Chapter 67
The Most Brilliant Empire (9)
Rellun Asas felt like he was going to lose his mind. Despite living for over 500 years, this was the first time he had encountered such an absurd situation.
‘By mere goblins of all things!’
Originally, goblins were insignificant beings that could be killed with a single gesture. Yet despite this fact, what in the world was the current situation?
“Urghh…!”
From the low-level ones like zombies and skeletons,
“Keeeeeee!”
To the high-ranking ones like Death Knights and Banshees. The undead legion was being miserably destroyed without even being able to exert any force.
‘Magic. If I could just use proper magic once…!’
If Rellun Asas could use large-scale magic, he could surely turn the tide of battle. However, the situation was not favorable.
‘Ugh, this one!’
One goblin persistently clung to him. Judging by the different armor it wore from the others, this one must be the commander.
Crack!
The magic shield created by Rellun Asas was torn apart like paper.
‘Damn it! What kind of goblin is this strong!?’
He absolutely couldn’t create any distance. If he let his guard down for even a moment, his neck would be severed instantly.
‘Must I flee again…’
If he ran away this time, it would be the second time. He didn’t know how long Avin Asas would tolerate these defeats.
‘No, this isn’t the time to think about Avin. First priority is to escape.’
When he could face eternal rest at any moment, there was no leisure to think about future consequences. Rellun Asas decided to flee.
Whoosh!
He instantaneously exploded his magical power to spew out enormous flames. While an ordinary goblin would have turned to ashes in an instant, Rellun knew. That this level wouldn’t be enough to kill this one.
‘It doesn’t matter. I just need to buy time to escape.’
Rellun Asas continued to spew flames to obscure vision. Then he flew up at maximum speed to distance himself from the battlefield. The commander goblin seemed to chase for a bit, but soon gave up and turned back.
‘I will surely repay this humiliation many times over…’
Rellun vowed revenge as he tried to return to his base. At that moment.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar human appeared before him.
‘Where did he pop out from…!’
There wasn’t even time to be surprised. When the human threw a punch, Rellun quickly put up a shield. Though hastily made, it shouldn’t break from mere punches.
Crash!
However, his expectations were completely wrong. The man’s fist shattered the shield and flew straight toward Rellun’s skull.
‘Impossible. This can’t be…!’
A solid fist filling his vision. That was Rellun Asas’s final memory.
***
Ippotranslation
***
After Kang Hyeon dealt with the fleeing Rellun Asas. The battlefield was cleared not long after.
“Keuruk! Keuruk!”
Even though the battle had just ended, the goblins were gathering in an orderly fashion to prepare for movement. It was truly an unbelievable sight even while watching. Meanwhile, as Kang Hyeon and his party approached, the goblins drew their swords and became alert.
“I’d like to speak with your commander.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, the goblins started whispering among themselves. They exchanged words about how scary-looking the human was. And how they might get indigestion if they tried to eat him.
“Oh, perfect timing.”
Then a goblin wearing elaborate armor approached. Up close, his physique was clearly overwhelmingly larger compared to other goblins.
“Keuruk! Kangken!”
Suddenly, unexpected words came from the commander goblin’s mouth.
“What? Could you be…?”
When Kang Hyeon stared with wide eyes, the commander goblin removed his helmet. The revealed face was one that Kang Hyeon knew well.
“Kergo!?”
He never expected to meet him in a place like this. No, more than that, how was Kergo acting as commander among the goblins? His mind went blank for a moment.
“Kangken. It’s been a while. Good to see you.”
“Uh… Yeah, really good to see you too…”
Kang Hyeon greeted uncharacteristically flustered.
“Have you been well?”
“Kergo, you’re the boss. Doing well.”
Kergo said with a grin.
“Seems so…”
“Kangken! Thought you were dead!”
“I was. But I came back to life.”
Kang Hyeon shook his head while briefly reminiscing about the battle with Agon.
“This isn’t right. Kergo! We need to meet your emperor or whatever, is that possible? Kiron was his name?”
“Why?”
Kergo tilted his head and asked.
“Some really strong guys are going to invade soon. So I came all this way to suggest joining forces.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Kergo fell into thought for a moment.
“Alright. I’ll tell the emperor.”
“Good. Excellent.”
Kang Hyeon smiled brightly while patting Kergo’s shoulder.
“They say a well-raised goblin is worth ten orcs. How fitting!”
“Was there such a saying?”
“I just made it up so now there is. Got a problem with that?”
Yoon Na-rae pouted at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Anyway, let’s go. How long does it take from here to where your emperor is?”
“If we run, we’ll get there soon.”
“So how long does it take?”
Kergo spread both his palms.
“10 days…?”
“We’ll eat and keep running. If we keep running, it’s enough.”
“How long would it take if we just walk normally?”
At Kang Hyeon’s question, Kergo frowned.
“Very, very long time. Emperor far.”
Kang Hyeon let out a deep sigh.
“Damn… We’re screwed…”
***
Ippotranslation
***
The party was able to arrive at the emperor’s location faster than expected.
As it turned out, there were spatial transfer portals installed at intervals.
If the goblin they met in the city they stopped at for rest hadn’t told them, they really would have had to walk all the way to Egypt.
“You should have told me earlier if something like this existed!?”
Kergo made an aggrieved expression at Kang Hyeon’s punches.
-I forgot! Don’t hit me. Kergo is strong now!
-So what! Fight me if you’re upset!
It didn’t take long to establish the hierarchy. Kergo declared surrender after taking just a few hits from Kang Hyeon. Of course, Kergo hadn’t fought at full power, but neither had Kang Hyeon. It seemed Kergo still had a long way to go before catching up to Kang Hyeon.
“So this portal connects to Egypt?”
It is specifically a portal that leads to the city of Cairo in Egypt.
“I’ve never been abroad in my life, but now I’m dealing with all this nonsense.”
Suddenly, he remembered the time before everything happened. The era before dungeons, monsters, rifts, and ability users existed. Kang Hyeon was extremely ordinary… No, he was rather inadequate and socially challenged in many ways.
‘I was just a freeloader.’
A jobless life spent playing games all day while living at his sister’s house. He never thought he would have the chance to go abroad in his life, but now he has to travel the world even if he doesn’t want to.
‘It’s a shame that all the tourist spots are ruined.’
Traditionally, overseas travel meant experiencing the local culture and eating lots of delicious food. These days, the only experiences available are being chased by zombies and eaten alive, being robbed of everything and shot dead by bandits, or being devoured by monsters while walking down the street. Kang Hyeon entered the portal while continuing these trivial thoughts. He hoped that the place that would unfold before him would make his heart race, even if just a little.
“What is this…?”
After passing through the portal, the first thing he noticed was an exotic fragrance. Originally, goblins only gave off what was commonly called a foul stench, but this place was different. Whether it was spices or something else, an unfamiliar scent penetrated deep into his nose.
As his vision brightened, what he saw was the massive Nile River. And buildings stretched out along the Nile River. Buildings with architectural styles he had never encountered before were freely scattered about.
“Keuruk! Keuruk!”
“Keuraaaaaut!”
Goblins were overflowing everywhere he looked. Unlike the image of goblins he had seen until now, they were properly dressed. In what appeared to be a marketplace, numerous goods were being traded.
“Are these really goblins?”
“They’re practically no different from humans…”
Even Shin Seong-ah couldn’t close her gaping mouth in surprise.
“By today’s standards, you could say they’re better than humans.”
Han Se-yeon nodded as she spoke.
“Kergo. Where is that emperor?”
At Kang Hyeon’s question, Kergo raised his hand and pointed somewhere. In the distance, there was a palace that made one’s heart swell just by looking at it, gleaming in gold. Among all such architectural styles Kang Hyeon had seen, he thought the Heigran Kingdom’s palace in the Harken dimension was the largest and most magnificent. But the goblin palace he now saw was far larger and more splendid.
“Keuruk! Lives in that palace!”
Kang Hyeon, who had been absentmindedly admiring the palace, nodded.
“Alright. Let’s go right away.”
“Wait a moment. Since we’re here, let’s look around! There are some really interesting necklaces over there!”
At Yoon. Na-raes words, Kang Hyeon shook his head.
“Work comes first. We can look around slowly after we’re done.”
“Guild Master, is there any guarantee that you won’t cause trouble when we get there?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“If something goes wrong, there might be a huge fight and this place could be destroyed, so let’s just look around a bit now!”
Honestly, she wasn’t wrong. Given Kang Hyeon’s personality of fighting first and asking questions later, there was no guarantee that a fight wouldn’t break out. If that happened, they might never get to see this city again.
“Tsk! People might think I’m always getting into fights everywhere.”
“But you do!”
“You’re really asking for it…”
As Kang Hyeon was about to flick Na-rae’s forehead, he noticed the gazes directed at him. Han Se-yeon and Dehera. Even Shin Seong-ah was staring at him intently. After a moment of uncomfortable silence. Kang Hyeon heaved a deep sigh.
“Fine. Let’s look around a bit…”
“Yay!”
Na-rae cheered and headed toward the stall with dangling accessories.
“Hey! You’re shorter than the goblins, so be careful not to get lost! We won’t be able to find you!”
“That’s not true!”
***
Ippotranslation
***
A subordinate was seen running in breathlessly. Avin Asas could guess what it was about, but didn’t show it.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
“Another defeat?”
“Yes…”
As expected. Who would it be this time? Which legion had been destroyed? Multiple battles, large and small, occur several times a day. And over 70% of them bring news of defeat.
“This is truly maddening.”
Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. Defeat!
It was enough to cause neurosis. How could they not win against mere goblins? Lately, they were even losing to beings of chaos emerging from rifts. It was due to their forces being spread thin as the battlefield expanded. Moreover, it felt like the frequency of chaos appearances was increasing, though it might have been his imagination.
‘The goblins face the same conditions. So why are we the only ones losing!’
The goblins also had their forces spread across the wide battlefield. They die fighting chaos as well. If anything, they should have it harder than the undead legion due to their smaller numbers. Yet, it was his army that kept losing.
“Sigh… Who was defeated?”
“Rellun Asas, sir.”
“That fool… Where is he now?”
“He has entered eternal rest.”
At the news of Rellun Asas’s death, the hall fell into complete silence. After a long moment passed. Finally, Avin Asas rose from his seat.
“Gather the army.”
“Pardon…?”
“Every single undead must be gathered without exception.”
Everyone in the hall was shocked by Avin’s sudden declaration.
“I will personally advance on their stronghold.”
The damage cannot be allowed to grow any further. They had already suffered heavy losses during the move from India to here. Due to continued defeats since then, the radical faction’s forces had been reduced by half. Avin Asas intended to move before it was too late.
“I’ll crush them all…”
All the damage suffered until now can be made up for by killing all the goblins. Avin Asas left the hall, his cloak fluttering violently.
