Chapter 210
People shouted from everywhere in the incident reception department located on the tenth floor of the Empire State Building.
“I’m telling the truth! You have to hurry!”
“Please send reinforcements now! Our clan is done for if it’s too late!”
“Essen is a key city! The Union has to...”
This Union department received help requests from individuals, parties, and clans and relayed them to the relevant departments. People with numbered tickets, each expressing anxiety, stood in straight lines in front of dozens of reception desks.
“I see, a murder. I will relay this to the crime investigation department.”
“Sniff! Hurgh! T-the spec force will deal with it, right?”
“I can’t say. If it’s a regular murder, they won’t. They’re quite understaffed, after all.”
“T-that won’t do! Who will put Jane to rest, then?! Ahhhhh!”
Security personnel escorted the individuals who caused commotion outside.
Hansen, a receptionist, sighed before returning to work mode and called, “Next person, please.”
An anxious girl with a puppy on her head approached.
“Please hand me the filled document, please,” Hansen asked.
“Here you go,” the girl said.
Hansen quickly skimmed through the document, his speed attesting to his experience.
“Clan One Tree. An ambush in Garapan, located between the second and third zones, by over a thousand orcs?”
Hansen looked up at the girl before him, who would likely be a schoolgirl on Earth. However, he was a Baptist who had spent over three years in the Mirror World; he had long since abandoned his habit of judging a book by its cover.
“I will relay this to the diplomatic relations department.”
“No! Please relay it to the support department as a special-class priority!”
“That will be difficult. The support department, consisting of hunting support, dungeon support, and war support, has been the busiest department since the Great Reclamation.”
Humans had reclaimed and were still reclaiming countless cities after the Lost-All phenomenon. As a result, the Union received countless support requests, and the support department was one of the most burdened departments by such requests.
“That’s why I’m asking for it to be treated as a special-class priority!” Ha Rin urgently shouted.
Hansen, accustomed to such reactions, calmly responded, “A special-class priority request requires a fair reason.”
“The eldest son of the orc World Ranker, Bodonchar, is under our clan’s protection! There has been a rebellion at Fortitudo, the orc capital!” Rin shouted.
“Huuu... Please don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying!”
The security guards’ gazes shifted to Hansen’s desk.
“A World Ranker attacked us. The God of Heaven has appeared. An army of demons is marching toward us. How many lies like these do you think I hear every day? It’s all a ploy for their requests to be processed quicker.”
“B-but we’re—”
“Huuu, I will relay the request to both the diplomatic relations department and to war support. This is the best I can do. Next person, please.”
“No! We need support right now! We don’t know when they might attack—”
“Look, young lady,” Hansen interjected as he pointed behind Rin. “Can’t you see the sheer number of people who’ve come to request help? We have limited manpower, which makes procedure and selection crucial. You’re not the only one who’s in a rush.”
“But—”
“I will call security if you don’t step aside. Your request has been received. Next person, please!” Hansen shouted firmly.
Rin was about to say something, but lowered her head once she sensed the security guards approaching.
“No... Everyone is counting on me...” Rin said as she stepped back, teary-eyed.
She began to resent the Union. She couldn’t believe this was the kind of organization that represented humanity. Words like procedure and selection couldn’t sound any colder to her at this moment.
“That’s quite an interesting story,” someone said from behind her.
“Pardon?”
Rin, who couldn’t help but simply stare at her frozen feet in a daze, looked behind her. A man whose face was covered by a shadow formed by his black hood stood before her. Chocho whined in fear on her head.
He’s incredibly powerful! Rin thought. She could instinctively tell she was no match for the hooded man.
“Has the rebellion in Fortitudo already begun? Come to think of it, I saw Bodonchar in Forestis. I see they took advantage of his absence. I suppose this was also a result of the World Tree War being moved up,” the man mumbled incomprehensibly.
The nervous Rin asked, her lips quivering, “Who... are you?”
“Hm? Have you forgotten my scent? That dog seems to remember me,” the man said as he removed his hood, revealing an Asian man with black hair, black eyes, and a strong-willed expression.
A vein was bulging in his right eye like a lightning bolt, but Rin would never forget the man.
“You’re... Card!” She ran to Seong-Hwi and hugged him as if headbutting him. “Ah! I-I...”
She stuttered as she backed away flusteredly. She only had fearful memories of him, but a feeling of dependence had taken over her when put in a situation where no one helped her despite the crisis.
“Heh, it’s been a while, Dog.”
***
“Ahahahaha! You’ve exceeded my expectations!” Lee Bong-Seong, third in the human ranking, laughed heartily as he looked at the man before him.
He was Record Breaker, Cheon Seong-Hwi, overflowing with confidence and vigor as always. He only seemed like a disrespectful brat when he had made a mistake, but Bong-Seong couldn’t help but adore him when he had not only made up for his mistake, but had also profited humanity greatly.
“The Sēmen has practically acknowledged Underground! You and Kang-San prevented a war. That’s the Sēmen’s job.” Bong-Seong smiled as he continued, “I’m sure the Sēmen wants to bring Underground under their banner, even just to save face! Ahaha!”
“Even if that’s not the case, Underground’s forces are formidable now,” Seong-Hwi replied.
Bong-Seong nodded. “Yes, of course. Viridis, the new union of elves, declared their entrance to Underground. And so did Elementum, the superstar who made her name known throughout the Mirror World!”
The spirit, Elementum, had garnered fame from stopping the corrupted Insectum head-on and had proven herself to be as powerful as a World Ranker.
Lee Kang-San, Bafor, and Elementum! Underground now has three World Rankers! Bong-Seong shouted inwardly as his eyes shone.
Only a few powers could match the current Underground in the outer zones.
Bong-Seong mumbled ecstatically, “I can see the future... of our race’s prosperity!”
“You shouldn’t be so optimistic,” Seong-Hwi remarked, breaking Bong-Seong’s excitement. “The stronger a group gets, the more trouble they run into with even stronger groups. What matters is what we do from now on. We’re on a tightrope.”
“Mm, yes, you’re right... A tightrope, huh? One you can’t walk backward on.”
Bong-Seong nodded with a serious expression and stared at Seong-Hwi unexpectedly.
He doesn’t let this enormous achievement control him and thinks only of the future. This settles it. He is a real one. I can see why Lee Kang-San called him the second son.
“That aside, where is the pioneering faction?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“The members of the pioneering faction, including Remy Martin, are carrying out their role. In other words, they’ve proceeded with the reclamations.”
“Reclamations?”
“Take a look at this,” Bong-Seong said as he pointed at a map on the table. He made a dot at the Capital on the map with a fountain pen. “This is the human Capital, located in the eastern first zone, and this is the dwarven Ferrum, located in the northern third zone.”
He made a line connecting the two cities and continued, “Lastly, this is the area where Viridis chose to settle, located in the southeastern fourth zone.” He put down the pen after creating a giant triangle that engulfed the northeastern edge of the Mirror World, and asked, “Right, how magnificent does this look?”
“I see, the pioneering faction must have begun reclaiming cities to complete this triangle,” Seong-Hwi remarked.
“Correct.”
Seong-Hwi nodded and thought, Looks like they weren’t just playing around as I worked my ass off.
Once this triangle was complete, travel and trade between each race’s territories would become much easier, allowing for better access to assistance.
“So many things have happened that the Capital is experiencing a manpower shortage. We need the Lambs to develop more.”
Their conversation gradually shifted to the expansion of Edu, the Lambs’ suicide rate, the movement of black clans, and more.
Bong-Seong caught himself and remarked, “Man, I’ve babbled on for too long. There hasn’t been anyone I could speak freely to after Remy became busy.”
He smiled kindly at Seong-Hwi, whose gaze was fixed on the map on the table.
Seong-Hwi said, “Instead of a triangle... Wouldn’t a quadrangle be more stable?”
“Huh?” Bong-Seong expressed confusion.
Seong-Hwi grabbed the fountain pen and added two more lines. The shape was closer to an irregular trapezoid than a quadrangle.
Bong-Seong frowned as he stared at the new dot that Seong-Hwi made on the map and asked, “Fortitudo? Isn’t that the orc capital?”
He stared at Seong-Hwi, wondering what he was planning this time.
Seong-Hwi shrugged and remarked, “It’s not yet at a stage where we can have a proper discussion about it. Could you write me a recommendation letter?”
“A recommendation letter? To whom?”
“Bartholomew Avison, the leader of Clan Trauma Centre. From what I remember, he is a member of the conservative faction.”
“To Director Avison? Were you externally wounded? It doesn’t look like it to me.”
Seong-Hwi simply shrugged again, not intending to answer.
Bong-Seong smirked and said, “Sure. Since you’ve shown results, it is only fair that I provide my unbridled support.”
“Thank you very much.” Seong-Hwi stood up and grabbed the door handle to leave. Before leaving, he said, “Oh, and it’s unfortunate what happened to Cocoa Farm. Henri Konan was part of the conservative faction, wasn’t he?”
He closed the door behind him. The silent Bong-Seong’s black eyes sank deeply.
***
“The old man’s not one of them,” Seong-Hwi mumbled as he walked down the hallway.
Since Henri Konan was a Chaos Human, it was only natural that Seong-Hwi would suspect Bong-Seong, who had sent Henri to him, to be a Chaos Human as well. However, he did not feel the odd sense of familiarity from Bong-Seong like he had felt from Henri.
Well, I can’t guarantee that I can use this feeling like a convenient Chaos Human detector.
Not only that, but rumors would have spread in one way or another in his past life if Bong-Seong, the head of the conservative faction, were a Chaos Human. However, Bong-Seong had fought desperately for humanity to the very end against Regnator when he had invaded the Capital. He was also the first to be killed because of the rumors that he possessed the Destiny Stone.
I doubt that someone who went so far for humanity is a Chaos Human, who don’t view humans as the same race.
Just then, Rin, who had been anxiously waiting for Seong-Hwi while hugging Chocho, ran to him from the end of the hallway and said, “Ah! Ca—I mean, Sir Cheon Seong-Hwi! D-did they decide to send support?”
Rin stared at Seong-Hwi with desperation and thought, He had a private meeting with Sir Lee Bong-Seong, the Immortal Marine! He’s in a league of his own!
She had thoroughly explained to Seong-Hwi what had happened in Garapan. After hearing the story, Seong-Hwi had told her to wait because he needed to meet with Bong-Seong.
“What are you talking about?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“Pardon? Weren’t you... going to explain our circumstances to Sir Lee Bong-Seong and request support?”
“I never said that. I just told you to wait.”
“Ah...”
Rin felt like her world was crumbling. Lee Bong-Seong, the head of the conservative faction, could have easily mobilized the Union.
Seeing her disappointed face, Seong-Hwi smiled and said, “I’ll go personally. This matter goes far beyond what you guys think.”
“Pardon?” Rin’s eyes widened. Seong-Hwi was publicly rumored to be on par with a High Ranker. She couldn’t have asked for better support. “R-really? But we have nothing to compensate you with...”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll compensate myself.” Seong-Hwi’s smile widened. “What are generation mates for?”
Orcs and humans were in an extremely hostile relationship in my past life, he thought.
Although it had never escalated to a large-scale all-out war, there had been too many minor battles to count. Hence, Garapan, the closest city to Fortitudo, had been an outpost during battles against orcs. Most orc warriors engaged in ambushes to prove their courage, and humans mostly defended against their attacks.
Our relationship soured because we hunted other orc tribes to please the World Ranker, Bodonchar.
Bodonchar, ninety-second in the world ranking, was the patriarch of the orcs from the Tusk tribe. If one were forced to describe him with one word, it would be tyrant. He had a fiery personality and was highly distrustful, unbefitting of his patriarchal position.
However, his overwhelming power and the full support of the Tusk tribe allowed him to become the patriarch, and he made decisions regarding critical matters only with the consent of his tribe. Of course, this highly dissatisfied the other tribes, and their suppressed rage only accumulated over time.
That pent-up rage resulted in the Great Rebellion.
The Blade, Hawk, Wind, Sun, and other major tribes clashed with the Tusk tribe, engaging in a bloody civil war, with the surprising loss of Bodonchar and the Tusk tribe.
A few human clans sided with Bodonchar in that war, which negatively affected our relationship with the orcs. But it’ll be different this time, because I’ll change it.
Seong-Hwi ignored Lina’s voice echoing in his head.
“Anyway, I need to do more research. I’ll come up with something, so don’t you dare take a step outside the Capital. Not one step! Got it?”
He then said to Rin, “I have to take someone with us, so give me some time. I need to hire a warp gate user, too.”