Chapter 37

Chapter 37. The Result of the Collaboration (2)

"Ma Taesu is an ambitious man."

Joo Minha spoke in a calm, cold voice.

"He intends to use Kang Yujin's group to remove the obstacles in the central-western region one by one."

"He'll then take control and build a powerful faction so large that even Black Dragon Society headquarters can't easily interfere."

"..."

"As you already know, the west coast is controlled by Pandemonium. They maintain friendly relations with Ma Taesu."

Joo Minha continued while Kang Yujin silently listened.

"If Ma Taesu takes control of the remaining territories, he will gain enormous influence over the entire central-western region."

"In practice..."

"He would become its ruler."

She looked directly at Kang Yujin.

"You could take that position instead."

"Hey, wait a second."

Lee Jukheon urgently cut in.

"Kang Yujin steals Ma Taesu's position and becomes the ruler of the central-western region? Are you serious?"

"It's not impossible."

Joo Minha answered calmly.

"Because of his recent accomplishments, Kang Yujin is currently the most famous Contractor in the central-western region."

"If we're talking about charisma, he is not inferior to Ma Taesu."

"No, even so..."

"Let me give you one possible scenario."

She cut Lee Jukheon off and continued.

"Soon, we'll clash with the main forces of the White Banner Order to seize the remaining section of the highway."

"Ma Taesu himself will definitely participate."

"So?"

Joo Minha's eyes remained cold.

"What if Ma Taesu dies during the battle against the White Banner Order?"

"What?"

"If Ma Taesu dies, there will be chaos."

"But if Kang Yujin restores order, defeats the White Banner Order, and earns a great achievement..."

She paused.

"People will try to make Kang Yujin their next leader."

"What are you talking about? Black Dragon Society headquarters would never allow that!"

"Our job would be to establish the situation before headquarters can decide on a response and intervene."

"This is ridiculous..."

"Lee Jukheon, I actually think it sounds somewhat realistic."

Seok Taejun, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.

"I talked with Joo Minha earlier. She understands the political situation in the central-western region extremely well."

"Hey, Seok Taejun! I understand that stuff too! I'm not saying this because I don't know!"

"Either way, I don't think her idea is unrealistic."

Seok Taejun smiled.

"If Ma Taesu dies, someone will have to fill the empty position."

"Kang Yujin is more than qualified."

Then he added,

"The real problem is whether Ma Taesu would die that easily."

"There is a way."

"What?"

Seok Taejun looked at Joo Minha in surprise.

"We have Lee Jukheon."

"Me?"

"Yes."

Joo Minha stared directly at Lee Jukheon.

"During the battle against the White Banner Order, Lee Jukheon can assassinate Ma Taesu when an opportunity appears."

"...!"

"With Lee Jukheon's speed and technique, it is possible."

"No."

She corrected herself.

"At the moment, Lee Jukheon may be the only person capable of doing it."

"What the hell..."

"We can make it look like the White Banner Order killed him. Then Kang Yujin can control the chaos afterward."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Lee Jukheon raised his voice.

"Joo Minha, your plan has one fatal flaw."

"What is it?"

"The Constellations will expose us immediately."

"..."

"They'll clearly see me assassinating Ma Taesu."

Lee Jukheon gave a crooked smile.

"So perfectly disguising the assassination is impossible."

"Well, unless I betray you and join the White Banner Order."

"I have no intention of asking you to do that."

"Then there's no other way your plan works."

"No."

Joo Minha shook her head.

"That's not true."

"Stop insisting..."

"Because..."

Joo Minha spoke coldly.

"The Awakening Skill I obtained, [Disruption Barrier], can interfere even with the eyes and ears of the Constellations."

"...!"

Joo Minha's Awakening Skill is extremely unusual.

Sitting alone in my chair, I thought about the Awakening Skill of my newest Contractor.

That skill was precisely why I had decided to recruit Joo Minha.

So the moment she contracted with me, I used my Constellation Skill to give her Root Awakening.

Looking at an Awakening Skill like this... Joo Minha is clearly specialized in rear support and plotting strategies.

Awakening Skill: [Disruption Barrier].

It created an area where various signals could no longer be transmitted properly.

In simple terms, it created an area filled with interference.

Joo Minha could decide which signals to disrupt.

For example, she could even interfere with information being transmitted to the Constellations' observation devices.

Normally, Constellations could use observation devices to watch most places freely.

If they sent an Apostle, they could even listen to conversations.

But Joo Minha's [Disruption Barrier] could block all of that.

It could stop a Constellation from observing the area entirely.

It'll be extremely useful whenever we're carrying out an operation that absolutely can't be leaked to other Constellations.

Most Constellations did not spy on every little thing their Contractors did.

They mostly acted as observers who watched and enjoyed events happening on Earth.

But there were still Constellations like Circe, who actively interfered in events on the ground.

Some Constellations might spy on us to discover our plans.

If that happened, Joo Minha's Awakening Skill would become extremely important.

And that's probably only one of countless ways to use it.

After all, it wasn't limited to disrupting Constellation observation.

There was one problem.

Joo Minha could also use it however she wanted.

She could even block my own observation.

If she ever did something strange under the protection of that barrier, things could become troublesome.

I just hope she doesn't try anything weird.

"Joo Minha."

"Yes, Kang Yujin?"

When Kang Yujin spoke, Joo Minha stopped and looked at him.

"What exactly are you trying to achieve with all of this?"

"To make you a true savior, of course."

"What does 'true savior' mean?"

"Someone who stops the chaos in this world and saves the people."

That was exactly what Kang Yujin had already intended to do.

"So you're saying I need to become the leader of a large faction to do that?"

"Yes."

Joo Minha nodded.

"You need great power if you want to accomplish great things."

Her argument was not entirely wrong.

But Kang Yujin shook his head.

"No."

"What?"

"Even if I save the world with power obtained through dirty tricks like that, the Nameless One wouldn't be happy."

That was right.

The Nameless One was the guardian of humans who crawled up from the bottom of society while shedding blood and sweat.

Gaining power by betraying people and deceiving countless others...

That could not be what the Nameless One wanted.

"Ma Taesu hasn't done anything wrong to me."

Kang Yujin's voice hardened.

"If I betray him and steal his power, then I'll become an unrighteous person."

"Unrighteous..."

"Yes."

"I'd be someone who turned his back on righteousness."

Someone like that had no right to follow the Nameless One.

"I agree that great power is necessary to accomplish great things."

Kang Yujin looked directly at Joo Minha.

"But I have no intention of using dirty tricks to obtain that power."

"..."

"If you suggest another scheme like this, I won't want to work with you anymore."

After hearing that, Joo Minha remained silent for a while.

Then she sighed.

"As expected..."

She lowered her head.

"You really are the hero I believed you were, Kang Yujin."

"What?"

"I apologize."

Joo Minha bowed.

"I was testing you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I deliberately suggested an evil scheme because I wanted to confirm whether you really are the savior I've been waiting for."

"W-What does that even mean?"

Lee Jukheon looked completely confused.

Seok Taejun smiled from beside him.

"She wanted to see whether Kang Yujin would accept the plan."

"Why would she..."

"Joo Minha probably wanted to judge his character in her own way."

"I seriously don't understand either of you."

Lee Jukheon grumbled.

"You two always choose the strangest possible things to do."

Joo Minha looked back at Kang Yujin.

"I understand your intentions."

"From now on, I will not make proposals that go against righteousness."

"What would you have done if I accepted your plan?"

"I wouldn't have left you."

She smiled slightly.

"Even if you were different from the person I imagined, there was still the possibility that Kang Yujin was someone who used any method necessary..."

She paused.

"A kind of 'dark hero.'"

"..."

"In that case, I would simply have adjusted my role."

She smiled.

"Helping that kind of savior wouldn't be so bad either."

Kang Yujin stared at Joo Minha for a moment.

Then he looked at the others.

"This guy has a strange mind."

Lee Jukheon looked exhausted.

"You're the last person who should say that..."

"Anyway, we still need to review our plans."

When Joo Minha brought up the subject, Seok Taejun nodded.

"Our original plan was to keep relying on the Black Dragon Society, take over the highway according to Ma Taesu's plan, and advance toward Cheonan."

"Yes."

Joo Minha nodded.

"That is still the best way to pass through Cheonan and eventually enter the Capital Region."

She continued.

"Now, we'll be clashing with the headquarters of the White Banner Order, which controls the remaining section of the highway."

"The White Banner Order..."

Seok Taejun nodded.

"We already fought them once after entering the central-western region."

"The White Banner Order normally operates in many different places, repeatedly launching small attacks against Pandemonium."

"But now that the Black Dragon Society has expanded enough to threaten their headquarters..."

Joo Minha's eyes narrowed.

"They will probably gather the members scattered throughout the region."

"Joo Minha, what do you think our chances are?"

"If we join the Black Dragon Society?"

She answered immediately.

"More than ninety-nine percent."

"This is a decisive battle against the White Banner Order. Ma Taesu will use everything he has."

Lee Jukheon yawned.

"It's obvious."

He shrugged.

"Until now, the Black Dragon Society and White Banner Order were roughly equal in strength."

"But the Black Dragon Society absorbed other factions and grew bigger."

"Obviously the Black Dragon Society will win."

"The problem..."

Joo Minha looked at him.

"Is that the White Banner Order knows that too."

"What?"

Lee Jukheon's eyes widened.

"They know they can't defeat Ma Taesu's current Black Dragon Society with their present strength."

"Then..."

"If I were the White Banner Order's strategist, I would prepare one plan."

"What plan?"

"That would be..."

At that exact moment...

The door burst open.

A long-haired man appeared.

"Good. Everyone is here."

It was Ma Taesu.

He looked at the four people with a serious expression.

Then he spoke slowly.

"The White Banner Order has allied with the Church of the Morning Star."

"...!"

"A considerable number of troops are already coming down the highway."

His expression hardened.

"It looks like we'll have to move quickly."

The White Banner Order had made the first move.

And they had joined forces with the Church of the Morning Star.

"What did you just say?"

"I'll say it again, Nameless Constellation."

My throne stood in one quiet corner of the Spirit Realm.

The Count, who had visited that silent place for the first time in a while, stared directly at me.

Then he spoke coldly.

"The one behind this incident is the S-rank Constellation, 'Priest King.'"

It seemed another S-rank Constellation had decided to deal with me.