chapter 35

Although Horune was the one pressuring on with his violent tone of voice, Lee Jung-Yup was the one that had more nerve to spare.

Only three years ago, Lee Jung-Yup was below Horune but now, the situation was different.

In Beloong City where the strongest of the lower dimensions gather, Lee Jung-Yup was one of the strongest of them all and counted as one of the top ten warriors.

He was not the kind of opponent that would listen just because Horune yelled at him.

With a smiling face, Lee Jung-Yup approached Horune and said,

“To the Holy Denomination of War… try talking to them once again.”

Hearing Lee Jung-Yup’s whisper, Horune cringed between his eyes.

Horune talked right back,

“What are you plotting?”

“I’m not plotting anything. I’m just worried about your friends, so I’m trying to help.”

“For someone who is just a lapdog of the Order of Virtue, you sure can yap.”

“Hey, hey. A lapdog? Come on, I have a cool title called a Senior Officer.”

“Are you going to keep on joking around? Just what are you trying to manipulate me in to doing? Why are you doing this?”

“What? Manipulate you? Here I am personally being proactive to look after the two new guys, but I have to be treated with such harsh words?”

Lee Jung-Yup’s smile thickened. His eyes, which were narrowly open like a snake, were staring at Horune.

As he broke cold sweats from Lee Jung-Yup’s gaze, Horune said,

“… Tell me your end game. If you are trying to lead them into a trap… I cannot accept it.”

As he finished his words, Horune raised his staff to the front.

A strong resolve, the kind that stated he will not yield regardless of powerful force or threat, could be felt.

Against Horune making such a stand, Lee Jung-Yup glared at Horune with fierce eyes.

The two men’s gazes collided violently in midair for about a minute.

Lee Jung-Yup raised his hands above his shoulders and took a step back.

“Looks like you are about to kill me with your glaring. I wonder why everyone has the wrong perception about me. They all think I’m the type that would stab someone in the back with a smile on my face. Geez.”

Lee Jung-Yup complained, and then with a serious face, he continued,

“Maybe you misunderstood because I said it jokingly, but I was being serious. The situation in the Holy Denomination of War has changed. Now, the denomination probably will accept them regardless of where they came from.”

“… I haven’t heard anything about such changes.”

“By chance, are you thinking you are better than me at information?”

Certainly, when it came to information network, there was a big difference between Horune, who did not belong to any factions, and Lee Jung-Yup, a high-ranking officer in the Order of Virtue.

Toward Horune, who was in a deep thought, Lee Jung-Yup started his long-winded explanation.

“Anyhow. What I told you is the truth. Now, the denomination probably will not say no to them. Also, this is the only way for them to avoid the heat from the Order of Virtue. If you are still feeling suspicious about me, then it would be all right if you went and found out more about it. Although it would be pointless since I’m not scheming anything. Ah, and… when you explain this to anyone, it would be better if you didn’t mention my name. Not just for my sake, but for the two men’s sake as well.”

As soon as Lee Jung-Yup finished his explanation, he disappeared without a trace.

By a feat becoming of the nick name, shadow warrior, Lee Jung-Yup’s ghost like move surprised Horune.

Still, instead of accepting what Lee Jung-Yup just explained, Horune thought about it carefully.

For a long time, deep in thought, Horune stood there without any movement.

***

“… And so, in conclusion, I recommend the two of you to join the Holy Denomination of War.”

“I totally agree!”

Jake expressed his approval as soon as Horune’s explanation ended.

As for Vulcan, because he didn’t know anything about these kind of things, he just sat there.

However, it was different for Dokgo Hoo. As if he had a sound amplifier in his body, a loud voice exploded from him.

“NO WAY!”

“Why not!”

“In Beloong City, the only vessels that could have me under their wings are The Six, nobody else!”

“Unbelievable! If you weren’t a Zenith-Rate warrior, I would have just…!”

Frustrated, Jake pounded at his chest as he watched Dokgo Hoo being stubborn as always.

As for Vulcan, with a calm face, he asked a question to Horune.

“If you are talking about the Holy Denomination of War, it is a faction with a man from Powell as the Archbishop, right? Mr. Horune, since you are also from the Powell… does that mean you are also a member of the denomination?”

“No. I am not.”

Horune paused for a moment and then continued,

“Although I personally worship Powell, the Holy Denomination of War is not a proper denomination. It is just a self-serving group. Because I hated that, I didn’t join it. However… because they are like that, it would also probably mean they won’t have a big problem with accepting you two either.”

He meant that the denomination won’t question their faith or origins. Horune’s explanation continued.

“Although I am not a member, I do have some ties with people who are in the denomination, so I can make recommendations for you guys. I think this is the best option. The only way to get away from the influence of the Order of Virtue is to join a faction that is on an equal footing. I will leave the decision up to you guys.”

Vulcan moved his gaze from Horune to Jake. Before Vulcan could even ask, Jake said in a loud voice,

“Of course! You need to go and join! You must no matter what! If you don’t, both of you will have to check if your head is still attached to your body every time any of you go outside the gate!”

“If I join them, will that guarantee our safety?”

“Ah of course it will! It is not like they are going to get body guards for you, but unless the Order of Virtue intends to start a war, they won’t try to do anything to you guys. I guarantee it. The problem is, I heard that it is pretty difficult to join the denomination…”

Jake looked at Horune quick and then continued,

“Well, since Horune said he has connections, it probably will work out fine. Just hurry and say thank you.”

“Huh. I didn’t say I would go join a place like tha…”

“Big brother.”

Vulcan got up from the sofa and approached Dokgo Hoo.

After suddenly grabbing his hand, Vulcan started to talk with a serious look on his face.

“Please… please, I beg you. Please let’s go along with the easy way. Let’s sacrifice our pride a little and join them so we can train comfortably.”

“… Hm…”

“Once you become Ultra-Zenith-Rate or beyond or whatnot, when you become incredibly strong, you can beat the crap out of them all then, isn’t that right? For now, please consider my circumstances and let’s just quietly do as Mr. Horune said.”

Vulcan gritted his teeth and continued,

“Please.”

“… Hm… Hm… Well, since my little brother is saying it that way…”

This was the first time Dokgo Hoo saw Vulcan looking so desperate. Seeing him acting like that, Dokgo Hoo decided to yield.

Vulcan turned his gaze toward Horune. Before long, Vulcan quickly changed his expression back to a bright face and expressed his gratitude toward Horune.

“It is not like this is your business, yet you care so much about us. Thank you so much.”

“No. If you actually think about it, I felt that my stubborn request for a duel resulted in a butterfly effect and lead to this, so I was feeling responsible for it. If I am being helpful by doing this, then that’s still a fortunate thing.”

“Yes. It really is a big help.”

Vulcan was honestly thanking Horune from bottom of his heart.

Without Horune’s help, Vulcan would need to live under tense alertness until the Order of Virtue’s anger subsided.

Vulcan would not be able to level up much either.

In such a circumstance, all Vulcan could do would be hunting a few monsters nearby the Beloong City’s gate before anyone notices.

‘I am so sick of these factions… and political struggles… Stupid stuff about saving faces and pride… I am so sick of them, really. Looks like places where people live are all same…’

Even when Vulcan was in the Rubel Continent, there was a time when he got sucked into a conflict by some small country. Because Vulcan had an experience in such a thing, he started to really hate Beloong City.

His head was filling up with thoughts about getting stronger fast and leaving the place.

Vulcan shook his head vigorously, hoping to chase away all of the complicated thoughts.

“…”

Horune watched Vulcan who was being like that.

Other than during a battle, Horune usually had emotionless expression on his face, but today, it looked even more so than usual.

‘Will they be all right?’

Horune’s worry became deeper.

It was true that he knew someone inside the denomination. However, when he asked for help for the first time, he was rejected. It was a definite rejection that left no room for an afterthought.

Horune was disappointed and worried ever since, but right after Lee Jung-Yup paid Horune a visit, things instantly changed.

‘Even if I dug around on the side, it probably won’t turn up anything suspicious, but…’

Horune just could not figure out the true intent of Lee Jung-Yup the shadow warrior.

His existence was making Horune’s mind unable to ease from worries.

Horune looked at Vulcan, Dokgo Hoo and Jake, lightly said his goodbyes, and left Jake’s residence.

Horune’s head was still full of worries about Lee Jung-Yup, but there wasn’t anything in particular that Horune could do to solve it.

“… Should I just go and do some dueling?”

Horune started heading toward where Seo-Whee and Ultoru might be.

The matter was no longer in his hands.

All he could do now was hoping Vulcan and Dokgo Hoo would get through this safely.

***

The Holy Denomination of War’s temple was a gigantic dorm structure building, reminiscent of the ancient Rome’s Pantheon.

The gigantic temple was located in middle of other buildings that looked like just bunch of square shaped match cases stacked up. The temple looked like it was showing off the status that the denomination held in the Beloong City.

However, to Vulcan or Dokgo Hoo, the building didn’t make much of an impression.

When it came to Dokgo Hoo’s opinion, he was full of himself to begin with, and he was the kind that firmly believed that, other than himself, there wasn’t anyone or anything that was impressive. When it came to Vulcan, because of the conflict with the Order of Virtue, his mind was in a state of complete disarray, so he had no strength left to be impressed by anything.

The two men’s attitude was making some of the denomination members feel uncomfortable, but that didn’t bother Vulcan in particular.

Instead, there was something else that Vulcan was concerned with.

‘So, what they are saying is, he is definitely beyond the Zenith-Rate, right?’

Even in Asgard’s standard, this man they were about to meet was an Ultra-Zenith-Rate.

He was known to be one of the most powerful warrior in the city who could claim 80 ~ 90% chance of victory if he was to face Sarantis right now.

Right behind Ho-Gyung the blade king, the man held the second place in the Golden Ranking for several hundred years.

‘The Archbishop of the Holy Denomination of War, Battle King Bellon.’

Jake said Bellon was at least a reasonable man who is amicable and a straight shooter.

However, the thing that Vulcan was most curious about the man was not his personality.

‘I wonder what his level is.’

Due to his curiosity, Vulcan’s steps gradually started to speed up.

Vulcan and Dokgo Hoo walked across a wide area inside the temple and approached Bellon.

They could see a giant sitting comfortably on a lavishly decorated large chair.

It was a man with white skin who was wearing a flame-like red color pants with his upper body fully exposed.

‘Looks like most of the people from Powell are giants.’

Vulcan scanned Bellon’s level as he thought about such an irrelevant topic.

[Ultra-Zenith-Rate Warrior Bellon the Blade King]

[533Lv]

“You seem to have no fear.”

It looked like he said it quietly, but the voice echoed throughout the entire temple.

Having demonstrated his overwhelming voice, Bellon the battle king raised his finger and pointed it at Vulcan.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“You just check my level, didn’t you?”

Vulcan panicked for a moment, but he answered honestly.

It was because there did not appear to be anything to be gained from lying about it.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“You are quite impudent. Really impudent. Other Players are not able to even look at me in the eyes, but you, you are standing with your head held high and shoulders wide open. You are exuding pride becoming of the Rookie Ranking’s 1st place.”

“Thank you.”

At first, Vulcan thought Bellon was going to criticize him, but Bellon’s words were rather favorable.

Before they came in, Vulcan wondered if he should swallow his pride and act humble, but now he decided to just act like himself.

“Shall I call you the Archbishop? I have a question.”

“Archbishop or the battle king. It doesn’t matter. What’s the question?”

“I believe 99% of the denomination’s members are from Powell. Archbishop, I’m wondering why you allowed us to join the denomination when you are aware that I’m a Player and my big brother Dokgo Hoo is from Murim.”

“Well, that’s not a hard question to answer.”

Bellon continued nonchalantly after taking a sip from a blood-like red wine,

“Our god Powell is a god of war. He favors those who are passionate about battles.”

Bellon pointed at Vulcan and Dokgo Hoo each and continued,

“If we are not going to accept men like you who are strong and passionate about battles, then the denomination might as well not exist.”

“If that was the case, there doesn’t appear to be that many Players or people from Murim in the denomination?”

“You don’t need to be so surprised by that. They refuse to come in the first place. It is not like I can drag them here and force them to join. As for the Players, other than Uruo, everyone else was lacking qualifications. We always welcome elite warriors like you two.”

“Is that really all?”

“Of course, that’s not all of the reasons.”

The area around Vulcan’s eyes winced slightly. Dokgo Hoo, with a dumbfounded face, stared at Bellon.

Bellon grinned at the two and explained,

“There is not a soul in the city that doesn’t know about the two of you having infuriated the Order of Virtue’s leader. I can’t just handle that kind of heat without some compensation. Hey you, Vulcan, right? You are here to ensure your own safety using the denomination, right?”

“… That is right.”

“Good. I like that you are honest.”

Bellon emptied the bottle and tossed it to the back. The bottle made a crashing sound as it shattered. Bellon continued,

“Among the runts that join the denomination, there are quite a few that did because they could not handle the grudge by themselves. I usually let them join without accusing them about their motives. However, in this case, it is not like you bought bad-blood with some officer in the Order of Virtue. The leader of the Order is holding grudges against both of you. It is the first time to see someone in your situation crawling to me so shamelessly. Honestly, I was thinking about just ignoring the request, but you two seem quite useful.”

“When you say we seem quite useful…”

“That’s right.”

Bellon smiled and said to Vulcan and Dokgo Hoo,

“I will let you two join the denomination. However, in return, I want the two of you to do something for me.”