Chapter 145 – Alandal in Seoul
He stood opposite of Liah on a frozen land.
He had expected her to be enraged, but Woojin’s prediction was way off. Liah didn’t mince words. She brought up the reason as to why she was here.
“Do you mind if I make you an offer?”
“You challenged me to a Duel, yet you want to give me an offer?”
“I don’t have a point of contact on the planet anymore. You destroyed all the footholds I had on Planet Jaku.”
If one wanted to visit the Dimensional domain of others, one had to go to their Dungeons. This was why the only way she could meet with Woojin was through Dimensional battle or Duel.
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“So you want to give me an offer instead of pursuing your revenge?”
“After I was revived, I heard the news on what happened. In truth, I was a little bit surprised. You seem to have the power to act with reckless bravado in regards to protecting your planet.”
“Reckless bravado….”
“Ah, sorry. It doesn’t matter of if you are strong or not. You are trying to do an impossible task.”
“Are you desperate to be killed again?”
Woojin took out his Warrior’s Weapon. Her method of battle was probably the same as before. She wasn’t smoking a cigarette this time, but he thought she was trying to buy time through their conversation.
“Woah. Calm down. I’m suggesting an alliance. Instead of crossing swords with a person of significant power, it would be more beneficial for me to join up with you.”
“Don’t you have any pride? How much did you lose to me?”
“If I can get an alliance with someone as strong as you, it is a small amount of Points to pay.”
“…….”
Woojin’s eyebrows twitched.
He couldn’t understand her. She was putting out her hand towards a man, who had killed her. He had destroyed her Colony, and he had killed all her subordinates and Domain residents. However, it seemed she thought all of them in terms of Points.
They were items she could purchase once again after she gained more Points.
“I refuse.”
Woojin grabbed his axe.
Liah laughed.
“You can’t refuse me.”
“……?”
“I can’t win against you. However, the humans around you is a different matter.”
“…….”
Woojin headed towards her with his axe in his hand.
However, Liah didn’t even flinch at his approach.
“Isn’t that a pretty lame threat?”
Woojin raised his axe.
“Do you really think you’ll be able to block all the links from forming on earth? ”
It seemed he had an incredible amount of confidence in himself.
A single person was thinking about defending against countless Dungeons.
Woojin snorted at the invidious remark.
“I’m sure some will break through.”
“……?”
This was the first Liah’s expression changed.
“So why won’t you accept my offer? You don’t mind if the people around you die?”
“It isn’t all right.”
He had his family, and Sooah. Then there were the people of Alandal that he had somewhat gotten attached to. He had to protect them. This was the goal Woojin had set for himself.
“Then why….”
“Even if it isn’t you, I have a truck-full of bastards threatening me.”
“……!”
“Next time, you should attack me with some more spirit.”
Woojin split open Liah’s head with his axe. It really seemed she had no intention of fighting from the start. Liah allowed herself to be defeated easily, and she was reduced to a gray light.
<You’ve won the Duel.>
<You will now be able to initiate the Victor’s Rights.>
<Please select either Loot the Storage Room or Loot the Domain.>
“That was an easy win. I choose Loot the Storage Room.”
If he could get something like the Skia’s Boots, which was a main ingredient in making Thrash’s Set item, he would be thrilled. If he could get a precious treasure, it would be more profitable than looting a Domain.
“Well, my situation will remain the same even if I took out that bitch from the equation.”
Liah wasn’t the only one gunning for Woojin.
Even if he was to appease her, there were still a lot of enemies left.
He also would be allying himself with someone, who would betray him at every turn. It would be better for him to have her remain as an enemy.
“I have to step on her….”
Woojin smacked his lips. The best place to loot was at a Dimensional domain or a Colony of the dead lord. If he knew the location of another Colony or Dungeon owned by Liah, he would have immediately gone there to loot what she had. It was too bad.
“Tsk. She doesn’t have any good Items.”
He was left with possession of mediocre Items. After the Loot was complete, Woojin’s sight returned to his own Dimensional Domain.
Jaemin was waiting with a confused expression on his face. He asked Woojin a question.
“Should we do another Dimensional battle, hyung?”
“No. We gained the necessary Protection Period.”
He would gain 4 days if he won the Duel or Dimensional battle. If he lost, he would gain 12 days.
“Then the Points….”
“You can borrow from me. How much do you need?”
When they had some spare time, he was going to use Jaemin to gain Points through Dimensional battles. It wouldn’t be bad to give him the Points in advance.
“I need 170,000 Points.”
“Huh?”
The figure was much higher than expected. At Woojin’s response, Do-jaemin scratched the back of his head.
“I guess it would be difficult?”
It was enough Points to be able to buy a decent Dimensional Domain.
The amount wasn’t the problem, and Woojin didn’t mind giving it to him.
Sunggoo, Jaemin and the people around him had to grow. This would allow them to protect his family and Alandal when a group composing of Dimensional lords like Liah shows up.
Woojin wasn’t like some poltergeist that’ll always stick around in one place.
It’s just that he was curious as to what Jaemin wanted so bad that he was willing to spend so much Points on it.
“What are you trying to buy?”
“I want the Vampire Lord’s Heart.”
“What?”
Woojin wondered if he had misheard Jaemin.
“I’ll slowly save up and buy it later.”
Jaemin regretted his decision to ask, since it felt like he was making an unreasonable request. Kahng-woojin had already done so much for him, and it felt like he was taking advantage of Woojin’s generosity.
Jaemin had felt his weakness deep within his bones. His request must have arose from the desperation at wanting to get stronger.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
He looked through his Dimensional Store, and he found the Vampire Lord’s Heart.
‘It really is priced at 200,000.’
It seemed Jaemin had saved up 30,000 Points, but he was strapped for Points at the moment.
Woojin purchased it.
<Vampire Lord’s Heart>
Count Kiet’s Heart.
His previous Rank will be passed on.
Originally, Jaemin had been bitten by a low level Vampire, and he had become a thrall. Jaemin had killed the Vampire, and he initiated the Blood Ritual to steal the Vampire’s power to become one.
Still, there was a cap to his growth no matter how much blood he drank.
If he wanted to become a high ranked Vampire, he had to go through another Blood Ritual.
A heart of a Vampire noble.
Jaemin was aiming for the heart of a lord. The Vampire had to have a station of Count at minimum.
Once a Vampire becomes a lord, it could use Blood Relations to command the lower ranked Vampires.
This wasn’t a case where he would only be able to command the bloodsucking monsters. He’ll be able to gain underlings from the same race as him.
The lord was given the qualification to start a Vampire clan.
Even if one didn’t covet having the underlings, a lord’s growth potential was on a different level. If one had the potential to reach 100, the potential would grow two to three times larger as a lord.
“Eat it.”
“…thank you.”
Woojin held up the heart as if it was nothing, and Jaemin didn’t refuse the offer.
He could show his thanks in the future with his life. Currently, he needed power, and the heart in front of him was the means.
“Once you finish the ritual, you should return to Planet Jaku, and try to imbibe as much blood as possible. I’ll be heading to a different planet soon.”
“Another planet?”
“Alphen.”
“Ah.”
Jaemin was well versed with the Planet Alphen. He had become close with the Holy Maiden, since they hunted in the same party. She kept talking about her home planet until his ears had hurt.
“Are you going to hunt more, hyung?”
“You should worry about yourself rather than worrying about me.
“Hurry up and do the ritual.”
Woojin stayed for the off chance that the Blood Ritual could go wrong, then he head to earth. It wasn’t as if Planet Jaku was the only hunting ground available to Woojin. It was still important for him to clear Dungeons that couldn’t be handled by anyone on earth.
He wouldn’t be able to come back for several days if he went to Alphen.
He’ll have to leave after clearing the Dungeons that are about to break.
Sss-ahhhhhh.
Even in death, the heart was beating. When Jaemin grabbed the heart, blood shot out as it formed a fog of blood, and it was directly absorbed into Jaemin. After the ritual was done, it felt as if something had changed. However, the change was marginal.
Jaemin was a bit out of step as he stepped out of the starting block. However, every time he took a step, the change that would occur would become bigger. He’ll get to taste a growth that couldn’t be compared to before.
“Good luck.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Jaemin was different from his previous self. His face was overflowing with confidence. After Jaemin gave his goodbye, he stepped through the portal heading toward Planet Jaku. Woojin entered into a Portal heading towards Seoul Station’s 1st exit.
“Uh? President… You are back already, my king?”
The employee guarding the Seoul Station’s 1st Exit greeted Woojin.
The title of king was awkward for most people. but Woojin really didn’t care.
“Where’s Soonghoon?”
“The minister of foreign affair went to the headquarters when he heard the guests from overseas had arrived.”
“Is that so?”
“Shall I contact him right now?”
“No. It’s fine. It’s right around the corner.”
Woojin’s stepped out of the exit, and he was showered with clicks from the reporters on a stakeout.
He headed towards Alandal’s main building.
***
In the building considered to be the headquarters, a portion of the building was designated to be the Foreign office.
Amongst the office spaces, Woo-soonghoon had an office as the minister of foreign affairs.
“Heeyah. They want a lot of stuff.”
Soonghoon saw the negotiators sent by each country, and he shook his head from side to side. The men here still seemed to be unaware of who was holding the hilt of the sword.
“Minister. The delegation has arrived at the prime minister’s office.”
“Hmm. All right. Let’s go.”
Soonghoon and the employee left for the prime minister’s office.
Alandal’s prime minister Jung-minchan, a director from Japan’s Kaneda guild, and the delegation from Britain was already present inside the room.
[It is nice to meet you. My name is Soonghoon. I’m the minister of foreign affairs.]
Woo-soonghoon spoke in flawless English as he greeted everyone.
There was no awkwardness to his speech, and a translator was unnecessary.
Soonghoon sat next to Jung-michan, and Minchan quietly whispered into his ear.
“Minister Woo. This negotiation is…”
“Prime minister.”
Soonghoon looked at Minchan with a straight face.
“Please trust in me. Let me handle the negotiation.”
“Huh?”
Minchan had a serious expression on his face as he looked at Soonghoon. For a moment, he struggled over the decision, but he nodded his assent in the end.
The position makes the person.
Woo-soonghoon was different from his previous self.
When they were finalizing Alandal’s treaty, Soonghoon had worked in lockstep with him. This was why Michan thought Soonghoon wouldn’t make any big mistakes even if he wasn’t a professional negotiator.
He’ll stay to see if there were unforseen problems. He would be able to immediately make corrections if needed.
“All right. I still have to make the final decision, so you’ll have to discuss it with me.”
“Of course.”
Aside from the king, the Prime Minister personally dealt with the day to day running of Alandal. He had the power akin to a president, and Minchan’s influence in Alandal was absolute.
Alandal was a small country, but the country had the power to influence the world. As the first Prime Minister of Alandal, many countries were interested in him.
Soonghoon sat in front of the person from Japan’s Kaneda guild.
[I’ve read all the data and requests you provided us. Let us discuss the issue of giving a fair warning when a 6 star and above Dungeon shows up. We also have to negotiate the joint clearing of….]
Soonghoon was skillful in taking the lead, so Minchan nodded his head in approval inside. Soonghoon was meticulous in gathering data, and he was adept at stealing away the initiative in the negotiations.
Soonghoon was well aware of the fact that Alandal held the absolute high ground in regards to Dungeons when talking to other guilds and countries. He used this fact well in the negotiations.
After coming to a mutual aid agreement regarding Dungeon clearing with the Kaneda guild, they finalized on the stake Alandal would have on the cleared Dungeons. After that negotiation came to an end, Soonghoon faced the United States’ Bad Sector guild.
[I’m sure the president will decline the offer you made in regards to making a movie. Moreover, Alandal is currently in an alliance with the Titan guild….]
They had been having an intense conversation for over 30 minutes, yet they weren’t even close to coming to an agreement. Soonghoon decided to push the negotiations to a different date.
[Hoo. We’ll start the negotiation again tomorrow.]
Bad Sector was the second biggest guild in the US behind the Titan.
The negotiation hadn’t been easy.
Soonghoon sat in front of the delegation from Britain. He frowned.
[You guys didn’t send any data our way, and you just dropped in on us. What is the reason behind this move?]
[President Kahng-woojin said to come to Alandal…]
[Uh-huh! He is our monarch.]
[I did as king Kahng-woojin instructed. He told me to talk to the people within his own country. This is why we came here.]
[Ah. So the president sent you here.]
Woo-soonghoon’s expression relaxed a little bit.
[All right. Why are you here?]
[I’ll go straight to the point. We want to purchase the Dimensional Fragment.]
[Ah. You are here to purchase an Item.]
[Yes. I was told to negotiate with Alandal.]
Ah. Did president finally recognize Woo-soonghoon’s skill? The president even entrusted him with this work. He was so happy that the question just fell out of his mouth.
[ALl right. What price did you have in mind?]
[The king of Alandal suggested a price to us. He wanted an aircraft carrier for it.]
[What? What did you just say?]
Soonghoon thought he had misheard, so he repeated his question. Jung-minchan looked at him with surpised eyes.
‘What is this Dimensional Fragment? Is it suppose to be something precious?’
He didn’t even have to voice the question out loud. Soonghoon fiercely asked the question with his surprised expresssion.