and this.
PR Afterword
Sai101: Vote for us in NU!
BM: Earthworms… I’m keep imagining a giant earthworm rather than some terrifying monster.
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Translator: Calvis
Proofreader: Sai101, Borderlinem.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t