Chapter 147   – Expedition

It was as Minchan had predicted.  Woojin had already returned to Alandal.

It took him less than five minutes to travel from London to Seoul….

It was where the Dungeon, which may be last bulwark of civilization, was located at.

“I came here to fulfill my promise.”

Blanka puffed out his chest as he entered the president’s room, and he stood in front of Woojin.

Minchan and Soonghoon had entered together with Blanka, so Woojin asked them a question.

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“Why are you guys coming in together?”

“We met him at the entrance.”

“Hmm.  Everyone take a seat.”

At Woojin’s words, they sat in the sofa located on the other side of Woojin. A secretary brought in tea.

In recent days, the number of people visiting Alandal had increased significantly.

Under the skies of Seoul, the safest land was considered to be near the Seoul Station. It was the private lands of Alandal.

Even though there wasn’t any public recruitment going on, people and beggars came in droves to ask about jobs at the guild.  It seemed Blanka had been mistaken for a foreigner looking for work, and he had been detained.

“Why were you so late?”

“The guard at the entrance prevented me from getting here faster.  It was a sad situation.”

He had been treated as a foreign laborer, so Blanka had been very disappointed by his treatment. Woojin smirked as he looked at Blanka.

“I bet you are lying.  You probably didn’t want to come here from India.”

“N…no way.  I wanted to come here.”

Blanka’s flustered expression pretty much confirmed Woojin’s suspicion.

Well, it didn’t matter.  It didn’t matter what worries and lingering attachments he had before. In the end, he had come here.

Woojin had gained a pretty good Buffer.

“Do you have any message for me from Vishnu guild master?”

“He said to tell you that he had kept his promise.”

Woojin smirked.

He had gained a high quality fighter in exchange for a Dungeon in Delhi.

The Vishnu guild master probably thought hard about taking the loss and keeping Blanka.  As he was doing such calculations, the Dungeons had Broken again, and he had to help the army fight the Monster lord.

What would happen if another calamity occurred inside India?

As an insurance for some unknown disaster in the future, the guild master quickly sent Blanka to consummate the promise.

“I said I would help out twice?”

“Yes.”

He had promised to clear the Reset Dungeons that the Vishnu guild couldn’t handle. Moreover, he had promised to give 100% of the rights to running those Dungeons.

From their perspective, the rights to running the Dungeon was an added benefit.

What they really wanted was the assurance that Woojin would save India twice from future calamities.

“Well, all right.  I want to welcome you to Alandal.”

“Please take care of me from now on.”

When the conversation came to a close, Jung-minchan shook Blanka’s hand.

“Welcome.  My name is Jung-minchan.”

“It is nice to meet you.”

“Your Korean is very good.”

Blanka was a famous Roused in India.  Jung-minchan already knew who he was.  Minchan had also been told about Blanka being scouted, so he was well informed on the situation.

“How should we treat Mr. Blanka, president?  Is he part of Alandal now or was he dispatched here by his former guild?”

“Are you asking if he is a hostage or a slave…”

At Woojin’s words, Jung-minchan let out a forced laugh as he wiped at the sweat forming on his forehead.

“It doesn’t matter if he was sold or loaned.  Just treat him how you like.”

“…….”

Woojin didn’t care whether Blanka’s allegiance lay with him or not.  The important part was the fact that he’ll be able to use Blanka as a Buffer.

After his work was done, Woojin didn’t care if Blanka remained at Alandal or go back to India.

“Ha ha. I’ll take care of everything.”

“All right.”

Woojin gave an adequate response, and he tilted his head in confusion when he saw Minchan and Soonghoon keep smiling at him.

“Why do you guys keep smiling at me?”

“We finalized the treaty today.”

Minchan opened his briefcase, and he took out a thick envelope. Woojin pushed away the documents when Minchan tried to hand it to him.

“Just give me the outline.”

“There are two points that are important.”

“What is it?”

“The city state of Alandal was given its independence by Korea.”

“What’s the other point?”

“The constitutional law was modified, so we are allowed to have dual citizenship.  The citizens of Alandal won’t have to give up their Korean citizenship.”

“Good.”

Alandal would finally be treated like the Vatican.

This would mean employees could commute to the city state of Alandal like a regular job now.

They would have all the rights of a Korean, while at the same time, they would be citizens of Alandal. This would lessen the worry felt by the employees.

“It is thanks to the president.  Shall I call you your majesty now?”

“Dude. You should most definitely call me your majesty.”

“…….”

Minchan had suggested it in jest, so the cat got his tongue.  Minchan stuttered as he looked at Woojin’s serious face.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Dude.  I was joking.”

“Ha ha.”

It really didn’t seem like a joke….

“Well, I insisted on independence for our convenience.  You can call me whatever you want.”

At that moment, an employee from the secretary office knocked before coming into the room.

“Director Hong-sunggoo has just arrived.”

Woojin got up from his seat.

He had been wasting time in the president’s office, because he had been waiting for Sunggoo to return.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go train. Most of us are here now.”

“Mmmm. Could you give a speech announcing the establishment of our country before you go?”

“You do it.  This is why I handed you the seat of Prime minister.”

“…as the constitutional monarch, you should give a speech.”

“All right.  Go gather everyone right now.  I’ll be gone for several days.”

“I’ll go make the preparations.”

Jung-minchan knew Woojin’s personality, so he knew he had to be quick in his preparation.  He exited the president’s room.  Soonghoon also got up from his seat.

“Then I’ll be heading out too.”

“All right.  Also, you should contact the Hammer guild. They were suppose to set up the general assembly of guilds, so why haven’t they contacted me?”

“Ah! I’ll immediately find out about it.”

After he said farewell with Soonghoon, Blanka discreetly got up from the sofa.

“I will also….”

“You stay here.”

“Yes.”

Blanka sat back down on the sofa, and he asked a question he was curious about.

“Am I a hostage now?”

“You can be whatever you want.”

“…….”

What kind of response was that?

“I chose to come here out of my own volition.”

“Did I say otherwise?”

“I volunteered to become Alandal’s….”

“A guilty conscience needs no accuser.  Just stay here and greet the other members when they get here.”

“…yes.”

After they returned from clearing a Dungeon, Sunggoo and Haesol arrived at the president’s room.

“Did you ask for me, hyung-nim?”

“Yes.  Come sit here.”

“Uh.  Blanka?”

“It’s been awhile.”

“Heh heh. Did you just get here?“

“Yes.  I volunteered to become a citizen of Alandal.”

“……?”

Sunggoo was confused by his odd statement.

Haesol, who was next to Sunggoo, put her hand out in greeting.

“Welcome.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Comrade.”

“…….”

When they shook hands, why did Blanka feel a fierce delight coming from Haesol?

Haesol and Sunggoo fussed over Blanka, since he will share the same fate as them.

The Holy Maiden came into the president’s room in the midst of their conversation.

Woojin’s face darkened a little bit at her visit.

“How’s Sooah doing?”

“She is about to molt.”

Will she be a Holy Maiden to a god or a goddess?

It didn’t matter in the end.  She’ll become an agent for the newly awakened god.

If she can’t endure the process, she’ll die.  If she can endure it, she’ll become Awakened. The periodic seizures was still occurring, and it was a step she had to go through to be able to adapt to her new reality.

The shadow casting over Woojin’s face quickly disappeared.

“Everyone is here now. Everyone sit.”

“…….”

The Roused affiliated with Alandal was all gathered here. Every one of them had ability and Rank that couldn’t be ignored.

They were small in number, but they were equal to most guilds in terms of quality.  On top of that, Woojin was someone that had power beyond the capability of a guild.  His battle potential came close to what countries had.

“I want you guys to go on an expedition to a different planet.”

“Are we going to Alphen?”

“Not yet..”

He had recently purchased a Dungeon on Alphen. There were so many challengers attempting to clear his Dungeon, so he had to send Kiba to protect his Dimensional Domain.  Kiba was leading a busy life.

“I’m going to Planet Jaku.”

“Hmm.”

Even if they were to talk about it, they didn’t have any information regarding the topic.

They just had to follow Woojin’s direction as he revealed more information to them.

“Rajakui, who linked to earth, is part of the Yellow Lizard Coalition. We are going to go there to hunt in their Dungeons.”

“We are going too?”

At Haesol’s question, Woojin nodded his head.

“We should go to their main headquarters if we are going to create a battlefield.  Do you want to fight on earth?”

“You are correct in your decision.”

They would be able to receive powerful fire support on their home ground.  However, this wasn’t about victories and losses. It wasn’t a good idea to cause harm to earth.  If they were going to stage a war, it would be better to do it on the enemy’s front lawn.

“I’m dividing our group into three parties. I’m going to move by myself. You guys hunt by cooperating with each other.”

“What about the last party?”

“What do you think?”

Woojin grinned as he looked at Sunggoo.

“Sunggoo.  You are going to learn from Jaenis as you follow him.”

“…….”

The day was finally here.

Sunggoo’s complexion darkened.

***

Originally, Alandal was a site set up for military use, and it was divided into three regions.

There was a simple yet enormous building that was built like a school. A gymnasium was located next to the main building.  There was also a quarantine zone named ‘Che-haesol’s Safari’. It was where the Tamed monsters were located at.  They were dependable allies that would help out in emergencies.

All of Alandal’s employees were gathered inside the gym.

One could also see several reporters Minchan had quickly invited over.

Chairs were placed on top of a stage. The founding members and key figures of Alandal was sitting on top of the stage.

Kahng-woojin discreetly asked Minchan a question when he saw the gym packed with people.

“We have this much people?”

“They are outstanding individuals I picked out with great care.”

“…….”

Woojin never expected the number of outstanding individual they hired would approach close to a thousand.

There were less than 10 Roused in Alandal, yet there were so many employees in the Support division…

“I guess we have to pick up some more Roused.”

“Actually, we are being flooded by applicants. We are even being overwhelmed by applications sent in by Rank B and higher Roused.”

Alandal was currently the greatest guild on earth.  No, they had become a country…

Woo-soonghoon’s voice rang out as he spoke into the microphone.

“We will now start the pronouncement of Alandal being established as a country. First….”

Soonghoon was reading off a hastily made speech when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  He turned to look, and Woojin was standing next to him.

“Stand aside. At this rate, this will take the whole day.”

“Yes.”

Woojin walked past the podium to stand in front of the stage.  He didn’t need a microphone.

Sha-rah-rah-rahk.

Black smoke gathered around Woojin, and it coalesced to form him familiars.

Weeeeeeng.

“I was having fun playing with teacher Jaemin. Why did you call me?”

[My lord!]

[Do you need the use of Ramson’s hammer?]

[Gooh-ha-ha.  Are we hunting humans this time?]

The familiars chattered loudly after being summoned, and the stage was packed now.

“Everyone be quiet.”

Woojin looked down at the employees from the stage.

These were the people chosen by Jung-minchan, who was simultaneously the vice president and the prime minister of Alandal.  However, these people had gathered under the name of Alandal.

If a group was gathered, the group should at the very least share the same vision as the leader.

“I was summoned to Alphen 5 years ago, and I lived with death by my side for 20 years.”

Woojin didn’t have a microphone, but his voice rang out to all corners of the gym. His voice was filled with potent magic, and his voice could be heard by all ears.

“The monsters that swallowed Alphen is gunning for earth.”

When he spoke about it in those terms, it increased the anger felt by everyone.

Woojin’s voice flared up a level.

“Those who fight with me will become my comrade!  Those who run away will become my comrade in death!”

[Goo-ohhhhhhh!]

The Death Knights let out a roar.

Woojin continued to speak towards the slightly frightened employees.

“If you came here thinking Alandal was the safest bunker you could find, you are sorely mistaken.  This place is the front line of the battlefield.”

He wasn’t wrong.  He had numerous Dimensional lords, who had enmity towards Woojin. The Monster lords had appeared en masse at Seoul in the latest incident.

“Those who gather under the name of Alandal will all become warriors!”

It didn’t matter if they were alive or dead.

“If you want to die, then run.”

It didn’t matter if they ran away in fright.  This was why he was scaring them right now.  It would be best for those, who didn’t have courage, to follow him as Undeads.

The precipice of hell was a step away in front of Alandal.

It was a land closest to the boundary that separated life and death.

If they followed Woojin, they will cross death’s door in style.

“I declare the founding of Alandal.”

People with drawn faces watched as Woojin gave his declaration.