Chapter 187. Invasion of Paradise (3)
“By the way, Number 49... are you a man or a woman? I’ve been curious for ages, but you never tell me. Do Apostles not have genders?”
“Stop making pointless small talk and do your job!”
─ This is actually pretty funny to watch.
─ Their chemistry is good.
─ They’re not going to keep doing this once the fighting starts, right?
─ No way. Surely not.
The Constellations seemed to be enjoying the banter between Number 49 and Daji.
I had brought Daji in because I wanted to change things up a little this time, and the response wasn’t bad.
Good thing Daji agreed to do it.
I had made great use of Daji until now.
Even though she wasn’t a Contractor, she had excellent combat ability and could support us with her sorcery, making her a valuable asset in all kinds of situations.
This time, however, I had pulled her back and assigned her to the Constellation Tube livestream alongside Number 49.
The injury she took from Arthur’s Excalibur was too serious.
Daji had attacked Arthur at the hospital and suffered a major wound.
She looked fine on the outside, but in reality, she was in no condition to participate in battle.
That was why I had given her a new role this time.
And if I keep her next to Number 49 like this, it’ll be easy to contact her if an emergency happens.
Thinking that, I manipulated the Observer.
The elite Contractors of the Capital Region were gathering to assault Avalon in the middle of the Han River.
“Then, Shin Minyu, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Yeah. If it were up to me, I’d go in too, but someone has to stay behind.”
Shin Minyu nodded at Lee Hyeonje’s words.
This time, Shin Minyu would not enter Avalon.
He would remain outside and stand by.
Sending every major Contractor into Avalon would be too risky, and something unexpected could happen outside while they were gone.
“But...”
Shin Minyu frowned and turned his head.
“Cheon Sangwoon.”
“I know what you want to say.”
Cheon Sangwoon, who was sitting in a corner, answered calmly.
“But instead of restraining and punishing me here... wouldn’t it be better to use me as combat power to resolve the crisis in the Capital Region?”
“You irritating bastard...”
Shin Minyu wasn’t the only one who still held resentment toward Cheon Sangwoon.
Everyone remembered how Cheon Sangwoon had summoned the Beast, forced the other Eight Guardians into submission, and attempted to rule the Capital Region.
“As you can see, I only have half a body now.”
Cheon Sangwoon shrugged his right shoulder as he spoke.
The right arm that had wielded the holy sword Durandal and cut down countless enemies was gone.
His right eye was covered by an eyepatch as well.
At a glance, he didn’t look like someone capable of fighting.
“I’m forcing myself to participate because I want to contribute at least a little.”
“So I’d appreciate it if you could be generous.”
“You’d still be dangerous even if both your arms were gone.”
Shin Minyu frowned and looked away.
“Lee Hyeonje, if you’ve decided this, handle it yourself.”
“Keep a close eye on him.”
“Don’t worry.”
“As long as you lock him up again after the battle, I won’t complain.”
After saying that to Lee Hyeonje, Shin Minyu turned toward Seo Youngmi.
“So from this side, it’s you, Lee Hyeonje, and Cheon Sangwoon going?”
“Yes.”
Seo Youngmi nodded.
“From the south, Mr. Kang Yujin’s group and Ms. Lee Sion will be entering.”
“There’s no point dragging a bunch of half-baked fighters along. They’ll just get in the way.”
“A small elite force is better.”
“And Kang Yujin will be there too.”
From the north:
Lee Hyeonje, Cheon Sangwoon, and Seo Youngmi.
From the south:
Kang Yujin, Seok Taejun, Lee Jukheon, Joo Minha, and Lee Sion.
That was the current plan.
“But Avalon, was it?”
“I heard there’s a barrier around the island that prevents anyone from approaching.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Seo Youngmi nodded.
“Ms. Joo Minha said she would handle it.”
Avalon was protected by a barrier that prevented outsiders from entering carelessly.
That same barrier was also what kept the island from flooding when it traveled beneath the sea or rivers.
“The advance units didn’t accomplish much.”
“Unfortunate, but unavoidable.”
Sitting on his throne, Arthur listened to Kay’s report and nodded.
“Form the second wave quickly.”
“This time, deploy Galahad.”
“Galahad? Isn’t that too early?”
“Even if the purpose is to gain real combat experience, repeated defeats will damage our morale.”
“We need to reverse the momentum here.”
“Understood. I shall obey.”
Kay bowed, then raised one hand to issue orders to his subordinates.
“My lord has commanded it. Summon Galahad immediately.”
“For the next landing...”
His words abruptly stopped.
A strange vibration passed through the entire space.
“What?”
Kay looked around in confusion.
Then one of their subordinates rushed in from outside.
“T-Terrible news!”
“What happened?”
The man shouted with a deathly pale face.
“The barrier... has completely disappeared!”
"...!"
Arthur and Kay stared at one another.
Neither had expected that.
“Oh my? Number 49, what’s happening right now?”
“I’d like to say ‘just as you can see,’ but unfortunately, the barrier was transparent, so there wasn’t much to see.”
“The barrier covering Avalon has disappeared.”
“Now anyone from outside can enter freely.”
“Why did it suddenly disappear?”
“Of course, that was done by Joo Minha, the Contractor of the Nameless King and Deputy Leader of the Golden Ram Order.”
“Lady Joo Minha?”
“Yes.”
“Most Constellations already know about this, so I might as well reveal it.”
“It’s the power of her Awakening Skill, [Disruption Barrier].”
“An Awakening Skill? Isn’t that something only veteran Contractors who have survived countless battles and reached enlightenment can acquire?”
“Yet Joo Minha has already acquired one.”
“Just like Kang Yujin.”
“That really is remarkable.”
“So she used that Awakening Skill to erase Avalon’s barrier?”
“Yes.”
“She disrupted the magical signals forming the barrier.”
“There’s a time limit, but it’s more than enough to invade from outside.”
“Then Kang Yujin and the others can use that opening to enter!”
“Exactly.”
“But Daji, you said you were supposed to be the commentator, so why am I explaining everything?!”
“Oh, come on. You know this stuff better.”
“Stop dumping your work on me! And stop clinging to me!”
