[Lee Shin Woo: Senior, I get it already, so please donât cry and take your time.]
[Erian Ruparte: Weâve been anxious lately since Retadane disappeared, but⌠Lee Shin Woo. Iâm sorry. Youâre the one whoâs suffering the mostâŚ]
[Lee Shin Woo: No, itâs fine, so please go ahead and explain.]
Wait, why would he suffer from Seiraâs death? He urged them to get to the main point whilst tilting his head. Then, Erian continued, as if she understood what he was thinking.
[Erian Ruparte: Anyway⌠Weâve been really anxious lately, but all of a sudden, Silene Viesa came into the channel.]
[Lee Shin Woo: He did, did he?]
Lee Shin Woo checked, confirming that Silene was still accessing the chatting channel. However, he wasnât talking, likely because he was in a situation where he couldnât.
That meant he wasnât dead yet⌠He was really surprised since he expected Silene to be dead already, but he pretended like he wasnât.
âWait a sec. This is⌠What is this? Ha, thatâs hilarious.â
More importantly⌠He didnât want to believe it, but he felt like something was off with the chatting channel. It wasnât the normal chatting channel! Contrary to Lee Shin Woo, who was feeling a bit anxious, Erian calmly continued with her explanation.
[Erian Ruparte: But I think he encountered one of the 12 Generals. I donât know which one he met, but⌠I believe heâs been captured. Heâs been imprisoned.]
[Lee Shin Woo: One of the 12 Generals, huhâŚ]
âŚLee Shin Woo thought about which of the 12 Generals it could be.
[Lloyd H.K.: Those damn undead. To think theyâd take Silene hostageâŚ!]
[Lee Shin Woo: I see. So heâs been captured alive. I wonder why theyâve taken such a merciful approach? How shockingâŚ]
It was so obvious what was going on; Lee Shin Wooâs Acting ability couldnât handle their stupidity and he let his insincerity slip. Erian noticed, seemingly more anxious than before, and yelled desperately.
[Erian Ruparte: We know how shocking it mustâve been to lose Seira. However⌠Lee Shin Woo, we would appreciate it if you helped us. We canât just leave him out to die! Heâs your junior, someone who greatly respected you!]
Who lost who exactly? He was shocked because of who? Their delusions had run this rampant during the time that Lee Shin Woo and Seira were out of touch� Lee Shin Woo was astounded and remained silent, but then Lloyd continued where Erian had left off with a loud voice.
[Lloyd H.K.: If we work together, we can take down one of the 12 Generals. We have to hurry. Itâll get even harder if he calls for reinforcements. Shin Woo⌠Help us.]
[Erian Ruparte: Lee Shin Woo.]
Both seniors asked seriously. Lee Shin Woo closed his eyes in thought. He already knew what to say to these incorrigible idiots, but he wanted to organize his thoughts before doing so.
[Lloyd H.K.: Shin Woo, if we work together, then we should be able to save our comrade from certain dangerâŚ]
[Lee Shin Woo: Iâm sorry, butâŚ]
They were about to try persuading him once more, but then Lee Shin Woo firmly saidâŚ
[Lee Shin Woo: I canât go right now. Iâm sorry, but it looks like youâll have to give up on Silene. Please donât go anywhere. âŚIâm sure you already know about the undergroundâs sun, yes?]
[Lloyd H.K.: Lee Shin Woo!]
Lee Shin Woo didnât even reply and just left the chatting channel. He then checked his Mana Radar and sighed deeply. Heâd hoped that he was wrong.
Then, Seira and the rest of his party trickled in. He only called Seira, so why were all of them here? He tilted his head and asked.
âSeira, I want to ask you something.â
âWhat is it?â
âCan a person use the chatting channel to affect anotherâs mana? In other words, is it possible to use darkness mana to find the other heroesâ location or info?â
In response, Seira sported a strange expression. It was as if she was saying âI never even thought of thatâ. She looked straight at him and said.
âWhatâs with you all of a sudden? You know that the chatting channel is a part of Godâs domain.â
âYeah. I thought so too, but I sensed darkness mana within the chatting channel. Isnât that strange?â
Thatâs right. That was the main source of Lee Shin Wooâs uneasiness. Whatâs worse, he felt an attempt at a âforced connectionâ in order to figure out his location.
Heâd led that mana to an entirely different location, but it wouldnât have been possible had it not been for his maxed out Darkness Element and Dark Shadow.
âThe chatting channel is a domain comprised of Godâs mana, so how could another personâs mana interfere with it? Thatâs extremely hard to believe⌠But if you sensed it, then youâre probably right. It seems like you were able to control your mana as you please within the chatting channel too.â
Seira was well-versed in Lee Shin Wooâs abilities. Sheâd felt it was strange and thought about it, furrowing her eyebrows, and then said.
âThis has never happened before. If it did, I wasnât aware of it.â
âI couldâve asked Ethan Cruz if he were still alive.â
âThat really makes me feel sorry for myself.â
He ignored Seiraâs sarcastic remark and heard Kratiaâs cautious voice.
ââŚShin Woo, the fact that theyâve intruded upon Godâs power means thatâŚâ
âYeah. If we make a mistake, then no new heroes will be summoned⌠So, we have to end it. I donât think I have to worry about you two, but just in case, Jin, Kratia, donât go into the chatting channel.â
While he was at it, he sent Prince a private message telling her not to enter the chatting channel. Fortunately, he wasnât too late and she obeyed his warning.
[Prince Altania: Silene Viesa? Heâs already dead to me.]
âAs expected of a veteran hero.â
Prince was busy exploring dungeons on the surface, so she didnât have the time to come down and save Silene. It was quite fortunate actually. Silene Viesa was likewise already dead to Lee Shin Woo as well.
If Silene Viesa had brought the darkness mana within him by entering the chatting channel, then he was playing in the palm of their enemiesâ hands. It was already too late to even consider saving him.
Did Erian and Lloyd not realize this? They probably didnât. They were unsure if they could even take down the weakest of the 12 Generals, yet they wanted to save him? It was all just hot air.
[Prince Altania: Lloydâll probably trust in his abilities and try saving him himself⌠Heâs probably cursing at us too.]
âIâd be happy if thatâs all that happens.â
[Prince Altania: We werenât originally good friends, so itâs not surprising. Still⌠Junior⌠Lloydâs in danger, isnât he?]
ââŚYes.â
Lee Shin Woo replied honestly. The battle had already begun. Their foes had succeeded in hacking into Sileneâs hero abilities and were attempting to track down the other heroes, so⌠it didnât matter whether the two heroes went to save him or not, they were in danger.
âTheyâre in incredible danger, as they have no way of stopping the enemy from tracking them down. Of course, they wonât be caught immediately, as theyâre still quite far away.â
[Prince Altania: But if the Archmage himself goes, thenâŚ]
ââŚI threw them off their trail too, but it shouldnât slow down someone skilled enough to hack into the chatting channel for very long.â
[Prince Altania: âŚ]
Prince was dead quiet. Lee Shin Woo could easily tell how she was feeling and smiled bitterly.
âWhyâre you being so honorable now? Itâs not like you.â
[Prince Altania: Youâre one to talk! Even I have a sense of shame, ok? I know how much youâve helped me and I know that Iâm leaving all the tough stuff to you (the fight between the surface and underground).]
Heâs glad she knew. Lee Shin Woo nodded his head and said.
âSo what are you getting at?â
[Prince Altania: âŚWellâŚÂ Junior, canât you save Lloyd for me? Is it too much? Is it impossible?]
âI canât believe youâre actually asking me that.â
[Prince Altania: You told me to ask! You told me!]
âIâm shocked. Thereâs a limit to how brazen you can be.â
[Prince Altania: Hey!]
It really was fun playing around with her⌠Err, it was fun talking to her. He felt the stress from those idiots, Lloyd and Erian, wash away and took a deep breath. And then he saidâŚ
âIâll try. Donât hate me if it doesnât work. Since Iâll bring you Lloydâs bone.â
[Prince Altania: Whatâs the point of bringing me his bone!? I donât like bones you know!?]
âIâm being really generous here. I guess you donât know me that well.â
[Prince Altania: âŚJunior.]
Despite his small talk, Princeâs voice died down. Since she knew just what she was asking of him.
[Prince Altania: Thanks. Aside from the bone issue⌠Thanks for everything.]
âSo just relax and clear the dungeons, Senior.â
[Prince Altania: Donât die. Youâre not allowed to die.]
âI donât die even when Iâm killed, so donât worry about me.â
After he was finished, he stood up. Everything was looking at him, but they already knew what he was going to say. If he was going now, then that meantâŚ
âTotal war? I really wanted to combine the Annihilation Flame Bone Core and the Titan before then.â
âWe havenât practiced enough⌠Sseup, I guess it canât be helped.â
âWould you like me to bring the others from the surface? Theyâre all waiting for your order, Hero.â
âIâm ready to cry whenever you need me. Crying for you is⌠I guess Iâll tell you at the end.â
They all seemed much livelier than before, especially Seira, whose change was surprising. It was as though Seagaldâs death had released her from a heart demon [1], as she acted her age now. But unfortunatelyâŚ
âSorry to rain on your parade, but itâs not yet time. I only called Seira, remember? Go back to work. Especially you, Kratia. Iâm leaving the Titan to you.â
âHuh?â
âThink about it. Why is the capital only now trying to find where the heroes are? Thereâs no way theyâd focus on the heroes. Think about it. Theyâve basically taken no damage from the heroes. They took the most damage from either Anti-Skull or the Heaven Defying General. Of course, the Heaven Defying General is actually a hero, but they donât know that.â
âThen whyâŚ?â
âTheyâre trying to clean up. In other words, theyâre trying to reduce the number of variables. Thus, the Archmage, not the Emperor has come forward.â
Thatâs right. Lee Shin Woo had already figured out that the Archmage had messed with the chatting channel.
How did he do it? It was simple. He had used darkness mana within the chatting channel, so Lee Shin Woo was not only able to hide his location but could also trace the Archmageâs mana back to its source (and found Silene Viesaâs location as well), as well as locate Lloyd and Erian on the side!
âSo I checked with the Mana Radar and ta-da! The Archmage was there.â
âI see. Our enemies are trying to kill the heroes to reduce the number of unknowns.â
âSo, as a result, you not only figured out that the Archmage is outside of the capital, but what his motives and location are as wellâŚ?â
âExactly.â
Since he knew the Archmageâs plan and location, he was now in the driverâs seat. All he needed to do was wait for the right opportunity!
âYouâre not going to save Lloyd. Youâre using him to lure the Archmage out of the palace so that you can kill him⌠Am I right?â
âYep.â
ââŚâ
âYouâre⌠the same as ever. You donât need to be so thorough. You donât have to be so cautiousâŚâ
Lee Shin Woo just shrugged his shoulders. To be honest, he had already sent his Erem brigade to the coordinates and planned to use Fire Shadow to get there when it was time. But he didnât really need to tell them that.
âThen, Iâll get going.â
âDidnât you say you would wait for the right time?â
âAh, thatâs not it.â
Lee Shin Woo used one of the permits to Godâs secret shop and smiled bitterly.
âI was just wondering if the secret shop was affected like the chatting channel. Iâll be quick.â
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ââŚThe secret shop.â
âThisâll probably be my last trip to the secret shopâ, he thought and was about to activate the permit, but then⌠someone grabbed onto his hand. It was none other than Seira.
She sported a complicated expression, but she was definitely holding onto his hand. She briefly hesitated but soon mustered up her courage.
ââŚMay I come with you?â
[1] E/N: A thought that was weighing her down mentally. Though you should know that as you are reading this on Wuxiaworld. â¨