NOVEL NEXT Chapter 196
Chapter 196 – The Internal Enemy (6)
“You will regret this. You have acted foolishly in a world that has only just survived a crisis, uncertain of when that crisis might return.”
“Are you talking about those strange monsters? It’s interesting but I’m not too worried. According to you, if those monsters show up again, we can just stamp them out. So there’s no need to fret too much.”
Emperor Rihir, already having moved his soldiers, smirked as he glanced at Luna glaring at him beyond the barred window.
He was a quite rational and intelligent man. He didn’t believe that the elves’ testimony about the bugs was completely false.
He merely calculated that given the current power of the empire, even if the bugs reappeared, they would be more than capable of handling them.
Ironically, the allied forces had fought so well that they inadvertently provided the empire an opportunity.
‘Terrifying human.’
Luna bit her lip, knowing this.
Rihir’s words were indeed not wrong. Being cautious of the bugs stemmed from fear of them regrowing their colony. If the empire boldly declared they would handle it, there would be no way to stop that.
“Have you not already witnessed his judgment? The will to eradicate the Black Monsters lies with him. And he does not wish to see us fighting against you.”
“It seems that the esteemed Guardian Deity can’t save you while you’re trapped here. That was always the case. The beings called gods in this land are too powerful, and ironically, they can’t intervene too much. They can provide blessings, but they cannot pass judgment.”
With a mindset of ‘whatever will be, will be’, Luna brought up the presence beyond the screen. The power demonstrated through the lightning had indeed left a strong impression on many.
However, Rihir only scoffed at that. He had realized that there were clearly limits to what the being outside the screen could intervene with.
Even though Junyoung could zoom in to check, he could not get a clear view of something like the inside of a building or an underground prison.
“Anyway, you have no choice, so think it through while you can. Your attitude will influence how you are treated after the occupation, so I want to go with the best possible outcome.”
Rihir declared that he would soon occupy the Land of the Elves and then left the room.
Luna found herself at a loss for words. Trapped as she was, all she could do was pray for those she believed in to overcome the crisis.
‘He cannot pass judgment. All he can provide are a few blessings.’
She bit down on her teeth, mulling over Rihir’s words. It wasn’t incorrect, but there was one vital point.
‘The blessings he bestows are not mere blessings. They are miracles. Just as before, he will help us.’
Luna had witnessed countless miracles bestowed upon the allied forces during their battles with the bugs.
The Slayer elves armed with guns and Riena’s descent after acquiring all the Celestial Blessings were among them. Luna firmly believed they would shatter the arrogant emperor’s pride.
“Your Majesty, there are still no new reports.”
“Then you may leave now. I will be sleeping shortly.”
Feeling good after meeting with Luna, Rihir returned to his room but did not go to sleep immediately.
It was one of his habits to spend the night alone thinking various thoughts instead of seeking his wife whenever major events, like war, arrived.
After the butler finished reporting, he was finally left alone in the tranquil silence of the night. He enjoyed this stillness and solitude.
He felt as if he was the only one in the world.
‘I suppose I’ll learn more about those Black Monsters if I investigate further. I don’t think the elves would lie. The lightning that fell from the sky is certainly real.’
He was a thorough person. He hated missing out on something while immersed in other matters. It was this thoroughness that had allowed him to eliminate his brothers and father who sought to remove him and ascend to the throne.
“…Huh?”
However, he was ultimately just an ordinary human, unable to see beyond what he knew and witnessed.
When the situation exceeded the realm of common sense and imagination, even his clever mind was of little use.
“W-what?!”
At that moment, he turned around, feeling a chilling presence in the empty room. He stood frozen, breath caught in his throat, as something emerged from thin air.
It was a horrifying monster, cloaked in Black Carapace with four arms, stealthily lurking with an eerie silence.
From within its helmet-like head armor, numerous red eyes shone like those of an insect.
“Guh!”
Rihir didn’t have time to scream or call for help.
The Assassin’s hand transformed into a sharp poison stinger, piercing through his abdomen, and Rihir trembled in disbelief as he felt that alien and dreadful energy flowing into him.
His wide-open eyes and agape mouth bore the expression of an emperor of the empire being so easily, so absurdly taken down.
“False dominion. It will soon become our dominion.”
The Assassin began implanting something within Rihir’s body with a rough voice, the ruler of the empire and supreme master of all on this vast land.
An unwavering obsession, a madness that twisted reality and sought out the best possible plan. This was the method that the bugs had found next, after forming their colonies.
And as he collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness, the Assassin activated its stealth again, blending into the surrounding scenery.
The wound healed in an instant, and the room, with not a drop of blood spilled on the floor, regained its silence as if nothing had happened.
*
“—, –!”
‘Wow, this is terrifying.’
Even in a place filled with bizarre magic and superhumans capable of splitting the earth alone, the advantages of guns still shone through.
Not just any guns, but future-oriented ones from a hyper FPS game.
The Slayers, who could hit dead-on even in this chaotic forest, were the handpicked talents among the elves already skilled in marksmanship.
Their proficiency was also at its peak, alternating between the game world and reality.
As these skilled warriors engaged in guerrilla tactics in the forest, the imperial army found it hard to advance.
‘I guess there’s no need to worry about wasting time.’
A wry smile escaped me as I let go of some of my concerns. If imperial soldiers could advance with emotionless disregard, trampling over their comrades’ corpses like bugs, then elven guerrilla tactics might not have much meaning.
But the imperial soldiers were human. They were of my kind, and thus the emotions they felt were the same as mine.
Even without me smashing their morale, they would fearfully halt at the sight of a comrade shot down by bullets coming from an unknown source.
“Oh, the Defense Barrier.”
What I needed to do was destroy whatever they hoped to create as a magical defense barrier on the fly.
Using chainsaws or machine guns to shatter those barriers would terrify them even more, forcing them to flee or scatter into disarray.
And while the elves bought time like this, preparations were already well underway elsewhere.
“—!”
On the monitor right beside where the elves were conducting guerrilla warfare, allies were being summoned from various places.
The nomads, rarely seen while fighting against the bugs, now gathered with their horses in tow.
‘It’s time to open the portal.’
Now it fell into place. Why Chieftain Balun would gather numerous soldiers in the capital without any worries.
All the portals I had opened were connected to the capital. This meant it was the easiest place to gather the scattered soldiers.
However, the capital was the farthest point from the empire’s borders that they aimed for.
No matter how much they were nomads, they’d be exhausted after marching such a distance. The only way to overcome that distance swiftly was to replace the desktop file entirely and open a portal to jump between spaces.
There was no need to open it right away, but everything was prepared. Once I spent points to open the portal, the numerous gathered soldiers would all charge through it.
And once that happened, war would erupt again… and many would fall victim again.
‘Once is enough. It can’t happen twice.’
Things in that world were a matter of unavoidable flow. Even if I, the User, intervened with ridiculous powers, there were limits, and even with countless people showing me blind faith, not everything would obey my will.
That’s why I didn’t want to witness that in reality either. While my capabilities in reality were limited compared to that world, I resolved to do all I could.
-So you were scared after all. You immediately tucked your tail in.
This was the evidence of the decision I made based on that resolution.
The next day, I received a message from Lee So-Yeon while watching a live broadcast of Member Lee Yong-Goo’s press conference. He had retracted his stance against active alliance activities and stated he would cooperate.
The ripple effect was immense. Not only ordinary people but many within the political world were shocked. In a situation where opposing for the sake of opposing was deemed normal, his actions could only be seen if someone held his life in their hands.
-But be careful. Just as expected, investigations are underway. Lee Yong-Goo had to explain to his fellow colleagues why he had to make such a choice to avoid being labeled a traitor, and because of that, they are now suspicious of us.
“As I said, I’m not interested in the political sphere. If things worked out as desired, that’s enough for me.”
Lee So-Yeon informed me that the police and the National Intelligence Service were trying to investigate her.
Naturally, she completely denied any relationship with me, and they wouldn’t be able to catch any evidence of us using magic and items.
-And there’s a high probability that everything won’t be resolved. Although Lee Yong-Goo has significant influence within the party, he is still just a member of the National Assembly… new opposition might arise, and especially, international relations are unlikely to change at all.
“I know. Perhaps those internal enemies are more dangerous than even the bugs. What can we do? If we don’t eliminate them, everyone will die.”
My thoughts hadn’t changed. I would do everything I could.
Whether it was to deal with the bugs harming people or to filter out the impurities that only disrupt from within, the trigger had already been pulled.
My village has appeared on my desktop.