Chapter 97.1 One-horned tribe (7)

At first, Yeon-woo thought he had heard it wrong.

‘Five? Not fifteen?’

While holding back his pounding heart and trying to maintain his cool, Yeon-woo asked the Martial King once more.

“Why is it happening so soon?”

“What do you mean by why? Is there anything wrong?”

“No, it’s just… From what I remember, the players on the 11th floor still seemed far from prepared.”

Yeon-woo was sure of this because he had wandered around the floor while collecting materials.

Though there were definitely clouds of war looming over the cities, rumors of the clans seeking out helpers still hadn’t spread.

“And that’s why I said five days.”

“…?”

“We are the ones starting this war.”

“…!”

Only then did Yeon-woo realize his intention.

‘Red Dragon still doesn’t know about them.’

If the One-horned tribe suddenly showed up on the 11th floor and started attacking them without a warning…

‘It will be a massacre.’

The Martial King then continued with a peal of sly laughter.

“Since we’ve decided to come out of seclusion, shouldn’t we make sure to make a big entrance?”

*   *   *

‘Five days later.’

After leaving the hall, Yeon-woo slowly organized his thoughts as he walked down the street.

The war was closer than he expected.

Yeon-woo shivered at the thought of the war taking place right before his eyes.

He wasn’t afraid of war. Rather, it was a shiver that came from delight.

He felt his heart filled with fighting spirit.

‘It’s finally here.’

The time was drawing near. The time he would finally point his sword at his enemies.

Although it was a little disappointing that he couldn’t stand at the front lines, the mere thought of standing on one side to strike the other filled him with joy.

Of course, he couldn’t allow others to know about his plan. So he pretended to be as calm as possible, but he couldn’t help his lips from curling upward. He thought it was fortunate that he was wearing a mask.

In an effort to cool his mind, Yeon-woo began to ponder about the plan the Martial King had told him.

‘He said their first target is Kuram, a city away from Barrack.’

Kuram was a city erected by Red Dragon on the 11th floor. It was also one of the cities he had frequented while collecting materials.

From what he could remember, the city was protected by high walls as well as players from several subsidiary clans of Red Dragon.

If the One-horned tribe were to raid the city and take possession of it…

‘It will definitely be enough to create a strong impression of them, just as the Martial King wants.’

The Martial King was planning to make a conspicuous appearance so that Cheonghwado would feel indebted to them.

‘Now, what do I have to do until then?’

Yeon-woo looked back at his current condition.

He had to repair the equipment that was worn out from his battle with the Manticore, and he had to scrutinize how he could apply the skills he had only used against monsters or weak players so far, to a war where there would be several rankers involved.

‘The biggest problem is….’

Then suddenly, Yeon-woo wondered how big of a role he would play on this war.

‘Is there anything I can do to make myself stronger within five days?’

Yeon-woo went over his skills and equipment to see if there was any room for improvement.

The first thing that came to his mind was Aegis. It would be very helpful if he could control more than three plates at the same time. However, he soon dismissed the idea knowing that there was no way he could master controlling another plate within just five days.

But thankfully, Yeon-woo remembered the hint he had received on his way here.

‘Magic Circuit.’

There should be a way for him to alter his Magic Circuit in order to make his mana flow like the Jinbup.

And indeed, Yeon-woo had found out that most of the people in the village had something similar to Jinbup inside their body.

Yeon-woo thought about the ‘Mugong’, the way that the One-horned tribe had developed in order to control their mana.

‘Especially the beast that I saw from the Martial King, it must have been the manifestation of his Mugong.’

Yeon-woo thought about asking Phante and Edora about it.

‘By the way….’

A slightly worrying thought suddenly crossed his mind.

‘How should I tell the Phoenix and Chirpy about this?’

He had promised them he’d be back soon, but the situation didn’t seem to allow him to keep that promise.

‘Maybe I should go visit them for a short while when we go to the 11th floor.

*   *   *

“How did I do, hon?”

Inside the tournament hall where Yeon-woo had left,

The Martial King raised his head up and asked in the air as he scratched the back of his head.

Although there was nobody left in the hall, a voice came ringing to his ears.

Yeon-woo would have been surprised if he heard the voice.

It was the same voice he heard when he traversed the Hoho’unmujin.

It was the voice of the Psychic Medium who, along with the Martial King, was one of the emotional pillars of the One-horned tribe, and also the leader of the Cheonglam family.

“You think he’s really the one?”

『The constellations say so. Now, have I ever been wrong on my predictions?』

“Of course not.”

The Martial King shook his head.

As she said, their current Psychic Medium had never made a false prediction.

It was also thanks to her that the One-horned tribe had been able to reach this prosperous age.

『For now, we’ll just have to keep an eye on him and see if it’s him or not. Even if he isn’t, we still have time to look for the other one.』

“I guess you’re right.”

『Besides, take a look at what he has done. He broke through our Hoho’unmujin without any external aid, and he has won Edora’s favor. Don’t you think he has proven enough of his potential already?』

The Martial King nodded.

He himself had also been surprised when he heard there was someone who crossed through their Hoho’unmujin—though only half of it—all by himself.

“Anyway, it must be him, then? The one who is blessed by ‘Death’.”

The Martial King spoke while stroking his chin. His eyes seemed to be filled with greed.

“I kind of want to try and teach him.”

『Are you going to take him as a disciple?』

The Martial King nodded with a broad smile.

“If possible, yes.”