Chapter 47: Does The Saintess Dream Of A Sacrificial Lamb? (7)

***The moment the president of the Blue Rat said something about the value of one’s life, the first thought that came to Darulma Dune was that he shouldn't have sent Captain Kwon on an errand.The atmosphere at the base camp turned menacingly tense. Even though neither Yeomyeong nor the rat bastard boss uttered a word, even a blind person would be able to sense the situation was on the verge of exploding.Yeomyeong had already drawn his sword, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the rat bastard boss, hiding beneath the Invisibility Cloak, pulled out her gun at any moment.Gauging the situation, Darulma began to gradually make his way towards the back door of the base camp. However, before he could reach it, mana began emanating from Yeomyeong's body.Amidst the swirling mana, Yeomyeong glared at the Invisibility Cloak as if he were looking at something disgusting.Refusing to be outdone, that rat boss also sprang up from her seat.Sensing the growing tension between the two Superhumans, Darulma threw himself towards the back door. Or rather, he tried to.However, the next moment, the Saintess came between the two of them."Oh, come on, knock it off!"As soon as the Saintess intervened, the tension melted away like snow.Yeomyeong sheathed his sword and withdrew his mana, and the rat boss also sat back down.Another brief silence ensued.The Saintess sighed deeply, then dragged a chair between the two and sat down."Mom, you need to apologize.""...""This time, it was your fault. And it was my fault as well."Both of them still remained silent. The Saintess shrugged her shoulders and then looked at the dwarf."Darulma-ssi? What did you do to make Yeomyeong want to leave the mercenary group?"The dwarf realized that this was a typical attempt at changing the subject, but he had no choice.It would be better to endure the uncomfortable atmosphere than being caught in a fight between Superhumans. Forcing a smile, Darulma replied to the Saintess."...Well, I, um, sort of tested him a bit.""Test? What kind of test?""Well, his resume was fake, so... I used his share of the dragon's rib bones as bait. It was just a small test."Darulma spoke as truthfully as possible. Given that the person in question was holding a sword right before, there was no room for corporate embellishments or exaggerations.As expected, the Saintess’ reaction was not good."His share of the rib bones? I vouched for that! And you used it as bait?"The Saintess deliberately raised her voice dramatically. If there was a problem, it was with the mana mixed in her voice.Listening to her voice resonating in his ears, Darulma was once again reminded that the Saintess was also a Superhuman. And that he was the only one who needed to behave cautiously here."S-so, as an apology, I have prepared a gift. I have sent Captain Kwon to fetch it.""...A gift."Seeing the Saintess' lukewarm reaction, Darulma hastily added more words."An elixir, and a very rare one at that! Uh, Yeomyeong-gun? You’ll definitely be satisfied. It is a special elixir procured directly from an elf!"Darulma kept the fact that the elixir was originally meant for the Saintess to himself.Well, what could he do? As long as he reached his destination, the method he used to get there didn’t matter.In spite of Darulma's enthusiastic explanation, Yeomyeong's expression didn't change.Laden with suspicion, his golden eyes glanced at Darulma briefly, but that was all."...Mom, do you not have anything?"Eventually, the Saintess turned her attention to her next target, her mother, who would at least listen to her.With an expectant look, she glanced at the Invisibility Cloak."Hm? Mom?"She was hoping that her mother, the president of a promising information guild, would be able to placate Yeomyeong with an expensive gift.A blindfold and an Invisibility Cloak—A tedious staring contest ensued between mother and daughter, with Moryne finally conceding.She let out a long sigh, like someone relieved of a burden, and spoke."I’m not going to apologize."The Saintess tried to say something to her still-cold mother, but Moryne was faster."But I will compensate you."Her hand disappeared into the Invisibility Cloak before reemerging with something.A single red key lay on her palm."Mom? Is that...?""This much should suffice for a mercenary’s life."Moryne tossed the key. . Yeomyeong caught it without saying a word, and then she left immediately.There was no time to say anything. The clicking of her heels echoed towards the back door of the base camp before disappearing completely.Realizing that her mother had left, the Saintess turned towards Yeomyeong. She bit her lip, before forcing a smile and spoke."...I’m sorry.""...""But that key is really valuable. You do know what an Arcane Relic is, right?"The Saintess was not accustomed to situations like this.In fact, she wasn't even used to speaking to people who were of a similar age."That key is actually one of the items discovered during an expedition in the Chicago Dimensional Portal..."She fidgeted with her fingers, trying her best to explain the significance of the key.She hoped that his anger might be eased a bit with the knowledge that it was an expensive item.However, before she could finish with her explanation, Yeomyeong spoke up."Khingan Range. I’ll accompany you.""Huh? Really?""But… this will be the only time.""Come on, we haven’t even left, and you’re already thinking about parting ways?"Did he like the Arcane Relic that much? The Saintess didn’t know what caused him to change his mind so suddenly, but the result worked in her favor.Smiling as she watched the dwarf sighed in relief and Yeomyeong stare at the key stoically, she comforted herself that coming to Manchuria was the right decision.Suddenly, the thought of her only friend crossed her mind. Her friend, who would be attending the academy at the moment—Did she know there was another person whose future she couldn’t foresee clearly with her Foresight?For some reason, she had a feeling that her friend would know.***The value of dragon bones was truly immeasurable.

Those ignorant mercenaries, who were unaware of their place, simply saw the dragon bones as nothing more than a quick path to riches, but the military thought differently.Just like mana metal, dragon bones were also treated as strategic resources.In the battles between Superhumans, living incarnations of asymmetric power, equipment was as crucial as martial arts and magic.Unfortunately, Korea did not possess any equipment made from dragon bones or scales.By the time Korea began nurturing Superhumans in earnest, the UN had already designated dragons as an endangered species for quite some time.There was nothing more frustrating for a latecomer like Korea.Protecting those talking lizard bastards... The developed countries could speak about that because they already had more than enough equipment made from dragon bones.But what about Korea? Even if they trained Mages and Superhumans to the point of death, what good would it do? Korean Superhumans couldn’t even properly equip themselves with breastplates made from mana metal alloys.Meanwhile, those American bastards treated full-body armor and swords made from dragon bones like standard supplies.In that sense, discovering a dragon's rib bones right in the heart of the North Manchuria base could be considered a significant event that would impact the nation.Even though North Manchuria was burned down, the military could hardly contain its joy at the prospect of Korea finally acquiring dragon bone equipment through legal means.However, that joy did not last long.Some mid-level mercenary group claimed that the dragon's bones were their spoils.Naturally, the military did not believe this claim. To be honest, they didn’t even care about the mercenary group's claim.After all, wasn't the item retrieved directly by the military after the collapse of North Manchuria? What could a mere mercenary group even do?They began to shamelessly spew nonsense, claiming that since the mercenary group had abandoned the spoils and retreated, they had no rights to them, and even brazenly declared that they would only return a small portion, as the item now belonged to the military.However, before dawn, the Saintess came to the military.The Saintess, who had warned them about North Manchuria's collapse before anyone else and managed to prevent a greater tragedy, took the dragon's rib bones from the military.Though it would be correct to say it was returned to its rightful owner, the military felt it was nothing short of a robbery.Neither Major Kim, who claimed to be the first discoverer in front of the reporters, nor Director Park, who reported directly to the president at the Gyeongmudae, were able to hide their dismay.They wanted to take back the bones forcibly, but the opponent was the Saintess.The living idol of a huge religion with countless followers, both beyond the Dimensional Portal and on Earth.The military swallowed their tears and gave up the rib bones. Of course, they didn't do it quietly; in the process of handing it over, they made a big fuss.They transported the dragon's bones openly enough for all the reporters, military contractors, and other mercenary groups to see.They even stated that the outstanding rookie mercenary Cheon Yeomyeong and the Saintess were the ones who obtained the spoils of war.It was a dirty act of revenge, but it was certainly effective.Because, on the very first day itself, rumors that an unidentified Superhuman had attacked the Sonjuk Mercenary Group, knocked out the mercenaries, and trashed the base camp spread like wildfire.There were also rumors that the Saintess had taken off her Invisibility Cloak and was now hiding within the mercenary group, but not many people believed such nonsense.Anyway, the attack on the first day became a catalyst that led to the numerous people aiming for the dragon's rib bones to flock to the Sonjuk Mercenary Group every day.The Sonjuk Mercenary Group had locked their entrance firmly, refusing to come out, and rejected all threats and negotiations.They held out in that manner for three days.Accompanied by the news of North Manchuria's worsening condition were rumors that the Sonjuk Mercenary Group had finally decided to head to North Manchuria.Everyone who heard this news was puzzled. Why head to North Manchuria instead of returning to Gyeongseong with the rib bones?Half from curiosity, half from ridicule, almost everyone at the Manchuria base gathered in front of the Sonjuk Mercenary Group.This included those aiming for the dragon's rib bones, journalists looking for a story, and soldiers hoping to see the mercenary group fall to ruins.- Amidst the overflowing curiosity, the gates to the mercenary group's base opened.Only around fifteen mercenaries, including Captain Kwon, emerged from the base camp—barely enough to fill one military truck.However, keen observers noticed that nearly ten of the fifteen mercenaries were Superhumans.- Ignoring all the noise in front of the base camp, the Sonjuk Mercenary Group silently loaded supplies onto the military truck.And just as the mercenary group was about to depart…A man in combat gear jumped from the building next to the road, blocking the military truck and yelled.“Where the hell is Cheon Yeomyeong?!”With his military-style haircut and a military greatsword, few onlookers who recognized him started whispering among themselves.While some frowned, most of the onlookers were now watching the situation with renewed interest.Seemingly encouraged by their attention, Jung Mapil swung his greatsword and shouted again.“Cheon Yeomyeong! Come out! The whole of Manchuria knows that you deceived the Saintess and stole the dragon bones the military found!”His awkward, yet theatrical manner of speaking made some onlookers snicker as they realized what was happening. It was obvious that the military intended to harass the Sonjuk Mercenary Group until the very end.As everyone awaited the mercenary group's next move, an unexpected person jumped off the truck.“Are you looking for me?”He was a young man with striking golden eyes and a fairly outstanding face. He could even be mistaken as a boy at a glance.However, aside from his appearance, there was nothing remarkable about him. He was wearing standard-issue combat gear, and his only weapon was a standard-issue iron sword.His aura… well, if anything, it was ordinary. He certainly didn’t look like someone who could cut dragon bones.“Are you Cheon Yeomyeong?”“Yes, I am Cheon Yeomyeong.”“You heard what I just said, right?”Instead of replying, Yeomyeong drew his sword. Seeing his calm demeanor, Jung Mapil sneered.He had felt uneasy when he was ordered by someone as high-ranking as a colonel to go beat up some kid, but it turned out that the kid had some guts.“No need for lengthy explanations. Let’s fight.”“Are you sure?”“That’s what I should be asking you. Can you handle it?”His attitude exuded confidence. Yeomyeong glanced at the reporters who had gathered.It seemed like a perfect spot for a scene. He lowered his sword and assumed a stance.“How much injury is acceptable?”“As long as no one dies.”As if a signal to start the duel wasn't necessary, Jung Mapil raised his greatsword.Following his lead, the reporters raised their cameras, and the onlookers paid close attention.At that moment, waves surged forth from Yeomyeong’s sword.:" seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.