Chapter 196. The Great Detective (1)
A training ground had been set up in Yeouido.
It was practically the front yard of the Golden Ram Order.
There, a red-haired man was currently arguing with Lee Jukheon.
“Lee Jukheon! I told you, we do things our way!”
“Oh yeah? You want to keep talking back? If you’re in Korea, follow Korean rules!”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
The man pointing angrily at Lee Jukheon was Clive Strider, the Round Contractor who had once used the codename ‘Mordred.’
“I’m the one leading Round now! We’re cooperating with you, not serving under you!”
After ‘Arthur’ died and ‘Kay’ lost his motivation, the remaining Contractors of Round came under Mordred’s leadership.
Apparently, Clive had originally aimed to become Arthur’s successor.
In the end, he had inherited the leadership in an entirely different way.
“Yeah, right. Then find your own food and lodgings too. You’re all freeloading off the Golden Ram Order right now.”
“Fine. Want us to handle it ourselves? Maybe we’ll do some looting!”
“Oh? This bastard really says whatever comes to mind, huh?”
Perhaps because their personalities were similar, Clive frequently clashed with Lee Jukheon.
Maybe he still held a grudge from losing to him on Avalon.
“Stop fighting. You’re noisy.”
Kang Yujin, who had been watching nearby, stepped in.
“Or just fight each other already.”
“That might actually be better.”
“Fine! This time I’m beating you!”
Lee Jukheon and Clive immediately ran toward the sparring area.
Lee Jukheon had won on Avalon, but their actual skill levels were fairly close.
It should be a good match.
“Lord Lee Jukheon finally has a good sparring partner.”
Joo Minha, standing beside Kang Yujin, spoke calmly.
“Lord Lee Jukheon has become so strong that there are barely any swordsmen in the Capital Region capable of sparring with him anymore.”
“Clive can use Mordred’s Constellation Armament as well, so he may be the perfect opponent for him.”
“True.”
“Absorbing Round’s forces should be a major benefit to us.”
After Arthur’s death, Round had eventually surrendered.
Apparently, instructions had come down from the Constellations as well.
In any case, most members of Round leaned strongly toward the so-called ‘Orthodox Faction.’
If the Eight Guardians intended to fight Pandemonium, they seemed willing to offer as much help as possible.
“Our forces have been reinforced.”
“Now we just need to finish preparing and advance into North Korea.”
“That’s the plan.”
The deaths of Asmodeus and Sabnock in China had thrown Pandemonium’s forces in the northern Korean Peninsula into confusion.
Apparently, infighting had broken out within Pandemonium itself, and a new commander had yet to be appointed.
The Eight Guardians intended to exploit that gap and begin reclaiming North Korea.
They had already exchanged plans with Ma Taesu, who now controlled the Black Dragon Society in China.
The two sides had agreed to cooperate militarily.
“Once North Korea is liberated, northeastern China comes next.”
"..."
“We may even advance toward the Russian Far East.”
“With our own strength, we’ll liberate East Asia from Pandemonium.”
Joo Minha looked at Kang Yujin.
“And Lord Kang Yujin will stand at the forefront as the savior.”
“It’s been a while since I heard you call me that.”
Joo Minha had called Kang Yujin a savior from the very first time they met.
“Lord Kang Yujin is a savior.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You have already saved countless lives.”
“In China as well... if you hadn’t defeated Asmodeus, the casualties would have been unimaginable.”
Joo Minha looked directly at him.
“To each individual whose life you saved... Kang Yujin is the savior who saved their entire world.”
“I’m not sure.”
Kang Yujin looked up at the sky.
“I just did whatever I wanted to do at the time.”
“Or what I felt I needed to do.”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“I don’t know.”
“Lately, I’ve been thinking maybe I need some kind of unwavering conviction of my own.”
“Is your faith in your Constellation not enough?”
“That’s not quite what I mean...”
Someone suddenly came to mind.
The man who had thrown himself into the sea without hesitation to save everyone during the journey back to Korea.
Thinking of Kim Nameless filled Kang Yujin with complicated emotions.
“What kind of conviction did that man have... that let him throw his own body away without hesitation?”
“Are you talking about Lord Kim Nameless?”
“Yeah.”
“Honestly, I still don’t know what kind of person he really was.”
“He seems to have appeared before Lord Seok Taejun in the past and helped him too... He truly is a mysterious man.”
From what Kang Yujin had heard, Seok Taejun had met Kim Nameless twice.
The first time, Kim Nameless had rescued him after he fell underground.
The second time, he had given Seok Taejun advice about what direction to take in the future.
“It’s such a waste that we parted like that.”
Whatever else could be said, Kim Nameless was also a Contractor of the ‘Nameless King.’
Kang Yujin had many things he wanted to ask.
Why did Kim Nameless follow that person?
What kind of orders did he receive?
How did their relationship work?
Looking back now, Kang Yujin deeply regretted that their relationship had been too uncomfortable for them to ever have a proper conversation.
“It couldn’t be helped.”
“Yeah.”
“He’s dead.”
Kang Yujin had only changed his opinion of Kim Nameless because the man had sacrificed himself and plunged into the sea.
If that hadn’t happened...
Kang Yujin might have continued thinking badly of him.
And he would never have felt this way.
“Still, you never know.”
“He might come back alive.”
“No chance.”
Kim Nameless had held off a Sea Serpent alone, then disappeared into the depths of the ocean.
It was horrible to say...
but he had probably ended up as fish food.
“He might suddenly show up out of nowhere.”
“If he does, then he’s a fraud.”
Kang Yujin sighed.
“This way, Nameless.”
Guided by the Count, I entered neutral territory.
A small Western-style building stood there.
“This is the Committee’s ‘salon.’”
“Salon...”
“It is a space maintained by the Origin Power of its members.”
“So that’s the Committee membership fee?”
“Don’t worry.”
“New members are exempt for a certain period.”
The Count lightly touched the firmly closed door.
It opened on its own.
Apparently, some kind of security system had activated.
“Let’s go inside, Nameless.”
The Count entered first.
I followed.
So this is the Committee’s headquarters...
