Chapter 160 – The War Was Over

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The great European undead war was concluded by the great explosion in Moscow.

The explosion had truly been intense.

So much so that one might suspect it had been a nuclear blast.

Only after an entire day had passed did investigative teams get dispatched from the European Imperial government and neighboring countries.

However, it was impossible to find out what the cause of the explosion had been, what the result of the war had been, or what had happened to the Imperial Army and the undead.

That was because nothing at all remained.

Emperor Alex Caesar, the finest awakened soldiers, the mechanized divisions of the Imperial Army, the undead demonic beasts, and even the necromancer Drek Karax.

Everything had disappeared.

The only thing visible was Moscow, which had turned into flat land.

Just in case, they sent up reconnaissance aircraft and drones, and thoroughly searched the vicinity using a large-scale military force, but they could not uncover anything.

So in the end,

like this,

they concluded that the Emperor had died together with the evil necromancer and the undead demonic-beast army while subjugating them.

Meanwhile, Tae-ju was in Paju.

The European war was over.

He had no desire to know how the situation had been cleaned up.

More importantly, what mattered was what sort of results our guild members had produced.

At the lord’s manor, he received a report from Jeong Yeon-hui.

The content was the successful completion of the operation to conquer the DMZ demonic-beast concentration zone.

“We subjugated a total of eighty-eight elite demonic beasts. And we secured around eighty elite mana crystals as well.”

“…Wow!”

For a small raid team consisting of nine people to have hunted as many as eighty-eight elite demonic beasts.

It had simply not been made known to the media, but if it were revealed, the country would be turned upside down in astonishment. Even just the eighty elite mana crystals were an enormous thing.

“It’s hard to believe, right? We did it ourselves, but we’re still stunned too.”

Even Il-I-Sam-Baek-I had not intervened.

They had merely gotten snacks and wandered around aimlessly.

“Did the doping potions help?”

“Haah, they were fantastic. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the biggest share in this raid’s success was the doping potions.”

That was a relief.

“What about side effects?”

“There weren’t any. At all!”

“That can’t be…”

“I’m telling you, it’s true.”

“Hmm.”

Was it because they had eaten immortal peaches?

The greatest efficacy of immortal peaches.

Precisely harmony.

They corrected misaligned qi and harmonized any kind of foreign qi as well.

‘It seems I selected the clinical test subjects wrong.’

There was a need to conduct one more test on ordinary awakened who had not eaten immortal peaches.

In any case, with the success of the elite demonic-beast raid in the DMZ demonic-beast concentration zone, there was no need to worry about Paju.

“We stored the crystals in the manor vault. Chairman, take them with you when you go.”

“You and the guild members should divide them among yourselves.”

“Oh my? What are you saying? We’ve only just finally done some real work after doing nothing but spend money all this time.”

Even so, he had to reward them.

“Then since you’ve worked hard, at least take this…”

Tae-ju held out a bag containing the nine immortal peaches he had prepared in advance.

“…Th-this?”

“Please divide them one each among the guild members.”

“My, how can you give something this precious again.”

Without even pretending to refuse, Jeong Yeon-hui pulled the bag toward herself and hugged it to her chest.

Immortal peaches were overflowing and overflowing.

He had already eaten Heavenly Peaches, so he did not feel much greed for them, and besides, these were lower-grade, so even if he ate them, it would not make any noticeable difference.

Tae-ju came to Yangsan by train.

He heard that the container ship TJ had departed for the Republic of America two days ago.

Loaded to the brim with Vitality Burst-Burst, MRC, and export goods.

So far there had been no problems at all.

It had already gone back and forth several times.

Applicants wanting to board the ship were also appearing in droves.

The salary was high, the allowances enormous, and there was also the romance of crossing the Pacific.

So he did not go to the port, and instead came to the shipyard.

Ten docks packed full.

Before he knew it, the ships had almost fully taken shape.

‘This fast?’

In a way, it was only natural.

Because the government of Samhan had invested equity, it was being carried out as a national policy project.

It was a total war in the truest sense.

The nation’s capital and labor power were being poured in at full force, showing a crazy level of production.

It was not even something astonishing.

In the past, before mana’s invasion,

that is, during the Second World War.

There was even a legend that the United States, which had been the predecessor of the Republic of America, had been turning out one aircraft carrier per month.

He went to the black-darksteel storage warehouse, whose security was so strict it resembled a military facility, and had the ingots unloaded there.

Then this time he came to Gurye.

Now that there was less need to worry about Paju, he wanted to see how Jirisan had been lately.

He took Ilbaek-Ibaek-Sambaek with him and climbed to Cheonwang Peak on Jirisan.

“How is it? Do the old memories come flooding back?”

“Nyaaaa…”

Ilbaek growled in an indifferent voice, as if saying he had no interest.

If he had come after so long, he might at least have transformed into his main body.

Back in the past, the elite spirit beast Three-Headed White Tiger had overlooked the whole of Jirisan from atop Cheonwang Peak.

Back then he had even had a certain charisma and been the very image of majesty,

“Nyang?”

but now he was a complete cat.

In truth, there was a reason he had brought Ilbaek along.

In order to carry out a few simple experiments.

“Ilbaek.”

“Nyaa?”

“Shh! Stay still.”

“Nyaeuaaa…”

Tae-ju placed his hand on Ilbaek’s head.

“Go in.”

“Nyaong?”

“…”

He tried to put him into the Infinite Space, but he would not go in.

This was right.

There was no way a living, moving life-form would go in.

‘It’s definitely because he’s undead.’

When he had won the bet with dream-Carmen before, he had heard how the Black Mafia elders had moved the undead to Moscow.

The means of transport had been an interspatial bag.

But even that was strange.

Tae-ju opened the Infinite Space.

There was Drek Karax, stored motionless like a corpse, like a log.

He took the bastard out,

seuseut,

“Nyaa?”

“You bastard!!! Kim Tae-ju! I shall cu-curse you!”

“Kyaak!”

He took out an interspatial bag and opened it in front of Drek Karax.

“Go in.”

“How dare you to me!!!”

“Nyang!”

He would not go in.

Seuseut,

he went into the Infinite Space,

and seuseut,

he could be taken back out as well.

“W-wait a moment. Our conversation…”

Seuseut,

only the Infinite Space worked.

Seuseut,

“Please, st-stop! If there’s anything you want, I’ll do it all…”

Seuseut,

‘Then?’

Tae-ju took out one of Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s hairs.

Pung!

“Ukkik?”

“…Nyanya?”

“Ukkigigigik!”

“Kyaaong!”

It was Ilbaek’s first meeting with the clone.

Sparks flew the instant they met.

Papapapapat!

Tatatatatat!

Ilbaek’s forepaw attacks, and Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s clone easily blocked them.

“Uh, hey, don’t fight,”

“Ukikik!”

“Kyaong!”

“…”

He simply stretched his hand toward the monkey clone.

Seuseut,

it went in.

Once it went in, it naturally turned back into a single strand of hair.

Since the clone had originally been hair.

Rather than life, it was something like an artificial construct made from demonic power.

Now the only remaining question was,

‘Will it go into the shared storage?’

If it did, he was thinking of sending it to Tang Gun-ak.

No matter how much he killed it here, it just kept coming back to life.

But there might be a method in the Immortal Realm.

Was there not even the Yellow Springs Realm?

In any case, he had found out everything he wanted to know.

Lastly,

he went to Kim Dong-hun’s security research institute inside the Gurye TJ Bio complex.

“Hyung-nim, no, Chairman.”

“Have you been well? Dong-hun. You’ve been working hard, right?”

“Hehe, hard work? All I do is sit comfortably and work on smartphones…”

“Have you made a lot?”

“Yep! We’ve prepared ten boxes, with a hundred in each in the warehouse.”

“…That many?”

“It was hard when we were making prototypes. After that, we just copied the same thing.”

Once again, Tae-ju felt he was lucky.

As expected, bringing in the right people was best.

You had to give treatment worthy of their ability.

“You, try eating one of these.”

“…Could it be a peach?”

“No, I’ll give you a peach later. What I’m giving you now is a spiritual medicine.”

“Mm, I’m an ordinary person, so it probably won’t have much effect…”

“Just try eating it. You might become a compatible host.”

“Pardon?”

It was a spiritual medicine containing a large amount of giant half-moon-bear gallbladder.

Perhaps rather than becoming a compatible host, he might awaken immediately.

‘Now let’s get some rest.’

He would meet Baek Seo-yeon tomorrow.

She, too, would probably have many things to report.

Regarding the acquisition of the Hwi-baek factory facilities in the Republic of America.

Tae-ju came back to his house.

The living room and rooms were always kept neat and clean, even though he rarely stayed home.

Holding Ibaek in his arms, he sank deep into the soft sofa and took out a confidential report from the Infinite Space.

‘Vincent Moretti…’

It was something sent by Jang Sang-ho, deputy director of the security section of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.

Inside was information regarding Vincent Moretti.

However, it did not amount to even a few lines.

A man veiled even within the European Empire.

There was not even a single photo.

For now, only that he was said to be the director of the Royal Crystal Engineering Research Institute.

It was also presumed that he had enchanted the missiles and rockets used in this war into magic items.

And on top of that, at present he had vanished without a trace.

Even the Royal Crystal Research Institute had shut its doors.

It was close to certain that this person was behind the explosion.

And in addition, it was also the name Alex Caesar had shouted last just before exploding.

‘He’s probably a soul linker too…’

Tae-ju took out a tracking talisman from his pocket.

Where would he be?

He had probably run away.

Still, just in case.

He concentrated his mind and thought of Vincent Moretti.

‘Hmm,’

But the tracking talisman did not activate.

It seemed there was far too little information that could specifically identify him.

At that moment!

Jjirir,

the delivery signal from the Immortal Realm went off.

The exchange of goods began.

First he put the smartphones into the shared storage.

Now then, the highlight.

Let’s try putting in Drek Karax.

He had already written in the letter what the bastard’s identity was and why he was sending him.

– No, not that. The soul linkers.

“…Pardon?”

Something utterly unexpected had come out of his mouth.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

– First, check NTube. Then call me again.

Click.

The call disconnected.

‘Soul linkers? Where did he hear that?’

Tae-ju went into NTube.

Then today’s hot videos came up one after another.

The thumbnails and titles of the videos were:

.
.
.

Who in the world had uploaded videos like these?

It was no different from a nuclear bomb.

He could not even estimate how large the aftershocks would be.

One thing alone was certain.

From now on, things would become extremely troublesome.

Well, he had thought it would be revealed someday anyway.

‘…Not that anything will change because of it.’

* * *

Immortal Realm BopaeDream.

The immortals showed off their own treasures on BopaeDream, discussed their functions, and socialized with one another.

This was not an app made on Earth.

It was the first native Immortal Realm community program created after Ghost Valley Immortal learned coding.

Ghost Valley, the genius immortal.

There were even rumors that his disciple had been the strategist and prime minister of Shu Han in the human world.

Even so, he always went around grumbling that it had been a pathetic disciple who had failed to ascend.

A new post went up on BopaeDream.

The title was: Poison Immortal Made Bright Maiden Cry!

└ I knew this would happen.
└ Let’s give him a proper lesson.
└ With what?
└ We need to launch a boycott.
└ As if that would work. Are you not going to buy things?
└ Hmm, then that won’t do.
└ Let’s demand that he apologize with a shopping-mall discount event.
└ Oh! Good idea.

But like boiling water in a pot, it flared up and then cooled in an instant.

In any case, it was half like a joke, so no one was genuinely angry, and later a photo was uploaded of Bright Maiden and Poison Immortal together making hearts with their hands.

– We’re really close. Please don’t misunderstand. –

└ As expected of Bright Maiden, Bright Maiden is Bright Maiden.
└ Everything’s fine, but what exactly is that squid beside her? Tsk tsk, they should at least have mosaicked him.
└ He looks like a poison squid.
└ Kkkkk.
└ Kkkkk
└ Kkkkk, that was fairly funny. Poison squid. Then is Sword Immortal a sword squid?
└ Better than Poison Immortal, at least. What do you think?
└ Heo, I want to buy back the eyes that saw that.
└ Endure it. Wasn’t it a face like that that made ascension possible?
└ Right, a face that forcibly makes one cultivate the Dao, you could say.

Meanwhile, at the Immortal Realm World Coffee Shop, Galhong Immortal and Yama were drinking cool iced tea and chatting.

“Great King, when is the meeting of the higher-realm representatives scheduled?”

“I believe it is set for one week from now.”

“And the agenda is…”

“Well, since the number of heavenly people going in and out of the Immortal Realm keeps increasing, it is probably about that.”

Yama answered while sipping iced tea through a straw.

“Surely they won’t do something like banning access?”

“Ban the heavenly people? By what authority! They wouldn’t do it anyway, but even if they did, I certainly would not stay still.”

In truth, the laws of the Celestial Realm were simple.

Of the heavenly people, by the heavenly people, for the heavenly people.

As if something had suddenly come to mind,

Galhong asked carefully,

“Great King. I have another question.”

“Ask.”

“If the power of the Yellow Springs Realm is opening doors between world and world, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“Then could you perhaps open a door to the place where Hero Tae-ju lives?”

“Hmm.”

Yama thought for a moment, then shook his head and said,

“It is impossible. It’s true that we open doors to bring the souls of the human world here, but Hero Tae-ju’s world is a completely different world, isn’t it? We don’t even know where it is…”

“Even so, if there is perhaps a possible method?”

“There is one.”

Galhong’s eyes widened.

There was?

“Oh! Could you tell me?”

“If there were someone on Earth with the same soul as mine? And if through soul linkage our abilities flowed back and forth and the location became specified…, then it might be possible to open one.”

“Ah!”

He meant that if there were also the same soul as Yama on Earth and soul linkage were established, then the answer might be found.

Would that really happen?

Soul linkage was not something common.

“But even if we opened a door, what would we do with it? This place is already changing to be almost no different from Earth.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Yama spoke with a faint smile.

“In truth, I too would like to go there once.”

“Me too.”

Well, who wouldn’t have such a thought?