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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Crunch.
As expected, a Golden Apple eaten atop a wall was a true delicacy.
I marveled at the taste of the apple, which never got old, and looked at the wall I had built in front of the Yalu River.
“Hmm, another peaceful day.”
Golems patrolling below the wall and hundreds of drones flying above.
Following Terra’s orders, they were diligently guarding, checking for any breaches in the wall or Fallen intrusions.
I finished eating the apple, tossed the core into my inventory, and took out a new one.
Then, I took a big bite, crunch, and looked down below the wall.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Noah was seen scattering holy flames like holy water, his hands ablaze, over the land scarred with craters.
The reason Noah was doing that was because the ashes left behind by the Fallen contaminated the land.
So, unless the land was already dead, after defeating the Fallen, they would purify the area by sprinkling refined mana, holy water, or having priests spread holy power.
“I swept them all away with Holy Bombs, but there’s still a lot of ash left.”
Ashes with faint demonic energy rising from them were piled between the craters.
“Keep up the good work, Noah.”
I muttered and transferred a Golden Apple to Noah. Then, as if he was used to it, Noah caught the apple that had appeared in mid-air and looked around.
When he spotted me on top of the wall, he smiled and bowed his head.
I waved back at Noah and took a bite of the apple, crunch, and turned my head. And the moment I saw Arthur training in a crater, swinging a sword with golden sword energy surging from it…
…Pause.
Arthur’s hand, which had been swinging the sword downwards, stopped abruptly.
At the same time, she turned around and looked directly at me.
Arthur smiled refreshingly and waved slightly.
I waved back at Arthur and transferred a special potion juice made with Physical Enhancement Pills and Golden Apples.
Like Noah before, Arthur caught the glass bottle that had appeared in mid-air and blew me a kiss. Then, she opened the bottle, gulped down the juice, put the bottle into their subspace item, and resumed training.
I chuckled awkwardly at Arthur’s actions.
[(⩌ _ ⩌)]
Terra sent a message as if she didn’t like it.
‘What’s with that expression?’
I asked as if there was something wrong, and…
[It seems Yellow Fox’s restraint has loosened after that confession.]
…Terra pointed out Arthur’s display of affection.
‘Hmm… you’re right.’
Since Arthur’s confession three days ago, she had stopped crossdressing. And she wasn’t hiding her affection for me.
Blowing kisses like just now was a basic.
She would cling to me, or interlock our fingers like Seo-yeon.
Moreover, she would always sit next to me during meals, and if I tried to go for a walk, she would follow me under the pretense of guarding.
Every time that happened, Remilia would smile warmly as if she was watching a young couple.
But Noah, who knew that Seo-yeon and Asuka were deeply interested in me…
‘Lee Yu-jin-nim, the trial of women is something you have to overcome on your own. So… cheer up.’
…would pat me on the shoulder, looking at me with pity and sympathy.
Remembering that time, I couldn’t help but…
“Sigh.”
…sigh deeply.
And just as I was about to take a bite of the apple, listlessly…
“Brother, you seem to be lacking energy.”
…Remilia appeared with a flash of light.
“Ah… Remilia-nim. Have you finished your memorial prayers?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to pray comfortably. Thank you very much, Brother.”
The three of them had come here on Kali’s orders.
But they were perplexed when they saw the golems and drones guarding 24/7.
They didn’t know what to do, seeing that the guarding was being done efficiently and effectively without them.
So, I told them they could rest or do whatever they wanted. Then, the three of them acted as they had today.
Noah purified the land contaminated by the Fallen’s ashes.
Arthur trained to become stronger.
And Remilia, saying that she wanted to comfort the souls who had sacrificed themselves to protect this place, spent all her time except for mealtimes in memorial prayers.
“No, I should be the one thanking you. Thank you so much for comforting the souls who sacrificed themselves for the Korean peninsula.”
“…You are truly humble, Brother.”
Remilia said in an impressed voice.
I chuckled awkwardly at her reaction and took out the same potion juice I had given Arthur. Then, I offered it to her, thinking she might be thirsty from praying.
“And kind as well…”
Remilia, receiving the potion juice, blushed at the continuous praise and stared at me.
Then, she looked at the Yalu River in the distance and opened the bottle of potion juice. As she sipped the golden liquid, she said,
“You are truly amazing, Brother.”
Huh? What? All of a sudden?
I was startled by her sudden compliment as I took a bite of the apple.
“The rank I sense from you is mid-high. Yet, you single-handedly wiped out hundreds of thousands of Fallen and held off the Named until the captain arrived?”
“…Yes, I did.”
It was the truth, not a lie, so I nodded. Remilia smiled and continued,
“That’s why I’m saying you’re amazing. But what’s even more amazing is…”
Remilia said, placing her hand on the railing of the wall.
“…this sturdy wall…”
She sipped the juice.
“…and the fact that you offer such precious potions without asking for anything in return.”
Remilia, who had been looking at the wall built on the Yalu River, turned to me.
Then, she took out a luxurious bottle from her rosary, her subspace item, and held it out to me along with the empty bottle.
“I, Cardinal Remilia, am deeply grateful for your courage and kindness, Brother.”
She bowed her head, expressing her gratitude.
I was flustered by her actions but opened my inventory, put the apple I was eating away, and took the bottles she offered.
And when I quickly appraised the bottle filled with shimmering silver liquid…
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【Remilia’s Special Holy Water (A)】
Holy water imbued with Cardinal Remilia’s holy power.
Increases the user’s resistance to demonic energy and holy power.
Increases Holy Power by +10 upon consumption.
Creates the special ability ‘Demonic Energy Resistance’ upon consumption.
Creates the special ability ‘Holy Power Resistance’ upon consumption.
Deals damage to evil when thrown.
(Increases in value if the target possesses ‘Demonic Energy Resistance’ or ‘Holy Power Resistance’.)
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‘Oh, Holy Water!’
And it wasn’t just any Holy Water, it was Remilia’s Special Holy Water.
‘As expected of a Cardinal. She’s giving me something better than the highest-grade Holy Water sold on the market.’
Of course, I hadn’t been taking care of their meals, providing All-Purpose Cleansing Solution, potion juice, and other necessities for the past three days expecting something like this.
But it felt good to be rewarded like this.
I thanked Remilia and put the Holy Water into my inventory.
“Thank you very much, Remilia-nim.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you.”
Remilia shook her head at my gratitude and expressed her gratitude again.
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After a brief exchange of thanks…
…I came down from the wall with Remilia and prepared lunch. And when everything was ready…
“I’ll go get the other two.”
Remilia, who had been standing still because of the Infinite Items restriction I had told her about, disappeared to call Arthur and Noah.
In the meantime, I took out the Holy Water (Duplicate) she had given me and poured it into my mouth.
Gulp.
“It’s sweeter than I thought.”
I hadn’t been able to imagine what it would taste like because the liquid was silver…
…but when I drank it, it tasted like milk tea.
I savored the lingering flavor and tossed the empty Holy Water bottle into my inventory.
And just as I was about to sit down as I saw the three people entering through the wall, which was open like a gate…
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
…I felt the ground shake. And I sensed the mana of many people coming from behind.
I turned around…
…and saw large buses, seemingly with a capacity of 45 passengers, coming in a line.
“Oh, it’s the Guardian Guild.”
The silver shield engraved on the buses.
As expected, the Association had requested a large guild.
Honk, honk!
The bus at the front honked and stopped. Then, the buses following behind began to park next to the stopped bus, one by one.
And a moment later…
Whoosh.
…the doors of all the buses opened, and people wearing equipment with the Guardian Guild mark poured out.
And the person who seemed to be the highest-ranking among them stepped forward and approached me.
“Hello, I’m Park Kwang-sik, the 3rd team leader of the Guardian Guild.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. I’m Lee Yu-jin, an intern of the Association’s Mobile Task Force Team 4.”
We shook hands.
“I heard the reports. You single-handedly wiped out all the Fallen that invaded this place.”
Park Kwang-sik said in an impressed voice and let go of my hand.
I chuckled awkwardly at his words.
But that awkward laughter was short-lived.
I cleared my throat. And just as I was about to ask which guild had gone to the 5th and 13th Extermination Units…
Gulp.
…I heard someone swallowing.
I looked in the direction of the sound…
…and saw the guild members lined up behind Park Kwang-sik looking at the food on the table.
And I noticed that Park Kwang-sik was also glancing at the food.
“…Ah.”
Park Kwang-sik, whose eyes met mine for a moment, blushed slightly and cleared his throat.
“I apologize. We only brought rations…”
He told me that they hadn’t had a proper meal while coming here.
And that a food truck was coming with the engineers who would build the outpost.
“When is the food truck coming?”
Park Kwang-sik took out his smartphone from his pocket at my question.
“…They said it’ll take about three days.”
Three days.
That’s not long.
I nodded and opened my inventory wide.
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Three days had passed since I had fed the Guardian Guild members.
“Come on, everyone, hurry up!”
“We need to build the base quickly so we can rest comfortably inside!”
“Hey, you there! Do you want to sleep outside?! Hurry up and carry the materials!”
Clank, clank, clank!
Noisy sounds echoed from all directions.
The sound of something being installed, tightened, and shouts.
I was sitting on the railing of the wall, as usual.
This time, I was sipping the milk tea-flavored Holy Water and looking down at the guild members building the base.
As I watched the outpost being built quickly, I used Clairvoyance.
‘I can leave the guarding to them now.’
As I thought that, I transferred the golems and drones that had been guarding the Yalu River below into my inventory. And as I deactivated Clairvoyance…
Ding.
…I heard a notification from my smartwatch.
I checked the message…
[Lee Yu-jin, return.]
…and saw that Kali had issued a return order.
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A week had passed since I had returned to the 9th Extermination Unit with Arthur, Noah, and Remilia.
And now, as I had thought at the Guardian outpost…
“Captain, all the captains and vice-captains of the Extermination Units, as well as the leaders of Guardian, Red Light, and Mirinae, have arrived.”
…Kali had summoned everyone.
“Hmm, I see.”
The reason for the summons was, of course, to root out the Fallen worshippers who had infiltrated the major institutions like cockroaches.
Kali nodded at Vice-captain Grey’s report and stood up from her chair. At the same time, all the members in the unit meeting room stood up.
Then, we followed Kali out of the meeting room and headed for the grand meeting room.
Creak.
As we opened the door to the grand meeting room, we saw a spacious hall like an auditorium and people sitting in the seats.
The captains and vice-captains of all the Extermination Units, excluding the 1st, 5th, and 13th.
“Oh, Lee Yu-jin-nim!”
The Guardian Guild, whose members I had fed for three days.
“Is that the Destroyer, Kali? She truly has an extraordinary aura.”
The Red Light Guild, which was in charge of the 5th Extermination Unit’s area.
“Why did she call us? Does the vice-captain know?”
“…No, I don’t know either.”
And the leaders and vice-leaders of the Mirinae Guild, which had established an outpost at the 13th Extermination Unit.
Behind them stood some guild members…
‘Wait, why are Seo-yeon and Asuka here?’
…and Seo-yeon and Asuka, who should have been doing their internships at Mirinae, were there.
“Lee Yu-jin.”
“Heehee, Top Student.”
Seo-yeon and Asuka approached me with bright smiles.
I was about to ask them why they were here, but it was only polite to greet them first, so I waved slightly.
Their smiles widened, and they each took one of my hands. And just as they were about to cling to me…
“……?”
“…What is this smell?”
…Seo-yeon frowned, and Asuka asked what the smell was.
“Smell? What smell?”
I lifted my arm and sniffed my clothes.
But I couldn’t smell anything strange, only my usual scent.
“I don’t smell anything.”
Seo-yeon and Asuka simultaneously leaned in and sniffed me, “Sniff, sniff.”
Then, they looked at me with slightly darkened eyes and said,
“Who is it?”
“This smell… what girl… no, what woman is it?”
What are you talking about here?
I looked around with a bewildered expression. Then, I saw the people around me looking at us with disgusted faces and moving away.
I was about to tell Seo-yeon and Asuka that we could talk later…
“I will now explain why I have summoned you all here.”
…when Kali, sitting at the head of the table, began speaking in a serious voice.
“We’ll talk later.”
“We’ll talk later, Yu-jin.”
“…Okay.”
I couldn’t cause a scene now that Kali had started speaking, so Seo-yeon and Asuka backed down.
I sighed in relief as I watched them return to where Mirinae was.
And I looked at Kali, who was explaining the reason for the summons.
“As you all know, we are an unofficial unit of the Association, specializing in the extermination of Fallen.”
She began by saying that there had been an invasion from the Land of Death recently…
…that the military had refused to support, and that the 1st, 5th, and 13th Extermination Units had been disbanded after being nearly annihilated.
And the reason for this summons.
“I will root out the Fallen worshippers who have infiltrated not only the military, but also the major institutions.”
She talked about rooting out the Fallen worshippers. Then, the guild leaders looked at Kali with troubled expressions and said,
“…We can’t touch the newspapers, broadcasters, or the government, even if we can deal with the military.”
“We want to eradicate the Fallen as much as anyone, but… we have no justification.”
“That’s right, we can’t do it without justification.”
The leaders of Guardian, Red Light, and Mirinae said they couldn’t do it.
Kali nodded as if she understood and said,
“Yes, there’s no justification. But we have to root them out.”
Otherwise, this country would be finished in a few years, no, a few months.
“…….”
“Hmm…”
“Sigh.”
Guardian remained silent.
Red Light was lost in thought.
Mirinae sighed.
‘Is it my turn now?’
I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
“Lee Yu-jin, do you have something to say?”
I nodded at Kali’s question.
“Yes, I have something important to say.”
“Then go ahead.”
Granted permission to speak, I immediately manipulated my smartwatch.
And I called ‘Principal’.
– Yes, Lee Yu-jin. You called, which means you want me to carry out what we talked about, right?
“Yes, Principal.”
Everyone except Kali looked at me with surprised faces at the voice coming from the smartwatch and my words.
I grinned at their gazes and said,
“Please proceed.”
And a moment later…
[Breaking News]
[Martial God Baek Yoo-hwa Releases Statement!]
…a major event occurred.
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[Your Text Here]
