〈 Chapter 138 〉 Leim Kingdom (1)

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The gate leading from Saint City Hailen to Leim Kingdom.

This gate, like the one from Basilium to Sakh, simply had pieces of the barrier arranged at intervals.

Yet, that alone was exceptionally effective in forming a small barrier to block the approach of Chaos Beasts.

“That said, first-time users might definitely feel fear…”

It felt somewhat like the Deep Sea Tunnel.

After all, we were passing through an area that was originally impassable— the Chaos Realm.

Of course, the fact that it was transparent and everything outside could be seen, coupled with the inability to completely eliminate the threat of Chaos Beasts, made it much scarier than that.

“Oh, that Chaos Beast looks cute over there.”

However, Elsie didn’t seem to think so.

“It has ten heads! Cute, you say?”

And Yusera seemed at odds with Elsie’s strange taste.

Sitting in the wagon, her expression was somewhat distorted.

It wasn’t just because of Elsie’s odd taste.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since Yusera stepped outside the barrier.”

The Crow Association was shattered by the Chaos Beast’s attack, and she was rescued by the Hero and placed in the Church’s orphanage.

There, she was selected by an Apostle to be trained as a Hero Candidate.

In that process, it was unlikely she had ever left Hailen’s barrier.

“Then she must be recalling memories of the past.”

Although they were memories from her childhood, they would be vivid for her.

The Crow Association leading the top and shuttling between barriers.

And the end of that association.

That was the driving force behind who she is now.

“Actually, it’s Elsie who’s strange right now.”

I continued to watch Elsie, who still wore a bright smile.

Where we were headed was Leim Kingdom.

Though it was Elsie’s hometown, it surely held many traumas for her.

Yet, she was smiling as if she had shaken all of that off.

What could she possibly be thinking?

Was she perhaps forcing herself to smile?

“Speaking of which, do Chaos Beasts also mate?”

I had some unnecessary worry.

“Elsie, such vulgar questions…”

Just when Yusera was about to scold Elsie, the coachman sitting on the driver’s seat spoke up.

“Of course, they do mate. I’ve seen it a few times.”

That was information I didn’t know.

After all, ‘Hundred Braves’ didn’t deal with the mating habits of Chaos Beasts either.

Thinking about it, Elsie’s curiosity might actually be important.

I asked the coachman.

“Does mating mean they reproduce?”

“That I don’t really know. But I imagine they do. I’ve never seen baby Chaos Beasts before.”

“That’s fair…”

From the coachman’s words, it seemed the mating of the Chaos Beasts occurred without caring about species.

Of course, since even Chaos Beasts of the same type can look drastically different, it’s often hard to recognize them as the same species, but what the coachman saw seemed to resemble distinctly different species.

So it appeared that their mating was just for pleasure, rather than reproduction.

“Interesting.”

Elsie reacted as though it was fascinating.

In contrast, Yusera seemed to be pretending she wasn’t listening at all.

Yet, her neck was already beet red.

“I’ve felt this before, but does she really have no resistance to this sort of thing…?”

I thought I should be more careful.

Suddenly, something caught my eye beyond Yusera.

Judgment was swift.

“Stop the wagon!”

It was a Chaos Beast approaching at a terrifying speed.

Even at that distance, given its size, the actual size must be quite large.

In response to my request, the coachman stopped the wagon.

“Hero, what’s wrong?”

“To the left. A Chaos Beast is approaching. It seems we need to capture it.”

The coachman turned his head to the left and soon spotted the Chaos Beast.

His face went pale in an instant.

“Yikes, what a size…!”

“Elsie, Yusera! Prepare for battle!”

At my command, Elsie and Yusera jumped out of the wagon in unison.

The coachman spoke urgently to us.

“But with a size like that, it’d be better to run away…”

“No, it will definitely catch up with us.”

It was clear that it was targeting us and running toward us.

Given its speed, it seemed like escaping in a wagon would be impossible.

“Then we have no choice but to fight.”

I instructed Yusera.

“Yusera, prepare the Overload Strike.”

The Overload Strike was the name I had given to try and maximize its ‘Sky Cleaving’.

Yusera seemed somewhat disheartened by it, but that was better for me anyway.

“Got it.”

She quickly pulled out a Relic Sacred Replicant from her inventory.

Twenty-four might not be a massive number, but it had to be used when needed.

After all, as long as I built up results, I could find ways to receive more 2-star Relics.

“Elsie, I’ll leave the finishing to you.”

Instead of answering, Elsie simply nodded her head.

That was because the Chaos Beast was just about to reach the gate.

There was no time to delay.

“Sky… Overload Strike!”

It seemed not to have been completely fixed yet.

Perhaps it might never be fixed.

I might need to think about it again.

In any case, her strike cut through the space ahead in an instant.

The sword energy, elongated by Overload, sliced through the massive Chaos Beast as effortlessly as cutting tofu.

A blow equivalent to a high-level strike. The coachman’s eyes widened in surprise, having just considered us as freshly graduated rank and file from the Hero Academy.

“Elsie.”

“Yeah.”

As the Chaos Beast was sliced in half, Elsie charged in.

If she was charging in, I wouldn’t need to assist her.

She began to mercilessly hack apart the Chaos Beast before it even started to regenerate.

“That newly received Relic fits quite well, indeed.”

The sinister-looking sword in Elsie’s hand.

It seemed more appropriate to say it tore through enemies rather than simply cutting them.

Furthermore, her attacks also slowed down the Chaos Beast’s regeneration.

Yet, Elsie’s appearance was as gruesome as a demon.

The image of her smiling and chatting in the wagon was gone.

She was merely silently carving up the Chaos Beasts.

Clank, clank.

What was that sound? It was the teeth of the coachman next to me clattering.

It seemed he was shocked by Elsie’s demeanor.

I understood.

“That should be enough, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Definitely sufficient.

There’s no way a Demon King could survive in such a state.

Separately, as Elsie emerged from the inside of the Chaos Beast, she was completely splattered with the blood of the crimson Chaos Beast.

Even though Elsie had a relatively good resistance to Chaos, staying soaked in Chaos Beast’s blood for too long was dangerous.

“Wind’s Power.”

I utilized Wind’s Power to blow away the blood spattered on Elsie.

And just like that, Elsie returned to looking neat again.

“Alright, let’s get back in the wagon.”

As I confirmed that Yusera and Elsie got back in, I once more gazed far across the hillside.

At that moment, Elsie curiously asked me.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you getting in?”

“I was just about to hop in.”

“What were you looking at so intently? Was there another Chaos Beast around?”

“No, I was just wondering if I could see the barrier of Basilium from here.”

“Of course not. How far away is it?”

…I couldn’t tell her I was looking at the Demon King.

There was a coachman here, after all.

I didn’t want to frighten him any further.

‘That guy was definitely seen heading from Basilium to Sakh…’

In fact, what I had seen first from the wagon wasn’t the Chaos Beast but Demon King Laus.

That was why I had intuitively stopped the wagon when I felt the approaching Chaos Beast.

Demon King Laus had the ability to lure surrounding Chaos Beasts.

‘Speaking of which, if he reports back about the just-concluded battle…’

I was starting to think there might be a pushback.

‘I’ll need to operate more meticulously.’

*

The process of entering Leim Kingdom wasn’t smooth.

Currently, a national isolation order was in effect.

However, as a Hero, with the Church, a nationwide organization, backing us, entry was not impossible.

‘This is why being a Hero was necessary.’

Being a Hero brought many benefits, except for being tied to the High Priest’s commands.

However, in Leim Kingdom, even such Heroes faced some restrictions.

“For entry, you need to agree to the contract.”

The contract they presented had several clauses.

‘Do not cause any commotion within the kingdom.’

‘Do not commit any form of crime, including minor offenses.’

These might seem somewhat ordinary clauses.

Yet, amidst these clauses, a trap lay hidden.

‘Do not spread false information to the citizens of Leim Kingdom.’

While it’s labeled false information, it’s merely a mechanism to prevent the citizens of Leim Kingdom from knowing about the situation in neighboring countries.

While the national isolation order from Leim Kingdom was said to be due to a cold war with Sakh, it was merely an excuse to divert the citizens’ attention from the royal family.

‘If any of these clauses are not upheld, the royal family can secure the Hero’s safety.’

This kind of unreasonable condition, and the current unfriendly atmosphere toward outsiders in Leim Kingdom.

These were the reasons most Heroes were reluctant to go to Leim Kingdom.

However…

“Here.”

Yusera, Elsie, and I all finished signing the contract.

After all, we had something we needed to do in Leim Kingdom.

Thus, we finally set our feet in Leim Kingdom.

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