Chapter 257

After Tiotudo revealed his inner thoughts, he worked with Plu-El with to come up with a plan. Somehow, they had to acquire the help of the outsiders. They also had to convince their comrades that it was the right move to do so.

Despite their brainstorm, they couldn’t come up with a clear plan.

They couldn’t completely comprehend how the society of the outsiders worked. They couldn’t determine allies from the foes. In the past, they had first contact with the outsiders, and the worst possible outcome had occurred.

At that moment, something favorable to the two of them happened.

“Look at this, Plu-El.”

Tiotudo raised his Device to show her.

“This is….”

Plu-El’s eyes turned round. One of the Gems mounted on his Device was letting out a bright light.

It was the copper colored Gem. It was the Gem that had a clearly different color from the normal Gems.

“Yes. The Warrior Gem is awake.”

The Warrior Gem was one of the special Gems alongside the Royal Gem and the Shaman Gem. The Warrior Gem was letting out a light as if it was announcing its presence.

“It is as I’ve expected. It isn’t a coincidence that the Royal Gem and the Shaman Gem awakened around the same time.”

“You were right. Congratulations.”

She had congratulated him, but Plu-El looked a bit wry. Tiotudo had awakened his Warrior Gem. It was an occasion for celebration.

She was happy as a personal friend. Tiotudo was able to awaken the Warrior Gem, which had remained non-respondent over a very long period of time. It meant the might of their people had increased. It would allow his influence to grown amongst his people. He would be able to encourage the others to join forces with the outsiders.

On the other hand, it also meant Tiotudo’s theory gained more legitimacy too. He might be right that the creature’s seal was unraveling.

Tiotudo knew this truth, so he wasn’t disappointed in Plu-El’s lackl.u.s.ter reaction.

Soon, Plu-El got rid of the bad aftertaste in her mouth. She focused her attention on the Gem.

“What ability does it have?”

“I only awakened its basic ability.”

“Do you mean the Mental Shield?”

It was a power that shielded the user from any negative influence to one’s mind.

“You have to quickly awaken the other abilities. That’ll give us some leeway.”

“We have work to do. That’s more important than awakening my abilities.”

“What work do we have to do?”

“We have to carry out our plan.”

Plu-El scrunched up her face.

“Are you talking about getting the cooperation of the outsiders?”

“Yes.”

“You are rushing this.”

Plu-El was very terse with her words.

The distrust of outsiders had taken a deep root within their people.

Even if Plu-El and Tiotudo raised their voices, the probability of their comrades listening to them was slim. On the other hand, it might buy the enmity of their comrades.

However, Tiotudo didn’t back down.

“We have no time. Magical energy is starting to leak out from the labyrinths. It is proof that the creature’s seal is starting to unravel in earnest. Soon, their officers won’t be so passive. We have to set up a cooperative system before that happens. It’ll increase our chance of victory by a little bit.”

“Even if we try to convince our comrades, how many of them will listen to us? The chances of that happening is very low.”

“You are missing the forest for the trees, Plu-El.”

Tiotudo spoke in a low voice.

“The chances of winning our fight against the creature is miniscule in the first place.”

Plu-El had no response to that.

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

Tiotudo spoke.

“We use the authority that was passed down for generations amongst our people.”

“What authority?”

“The descendents of the royal, shaman and the warrior families hold no sway over our people now. You, me and Aruwen do not have much authority over our people.”

There were still some that followed Aruwen. This remained true for Plu-El and Tiotudo too. They each had some followers. However, the number was extremely small.

The fact that they were descendants of the royal, shaman and the warrior family didn’t bring that much prestige amongst their people.

“However, it is an entirely different story if the real royal, shaman and a warrior shows up.”

Their people longed for the days of their past. They had built a large kingdom in the past, and they had lived a golden age of peace.

As they faced more adversities in their lives, the yearning only deepened. This yearning for the past was what gave Aruwen, Plu-El and Tiotudo a modic.u.m of power amongst their people.

“Soyoung is the daughter of an outsider, yet she is able to somewhat live amongst us. It is because your husband was one of the few outsiders, who took our side. At the same time, you awakened the Shaman Gem, and you received the authority that came with being a shaman. You used this authority to shield your daughter.”

Plu-El didn’t deny Tiotudo’s assertions. There was no falsehood in his claims.

“Yes. It also bought Soyoung much more hate from the others.”

Tiotudo didn’t deny this fact.

Plue-El possessed the proof of the power they revered, yet she had a daughter of mixed blood. Her daughter possessed the blood of an outsider. This fact colored the eyes of those around her when they viewed Soyoung.

“However, you can be the proof that the authority of old is still alive. Let’s break this down. You have the authority of the shaman. I awakened the Warrior Gem, so I have the authority of the warrior. If these two pillars of power join forces, we can create a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

That opportunity was the opportunity to come in contact with the outsiders.

“Moreover, Aruwen no longer has the authority to oppose our opinions. No, his opinion is worthless now. He lost the Royal Gem, and the person, who stole it, awakened the Royal Gem.”

After he gave the explanation, Tiotudo stared straight into Plu-El’s eyes.

“You don’t have to do anything. I just want to borrow your authority as a shaman. I’ll carry out the plan, and I’ll bear the responsibility if things go wrong.”

His eyes didn’t shake at all. It was enough to make her want to trust him.

He was very blunt and wooden. However, he was also her most trusted friend. This was why she decided to trust him

“Alright. I’ll trust you. However...”

This time Plu-El spoke in no uncertain terms.

“Do not say you’ll bear the responsibility by yourself. You might have overlooked this fact, but I’m the one that activated my special Gem first. I’m not someone that’ll be pushed around so easily by you. If we are carrying this out, both of us will bear the responsibility. You got that?”

She playfully winked at him.

Tiotudo didn’t speak for a while. He just looked at her. However, he soon smirked.

It was a very rare smile from him.

“This is why I like you.”

“Oh my. Are you trying to seduce a married woman? I’m sorry, but you aren’t my type. My only love is my husband.”

“I was dumped even when I’m not even interested. That is fair at all.”

The two of them bumped fists as they laughed loudly for a long time.

“Let’s go do this.”

“Alright.”

The two of them had to convince their comrades. In order to do this, they moved to gather their comrades. However, someone else had already gathered them.

“Hey! You are finally here.”

There was a familiar face standing at the center of a crowd.

It was Aruwen. He had shut himself inside his room for a long time, so he looked very gaunt.

Despite this fact, his eyes were very sharp.

‘This isn’t good.’

Tiotudo didn’t know what was happening, but he knew it wasn’t good news. Plu-El had the same thought. She frowned next to him.

“I was planning on calling you guys here. You have excellent timing.”

Aruwen pushed past his comrades as he approached the two of them. Unlike his rough outer appearance, his eyes were piercing. It was full of killing intent.

Tiotudo spoke in his usual tone of voice.

“Did you make peace with yourself?”

“Why would I make peace with myself?”

“I’m talking about you saying farewell to the Royal Gem.”

All expressions from Aruwen’s face disappeared.

His eyes were empty. It was like looking at a dead person’s eyes. Plu-El felt a physical aversion to him, so she took a step backwards.

Smile.

Aruwen laughed. It was as if the previous blank face had been a lie. However, it sounded as if he was forcing the laughter.

“No way. It is the treasure of our people. We can’t let that go so easily, right? We have to get it back. We already decided to do that.”

“About that… We should discuss our plans again...”

“Wait a moment. I received some very good news.”

Aruwen stopped Plu-El from speaking.

Then he brought someone forward. The man was short, and he looked like a mouse.

Tiotudo and Plu-El felt a sense of crisis. This man was supposed to be monitoring the person, who possessed the Royal Gem. He was sent out to monitor Woo Sungyoon.

“Can you explain it to the two of them?”

“Understood.”

He stood in front of Tiotudo and Plu-El, then he spoke in a proud manner.

“Magical energy is leaking towards the city built by the outsiders. Of course, the monsters followed the magical energy outside. That is why the outsiders are sending patrols out of their city to kill the monsters. Our target is part of the patrol.”

The faces of Tiotudo and Plu-El hardened. In contrast, Aruwen’s face brightened further.

“You hear that? After we ambushed him, he hid the city like a coward. However, he finally crawled out of that place. We’ll never have a better chance. We have to kill him before he gets corrupted by the awakened Royal Gem. We have to kill that bastard and recover the Royal Gem.”

There was a faint trace of madness in Aruwen’s eyes.

“Of course, you are going to help me, right?”

***

Sungyoon took a big step. The combination of Sungyoon’s enormous strength and the low gravity of the moon allowed him to jump high.

‘It is scary every time I try this.’

Sungyoon took a glance upwards. It was as if the abyss of space would pull him in.

It felt as if he wouldn’t stop ascending, and he would disappear into the black sky.

Fortunately, the gravity kept him bound to the moon. This was why Sungyoon could look at his surroundings without worry. He used his excellent eyesight to search his surroundings.

His gaze stopped on a point in the distance.

“What do you see?”

He could hear the voice of Tim through the communication device installed in the helmet. Sungyoon kept his eyes fixed on his target as he spoke.

“I found one. I believe it is a Troll.”

“Is that so?”

Sungyoon pointed towards where the troll was. Tim pushed off the ground. His body also soared upwards.

“You are right. It is a troll.”

Sungyoon was starting to fall back down, and Tim was still ascending upwards. Tim spoke as he looked at where Sungyoon was pointing.

When Sungyoon landed on the ground, he approached Grace. Grace was holding a tablet. It was displaying the terrain around Armstrong city.

“It is around this place.”

Sungyoon took a stylus, and he drew a circle around the region where he saw the Troll. Soon, Tim rejoined the party.

“Let’s move.”

Sungyoon’s party jumped across the surface of the moon. They moved towards the shallow crater where they had spotted the Troll.

“I see it..”

They caught sight of the Troll.

‘Did it come out of there?’

He saw a labyrinth entrance next to the Troll. The labyrinth was also marked on the map.

It was a mid rank labyrinth. It was a labyrinth that didn’t hold much interest to his party.

“I’ll kill it.”

Tim accelerated his speed. His axe flashed as he swung his axe when he reached the Troll.

Suh-guhk!

If there was air, that was the sound it would have made. The Troll’s head was lopped off way too easily. The head flew into the air.

Sungyoon, Emily and Grace arrived after the Troll’s corpse turned into a moonstone.

“Here.”

Tim handed over the moonstone to Sungyoon. As soon as he handed over the moonstone, Tim looked upwards.

“Let me check if there are any monsters….”

Tim stopped speaking. Sungyoon, Emily and Grace looked towards the nearby labyrinth.

People were coming out of the labyrinth.

Sungyoon’s party knew them, yet they didn’t know them.

“They came out again.”

Tim spoke as he raised his shield.

It was the group that had ambushed Sungyoon’s party not too long ago. They once again started to encircle Sungyoon’s party.