Chapter 186. Invasion of Paradise (2)
Round’s Second Unit had landed south of the Han River after passing Yeouido.
It was led by ‘Percival’ and ‘Gareth.’
Both Percival and Gareth were spear-wielding Contractors, and the two had known each other for a long time.
“Gareth, your brother died... Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I can’t let personal emotions interfere with the mission.”
Gareth was the younger brother of the ‘Gawain’ who had initially been defeated by Kang Yujin.
In legend, Sir Gawain and Sir Gareth were brothers.
Because of that, when actual brothers inherited the codenames Gawain and Gareth, it had become quite a topic of discussion within Round.
“You’re impressive.”
Percival sighed.
“To be honest, I’m still shaken.”
“You were childhood friends with the previous Percival, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. I always thought I’d defeat that bastard someday and take the Percival position for myself.”
“I never imagined it would happen like this...”
The comrade who had previously used the codename Percival had also died fighting Kang Yujin’s group.
“Let’s avenge them together, Percival.”
“That’s what we should do.”
While talking, Percival and Gareth advanced along the road.
According to the operational plan, they were supposed to enter central Gangnam.
“Enemy ahead!”
“They appeared right in front of us!”
Eventually, they encountered the enemy.
A formation had been set up across the road, blocking their path.
“Those light outfits... the Hwaseong Sect.”
“Wasn’t that an organization centered around close-combat fighters?”
“Either way, they shouldn’t be a match for us.”
Jegal Geum, who had once led the Hwaseong Sect, was already dead.
A woman named Lee Sion had inherited leadership afterward, but Round’s internal assessment said she wasn’t particularly threatening.
“They should be setting traps and devising every trick they can.”
“Instead, they’re trying to face us head-on. Fools.”
“With our spear charge, we’ll break their formation in an instant.”
As they spoke, Percival and Gareth gave orders to their subordinates.
They arranged themselves into a formation for the charge.
They also deployed defensive magic in preparation for possible magical attacks from the surrounding buildings.
“Hm?”
A woman walked forward alone with an axe in each hand.
“She’s coming out by herself?”
“It could be a trap. Stay cautious.”
Percival and Gareth raised their spears without lowering their guard.
“You there! Are you Lee Sion, the Contractor of ‘Murderer with Two Axes’?”
“I’m Gareth, and this is Percival!”
“If you want a duel, one of us will face you!”
At their shout, the woman frowned and tapped one axe against her shoulder.
Then she suddenly spoke in a rough voice.
“Hey, you guys aren’t actually Gareth and Percival, right?”
“W-What?”
“Answer properly.”
“You’re just borrowing their names, aren’t you?”
“W-Well...”
“Tch. I thought so.”
“I got my hopes up because Bradamante said she respected the Knights of the Round Table.”
“I wanted to fight the real ones.”
“Bradamante?”
“You mean the only female knight among Charlemagne’s Twelve Peers?”
Percival and Gareth felt something strange.
Lee Sion looked reasonably neat and feminine.
So why...
did she somehow radiate the overwhelming presence of a ‘male’?
“Tch. Can’t be helped.”
At that moment...
Lee Sion suddenly kicked off the ground and charged.
What incredible acceleration!
It was a fast and heavy charge that lost nothing to Percival and Gareth’s own spear rushes.
Startled by the sheer force, Gareth hurriedly stepped back.
But Percival was one step too slow.
“Ghk!”
A massive axe slammed directly into Percival’s head.
Seeing the horrific sight, Gareth forgot to counterattack and retreated again.
“Come at me, you bastards!”
The woman in front of Gareth glared fiercely.
At some point...
her face had turned dark red.
“This Black Whirlwind Lee Gyu will split every last one of your skulls open with these twin axes!”
Displaying power clearly beyond human limits, the two axes tore through everything around him.
The Hwaseong Sect Contractors waiting behind him charged as well.
A bloody battle erupted.
Round’s Third Unit, which landed north of the Han River, was commanded by ‘Tristan’ and ‘Bedivere.’
“I can’t believe a rookie like me ended up inheriting Tristan’s name... I was only seventh-ranked until yesterday.”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
A middle-aged man using the codename Bedivere, named after King Arthur’s ‘oldest knight,’ spoke gently.
“The previous Tristan took every candidate down to sixth rank with him.”
The boy who had newly inherited Sir Tristan’s name flushed with embarrassment.
“I’ll have to work hard.”
“I can’t disgrace Sir Tristan’s name.”
“That attitude is important.”
“You possess Sir Tristan’s Constellation Armament, Fail-Not.”
“As long as you remain calm... Urk!”
At that moment...
a stream of water suddenly poured down from the sky.
The water moved like a slime with a will of its own.
It wrapped around Bedivere and completely swallowed his head.
“Ghk! Mmph!”
“B-Bedivere!”
Tristan hurriedly tried to help him.
But he had no idea what to do.
“W-Wait. If this is an attack from a water-attribute ability user, then she must be nearby...!”
This was likely the work of Seo Youngmi, the Contractor of the A-rank Constellation ‘Fairy Who Controls Water.’
Tristan hurriedly looked around for her.
“T-There!”
He spotted a woman hiding in a tree and quickly raised his arm.
He aimed Fail-Not, the bow said never to miss, and fired arrow after arrow.
"...!"
But it was useless.
A ‘wall of water’ suddenly appeared and blocked every shot.
“The bow itself seems excellent.”
A woman’s calm voice rang out.
“But the user lacks skill.”
She continued evenly.
“You don’t have what it takes to pierce Princess Longji’s Constellation Armament, the Mist-Dew Universe Net.”
"...!"
Tristan stepped backward.
He intended to create some distance and reorganize.
Then a cold voice reached him.
“You’re less capable than the Tristan from before.”
“Ah...!”
BOOOOM!
Lightning crashed from the sky and struck Tristan directly.
“Ghk...!”
As Tristan convulsed in pain, a group of people emerged from ahead.
There were far more of them than expected.
And their movements were even more disciplined than Round’s own thoroughly trained members.
These people... are they stronger than we thought?
Overwhelmed by despair, Tristan dropped to his knees.
“Your skill has improved quite a bit, Lee Hyeonje.”
“Don’t mock me, Cheon Sangwoon.”
“Looks like it’s mostly over.”
I observed the battlefield through dozens of projected screens floating in the air.
Round had landed in three separate directions...
but all three forces had been annihilated without accomplishing much.
Our side was somewhat lacking in combat strength in Gangnam.
Fortunately, Lee Gyu descended to the Material Realm through the Constellation Skill [Demonic Star Descent] and supported them.
That allowed us to secure victory there as well.
“Nameless, Round wasn’t anything special after all.”
Number 49 snorted while watching beside me.
“They landed looking all smug, then got completely wiped out almost immediately.”
“Don’t say that.”
“They’re still quite strong.”
Round’s major members possessed strength that wouldn’t fall behind the strongest Contractors in China or Japan.
And yet the Contractors of the Capital Region had repelled them without too much difficulty.
That was because our overall combat strength had improved enormously.
Probably thanks to Seok Taejun sweeping up Hidden Pieces all across Korea.
Seok Taejun’s Awakening Skill, [Hidden Insight], allowed him to obtain information about Hidden Pieces in Events and Quests.
A month had been more than enough time to travel throughout the country and collect everything useful.
And Seok Taejun didn’t monopolize those rewards.
He distributed them to the people around him, raising the overall level of Korea’s Contractors.
Jason and Joo Minha also created systematic training plans for them.
The Golden Ram Order had suffered some losses from Lancelot’s attack.
But once its dispersed members regrouped...
their strength surpassed my expectations.
The Hwaseong Sect seems to have overcome the loss of Jegal Geum too.
Lee Hyeonje, Seo Youngmi, and the others have clearly gotten stronger as well.
In truth...
the major Contractors of the Capital Region had already experienced countless brutal battles.
And unlike those in China or Japan...
they had survived those battles.
They were already world-class veterans.
“Ah, Nameless. It looks like Shin Minyu reached the northern side.”
At Number 49’s words, I turned toward the screen displaying the north.
Shin Minyu, one of the Eight Guardians and the Contractor of the S-rank Constellation ‘Warrior of the Fierce Hound,’ Cú Chulainn, was moving south in a hurry.
“Won Pilso can’t leave Kaesong easily.”
“But if Shin Minyu brings down the troops stationed in the north, that’ll make things much safer.”
“Right.”
Shin Minyu and his subordinates had been tempered along the border with Pandemonium.
They were important combat assets.
Once they joined...
the Capital Region’s Contractors would gain an even greater advantage.
“Then it’s about time we started.”
“Ah, right.”
We had completely repelled the landing forces Round had sent.
There was no reason to wait for the next wave.
“We’re going straight into Avalon.”
“Yes!”
Number 49’s eyes lit up.
“Then I’ll descend to the Material Realm too so I can handle the broadcast!”
Dragging things out would be dangerous if Pandemonium or some other faction decided to move.
Since the enemy’s headquarters was sitting right in the middle of the Han River...
the best option was to finish them quickly.
I had already uploaded a teaser video to Constellation Tube announcing that plan.
“Number 49.”
“Yes?”
“I have one favor to ask.”
Number 49 smiled brightly.
“Then I’ll descend to the Material Realm too so I can handle the broadcast!”
“You literally just said that.”
I grabbed Number 49 by the back of the neck.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“But! You always make me do weird things, Nameless!”
“I want to do something normal for once!”
“Keep your voice down. Someone might misunderstand if they hear you.”
“Who’s going to hear us here?!”
“Let go of me!”
“I’m not your toy or your property!”
As Number 49 struggled, another voice suddenly came from beside us.
“I believe I just overheard something rather suggestive.”
“Could you explain in detail?”
“To be honest, I’ve suspected something for quite some time, but surely...”
“It’s nothing!”
I immediately cut off Princess Longji’s communication.
─ I’ve been waiting for this day!
─ It’s been a long time since there was a Constellation Tube broadcast, right?
─ Yeah. Isn’t this the first one since Saionji Keito fought in Kaesong?
─ There’s a good chance Observers won’t work inside Avalon.
─ Everyone, it’s been a while! Let’s have fun in chat today!
─ This is my first time using this feature. Would someone explain it to me?
A live broadcast using Constellation Tube’s real-time streaming function.
News that the special Event first introduced by the ‘Nameless King’ during the war against Pandemonium was happening again caused countless Constellations to flood in.
Number 49’s lively commentary.
Her dynamic camerawork.
And the fun of the free-for-all chat window.
Word about all of it had already spread throughout the Spirit Realm.
“Hello, everyone!”
“It feels like it’s been a while since I greeted you through Constellation Tube!”
“Have you all been well?”
─ The cutie is here!
─ Hey, hey! We missed you!
─ Give us another fun broadcast today!
The Constellations erupted in cheers when Number 49 appeared on the livestream.
Right now, she was standing inside a high-rise building in Yeouido, showing viewers a panoramic view of the Han River.
“But today... there’s something I need to tell everyone in advance!”
─ What?
─ Did something happen?
─ Her expression twisted for a second just now.
When Number 49 briefly showed an uncomfortable expression, sharp-eyed Constellations noticed immediately.
But Number 49 quickly smiled again and raised her voice.
“Actually, we prepared a special guest for today!”
─ A guest?
─ What, did you bring another Apostle?
─ Don’t tell me the ‘Nameless King’ is appearing in person?
At that moment...
a seductive woman suddenly appeared beside Number 49 and tightly linked arms with her.
“Hello, everyone!”
“I’m Daji, and I’ll be helping Number 49 as a commentator today!”
“Please take good care of me!”
“Eek! Why are you clinging to me?!”
“Get off!”
─ Huh?
─ Daji?
─ What the hell is going on?
Countless Constellations were left utterly bewildered by the unexpected development.
