Chapter 102: Blue Matador (1)
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
Kelva, who had never shown anger in front of Landaron before, openly expressed his anger, causing Duke Landaron, who had been looking uncomfortable, to be surprised and explain what had happened so far.
After quietly listening to the story, Kelva frowned openly and said,
“Half of the demons were wiped out by a strange weapon made in the Lartania territory, is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes. And when we tried to regroup and launch our attack afterward-”
“-A large-scale magic spell killed all the soldiers?”
“…Only one hero survived and returned to the territory.”
Seeing Landaron speaking cautiously under Kelva’s glaring anger, malicious magic power began to leak from his body as he clenched his teeth unknowingly.
“…Hmph.”
He desperately calmed his anger.After all, raising his anger in this state wouldn’t accomplish anything.
Instead, Kelva tried to maintain his rationality as coldly as possible-
Boom!
-But he momentarily failed, destroying the floor of the Lord’s castle. However, he soon took a deep breath and calmly assessed the situation.
“……”
The more he thought about the messed-up situation, the more Kelva sighed.
‘The plan has gone awry. To proceed correctly, I must eliminate the outsider and Lartania and then summon her… I can’t summon her without eliminating the outsider. If she finds out the outsider exists-’
“Tch.”
Kelva clicked his tongue, blaming himself, but-
‘It was my misjudgment from the start. I didn’t gather enough information. When I heard about it in the demon world, I should have gathered information, but I was too complacent.’
He soon collected his thoughts calmly again and continued his contemplation.
‘…This way, they will definitely get ahead of us. To minimize this, we must kill the outsider by any means necessary. But at this point, the outsider is…’
After a long time of contemplation in front of Landaron, Kelva eventually opened his eyes as if he had made a decision.
“…Landaron.”
“What is it?”
“Listen carefully to what I am about to say. We will start collecting sacrifices now.”
“…Sacrifices? You mean we need more humans?”
“Not just humans. All negative elements, including emotions stemming from war, are needed.”
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Upon hearing Kelva’s words, Landaron responded,
“…We are already in a war and will likely have to fight a few more, but isn’t it premature right now?”
“…Are you saying you want to break our contract?”
“It’s not about breaking the contract. We simply have no forces left.”
Landaron’s words were true.
Landaron had already sent two legions to Lartania, but besides that, most of the soldiers, excluding those needed to protect the Kingdom elsewhere, had been dispatched.
He was well aware that it was crucial to quickly quell this rebellion to maintain the position he gained through a coup.
“Considering the Holy Kingdom is also making moves, whatever it is, it’s going to be a headache,”
Landaron continued.
However, Kelva said,
“We will provide the forces from our end. So, you go ahead and subjugate the territories as you come across them and make the sacrifices.”
After saying that, he turned and left the room.
‘We must act before they all get ahead.’
With that thought, he started walking down to the basement again.
It had been five days since the demon troops were repelled by the missile made by River and combined with Kim Hyunwoo’s Red Stones.
There had been many changes in Lartania.
No, it would be more accurate to say that things had returned to their original state.
Mercenaries who had left at the news of the demons’ arrival returned upon hearing that Lartania had repelled the demons with a weapon they had never seen before, bringing vitality back to the Labyrinth City.
The trust in Kim Hyunwoo among the territory’s residents significantly increased, as he had swept away the demon troops, which seemed impossible after the disaster.
Furthermore, the news that the Lord had wiped out the demons without even using any soldiers spread among the mercenaries, which increased the security level of Lartania.
As the rumor continued to circulate among the mercenaries, Kim Hyunwoo acquired the peculiar nickname of ‘The Destroyer’.
And so, Kim Hyunwoo, who oddly came to mind with the quote by some great person, “I am the harbinger of Death, the Destroyer of worlds”, earned this nickname.
Red Stones: 30
Blue Stones: 232
Gold Coins: 195,422
Magic Stones: 31
‘…That was a close call.’
In his office, he sighed in relief while looking at the extended Labyrinth City Package.
‘That really was close.’
Kim Hyunwoo thought to himself, looking at the remaining 30 Red Stones and Magic Stones.
‘Missiles really do consume a lot of resources.’
The reason he sighed in relief after extending the Labyrinth City Package just before it expired was because making the missile had left him with only about 6,000 Red Stones.
Of course, Kim Hyunwoo did not regret investing nearly 10,000 Red Stones into the missile.
Had he not invested in the missile, the likelihood of Lartania disappearing into the annals of history would have been too high.
However, apart from not regretting his decision, Kim Hyunwoo also realized that making missiles was currently very difficult.
‘The cost of using it once is about 10,000 Red Stones and thousands of Gold Coins… Plus, it consumes nearly 5,000 Magic Stones.’
The missile was literally a money-eating hippo.
No, it was beyond being just a money-eating hippo.
Kim Hyunwoo had bent his back so much just filling the materials for the already-made missile that he couldn’t operate the Labyrinth City anymore, effectively blowing all the profits he had accumulated until then.
However, Kim Hyunwoo had no intention of giving up on the missile.
At this point, the missile had become quite an important item for Kim Hyunwoo.
The reason was not only because of the missile’s power but also because of the unknown fear it held within Arteil.
In other words, the missile was currently protecting Lartania from threats merely by its existence.
‘Well, in truth, a well-grown 5-star hero might be better than a missile.’
Given this is a world within a game, a well-grown 5-star hero is stronger and more useful in many ways than a missile, but Kim Hyunwoo soon shook his head.
He realized he hadn’t considered the gifts needed to maintain the favorability of those 5-star heroes.
‘Considering that… missiles might actually be better.’
With a bitter smile, Kim Hyunwoo quickly left the Lord’s castle and headed towards the Blacksmith Guild.
The reason was to hear a report from River, who had excitedly decided to upgrade the missile right after it had spectacularly repelled the demon forces a few days ago.
“Ah, my friend! Welcome! I was just about to go look for you!”
And so, Kim Hyunwoo who went to the Blacksmith Guild, was able to meet River, and soon heard her report.
“So… you’re saying that, in essence, the cost of making a missile could be reduced to about 3,000 Gold Coins at a minimum?”
“Yes, because the missile you made previously included various magic scrolls and enchantments, which increased the price. If we use it just like we did last time, around 3,000 Gold Coins should be enough, as long as we have the coordinate-fixing scroll.”
“Last time, when we used it…”
Kim Hyunwoo recalled the missile used to deal with the demon troops.
In reality, the missile Kim Hyunwoo had launched at the demon legions was more similar to a cannon than a missile.
The method of launching the missile itself involved attaching Preservation scrolls, which prevent potions or fragile items from breaking, all over the front part of the missile where the Red Stones were stored, and launching it like a cannon using the Red Catalyst Stone.
Thanks to the Preservation scrolls, the Red Stones, unaffected by the impact, exploded along with the timed Magic Stones that exploded regardless of the impact.
In other words, the missile made this time had several flaws to be considered a modern missile.
Hearing what River had said, Kim Hyunwoo, who was contemplating, asked,
“So, what about the upgraded missile?”
“Hmm… that’s going to cost quite a bit more. The estimated amount is… about 20,000 Gold Coins?”
“…20,000 Gold Coins?”
“Yes, first of all, it’s larger. It will require more Magic Stones, and probably more Red Stones as well.”
“…Did you just increase its size?”
“No? It’s partly true, but strictly speaking, it’s incorrect.”
“…In what way?”
“Last time, the Red Stones were attached to the front of the missile, but this time, they will be attached alongside the trajectory like this-”
River quickly introduced the principle to Kim Hyunwoo and continued,
“If we attach it this way, it will likely produce greater firepower than last time.”
“…How much greater?”
“Hmm… Assuming it hits properly, it could blow away all but one-third of the demon legions that came last time? Of course, it would require significantly more Red Stones.”
“How many times more?”
“Simply put, about three times more.”
‘Three times more means we’d need 30,000 Red Stones.’
Kim Hyunwoo thought that might not be cost-effective, and River said,
“Additionally, the Red Stones required for launching the missile would also be three times more… Of course, if we can find another fuel that can sustain the output consistently, those Red Stones wouldn’t be necessary.”
“…Hmm. A fuel that can consistently maintain output.”
In fact, Kim Hyunwoo wanted to find this even more.
After all, the method he had thought of didn’t ultimately solve the problem.
But if this problem could be solved, it would be possible to launch missiles not just in front of the territory but from one territory to another.
In other words, it could be launched like a real missile.
Launching missiles from one territory to another felt incredibly appealing to Kim Hyunwoo. Of course, there would undoubtedly be points that require improvement, but the ability to launch missiles from one territory to another was highly attractive to him.
Having such a missile meant that he could deal with enemies even before they arrived.
While Kim Hyunwoo was discussing and pondering over the missile with River,
at the Mage Tower,
“The branch will soon be completed.”
“Really? Then-”
the Master of the Blue Tower, who was listening to Onel,
“-might soon go to meet Daddy ♥.”
murmured with a smile.